T&T Clark Handbook to Social Identity and the New Testament

It's official - Coleman A. Baker and I are co-editing the T&T Clark Handbook to Social Identity and the New Testament. Thanks to T&T Clark for taking on this project. The book includes an international group of New Testament scholars whose work intersects various social identity approaches. It includes two parts: (1) introductory articles on various aspects of social identity approaches and (2) case studies on the diverse ways social identity is constructed in the New Testament. More to come...

My Interview on the Paul Edwards Radio Show

On February 2, 2012, I was interviewed on the Paul Edwards radio show in order to discuss my new book Remain in Your Calling. The interview is 19 minutes long, you can click here to listen to it (mp3 file will launch). These are always interesting experiences, trying to respond to the serendipitous turns in the conversation leaves me wanting to go back and qualify what I meant by my comments. Paul was a gracious host, even though it is clear that he's not coming to this issue from a post-supersessionist position.

Initial Thoughts on Aaron J. Kuecker's The Spirit and the 'Other'

Aaron Kuecker, The Spirit and the ‘other’: Social Identity, Ethnicity and Intergroup Reconciliation in Luke-Acts. London: T&T Clark International, 2011. ISBN 9780567235701 $120.00.

Aaron Kuecker, Associate Professor of Theology at Trinity Christian College, in this revised version of his PhD thesis at St. Mary’s College, University of St. Andrews, argues that the Spirit is the central agent in the formation of a new social identity in Luke-Acts. He does this by drawing on the resources of social identity theory and contemporary ethnicity approaches (Kuecker 2011: 24-40). The monograph pays particular attention to Luke 1-4 and Acts 1-15, showing that the former lays the foundation for the way Luke connects social identity, the Spirit, and the ‘other’. In-group benefits are the focus of this section and the way that existing group boundaries are to be transcended. The agency of the Spirit is particularly evident in Acts 1-15. Kuecker rightly recognizes that the Spirit is at work in situations where social identity is called into question and functions to transform individuals and communities by virtue of the development and construal of a new social identity (Kuecker 2011: 212-15). What is unique to Kuecker’s approach is the way he contends that this Spirit-formed identity provides an alternative communal discourse in comparison to the dominant cultural scripts. The result of this transformed identity is interethnic reconciliation, which is made concrete through: (1) new economic practices, (2) new approaches to hospitality, and (3) an ethnic discourse that differs from the dominant one within the Roman Empire. Kuecker’s thorough analysis of social identity theory provides an excellent example of the way this approach to reading the NT brings new insights and reinforces evidence-based exegetical claims that also rely on the resources of contemporary theory.

Kuecker provides a helpful survey of the role of the Spirit in Luke-Acts and it quickly becomes clear that he sees the “spirit of prophecy” model as somewhat unhelpful when seeking to understanding the full agency of the Spirit in Luke-Acts. Particularly persuasive is his claim that the Spirit does not “explicitly inspire speech in the most thoroughly mission-oriented sections of Acts” (Kuecker 2011: 16). Here he has in mind Paul’s missional discourse and his legal defense. Kuecker then claims that “sections of the text where group and social identity are at stake contain the highest density of Spirit references in all of Acts” (Kuecker 2011: 16). This is a key insight from his work. Oftentimes, the work of the Spirit in Luke-Acts is seen in a theological context while overlooking the concrete social context. Kuecker is also concerned with an overly-individualistic interpretation of the Spirit’s role in Luke-Acts; however, his primary concern is “the relationship between the Spirit and ethnic identity in Luke-Acts” (Kuecker 2011: 17). Here he is interested in bringing to the fore the identity processes that are in play in the text that differ from contemporary conceptions of these processes: “There was something powerfully different about the way identity operated in Luke’s early community of believers, and this difference comes out clearly in an investigation of the interplay of Spirit, ethnicity and identity” (Kuecker 2011: 17). Obviously, this is a contested point of view, and it may be we are talking about degrees of difference based on local contexts, rather than stark opposites. The thesis for Kuecker’s work is: “for Luke, the Holy Spirit is the central figure in the formation of a new social identity that affirms yet chastens and transcends ethnic identity. The formation of this new identity is a reflection of profound transformation (not just social recategorization), and is the mechanism through which intergroup reconciliation occurs in Luke-Acts” (Kuecker 2011: 18).

