Practices of Cursing in the Letters of Paul
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Beschreibung
Filip Sylwestrowicz shows how Paul wielded curses - anathemas, the handing over to Satan, the refusal to curse persecutors - as instruments of pastoral care: a means to extend his reach when absent from his churches, to safeguard his gospel, and to shape cruciform communities.
Filip Sylwestrowicz examines how the apostle Paul employed practices of cursing in his pastoral ministry. He offers three case studies of cursing in antiquity that establish a comparative framework for an analysis of the Pauline letters. These case studies include curse tablets (defixiones), epitaph curses, and curses in rites of initiation and expulsion preserved in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Together, they help to identify various functions of cursing practices, such as marking the boundaries of communities, enhancing agency, and protecting material and immaterial objects. Against this background, the author analyses several passages in Paul's letters in which he refers to practices of cursing. In the course of the analysis, similarities and differences between Paul's use of curses and other ancient cursing practices are identified. The author concludes that Paul employed curses to enhance his agency when he was absent and unable to address the problems of his churches in person. He also used them to protect his gospel and to enforce cruciform conduct among Christ-followers. At the same time, Paul subordinated the use of curses to his overriding goal of conforming believers in Christ. For example, he urges Christ-followers to refrain from cursing their persecutors, since such curses would function as acts of vengeance and would be incongruous with the call to follow Christ.
Autor*in
Filip Sylwestrowicz
Born 1993; 2020-25 DPhil at the University of Oxford; lecturer at Warsaw Baptist Theological Seminary.
Themen in »Practices of Cursing in the Letters of Paul«
1 Corinthians 12:3 1 Corinthians 16:22 1 Corinthians 5:5 1 Timothy 1:20 agency enhancement anathema ancient cursing apostolic authority blessing persecutors community boundaries cruciform conduct curse tablets Dead Sea Scrolls defixiones early Christian ethics