Deus e filho de Deus no mundo mediterrânico: o rei grego, o imperador romano e o Jesus de Paulo de Tarso

Abstract

The apostle Paul gave Jesus of Nazareth the titles of ‘God’ and ‘Son of God’. Today, these titles have certain meaning. However, it is possible that, in Paul’s time, they had another meaning since, at that time, there were some beings who were also called ‘God’ and ‘Son of God’. This is the impetus for this work, which aims to study the meanings given to the terms ‘God’ and ‘Son of God’ in Hellenistic Greece, Imperial Rome and post-exilic Judaism. It will also look up the similarities between the cult of the Greek king, the cult of the Roman emperor, the post-exilic Judaism and devotion to Jesus Christ in early Christianity. The aim is to verify epigraphs and inscriptions on scrolls, papyri and coins that are related to the cult of the ruler in the Hellenistic period and in Imperial Rome. The post-exilic Jewish literature (Septuagint, apocryphal books, pseudepigraphic books and Dead Sea manuscripts) will also be checked in order to gather the meanings with which the terms ‘God’ and ‘Son of God’ were used. After a study of the texts of Galatians 4:14, Philippians 2:6-11, Romans 1:3-4 and Romans 9:5, in which biblical commentators are consulted, a Christology will be proposed for Paul’s teaching about the person of Jesus Christ. An analysis of the socio-religious context in which Paul of Tarsus lived, allied to the meanings attached to the titles ‘God’ and ‘Son of God’, together with a study of the texts of Galatians 4:14, Philippians 2:6-11, Romans 1:3-4 and Romans 9:5, will make it clear that, in the apostolic period and without excluding other possibilities, it is possible to understand that Jesus Christ had the nature of an angel, of a celestial and superhuman creature.