Galatians and the Rhetoric of Crisis

Demosthenes—Cicero—Paul

By Nina E. Livesey

Livesey lays the works of Demosthenes, Cicero, and the Apostle Paul side-by-side and compares the rhetorical strategies—such as hyperbole, rebuke, and irony—that each used to win over their audiences. In doing so, she teases out the ambiguity and complexity of Paul’s letter to the Galatians and challenges simplistic explanations of his relationship to Judaism.

Contents

Preface
Abbreviations

Introduction
1. Creating a Sense of Urgency
2. Persuading through the Promotion of Self
3. Persuading through Emotive Language
4. Persuading through Disjuncture
Conclusion

Notes
Bibliography
Index of Ancient Sources
Index of Modern Authors
Index of Rhetorical Terms and Devices

Learn more about author Nina E. Livesey.

Publisher: Polebridge Press
Publication Date: November 2016
ISBN: 978-1-59815-174-9

Number of pages: 284
Format: Paperback

Keywords: Apostle Paul, St. Paul, classical rhetoric, rhetoric of crisis, circumcision, Galatians, Demosthenes, Marcus Tullius Cicero, Cecil Wooten, art of persuasion, letters of Paul, Philippics, Torah, Paul and the Law, works of law, New Testament, Christian origins

REL006720 Religion / Biblical Studies / Paul’s Letters
LAN015000 Language Arts & Disciplines / Rhetoric
REL006040 Religion / Biblical Biography / New Testament

“A seminal work of truly impressive scholarship, Galatians and the Rhetoric of Crisis is unreservedly recommended for seminary, college, and university library New Testament Theology collections in general, and Pauline Studies supplemental reading lists in particular.”
—Midwest Book Review

“A fine and expert analysis of Paul’s rhetoric in Galatians … An example of the very best scholarship to bridge the two disciplines, Classics and Religious Studies.”
—Christine Shea, Professor of Classics, Ball State University

“The interpretation of the apostle Paul has long puzzled scholars and continue to do so. Did Paul leave Judaism for Christianity or did he, as more recent scholarship suggests, remain a Torah observant Jew all his life? By applying a ‘rhetoric-of-crisis’ approach to Galatians, Nina E. Livesey convincingly shows that Paul uses similar rhetorical strategies as other ancient authors involved in polemical discourses, which has far-reaching consequences for how to understand Paul’s use of dichotomies and exaggerations as well as his relation to Judaism. This ground-breaking study of Paul’s polemics cannot be overlooked by any serious student of the apostle, and is likely to have a considerable effect on all future discussions of Pauline hermeneutics.”
—Magnus Zetterholm, Associate Professor of New Testament Studies, Lund University

“Nina Livesey offers up a most illuminating study of Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Grounded in ancient rhetorical practice and performance, particularly a close comparative reading of Demosthenes and Cicero, Livesey deploys the category “rhetoric of crisis” to illustrate the rhetorical dynamics and textures that permeate Paul’s argument in this bafflingly contentious missive. Livesey compellingly argues that we must rethink how—and how seriously!—we read, understand, and take Paul’s rhetoric. The starkly polarizing language and the binaries nurtured and sustained throughout the letter have proved to be a bedrock for articulations of early Christian identity, theology, and social history, contributing as well to substantively anti-Jewish assessments of Pauline theology. Livesey moves us beyond what has proved to be an impasse in Pauline studies. She carefully outlines the case that the rhetorical nature of the letter makes it difficult to draw a one-to-one correspondence with reality, historical or conceptual, behind the text. Livesey forces us to rethink much of what we think we know about Galatians and Paul, with broader implications for a thoroughgoing reassessment of our well-established narratives of early Christian theology and social development. This book has the potential to be a game changer. Not least, as a result of this study we will all need to evidence a great deal more humility and tenuousness in our readings of Galatians and our constructions of Pauline social and theological history. This reintroduction of ambiguity and complexity is to be celebrated, of course, and we are in Livesey’s debt. And to be sure, this study comes at a most opportune time: the rhetoric of crisis abounds in our midst, and understanding how it works in the ancient world helps us better assess and respond to how it is operating in our own.”
—Todd Penner, author of De-Introducing the New Testament: Texts, Worlds, Methods, Stories