Reading the Areopagus Speech in Acts 17 from the perspective of sacral manumission of slaves in ancient Greece

This article suggests that the metaphor of Paul as seed-picker who gathers dirt from the market in Athens (Acts 17:18) is part of the broad slave metaphor found in Greco-Roman literature and in the New Testament. The stigma of depersonalization, desocialization, and religious marginalization is atta...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Aarde, Andries van 1951- (Author)
Format: Print Article
Language:English
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Published: Sage Publications February 2017
In: Biblical theology bulletin
Year: 2017, Volume: 47, Issue: 1, Pages: 47-58
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Bible. Apostelgeschichte 17
Further subjects:B slavery in antiquity
B Spiritual Life
B fictive kinship
B Paul's kerygma
B resurrection belief
B social death
B Luke-Acts
Parallel Edition:Electronic
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Description
Summary:This article suggests that the metaphor of Paul as seed-picker who gathers dirt from the market in Athens (Acts 17:18) is part of the broad slave metaphor found in Greco-Roman literature and in the New Testament. The stigma of depersonalization, desocialization, and religious marginalization is attached to enslavement. Slaves are excluded from authentic personhood. The article explores the rhetoric in Paul's Areopagus speech. It demonstrates Pauline influence on the narrative in Luke-Acts. The essence of the Areopagus speech is the universal unity of humanity and the life-giving effect of the resurrection belief. Building on the notions of fictive kinship and quasi-kinship the article compares the practice of sacral manumission for slaves with that of manumissio in ecclesia.
ISSN:0045-1843
Contains:In: Biblical theology bulletin