Paul Decentered: Reading 2 Corinthians with the Corinthian Women [Hardcover]

This book argues that the presence of women in the Christ communities of first-century Corinth changes how 2 Corinthians should be interpreted. Using a feminist approach to interpret the text, Arminta M. Fox presents readings that are ethically and historically viable. She examines how questions of community identity and leadership are situated within broader discourses of power in the Roman imperial and patriarchal contexts of the first-century Mediterranean world. By assuming the dialogical presence of strong and diverse women leaders in the community, Fox develops counter-readings to ones that assume Paul's singular authority.Arminta M. Fox is assistant professor of religion and director of women's and gender studies at Bethany College, Kansas.

The author of this exposition of 2 Corinthians proposes a reading of Paul's letter that is different from most standard interpretations. Employing a thorough feminist perspective, especially inspired bu the work of Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza, Fox, assistant professor of religion at Bethany College, Kansas, decenters Paul's viewpoint and his claim to authority manifest in the letter and imagines how other voices such as women and Paul's opponents in the community might have responded to Paul's assertions. This is a creative approach that challenges the usual pattern of interpretation of Paul's theology as having its own normative role within the New Testament. The Bible Today

Fox's clear prose, solid grasp of scholarship, and creative historical work are compelling and prompt readers to reconsider the normativity of Pauls perspective and to envision the women of the Corinthian ekklesia as shaping, leading, and participating in the diverse and dynamic community of Christ followers in first-century Corinth. This book belongs on the shelf of any reader concerned with ethically and historically viable interpretations of Pauls letters. Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology

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