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The challenge of the Thessalonians and Paul’s Riposte Crook, Antonin Zeba

Abstract

Social Scientific Criticism provides the reader of the New Testament with a set of tools to access the intended meaning of a text. That is to say, it is not the words which convey meaning, but rather the context within which the words are embedded. The anthropological model of honor and shame is one of these tools. This model has been developed from the modern study of agrarian and rural Mediterranean villages and from the study of ancient and classical Hellenistic literature and philosophy. The present study considers the context of honor and shame which lies beneath what is generally regarded as the earliest extant Pauline letter, I Thessalonians. After preliminary exercises, such as a survey of the literature on I Thessalonians and an establishing and clarification of the method which drives this study, the text is analysed from the perspective of honor and shame, limited good, and agonism. Since honor and shame did not operate in a vacuum of social values and practices, other details are brought into the exegesis, such as praise and blame in ancient letter writing, and Paul's place in the environment of patron-client relations. The result is a reading of the letter which focuses on the variety of challenges which the converts posed and on Paul's need to defend himself in a way that was appropriate to his mission. Through such a reading, certain stylistic features of the letter are highlighted in a way that sets this study apart from its predecessors.

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