TOWARDS A RE-READING OF COLOSSIANS FROM AN AFRICAN AMERICAN POSTCOLONIAL PERSPECTIVE by ANNIE TINSLEY A thesis submitted to The University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Theology and Religion College of Arts and Law The University of Birmingham June 2010 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT Essential information is often lost when in reading a piece of work the identity of an audience or the recipients is overlooked. The first hearers of the letter to the Colossians were a diverse group of people in a colonized country under the imperial rule of Rome in the first century. The writer of the letter addressed possible concerns presented to him from the evangelist, Epaphras, a native of Colossae. In identifying the audience whether they are first recipients or future readers, ideologies and theologies are discovered which add to the existing criticism genres. The process of identifying the audience allows one to reread the work through the lens of various peoples. This process also allows one to make comparisons between the various audiences. A comparison is made in this thesis between the 1st century readers and the enslaved Africans who lived on the continent of North America who were later exposed to concepts that stemmed from the letter. In viewing the identities of both groups the most damaging find was the derogatory labels placed on them. This thesis, an African American postcolonial re-reading of the letter to the Colossians, looks beyond the labels to ascertain the meaning of the Colossians letter, giving voices to each group. ii DEDICATION Nothing can compare to the overwhelming gratitude I have for my family for their never-ending support of me through this arduous task. Words cannot express my love and thanks to my children: Jaime and Hezekiah Massey, Paul and Demetria Tinsley II and Patience Tinsley; my mother, Nancy Coakley Barfield, my sister, Nikki McCoy and to my entire family near and far. In memoriam: Paul Michael Tinsley I 1953 - 2000 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Firstly, I thank God for this great opportunity to braze the trail for future generations in achieving this most prestigious milestone. Secondly, to my advisors Drs. R. S. Sugirtharajath who instilled confidence in me to begin my work and David Parker who saw me through to completion; thank you both for your combined abilities in helping me in achieving my goal. Thirdly, to the public libraries too numerous to mention who afforded me interlibrary loan privileges; special thanks to the York County Library System, Lake Wylie Branch in South Carolina and to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library System, in North Carolina. Fourthly, to the university and seminary libraries who allowed me to use their research facilities. Special thanks to Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, North Carolina, Winthrop University, South Carolina and University of North Carolina at Charlotte Fifthly, to the University of Birmingham library staff who were always kind, extremely resourceful and patient. Finally, to my friends and family; I thank you for your unbiased reading and editing. I offer my extreme gratitude to my sister Nancy Washington, my friends Joni Johnson, Teresa Ellis and Richard Goode. To those who were unable to read my work but offered their best wishes for my success, I thank you also. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1 Goals of the Study 1 Methodology 2 Outline of the Study 5 PART ONE THE PEOPLE OF COLOSSAE Introduction 11 Chapter One Contemporaries of Laodicea and Hierapolis 17 1.1 Mixed Cultures 19 1.2 The Devastation 22 1.3 The Church at Colossae 23 Chapter Two Generations of belief in Mysteries and Mythological Cults 25 2.1 Gods, Goddesses, Geniis, Lares … Oh My 27 2.2 Cults 29 2.3 Dissimilate or Assimilate 31 Chapter Three Jews 34 3.1 The Law 35 3.2 Circumcision and Traditions 47 3.3 Jesus Christ 52 Chapter Four Subjects of Greco-Roman Empire 61 4.1 Imperial Images and Themes 65 4.2 Imperial Reconciliation Language 67 4.3 Global Rome – the Pax Romana 71 4.4 Imperial Imprint in the Household Code 81 Conclusion 82 v PART TWO – IDENTITY – PEOPLE OF AFRICA Introduction 85 Chapter Five First-Century Africa 89 5.1 Ethiopia 89 5.1.1 The Account of the Conversion of the Ethiopian Eunuch 90 5.1.2 The Priesthood of Frumentius 91 5.1.3 The