The Care of the Self in Early Christian Texts (The Bible and Cultural Studies) - Tapa blanda

“In a world full of self-help and self-care books so prevalent in society today, it is refreshing to see how Dr. Saxon, returning to original language source material from the first three centuries of Christianity explores how the early church defined care of the self as more than having some ‘me time.’  She compares the early church to Greco--Roman philosophies of care of the self, as well as the church’s view of martyrdom as care for the self or soul in light of the resurrection.  In addition, she contrasts perspectives of care of the self among women in the early church.  The results are insightful, inspirational, and eye-opening with profound implications for helping us find the courage to speak truth to power today.  It is a must read.” (Ann Graham Brock, Author of Mary Magdalene, the First Apostle: The Struggle for Authority, USA)

This book presents the first three Christian centuries through the lens of what Foucault called “the care of the self.” This lens reveals a rich variation among early Christ movements by illuminating their practices instead of focusing on what we anachronistically assume to have been their beliefs. A deep analysis of the discourse of martyrdom demonstrates how writers like Clement, Ignatius, and Polycarp represented self-care. Deborah Niederer Saxon brings to light an entire spectrum of alternative views represented in newly-discovered texts from Nag Hammadi and elsewhere. This insightful analysis has implications for feminist scholarship and exposes the false binary of thinking in terms of “orthodoxy” versus “heresy”/”Gnosticism.”