Politics of Heaven

The Politics of Heaven

Women, gender, and Empire in the Study of Paul

Joseph A. Marchal
Fortress Press, 2008
ISBN 9780800663001

Hardcover, 213 pp.
6.25 x 1 x 9.25 inches | 1.0 pound

In this provocative study, Joseph A. archil argues that biblical interpretation, but most especially Pauline studies, must move beyond simplistic dichotomies to engage the full range of critical challenges brought by feminist studies, postcolonial studies, and Roman imperial studies. A feminist, postcolonial analysis requires negotiating the gaps, overlaps, and tensions between these three strands of interpretation by adopting an explicitly methodology. Using Philippians as a test case, Marshall analyzes issues of both ancient and contemporary import, from imitation and authority to travel and contact. As a result, Marchal provides strikingly new perspectives on Paul's letters and fresh challenges to the paradigms of Pauline interpretation.

Joseph A. Marchal teaches n the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Ball state University and has taught at Grinnell College and California State University at Northridge. he is the author of Hierarchy, Unity, and Imitation: A Feminist Rhetorical Analysis of Power Dynamics in Paul's letter to the Philippians (2006)