The Least of These: Paul and the Marginalized
Jesus cared for the least, but did Paul?
The apostle Paul has a reputation for being detached from the concerns of the poor and powerless. In this book, Carla Swafford Works demonstrates that Paul’s message and ministry are in harmony with the teaching of Jesus. She brings to light an apostle who preaches and models good news to the “least of these”—the poor, the marginalized, the disadvantaged, and the vulnerable.
The Least of These begins by highlighting the presence of the marginalized in Paul’s ministry by looking at poverty in Paul’s churches, the involvement of slaves and freedpersons in the community, and the role of women in the Pauline mission. Works then examines the significance of the marginalized in Pauline theology by investigating how the apostle employs metaphors of the “least.”
Like Jesus, Paul cared deeply for people at the margins. Paul’s ministry is consistent with that of Jesus. Both men cared for the poor. Paul served the least in his mission, modeling his apostolic ministry after the cross of Christ. Works shows that Paul, far from being an abstract thinker, was a practical theologian teaching a message and leading a life of compassion, kindness, and care.
- Highlights the presence of the marginalized in Paul’s ministry
- Explores the role of women in the Pauline mission
- Examines the significance of the marginalized by investigating how Paul employs metaphors of the “least”
- Introduction
- Paul and Poverty
- Paul and Slavery
- Women and the Pauline Mission
- The Galatian Heirs
- The Church as the Least of These?
- Paul as the Least of These?
- Good News for the Least of These
Top Highlights
“It is fair to say that for most in the Roman world, daily life lacked luxury. Most had experienced need at some point and had daily reminders of how precarious access to resources could be.” (Pages 15–16)
“one for whom Christ died, and socioeconomic realities are at play.” (Page 59)
“The land promises to Abraham, though reinterpreted by Paul, have by no means disappeared from Galatians or from Pauline theology. Rather, the promise of land finds its fulfillment in the hope of new creation—a creation that is not simply spiritualized, but is nothing short of the consummation of God’s created order. This new creation is not only marked by resurrection, but also includes land and all the blessings of life in God’s redeemed cosmos. It is new creation that Paul emphasizes as the real incentive for the Galatians to stay the course in the faith that he first taught them.” (Page 97)
“Paul calls the believers to care for one another, to bear one another’s burdens, and to remember the poor. By taking a collection for the impoverished Jerusalem saints, Paul demonstrates that this early church movement is bound to one another in love. The believers must not only think of themselves as part of the same household, but also act as though they are part of the same household, caring for one another and helping one another survive. These acts of mutual care extend even to believers whom they might never meet in the far reaches of the Roman Empire.” (Page 32)
“One of the challenges facing any historian is the question of how to define poverty.1 Poverty can take many forms. It could be a social problem that ostracizes some from resources and privileges others. It could be a problem with the structure of an economic system that keeps the poor impoverished even in times of plenty. It could be a temporary hardship that could improve in better times. Poverty in the ancient world tends to be described relative to those who have plenty.” (Pages 12–13)
- Title: The Least of These: Paul and the Marginalized
- Author: Carla Swafford Works
- Publisher: Eerdmans
- Print Publication Date: 2020
- Logos Release Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Bible. N.T. Epistles of Paul › Theology; Marginality, Social › Biblical teaching
- ISBNs: 9780802874467, 0802874460
- Resource ID: LLS:LEASTOFTHESE
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T01:08:50Z