A Disabled Apostle bookcover

A Disabled Apostle

Impairment and Disability in the Letters of Paul
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Description

Speculation around the health of Paul the Apostle has been present since soon after his death. Recently scholars have understood Paul to be disabled but have been wary of isolating precisely what his disabilities may have been or whether they are important for understanding his writings.

This book is the first full-length study of Paul the Apostle and disability. Using insights from contemporary disability studies, Isaac Soon analyses features of Paul's body in his ancient Mediterranean context to understand the ways in which his body was disabled. Focusing on three such ancient disabilities--demonization, circumcision, and short stature--this book draws on a rich variety of ancient evidence, from textual sources and epigraphy, to ancient visual culture, to analyze ancient bodily ideals and the negative cultural effects such 'deviant' persons generated. The book also examines Paul's use of his own disabilities in his letters and shows how disability is not subsidiary to his thought but a central aspect of it. This book also provides scholars with a new method for uncovering previously unrecognized disabilities in the ancient world. Last of all, it critiques the latent ableism in much New Testament scholarship, which assumes that the figures of the early Jesus movement were able-bodied.

Product Details

PublisherOxford University Press
Publish DateDecember 01, 2023
Pages310
LanguageEnglish
TypeBook iconHardback
EAN/UPC9780192885241
Dimensions9.0 X 6.4 X 1.4 inches | 1.4 pounds

About the Author

Isaac T. Soon, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Crandall University

Since 2021, Isaac T. Soon has been Assistant Professor of Religious Studies (New Testament) at Crandall University. He has degrees from the University of Oxford and Durham University. He has published peer-reviewed journal articles in the Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha, Early Christianity, the Journal for the Jesus Movement in its Jewish Setting, Vigiliae Christianae, Novum Testamentum, Religions, the Journal of Biblical Literature, and the Journal for the Study of Judaism.

Reviews

"Soon's research interests are in the area of Judaism and the New Testament, in particular disability studies....The present volume appears to be the first full-length English-language monograph on the topic, and one of the few treatments to employ modern disability theory as a lens...the book will be useful for scholars in the field of Pauline studies." -- Choice

"This meticulously argued, theoretically astute book impressively weaves together scripture, material culture, and disability theory." -- Aaron Klink, The Christian Century

"This meticulously argued, theoretically astute book impressively weaves together scripture, material culture, and disability theory." -- Aaron Klink, The Christian Century

"Soon's book can introduce advanced students to disability studies and modelinterdisciplinary approaches even while it provides dedicated Pauline scholars stimulation and thoughtful reconsideration of central issues in the field." -- Annalisa Phillips Wilson, Religious Studies Review

"The book has an exemplary structure and is easy to read. [...]The focus on impairments that, contrary to today's prevailing norms, can be described as disabilities in antiquity provides innovative insights that future research will certainly draw on." -- PD Dr. Ruben A, Bühner (University of Bonn)

"A Disabled Apostle is an excellent exampleof interdisciplinary work between Pauline studiesand disability studies today, in ways that willlikely inspire further work in New Testamentstudies. It also revisits some age-old questionsabout Paul's bodily experiences, conventionallydismissed by skepticism, with some constructiveproposals to consider." -- Troy M. Troftgruben, Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology

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