Self-Deception and Wholeness in Paul and Matthew

Via uses the concept of self-deception as a vantage point for understanding something about Paul and Matthew. Employing an existential method in the broad sense, Via asks about the nature of a pervasive phenomenon of human existence with some attention given to psychological aspects. Nevertheless, this study is primarily exegetical and interpretive -- aimed at theological understanding -- rather than intensively methodological. Positing that self-deception is a deformation, Via undertakes to pay attention primarily to the subversion of the self and the recovery of wholeness. Additionally, attention is paid to self-deception as a social phenomenon and some consideration is given to its social causes and implications.