The Literary Construction of the Other in the Acts of the Apostles: Charismatics, the Jews, and Women

by Mitzi J. Smith

Overview

Too often the negative characterization of "others" in the biblical text is applied to groups and persons beyond the text whom we wish to define as the Other. Otherness is a synthetic and political social construct that allows us to create and maintain boundaries between "them" and "us." The other that is too similar to us is most problematic. This book demonstrates how proximate characters are constructed as the Other in the Acts of the Apostles. Charismatics, Jews, and women are proximate others who are constructed as the external and internal Other.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781498273213
Publisher:	Wipf & Stock Publishers
Publication date:	01/01/2011
Series:	Princeton Theological Monograph Series , #154
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Mitzi J. Smith is Associated Professor of New Testament and Early Christian Studies at Ashland Theological Seminary at Detroit. She is a contributor to True to Our Native Land (2008).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments|Abbreviations|Introduction|1 The Construction of Charismatics as External Other|2 The Construction of the Jews as External Other|3 The Construction of Women as Internal Other and Peter|4 The Construction of Women as Internal Other and Paul|Conclusion|Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

"... Smith does achieve the desired effect to make readers conscious of 'othering projects inherent in the text' to ensure they are not duplicated 'in actual practice or in public discourse'..."

Theological book review, Vol. 24, No 2, 2012 - Josh Scott

'...The Literary Construction of the Other in the Acts of the Apostles raises awareness of how Acts, and by extension, other written and spoken narratives, may 'other' certain individuals and groups for the purpose of depicting contrasting characters as approved, capable, or ideal. This is an element of the literary endeavor that interpreters do well to keep in mind...'

The Expository Times, Vol. 124, Number 9, June 2013 - Julia Snyder

Along with sociological "othering" theory, Smith draws secondarily upon linguistic transitivity analysis to categorize various ways that characters exert agency in the narrative.

Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology, Volume 68, No. 1, January 2014 - F. Scott Spencer

The Literary Construction of the Other in the Acts of Apostles: Charismatics, the Jews, and Women looks at how the early Christians built their self-identity through distinguishing themselves from other groups and people living in their world. Mitzi Smith argues that some seen as the Other were outside the Church, while others were found within.

Church Times

…the true contribution of this book can be found in its detailed exegesis of the relevant passages and the sustained attention it pays to the theme at hand, a subject that has often been treated only peripherally elsewhere. Smith has successfully demonstrated that such focused study can bear fruit for Acts research.

Journal of Theological Studies, Vol 65, Issue 1, (April, 2014) - Rebecca Dean