Reading Ephesians: Exploring Social Entrepreneurship in the Text

Minna Shkul examines how Ephesians engages in social entrepreneurship, shaping emerging Christian Identity through ideological and social paradigms. She offers a socially scientific reading of the text, demonstrating the socio-ideological shaping and negotiation of different group processes. Shkul explores the construction of a positive in-group identity, ideological and social legitimating for the community, and the textual reflection of communal relations in other groups in Greco-Roman antiquity. She also examines the attitude toward non-Israelites and their need for re-socialization.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 304 pages
Publication date: 27 June 2019
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Minna Shkul delves into the intricate realm of social entrepreneurship, exploring how Ephesians shapes emerging Christian identity through the provision of ideological and social paradigms for the nascent Christian community. Shkul employs social entrepreneurship as a broad framework to encompass a range of social processes reflected in the text. This eclectic theoretical approach and deutero-Pauline reading stance serve two primary objectives. The first is to offer a theoretically informed social-scientific interpretation that unveils the profound socio-ideological shaping within the letter, showcasing the writer's intricate negotiation of various group dynamics throughout the composition. The second is to examine the evolving Christian identity portrayed in Ephesians, scrutinizing its ideological and social contours and the transformative reforms it proposes upon Jewish traditions. Importantly, this exploration is conducted without assuming that something inherently wrong existed with the Judaism practiced at the time. Instead, it focuses on the divine "legitimating" of the Christian group and its culture.

These readings of Ephesians delve into how the writer engages in a self-enhancing discourse that reinforces fundamental aspects of communality. Key elements include the construction of a positive in-group identity and the provision of ideological and social legitimization for the community. Shkul also explores the textual reflection of communal relations in other groups within Greco-Roman antiquity. She examines how Christ-followers are situated within a Jewish symbolic universe, which must accommodate the presence of Christ and his non-Israelite followers. Furthermore, she delves into the attitude toward non-Israelites within Ephesians and their apparent need for re-socialization.

In conclusion, Minna Shkul's study of Ephesians offers a rich and multifaceted exploration of social entrepreneurship, Christian identity, and communal relations within Greco-Roman antiquity. Through her theoretical framework and deutero-Pauline reading position, she provides a profound understanding of the text's socio-ideological shaping, the negotiation of group processes, and the transformative reforms it proposes upon Jewish traditions. Shkul's work sheds light on the complex dynamics between different groups and the role of Christianity in shaping the cultural landscape of the ancient world.

Weight: 454g
Dimension: 387 x 192 x 14 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780567689269