A social-scientific key to Paul's letter to the Galatians : an alternative to opponent hypotheses as a cypher key

Opposition to Paul as central to the occasion of the letter to the Galatians ·(expressed in scholarly circles in terms of different opponent hypotheses) is identified as a pivotal factor in the interpretation of that letter. An analysis of some of the received opponent hypotheses reveals that today, as throughout the history of the critical interpretation of the letter, they are basically different proposals sharing the same historical and methodological components. Both components are critically examined and it is suggested that inadequate assumptions lead to an anachronistic and ethnocentric view of the nature of the conflict and consequently, from a his­ torical point of view, a distorted cypher key to the interpretation of the letter. The proposal of a social-scientific approach to the letter presents, at the meth­ odological level, the components of an alternative cypher key. It attempts to be interdisciplinary in that it accounts for the otherness of foreign cultures and distant historical eras in an integrated and explicit way. Because of the methodological components an alternative set of historical com­ ponents can be suggested. A focus on contemporary views on first-century Judaism and the expansion of the Pauline communities in the first-century world not only . points to shortcomings in the received views but provides an alternative perspective on the communicative context of the letter. A first but important step is taken to construct a probable first-century Mediterranean communicative context for the interpretation of the letter. In view of this alternative communicative context it is possible to redefine the con­ flict as a truly first-century Mediterranean one in which Paul's authority and honour were at stake. This makes it possible to construe the text in a different way. Instead of regarding the letter to the Galatians as a document of intra-Christian struggle about conflicting theological or doctrinal convictions, it is suggested that the letter be construed as the product of Paul's missionary endeavour within the household setting, the subculture of first-century Judaism, and the confines of orality and reli­ gion in the first-century world.Biblical and Ancient StudiesD. Th. (New Testament

What does it mean to be possessed by a spirit or demon? Some phenomenological insights from neuro-anthropological research

The visible growth in possession and exorcism in Southern Africa can, amongst others, be attributed to the general impression in Christianity that, since Jesus was a successful exorcist, his followers should follow his example. Historical Jesus research generally endorses a view of Jesus as exorcist, which probably also contributes to this idea, yet there is no or very little reflection about either exorcism or possession as cultural practices. This article offers a critical reflection on possession based on insights from cross-cultural and neuro-scientific research. The first insight is that possession is not a single thing, but a collective term for what is a wide range of phenomena. At least two distinct meanings are identified: possession as a label for illness or misfortune, and possession as an indication of forms of human dissociative phenomena. In the latter instance, an impression of possession as a mode of being a Self, together with insights about the inherent potential for dissociative phenomena, provides the background to the view of possession as a cultural technique with a variety of functions. A second insight is that the term possession refers to complex neuro-cultural processes that can be described by means of both cultural and neurological mechanisms. A third insight is that in most ethnographic examples possession is the response or solution to other underlying problems. Against this background the role of exorcism should be reconsidered as clear-cut and worthy of emulation

Medical anthropology as an antidote for ethnocentrism in Jesus research? Putting the illness–disease distinction into perspective

Medicine often has side-effects or unintended consequences that are more harmful than the original disease. Medical anthropology in general and the illness–disease distinction in particular has been introduced into historical Jesus research with the intent to protect it from medicocentrism and thus to offer ways of comprehending sickness and healing in the world of Jesus and his first followers without distorting these phenomena by imposing the biomedical framework onto the texts. In particular the illness–disease distinction is used for making sense of healing accounts whilst claiming to cross the cultural gap. Based on an analysis of the illness–disease distinction in medical anthropology and its use in historical Jesus research this article suggests that instead of protecting from ethnocentrism this distinction actually increases the risk of ethnocentrism and consequently distorts in many instances the healing accounts of the New Testament

What does it mean to be possessed by a spirit or demon? Some phenomenological insights from neuro-anthropological research

The visible growth in possession and exorcism in Southern Africa can, amongst others, be attributed to the general impression in Christianity that, since Jesus was a successful exorcist, his followers should follow his example. Historical Jesus research generally endorses a view of Jesus as exorcist, which probably also contributes to this idea, yet there is no or very little reflection about either exorcism or possession as cultural practices. This article offers a critical reflection on possession based on insights from cross-cultural and neuro-scientific research. The first insight is that possession is not a single thing, but a collective term for what is a wide range of phenomena. At least two distinct meanings are identified: possession as a label for illness or misfortune, and possession as an indication of forms of human dissociative phenomena. In the latter instance, an impression of possession as a mode of being a Self, together with insights about the inherent potential for dissociative phenomena, provides the background to the view of possession as a cultural technique with a variety of functions. A second insight is that the term possession refers to complex neuro-cultural processes that can be described by means of both cultural and neurological mechanisms. A third insight is that in most ethnographic examples possession is the response or solution to other underlying problems. Against this background the role of exorcism should be reconsidered as clear-cut and worthy of emulation