Kuecker’s approach to Christ-movement identity may be described as transcending. In this way, it is similar to Philip Esler’s approach (see my discussion in Tucker 2010: 67-69). Following also a similar approach by Bruce Hansen in All of You Are One, Kuecker recognizes that existing identities are not necessarily obliterated: “This new ethnic identity does not require the negation of ethnic identity” (Kuecker 2011: 19). This is crux of the issue: can a universalistic approach to Christ-movement identity support the contention that existing ethnic (or social) identities can continue in any meaningful sense (see my critique of this position in Tucker 2011: 4-7). Or, if the claim is that the new identity transcends existing identities, how can one assure that such a stance does not simply reify majority culture? These are central questions that distinguish the universalistic and particularistic approaches to Christ-movement social identity. Is it more likely that Christ-movement social identity was defined in the context of existing social identity rather than in a manner that transcends those? Furthermore, is it more likely then that the Spirit was one of several discursive agents that contributed to the formation of Christ-movement identity, rather than the central one (Kuecker 2011: 18). Kuecker’s suggestion is an approach to identity referred to as allocentric. He defines this as: “an identity characterized by or denoting interest centered in persons other than oneself. In the present study, an ‘allocentric identity’ will be used to refer to an identity that can express in-group love and out-group love simultaneously, a very difficult feat within most social groups” (Kuecker 2011: 18 n. 83). This key concept may provide a way forward between the universalistic and particularistic approaches, because it recognizes the alternative communal approach evident in the NT that results in an alternative ethos, one distinct from the dominant culture, but also draws from it for aspects of its identity-formational discourse (see particularly Kuecker 2011: 222). Kuecker has provided a key work on the development of social identity in the early Christ-movement as evidenced by Luke’s writing and, along with Coleman Baker’s Identity, Memory, and Narrative in Early Christianity provide NT scholars with a clear path for the way Luke’s narrative forms identity, though their different approaches to recategorization brings a needed complexity to this fascinating topic within early Christian origins.

References:

Baker, Coleman A. Identity, Memory, and Narrative in Early Christianity: Peter, Paul, and Recategorization in the Book of Acts. Eugene, Or: Pickwick Publications, 2011.

Esler, Philip Francis. Conflict and Identity in Romans: The Social Setting of Paul's Letter. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003.

Hansen, Bruce. All of You Are One: The Social Vision of Galatians 3.28, 1 Corinthians 12.13 and Colossians. 3.11. London: T & T Clark, 2010.

Tucker, J. Brian. You Belong to Christ: Paul and the Formation of Social Identity in 1 Corinthians 1-4. Eugene, Or: Pickwick Publications, 2010.

Tucker, J. Brian. Remain in Your Calling: Paul and the Continuation of Social Identities in 1 Corinthians. Eugene: Pickwick Publications, 2011.

Initial Thoughts on Sergio Nebreda's Christ Identity

Sergio Rosell Nebreda, Christ Identity: A Social-Scientific Reading of Philippians 2.5-11. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2011. ISBN 9783525532546 $138.

Sergio Rosell Nebreda, Professor of Sacred Scripture, Seminario Evangélico Unido de Teología, claims that Paul desires to form the social identity of the Christ-followers in Philippi on the basis of the Christ-hymn in Philippians 2:5-11. He suggests a new approach to Philippians 2:6-11, one that focuses “on its function as a vehicle for social communication, part and parcel of its social milieu, but aiming at transforming the Christ-following community, in search for an identity which ultimately derives from Jesus the Christ as described in the hymn” (Nebreda 2011: 27). Nebreda’s goal for his study “is to assess the apostle’s implicit strategies as well as to recognise his aims of creating a social identity based on Christ-orientation as displayed in Phil 2.6-11, which Paul himself affirms he follows (3.12-13)” (Nebreda 2011: 28). He sees “self-giving and self-humiliation as a paradigm of Christ-like identity” and this serves as a competing social identification to one that “was based on privilege and the search for honour” (Nebreda 2011: 28).

Nebreda begins by providing a thorough description of Tajfel and Turner’s social identity theory, which lays the foundation for his approach to identity formation. Next he provides an anthropological and sociological analysis of the Mediterranean basin in the first century. Here the influence of the Context Group is evident. Following this analysis, he provides a low-level abstraction of Philippi as a Roman colony and delineates a model of romanisation. Chapter 5 uncovers Paul’s identity with regard to suffering and slavery. In doing this, he brings to the fore ancient viewpoints concerning suffering and slavery. What emerges from this discussion is the centrality of suffering to Paul’s mission and identity. This reinforces the alternative nature of the Christ-like identity. The next chapter addresses key scholarly issues related to Philippians and specifically the hymn itself. The final chapter provides a thorough analysis of Philippians 2:5-11 and the way it functions in the formation of a distinct social identity in contrast to first century Mediterranean society. For Nebreda, the central point of contention is the differing social conceptions of “humility” (tapeinophrosunē) (Phil. 2:3). While, this final chapter is the primary one that focuses on the text in question, this is appropriate in that Nebreda’s primary concern is with the way “the community that received the letter would have understood the apostle’s words” (Nebreda 2011: 33).

