Paul’s Stoic Onto-Theology and Ethics of Good, Evil and “Indifferents”: A Response to Anti-Metaphysical and Nihilistic Readings of Paul in Modern Philosophy
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George van Kooten
Abstract
This paper discusses the characterization of Paul as an anti-philosopher and messianic nihilist by modern philosophers such as Badiou, Agamben and Taubes. These philosophers mainly focus on passages in Paul’s 1 Corinthians. Whereas they show themselves sensitive to philosophically relevant sections in this letter, the current article challenges their rather far-reaching interpretations. Differently from Badiou, who interprets 1 Cor. 2:1-5 (with its disapproval of “persuasive words of wisdom”) as an anti-philosophical passage, this article sees its criticism directed, not against philosophy but against the sophists who championed effective rhetoric instead of truth. Furthermore, in contrast with his interpretation of 1 Cor. 1:26-29 as an anti-onto-theological reflection about “the things that are not” that God preferred over “the things that are,” it actually seems that Paul shares the ontology of the Stoics who believe that all things emerge from God and return to God. In contrast with Taubes and Agamben, who see Paul’s “nihilism” at work in his statements in 1 Cor. 7:29-31 about performing particular actions “as if not” performing them, this article tries to understand this passage against the background of the Stoic theory of the socalled ἀδιάϕορα: the things which are morally indifferent and are located between the absolute good and the absolute wrong. Hence, it is argued, Paul is not nihilistic but just indifferent about particular things (although he does articulate his preferences). He is not anti-philosophical, but actually draws on the philosophical criticism of the sophistic movement. He is not anti-onto-theological either, but is deeply convinced that the whole of reality is grounded in God. Yet, although their interpretation of Paul can be contested, Badiou’s, Taubes’s and Agamben’s sensitivity for identifying philosophically relevant passages in Paul is confirmed by contextualizing them in their ancient philosophical context.
Abstract
This paper discusses the characterization of Paul as an anti-philosopher and messianic nihilist by modern philosophers such as Badiou, Agamben and Taubes. These philosophers mainly focus on passages in Paul’s 1 Corinthians. Whereas they show themselves sensitive to philosophically relevant sections in this letter, the current article challenges their rather far-reaching interpretations. Differently from Badiou, who interprets 1 Cor. 2:1-5 (with its disapproval of “persuasive words of wisdom”) as an anti-philosophical passage, this article sees its criticism directed, not against philosophy but against the sophists who championed effective rhetoric instead of truth. Furthermore, in contrast with his interpretation of 1 Cor. 1:26-29 as an anti-onto-theological reflection about “the things that are not” that God preferred over “the things that are,” it actually seems that Paul shares the ontology of the Stoics who believe that all things emerge from God and return to God. In contrast with Taubes and Agamben, who see Paul’s “nihilism” at work in his statements in 1 Cor. 7:29-31 about performing particular actions “as if not” performing them, this article tries to understand this passage against the background of the Stoic theory of the socalled ἀδιάϕορα: the things which are morally indifferent and are located between the absolute good and the absolute wrong. Hence, it is argued, Paul is not nihilistic but just indifferent about particular things (although he does articulate his preferences). He is not anti-philosophical, but actually draws on the philosophical criticism of the sophistic movement. He is not anti-onto-theological either, but is deeply convinced that the whole of reality is grounded in God. Yet, although their interpretation of Paul can be contested, Badiou’s, Taubes’s and Agamben’s sensitivity for identifying philosophically relevant passages in Paul is confirmed by contextualizing them in their ancient philosophical context.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgments V
- Table of Contents VII
- List of Abbreviations 1
- Introduction: On the Philosophical Affiliations of Paul and Πίστις 3
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Part I. Philosophical Portraits of Paul and Πίστις
- Reading, Seeing and the Logic of Abandonment: Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait as the Apostle Paul 21
- The Invention of Christianity: Preambles to a Philosophical Reading of Paul 47
- Heidegger’s Hermeneutics of Paul 67
- The Philosophers’ Paul: A Radically Subversive Thinker 81
- Disillusioning Reason—Rethinking Faith: Paul, Performative Speech Acts and the Political History of the Occident in Agamben and Foucault 95
- On What Remains: Paul’s Proclamation of Contingency 115
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Part II. Paul and Πίστις in the Greco-Roman World
- Paul’s Stoic Onto-Theology and Ethics of Good, Evil and “Indifferents”: A Response to Anti-Metaphysical and Nihilistic Readings of Paul in Modern Philosophy 133
- Narratives of Πίστις in Paul and Deutero-Paul 165
- Returning to “Religious” Πίστις: Platonism and Piety in Plutarch and Neoplatonism 189
- The Metahistory of Δίκη and Πίστις: A Greco-Roman Reading of Paul’s “Justification by Faith” Axiom 209
- Paul’s Use of Πίστις/Πιστεύειν as Epitome of Axial Age Religion 231
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Part III. The Political Theologies of Paul
- The Management of Distinctions: Jacob Taubes on Paul’s Political Theology 251
- Paul as Political Theologian: How the “New Perspective” Is Reshaping Philosophical and Theological Discourse 269
- Church, Commonwealth, and Toleration: John Locke as a Reader of Paul 283
- Europe and Paul of Tarsus: Giorgio Agamben on the Overcoming of Europe’s Crisis 297
- The Invisible Committee as a Pauline Gesture: Anarchic Politics from Tiqqun to Tarnac 309
- Epilogue: Saint Paul and Philosophy—The Consonance of Ancient and Modern Thought 325
- Index of Ancient Sources 351
- Index of Names and Subjects 361
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgments V
- Table of Contents VII
- List of Abbreviations 1
- Introduction: On the Philosophical Affiliations of Paul and Πίστις 3
-
Part I. Philosophical Portraits of Paul and Πίστις
- Reading, Seeing and the Logic of Abandonment: Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait as the Apostle Paul 21
- The Invention of Christianity: Preambles to a Philosophical Reading of Paul 47
- Heidegger’s Hermeneutics of Paul 67
- The Philosophers’ Paul: A Radically Subversive Thinker 81
- Disillusioning Reason—Rethinking Faith: Paul, Performative Speech Acts and the Political History of the Occident in Agamben and Foucault 95
- On What Remains: Paul’s Proclamation of Contingency 115
-
Part II. Paul and Πίστις in the Greco-Roman World
- Paul’s Stoic Onto-Theology and Ethics of Good, Evil and “Indifferents”: A Response to Anti-Metaphysical and Nihilistic Readings of Paul in Modern Philosophy 133
- Narratives of Πίστις in Paul and Deutero-Paul 165
- Returning to “Religious” Πίστις: Platonism and Piety in Plutarch and Neoplatonism 189
- The Metahistory of Δίκη and Πίστις: A Greco-Roman Reading of Paul’s “Justification by Faith” Axiom 209
- Paul’s Use of Πίστις/Πιστεύειν as Epitome of Axial Age Religion 231
-
Part III. The Political Theologies of Paul
- The Management of Distinctions: Jacob Taubes on Paul’s Political Theology 251
- Paul as Political Theologian: How the “New Perspective” Is Reshaping Philosophical and Theological Discourse 269
- Church, Commonwealth, and Toleration: John Locke as a Reader of Paul 283
- Europe and Paul of Tarsus: Giorgio Agamben on the Overcoming of Europe’s Crisis 297
- The Invisible Committee as a Pauline Gesture: Anarchic Politics from Tiqqun to Tarnac 309
- Epilogue: Saint Paul and Philosophy—The Consonance of Ancient and Modern Thought 325
- Index of Ancient Sources 351
- Index of Names and Subjects 361
