Tuesday, October 17, 2023

Ḥerem in the New Testament?

In the New Testament’s own language, the ḥerem of the self is represented by such phrases as “crucified with Christ”: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God” (Gal 2:20). Likewise, the argument of Romans 6:3–4, 13: “Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death.… Rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.” Similar statements are found in Galatians 5:24 (“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires”) and 2 Corinthians 5:15 (“And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again”). A similar idea is expressed in the phrase “you were bought with a price” (1 Cor 6:20; 7:23) and the epithet “servant of Christ” (e.g., Rom 1:1). Christians are not allowed to make use of themselves; their persons and their lives belong to God to do with as he pleases.— The Lost World of the Israelite Conquest, 240-41

<idle musing>
Interesting thought, but unconvincing to me.
</idle musing>

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