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ISSN: 1044-6494

Ashland

Theological

Journal

Ashland Theological Seminary
Ashland, Ohio 2005

ISSN: 1044-6494
Ashland Theological Seminary
Ashland, Ohio

ASHLAND THEOLOGICAL JOURNAL

2005

CONTENTS

Enough is Enough: Matthew 6:5-15 1

Wyndy Corbin Reuschling

Where Have All The Prophets Gone? 7

Marvin A. McMickle

"To Be Right With God":

An Exploration of the New Perspective View on Paul 19

Rich Hagopian

The Question of Evil: Theodicy, Moltmann, and Pannenberg 39

Jon Kane

Waiting Table in God's Household:

A Personal Theology of Ministry 51

Mark Hepner

Amanda Berry Smith 65

Vivian L. Hairston

10 Commandments of Pastoral Leadership: A Theological Study

of Pastoral Leadership in the Brethren Church 77

Roy A. Andrews

Pauline Theology: A Review Article 91

Allan R. Bevere

Book Reviews 99

Journal articles are indexed in Elenchiis of Biblica, New Testament Abstracts, Olo
Testament Abstracts, Religious and Theological Abstracts, and Religion Index One:
reviews are indexed in Index to Book Reviews in Religion. The latter two indices,
published by ATLA, 820 Church Street, Evanston, Illinois 60201, are also available
online through BRS Information Technologies, DIALOG Information Services and
Wilsonline. Views of contributors are their own and do not necessarily express those
endorsed by Ashland Theological Seminary.

VOLUME xxxvn

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Ashland Theological Journal 2005

"Enough is Enough": Matthew 6;5-15

By Wyndy Corbin Reuschling*

In the next couple of weeks, most of us will likely be celebrating the
national holiday called "Thanksgiving". What always strikes me about
Thanksgiving is the gratitude we express for abundance. We are to give thanks
for abundance, as if abundance is perhaps normal and something we deserve,
and something we actually ought to celebrate.

Abundance was always apparent at the Thanksgiving feasts celebrated
in my extended family. Around 4:00 in the afternoon, family members were
saying "enough is enough" probably about the relatives as well as the food. I
should know that "enough was enough." I was usually on clean-up duty on
Thanksgiving. I'm not sure if this was a statement of my cooking skills ("oh,
honey, don't bother to bring anything") or a sign of grace since I was the one
who usually traveled to get where I needed to be on Thanksgiving.

Whatever the reason, each year, it was apparent there was never enough
room in the refrigerator for the more than enough to fill tupperware and cool
whip containers with leftovers which could easily provide 3 to 4 meals for the
same 21 relatives.

Ambivalence:

I have a confession: I am ambivalent about Thanksgiving, even while I
go on celebrating it with friends and family.

1. I am ambivalent about Thanksgiving: Thanksgiving is one of those
mixed days in our national history. While many of us participate in the
abundance of good food and renewal of family relationships, we are keenly
aware (or ought to be) of those who cannot participate in abundance and who
don't even have enough for daily bread.

2. I am ambivalent about Thanksgiving: On Thanksgiving, we
selectively recount the story of the pilgrims, their courage and valor, while at
the same time selectively ignoring the cost their growing abundance and
expansion meant for native peoples who were already living here even as some
of us reap the benefits.

3. I am ambivalent about Thanksgiving: Thanksgiving is one of the
days exposing the huge discrepancies in our world that can't be addressed
through charity, important as charity is for teaching us how to be generous. The

*Wyndy Corbin Reuschling (Ph.D., Drew University), is Associate Professor of
Ethics and Theology at ATS. This is a chapel address delivered to the Seminary
community on Nov. 7, 2005.

Ashland TheologicalJoiirnal 2005

discrepancies are the result of injustice that relies on the poverty of certain
people to maintain the wealth of the few as noted in global consumption
patterns.

The United Nations' Report on Human Development reminds us that
"inequalities in consumption are stark"' Globally, the 20% of the world's people
in the highest-income countries account for 86% of total private consumption
expenditures - the poorest 20%) a minuscule 1.3%. More specifically, the richest
fifth:

Consume 45%) of all meat and fish, the poorest fifth 5%.
Consume 58%o of total energy, the poorest fifth less than 4%.
Have 74%o of all telephone lines, the poorest fifth 1.5%.
Consume 84% of all paper, the poorest fifth 1.1%.
Own 87%) of the world's vehicle fleet, the poorest fifth less than 1%.

The Book:

I am ambivalent about Thanksgiving, even as I go on celebrating, it.
As I read the Bible, I see the dangers of pursuing material abundance, especially
at the cost of others which is an act of injustice that disturbs God.

And as the text for today reminds us, Christ did not command us to
pray for and assume abundance, perhaps except for spiritual abundance in
knowing Christ. Christ encouraged us to pray for "just enough," our daily bread.
We find this prayer in the text that was read this morning, Matthew 6:9-13.

Many of you may come from traditions where this prayer is prayed as
regular part of our worship services. We often refer to this prayer as "The
Lord's Prayer." But perhaps we ought to refer to this prayer as "The Disciples'
Prayer," as some do, since it is instruction given by Jesus to his disciples on how
we ought to pray.

This Disciples' Prayer, Matthew 6:9-13, is part of Jesus' Sermon on the
Mount. The Sermon on the Mount is considered to contain the substance of
Jesus' moral teachings on how we ought to live and what we ought to do as
disciples of Christ. Jesus' teachings in the 5*'', 6"^ and ?"' chapters of Matthew
are very clear and concrete, leaving no mystery of how we ought to act as
Christians.

Jesus gives very specific instructions on prayer in Matthew 6:9-13. He
starts this teaching on prayer with two negative commands about prayer: don't
pray like the hypocrites and don't pray like the babblers.

1. Don't pray like the hypocrites who were more concerned with
appearances, caring more what others thought of them than what God
thought. Don't pray like the hypocrites, but instead pray in secret.

2. Don't pray like the babblers. The babblers to whom Jesus is referring

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

were "mere talkers, mimickers." Jesus associated the babblers with
pagans. As Dallas Willard notes, the babblers illustrate the danger of
making prayer a mechanical process, since babblers "falsely imagine
that mere sounds, repeated over and over again, will gain the desired
effect.""" Instead of directly addressing God as "our Father," it has been
suggested that babblers relied on repeating a list of divine names
hoping to arrive at naming the "right god" in order to receive what they
wanted.

Don't pray like the babblers, but instead pray to your Father, the one
true God who name is hallowed and ought to be treated that way.

The good news about this passage, however, is the specific, positive
instruction Jesus gives us on how we ought to pray. We are not left with what
not to do; we are left with what we should do when we pray.

Unlike the hypocrites and babblers, we ought to pray to our Father in
secret with honesty and directness in our motives and words. The example
which Jesus gives is to pray like this.

Richard Foster in his book. Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home,
believes this wonderful example of prayer for the disciples of Christ contains
three primary petitions or requests: Give, Forgive and Deliver Along with the
request that God our Father forgive us of our sin (with the understanding of the
imperative that we forgive others) and the request that we might be delivered
from evil (our own failures when tested and protection from the evil one, Satan),
we are also commanded to ask that God gives us our daily bread with directness
and honesty, without the concern for appearances (unlike the hypocrites and
babblers).

What is the daily bread to which Jesus refers?

1 . The daily bread for which we are to ask is parallel to the provision of

daily bread from heaven for the Israelites recorded in Exodus 16.

• The Israelites were released from slavery in Egypt and were on the way
to the promised land of God. God provided for them through their
desert wanderings by "raining down" bread from heaven. God also
gave clear instructions: take what you need for each day because what
God provides for each day is sufficient. It did not "pay" for those who
took more: the unused, hoarded bread was full of maggots the next day

• In the desert the people of God were to gather JUST ENOUGH for
each day, gathering twice as much on the sixth day to keep them for the
Sabbath.

• Early on, the people of God were to practice gathering "just enough" to
keep them from hoarding and to live out their faith in God as their
provider.

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

2. The daily bread for which we are to ask is the provision of life's
essentials, not luxuries. We pray for the "enough is enough" to keep our bodies
healthy and our physical needs met.

• Jesus is concerned here with not just the "dailyness" of our request but
the measure and content of it: we are to ask for "just enough" for this
day's provision.

3. The request for daily bread concerns the immediate, not the worry that
there may not be enough in the future.

• The request for daily bread reminds us of our daily dependence on God,
and the fact that all material provisions belong to God.

• God is the sustainer of all of life, and all of life matters to him: both the
spiritual and the physical which Jesus links together in this prayer.

4. However, this prayer is not just for "my" daily bread. This is a
corporate prayer that starts with "Our Father." Therefore, we are to
pray for the daily needs of all, both daily and in adequate measure that
"enough will be enough" for the physical and spiritual well-being of all
people.

Unlike the hypocrites and babblers, we are to pray simply and directly to God,
asking for the provision of daily bread.

The prayer today:

This simple request for daily bread perhaps appears bizarre, and even
quaint, to those of us familiar with lofty religious and churchy language and
those of us living in an affluent, consumer driven culture such as ours. And we
can perhaps become "ho hum" about it in the danger of repeating it week after
week. But this prayer is survival for the millions of people in our world who
have no resources themselves for the provision of daily bread.

Do we stop celebrating Thanksgiving? No. But perhaps the Disciples'
Prayer can give a reorientation to what we are doing when we stop, remember
and celebrate on this day. I think there are four implications of the direct and
simple prayer as we ask for our daily bread and as we participate in a. national
holiday that celebrates an abundance out of proportion to the world in which we
live.

1. It forces us to ask when is "enough is enough." ft reminds us to look

critically at our own culture and the ways in which pervasive
consumerism and the obsession to accumulate erodes our own spiritual
well-being and the physical well-being of others. We are damaged
spiritually because we forget that our very lives are dependent on God,
and others are hurt physically because as we obtain more and more,
others receive less and less.

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

2. It sensitizes us to the inequity and imbalances of our society. This
prayer to "our Father' reinforces our responsibility to pray and work
toward the supply of daily bread for others. This, too, is spiritual work
for the people of God and evidence that we understand our own
dependence on God and our responsibilities for others

3. It helps us retain proper balance and perspective. God cares about what
we need. In the disciples' prayer, we are reminded that we need daily
bread, forgiveness and deliverance from evil, an apparent odd mixture
of physical and spiritual needs.

Are we just as obsessed with confessing our sin, forgiving others,
seeking forgiveness and being diligent in avoiding temptation as we are
with daily wants which we call needs, and working for the needs of
others?

How ironic that one of our greatest temptations in this culture is the
drive to consume more and more, and to confuse wants with needs, a
temptation from which we need to be delivered as we are reminded
again in this prayer of the measure of daily needs and when enough is
enough.

4. We are reminded of our dependence on God. Our attitudes toward
physical needs and the substance of daily bread are ultimately a
spiritual issue and a reflection of our willingness to trust God with all
of our lives: our very salvation as well as our material existence.

At the close of his chapter looking at the Prayer of the Disciples in Matthew 6,
Richard Foster proposes a prayer for us as we ignore the intent and substance of
how we should pray as taught by Jesus in Matthew 6.

"Dear Father, I don't want to treat you like Santa Claus, but I do need
to ask things of you. Give me, please, food to eat today. I'm not asking for
tomorrow, but I am asking for today. Please forgive me for the infinite offenses
to your goodness that I have committed today. ...this hour. I'm not even aware
of most of them. I live too unaware. That in itself is a sin again heaven. I'm
sorry. Increase my awareness. And in my ignorance if I have asked for things
that would be totally destructive, please, do not give them to me - do not lead me
into temptation. Do protect me from the evil one. For Jesus' sake. Amen."

Conclusion:

When is enough enough? This question is perhaps more easily
answered by those who find the prayer for and provision of daily bread a matter

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

of survival, and as a result, have a deeper and more dependent relationship with
God than I'll ever have. It's an important question, one that I believe is
ultimately a spiritual one, placed by Jesus in the Disciples' Prayer right along
with matters of forgiveness and temptation from evil. My attitudes toward daily
bread are just as important as my understanding of forgiveness in Christ and my
desire to avoid temptation. How I pray and what I do in these areas reflect my
trust in God and my willingness to allow the reality of Christ to permeate all of
my life, as I learn to trust God for daily bread and adjust my life and make
decisions accordingly to "enough is enough."

May God grant us courage to ask for two things according to Proverbs 30:7-9:
Two things I ask of you, O Lord; do not refuse me before I
die. Keep falsehood and lies from me; give me neither
poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say,
"Who is the Lord?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so
dishonor the name of my God.

Notes j

' http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Consumption.asp. ^

" Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy (San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, '

1998), 194. " j

Richard J. Foster, Prayer: Finding the Heart 's True Home. San Francisco:

Harper San Francisco, 1992), 185. ]

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

Where Have All The Prophets Gone?

by Marvin A. McMickle*

One of the essential needs in every congregation of believers is an
occasional sermon rooted in the words and witness of the Old Testament
prophets. Preachers need to play a role within the life of their congregation and
their community similar to the role that such people as Amos, Jeremiah and
Micah played within the life of the nations of Israel and Judah. James Ward and
Christine Ward begin their important book on this subject of prophetic
preaching by writing:

77?^ natural inclination of the Christian community, like all
religious communities, is to adapt its witness of faith to its
most immediate human needs. In doing this the community
always runs the risk of obscuring the wider dimensions of the
gospel, particularly the wider implications of God's demand
for righteousness and justice. What is needed, therefore, is
preaching that recovers these wider dimensions and
illuminatesthe ways in which the community obscures them.

Those who preach must appreciate the need to let their sermons play this role in
the life of their church, their surrounding community and the wider society of
which the preacher is a member.

There is a tendency within congregational for the preacher to become
preoccupied with such pressing matters as new members' or confirmation
classes, the maintenance or renovation of the church building, whether or not the
annual budget will be met and how to maintain a feeling of intimacy in the face
of a rapidly growing or shifting membership. What may be lost in the rush to
respond to these issues is that congregation's responsibility to respond to an
escalating problem of homelessness in the community, or overcrowding in the
jails, or the abuse of drugs and alcohol by youngsters in the local school district.
It is the preacher's job to remain watchful, to use the image of Ezekiel 3 and 33,
and to sound the alarm about the injuries that are being inflicted upon people as
well as about the injustices that are taking place.

Prophetic preaching shifts the focus of a congregation from what is
happening to them as a local church to what is happening to us as a society.
Prophetic preaching then asks the question, "What is the role or the appropriate
response of our congregation, our association and our denomination to the
events that are occurring within our society and throughout the world?"
Prophetic preaching points out those false gods of comfort and of a lack of

* Marvin McMickle (Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University) is Professor of Homiletics
at ATS. This paper was originally presented before the Narrative and Imagination Group
of the Academy of Homiletics in Memphis, TN at their 2004 Annual Meeting.

Where Have All The Prophets Gone?

concern and acquiescence in the face of evil that can so easily replace the true
God of scripture who calls true believers to the active pursuit of justice and
righteousness for every member of the society. Prophetic preaching also never
allows the community of faith to believe that participation in the rituals of
religious life can ever be an adequate substitute for that form of ministry that is
designed to uplift the "least of these" in our world.

The words of the eighth century B.C. prophets Amos and Micah come
immediately to mind. Both of them condemned Israel because that nation
seemed more interested in the acts of animal sacrifice and the observance of
religious feast days than they were in the poverty and economic exploitation that
impacted the lives of so many people in their society. The voices of the biblical
prophets echoed from the top of Mt. Carmel where Elijah confronted Ahab and
Jezebel and the priests of Baal to the streets of Jerusalem where John the Baptist
challenged Herod Antipas.

The prophets preached truth to power, attacking the monarchs and the
ruling elite for putting more confidence in armies and alliances than they did in
the God who had brought them into that land. The prophets challenged the
people of Israel who believed that God would never abandon them no matter
how far the nation strayed from the covenant it had established with God back at
Sinai. With an urgency that could not be contained and a fervor that could not be
controlled, the prophets declared their "Thus says the Lord" despite the ridicule,
rebuke and outright rejection that most of them experienced throughout their
lives. It is impossible to imagine the biblical narrative being told without the
pronouncements of the prophets.

As preaching schedules are being planned and as biblical texts and
topics are being considered, it is easy to see the need for prophetic preaching in
our churches and throughout our society. Many Christians worship inside of
immaculately maintained churches that are situated in neighborhoods that look
like bombed out war zones. Many Christians drive from the suburbs to churches
located within a community that has been ravaged by poverty, drug trafficking,
the loss of industry through outsourcing and factory closings, and under-funded
and overwhelmed public school systems. Of course, many Christians never have
to see these sights or confront the people and problems in these inner city
communities, because they have moved out of the city to pristine outer ring
suburbs and have brought their churches out to those upscale areas with them.

For those who continue to travel into the crumbling and decaying cities
of our nation, it is crucial that they hear a prophetic word about the problems
that surround their church, the social policies that are the root cause of those
problems and what they can do as an expression of their biblical faith to bring
about change. For those who live and worship in exurbia and who never get
close enough to the grimy side of America for anything to rub off on them,
prophetic preaching becomes even more urgent. It is crucial that people with
wealth, power and influence be challenged by a prophetic word that calls upon

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

them to direct their resources not simply for tax advantages for themselves, but
for a fairer and more just society for their fellow citizens.

The benefit of a regular use of materials taken from prophetic texts is
that the preacher is forced to consider people, issues, and socio-political
conditions that stretch over a period of one thousand years; issues that the
preacher might otherwise have overlooked. There is no other genre of biblical
literature that approaches the prophetic corpus in terms of the breadth of history
and the depth of human experiences that are included among its pages.
Sometimes Israel is at the height of its power and influence, and the message of
the prophets is that God is about to bring that mighty nation to its knees because
of its arrogance and pride. Other times the prophets issue a sweet call to Israel to
return to the God whose love for them will not allow God to completely give up
on them. The God who sent Hosea out to marry a prostitute named Gomer is the
God whose love for us is stronger than our disregard for God.

The prophets remind Israel, just as we need to be reminded through
regular doses of prophetic preaching, that God is the sovereign creator and
sustainer of the whole creation. The God who sent Jonah to preach salvation in
Nineveh is the same God who used first Babylon and the Persia as the
instruments of God's will. The God who formed Israel into a great nation when
they were brought out of the brick pits of Egypt is the same God who can send
Israel back into captivity and cause them to hang their harps upon the willows
and weep as they sit along the banks of the River Chebar and remember the life
they once lived back in Zion. God's concern is for the whole of creation and for
all the people that dwell therein. When the people of God lose sight of the fact
and begin acting as if only they and their nation really matter, it is time for a
prophet to declare, "Thus says the Lord!"

In a nation whose religious life seemed overly focused on the Temple
of Solomon, the levitical priesthood, the careful observance of a legalistic
lifestyle, and the proper practices of "holy living", prophetic preaching focused
the people's attention on the issues that were broader than how to worship or
where to pray or what it is lawful to eat. The Mosaic covenant included a series
of clear commandments to care for the widows, the orphans, and the stranger
who was among them. When the people of Israel lost sight of that
commandment, the prophets were there to remind them.

Now as then, there is a need to lift up the conditions of widows,
orphans and strangers. Today they take the form of single women, many of them
living in great poverty, who have been abandoned by husbands and boyfriends
and are raising children by themselves. The world is literally awash with
children who have been left orphaned by the unrelenting ravages of HIV/ AIDS,
as well as by tribal warfare in Africa, ethnic cleansing in the Balkans, and wars
in Iraq and Afghanistan that use the methods of terror (shock and awe) to
combat acts of terrorism around the world.

The stranger is also among us today, though here too the forms have
shifted. Now they are the migrant workers who pick our food, the illegal

Where Have All The Prophets Gone?

immigrants who clean our homes and hotels, and the prisoners at Guantanamo
Bay and inside of Abu Ghraib prison who are under U.S. control but not
afforded the protections of the U.S. Constitution, the Geneva Convention, or the
common decency that any U.S. citizen would expect and/or demand for
themselves. The stranger is also that person with an "Arab sounding name" or
that Sikh from India who, because his religion requires him to wear a turban or
some other kind of head wrap, are being caught up in the post-9/11 frenzy
created and sustained by a government which is always on the lookout for a
"person of interest."

In the face of all that is currently happening in our world, it is shocking
to note that the voice of the prophet is rarely if ever heard. True enough, biblical
texts taken from the prophetic corpus are often employed in weekly sermons,
but the power and the pathos are not heard or felt. Isaiah and Micah are used
primarily to demonstrate that the birth of Jesus was foretold 700-years earlier.
Malachi is seldom heard from except in an occasional sermon on tithing and the
promise (3 : 1 0) that God will open the windows of heaven. We may hear from
Zechariah (9:9) around Palm Sunday when the story is told of Jesus riding
triumphantly into Jerusalem on a colt amid shouts of hosanna. However, the
fiery words of the prophets go unspoken in most pulpits across America. There
is very little likelihood that the vast majority of those who hear sermons today
will come out of their churches saying to one another "the land cannot bear his
words" (Amos 7: 10).

In our Post-modem society with its widespread biblical illiteracy, most
people do not know and will likely never hear about Jeremiah's trip to the
potter's house, his confmement in a cistern or the yoke of oxen he wore around
his neck to symbolize the bondage that was awaiting Judah if Jehoiakim and
Zedekiah did not change their ways and the ways of the nation they ruled. They
will probably not hear about the encounter between Nathan and David when the
prophet told the king "You are the man." They may never hear a sermon based
upon Isaiah's condemnation of false gods and idolatry, or Ezekiel's warning
from God that God's people were rebellious and impudent.

More than likely our people will hear sermons about the values of
patriotism, the paths to peace and prosperity, the appropriate methods for
baptism and communion, why God does not approve of women in ministry and
why a woman's right to control her reproductive choices is the single greatest
evil in the world today. Many of those who will preach such sermons are our
former students in homiletics classes in seminaries and schools of religion
within the Association of Theological Schools. Many of them will preach with
no particular urgency or attention paid to the prophets because no such urgency
was laid upon them when they sat in our classes in Bible, theology, ethics or
even homiletics!

