St. Paul and the writers of the gospels make some cultural assumptions when talking about FAITH and when talking about GRACE. We miss a lot of what they are writing about because modern people are oblivious to these cultural assumptions that were common in the ancient world but are absent from the modern mindset. The patron-client relationship is one of these cultural assumptions. This relationship was omnipresent in the ancient world. This relationship involved a basket, even a whole shopping cart, of implied but unstated behaviors. The client would receive kind favors from a patron without meriting them. Then the client would, of course, respond with gratitude, praise, loyalty, trust, (unequal) friendship, and availability to help the patron to the (small) extent possible for them. We spent the last episode explaining about the web of expectations that surround the patron-client relationship. In this episode, we look at some scripture stories through the lens of the patron-client relationship and have very surprising insights to share.
Resources
Richards and James, Misreading Scripture with Individualist Eyes: Patronage, Honor, and Shame in the Biblical World. InterVarsity Press.
Wheatley, Patronage in Early Christianity: Its Use and Transformation from Jesus to Paul of Samosata; Princeton Theological Monograph Series Book 160. Pickwick Publications, an Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers.
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