Is Paul Mad? Reading Romans as Performance
Building on recent works by Stanley Stowers and Neil Elliot, this project will present nearly the entire epistle as a conversation between Paul and certain sectarian elements of his day. It is a performance piece, where Paul argues against one who is not physically there, using the rhetorical practice of prosopopoeia.
Table of Contents:
- Introduction
- Survey of recent scholarship on Paul’s use of rhetoric
- The setting of Romans
- Paul v. Saul – Paul’s Gospel to the Gospel
- Saul v. Paul – Paul’s Gospel to the Jews
- Conclusion
The Destruction of the Temple and the Gentile Mission in Late New Testament Writings
This work will focus on Mark 13, Ephesians, and Revelation as keys to understanding the role the destruction of the Temple played in the motivation to begin the Gentile mission. While Paul preached to the Gentiles, the proto-Christian community was largely unsuccessful in reaching non-Jews until after the destruction of the Temple. By building on my previous work on Mark, I will set mark 13, Ephesians and Revelation in a post-70 reading — long after the world had ended — and propose that these documents are the new constitution of the Church in reaching the Gentiles.
Table of Contents:
- Introduction
- Temple Theology, Gentiles, and Philosophy
- The Chiastic Chaos of Mark 13
- Ephesians 2 as the Temple Theology
- Revelation and the Non-Repentant Gentiles Saved
- Conclusion
A Panentheistic Systematic Theology
(Admittedly, the most difficult to sell of the three — both to the publisher and to the general public — and still needs some work on the chapters. Essentially, it will mirror other systematic theologies)
Panentheism is on the rise. Set against Classical Theism, Panentheism can find strong support in science and can help those struggling with scientific discoveries to see God at work, always the Creator. While Panentheism wanes under the heavily orthodox Classical Theism, it offers a way forward in exploring God’s relationship with the physical universe, the theologizing of physical space, and in understanding our relationship with God. Panentheism is a deeply philosophical theology, but is deeply scientific. It will include the insights of the mystics as well as believing scientists. It will dispense with ex nihilo and make the case for ex deo. It will be a fun project, to be sure, and a personal project.
- Prolegomena
- Theology Proper
- Anthropology
- Soteriology
- Eschatology
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Actually, this is more like a RFQ. You know, just putting it out there… I may… MAY… put a proposal together for a few publishers. I work better with deadlines.
However, if you are a publisher, and you want a proposal, let me know. Because I tagged a few publishers…
I realize that taking a chance on a soon-to-be phd student with only two books under his belt and a blog — albeit a sizable readership blog — who also teaches small group studies and has one op-ed in the local paper and has been mentioned in one academic book and one academic essay is a bit much. I mean, where is the platform for name recognition?
I mean, I am only a soon-to-be phd student with only two books under his belt and a blog — albeit a sizable readership blog — who also teaches small group studies and has one op-ed in the local paper and has been mentioned in one academic book and one academic essay.
Joel L. Watts holds a Masters of Arts from United Theological Seminary with a focus in literary and rhetorical criticism of the New Testament. His interests include exploring the role of mimesis in human civilization, specifically in the study of religion and media, as well as science fiction and the way in which it has allowed mythology to be explored in light of scientific discoveries of the past century. He is the author of Mimetic Criticism of the Gospel of Mark: Introduction and Commentary (Wipf and Stock, 2013) and a co-editor and contributor to From Fear to Faith: Stories of Hitting Spiritual Walls (Energion, 2013).
Website: → Unsettled Christianity
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