The Literary Construction of the Other in the Acts of the Apostles

Download or read book The Literary Construction of the Other in the Acts of the Apostles written by Mitzi J Smith and published by James Clarke & Company. This book was released on 2012-06-28 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mitzi Smith engages the reader in explaining how, as in the real world, the characterization of the Others is used negatively in the biblical texts. Smith shows how the concept of difference is constructed in order to distinguish ourselves from proximateothers: indeed, the other who is most similar to us is most threatening and most problematic. The process of Othering, or Otherness, is a synthetic and political social construct that allows us to create and maintain boundaries between 'them' and 'us'. Thus, this work demonstrates how proximate characters are constructed as the Other in the Acts of the Apostles. Charismatics, Jews, and women are proximate others who are constructed as the external and internal Others.