Please follow these guidelines
In the preface, the author says of this book
"All I will say at the outset is that it is a book about representation, not reality, although much of its content serves to undermine that distinction (a trait in which I follow the tendency of my ancient sources); a book about he ways in which antithetical categories such as spectator and spectacle, intention and interpretation, and praise and blame were variously conflated and exploited by writers and historians of the first century A.D. as a reaction to the transformation of Rome from republic to empire; a book about what happens to language’s ability to mean when all communication is distorted by the pull of a centralized and autocratic authority." (vi)
The above quote quite well serves to exemplify the type of writing in this short, but intense text. It is a dense and difficult read, not at all for the faint of heart. It would be helpful to have intimate knowledge of the ancient texts before attempting to read this interpretation of several of them. Much of the material in this book was way over my head because I am not familiar enough with the genre to understand all that the author had to say. However, here is an attempt to outline her major points.
Chapters 1 & 2 talk about what happens in the days of Nero when the audience becomes the actors. Nero would take to the stage himself and then watch (or have spies watch) the reactions of the people. In some instances spectators were pulled into the theater and put to death if they were not interested enough or if their catcalls were too loud. In other cases one’s ‘performance’ as a spectator was rated and directly affected political and business lives. The author uses the term ‘theatricality’ that is the way in which people in real life ‘act a role’ that seems most useful to them. (p 10)
Chapter 3 talks about allusion; that it is often the audience that creates an allusion to reality, not necessarily the writer. The writer might be held accountable for the spin and audience put on his/her work, but may or may not have intended the reaction it received.
Chapter 4 talks about ‘praise and doublespeak’. I’d say this is what we’d call ‘back-handed complements’ today. It is the use of language in a way which allows an audience to see that what is being said may indeed be the opposite of what is meant.
Chapter 5 deals with the art of sincerity. The author talks about "…the praise/blame axis: that is, the tendency for terms of praise and blame to be liable to slippage and thus to mean their opposites or their negative counterparts on one or another evaluative axis separating good qualities from bad." (p. 170) In the previous chapter on doublespeak the author says that it is "the strategies that enable flattery to be used as blame render all praise ever more suspect, helping to create conditions of reception in which such eulogy becomes increasingly unstable, increasingly prone to be taken as its opposite by emperors and audiences alike." (p. 147) In other words, the more doublespeak is used the less able an audience is to determine which is sincere flattery and which isn’t.
There are extensive notes, 81 pages and a 15 page bibliography, so if one is interested in further study of this subject or the texts treated in this book, lots of help is provided.
As I read this I wondered if the topics discussed regarding these particular ancient texts could also be used to look at the language of the New Testament letters. I’m not sure if they apply, but am intrigued enough to keep them in mind as I reread the letters.
Ben Witherington is a professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary in Lexington, Kentucky, and is a United Methodist Church minister. As of 1998 he had published fourteen books, many of which can be found in the BTS Moulton Library. The Many Faces of Jesus was used by Doug Hare for his Christology course.
Ben Witherington is an interesting author. Often his work seems quite accessible, but other times he dives deep into some very exclusive Christological waters. His target audience appears to be those who are new to Christology as he uses language and metaphors which are easy to understand, but he also writes on topics and in a style more accessible to his theological peers. For those new to Ben Witherington and the world of Christology you will find it necessary to read this book with an open Bible at hand and a Latin/Greek/Hebrew dictionary for certain words. There are many scripture references which are cited only by chapter and verse numbers. Still, even with a limited knowledge of Christology, Ben Witherington’s book is an interesting journey through the early world of the church.
The text of The Many Faces of Jesus is structured as follows:
Introduction: "Finding a Path through the Maze" – this introduction sets the framework for the text.
Witherington states (on page 3): "Jesus was a tremendously complex historical figure, and like light shining through a prism, reflections on the man who fits no formula produced a variety of colors and depths of shade that cannot and should not all be blended today into some sort monochromatic image." The following text will show the reader this "prism." The reader will also be introduced to the concept, that contrary to J.D.G. Dunn’s theory of Christology as an "unfolding," instead Witherington will show us not a "evolution" but a "devolution" as he points out that some of the "highest Christology was some of the earliest Christology, for example the Christology hymns." (page 8)
On this journey Witherington "warns": "We must be prepared to be surprised and reassured." (page 9) He then takes us on a systematic journey through the New Testament, which demonstrates to the reader Witherington’s "devolution" theory.
Chapters are titled as follows:
Chapter One: "Great Expectations? The Story of early Jewish Messianism"
Chapter Two: "The Christology of Jesus"
Chapter Three: "The Worship of the Lord: Pre-Pauline Christology"
Chapter Four: "Christ Crucified: Pauline Christology."
Chapter Five: "Seeing with One Eye: The Synoptic Christologies"
Chapter Six: "Lord and Savior: The Christology of Luke-Acts"
Chapter Seven: "The First and Last Word: The Christology of the Johannine
Corpus"
Chapter Eight: "The Suffering Servant and His Journey through the Heavens;
The Christologies of the General Epistles."
Chapter Nine: Summing Up and Moving On.
Witherington works to show us how "The earliest Christologies in the New Testament did not rise in a total vacuum, but drew on concepts already in the air." (page 18) Along the way he throws at us some interesting "soundbites," and wordplays, for example:
"Jesus is the junction between earth and heaven, being both God and human being … he is the gate of and to God and of and to humankind." (page 171)
"The one who is the redeemer is also the one who is the creator." (page 172)
"Knowing where Jesus has come from and where he is going is the key to understanding who he is in this gospel." (page 173)
"More than any other New Testament writer, the author of Hebrews shows how the divinity and humanity of Christ are interconnected and interdependent." (page 221)
Ben Witherington is a writer for writers. His use of metaphor and word play makes lively reading for those who love words. But his work is also a scholarly text that attempts to prove his thesis: the story of Jesus, as written in the New Testament, is a text of many images which often "do not all blend or dovetail nicely together." (page 227) Witherington gives us these images. He details the many titles for Jesus including : Messiah, Christ, Son of God, and Son of Man. His detailed referencing of titles can "bog" down the average reader, what pulls us back to the surface is Witherington’s sudden life saving metaphors or, as shown above, catchy word plays.
Structure wise, each chapter is a separate journey, broken into sections. For example, in the "Christology of Jesus," Witherington first breaks the chapter into "The Indirect Evidence" and the "The Direct Evidence." In each of those sections he then again breaks the work into subsections. An example of such a subsection, in "Indirect Evidence" is: "Jesus and his Relationships": "Jesus and John the Baptist," "Jesus and the Pharisee."
Witherington, as cited above, uses references from Scripture, Greek, and Hebrew word definitions. He gives historical data quoting from Q as well as other early writers from the Greco-Roman world and early church leaders from 50 A.D. (Paul), Irenaeus, Tertullian to Origen (185-254 C.E.)
My "reading experience" of The Many Faces of Christ was varied. I enjoyed much of it, I felt most lost during the Christological arguments (when I felt Witherington was directing his voice to his theologian peers). To read this book well is to work your way through it slowly and carefully with open bible before you. Even then, a knowledge of the work of other writers is most helpful. I was most frustrated when Witherington would cite a reference that would be difficult for the average student to find. It would have been helpful had he just quoted that writer rather than citing chapter and verse. I also found that he would list an entire chapter when in fact the material most pertinent to his reference might be only a few verses in the chapter. And the biggest mark against the book is its lack of a general index. An index of Scripture passages is nice to have, as is an index of modern scholars who are quoted in this book, but a general index would have been of greatest usefulness.
Did I profit from reading this book? Yes. Even though I became frustrated by my lack of New Testament scholarship, I learned from my reading of this book and I feel I will find it useful in my future studies.
It is the author’s belief that a detailed study of the rhetorical devices and oral patterns that Paul used in his letters to the early churches of the first century helps "sharpen the interpretation of those letters…(and) shed new light on interpretive difficulties." While I daresay his thesis is a good one, his book is meant for a greater scholar than I. It’s heavy slugging, and one must read it with care in order to follow the thought and retain the information that builds upon the understanding of the layers which precede and succeed one another.
John Harvey is an associate professor of New Testament at Columbia Biblical Seminary and Graduate School of Missions in Columbia, South Carolina. In his introduction, he tells the reader that it took him seven years to write this book. After reading the book, I have no difficulty believing that statement – it felt like it took me seven years to read it! This book is for scholars who are interested in the details of epistolary analysis and the use or oral patterns in Paul’s letters. It is not for the faint of heart.
Nevertheless, I did find parts of the book interesting and worth reading. I confess, however, that it was helpful to have had a minimal background in epistolography. (Thank you Richard Ward, who, by the way, is quoted on page 55!) The second chapter of this book gives a good history of how writing for an oral culture was different from writing for a culture that reads silently. Harvey shows how important it is for the writer to use formulae of sound patterns such as patterns of repetition, parallelism, and mnemonics. He also describes the development of formal rhetoric, how it was taught, and its influence in the first century culture, which, though not primarily oral, was not yet fully literate.
In chapters 3 and 4, the author discusses Paul’s use of both oral patterning and Greek and Hebrew rhetoric devices in his letters. Paul drew on his knowledge and education of both cultures to express his ideas. In his own writing, Paul used the Greek rhetorical devices of the Greco-Roman culture. When quoting the Septuagint, he used the rhetorical features in that translation which is the one he used most often. Although I found this section interesting, my understanding was limited by having had no Hebrew education and only one semester of New Testament Greek.
Chapters 6-12 discuss seven of Paul’s letters and the oral patterns contained therein. The author also does an epistolary analysis of the letters. When studying them from these two perspectives, the structure of the letters seems to differ. The precise location of the theological argument or the conclusion, for instance, shifts slightly, perhaps affecting Paul’s purpose or our interpretation. Again, interesting reading, and this reader can appreciate the concept, but one must have her Greek New Testament in hand to follow the author’s thought. A less that thorough understanding of Greek makes these chapters a challenge.
In spite of its challenges, this book is worth perusing for the information one is able to glean. I can immediately think of two ways it can be used. For those who are interested in performing one of Paul’s letters, the information is invaluable. Giving attention to the oral patterns helps the reading/performing of the letter as well as the hearing and understanding of it, since these patterns were designed for an oral culture. And, since our Sunday morning worship is oral, preachers would do well to use the information on oral patterning when writing their sermons.
This book is the author’s PhD dissertation, granted by Princeton Theological Seminary in 1987. It is an academic work, written for an academic audience, answering a question generated by academic research and argument. It’s not a question (or a topic) that would trouble any person outside that context.
The question is this: how shall we categorize and evaluate the argument of Romans 9-11? What are its antecedents? its influences? No writing or argument comes to us in a vacuum, but always appears in a context, that is, among a company of writings or arguments that the writer and reader will each assume to be in the mind and memory of the other. It is best understood in that company. Let me use a simplistic example: a piece of fiction like The Red Badge of Courage is read and understood as part of a stream of war and heroic fiction. The novel is trying, by its realism, to step out of that stream; it is a protest against the idealism of heroic fiction. It was written from within the stream; it assumes you will read it within the stream.
Likewise, the letters of Paul were written within a stream. But what is the stream? Dr Johnson’s book works to answer that question.
The first chapter is, predictably, a survey of scholarship on the issue. Twentieth century scholarship, she claims, has understood Paul as a thinker from either the apocalyptic or the wisdom traditions of Judaism. The apocalyptic school was founded by Albert Schweitzer at the beginning of the century. This school thinks of Paul as primarily concerned with the immanent judgment and transformation of the world: the apocalypse. We might simplify this thinking as "Palestinian Judaism".
Schweitzer had a contemporary, a lesser known scholar named Hans Windisch, and Dr Johnson thinks of Windisch as the leader of an opposing school. This school reads Paul as a writer within the wisdom tradition. We might simplify this thinking as "Hellenistic Judaism." Paul’s christology, it would seem, was influenced in many places by the Wisdom literature. In Johnson’s words, "late Jewish expectation... merged the figures of the Messiah and personified Wisdom" (p 23). Chapter One shows us how Pauline scholarship can be divided between the apocalyptic and wisdom theories.
She is not satisfied with what she calls the "bifurcation" of sources for Paul, and argues instead for a "confluence". Indeed, she argues that the radical division we make between apocalyptic and wisdom literature is simplistic and false. Her own survey of Wisdom and Apocalyptic writing (in chapter two) and then her original exegesis of Romans 9-11 (in chapter three), is an argument for confluence of the two streams. She shows how in both theme and vocabulary, these chapters of Romans draw heavily on both apocalyptic and wisdom traditions.
The writing of this book is clear and rational, as we would expect a dissertation to be. This is a clear and coherent work of scholarship. You will have no trouble following her argument. However, because of her special audience and intentions, she makes no attempt to get you interested in the question.
Author
A.N. Wilson is a novelist, biographer and journalist. He lives in London and is the literary editor of the Evening Standard. His biographies include Tolstoy, C. S. Lewis, and Jesus. His fiction includes The Sweets of Pimlico, The Healing Art, Who was Oswald Fish?.
Structure
Even though Wilson often notes that the book of Acts is not historically reliable, he bases his timeline of the life of Paul on the book of the Acts of the Apostles. He starts with Paul in Tarsus as the early persecutor of the Followers of the Way. The timeline continues with his conversion, the silent years, his conflict with the church in Jerusalem, with Paul’s various journeys of evangelizing to the Gentiles, and finally Paul’s voyage to Rome.
Throughout the book, Wilson supplies many insights into the social, political and cultural climate of Paul’s day. Wilson describes many of the historical figures contemporary to Paul as well as the way letters would be written and delivered to the nature of spirituality of the people which included strong belief in magic. Wilson thoroughly describes the people that Paul met on his journeys such as Lydia of Philippi, the prosperous widow who dealt in dyed cloth.
Evidence
This work focuses on the life and times of the Apostle Paul as can be gleaned from the primary sources in the New Testament, from writers contemporary with Paul and other historical and scholarly sources. This book contains a select bibliography of the author’s sources.
Wilson is very careful to note that much of what is known about Paul is through the interpretation of the sources available. It is a matter of conjecture as hard evidence is not available.
Example
For Paul, a personal relationship with God was the essence of his message coupled with the belief that the end was near. All of his eloquent preaching and writing portrays this belief. Wilson writes, "In his other great hymn a divine sense of urgency, the knowledge that the coming is just about to happen, and a strangely holy calm blend together with love of his brothers and sisters in Christ." (Page 220) Wilson then quotes a passage from Philippians. "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let you gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near…" Wilson goes on to say that, "Paul is perhaps the greatest poet of personal religion. In all his rages with his supposed or actual enemies – ‘Beware of the dogs’ (Philippians 3:2); ‘You foolish Galatians!’ (Galatians 3:1)…the essence of his ‘gospel’ and the secret of his immortality as a religious writer and teacher is his belief that the believer has access to God…through the operation of the heart and the thoughts" (Page 220). These beliefs of personal relationship with God and of the nearness of the end are Paul’s passion, the driving force behind his ministry.
Reader Response
I felt I had a much better understanding of the Apostle Paul after reading this book. Wilson’s fascinating account of the details of Paul’s society, his Jewish background and of the lenses through which Paul saw his world adds much to reading Paul’s letters in the New Testament. Knowing the context of Paul’s times and thoughts is very helpful for contemporary interpretation of his letters. I recommend this book as a good background study for reading Paul’s letters.
AUTHOR
Dennis MacDonald is Assistant Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins at The Iliff School of Theology. This book is the result of an assignment given the author while attending Harvard Divinity School in Boston. While preparing a literary comparison of religious attitudes toward asceticism and civic morality, MacDonald became intrigued by the common elements between The Acts of Paul and Thecla and the Pastoral Epistles. Further research revealed that this literary connection was grounded in folklore which, in turn, has its roots in ancient oral traditions; hence the title.
STRUCTURE
MacDonald begins this very well-organized work with an examination of the oral legends underlying The Acts of Paul and Thecla. Where Tertullian claims that the story of Thecla was a construct to legitimate the role of second century women in Christian teaching and baptizing, MacDonald offers evidence that the story has its roots in several first century legends. The three main stories within The Acts of Paul and Thecla — Thecla, Ephesus and the martyrdom story — stand as independent components of the book of Acts and support the author’s argument that Paul’s story is inextricably bound with the threads of ancient folklore.
Chapter two illuminates the historical background of the storytellers themselves. The supposition that they were mostly women ("old wives tales") accounts for their sensitivity to women’s issues and the unusual portrayals of women victorious over male aggressors. Likewise, the geographical and social settings of these early storytellers dovetail with the development of early Christian doctrine.
The battle lines are drawn in chapter three. Beginning with the assertion that the Pastoral Epistles (I and 2 Timothy and Titus) were not written by Paul, MacDonald concludes that the author of the Pastorals wrote pseudonymously in an attempt to free Paul’s memory from those who would use it (the storytellers) to sanction social rebellion. This explains the glaring inconsistencies between Paul’s admonition against women leading worship (I Timothy 2:11-15) and his subsequent ordination of Thecla.
Chapters four and five trace the canonization of the Pastoral Epistles and the resilient nature of the oral testimony of ancient legends. MacDonald concludes that although the Bible won the battle for Paul’s authority and memory, the cost of its victory is clarity. New Testament scholar Wayne Meeks refers to Paul as a "Christian Proteus," a mysterious figure protected by an ancient enigma. The consolation prize for the storytellers of yore is their enduring reminder that there is more to the story.
EVIDENCE
An 11-page bibliography offers readers an extensive survey of the literature, both biblical and modern. An index of biblical references follows (Revised Standard Version), amended by a two-page listing of extra-canonical early Christian writings and ancient authors quoted in the text. As a scholarly resource, this book offers the reader a highly informed discourse as well as inspiration for further study.
EXAMPLE
Nearly every page of this book is graced with examples of biblical interpretation, enlightened by the works of modern scholars and offered in enthusiastic support of the author’s theory of the cross-referencing of folklore and canon. One typical example is paraphrased as follows (pg. 25-26): Acts 20:9-12 tells the story of Eutychus who falls from a window and dies while listening to Paul preach. Paul proceeds to revive his follower. The martyrdom story in The Acts of Paul contains a slightly different version of the same story. Here the fallen youth is Patroclus, Nero’s cupbearer. (Interestingly, Nero was the king before whom Paul was brought for judgment.) MacDonald notes that only "our Western prejudice for written dependence would make us think the author (of Acts) picked this story out of a book and not out of the tale-rich air." Beginning and ending with the Thecla story of conversion, betrayal and miraculous redemption, literary plumb lines persuasively align folkloric and early Christian traditions.
READER’S RESPONSE
Literate society is indebted to folklore for the timeless forms and images that continue to bring character and conflict to light and life. The richness of our storytelling heritage has informed our understanding of religion, psychology, politics, philosophy — all the human sciences. As a writer, I build on the work of those "old wives" who taught and comforted, enriched and challenged others with their stories; therefore, I have long regarded the stories of the Bible as more than a literal reporting of static historical events, seeking instead the metaphor that becomes my invitation to join in God’s unfolding story.
Dennis MacDonald’s enthusiasm is grounded in careful research, making this book a refreshingly accessible academic resource for those committed to literary integrity, biblical or otherwise. His dedicated detective work in uncovering the folkloric roots of the Christian canon as it pertains to our understanding of Paul is a gift to his readers and, perhaps, would even elicit a smile of appreciation from the dour apostle himself.
AUTHOR
Brian Dodd holds a Ph.D. from the University of Sheffield in England and is pastor of the Antioch United Methodist Church in Antioch, California. Taking his lead from Adolf Deissmann’s blunt belief that "There has probably seldom been anyone at the same time hated with such fiery hatred and loved with such strong passion as Paul," Dodd attempts to bridge the troubling gaps in Paul’s polity and personality by engaging in a four-way conversation that includes Paul, the reader, contemporary interpreters and the original readers.
STRUCTURE
The introductory chapter repeats the title and restates the premise of the book. Chapters two through six mix Paul’s views with those of his sparring interpreters on perennially prickly social issues such as male chauvinism, sex and pleasure, marriage, slavery and anti-Semitism. Dodd challenges his readers to join the conversational mêlée in order to discover their own answers to the provocative questions that appear on the cover: "Was Paul a chauvinist?" "Was he a prude?" "Was he anti-Semitic?" "Why did he condone slavery?" "How might he have fared on the Oprah Winfrey Show?" The final two chapters acknowledge the many ways in which Paul’s confounding personality may have hindered his message and why that message nevertheless has prevailed through the centuries. Extensive notes follow.
EVIDENCE
Dodd’s primary literary source is the Bible. In fact, he uses three versions: the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV); Today’s English Version, (TEV); and the New International Version (NIV). Biblical references sprinkle each page and underscore every argument. In addition, Dodd offers an impressive bibliographic background ranging from the theatrical dialogues of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, to scholars including Cicero, Mary Stewart van Leeuwen and Robert Jewett, to numerous works cited by the Society of Biblical Literature. Notably, the author avoids the temptation to present the definitive Paul; instead, he presents a broad tableaux of respected voices and informed opinions in an effort to encourage his readers to follow suit.
EXAMPLE
One of the strongest accusations against Paul is that he was a male chauvinist. His attitude toward women has been a highly controversial topic for debate among fundamental zealots and feminist activists alike. Did Paul hate women? Dodd argues that he did not; in fact, he goes so far as to call Paul a "Christian feminist" through his insistence on women’s equality in salvation (Galatians 3:28), giftedness (I Corinthians 11:4-5), and their call to serve God (Romans 16:1-5).
When Paul writes in I Timothy that women must cover their heads during prayer and must not speak out in church or hold authority over men, Dodd recasts his words within the cultural context. When Paul’s critics attempt an all-or-nothing approach to the man and his message, Dodd counters with his own construct of an "interpretive bridge" over which Paul’s message of a Christ-centered life is delivered despite the turbulent waters below. Quoting New Testament scholar Gordon Fee that "The fact that Paul’s own argument is so tied to cultural norms suggests that literal obedience is not mandatory for obedience to God’s Word," Dodd agrees that Paul is best understood through the filters of principle, context and personal faith.
READER’S RESPONSE
Paul has always been a symbol of stubborn, single-minded asceticism to me. As a woman, I have been offended by his remarks on marital roles and responsibilities. As a seminary student, I have been incensed by his exclusion of women from worship. As a liberationist, I have been intolerant of his dismissal of the dehumanizing effects of slavery. In arguing against such black and white thinking from the vantage point of his interpretive bridge (and in the company of so many like-minded scholars), Dodd provides a complex, colorful context in which I now place the New Testament letter writer and from which I will continue to develop my response to his words.
I remain surprised and saddened, however, that although Dodd manages to re-present Paul’s black and white images toward women, marriage, slavery and prejudice in culturally correct shades of gray, he finds no such recourse for Paul’s writings on homosexuality ("porneia"). "Translating Paul’s church etiquette about women is hardly the same as ignoring the broader biblical view of the sanctity of marriage and the inappropriateness of sexual intercourse outside marriage," he writes (pg. 50-51). Furthermore, although the dissenting interpretations of contemporary writers John Boswell and Robin Scroggs are duly introduced, they are summarily dismissed by the author. This is the kind of thinking that the rest of this book works so hard to counteract. It is the kind of thinking that we as a society must continue to challenge.
Remembering the Poor, by Dieter Georgi, was first written as a thesis to accompany his job application for the position of university teacher, and submitted in 1962 to the Faculty of Theology of the University of Heidelberg. Georgi did not mention whether or not he was hired for the Heidelberg post, as his first edition, published in German, was completed in 1965 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Georgi taught in the United States for some twenty years, first at Harvard Divinity School, and then the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. At the time this English translation of Remembering the Poor was published by Abingdon in 1992, Georgi had returned home to Germany, and was Professor of New Testament at the University of Frankfurt.
In the preface of this English edition, Georgi clearly indicates that his intended audience includes the student, the theologian, and the church person. As an ordained minister himself, and as one involved in politics and university administration, Georgi was convinced "that praxis instigates and informs theory. The combined listening to the praxis of the immediate contemporary situation and to the praxis of the Pauline churches had made me politically and ecclesially conscious." (ix) For Georgi, not only is his book intended to inform a wide audience, it is meant to stimulate connections and understanding of Pauline thought and experience made applicable to our thought and experience today. In his book, built around an historical-critical examination of Paul’s collection for the Jerusalem church of Jewish Jesus-believers, Georgi uncovers the Pauline mindset which the apostle put into practice, where spirituality, Christology, economy and money, were combined. Georgi’s successful efforts are enlightening and have considerable contemporary applications for today’s church.
Georgi’s pursuit of Paul follows the formation and implementation of his Jerusalem collection. His scholarly study traces Paul’s immense first century stewardship campaign undertaken amidst tension and conflict. Georgi follows Paul’s often urgent attempts to unify as the church universal the widely diverse Jesus-believing churches spread over a wide geographical area. With concentration on passages from Galatians, 2 Corinthians, and Philippians, Georgi recounts Paul’s great efforts to convince the diverse churches, frequently consumed in their own inner turmoil, that they were all in union in Christ, all equal to one another, and therefore should all financially support the distant church of Jesus believers in Jerusalem, Israel’s Zion, the eschatological center of all first century Jesus believers.
The structure of Georgi’s book is arranged in chapters which follow a reconstruction of the chronology of the Jerusalem collection, from the Convention at Jerusalem, 48 CE, to the collection’s start, implementation, cessation and then new start, from 48-54 CE, then its second resumption in 55 CE. Chapters also cover the closure of the collection and the planning of the trip to Jerusalem 55/56 CE, the conveyance of the collection in 56 CE, up until Paul’s death. His book includes two appendices, one regarding chronology, and the other Philo’s treatise on [the Greek word for equity/equality]. Georgi includes an Afterword on "Is There Justification [by Christ] in Money?" The book closes with well-arranged notes and a bibliography.
Evidence evaluated includes a close study of selected areas of the Greek text, especially Galatians and 2 Corinthians, with appropriate in-depth word study in key areas, (such as poor). Georgi cites other scholarly research, but since his focus is a subject where there has not been much concentrated study by comparison, this book largely reflects his own scholarship.
This is a great book. I would like to buy it. Georgi’s writing style is lively, and easy to follow. His scholarship is presented with facility; he doesn’t linger too long in one area, or go into minute detail. Best of all, the focus of his book, the Jerusalem collection, provides a thread of understanding, perhaps even a center of gravity which runs throughout Paul’s letters, shedding light on Paul, his world, and his work. Especially with today’s church all wrapped up in money matters, Georgi’s, Remembering the Poor, allows Paul to be directly applicable to us today.
This book by Theresa Shaw is essentially a treatise on asceticism and is an extension of her Duke University doctoral dissertation. It is well written, and extensively documented. The footnotes frequently fill up one half to three quarters of the page. It is tedious to read all these footnotes. The reader can easily understand what is being said without referring to them, however, it is possible to easily check resources if necessary.
The author is interested in exploring the role that fasting had in Christian piety. She explores numerous ancient texts dating from the seventh century B.C.E. to the seventh century C.E. The sources include medical treatises from late antiquity, especially the works of Galen; philosophical writings, Christian homilies, and theological works that do not necessarily deal with ascetic issues. She specifically uses such ascetic sources as letters, homilies, instructions, rules, hagiographies and sayings collections. All these documents appear to be written by men. There does not seem to be any documentation is existence written by women and although many of the texts are addressed to women, we really have no idea what the women of the times actually thought about these issues.
Shaw begins her book with the definition of Asceticism and a discussion of the bodily practice and theory as expressed by early Desert Monasticism. The second chapter discusses the philosophy of the body and the medicine of the soul. She presents both the Stoic and Platonic concepts of thought on the issues of the passions and their treatment and then elaborates on the thoughts of both the medical theorist Galen and the Christian writer Clement of Alexandria. Both these men embody the "electicism " of the second century and bring together philosophy and medicine as seen in health and ethical issues of their time.
Chapter Three discusses the physiology of ascetic fasting. The ideas of Basil of Ancrya, Gregory of Nyssa, Jerome, and John Cassian are examined, especially focusing on the effect of food deprivation on sexual function.
The fourth chapter deals with the vice of gluttony and its effect on soul and body. I found this chapter to be very monotonous and I think could have been vastly abbreviated.
Chapter five deals with the Genesis story of the sin of Adam and Eve. Briefly, the life of the ascetic becomes the method and means of reversing Adam and Eve's expulsion from the garden. Food and the desire for food become intertwined with sexual desire and the activity of procreation. For the ancient Christians, virginity, the renunciation of sexual activity can bring about the restoration of the original state of Creation.
The sixth chapter deals exclusively with women's fasting practices as well as the physical results expected from fasting and the interpretation of those results. A broad range of sources are used; those mentioned previously, as well as instructions and canons dealing with topics in female asceticism and a number of "Lives" of holy women some of which date from the fifth to seventh centuries and are preserved in Greek, Coptic, and Syriac. As Shaw says in her summation, "gender, or really the problem of femaleness, intrudes at every level, in every aspect of this study, including physiological models, eschatological visions, constructions of heresy, practical ascetic advice, and images of creation, the fall, death, and desire."
As a person interested in women's issues, I found it intriguing to find many of the discussions embedded in the ancient texts relevant and pertinent to many of the prejudices women experience today. This book is worth reading.
Author & Audience
This book was started in early 1998 while Gordon Fee was on sabbatical from Regent College where he is Dean and professor of New Testament. In 1999 Intervarsity Press published the book that Fee refers to as "little Phil". This ‘little" volume is in many ways a condensed version of Fee’s "big Phil" published as a more scholarly commentary in the NIC series by Eerdmans previously. As the editors preface states this series (Philippians is volume eleven of the IVP New Testament Commentary Series) is offered in "hope that pastors, students, Bible teachers and small group leaders of all sorts will find it a valuable aid – one that stretches the mind and moves the heart to ever-growing faithfulness and obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ (8)." To this end the series editors selected the "best of recent evangelical scholarship (cover jacket)."
Structure
The book includes a general preface (7-8), author’s preface (9-10), introduction (11-37), an outline of Philippians (38), detailed commentary on the text (39-198), and an excellent bibliography (199-204). The commentary proper follows the text of the letter to the Philippians, and reads as a guided tour.
Thesis
It is Fee’s view that Paul’s letter to the Philippians has been transmitted in a form that, contrary to those scholars who would posit three separate letters at work in the text, is relatively unchanged (11-12). Where some have seen multiple letters written at different times, Fee elects to read the letter as a letter "written by Paul, probably from Rome in the early 60s, to his longtime friends in Philippi, a Roman military colony on the interior plain of eastern Macedonia (12)." In keeping with this literary approach Fee’s commentary (39-198) includes comments on the components of the letter as a letter within the context of other ancient letters and the larger Greco-Roman world.
Evidence Evaluated
In creating his "little" commentary for the audience mentioned above Fee uses many sources of information. Among these are the Greek text of the letter to the Philippians (referred in the book with the authors own translations and using commonly used English translations like the NIV in contrast to the most common meaning of the Greek word(s)), historical analysis of the likely situation in Philippi, as well as some practical pastoral insights as related to the message of the text and the setting of life.
As the cover says, "readers will find an introduction that discusses the letter’s occasion and purpose, authorship, and other background information, as well as its important theological themes. Passage-by-passage commentary follows that seeks to explain what the letter means to us today as well as what it meant for its original hearers." Fee has indeed skillfully woven the many factors that are necessary to understand the text into a tour through the letter to the Philippians.
Example
In commenting on the famous hymn of 2:5-11, Fee uses his literary approach to make the claim that Paul himself wrote the letter (90). Drawing on textual as well as historical analysis Fee says of the passage 2:9-11 (98-102) that ironically the very authority that the Philippians are in conflict with on earth, will one day also call Jesus Lord. In this way the immense political power of this section of "hymn" is exposed. It is not merely a hymn in praise of the divine, it is also a rallying cry for the believers in Philippi as they and Paul face a common enemy, Rome ("Those responsible for the suffering in Philippi proclaim that ‘the Lord is Caesar.’"100).
Response
Fee has succeeded in writing a pastoral minded commentary on Philippians. Even given his obviously extensive exegesis the text reads like a sermon. For example, in commenting on 1:11 Fee concludes his remarks with "We could learn much here (56)." This editorial comment is typical of the practical application of "Philippian wisdom" that Fee engages in to both reach and teach his audience. Fee’s "little Phil" lacks at times the depth of a more scholarly commentary (like his "big Phil"). Because of this it reads easily, and felt more spiritual than academic. Granted, Fee has not set out to address the minutia of the Epistle, however his faith based commentary came off rather "preachy" to this reader. However, Fee’s use of a normative understanding of the text (although still fully informed by the scholarship) does make the book valuable to the seminary student, pastors, Bible study leaders and those who wish to understand this small letter which has so much to say about Christ.
Author
Robert Jewett unabashedly reaches out to bring Saint Paul into dialogue with Americans via such popular films as Star Wars, Amadeus, Tootsie, Pale Rider, and Dead Poets Society. Jewett, who spent at least the last decade and a half striving to bring the Gospel and contemporary American culture into conversation, teaches at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. Jewett is thus able to write as both a biblical scholar and a social commentator. As an author, he positions himself as the writer of a commentary. One could read it as a commentary or review of selected contemporary films or, more in keeping with the author’s intention, as a commentary of the canonical letter collection of Paul. It is Paul’s word that "…is the first among equals because the inspired text of scripture has stood the test of time by revealing ultimate truth that has gripped past and current generations with compelling power when concretized in relation to particular historical circumstances." (p. 11) Jewett relates critical biblical study to the culture of the USA through a collection of popular films, insightfully discovering the theological in popular culture. Jewett’s contention is that popular culture, especially movies, influence many Americans today more than schooling or training of any sort, theological, religious, or otherwise. In the character of Paul’s mode of apostleship, bringing the Gospel to the people, Jewett sets out to "…free Pauline theology from the burdens of it traditional, Eurocentric formulation and to relate its transforming potential to the American situation." (p. 7)
Structure
The book’s structure follows a rather orthodox pattern. Jewett opens his book with an explanatory chapter laying out the impact and role of movies in contemporary American culture, why Paul would be interested in the movies had they been available in his day, a section on the interpretive approach, and the rationale for the selection of the examined movies. The chapters then unfold in accord with "…the path suggested by the shape of Paul’s letters, which begin with shared faith experiences and move on to the concrete issues facing a congregation." (p. 17) The movies selected are Star Wars, Amadeus, A Separate Peace, Tender Mercies, Grand Canyon, Tootsie, Ordinary People, Empire of the Sun, Pale Rider, Red Dawn, and Dead Poets Society. Each movie forms the background for a chapter that relates Paul’s theology to America today.
Evidence
Robert Jewett draws upon scholarly research and mass media publications. He cites sources from the ranks of biblical scholarship (James D. G. Dunn, Ernst Käsemann, Karl Barth, and others) and scholarly studies upon such topics as Ancient Greek and Hebrew literature, psychology, and anthropology. He folds movie reviews from publications like the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, The New Yorker, The National Review, The New Republic, and Newsweek into the analysis of the films and in building the connection between Paul and contemporary culture. All of this evidence is interpreted through Paul’s Letters, the primary evidence, and in combination forms the basis of the conversation between Paul and American culture. Further the use of the scholarly and the mass media of the culture of America today re-enforce the linkage Jewett builds throughout the book between the theology of Paul and the current American situation. It serves to heighten the relevance and provide evidence of the timeliness of Paul’s message to the debates – moral, cultural, and religious – often taken up in contemporary American popular culture.
Example
Jewett selected Clint Eastwood’s movie, Pale Rider, as the film to discuss Romans 12:19-21. Jewett suggests, "…the movie has some fascinating links with Romans 12-13 that may shed some light on how to counter the siege of violence that threatens to engulf the country." (p. 119) In an informed and interesting section, the author traces the vigilante ethos from Phinehas the lyncher in Numbers 25 through the Boston Tea Party to Dick Tracey and the Avengers. He then details the myth of vigilante justice, the illusion of justice accomplished by eliminating an obvious evil without waiting for the cumbersome bureaucracy. Jewett moves then to the plot and setting of The Virginian, the novel from which The Pale Rider draws its story line that furthers the illusive myth of vigilante justice. For behind all the myth and miracle of a superhero saving a distressed and oppressed town in the Wild West is a basic story of personal vengeance. After pointing out and highlighting the basic element and motivation of personal vengeance in Pale Rider, that Eastwood reveals briefly, Jewett turns to moving past vengeance and to Paul. Romans 12:19-21 points toward what Jewett terms Paul’s "holy inconsistency". "Paul holds fast to the idea of divine vengeance, both in the world to come and in the form of vigorous law enforcement by a duly constituted government. But at the same time he strongly resists any involvement in vengeance on our own behalf: ‘Beloved, never avenge yourselves,’ because no one should ever attempt to become an impartial judge in her own case." (p. 131) If we take Paul’s position seriously, we must face the aspects of our American tradition that run counter and challenge them. We must challenge and question popular culture as well as the proper and right role of the government. Jewett closes out this discussion with two concluding suggestions, one dealing with Paul’s view of law enforcement and the second with developing the ways and means for today to "pile up burning coals" (Rom. 12:20) upon the heads of our opponents.
Reader Response
A good read! But beware, you will probably want to dash out to the video store and either relive or see for the first time the movies discussed in this book. What I most appreciated of Robert Jewett’s book is that he put into relief the theological themes in these movies and in contemporary culture in general. I recommend this book to all who are interested in relating the gospel to our friends, neighbors, and ourselves in the culture in which we live.
"In the end, ...the deepest healing for us transcends our welfare in this world. Healing that springs from the Center not only restores the mind and body to health but also renders the soul sound, creative, and incorruptible."
John Sanford is a Jungian analyst who experienced severe anxiety attacks while attending seminary. He consulted numerous professionals before he found one who could help, just as the woman with an issue of blood (Lk 8:42-48) sought help from many sources before being healed by Jesus. Sanford uses that illustration and several others to demonstrate his theories about how Biblical/spiritual concepts can be joined with psychological insights to achieve a healthy attitude if not always a healthy body. Fritz Kunkle inspired Sanford, and treated him successfully with the result that Sanford now is sharing his experience with us.
I think this book probably appeals to various audiences, some interested in psychology, some in religion, and some in the topic of healing. As brief as it is, this book will likely serve as a supplement or springboard to other works which expand upon certain topics. It is an easy read of one hundred thirty-six pages including all notes and acknowledgments.
By using several Bible stories as illustrations, Sanford makes his points about different personalities and attitudes, how they approach illness, and how their bias can hinder or help in recovering from illness. The text gives brief word studies related to the stories, and some background about the psychological aspect too. The first chapter has the same title as the book, the second is Faith and Knowledge in the Healing Process, the third is Keeping the Soul Healthy, and the conclusion is The Psychology of Healing --A Christian Perspective.
Sanford reviews different historical attitudes about faith and knowledge, and the relationship between the two. There are references to classic Greek literature, ancient philosophers, and the biblical languages and stories in addition to consideration of Freud's ideas and subsequent psychologists.
I found the book interesting and thought provoking. As one who expects to be involved in pastoral ministry, I think it will make a useful resource for myself, and a good reference for others interested in a spiritual approach to illness and healing. It's simple language makes it accessible to casual readers, and the bibliography includes works of a deeper and more intense nature for anyone craving more challenging reading. Certainly additional reading will help to round out an understanding of Sanford's ideas, and it might be especially helpful to read Kunkle's books to gain an appreciation for the inspiration he provided to Sanford.
Werner H. Kelber is well-known for his extensive research on the socio-political origins of the gospel of Mark. He is the Isla Carroll and Percy E. Turner Professor of Biblical Studies at Rice University. His academic fields of specialty are early Christian literature, Christian origins, biblical hermeneutics, orality-literacy studies, rhetoric and media history of the Bible. The alternate title of this text is "Voices in performance and text." It is written for the academic already acquainted with contemporary hermeneutical issues and traditional approaches.
In chapter one, Kelber develops the first stage of his thesis by demonstrating that those who studied the formation of the synoptic tradition (primarily dwelling on Bultmann and Gerhardsson) relied on a linear model, presuming often that oral materials grow together naturally to form a written gospel. He claims that Bultmann minimizes the effect of the transition from orality to textuality and that Gerhardsson confuses oral remembering with a mechanical memorization. These both Kelber denounces as unrealistic. By securing his claims with an exploration into the dynamic differences between orality and textuality, Kelber delineates a fundamental divide with far-reaching hermeneutical and christological implications. Chapter two demonstrates this claim with an exploration into Mark's oral legacy, especially the healing and exorcism stories which exhibit considerable variation and no recognizable uniformity, concluding that "Mark's text is rooted in and surrounded by orality" (p. 184). It is in chapter three that the reader arrives at the heart this work: when oral tradition is transposed to written text as in the case of the Gospel of Mark, the meanings are frozen and the sense of live communication is subverted into "the cadavers of thought" (p. 158). As such, Mark is not recognized as simply another step in a continuous line of development from simpler to more complex forms of presenting the Christian gospel but represents a sharp discontinuity with what went before. By this point, the reader is well-prepared for Kelber’s ingenious explorations into Paul's theology by the application of the model of orality (for example, the idea of the Law as written and the Gospel as oral) in chapter four. Kelber’s rhetoric points to the written gospel as a socio-political reaction to specific instances of oral hermeneutics represented in the early churches and not as an extension. Throughout his progression, Kelber's interaction with modern studies of oral culture and current debate on hermeneutics is impressive. His discussion is well documented at every stage. It concludes with over twenty pages of bibliography and indexes of passages and authors. Above all he has reminded us very forcibly of the importance of "the oral gospel."
Though a fascinating study, this work is seemingly based on a few assumptions which may not yet bear out. First of all, the tenor of the claims regarding early oral tradition is that they were Q-like sayings and rarely any story-like memorials of the passion of Jesus. Furthermore, it seems that the author uses the assumption that Mark knew Q and deliberately excluded it from his gospel as evidence that Mark was hostile to the sayings tradition. This seems a bit of a stretch. Could it not rather be that the gospel of Mark is an early attempt to canonize the version of the oral tradition prevailing then and there? Kelber bases perhaps too much on modern theories of orality and his previous works on the intentions of the author of Mark against the disciples. To utilize this previous work as a premise is perhaps a bit unfair to the reader of this more recent work. It might have done justice to this fascinating study to include a summary of these previous explorations in an expanded preface. Also, much of the discussion of the antithesis between orality and textuality is suitable only for the Synoptic tradition and strains to address the "writtenness" of Paul’s letters, since Paul dictated his letters and made frequent use of the diatribe style.
I found several reasons for both purchasing this text and as well as sharing it in group discussions. Its claims provoke readers of the Sunday morning texts to reconsider the presupposition of literacy/linearity which they bring to their "seeing" of the Word. As such, it is a refreshing analysis, full of new and insightful possibilities which would appreciate further scholarship and dialogue. The overemphasis on Markan politics does not seem to deflect attention front the main issue he raises but rather provokes fresh discussion around the implications of "freezing" proclamation behind written language. It is my hope that his current research around the role of memory, sense perception and verbal arts in the biblical tradition will continue in this provocative trajectory!
Dr. William A. Graham is Harvard’s Professor of the History of Religion and Islamic Studies. His courses at Harvard's Center of Middle Eastern Studies often focus on the history of Islamic religion, early Islamic history, general history of religions, scripture, ritual, religious texts and/or religious tradition. Though Graham is the author of several articles and a book on sacred texts in Islam, this is a work that presents his larger interest in the literary genre of scripture itself as represented in the history of religions. Originally published in 1988, this volume is part of a larger ongoing project on scripture studies at Harvard's Center for the Study of World Religions. The target audience is graduate students and specialists in religious studies motivated enough by similar interests to appreciate the solid research Graham has accumulated in his career and highlighted in this text.
Graham’s overarching assertion is that "scripture" is not only a genre of writing, but also a socio-historical category of culture. His repeated references to the scriptures of world religions apparently seek not so much to deconstruct the concept of "scripture" but, rather, to enlarge the notion to include, as the subtitle suggests, "oral aspects of scripture in the history of religion." Graham sees scripture in its "truest" form in relationships – when freed from its written and print-bound form. The uniqueness of his contribution is his focusing on scripture as sensual and physical experience. He suggests that hearing, seeing, and touching are essential religious elements that deserve greater attention than our bias in favor of the mental and emotional aspects of religion.
The author's case for studying the performative mode of presenting and receiving the most sacred texts within the historical-cultural contexts of each religion is made in twelve chapters divided into four parts, plus an introduction and conclusion and a comprehensive bibliography. Also, the narrative of the text has been constructed for the more general reader while the more technical aspects of Graham’s assertions are corralled in some sixty-five pages of endnotes in fine print.
In part 1, Graham locates our contemporary attitudes toward literacy in general and scripture in particular in the modern context of print textuality. He shows how this objectification of the silent book has evolved out of a much different, more oral experience of texts and reading in premodern times. In part 2, the author applies his thesis to a consideration of the traditional Judeo-Christian and South Asian traditions, and in part 8, he turns his attention to his own special field, the Islamic tradition. In part 4, the analysis turns once again to the Christian tradition and the importance of the performative, liturgical mode of various doctrines of the "Word of God." The text’s documentation is extensive. Graham makes a compelling case for reassessing Christianity's dependence on the written text by pointing out the general problem of Western attitudes to written texts since the Greeks; the specifics of sacred written and oral texts; the oral texts of India; the orality of scripture in Islam and Christianity's Pachomian monasticism; and the assertions of Martin Luther. He includes many useful examples drawn widely from Middle Eastern and South Asian sources.
Graham’s writing style is at once engaging and challenging. His profound and honest scholarship whet my appetite to undertake a comprehensive study of all the major religious traditions. Gratefully, this book does not attempt such a task. It served as an effective challenge to push the thesis of scriptural orality further and encouraged me to rethink the category of scripture fundamentally. In subsequent reading, I have found myself referring back to the text and asking, "How would Graham respond to that?"
Finally, I am so aware that language is a far less stable articulation of the realities we perceive and construct than used to be thought. By whatever manner it is socially apprehended and reproduced, textuality will always be a central problem. People do things with words and thus exercise or resist power with them. By arguing successfully that certain privileged texts play far more on the senses and emotions of religious communities than our postmodern concept of a silent text suggests, William A. Graham has reopened the category of scripture by expanding it for me. How professional religionists live responsibly with this realization is one of the soul-searching questions that this author will have me thinking about for a long time to come.
Ben Witherington III, professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, ordained in the United Methodist Church, is the author of fourteen books. His profile on the Asbury Seminary web site (www.asburyseminary.edu) reflects his user friendly style: "I was born at an exceedingly early age in High Point North Carolina, the son of an accountant and a piano teacher." He is a musician as well as a theologian who has studied with C. K. Barrett, Bruce Metzger, Krister Stendahl, and Gordon Fee among others. He travels a great deal to teach and lecture, and conducts tours on which his web site visitors are invited to the Lands of the Bible . His approach to Paul’s letter reflects his interest in the traveler who is sent, the apostolos, particularly in his treatment of Epaphroditus, whose example the congregation in Philippi should follow ("The Probatio - 2:1-4:3: The Second Appeal: The Paradigmatic Partners - 2:19 - 30 [75-82]).
The structure of Friendship and Finances in Philippi conforms to the structure Witherington proposes for Paul’s letter, with a chapter that deals with the rhetorical and sociological background and foreground. "...Paul was influenced by Greek rhetorical style in the way he formed and developed his whole letters, not just in the use of occasional conventional rhetorical devices" (3). Cicero provides the model for Witherington’s rhetorical study of Paul’s letters because his were intended for public hearing. "Paul may have chosen couriers such as a Timothy or a Titus because they had the capacity to perform a letter orally in Greek in a way that conformed to Paul’s rhetorical strategy and intent" (9). The six parts of this rhetorical piece are examined in detail as they appear. The Epistolary Prescript (1:1-2), Exordium and Thanksgiving Prayer (1:3-11), Narratio (1:12-26), Propositio (1:27-30), six chapters on the Probatio (2:1-4:3), Preoratio (4:4-20), and the Epistolary Closing (4:21-23). Witherington is well versed in the use of these techniques in antiquity and applies them convincingly to the letter to the Philippians.
The first chapter establishes that the letter was written at the end of Paul’s life in Rome and that it is one letter. His arguments are well informed and helpful. There is not a suggestion that Paul himself penned the letter beginning at 3:2, one that is made by David Trobisch. Witherington attributes only the Epistolary Closing to Paul’s own hand. He argues in manageable language and easily digested sentences. Greek terms are all thoroughly explained throughout the argument and all are transliterated in order to be available to those who have not struggled through Greek 101 in Seminary. Most of the sources upon which Witherington draws for his conclusions are contemporary and at the cutting edge of today’s academy. It amused this female observer who had striven unsuccessfully through the tumult over the ordination of women to read:
It has log been recognized by classical and NT scholars that many women in Macedonia from the Hellenistic period onward had considerable prominence and influence. The comment of W.W. Tarn and G.T. Griffith is typical: "They played a large part in affairs, received envoys and obtained concessions from them for their husbands, built temples, founded cities, engaged mercenaries, commanded armies, held fortresses, and acted on occasion as regents or even co-rulers (107)."
A glance at the footnote indicates that Tarn and Griffith wrote in 1952 when women were still wearing hats to church. An excursus such as the one above giving background and foreground is included in each chapter.
The translations of each section are the author’s own. His careful investigation of the meaning and his understandable explanations are invaluable. Of particular interest is his treatment of 2:12-14:
So then my beloved, just as you always obey, not only as when I return, but also now much more in my absence, with fear and trembling do your best to bring about your own [common] salvation. For God is the one active/energizing among you both to will and to ct according to his good pleasure.
Witherington makes a clear and definitive claim for the intention of this evocation of pathos to be for the collective shalom . It is a call for the social well being of the community. The struggle is not for individual salvation (71).
The encounter both with the author and with his treatment of the letter to the Philippians is one that adds a new and profound dimension to the understanding and application of Paul’s theology.
In the preface of this book, Professor Martyn acknowledges that the volume is the culmination of thirty years of scholarship. If the reader overlooks this admission, the wealth of information and analysis presented throughout this book is ample evidence to Martyn’s commitment to Pauline scholarship. The author, Edward Robinson Professor of Biblical Theology Emeritus at Union Theological Seminary in New York, utilizes his extensive research and analysis to promote a cogent conception of Pauline theology.
Martyn begins his examination with Galatians as the "primary lens" through which to view the entire letter collection. Martyn’s exegetical examination of Galatians has also produced The Anchor Bible commentary, Galatians (New York: Doubleday, 1997). Theological Issues presents the author’s ideas in a commentary structure, with the addition of essays and book reviews that assist the reader in gaining an understanding of Martyn’s views on Pauline theology.
Martyn’s main goal in this volume is to assist the reader in formulating a conception of Pauline theology. The most important tool in achieving an understanding of the apostle’s theology is a knowledgeable, rational, investigative examination of the letters of Paul. Martyn’s concern is that lacking a thorough investigation into Paul’s mindset and goals, the contemporary societal situation at the time of the letters, church history, as well as additional factors, Paul’s message may be distorted to subvert the intended message. Martyn expands his fears of misreading Paul to the point of citing various peoples having been hurt by the misuse of the words of the letters.
Theological Issues is structured in four sections entitled respectively:
 | Part I – Paul and Christian Judaism |
| Part II – Apocalyptic Rectification |
| Part III – Interpreting Scripture |
| Part IV – The Church’s Everyday Life |
Within each section the author develops his arguments systematically, citing evidence from the Greek text, historical background and a wide survey of commentators’ research. For example, in Part I Martyn begins with an examination and explanation of Paul’s identification as a Hebrew (Phil 3:5-6) and apparent disagreement with Judaism (Phil 3:7; Gal 1:13-16). The author explains Paul’s "break" with Judaism and what "Judaism" signifies in the letters. Martyn then utilizes the definitions of these terms to dissect Paul’s message as presented in the letters, especially Galatians. This process allows Martyn to debunk some of what he believes to be mistaken interpretations of Paul’s beliefs, which have led to inaccurate depictions of Pauline theology.
Although at times challenging for a neophyte examiner of Paul’s letters, Martyn’s scholarly treatment of Paul’s letter collection is crafted in a logical and knowledgeable manner. It is an asset for both the beginning and expert scholars who have an interest in gaining a comprehensive insight into Pauline theology. This book is a worthy supplement to commentaries dedicated to the individual letters. In connecting the dots of the letters, Martyn paints a picture of Pauline theology that illuminates his interpretation of Paul’s overall message.
Finally, the reader who is questioning Paul’s writing may gain a sense of how and why some of the misconceptions (in Martyn’s view) about Paul have occurred. Identifying these misconceptions may allow the reader to see beyond their own personal disagreement with the perceived message of Paul and achieve a new appreciation of Paul’s letters. For this is one of the reactions that this reviewer found himself expressing while learning more about Pauline theology from Professor Martyn’s engaging work, Theological Issues in the Letters of Paul.
The authors declare that this book is both background and contexts (historical, social, political and cultural) related to the life and times of Paul of Tarsus and is a protest "against the oversimplification of these contexts" (Wallace p.3) Paul was a Jew, a speaker of Greek and familiar with Greek culture and a Roman citizen. These three worlds entwined to create the confluence of competing religions and cultures that met in Paul’s time.
This book, like a smorgasbord, contains both juicy morsels (information of substance) and dried up detail that led to greater confusion rather than to clarity. It was difficult to extract the protest they spoke of initially and unfortunately the contexts were presented more as contradictions supported by opposing statements rather than as a passionate departure from oversimplification. That said, there were many facts and stories that were fascinating and enlightening about Paul’s world and these shed light on his letter to the Phillipians which this class studied and enacted. Paul embodied three worlds, first as a Hellene familiar with Greek traditions and culture. The Hellenes were a pivotal gentile group that spread Christianity from Palestine to the Hellenistic world. They played a crucial role in the transformation of the early church into a World Religion. Paul was also a Jew by birth but he was also a Roman citizen most probably from an ancestor who had passed on the title. This ancestor was a slave and artisan, becoming a free-man through his craft. Paul, also a leather worker, may also have received his citizenship through his own transformation from slave/artisan to free-man living in Tarsus, a center of skilled craftsmen. It was of interest to read that Paul used metaphors from the Greek culture in his letters including references to athletic games. As in Phillipians, chapter 2:16 he writes "holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain." The authors mention Lydia who was a seller of purple, luxuries, and exotic fabrics, and was one of the first women Christian converts who lived in Phillipi and who Paul stayed with while he visited there. Could she be the "loyal companion" he refers to in Phillipians 4:3? As a lover of fabric I would like to know more about her and her craft and her journey from her native Greek religion to Christianity. It is clear that there were strong political changes and forces that affected society and religion. In light of the conflict surrounding Jerusalem today it can be no surprise that she has been claimed numerous times by peoples who are at odds with one another as have other cities throughout Palestine. Among those peoples are the Persians, the Byzantines, the Arabs, the First Christian Crusade, the Muslims, the Greeks, and the Jews. Paul’s Jerusalem was created by Herod the Great and its religious leaders resisted Hellenism but Herod, the son of a Jewish mother and a gentile father (Idumanean), put in two theatres with contests. Paul was imprisoned in Herod’s palace which, when Herod died was reclaimed by the Romans after suppressing a Jewish uprising, and the Cult of Artemis was once again worshipped. Later in 231 AD. it became an intellectual Christian community and by the 4th century saw pilgrimages and religious tourism that it still embraces today. Paul who focused his ministry in the polis, rather than the countryside as did Jesus, was a person who embodied the matrix of cultures that he traveled to. Within his own lifetime he carried the Christ metaphor within as a felt experience and lived without question his faith, traveling extensively, enduring persecution and hardship, shipwrecks, and imprisonment and was beheaded in Rome.
Because of the format of the book and its divisions by geographical areas, the impact of this previous statement comes as an afterthought rather than as central to Paul’s mission. The authors’ desire to protest oversimplification led to an account of Paul’s life and times that became mired in detailed contrasting statements which consequently drained his story of its power and love.
Francis Watson, the author of this very recent book on the sexual ethics underlying Paul’s letters, is Professor of New Testament Exegesis at the University of Aberdeen, and in its vocabulary and style his book is very much a product of and for the academy. Despite its trendy title and topical subject matter (has Eros ever gone out of style?), the book is not for the faint-hearted. The general reader will likely be put off by the dense, academic prose in which the book is written as well as by the author’s assumption that the reader has at least a nodding acquaintance with such writers as Tertullian, Augustine, Tolstoy, Freud, Barth, Woolf, Irigaray and von Balthasar. This is not to criticize the book so much as to note its intended audience and the rarefied intellectual climate in which such books as this are produced. Non-academic readers, especially those in the frontlines debating the many controversies within the church having to do with sexual ethics, may find the book helpful (or troublesome, depending on their polemics), but in the main this is a serious book for serious scholars seriously interested in serious matters. Like sex.
The book is structured in three parts, one for each of three key Pauline texts having to do with sexuality and gender: First Corinthians 11, Romans 7 and Ephesians 5. Each of these passages is analyzed in conjunction with texts reflecting the modern zeitgeist that help bring into focus for modern readers what Paul has to say (or what the author thinks Paul has to say). In particular, I Cor. 11 is paired with texts by Virginia Woolf, Rom. 7 with those by Freud, and Eph. 5 with those by Luce Irigaray, a feminist writer unfamiliar to me except through Watson’s presentation of her work. Many other writings and even artistic works such as Michelangelo’s painting on the Sistine Chapel are brought in to aid in the exegesis. This synthetic approach, incorporating many other texts and symbols to elucidate Paul’s sexual ethics, is both interesting and maddening, for it entails digressions that are often fascinating in their own right, but the thread of the author’s argument is easy to miss in the welter of material served up.
In fact, after wading through this book over the summer (it’s not exactly beach reading), I am not sure that I know what the author’s central argument is. As the book’s subtitle — Towards a Pauline Sexual Ethic — suggests, the author eschews any systematic development of Paul’s sexual ethics in favor of an exegesis of the selected texts that points towards a particular understanding of male-female relations. What emerges, if I take the author’s exegesis correctly, is a Pauline understanding that male and female are necessary complements; that eros must be constrained by agape; and that the hierarchical, male-dominated paradigm of gender manifest in a superficial reading of these passages is rooted in, but actually transcends and subverts, the engendered reality in which we human creatures find ourselves.
But this short summary over-simplifies Watson’s broad and complex vision. The extent of Watson’s canvas may seen by noting that I found particularly interesting Watson’s passages on the homo-eroticism of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel painting, on the Pauline/Augustinian basis of Freud’s sexual psychology, and on Virginia Woolf’s feminist writing.
The author’s ideas do not fall obviously to the left or the right on the political spectrum, which has the advantage of forcing the reader to think through his exegesis without labeling his arguments. The drawback is that his abstruse approach frustrates the reader who simply wants to ‘cut to the chase’ to find out what the author has to say on any of the many hot-button, gender-bending issues confronting the church today. Watson generally steers clear of drawing any overt political or dogmatic implications from his exegesis. Reading the book I found myself constantly asking, "Where is he going with this?" and "What is his point?"— questions which may betray my failings as a reader more than the author’s as a writer. In fairness, I have to say that despite my interest in the topic, despite my effort to read the book carefully, and despite what I think was a competent exegesis on the author's part, I just could not get into this book, and that experience colors this review in a way that may not do justice to the author’s work.
For me, the redeeming quality of the book is that Watson takes very seriously—and seems generally to support—what Paul actually says, which runs counter to the tendency in the modern liberal churches of ignoring Paul, or dismissing him, or explaining him away, at least where his words pose trouble for the liberal project. Watson writes in the language of the liberal academy, but he seems to recognize in Paul an authentic, non-ideological anthropology and theology of sexuality that needs to be taken seriously on Paul’s terms. For myself I wish his ideas could have been presented in a more lively and engaging way.
Would I recommend this book? I found it hard going. Go for it only if you are a patient, well-read, serious reader who is seriously interested in serious matters. Like sex.