Paul's epistles are central to nearly every variation of Christianity, and there are as many different readings of Paul as there are sects of Christianity. Paul has also been co-opted by influential contemporary thinkers such as Agamben, Badiou, and Žižek. Religious scholar Cavan Concannon, however, has other plans. Taking as his starting point the language of excrement, refuse, and waste in Paul's letters, he reads these passages to think about the textual and material uses of garbage and excrement, and, ultimately, whether Paul's writings can be redeemed. Concannon presses on the tension between the evils that have been wrought through Paul's letters and the sacralizing effects of his place in the Christian canon. He drills down into the attempted redemption of Paul within radical European philosophical circles, but he reads these appropriations of Paul alongside professional biblical scholars who have sought to enlist Paul into their own liberal political projects. Concannon's book intervenes in the history of biblical studies, the use of Paul's letters by contemporary philosophers, and the political potential of feminist, African American, and queer biblical scholarship. Can Paul be redeemed, ultimately? Concannon insists the answer is no, but he argues that by paying attention both to why Paul can't be redeemed and what happens to interpreters who try, we can open up a space for Paul's archive to participate in the struggle for a more just future"--
Cavan W. Concannon makes a significant contribution to Pauline studies by imagining the responses of the Corinthians to Paul’s letters. Based on surviving written materials and archaeological research, this book offers a textured portrait of the ancient Corinthians with whom Paul conversed, argued, debated, and partnered, focusing on issues of ethnicity, civic identity, politics, and empire. In doing so, the author provides readers a unique opportunity to assess anew, and imagine possibilities beyond, Paul’s complicated legacy in shaping Western notions of race, ethnicity, and religion.
Cavan W. Concannon makes a significant contribution to Pauline studies by imagining the responses of the Corinthians to Paul’s letters. Based on surviving written materials and archaeological research, this book offers a textured portrait of the ancient Corinthians with whom Paul conversed, argued, debated, and partnered, focusing on issues of ethnicity, civic identity, politics, and empire. In doing so, the author provides readers a unique opportunity to assess anew, and imagine possibilities beyond, Paul’s complicated legacy in shaping Western notions of race, ethnicity, and religion.
Paul's epistles are central to nearly every variation of Christianity, and there are as many different readings of Paul as there are sects of Christianity. Paul has also been co-opted by influential contemporary thinkers such as Agamben, Badiou, and Žižek. Religious scholar Cavan Concannon, however, has other plans. Taking as his starting point the language of excrement, refuse, and waste in Paul's letters, he reads these passages to think about the textual and material uses of garbage and excrement, and, ultimately, whether Paul's writings can be redeemed. Concannon presses on the tension between the evils that have been wrought through Paul's letters and the sacralizing effects of his place in the Christian canon. He drills down into the attempted redemption of Paul within radical European philosophical circles, but he reads these appropriations of Paul alongside professional biblical scholars who have sought to enlist Paul into their own liberal political projects. Concannon's book intervenes in the history of biblical studies, the use of Paul's letters by contemporary philosophers, and the political potential of feminist, African American, and queer biblical scholarship. Can Paul be redeemed, ultimately? Concannon insists the answer is no, but he argues that by paying attention both to why Paul can't be redeemed and what happens to interpreters who try, we can open up a space for Paul's archive to participate in the struggle for a more just future"--
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