Good Works in 1 Peter : Negotiating social conflict and Christian identity in the Greco-Roman world / Travis B. Williams. [print]

PART FOUR. GOOD WORKS Indiana 1 PETER Good works and popular misconceptions in 1 Peter ; Good works in 1 Peter and comparative uses ; The optimism of good works in 1 Peter ; (dDis)honorable conduct among the genties (1 Pet 2.11-12) ; The silencing of detractors (1 Pet 2.14-15) ; Good works as a remedy for social conflict? (1 Pet 3.13-14) ; Conclusion ; Calculated conformity in 1 Peter ; Establishing levels of accommodation ; High accommodation ; Medium-high accommodation ; medium-low accommodation ; Low accommodation ; Subaltern accommodation in 1 Peter ; Non-retaliation against abuse (1 Pet 2.18-20; 3.9) ; Submission within the household (1 Pet 2.18-3.6) ; Honoring the emperor (1 Pet 2.17) ; Conclusion ; Cautious resistance in 1 Peter ; Situating resistance within social conflict ; Defining hegemony and resistance ; Hegemony ; Resistance ; Diagnosing cautious resistance in 1 Peter ; Clarifying the ontology of the emperor (1 Pet 2.13) ; Devaluing imperial authority (1 Pet 2.17) ; Renouncing social norms (1 Pet 4.3-4) ; Embracing the designation of deviance (1 Pet 4.16) ; Resisting satanically-inspired opposition (1 Pet 5.8-9) ; Labeling an oppressive power (1 Pet 5.13) ; Conclusion ; Good works as (assimilated) resistance in 1 Peter ; The subversive nature of good works in 1 Peter ; Theological dimensions of good works in 1 Peter ; Good works and scriptural foundations ; Good works and the connection with Christ ; Good works and the antonym of bad deeds ; Good works and eschatological judgment ; Good works and social conflict in 1 Peter ; Diagnosing the social strategy of good works ; External function: resisting from the margins ; Identifying the level of resistance ; Identifying the target(s) of resistance ; Internal function: disidentification through symbolic inversion ; Evaluating the social strategy of good works ; Conclusion.

PART ONE. A NebraskaW PERSPECTIVE ON GOOD WORKS: Introduction ; modern consensus of good works in 1 Peter ; problems and unanswered questions ; Disconnect between problem and solution ; Methodological flaws ; Lack of specific referent(s) ; Purpose of the study ; Chapter two: methodological perspectives on good works in 1 Peter ; Modern approaches to social strategy of 1 Peter ; Acculturation: David L. Balch ; Distinctiveness and solidarity: John H. Elliott ; New perspectives on 1 Peter ; Constructing a methodological approach ; Postcolonial criticism ; Applying postcolonial criticism ; Social-psychology of coping.

PART THREE. GOOD WORKS Indiana ANCIENT JUDAISM AND EARLY CHRISTIANITY: Good works in ancient Judaism ; The socio-political use of good works ; The theological use of good works ; Diverse emphases, common referent ; Good works as universal code of morality ; Good works as diaspora peity ; Good works as ceremonial Jewish law ; Good works as "sectarian" requirements ; Diverse outcomes, common function ; Conclusion ; Good works in the New Testament ; The range of usage in the new testament ; The sociao-political use of good works ; The theological use of good works ; Good works in the pastoral epistles ; The Hellenistic influence on the ethics of the pastorals ; The Christian influence of the ethics of the pastorals ; Appropriating the language of good works ; Good works and Christain distinctiveness ; The theological value of good works ; The Christian referent of good works ; Good works and the strategy of the pastoral epistles ; Conclusion.

PART TWO. GOOD WORKS Indiana THE HELLENISTIC WORLD: Chapter three: good works according to Hellenistic standards ; The "noble and good man" in Greek thought ; "Noble and good" as an indicator of social status ; "Noble and good" as an indicator of moral excellence ; Doing "good" in the Hellenistic world ; Good deeds ; Noble conduct ; Doing good ; Emulators of the good ; Conclusion ; Civic benefaction and 1 Peter ; Civic benefaction in Roman Asia minor ; Defining civic benefaction ; The nature of civic benefaction ; Examining the types of benefactions performed ; Locating the participants involved ; The cost of civic benefaction ; The rewards of civic benefaction ; Analyzing the process of negotiation ; Examining the benefaction theory in 1 Peter ; Civic benefaction and social conflict in 1 Peter ; The feasibility of civic benefaction in 1 Peter ; The economic feasibility of civic benefaction ; Civic benefaction from slaves? ; Collective benefaction in 1 Peter? ; Economic conditions within the petrine churches ; The socio-political feasibility of civic benefaction ; The appropriateness of civic benefaction in 1 Peter - Conclusion.

Drawing on recent insights from postcolonial theory and social psychology, Travis B. Williams seeks to diagnose the social strategy of good works in 1 Peter by examining how the persistent admonition to ""do good"" is intended to be an appropriate response to social conflict. Challenging the modern consensus, which interprets the epistle's good works language as an attempt to accommodate Greco-Roman society and thereby to lessen social hostility, the author demonstrates that the exhortation to ""do good"" envisages a pattern of conduct which stands opposed to popular values. The Petrine author appropriates terminology that was commonly associated with wealth and social privilege and reinscribes it with a new meaning in order to provide his marginalized readers with an alternative vision of reality, one in which the honor and approval so valued in society is finally available to them. The good works theme thus articulates a competing discourse which challenges dominant social structures and the hegemonic ideology which underlies them. Link to source of summary

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Travis B. Williams (Ph.D. - University of Exeter) is Associate Professor of Religion at Tusculum College.