Paul Middleton
I am Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at the University of Chester, and my main research area is early Christian martyrdom.
I studied at Glasgow University, Princeton Theological Seminary, and Edinburgh University, where I completed my PhD under Larry Hurtado. In my thesis, 'Radical Martyrdom and Cosmic Conflict in Early Christianity' (T&T Clark, 2006), I argued that the phenomenon of so-called 'voluntary martyrdom' was by no means restricted to fringe groups and heretics, but was an early mainstream and idealised form of Christian devotion. Christian Martyrdom, I argued, was a spiritualised form of Jewish Holy War theology such as is found in 1 & 2 Maccabees, and the building blocks of this theological construction are already found in Paul, Mark, and Revelation.
More recently I contributed a volume on Martyrdom to T&T Clark's Guides for the Perplexed series in which I examine martyr narratives in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (2011), and my latest book has recently appeared in print: The Violence of the Lamb: Martyrs as Agents of Divine Judgement in the Book of Revelation (T & T Clark, 2018).
I am currently working on editing the Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Christian Martyrdom, which should hopefully appear towards the end of 2019.
I'm often found at SBL presenting papers which invariably have martyrdom in the title!
Address: Department of Theology and Religious Studies
The University of Chester
CHESTER
CH1 4BJ
UK
I studied at Glasgow University, Princeton Theological Seminary, and Edinburgh University, where I completed my PhD under Larry Hurtado. In my thesis, 'Radical Martyrdom and Cosmic Conflict in Early Christianity' (T&T Clark, 2006), I argued that the phenomenon of so-called 'voluntary martyrdom' was by no means restricted to fringe groups and heretics, but was an early mainstream and idealised form of Christian devotion. Christian Martyrdom, I argued, was a spiritualised form of Jewish Holy War theology such as is found in 1 & 2 Maccabees, and the building blocks of this theological construction are already found in Paul, Mark, and Revelation.
More recently I contributed a volume on Martyrdom to T&T Clark's Guides for the Perplexed series in which I examine martyr narratives in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (2011), and my latest book has recently appeared in print: The Violence of the Lamb: Martyrs as Agents of Divine Judgement in the Book of Revelation (T & T Clark, 2018).
I am currently working on editing the Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Christian Martyrdom, which should hopefully appear towards the end of 2019.
I'm often found at SBL presenting papers which invariably have martyrdom in the title!
Address: Department of Theology and Religious Studies
The University of Chester
CHESTER
CH1 4BJ
UK
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Books by Paul Middleton
To mark the tercentenary of Henry's death, Matthew A. Collins and Paul Middleton have brought together notable historians, theologians, and biblical scholars to celebrate his life and legacy. Representing the first serious examination of Henry's body of work and approach to the Bible, Matthew Henry: The Bible, Prayer, and Piety opens a scholarly conversation about the place of Matthew Henry in the eighteenth-century nonconformist movement, his contribution to the interpretation of the Bible, and his continued legacy in evangelical piety.