A folk song of the 1 960s raised this question in the context of the anti-
war movement; where have all the flowers gone?" There is a homiletical
equivalent to that question which says:

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

Where have all the prophets gone?

Gone in search of mega-churches, every one.

Where have all the prophets gone?

Gone in search of faith-based funding every one.

Where have all the prophets gone?

Gone in search of personal comfort every one.

Where have all the prophets gone? '

Gone in search of political correctness every one.

Where have all the prophets gone?

Gone into a ministry that places praise over speaking truth to power

every one.

When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn?

In his book. Interpreting God's Word in Black Preaching, Warren
Stewart reflects on two hermeneutic principles fashioned by James A. Sanders
the Old Testament scholar who taught Warren and me when we were students
together at Union Theological seminary in New York City in the 1970s. Sanders
wrote about the "constitutive" and the "prophetic" readings of scripture. Stewart
says:

In biblical times the constitutive reading of the Torah story,
which was based on a supportive interpretation of the Word,
gave Israel an identity and a purpose. As the moral as well as
the historical context of Israel changed, Israel became in need
of a challenging message that would call it back to its original
purpose as God's elect. Israel, in such a state, was not in need
of a supportive reading of the tradition. The establishment
context of Israel called for a prophetic interpretation of the
Torah story.

The message of the prophets calls us back to our original purpose as the
people of God. It reminds us of how we should have been living all along. It
points out to us what we have become as a people. Then it challenges us to
return to the ways of the Lord our God; the way in which we had long ago
promised we would walk.

In his Letter From a Birmingham Jail written in 1963, Martin Luther
King, Jr. embodies for us what it looks like to preach from the prophetic texts
and to be a prophet in our midst. He wondered how white Christians could build
churches that were so beautiful to behold, and then practice something as ugly as
racial segregation within those same structures?"^ No doubt, the church spires he
noticed as he traveled throughout the American south in the 1950 and 1960s
were well staffed and well-funded. They had a solid constitutive foundation.
However, those churches were not focused on what was the central social issue

Where Have All The Prophets Gone?

of that generation. In fact, the people in those churches were the primary reason
why racism, segregation and the rule of law known as Jim Crow could last as
long as it did in America. What those church people needed to hear was a
prophetic word.

As was stated earlier and cannot be reinforced too strongly, prophetic
preaching does not demand or even require the use of a text taken from one of
the prophetic books of the Old Testament. Nor does it require any reference to
one of the prophets of the classical period that stretched from the 8* to the 5*
centuries B.C. Many sermons have been preached from a text taken from a
prophetic book that were more "pathetic" than "prophetic." That is usually the
result of a preacher who did not have his/her focus on that which constantly
occupied the biblical prophets, namely the fact that God's people were living in
disobedience to the covenant that had been established between God and the
people.

Prophetic preaching occurs when the preacher seeks to bring the will of
God to the attention of the people of God, and then, as Elizabeth Achtemeier
observes, challenge them "to trust their Lord in all circumstances and to obey
him with willing and grateful hearts."^ Prophetic preaching happens when the
preacher has the courage to speak truth to power not only inside of the church
building but also in the streets and board rooms and jail cells of the secular
order. We must be willing to do this if we are to be faithful to and worthy of
following in the footsteps of Samuel who confronted Saul, Nathan who
confronted David, Amos who condemned Jeroboam, Jeremiah who challenged
both Jehoiakim and Zedekiah, and John the Baptist who did not grow mute or
meek in the presence of Herod Antipas.

This approach to prophetic preaching is consistent with what Walter
Brueggemann calls "prophetic consciousness" in his book The Prophetic
Imagination. He writes that the work of the prophet is to be able to project
before the people "an alternative future to the one the king wants to project as
the only thinkable one."^ For Brueggemann the Old Testament prophets had to
contend with something he calls "royal consciousness" that represents "the
deeply entrenched forces - political, economic, social or religious - of Israel."
They are the status quo, and they only offer to people a vision of the future that
allows them to remain in power, and requires that the masses of people remain
marginalized in society. The work of the prophet is to combat that single vision,
and show that God can and will bring about a future different from that
envisioned by the ruling elite.

In drawing the tension between "prophetic consciousness" and "royal
consciousness", Brueggemann is reminding us that in the 8"^ century BC world
occupied by prophets like Amos and in the 6* century BC world occupied by
prophets like Jeremiah, not all of the preachers were prophets. Indeed, we are
also reminded that not all people who call themselves or who are referred to as
prophets are standing in the tradition of those preachers who spoke an
unrelenting message of justice and righteousness.

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

The presence of Amaziah who is an ally and defender of King
Jeroboam and the presence of Hananiah who serves a similar role with and for
Zedekiah serve as the clearest indicators that the great Old Testament prophets
whose words and work are so instructive to us today did not have the preaching
platform to themselves. There were others voices being heard at that same time,
other voices that were also cloaked in the title of being prophetic. However,
there was a difference between Amos and Amaziah and between Jeremiah and
Hananiah.

Amaziah stood against Amos and told him to return to Tekoa and to
never again preach in Bethel because "this is the king's chapel and the king's
court." (Amos 7: 13). To add insult to injury, in the preceding verse (7:12)
Amaziah told Amos to go back and "earn his bread" by preaching in Judah; a
clear reference to the fact that Amaziah assumed that all of the so-called
prophets were on someone's payroll, as he was very likely on the payroll of his
monarch. This comment led Amos to declare "I was no prophet, neither was I a
prophet's son.... The Lord said unto me Go, prophesy unto my people Israel"
(Amos 7: 14-15).

Prophesy the word of the Lord is precisely what Amos did. He decried
the abuse of the poor in an economic system that favored and rewarded those
who were already rich. He condemned a class of people, referred to as cows of
Bashan, whose personal comforts prevented them from feeling or caring about
the poverty and misery being experienced by many of their own people. Amos
also made it clear that the comfort class was in large measure responsible for
that inequity in society.

Hananiah sought to persuade both the king and the country of Judah
that the words of judgment spoken by Jeremiah were not true. Hananiah saw it
as his mission to reassure both king and country that God was not displeased,
that the enemy at the gate (the army of Nebuchadnezzar) would not triumph
over Judah, and that the future of Judah and its royal line was secure. Hananiah
was the son of a prophet and he, too, spoke with the opening phrase "thus says
the Lord." He seemed to have at least as much credibility and authority as
Jeremiah, and yet they preach two widely different messages; one was
constitutive and the other one was prophetic. One was based upon the
preservation of the status quo that is the essence of royal consciousness and the
other was fueled by the alternative vision of the future that is the heart and soul
of prophetic consciousness.

It cannot be doubted that many pulpits across America are filled by
preachers who operate out of a royal consciousness. I once heard a televised
sermon by a popular Presbyterian preacher from Fort Lauderdale, Florida who
ended his pastoral prayer with the words "God Bless America." In the sermon
that followed I heard no reference from that preacher about the 2000 presidential
election and the voting fraud that occurred in Florida that resulted in the first
ever "selection" of a President of the United States. While this paper is being
prepared, armed members of the Florida State Patrol are going to the homes of

Where Have All The Prophets Gone?

elderly African Americans who had been actively involved in Get-Out-The-Vote
efforts for the 2004 election. This is an obvious attempt to intimidate black voter
registration and to suppress black voter turnout in that swing state.

This particular preacher consistently operates within a constitutive and
royal consciousness hermeneutic. He and so many of his colleagues who crowd
the airwaves of Cable TV religious broadcasting are reaching an enormous
audience with the message that all is well in America. They have hijacked the
title of being evangelical. No longer does that word suggest a deep commitment
to the authority of scripture, a burning passion for spiritual transformation in the
lives of those who hear the Gospel and a solid separation of church and state.
Now, as a result of the National Association of Evangelicals and preachers like
the ones that are seen on TV 24-hours a day, an evangelical is someone who
holds a specific position on such issues as prayer in schools, abortion, school
vouchers, capital punishment, affirmative action and increased military spending
even if it is done at the expense of social programs. "God Bless America."

In 2r' century America, a person who identifies themselves as an
evangelical is most likely to vote Republican, vote against school levies for
public school districts, stand opposed to funding the United Nations because that
agency encourages birth control in parts of the world where poverty and over-
population go hand-in-hand. Today's evangelicals want a smaller government
here in the United States, but support the overly aggressive Patriot Act that not
only enlarges the size and cost of the U.S. government but also greatly threatens
civil liberties and privacy.

Evangelicals are likely to have supported the war in Iraq and the fall of
Saddam Hussein, even though they also likely know that 20-years earlier we
equipped and encouraged that same Saddam Hussein when he was our ally in a
war that Iraq was fighting against Iran. The same could be said about modem-
day evangelicals who likely supported the war in Afghanistan against the
Taliban, Al Qaeda and Osama bin Ladin, despite the fact that we encouraged
and equipped them in their war against the Soviet Union during that same point
in history. United States foreign policy 20-30 years ago laid the foundation for
most of the turmoil in which our nation is engaged today. That being said, the
preachers in America, black and white, who have the largest following and the
highest name recognition, seem to have nothing to say on matters of justice and
righteousness. Where have all the prophets gone?

What is needed in America is an alternative voice that sets forth God's
alternative vision for the future. While $87 billion have been allocated to rebuild
Iraq after we needlessly blew the country up with our shock and awe, there are
45 million Americans that have no health insurance. While nearly $1 billion was
spent on the 2004 election by candidates pursuing elective office at the federal
level alone, a ban on assault weapons will be lifted without much congressional
debate, the minimum wage laws leave many working Americans in the status of
being the working poor and newly established overtime laws in the workplace

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

will allow employers to require overtime from their workers without paying
them an overtime wage.

The abuse of the poor by the rich, the neglect of the neediest in our
society, and the focus of a religious life that is defined by the proper
performance of rituals and not the dogged pursuit of righteousness is where we
find ourselves in America in 2004. It was times similar to these that spawned the
biblical prophets and that also spawned the prophets who flashed across the
stage of history: Sojourner Truth, Martin Luther King, Jr., Desmond Tutu, Oscar
Romero, Fannie Lou Hamer, William Sloane Coffin and Philip and Daniel
Berrigan. There are a lot of people preaching in this country and throughout the
world today, but one feels the need to raise the question, "where have all the
prophets gone?"

Lest I be accused of focusing all of my attention outside of the black
community, rendering black people more as victims than as perpetrators of the
constitutive hermeneutic, let me say a word or two about what is happening in
the pulpits of black churches across the country. It can best be described by the
phrase, "All the prophets have turned to praising. " I recently heard an
announcement about a cruise that was being planned to the Caribbean that is to
include presentations by many of the biggest names in the black community in
the fields of entertainment, business, motivational speaking and sports. The
advertisement then said, "Get your praise on with the biggest names in the
black church today. " They then listed such names as Noel Jones, Creflo Dollar,
Eddie Long and others. I am not condemning any of those persons or the
ministries in which they are engaged. I am expressing concern that the focus
within so many black churches has shifted away from justice and righteousness
to "getting your praise on." That is precisely what Amos was condemning when
he uttered these words from the Lord:

Take away from me the noise of your songs,

For I will not hear them,

But let justice roll down like water.

And righteousness like a mighty stream (Amos 5: 23-24).

What has happened to the legacy of Vernon Johns, Martin Luther King,
Jr., Howard Thurman, Samuel Proctor, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. and James
Lawson? Where are the successors to Richard Allen, Nannie Helen Borroughs,
Fannie Lou Hamer and Prathia Hall? Why is it that more black preachers today
are interested in helping people "get their praise on" than they are in getting
schools improved, or getting the levels of poverty in the community right around
their church reduced, or getting the rate of divorce lowered, or getting more and
more black men into school and out of prison? One has to labor long and hard
these days to hear a prophetic word even from within the African American
church; that part of the body of Christ that 40 short years ago had the audacity to
see as its mission the goal of "saving the soul of America."

Where Have All The Prophets Gone?

The black community in America is in what may be its greatest crisis
since slavery. That community faces record levels of poverty, drug addiction
and alcohol abuse, and a staggering and constantly escalating rate of
imprisonment usually for drug related offenses. So many of the finest young
men and women in our community make a foolish mistake with regard to the
use or possession of the smallest imaginable amounts of illegal substances. They
are convicted of felony offense, and even if they receive a shortened sentence or
drug abuse counseling in lieu of a prison term, they live the rest of their lives
and the bulk of their lives as ex-offenders. That phrase has the power to limit
their hopes and dreams, their employment and upward mobility for as long as
they live. It faces record levels of unemployment among adults and a staggering
rate of teens that are both parents and high school dropouts.

These are the very real and urgent problems that confront millions of
African Americans. There is certainly a need for praise and celebration as one
way to cope with the problems that confront our community. The inspiration
that come from times of praise and worship can go a long way toward helping
people bear up under the weight and burden of these conditions. However we
cannot let "getting our praise on" become the sole or central reason for our
coming together. We must speak to the issues that are the root causes of the
social problems that we face. That is where prophetic preaching comes into play.

J. Deotis Roberts writing in Roots of a Black Future: Family and
Church notes that the black church has traditionally operated out of two forms
of ministry that he calls the priestly and the prophetic. He says, "The priestly
ministry of black churches refers to their healing, comforting and succoring
work. The prophetic ministry involves its social justice and social transforming
aspects. "'° By being careful to include prophetic preaching in the course of a
year's pulpit work, while continuing to allow people time to "get their praise on"
black preachers can be sure that this historic and important balance in the
worship and witnessing life of the black church continues into the future.

In speaking to those issues, black preachers must declare "Thus says
the Lord" not only with regard to what is being done to black people by white
society. We must also say "Thus says the Lord" to our own community and our
own congregations about the choices we are making and the values we are
adopting that greatly contribute to our present dilemma. It must be remembered
that as long as Amos was listing the "for the three transgressions and four"
against Moab, Edom, Syria, Gaza and Judah he was on safe ground in Bethel. It
was when he turned his attention to the people who were before him at the time
that his courage had to increase and his popularity suddenly fell.

It is not possible for a prophetic ministry to be sustained or for
prophetic preaching to have authenticity when the words "Thus says the Lord"
are directed only toward those outside of your own community who are doing
harm to that community. At some point, preachers must direct the prophetic
word to those who are members of their own nation, their own community and
even their own congregation. Moreover, they must engage in that prophetic

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

preaching endowed with the "divine pathos"" that Abraham Joshua Heschel
says was the essence of the messages that God sent to Israel through the bibUcal
prophets. "The prophets communicated God's anger over the sins of the
covenant community. However, "what God intends is not that his anger should
be executed, but that it should be annulled by the people's repentance."'" In the
last analysis, it is hope and deliverance, not death and destruction that is the
ultimate promise of prophetic preaching. As Israel learned in 722 BC and as
Judah discovered in 586 BC, death and destruction came not because God willed
it, but because the people of God refused to listen to what the prophets were
saying.

Finally, prophetic preaching requires something more than righteous
indignation over what is happening in society and over what is not happening
within the church. Prophetic preaching also requires a large amount of humility
and the awareness that the sins we see in the people who hear the sermons are
also alive and at work in the people who preach the sermons. Preachers have no
right to preach a prophetic word with their fist balled up and their index finger
pointed out and away from themselves. We do not have the right to preach to
people about their sins. The preferred approach is to preach about the sins and
shortcomings that grip us all and that pull all of us away from the love and
loyalty we should be displaying toward God.

Isaiah speaks for all of us when he says, "Woe is me, for I am a person
of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips" (Isaiah 6: 5).
My slave ancestors put it equally well when they encouraged every one,
preachers included to sing:

It ain't my mother,

It ain't my father.

But it's me, O lord.

Standing in the need of prayer.

Notes

' James Ward and Christine Ward, Preaching From the Prophets, Nashville:
Abingdon, 1995, p. 11.

" Lyrics for Where Have All the Flowers Gone? By Pete Seeger, 1955.

■ Warren Stewart, Interpreting God's Word in Black Preaching (Valley Forge:
Judson Press, 1984)32-33.

" Martin Luther King, Jr., Why We Can't Wait (New York: Signet Books, 1963)
91.

^ Elizabeth Achtemeier, Preaching From the Minor Prophets (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1998).

'' Walter Brueggemann, The Prophetic Imagination (Philadelphia: Fortress
Press, 1978).

' Ibid, 44.

^ Ibid, 30-31.

Where Have All The Prophets Gone?

J. Deotis Roberts, Roots of a Black Future: Family and Church (Philadelphia:
Westminster Press, 1980).

224.

Ibid., 110.

" Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Prophets (New York: Harper & Row, 1962)

'- Ibid, 224-225.

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

"To be Right with God":
An Exploration of the New Perspective View on Paul

by Rich Hagopian*

Introduction

In 1977, with E. P. Sanders' publication of Paul and Palestinian
Judaism, a major upheaval took place in Pauline studies.' Sanders' main thesis
was that the long-held view of looking at Paul through "Lutheran-colored
spectacles" was incorrect." Luther believed that much of Paul's theology was
grounded in an attack against Jews trying to be justified through works, thereby
earning their "right-standing with God" — a conclusion that has been influential
in nearly all post-Reformation New Testament scholarship.^ Sanders radically
proposed that this was not a concern of Paul's at all; that in fact this scenario
was not a reality at the time of Paul.'* Instead, Sanders saw Judaism in Paul's
time as a "covenantal nomism," in which Israel was graciously given
membership in God's covenant, which required obedient action while providing
atonement for sin.^ These conclusions have been a substantial challenge to
traditional understandings of Pauline thought, which have been based on
Luther's understanding of first-century Judaism. As McGrath has written, "If
Sanders is right, the basic features of Luther's interpretation of Paul are
incorrect, and require radical revision."*" That revision, both positively and
negatively, has been the main emphasis of a spectrum of scholarship that Dunn
has labeled "the New Perspective on Paul." ^

This paper will attempt to trace the argument set in motion by Sanders'
work. The intention of such a survey is to bring together various components
and viewpoints within the New Perspective in order to answer the question,
"What does it mean to be 'right with God?'"

The Religio-Historical Context

There does not seem to be a "New Perspective School" in New
Testament studies.^ There is, however, what might be called a "spectrum of
appropriation," in which theologians accept Sanders' basic conclusions
concerning covenantal nomism with varying degrees of enthusiasm over their
usefulness or implications.^ Seyoon Kim has noted that those who accept
Sanders' conclusions about the nature of the Intertestamental period "elevate [it]
to the status of dogma," while insisting on interpreting Paul only in that
context. '° Kim serves as a starting point in the discussion of this paper, insofar
as he calls for an examination of the broad religio-historical context that serves
as "the plank upon which all varieties of the [New Perspective] rest.""

Rich Hagopian (B.A, Ohio State University) is an M. Div. student at ATS.

"To be Right with God:" An Exploration of the New Perspective View on Paul

Covenantal Nomism as Primary Religio-Historical Context

Sanders argued that Judaism at the time of Paul was "a religion of
grace, with human obedience understood as a response to that grace."^^
Accordingly, he felt that ''obedience maintains one 's position in the covenant,
but does not earn God's grace as such. It simply keeps an individual in the
group which is the recipient of God's grace. "'^ God's covenant to Israel was
given in grace, and "doing the law" earmarked the way of life within the
covenant, as well as maintained one's membership therein.'"^ Thus, these
"works of the law" were not done to earn covenant membership, its promises,
and its salvation, but rather to maintain one's availability to them.'"'' This, as
noted in the introduction, stands against the ideas about this period under which
most Protestant theology has been formed. N. T. Wright sums up Sanders' main
thesis as stating that "Judaism in Paul's day was not... a religion of legalistic
works-righteousness."'^ This idea, which has been ternied covenantal nomism,
is an aspect of the New Perspective about which Kim might be said to be
correct; it is accepted as "dogma." Yet, this is not an acceptance a priori, but
rather a conclusion arrived at after being explored in depth by many who engage
with the New Perspective.'^

The responses to this thesis are varied. Stuhlmacher — though a strong
opponent of the New Perspective — seems to accept Sanders' view, noting that
theologians long before him argued the same.'*^ Yet D. A. Carson finds the idea
of covenantal nomism misleading and reductionistic.'*^ This conclusion is in
tension with that drawn by Raisanen, who nine years prior to Carson noted that
it has "ceased to be a minority position."""

Despite Carson's strong language, there does seem to be what Durm
calls a "growing consensus" on two aspects of covenantal nomism. "' The first is
that a "right-standing with God" began with God's gracious giving to Israel a
covenant in which to stand. The second is that participation within this covenant
community necessarily called for the keeping of its covenantal obligations.

There are two other aspects of Intertestamental Judaism that are critical
to a New Perspective understanding of one's "right standing with God." These
are the dimensions of exile and ethnicity, both articulated by two of the more
visible supporters of the New Perspective.""

Persistence of Exile in the Religio-Historical Context

N.T. Wright has proposed that Intertestamental Judaism's self-
perspecfive was one of continuing exile."^ Noting that often in both the biblical
prophets and Intertestamental literature the idea of a forgiveness of sins is
combined with a return from exile — itself combined in Jeremiah with the idea of
"covenant renewal" — he draws the conclusion that "Since covenant renewal
means the reversal of exile, and since exile was the punishment for sin, covenant
renewal/return from exile means that Israel's sins have been forgiven — and vice

•..24

versa.

.20

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

Two implications follow from this statement. The first is that this
sense of continuing exile contributes to an inherently eschatological
expectation: it puts Judaism at the time of Paul anticipating that God will do
something (namely, renew his covenant/end exile/forgive sins).~^ The second is
that this expectation is communal rather than individual. Davies affirms this,
noting that many narratives written within the intertestamental period all "link
the justification of the individual with the justification of the Jewish people.""^
These two implications will prove fruitful when examining the New Perspective
interpretation of Paul.

