Paul, Timothy, and the Respectability Politics of Race: A Womanist Inter(con)textual Reading of Acts 16:1–5

In: Religions ; Volume 10 ; Issue 3

Abstract

In this paper, I interpret the story of the Apostle Paul&rsquo ; s circumcision of Timothy in the New Testament text The Acts of the Apostles (16:1&ndash ; 5) from a womanist perspective. My approach is intersectional and inter(con)textual. I construct a hermeneutical dialogue between African American women&rsquo ; s experiences of race/racism, respectability politics, and the Acts&rsquo ; narrative. In conversation with critical race theorists Naomi Zack, Barbara and Karen Fields, and black feminist E. Frances White, I discuss the intersection of race/racism, gender, geopolitical Diasporic space, and the burden and failure of respectability politics. Respectability politics claim that when non-white people adopt and exhibit certain proper behaviors, the reward will be respect, acceptance, and equality in the white dominated society, thereby ameliorating or overcoming race/racism. Race and racism are modern constructions that I employ heuristically and metaphorically as analytical categories for discussing the rhetorical distinctions made between Jews and Greeks/Gentiles, Timothy&rsquo ; s bi-racial status, and to facilitate comparative dialogue between Acts and African American women&rsquo ; s experiences with race and racism. I argue that Paul engages in respectability politics by compelling Timothy to be circumcised because of his Greek father and despite the Jerusalem Council&rsquo ; s decision that Gentile believers will not be required to be circumcised.