Literary Construction of the Other in the Acts of the Apostles

An analysis of the Acts of the Apostles showing how the text uses its characterisation of the Other to reinforce the self-identity of the earliest Christians.Mitzi Smith engages the reader in explaining how, as in the real world, the characterization of the Others is used negatively in the biblical texts. Smith shows how the concept of difference is constructed in order to distinguish ourselves from proximate others: indeed, the other who is most similar to us is most threatening and most problematic. The process of Othering, or Otherness, is a synthetic and political social construct that allows us to create and maintain boundaries between 'them' and 'us'. Thus, this work demonstrates how proximate characters are constructed as the Other in the Acts of the Apostles. Charismatics, Jews, and women are proximate others who are constructed as the external and internal Others.