09/20/2021
Concannon (When You Were Gentiles ), a religion professor at the University of Southern California, argues that the apostle Paul’s legacy has been distorted for progressive purposes in this provocative theology. In pushing back against efforts by both theologians and philosophers to contextualize and explain Paul’s words, Concannon points out harmful passages in Paul’s seminal writings, including his message for slaves to obey masters and his calls for women to submit. He also accuses previous thinkers (such as Simon Critchley’s praise of a “Paul who takes on the establishment”) of being “sanitation workers” who attempt to displace the bad parts of Paul in order to redeem him. With this lens, Concannon critiques theological and philosophical approaches to interpreting Paul’s writing (including philosopher Alain Badiou’s) and offers some praise of those that show Paul as double-edged but still valuable, including filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini and scholar Brian Blount. Using Giorgio Agamben’s theory of profanation (returning something sacred to everyday use) and the creative reworkings and rejections of Paul’s writings by enslaved African Americans, Concannon argues that Paul does not contain universal truths but there is still utility in studying his words against his intentions. This heady blend of Continental philosophy, biblical studies, and critical theory will be sure to spark debate among scholars grappling with Paul and his legacy. (Dec.)
"Concannon is erudite, highly intelligent, and well-read, and this book is the product of many years of reflection (digestion?)."
"In this important book, Concannon argues that the problems of Paul's canonical letters render his archive garbage. . . . For Concannon, profaning the sacred status of Paul's letters rather than protecting it is more politically intriguing and generative. He provides an extensive critique of the way Paul fostered racism and slavery, and he shows how Paul speaks negatively of his bodily realities while idealizing a spiritual body after death. Concannon finds that feminist and queer scholars have rightly recognized Paul as a political problem. Overall, the argument of this book is erudite. . . . Recommended."
Extraordinarily learned and perfectly clear, Profaning Paul counts the high cost of the refusal to allow Paul and his letters to stink. Paul’s letters land, hitting hard, sanitizing inequality, and whitewashing exploitation. Rather than seeking to redeem Paul, the Christian or the secular saint, Concannon invites us to sit in and with this shit—Paul’s and ours—and survive. A courageous, astute, razor-sharp, and ethically urgent analysis.
Readable and fascinating, Profaning Paul represents the most interesting work within the meeting place of biblical studies and cultural studies and theory. Concannon’s close readings of philosophers and scholars are responsible and attentive, his critiques are satisfying, and the take-aways are plentiful.
"Concannon’s Profaning Paul is likely the first work of biblical criticism that begins in an outhouse and ends in a garbage heap. Its references to waste offer laugh-out-loud moments throughout its provocative work, which concentrates on modern interpretations of the Pauline epistles... a fascinating, entertaining book for spiritual seekers who are willing to get their hands dirty."
"In this affectively sensitive and thoroughly thought-provoking study, the author compellingly engages a range of resources, including critical feminist, queer, postcolonial, and race studies as well as new materialism and continental philosophy. By the conclusion, it is evident that there is fecundity in the rubbish pile and new ways of reading Paul by refusing Paul."
The Bible and Critical Theory
"Concannon is erudite, highly intelligent, and well-read, and this book is the product of many years of reflection (digestion?)."-- "Reading Religion" Profaning Paul is likely the first work of biblical criticism that begins in an outhouse and ends in a garbage heap. Its references to waste offer laugh-out-loud moments throughout its provocative work, which concentrates on modern interpretations of the Pauline epistles... a fascinating, entertaining book for spiritual seekers who are willing to get their hands dirty."-- "Foreword Reviews" Profaning Paul counts the high cost of the refusal to allow Paul and his letters to stink. Paul's letters land, hitting hard, sanitizing inequality, and whitewashing exploitation. Rather than seeking to redeem Paul, the Christian or the secular saint, Concannon invites us to sit in and with this shit--Paul's and ours--and survive. A courageous, astute, razor-sharp, and ethically urgent analysis."--Jennifer Knust, author of Unprotected TextsProfaning Paul represents the most interesting work within the meeting place of biblical studies and cultural studies and theory. Concannon's close readings of philosophers and scholars are responsible and attentive, his critiques are satisfying, and the take-aways are plentiful."--Maia Kotrosits, author of The Lives of Objects
"A wonderfully vivid writer, Concannon weighs his argument carefully. He does not exactly blame Paul for holding views shared by most of his contemporaries. Instead, he questions why such a person should hold moral authority today. "
"Concannon’s most recent book is the rare one that packs a strong, critical punch without being needlessly opaque. . . . [Profaning Paul ] not only plays with dense concepts well, but is also a moving, personal read. Concannon inserts several autobiographical interludes that perform a usual function (that of scholars admitting their particular social place, thereby signaling their motivations and limitations) in a persuasive way. The book is, ultimately, a powerful and illuminating read. . . . The arguments made are crucial for the ongoing critical discourse surrounding the reception of Paul in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, as well as ongoing work in religious studies that attempts to take seriously the use of contested figures outside of traditional cordoned-off areas of scholarship."