Marks of Membership in the Religio-Historical Context

Jews were those who kept the covenant. New Perspective thought
emphasizes that if what mattered to the Judaism of the day was staying in the
grace of the covenant given to Israel by God, the corollary of which meant the
following of certain obedient actions (such as circumcision, the observance of
Sabbath, and dietary laws), those actions thus served as markers of belonging
within the boundaries of the covenant."^ Thus, Dunn can state, "A member of
the covenant people was, by definition, one who observed these practices in
particular.""^ Dunn also notes that in Intertestamental literature Jewish heroes
are those who don't break these covenant obligations and points out that Greco-
Roman literature of the time explicitly identified those who observed the law as
being Jewish.'^ This idea becomes increasingly important when examining
Pauline thought, insofar as a basic contention of the New Perspective is that
Paul's condemnation of "works of the law" (particularly as seen in Galatians and
Romans) is not a statement against trying to earn righteousness by works, but
rather a condemnation of misusing the markers of covenant obedience to protect
their sense of "identity and privilege" as covenant members.^°

Conclusion

Within New Perspective thought these three interwoven ideas —
covenantal nomism, persistence of exile, and marks of membership — are seen as
the religio-historical context of Paul. The result is that Pauline interpretation is
done in light of this background, as opposed to the traditional Protestant
perspective noted in our introduction.

The Language of Righteousness

If the re-examination of the above themes within Judaism could be
thought of as one pillar upon which the New Perspective rests, the other would
surely be Paul's language of righteousness and justification. Understanding
Paul's use of such language is foundational for any Christian understanding of
what it means to be 'right with God.'^' It is not, however, as easy a task as might
seem. Dunn has remarked on the difficulty of discussing such language, insofar
as Greek uses the same root word and its cognates to describe what in English
are two separate words: the noun "righteousness" (dikaiosune) and the verb 'to

"To be Right with God:" An Exploration of the New Perspective View on Paul

justify' (dikaioo).^'^ This is important, for it reveals that one cannot speak of
righteousness apart from justification. The importance of this when interpreting
Paul's thought will be apparent.

However, before examining Paul it is first necessary to look at the use
of righteousness language within the religio-historical context surveyed above.
This survey of language use within Paul's context is highly relevant insofar as
understanding Paul's use of such language derives primarily from an
understanding of the language of the time. N.T. Wright notes that this language
has three dimensions — covenantal, judicial, and eschatological — making simple
classification difficult.^^ The eschatological dimension can also be fairly aligned
with a creational dimension, further embellishing the New Perspective
argument.

Covenantal Righteousness Language

J. A. Ziesler, in an exhaustive study on the language of righteousness,
notes that within the Old Testament "most scholars regard righteousness as
fundamentally concerned with relationships. "^"^ However, important for the
understanding of New Perspective interpretations on Paul, Ziesler notes that in
the Old Testament, the "relationship above all others within which behavior
occurs which may be called 'righteous' is the covenant."^"^ He goes on to say
that,

When Israel thought of relationship (our terni) she thought of
covenant (her term). It is true that the covenant was primarily
what Yahweh had done and was doing, that is, it was a matter
of grace, but it was also a reciprocal thing. The act of grace
required a continuing response, and that response was to a
large extent righteousness, the behavior proper to the
covenant. ^^

This statement unpacks into profound areas of meaning, especially as it
relates to covenantal nomism. By affirming an inherently relational nature of
righteousness language — yet qualifying that relationship with covenantal
boundaries — it affinns the gracious nature of Sanders' covenantal nomism.
Though righteousness is a relational term, its boundaries of usage lie within
God's covenant with his people. All actions within this covenant thus
presuppose a gracious relationship with God. Ziesler will go on to note that this
covenantal terni — righteousness — has implications within the realm of inward
and outward disposition, corporate and individual persons, and that
"every thing... which befits the requirements of the covenant in a given situation
is then 'normal' or righteous."^'' Thus, living righteously is living correctly
within the covenant. This proves foundational to the understanding of the New
Perspective, especially concerning its inherent affirmation of Sanders'

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

covenantal nomism. The main point to note, however, is that righteousness only
makes sense as a covenantal term.

Judicial Righteousness Language^^

The judicial dimension of righteousness that Wright claims (above)
follows from this covenantal understanding. Ziesler goes on to note that the way
God is seen in context determines the word's usage with reference to God.^^
Thus, "God's righteousness means mercy in one situation, triumph in another,
judgment in another, the establishment of good government and good justice in
another. ""^^ N. T. Wright is quick to note that God's righteousness, however, is
never the same as an individual's righteousness."*' As noted above, being within
the covenant is the only context for righteousness; thus those "outside the
covenant, and therefore not in relation to Yahweh, cannot be righteous.""*^ In this
situation, those that are judicially declared righteous are the "keepers of the
covenant.""*^ They are in this sense declared to have the status of righteousness.
Righteousness, then, is status judicially given to someone who has frilfilled
covenant obligations, whatever those might contextually be."*^

Eschatological/Creational Righteousness Language

Reviewing the language of righteousness within the Old Testament,
Mark Seifrid concludes that it has to do primarily with "creational thought."^^
He ties this explicitly to the "biblical concept of kingship" which has much to do
an "all-embracing justice by means of God's rule."^^ For Seifrid this is
something that necessarily calls for a clear separation of the language from a
covenantal context. From the New Perspective this separation is unnecessary —
creation and covenant can be seen to complement each other quite well. Ziesler
also sees the existence of this creational component having an eschatological
emphasis over and above a judicial sense.'^'' Drawing upon several verses in
Isaiah, he notes that the "existence of righteousness and justice among men" is
directly related to God's outpouring of his Spirit "in the last days.""*^ This is to
be seen as a "new creation" in humanity that will correspond to a "new creation"
in nature."*^ Insofar as Ziesler notes that this idea of created righteousness is
explicitly a gracious covenantal promise, righteousness then becomes an
attribute that is both creational and eschatological.^^

Conclusion

Thus, a review of the language of righteousness implies that
righteousness is an explicitly covenantal term, the covenant being the only realm
within which such language makes sense. It is also eschatological — yet in a
creational way: in the last days, God will create his righteousness among his
chosen people through his Spirit. Finally, it x?, judicial: one is declared righteous
when one fulfills covenantal obligations in whatever way is appropriate.

"To be Right with God:" An Exploration of the New Perspective View on Paul

Righteousness Language Qualifier: On Pauline Usage

Having reviewed the broad context for and usage of righteousness
language at Paul's time, it is necessary to briefly examine traditional
interpretations of Paul's actual use of that language. This is particularly true of
the phrase the "righteousness of God" (dikaiosune theou).

Wright has succinctly reviewed four possible interpretations of this
phrase.^' It can have either the meaning of a moral quality (a possessive
genitive), a "salvation-creating power" (subjective genitive), a "righteous
standing" from God (genitive of origin), or a righteousness that "counts before
God" (objective genitive).^" Nearly all modem Protestant and Catholic views of
the righteousness of God are now associated with the genitive of origin, in
which God's righteousness is judicially declared concerning a person
(imputed/Protestant) or given to a person to "grow into" (imparted/Catholic)
because of one's faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior.^^

Concerning the genitive of origin, Wright declares it is "simply" a
categorical mistake, in that righteousness is not "a substance or a gas" that can
be transferred from one person to another. '"* As Ziesler noted — and as Wright
agrees — it is rather a judicial metaphor, denoting the covenant faithfulness of the
one to which it is applied.^^ In contrast, Wright emphasizes a combination of
aspects of the subjective and possessive genitive.''^ Thus he ends up defining
righteousness in a way that is highly similar to that seen in the survey of Ziesler,
finding it both "a quality in God and... an active power which goes out, in
expression of that '[covenant] faithfulness, to do what the covenant always
promised. "^^

Synthesis of Religio-Historical Situation and Righteousness Language

Bringing together the three dimensions of righteousness language as
informed by Wright's conclusions with the three dimensions of the religio-
historical context of Paul, we can draw a New Perspective backdrop for Paul.
Paul is writing from a context of covenantal nomism, in which Jews are acting
out "works of the law" as both obligations required by, and badges of, their
covenant membership. They do these works aware of unfulfilled promises —
namely that they are not yet experiencing forgiveness of sins/covenant
renewal/end of exile — yet they look forward to the pouring out of God's Spirit
so that this multi-dimensional expectation can be lived out. The language of
righteousness in this context refers to covenant faithfulness.

Concerning God and the phrase "the righteousness of God"
(dikaiosune theou), the reference is to God's personal commitment to fulfill
what has been promised to those who are faithfial to the covenant. For humans, it
is the judicial acknowledgement by God of one's proper covenantal behavior. It
does not mean receiving God's own personal righteousness.

These conclusions intermingle and inform one another; they also
provide the New Perspective backdrop against which Pauline theology is done.

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

In addition, they focus the question with which this paper began: In hght of
these intermingling realities, what does it mean to be "right with God?" This
answer lies in Paul, and thus to him we must now turn.

Paul and the New Perspective

Having prepared the New Perspective backdrop against which Paul is
interpreted, it is necessary to survey a selection of themes from Paul's thought.
These include Jesus, the Law, the Spirit, Resurrection, and others. By doing
this, one will be able to answer the question that served as the impetus of this
paper: What does it mean to be "right with God" according to the New
Perspective?^^

On Jesus: Preliminaries

L.W. Hurtado feels that Paul's statement in Rom 8:29 ("For those
whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son,
in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family") is a sign of what
he calls the "primacy of divine sonship.""''^ He notes how the role of "firstborn"
holds a special rank in ancient Judaism.^" Further, the phrase itself is often
shorthand for either the nation of Israel (specifically as it relates to its divine
covenant status) or the Davidic king.^' Wright affirms this, noting, "in ancient
Israel... the king and the people are bound together in such a way that what is
true of the one is true in principle of the other. "^" Thus, the covenant people
(Israel) have been redrawn around the divine "firstborn" (Jesus). This
foundational Pauline understanding is even more explicit in Rom 1:3-4, where
Paul states his gospel as concerning Jesus the "Son of God... who was descended
from David. "^^ This very brief sketch of Jesus as the one around whom the
covenant was redrawn will prove fruitftil for the following discussion.^"^

Life of the Spirit as fulfillment of the Law

In Rom 7:6 Paul states, "But now we are discharged from the law, dead
to that which held us captive, so that we are slaves not under the old written
code but in the new life of the Spirit." Thielman has argued that this "life of the
Spirif can be seen as a new "law" (or covenant) that those who believe in Christ
are to foUow.^^ This idea is strengthened by Wright, who examines Paul's
statement in Rom 8:2, "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set
you free from the law of sin and of death." He believes that in both cases the
"law" referred to is the Mosaic Law.^^ In the latter case ("the law of sin and
death"), sin prohibits the law from delivering the life it was supposed to offer,
whereas in the former case ("the law of the Spirit of life") this same law is
reinterpreted in light of Christ and shown as the "final intention" and fulfillment
of the Mosaic Law. ^'' This insight dovetails into a proposal made by
Longenecker, in which he notes that "works of the law" might be thought of as
"the means whereby behavior is governed and managed" (not only marks of
covenantal membership).^^ Both the management of this behavior and the

"To be Right with God:" An Exploration of the New Perspective View on Paul

fulfillment of the Mosaic Law meet in one place, love. Paul thus writes in Rom
13:8-10,

Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one
who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments,
"You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; you
shall not steal; You shall not covet"; and any other
commandment, are summed up in this word, "Love you
neighbor as yourself." Love does no wrong to a neighbor;
therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.

Together these statements inform Pauline phrases such as Gal 5:25, "If
we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit." The conclusion to be
drawn is that those who "live by the Spirif live by the law that is Christ's law,
characterized above as love in action — the fulfillment of the Law of Moses. ^^

This Spirit is also mentioned in Rom 8:10-11, where Paul writes, "If
Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because
of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in
you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also
through his Spirit that dwells in you."''° What is important to note here is that
Paul explicitly links the indwelling of the Spirit to being "in Christ" and notes
the expectation of resurrection that those who are "in Christ" should have.

Why can it be said of Jesus that by being "in him" one receives the
Spirit? In addition, what is the significance of his resurrection? To answer
these questions a closer examination of Jesus' resurrection becomes necessary.

Resurrection and Being in Christ.

Wright goes to great lengths to show that the idea of resurrection at the
time of Paul was a sign of eschatological vindication. ^' This vindication would
take the form of justification, as those who were resurrected from the dead
would be declared to have been righteous in life — or, marked out judicially as
faithful to the covenant.''"' In this sense resurrection functioned as a denotation
of those who were considered righteous. God thus confinned through Jesus'
resurrection his identity as the righteous one, the Messiah. ^^ Yet, this
eschatological expectation has not occurred at the end of time as expected, but
rather in the middle of history.^"* Jesus has been "justified" in this judicial sense.
In Rom 8:10-1 1, above, this judicial justification is appropriated by those who
are "in Chrisf in such a way that they can look forward with certainty to their
own resurrection and future justification.^^ Thus Paul in Gal 5:5 can encourage
these believers to "await the hope of righteousness" that is theirs because of the
Spirit they have. This hope is something inherently gracious (Gal 4:4), as all
things belonging to the covenant have always been.^'' It is also precisely the

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

hope for a positive future judgment of covenant faithfulness in their favor
because of their being in Christ.

Concerning righteousness language, we recall that the partner of
eschatology is creation. We have already seen the way in which the outpouring
of God's Spirit at the end of time will result in a "new creation." Thielman links
this period particularly with Paul's statement in Rom 5:5b: "God's love has been
poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us."^^
Elsewhere, Paul can write that this "new creation is everything" (Gal 6:15).
Further, Wright notes the way in which Paul uses this term "new creation" as a
demarcation of those who are followers of Jesus. ^^ If we recall that the essential
nature of Jesus as Messiah is Israel's representative individual, and that "what is
true of him is true of them,"''^ then those who are "in Christ" — thereby having
his Spirit — are seen to be members of the true covenant people (Israel) in whom
new hearts have been created, from which they can be obedient to the demands
of the covenant. That is, they can live obediently in the life of the Spirit and
fiilfill the demands of the covenant through love (above).

Though the survey of Pauline themes is very nearly complete enough to
answer the question with which this paper began, it is not quite complete. This
paper assumes the presence of sin as a Pauline reality. Thus, any New
Perspective conclusion that is to be drawn concerning what it means to be "right
with God" must necessarily engage this reality. What follows is the review of
that engagement. This review will allow us to bring together the full breadth of
themes presented, thus answering the question of what it means to be "right with
God."

From Sin to the Summing Up of All Things

As our discussion of the New Perspective started with Seyoon Kim's
criticism, the beginning of the end will start with another's. Stuhlmacher has
states that a major shortfall of the New Perspective is its lack of any real
atonement, by which he means dealing with sin.^" From what we have seen,
Israel expected an end to exile. This would be marked by a covenant renewal
that would graciously remake hearts and forgive sins. In Jesus, God effected
this covenant renewal, breaking the eschatological hope into the middle of
history. Some implications of that have been seen above; however, to address
Stuhlmacher' s concerns, a more complete understanding of "forgiveness of sins"
is necessary. To review this, one must turn to a particularly important Pauline
passage, Rom 3:21-26. Here Paul writes,

But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been
disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, the
righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who
believe. For there is no distinction since all have sirmed and
fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his
grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

"To be Right with God:" An Exploration of the New Perspective View on Paul

whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his
blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his
righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed
over the sins previously committed; it was to prove at the
present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies
the one who has faith in Jesus.

What might a New Perspective interpretation of this verse be? Before
this can be answered we must briefly review the nature of "faith." Longenecker
notes that there are often good linguistical reasons for reading the phrase "faith
in Chrisf in Paul's epistles as "the faith/faithfulness of Christ."^' DeSilva, in
examining patron-client relationships at the time of Paul, notes that faith in this
context "denotes the patron's reliability, the client's acknowledgement of that
reliability and the client's loyalty or fidelity toward the patron as part of the
client's response of gratitude."^" The patron (Jesus) thus secures "benefits" for
his client (the one who believes).^^ Together these insights call for a dynamic
reading of the idea of faith as being something a believer has (i.e., "faith in")
concerning what Jesus has already done (or, "the faithfijlness of Chrisf ).^'^
Recalling the nature of righteousness language, this Pauline selection might then
be understood as saying.

But now, apart from law, God's covenant faithfiilness has
been disclosed, and is attested to by the law and the prophets,
God's covenant faithfulness through the faithfiilness of Jesus
the Messiah for all who believe. For there is no distinction
since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they
are declared covenantally faithful by his grace as a gift,
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put
forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective
through faith. He did this to show his faithfulness to his
covenant, because in his divine forbearance he had passed
over the sins previously committed; it was to prove at the
present time that he himself is covenantally faithful and that
he declares covenantally faithful the one who has the
faithfulness of Jesus.

To engage appropriately with this newly-minted translation, we must
draw together the themes of Paul that have already been explored; in so doing,
we will implicitly answer the question posed at the beginning of this review,
"What does it mean to be 'right with God' from the New Perspective?" This in
mind, we turn back to Rom 3:21-26.

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

What It Means To Be Right With God; A Synthesis of Rom 3:21-26

We has seen above that sin subverted the law, keeping it from giving
the hfe it was meant to give. Believing in Jesus in this verse means believing
that Jesus' faithfulness to the covenant secured justification — a judicial
declaration of covenant faithfulness — for those who are "in him." This
believing also allows one to claim "redemption" from the sins that are inherent
in everyone. This redemption is accessible to "all," thereby fulfilling God's
intentions to bless "all nations" as seen in Gal 3:6-9.^'' Atonement — redemption
from sins — is thus gained by faith in Jesus' faithfulness. This faith in Jesus
functions as a marker of covenant membership, against which all other markers
(such as works of the law) are found unreasonable and ineffectual.^'' Prior to
examining Paul, we saw that the main markers of covenant membership were
the obedient actions done in obligation to the covenant. Now, however, the
main marker of covenant membership has become faith — a faith in Christ's
opening up of the covenant to all those who are "in him."^^ Paul can thus
remind his readers that "The one who is righteous will live by faith."^^ This is
true "justification by faith" — covenant membership through faith in Christ's
faithfulness, something Wright can term "justification by belief."^^

This, then, is what it means to be "right with God." It is to live within
this graciously given covenant, offered un-eamed to any who would accept it.^"
It is to believe in Jesus, and be found in him. Those who would do this live as
new creations, with their sins taken away and themselves emboldened by the
Spirit to obediently fulfill the call for love that lies at the heart of the Law of
Moses. In the meantime, they look toward their future resurrection as the final
declaration of their status as covenant members. They stand justified before
God.

Implications

The implications of the New Perspective way of thinking are broad; I
have not been able to explore every nuance of the argument nor fully elucidate
even those that have been reviewed.^' Yet one simple — and quite personal —
realm of implication can be briefly examined: the ethical. Evangelical faith,
which centers so solely on the work of Jesus, often requires little ethical
behavior from those who claim it as their own.*^' The New Perspective view that
we have seen emphasizes not only one's entrance into the community of the
faithful, but the implication that membership in this community must naturally
affect and inform one's whole life. This life, characterized as it is by the law of
the Spirit — the law of love — clarifies how to read Paul's statements on the body
of Christ and its corollary, love (the "more excellent way" in I Cor 13:1-13). It
is the sublime character of the covenant community. To be a Christian (and thus
a member of the covenant in Christ) is to be one who lives and loves by the
Spirit. Insofar as the goal of this covenant is to welcome ever more people into
it, love also denotes all outward facing behavior with humanity and the world.
Of course faith is needed, of course grace is a reality, of course Christ is the

"To be Right with God:" An Exploration of the New Perspective View on Paul

center of all of this — ^but the implication of a community of ethical love is highly
attractive, an idea which if understood as foundational would necessarily
renovate the mission and substance of evangelical faith.

Notes

' N.T. Wright, What Saint Paul Really Said (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997),
18-19.

" Alister E. McGrath, lustitia Dei: A History of the Christian Doctrine of
Justification, 2"'' ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), 379.

^ See Wright, 1 1-14 for a brief review of this trend.

'^ James D. G. Dunn, The Theology of Paul the Apostle (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1998), 338. Here Duim succinctly summarizes Sanders' view. We will
briefly re-visit Sanders' work Paul and Palestinian Judaism below.

^ Ibid., 338-339.

^ McGrath, 379.

^ James D. G. Dunn, Jesus, Paul, and the Law: Studies in Mark and Galatians
(Louisville: Westminster/John Knox , 1990), 3, 183.

^ But see Seyoon Kim, Paul and the New Perspective: Second Thoughts on the
Origin of Paul's Gospel (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002), 295, where Kim argues
against mainly Dunn, but also the New Perspective School.

^ See Wright, 114, "Most of us in the guild of New Testament studies have, I
think, taken the path... of searching the texts carefully to see if, and if so to what extent,
these things may be so." A helpful overview of many of these theologians is in Colin G.
Kruse, Paul, the Law, and Justification (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1996), 24-53.

'" Kim, 294. Kim attempts to interpret Paul without relying on dogma at all,
either that of "the New Perspective or of the Old Perspective," so that Paul can be taken
as a reliable witness to Judaism of the period. In so doing, he concludes that the New
Perspective is incorrect in their findings. 1 somewhat doubt the feasibility of this method.

" Brendyn Byrne, "Interpreting Romans: The New Perspective and Beyond,"
Interpretation 58 no. 3 (July 2004): 241-252. Available [Online]: HW Wilson.
http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/. [March 4, 2005].

'" Dunn, The Theology of Paul the Apostle, 338. See E. P. Sanders, Paul and
Palestinian Judaism: A Comparison of Patterns of Religion (Philadelphia: Fortress,
1977), 543, for a slightly more nuanced conclusion.

'^ Sanders, 420.

'^ Dunn, The Theology of Paul the Apostle, 338-339.

'^ Dunn, Jesus, Paul, and the Law, 187. Sanders has often been critiqued on
how he has used this idea of "covenantal nomism" in relation to Paul.

'^Wright, 18-19.

^^ See above n.9.

Peter Stuhlmacher, Revisiting Paul's Doctrine of Justification: A Challenge
to the New Perspective (Downer's Grove: Intervarsity, 2001), 16-11 . See here for a short
list of such theologians.

