Paul's letters and the construction of the European self / Fatima Tofighi.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Tofighi, Fatima, author.

Series:

Scriptural traces ; 10.

Library of New Testament studies ; 572.

T & T Clark library of biblical studies

Scriptural traces critical perspectives on the reception and influence of the Bible ; 10

Library of New Testament studies series ; 572

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bible. Epistles of Paul--Criticism, interpretation, etc--Europe.

Bible.

Bible. Epistles of Paul.

Postmodern theology.

Postmodernism--Religious aspects.

Postmodernism.

Europe.

Genre:

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Physical Description:

xvi, 151 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

New York : Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2017.

Summary:

Paul transgressed the limits of Europe, even though he was a prototype of European identity. It is not clear whether he was conformist or rebellious, orthodox or liberal, sexist or egalitarian but despite this it appears that Paul is usually defined based on certain categories that are themselves questionable. Using poststructuralist theory Tofighi asks: if the European Paul has multiple identities, how might one explore these as multiple modes of negotiation between identity (Pauline, European), on the one band, and the negation of a threatening otherness, on the other? Rather than proposing a simple way to get at what the historical Paul really meant, or what his real identity was, Fatima Tofighi studies the reception history of Paul's letters to get at a relational story of the rise of modern European identities and how Pauline identities were constantly constructed by his interpreters. Tofighi tries to develop crucial elements of a picture of the emergence of the European 'selves' through the construction of the others who (1) disturb the coherence of the subject (showing that it does not contain only itself), and (2) point to the difference between the subject and nonsubjects, or 'insufficient' subjects (e.g., legalistic, ritualistic, fanatical, etc.). Instead of pushing the Apostle into the arbitrary categories of modern European identity, Tofighi takes into account the challenge that Paul brings to normative conceptions of political theology (Rom 13), 'religion' (Gal 2:11-14), and women's veiling (1 Cor 11:5-16). Book jacket.

Contents:

Introduction : Paul within the limits of Europe alone

Europe and its borders : an intellectual game

European Paul?

Paul and the assumptions of biblical scholarship

Paul's "identity trouble"

Paul the "Roman," observed from "Arabia"

Paul the pious citizen : Romans 13 between subjection and subversion

History of interpretation

"Political theology"

The "daily messianic"

Paul's "daily messianic in Romans 13

Conclusion

Paul's faith : Galatians 2:11-14 and the rise and fall of European "religion"

Reception history in theology : which incident? what text?

Bible and philosophy

Paul and Judaism

Paul, the hero of modernity

Supersessionist universalism

Conclusion : or what shall we do with the Jewish Paul?

Paul, veiling, and the construction of European gender in I Corinthians 11

The Christian reception of the veil, old and new

Europeans and the veil

Veiled subjectives

Conclusion : Pauline veils and visibilities.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Tofighi, Fatima, author. Paul's letters and the construction of the European self

ISBN:

9780567672537

0567672530

OCLC:

952979833