1. Introduction - Matthew A. Collins and Paul Middleton, University of Chester, United Kingdom
PART I. CONTEXT AND BIOGRAPHY
2. The Church and Nonconformity in Later Stuart England: The Wider World of Matthew Henry - Jeremy Gregory, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom
3. Matthew Henry: Minister and Preacher - David L. Wykes, Dr Williams's Library, United Kingdom
4. From Educated Underworld to the Queen's First Knight: The Henrys in Context - Clyde Binfield, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
5. 'For the Church or the Stable': A Chester Consistory Court Case of 1693–94 - Peter Bamford, Chester Cathedral Library, United Kingdom
PART II. THE BIBLE
6. Matthew Henry's Commentary in Context: Reading Ecclesiastes - Stuart Weeks, Durham University, United Kingdom
7. Professors of Religion and their Strange Wives: Diluvian Discord in the Eyes of Matthew Henry - Matthew A. Collins, University of Chester, United Kingdom
8. 'Filling up the Full Measure of their Sins': Matthew Henry on the Destruction of the Jerusalem Temple - Paul Middleton, University of Chester, United Kingdom
9. Matthew Henry's Exposition of Joshua 7 in Socio-Legal and Sociological Perspective - David J. Chalcraft, Liverpool John Moores University, United Kingdom
10. Soul Prosperity: Reading Psalm 1 with Matthew Henry - George J. Brooke, University of Manchester, United Kingdom
11. The Making of Ministry: Matthew Henry on the Parable of the Faithful Steward (Matt 24:45–51) - Loveday Alexander, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
PART III. PRAYER AND PIETY
12. Prayer and Providence: Matthew Henry and the Theology of the Everyday - Christine Helmer, Northwestern University, United States
13. 'The Expressing of Devout Affections of the Heart': Piety and the Affections in the Works of Matthew Henry - Michael A.L. Smith, University of Manchester, United Kingdom
14. Matthew Henry's Legacy in Prayer and Piety - Ligon Duncan, Reformed Theological Seminary, United States
PART IV. CATALOGUING THE WORKS OF MATTHEW HENRY
15. Matthew Henry: An Annotated Bibliography - Philip Alexander, University of Manchester, United Kingdom
Beginning with the early church, contributors will explore the origins, influences, and theology of martyrdom, as well as the controversial question of the extent of Roman persecution of Christians. Essays will also take more contemporary approaches, examining questions relating to gender, identity construction, and the contested nature of martyrdom in the early Church.
After the establishment of Christendom, opportunities for martyrdom all but disappeared. Nonetheless, a thriving martyr-cult emerged, keeping alive the memory of the early Christian martyrs. This memory would be deployed first in the Crusader Period, and especially at the Reformation, when as with the Donatist controversies, Christians created other Christian martyrs. A section of the volume is dedicated to martyrdom in the Reformation and post-Reformation period.
Finally, it is said that more Christian martyrs have been created in the 20th century than the rest of the history of the church combined, so the final section of the volume looks at the place of martyrdom in the contemporary church.
The world created by the Apocalypse encourages readers to conquer the Beast through martyrdom, but also through the experience of resurrection and being appointed judges. In this role, martyrs participate in the judgement of the wicked by sharing the Lamb's power to judge. Different from eschewing violence, the conceptual world of the Apocalypse portrays God, the Lamb, and the martyrs as possessing more power, might, and violent potential than the Emperor and his armies. Middleton believes that martyrdom and violence are necessary components of the worldview of Revelation.
Paul Middleton argues that, far from being a deviant strand of early Christianity, ‘radical martyrdom’ was a significant, and widely held idealised form of devotion in the late first to early third centuries. Christian martyrdom is placed within the heritage of Jewish War tradition, with each martyr making an important contribution to the cosmic conflict between Satan and God. Radical Martyrdom re-examines the presentation, theology, and origins of Christian martyrdom up to the beginning of the Decian persecutions in the light of new perspectives on the subject.
Essays by Paul Middleton
children is portrayed in Jewish and Christian martyrologies. In these narratives of extreme persecution and suffering, death was often seen to be the way in which religious integrity and identity was preserved. It is argued that Jewish martyr narratives—for example, the First Crusade, Masada, and the Maccabees—reflect a developed notion of collective martyrdom, such that the deaths of children, even at the hands of their parents, are a necessary component in Jewish identity formation. By contrast, early Christianity martyr texts reflect an ambivalence towards
children, to the extent that they are viewed as a potential hindrance to the successful martyrdom of their Christian mothers. Children have to be abandoned for women to retain their Christian identity.
To mark the tercentenary of Henry's death, Matthew A. Collins and Paul Middleton have brought together notable historians, theologians, and biblical scholars to celebrate his life and legacy. Representing the first serious examination of Henry's body of work and approach to the Bible, Matthew Henry: The Bible, Prayer, and Piety opens a scholarly conversation about the place of Matthew Henry in the eighteenth-century nonconformist movement, his contribution to the interpretation of the Bible, and his continued legacy in evangelical piety.
