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Journal of the American Academy of Religion Advance Access published online on October 11, 2006
Journal of the American Academy of Religion, doi:10.1093/jaarel/lfl001
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press, on behalf of the American Academy of Religion. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Article

Ascetic Theology Before Asceticism? Jewish Narratives and the Decentering of the Self

Lawrence M. Wills 1 *

1 Talbot Professor of Biblical Studies, Episcopal Divinity School, 99 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Lawrence M. Wills, E-mail: wills{at}eds.edu


  Abstract

The study of early Christian asceticism, which formerly focused strictly on ascetic practices, has been transformed in recent years. In addition to ascetic practices, scholars analyze the discourse of asceticism, which emphasizes the decentering of the self, the problematizing of the person’s ability to govern the body and be considered righteous before God. Although this approach has pushed back the origins of ascetic discourses in Christianity, the decentering of the self can be observed in Qumran texts. In the present article this ascetic discourse of the decentered self is traced in other pre-Christian Jewish texts and in an unexpected context--novelistic texts. This approach allows for an exploration of literary, ritual, and ascetic aspects of the texts, and some consideration is given to the social context of these important developments.


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