Papers by D. Clint Burnett
Thesis advisor: Pheme PerkinsPsalm 110:1 was not a Second Temple messianic proof-text. Yet, it be... more Thesis advisor: Pheme PerkinsPsalm 110:1 was not a Second Temple messianic proof-text. Yet, it became the early Christian text par excellence for articulating exaltation Christology: Jesus was exalted to God’s right hand (Acts 2:33, 34-35; 5:31; 7:55-56; Rom 8:34; Col 3:1; Eph 1:20; 1 Pet 3:22; Heb 1:3, 13; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2) and κύριος of the cosmos (Phil 2:9-11). Therefore, this unprecedented and singular use of Ps 110:1 by early Christians requires an explanation. This dissertation argues that the unparalleled Christian use of Ps 110:1 is indebted to a Greco-Roman royal ideological concept: rulers as sharers of divine/sacred space, which consisted of three elements: temple sharing, throne sharing, and joint temples of imperials and gods. Greek cities and Roman period provinces made autocrats sharers of sacred space to show appreciation for concrete royal benefactions and to acknowledge the piety of monarchs and divine approval of their regimes. Early Christians adopted two of these practices—temple sharing and throne sharing—for similar purposes, creating a unique variant of the Greco-Roman royal practice and using scripture to justify it (Ps 110:1). Consequently, early Christian use of Ps 110:1, exaltation Christology, and Jesus’s Lordship are indebted to royal messianism.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2018.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Theology
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While numerous articles and commentaries on Luke 3:1-6 draw readers' attention to Luke's ... more While numerous articles and commentaries on Luke 3:1-6 draw readers' attention to Luke's prophetic portrait of John, these treatments of Luke's prophetic presentation of John are often cursory in nature and do not consider the subtle prophetic allusions, motifs, and echoes that Luke employs throughout these six verses. The purpose of this article is to explore the tapestry of Luke's prophetic portrait of John as the eschatological Elijah-like prophet.
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Journal of Ancient Judaism, 2013
This article questions the longstanding supposition that the eschatology of the Second Temple per... more This article questions the longstanding supposition that the eschatology of the Second Temple period was solely influenced by Persian or Iranian eschatology, arguing instead that the literature of this period reflects awareness of several key Greco-Roman mythological concepts. In particular, the concepts of Tartarus and the Greek myths of Titans and Giants underlie much of the treatment of eschatology in the Jewish literature of the period. A thorough treatment of Tartarus and related concepts in literary and non-literary sources from ancient Greek and Greco-Roman culture provides a backdrop for a discussion of these themes in the Second Temple period and especially in the writings of Philo of Alexandria.
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Given the dearth of non-messianic interpretations of Psalm 110:1 in non-Christian Second Temple J... more Given the dearth of non-messianic interpretations of Psalm 110:1 in non-Christian Second Temple Jewish texts, why did it become such a widely used messianic prooftext in the New Testament and early Christianity? Previous attempts to answer this question have focused on why the earliest Christians first began to use Ps 110:1. The result is that these proposals do not provide an adequate explanation for why first century Christians living in the Greek East employed the verse and also applied it to Jesus’s exaltation. I contend that two Greco-Roman politico-religious practices, royal and imperial temple and throne sharing—which were cross-cultural rewards that Greco-Roman communities bestowed on beneficent, pious, and divinely approved rulers—contributed to the widespread use of Ps 110:1 in earliest Christianity. This means that the earliest Christians interpreted Jesus’s heavenly session as messianic and thus political, as well as religious, in nature.
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Religious Studies Review, 2021
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Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 2020
Several scholars conclude that the inhabitants of Corinth considered Julio- Claudian family membe... more Several scholars conclude that the inhabitants of Corinth considered Julio- Claudian family members to be lords. Some commentators propose that these figures were regarded as lords and gods. Therefore, 1 Cor 8:5 is a Pauline polemic against emperor worship. The evidence for both proposals is Paul’s use of κύριος and θεός in 1 Cor 8:5, titles that Greek cities bestowed on Julio-Claudians. These conclusions are problematic because they ignore the diversity of imperial worship and key evidence from Corinth. Data for Corinthian emperor veneration indicate that its imperial cults focused on deceased and officially deified emperors, divi, and the genius of the reign- ing emperor. This means that, while Corinthians regarded divi as divine, the divi were neither lords nor gods. Consequently, 1 Cor 8:5 is not a Pauline polemic coined to oppose imperial worship.
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Journal of Biblical Literature
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Ancient Near East Today , 2021
Paul used an inscription from an altar in Athens dedicated "to an unknown god" as an illustration... more Paul used an inscription from an altar in Athens dedicated "to an unknown god" as an illustration for a speech about the God of Israel's nature and the impending day of his eschatological wrath (Acts 17:23-31). Paul alludes to the practice of erecting inscriptions as he tries to convince his converts from Corinth that the ministry of the new covenant has greater glory than that of the old. The apostle identifies the latter covenant as being "engraved on stones"; an act with which his audience would have been familiar. If that covenant had glory, Paul says, how much more glory does the new covenant-infused with God's life-giving Spirit-have (2 Cor 3:7-11)? The author of Revelation notes the presence of inscriptions in the new age and the new Jerusalem. There are stones that have a new name written on them that only faithful Christ-confessors will receive (Rev 2:17). Believers who maintain their faith will become pillars in God's temple and both God's name and that of the new Jerusalem's will be engraved on them (Rev 3:12).
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Catholic Biblical Quarterly , 2020
Several scholars conclude that the inhabitants of Corinth considered Julio- Claudian family membe... more Several scholars conclude that the inhabitants of Corinth considered Julio- Claudian family members to be lords. Some commentators propose that these figures were regarded as lords and gods. Therefore, 1 Cor 8:5 is a Pauline polemic against emperor worship. The evidence for both proposals is Paul’s use of κύριος and θεός in 1 Cor 8:5, titles that Greek cities bestowed on Julio-Claudians. These conclusions are problematic because they ignore the diversity of imperial worship and key evidence from Corinth. Data for Corinthian emperor veneration indicate that its imperial cults focused on deceased and officially deified emperors, divi, and the genius of the reign- ing emperor. This means that, while Corinthians regarded divi as divine, the divi were neither lords nor gods. Consequently, 1 Cor 8:5 is not a Pauline polemic coined to oppose imperial worship.
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Lexington Theological Journal , 2018
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Books by D. Clint Burnett
Paul and Imperial Divine Honors: Christ, Caesar, and the Gospel, 2024
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Given the dearth of non-messianic interpretations of Psalm 110:1 in non-Christian Second Temple J... more Given the dearth of non-messianic interpretations of Psalm 110:1 in non-Christian Second Temple Jewish texts, why did it become such a widely used messianic prooftext in the New Testament and early Christianity? Previous attempts to answer this question have focused on why the earliest Christians first began to use Ps 110:1. The result is that these proposals do not provide an adequate explanation for why first century Christians living in the Greek East employed the verse and also applied it to Jesus’s exaltation. I contend that two Greco-Roman politico-religious practices, royal and imperial temple and throne sharing—which were cross-cultural rewards that Greco-Roman communities bestowed on beneficent, pious, and divinely approved rulers—contributed to the widespread use of Ps 110:1 in earliest Christianity. This means that the earliest Christians interpreted Jesus’s heavenly session as messianic and thus political, as well as religious, in nature.
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Papers by D. Clint Burnett
Books by D. Clint Burnett