Review of Sharp, Divination and philosophy in the letters of Paul

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: Divination and philosophy in the letters of Paul.

Matthew Sharp, Divination and philosophy in the letters of Paul. Edinburgh studies in religion in antiquity. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2022. Pp. 248. ISBN 9781399503570

Review by
Daniel J. Crosby, Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. dcrosby@scs.edu

... Nevertheless, Sharp’s book deserves praise for taking an approach to divine-human communication that challenges well-established schools of thought in the field. Taking cues from the recent work of classicists like Peter Struck,[2] Sharp objects to an “irrationalist premise” that seeks to understand divination in terms of its social function or of the psychology of an ancient (prescientific) mindset. Thus, the reader feels throughout the volume that Sharp is taking Paul’s beliefs and claims about divine messages seriously and sincerely, not as mere rhetorical positions for advancing his own social agenda, which is a refreshing take amid the usual critical work.

Matthew Sharp is my new New Testament colleague at the Divinity School of the University of St. Andrews.

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