' D. A. Carson, "Summaries and Conclusions," m. Justification and Variegated
Nomism: The Complexities of Second Temple Judaism, eds. D. A. Carson, et. al. (Grand
Rapids: Baker Academic, 2001), 1:554. This is the first in a projected two-volume work
attempting to provide further examination of "covenantal nomism" (from preface).
Obviously, the title of the volume is not accidental. He argues that the time period is

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

much more complex than covenantal nomism allows for. This might be the case;
however, this does not negate conclusions made by the New Perspective, so much as call
for further exploration — a thing that most New Perspective scholars are doing.

" Heikki Raisanen, Jesus, Paul and Torah: Collected Essays, Journal for the
Study of the New Testament Supplement Series no. 43 trans. David E. Orton (Sheffield:
Sheffield Academic Press, 1992), 266. Winsomely, he follows this with "except perhaps
in Germany."

^' James D. G. Dunn, "In Search of Common Ground," in Paul and the Mosaic
Law: The Third Durham-TUbingen Research Symposium on Earliest Christianity and
Judaism (Durham, September, 1994), ed. James D. G. Dunn (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
2001), 327-328. The two points that follow are from these pages.

"" Mark A. Seifrid, Christ, Our Righteousness: Paul 's Theology of Justification,
New Studies in Biblical Theology no. 9, ed. D. A. Carson (Downers Grove: Apollos,
2003), 17-25. In this section Seifrid explicitly fmds both these self-understandings of
second temple Judaism incorrect.

^^ See Frank Thielman, "The Story of Israel and the Theology of Romans 5-8,"
in Pauline Theology: Romans, eds. David M. Hay and E. Elizabeth Johnson
(MirmeapoHs: Fortress, 1995), 3:172-176 for a similar stance on this issue.

''^ N. T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1996),
269. See 268-275 for the survey of verses and arguments that bring Wright to this
conclusion.

"" See also Thielman, 174.

" Philip R. Davies, "Didactic Stories," in Justification and Variegated
Nomism: The Complexities of Second Temple Judaism, eds. D. A. Carson, et. al. (Grand
Rapids: Baker Academic, 2001), 1:131.

^^ Dunn, The Theology of Paul the Apostle, 356.

^* Dunn, Jesus, Paul, and the Law, 192, within context of 191-194.

"^ Ibid., For the former, see 191; the latter, 193. For a (relatively) more
complete treatment, see also Dunn, The Theology of Paul the Apostle, 354-359.

^^ Byrne, 2004.

' See Mark A. Seifrid, "Righteousness Language in the Hebrew Scriptures and
Early Judaism," in Justification and Variegated Nomism: The Complexities of Second
Temple Judaism, eds. D. A. Carson, et. al. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2001),
1:415, where he makes this point before proceeding to conclusions that for him show
general shortcomings of a New Perspective view of righteousness. The New Perspective
scholarship reviewed here does claim to be Christian scholarship.

^^ Dunn, The Theology of Paul the Apostle, 341. Though purposeftilly written
to argue against the new perspective, volumes such as Justification and Variegated
Nomism reveal the difficulties in mapping out the Intertestamental period, including its
language use. These difficulties, however, have never limited theologians from drawing
myriad (and often distinctly incongruent) conclusions directly based upon linguistics.
Dunn, of course, is not the only one who has examined the ambiguities of the language of
righteousness (e.g., both Ziesler and Wright, who follow).

" Wright, What Saint Paul Really Said 99, 117-118. As with any
compartmentalization, what follows is artificial, and thus overlap of 'dimensions' is
inevitable. This is not, however, explicitly negative; in fact, one aspect of the whole
study is to show that righteousness/justification language is multi-dimensional.

"To be Right with God:" An Exploration of the New Perspective View on Paul

J. A. Ziesler, The Meaning of Righteousness in Paul: A Linguistic and
Theological Inquiiy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1972), 38. This is a
fascinating and apt-titled treatment of the topic.

'' Ibid.

^^ Ibid., 38-39.

" Ibid., 39-40.

^^ Ibid. Ziesler gives an incredibly thorough treatment of this topic. See
especially 70-104. Much more could be said here; suffice it to say the book is
fascinating, and language use within the time period complex.

^■^ Ibid., 41.

4«Ibid.

^' Wright, What Saint Paul Really Said, 99.

^' Ziesler, 42.

^Mbid., 43.

'^ Ibid.

'^^ Seifrid, Justification and Variegated Nomism, 440. I feel as though the quite
interesting arguments presented here could be as easily put to service for a covenantal
understanding as they have been for the creational conclusions Seifrid has drawn. This
is, of course, purely opinion.

'^^ Ibid., 425. ' -

^^ Ziesler, 44.

^^Ibid.

'' Ibid.

^° Ibid., 44,45.

^' Others have done this as well, e.g. Dunn, The Theology of Paul the Apostle,

340-346.

"Wright, What Saint Paul Really Said, 100-101.

^^ Alister E. McGrath, Christian Theology: An Introduction, 3'^ ed. (Maiden:
Blackwell Publishing, 2001), 457-460. These lines do blur. Attempting to follow the
nuances of traditional doctrinal interpretations of righteousness/justification is not easy!

■ Wright, What Saint Paul Really Said, 98. He does not seem to argue against
the genitive of origin per se, but rather sees the options he favors as more complete and
more fully in line with the context of righteousness language at the time of Paul. For a
more comprehensive review of the possible understandings of this phrase see N.T.
Wright, "On Becoming the Righteousness of God: 2 Corinthians 5:21," in Pauline
Theology: I& 2 Corinthians, ed. David M. Hay (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1993), 2:200-
208.

^-^ Wright, What Saint Paul Really Said, 99.

^^Ibid., 103.

Ibid., 103. These promises include "saving his people, dealing with evil, and
doing so impartially."

^^ It is worth noting that the limited scope of this review allows for only the
briefest delve into what is a very large cavern of Pauline thought and New Perspective
interpretation. Regardless of this caveat, enough can be learned from the dive to find a
relatively well-rounded answer as to what it means to be "right with God."

^^ L. W. Hurtado, "Jesus' Divine Sonship in Paul's Epistle to the Romans," in
Romans and the People of God: Essays in Honor of Gordon D. Fee on the Occasion of

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

His 65''' Birthday, eds. Sven K. Soderlund and N. T. Wright (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
1999), 230. The work from which this is taken is very interesting, incorporating
theologians from a wide spectrum of methodologies and theological emphases.

^"ibid., 231.

^' Ibid.

N. T. Wright, The Climax of the Covenant: Christ and the Law in Pauline
Theology {MmncdiTpoMs: Fortress, 1991), 46.

^^ These phrases are actually inverted in the Bible. All verse quotations unless
otherwise noted are taken from The Harper Collins Study Bible: New Revised Standard
Version, ed. Wayne A. Meeks, et. al. (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1993).

^^ The limitations of this survey don't allow a full Trinitarian/Christological
treatment. The basic Christian Trinitarian doctrine is thus assumed for the sake of this
argument. A brief note may, however, be helpful: In I Cor 8:6 Paul writes, "Yet for us
there is one God, the Father from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one
Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist." N.T.
Wright, noting the similarity of this section to the Jewish "basic confession of faith" (the
Shema) in Deuteronomy 6:4, which states "The Lord our God, the Lord is one" (alternate
reading in NRSV), has argued that by placing Jesus in the middle of this Jewish
confession of Monotheism, he reinterprets the one true God as being both Father and
Lord — Jesus and Yahweh {What Saint Paul Really Said, 65-67; see chapter 4 for larger
treatment).

^^Thielman, 190-191.

Wright, The Climax of the Covenant: Christ and the Law in Pauline
Theology, 209. This is a conclusion drawn from within a narrative analysis of Romans
8:1-11.

'^^ Ibid., 209-210.

^^ Bruce W. Longenecker, "Defining the Faithful Character of the Covenant
Community: Galatians 2.15-21 and Beyond: A Response to Jan Lambrecht," in Paul and
the Mosaic Law: The Third Diirham-Tiibingen Research Symposium on Earliest
Christianity and Judaism (Durham, September, 1994), ed. James D. G. Dunn (Grand
Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, 2001), 88. He here does not seem to be
excluding the more popular New Perspective view (that is, works as covenantal badges),
but rather slightly emphasizing this aspect.

^^ Wright, What Saint Paul Really Said, 1 60.

™ The "if would seem to read rhetorically in this case, i.e., as "because."

'' Wright, The Climax of the Covenant: Christ and the Law in Pauline
Theology, 203, as well as N. T. Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of God
(Mirmeapolis: Fortress, 2003), 153-175. This book is an astonishingly readable
treatment of nearly every facet of resurrection imaginable.

^" Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of God, 155-157.

^^ See above, n.64, for a slightly larger picture of Jesus than has been seen in
the main text.

Wright, What Saint Paul Really Said, 140-142.
I Cor 15:24

^^ Recall Ziesler and Sanders statements on this above.

"To be Right with God:" An Exploration of the New Perspective View on Paul

'''' Thielman, 178. He also notes various Old Testament passages (Ezek 11:19,
18:31, 36:26) that show God promising Israel a new spirit that will "re-create" its heart to
make it "new" at the nation's restoration from exile.

^^ Wright, The Climax of the Covenant: Christ and the Law in Pauline
Theology, 48. See also 2 Cor 5: 17.
' '' Ibid.

^'^ Stuhlmacher, 44.

^' Longenecker, 84,85. -^

^~ David A. DeSilva, An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts,
Methods, and Ministry Formation (Downers Grove: Intervarsity, 2004), 612-613, 506-
507.

" Ibid, 507.

^^Ibid.

'^^ Robin Scroggs, "Salvation History: The theological Structure of Paul's
Thought (1 Thessalonians, Philippians, and Galatians)," in Pauline Theology:
Thessalonians, Philippians, Galatians, Philemon, ed. Jouette M. Bassler (Minneapolis:
Fortress, 1991), 1:232. Here Scroggs maps out a very interesting salvation history from a
narrative framework.

^^ This would seem to be the main thrust of much of Galatians.

^'^ "bright. What Saint Paul Really Said, 132.

^^Rom 1:17.

^^ N. T. Wright, "Putting Paul Together Again: Toward a Synthesis of Pauline
Theology (1 and 2 Thessalonians, Philippians, and Philemon)," in Pauline Theology:
Thessalonians, Philippians, Galatians, Philemon, ed. Jouette M. Bassler (Minneapolis:
Fortress, 1991), 1:185. It is not a declaration that one "earns their righteousness by
works" any more than is the traditional idea of "justification by faith." It is, however, a
clarification of terms. See Wright, What Saint Paul Really Said, 132-133.

The notion of this covenant membership availing all who believe in Christ is
implicit in the notion of the gospel, something that we have unfortunately been unable to
really explore. However, see Wright, What Saint Paul Really Said, 151-165. The
question of how this sense of universal availability relates to Paul's conversion
experience is undeniably important, yet it would stray too far from the topic at hand. It
is, however, a major focus of Kim's work — it having been written to counter much of
Dunn's theologizing on the topic. (For example, see Dunn, The Theology of Paid the
Apostle, 181, "It was the encounter with Christ on the Damascus road which
revolutionized Paul's whole faith and life. Christ became the key to understanding God's
purpose for humankind, and indeed God himself. ..Encountering this Christ turned his
whole system of values upside down.")

' Of course, many things could not be covered in this survey, such as a review
of Paul's Adam-Christology, or his self-perception as a missionary to the gentiles. It
would also be interesting to examine the New Perspective implication concerning the role
of baptism.

" This may be due to the individualistic slant "right standing with God" takes
in most evangelical circles, as well as the inherited theological caution concerning any
attitude that might dangerously lend itself to heavily-feared practical legalism.

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

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The Complexities of Second Temple Judaism, eds. D. A. Carson, et. al., 505-
548. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2001.

Davies, Philip R. "Didactic Stories." In Justification and Variegated Nomism: The
Complexities of Second Temple Judaism, eds. D. A. Carson, et. al., 99-131.
Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2001.

DeSilva, David A. An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods, and
Ministry Formation. Downers Grove: Intervarsity, 2004.

Dunn, James D. G. "In Search of Common Ground." In Paul and the Mosaic Law: The
Third Durham-TUbingen Research Symposium on Earliest Christianity and
Judaism (Durham, September, 1994), ed. James D. G. Dunn., 308-334. Grand
Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, 2001.

. Jesus, Paul, and the Law: Studies in Mark and Galatians. Louisville:

Westminster/John Knox , 1 990.
. The Theology of Paul the Apostle. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans

Publishing Co., 1998.

Hurtado, L. W. "Jesus' Divine Sonship in Paul's Epistle to the Romans." In Romans and
the People of God: Essays in Honor of Gordon D. Fee on the Occasion of His
65"" Birthday, eds. Sven K. Soderlund and N. T. Wright, 217-233. Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999.

Kim, Seyoon. Paul and the New Perspective: Second Thoughts on the Origin of Paid' s
Gospel. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002.

Kruse, Colin G. Paul, the Law, and Justification. Peabody: Hendrickson, 1996.

Longenecker, Bruce W. "Defining the Faithful Character of the Covenant Community:
Galatians 2.15-21 and Beyond: A Response to Jan Lambrecht." In Paid and the
Mosaic Law: The Third Durham-Tiibingen Research Symposium on Earliest
Christianity and Judaism (Durham, September, 1994), ed. James D. G. Dunn,
75-97. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, 2001.

McGrath, Alister E. Christian Theology: An Introduction, 3''^ ed. Maiden: Blackwell
Publishing, 2001.

"To be Right with God;" An Exploration of the New Perspective View on Paul

. Institia Dei: A History of the Christian Doctrine of Justification, 2""^ ed.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.

Meeks, Wayne A., ed. et. al. The Harper Collins Study Bible: New Revised Standard
Version. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1993.

Raisanen, Heikki. Jesus, Paul and Torah: Collected Essays, Journal for the Study of the
New Testament Supplement Series no. 43, trans. David E. Orton. Sheffield:
Sheffield Academic Press, 1992.

Scroggs, Robin. "Salvation History: The theological Structure of Paul's Thought (1
Thessalonians, Philippians, and Galatians)." In Pauline Theology:
Thessalonians, Philippians, Galatians, Philemon, vol. 1, ed. Jouette M. Bassler,
212-225. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1991.

Sanders, E. P. Paul and Palestinian Judaism: A Comparison of Patters of Religion.
Philadelphia: Fortress, 1977.

Seifrid, Mark A. Christ. Our Righteousness: Paul 's Theology of Justification. New
Studies in Biblical Theology no. 9, ed. D. A. Carson. Downers Grove: Apollos,
2003.

. "Righteousness Language in the Hebrew Scriptures and Early Judaism." In

Justification and Variegated Nomism: The Complexities of Second Temple
Judaism, eds. D. A. Carson, et. al., 415-442. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic,
2001.

Stuhlmacher, Peter. Revisiting Paul's Doctrine of Justification: A Challenge to the New
Perspective. Downer's Grove: Intervarsity, 2001.

Thielman, Frank. "The Story of Israel and the Theology of Romans 5-8." In Pauline
Theology: Romans, vol. 3, eds. David M. Hay and E. Elizabeth Johnson., 169-
195. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1995.

Wright, N. T. Jesus and the Victoiy of God. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1996.

. "On Becoming the Righteousness of God: 2 Corinthians 5:21." In Pauline

Theology: 1& 2 Corinthians, vol. 2, ed. David M. Hay., 200-208. Minneapolis:
Fortress, 1993.

. "Putting Paul Together Again: Toward a Synthesis of Pauline Theology (1

and 2 Thessalonians, Philippians, and Philemon)." In Pauline Theology:
Thessalonians, Philippians, Galatians, Philemon, vol. 1, ed. Jouette M. Bassler,
183-211. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1991.

. The Climax of the Covenant: Christ and the Law in Pauline Theology.

Minneapolis: Fortress, 1991.

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

. The Resurrection of the Son of God. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2003.

. What Saint Paul Really Said. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997. Ziesler, J. A.

The Meaning of Righteousness in Paul: A linguistic and Theological Inquiry.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1972.

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Ashland Theological Journal 2005

The Question of Evil: Theodicy, Moltmann, and Pannenberg

By Jon Kane*

Introduction

In his memoir Night, Elie Wiesel describes an execution by hanging.
The child, too light to tighten the noose around his neck, struggles long before
succumbing. Wiesel's fellow prisoners, forced to watch, weep. "Where is God
now?" one of them asks. Wiesel' s bitter response: "Where is He? Here He is
— He is hanging on the gallows."' The evil of the twentieth century tells other
tales likes this one from a Nazi concentration camp: the destruction of
Hiroshima, the purges of Stalin and Pol Pot, the cruelty of My Lai and 9/11.
Even at a remove of years, events such as these give us pause, yet they cast only
a faint shadow in comparison to the sum total of creation's suffering past and
present. Christians cannot ignore the reality of that suffering. We must respond
to Wiesel's fellow prisoner and answer the question "Where is God?" in a way
that prevents Wiesel's own words from echoing in our hearts and the heart of the
world.

This essay will provide such response, however brief. Theodicy is an
extensive vein in theology, not one that can be adequately explored in so short a
space. So I will take a narrow focus. First, I will set the stage using two authors
whose work stands as paradigmatic in theodicy. Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Ivan
Karamazov provides the signature argument for protest atheism in the face of all
religions. Albert Camus specifically addresses the Christian response to
suffering in his essay The Rebel and finds it wanting. After the stage is set, I
will turn to two twentieth century theologians — Jurgen Moltmann and
Wolfhart Pannenberg. I will explore how each responds to the question of
suffering and evaluate their responses in light of Karamazov and Camus.
Finally, I will conclude with a brief retrospective on how their work influences
theology and furthers the life of the church.

Setting the Stage

Traditionally conceived, theodicy is the attempt to reconcile three
statements: God is omnipotent, God is omnibenevolent, and evil is real.^ Many
philosophers and theologians continue to work along these lines, attempting to
show that these statements can be held without contradiction.^ A less traditional
approach to theodicy, however, simply takes suffering as a given and seeks to
understand God within this obvious reality. As Stanley Hauerwas explains it, it
is a question of "what kind of God it is Christians worship that makes
intelligible our cry of rage against the suffering and death."^ Both Moltmann
and Pannenberg dwell near the border between these two approaches.

The nontraditional approach to theodicy has developed in large
measure as a response to the arguments Dostoyevsky places so eloquently in the

Jon Kane (B.A., Franklin & Marshall College) is an MAR student at ATS.

The Question of Evil: Theodicy, Moltmarm, and Pannenberg

mouth of Ivan Karamazov. Ivan admits that some suffering might be
redemptive or justifiable as punishment, but not all suffering and certainly not
the excess of suffering seen in the world. Describing the brutal murder of a
young serf, he states that such suffering by a child is surely incomprehensible.
Yet even if he could understand it, Ivan proclaims, or knew that it would some
day make sense, he would not accept it. He refuses to accept a god who justifies
suffering in any way. He finds such a god unacceptable on moral grounds and
rebels by declaring himself an atheist.''

Ivan defines the position of protest atheism: "In the face of misery,
protest atheism says no to any god who would continue to allow such
conditions."^ According to Richard Bauckham, while Ivan's argument is
specifically against an eschatological theodicy (a theodicy which seeks to justify
suffering on the basis of some future good), it is also valid against the freewill
and pedagogical theodicies. Such theodicies explain some of the suffering in the
world, but they cannot explain it all. If correct, Ivan's argument makes the
traditional approach to theodicy impossible, Bauckham writes, because the
traditional approach to theodicy "can only justify God by justifying the
suffering, we can only accept it [the traditional theodicy] by suppressing our
moral outrage at the injustice of the suffering. Therefore we ought not to accept
it."^

Albert Camus builds on the position that suffering should not be
accepted, developing several arguments aimed directly at Christianity and its
interpretation of the Cross. As an atheist, Camus sees Christ's crucifixion as
itself a rebellion against God. The human Jesus protested to the end against the
suffering he was forced to endure, but in the end he suffered like any other
human victim.** However, Camus reasoned, if Christ truly was God as
Christianity claims, the Cross would be even more pernicious. The example of a
passive Christ on the cross seems to encourage the acceptance of suffering. If
God suffered without protest, humans would likewise have no grounds to protest
suffering. By Camus' interpretation, the Cross justifies suffering.^ As
Bauckham summarizes it, "If the cross is invested with deity, it becomes the
most effective, but also the most objectionable theodicy, justifying suffering and
silencing protest."'" According to Camus, neither interpretation of the cross —
Jesus as human or Jesus as divine — provides a satisfactory theodicy.

To provide a theodicy that is satisfactory, contemporary Christian
theologians must respond to the positions of Ivan and Camus. The task before
us is twofold. First, involuntary and unredemptive suffering must not be
justified for any reason, whether for the purposes of God or the improvement of
humanity. Such explanations cannot be completely comprehensible, and they
stifle attempts to alleviate suffering. Second, an explanation of suffering must
provide a way of overcoming suffering. Only that type of explanation can avoid
the trap of justifying suffering; it can also provide motivation to work for the
alleviation of suffering."

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

Moltmann and Pannenberg

As theologians, Moltmann and Pannenberg often follow similar lines of
thought. Both place great emphasis on eschatology and were influential in the
development of the theology of hope. Both develop their theology from a
trinitarian understanding of God. Both insist on the historical nature of
revelation. But their work on theodicy reflects more differences than
similarities. Pannenberg, by and large, remains more concerned with theory.
Nor does he appear to stray beyond the borders of traditional theodicy.
Moltmann, on the other hand, insists on embedding his work in practical
realities. He also shows great willingness to ask what the Trinity's experience
of suffering tells us about God. Their discussions provide an interesting window
into the question of evil, as in many ways the two theologians parallel each other
while reaching different conclusions.

One significant similarity should be noted here, as it relates directly to
the question of suffering. Both Moltmann and Pannenberg hold to a belief in
human freedom. Freedom, as Pannenberg interprets it, is not a formal freedom
of choice but a freedom to fulfill human destiny.'' "The ability to decide among
possibilities of conduct is a high form of creaturely independence," he notes, but
"it is in fact only a totally inadequate if necessary condition of true freedom, the
freedom of the children of God."'^ Instead, true freedom finds its basis in the
Trinity. Pannenberg writes: "[T]he aim of giving creatures independent
existence was that they should be able to share in the relation of the Son to the
Father and hence in the Trinity's eternal fellowship of love."''* Moltmann too
develops his concept of human freedom out of an understanding of the Trinity,
but in his case the whole experience of human freedom is tied to the human
experience of the Trinity, rather than the Trinity merely serving as the
foundation for freedom.'^ He writes: "The theological concept of freedom is the
concept of the trinitarian history of God."'^ Either way, both Moltmann and
Pannenberg accept the reality of human freedom, and while this in no way
composes the sum total of their theodicies, it does shape them significantly.

