Mohr Siebeck posted a 97pp reading sample of #MTiGRPoM

Click here to download the Abbreviations Table with the 97pp reading sample

Mohr Siebeck posted an online reading sample PDF of Moral Transformation of Greco-Roman Philosophy of Mind (#MTiGRPoM).  At first I thought: "Wow! That's a generous giveaway of part of the book..." until I looked at it and saw that most of the 97 pp. are front material, preface, abbreviations table, and indices. Only 10 pp. are from the introduction chapter, that is, from the main body of the text. 
    Nevertheless, readers might find the 18 pp. Abbreviations Table helpful because it lists out the full citations for the best text editions of the primary sources used in the book. Some are Loeb Classical Library volumes but many others might be hard to track down for the non-specialist so the table is a good resource for the reader to find these sources in one place. In any case, click on the link above for the 97 pp sample and enjoy! MJL

Now available at Mohr Siebeck: Moral Transformation in Greco-Roman Philosophy of Mind

I have to say that I'm super excited to see that my book Moral Transformation in Greco-Roman Philosophy of Mind was just made available for purchase on the Mohr Siebeck website (here). Now I'll just have to wait until the author copies arrive on my doorstep through international mail. Looking forward to hold a print copy in person! PTL! 

It is finished! Moral Transformation in Greco-Roman Philosophy of Mind (Part 1)

Pre-Print Graphic. The WUNT2 monograph

is forthcoming in June 2020

After 15+ years of off-and-on research time, trying to find gaps in a hectic teaching schedule, two sabbaticals, and every summer and winter break spent writing, and many nights of solitude typing away and increasing my caffeine tolerance, finally I can announce: "It is finished!" (John 19:30). By God's grace, I submitted the manuscript Moral Transformation in Greco-Roman Philosophy of Mind to Mohr Siebeck back in September 2019. With some back and forth with an excellent editorial and production team (thanks Tobias Stäbler and Jana Trispel!), my work with the corrections/editions plus indices is done. The book is in production and will likely be in print this coming April 2020. Many thanks to Megan Herrold, my research assistant, who help me edit the entire manuscript + indices. Words cannot express how much I owe to my doctoral supervisor Dr. Judy Gundry and second Doktorvater Dr. Seyoon Kim for their support and encouragement in seeing this book through to the end.
     The book's primary audience is for other scholars and doctoral students doing research on the moral traditions of early Christianity's Greco-Roman environment. It attempts to map the moral universe of the ancient Mediterranean world during the late Republic to early imperial period of Rome from which both Diaspora Judaism and early Christianity emerge. Troels Engberg-Pedersen (2017) calls this era "the Transitional Period" during which Stoicism and Platonism dominated the moral and intellectual environment of the Roman Empire. The intellectual culture during this era shifted from the traceable influence of Stoicism (i.e., the Middle Stoa and Neostoicism) in the 1st century B.C.E. towards the documented dominance of Middle or Imperial Platonism by the end of the 2nd century C.E. 
      This monograph contributes to the synoptic picture of Greco-Roman antiquity by defining the moral transformation systems of the Platonists and Stoics so that the historian can have a starting point for what constitutes Platonist doctrines and what constitutes Stoic ones, including the latter’s Neostoic innovations. In my study of Middle Platonism, I analyzed mainly the works of Plato, Plutarch, Alcinous, and Galen and for Stoicism, Zeno, Chrysippus, Musonius Rufus, Seneca, and Epictetus.
     Here I develop systemic models for a given philosophical school's teaching on emotional control, ethical action and habit, character formation, and the role of communities and the divine. These models demonstrate that the internal logic and interconnectedness between seemingly disparate moral topoi (or topics of ethical concern) which were shared between the major philosophical schools of this era find their coherence as distinct systems of moral transformation. This is the primary thesis that the monograph defends.
    Secondly, the book also functions as a type of handbook which gives a "big picture" of Platonism and Stoicism as systems of philosophy. The teachings of every philosopher are read in their contingent, historical particularity and for how they cohere with the overall tenets of a given philosophical school. This project thus develops independent models of contingency and coherence for each Greco-Roman philosophy of mind. The method has been applied by J. Christiaan Becker to Pauline theology (1980), and I have modified it for ancient philosophy of mind. Though, as Abraham Malherbe has argued, every philosopher should be examined independently in their own right (i.e., lex Maherbe), because every philosopher of a particular school (i.e., Stoicism and Platonism) is united in one's fidelity to the teachings of the founder (i.e., Zeno/Cleanthes/Chrysippus and Plato, respectively), we can also talk about 'systems' of a school based on the interpretation of the founder's texts and a coherence between different members of a given sect based on their fidelity to the founder.
    The relevance of the book for New Testament studies lies in its foundational role for a further research on how the Apostle Paul engaged, appropriated, and modified the moral traditions of his day to explain the gospel of Jesus Christ to Gentile audiences in terms which the latter could understand. If the moral traditions of the Greco-Roman world were dominated by Stoicism and Platonism, or rather, by the interactions between these two intellectual movements (i.e., the thesis of Troels Engberg-Pedersen and other contributors to From Stoicism to Platonism), then a systemic study of Stoicism and Platonism is needed in order to situate the moral exhortations of Paul to his Gentile churches within their Greco-Roman cultural environment. At heart, Paul was a missionary. He would know how to engage and modify the moral traditions of his day to explain better to his Gentile recipients the major tenets and distinctions of the gospel he preached. 
    In sum, a short epitome of the book's major contributions to both classical studies and New Testament research are listed as follows: 

