Marcin Kowalski discusses the notion of the S/spirit in Romans 8 within the context of popular concepts of pneuma present in Greco-Roman and Jewish literature. The Stoics perceived pneuma as a particle of life, responsible for cognition and ethical conduct, an element binding in one, the whole universe, shaping the offspring, and animating diviners. Correspondences to their views can be found in the Old Testament and the Jewish literature of the Second Temple period. By putting Paul into dialog with the Stoic and Jewish authors, the author shows both the indebtedness of the apostle to his cultural milieu as well as the originality of his idea of the Spirit.
The Pauline understanding of S/spirit in Romans 8, as compared to the Stoic idea of pneuma
