Paul Hartog: The Impact of the Christological Controversies: Comparing Romans 1:1-6 with the Ignatian Kerygma

This paper will not examine the nature of Ignatius' opponents (which has been frequently attempted) but rather the profound impact of the controversies upon the diachronic development of early Christian kerygma.  Romans 1:1-6 (written in the 50s), includes a brief creedal-confessional passage that functions as a ground of shared belief and a form of captatio benevolentiae.  Scholars have noted the similarities between these Pauline materials and Ignatius, Smyrnaeans 1-2.  The core of the parallelism is the twofold description of being the descendant of David "according to the flesh" and being the Son of God "according to the power of God."  Interpreters have further discussed the so-called "anti-docetic" use of ἀληθῶς ("truly," five times) and the recurring emphasis upon ἐν σαρκι ("in the flesh," three times).  Beyond these noticeable repetitions, however, Smyrnaeans also brings historical figures into the confessional materials (John the Baptist, Pontius Pilate, Herod).  Moreover, Ignatius also draws from traditions beyond those in Romans (the Matthean explanation of Jesus' baptism "to fulfill all righteousness"; the virgin birth; the usage of the church-body metaphor reminiscent of Ephesians).  Thus the Christological controversies faced by Ignatius not only caused him to emphasize the reality of Jesus' flesh but also the historically-situated nature of the Christ event.  And Ignatius drew from a range of materials in his response, thus coalescing various early traditions, a turn with profound consequences. Finally, the diachronic trajectories of these early kerygmatic materials helpfully illuminate the enigmatic discussion of the "Gospel" and the "archives" in Ignatius, Philadelphians 8.2.