The Reality of Suffering

Moltmann and Pannenberg agree on the importance of theodicy in
Christian theology, but they reach this conclusion by different routes.
Pannenberg conceives the importance of theodicy in the context of a believer's
faith. Citing Isaiah 45:9 ("Does the clay say to the one who fashions it, 'What
are you making?'"),'^ he posits that a solid faith does not question God's doings
in the world. Still, the question does arise as an attack on firm belief in a good
Creator. He writes: "On the soil of belief in God the Creator a problem of
theodicy . . . cannot seriously arise. Yet this fact does not prevent the question
from forcing itself even upon believers as an assault upon their faith. "'^
Christians should not question God as Creator for any reason, but the existence
of suffering causes them to do so. Therefore it must be answered.

The Question of Evil: Theodicy, Moltmann, and Pannenberg

Pannenberg also explores the why of suffering, finding his answer in
the fabric of universe itself. By definition, creation is not God, and it
experiences a status less than that of God. "Limitation is a necessary part of
creaturehood insofar as every creature is different from God and his perfection.
God could not give the creature all things without making it itself a god."'^ This
limitation is not evil, Pannenberg argues, nor is it the direct cause of suffering.
But it carries with it the possibility that free humans will reject their creaturely
limits. Such a rejection is the root of evil and suffering in the world^°
Pannenberg summarizes: "If the Creator willed a world of finite creatures and
their independence, then he had to accept their corruptibility and suffering, and
the possibility of evil as a result of their striving for their own autonomy."^' The
limitations inherent in the ontology of creation coupled with the gift of freedom
allow the possibility of a move away from God.

Moltmann, on the other hand, does not place theodicy in the context of
faith. He grounds it in the reality of the world. Suffering asks a question which
neither humans nor God can ignore. He writes: "The suffering of a single
innocent child is an irrefutable rebuttal of the notion of the almighty and kindly
God in heaven. For a God who lets the innocent suffer and who permits
senseless death is not worthy to be called God at all."^^ But for Moltmann
suffering is more than a question. It is "the open wound of life" which theology
and faith must address if humanity is to survive and continue living. It needs to
lead believers deeper into the experience of creation and God.^^

Moltmann does not attempt an in-depth explanation of why suffering
exists. Instead he accepts it as a reality and attempts to understand God through
it. This approach undermines the protest atheism of Ivan Karamazov, while,
interestingly enough, following the path of Ivan's brother Alyosha, the clear
"hero" of Dostoyevsky's novel. Those of Ivan's ilk ground their atheism in
protest against suffering, but once God has been abandoned only suffering
remains."^ Moltmann writes that while "suffering is the rock of atheism . . . On
the rock of suffering the atheism of the godless person who is left to himself
ends too.""'' As Moltmann understands it, the very protest against suffering
points to a reality of which atheism can never conceive, a reality without
suffering. He writes: "if suffering calls into question the notion of a just and
kindly God, then conversely the longing for justice and goodness calls suffering
into question.""^ The protest against suffering itself arises out of a sense of love
and justice. Only those realities can give voice to protest."^

The Eschaton

But simply undermining protest atheism does not answer the question
of suffering. Nor does it address either of the requirements protest atheism
places on theodicy. To do so, both Moltmann and Pannenberg turn to the
eschatological event. They see the eschaton not as God's justification of
suffering but as God's overcoming of the suffering of the world. Pannenberg 's
eschatology infuses his entire theology. He views the eschaton as nothing less

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

than the completion of creation. The present, temporal world is connected to the
Future Creator God through the work of the Spirit. At the eschaton, the present
world will meet the future God and be made new.^^ He writes: "With the
eschatological future God's eternity comes into time and it is thus creatively
present to all the temporal things that precede this future.""^ This has important
implications for theodicy, because it means that "the kingdom of God will be
actualized and the justification of God in the face of the sufferings of the world
will be achieved but also universally acknowledged. "^° The kingdom of God is
the place of peace and justice for which the temporal world can but yearn, but
which will be made a reality through the eschatological work of God. History
and earthly time will end; God's kingdom will be realized."^' In this way the
question of evil, according to Pannenberg, will be resolved in God's final
eschatological event.

The same is true for Moltmann. He looks to a future time when
creation will be redeemed and history integrated into God.^^ The present world
is one of suffering, unrighteousness, and injustice — but it is not the final world.
Historical events, Moltmann argues, "have always at the same time also an
unfinished and provisional character that points forwards. ""^'' The future world,
to which the present one only points, the one brought about by God's
eschatological event, when time meets eternity, will be a place of life,
righteousness, and justice."*" Moltmann bases this belief on his understanding of
God's character. God, he writes, is a "God of hope," a God "with future as his
essential nature," a God who "confronts us with the promise of something new,
with the hope of a future given by God."^^ In the eschaton, the sufferings of the
present world are not justified by God; they are overcome. God's true purpose
is not in the present sufferings but in the coming eschatological future God has
promised.^^

The two theologians also place absolute importance on the work of
Jesus Christ in reference to the coming eschatological event. For both
Moltmann and Pannenberg, Jesus represents God's promise of the future. ^^
More than Moltmann, Pannenberg focuses on the work of God through history.
He writes of the love of God being at work in each stage in the history of
creation^^ This love is especially evident in Jesus' incarnation. He writes: "the
coming of divine love into time culminates in the event of the incarnation."^^
The death of Jesus points to the coming eschatological end: "This event is in
itself already an overcoming of evil, and its effects deliverance from the power
of sin and death.'"*" Finally, Christ's resurrection not only confirms Jesus' deity
but also offers the promise of the coming eschatological future."*'

Unlike Pannenberg, for whom the resurrection is a continuation of the
cross, Moltmann understands the significance of Jesus' life, death, and
resurrection in the light of a dialectic between cross and resurrection. The two
are opposites, one death and the other life. The cross has its own importance in
relation to Moltmann's theodicy, but the resurrection relates directly to

The Question of Evil: Theodicy, Moltmann, and Pannenberg

eschatology. If Christ's cross represents this present life, the life-in-hi story, then
Christ's resurrection is the promise of the future resurrection of humanity and of
God's new creation."*" It is the promise that suffering will be overcome/^ And it
is the beginning of the fulfillment of that promise'" According to Moltmann,
what happened in Christ "is understood as the dawn and assured promise of the
coming glory of God over all, as the victory of life from God over death. "^

This emphasis on promise underscores Moltmann' s more rooted
response to the problem of suffering. As he sees it, the coming eschatological
event is something that gives hope, and humanity needs to orient their lives
around that hope. A believer is to "transform in opposition and creative
expectation the face of the world in the midst of which one believes, hopes, and
lives.""^ The eschaton not only promises to overcome suffering at some future
moment, it also gives encouragement to daily cross-bearing and the struggle
against suffering. ■

The Cross

In their full understanding of the Cross and its meaning for theodicy,
Moltmann and Pannenberg diverge. Pannenberg does not venture beyond the
borders of traditional theodicy. Moltmann, on the other hand, willingly goes far
a field. While Pannenberg certainly affirms the importance of the Cross and the
Trinity'"*^ he stops short of exploring the connection between the two. He does
mention that God takes responsibility for the evil God has allowed to exist in
creation. He writes: "God did not shirk the responsibility but shouldered it by
sending and giving up his Son to the cross. In this way, as Creator, he stands by
his responsibility for the work that he has made. Evil is thus real and costly
enough for God himself as well as for creatures.'"*^ But that is all. This
formulation does not influence his description of God as a trinitarian God. God
retains God's omnipotence"*^ and remains immutable.''" One wonders if it is not
contradictory to claim that evil cost God if God remains untouched.

If this analysis is correct, Pannenberg's theodicy remains within the
boundaries of the traditional approach. He provides an explanation for the
origin of evil and suffering, and his theodicy rests on the promise that suffering
will be overcome by the eschaton. This is an adequate response to the
conditions set by Ivan Karamazov, but it is not a powerful one. Nor does it
address the issues raised by Camus. God appears to have little present-day
relevance in the world. Pannenberg's "responsible" God lacks the rhetorical
force found in Moltmann.

Like Pannenberg, Moltmann' s theology of the eschaton responds to
Ivan's arguments, providing a way for suffering to be overcome. But Moltmann
also conceives of Jesus as providing God's divine protest against suffering.
Although Jesus went willingly to the cross, he did not suffer passively.^'
Instead, he cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mk.
15:34). This argument responds to both issues raised by Camus. First, it is God
on the cross. Jesus is not just another human victim; he is God. Second, Christ

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

did not justify suffering or silence protest on the cross. He protested against
suffering himself. Moltmann writes: "Hope finds in Christ not only a
consolation in suffering, but also the protest of the divine promise against
suffering.""

More than protest, however, Jesus is God standing in divine solidarity
with the suffering." Jesus the Son suffered a brutal death in innocence. The
Father suffered the pain of watching the Son suffer and die. Moltmann writes:
"The Son suffers dying, the Father suffers the death of the Son."^'^ God is not
impassible or unmoved. Just as the Father suffered along with the Son, so God
suffers along with God's creation, because through Jesus God has identified
with creation"^^ To Wiesel's protest Moltmann responds: "It is true . . . God
himself hung on the gallows. "^^ But not in death, as Wiesel believes. God hung
in protest and solidarity with the suffering.

Moltmann fully addresses the arguments of Ivan and Camus. He in no
way seeks to explain evil and suffering. He provides in the historical
resurrection and the future eschaton a promise that suffering will be overcome
and the encouragement to continue the present struggle against it. Finally,
unlike Pannenberg, Moltmann goes beyond the boundaries of traditional
theology and draws a picture of God who is not only transcendent but also
immanent, a God who both suffers and protests against suffering. This God
promises a good future and provides a present hope.^^

Conclusion

In terms of Christian theodicy, Moltmann and Pannenberg both
contribute the element of hope. By making God's eschatological event the
centerpiece of their theodicies, they answer the argument of Ivan Karamazov by
claiming not that suffering will be justified, but that it will be overcome. They
point toward a future that for atheism is an impossibility: a good future without
suffering. This they call the Kingdom of God.

Of course, their arguments, especially those of Moltmann, raise
important questions about the future direction of theology. Pannenberg retains a
largely traditional understanding of God as omnipotent and omniscient, but
Moltmann does not. By not asking the why of suffering and by making God a
fellow-sufferer, Moltmann recalibrates the levels of God's power and
knowledge. While certainly not a process theologian or open-theist, Moltmann
does at least face that direction. This is an issue for theologians, and especially
traditional ones, to consider.

Finally, Moltmann and Pannenberg 's response to the question of evil
and suffering holds practical implications for the life of the church as its
members seek to make their way in the face of the world. First, we should not
silently accept the suffering we encounter. Christ's cry on the cross makes that
clear. Instead, we should offer a similar cry of protest while at the same time
working for a better future. Because there is hope for the future. The same

The Question of Evil: Theodicy, Mohmann, and Pannenberg

Jesus who suffered on the cross rose again, and his resurrection is the promise
and beginning of God's good future. We may never understand our suffering,
but at the full realization of God's kingdom we know that it will be overcome.
And that is reason enough for hope.

Notes

' Elie Wiesel, The Night Trilogy (New York: Hill and Wang, 1 987), 7 1 -72.

Tyron Inbody, The Transforming God: An Interpretation of Suffering and Evil
(Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1997), 27.

'inbody, 32-33.

Stanley Hauerwas, Naming the Silences: God, Medicine, and the Problem of
Suffering (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1990), 35.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov, trans. David McDuff (New
York: Penguin Books, 1993), 279-283.

W. Waite Willis, Jr., Theism, Atheism and the Doctrine of the Trinity: The
Trinitarian Theologies of Karl Barth and Jurgen Moltmann in Response to Protest
Atheism (Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press, 1987), 79-80.

Richard Bauckham, The Theology of Jurgen Moltmann (Edinburgh: T&T

Clark, 1995), 74.
s
Albert Camus, The Rebel: An Essay on Man in Revolt, trans. Anthony Bower

(New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1967), 21.

Camus, 68

Bauckham, Theology, 81.
11
Bauckham, Theology, 81-82.

Stanley J. Grenz, Reason for Hope: The Systematic Theology of Wolfhart
Pannenberg (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990), 106.

Wolfhart Pannenberg, Systematic Theology, trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley
(Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans PubUshing Company, 1991-1998), 3:643.

Pannenberg, 3:630-631.

Bauckham, Theology, 180.

Jurgen Moltmann, The Trinity and the Kingdom: The Doctrine of God. trans.
Margret Kohl (New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, San Francisco, 1981), 218.

All Scripture quotations from New Revised Standard Version of the Bible,
copyrighted, 1989.

Pannenberg, 2:163.

Pannenberg, 2:170.

Pannenberg, 2:169-172.

Pannenberg, 2:173.

Moltmann, Trinity, Al .

Moltmann, Trinity, 49.

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

Willis, 85.

Moltmann, Trinity, 48-49.

Moltmann, Trinity, 49.

Moltmann, Trinity, 48.
''Orenz, 189-190. , ;..,

Pannenberg, 3:531.

30 I

Pannenberg, 3:531.
^'Crenz, 195.

John David Jaeger, "Jurgen Moltmann and the Problem of Evil," The Asbury
TheologicalJournal 53.2 (Fall 1998): 10.

Jurgen Moltmann, Theology of Hope: On the Ground and Implications of a
Christian Eschatology, trans. James W. Leitch (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1993),
107.

34 , ^ . . . . ,, "

Bauckham, Theology, 9.

Moltmann, Theology of Hope, 16.

Bauckhan\, Theology, 84. .

37 ' , . .

Bauckham, Theology, 33; Grenz, 192.

Pannenberg, 3:645.

39 ' ■ '' ■

Pannenberg, 3:645.

Pannenberg, 3:637.
'*' Pannenberg, 3:324; Grenz, 112-117.

42 .•■■■■* ■ ' "

Bauckham, Theology, 33.

Bauckham, r/7eo/ogy, 83.

Jurgen Moltmann, The Way of Jesus Christ: Christology in Messianic
Dimensions, trans. Margaret Kohl (New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1990), 214.

45 ,.'■■■■>

Moltmann, Theology of Hope, 201.

Moltmann, Theology of Hope, 330.
"'Grenz, 122-123.

48 . "

Pannenberg, 2: 169.

Pannenberg, 1:416.

Pannenberg, 2:169.

Jurgen Moltmann, The Crucified God: The Cross of Christ as the Foundation
and Criticism of Christian Theology, trans. R. A. Wilson and John Bowden (Minneapolis,
MN: Fortress Press, 1993), 51.

Moltmann, Theology of Hope, 21.

Richard Bauckham, '"Only the Suffering God can Help': Divine Passibility
in Modem Theology," Themelios 9.3 (April 1984): 11.

Moltmann, Crucified God, 243.

The Question of Evil: Theodicy, Moltmann, and Pannenberg

Bauckham. Theology, 83.
Moltmann, Crucified God, 278.
Inbody, 170-172.

Bibliography

Bauckham, Richard. '"Only the Suffering God can Help': Divine Passibility in Modem
Theology." Themelios 9.3 (April 1984): 6-12.

Bauckham, Richard. The Theology ofJurgen Moltmann. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1995.

Camus, Albert. The Rebel: An Essay on Man in Revolt. Translated by Anthony Bower.
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1967.

Dostoyevsky, Fyodor. The Brothers Karamazov. Translated by David McDuff. New
York: Penguin Books, 1993.

Grenz, Stanley J. Reason for Hope: The Systematic Theology of Wolfhart Pannenberg.
New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.

Hauerwas, Stanley. Naming the Silences: God, Medicine, and the Problem of Suffering.
Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1990.

Inbody, Tyron. The Transforming God: An Interpretation of Suffering and Evil.
Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1997.

Jaeger, John David. "Jurgen Moltmann and the Problem of Evil." The Asbury
Theological Journal 53.2 (Fall 1998): 5-14.

Moltmann, Jurgen. The Crucified God: The Cross of Christ as the Foundation and
Criticism of Christian Theology. Translated by R. A. Wilson and John Bowden.
Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1993.

. Theology of Hope: On the Ground and Implications of a Christian

Eschatology. Translated by James W. Leitch. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press,
1993

. The Trinity and the Kingdom: the Doctrine of God. Translated by Margret

Kohl. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, San Francisco, 1981.

. The Way of Jesus Christ: Christology in Messianic Dimensions. Translated by

Margaret Kohl. New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1990.

Pannenberg, Wolfhart. Systematic Theology. Translated by Geoffrey W. Bromiley. 3
vols. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1991-
1998.

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

Willis, W. Waite Jr. Theism, Atheism and the Doctrine of the Trinity: The Trinitarian
Theologies of Karl Barth and Jurgen Moltmann in Response to Protest
Atheism. Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press, 1987.

Wiesel, Elie. The Night Trilogy. New York: Hill and Wang, 1987.

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Ashland Theological Journal 2005

Waiting Table in God's Household: A Personal Theology of Ministry

by Mark Hepner*

Introduction

This paper presents a preliminary statement of the author's personal
theology of ministry. "Waiting tables" refers to one of the basic senses of the
primary "ministry" word group utilized throughout the books of the New
Testament (diakoneo 'to serve', diakonia 'service', and diakonos 'servant')' and
this concept 'serves' as an apt metaphor for Christian ministry since it denotes
the taking of resources provided by the Master of the house and distributing
them to those gathered around the Master's table to sustain the physical and
spiritual health and well-being of the Master's family. Though it is the ministry
of the Christian church, engaged as it is in carrying out "the revealing and
reconciling mission of Jesus"" which is the topic of this paper, the phrase
"theology of ministry" places the focus on God (it is after all a theology! of
ministry and not an anthropology of ministry) and thus "ministry" in this paper
will be presented mainly in terms of service carried out at God's direction and
on God's behalf, by God's servants, for the continuous growth, health and joy of
God's people. From this perspective then, it is God, rather than his table guests,
who determines the needs of the church — sets the menu so to speak — and who
decides which person will serve what to whom and in what order and quantity.

The metaphor of ministry as waiting tables will be explored and applied
more ftilly in the discussion below. Along the way, a Biblical foundation or
model of ministry will be presented using the first chapter of Paul's letter to the
Colossians as the particular textual base from which several key components of
a theology of ministry will be derived. Then, picking up on the repeated
occurrences of the word diakonos "servant" in that chapter (Col. 1:7, 23, 25), the
fundamental or characteristic quality of ministry will be developed via a brief
study of the diakoneo / diakonia / diakonos word group referred to earlier.
Finally, a brief discussion of the role of the Holy Spirit in equipping and
empowering God's people for ministry will round out the presentation.

A Biblical Model for Ministry: Colossians 1:1-29

The Relational Context of Ministry (Col. 1:1-2)-^

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, "
To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae: Grace to you
and peace from God our Father.

The apostle Paul and his "brother" Timothy write to their "brothers and sisters"
in Colossae, and include in their salutation a wish for grace and peace

* Mark Hepner (M.A.B.S.-N.T., ATS) is with Wycliffe Bible Translators in Papua, New
Guinea.

Waiting Table in God's Household: A Personal Theology of Ministry

from the their mutual ("our-inclusive") "Father." Clearly for Paul the relational
context of his ministry to the Colossians was as sibling members of the
immediate family of God's household. Though Paul had never visited the
Colossian Christians, he claims the same Father as they do, and so writes as an
(older) brother with a genuine "kinship" concern for the spiritual health and
well-being of these as yet unmet brothers and sisters in Christ. Thus Christian
ministry is at heart a family affair — loving service done for the benefit of those
with whom we share the closest and most supportive of human relationships —
with each family member committed to promoting his or her brothers' and
sisters' "progress and joy in the faith" (Phil. 1:25).

The Pattern of Ministry (Col. 1:3-8)

" In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, "* for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you
have for all the saints, " because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have
heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel ^ that has come to
you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been
bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly
comprehended the grace of God. ^ This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved
fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, ^ and he has
made known to us your love in the Spirit.

From these verses can be distilled the basic pattern of ministry. The
gospel is proclaimed, people hear and recognize the truth of the message and the
hope that is being offered to them, and so respond by placing their trust for
salvation in Christ Jesus (l:5b-6a). Then as they receive continued instruction in
the gospel they come to comprehend in increasing measure the nature of the new
life that has been imparted to them and the magnitude of God's gracious
goodness to them (1:7a). At the same time, along with increased understanding
of who they are and what they are to become, their lives begin to bear the Holy
Spirit-inspired fruit of Christ-like behavior that is characteristic of every true
member of the family of God (1:4b, 6b, 7b-8). As this passage suggests, the
preeminent mark of the Christian is love, and particularly love for "all the
saints." This is the motivating love (cf 2 Cor. 5:14) that transforms them from
recipients of ministry into ministers themselves. It is this full-circle pattern of
ministry that lies behind Paul's thankfulness for the Colossian believers and the
loving concern they have reciprocated to him in the person of Epaphras."*

The Goals of Ministry (Col. 1:9-14)

^ For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you
and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God's will in all
spiritual wisdom and understanding, "^ so that you may lead lives worthy of the
Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

grow in the knowledge of God. May you be made strong with all the strength
that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure
everything with patience, while joyfriUy '" giving thanks to the Father, who has
enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. '^ He has
rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of
his beloved Son, '"* in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Paul's ceaseless prayer for the Colossians delineates many appropriate
goals for Christian ministry. Ministry strives for mutual growth in wisdom, that
is, an understanding of the way things "really are" in terms of the order God has
designed into the world, and the way the Creator works to bring about his
purposes and intentions for his world. This steadily growing knowledge of
God's person and acquaintance with his ways enables God's people to live their
lives in harmony with his will, so that God's desires become their desires,
resulting in deeds that are truly good because they are fully pleasing to the Lord
and contribute to the working out of his purposes in the world.

