St. Paul Among the Philosophers

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 Martín 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.

"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 (École Normale Supérieure) 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. — 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.2/3/10"—Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews"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.Vol. 2.48 2009"—Matthew Kaul, Englewood Review of Books"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. —ChoiceFeb. 2010"—S. Young, McHenry County College"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"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

• ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Postcards from Paul: Subtraction versus Grafting / John D. CaputoPart 1. Paul among the Philosophers1. St. Paul, Founder of the Universal Subject / Alain Badiou2. From Job to Christ: A Paulinian Reading of Chesterton / Slavoj ZizekPart 2. Paul between Jews and Christians3. Historical Integrity, Interpretive Freedom: The Philosopher's Paul and the Problem of Anachronism / Paula Fredriksen4. Paul between Judaism and Hellenism / E. P. Sanders5. The Promise of Teleology, the Constraints of Epistemology, and Universal Vision in Paul / Dale B. Martin6. Paul among the Antiphilosophers; or, Saul among the Sophists / Daniel Boyarin7. Paul's Notion of Dunamis: Between the Possible and the Impossible / Richard Kearney8. Concluding Roundtable: St. Paul among the Historians and the SystematizersList of ContributorsIndex