Reading Stephen’s Speech as a Counter-Cultural Discourse on Migration and Dislocation
The speech of Stephen in Acts 7:2-53 contains a wealth of references to biblical migration narratives, but their significance for understanding the message of Luke-Acts has been understudied. This is partly due to a recurrent focus on either accusations against Stephen (Acts 6:8-15) or the polemical...
| 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: |
2021
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| In: |
Open theology
Year: 2021, Volume: 7, Issue: 1, Pages: 289-316 |
| Further subjects: | B
biblical migration narratives
B Ethnicity B Identity B patriarchal and Mosaic discourse B Othering |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | The speech of Stephen in Acts 7:2-53 contains a wealth of references to biblical migration narratives, but their significance for understanding the message of Luke-Acts has been understudied. This is partly due to a recurrent focus on either accusations against Stephen (Acts 6:8-15) or the polemical conclusion of the speech (Acts 7:47-50.51-53). It also partly relates to a teleological interest in early Christian mission narrative. This article reads Stephen’s speech as a counter-cultural discourse on migration and dislocation. It provides a close reading of its biblical story-telling in conjunction with its polemical upshot, and further compares Lucan narrative choices with early Jewish and Jewish Hellenistic literary cycles about patriarchal and Mosaic discourse. It applies a critical lens to the use of ancient narratives of migration and dislocation in discussions about identity, ethnicity, and "othering;" this is of further importance for contemporary identity politics around migration. Through comparing the speech with intra-Jewish dimensions and Graeco-Roman contexts, Stephen emerges as a counter-cultural speaker whose discourse appeals to human-divine intersectionality, specifically regarding the cause of justice for the ill-treated stranger; at the same time, it avoids cultural stereotyping through categories of Hebrews vs Hellenists, Jews vs Christians, Graeco-Roman elite standards vs supposedly "non-European" profiles. |
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| ISSN: | 2300-6579 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Open theology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1515/opth-2020-0162 |