Ministry, fortified as it is by the power of Christ (Col. 1 :29), should
also be mutually encouraging and strengthening, thus enabling the community
of faith to endure trials and persecutions with patience and the power of God and
so arrive at the goal of their faith with the circle of their fellowship unbroken.
There truly is "strength in numbers" and a crucial goal of ministry is to foster a
unified community that affirms and confirms each individual in the hard and
often counter-cultural choices that need to be made in order to keep living a life
"worthy of their calling."

Since these ministry goals are contained in the words of Paul's prayer,
the underlying natural assumption is that it is God who actually will make all of
these things become a reality for the Colossian believers.^ Thus the wisdom
Paul desires for them is Spiritual, the strength he longs for them to possess
comes from God's glorious power, and it is the Father who enables them to
share in the inheritance of the saints by rescuing them from their enemies'
control and placing them under the control of his own beloved Son. Ministry is
thus fiindamentally a divine activity. This kind of Spirit-inspired ministry is
aimed at promoting and nurturing and even actualizing to one degree or another
a "kingdom of Christ" way of life among God's people in the present in
anticipation of the time when the Son returns and such a way of living in his
kingdom will not only be the norm, but will be experienced in undiluted
fullness.^

The Cosmic Context of Ministry (Col. 1:15-20)

^"'' He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; '^ for in him
all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers— all things have been created
through him and for him. '^ He himself is before all things, and in him all things

Waiting Table in God's Household: A Personal Theology of Ministry

hold together. '^ He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the
firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.
'^ For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, "" and through him
God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in
heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

Reference to the kingdom of God's "beloved Son" leads Paul into an
extended hymn-like exaltation of Jesus Christ that provides the cosmic context
of ministry. Jesus occupies the highest position of privilege and authority over
all creation. This is because, as Paul asserts, Jesus himself is the focal point
around which all of God's intentions and desires for all the things he made in
heaven and on earth are organized. From the work of creating, to the work of
maintaining creation, to the work of bringing a wayward creation back on course
to arrive at the divinely appointed end for which it was originally made, all of
this was conceived with the Son in mind as the one who would implement these
divine plans and bring them to their divinely appointed end.

Christian ministry within the church is, then, part of Christ's cosmic
program of reconciling all things in heaven and on earth to the will of God,
bringing them back into a "friendly" relationship with their Creator, fully
submissive to the purposes and intentions he originally had in mind when he
made them. Ministry, thus conceived and carried out is first and foremost aimed
at establishing Jesus Christ as the one who has first place over all things in the
world, and especially over his body the church. Then secondly, ministry aims at
promoting the glory of Christ by working to bring the life of the church into line
with his world-reconciling agenda. Such ministry promotes a proper perspective
on human existence because it is guided by God's priorities, which are
ultimately "all about Jesus" as one worship chorus puts it.^

The Necessity for Ministry (Col. 1 :2 1 -23)

And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, " he
has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy
and blameless and irreproachable before him— "^ provided that you continue
securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope
promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every
creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel.

All people are bom into a relationship with their Creator that Paul here
characterizes as "estranged" and "hostile" and marked by the willful
rebelliousness of "evil deeds." In this context of human need, ministry —
"serving the gospel" as Paul puts it — is actually Christ, through his body the
church, working to reconcile God's enemies back into a relationship of loving
friendship with him who is their true Father so that they will qualify for one day
being welcomed without reservation into his very presence (cf. 2 Cor. 5:18-20).

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

But ministry is also the equally crucial work of maintaining Christ's
people in unwavering covenant faithfulness to God by keeping them from
deviating from the hope held out to them in the good news that formed the basis
of their original entrance into salvation. All of this work is carried out by
everyone in the body of Christ who, like Paul, are to be reliable waiters and
waitresses of the gospel, taking what the Master provides and distributing it to
each other without adding anything "a la carte" to it on the way to the table. ^
The Mode, Authority, Scope and Power Source of Ministry (Col. 1 :24-29)

"'' I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am
completing what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is,
the church. " I became its servant according to God's commission that was
given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, '^ the mystery that
has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed
to his saints. "'' To them God chose to make known how great among the
Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the
hope of glory. ^^ It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching
everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. '^'^
For this I toil and struggle with all the energy that he powerfully inspires within
me.

For Paul, the mode of ministry is incarnation. Bringing people into the
body of Christ requires continued acts of suffering in the same way that Christ
suffered — "for righteousness' sake" (Mt. 5:10). Paul's Christ-like suffering was
due to his Christ-like commitment to make known God's intention to
incorporate all peoples. Gentile as well as Jew, into God's covenant community
of faith. The goal of this incamational ministry was to "present everyone mature
in Christ." In this sense, the mode of ministry also becomes the goal of ministry,
that is, ministry can be described from an incamational perspective as "Christ in
me, working (and suffering) to form Christ in you, and vice versa." The end
result of this process is a unified church body, full grown and looking
remarkably like its Lord.^

As with Paul, the authority of every servant in the body of Christ to
carry on ministry derives from the commission of God. Ministry is simply
carrying out the will of the Master with regard to a particular service he wants
performed for his people. This does not preclude individual creativeness in
doing ministry, but again, it does proscribe the kind of "ad-libbing" that
abandons heavenly wisdom in favor of the latest successful marketing strategy.

The scope of Christian ministry is limited only by the number of people
groups in the world. It is Paul's contention in this passage that the mystery of the
gospel that God has commissioned him to make fully known is that the benefits
of what Christ accomplished are so plentiful that they are enough to help not
only the Jewish people, but all the non-Jewish people too. Thus the scope of the

Waiting Table in God's Household: A Personal Theology of Ministry

proclamation or evangelistic aspect of Christian ministry in particular includes
all of mankind equally.

Finally, the source of Paul's power for ministry is God. This does not
mean that Paul does not himself work hard at ministry. On the contrary, he
asserts that he toils and struggles to accomplish the task given him by God with
all the might he possesses. Yet in the same breath he is quick to make it clear
that he is energized to expend himself in this way by the very power of God.^°
Very likely Paul intends to imply that this power is mediated to him by the Holy
Spirit," as the NRSV rendering above correctly implies.

It seems clear from this survey of Colossians 1 that, "the key concept of
the Church is that it is a Spirit-led people of God who carry out Christ's mission
in the world."'" That mission includes both evangelism (service to unbelievers in
the world) and edification (service to believers in the church). The picture of
Christian ministry distilled from Paul's words to the Colossian believers may
thus be summarized as "the living Christ active in each member of the family of
God through the sensible, powerful presence of his Holy Spirit, working in and
through them to form them individually and corporately into a body that looks
like him, loves like him, perseveres like him, obeys like him, suffers like him,
relates to the Father like him, and strives to see God's purposes realized in the
world like him."

The Core Concept of Ministry: Life-sustaining service

As mentioned in the introduction, the primary word group used by New
Testament authors to denote Christian ministry includes the verb diakoneo "to
serve" and its cognate noun diakonia "service". An additional cognate noun
form, diakonos refers to one who performs acts of diakonia, i.e. a "seryant."
The use of this trio of words to designate Christian ministry appears to be
something of a departure on the part of the New Testament writers from the
'official' ministry vocabulary of the LXX.'^

diakoneo

A survey of the uses of diakoneo in the NT indicates a basic meaning
of "giving someone what is necessary to sustain their physical life."
Consequently the word is frequently used in the gospels to mean "set food
before someone" or "wait on someone." In Mt. 4: 11 angels "attend" Jesus in the
wilderness after his very long period of fasting. Later on, Peter's mother-in-law
"begins to wait on" Jesus and his disciples after being healed (Mk. 1:31). Luke
relates Martha's complaint to Jesus that her sister has left her alone with the
"work" of providing Jesus and his disciples with a meal (Lk. 10:40). There are
numerous other references in the gospels and Acts where this word is used to
denote "serving food to" or "waiting table on" people, e.g. Lk. 12:37; 17:8;
22:27; Jn. 12:2; Acts 6:2. Beyond the idea of setting food before someone to
eat, the word may also denote any act of generosity that supplies what is
necessary to sustain everyday physical life. Luke tells of women who

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

"supported" Jesus and his disciples out of their own means (8:3; of. Mt. 27:55;
Mk. 15:41).

The use of diakoneo to refer to the provision of what is necessary to
sustain material or physical life continues on into the epistles. In Rom. 15:25
Paul refers to his task of delivering and overseeing the distribution of an offering
to alleviate the material needs of impoverished believers in the church in
Jerusalem as "serving" the saints. In 2 Tim. 1:18 Paul remembers with fondness
Onesiphorus for the many ways he helped Paul in Ephesus, surely a reference to
service aimed at meeting the practical needs of staying alive. Finally, the author
of Hebrews reassures his readers that God will not forget their past and current
practice of "helping his people," again most likely a reference to providing
practical assistance to God's people to meet the needs of day-to-day survival,
probably in the face of persecution (Heb. 6:10).

Metaphorically, diakoneo is used to refer to serving people in the
mterests of preserving and enhancing their spiritual life with God. Thus Jesus
came to serve by ransoming God's people from the forces that held them captive
(Mt. 20:28). It was also a spiritual service that the prophets of old provided for
the saints in ages to come (1 Pet. 1:12). Whether referring to physical or
spiritual sustenance, diakoneo generally denotes the practical acts of service that
help people by supplying what they need to 'carry on with' the business of daily
life.

diakonia

Given the highly suggestive basic meaning of diakoneo, it comes as no
surprise that the nominalized form of the verb becomes in the New Testament
the standard tenn to denote the act of providing to God's people that which
creates and sustains both their physical and spiritual life "in Christ." Indeed,
this word, used to refer to the distribution of food in Acts 6:1, is just as easily
applied to the distribution of God's word to the members of the church a few
verses later (Acts 6:4). It is in this extended sense that the word is used to
designate the evangelistic program of Barnabas and Saul in Acts 12:25.
Similarly, in Acts 20:24 Paul refers to the proclamation "of the gospel of God's
grace" as the "service" the Lord has given him to do.

Ministry as diakonia provides what is necessary for each member of the
body of Christ to stay alive, to grow to maturity, and to "discharge all the
duties" (2 Tim. 4:5) of their divinely assigned tasks. Ministry is expressed in a
variety of forms (1 Cor. 12:5) all of which are aimed at helping every member of
the body in every way possible to arrive at the goal of their faith. As 2 Cor. 6:3
makes clear, ministry is the opposite of causing people to stumble. In other
words, ministry makes it easier, not harder, to keep believing in Jesus and
following him as Lord. This is because ministry is service to the saints (2 Cor.
8:4) received from the Lord (Col. 4:17) who intends by it the building up of his
body (Eph. 4:12).

Waiting Table in God's Household: A Personal Theology of Ministry

diakonos

This third member of the NT "ministry" word group is used to
designate the person who "serves" (diakoneo) by doing acts of "service"
(diakonia) on behalf of a master) Here the emphasis is on the nature of ministry
as discharging the duties laid upon the servant by a person of higher status and
authority. As a king orders his servants and they obey (Mt. 22:13), so the
servant-minister acts in strict accordance with the will of his or her Master (cf. 1
Cor. 3:5 (NIV): "What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants,
through whom you came to believe — as the Lord has assigned to each his
task."). Thus believers are variously described as servants of Jesus (Jn. 12:26; cf.
Col. 1:7)), of God (2 Cor. 6:4), of the new covenant (2 Cor 3:6), of the gospel
(Eph. 3:7; cf. Col. 1:23), and of the church (Rom. 16:11; cf. Col. 1:25).

If believers are servants of Christ their Lord, they are also servants of
Christ's body, the church (Col. 1:25). In the first instance believers serve the
will of One who is infinitely superior in authority and status. In the church
however, where all members (ideally) share the same status in Christ, ministry is
carried on among equals. In this context the Christian minister is at heart one
whose actions are dictated by the need-requirements of his or her brothers and
sisters in Christ. Thus a minister in the household of God is one who makes the
needs of the rest of the family equal to the command of Christ himself (Mt.
20:26; 23:11).

To sum up, this survey of the diakonia word group indicates that the
core idea of ministry is supplying what people need to keep on living as Christ's
body in the world. Christian ministry is fiindamentally a practical activity,
consisting of acts of service to others for the purpose of sustaining their life as a
community of faith, promoting their maturity and growth in Christ-likeness, and
enhancing their ability to carry on the mission of Christ. Ministry is obedient
sei-vice done on behalf of the Master for the benefit of his people. Ministry is
making the needs of fellow believers equivalent to the command of the Lord
himself mid willingly distributing to them what the Master has placed in their
hands to meet those needs.

The Substance of Ministry: "Serving up" the gifts of the Spirit

If ministry is "waiting tables in God's house," then what is on the
menu? What is it that we as members of the body of Christ bring to each other
from the Master's table to sustain each other in our life of faith and discipleship
to Jesus?

Referring again to the portrait of ministry derived from Colossians 1
earlier in this paper, Gordon Fee has pointed out that although "Spirit"
terminology is only minimally present in Colossians due to Paul's need to
address what are primarily Christological deficiencies in the Colossian Heresy
(see note 8 above), there are nevertheless several references in the first chapter
of Colossians to the Spirit's activity in the lives of both the Colossian believers
and in Paul himself. These include references to Spirit-inspired love (1:8),

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

Spirit-imparted understanding (i.e. the "insight into God's will that the Spirit
provides;"'"* 1:9), and the Spirit-infused energy that empowers Paul for the hard
work of ministry (1:29).''^ These three references provide a fairly complete
summary of the role of the Holy Spirit in providing the substance of Christian
ministry: 1) knowledge of what God wants done, 2) power to carry out the
divine mandate, and 3) acts of sei-vice ("love in the Spirit" manifesting itself in
"love to the saints") which are to be provided to fellow members of the body of
Christ to sustain their life in Christ and in the world.

These acts of sustaining service that the Spirit provides through
Christ's people and for Christ's people should not be confused with the "fruit of
the Spirit" which are typically produced from within the life of every believer
(Gal. 5:22-23) and which provide the "quality control" for all service performed
within the body of Christ."' In addition to these "fruits" of the Spirit, the Holy
Spirit also gives "gifts" to his people in a variety of forms and functions (cf. the
different lists in Rom. 12, 1 Cor. 12, and Eph. 4) to equip them for ministry in
the building up the body of Christ (Eph. 4:12) by promoting the "common good"
(1 Cor. 12: 7) of the group. Such gifts as leadership, preaching, teaching,
miracles, healing of various kinds, helping, wisdom, mercy, evangelism,
discernment, etc. provide the actual "substance" of ministry, that is, the specific
services that members of God's community of faith provide to each other in
order to sustain the physical and spiritual life of the body of Christ and grow it
into a size and shape that is in correct proportion to its head (Eph. 4:13).

Conclusion

"Waiting tables in God's household" is a metaphor for describing
Christian ministry as an activity of humble service dictated by the Master of the
house in which divinely supplied sustaining grace is placed before those
gathered around the Master's table, in need of the nourishment required to
maintain their physical and spiritual lives. Ministry as waiting tables means that
all members of the household are at the same time both the table guests and the
waiters and waitresses whose job it is to bring the "food" of Holy Spirit-inspired
service to each other, imparting strength and encouragement and providing all
the practical necessities that continued life as the incarnate presence of Christ in
the world requires.

To sum up then, a final definition of ministry could be stated as
follows: "God's people, energized by God's Spirit, 'dishing up' a variety of
concretized fonns of God's grace to each other in loving ways in order to sustain
each other's life of faith in the world and aimed at growing and maturing each
other into the body of Christ which increasingly looks like the Lord Jesus, serves
each other and the world like the Lord Jesus and is ultimately welcomed into the
presence of God the Father like the Lord Jesus."

"Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for
their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to
one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. .

Waiting Table in God's Household: A Personal Theology of Ministry

. . Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love
covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another
without complaining. Like good stewards of the manifold
grace of God, serve (diakoneo) one another with whatever gift
each of you has received. Whoever speaks must do so as one
speaking the very words of God; whoever serves (diakoneo)
must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God
may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him
belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen."
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10; 1 Peter 4:8-11 (NRSV)

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

GOD

A Model of Christian Ministry: "God's people, energized by God's Spirit, 'dishing up' a
variety of concretized forms of God's grace to each other in loving ways in order to
sustain each other's life of faith in the world and grow and mature each other into the
body of Christ which looks like the Lord Jesus, serves the world like the Lord Jesus and
is ultimately welcomed into the presence of God the Father like the Lord Jesus."

Waiting Table in God's Household: A Personal Theology of Ministry

Bibliography

Anderson, Ray S. The Shape of Practical Theology: Empowering Ministry with
Theological Praxis. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001.

Boa, Kenneth. Conformed to His Image: Biblical and Practical Approaches to Spiritual
Formation. Grand Rapids; Zondervan, 2001.

Breshears, Gerry. "The Body of Christ: Prophet, Priest, or King?" Journal of the
Evangelical Theological Society 31 (March 1994): 3-26.

Bromiley, Geoffrey W. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament: Abridged in One
Volume. Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1985.

Bruce, F. F. The Epistles to the Colossians. to Philemon, and to the Ephesians. The New
International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Wm. B.
Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1984

Fee, Gordon D. God's Empowering Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Letters of Paul.
Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1994.

O'Brien, Peter T. Colossians, Philemon. Word Biblical Commentary. Waco, TX: Word
Books, 1982.

Schweizer, R. Eduard. "Ministry in the Early Church." In The Anchor Bible Dictionary,
ed. David Noel Freedman. New York: Doubleday, 1992.

Voulgaris, Christos S. "The Church as the Body of Christ." The Greek Orthodox
Theological Review 43 {\99S): 549-551 .

Notes

" Geoffrey W. Bromiley, Theological Dictionaiy of the New Testament:
Abridged in One Volume (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1985): 152.

" Gerry Breshears, "The Body of Christ: Prophet, Priest, or King?" Journal of
the Evangelical Theological Society 37 (March 1994), 4.

^ The following "boxed-in" Scripture quotations are taken from the New
Revised Standard Version Bible, 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National
Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

"^ "[T]heir 'love for all the saints,' mentioned already in v. 4 [of Colossians I],
is now acknowledged as specifically directed toward Paul as well." Gordon D. Fee,
God's Empowering Presence (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1994): 639.

" "From the gift of life and provision of all things needed for the sustaining of
life, to the provision for people to exchange enmity with God for a place in God's
household and under God's supervision and under God's personal patronage, God is the
one who supplies our lack, who gives assistance in our need." David A. deSilva, Honor,
Patronage, Kinship & Purity (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), 133.

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

^ Writes Ray S. Anderson, "The Spirit that comes to the church comes out of
the future, not the past. The presence of the Spirit is the anticipation of the return of
Christ. . . . When Christ returns to bring to consummation this pledge made by the gift of
the Holy Spirit, it will be the 'last century.' The Spirit is thus preparing the people of
God for this 'last century.' . . . The praxis of the ministry of the Holy Spirit can be
understood in light of that which God desires to become a reality at the end, not merely to
replicate that form of ministry during the first century." The Shape of Practical Theology:
Empowering Ministry with Theological Praxis (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press,
2001) : 105-106.

^ Matt Redman, The Heart of Worship (Thankyou Music, 1997).

^ It is widely acknowledged that Colossians was written to counter a line of
unorthodox teaching confronting the Colossian believers. This teaching combined
aspects of asceticism, particularly dietary restrictions, with elements of Judaism such as
circumcision and the observance of special religious festivals, and also a form of mystical
"knowledge" gained through visions, and perhaps even some kind of angel worship. This
teaching, normally referred to as the "Colossian Heresy" implied that the work of Christ
needed to be augmented with these 'additional' religious exercises in order to negotiate
successfully the multiple layers of supernatural powers in the world and gain access to
God. Cf F. F. Bruce, The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians,
The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Wm. B.
Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1984) : 17-26.

^ The words of Prof Christos S. Voulgaris on this topic are striking: "Christ
and the Church together form a 'whole;' without Christ the Church is nothing; in him the
Church is everything. Without the Church, Christ the Son is not incarnate, because after
his incarnation the Son can be thought of only as both divine and human and, therefore,
only with the Church, while the Church can be thought of only in Christ and with Christ
as his human body, i.e. as 'the fullness of him who fills all in all' (Eph. 1:23)." "The
Church as the Body of Christ." The Greek Orthodox Theological Review 43 (1998), 555.

'" "While Paul works, earnestly expending all his energies in the prosecution of
his ministry, he gladly acknowledges that the strength for such unremitting labor comes
fi-om above . . ." Peter O'Brien, Colossians, Philemon, Word Biblical Commentary
(Waco, TX: Word Books, 1982) : 91.

Fee, God's Empowering Presence, 637-638.

'" Breshears, "The Body of Christ," 3.

'^ "Despite the fact that the Greek-speaking world offered to the early Church a
rather rich vocabulary for the notion of 'ministry,' most NT writers instead utilized a
comparatively rare Greek word that hardly ever appears in the LXX: diakonia, "service"
(especially of a place at table)." R. Eduard Schweizer, "Ministry in the Early Church," in
The Anchor Bible Dictionary, ed. David Noel Freedman (New York: Doubleday, 1992) ,
4 : 836.

Fee, God's Empowering Presence, 637.

'^ Cf Fee, 636-645 for the entire discussion of Spirit language in the
Colossians 1.

"' "Spiritual fruit is produced from within; spiritual gifts relate to Christian
service. The fruit of the Spirit, especially love, should be the context for the operation of

Waiting Table in God's Household: A Personal Theology of Ministry

the gifts of the Spirit." Kenneth Boa, Conformed to His Image: Biblical and Practical
Approaches to Spiritual Formation (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001) : 303.

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

Amanda Berry Smith

by Vivian L. Hairston*

Amanda Berry Smith was one of the most remarkable missionaries of
the nineteenth century. Her dedication and unselfish service has impacted many
people throughout the United States and other countries in the world. Even
though she departed this life in 1915, she still lives on in the hearts of many
because of her missionary efforts. The purpose of this paper is to briefly
summarize her life, discuss her ministry, explain what motivated and sustained
her ministry, and describe the principles and techniques that she utilized in her
ministry.

