Skip to content
Devoted to the inerrancy and inspiration of the Scriptures and the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Log in

Evangelical Theological Society

  • Home
  • About
  • Account
  • My Cart

Evangelical Theological Society

  • Membership
    • Membership Applications and Levels
    • Member Directory
    • ETS Career Connections Services
      • Job Candidates
      • Submit Candidate Information
      • Current Employment Opportunities
      • Submit a new employment opportunity
    • Member Publications
    • Submit a New Publication
  • JETS
    • Subscription Information
    • Current Issue
    • JETS PDF Archive
    • Advertise in JETS
    • JETS Search on ATLA
    • Manuscript Submissions and Book Reviews
    • JETS Back Order Information
    • Missing Issue Claim
  • Annual Meeting
    • Annual Meeting Overview
    • ETS Conference Registration
    • Hotel Information
    • Boston Transportation and Attractions
    • Exhibit Hall, Sponsorship, and Advertising Information
    • Annual Meeting Special Event/Space Request
    • Future Themes / Venues
    • Past Programs / Recordings
  • Proposal System
    • View My Proposal(s) status
    • Proposal Notification Timeline
    • List of Proposals for Reviewers Only
    • Preparing to submit your Paper or Session proposal
    • Crafting a Quality Proposal
    • Submit a Session Proposal
    • Student Recommendation Letter Guidelines
  • Program Units
    • Overview
    • Information for Program Unit Chairs
    • Starting a Program Unit
  • Regions
    • Region Overview
    • Northeast Region
    • Eastern Region
    • The Southeast Region
    • Ontario/Quebec Region
    • The Midwest Region
    • Southwest Region
    • The Northwest Region
    • Far West Region
  • News & Information
    • The Officers and board of directors of the Society
    • ETS Advertising Opportunities
    • Business Meeting Minutes
    • Stories
    • In Memoriam
    • Submit News Item
  • Membership
    • Membership Applications and Levels
    • Member Directory
    • ETS Career Connections Services
      • Job Candidates
      • Submit Candidate Information
      • Current Employment Opportunities
      • Submit a new employment opportunity
    • Member Publications
    • Submit a New Publication
  • JETS
    • Subscription Information
    • Current Issue
    • JETS PDF Archive
    • Advertise in JETS
    • JETS Search on ATLA
    • Manuscript Submissions and Book Reviews
    • JETS Back Order Information
    • Missing Issue Claim
  • Annual Meeting
    • Annual Meeting Overview
    • ETS Conference Registration
    • Hotel Information
    • Boston Transportation and Attractions
    • Exhibit Hall, Sponsorship, and Advertising Information
    • Annual Meeting Special Event/Space Request
    • Future Themes / Venues
    • Past Programs / Recordings
  • Proposal System
    • View My Proposal(s) status
    • Proposal Notification Timeline
    • List of Proposals for Reviewers Only
    • Preparing to submit your Paper or Session proposal
    • Crafting a Quality Proposal
    • Submit a Session Proposal
    • Student Recommendation Letter Guidelines
  • Program Units
    • Overview
    • Information for Program Unit Chairs
    • Starting a Program Unit
  • Regions
    • Region Overview
    • Northeast Region
    • Eastern Region
    • The Southeast Region
    • Ontario/Quebec Region
    • The Midwest Region
    • Southwest Region
    • The Northwest Region
    • Far West Region
  • News & Information
    • The Officers and board of directors of the Society
    • ETS Advertising Opportunities
    • Business Meeting Minutes
    • Stories
    • In Memoriam
    • Submit News Item

Temple-Beauty and Temple-Bodies: Using a Pauline Metaphor towards an Aesthetic Anthropology