1. The book argues and defends the thesis that moral transformation is one important and effective way to find internal coherence and interconnectedness between disparate moral topoi, a project that Johan Thom (2003) has called "mapping the moral universe" of Greco-Roman antiquity. 
2. It constructs models for the moral transformation systems of Stoicism and Platonism and therefore enables scholars to contextualize any study of specific moral topos from the broader perspective of an entire school of thought
3. The models differentiate for the reader areas of continuity and innovation between orthodox or early Stoicism and their latter Greco-Roman Neostoic heirs; the same has been done for distinguishing Plato's teachings and Middle Platonism
4. The types of interactions between Stoicism and Platonism have been mapped and organized in a way to help the interpreter detect Greco-Roman allusions in the New Testament and sets up possibilities for how the NT author engages, appropriates, and modifies the moral traditions of the ancient Mediterranean world. The concluding chapters argue for 6 interaction types between rival sects: eclecticism, refutation, competitive appropriation, irenic appropriation, concession, and common ethical usage. Paul and his Diaspora Jewish contemporaries may not have employed all of these interactions types in their engagement with Greco-Roman moral traditions but this taxonomy of interactions lays out the possible ways they have may have engaged and modified a common encyclopedia of knowledge intrinsic to their cultural environment. 

Below are screen shots of the Table of Contents. I plan on giving separate expanded blog posts for each of the major contributions described above. Stay tuned for further posts. MJL

CLICK TO ENLARGE

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      ** Postscript: Originally I had hoped to publish the book way back in 2015/16. In fact, some book sellers like Amazon or Book Depository surprisingly list the monograph as having been published already. This is incorrect. The book's publication date is officially 2020. Nothing was released in 2015/16.

