Self-Sacrifice in Pauline Thought

In this important study, Moser proposes two central themes that undergird the argument of the book. First, that according to Paul, God enacts deliverance and salvation for humanity as a display of divine righteousness. This idea is seen as arising from the thought contained in the book of Isaiah, which resonated with Paul’s proclamation of the gospel. Second, that redemption entails divine self-sacrifice and this then requires human response and imitation in regard to inter-personal relations. After the brief preparatory remarks, the argument is constructed in six tightly sequenced chapters which articulate the case for seeing ideas of self-sacrifice at the heart of Paul’s theological understanding. The opening chapter ‘Gospel of Righteous Self-Sacrifice’ (pp. 1-41) sets out the basis for seeing the notion of selfsacrifice as being fundamental to Paul’s understanding of his gospel proclamation. In order to construct his argument Moser sees a primary connection between Paul’s gospel and the theological vision articulated in the book of Isaiah (p. 5). At the heart of the argument, according to Moser, stands Paul’s understanding of the means by which God provides a remedy for the human predicament. Thus in regard he states,