Social Fractures in the Habitus: Paul’s κατάρτισ- Language of Preventative and Responsive Care

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While recent research has focused on human agency in Pauline literature, less attention is given to the forms of care portrayed by Paul’s κατάρτισ- language. In this article, I propose that Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of habitus provides fresh insight on how Paul’s letters restructure habitus and early Christian praxis that generate social fractures. To develop this argument, I first describe Bourdieu’s conception of habitus, which elucidates human agents’ interactions with the social fields that shape their practices. Second, I provide conceptual contextualization by exploring κατάρτισ- language in ancient medicine, philosophy, and Jewish sources, particularly in relation to current understandings of healing in Jewish and early Christian conceptualization. Third, I apply Bourdieu’s theory of habitus to Pauline texts that use forms of καταρτίζω and κατάρτισις: 1 Thess. 3.9–10; 1 Cor. 1.10; 2 Cor. 13.9–11; Gal. 6.1; Rom. 9.22–23. In the final section, I offer reflection on a Pauline theology of care in relation to his forms of care, situating Paul more critically within a cultural and theological history of caring. Paul’s letter-writing constitutes interventionist and improvisational care for healing social fractures in early Christians’ habitus.