Paul in Ecstasy: The Neurobiology of the Apostle's Life and Thought

279 Pages·2009·2.11 MB·English

by  Colleen Shantz

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paul in ecstasy
AlthoughmanyreadersofPaul’slettersrecognizehowimportanthisexperience
was to his life and thought, biblical scholars have not generally addressed this
topic head-on. Colleen Shantz argues that they have been held back both by a
biasagainstreligiousecstasyandbythelimitsofthebiblicaltexts:Howdoyou
responsibly access someone else’s experience, particularly an experience as
unusualanddebatedasreligiousecstasy?Andhowdoyouresponsiblyaccount
fortheroleofexperienceinthatperson’sthought?PaulinEcstasypursuesthese
questions through a variety of disciplines – most notably neuroscience. This
study provides cogent explanations for bewildering passages in Paul’s letters,
outlines a much greater influence of such experience in Paul’s life and letters,
andpointstoitsimportance inChristian origins.
Colleen Shantz is assistant professor of New Testament studies in the Faculty
ofTheologyattheUniversityofSt.Michael’sCollegeandattheTorontoSchool
of Theology, the consortium of seven theological schools at the University of
Toronto.

Paul in Ecstasy
The Neurobiology of the Apostle’s
Life and Thought
COLLEEN SHANTZ
St. Michael’s College attheUniversity of Toronto
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo
Cambridge University Press
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521866101
© Colleen Shantz 2009
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the
provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part
may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published in print format 2009
ISBN-13 978-0-511-54025-7 eBook (EBL)
ISBN-13 978-0-521-86610-1 hardback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy
of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication,
and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain,
accurate or appropriate.
Contents
Acknowledgments pagevii
Introduction 1
1 WhatEcstasy?AnAssessmentoftheMisregard 20
1.1 AtFirstSight:TheCulturalBiasAgainstReligiousEcstasy 21
1.2 TheViewfromHere:BiasesinNewTestamentStudies 27
1.2.1 Cognicentrism inNewTestamentStudies 27
1.2.2 EcstaticsAreCatholic,Aren’tThey? 33
1.3 PaulineOversight 38
1.3.1 Paul,OpponentofEcstaticAbuses 38
1.3.2 Well,MaybeOnce,ButOnlybyAccident:Conversion
astheCatchallforPaul’sEcstasy 46
1.3.3 ThroughtheReadingGlasses 56
1.4 Conclusion 63
2 Paul’sBrain:TheCognitiveNeurologyofEcstasy 67
2.1 EcstaticReligiousExperienceandHumanNeurology 69
2.1.1 Cross-CulturalEcstaticExperience 71
2.1.2 ABriefHistoryoftheHumanBrain 74
2.2 TheNeurologicalandCerebralBasisforEcstaticExperience 79
2.2.1 TheModelofNeurologicalTuning 81
2.3 Paul’sEcstasy:TextualandSomatic 87
2.3.1 CriticalIssuesintheInterpretationof2Cor12:1–4 90
2.3.2 ANeurologicalRereadingof2Cor12:1–4 93
2.4 Conclusion 108
3 Paul’sVoice:ParsingPaul’sEcstaticDiscourse 110
3.1 OtherFeaturesofEcstasy 114
3.2 BeyondParadise 119
3.2.1 VisionsandRevelations 120
v
vi CONTENTS
3.2.2 2Corinthians 3–5 123
3.2.3 Romans8 127
3.2.4 EcstasyandSuffering 131
3.3 Paul’sBodyofKnowledge 133
3.3.1 Transformation andUnion 136
3.3.2 EmbodyingDeath 140
3.4 Conclusion 142
4 Paul’sPractice:DiscerningEcstasiesinPractice 145
4.1 SpiritPossession 152
4.1.1 NeurologicalandSocialAnthropologicalFeatures 152
4.1.2 SpiritPossessioninCorinth 155
4.2 SoulJourney 165
4.2.1 SocialAnthropological Definitions 170
4.2.2 Paul’sUseofASC 176
4.3 Pneumatika 184
4.3.1 ProphecyintheTaxonomyofSocialAnthropology 185
4.3.2 Paul’sComments 194
4.4 Implications:Paul’sPublicPositiononASC 197
5 TheWholePaul:AShortCoursein(Nondeterministic)
Complexity 204
Bibliography 213
IndexofAncientSources 253
IndexofModernAuthors 259
SubjectIndex 265
Acknowledgments
Iwouldliketoexpressmythankstoandacknowledgethecontributionsof
several people who helped to improve the ideas presented here.
My doctoral supervisor, Leif Vaage, served alternately as trade wind and
drydockasItriedtocreatesomethingseaworthy.Asoccasionrequired,he
wasgenerousinhisencouragementofthepursuitofintuitionsandinsight-
ful in his interventions. The process was more fruitful for his part in it. In
addition,mydoctoralexaminers,ProfessorsTerrenceDonaldson,J.Dorcas
Gordon,L.AnnJervis,andAlanSegal,werethoughtfulandgraciousreaders
whose comments were most helpful and encouraging in subsequent stages.
OfthethreeanonymousreadersforCambridge,onlyCarolRauchAlbright
subsequently revealed her identity to me. I thank her especially for her
thoughts about the use of neuroscience outside laboratory settings. I am
gratefulalsotothetwootherreadersfortheirsuggestions,andespeciallyto
‘‘readerC,’’whomisconstruedmytoneinawaythathighlightedthepoten-
tial for others to do the same! I hope the final version better demonstrates
that occasional use of humor need not be antithetical to respect.
A number of people read portions of the manuscript for accuracy and
intelligibility. Among them, Dr. Deirdre Dawson, of the Kunin-Lunenfeld
AppliedResearchUnit,kindlycheckedthesciencesectionsofChapter2.Her
expertise is greatly appreciated, and it goes without saying that any short-
comings that remain in that chapter are solely my responsibility. Other
colleagues and sharp-eyed friends read portions of the manuscript. I thank
myexcellentcolleagueProfessorJenniferHarris,aswellasClaudineCarlson,
ProfessorZebaCrook,andMichaelMills(thelastofwhomreadthewhole
manuscript at one point or another and tolerantly served as conversation
partnerevenafterhisnativeinteresthadrunout).RyanWettlauferprepared
theindexesofancientsourcesandmodernauthors(andevenentertainingly
vii
viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
documented the process). I am indebted to all for their suggestions and
assistance.
Afewadditionalpeopledeserveacknowledgmentfortheirpracticaland/
or moral support along the way. At key points, Professor Brent Strawn
offered both kinds of aid, for which I am very grateful. Professor Robert
Jewettprovedhimselftobethatmostwonderfulofspecies:agenerousand
encouraging senior scholar. AndyBeck, religion editor at Cambridge, has
beenagenialguidethroughoutthepublishingprocess.Finally,mychildren,
Chloe¨ and Jonah,arethemost excellent companions I knowforjustabout
anyadventure.(Thankyou,mydears,fordinner-tablehilarityandlearning
not to ask when the book would be done.)