Conversion, apostasy, or hybridity? The terrible, troubled, transformative experience of Paul as exemplar for missiology in an age of multiplicity

2021 ◽  
pp. 009182962110395
Author(s):  
Amanda Avila Kaminski
Keyword(s):  
Religious Life ◽  
1 Corinthians ◽  
Transformative Experience ◽  
Apostle Paul ◽  
Religious Imagination ◽  
New Creation ◽  
Christian Mission ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Unity In Diversity ◽  
Symbolic Universe

Scholars and practitioners alike celebrate the Apostle Paul as an exemplar of Christian mission. But few emphasize how the ministry and practices of the biblical author developed amid incredible intrareligious conflict and relational wreckage. Embroiled in tension over doctrinal and ritual changes, plagued by vitriolic attacks on his character, and caught up in a web of splintered relationships, Paul offers contemporary people of faith a lesson on unity in diversity for mission in an age of hybridity. Embracing the “terrible and troubled” experience of Paul enables us to bring into relief a transformative hermeneutical strategy for negotiating new forms of religious life and multiplicity in belonging. This article will show how competing cultural and religious codes shaped the Apostle’s symbolic universe, causing violence, tension, conflict, and rejection, before reconciling in an ethic of love in hybridity. After making a case for the reclamation of the troubled textual Pauline experience over an idealized picture of early Christian mission, I will argue for the critical importance of Paul’s Damascus Road experience by narratively resituating it from typological “conversion” story to mystical encounter with the Holy Other that catalyzed a new religious imagination for cultivating a revolutionary egalitarian, inclusive pattern of religious life. Then, I will use Paul’s narrative from Galatians and his treatment of holiness in 1 Corinthians to show how ruptures in the Apostle’s journey led him through fractures and failures into spiritual maturity. By welcoming the gendered, classed, and cultic other into fellowship, Paul also found his quintessential theological insights: the new creation and life in the Spirit. Paul’s response to the invitation of the risen Jesus and his record of the missional life that followed offers missiology a way through monocultural approaches and theological exclusivism into a constructive spirituality that unifies radically different factions into one holy, hybrid body.

scholarly journals Menuju Misi Kristen yang Mengedepankan Dialog Antariman

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yohanes Krismantyo Susanta
Keyword(s):  
Colonial Period ◽  
Colonial Era ◽  
Christian Mission ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Library Research ◽  
Doctrine Of The Trinity ◽  
Unity In Diversity ◽  
The Trinity

This paper uses library research to several kinds of literature that address issues of Christian mission. This paper shows that the early Christian mission came together and was used as a tool in the colonial era to conquer the Indonesian people. Christian mission in the colonial period was understood narrowly to make someone become a Christian. The mission paradigm affects the encounter between Christianity and other religions in Indonesia, especially Islam. Therefore, it is necessary to reconstruct the understanding of Christian mission amid diversity in the context of Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia. Christian mission centred on the doctrine of the Trinity is understood as a joint dialogue to solve social, humanitarian problems. The mission is not a barrier to dialogue, but rather an affirmation of the importance of unity in diversity.

scholarly journals Die etiek van sending as anti-Kyriargale bemagtiging en liefdesdiens: ‘n Fokus op 1 Tessalonisense en mag of bemagtiging

2012 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacobus Kok
Keyword(s):  
Race And Ethnicity ◽  
Early Church ◽  
Negative Term ◽  
Christian Mission ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Modern Context ◽  
Male Dominated ◽  
Moral High Ground ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Symbolic Universe

The Christian concept ‘mission’ is experienced by some as a negative term in the post- modern age of relativism and sensitivity with regard to the perspective and the rights of others. In this article it is postulated that the term ‘mission’ is only negative when mission is understood as an aggressive propagandistic persuasion of others from a position of power (moral high ground). This definition however, is a result of a male-dominated, Kyriarchal (male dominated) perspective, and by implication is ethnocentric and reductionistic in nature. Feminist and postcolonial perspectives open the way for an alternative definition of ‘mission’, which can open up fresh perspectives about mission and ethics in the early Church and these could be considered and in turn could have far-reaching implications for the manner in which the Christian mission is understood in a post-modern context. In this article it is investigated in which way the early Christian ethics of mission created the space within which traditional imperial dominance, gender, race and ethnicity was transformed with an alternative symbolic universe resulting from a reconceptualisation of power or empowerment and loving service from a Christological perspective.

