Rethinking Early Christian Identity: Affect, Violence, and

Rethinking Early Christian Identity: Affect, Violence, and Belonging

Maia Kotrosits challenges the contemporary notion of "early Christian literature," showing that a number of texts usually so describedâ€”New Testament writings including Hebrews, Acts, the Gospel of John, Colossians, and 1 Peter, as well as the letters of Ignatius, the Gospel of Truth, and the Secret Revelation of Johnâ€”are "not particularly interested" in a distinctive Christian identity or self-definition. Rather, by appealing to the categories of trauma studies and diaspora theory and giving careful attention to the dynamics within each of these texts, she shows that this sample of writings offers complex reckonings with chaotic diasporic conditions and the transgenerational trauma of colonial violence. The heart of her study is an inquiry into the significance contemporary readers invest in ancient writings as expressions of a coherent identity, asking, "What do we need and want out of history?" Kotrosits interacts with important recent work on identity and sociality in the Roman world and on the dynamics of desire in contemporary biblical scholarship as well. At last, she argues that the writings discussed made possible the rise of Christianity by effecting a "forgetfulness" of imperial traumaâ€”and questions the affective dimensions of contemporary empire-critical scholarship.
Country USA
Brand Fortress Press
Manufacturer Fortress Press
Binding Paperback
UnitCount 1
EANs 9781451492651
ReleaseDate 0000-00-00

Country	USA
Brand	Fortress Press
Manufacturer	Fortress Press
Binding	Paperback
UnitCount	1
EANs	9781451492651
ReleaseDate	0000-00-00

Rethinking Early Christian Identity: Affect, Violence, and Belonging

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