This is a blog series featuring contributors to the new book, Cruciform Scripture. Today we have Dennis Edwards. Cruciform Scripture is a book in the field of New Testament theology, the work is written in honor of the scholarship of Dr. Michael J. Gorman.
Dennis R. Edwards
Chapter Nine: “Participation in Christ in 1 Peter”/ Dennis R. Edwards
Tell us about your connection to the honoree, Michael Gorman.
Michael Gorman was my Dean at the Ecumenical Institute of St. Mary’s Seminary & University in Baltimore during the years I taught there, 2006-12. I had already been acquainted with some of Mike’s scholarship, and I came to better appreciate his academic work while I also experienced his pastoral presence. Mike became an example for me of how scholarly work, rather than stifling devotion to God, flows from faith. When there were even fewer African American PhDs in biblical studies, I often felt as if I was out of place; but Mike treated me as if I belonged, and his collegiality has helped me to find my place in the academic world.
Can you share more about your essay, “Participation in Christ in 1 Peter”?
Michael Gorman has championed the concept of theosis (deification) in Paul and John, using the language of participation. Authorship issues notwithstanding, theosis is actually a Petrine notion, with 2 Pet 1:3-4 serving as the key text. Even though 1 Peter does not use the explicit theosis language of 2 Peter, it does describe participation with God via conformity to Christ. First Peter is often thought to be a re-working of Pauline thought, but 1 Peter is independent of Paul and paints its own picture of theosis, particularly for suffering Christians. Participation in 1 Peter is evident in the concepts of holiness, new birth, sharing, emulating, and even in the epithet “Christian.”
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In