Nebreda’s approach to identity formation emphasizes an element of discontinuity. The Christ-like identity is formed in contrast to existing cultural identities (but not completely so, see (Nebreda 2011: 345) and his recognition of a discourse of comparison). For example, he concludes that “this Christ-identity Paul proposes is based on the Christ-event, the narrative that gives birth to a new people no longer defined in ethnic origin or social merit terms” (Nebreda 2011: 344). I would suggest rather no new people are being birthed and that the Christ-movement is described in the context of their existing ethnic and social identities (Tucker 2011: 62-88). Nebreda’s stance is based on his reading of Philippians 3:5-8 and the way it seems to call into question any meaningful continuation of Paul’s Jewish identity. What I find interesting is his use of William S. Campbell’s approach. Nebreda, while recognizing Campbell’s view of the “relativization of all things in Christ” (Campbell 2008: 89), seems to not fully integrate an equally important point from Campbell, that Paul cannot serve as a model for gentile identity in Christ. Nebreda (2011: 345) quotes Campbell in order to support the view that in Philippians 3:5-8, Paul’s past in Judaism is negated and that Paul serves as a model for both Jews and gentiles in Christ. Campbell’s specific claims move in the opposite direction: (1) Paul continues to be Torah-observant and within the boundaries of Judaism; and (2) Paul does not serve as a good model for gentiles in Christ. Campbell concludes, “Paul is the paradigm for Jewish Christ-identity but not for gentile” (Campbell 2008: 156). As an intercultural mediator, Paul’s approach to identity formation builds on existing identity nodes, rather than subverting these, this is one area where I would like to see Nebreda’s work developed further. This small difference aside, Nebreda’s monograph is an important and useful work that advances the way social identity theory may be applied to Paul’s letters and his emphasis on the centrality of suffering in the formation of Christ-movement social identity echoes the fine work of Kar Yong Lim, Lecturer in New Testament Studies, Director of Postgraduate Studies, Seminari Theoloji Malaysia, Seremban, Malaysia and deserves further attention by New Testament scholars.

References:

Campbell, William S. Paul and the Creation of Christian Identity. London: T & T Clark, 2008.

Lim, Kar Yong. "The Sufferings of Christ Are Abundant in Us" (2 Corinthians 1:5) A Narrative-Dynamics Investigation of Paul's Sufferings in 2 Corinthians. London: T & T Clark, 2009.

Tucker, J. Brian. Remain in Your Calling: Paul and the Continuation of Social Identities in 1 Corinthians. Eugene: Pickwick Publications, 2011.

Remain in Your Calling is Available

Remain in Your Calling is now available. It can be purchased through Wipf and Stock's website initially and then it will appear on amazon.com and all the other usual book selling outlets. Here is a description of the book. Remain in Your Calling explores the way the Apostle Paul negotiates and transforms existing social identities of the Corinthian Christ-followers in order to extend his gentile mission. Building on the findings of Tucker's first monograph, You Belong to Christ: Paul and the Formation of Social Identity in 1 Corinthians 1-4, this work expands the focus to the rest of 1 Corinthians. The study addresses the way Paul forms Christ-movement identity and the kind of identity that emerges from his kinship formation. It examines the way previous Jewish and gentile social identities continue but are also transformed "in Christ." It then provides case studies from 1 Corinthians that show the way social-scientific criticism and ancient source material provide insights concerning Paul's formational goals. The first looks at the way Roman water practices and patronage influence baptismal practices in Corinth. The next uncovers the challenges associated with the transformation of the Roman household when it functions as sacred space within the ekklesia. The final study investigates the way Paul uses apocalyptic discourse to recontextualize the Corinthians' identity in order to remind them that God, rather than the Roman Empire, is in control of history.

Remain in Your Calling Book Cover

Here is a look at the cover of my forthcoming book, "Remain in Your Calling": Paul and the Continuation of Social Identities in 1 Corinthians. It should be out within the next month or so. It begins by surveying contemporary social-scientific approaches to Paul, and then discusses whether or not Paul's writing could actually form identity. Next it looks at Paul's Jewish identity, and then discusses the way the Corinthians' gentile identity continues in Christ. The second half of the book offers a few case studies from 1 Corinthians that explore in further detail the various ways existing social identities continue to be relevant within the Christ-movement by discussing: baptism and Roman water practices, ecclesia and Roman household space, and concluding with Christ-movement eschatological discourses and Roman imperial eschatology.

Review of You Belong to Christ

The first review of You Belong to Christ was recently published in the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society. Click here to read it. Jack Barentsen, from Evangelische Theologische Faculteit, in Leuven, Belgium, reviewed it. He has an excellent new book out entitled: Emerging Leadership in the Pauline Mission, which I look forward to including in an upcoming review article on "Paul, Social Identity, and Mission."