This volume addresses the variety of spiritual experiences in the world of ancient Judaism and early Christianity, including contributions on the Old Testament, Qumran literature, Graeco-Roman philosophy, New Testament texts, and early church literature, focusing on spiritual transformation.

The contributions to this volume explore the question of what spiritual transformation means for Early Christianity and beyond, with articles ranging from Old Testament wisdom literature to the Dead Sea Scrolls, Graeco-Roman philosophy, the gospels, epistles, and Johannine literature of the New Testament and other Early Christian literature. The contributions provide reflections on the involvement of the self and agency in spiritual transformation and concern diverse anthropological dimensions of mind, emotions, body, and embodiment related to this phenomenon of metamorphosis. The impact of spiritual transformation may relate to a renewal of the mind, to a therapeutics of emotions, and to material dimensions of bodily posture and physiological metaphors expressing spiritual identity.

Autorentext
Born 1973; 2001 MA in Bible and Cognate Studies (HUC-JIR), 2004 PhD in New Testament Studies (University of Groningen); Research Fellow New Testament at the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein (South Africa). Born 1959; 1992 DTh; 2004 PhD in Greek (University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa); Professor of New Testament at the Faculty of Theology and Religion of the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein (South Africa). Born 1952; emeritus professor of the University of Pretoria (South Africa) and Radboud University Nijmegen (Netherlands) as well as research associate University of the Free State (South Africa).

Inhalt
Albert L.A. Hogeterp Spiritual Transformation in Early Christianity and Beyond. Revisiting Paradigms and Perspectives

I. Ancient Jewish and Graeco-Roman Contexts
Moritz F. Adam: Participation, Tradition, and Transformation: On the Ethics and Hermeneutics of Engaging in Jewish Wisdom Thinking and Practice - Jörg Frey: The Transformation of the Spiritual Self in Selected Qumran Texts - Johan C. Thom: Spiritual Transformation in Graeco-Roman Philosophy

II. Gospels
George Branch-Trevathan: Pierre Hadot's Spiritual Exercises and Matthew 5-7 - Heidrun E. Mader : The Ambivalence of Spiritual Transformation in Mark - Albert L.A. Hogeterp: Spiritual Transformation on the Road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35) - Michael Labahn: Becoming "New" in God's Kingdom. Spiritual Transformation Through Beatitude in Jesus' Proclamation of God's Coming Kingdom - A Speech-Act Reading of Matt 5:2-12 / Luke 6:20-21 - Christos Karakolis: The Transformative Power of Love in the Gospel of John: A Narrative-Critical Perspective Based on Neuroscientific Insights about Human Behavior

III. Epistles
Stephan Joubert : Reflecting the Glory of the -Bodied Christ While Participating in the Suffering of the -Bodied Jesus. Paul's Building Blocks for Spiritual Formation in 2 Corinthians - Francois Tolmie: Birth-Pains and the Formation of Christ: On Spiritual Transformation According to Galatians 4:19 - R. Alan Culpepper: "Mending the Saints for Ministry"? Ephesians 4:12 - Jan van der Watt: Spirituality in Colossians - Cornelis Bennema : Spiritual Transformation in 1 Thessalonians - Peter Lampe : Spiritual Transformation Mirrored in Paul's Letter to Philemon - Kasper Bro Larsen: How to Tell an Insider from an Outsider: Material Aspects of Spiritual Identity in 1 John

IV. Other Early Christian Literature
Matthijs den Dulk: Transformed into the Image of God: Origen, Paul, and the Restoration of the Imago Dei - Jonathan E. Soyars: Transformative Spiritual asksis in the Mandates of the Shepherd of Hermas - Johanna Brankaer: Clement of Alexandria's Work of Spiritual Transformation