This article aims to contribute to the topic of conversion in the New Testament by drawing upon insights from the anthropology of religion. Taking up Rebecca Sachs Norris’s focus on embodied culture, and Simon Coleman’s and Peter Collins’s extension of Bourdieu’s concept of habitus, I attempt to bring Paul’s argument in 1 Corinthians 8:7 into sharper focus by reflecting theoretically on the ingrained associations of bodily practice, and the relationship between ritual worship and everyday life. In doing so, I also aim to add complexity to our overall picture of “the Pauline model of conversion.”
Austin-Broos, Diane.2003. "The Anthropology of Conversion: An Introduction." Pp. 1-12 in The Anthropology of Religious Conversion, edited by Andrew Buckser & Stephen D. Glazier.Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield .
2.
Barrett, C.K.1971. The First Epistle to the Corinthians. 2nd edition. London, UK: A&C Black.
Bourdieu, Pierre.1977. Outline of a Theory of Practice. Cambridge , UK: Cambridge University Press.
5.
Buckser, Andrew, & Stephen D. Glazier (eds). 2003. The Anthropology of Religious Conversion. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
6.
Chester, Stephen J.2003. Conversion at Corinth: Perspectives on Conversion in Paul’s Theology and the Corinthian Church. London, UK: T&T Clark.
7.
Coakley, Sarah (ed.) 1997. Religion and the Body. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
8.
Coleman, Simon, & Peter Collins .2000. "The ‘Plain’ and the ‘Positive’: Ritual, Experience and Aesthetics in Quakerism and Charismatic Christianity." Journal of Contemporary Religion15: 317-29.
9.
Csordas, Thomas.1997. Language, Charisma and Creativity: The Ritual Life of a Religious Movement. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
10.
Dawes, G.W.1990. "‘But If You Can Gain Your freedom’ (1 Cor 7:17-24)."Catholic Biblical Quarterly52: 681-84.
11.
Hefner, Robert W. (ed.) 1993. Conversion to Christianity: Historical and Anthropological Perspectives on a Great Transformation. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
12.
Horrell, David.1997. "Theological Principle or Christological Praxis? Pauline Ethics in 1 Corinthians 8.1-11.1." Journal for the Study of the New Testament67: 83-114.
13.
Horsley, R.A.1978. "Consciousness and Freedom Among the Corinthians: 1 Corinthians 8-10." Catholic Biblical Quarterly40: 574-89.
14.
Jenkins, Richard.1992. Pierre Bourdieu. London, UK: Routledge.
15.
Jones, F. Stanley.1987. "Freiheit" in den Briefen des Apostels Paulus. Göttingen, Germany: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht .
16.
Murphy-O’Connor, Jerome.2009. "Freedom or the Ghetto (1 Corinthians 8:1-13; 10:23-11:1)." In Keys to First Corinthians: Revisiting the Major Issues, 87-128. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
17.
Newton, Derek.1998. Deity and Diet: The Dilemma of Sacrificial Food at Corinth . Sheffield, UK: Sheffield Academic Press.
18.
Norris, Rebecca Sachs.2003. "Converting to What? Embodied Culture and the Adoption of New Beliefs." Pp. 171-81 in The Anthropology of Religious Conversion, edited by Andrew Buckser & Stephen D. Glazier.Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
19.
Phua, Richard Liong-Seng.2005. Idolatry and Authority: A Study of 1 Corinthians 8.1-11.1 in the Light of the Jewish Diaspora. London, UK: T&T Clark.
20.
Rambo, Lewis R.2003. "Anthropology and the Study of Conversion." Pp. 211-22 in The Anthropology of Religious Conversion, edited by Andrew Buckser & Stephen D. Glazier.Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
21.
Talal, Asad.1997. "Remarks on the Anthropology of the Body." Pp. 42-52 in Religion and the Body, edited by Sarah Coakley.Cambridge. UK: Cambridge University Press.
22.
Thiselton, Anthony C.2000. The First Epistle to the Corinthians. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
23.
Tomson, Peter J.1990. Paul and the Jewish Law: Halakha in the Letter of the Apostle to the Gentiles. Assen, The Netherlands: Van Gorcum.
24.
Wallace, Daniel B.1997. Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