Her Life

Amanda Berry was bom a slave in Long Green, Maryland in 1835. Her
parents, Samuel and Miriam Berry, lived on different plantations, even though
they were married. Amanda was the oldest of their thirteen children.' She was
reared in a godly home. Her mother was an earnest Christian with strong faith in
God. Her father read the Bible to his family and prayed over all their meals. Her
grandmother, a woman of great faith, prayed mightily that her grandchildren
would be freed from slavery."

Her Childliood

As a child Amanda was protected from the disciplinary actions of her
mother by her matron, Rachel Green. This woman would often treat Amanda
with bread spread with sugar and honey. She treated Amanda like one of her
own children. She would dress Amanda like the rest of her family in Quaker
style clothing, and take her to their Presbyterian Church. As a result of Mrs.
Green's nurturing and protection, Amanda was not exposed to some of the harsh
realities of slavery. It also began her close attachment to white people and
unbending stand on racial equality.^

During her early childhood years, her father purchased his freedom from
slavery, and later purchased the freedom of his wife and children. At age 15,
Amanda received her freedom.'' Her father earned the money for his family's
freedom through hard and diligent work. His daytime hours were spent fulfilling
his daily obligations to his mistress. Afterwards, he would harvest fields until
the early hours of the morning.^ Since freedom was very important to her father,
he allowed his family's home in Shrewsburg, Pennsylvania to be used as a
hiding place for runaway slaves. None of the slaves that were hid in his home
were ever captured and returned to their masters.

Schooling was very difficult for Amanda to obtain. When she was
eight years old, she and her brother attended a Methodist school for black

*Vivian L. Hairston (M.A.C.M., ATS), is a mathematics teacher at the DePaul Center for
Young Mothers in Cleveland, OH.

Amanda Berry Smith

children. However, the school was closed within six weeks because the teachers
moved out of town. Five years later, she and her older brother attempted to
attend school again. It was not a special school for black children. Everyday she
and her brother walked ten miles roundtrip to school. Upon arriving at school,
they had no assurance that they would receive instruction because they had to
wait and see if the teacher had the time to teach them. As a result of their long
walks to school during the harsh winter, and the unwelcome reception from the
teacher, Amanda and her brother dropped out of this school after two weeks.

Her Employment

Since Amanda was unable to attend school, she left home at the age of
thirteen to enter the workforce. Her first job was a live-in maid for the Latimer
family in Strausburg, Pennsylvania.'' Her duties included cleaning, washing and
ironing, babysitting, and cooking. She continued in this line of work after she
had married and started her family. After she and husband moved to Greenwich
Village, New York in 1866, she took in laundry, and occasionally cleaned the
houses of wealthy people to support her family.^

In 1871, she gave up her career as a washerwoman, and became the
first female black evangelist. The next forty four years of her life she traveled
around the United States and to other countries in the world, giving her personal
testimony, and witnessing through song and the preached word to both white
and black congregations.^

Her Marriages

Amanda had two bad marriages. At age seventeen, she married Calvin
Devine; they resided in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and had two children.
Their second child, Mazie, was the only one of their two children who survived.
Her first husband, Calvin, caused her much mental anguish because he allowed
alcohol to control him. He enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War and
never returned home after the war.'*'

Amanda met James Smith, her second husband, in the early 1860's. He
was both a deacon and preacher at their local church. He was more than twenty
years older than her. They were married in the mid 1860's and moved to New
York City. During this marriage, she gave birth to three more children, who all
died during their infancy. For the majority of their marriage, she and her
husband lived in separate dwellings. She either lived at her place of employment
or in an apartment. He lived at his place of employment and used his earnings to
pay his Masonic lodge dues and to keep up with New York black elite society.
This marriage ended in 1 869 when James Smith died of stomach cancer.

Both of these marriages caused Amanda to suffer. She had to work long
hard hours and even starved herself so that her family would have food and
shelter. All of her children from both the marriages died except one. Living in

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

damp rooms was stated as the probable cause of their deaths. These hardships
did not discourage Amanda, but drove her closer to the Lord.'"

Her Spiritual Encounters with God

When Amanda left home at the age of thirteen to enter the workforce,
she lived in a white neighborhood. Thus, she was the only black person who
attended her church. In her endeavors to find peace with God, she joined this
church. However, the instructor over the new members class refused to teach her
until all the white new members had been taught. Since she had to wait, it made
her late serving dinner to her employer. Consequently, she had to quit the class
in order to keep her job. As a result, her fonnal spiritual growth was put on
hold."

During her first marriage, she really was not concerned about spiritual
matters until she nearly died due to an illness in 1855. Her father visited her
sickbed and told her to pray.''* She prayed and fell asleep. While asleep, she
dreamed that she was preaching at a camp meeting. After she recovered from
her illness, she believed that God had spared her life for a purpose.'^ One night
during the revival services at a local Baptist Church, she felt the urge to go to
the altar. While praying, "O, Lord, save me," she shouted out at the top of her
voice. God responded to her by overwhelming her with a stillness that she could
not comprehend, because she did not know how to exercise her faith. Since she
did not understand what had occurred, she continued in her search for peace
with God. '^

In 1856, she had her conversion experience in the basement of a
Quaker home where she was working. For two months, she had been praying,
fasting and longing for her personal conversion experience. Then, on March
I?"', 1856, she went into the cellar of the home and asked God to convert her or
take her life that afternoon. She remained on her knees prepared to die, if God
did not convert her. In the exact moment that she confessed her belief in Him,
she was converted. She cried out, "Hallelujah, I have gotten religion," when she
saw herself glowing with radiance in the mirror and experienced a wonderful
change within.'^

Even though she had experienced instantaneous salvation in the
basement of the Quaker home, she longed for the "second blessing," that is
purity of heart (sanctification) through the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore,
she continued in fasting and prayer. In 1867, she received her blessing of purity
of heart. She was at the Green Street Methodist Episcopal Church in New York.
John Inskip, the Methodist holiness leader, was preaching a sermon on
sanctification.'^ He explained that a believer receives a pure heart by faith, and
that God will keep all believers in a state of holiness. Amanda believed Inskip's
words, exercised her faith immediately and received the blessing of a pure heart.
The blessing motivated and enabled her to witness others.'^

Amanda Berry Smith

Her Ministry

When Amanda left Green Street Methodist Episcopal church after
receiving her sanctification, she was overcome with joy. On her way home, she
stopped to tell all her acquaintances along the street that her soul had been
sanctified by the Lord. She felt that she was prepared to tell the world of the
sanctifying power of God. As she testified of her experience to her friends and
neighbors, she urged them to seek purity of heart with God. She also began
sharing her experience and promoting sanctification at many of the local
churches in her community.""

Sharing her testimony with friends, neighbors and other churches was
not enough for Amanda; she sought a deeper understanding. She began
attending the weekly meetings of Phoebe Palmer to learn more about the
doctrine of sanctification. As she became more committed to sanctification, she
became more alienated from the members of her own African Methodist
Episcopal (AME) denomination, and her husband too. It caused her to change
her dress to Quaker style to distinguish herself from worldliness and to
demonstrate her piety and commitment to God."' In this attire, she continued to
testify about holiness and to pass out tracts on street comers. Thus, Amanda
took a bold stand for holiness.""

1869 was a turning point in Amanda's ministry. The winter leading up
to this year, her last son who was a small infant, contracted bronchitis. He died
in June of 1869, and her husband failed to help her with the burial costs or
attend their son's funeral. The latter part of that same year her husband died of
stomach cancer. After both of their deaths, Amanda left her daughter Mazie, the
only one of her children who survived into adulthood, in the care of friends
while she pursued her spiritual vocation."^

Amanda did not have the correct credentials to pursue her spiritual
vocation as an evangelist because she was a freed slave and second class citizen,
a washerwoman, a common servant and an uneducated woman. However, she
overcame all these obstacles and became a dynamic spokeswoman of God's
amazing grace." AME and Protestant Churches allowed her to speak on the
doctrine of holiness. In her message to others, Amanda stressed holiness and the
purity of heart with God. Her many ministries to others included the Women's
Temperance Movement leader and spokeswoman, a missionary to foreign
countries, and an orphan home founder and administrator.

Camp Meeting Evangelist

Camp meetings are a series of daily church services held at various
locations. They became a hallmark of the Methodist movement after the first
Great Awakening in 1800. During the 1870's, the meetings lasted for 10 days
with church services continuing into the night. John Inskip was the leader of the
organization. The National Association for the Promotion of Holiness, which
sponsored the camp meetings. Amanda attended her first camp meeting in 1870.

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

At this meeting, she gave such a powerful testimony on her sanctification that it
was written up in the daily paper. She continued giving her testimony to other
audiences, making a lasting impression upon those who heard it."^

In 1873, Smith played a major role in the 16"^ National Holiness Camp
Meeting at Landisville in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. At this meeting she
led the prayer and testimonial services. She also led the separate services for
colored worshippers. By 1874, Smith's popularity had spread to some
influential, wealthy white people in New Jersey. They engaged her to speak at a
Methodist holiness resort in Ocean Grove, New Jersey. She preached her
messages during this engagement with such persuasive eloquence that it
convicted the hearts of hundreds of people and gave them the desire for the
purity of heart. In 1875, Smith was involved in three camp meetings. Two were
ten day meetings for the promotion of holiness, and one was a two day meeting
for the promotion of temperance. She always enjoyed and participated in camp
meetings because they gave her a sense of spiritual renewal." Since her singing
and preaching ability stirred the hearts of the people during camp meetings, she
was given two nicknames, "The Singing Pilgrim" and "God's Image Craved in
Ebony.""^

Temperance Movement

During Smith's involvement in an 1875 revival in Philadelphia, Mary
Coffin Johnson, the first national secretary of the Women's Temperance
Movement, shared the podium with her. They began a relationship which
enabled Smith to become successful in both the Temperance Movement and
foreign missions. Amanda spoke from John 1 5 at a temperance camp meeting in
August of 1875. Her message supported the temperance resolutions against
alcohol sales and imports. She exhorted believers to trust God for everything,
and to ask Him to make them holy. From this point forward, she began speaking
at temperance meetings in both the Northeast and Midwest states."^

The leaders of the Temperance Movement wanted Amanda to sail to
Liverpool, England in 1878 to participate in the Keswick Convention. She was
afraid to sail, but she prayed and God gave her the courage to take the voyage. It
had been exactly ten years since she had proclaimed that she wanted to testify to
everyone around the world about the sanctifying power of God."^ She presented
her message to the English and became a popular speaker at Temperance
meetings and revivals throughout England and Scotland.

Foreign Missions

Amanda's plunge into foreign missions was just like the initiation of all
her other ministries. It was an opportunity that was dropped into her lap by
William Osbom, founder of the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting. He invited
Amanda to join him on a missionary trip to India. She was reluctant about going
to India. She prayed about it and God showed her that it was His will for her to

Amanda Berry Smith

go. Amanda had no funds to pay for her voyage, but a Boston lady, who was
going to India too, raised the money to pay for Amanda's voyage. She landed at
Bombay, India, but she traveled to Calcutta, where thousands of Indians came to
hear her preach. Osbom was impressed with her impact on the crowd because
many Indians, who had refused to enter a Methodist Chapel, came to hear her
preach. She conducted revivals in the major cities of India. Along with her
smashing success. Smith also faced opposition in India, because many Indians
believed that it was a dreadful thing for a woman to proclaim the gospel.^*'

At the conclusion of Amanda's mission in India, she was led to visit
West Africa before returning home to the United States. However, she did not
have the money to finance a trip to Africa. Thus, she returned to London,
England. While in London, her English supporters raised her fare to travel to
Africa. Her visit to Africa lasted over eight years. During these years, Amanda
had many accomplishments. She established many chapters of her Band of Hope
Temperance Society which saved many from a drunkard's grave. ' She
conducted revivals, visited and ministered to the sick and needy, and assisted
with the establishment of schools and missions. In the midst of all these
ministries, she suffered with several bouts of malaria. She also adopted two
orphaned African children. Their names were Frances and Bob. At the end of
1 889, she left Africa for England with her adopted son. Bob. She had no choice,
but to leave her sickly daughter, Frances, in the care of friends. ""

Orphan Home Founder/Administrator

During the latter part of 1892, Smith changed the focus of her ministry.
She decided to channel her energies into institution building by establishing an
orphan home for destitute colored children. ' In 1895, she began this effort by
purchasing two lots and a building in Harvey, Illinois through taking a three year
bank loan. The Amanda Smith Industrial Orphan Home officially opened on
June 28, 1899 with one building, and an endowment of $288.00 and five
orphans. Her goals for the home were to provide housing for destitute colored
children, offering them care, education, and industrial training. Her home was
not subsidized by the local child welfare authorities, yet they would often refer
colored children to the home for help.

Keeping the home open was both a struggle and a strain for Smith. She
found herself constantly struggling to pay the bills and to maintain competent
help. She strained her health by overloading herself with numerous speaking
engagements in order to raise funds to pay the bills. In spite of all obstacles
faced by the home, it did manage to thrive until 1905. During that year, the
financial situation of the home had deteriorated to the brink of financial
collapse. In 1906, Amanda signed the home over to a group of local trustees
comprised of local business and religious leaders. They were unable to raise the
funds required to revitalize the home. It continued to operate, constantly
bombarded by debt and neglect. In March 1918, a tragic fire at the home

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

destroyed the living quarters and killed two girls, resulting in the closing of the
home.^^

Her Motivation

Amanda Berry Smith spent more than forty years of her life preaching,
singing, and testifying to others about the sanctifying power of God. She had
long days and short nights. She would get up at about 6:00A.M. each morning
and would not retire until midnight. Before she became a popular evangelist, her
mode of transportation to camp meeting and revivals was walking. Many days,
she walked over 10 miles in all types of weather to carry God's message to
others. She was not a rich woman with houses and land. She was never fortunate
enough to find herself a good husband to provide for her financial needs. Yet, in
spite of these obstacles, Amanda continued to thrive. How did she manage to
continue her mission and many ministries in spite of so many obstacles? The
next few paragraphs will discuss her motivational forces and how they enabled
her to fulfill her mission and ministries.

God

Amanda's Father in heaven above was her chief motivator. Without His
blessing and assurance, Amanda did not attempt to do anything. In 1870, she
was invited to conduct a Methodist revival in New Jersey. She refused to
proceed with the request until she received confirmation from God."*^ She
testified to others that God had made her aware that she had been ordained by
Him as one of His chosen ones to carry the gospel message^^. When she was
afraid to sail to England with the Temperance Movement, she relied on God to
ease her fears and to give her courage.^^

Holiness

Ever since she received the blessing of purity of heart in 1 867, she was
motivated by personal holiness. She studied the holiness doctrine under Phoebe
Palmer and her husband. This led her to join the Holiness Movement. She gave
her personal testimony about the sanctifying power of God to others at churches,
camp meetings and revivals all around the world. She wanted everyone in the
world to experience the personal joy that she had received when God sanctified
her heart. Her desire for holiness caused her to make a bold stand against the
evils of alcohol as a spokeswoman for the Temperance Movement. Before her
last husband died, she withdrew her involvement from the female auxiliary of
his lodge, because she felt the organization's activities were unholy. Holiness
was not just a message that Amanda preached and testified to others. It was her
way of life.^'

Amanda Berry Smith

Evils of Segregation

Even though Amanda was sheltered as a very small child from many of
the cruelties of discrimination, she did encounter it as she grew older. When she
attempted to get an education, she had to wait until all the whites had been
taught. When she needed a job, the only job available to her was domestic work.
When she needed housing, she was limited to the black ghetto sections of town.
When she needed welfare assistance for herself, as a young mother, and for her
orphan children, as an institution director, she was denied because of race. When
she attempted to serve the Lord at local churches and religious gatherings, she
encountered special sections, restrictions, and services for blacks only.

None of the aforementioned evils of segregation destroyed her will. In
1873 she gave her testimony at the annual camp meeting. She told the
congregation that since the Lord had sanctified her, she no longer wanted to be
white, but was happy that God had made her as she was. She emphasized that
she had no bitterness towards whites, but she loved them and wanted them to be
saved."*^ This public statement about her love for whites was not something new
for Amanda. Since she had spent so much time with whites as a child, and had
been genuinely touched by their love and kindness, she sought to eliminate
racial barriers through expressing the love of God in song and testimony. As a
result, she had many influential white friends who supported her in her
ministries and missionary efforts. '

She also loved her own people and did not want them to experience the
pains of a segregated society. This was one of the stimuli which motivated her to
establish an orphan home for colored children. Her love for her own people is
also exemplified through her extended missionary trip to Liberia, where she
traveled all over the country, freely extending her helping hands to all classes:
civilized. Christians, and native worshippers. She received a warm reception in
many places that had rejected whites."*" During her eight years in Africa, she had
many opportunities to return home, but she often found herself delaying her
departure in order to complete another humanitarian project."^^

Thus, Amanda freely gave her unselfish love for all races as she served
the Lord. She spoke in white churches as well as black. Her message of holiness
was the same to all. Her life demonstrated that holiness is colorblind. God used
her life to tear down racial barriers and exhibit the power of His love.

Needs of Her People

While recuperating at a local sanitarium in England in 1894 from
exhaustion, Amanda Smith had an eye-opening experience. She received such
good care at the sanitarium that it greatly affected her. In a letter to a friend, she
praised the facility and expressed that she would not have received the same
care, as a black woman, in the United States. Her friend sent the letter to a local
newspaper that published it. This caused Amanda's name to be highlighted in a
religious controversy. She was accused of lacking faith, and relying on the

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

hospital instead of prayer. In spite of the negativity, Smith never retracted her
praise of the sanitarium. Between this controversy and her extended stay in
Liberia, Amanda was motivated to change the focus of her ministry from
evangelism to building an institution that would protect and educate destitute
colored children. She wanted them to have a place to live and to have access to
the educational opportunities that she was denied as a child.

Her Ministry Techniques

Amanda had one basic technique that she used as she commenced all
her ministries. It was quite simple. She sought, acknowledged and trusted God
(Proverbs 3:5 - 6). Before she would begin any ministry endeavor, she would
ask the Lord for divine guidance. She would remain prayerful until the Lord
gave her the confirmation and the financial means to proceed. When she arrived
at the places to which the Lord had directed her, she did not exalt herself. She
would take a back seat, and wait until she was asked to testify, lead, speak or
sing."*^ Despite this humble and submissive technique, Amanda still faced the
barriers against her race and women in ministry."*^ God removed all the barriers
that prevented her from doing His will.'*''

Evangelism and orphan home founder and director are the two major
ministries that Amanda fulfilled during her productive life. For each of these
ministries, she used not only her basic technique, but others as well to
accomplish her mission.

Evangelism of the Common People

As a revival speaker and worship service leader, Amanda was forceful,
but drew the worshippers together and enabled them to experience the power of
God. She would walk up and down the aisles among those who were kneeling
and seeking salvation to show them the simple way to be saved by faith."*^ When
she took the podium, she spiritually blessed the congregation with her melodious
voice. When she preached on a passage from the Bible, she would break it down
into common terms, easily understood by all. As she ministered in the church,
she made the people fall in love with sanctification. At the conclusion of her
messages, she would make an appeal for personal holiness, stressing that faith is
required to obtain purity with God."*^

Faith, Sacrifice and Hard Worlc

Continuous and diligent work was the method that Amanda used to
establish her home for colored children. She worked without ceasing until she
was able to open her home in 1899. Her challenge was to raise enough money to
pay the mortgage on the buildings that she had purchased in 1895. To
accomplish her goal in a three year time frame, she published and sold a
monthly newsletter entitled The Helper. She used the proceeds from her
autobiography, which was written while she was in the home of friends in New

Amanda Berry Smith

Jersey and published in 1893."^^' Donations that she received from singing and
speaking at camp meetings, revivals, and church speaking engagements were all
deposited into her savings account for the home. She also sold a photograph of
herself for twenty five cents."''' All of the aforementioned activities were done on
a rigorous full time schedule all over the United States to raise money to open
and maintain the operation of her home.

Lasting Impact of Amanda Berry Smith

"A picture is worth a thousand words" is an old saying that can be used
to describe the impact of the life of Amanda Berry Smith. Her life's portrait has
been painted by the itiformation written in her autobiography, biography and
other sources. All this information provides a lasting picture of Amanda's life
and legacy. This picture is framed with her devotion to God, drawn by her
dependence upon God, and colored by her unselfish service to others.

Amanda's devotion to God has shown what God can do through those
who are fully committed to Him. She was not merely satisfied with just
accepting Jesus as Her personal Savior. She wanted purity with God. She did not
want anything to come between her and God. She did not make a move without
asking God for His guidance and blessing, because she always wanted to be in
the will of God. Her devotion to God exemplifies that she loved God with all her
heart and permitted nothing to penetrate the framework of her love.

Her total dependence upon God revealed her steadfast faith in Him. She
did not have possessions or any hope for her future, except God. She asked God
for everything that she needed, and waited patiently for Him to provide. He did
not always immediately answer Amanda's prayer requests, so she trusted Him
and waited until His appointed time. He always provided her exactly what she
needed and she gave Him the Glory for His goodness to her. Her total
dependence upon Him demonstrates that her life's portrait is drawn by the
power and will of God.

Amanda spent over forty years of her life edifying others. When she
became sanctified, she wanted others to experience personal holiness, so she
testified of her personal sanctification as often as she could. She visited the sick
and the unevangelized to pray and to comfort them with words of
encouragement as often as she could. She spoke to many groups within the
United States and other countries in the world about the evils of alcohol. She
worked diligently for eight years in Africa to improve the living and spiritual
conditions for the people she encountered. She spent the senior years of her life
establishing a home for destitute colored children. Her dedication and unselfish
service to and for others has demonstrated how the children of God can color
this dim and dark world with His light of love and kindness.

