Does the Gospel Require Self-Sacrifice? Paul and the Reconfiguration of the Self
Some modern Christian notions of ‘self-sacrifice’ and ‘cruciformity’ abstract an ethic of self-negation from its larger theological and teleological frame. A distinctively modern and Western trajectory has shaped an ‘exclusive altruism’ where the interests of the self and of the other stand in a com...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sage
2023
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| In: |
Studies in Christian ethics
Year: 2023, Volume: 36, Issue: 1, Pages: 3-19 |
| IxTheo Classification: | HC New Testament NCB Personal ethics |
| Further subjects: | B
The Self
B Cruciformity B Altruism B Self-sacrifice B Philippians B Paul |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | Some modern Christian notions of ‘self-sacrifice’ and ‘cruciformity’ abstract an ethic of self-negation from its larger theological and teleological frame. A distinctively modern and Western trajectory has shaped an ‘exclusive altruism’ where the interests of the self and of the other stand in a competitive relationship. Although Paul's letter to the Philippians has often been cited as a prime example of such an ethic, closer scrutiny reveals a larger narrative frame, for both Christ and believers, that is oriented towards fullness, not kenosis. Within a community of solidarity and reciprocal asymmetry in Christ, each person's work in looking to the concerns of others is balanced and framed by a communal concern to safeguard the interests of each person in the interests of conjoint benefit. Pauline resources thus enable us to replace the modern polarity with an alternative: the proper opposite to being selfish is not to be ‘selfless’ but to be ‘self-with’. |
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| ISSN: | 0953-9468 |
| Reference: | Kommentar in "Response to John M.G. Barclay, ‘Does the Gospel Require Self-Sacrifice? Paul and the Reconfiguration of the Self’ (2023)"
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Studies in Christian ethics
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/09539468221132095 |