Two areas of theological research beginning to bloom in Protestant and Evangelical contexts are theological aesthetics and theology of the body. Some strong examples of the former can be found in Jonathan King’s work The Beauty of the Lord: Theology as Aesthetics and Samuel Parkinson’s Irresistible Beauty: Beholding Triune Glory in the Face of Jesus Christ, and some strong examples of the latter can be found in John Kleinig’s Wonderfully Made: Toward a Protestant Theology of the Body, and W. David O Taylor’s A Body of Praise: Understanding the Role of Our Physical Bodies in Worship. We must ask, however, how do these two loci of systematic theology relate to each other, and can they serve to build each other up? Moreover, are there any resources from biblical studies that can serve to build such a connection? I propose that one avenue of research that can contribute to these questions is found in a biblical-theological approach to Paul’s application of the temple-motif to the human body. In doing so, this project builds upon the work of Herman Ridderbos, Paul Jewett, Robert Gundry, and others that has established the vital Pauline distinction between σῶμα and σάρξ within Christian theological anthropology, along with the insights from Geerhardus Vos, Meredith Kline, and G.K. Beale as it pertains to the significance of the temple-motif throughout Scripture. Combining these aspects of Pauline scholarship and biblical-theology, we can gain new insights into theological anthropology as informed by Scripture’s temple-motif, especially when the temple is described in explicitly aesthetic terms. By analyzing Paul’s application of temple imagery to the human body in 1 Corinthians 6:12–20 and 2 Corinthians 5:1–4, biblical-theologically informed by the descriptions of the aesthetic qualities of the tabernacle and temple in the Old Testament, we find a foundation for a uniquely aesthetic anthropology that emphasizes the objective beauty of the embodied image-bearer of God. Putting the argument concisely, if it is the case that Paul positively relates the body (or aspects of it) and the temple, and the temple manifests outward beauty and glory, then the human body must be beautiful in some sense that is theologically and anthropologically established. This proposal therefore not only seeks to contribute to New Testament studies, but also attempts to make constructive efforts in the realm of systematic theology, specifically theological anthropology.

Forgot your password?

RECENT POSTS

Moved or need to confirm mailing address?

Inaugural ETS Lifetime Service Award Presented in San Diego

JETS 67.3 is available online

The Center for Classical Theology

Theologians without borders-coming to San Diego, November 2024

Proposal period, website, and membership accounts

Member not receiving emails? here is what to do

Lifetime service award

JETS 66.3 is available online

San Antonio "Show Us Your Badge" program!

View all

Recent Publications

The Spirit and Renewal (Part 1): Definitive & Progressive Sanctification - Sherif Fahim

'New Creation' in Paul - Sherif Fahim

Justification, Sanctification, and Union with Christ: Fresh Insights from Calvin, Westminster, and Walter Marshall - Sherif Fahim

Death in Second-Century Christian Thought The Meaning of Death in Earliest Christianity - Jeremiah Mutie

The Quest for Early Church Historiography From Ferdinand C. Baur to Bart D. Ehrman and Beyond - Jeremiah Mutie

The Book of the Twelve - David Fuller

Early Witnesses to the Syriac Text of Acts 15 with an Investigation into the Text of Acts 15 in the Didascalia Apostolorum and with and Appendix on the Western/Jacobite Peshitta Manuscript Tradition for Acts - Daniel McConaughy

The Star and the Magi in Jacob of Serugh and the Early Syriac Tradition - Daniel McConaughy

Saved by Grace through Faith or Saved by Decree? A Biblical and Theological Critique of Calvinist Soteriology - Geoffrey Robinson

The Rhetoric of Matthean “Small Faith” - Christopher Seglenieks

View all

"To foster conservative Biblical scholarship by providing a medium for the oral exchange and written expression of thought and research in the general field of the theological disciplines as centered in the Scriptures." (Constitution, Article II.)

Contact Us

Address:
Evangelical Theological Society
7901 E Shea Blvd
Scottsdale, AZ 85260

Phone:
(888) 883-3062

Fax:
(888) 944-6328

Email:
Annual Meeting Inquiries
General Inquiries
Member Services
Subscriber Services

© 1949-2025 ETS - All rights reserved.