God as father in Paul: A study of kinship language and identity formation in early Christianity

By focusing on the use of God as Father in Paul, the dissertation examines the role of kinship language in the process of the formation of self-understandings in early Christianity. The dissertation argues that by using the kinship term "Father" to refer to God, Paul constructs networks of relationships and develops a narrative that images the community of Christ-followers as a family that belongs to God, who together with "the Lord Jesus Christ," bestows on them equal but diverse membership in the family.