Social Fractures in the Habitus : Paul’s κατάρτισ- Language of Preventative and Responsive Care

Abstract

While recent research has focused on human agency in Pauline literature, less attention is given to the forms of care portrayed by Paul’s κατάρτισ- language. In this article, I propose that Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of habitus provides fresh insight on how Paul’s letters restructure habitus and early Christian praxis that generate social fractures. To develop this argument, I first describe Bourdieu’s conception of habitus, which elucidates human agents’ interactions with the social fields that shape their practices. Second, I provide conceptual contextualization by exploring κατάρτισ- language in ancient medicine, philosophy, and Jewish sources, particularly in relation to current understandings of healing in Jewish and early Christian conceptualization. Third, I apply Bourdieu’s theory of habitus to Pauline texts that use forms of καταρτίζω and κατάρτισις: 1 Thess. 3.9–10; 1 Cor. 1.10; 2 Cor. 13.9–11; Gal. 6.1; Rom. 9.22–23. In the final section, I offer reflection on a Pauline theology of care in relation to his forms of care, situating Paul more critically within a cultural and theological history of caring. Paul’s letter-writing constitutes interventionist and improvisational care for healing social fractures in early Christians’ habitus.