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Sunday, 30 November 2014

Promotion of Sameness

Imitating Paul - a Discourse of Power,
Elizabeth A. Castelli, Westminster/John Knox Press, 1991, page 134

Here's another telling quotation from this short but very potent book:

The Pauline drive toward sameness, identity, and a particular understanding of truth reinscribes the relations of power in early Christian communities and renders impossible competing interpretations of power and truth.

Do you think it is fair to ascribe that motivation to Paul himself, or is that a later reading or application being read back onto Paul's writings?

Posted By Jonathan, 7:59am Comment Comments: 2
 
 

Sunday, 30 November 2014
Comment -

But did St Paul have a drive toward sameness? What evidence is there for that? He had a drive toward equality of need of salvation and equality of supply of that salvation. And he had a drive to identify with the needy to the point of being his Jewish self and taking Jewish vows to identify as a Jew and he similarly became as "a Greek in order to win Greeks". That was a figure of speech, surely. Not a declaration of sameness. St Paul didn't say he wanted to become a woman in order to win women because "there is no male or female" since we are all one in Christ. Such a suggestion may sound preposterous but it is used to challenge the assertion that there was a drive to sameness. Such an assertion seems to me to be an anachronistic reading of motives from the 21st century back into the text.

Posted By Timothy Butlin 04:16pm

 
 

Sunday, 30 November 2014
Comment -

I would guess that would first depend on whether one believes Paul was being led by the Spirit as far as direction on how to manifest the Kingdom or his personal view.

My personal answer would be a later reading or application being read back onto Paul's writings.

Posted By Anthony Smith 11:51am