Emotionen als formative Elemente neutestamentlicher Ethik am Beispiel des Paulus

Abstract

This article is oriented within the broader field of emotions and ethics, and focuses on the function of emotions in Pauline
ethics with respect to rhetoric. The Aristotelian theory of rhetoric, which differentiates between public speech and path? on
the one hand and ethos on the other, forms the starting point (Arist. Rhet. II). With Paul’s public proclamation of the gospel,
he builds up mission churches and does not simply abandon the role of the orator in his letters. He makes use of the emotive
effect of public speaking both to demonstrate his own credibility and to convince his listeners. He combines both dimensions
by simultaneously presenting himself as a role model for the communities. Furthermore, Paul develops an agap? ethics for
the communities he addresses, which is based on Lev 19:18 and the early Jewish and early Christian reception of the commandment to love one's neighbor. In this concept of communitarian agap? ethics he combines emotional elements and elements of virtue.