In his epistles, St. Paul sounded a universalism that has recently been taken up by secular philosophers who do not share his belief in Christ, but who regard his project as centrally important for contemporary political life. The Pauline project-as they see it-is the universality of truth, the conviction that what is true is true for everyone, and that the truth should be known by everyone. In this volume, eminent New Testament scholars, historians, and philosophers debate whether Paul's promise can be fulfilled. Is the proper work of reading Paul to reconstruct what he said to his audiences? Is it crucial to retrieve the sense of history from the text? What are the philosophical undercurrents of Paul's message? This scholarly dialogue ushers in a new generation of Pauline studies.

Paul's thought explored by contemporary philosophers

About the Author

John D. Caputo is Thomas J. Watson Professor of Religion and Humanities at Syracuse University. He is author or editor of several publications, including The Weakness of God: A Theology of the Event (IUP, 2006) and Transcendence and Beyond: A Postmodern Inquiry (IUP, 2007).

Linda Martin Alcoff is Laura J. and Douglas Meredith Professor of Philosophy at Syracuse University. She is author of Visible Identities: Race, Gender, and the Self and editor (with Eva Feder Kittay) of The Blackwell Guide to Feminist Philosophy.

Reviews

It is an axiom of postmodern Continental philosophy that the meaning of texts is never wholly determined by the intent of the authors who write them. That is certainly true for St. Paul, whose words so variously (mis)understood have launched many reformations in the history of Christianity. As part of the 'religious turn' in recent Continental philosophy, Paul's New Testament writings have sparked intriguing readings by atheist philosophers Alain Badiou (Ecole Normale Superieure) and Slovaj Zizek (Univ. Ljubljana, Slovenia), who were subjects of a 2005 conference titled 'Religion and Postmodernism,' on which this collection is based. Caputo (Syracuse Univ.) offers a concise, lucid introduction that is worth the price of this valuable book, which makes accessible Badiou's difficult text on Paul, and offers a compelling (postconference) essay by Zizek on Job. But context determines meaning, and much of the value in this book (and the drama of the conference) rests in the trenchant evaluations by biblical historians--especially Paula Fredriksen (Boston Univ.) and Daniel Boyarin (UC-Berkeley)--of Badiou and Zizek's appropriations of Paul at Paul's expense. Philosophers, beware of historians' careful constructions of meaning! They too believe in truth. Summing Up: Essential. Upper-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers. -- ChoiceS. Young, McHenry County College, Feb. 2010

"The value of the collection lies primarily in its clear outlining of the stakes of the debates surrounding Paul, more than any particular solutions its confluence of scholars offer." -Matthew Kaul, Englewood Review of Books, Vol. 2.48 2009

"This is an exceptional work of scholarship with contributors who are distinguished in their fields, and who bring insight and excitement to the study of a set of classical texts." -David Odell-Scott, Kent State University

"For those aware of the discussions surrounding the Apostle Paul, there is much to laud and appreciate. Caputo and Alcoff bring together many of the primary thinkers in the current embrace of Paul. In doing so, they offer the reader an introduction to the discussion." -Anglican Theological Review

"Caputo... offers a concise, lucid introduction that is worth the price of this valuable book, which makes accessible Badiou's difficult text on Paul, and offers a compelling (postconference) essay by Zizek on Job. But context determines meaning, and much of the value in this book (and the drama of the conference) rests in the trenchant evaluations by biblical historians-especially Paula Fredriksen (Boston Univ.) and Daniel Boyarin (UC-Berkeley)-of Badiou and Zizek's appropriations of Paul at Paul's expense. Philosophers, beware of historians' careful constructions of meaning! They too believe in truth....Essential. --Choice" -S. Young, McHenry County College, Feb. 2010

"St. Paul Among the Philosophers makes a vital contribution... This is a very rich book, vibrating with possibilities." -Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

Book Information
ISBN 9780253220837
Author John D. Caputo
Format Paperback
Page Count 208
Imprint Indiana University Press
Publisher Indiana University Press