Signs, Wonders, and Gifts Divination in the Letters of Paul

In much of the scholarship on Paul, activities such as speaking in tongues, prophecy, and miracle healings are either ignored or treated as singular occurrences. Typically, these practices are categorized in such a way that shields Paul and his followers from the influence of so-called paganism. In Signs, Wonders, and Gifts, Jennifer Eyl masterfully argues that Paul did, in fact, engage in range of divinatory and wonder-working practices that were widely recognized and accepted across the ancient Mediterranean. Eyl redescribes, reclassifies, and recontextualizes Paul's repertoire vis-á-vis such widespread, similar practices. Situating these activities within the larger framework of reciprocity that dominated human-divine relationships in antiquity, she demonstrates that divine powers and divine communication were bestowed as benefactions toward Paul and his gentile followers in proportion to their faithfulness and loyalty.

Jennifer Eyl is Assistant Professor of Religion at Tufts University. She is the co-editor of Christian Tourist Attractions, Mythmaking, and Identity Formation and has published articles in Method and Theory in the Study of Religion and the Journal for the Study of the New Testament.

Introduction

Chapter 1: Taxonomy and Pauline Uniqueness
(The Problem of Categories and Modes)

Chapter 2: Divinatory Practices and the Palpability of the Gods

Chapter 3: A Taxonomy of Paul's Divinatory Practices

Chapter 4: A Taxonomy of Paul's Wonderworking

Chapter 5: Discursive Claims to Divine Authority

Chapter 6: Paul, Pistis, and Divine Powers: An Economy of Reciprocity

Conclusion

Bibliography

Index