Feb 10, 2019
Dr. Deborah Saxon, teacher of religion at Butler University in Indianapolis, explains in this interview why the practice of self-control was so important to early Jesus followers. Learning self-control was part of the education for young leaders in the Greco-Roman culture of antiquity, and ultimately it became a prevalent idea for society. Early Jesus followers saw it as a means for what today we might call ‘taming their egos.’
One of the ways this idea of learning self-control took hold in the Christ movements was its meaning for those who faced persecution – or more specifically, martyrdom. For those who were going to die, the best way not to lose control was to die “a noble death.” Dying with patience and endurance was a means for welcoming martyrdom. But some of these early Jesus followers disagreed and thought that this was a distortion of the true care of the self. It wasn’t the meaning of Jesus and his teaching.
Deb’s discussion of the care of the self leads to a deeper understanding of some of the struggles among early Christians. Her ideas are more fully developed in her book, The Care of the Self in Early Christian Texts.