Embracing and contesting tradition and identity

Drawing on Paul for framing “Anabaptism at 500”

Abstract

The entire Bible is arguably a complex expression of the constant process of constructing, interpreting, transmitting, promoting, and reworking received tradition, as it intersects with changing ecological, material, political, demographic, and cultural conditions. At some critical moments, the normally incremental process explodes into dramatic and disruptive transformations. Paul (also known in Scripture as Saul) embodies and represents one of these massive transformations. As a figure, Paul is himself also “traditioned” (transmitted to and received by us) in more than one version.