Pauline Baptism among the Mysteries: Ritual Messages and the Promise of Initiation 257

This monograph provides an alternative model for looking at the old question about Paul and the mysteries in a new light. Specifically, this study compares rituals—baptism in the Pauline communities and the initiation rituals of the mysteries—through the lens of cultural anthropology and the sociology of religion. Three research questions lead the project: What benefits does each initiation ritual promise its participants? What are the underlying messages or structures that guarantee the efficacy of those rituals? How and to what extent is the initiation ritual connected to the participants’ cognition and ethics beyond initiation itself? Taking those questions as the analytical framework, this study substantiates two points: first, in terms of ritual messages, baptism in the Pauline communities is a ritual analogous to mystery initiation, and second, Paul is an innovative interpreter of ritual who recalibrates the messages of preexisting rituals for his theological and ethical program, seeking to radically extend the implications of initiation to the embodied life of every Christ-believer. Students and scholars of New Testament, early Christianity, classics, and ritual studies will benefit from engaging this volume. Acknowledgements Contents List of Figures and Tables Abbreviations 1 Introduction 2 Paul and the Mysteries: Retrospective and Prospective 3 Initiation into the Dionysiac Mysteries 4 Initiation into the Mysteries of Isis 5 Initiation into the Pauline Communities (I): Baptism in 1 Corinthians 6 “Baptism for the Dead” (1 Cor 15:29): Ritual Blending and Innovation 7 Initiation into the Pauline Communities (II): Baptism in Galatians and Romans 8 Conclusion Appendix: References to Baptism in the Undisputed Pauline Letters Bibliography Index of Names Index of Ancient Names Index of Subjects Index of Ancient Sources