A Feminist Introduction to Paul - by Sandra Hack Polaski (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Sandra Hack Polaski introduces readers to the letters and world of Paul, encouraging a critical appreciation of Paul and his writings that does not require a choice between commitment to the scriptures and integrity as a modern feminist. In conversation with the leading interpreters of Paul and considering possible responses to Paul-conformist, resistant, rejectionist, and transformational-Polaski forges her own theory of how to interpret Paul. She reads, emphasizes, and reinterprets overlooked, neglected, misintegrated, or differently interpreted Pauline texts, making visible the invisible and challenging the accepted readings. Polaski uncovers both the ideologies behind the text and the ideologies the text seeks to suppress. She traces the trajectories toward which the texts point even if Paul did not fully follow the trajectories to their logical end. Such a program leads Polaski to find God's New Creation as the operative center of Pauline thought.

Review Quotes

"Sandra Hack Polaski's Feminist Introduction to Paul is a remarkable pedagogical tool from which students, teachers, and scholars will learn much! True to its title, this very readable and well-informed book is ideal for introducing students to Paul, his world and his churches, and to the diversity of interpretations of Paul's letters through the centuries and in recent scholarship. Because of its explicit concerns for an ethics of biblical interpretation, this book puts before the readers of Paul the many interpretive choices that they have, by showing the diversity of views of scripture, of feminist perspectives and strategies, and of scholarly readings of key Pauline texts. Because of this most remarkable feature of the book, the readers of Paul are in a position to recognize the choices they have implicitly made and to assume responsibility for their interpretations, hopefully by adopting a liberating interpretation."

About the Author

Sandra Hack Polaski is assistant professor of New Testament at Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, Virginia. She is the author of several books and articles including A Feminist Introduction to Paul (Chalice Press) and Inside the Red Tent (Chalice Press).