Jesus and Archaeology - Edited by James H. Charlesworth

Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 34 • NUMBER 3 • SEPTEMBER 2008 because of their desire to avoid offending the occupying political powers; 2) because of messianism’s connection with their opponents the priests; and finally 3) because of the rise of primitive Christianity. In subsequent periods, the rabbis did cultivate messianism, but on their own terms. In sum, all the essays in this outstanding volume should prove of interest to scholars whose fields of endeavor concern the periods and topics in question. Casimir Bernas Holy Trinity Abbey ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN THOUGHTS AND THE OLD TESTAMENT: INTRODUCING THE CONCEPTUAL WORLD OF THE HEBREW BIBLE. By John H. Walton. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2006. Pp. 680. $24.99, ISBN 978-0-8010-2750-5. The author of this volume correctly suggests in his postscript, “Many of the specialists in the field of ancient Near Eastern studies have steadfastly eschewed the sort of synthesis that has been presented in this book,” and for understandable reasons: it is difficult. Trying to introduce and assess what constitutes ancient Near Eastern thought (and the author includes in ancient Near Eastern: Canaan, Egypt, Hittite sometimes, and Mesopotamia) is a difficult task multiplied by trying to connect it with the Old Testament in a way that does not offend overly critical or confessional scholars. Despite the difficulty of the task, this volume is well worth the endeavor despite some of the complications. The book is divided into five main parts: Comparative Studies, Literature of the Ancient Near East, Religion, Cosmos, and People. The writer’s style is inviting for students, because an effort is made to clarify concepts without overly simplifying them. This is done through summarizing some issues, such as the main goals of the comparative endeavor to bullet points, and the inclusion of sidebars entitled “comparative exploration.” While the book is designed for students and nonspecialists, the attempt to synthesize the material in such a thorough fashion should intrigue scholars. Tammi J. Schneider Claremont Graduate University PARADISE NOW: ESSAYS ON EARLY JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN MYSTICISM. Edited by April D. DeConick. Society of Biblical Literature Symposium Series. Atlanta, GA: Society of Biblical Literature, 2006. Pp. xxiii + 455. $49.95, ISBN 978-1-58983-257-2. Eighteen contributors from the Society of Biblical Literature’s Early Jewish and Christian Mysticism Group present essays on the subject divided into five main categories: hermeneutics and experience; communal identities; cosmology; apocalypticism; and, practices. DeConick’s own introductory composition sets the tone for the rest of the volume, which presents under various guises the complementary interplay or at times opposition between exegesis and experience. When speaking of what is today called “mysticism,” Jews and early Christians tended to use the word “apocalypse” or “revelation.” They believed that God could be experienced not only in a postmortem existence, but already in this present life. Apocalypticism should not be confused with eschatology. Visionary resources were not the only ways of mystical change. Ritual actions such as washings, sacred meals, and unctions democratized the mystical process, thereby making it available to more than a limited number of privileged initiates. Taken as a whole, this is an outstanding collection, filled with fascinating insights into an arcane world that deserves to be better known by scholars, and through them, by the general public. Casimir Bernas Holy Trinity Abbey Christian Origins REDEMPTION AND RESISTANCE: THE MESSIANIC HOPES OF JEWS AND CHRISTIANS IN ANTIQUITY. Edited by Markus Bockmuehl and James Carleton Paget. New York: T&T Clark, 2007. Pp. xxvii + 381. $160, ISBN 978-0-567-03043-6. Twenty-two contributors to this Festschrift in honor of Professor W. Horbury present essays devoted to ancient Jewish and Christian beliefs about redemption in the context of resistance to political oppression, starting from the OT and ending with the rise of Islam—topics that interested Horbury beginning with his 1970 Cambridge University doctoral dissertation on the Toledoth Yeshu. Among the contributors, S. Freyne, in his treatment of the Herodian period, explains the continuance of militant, nationalistic messianic aspirations despite the failure of the Jewish Revolt, with significance for the life history of Jesus of Nazareth. H. D. Betz compares Plutarch’s Life of Numa to the biographical narratives of the four Gospels, where Jesus the Messiah appears as a contrasting personage to those of deified Roman emperors. According to P. S. Alexander, the rabbis at first relegated messianism to a marginal position for three reasons: 1) THE NEW TESTAMENT WITH IMAGINATION: A FRESH APPROACH TO ITS WRITINGS AND THEMES. By William Loader. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2007. Pp. v + 206. $16, ISBN 978-0-8028-2746-3. In the acknowledgments, Loader dedicates his book to the countless people beyond the university setting who have “enjoyed camping in the New Testament.” For these campers, Loader advocates an emphasis upon the humanness of the text, bringing to life key passages through imagination guided by the boundaries of scholarship. The book is structured in four parts: focusing on Jesus, Paul, the Synoptic Gospels, and John. In part one, Loader imagines life in Capernaum and Jerusalem, exploring the themes of hope, change, death, and resurrection. In part two, twenty years 189 Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 34 • NUMBER 3 • SEPTEMBER 2008 sections), Sumney’s own original translation, lucid comments on the morphology and syntax of each phrase, and accessible discussion of the options available where interpreters disagree on how best to construe the Greek. Each section also includes a short bibliography for further study of the pericope under consideration. The eighteen-page overview of Greek syntax, glossary of grammatical terms, topic index, and annotated list of Greek language resources make this a especially useful text. Highly recommended for easing the transition from textbook Greek to “the real thing” and for illustrating the significance of translation for exegesis. Patrick Gray Rhodes College have passed and the cultural setting of the Christian movement has shifted from rural Palestine to a cosmopolitan environment, raising new challenges for Paul and the emerging church. In part three, Loader explores the life of a Christian scribe, highlighting the challenges of early Christian composition, especially writing a “gospel.” In the final part of the book, an aging follower of Christ in the late first century reflects upon the past and ponders the future, realizing that above all one truth remains constant, “God is love.” In this refreshing, albeit uneven project, Loader strives to remind all of us that the NT was written by real people for real people; we would be wise to listen. Matthew R. Hauge Claremont Graduate University SOCIAL DISTINCTIVES OF THE CHRISTIANS IN THE FIRST CENTURY: PIVOTAL ESSAYS BY E. A. JUDGE. Edited by David M. Scholer. Peabody, MA: Hen- NOT BY PAUL ALONE: THE FORMATION OF THE CATHOLIC EPISTLE COLLECTION AND THE CHRISTIAN CANON. By David R. Nienhuis. Waco, TX: drickson, 2008. Pp. xx + 227. $24.95, ISBN 978-1-56563880-8. E. A. Judge is undoubtedly a seminal figure in the development of the social-scientific study of the NT and this volume collects into one place eight of his most influential works, including the full text of his booklet on The Social Pattern of the Christian Groups in the First Century. Judge was one of the first among modern biblical scholars to advocate giving attention to the social world of the early Christians. In 1960, he indicated a need to know more about the external appearances and social function of early Jesus groups. Some twenty years later, he still had need to write that “[U]ntil the work of mapping out their social identity and behaviour has been developed much further in juxtaposition with the conventions and practices of contemporary society, we are in no position to say who or what the first Christians were.” Despite another quarter-century of work, the need continues, and Judge’s essays remain as fresh and provocative as when first published. Scholer has provided a great service in producing an easily accessible and affordable repository of some of the most important essays among Judge’s extensive publications. Richard S. Ascough Queen’s University Baylor University Press, 2007. Pp. xviii + 264. $39.95, ISBN 978-1-932792-71-3. Nienhuis proposes that “the final form of the C[atholic] E[pistle] collection was the result of intentional design on the part of the canonizing community in the hopes that it might perform a particular canonical function, one quite close to that which was promoted by Augustine . . . one of the letters in the collection—the letter of James—was actually composed with this particular canonical function in mind . . . in order that it might forge together a discrete collection of non-Pauline letters, one shaped according to a particular logic of apostolic authority (that is, ‘not by Paul alone’) in order to perform a particular function in the larger Christian canon (the correction of Paulinist misreadings of the whole apostolic message).” To make room for the claim that James was written in the late second century, he argues in chapter one (using a sophisticated application of the argument from silence) that there is no external evidence at all for the letter of James prior to Origen. This chapter also offers a comprehensive survey of the history of the CE collection that is of substantial value quite apart from the main thesis, as is the survey in chapter two, first of arguments pro et contra the authenticity of the letter, and second of “James of Jerusalem in History and Tradition.” Having thus prepared the way, he offers in chapter three a coherent reading of the letter as “a canon-conscious pseudepigraph.” In all, a provocative, plausible (yet ultimately unprovable) read. Michael W. Holmes Bethel University COMMENTARY ON THE NEW TESTAMENT USE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. Edited by G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2007. Pp. xxviii + 1239. $54.99, ISBN 978-0-8010-2693-5. This single volume provides a useful resource for tracking down references and allusions to the OT in the NT. It even recounts numerous intertextual connections with DSS literature, Pseudepigrapha, Targumim, and even Rabbinic Midrashim and Talmudim. Also included on occasion are accounts of significant debates by some of the major players. While a clear and standardized intrachapter format is apparent, only half the contributors follow it. Occasionally there are factual errors, as on page 548, “‘Sons of the prophets’ is not OT language,” which simply overlooks LXX references, PHILIPPIANS: A GREEK STUDENT’S INTERMEDIATE READER. By Jerry L. Sumney. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2007. Pp. xxiv + 161. $14.95, ISBN 978-1-56563991-1. This volume is designed to help students who have completed a year’s study of Greek grammar read the NT. It contains the UBS4 Greek text of Philippians (divided into 190 Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 34 • NUMBER 3 • SEPTEMBER 2008 argued. Hellenization did come to Galilee, but that was a later development in the second and third centuries. Chancey uses primarily archaeological arguments to support his thesis, namely, that when archaeological evidence from Galilee in the time of Jesus is compared with what is known from the larger region, Galilee shows little evidence of Hellenization until the second century CE. He then applies other layers of argument to the archaeological base: 1) that, particularly in light of epigraphical evidence, Greek was not used as widely in Jesus’ Galilee as is usually thought; and, 2) that numismatic evidence suggests an adoption of Roman coinage, primarily of Antipas, only in the second and third centuries. Chancey has put forth as cogent an argument against his rhetorical opponent (Martin Hengel) as can be made. In the debate “How Much Hellenism in Jewish Palestine?” Chancey clearly sides with L. H. Feldman and he provides an excellent analysis of the points for that viewpoint. Fred W. Burnett Anderson University including six occurrences in 2 Kings and one in Tobit. On other occasions, various significant and commonly noted intertexts, OT and otherwise, are absent, as in the section on Luke 23:39-43 (e.g., Gen. 40:14, 1 Sam. 28:19, b. Av.Zar. 17-18, Ruth.Rab. 3.3, etc.). The end-of-chapter bibliographies are helpful, but appear a bit out of date. In sum, it is a valuable intertextual primer and guide, but not a selfstanding resource. Even so, it should find a welcome home on the reference shelf of many biblical scholars. Mark Glen Bilby Point Loma Nazarene University THE CAMBRIDGE COMPANION TO THE BIBLE. Second edition. Edited by Bruce Chilton, et al. New York/ Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2008. Pp. x + 724; plates, maps. $34.99, ISBN 978-0-521-69140-6. This second edition reconsiders and refreshes the chronological records and exegetical topics of the acclaimed 1997 first edition. E. M. Meyers, and J. Rogerson introduce important spheres of interest in the Hebrew Bible. A. J. Saldarini’s previous submission on Jewish responses to Greek and Roman cultures has been reworked by A.-J. Levine; the section, in effect, is a treatment of the period between the two Testaments. H. C. Kee provides an introduction to the entire volume and afterward delineates the background, origins, and establishment of the early Christian communities. The contributors do not directly address the question of the origin of the religion of Israel or of the primitive church, but rather accent the social background behind the documents of these respective communities of faith. They also update the use of archaeology and the internet in biblical science. Noteworthy are the numerous informative asides scattered in boxes throughout the volume (e.g., “Hermann Gunkel and Folklore Research” and “The Origin of Writing”). Extensive bibliographies and indexes make the treatise suitable as a reference work or as a textbook that can be read in sequence from cover to cover. All in all, this revised edition is a magnificent teaching and learning tool, one of the best introductory companions to the Bible on the market. Casimir Bernas Holy Trinity Abbey WASHING IN THE WATER: TRAJECTORIES OF RITUAL BATHING IN THE HEBREW BIBLE AND SECOND TEMPLE LITERATURE. By Jonathan David Lawrence. Academia Biblica, 23. Atlanta, GA/Leiden, the Netherlands: Society of Biblical Literature/Brill, 2006. Pp. xix + 294, tables, illustrations, maps, photos. $129, ISBN 978-90-04-14670-9. This is a lovely book which came out of Lawrence’s dissertation. It successfully integrates archaeological and literary evidence in order to explain Jewish immersion rituals in the Second Temple Period. It represents the background for a bigger project that Lawrence is undertaking to examine Jewish ritual bathing and Christian baptism. Lawrence concentrates on three categories of washing: ritual, metaphorical, and initiatory. He further discusses the cultic goals of each category (i.e., washing or purity) and other uses (i.e., priestly washing or washing before theophanies). He conveniently works this information into tables in the appendices. Lawrence finds that the uses of washing mentioned in the Hebrew Bible are carried on in the Second Temple literature, where explanations of washing are discussed when they may not have been in the scripture. There was a simplification and standardization of washings as well as the expansion of washing to new uses. Lawrence attempts to sort out which structures are miqva’ot and which are other types of pools, why they are found in certain locations, and what are the chronological stages of development of ritual bathing. The book would be even better if Lawrence had interacted with literature beyond that published in English. Standard studies like Thomas’s Le mouvement baptiste en Palestine et Syrie (1935) are missing. Nevertheless, this book should provide a solid basis for future studies of baptismal practices among Jews, Christians, and Gnostics. April D. DeConick Rice University GRECO-ROMAN CULTURE AND THE GALILEE OF JESUS. By Mark Chancey. Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series, 134. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Pp. xvii + 283. $90, ISBN 978-0-52184647-9. Chancey begins his book with M. Hengel’s dictum that “[B]y the time of Jesus, all Judaism was Hellenistic Judaism,” and he concludes with “[T]he extent of that Greco-Roman culture in Galilee during the lifetime of Jesus has often been greatly exaggerated.” Chancey’s argument, then, is that Galilee during the time of Jesus was not as Hellenized or as influenced by Roman culture as Hengel and others have 191 Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 34 RESURRECTION, IMMORTALITY, AND ETERNAL LIFE IN INTERTESTAMENTAL JUDAISM AND EARLY CHRISTIANITY. By George W. E. Nickelsburg. • NUMBER 3 • SEPTEMBER 2008 tices (J. A. Kelhoffer). The volume concludes with a bibliography of Aune’s major publications. All of the essays are very well done, although, other than the thematic divisions of the book, the individual topics are extremely diverse. Recommended for research libraries. Fred W. Burnett Anderson University Expanded Edition. Harvard Theological Studies, 56. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2006. Pp. vii + 366. $27.95, ISBN 978-0-674-02378-9. In this two-part expanded edition, Nickelsburg reproduces his doctoral dissertation originally published in 1972 along with three later studies. In part one he examines the problem of religious persecution and the oppression of the righteous poor, the hope of resurrection, and the two-way theology of the Qumran Scrolls. Part two explores the relevance of his dissertation for interpreting a number of NT texts, focusing on three topics: resurrection in early Christianity, the genre and function of the Markan passion narrative, and the enigmatic “Son of Man” tradition. He also includes several reflections on the first edition after rereading his dissertation thirty years later; his insights are particularly helpful for scholars and doctoral students seeking immortality through wisdom. Matthew R. Hauge Claremont Graduate University MEMORY IN THE BIBLE AND ANTIQUITY. Edited by Loren T. Stuckenbruck, Stephen C. Barton, and Benjamin G. Wold. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament, 212. Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, 2007. Pp. 394. $197.50, ISBN 978-3-16-149251-8. This volume contains the proceedings of the Fifth Durham-Tübingen Research Symposium (Durham, September 2004). Contributing scholars are: Schaper, Blum, Wold, Stuckenbruck, Lichtenberger, Horbury, Barclay, Mendels, Le Donne, Dunn, Hengel, Mittmann-Richert, Schwemer, Eckstein, Barton, and Bockmuehl. The articles are in English and German. Given that the application of social memory theory to biblical studies is in its infancy, this book wisely contains articles written to cover very basic but essential topics, including memory and historiography, memory and remembrance, memory politics, societies of memory, memory distortion, memory and orality, living memory and eyewitness testimony, remembering and ritual, and counter-memories. Although the topics are basic, the studies themselves are rich detailed text applications from the bible and the intertestamental literature, immersing the reader in primary and secondary sources. The book is surprisingly coherent given its edited nature. Most of the contributors struggle with the question of how memory relates to history, i.e., in what ways the biblical and intertestamental texts are “historical” given the fact that they emerge as records of collective memory. Another issue threading through the majority of articles is the challenge to understand how memory serves the selfidentity of communities. Along with Memory, Tradition, and Text (edited by A. Kirk and T. Thatcher, 2005), it is a timely and requisite publication for anyone curious about how human memory affects the identity and character of religious groups in antiquity—how they remembered and what was remembered. April D. DeConick Rice University THE NEW TESTAMENT AND EARLY CHRISTIAN LITERATURE IN GRECO-ROMAN CONTEXT: STUDIES IN HONOR OF DAVID E. AUNE. Edited by John Fotopoulos. Supplements to Novum Testamentum, 122. Leiden, the Netherlands: Brill, 2006. Pp. xv + 468. $179, ISBN 90-04-14304-1. This collection of twenty-one essays is divided into three parts. In Part one (“Pauline Studies”) there are seven essays: C. J. Roetzel (“Ioudaioi and Paul”); Pauline perspectives on the crucifixion (P. Borgen); the idol and food issue in 1 Cor 8:1-11:1 (Fotopoulos); Paul and Seneca on incest (P. Hartog); a rhetorical study of 2 Cor 11:22 (D. C. Duling); the hymn in Phil 2:6-11 (T. H. Tobin, S. J.); and an analysis of “Paul’s Pneumatological Statements and Ancient Medical Texts” (T. W. Martin). Part two (“Gospels/Acts”) consists of five essays: on narrative in Polybius and Luke-Acts (D. P. Moessner); an analysis of Paul’s itinerary (L. Alexander); John 17:12 and the fulfillment of scripture (U. C. von Wahlde); perjury in both ancient and modern law (J. T. Fitzgerald); and “The Kingdom of the Father in the Gospel of Thomas” (H. Kvalbein). Part three deals with one of Aune’s favorite areas, the “Revelation to John,” with four essays: on the relevance of the Imperial Cult for reading Revelation (J. Frey); “Ruler or God? The Demolition of Herod’s Eagle” (J. Willem van Henten); the woman in Rev 12: 1, 4 (D. L. Balch); and, reflections on iconography and symbolism (J. H. Charlesworth). Part four (“Hellenistic Judaism”) consists of only one article on Philo’s interpretation of the story of Balaam (T. Seland). Part five (“Early Christian Literature”) is a potpourri of topics on the rhetorical handbooks (M. M. Mitchell); views of mental illness in the early Christian world (R. M. Grant); “The Traditio Legis-Motif in Early Christian Art and Literature” (R. Hvalvik); and early Christian ascetic prac- IDENTITY, ETHICS, AND ETHOS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. Edited by Jan G. van der Watt. Beihefte Zur Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft und die Kunde der älteren Kirche, 141. Berlin/New York: Walter de Gruyter, 2006. Pp. ix + 645. $237, ISBN 978-3-11-018973-5. The twenty-three essays in this collection focus, first, upon “ethics,” that is, the way in which directives, commandments, and guidelines in NT writings provide frameworks for the intended readers’ behavior. Second, and in a broader 192 Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 34 sense than ethics, the ancient understanding of ethos as habitual (innate?) behavior is used to deduce the socioethical identity and behavior of diverse Christian communities. The writers’ conclusions issue in something akin to a socioethicalidentity “map” of the communities of NT readers. At times, brilliant attempts are made to relate literature and literary forms and devices to socioethical realities. The essays are divided into five parts: The Gospels and Acts (H. J. B. Combrink; C. Breytenbach; E. Scheffler; van der Watt; and G. J. Steyn); Pauline Letters (A. B. du Toit; M. Wolter; J. A. Loubser; D. F. Tolmie; F. S. Malan; P. J. Gräbe; B. Witherington III; G. F. Wessels; P. G. R. de Villiers; and, I. J. du Plessis); General Epistles, Hebrews and Revelation (H. Klauck; P. J. Hartin; Fika J. van Rensburg; F. P. Viljoen; D. G. van der Merwe; and, J. A. du Rand); and, exceeding the boundaries of the NT, one essay on 2 Clement (W. Pratscher). An important collection in NT Ethics for all research libraries. Fred W. Burnett Anderson University • NUMBER 3 • SEPTEMBER 2008 been underrated, causing the “de-historicization of John” and the “de-Johannification of Jesus.” His targets are not Johannine scholars (among whom his views on Johannine historicity are unexceptionable) but gospel generalists and historical Jesus scholars. He observes that while John is theologically influenced, so are the Synoptics, and a balanced quest for the historical Jesus should take a bi-optic perspective (John and Synoptics). John developed autonomously from Mark, Q, Matthew, and Luke, but not in isolation from them. Its relations with these traditions were variously “interfluential,” formative, and dialectical. For instance, the Fourth Gospel’s first edition (lacking 1:1–18 and chaps. 6, 15–17, 21) augmented, complemented, and corrected Mark, without being dependent on written Mark; and Luke received formative influence from Johannine oral tradition. Anderson’s proposals about oral and written contacts among Jesus traditions are worthy of further attention. He has laid the groundwork with detailed analyses of many passages and a notable hypothesis about the origins of the Johannine corpus. The wide coverage comes at a cost, however; the book is underfootnoted, depriving the reader of pointers to further details and of reasons why alternative views should be rejected. During the exegetical sections, its interactions are largely within Johannine studies, neglecting much historical Jesus research, including scholars who do see historical value in John (e.g., Fredriksen, Meier, Wright). Ironically, this weakens the author’s rhetorical appeal not to exclude John from the “quest.” Catherine Playoust Jesuit Theological College (Melbourne, Australia) JESUS AND THE MIRACLE TRADITION. By Paul J. Achtemeier. Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2008. Pp. 255. Paperback, $30, ISBN 978-1-59752-364-6. Achtemeier, professor emeritus of biblical interpretation at Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, is well known to NT scholars for his work on both Paul’s letters and Mark’s Gospel. This collection of essays reflects the scholarly work which he conducted throughout the 1970s. Each of the first eight chapters has been previously published in various scholarly journals and will be familiar to seasoned scholars. The final essay on the miracle tradition in the NT and the broader Greco-Roman world was newly penned for this volume and offers as fine an introduction to the topic as the limitations of space will allow. In spite of the independent origin of the various articles in this collection, two recurring themes persist: 1) the question of literary function should take precedence over questions of historicity, and 2) the literary function of the miracles is best discerned in dialogue with Greco-Roman (rather than OT) miracle traditions. Although some of the essays have been lightly retouched, most show evidence of their age. The volume will prove most beneficial to those who either are new to miracle study or who have no access to the scholarly journals. Thomas E. Phillips Point Loma Nazarene University JOHN, JESUS, AND HISTORY VOLUME ONE: CRITICAL APPRAISALS OF CRITICAL VIEWS. Edited by Paul N. Anderson, Felix Just, and Tom Thatcher. SBL Symposium Series, 44. Atlanta, GA: Society of Biblical Literature, 2007. Pp. viii + 346. $37.95, ISBN 978-158983-293-0. Traditionally, scholars on the quest for the historical Jesus have dismissed the Gospel of John as “spiritual” and thus an invalid historical source. But in 2002, a group of John and historical Jesus scholars met to challenge this assumption. As expected, their first volume sets forth the question and lays methodological foundations. Anderson claims that prevalent assumptions—the Gospel of John is “dehistoricized” and the historical Jesus is “de-Johannified”—distort Jesus research. A series of renowned scholars review the “quest” literature and its use of John. Five others offer methodological approaches that respect John as a historical source; two case studies follow. While any claim for or against John’s historicity is problematic, the inclusion of the Gospel of John in Jesus studies is necessary and may be potentially transformative. This volume’s value lies in its cogent argument to include the Gospel of John in historical Jesus research and should be required reading for all collegelevel gospel studies. Jane S. Webster Barton College THE FOURTH GOSPEL AND THE QUEST FOR JESUS: MODERN FOUNDATIONS RECONSIDERED. By Paul N. Anderson. Library of Historical Jesus Studies; Library of New Testament Studies, 321. London: T&T Clark, 2006. Pp. xx + 226. Cloth, $120, ISBN 978-0-567-04394-8; paper, $49.95, ISBN 978-0-567-03330-7. Anderson argues that the Fourth Gospel’s value for historical reconstruction, especially of the historical Jesus, has 193 Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 34 • NUMBER 3 • SEPTEMBER 2008 JESUS THE VILLAGE PSYCHIATRIST. By Donald Capps. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008. Pp. xxv + 145. $19.95, ISBN 978-0-664-23240-5. It remains an intriguing possibility that certain gospel healing tales preserve experiences (whether of Jesus or of early Christian healers) with psychogenic ailments and their alleviation (permanent or temporary, for all we know). Capps, a Professor of Pastoral Theology, is the first to argue the case from a thorough background in psychiatry. The book is fascinating but circular, as it perforce substitutes speculation for evidence, and virtually novelistic inference at that. Thus, it ends where it began: with tantalizing possibility and little if anything more, although we find ourselves better educated. Does Capps offer much pastoral advice? Jesus, he says, must have had a load of personal magnetism, and, presumably, we may repeat his feats if we do, too. Overall, the tendency is to revive eighteenth-century Protestant Rationalism: the “miracles” happened, but within the limits of reason alone. Not a necessary dweller on your shelf. Robert M. Price Johnnie Coleman Theological Seminary especially religious ones. Like many today, Charlesworth posits an ecumenically tailored Christology (for that is all it is) of Jesus as a devout, Torah-loving Jew. The methodology here seems to be a simple prior decision to regard Jesus as a function, a kind of “split-the-difference” distillation, of the many interesting things we happen to know about Second Temple Judaism. And since Germans have persecuted Jews, German scholarship is not politically correct, so it must not be historically correct either. D. F. Strauss is absurdly written off for allowing Hegelianism to dictate the results of his research in The Life of Jesus Critically Examined. Has Charlesworth read this great book? Wellhausen, too, is somehow to be sneered at because of his liberal theology. Anyone who thinks this either never bothered reading Wellhausen’s detailed argumentation or does not think detailed argumentation matters, only party loyalty. I suspect the latter in this case. The present book amounts to catechism for a new generation of mainstream preachers who will emerge having little upsetting to say. Robert M. Price Johnnie Coleman Theological Seminary JESUS AND ARCHAEOLOGY. Edited by James H. Charlesworth. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2006. Pp. xxv + 740. $50, ISBN 0-8028-4880-X. This scholarly work contains the essays of leading archaeologists and biblical scholars that center on how archaeological discoveries shed light on the life, thought, and times of Jesus in the gospels. Complete with many blackand-white pictures, the authors deal with a wide range of subjects, including what it meant for Jesus to be called a bastard (Mamzerut) child who taught in the synagogues. In it are revealed some recent findings from Qumran, Nazareth, Cana, Bethsaida, Jerusalem, and how such findings are relevant to theology. Charlesworth briefly summarizes some of the results. Nazareth, Cana, and Bethsaida have been identified as existing in the time of Jesus, along with some synagogues: “it would be foolish to continue to foster the illusion that the Gospels are merely fictional stories like the legends of Hercules and Asclepius.” This work will be of great interest to scholars working in this area as well as anyone interested in current archaeological findings related to the four gospels. John W. Loftus Angola, Indiana JESUS RECONSIDERED: SCHOLARSHIP IN THE PUBLIC EYE. Edited by Bernard Brandon Scott. Jesus Seminar Guides, 1. Santa Rosa, CA: Polebridge Press, 2007. Pp. x + 104. $18, ISBN 978-1-59815-002-5. This collection of explanations and historical retrospectives by Fellows of the Jesus Seminar should put to rest most of the hysteria and heresy charges leveled at the scholarly think tank. The short essays by B. B. Scott, M. Borg, R. Funk, P. V. Kea, R. J. Miller, and R. S. Mordecai are helpful summaries of methodology and results as published in The Five Gospels, The Acts of Jesus, and so forth. The two papers by R. W. Hoover, models of lucidity, are by themselves worth more than the price of the book. The volume is irenic and selfcritical, tactfully suggesting that the vitriol directed at the work of the Seminar is a matter of apologetics for religious institutions defending dogmatic views of scripture with no interest in real historical research. The contributors go some way in defending controversial positions while explaining they are not merely bizarre opinions of some fringe group trying to debunk the gospels, Jesus, or apple pie. The goal appears to be to clear the air and to refocus debate on the serious scholarly issues. No critic of the Jesus Seminar can be taken seriously until he or she takes this book into account. Robert M. Price Johnnie Coleman Theological Seminary THE HISTORICAL JESUS: AN ESSENTIAL GUIDE. By James H. Charlesworth. Essential Guides, 12. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2008. Pp. xx + 131. $18, ISBN 978-0687-02167-3. Charlesworth serves as cheerleader for neoconservative retrenchment in Jesus research. He pontificates that German existentialist theology like Bultmann’s “duped” a whole generation of scholars, and that scholars “must” avoid the skepticism of those who think we can know little or nothing of the historical Jesus. Why? Seemingly, on general principles, THE POST-MORTEM VINDICATION OF JESUS IN THE SAYINGS GOSPEL Q. Library of NT Studies, 338. By Daniel A. Smith. New York: T&T Clark, 2007. Pp. xiii + 206. $120, ISBN 0-567-04474-2. This remarkably fresh and interesting study investigates the understanding of Jesus’ postmortem in Q, particularly in Q 13:34-35, and suggests that Q likely presumed a theology of Jesus’ bodily assumption to heaven and not a 194 Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 34 • NUMBER 3 • SEPTEMBER 2008 THE HISTORICAL RELIABILITY OF THE GOSPELS. Second edition. By Craig L. Blomberg. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press Academic, 2007. Pp. 416. $24, ISBN 9780-8308-2807-4. Blomberg, distinguished professor of NT at Denver Seminary, has updated his widely used defense of the historical accuracy of the four canonical gospels. Blomberg claims both that his task in this volume is strictly historical—to discern the degree of historical reliability that one should afford to the gospels—and that he laid aside his admittedly conservative theological convictions. Blomberg frames his argument by considering C. S. Lewis’s assertion that Jesus was either a liar (who intentionally represented himself as something that he was not), a lunatic (who believed himself to be something that he was not), or the Lord (exactly who Lewis believed the gospels claimed Jesus to be). Blomberg first criticizes Lewis by offering a fourth option, that the gospel writers misrepresented Jesus, and by suggesting that many contemporary biblical scholars operate on the basis of this fourth option. To address this fourth perspective, Blomberg first analyzes the role of the evangelists in the formation of the gospel and finds that the evangelists were reliable conveyors of the traditions about Jesus. Many more skeptically minded scholars will find Blomberg’s analysis of the precanonical history of the Jesus traditions to be cursory (redaction criticism is described in one page and critiqued over the span of eight pages). Blomberg then reaffirms Lewis’s original three options by arguing for the historicity of the miracle stories, for the historical reliability of the Johannine traditions, and for a harmonizing approach to synoptic study. This volume, although cutting against the grain of the dominant trends in gospel study, offers the most complete, accurate and up-todate defense of a maximalist approach to the Jesus tradition. Still, many readers will wonder if Blomberg really has laid aside his “conservative” and “evangelical” (two of Blomberg’s favorite and often repeated words) theology and truly applied himself to an open-ended historical project. Thomas E. Phillips Point Loma Nazarene University theology of resurrection. Although Smith acknowledges that bodily assumption was unusually associated with a living being just before, or even at the time of, that one’s death, he argues that Jesus’ bodily assumption in Q serves as his postmortem vindication for being God’s righteous and persecuted prophet. Smith also reflects on the broad-reaching implications of having two very different understandings of Jesus’ postmortem existence in early Christian traditions—one tradition of postmortem assumption to heaven and another tradition of postmortem resurrection to a renewed living presence on earth. According to Smith, Paul emphasizes resurrection very strongly and Q emphasizes assumption; the other NT writers often blend these two traditions. This volume is innovative and provocative. It is highly recommended for scholars investigating the Christology of Q or early Christianity, resurrection theologies in the NT, and formation of the gospels. Thomas E. Phillips Point Loma Nazarene University STORIES WITH INTENT: A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO THE PARABLES OF JESUS. By Klyne R. Snodgrass. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2008. Pp. xviii + 846. $50, ISBN 978-0-8028-4241-1. With this volume, Snodgrass, professor of NT at North Park Seminary, has provided a significant service for interpreters of the parables. However, the significance of this volume is not as an introduction to the parables (it is much too long for that purpose), nor as a unique or innovative approach to parable study (Snodgrass makes few original claims in this volume). This volume should be primarily viewed as a pedagogical tool and as a treasure chest of raw data. After a brief introduction to parable study, an introduction which understands the parables as growing out of the Jewish heritage of the historical Jesus, Snodgrass divides the parables into nine categories (e.g., “grace and responsibility” [Mt 18:23-25 and Luke 7:41-43]). A standard set of questions is addressed to each parable within each category. Snodgrass labels these interpretative questions: parable type (essentially the structure of the parable), issues requiring attention (key points of scholarly debate), helpful primary source materials (ancient literary parallels), comparison of the accounts (from the Synoptics and the Gospel of Thomas), textual features worth noting, cultural information (mainly in the context of Jesus, not of the evangelists or the early church), explanation of the parable, adopting the parable, and a list for further reading. The volume covers most key interpretative issues, and does so fairly and accurately. However, seasoned interpreters will sometimes find the book’s sustained focus on pedagogy a bit pedantic. Many much shorter volumes offer more succinct and coherent interpretations of the parables. Still, the volume is a notable achievement and deserves a place on the shelf of every serious interpreter of the parables. Thomas E. Phillips Point Loma Nazarene University FROM JESUS TO THE GOSPELS: INTERPRETING THE NEW TESTAMENT IN CONTEXT. By Helmut Koester. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 2007. Pp. xiii + 311. $39, ISBN 978-0-8006-2093-6. This volume draws together much of Koester’s work on the gospels since the 1990 publication of his landmark book, Ancient Christian Gospels. The articles collected in this volume have all been previously published and are only lightly edited (often abridged to avoid duplication) for this volume. Given the book’s origin as a series of freestanding articles, the volume exhibits no central thesis or sustained argument from chapter to chapter. However, the articles are loosely organized under three broad categories: articles about the relationship between the canonical and apocryphal 195 Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 34 • NUMBER 3 • SEPTEMBER 2008 German, additional material (particularly in the excurses), and revisions. As one would expect, this volume continues Luz’s views that have already been explicated in the volumes on Matt 8-20 (2001; reviewed in RSR 28: 76) and on Matt 21-28 (2005; reviewed in RSR 32: 258). Taken together, the three volumes are a model of how Luz’s method of laying out the history of interpretation (Auslegungsgeschichte) of Matthew as well as the history of its “influence(s)” (Wirkungsgeschichte) extends the hermeneutical trajectory of Matthew beyond what historical-critical commentaries can do with their emphasis upon only the “original” lifesituation of the Gospel. Not only is volume one recommended over its 1989 edition, but the set of three volumes constitutes a definitive and masterly approach to the Gospel of Matthew. Fred W. Burnett Anderson University gospels; articles related to the Gospel of John; and articles about the sayings of Jesus. Those familiar with Koester’s work will find no additional research in this volume beyond that found in the original articles. As Koester’s brief preface notes, the volume will disappoint some readers because it does not deliver the historical survey of the Jesus tradition that the title seems to promise. In fact, Koester regards any attempt to discover the historical Jesus as “a dead-end road.” Still, the volume is fully indexed and that feature will make this collection ideal for those seeking convenient access to this seminal scholar’s most important recent work. Thomas E. Phillips Point Loma Nazarene University THE GOSPELS TODAY: CHALLENGING READINGS OF JOHN, MARK, LUKE AND MATTHEW. By Stephen W. Need. Essential Inquiries, Volume 2. Lanham, MD: Cowley Publications, 2007. Pp. viii + 134. $15.95, ISBN 9781-56101-297-8. Challenging views of Gospel passages are presented here in concise fashion for the benefit of introductory students. Need provides a mainstream understanding of the Johannine prologue in the course of his exposition of the Logos and associated themes. For Need, in the NT, Son of God and Son of Man did not refer to divinity and humanity in reference to Jesus. The “messianic secret” in Mark is better described as the “messianic mystery” because of the ambivalence of Jesus in his words and actions. The bread of life in John 6 is first and foremost a metaphor for Jesus himself (as with good shepherd, true vine, living water), rather than a reference to the Eucharist. The protagonist in Luke 16:1-13 should be called not the unjust steward but the prudent steward because he is simply renouncing his own commission on what he has earned (laws against usury were easily scorned or ignored at the time). The quieting of the storm in Mark 4:35-41 is not a “nature miracle” but is rather an example of the divine battle against chaos and the reintegration of proper functioning in the universe. The Transfiguration story is a theophany based on Exodus 24: 33-34, where God makes himself present and manifests his glory. Overall, beginning readers will profit from the insights of this clear and concise treatise. Casimir Bernas Holy Trinity Abbey SPIRIT AND KINGDOM IN THE WRITINGS OF LUKE AND PAUL: AN ATTEMPT TO RECONCILE THESE CONCEPTS. By Youngmo Cho. Paternoster Biblical Monographs. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2005. Pp. 227. $27, ISBN 978-1-59752-798-9. Cho wrote this comparison of the concepts of kingdom and Spirit in Paul and Luke as his PhD dissertation at the University of Aberdeen under the supervision of A. Clarke. After a brief review of Spirit language in intertestamental Jewish literature, Cho claims that Paul’s pneumatology was novel in its understanding of the Spirit’s presence as simultaneously the presence of the kingdom. Cho also argues that Paul’s pneumataology was likewise more developed than Luke’s pneumatology, which understood the Spirit only as the source, and not the presence, of the kingdom. Although the exegesis attempts to be disciplined, many readers will suspect that the volume finds points of contact between concepts and writers that are less amenable to comparison than this volume acknowledges. Sadly, the opening review of scholarship is limited to the work of just three scholars (J. Dunn, R. Menzies, and M. Turner) and will, therefore, also be disappointing to many readers. The volume will be most useful to those who share Cho’s conservative evangelical presuppositions and charismatic theological concerns. Thomas E. Phillips Point Loma Nazarene University MATTHEW 1-7: A COMMENTARY. By Ulrich Luz. Translated by James Crouch. Hermeneia. Pp. xxxvii + 432. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 2007. $75, ISBN 978-0-80066099-4. This is the first of three volumes in this series on Matthew, but it is the last to be published. Fortress published a previous edition of this volume in 1989, but the current volume supersedes it with a revised bibliography, although only through 2000 in most sections, a translation from a later edition (the fifth) of Luz’s original commentary in THE RESTORATION OF ISRAEL: ISRAEL’S RE-GATHERING AND THE FATE OF THE NATIONS IN EARLY JEWISH LITERATURE AND LUKE-ACTS. By Michael E. Fuller. Beihefte Zur Zeitschrift Fur Die Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft, 138. New York: Walter de Gruyter, 2006. Pp. 332. $132, ISBN 978-3-11-018896-7. This volume, Fuller’s revised PhD dissertation (submitted at the University of Durham under the supervision of L. T. Stuckenbruck), surveys Jewish literature from 200 BCE to 100 CE. Fuller wishes to discern how Jews of this era 196 Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 34 • NUMBER 3 • SEPTEMBER 2008 a guest. The volume is composed of three parts: a statistical analysis of the key words associated with the language of hospitality in Luke’s Gospel; a detailed exegesis of the relevant passages (Luke 5:27-32; 19:1-10; 10:38-42; 24:28-32; 7:36-50; 11:37-54; and 14:1-24); and reflections upon the Christological implications of the study. Within Luke’s Gospel, Hotze argues that the theme of Jesus as guest is related to Jesus’ status as a prophet and as the Davidic Messiah. Hotze finds parallels to the Lukan guest theme in Mark and even more strongly in John within the NT and in several OT narratives, particularly Gen 18. According to Hotze, the theme of Jesus as a guest also appears throughout the history of interpretation and should be taken more seriously by contemporary interpreters. This study breaks new ground and deserves the attention of all future interpreters of Luke. Thomas E. Phillips Point Loma Nazarene University conceived of the restoration of Israel. He finds three prominent themes in this Jewish literature: 1) the future regathering of exiled Israel; 2) the fate of the nations and Israel’s enemies; and 3) the creation of a new temple. Fuller argues that the first two of these themes are also prominent in Luke-Acts. Fuller emphasizes the role of twelve as a symbolic core of Jews who participate in a regathering of Israel and who witness a global mission to the nations. In most ways, Fuller’s argument reflects contemporary scholarly trends which emphasize the role of Israel in Lukan eschatology. Although Fuller focuses most directly upon the Gospel of Luke, some readers will be left wondering why the twelve appear only in the first half of Acts if they are so important to Lukan eschatology. Other readers will find Fuller’s thesis to be a helpful explanation for Paul’s frequent visits to Jerusalem in Acts. In any case, this book will be most significant only for those who specialize in Lukan studies. Thomas E. Phillips Point Loma Nazarene University THE AFTERLIFE IMAGERY IN LUKE’S STORY OF THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS. By Outi Lehtipuu. PARABLES OF THE KINGDOM: JESUS AND THE USE OF PARABLES IN THE SYNOPTIC TRADITION. By Mary Ann Getty-Sullivan. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2007. Pp. 191. $9.95, ISBN 978-0-8146-2993-2. Getty-Sullivan, retired professor of NT at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium, provides a well-conceived and well-written introduction to the parables as preserved in the synoptic tradition. The parables’ preliterary history, including their role in the ministry of the historical Jesus, is not addressed. The six chapters assume Markan priority and therefore introduce the parables under the rubrics of the parables in Mark, the Markan parables as redacted by Matthew and Luke, and the unique parables in Matthew and Luke. Although the volume is lightly documented and provides only a limited (and exclusively English) bibliography, Getty-Sullivan demonstrates a mature grasp of most significant parables’ scholarship. The volume offers plausible readings of the parables in their various canonical contexts, but it demonstrates little interest in explaining the methods used to produce those readings. This book will serve well as an entry-level introduction to the content of the parables, but it lacks the sustained scholarly dialogue required for more advanced parable study. The volume has a helpful glossary of key terms, but no indices. Thomas E. Phillips Point Loma Nazarene University Supplements to Novum Testamentum, 123. Boston: Brill, 2007. Pp. xiv + 362. $170, ISBN 978-90-04-15301-1. This slightly revised PhD dissertation was written at the University of Helsinki under the direction of H. Räisänen and A. Y. Collins. In an early-career work, Lehtipuu offers an extraordinarily mature, careful and well-read treatment of the topic at hand. He treats thoroughly traditions of afterlife imagery in Egyptian, Greco-Roman, Jewish (Pseudepigraphal, Apocryphal, and Dead Sea Sectarian), and early Christian literature, whereas early Rabbinic traditions are mostly unexplored. Lehtipuu argues that the uniquely Lukan materials and stories fit within a broader intertextual network, rather than depending literarily on any texts in particular. With others, he offers a corrective to the view of Conzelmann and others of a coherent Lukan eschatology and literary aim (e.g., answering the delayed parousia), seeing instead an eschatological plurality quite common in the broader literary world. The variety of views serves several rhetorical and paraenetic ends, often geared around provoking repentance as preparation for a blessed afterlife. The book is a highly recommended contribution to Luke-Acts scholarship, biblical studies in general, and afterlife speculation in Late Antiquity. Mark Glen Bilby Point Loma Nazarene University JESUS ALS GAST: STUDIEN ZU EINEM CHRISTOLOGISCHEN LEITMOTIV IM LUKASEVANGELIUM. By Gerhard Hotze. Forschung zur Bibel, 111. D’ISRAËL AUX NATIONS: L’HORIZON DE LA RENCONTRE AVEC LE SAUVEUR DANS L’ŒUVRE DE LUC. By Étienne L. Mbilizi. Europäische Hochs- Würzburg, Germany: Echter Verlag, 2007. Pp. 339. €30.90, ISBN 978-3-429-02872-5. Several recent studies have explored the theme of hospitality in Luke’s Gospel. Hotze takes up this theme, but moves in a new direction by exploring the theme of Jesus as chulschriften, Reihe 23, Bd. 831. Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Peter Lang, 2006. Pp. 386. €55.80, ISBN 978-3631-55091-5. In this volume, Mbilizi offers his doctoral thesis from the Gregorianum to a broader readership. In it, he explores 197 Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 34 the various passages in Luke-Acts dealing with the conversion of non-Jews (Luke 7:1-10, 11:29-36, 17:11-19, 23:4448, Acts 8:26-40, 10:1-11, 14:8-20, 15:1-35, and 17:16-34), focusing especially on their manifold implications for a theology of conversion. This includes the overcoming of socialreligious-political distinctions, a personal quest for Jesus, the building of narrative suspense, a climax consisting in a divine encounter, an internal shift in faith, and external expressions in confession and/or journeying toward newly opened horizons. Mbilizi transitions easily between German, French, Italian and English sources, works proficiently with the Greek text and variants, thoroughly explores intertexts within Luke-Acts, and writes smoothly within a well-plotted structure. Less evident are interactions with broader ancient sources, Greco-Roman or Jewish, a history of scholarship on the issue, and how the author envisions his work furthering the scholarly discussion. The volume contains an index of modern authors, but not of scriptures or other ancient sources. Its appeal would mainly be to scholars doing specialized work on one of the passages mentioned earlier, or on Luke’s theology of conversion. Mark Bilby Point Loma Nazarene University • NUMBER 3 • SEPTEMBER 2008 of early Christianity will be particularly interested in this volume. Thomas E. Phillips Point Loma Nazarene University DAVID IN LUKE-ACTS: HIS PORTRAYAL IN THE LIGHT OF EARLY JUDAISM. By Yuzuru Miura. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament, 232. Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, 2007. Pp. 305. $115, ISBN 978-3-16-149253-2. This revised PhD dissertation (the University of Aberdeen under the direction of A. Clarke) provides a reading of images of David in Luke-Acts. As background to David in Luke-Acts, the first part of the volume (six chapters) surveys the images of David in the OT, in the OT Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, in the Qumran documents, in the writings of Philo and Josephus, and in early rabbinic thought. Miura finds nine themes in this literature: David as sinner, as ideal king, as prophet, as religious authority, as parallel to Moses and to Solomon, as Psalmist, as model for Jews, and as indicator of the Messiah. According to Miura, Luke-Acts contains all of these themes except David as sinner and Luke-Acts, therefore, portrays Jesus as a Davidic Messiah. The breadth of the investigation has required rapid surveys of diverse texts. Some sections are laden with extensive lists of relevant texts with only thin interpretation where many readers would have liked to see more meticulous exegesis. Two particular concerns are whether the themes which Miura associates with Davidic messiahship are distinctively Davidic or whether most of these themes could be associated with any number of Jewish figures (e.g., Moses, Elijah, Enoch), and whether the violence associated with a Davidic concept of messiahship finds any parallel in Luke-Acts. Still the volume is an impressive achievement and is highly recommended for research libraries, specialists in Lukan studies, and those concerned with the history of OT interpretation. Thomas E. Phillips Point Loma Nazarene University CONSUMPTION AND WEALTH IN LUKE’S TRAVEL NARRATIVE. By James A. Metzger. Biblical Interpretation Series, 88. Boston: Brill, 2007. Pp. x + 218. $155, ISBN 97890-04-16261-7. This volume, Metzger’s revised PhD dissertation at Vanderbilt University under F. Segovia, uses a form of reader-response criticism to investigate four uniquely Lukan parables (12:16-21; 15:11-32; 16:1-13; and 16:19-31). The goal is discern how these parables, and by extension, the uniquely Lukan materials in Luke’s travel narrative (9:51-19:10) seek to shape Christian conduct in regard to material possessions. Iser, Fish, and the other leading theorists of reader-response criticism are discussed, but Barthes’s work provides the primary theoretic orientation. The resulting reading argues that these materials—but not the entirety of Luke’s Gospel—advocate for divesture from material possessions and regard the wealthy as guilty of selfindulgence and excess consumption. The thesis is clear and plausible, but many readers will suspect that Metzger has merely updated the conclusions reached decades ago by R. J. Cassidy, an author whose work appears in the bibliography, but not the index. The author’s engagement with scholarship is sometimes lax with significant gaps in the coverage of English scholarship (e.g., Cassidy and his many followers). French scholarship is well represented, but even key German works are frequently ignored (only three German works appear in the bibliography). In spite of its relevance to the topic, Spanish scholarship is unrepresented. Specialists in Lukan studies, in the formation of the gospels, in the historical Jesus, and in the socioeconomic concerns LUCAS. By Alvin Padilla. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress, 2007. Pp. 190. $15, ISBN 978-0-8066-5337-2. Padilla, an ordained Presbyterian who serves on the faculty at Gordon-Conwell Seminary in Boston, has provided a helpful entry-level commentary for Spanish readers. This brief volume comments on Luke’s Gospel by pericope and demonstrates a mature grasp of critical scholarship, although it provides no footnotes or other documentation. The exegesis presumes that the gospel was written by Luke, the traveling companion of the Apostle Paul. The volume focuses upon exegesis and demonstrates little interest in the reception of the text (in the past or the present). The volume will be useful for people wishing to provide Spanish readers with a conservative introduction to the study of Luke, but it offers little for advanced students of Luke. Thomas E. Phillips Point Loma Nazarene University 198 Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 34 DAS HEIL GOTTES: STUDIEN ZUR SOTERIOLOGIE DES LUKANISCHEN DOPPELWERKS. By Hans Jörg • NUMBER 3 • SEPTEMBER 2008 While Campbell’s monograph provides alternative views for understanding the passages selected, her findings are often lost by the introduction of multiple models of analysis. Stan Harstine Friends University Sellner. Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft, 152. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2007. Pp. xiii + 591. €128, ISBN 978-3-11-019699-3. While acknowledging the abundant foregoing work on the topic, Sellner finds room for a fresh and thoroughgoing exegetical investigation of Lukan soteriology. The book follows a narrative structure, identifying each section by a specific topic. Areas covered include: the Lukan birth narratives (esp. 1:46b-55, 1:68-79, 2:11), the fulfillment of the ages in the beginnings of Jesus’ ministry (4:18-21, 7:18-23), seeking and saving the lost (5:27-32, 15:11-32, 19:1-10), salvation and healing (5:17-26, 17:11-19), the time of transition (Luke 24—Acts 1), the new mode of salvation (Acts 2:2740), salvation in the name of the Risen One (3:16, 10:43, 26:18), the future of salvation (parousia and personal afterlife, Luke 23:42-43), and the saving significance of Jesus’ death (Luke 22:19-20, Acts 20:28). The author conscientiously attempts to avoid facile literary syntheses or homogenization, which he documents as characteristic of many of the preeminent Luke-Acts scholars of recent generations. Instead, he highlights significant differences and shifts even across the Luke-Acts narrative. Governed by a literary approach, he everywhere notes intertextual connections, but these are almost entirely confined to canonical texts or apocryphal texts of the first century and earlier, thus ignoring historical and textual questions about the ongoing redaction of Luke-Acts in the second century. Mark Bilby Point Loma Nazarene University IMAGERY IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN: TERMS, FORMS, THEMES, AND THEOLOGY OF JOHANNINE FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE. Edited by Jörg Frey, Jan G. van der Watt, and Ruben Zimmermann in collaboration with Gabi Kern. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament, 200. Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, 2006. Pp. xi + 485. $169, ISBN 978-3-16-149116-0. This collection of essays explores figurative language in the Fourth Gospel from both a technical and practical perspective. The volume begins with a historical and introductory essay on imagery by Zimmermann that is followed by two sections with eight essays each. The first section focuses on the technical elements of language while the second explores images utilized by the Fourth Evangelist. Although advanced linguistic skills are recommended (six essays are in German and the Greek is rarely translated), this book is helpful for anyone studying the literary elements of John’s Gospel. Three indices of references, authors, and subjects complement the volume’s usefulness. The book emerged from a 2005 conference in Eisenach and its contributors are internationally diverse; scholars from Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, South Africa, Switzerland, and the U.S. contribute essays. This multivalent perspective strengthens the volume as the essays frequently reinforce each other. A representative essay is “Witness and Friend” by Mary L. Coloe who examines the symbolism associated with the Baptist imagery with regard to marriage. “John, as witness and friend of the bridegroom, reveals the identity of Jesus as the incarnation of God’s nuptial love of Israel, a love that desires espousal and fecundity.” Her essay prepares the way for further research on “household” imagery in the Fourth Gospel. Images are essential elements of communication for the Fourth Gospel; this volume is beneficial for understanding both image and message. Stan Harstine Friends University KINSHIP RELATIONS IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN. By Joan Cecelia Campbell. The Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series, 42. Washington, DC: The Catholic Biblical Association of America, 2007. Pp. xiv + 246. $12, ISBN 0-915170-41-8. Campbell utilizes an anthropological approach to examine three Fourth Gospel passages: 2.1-12, 7.1-10, and 19.25-27. She combines various social-scientific familial models to form a filter for reading these passages. The first four chapters explain the basis for her research and provide insight into Jesus’ familial relationships. Chapters five and six provide what Campbell calls “reasonable speculation” regarding implications of her findings for the Johannine community and its opponents. After describing the cultural implications of familial relationships in the Circum-Mediterranean world, Campbell applies yet another model to the larger issues of Johannine provenance. Her provisional journey takes one through a reconstruction of the limited Johannine audience in or near Ephesus. Utilizing the linguistic models of B. Malina and M. Halliday, Campbell concludes that the antilanguage of the Fourth Gospel demonstrates the existence of a Johannine antisociety that is in dialogue with opponents dominated by Palestinian emigrants in the post-70 era who are themselves influenced by family members of Jesus. THE JEWS AND THE WORLD IN THE FOURTH GOSPEL: PARALLELISM, FUNCTION AND CONTEXT. By Lars Kierspel. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament, 2/220. Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, 2006. Pp. xii + 283. $96.03, ISBN 978-3-16149069-9. This work represents the author’s revised doctoral thesis and seeks to examine the relationship between the terms “the Jews” and “the world” in the Fourth Gospel. Kierspel begins his study with a review of previous studies both diachronic and synchronic. In the second chapter, he focuses on neutral or positive connotations of “the Jews.” In the next three chapters, Kierspel presents the heart of his thesis—the paral- 199 Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 34 • NUMBER 3 • SEPTEMBER 2008 INCARNATE WORD, INSCRIBED FLESH: JOHN’S PROLOGUE AND THE POSTMODERN. By Ela Nutu. lelism between “the Jews” and “the world,” first by exploring compositional and narratological parallelism. In this section, Kierspel finds that the use of “the Jews” tends to be limited to the narrator and to the first section of the Gospel, whereas “the world” is used more often by Jesus and is more common in the second half of the Gospel. Then in chapter four, Kierspel explores the universal function of the term “world” and, in the subsequent chapter, that “the Jews” represent a subset of “the world.” As such, the use of both terms must be seen within the context of “Reading John in the Roman Empire,” which, Kierspel argues, undermines the anti-Semitic force of the use of “the Jews.” Kierspel’s scholarship is obvious and this is an important work with which future scholars of the Gospel will have to interact. The review of scholarship of the term “the Jews” is both comprehensive and illuminating, not least in its detail of German and Nazi (re-)interpretation of the Gospel, and the methodology followed through meticulously. Moreover, the central argument concerning the parallelism between “the Jews” and “the world” is convincing. However, questions remain about what this parallelism actually shows. If Kierspel has hit upon the answer, then it has not been a very obvious answer over the centuries. Peter Phillips Cliff College (Derbyshire) The Bible in the Modern World, 6. Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2007. Pp. xii + 199. $85, ISBN 978-1-90504825-0. A refreshing and provocative exploration of postmodern readings inspired/incited by John’s Prologue, Nutu opens with an exploration of identity focussing on postmodernism’s “decentred, fragmented” subject. In the second chapter, she continues with an imaginary dialogue between Madonna, R. Brown and Derrrida, that preludes a brief examination of Derrida’s legacy and the postmodern fragmentation of the self. In this spirit of jouissance, the third chapter interweaves the themes of incarnation and identity through the Prologue and the film The Pillow Book, before morphing into a discussion about the nuances of Lacanian psychoanalysis. Chapter four provides an exploration of “post-Lacanian Continental Feminisms” and some reflections on écriture feminine/parler-femme. The penultimate chapter explores themes arising out of this discussion, the gender issues of the Prologue, and the film The Fifth Element. Two final chapters offer an autobiographical reading exploring the influence of the biblical text on the author’s own identity and how this then relates to themes of Neo’s (fragmented?) identity within The Matrix, before a “not quite a conclusion” sums up some of the major themes of the work. Nutu has assembled an intriguing mix of postmodern reflections on self and identity, shot through with perceptive analysis of feminisms and films, all set against the background of Derrida and late twentieth-century (European) psychoanalytical speculation. Within this rich and sometimes overly fluid setting, the Prologue becomes the catalyst for a much larger project and eventually seems to be replaced as the identity of the author becomes more and more focused through the work. This book is not so much a study of the Prologue but of the inscription of the self and a pastiche on postmodern (feminine) identities. Peter Phillips Cliff College (Derbyshire) NEW CURRENTS THROUGH JOHN: A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE. Edited by Francisco Lozada, Jr. and Tom Thatcher. Resources for Biblical Study, 54. Atlanta, GA: Society of Biblical Literature, 2006. Pp. vii + 248. $29.95, ISBN 1-58983-201-9. The essays in this collection are connected by three major concerns. First, ten authors were charged with the task of interacting with J. A. T. Robinson’s 1957 paper entitled “The New Look on the Fourth Gospel.” Robinson’s essay both outlined the demise of previous trends in research, as well as forecasted future trends based on patterns that were emerging as he wrote. Likewise, these collected essays either trace developments since Robinson, and/or forecast new trends. Second, the authors were selected because they are emerging Johannine scholars who provide fresh avenues for research. Third, the authors were chosen because of their diverse perspectives, nationalities or geography, as the subtitle of the collection indicates. Following the introduction by T. Thatcher, there are essays in part one: New Currents Through History and Theology by J. Clark-Soles, C. Claussen, M. L. Coloe, B. D. Johnson, M. Kraus, B. M. Sheppard and, in part two: The New Current of Readers and Readings, by A. Barus, M. Kraus, and Y. Tan. Two essays in part three: Reflection and Forecast by F. Lozada, Jr. and R. A. Culpepper (the lone senior scholar in the collection) close the volume. Each essay provides useful insight into the state of Johannine studies, and the collection as a whole is a helpful marker for both the state of current research and of what to expect from research to come. George L. Parsenios Princeton Theological Seminary STEPHEN: PAUL AND THE HELLENIST ISRAELITES. By John J. Pilch. Paul’s Social Network: Brothers & Sisters in Faith. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2008. Pp. xxiii + 87. $9.95, ISBN 978-0-8146-5229-9. A brief introduction to what is known about Stephen from biblical texts and later traditions concludes with a description of what is at the core of this and other books in the same series: “Social scientists try to provide some of the context that is necessary for readers who don’t share the language, culture, or perspectives to interpret the texts.” The following four chapters then explicate central aspects not only of Stephen, but of other first-century circumMediterranean persons. Stephen was a “Hellenist”—an Israelite enculturated into the values, language, and customs of the Greek world (the contrast being devout, Aramaicspeaking Jews). Stephen was a “collectivist” insofar as his 200 Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 34 • NUMBER 3 • SEPTEMBER 2008 faith, obedience, “in Christ,” and grace. He argues for the epistolary characteristics of Paul’s letters while at the same time recognizing the rhetorical features. His dependence upon Lausberg for a synoptic ancient rhetoric is questionable. This book should be assigned for courses on Paul if for no other reason than that these essays furnish a superior model for student papers. Thomas H. Olbricht South Berwick, ME 03908 self-perception was embedded in his primary in-groups (family, coworkers, and fellow-believers); charts comparing collectivists and individualists help explicate this concept. Stephen was a “minister” in that he was called to teaching and preaching and did not bear the service title “deacon.” Finally, Stephen was a “holy man,” since he gained access to the spirit realm and brokered this to other persons. Given its stated purpose (noted earlier), this little book succeeds in introducing social-scientific concepts while concretely bringing to life a key biblical character. Richard S. Ascough Queen’s University REDISCOVERING PAUL: AN INTRODUCTION TO HIS WORLD, LETTERS, AND THEOLOGY. By David B. Capes, Rodney Reeves, and E. Randolph Richards. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2007. Pp. 350. $27, ISBN 0-8308-2598-3. I had great hopes that I had found a new textbook for my upper-level course on Paul. Indeed, this is precisely the aspiration of this book. A glance at the table of contents reflects the same topics and structure that I use in my own course on Paul. It did not take long, however, to realize that this book would not work in an academic setting, but was rather directed exclusively at a conservative theological setting. There is material here of value in any setting, particularly from chapters on Paul’s Greco-Roman environment, on ancient letter writing, and Paul’s conversion. Unfortunately, there is one feature (with implications that touch every page) that makes it an inappropriate book for an academic course on Paul: the only scholarly works that are allowed to shape this book are those that uphold or supplement (but never threaten) a traditional view of Paul, of Acts, and of Pauline authorship. To add to this, it was extraordinarily difficult to get past opening claims that Jesus was crucified by “Jewish authorities” and that the Jews are a “race.” Zeba Crook Carleton University, Ottawa NAVIGATING PAUL: AN INTRODUCTION TO KEY THEOLOGICAL CONCEPTS. By Jouette M. Bassler. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2007. Pp. xii + 139. Paper, $19.95, ISBN 0-664-22741-4. This book discusses key Pauline theological concepts while assuming (soundly) that Paul did not have a theology, but rather that he practiced theology. Bassler looks at Paul’s ideas about grace, Jewish law, faith, “in Christ” mysticism, the righteousness of God, the identity of Israel, and parousia/resurrection. In an introduction of this brevity, I cannot think of more fitting categories than these. The chapter on grace, which was slightly revised from a 2003 publication, could have benefited from a major revision, considering several works on grace that appeared around that time. Other chapters suffer similarly. In the end, therefore, the book has the feel of a status quaestionis that is, for the most part, a decade out of date and therefore omits much cutting-edge research. This by no means negates the book’s value, but it does, in my eyes, limit it. Zeba Crook Carleton University, Ottawa ANDRIE DU TOIT: FOCUSING ON PAUL: PERSUASION AND THEOLOGICAL DESIGN IN ROMANS AND GALATIANS. Edited by Cilliers Breytenbach and REMEMBER THE FUTURE: THE PASTORAL THEOLOGY OF PAUL THE APOSTLE. By Jacob W. Elias. David S. du Toit. Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft und die Kunde der älteren Kirche, 151. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2007. Pp. xiv + 443. $157, ISBN 978-3-11-019512-5. This book consists of published essays of Du Toit’s, edited by two former students. Eight essays focus on Paul’s life, style and theology, two on Galatians, and eleven on Romans. The majority of the essays were published in South African journals but also in European and American as well as in Festschriften. Du Toit’s bibliography is included, as are indices of Biblical and ancient texts, modern authors, and subjects. Some of the better essays are on the historical Paul. Du Toit argued that Paul grew up in Tarsus, learned Greek and philosophy, and a modicum of rhetoric. He thinks Paul, in order to further his education, then departed for Jerusalem. Du Toit is especially insightful in analyzing such rhetorical devices as hyperbole, vilification, and forensic metaphors. He offered succinct and cogent word studies on Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 2006. Pp. 539. $15.99, ISBN 0-8361-9323-7. This book is clearly a labor of love by an experienced theological educator and pastor who aims to give a full account of the pastoral theology of Paul. Deeply conversant with recent scholarship on Pauline theology, Elias takes a narrative approach to Paul’s letters, attempting to bring together the story of the people in the churches and Paul’s account of God’s work in the past, present, and future. This future dimension is given particular emphasis. Elias highlights the story of the people by beginning most chapters with an imaginative portrait of a person from the featured congregation. The basic organizing principle of the book is thematic and the individual letters are discussed within this framework. This structure tends to privilege the coherence of Paul’s theology over the distinctiveness of each letter. Elias recognizes that letters such as Ephesians and the Pastorals are probably not by Paul, yet he includes them in his 201 Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 34 • NUMBER 3 • SEPTEMBER 2008 on prior exegesis. His analyses illustrate well, however, the potential of logical formalization to enrich that exegesis and sharpen our understanding of Paul’s persuasive strategies. Ian W. Scott Tyndale Seminary (Toronto) account of Paul’s theology, again tending to downplay what is distinctive about these letters. Although this is not a groundbreaking work of scholarship, it is a competent and highly readable account of Paul suitable for a wide range of persons looking for a reliable and up-to-date guide. David W. Kuck United Theological College of the West Indies THE WRITINGS OF ST. PAUL. Edited by Wayne A. Meeks and John T. Fitzgerald. Norton Critical Editions. New York: W. W. Norton, 2007. Pp. xxxv + 710. $18.25, ISBN 978-0-393-97280-1. Since this anthology first appeared in 1972, it has been a standard text in courses on Paul. This revised edition, which features the annotated text of the Pauline letters in the TNIV translation, is over 50 percent longer. Ancient writings and scholarly essays demonstrating Paul’s historical, theological, and cultural influence comprise the bulk of the volume. Some of the material from the first edition has been cut, including essays by Schweitzer, Buber, and Kierkegaard, but much more has been added. In addition to an introductory overview of the man and his letters, new material includes a section devoted to Romans 13 (“Paul’s Influence on Political Theory”), a different selection of essays on “Pauline Christianity and Judaism” (e.g., B. Visotzky, D. Boyarin, and A. Segal), and a “sampler of modern approaches” (including articles by E. Schüssler Fiorenza, A. Malherbe, G. Theissen, D. Martin, and others). The most significant change is the inclusion of several writings by Origen, Theodoret, Pelagius, Ambrosiaster, and others from the patristic era, organized under such headings as “Paul’s Pagan Critics,” “The Apocryphal Paul,” and “Claiming Paul for ‘Orthodoxy.’ ” No serious student (or teacher) of Paul should be without this volume. Patrick Gray Rhodes College READING PAUL. By Michael J. Gorman. Cascade Companions. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2008. Pp. x + 196. Paper, $22, ISBN 978-1-55635-195-2. Gorman’s opening comparison of Paul to M. L. King, Jr., sets the tone for this accessible volume, which seeks to help his audience “read Paul as our contemporary, and as Scripture.” While he regards Paul as “more or less” responsible for all of the disputed letters except 1 Tim and Titus, Gorman bases his exposition of the apostle’s ideas—organized around eight signature themes—by and large on the seven undisputed letters. In an attempt to capture elements of the “new perspective” and more traditional interpretations, justification is understood as “co-crucifixion and co-resurrection with Christ.” Holiness, peaceableness, inclusion, cruciformity, and justice are identified as key marks of Paul’s gospel, which is thoroughly “theopolitical” in character. Paul thus “speaks powerfully to the life-threatening, violent imperialism and tribalism of this century and of any century.” The discussion questions at the end of each chapter will prove useful for the lay audience at which this book is aimed. Patrick Gray Rhodes College ARGUMENTIERT PAULUS LOGISCH? EINE ANALYSE VOR DEM HINTERGRUND ANTIKER LOGIK. By Moisés Mayordomo. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament, 188. Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, 2005. Pp. xiii + 302. $142.50, ISBN 3-16148793-1. Mayordomo asks whether Paul’s argumentation satisfies the requirements of ancient logic. He analyzes three extended passages by 1) determining which sentences are logically relevant; 2) rephrasing these sentences as formalized propositions; and 3) evaluating the resulting syllogisms. Mayordomo finds that 1 Cor 15:12-19 can easily be reframed as a chain of valid Stoic syllogisms. The same is true, in part, of Gal 3:6-14 and Rom 1:18-3:20. In these cases, though, one is forced to reconstruct a large number of unstated premises and Paul’s logic is obscured by his shifting terminology. At times Paul also relies on premises which would hardly have been accepted by all involved. Some sections (e.g., the rhetorical questions in Gal 3:1-5) resist formalization altogether. Mayordomo suggests that Paul’s subject matter in passages like this may not allow the kind of precision necessary for formal logic, or that his persuasion may legitimately shift to emphasize ethos or pathos instead of logos. Mayordomo emphasizes that this kind of logical analysis is no interpretive panacea and always depends JUDGMENT AND JUSTIFICATION IN EARLY JUDAISM AND THE APOSTLE PAUL. By Chris VanLandingham. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2006. Pp. 384. $29.95, ISBN 978-1-56563-398-8. This revision of the author’s dissertation advances the bold thesis that in Paul’s writings, as in much of the Second Temple Jewish literature, a person’s individual eternal destiny is determined by his or her behavior rather than by divine grace. VanLandingham begins by claiming that E. P. Sanders wrongly presupposes a link between divine grace and election of the Jewish people. The first two chapters marshal evidence from Jewish sources to demonstrate that divine election of Abraham and his descendants was consistently viewed as a reward for obedience and that human actions were the ultimate criteria for salvation. The final two chapters focus on Paul, whom VanLandingham views as being in substantial agreement with his Jewish contemporaries regarding judgment according to deeds. Selected passages from Paul’s undisputed letters warn believers that persistent disobedience may, in fact, result in eternal punishment. Traditional forensic understandings of “justifica- 202 Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 34 • NUMBER 3 • SEPTEMBER 2008 tion by faith” are rejected in favor of the notion that believers are “made righteous” and freed from sin’s power but not assured of acquittal at the Last Judgment. Although most readers will not be convinced by his conclusions, VanLandingham succeeds in providing a coherent, focused challenge to a central tenet of Pauline theology. David Charles Aune Ashland University pleading and what strikes me as theological apology (saving Paul from being discredited or irrelevant on the topic of homosexuality). Chapters two to three therefore are valuable, the chapter on 1 Cor 7 represents the start of an interesting study, but the comments on Rom 1 represent little more than an inadequately researched status quaestionis. Zeba Crook Carleton University, Ottawa THE SAVING RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD: STUDIES ON PAUL, JUSTIFICATION AND THE NEW PERSPECTIVE. By Michael F. Bird. Paternoster Biblical Mono- PAULINE CHRISTOLOGY: AN EXEGETICALTHEOLOGICAL STUDY. By Gordon D. Fee. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishing, 2007. Pp. xxv + 707. $39.95, ISBN 978-1-59856-035-0. Fee’s benchmark study on Pauline Christology is impressive for its breadth and specificity. Fee begins by discussing current perspectives on Pauline Christology. In part one he scrutinizes all the Pauline letters in chronological order with sections involving descriptions and titles: eternal Son of God, kurios, God, Christ, the Spirit, messiah, second Adam, wisdom, preexistence, incarnate savior, and redeemer. On each letter, he discusses backgrounds, structure, and purpose. At the end of each chapter he supplies an appendix of the texts in Greek and “An Analysis of Usage.” Part two, designated “synthesis,” consists of systematic observations on each of the previously mentioned topics. The book concludes with an appendix on wisdom. Fee ends with an extended bibliography, and indices of modern authors, subjects, and ancient sources. Fee dialogues with an impressive range of international authors. He concludes that the manner in which Paul employs kurios and his references to preexistence clearly identify Jesus as an Eternal divine Son. He argues that Paul “neither knew nor articulated anything that might resemble a Wisdom Christology.” This book is highly recommended for seminary courses in Christology and for graduate seminars in Pauline theology. Thomas H. Olbricht South Berwick, ME 03908 graphs. Waynesboro, GA: Paternoster, 2007. Pp. xiii + 230. $29.99, ISBN 978-1-84227-465-1. Within this work, Bird demonstrates an extraordinary grasp of the major issues within the so-called New Perspective on Paul movement (NPP). Engaging thinkers ranging from D. A. Carson, D. Moo, and S. Westerholm to N. T. Wright, J. Dunn, and E. P. Sanders, Bird interacts with contributors from across the theological spectrum. The NPP is an inherently complex subject. Superficial treatments and simplistic responses laced with vitriolic language have become fairly commonplace. By way of contrast, Bird’s evenhanded and refreshingly irenic treatment of the subject brings the essential issues into sharper focus. Bird charts some new territory by proposing a synthesis between the “traditional” reformed view and the NPP. He agrees that justification is a vertical category dealing with a person’s status and standing before God, yet he also embraces justification as “Paul’s primary weapon to argue for the inclusion of the Gentiles as Gentiles into Christian fellowship.” Another helpful aspect of this book is Bird’s exegetical interaction with the relevant texts (especially within Romans and Galatians), highlighting areas of dispute or controversy. He works through some of the exegetical specifics and articulates reasons for adopting or rejecting particular conclusions. For those interested in the NPP, Bird’s work should be included. Jeffrey Anderson Regent University School of Divinity PAUL TODAY: CHALLENGING READINGS OF ACTS AND THE EPISTLES. By Stephen W. Need. Essen- PAUL AND ANCIENT VIEWS OF SEXUAL DESIRE: PAUL’S SEXUAL ETHICS IN 1 THESSALONIANS 4, 1 CORINTHIANS 7, AND ROMANS 1. By J. Edward tial Inquiries, Volume 1. Lanham, MD: Cowley Publications, 2007. Pp. viii + 151. $15.95, ISBN 978-1-56101-296-1. Without attempting to be comprehensive, Need presents in this beginners’ introduction many of the chief Pauline motifs. According to Need, Acts must be used with circumspection in constructing an overall picture of the Apostle. Paul may not have known Jesus, but he was acquainted with aspects of the Jesus tradition. Ephesus was the most significant locale in the ministry of Paul. Both marriage and celibacy, even including slavery, find their place in the social context of the first century while Christians await the Parousia of the Lord. Divorce among Christians is prohibited. “Discerning the body” of 1 Corinthians means to prefer the needs of the community to one’s own interests. Phil 2:6-11 may compare Christ with Adam as the image of God. Colossians Ellis. Library of NT Studies, 354. London: T&T Clark International, 2007. Pp. xiii + 191. $130, ISBN 978-0-567-04538-6. In this grossly overpriced book, Ellis responds to two authors—D. Fredrickson and D. B. Martin—who have argued that Paul prescribed passionless marriages. Looking at the same ancient evidence but purporting to read it in its proper context, Ellis (like many others before him) concludes that Paul only opposed excess passion and loss of self-control. Unfortunately, the subtitle misrepresents the contents of the book. Only 1 Thess 4 is treated with any depth (buried but present in chapter three); 1 Cor 7 receives twelve pages (chapter four), and Rom 1 a mere eight pages of much special 203 Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 34 • NUMBER 3 • SEPTEMBER 2008 ing the ritual aspects of the law. B. W. Longenecker presents the thesis that Paul shared with Jesus an overriding concern with the destitute. M. Bockmuehl presents Peter as a valuable bridge figure between Jesus and Paul. F. Watson claims that Paul’s knowledge about the Lord’s Supper came not from oral tradition but directly in a revelation from the risen Jesus, and that, no less, Luke’s source for the same tradition is Paul and not Mark. B. Roberts Gaventa argues that according to Rom 8:32, God was responsible for the death of Jesus. The difficulty in comparing Paul and Jesus is establishing what Jesus said or thought, and not enough of that work was done in this book. Zeba Crook Carleton University, Ottawa (possibly Pauline) is unclear concerning the preexistence of Christ (Adam was not preexistent). Adam is the type, not the cause of human sinfulness (original sin). The “new look” on Paul in the writings of K. Stendahl, E. P. Sanders, and J. D. G. Dunn is presented with appreciative sympathy. For Need, Paul’s obvious condemnation of homosexual acts did not take into account the case of “respectful, committed, loving relationships between males.” Such an interpretation, however, will satisfy neither those who today condemn all homosexual acts, nor those who condone any and all such acts. All in all, this brief treatise ably fulfills its purpose—to present in a brief compass the essential points of Pauline doctrine. Casimir Bernas Holy Trinity Abbey PAUL: IN FRESH PERSPECTIVE. By N. T. Wright. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2005. Pp. xii + 195. $25, ISBN 0-8006-3766-6. In the first half of this broadly accessible book, Wright surveys the central “themes” of Paul’s theology. Here Wright argues that “creation” and “covenant,” “messianism” and “apocalyptic,” are for Paul complementary aspects of one great narrative. Wright then outlines the “structures” of Paul’s theology based on the main concerns of Jewish thought: God, God’s people, and eschatology. Paul redefines the monotheistic God as including Jesus and the Spirit, while still maintaining his Jewish opposition to Gentile idolatry and polytheism. Israel is redefined around faith in the Messiah and the Spirit’s transforming activity. God’s eschatological triumph is inaugurated by the Messiah’s cross, experienced now by the Spirit, and consummated at Jesus’ parousia. Much here is familiar from Wright’s earlier work. He devotes fresh attention, though, to the political implications of Paul’s thought and he offers well-nuanced closing reflections on the emergence of Paul’s mission from Jesus’ own activity. One can also detect an attempt to answer his more traditional critics, especially in the prominent discussion of “justification by faith.” Wright delivers all of this with his usual clarity and panache, providing a book well suited for the classroom as well as the specialist’s study. Ian W. Scott Tyndale Seminary (Toronto) IMPLICIT EPISTEMOLOGY IN THE LETTERS OF PAUL. By Ian W. Scott. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament, II/205. Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, 2006. Pp. xvii + 341. $119, ISBN 3-16-148779-6. An initial exegetical study of Rom 1:18-32 and 1 Cor 1:17-2:16 is followed by a selective survey of Paul’s crosscentered hermeneutic in modern scholarship. Given the intended focus on implicit epistemology, Scott surprisingly begins texts using verbs or nouns of “knowing.” While perhaps a questionable hermeneutical position, Scott’s next move is to differentiate between theological and ethical knowledge. In the process, he displays a significant interest in Paul’s narrative epistemology. His main interest is to anchor his reconstruction of Paul’s governing understanding of the divine–human story in the undisputed letters. This is one of at least two strong points of this study, the other being the author’s focus on Galatians to demonstrate how Paul’s narrative assumptions drive his epistemology. Scott concludes that Paul’s narrative logic includes mundane knowledge as well as a spiritual knowledge. Paul allows that parts of the assumed narrative can and will be reshaped by additional, novel or clarifying knowledge. His own reconfiguring of the story of Israel in light of the Christ event proves to be the primary example. And yet, Scott argues convincingly that Paul assumed that no further reconfiguring of the governing story on such a large scale would be needed or even appropriate. Thorsten Moritz Bethel University GENDER, TRADITION AND ROMANS: SHARED GROUND, UNCERTAIN BORDERS. Edited by Cristina Grenholm and Daniel Patte. New York and London: T&T Clark, 2005. Pp. 297. $44.95, ISBN 0-567-02911-5. In this collection of essays, a variety of authors analyze the Epistle to the Romans from a gender perspective. The editors state that a “plurality of divergent interpretations” of scripture can be legitimate (appropriately grounded in the text), plausible (framed by theological and ethical considerations that are meaningful for a particular group), and valid (offering a teaching that has the potential to positively affect people). Thus, the fact that different authors in this collection come to different conclusions about whether Romans JESUS AND PAUL RECONNECTED: FRESH PATHWAYS INTO AN OLD DEBATE. Edited by Todd D. Still. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2007. Pp. 182. $22, ISBN 9780-8028-3149-1. This is a collection of essays that seek continuity between Jesus and Paul. J. M. G. Barclay argues from the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), Gal 1, and Rom 9-11 that there is congruity between Jesus and Paul on the juxtaposition of divine judgment and mercy. S. Westerholm suggests that the Matthean Jesus and Paul agree on devalu- 204 Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 34 • NUMBER 3 • SEPTEMBER 2008 oped as a result of the preparation of his commentary and complete and deepen the explanations in that earlier volume. Lohse discusses in detail the correspondence of the Divine Choice of Grace and the destiny of Israel, the question of a double predestination in Paul’s theology, the problem of theological ethics in the letter to the Romans, and the beginnings of Roman Christianity after Paul’s letter. Supplementary to his exegetical studies, Lohse examines the research history and analyzes the interpretation of Romans presented by important German-speaking exegetes such as Luther, H. Schlier, and O. Kuss. Finally, Lohse reviews some recently published books concerned with the history, letters, and theology of Paul. In his statements, which are characterized by an impressive clearness and distinctness, Lohse is without peer in describing and thinking through the critical problems. He uses brilliant diction, which demonstrates his mastery of NT exegesis. Thomas Witulski University of Münster promotes universalism or advocates gender disparity is not seen as problematic. There is a marvelous range of genderrelated topics and issues covered here, including creationism, community, Jesus’ genealogy, justification, gender roles, and patriarchal authority. A variety of hermeneutical perspectives is brought to bear; particularly interesting are two chapters in which the authors place Romans in dialogue with Asian traditions. Religious thought and action is always embedded in and shaped by cultural contexts, as this book so clearly affirms. Steven Muir Concordia University College of Alberta ROMANS: A COMMENTARY. By Robert Jewett Hermeneia. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2007. Pp. lxx + 1140. $90, ISBN 978-0-8006-6084-0. Jewett’s already distinguished career as a biblical scholar has been capped by this crowning achievement: the publication of this richly detailed commentary on the letter to the Romans, one that sets a new standard for the field. Alongside the copious textual notes and the actual exegetical component, Jewett has provided numerous shorter essays on critical aspects of interpretation. Some of these are perhaps shorter than one might hope (cf. “The Rhetorical ‘I’ in 7:725,” where Stowers, among others, receives only a brief mention), but at over 1,000 pages, it is hard to imagine how these could have been expanded. Also noteworthy is the rhetorical analysis that Jewett provides, as the entire letter is broken down in order to demonstrate its logical argumentative structure. This highlights what is perhaps the major contribution of this commentary over its predecessors. Rather than explicating a general “Pauline theology,” Jewett has taken the approach of reading the letter from a particular (albeit contestable) socio-historical standpoint: an attempt by Paul to demonstrate to the diverse house churches in Rome that he is a reliable partner for a mission to Spain. As this proposed socio-historical context shapes Jewett’s reading throughout, it will also become a significant point of contention with respect to specific interpretive decisions he makes. Still, regardless of whether one will agree with Jewett at all junctures, the immense learning compiled in this tome is a testament in and of itself to a man who has dedicated his life to demonstrating (successfully!) his own trustworthiness when it comes to interpreting Paul. Todd Penner Austin College THE CORINTHIAN DISSENTERS AND THE STOICS. By Albert V. Garcilazo. Studies in Biblical Literature, 106. New York: Peter Lang, 2007. Pp. xiv + 251. $71.95, ISBN 978-0-8204-9521-7. Possible Stoic influence on Paul has been the subject of debate since the patristic period. In this monograph, a revision of a dissertation completed at Fuller Theological Seminary, the author suggests that it is Paul’s opponents in 1 Cor 15 who display telltale signs of adherence to Stoic teachings. Specifically, he argues that the Corinthians who deny the resurrection of the dead do so in accordance with a dualistic cosmology and anthropology—prominent in the Middle Stoa and especially in the philosophy of Seneca—wherein terrestrial bodies are unable to ascend to the celestial realm. Ethical issues in the letter, such as sex and marriage, food offered to idols, and spiritual gifts, are also explained against the background of the Roman Stoics in order to demonstrate that 1 Cor 15 is not a self-contained treatise on the resurrection. The volume concludes, somewhat oddly given the focus of the preceding chapters, with a lengthy appendix (183-228) surveying “the Jewish concept of resurrection.” Although the forschungsberichte is far from comprehensive and the treatment of the philosophical literature sometimes aims at a general audience, this study will provoke discussion among scholars seeking to reconstruct the Corinthian context that prompted Paul’s letter. Patrick Gray Rhodes College RECHENSCHAFT VOM EVANGELIUM. EXEGETISCHE STUDIEN ZUM RÖMERBRIEF. By Eduard PAUL AND ISAIAH’S SERVANTS: PAUL’S THEOLOGICAL READING OF ISAIAH 40-66 IN 2 CORINTHIANS 5.14-6.10. By Mark Gignilliat. Library of New Lohse. Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter, 2007. Pp. 224. €78, ISBN 978-3-11-019358-9. In 2003, Lohse, the author of the essays collected in this volume (some previously unpublished) presented a commentary on Paul’s letter to the Romans in the German commentary series “Kritisch-Exegetischer Kommentar zum Neuen Testament” (KEK). The essays in this new volume are devel- Testament Studies. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 2007. Pp. 198. $129.25, ISBN 978-0-567-04483-9. Gignilliat joins the chorus of those who argue that Paul appeals to Scripture not only as support for conclusions 205 Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 34 • NUMBER 3 • SEPTEMBER 2008 foolishness is best understood in light of what he describes as a “comic-philosophic” cultural tradition connecting Socrates, satire, and theatrical mime. After defining “folly” (moria) as the behavior and attitude of a “lower class buffoon” and the “fool” (moros) as a theatrical character who embodies comic weakness and deficiency of intellect, Welborn finds remarkable correspondences between Paul’s self-description in 1 Cor 4:9-13 and popular references to the mimic fool of popular theater. Not only would Paul’s appearance and public presentation have seemed foolish to the elite members of the Corinthian church, but the disgraceful message of Jesus’ crucifixion required an indirect and ironic approach. By accepting the role of a fool, Paul identifies with the lowest members of society and challenges those who would rely on wealth or knowledge. Although some of Welborn’s suggestions are highly unlikely (e.g., Paul’s occupation as a maker of theatrical stage properties), many of his claims merit serious consideration. David Charles Aune Ashland University already drawn, but as the source that shapes his argument as he follows the narrative logic of the text. Engaging in conversation with predecessors who have maintained that 2 Cor 5:14-6:2 echoes 2 Isa (Beale, Hofius, Webb), Gignilliat argues that 2 Cor 5:14-6:10 follows the movement of Isa 40-66. As Paul defends his role as diakonos, he sees himself not in the role of the servant but as a servant of the servant, taking on the task delineated in Isa 40-66 of those who extend the servant’s mission. Paul is living out this redemptive drama as herald (cf. Isa 61:1-4) and participant in the sufferings (2 Cor 6:3-10) of the servant. Paul’s own reading of Scripture provides insight for the contemporary reading of Christian Scripture. This study is an important contribution to the study of Pauline hermeneutics. James W. Thompson Abilene Christian University RECOVERING PAUL’S MOTHER TONGUE. LANGUAGE AND THEOLOGY IN GALATIANS. By Susan G. Eastman. Grand Rapids MI: Eerdmans, 2007. Pp. 206. $25, ISBN 978-0-8028-3165-1. In this revised dissertation, Eastman examines two important passages in Paul’s letter to the Galatians–4:12-20 and 4:21–5:1. Based upon the philological research presented by U. Le Guin and the exegetical examinations carried out by B. Gaventa, she develops a double thesis. First, she shows that in 4:21–5:1 Paul “communicates to his converts the motivation and power necessary to move them . . . to a faith that ‘stands fast’ in its allegiance to Christ alone as the source of their unity and life together.” Second, she demonstrates that because the message and the mode of tongue are mutually dependent, the apostle tries to mediate this motivation and this power by using a form of speech called “mother tongue,” which Eastman characterizes as a “language of emotions and of personal experience, in which subjective, shared self-disclosure is the medium that unites conversation partners.” As a result, the Galatian readers would be newly interwoven in a “relational matrix” bounded by the poles of “Christ,” “Paul,” and themselves. This relational matrix nurtures the necessary “motivation and power” for staying in Christ. This book offers creative new insights that will be of interest to NT scholars, pastors, and students. Thomas Witulski University of Münster PHILIPPIANS. By Stephen E. Fowl. The Two Horizons NT Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI and Cambridge, UK: Eerdmans, 2005. Pp. x + 254. $20, ISBN 0-8028-2551-6. Refreshing in its refusal to rigidly separate exegesis and theological concerns as do many commentaries, Fowl’s work undertakes exegetical commentary while often addressing specific issues within contemporary culture and church life. Fowl gives relatively brief attention to literary and historical issues in order to focus on key themes within the letter and their implications for theology and praxis. A concluding theological essay draws together many of the letter’s themes discussed in the commentary proper. Conversant with recent research on Philippians and appropriately minimalist in his approach to many debated questions, Fowl shows himself a skilled exegete and reliable guide to the interpretive issues within the letter. This is a stimulating work, marked by sound exegetical judgment and theological insight. Fowl’s frequent interaction with Aquinas’s commentary on Philippians adds to the work’s appeal. The concluding theological reflections on Christian friendship are illuminating and suggestive. This commentary by a Pauline scholar and theologian of the first rank offers an excellent model of effective theological interpretation of scripture, and is an ideal resource for pastors, students, and church leaders. James Ware University of Evansville PAUL, THE FOOL OF CHRIST: A STUDY OF 1 CORINTHIANS 1-4 IN THE COMIC-PHILOSOPHIC TRADITION. By L. L. Welborn. Journal for the Study of FRÜHCHRISTLICHES THESSALONIKI. Edited by Cilliers Breytenbachwith Igrid Behrmann. Studien und Texte zu Antike und Christentum, 44. Tubingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, 2007. Pp. xv + 186. €99, ISBN 978-3-16-147858-1. The seven essays collected here use inscriptions and funerary decorations to demonstrate that Christianity flourished in Thessalonikē during the first few centuries. Helmut Koester’s opening essay surveys the current state of the NT Supplement Series, 293. London: T&T Clark, 2006. Pp. 322. Cloth, $140, ISBN 0-5670-3041-5; paper, $60, ISBN 0-5670-3042-3. What occasioned Paul’s description of the cross as “foolishness” and his acceptance of the role of a “fool” in his proclamation of this scandalous message? Welborn provides a complex but compelling argument that Paul’s language of 206 Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 34 • NUMBER 3 • SEPTEMBER 2008 in the equation of the two vices. After surveying the work of previous climbers and analyzing the metaphor, Rosner examines biblical and extra-biblical literature on both greed and idolatry, concluding that the comparison of greed and idolatry was anticipated in the comprehensive scope of the first commandment, the characterization of idolatry in terms of evil desire, and the association of wealth with apostasy. Because of the abhorrence of both greed and apostasy in Jewish literature, a natural consequence was the equation of the two vices. A concluding chapter challenges readers to consider the destructive consequences of materialism in modern western society. The book is a significant contribution to the literature on the NT and on theological ethics. James W. Thompson Abilene Christian University archaeological finds from the time of Paul. In the following two essays, E. Marki provides an overview of the history of a late fourth-century cross-shaped martyrion built upon earlier Christian graves; it developed into a cloister in the sixth century, only to be abandoned in the seventh. Two more essays by Marki, another by G. Gounaris, and one by Chr. Mavropoulou-Tsioumi examine Christian motifs found in graveside wall paintings, the latter author noting the mix between Roman fashion and the artist’s own vision (wellillustrated with the only color plate in the volume). All of the essays have been published previously (1981–2000), Koester’s in German, the remainder in modern Greek. Their accessibility to modern scholars is greatly enhanced through their translation into German in this volume. The inclusion of six site plans and 107 illustrations (photographic or drawn) provides important visual data that supplement the essays and greatly increases the usefulness of the volume, which is of interest primarily for specialists. Richard S. Ascough Queen’s University TIMOTHY: PAUL’S CLOSEST ASSOCIATE. By Bruce J. Malina. Paul’s Social Network: Brothers and Sisters in Faith. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2008. Pp. xvi + 156. Paper, $16.95, ISBN 978-0-8146-5180-3. This inaugural volume of a new series on colleagues of Paul, aimed at college students and ministers, hits the mark. With his typical acumen, Malina draws attention to aspects of the ancient social world that converge with and, much more frequently, differ from that of modern western contexts. Drawing on his considerable expertise in applying socialscientific models to the exegesis of biblical texts, Malina brings to life the somewhat enigmatic person of Timothy, Paul’s coworker and frequent cowriter. The first three chapters locate Timothy within his first-century Mediterranean context—a collectivist person, concerned more with group integrity than with individual interests, fully committed to Paul’s project of founding and sustaining Jesus groups. The next four chapters examine Timothy as conveyed in Paul’s genuine letters and in the developing traditions of the subsequent generations, including the Pastoral Epistles and LukeActs. The book provides a brief yet profound introduction not only to Timothy and the traditions concerning him, but also to the social-scientific method and how it guards against reading modern customs into ancient texts. Richard S. Ascough Queen’s University 1 THESSALONIANS, 2 THESSALONIANS. By Victor Paul Furnish. Abingdon New Testament Commentaries. Nashville, MN: Abingdon, 2007. Pp. 204. $20, ISBN 978-0687-05743-6. In this compact commentary, Furnish combines substantive exposition with economy of expression. Such critical issues as authorship and literary integrity (he rejects various partition theories for both letters, including the suggestion that 1 Thess 2:14-16 is a later interpolation) receive brief but lucid attention. He regards 1 Thess as the earliest of Paul’s surviving letters, which “exhibits a coherent theological point of view” even if “it does not yield a systematic theology or a comprehensive ethic.” He treats 2 Thess as an example of deliberative or advisory rhetoric, from the hand of an anonymous Paulinist writing from a Hellenistic-Jewish perspective several decades after the apostle’s death. An important distinction between the two letters is that the “indicative” underlying the doctrinal and moral imperatives in 2 Thess “is not God’s saving act in Christ . . . but the tradition as such.” The annotated bibliography is very helpful in situating Furnish’s approach vis-à-vis that of other commentaries on the Thessalonian correspondence. Recommended for upperlevel undergraduates, seminary students, and pastors. Patrick Gray Rhodes College 2 PETER AND JUDE. By Ruth Anne Reese. The Two Horizons New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI/Cambridge, UK: Eerdmans, 2007. Pp. x + 234. $20, ISBN 978-0-8028-2570-4. Exegesis and theology are closely allied in this commentary which makes an appeal not only to the intellect but also to the emotions and to one’s own experience—a process that Reese believes should be true of the study of all Scripture, not merely of these two small books of the Bible. Equally so should be the relevance that Bible study should have for the community of believers. The authors of 2 Pet and Jude provided an implicit theology for their original audiences, but it was a theology that had immediate value in everyday life. GREED AS IDOLATRY: THE ORIGIN AND MEANING OF A PAULINE METAPHOR. By Brian S. Rosner. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2007. Pp. xxiv + 214. $22, ISBN 978-0-8028-3374-7. Rosner explores the origin and significance of the phrase, “greed is idolatry” in Col 3:5 and the related phrase “the greedy person is an idolater” in Eph 5:5, comparing his task to that of a mountain climber attempting to reach the peak: the discovery of the nature of the metaphor implied 207 Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 34 • NUMBER 3 • SEPTEMBER 2008 tion. Indeed, they helped lay the ground for it. On the one hand, in treating the meaning of the Lord’s Supper, Eichhorn provides a theoretical and practical lesson in the rationale and methods of the “history of religions” school (Religionsgeschichtliche Schule), which as Gressmann ably points out, does not mean what many people, including scholars, think it means. On the other hand, Gressmann furnishes an incisive overview not only of the work of Eichhorn himself but of the scholarly ferment in general that characterized German academic study of the NT in the second half of the nineteenth century. Despite the brevity of both contributions and despite being time-conditioned in many respects, they are crammed with fine insights that have perennial relevance for understanding the NT and religious issues in general. Regretfully, the translation is often so literal and lacking in idiomatic English style that even scholars will have to read and reread passages in order to make sense of them. Overall, however, the effort is well worthwhile. Casimir Bernas Holy Trinity Abbey Reese provides the usual introductory questions. For Jude, the author is unknown, the date between 70-90, the audience unspecified. Regarding 2 Pet, it would not have been impossible for Peter to have been the author (in some sense), in which case the date would have to have been early. Reese uses the customary array of exegetical tools: grammar, history, literature, anthropology, sociology, and narrative studies. But the spotlight is always on theological meaning. According to Reese, history is our constructed stories; theology is the manner in which we perceive these stories, all with the aim of better understanding who God is, who we are, and how we relate to him. In short, Reese not only provides factual information about these letters, but also supplies valuable insights into their ongoing theological importance. Casimir Bernas Holy Trinity Abbey FOUR TIMES PETER: PORTRAYALS OF PETER IN THE FOUR GOSPELS AND AT PHILIPPI. By Richard J. Cassidy. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2007. Pp. 154. Paper, $15.95, ISBN 978-0-8146-5178-0. Cassidy, a seasoned Catholic NT scholar, employs a narrative-critical strategy for reading the portrayals of Peter in the four canonical gospels. As a narrative critic, Cassidy relies upon no particular theory regarding literary dependence between the gospels and he is particularly concerned with how characterization, time, plot, and setting contribute to Peter’s portrayal in each gospel. Cassidy’s major thesis is that each of the canonical evangelists presents Peter in an essentially positive light; his minor thesis is that the gospels’ portrayal of Jesus would also have been received by first century readers as essentially positive. Cassidy defends his minor thesis in the final chapter of the book where he engages in “informed speculation” about how a typical Christian reader in the Roman colony of Philippi would have read the gospels’ portrayal of Peter. The volume is fully indexed and supplies a brief English bibliography; it is recommended for anyone interested in narrative criticism of the gospels or in Peter’s role within early Christianity. Thomas E. Phillips Point Loma Nazarene University STUDIEN ZUR CHRISTOLOGIE: KLEINE SCHRIFTEN IV. By Martin Hengel. Edited by Claus-Jürgen Thornton. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament, 201. Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, 2006. Pp. x + 650. $269, 978-3-16-149196-2. Thirteen essays of Hengel’s, published between 1967 and 2004, on the subject of Christology. They cover: the topics of Paul’s understanding of the cross of Jesus as the salvific act; that early Christians developed a high Christology very quickly in terms of both Jesus’ preexistence and divinity (especially with the term “Son of God”), and this because of the fact that Jesus himself at least implied such notions (the term “Messiah” was used as a title by Jesus himself in his messianic ministry); following Joachim Jeremias, Hengel argues that Jesus used the term “abba” in a messianic sense, and that the “Last Supper” was likely understood by Jesus as the “delivering over” of the Passover sacrifice (Paul certainly understands it this way, and the Apocalypse presents a high view of Jesus as the Passover sacrifice); the resurrection was a historical “event” that cannot be reduced to any psychological explanation (Paul’s allusion to the fact that Jesus “was buried” implies that Paul believed in a real empty tomb and a unique event in Jewish history); “Easter faith,” then, resulted from the historical reality of Jesus’ resurrection appearances; the earliest Christians understood Jesus’ death as a representative and universal atonement for sins; and, the Christological hymns in the NT were confessional and are built structurally around the idea that Jesus’ death led to his exaltation and enthronement (Ps 110:1 was most influential here). Taken together with Hengel’s Studies in Early Christology (see RSR 23:412), these essays are of crucial importance for NT theology and the history of early Christian thought. Fred W. Burnett Anderson University THE LORD’S SUPPER IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. By Albert Eichhorn. With an introductory essay by Hugo Gressmann, “Albert Eichhorn and the History of Religion School.” Translated by Jeffrey E. Cayzer. History of Biblical Studies, 1. Atlanta, GA: Society of Biblical Literature, 2007. Pp. x + 105. $14.95, ISBN 978-1-58983-274-9. Eichhorn’s famous composition was first published in 1898, and Gressmann’s introductory essay on the life and work of Eichhorn appeared in 1914. Together, at first sight, they seem to be remnants from a bygone epoch that is tinged with the nostalgia of a forgotten past. In reality, they are artifacts of a period that had very much to do with forming the present situation in NT scholarship. Both writings issue from the time just prior to the arrival of the Formgeschichte revolu208 Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 34 • NUMBER 3 • SEPTEMBER 2008 THE GOSPEL OF JUDAS: REWRITING EARLY CHRISTIANITY. By Simon Gathercole. New York: Oxford DEUTERONOMY IN THE NEW TESTAMENT: THE NEW TESTAMENT AND THE SCRIPTURES OF ISRAEL. Edited by Steve Moyise and Maarten J. J. Menken. University Press, 2007. Pp. vii + 199; illustrations. $34, ISBN 978-0-19-922584-2. In this book, intended for a general readership, the author discusses the history of the find and publication of Codex Tchacos, and then discusses how Judas is portrayed in the NT (chapter two) and in other Christian literature in the second century (chapter three). The main part of the book (chapter four) is a translation of the Gospel of Judas, with commentary on each section. The translation reads well, but has a number of problems. For example, Gathercole follows Meyer in translating “thirteenth demon” as “thirteenth spirit,” and in his commentary to that passage, dealing with Judas’ vision (44, 15-46, 4), there is no discussion at all of the meaning of Greek daimon. As a result, Gathercole follows the earlier interpreters in seeing Judas as a positive figure in the Gospel of Judas. In chapter five, Gathercole discusses the early patristic testimonies to the Gospel of Judas, beginning with St. Irenaeus. In chapter six, he rightly calls into question current attempts to use the Gospel of Judas to “rewrite” early Christian history. In the final chapter, he takes issue with the positive theological assessment of the gospel found among certain scholars. There is much in this book to commend it, but its major flaw is in its interpretation of the figure of Judas Iscariot as presented in the Gospel of Judas. Birger A. Pearson University of California, Santa Barbara Library of NT Studies, 358. New York: T&T Clark, 2007. Pp. 195. $130, ISBN 978-0-567-04549-2. This collection of ten essays by different scholars provides an introductory chapter to the use of Deuteronomy in Second Temple Judaism generally (Dead Sea Scrolls, Philo, and Josephus). It then dedicates one chapter to the use of Deuteronomy in each of the NT books of Mark, Matthew, Luke-Acts, John, Galatians and Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, the Pastoral Epistles, Hebrews, and Deuteronomy. The chapters vary in what they identify as use of Deuteronomy, ranging from explicit citations to vague allusions. Although the contributors exhibit unavoidable methodological diversity, each chapter employs a defensible approach for detecting and interpreting intertextuality between Deuteronomy and the various NT writings. The book is well documented and indexed. The book would have been enhanced by an additional chapter reflecting upon criteria for detecting intertextuality, but the present volume is a significant contribution to this important area of NT scholarship. The book is recommended for specialists in the Christian reception of LXX traditions and for research libraries. Thomas E. Phillips Point Loma Nazarene University DISCOVERING THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. By Keith Warrington. Peabody, MA: Hen- JUDAS: THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION OF GOSPELS AND LEGENDS ABOUT THE INFAMOUS APOSTLE OF JESUS. By Marvin Meyer. New York: drickson, 2005. Pp. x + 230. $16.95, ISBN 1-56563-871-9. Each chapter of this Pentecostalist-inspired treatise follows the same pattern: the text of a book of the NT that contains a mention of the Holy Spirit is briefly placed in its original setting (Matthew and Mark are treated together); its principal topics are discussed; meaning and purpose are narrated; finally, its significance for the original readers is elaborated. Each chapter concludes with a brief bibliography and a series of study questions. For Warrington, Paul is the presumed author of the deutero-Pauline letters. He makes a number of other questionable assertions. “Spirit” is continually referred to as “he,” despite the neuter gender of the Greek word. In Matt 28:18, the Spirit is “a member of the Godhead.” “He [Jesus] functioned as God.” The Jews in Palestine at the time of Jesus were afflicted not only by Roman domination but by the danger of mystery cults and “syncretistic religions.” The Jews were “. . . blinded by their own religion.” The religious life proposed by their religious leaders “. . . meant the degeneration of public and private morals.” Warrington’s coreligionists may receive comfort from such assertions (as well as from other less controversial ones), but the majority of knowledgeable readers of a different persuasion must dutifully demur. Casimir Bernas Holy Trinity Abbey HarperOne, 2007. Pp. 181. $22.95, ISBN 978-0-06-134830-3. Following upon a chapter dealing with the portrayals of Judas Iscariot in the NT, Meyer presents an introduction to, and a new translation of, the Gospel of Judas. The translation has problems, e.g., persisting in translating “thirteenth demon” as “thirteenth spirit” (Greek daimon always means “demon” in Gnostic contexts). His translation choices lead him to view Judas as “a Gnostic paradigm of discipleship,” instead of the villain he really is in the Gospel of Judas. The following two chapters present translations of two Nag Hammadi tractates, the Dialogue of the Savior (NHC III, 5) and the Concept of Our Great Power (NHC VI, 4). Chapter five is devoted to the “Round Dance of the Cross” in the apocryphal Acts of John. Ten other Christian texts are treated in chapter six. The final chapter contains passages about “traitors before Judas”: Judah and the other brothers of Joseph in Genesis 37, the anonymous betrayer in Psalm 41, and Melanthius the goatherd in Book 22 of the Odyssey, texts that arguably could have influenced the NT depiction of Judas. A major problem in the book is the inclusion of the Dialogue of the Savior. The Judas who appears in dialogue with Jesus in that text is probably Judas Thomas and certainly not Judas Iscariot. In 209 Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 34 short, there is not a single ancient Christian text, Gnostic or non-Gnostic, that presents Judas Iscariot in a positive light. Birger A. Pearson University of California, Santa Barbara • NUMBER 3 • SEPTEMBER 2008 each chapter, Herring includes an annotated reading list for further study that adds to the volume’s usefulness, although the lists are likely to be received with more gratitude by instructors than the undergraduate students for whom the book is primarily intended. The light touch of Herring’s pen makes it likely that the volume will find its way into many introductory courses on the history of Christianity, at university and seminary alike. Jason M. Donnelly Boston College THE LOST GOSPEL OF JUDAS: SEPARATING FACT FROM FICTION. By Stanley E. Porter and Gordon L. Heath. Grand Rapids, MI/Cambridge, UK: Eerdmans, 2007. Pp. viii + 127. $16, ISBN 978-0-8028-2456-1. The authors begin with an overview of the brouhaha in the scholarly world and the popular news media occasioned by the recent discovery of the Gospel of Judas. In following chapters, the authors then expound, among other topics, the position of Judas in Scripture and Church history; the meaning of Gnosticism; the discovery, content, and authenticity of this new “Gospel.” The conclusions of both Porter and Heath are largely negative regarding the value of the Gospel of Judas for NT scholarship. At the most, the document is a copy of a second-century original, although it may actually originate several centuries later. It does however present us with another window into the Gnostic world of the time of its composition, in a manner similar to that of the Nag Hammadi documents. Porter aptly refers to it as a piece of “rehabilitation literature.” In this regard, the authors’ conclusions reflect the views of the majority of scholars who have studied the document. The present treatise, in sum, is valuable not only for its evaluation of the Gospel of Judas, but also for its exposition of the conflictual interplay between orthodoxy and heresy in the ancient Church. Casimir Bernas Holy Trinity Abbey THE SACRAMENT OF THE ANOINTING OF THE SICK. By Lizette Larson-Miller. Edited by John D. Laurance. Lex Orandi Series. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2005. Pp. xviii + 143. $14.95, ISBN 0-8146-2523-1. This contribution to the Liturgical Press’s fine new Lex Orandi Series on the seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church provides an excellent commentary, rooted in Scripture and in the historical development of the rites of anointing, on Pastoral Care of the Sick: Rites of Anointing and Viaticum. It is written from the perspective of contemporary theological and cultural issues surrounding the care of the sick and the dying, especially within a North American context. In particular, Larson-Miller discusses the three primary sacramental actions within the rite: the prayer of faith, the laying on of hands, and the anointing with oil. Long thought to be rites only for the dying, she stresses the changes that have developed in the celebration and interpretation of these rites as sacrament of healing rather than preparation for death. Especially helpful is her study of the meaning of oil in the biblical tradition and in the early churches, including its relationship to the martyrs. Clearly written and easily readable, this well-documented study will be of great use in classes on sacramental theology and liturgy, at the seminary and university levels. At the same time, those directly involved in health-care ministries in a variety of diverse settings–and from a variety of faith traditions–will find this a very helpful guide not only in understanding how liturgical churches minister in such settings but in making connections between ritual and culture, sacrament and healing, liturgy and life. Highly recommended. Maxwell E. Johnson University of Notre Dame History of Christianity INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY. By George Herring. New York: New York University Press, 2006. Pp. 350. $22, ISBN 978-0-8147-3699-9. Packed with historical knowledge, arranged with an impressive capacity for theological explication, and written in a flowing manner that belies its textbook quality, G. Herring has produced a volume that will be useful to a large audience with various degrees of exposure to its topic. In addition to providing the broad strokes of a comprehensive introduction by zooming in on three two hundred year periods, the author efficiently incorporates a series of thematic explorations into perennial theological issues that reappear through the ages. The three parts—c. 300-500 Christ and Caesar, c. 1050-1250 Expansion and Order, c. 1450-1650 Grace and Authority—are able to bear the weight of providing a coherent story of Christianity through time, at least with respect to a progressively narrowing focus upon the Reformation in the Western church, despite speeding by distinct, and substantial periods of time. At the end of READING THE BIBLE WITH THE DEAD: WHAT YOU CAN LEARN FROM THE HISTORY OF EXEGESIS THAT YOU CAN’T LEARN FROM EXEGESIS ALONE. By John L. Thompson. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2007. Pp. 336. $20, ISBN 978-0-8028-0753-3. This popular history of scripture exegesis is simultaneously apologetic for taking counsel from past interpreters when reading the Bible. Thompson writes on Hagar, Jephthah’s daughter, imprecatory psalms, patriarchs’ sins, Hosea and Gomer, silent prophetesses in 1 Corinthians, divorce, Paul’s arguments from Gen 2-3 on women, and sex and 210