Constructing Ethnic Identity in 1 Peter: Who You Are No Longer

1 Peter characterizes Christian identity as an ethnic identity, based on Jewish traditions, to foster solidarity and resist social alienation for converts in the Roman empire. The author employs "ethnic reasoning" to establish a shared history, delineate boundaries, stereotype and negatively characterize "the other," emphasize distinct conduct or culture, and apply ethnic categories to the addressees. This reflects the characteristics of ethnic groups described by modern anthropologists and sociologists, aiming to foster internal cohesion, resist external pressures, and live as those born anew to a living hope.

\n Format: Hardback
\n Length: 136 pages
\n Publication date: 15 July 2021
\n Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
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Janette H. Ok contends that 1 Peter portrays Christian identity as an ethnic identity, as it possesses the potential to evoke a strong sense of unity among readers who are grappling with social alienation due to their conversion. The epistle outlines and delineates a communal identity rooted in Jewish traditions, and in response to the hostility its predominantly Gentile Anatolian recipients are encountering as religious minorities in the Roman empire. To aid in constructing a collective understanding of what it means to be a Christian in contrast to non-Christians, Ok argues that the author of the epistle employs "ethnic reasoning" or logic. Consequently, the writer of 1 Peter employs various literary and rhetorical strategies, including establishing a sense of shared history and ancestry, delineating boundaries, stereotyping and negatively characterizing "the other," emphasizing distinct conduct or a common culture, and applying ethnic categories to his addressees. Ok further highlights how these strategies bear striking resemblances to what modern anthropologists and sociologists describe as the characteristics of ethnic groups. In portraying Christian identity as an ethnic identity akin to the unique religious-ethnic identity of the Jews, Ok concludes that 1 Peter aims to foster internal cohesion among the community of believers who are struggling to forge a distinctive and durable group identity, resist external pressures to revert to a way of life unbefitting the people of God, and live as those born anew to a living hope.

\n Weight: 366g\n
Dimension: 163 x 242 x 15 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9780567698506\n \n