1. Introduction - Matthew A. Collins and Paul Middleton, University of Chester, United Kingdom
PART I. CONTEXT AND BIOGRAPHY
2. The Church and Nonconformity in Later Stuart England: The Wider World of Matthew Henry - Jeremy Gregory, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom
3. Matthew Henry: Minister and Preacher - David L. Wykes, Dr Williams's Library, United Kingdom
4. From Educated Underworld to the Queen's First Knight: The Henrys in Context - Clyde Binfield, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
5. 'For the Church or the Stable': A Chester Consistory Court Case of 1693–94 - Peter Bamford, Chester Cathedral Library, United Kingdom
PART II. THE BIBLE
6. Matthew Henry's Commentary in Context: Reading Ecclesiastes - Stuart Weeks, Durham University, United Kingdom
7. Professors of Religion and their Strange Wives: Diluvian Discord in the Eyes of Matthew Henry - Matthew A. Collins, University of Chester, United Kingdom
8. 'Filling up the Full Measure of their Sins': Matthew Henry on the Destruction of the Jerusalem Temple - Paul Middleton, University of Chester, United Kingdom
9. Matthew Henry's Exposition of Joshua 7 in Socio-Legal and Sociological Perspective - David J. Chalcraft, Liverpool John Moores University, United Kingdom
10. Soul Prosperity: Reading Psalm 1 with Matthew Henry - George J. Brooke, University of Manchester, United Kingdom
11. The Making of Ministry: Matthew Henry on the Parable of the Faithful Steward (Matt 24:45–51) - Loveday Alexander, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
PART III. PRAYER AND PIETY
12. Prayer and Providence: Matthew Henry and the Theology of the Everyday - Christine Helmer, Northwestern University, United States
13. 'The Expressing of Devout Affections of the Heart': Piety and the Affections in the Works of Matthew Henry - Michael A.L. Smith, University of Manchester, United Kingdom
14. Matthew Henry's Legacy in Prayer and Piety - Ligon Duncan, Reformed Theological Seminary, United States
PART IV. CATALOGUING THE WORKS OF MATTHEW HENRY
15. Matthew Henry: An Annotated Bibliography - Philip Alexander, University of Manchester, United Kingdom
Beginning with the early church, contributors will explore the origins, influences, and theology of martyrdom, as well as the controversial question of the extent of Roman persecution of Christians. Essays will also take more contemporary approaches, examining questions relating to gender, identity construction, and the contested nature of martyrdom in the early Church.
After the establishment of Christendom, opportunities for martyrdom all but disappeared. Nonetheless, a thriving martyr-cult emerged, keeping alive the memory of the early Christian martyrs. This memory would be deployed first in the Crusader Period, and especially at the Reformation, when as with the Donatist controversies, Christians created other Christian martyrs. A section of the volume is dedicated to martyrdom in the Reformation and post-Reformation period.
Finally, it is said that more Christian martyrs have been created in the 20th century than the rest of the history of the church combined, so the final section of the volume looks at the place of martyrdom in the contemporary church.
The world created by the Apocalypse encourages readers to conquer the Beast through martyrdom, but also through the experience of resurrection and being appointed judges. In this role, martyrs participate in the judgement of the wicked by sharing the Lamb's power to judge. Different from eschewing violence, the conceptual world of the Apocalypse portrays God, the Lamb, and the martyrs as possessing more power, might, and violent potential than the Emperor and his armies. Middleton believes that martyrdom and violence are necessary components of the worldview of Revelation.
Paul Middleton argues that, far from being a deviant strand of early Christianity, ‘radical martyrdom’ was a significant, and widely held idealised form of devotion in the late first to early third centuries. Christian martyrdom is placed within the heritage of Jewish War tradition, with each martyr making an important contribution to the cosmic conflict between Satan and God. Radical Martyrdom re-examines the presentation, theology, and origins of Christian martyrdom up to the beginning of the Decian persecutions in the light of new perspectives on the subject.
children is portrayed in Jewish and Christian martyrologies. In these narratives of extreme persecution and suffering, death was often seen to be the way in which religious integrity and identity was preserved. It is argued that Jewish martyr narratives—for example, the First Crusade, Masada, and the Maccabees—reflect a developed notion of collective martyrdom, such that the deaths of children, even at the hands of their parents, are a necessary component in Jewish identity formation. By contrast, early Christianity martyr texts reflect an ambivalence towards
children, to the extent that they are viewed as a potential hindrance to the successful martyrdom of their Christian mothers. Children have to be abandoned for women to retain their Christian identity.