An Ideal Setup Can Help with Research

Here is a not-so-popular addage: "Good administration is no guarantee for success, but bad administration can certainly stiffle it" (a Max Lee quotable). This is true of business, profane or holy, and it is true for academics who are plugging forward on their research projects. I have longed to find the perfect computer screen setup for writing. I finally saved enough dough to put it together this past week. Here is a photo of it: 

My Research Computer Setup: Left Screen: MS Word Doc of a chapter I'm working on
Right Screen: Top is Plato's Theaetetus from the HathiTrust Digital Library and
Bottom has the Greek morphology engine on the Perseus Project website

I used two 22-inch Dell flat screen's (refurbished price $140 each) and rotated them to portrait mode, set the display to extended screen so that the two monitors act as a single screen together, got a used docking station ($20) for my North Park issued Dell Latitude E5440 laptop (free as long as I keep teaching at the seminary), found an old keyboard, and voilà! The perfect setup. 
    Because the screens are rotated to portrait mode, on the left one, I can get a full page view of whatever part of the monograph I'm working on (more like 1 1/2 pages) at 150% zoom. I don't have to squint anymore at my 14 in. (X 10 in.) display on my dinky laptop which only allows me to see less than 1/2 a page at a given moment. To my right, I can keep the top window open on whatever electronic document I'm working in (i.e., the photo above has Plato's Theaetetus on screen, courtesy of the HathiTrust Digital Library) and on the bottom right window, I can keep a web browser open (i.e., the photo has the Greek morphology engine on the Perseus Project website). Of course, the most important item on the desk for any researcher, an absolute must, is a cup of java to keep the blood pumping.
   I just thought I would share this setup since the scholarly world sometimes seems so solitary and we academics, professors and students alike, need to help each other out with whatever productivity hints we can share. 
   FYI, I received the idea for the above setup from a post by James Warren, Reader at Cambridge University, whose kenodoxia blog I follow. In his post, James (with whom I enjoyed a very helpful conversation one day in 2010 when I stole away from my post-doctoral studies at Durham University to visit Cambridge) showed a two-screen setup as he was compiling the indices for his now published book The Pleasures of Reason (2014). When I saw his post, it gave me the inspiration for the above desktop arrangement. But I had to save for a few months before I could buy what I needed. Cheers!

Posting on the Blog Randomly and Infrequently until Summer 2016

Well, I hate to do this, but I'm already missing too many self-imposed deadlines for a few books projects. So I'm going to take a break from blogging so I can jump-start my own research. Every now and then, I will post random musings on Pauline scholarship, or make announcements concerning the Intertextuality in the New Testament Section I co-chair at the Society of Biblical Literature. I might also blog on my post-doctoral studies at the École biblique et archéologique française de Jérusalem this coming April.
     But I'm just going to free myself from my regularly weekly posting schedule and resume it at the start of Summer 2016. It's been so crazy busy lately, I have not even made my way to watch the movie Risen yet, which I'm eager to see (and perhaps post a review later?)
     In the meanwhile, here's a Dilbert cartoon reflecting my own frustrations over the writing enterprise: 

Illustration Credit by Dilbert.com ©2015

Seven-Minute Summary of Paul and the Gift by John Barclay

Paul and the Gift (Eerdmans 2015)

Many thanks to Nijay Gupta for finding this video on Seedbed's youtube channel. Here is John Barclay giving a summary of his central thesis in the recently reviewed book Paul and the Gift. The book was reviewed at the Pauline Soteriology Seminar (S23-133) at SBL-AAR 2015 by a great panel of scholars, namely, Joel Marcus, Margaret Mitchell, and Miroslav Volf with Barclay responding at the end. 
   I, unfortunately, had to miss the panel review since I was presiding over another session. I am still hoping someone in the blogosphere (HT Nijay Gupta) might offer some comments on the session. But this little video is a neat, tight, 7-minute summary of how Barclay's research on gift-exchange in the ancient world illuminates Paul's own discourse on grace. Thank you Seedbed for interviewing and producing this video: 

