Identity and Moral Formation in 1 Thessalonians

"""I am pleased to endorse this work, in which Kiwoon Lee guides us to understand more clearly how Paul's First Letter to the Thessalonians shaped the recipients' sense of identity and moral vision. Christian scholars and pastors will not only learn from Lee's skilled analysis, but also be moved to imitate in their own Christian communities the apostle Paul's doctrinally shaped approach to ethics."" --Robert L. Plummer, professor of biblical studies, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary ""This study is an important contribution to our understanding of how Paul forms the identity and ethos of the Thessalonian Christians. Its novelty lies in focusing on how this process is influenced by prominent notions and echoes from the Hebrew Scriptures--an issue that has not received adequate attention from scholars before."" --Francois Tolmie, professor in New Testament Studies, University of the Free State ""With a renewed angle on Paul's Jewish background, Kiwoon Lee explores the nature and purpose of 1 Thessalonians' discourse within the larger narrative of Israel as God's people. In his multi-layered analysis, Lee illuminates for today's Christians the letter's potential shaping of self-understanding and ethos. It is a welcome resource for theological students and clergy."" --Elna Mouton, professor emerita of New Testament, Stellenbosch University ""In light of 1 Thessalonians' social and historical setting and in connection to key redemptive themes of the Hebrew Scriptures, Kiwoon Lee provides a close reading of the apostle's discourse, i.e., a careful study that is exegetically robust, theologically enriching, and devotionally edifying. This is a must-read for all who desire to deepen their understanding of the First Letter to the Thessalonians and the formative thrust of Pauline theology."" --John J. R. Lee, associate professor of New Testament, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary ""The construction of a people's identity was a topic of ancient reflection which holds currency for today's church as a global and multicultural community. Was identity linked with ethnicity and culture as with the Greeks or was it a matter of legal status not tied with ethnicity as with the Romans? Kiwoon Lee's study unfolds the way Paul unpacked the vexed question of who constituted 'the people' in a thorough exploration of 1 Thessalonians. This book is an essential read for anyone studying 1 Thessalonians and identity studies."" --Gene Green, professor emeritus of New Testament, Wheaton College and Graduate School ""In this important study, Kiwoon Lee considers the rhetorical nature and background of 1 Thessalonians, focusing particularly on the identity and moral formation of the nascent Christian community. In contrast to those who explain identity exclusively in sociological terms, he emphasizes the theological character of their identity and the role of the Old Testament in unpacking the meaning of the letter. Scholars will profit from this careful study that interacts extensively with current scholarship on the letter but also roots the letter in the historical context of the Jewish and Hellenistic world."" --Thomas R. Schreiner, professor of New Testament interpretation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary"