Philip Erwin (Ph.D, Graduate Theological Union) is a scholar of the New Testament whose research focuses on the relationship between the letters of Paul and the material and discursive elements of ancient Greco-Roman visual culture.

• Chapter One Plato’s Critique of Art and the Phenomenon of Mimesis: the Beginning of a Philosophical DialogueChapter Two Art in Dialogue (with Plato): Occasions of Appropriation and Rejoinder in Philo of Alexandria, Dio Chrysostom, and Lucian of SamosataChapter Three Paul on Speech and Image in 1 Cor 1-2: Entering a DialogueChapter Four Paul on the Power of Images in 1 Cor 8 and 10: Externalizing the DialogueChapter Five Paul on the Death and Resurrection of the Image in 1 Cor 15: Toward an End of the Dialogue

the book succeeds in challenging a dominant bias in Pauline scholarship: the tendency to prioritize philosophical or rhetorical analysis while neglecting the significance of visual and archaeological material. By bringing these dimensions to the forefront, it inspires scholars to adopt a more interdisciplinary approach to Paul’s letters. Ultimately, this study demonstrates how archaeological insights can enrich textual analysis, offering a fresh and compelling perspective on the visual orientation of 1 Corinthians.