Nine Saints Monastic Life 92 5.2 Egypt 95 5.2.1 Bridges 96 5.2.1.1 Death 97 5.2.1.2 The Afterlife 97 5.2.1.3 Peace 99 5.2.2 Jewish Diaspora 100 5.2.3 Tradition of Mark 100 5.3 The Dissemination of Christianity in Northern Africa 110 Chapter Six African Traditional Religion 120 6.1 Triple Heritage 121 6.2 Mid Second Millennium 122 6.3 Christianity and ATR 125 Conclusion 127 PART THREE – IDENTITY - ENSLAVED AFRICANS IN NORTH AMERICA Introduction 130 Chapter Seven Identity through the Language of Enslavers 138 7.1 Silencing the Voices of the Enslaved 138 7.2 Arrival of Slave and Free 139 7.3 Name Changing: Linguistic Colonialism 141 vi 7.4 Learning the Language of the Enslaver 143 7.5 Language of Disease 145 7.6 Rhetoric 146 7.7 Censored Christianity 147 7.8 Planned Illiteracy 150 Chapter Eight Identity through the Language of Enslaved 153 8.1 Style-shifting 153 8.2 A Common Language: From Pidgin to Creole 156 8.3 Ebonics 159 8.4 Bible Language 162 8.5 Negro Spirituals 166 8.6 Slave Preacher 170 8.7 Language of Freedom 177 Chapter Nine Identity through the language of African America 182 9.1 Shadows of a Lost Heritage 184 9.2 Survival of African Languages 186 9.3 Theft of a Language 188 9.4 African American Language 190 9.5 The Black Church 196 Conclusion 199 PART FOUR - TOWARDS A RE-READING OF COLOSSIANS Introduction 202 Chapter Ten Literary Review of Commentary of Colossians 206 10.1 Labeling 206 10.2 Major Commentators on the ‘Colossians Error’ 213 10.2.1 J. B. Lightfoot 213 vii 10.2.2 Günther Bornkamm 214 10.2.3 Martin Dibelius 214 10.2.4 Fred. O. Francis 215 10.2.5 Eduard Schweizer 216 10.2.6 Clinton Arnold 216 10.2.7 Richard DeMaris 216 10.2.8 Troy Martin 217 10.2.9 R. McL Wilson 217 10.2.10 Morna D. Hooker 218 10.3 Christianity 220 10.4 Rhetoric 222 10.5 African American Hermeneutics 224 10.6 A Hermeneutic of a Slave Society (Isolation Theme) 226 Chapter Eleven Colossians One 236 Introduction 236 11.1 1.1-2 “Unity in Diversity: Leveling the Ground” 239 11.2 1.3-6 “Unity in Visibility and Acceptance” 241 11.3 1.7-9 “Preaching in Isolation” 243 11.4 1.10-12 “The Empire and Worth” 245 11.5 1.13-20 “Empire, Jesus and Isolation” 248 11.6 1.21-23a “Breaking the Isolation” 252 11.7 1.23b-29 “It’s All About Christ – The Christ Hymn” 255 Chapter Twelve Colossians Two 258 Introduction 258 viii 12.1 2.1-3 “Gaining Knowledge Through Christ - Resisting the Obvious” 263 12.2 2.4-8 “No Man’s Philosophy” 266 12.3 2.9-10 “From Isolation to the Divine” 271 12.4 2.11-15 “Rituals and Rites” 273 12.5 2.16-23 “Initiations, Intrusions, Perversions” 276 Chapter Thirteen Colossians Three 283 Introduction 283 13.1 3.1-4 “One if, Many thens” 283 13.2 3.5-13 “Catalogue in Overload” 288 13.3 3.14-17 “Barriers of Unity – Race and Class” 293 13.4 3.18-25 “It All Comes Undone” 297 Chapter Fourteen Colossians Four 304 Introduction 304 14.1 4.1 “Remains of the Empire” 304 14.2 4.2-6 “So, What Does Freedom Mean?” 307 14.3 4.7-18 “Legacy in a Name” 309 Conclusion 312 General Conclusions 314 Bibliography 319 ix GENERAL INTRODUCTION Each generation leaves a footprint of their lives on earth. That footprint which is their identity is a measure of every aspect of their lives except their thoughts. It can be argued that their footprint is the result of their thought processes whether constructive or destructive. Yet, the actual thoughts are immeasurable. People can however leave footprints of their lives through actions that cannot be measured scientifically. The people of Colossae left footprints even though their lives were erased through the devastation of an earthquake. Although they can no longer speak, these footprints or voices are recorded in the letter to the Colossians. Their voices seemed to have been silenced by history but can be heard through the pages of that letter. Similarly the identities of the enslaved Africans are the result of footprints left by generations of Africans whose lives were interrupted by the devastation of slavery. This thesis explores the religious history of each group to determine their understanding of the gospel. The Goals of the Study The aim of this thesis is to study the presentation of the gospel message to the first- century community of Colossae, their reception of it and compare it to the presentation and reception of the same to the enslaved Africans in the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries.