Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My: Imprisoned Animals and Humans in the Acts Paul

This paper will explore the carceral logics affecting nonhuman and human animals in a popular second-century Christian text, the Acts of Paul. Two parallel scenes feature imprisoned animals pitted against imprisoned humans in the punitive entertainment spectacle of the amphitheater. Through these scenes, this paper will examine the ancient practice of animal captivity, the "de-animalizing" effects of imprisonment on human and nonhuman victims, and the problematic witness of early Christian writings to these phenomena as the texts, and the humans in them, variously exploit, fear, threaten, anthropomorphize, are protected by, compete with, and enter into solidarity with other imprisoned animals. Finally, it will discuss the (potentially) inclusive role of this text in naming animals as "confessors," or imprisoned, suffering witnesses to the gospel, in a carcerally-controlled world.