The mysteries, resurrection, and 1 Corinthians 15: Comparative methodology and contextual exegesis

This dissertation explores whether using carefully developed methodological principles to compare the afterlife beliefs connected to the Mysteries and Christianity will aid in the determination of genealogical relationships and strengthen the contextual exegesis of specific NT texts. The study includes the development of comparative methodology, the analysis of afterlife beliefs in the Mysteries of Demeter and of Isis, investigations into the celebration of the Mysteries at Corinth, and the application of these analyses to the contextual exegesis of First Corinthians 15, specifically vv. 12 and 29.;Chapter 2 surveys secondary literature on comparisons between Christianity and the Mysteries, and this review reveals the need for clear methodological principles in comparative studies. Chapter 3 outlines specific methodological principles for the dissertation, including attention to the date and genre of primary sources, avoiding the tendency to overlay Christian categories onto the Mysteries, and the examination of evidence from a specific locale.;Chapter 4 studies concepts of afterlife in the Mysteries of Demeter and Isis. The power of the goddesses over Hades and their love and protection for those connected to them through initiation was an important element of afterlife beliefs---identifying with or following the experiences of the "dying and returning" deity was not. Resurrection, understood as a return to a bodily existence after death, did not form part of the initiates' expectations.;Chapter 5 focuses on Corinth and First Corinthians. The Mysteries at Corinth emphasize the afterlife, but comparisons with First Corinthians 15 reveal no clear evidence for a genealogical relationship between the Mysteries and Paul's arguments for resurrection. Chapter 5 closes with an analysis of two interpretational issues in First Corinthians 15 that reflect some influence from the Mysteries' concept of afterlife---the Corinthians' denial of resurrection of the dead in 1 Cor 15:12 and the practice of baptism for the dead in 15:29.