2004
Volume 68, Issue 4
  • ISSN: 2542-6583
  • E-ISSN: 2590-3268

Abstract

This article explores perceptions of the past, and in particular of the apostle Paul, in recent newspaper articles that discuss male circumcision, using Charles Taylor’s category of the ‘social imaginary’. Applying Taylor’s category of the ‘imaginary’ to this contemporary debate shows that the past is constructed in several ways, sometimes in understanding history as progress, but also as a warning or a deciding factor in contemporary oppositions. Views of the past that mention Paul locate his relevance for contemporary attitudes in his presumed rejection of physical circumcision and emphasis on inner attitudes, but can draw very different conclusions from this for contemporary attitudes towards circumcision.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.5117/NTT2014.68.308.NEUT
2014-01-01
2024-11-11
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/content/journals/10.5117/NTT2014.68.308.NEUT
Loading
  • Article Type: Research Article
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error