   Some quick thoughts: Barclay points out that the Greek word χάρις (often translated "grace" in the New Testament) had no unusual meaning on its own in every-day common or Κοινή usage and simply means "gift." Paul is not unique in talking about the abundance of God's gifts to human beings, nor is he unique in saying that God was the one who took the initiative in the gift-exchange. There apparently were many examples, in the literature of the Mediterranean world, of gods being the first to give gifts to humankind, and they did so quite lavishly. 
    What makes grace or gift unusal in Paul's gospel was that God gave χάρις to people regardless of their worth or in spite of their unworthiness. God did not pay any attention to the worth of the individual. In the ancient world, gifts functioned to produce relationships or bind two people or communities together. So an ancient person chose carefully whom to give a gift and form a binding relationship with. Not so the God of the gospel. God does not discriminate against any person based on their intrinsic worth. He forms binding relationships with anyone who receives the gift.
    That said, if ancient gift-giving took into consideration the ethnicity or social status of the individual, and if God's gift/grace now by-passes these previous social standards of discrimination, Paul can now challenge his congregation to form relationships with one another regardless of ethnicity, education, power or privilege solely on the basis of this same grace.
    Wow! That preaches! Though John shares his summary very irenically, it's still a powerful seven minutes worth listening to. So enjoy, and blessings as we head into the Thanksgiving holiday!

Book Hunt at SBL-AAR 2015

Between sessions and catching up with people, one highlight of SBL-AAR is walking through the book exhibit, finding some jewels among a treasure trove of books, monographs, reference works, and commentaries. Many of my favorite publishers and university presses will be there in Atlanta, and they each offer a range of discounts, some as much as 40-50% off the sticker price. 
    I already having a working shopping list of purchases I have mind, divided between four groups: 1) must-buy (or the "Shut up and take my money (already)" books, 2) I-want-to-browse-it-first-before-I-give-you-the-dough books, 3) I-want-you-but-you're-too-expensive-for-me-to-buy-without-risking-the-wrath-of-my-wife books, and 4) pleasant-but-unexpected-purchases or let's-take-this-puppy-home book because it's too good a deal to pass up. Of course, I don't know what the 4th category of books will be until I roam the book exhibits and accidently stumble upon something I value. The 3rd category is a secret so I can give myself some wriggle room for a sneaky clandestine purchase from you-know-who. But I can comment on the 1st and 2nd categories in this and a subsequent post. So here are my tentative picks for category 1: 

    The must-buy books are Paul and the Gift by John Barclay, but to be honest, I already bought my copy because I could not wait. 

Published by Eerdmans

Richard Longenecker's long-awaited technical NIGTC on Romans was supposed to debut at Atlanta though all the online sellers seem to indicate that it will be a month or two later. Hopefully, Eerdmans will at least have a display copy at their table to peruse: 

Published by Eerdmans (may be available
in December? vs. Februrary)

Then there are E.P. Sanders' Paul: The Apostle's Life, Letters, and Thought, which also might be debuting late and N.T. Wright's The Paul Debate: Critical Questions for Understanding the Apostle: 

Published by Fortress Press

Published by Baylor University Press

This last must-buy is not a book on Paul but nevertheless, a long, long awaited commentary on the Gospel of John from a premier Johannine scholar whose past work tells me that Marianne Meye Thompson's NTL Commentary on John will be the go-to-volume for the fourth gospel for a long time: 

Published by Westminster John Knox Press

Next post, the books I'm on the fence about and won't buy until I get a glance at them first. 

Awarded the Louisville Institute Sabbatical Grant for Researchers 2015-2016... PTL!

I was almost finished with a review which I was going to post (and still will soon!) when I received the official word from the Louisville Institute that I was awarded the Sabbatical Grant for Researchers for my project: Food, Sex, and Entertainment: Paul and the Epicureans on the Ethics of Pleasure. 