Paul and Sexuality

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dale B. Martin
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Dysfunction ◽  
Intellectual History ◽  
1 Corinthians ◽  
Historical Evidence ◽  
Apostle Paul ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Thessalonians 1 ◽  
History Of ◽  
Paul's Letters

This chapter considers the topic, only raised in relatively recent intellectual history, of the apostle Paul and sexuality. First, it considers a number of common claims about Paul and sexuality for which there is in fact no historical evidence: that Paul held a ‘healthy’ modern view of sex, that Paul had a psycho-sexual dysfunction, that Paul had an early sexual trauma, that Paul was gay, and more. From there, the chapter builds a constructive case for what we can say about Paul and sexuality, beginning by identifying the relevant historical sources, then considering Paul’s identity as an apocalyptic Jew in the diaspora, then looking at key evidence from 1 Thessalonians, 1 Corinthians, and Romans, in turn, then considering the crucial question of the meaning of Greek porneia, and finally touching on developments in the Pauline tradition after the death of the apostle. It is argued that early Christian interpreters managed to find both a pro-household and an anti-household Paul in their readings of Paul’s letters.

Carthage

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara K. Gold
Keyword(s):  
Religious Life ◽  
Human Sacrifice ◽  
Roman Emperor ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
The Social ◽  
The City

This chapter discusses the rise, development, and Romanization of ancient Carthage in the early Christian period after the formation of the province of Africa Proconsularis in the Augustan period; the physical topography of the city of Carthage, including the Byrsa, the Antonine Baths, and the amphitheater; and it describes the tophet or outdoor sacrificial area and whether human sacrifice was practiced among the Carthaginians. It also covers the life, influence, and African roots of Septimius Severus, the Roman emperor during Perpetua’s life and death. Also discussed are the social, religious, and intellectual conditions for pagans in Roman Carthage, who their local gods were (Tanit, Saturn, Juno Caelestis, Baal Hammon), and the connections between civic and religious life.

Aphrahat and Pauline Reception: 1 Corinthians 7 and Baptismal Reasoning in East and West

2021 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 407-423
Author(s):  
Benjamin A. Edsall
Keyword(s):  
Third Century ◽  
1 Corinthians ◽  
Dominant Discourse ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Latin West ◽  
East And West ◽  
Paul's Letters ◽  
Present Argument ◽  
Greek East

In studies of Pauline reception, most scholars limit themselves to works in the second or early third century (often ending with Irenaeus or the Acts of Paul) and to material from the Latin West and Greek East. Although later Syriac sources are rarely engaged, those who do work on this material have long recognised the importance of Paul's letters for that material. The present argument aims to help broaden the dominant discourse on Pauline reception by attending to early Syriac sources, principally the work of Aphrahat the Persian Sage. I focus in particular on his discussion of baptism and marriage in Dem. 7.18–20, which has confounded scholars over the years. This passage displays a kind of Pauline ‘logic’ indebted to 1 Cor 7.20, which can be discerned among other early Christian applications of that passage in similar contexts, in both East and West.

Paul as a Character in Early Christian Narratives

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Snyder
Keyword(s):  
Acts Of The Apostles ◽  
Apostle Paul ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Letter Exchange

The apostle Paul is featured as a character in a wide variety of early Christian narratives. This chapter considers first how Paul is portrayed in a number of different story-style narratives, including the Acts of the Apostles, the Acts of Thecla, the Ephesus Act, and two different accounts of Paul’s martyrdom. Attention is drawn to the creative energy storytellers poured into telling tales about the famous apostle. The chapter argues that many storytellers seem to have felt free to shape their stories according to their own ingenuity and interests, rather than being preoccupied with producing ‘historically accurate’ accounts. It also highlights a range of factors that may have influenced how Paul is portrayed in any given narrative, including plot concerns, pre-existing traditions about other characters with whom Paul shares the stage, and recourse to stock motifs and story templates. In addition to this exploration of story-style narratives, the chapter examines how Paul functions as an authoritative voice in two narratives of slightly different genres, a fictional letter exchange known as 3 Corinthians or the Corinthian Correspondence, and a tour of the afterlife known as the Apocalypse of Paul.

