Unbound Book Review: Prof. Crispin Fletcher-Louis, "Divine Heartset"

Join the Catholic Biblical Association (CBA) for an in-depth panel discussion exploring "The Divine Heartset: Paul’s Philippians Christ Hymn, Metaphysical Affections, and Civic Virtues" (Cascade, 2023), by Dr. Crispin Fletcher-Louis, director of the Wine Vanity Research and Training Center and leading authority on Luke, temple theology, and early Christology.

Moderated by Dr. Archie Wright, Executive Director of the CBA, this episode of the Unbound Book Review features responses from three distinguished scholars: Dr. Emily Gathergood (University of Nottingham / Cambridge), Dr. Jason Staples (North Carolina State University), Dr. Jennifer Strawbridge (Oxford University).

They engage Fletcher-Louis’s groundbreaking thesis that Philippians 2:6-11 reveals a “Christology of divine desire”—a portrayal of Christ whose love rejects the violent power of Greco-Roman gods and rulers in favor of self-giving humility, empathy, and moral transformation. The conversation traverses questions of kenosis, divine ontology, metaphysics, and civic virtue, as well as the implications of this reading for Pauline theology, sexual ethics, and contemporary faith communities.

🎓 Topics discussed:

Christ’s divine identity and Greco-Roman ruler cults
Erotic abduction (harpagmos) and divine desire
Kenosis as moral transformation and divine empathy
Metaphysics of being and becoming in Philippians
Paul’s engagement with Hellenistic philosophy and civic virtue
Christ as the true emperor and ethical model

📘 About the author:
Dr. Crispin Fletcher-Louis, PhD (Oxford), is a leading New Testament scholar specializing in Christology, temple theology, and apocalyptic literature. His multi-volume project Jesus Monotheism explores the origins of early Christian beliefs about Jesus.

🔗 Learn more: https://divineheartset.com

Hosted by: The Catholic Biblical Association of America (CBA)
🌐 www.catholicbiblical.org

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