The Complexity of Conversion - Intersectional Perspectives on Religious Change in Antiquity and Beyond - Valérie Nicolet
Reading a Complex Identity in Conversion: Interpretations of the Ethiopian Eunuch
The Complexity of Conversion - Intersectional Perspectives on Religious Change in Antiquity and Beyond - Valérie Nicolet
Minna Heimola [+]
Independent Scholar
Minna Heimola has a Ph.D. in the History of Christianity from the University of Helsinki. Her dissertation was on “Christian Identity in the Gospel of Philip” (2010). She has published Raamattu ja rasismi (Bible and Racism) in 2016, focusing on the issues of identity, gender, and race. Currently, she is studying to become a social worker.
Description
In her article, Dr. Minna Heimola studies the story of the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts from the point of view of intersectionality. The article examines how the Ethiopian’s identity is deliberately ambiguous, which has led to a broad variety of different readings of the character, some of them emphasizing his high status and other of his lowly foreign origin. This ambiguity opens the door for conversion.