Melissa Barciela is an assistant professor of New Testament and an interim associate dean for undergraduate studies at Palm Beach Atlantic University. She is also the author of a new book, The Suffering Body as a Site of Virtue Formation in Philippians. She was kind enough to answer some questions about her book, about suffering, and about the virtues.
How would you describe your new book to people who haven’t read it (yet)?
The book is a technical monograph that answers the question: “What is the place of the suffering body in Paul’s letter to the Philippians as it relates to virtue formation?” My interest is in the intersection of the body language, the emphasis on virtue formation, and Paul’s relationship to ancient philosophy in Philippians. In my research of the letter, I found that there was a live conversation in ancient philosophical sources–such as those of Seneca and Philo–regarding the significance of a body in pain amidst the pursuit of virtue. What do you do with the physical body in the pursuit of virtue, especially when it is experiencing suffering and/or pain? Readers may be familiar with the Cartesian idea “I think therefore I am” or other similar Neoplatonic concepts that emphasize the locus of personhood as the mind. This book queries if other ancient philosophers and the apostle Paul thought of it the same way.
What are you hoping this book will achieve out in the world? How do you want it to affect readers, etc?
I’m hoping that the book will achieve a few things. I’ll name two. First, I would hope readers see that the body and its significance in texts is constructed. By this I mean that authors (both ancient and modern) are shaping our ethics and anthropology with how they describe the physical body and use body metaphors in texts. For Paul, I argue that the body is not something to rid oneself of. Rather, because of the transformation brought through the embodiment of Jesus and his life, suffering, and death, the suffering bodies of believers in Philippians becomes a significant site of virtue formation. Relatedly, then, I would hope it asks all readers to revisit body language in ancient texts as key data for understanding the thought world of the author.
For readers who consider themselves Christians, I would also hope that the findings of this book challenge their theological anthropology. What I mean by this is something I call in my classroom “I fly away theology.” The view that the body is inherently bad and the mind must conquer it at all costs is Neoplatonic, not Pauline. Perhaps, then, a more robust theological vision of human embodiment as a good part of creation’s design is necessary and ought to be more closely reflected in our liturgy, theology, and practice.
What inspired you to write this book? Was this something you’ve been wanting to write for a while, or was there something about this book, right now?
I have long held interest in body language and body metaphors in the New Testament, as well as interest in the motif of suffering. This stems from a few places, but one significant one is the life experience of my brother Marcos. My older brother faced several developmental difficulties and endured intense physical suffering in his life. The question of this book–what is the place or value of a body that hurts–is one that likely has lingered beneath the surface for me for a long time. Is the sole hope either (1) to escape the body through present healing or (2) to live in anticipation of the new creation? Is there a place for hurting bodies in the life of faith? While suffering is not sought, the acknowledgement that bodies endure pain brings these questions to the fore. While this study does not directly address all of these concerns, my interest in the topic arose from my own positionality as a New Testament interpreter. My positionality also caused Philippians 1:20 to jump off the page: “Christ will be magnified in my body.” Curiously, Paul does not say that Christ will be exalted in his mind, spirit, or soul here. Rather, he specifically places this exaltation in his own pained and imprisoned body. I then noticed that interpreters significantly downplayed this connection to the body. And so... the study began.
Your book is about the “suffering body” in Philippians. How do you define suffering?
Suffering, like the experience of pain, is hard to define. For the purposes of the present book, I narrowed the “suffering body” to be expressions of physical or emotional distress in the letter to the Philippians.
Is there a big contrast between how the ancient world thought about suffering and how we think about it? Relatedly, do you think views on suffering have changed even as recently as this century?
Paul’s world and ours are radically different. However, one shared experience is that of human suffering on physical, social, and emotional levels. The experience of pain is often an inarticulate, yet universally understood, one. In antiquity, as today, there are a number of views on suffering. Is it something that humans experience as random misfortune or is it caused by some cosmic force, like the modern concept of karma? Does a “good life” include enduring suffering, or can it only be lived after overcoming suffering? Is suffering best viewed as an opportunity to demonstrate fidelity to God or to highlight the strength of one’s reason to overcome suffering? These questions are negotiated in antiquity as they are today. I don’t think I’m well positioned to say if views are changing, but I am grateful for what seems to be increased scholarly attention to the topic in the last century.
Your title also mentions virtue formation. There are many different schools of thought on that. How do you define virtue and how do you see the relationship between the virtues and Christianity? I know that’s a huge question, but maybe you can sketch out your thoughts or identify some thinkers you agree with generally.
Within this study, I define virtues as “particular and enduring dispositions of character that enable one to live rightly.” Relatedly, “virtue formation refers to the ancient process of moral formation rooted in Aristotelian ethics and centred around the cultivation of such virtue(s)” (pg. 27). New Testament scholars have highlighted that virtue was a shared category and goal in antiquity, especially in philosophical texts. Further, they have noted that it is helpful to consider the New Testament writings as swimming in that same stream of cultural and ideological context. In this book, then, I am interested in Paul’s eye towards virtue formation in the letter to the Philippians. While Paul was thoroughly eschatological, eagerly anticipating the return of the Messiah, he also demonstrates a keen interest in the moral formation of the believers in these first-century gatherings. In awaiting the Messiah, believers are to be transformed by own Christ’s example. Christ as the exemplar of virtue, especially for those inhabiting pained bodies, is a central theme of this book. The early church in the patristic era will further define these virtues, eventually leading to the theological virtues as conceived in the writings of Aquinas and others. However, I (along with other scholars) would place a significant anchor point for this focus on moral transformation in the letters of Paul.
