No Longer Living as the Gentiles: Differentiation And Shared Ethical Values In Ephesians 4:17-6:9 (The Library of New Testament Studies)

Book info: No Longer Living as the Gentiles: Differentiation And Shared Ethical Values In Ephesians 4:17-6:9 (The Library of New Testament Studies) (Hardcover, 176 pages) – T&T Clark, 2008. Language: English.

On the one hand, Ephesians 4.17-5.21 has been interpreted as drawing a social or ethical contrast between the addressees and the outside world, and even as encouraging or legitimating social withdrawal or separation from outsiders. On the other hand, the household code in Ephesians 5.21-6.9 has been read as encouraging integration into the wider society. These social goals seem to be at odds, but rarely is this reflected on or addressed in scholarship. Upon a close and detailed study that utilizes traditional exegetical methods, comparative analysis and social identity theory, Daniel K. Darko argues that Ephesians 4.17-6.9 exhibits a consistent strategy of promoting group distinctiveness while utilizing Greco-Roman ethical values and traditions to promote internal cohesion among the readers. Readers are encouraged neither to separate from society nor to integrate further into it, but to live and function within society as members of the 'household of God' in one accord. Editorial Reviews Review “"This is a very insightful study based upon careful analysis of the social convention of the Greco-Roman world and a strong reflection on the theology of Ephesians... [Darko] asks the pertinent question: can the values promoted in the letter be normative Christian virutes for all cultures? That question remains, but at least Darko has put the exegetical basis for an answer on a firmer foundation." Journal for the Study of the New Testament Booklist 2009” ―Kent E. Brower, Journal for the Study of the New Testament About the Author

Daniel K. Darko is an ordained minister. He has worked as Director in Youth for Christ and is currently an Adjunct Professor at the University of Scranton, PA'

Chris Keith is Research Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society, Norway. He is the author of The Pericope Adulterae, the Gospel of John and the Literacy of Jesus, a winner of the 2010 John Templeton Award for Theological Promise, and Jesus' Literacy: Scribal Culture and the Teacher from Galilee. He is also the co-editor of Jesus among Friends and Enemies: A Historical and Literary Introduction to Jesus in the Gospels, and was recently named a 2012 Society of Biblical Literature Regional Scholar.