Marble bust of Epicurus (Roman copy)
Photo by Max Lee © 2010 British Museum

If you were following my ramblings in November, I mentioned that I was applying for two grants in the hope of securing a sabbatical research leave for the entire academic year of 2015-16. Well, I'm excited to share the news that one of my grant applications was approved, and I can plan to use the next year to write a second book on Paul and the Epicureans. The grant is funded by the Lilly Endowment and administered through the Louisville Institute in Kentucky. You can see the list of grant recipients for 2015-16, including myself, here, and an abstract of my project here. 
   Both personally and professionally, the grant award is a word of affirmation that my research on Paul in his ancient philosophical context offers an important contribution to the life and mission of the church. I'm eager to get started, but in this moment of exuberation I want to pause to say: "Hallelujah! Praise the Lord for his grace and provision!" and offer my many thanks to colleagues, family and friends for their unwavering support, prayers, and words of encouragement. Thank you!

Need to Recharge but I Will Be Back!

Whew! I never thought writing out grant applications would be so labor-intensive but for the most part, I spent the entire Spring reading week either writing my monograph or drafting my proposal for some grants. I'm pooped! I need a recharge since my batteries are running low...

BayMax: Feeling Low on Energy... My Batteries Need Recharging
(Screen capture from the trailer to Disney's upcoming Big Hero 6 movie)

I have a Sabbatical semester off in the next academic year but I would like to extend that to another semester and hence the grant proposal writing. In any case, let me catch my breath and I'll be back to blogging soon. But right now, I feel like BayMax from the upcoming Big Hero 6 movie (photo above; trailer here). Peace!

Selfie and Shelfie from the Classics Reading Room

I'm behind in my writing schedule, so I'm here in the Classics Reading Room at the University of Chicago this late Friday night working on a monograph and trying to write some grant proposals as well. Though this is not my first time to the Regenstein library on the UofC campus, I have to say, every time I come to do research here, I just marvel at their classics collection. Behind me is every primary source for Philodemus available in print all on one shelf and in the lower left corner is the entire set of Galen's Opera Omnia, and to the right upper corner are edited volumes for the hellenistic Stoic Posidonius, and so on. In short, everything I could ever dream of having in one place is right here with me in the reading room. I wish I could live here but I have a family to go back to at home.
   Nevertheless, I thought I would include a selfie of me working here, and shelfie of just one part of the reading room. 

A shelfie of the Classics Reading Room at the University of Chicago
with my laptop, caffeine supply, and notes up front

Selfie: all work, no play,
but don't call me Jack

By the way, since I'm behind on my research, I'll probably not start posting again on Paul Redux until another week. In the meanwhile, there is still a chance to vote on the next series (vote here). If I get no takers/votes, I might just opt to do something random each week rather than focus on either the ancient war machine or ancient traveling. We shall see!

Why this blog

I am exploring the possibility of blogging. But if I jump in, my posts will be very random and far between. Right now my biggest project is trying to complete my monograph for Mohr-Siebeck within a year's time (by the end of 2014).

The book is listed on the publisher's website at:

http://www.mohr.de/index.php?id=169&L=1&tx_commerce_pi1%5BshowUid%5D=2511

With my calendar clear, I'm optimistic I can get this done. Since the monograph focuses mostly on Paul's contemporaries and not the Apostle Paul himself, I imagine that random ideas on the analogues I find between the ancient philosophical tradition and Paul will surface as I delve into the primary source material. When such ideas occur (how often? who knows?), I will post them here. So the blog functions, in this probational period of 1 year, a way for me to "think outloud" (please don't hold anything I say here as inscribed in stone; I reserve the right to change my mind!) and record these ideas before I forget them. MJL

Update (3/20/14): The blog took a life of its own when I started making posts on the Greece trip. So while I will continue posting on my research for the WUNT monograph, I will also use the blog to make historical-cultural notes on the Greco-Roman world in general as a framework in which the modern reader can interpret Paul's letters and message. I might add theological reflections and pastoral remarks from time to time, in connection with the historical-cultural notes, and anything else which I think my students (past and present) might benefit from, as it seems most of those who are anonymously reading the blog are from my classes. I did not think I could keep it up either, but generally, I have been posting on average 1x each week, which personally feels like a good pace. MJL