From Worldview to Theology

Part 1: PAUL AND HIS WORLD
Chapter One RETURN OF THE RUNAWAY?
2 Philemon and the Study of Paul
(iii) From Worldview to Theology

The particular claim of the present book, then, embodied in the transition between Part II and Part III, is that when we understand the worldview of Paul the apostle we realize that a worldview such as his, granted what it does and doesn’t contain, needs theology in a way that (some?) other worldviews do not. It can only be sustained by constantly, thoughtfully and prayerfully clarifying the question of who the one true God actually is, what this God has done and is doing, and what this all means for the lives of the community and the particular Messiah-follower. When Paul urges his Roman hearers to be ‘transformed by the renewal of their minds’, this was not simply a piece of good advice for those who wanted to practise their faith with a bit more understanding. It was vital if the entire worldview he was advocating and inculcating was to take root and flourish...