Despicable Deviants: Labelling Theory and the Polemic of the Pastorals

Abstract

heresy reflected in the Pastoral Epistles is the most important aspect of the background of these letters. At almost every turn it forms the backdrop to the author's paraenesis and theological expression, and one must assume that the letters are intended in some sense as a response to this dangerous situation (Towner 1989: 21). In this paper I will begin with a brief history of scholarship concerning the nature of the opponents. I shall argue that neither historical-critical reconstructions, identifying the opponents as broadly Jewish and/or Gnostic, nor more recent literary solutions have proved satisfactory. I suggest that fresh insights may be gained by employing the symbolic interactionist perspective known as theory. After a brief description of the main components of labelling theory I turn to the notion of degradation ceremony and argue that the Pastorals perform the function of status degradation whereby previously influential insiders are transformed into outsiders. I suggest that the status degradation results in the opponents being assigned a master status as false teachers. In the final section I look at the implications of this master status and, drawing on the example of the recent resurgence of charismatic phenomena in the so-called New Churches, I hypothesize that the Pastorals are part of a battle for the memory of Paul between those who regarded Paul as primarily a teacher and those who viewed him as primarily a thaumaturge.