Pauline Demonology and/or Cosmology? Principalities, Powers and the Elements of the World in their Hellenistic Context

Abstract

This paper follows on from the case of ‘Paul’s Principalities and Powers: Demythologizing Apocalyptic?’ ( JSNT 82 [2001], pp. 61-88). It argues that the distinctive concepts expressed by Paul’s ‘principalities and powers’ language are best understood against the background of popular Middle Platonism, particularly as it is expressed in Philo and Plutarch. Rather than ‘demythologizing’ the demonology of his apocalyptic heritage, Paul saw a continuum between pure abstractions (‘height and depth’, Rom. 8.38), personifiable abstractions (‘principalities and powers’), literary personifications (‘Law, Sin and Death’) and ‘actual’ personal spiritual beings. Such a view has its roots in Greek thinking going back as far as the fifth century BCE, and still current in the popular Platonism of the first and early second centuries. In his understanding of ‘principalities and powers’, Paul is working creatively between the angelology and demonology of his Jewish heritage, and the world-view of the thoughtful Graeco-Roman philosophical amateur.

The Devil in the Details: A Survey of Research on Satan in Biblical Studies

“…The Pauline letters contain many references to evil forces, demonic figures, and existential powers. Generally speaking, scholars have tended to focus on the category of 'principalities and powers' ('rulers', 'powers', 'dominions', 'thrones';e.g., see Caird 1956;O'Brien 1982;Arnold 1992;Forbes 2001;. However, a smaller, though still important, amount of scholarship has investigated Paul's references to Satan on their own, which we will address below.…”