Overview
"In this book, Colleen Conway looks at the construction of masculinity in New Testament depictions of Jesus. She argues that the New Testament writers necessarily engaged the predominant gender ideology of the Roman Empire, whether consciously or unconsciously. Although the notion of what constituted ideal masculinity in Greek and Roman cultures certainly pre-dated the Roman Empire, the emergence of the Principate concentrated this gender ideology on the figure of the emperor. Indeed, critical to the success of the empire was the portrayal of the emperor as the ideal man and the Roman citizen as one who aspired to be the same. Any person who was held up alongside the emperor as another source of authority would be assessed in terms of the cultural values represented in this Roman image of the ""manly man."" Conway examines a variety of ancient ideas of masculinity, as found in philosophical discourses, medical treaties, imperial documents, and ancient inscriptions. Manliness, in these accounts, was achieved through self-control over passions such as lust, anger, and greed. It was also gained through manly displays of courage, the endurance of pain, and death on behalf of others. With these texts as a starting point, Conway shows how the New Testament writings approach Jesus' gender identity. From Paul's early letters to the Gospels and Acts, to the book of Revelation, Christian writings in the Bible confront the potentially emasculating scandal of the cross and affirm Jesus as ideally masculine. Conway's study touches on such themes as the relationship between divinity and masculinity; the role of the body in relation to gender identity; and belief in Jesus as a means of achieving a more ideal form of masculinity. This impeccably researched and highly readable book reveals the importance of ancient gender ideology for the interpretation of Christian texts."
Full Product Details
Author: Colleen Conway (Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Seton Hall University)
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc
Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc
Dimensions:
Width: 23.40cm
, Height: 2.50cm
, Length: 16.00cm
Weight: 0.519kg
ISBN: 9780195325324
ISBN 10: 019532532
Pages: 272
Publication Date: 01 May 2008
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Undergraduate
,
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: To order
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.
Reviews
Behold the Man shows that gender has been a central concern in representations of Jesus from the beginning... Conway's study is important because it reveals the complex strategies of musculinization employed by New Testament authors... [her] discussion of how masculinity was transmitted from culture to individual is an especially welcome addition scholarship. L. Stephanie Cobb, Church History
...well structured, engagingly written... a thoughtful, well-researcged study which gathers together succinctly a good range of material to make its case... It presents its material well and persuasively. Clive Marsh, The Journal of Theological Studies 60:2 ...much that is well argued and evidenced and important. F. Gerald Downing, Journal for the Study of the New Testament, Booklist 2009 Vol 31.5 Behold the Man shows that gender has been a central concern in representations of Jesus from the beginning... Conway's study is important because it reveals the complex strategies of musculinization employed by New Testament authors... [her] discussion of how masculinity was transmitted from culture to individual is an especially welcome addition scholarship. L. Stephanie Cobb, Church History
Author Information
Colleen Conway is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey. She is the author of Men and Women in the Fourth Gospel: Gender and Johannine Characterization.
