The Pastoral Epistles and the Ethics of Reading

Abstract

Critical theory needs to concern itself with the ethics of a text's reception. Ethical reading involves respecting the otherness of the text, and also being responsible to oneself by articulating difference. The paper explores the Pastoral Epistles from this perspective. Distinctions are drawn among the stated, implied and actual readers, and these are linked with the question of 'reading genre'. The importance of entering the world of the text is then explored, four areas of difference between then and now being sketched. Text-genre and authorship are discussed, prior to an exploration of the rhetoric of these texts. Passages are discussed as examples. The conclusion is reached that an ethical—indeed sympathetic—reading of these texts is possible, despite their apparent pseudonymity. A responsible reading must involve attention both to past meaning and future potential.