1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910157410603321

Autore

Blanton Thomas R., IV

Titolo

Spiritual economy : gift exchange in the letters of Paul of Tarsus / / Thomas R. Blanton, IV

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New Haven, CT : , : Yale University Press, , [2017]

©2017

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (227 pages)

Collana

Synkrisis

Disciplina

225.92

Soggetti

Gifts - Religious aspects

Gifts - Social aspects

Gifts - Economic aspects

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Previously issued in print: 2017.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- One Introduction -- Two Symbolic Goods as Media of Exchange in Paul's Gift Economy -- Three The Benefactor's Account Book: The Rhetoric of Gift Reciprocation According to Seneca and Paul -- Four Gift or Commodity? On the Classification of Paul's Unremunerated Labor -- Five Classification and Social Relations: The Dark Side of the Gift -- Six The Gift of Status -- Seven Spiritual Gifts and Status Inversion -- Eight Summary and Conclusions -- Appendix: Letters and Events Significantly Shaping Paul's Relations with the Corinthian Assembly: A Relative Chronology -- Abbreviations -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index of Subjects -- Index of Modern Authors -- Index of Biblical and Early Jewish Sources -- Index of Greek and Roman Sources

Sommario/riassunto

Thomas Blanton sheds light on the philosophy surrounding gift giving in Paul's letters and on modern theories of gift exchange through the lens of religion. The exchange of gifts is a fundamental part of society and a foundational element in Greco-Roman religions. Combining theories of gift exchange, both modern and Greco-Roman, Thomas Blanton reveals how religious discourse-in the guise of "spiritual gifts" believed to come from Israel's god-is instrumental in the formation of sociopolitical hierarchies and the assignment of honor and prestige.



Blanton uses an interdisciplinary approach that incorporates religion, classics, sociology, and anthropology to investigate the economy of gift exchange shown in Paul's letters.