Ever since Richard Hays's "discovery" of a narrative substructure beneath Paul's discourse, under... more Ever since Richard Hays's "discovery" of a narrative substructure beneath Paul's discourse, understanding of Paul's theological thinking has been enriched through narrative analysis. Despite such development, no specialized narrative study has been devoted to the identity formation processes in Philippians. Furthermore, narrative studies of Paul, following Hays, have not considered the contestation of narratives as an essential part of the landscape for Paul's epistolary discourses. Based on Paul Ricoeur's narrative theory and James Dunn's five levels of story model, it is my purpose in this thesis to show that the "Christian identity" of the Philippian community is being shaped amidst competing narratives with divergent construals of time. In particular, it is inside an intra-Jewish contestation of testimonies that Paul updates his understanding of God and contends with a group of Jewish Christian leaders regarding the meaning of his suffering. A successful shaping of the community's "Christian identity" would hinge on their compliant reading and re-telling of Paul's testimony distinguished by a Christologically adapted structure of time.
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