In Session 6, Dr. Susan Eastman presents a Pauline anthropology in which the self is relationally constituted—either “in Adam/sin” or “in Christ”—and thus best understood through participation rather than isolated individuality. Engaging philosophy and cognitive science, she argues that Paul’s first-person language (e.g., Rom 7; Gal 2:19–20) depicts persons formed by powers and relationships, with Christ’s indwelling reconfiguring perception, agency, and communal identity. The point isn’t to replace theology with neuroscience but to show how empirical insights about the socially formed self can illuminate Paul’s apocalyptic account of transformation.
Andrew Das responds appreciatively while pressing boundaries: Does a strongly participatory model safeguard continuity of the person (from “in Adam” to “in Christ”)? How do we adjudicate Romans 7’s “I” without over-psychologizing Paul? And where should theological claims outrun or resist contemporary models of personhood? Das affirms Eastman’s constructive bridge-building yet cautions against importing modern theories in ways that blur Paul’s covenantal categories or diminish responsibility and moral agency.
Timestamps
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Opening & introductions 00:00
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Setting the thesis: persons-in-relation (participation vs. individualism) ~04:00
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Paul’s first-person voice: Romans 7 and Galatians 2 ~12:00
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Dialogue with cognitive science: socially formed selves ~20:00
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Apocalyptic transformation: life “in Christ” and communal identity ~28:00
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Pastoral/theological implications: agency, responsibility, formation ~36:00
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Response (Andrew Das): continuity of the person & covenantal frames ~44:00
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Audience Q&A ~54:00
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