Excavating Tragical Perspectives in Early Christianity

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-33
Author(s):  
Paul M. Blowers
Keyword(s):  
Early Christianity ◽  
Human Condition ◽  
Apostle Paul ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Philosophical Criticism ◽  
The Human Condition ◽  
Christian Tragedy ◽  
Romans 8

This introductory chapter lays the groundwork for the monograph by establishing the paucity of actual works of early Christian tragedy, but also the growing Christian recognition of the power of tragedy to convey the vulnerability of the human condition and the subjection of all creation to what the Apostle Paul himself called an existential “vanity” or “futility” (Romans 8:19–23). The Christian reception and reworking of tragedy, however, stood at the end of a long evolution of tragedy and of its role in Greco-Roman civilization, which included strong philosophical criticism of the genre (Plato) and vigorous defense of its cultural utility (Aristotle). Christian polemicists against pagan theatrical art seized on the antecedent philosophical criticism but also developed their own, and included tragedy in their condemnation of the immorality, seductiveness, and irreligion of all pagan entertainment and “spectacle.” Yet Christian thinkers began their own rehabilitation of salvageable elements of tragedy as a literary, rhetorical, and dramatic artform. Some found noble and even theologically enriching passages in the ancient tragedians. Others looked, however, to free the genre to Christian appropriation, and to develop uniquely Christian forms of “tragical mimesis” for the edification of their audiences.

Voices of Power

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine A. Shaner
Keyword(s):  
Power Dynamics ◽  
1 Corinthians ◽  
Religious Leadership ◽  
Ongoing Debate ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
Paul's Letters ◽  
Communal Ethics

This chapter explores the ambiguities in power dynamics that arise in Paul’s letters when enslaved persons enact religious leadership in the communities to which he wrote. The chapter demonstrates that 1 Corinthians, Galatians, and Philemon illustrate a debate about roles in the communities to which they are addressed, particularly the ongoing debate about whether enslaved persons are fully equal members of the ekklēsia or whether their experiences in slavery are problematic for communal ethics. The chapter examines the rhetoric of these letters, exploring the different stories scholars tell about Paul and slavery. The chapter shifts the methodological focus so that enslaved persons become the center of the story rather than Paul. Ultimately, the chapter argues that early Christian rhetoric continually subordinates enslaved persons because of the contestations of power that arise when enslaved persons act as full participants, even trained leaders, in early Christian communities.

A Critique of the ‘Curse/Death’ Interpretation of 1 Corinthians 5.1–8

1993 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 539-561 ◽  
Author(s):  
James T. South
Keyword(s):  
Social Studies ◽  
Early Christianity ◽  
Social World ◽  
Sociological Analysis ◽  
1 Corinthians ◽  
Communal Life ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Social Nature ◽  
The Social ◽  
Sociological Studies

There has been in recent years an upsurge of interest in the social description of early Christianity, particularly in the reconstruction of its ‘social world’. Any valid sociological analysis of early Christianity of necessity depends upon the exacting interpretation of the NT texts, since these constitute the necessary data for such studies. In many cases such exegetical ground-work has been done thoroughly and well, so that fruitful social studies can be conducted on the basis of the resulting data. Unfortunately, in the case of early Christian disciplinary practices, relatively little careful research has been done, and much of what has been done is, in the opinion of the present writer, seriously flawed. Social descriptions based upon this data are inevitably likewise flawed, and a distorted picture of early Christian communal life is the unfortunate result. The nature of early Christian discipline is obviously a problem of a social nature, but before serious sociological studies can be done, there must be a correction of the distortions which are currently prevalent in the scholarly consensus regarding this subject.

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