You are interested in Paul. Some people love him, some people really struggle to love him. What makes Paul interesting to you? And what do you think we often get wrong about him?
Modern Christians baptize Paul in our own denominational preference. We read him as a good ______ (Baptist/Presbyterian/Anglican/etc.) (fill in the blank with your denominational choice). We reimagine Paul into our theological boxes and often fail to recognize how so very weird he was for his context. Paul is a first-century Jewish Pharisee who not only affirms Jesus as the Messiah but also claims that Gentiles (pagans) are now fully included in the promises of God. Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles and presents a religious message that radically lives at the threshold of multiple social and religious boundaries. We have a collection of first-hand writings from Paul, one of the first followers of Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, through which we watch as he actively negotiates the boundaries of this new religious group, aims to resolves in-group tensions, and navigates live theological quandaries. Can Christ followers eat food sacrificed to idols? Should Gentiles be circumcised? How ought they partake of the sacred meal, the Lord’s supper? In this context, we find Paul not as a systematician, with neatly packaged theology, nor as a local pastor delivering moving sermons. We find an itinerant apostle of Jesus navigating complex theological and social issues in real time. Paul’s ability to navigate such dense theological quandaries while retaining his sharp focus on ethics and praxis is masterfully reflected in his letters. It is this skill that piques my interest and keeps me returning to his letters time and again.
Your book considers Paul among the ancient philosophers. Why is it important to consider him in that context?
This is a great question. I situate the main question, “What is the place of the suffering body as it relates to virtue formation?” squarely within a broader reading of Paul among the ancient philosophers. This is a very intentional methodological decision for a few reasons. First, the question is one engaged implicit and explicitly by philosophical texts, including Seneca’s Epistles, Plato’s Phaedo, and 4 Maccabees. These texts demonstrate a melding of theological, anthropological, and ethical questions. Philosophy was not a separate study or major options for curious undergraduates. Rather, it was a way of life that encompassed all aspects of one’s human expression.
Relatedly, Paul is engaging in many of the same questions that the philosophers were interested in: What is the good life? Who is God? What is the cosmos like and what is in it? How do humans engage with suffering? What makes a good citizen? Although the responses in Paul are found embedded within contingent letters responding to particular circumstances, the same categories of questions are engaged. Paul will even use language shared with philosophical texts, such as “virtue”(ἀρετή; Phil 4:8) or to “depth of perception (αἴσθησις; Phil 1:9) (a term also found in philosophical texts of virtue). The apostle also attracts quite a following, despite him being an itinerant, freelance teacher. It is rather unsurprising that Acts depicts the philosophers taking interest in Paul’s writings on Mars Hill (Acts 17) and even later texts will begin to wonder about Paul’s relationship to the philosophers, as attested by the Letters of Paul and Seneca.
In addition to writing, you teach. How does teaching affect how you think about the kinds of things you write about?
This is a great question and one that I have thought about a lot since writing this book (which is a revised version of my doctoral dissertation mostly written before I began full-time teaching). With the writings projects I work on now, I do try to imagine what kinds of questions my students, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels, might have about the topic at hand. I also consider what I would want a resource I assign for class on X topic to cover. These thoughts and the interests of my students inform the direction I take the writing project. Regardless of the level of technicality, I hope that my work might be of use and support for the work of the Church both in the US and globally, either directly or indirectly.
Can you share a little bit about the process of writing the book? What did that look like?
Given that it is a revision of my doctoral dissertation, it looked like persevering in my PhD program! I was lucky to have wonderful scholars (Drs. Matthew Sharp, Madhavi Nevader, David Johnston, T.J. Lang, among others) read and guide the work from start to completion. However, I do follow a similar writing process now as I did then. Once I have a direction for the piece and a rough, working outline, I tackle it one chapter (or section) at a time. I first research extensively, then build a detailed outline from those notes, which usually sends me back to research where I find gaps. I then write the first draft of the chapter, give it a few rounds of editing, and keep moving to the next chapter! The final rounds of full read throughs always result in extensive editing and careful stitching the various parts together, however this is the art and fun of biblical scholarship.
Have you already started your next project? If so, can you share a little bit about it?
I have a few projects in the works! One is a book on Romans entitled All Trails Lead to Romans (Baker Academic) and co-authored with New Testament scholar Joey Dodson. The book approaches Romans through the various interpretive vantage points (or vistas) of contemporary Pauline scholarship, including the Reformation Vista, Salvation History vista, etc. The other is a co-authored book with Drs. Lynn Cohick and Jesse Grenz entitled Reading Paul Between the Lines: An Introduction to the Apostle’s Material World and Embodied Theology (IVP Academic). This text explores the textual history, theology, and spirituality of the apostle through the lens of material culture and embodiment.
Is there anything else you were hoping I would ask?
These have all been great questions to think through. One I would add is: Who should read this book? Of course, anyone can benefit by reading and engaging–through both agreement and disagreement–with the ideas presented. However, I would recommend the book to students and researchers interested in Paul’s relationship to philosophy or embodiment more broadly. Overall, it was a fun project to write and I’m glad it will not be my last on the importance of embodiment. More to come!
