"racist" thinking dormant in scholarship

These days I am thinking about the implicit language of "racist" thinking dormant in scholarship under the guise of objectivity or unity. When it comes to interpreting "the body of Christ" metaphor 1 Cor 12 or Rom 12, the unity-driven, metaphorical organism reading has been dominant. For almost twenty years, I have challenged this reading. I say to myself: "Are those who insist that Paul's body metaphor is about unity/concord (homonoia) different from the white supremacists? Whose unity? Is the body metaphor an organism or something else? What is Christ to the body/community? Does Paul talk about hierarchical unity? Or does he talk about the status of a union that embraces solidarity and diversity? What is necessary for having such a status?"

From my debut book Christ's Body in Corinth (2008) to my recent book How to Read Paul (2021), I have made every effort to challenge this "unity" reading that is based on the metaphorical organism and homonoia. My alternative reading is ethical in that, for example in 1 Cor 12:27, the Corinthians must embody Christ, individually and communally.

2008

2021