Just thinking about the picture that Amanda has left in my mind has
caused me to evaluate my life and ministry. If I could take on Amanda's heart
for holiness, I would stop my complaining about what is not right with my

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

ministry and spread God's message to everyone I encounter. If I used the
spiritual gifts that God has given me to build my ministry, it would multiply like
the two fish and five loaves of bread. If I stopped allowing every little set back
to distract me, and continued in faith to do God's will, I would reap the
bountiful blessing of obedience like Amanda did. If I would channel my
dissatisfactions with today's society into projects which would improve the
quality of life for mankind, what a wonderful imprint I would leave on this
world. In order to make all my "if statements true realities, I must walk in the
footsteps of Jesus Christ, seeking holiness and purity of heart like Amanda did,
moving ahead in faith and obedience at God's command, and sacrificing my
will for His.

Thus, the life of Amanda Berry Smith has inspired me to serve God
with all my heart and trust Him for everything. I am certain that her life will also
impact others too..

Notes

Amanda Berry Smith The Singing Pilgrim Available online from
www.blackseek.com/bii/2Q0 1 / 1 00 ASmith.htm.

" Amanda Smith, The Story of the Lord's Dealings with Mrs. Amanda Smith the
Colored Evangelist: An Autobiography (New York: Oxford University Press, 1988), 23-
25.

Adrienne Israel, Amanda Berty Smith: From Washer-woman to Evangelist: A
Biography (Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press Inc, 1 998), 1 1 .
Amanda Berry Smith The Singing Pilgrim.
^ Smith, 18-19.
^Israel, 19-20.
^ Smith, 27.

"Israel, 29-41. " '
' Ibid., 49-56.
Ibid., 19-22.
Ibid., 23-51.

"A Hunger for Holiness: The Anguish and Joy of Amanda Smith," Christian
History Institute, Issue #136 Available online at
www.gospelcom.net/chi/GLIMPSEF/Glimpses/glmpsl36.shtml.
'-'Israel, 19.
'^ Ibid., 20.
'^ Smith, 42-43.
'^ Israel, 20.
'^ Ibid., 20.
'^ Smith, 73-77.
'^ Israel, 42-43.
'" Ibid., 49-50.

"' Pamela E. Klassen, "The Robes of Womanhood: Dress and Authenticity
among African American Methodist Women in the Nineteenth Century," Religion and
American Culture: A Journal oflnter'pretation. Volume 14, No. 1, (2004).
^- Israel, 49-50.

Amanda Berry Smith

^^ Ibid., 50-51.
Sandra J. Higgins, Amanda Smith's Amazing Grace, "Holiness Digest,"
(Fall, 1999) Available online at www.messiah.edu/WHWC/articles/article2.htm.
-^Israel, 51-52.
-^ Ibid., 53-62.

Amanda Beriy Smith The Singing Pilgrim
-^ Israel, 59-62.' -^^

^^ Ibid., 59-64. ■■

^° Ibid., 70-73.
^' Smith, 472-475.

Israel, 74-86.

" Ibid., 105.

David C. Bartlett and Larry A. McClellan, "The Final Ministry of Amanda
Berry Smith," Illinois Heritage, Volume I, No. 2, (1998): 20-25. Available online at
www.lincolnnet.net/users/lxmcclel/afam002.htm.
"Israel, 127-147.

^^ Ibid., 52-53.
"ibid., 55.

^^ Ibid., 64.

Ibid., 49-51.
^^ Ibid., 55-56.
^Mbid., 51-59.
^^ Smith, 467.
^^ Ibid., 461-464.
^Israel, 103-104.
^^ Smith, 206-207.
^^ Ibid.,, 277-282.
^^ Ibid., 436-442.
^^ Israel, 57.
^'^ Ibid., 96-99.
^° Bartlett and McClellan.
" Israel, 109-123.

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

10 Commandments Of Pastoral Leadership: A Theological Study Of
Pastoral Leadership In The Brethren Church (Ashland, Ohio)

by Roy A. Andrews

Introduction

Writing a theology requires a framework. To build confidence in the
framework, the theologian must reveal the foundational assumptions basic to
such construction. Thus, the brick and mortar of this paper is built with a two-
step logical progression. First, a sound theology must be based upon Scripture.
After all a study of God should be founded upon his Word. Secondly, the human
side of Scriptural interpretation brings discovery and discussion to the
theological process. This is, of course, from where all the various theologies
emerge.'

The human process of dealing with the divine can be seen in terms of
the following analogy. There are three streams that feed a biblical theology, each
of which can be posed as a question. The answers then ultimately fill the
"theological pool" from which the adherents to the theological tradition drink.
First, what are the current official documents of the church? This is sometimes
referred to as the dogma.' Second, what are the writings of thinkers in the past
who have commented upon the theological understandings of their time? These
are historical in nature and help provide a basis for understanding how the
dogma was developed. Third, what are the writings of contemporary theological
thinkers? This gives a current contextual flavor to the dogma that helps today's
followers understand and hopefully adhere to such tenets of the faith.

Before examining each of these feeder streams for pastoral leadership
specifically, some explanation is necessary regarding the Brethren theological
process in general. The Brethren Church finds its identity among the
classification of churches known as "free churches" or "believers churches."
These have an historical aversion to systematized thinking. This is true for their
understanding of God, the Bible, church government, etc."* The Free Church
emphasis is upon "right living" not on "right thinking," the assumption being
that the true measure of spiritual maturity lies in action, not in thought or
rhetoric. In short, a person living rightly certainly must think correctly. Why talk
about it or write it out?^

This mindset results in devotional writing more than theological
documentation.^ Thus, the Brethren Church, as a part of this Free Church
tradition, has little overt theology in any of the three streams mentioned above.
Of the theology that has been espoused in its 300-year history, the vast majority
is dedicated to the ordinances of baptism and communion.'' To find any theology
even remotely related to pastoral leadership, the researcher must examine the

* Roy Andrews (M.A., ATS) is pastor of Elkhart First Brethren Church, Napanee, IN,
and a Ph.D. student at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

1 0 Commandments of Pastoral Leadership

writings on the body life of the church. Though not explicitly addressed
theologically, there are some clues as to the Brethren views on pastoral
leadership and the biblical texts that inform them.

Undeniably, there will be some overlap between the theological
concepts delineated below. However, for ease of study and discussion, what
follows will be presented as the "10 Theological Commandments of Pastoral
Leadership." Much like the 10 Commandments of the Old Testament, these
theological concepts will be presented in both the positive and negative forms
depending upon the concept presented. There will be Scriptural sources and,
where available, evidences for each commandment from the three streams
mentioned earlier.

Commandment #1: Thou shalt not be the holy one

Leading as a pastor in the Brethren Church requires a foundational
understanding of the Brethren view of the church. A key starting point for
comprehension emerges from 1 Peter 2:9-10. The Protestant Reformation's
injunction that the church is "the priesthood of all believers" was crucial in the
development of a denominational mission statement a little over a decade ago.
The opening words of this statement read, "The Brethren Church is a priesthood
of believers...." The General Conference Moderator at the time explained, "It
stresses each Brethren person's role as a priest for the church."^

Interestingly, when a pastor reared in another tradition assumed the
pastorate in a Brethren church during the late 1970's and wrote in the
denominational magazine of his ideas of differing levels of belonging in the
church,^ the reaction was alarm. Later editorials ranged from lengthy reasoned
biblical responses to the simply put, "Where is any equality of believers? We are
all priests. "'° Of course the Brethren humbly realize their priesthood was made
possible by Jesus, the High Priest's, atoning death which rent the temple curtain
allowing free access to the Holy by all."

The implications of this theological point for pastoral leadership are
two-fold. First, the pastor is called to ministerial service by the local church;
thus, there is a sense that though the role is now different, the essence is still the
same. Though the pastor will perform what may be considered "priestly" duties,
there is the very humbling yet helpful reality that God can and will use any
number of his "priests" within the church to accomplish his task. In short, the
pastor will handle the holy things of the church, but this does not make the
pastor the holy one.

Second, to further this point, the Brethren view of pastoral ordination,
unlike that of many denominations, is functional in nature rather than positional.
Thus, all authority and responsibility are tied to the task of pastoring, not to the
pastor personally.'"

The upside of these points for the pastor is confidence in delegating
tasks to capable lay people in order to create a truly shared ministry in the
church. The downside can be seen when there is little respect given by church

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

members to the pastor. Much like Jesus' situation in Nazareth, "Only in his
hometown ... is a prophet without honor," '^ the Brethren pastor can become
ineffective simply due to the contempt for leadership by the church membership.

Commandinent #2: Thou shalt not seek to be the head of the body

A second aspect of the Brethren view of the church is found in the
biblical metaphor "the body of Chrisf cited in 1 Corinthians 12:12-26. This is
an extension of the priesthood concept in that it recognizes an equality of
belonging for all in the church. However, it differs, in that the body analogy
recognizes unique parts/roles for each individual. Thus, by focusing on Paul's
body parallel, the church membership can find individuality confirmed in the
gifts of the Spirit while seeing commonality displayed in the fruit of the Spirit.'"^
Keeping the aforementioned in mind though, does not obfuscate the real focus
of this commandment — not on the body, but rather the Head — which is Christ!

The significance of this theological point for pastoral leadership can be
found in both the body and the Head. The latter point makes it clear that there is
only one true Leader in the church. And because all members of the body have
access to the Head, there is no need for an intermediary. This point in and of
itself provides freedom for the pastor, and ultimately for all involved. Yet, taken
to an ugly extreme, there can be a rejection of any human leadership in the
church.

A helpful distinction concerning this issue can be found in the
following thoughts on relationships in church government, "since all are on
equal standing before Christ, Congregationalism recognizes no absolute
authority in the church except Christ's."'"^ The key word, of course, is
"absolute." Just as it is reasonable to see Christ as the only absolute authority, so
it is to recognize the need for some level of human authority that is not of an
absolute nature.

As for pastoring the body, there is an unexplainable mixture of joy and
fear in providing leadership to a lively, dynamic group of unique individuals.'
This entails a unique approach to church polity. The foremost Brethren writer on
this topic, Jack Oxenrider, relates this connection thus:

Because this principle of the body of Christ was and is
paramount to the Brethren idea of the church, the
organizational principles which the Brethren Church employs
must reflect the essential qualities of the body imagery. Those
qualities are coordination, cooperation, interdependence,
shared responsibility, mutual accountability, interdependent
relationships, and the inclusion of every individual member
into the comprehensive whole. '^

The next commandment will complete this point.

10 Commandments of Pastoral Leadership

Commandment #3: Thou Shalt Believe The Best About The Church

The final commandment that focuses on the nature of the church in
Brethrenism is the high view of church membership.'^ The early church
examples of Acts 1 and Acts 6 are readily cited as the model for congregational
government. The choosing of Judas' replacement and the choosing of the seven
for a ministry of service are seen by the Brethren as an apostolic example of
total community involvement in the governing process.

Three Brethren writers revealed key concepts of how this high view of
church membership informs healthy Congregationalism. Oxenrider begins with
the theological concept of redeemed humanity and its link to church
government. He states, "The very concepts of mutual responsibility, voluntary
accountability, and the practice of shared leadership are predicated on a view
that regenerate people are capable of accepting responsibility, being
accountable, and fulfilling leadership roles. "'^

An old school contribution on this issue is presented by Smith Rose
who when describing the rationale for Brethren polity describes an idyllic
church membership. Rose writes.

Brethren Church government has been congregational as this
was believed to be apostolic. This assumed that each member
of the congregation would through an awareness of God's will
through His written word, through prayerful communication
with Him, and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit make the
decisions that were pleasing to God.^°

Current day historian/theologian Dale Stoffer cites the sobering duty
such an eclectic church government with a high view of its members, places
upon the Brethren. Stoffer relates the expectancy of the early Brethren that still
persists to this day, "Such a process for discerning truth places a great deal of
responsibility upon the entire body — for knowing the content of the faith, for
critiquing current forms of Christianity, for individually and corporately being
open to the Spirit's direction.""'

The practical import for the Brethren pastor related to this
commandment is simple to state and yet difficult to counteract. If indeed, a
pastor is able to pastor such a mature group of disciples, then believing the best
about the church will be easy. However, if such expectations of the church
membership are unrealistic, then true pastoral leadership becomes virtually
impossible.

Commandment #4: Thou shalt be inclusive in decision making

Consideration of the first three commandments will help the Brethren
pastor appreciate the necessity of inclusivity in the decision making processes in
the church. As was mentioned above, the narrative accounts of Acts 1 and 6
form a normative approach to making decisions in today's Brethren Church.
Because the Brethren see themselves as priests who are members of the body of

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

Christ, with each member being an invaluable contributor to the democratic
process, there is a dangerous propensity toward "radical Congregationalism."
Stoffer discusses this extremism as follows:
I find that some churches seem to feel congregational
government means that the entire congregation must be
involved in making every decision, not only the major ones
regarding selection of pastor and building of facilities, but also
the lesser ones of what color to paint the nursery and what
Sunday school curriculum to use. Such radical
Congregationalism becomes unworkable in any but the
smallest congregation. (Even here it is poor stewardship of
time).'"

This thinking is reflected not only in the practical experiences of pastors, it is
also a part of the Brethren mindset recorded in their official documents. At times
it is even forcefully expressed as exhibited in this example from the Manual oj
Pastoral and Congregational Procedures, "The New Testament church, our
divine model, is a very democratic organization. The will of the majority,
honestly expressed, is its law" (italics mine).^^

Commandment #5: Thou shalt not rush decisions

This commandment is closely related to the first four, yet provides an
important nuance for the Brethren pastor to consider. In the political world it is
true that on a voting issue the majority wins; however, in the church there is the
fear of disenfranchisement for the minority who "loses." Thus, maintaining a
cohesive fellowship leads the Brethren Church to trade clear-cut
majority /minority democratic processes for the more palatable consensus
system.

Unfortunately, the strength of guarding church unity is at times offset
by the impotence of delays when timeliness is essential. Again, much like the
potential errors of extremism mentioned in radical Congregationalism, so it is
with the necessity of consensus building on even the smallest of issues.
Oxenrider distinguishes issues of "policy and purpose" as those that are worthy
of seeking a consensus on "God's will for the congregation at that time and
place.

The wise Brethren pastor will seek balance in dealing with
commandments four and five. For the few decisions of great importance,
leadership must seek large-scale input of the membership, and show patience in
the often slow and difficult process of consensus building in the body. For all
other decisions, pastoral leadership should be prayerful, purposeful, and timely.
When speaking of decision making. Brethren scholars point out the need for
pragmatism in the role of pastoral ministry,"" trust by the body extended to their
pastors,^^ and recognition of respect for pastoral authority and responsibility in
the church."''

10 Commandments of Pastoral Leadership

Commandment #6: Thou shalt be accountable

This commandment is important for all healthy relationships in the
church; however, it is essential for pastors and others in positions of authority.
The Brethren have cited Ephesians 5:21 as the basis for this theological tenet,
with Paul counseling the church members in Ephesus to mutually submit one to
another.

Oxenrider wrote extensively in the early 1980's on the connection
between accountability and church government. First he succinctly states, "The
key to unity is voluntarily-shared responsibility and mutual accountability."
Next, he reveals the intimidating nature in such relationships, "For people to
agree to be accountable, they must be secure in themselves and in their
relationships. People will not volunteer to be under obligation to a person or
organization that they do not respect."^^ Finally, the genesis for such a healthy
environment of respect is properly placed:

In the local church accountability begins with the pastoral and
congregational leadership. When those in leadership begin to
act with love, trust, security, and respect, they develop an -
atmosphere in which accountability can flourish.^°

The expression of accountability for the Brethren pastor is best
evidenced through modeling. Remembering the identity value of church
membership as expressed in the preceding commandments and looking ahead to
the concept of servant-leadership that will be discussed next, pastors must be
willing to risk vulnerability and transparency in leadership. Accountability in the
church depends on the respective roles of leaders and followers not obscuring
the fact of equal standing before Christ. One nationally known Brethren leader
stated it thus, "We are all sinners saved by grace, and the area beneath the cross
is level ground. There are no 'greater' or 'lesser than' people in the Body of
Christ."^'

Commandment #7: Thou shalt be a servant-leader

Although the topic of servant-leadership has gained increasing
popularity in the past few years, it has been a hallmark of the Brethren from
their inception. Stoffer writes of Brethren Church founder Alexander Mack that
he "sought to serve his flock with a sensitive humble spirit. "^"^ The foremost
Brethren theological thinkers of the 19'*' (Peter Nead) and 20''' (J. Allen Miller)
centuries, concurred in their writings. Nead's thinking has been summarized as
follows, "Ministers should remember that they are servants and not masters of
the church." " Miller furthered this point by including all in leadership, "All
officers are to remember that they are not the rulers but the servants of the
church. "^'^

The official documents of the Brethren Church touch briefly on this
subject as it relates to pastors today. After listing many responsibilities

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

associated with the office, A Manual of Procedure for The Brethren Church
states one final area of pastoral duty, ". . .under the direction of the church,
administer government and discipline. "^^ The very concept of leaders being
placed "under" the church may appear counterintuitive to some, but for the
Brethren this is the essence of servant-leadership.

The words of Jesus himself form the biblical corpus for this concept of
servant- leadership. In Luke's gospel, Jesus settles a power struggle between his
disciples regarding "greatness" with this statement, "The greatest among you
should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. "^^
The fact that this teaching occurred during the last supper, which in John
includes the personal example of Christ assuming the role of a servant by
washing his disciples' feet, has not been lost on the Brethren.^^ To this day they
are among the few Christian groups who still practice this symbolic act of
humble service as they celebrate Communion.

Concerning the practical workings of this commandment in church
polity, a former denominational executive addressed an interesting phenomenon
in the following analysis:

Understanding our sin nature, we sometimes fear that our
leaders may take a controlling attitude rather than that of a
servant. So we tend to grant responsibility and authority to
groups of people — boards or committees or the congregation
as a whole — rather than entrusting leadership to a few. The
result is creation of bureaucracies — groups who encumber
their decisions with the burden of regulations and limitations.
At times such groups unconsciously discourage ministry rather
than empowering and enabling it!^^

For the Brethren pastor an awareness of such a subtle nuance is invaluable to
effective church leadership. A final helpful thought concerning servant-
leadership comes from long-time Ashland Theological Seminary theology
professor Jerry Flora,

"Every one of us has a ministry, and no one should be called
'the minister.' All of us are ministers, that is, servants. Some
have been given the service of pastoring or shepherding, but
shepherds don't give birth to sheep — sheep have sheep!"

Commandment #8: Thou shalt not assume a position of authority

In a similar vein, the Brethren have been averse to hierarchy and a
wariness of those who seek positional authority. Mark 10:35-37 records the
request of James and John to be placed in heavenly seats of distinction. Jesus'
response in the following verses taught not only his two disciples then, but they
also instruct the Brethren of today. Seeking positional authority and being
Christlike are incongruous to the Brethren mind.

10 Commandments of Pastoral Leadership

Oxenrider's studies provided this assertion: "Brethren, because of their
aversion to hierarchy, their commitment to the equality of community, and their
functional view of the priesthood of all believers, have had little use for
directive, autocratic structure in the overall organization of the Brethren
Church." Speaking of organizational structures, an independent consultant
hired by the Brethren Church to evaluate their financial and organizational
health in the mid-1990's observed:

In most organizations, there are formal lines of organization,
with appropriate boxes and lines, which describe how
decisions are made, who reports to whom, and generally who
is in charge at any level. Often these same organizations have
the informal structure, which is never put on paper. The
informal organization is how the church actually operates.""

The astute Brethren pastor will realize the natural suspicions affiliated with a
leadership position, and will work through the many and varied informal
structures to provide effective leadership.

Commandment #9: Thou shalt equip the saints

The Brethren pastor who sees the pastoral role as one of facilitating
ministry will find widespread acceptance within the church. Ephesians 4:11-13
provides the biblical evidence for such facilitation. Oxenrider posits in his
ministry model for church organization, "It is the basic function of the persons
in leadership — such as deacons, moderator, officers, and pastor — to serve as
resource persons to the ministry groups and to the task-oriented sub-groups.""^"
He follows this functional description with a relational emphasis, "Of all the
resources a leader has at his disposal, the only resource that can follow is people.
Thus the only resource which can be led is people.""*"^ How apropos for the spirit
of this commandment to be one of balance in leadership. Having direction (task)
and followers (relationship) is perhaps seen most clearly in "equipping the
saints."

Commandment #10: Thou shalt be called

Finally we end where we could have easily begun. In fact, adherence to
the other nine commandments and neglect in this one will result in frustration
and failure in the pastorate. For the Brethren, the call to pastoral ministry is a
partnership between God and his church."^ Stoffer records this connection with
the thinking of an early Brethren leader, "Nead contends that ministers, who
have been entrusted with the preaching of the Word, derive their authority from
Jesus Christ. Yet, this authority is never self-assumed, for the Lord uses the
church to choose His ministers.""*^

The Manual of Pastoral and Congregational Procedures gives a
lengthy description of the calling process. Three basic concepts emerge from 1
Timothy: Number one, "Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands. "**^ Number

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

two, "He must not be a recent convert."'*^ Number three, "They must first be
tested.""*^ Though these passages sometimes refer to differing tasks or positions
in the early church, they are all concerned with leadership."*^ A number of
persons and groups work in conjunction with the Holy Spirit to confirm a
pastor's calling. Clearly, of all leaders within the church, the Brethren pastor
must be called!

Concluding Reflections and Suggestions

What has been presented thus far has been done with an understanding
that this is a very abbreviated look at the theology of pastoral leadership in the
Brethren Church. I readily admit a limited understanding of the history and
theology of the Brethren. It is hoped, however, that this discussion will become
a catalyst for further investigation by those who are more qualified to tackle the
task with scholarly vigor. What follows is an attempt to open the dialogue for
future study, not lend the final word. Hopefully, such a study will make a
meaningful contribution to those about whom and for whom we write — the
Brethren pastors.

The first three commandments above dealing with the nature of the
church as described in the Bible must be balanced by a sober appraisal of the
church's actual current composition. Can the Brethren afford to continually
subject their pastors to unrealistic leadership expectations based upon faulty
conclusions about the true nature of the church? Rather than asking the Brethren
to abandon the biblical picture of the church, I am instead suggesting that a more
complete depiction be presented. The Brethren have always been guided by the
truth of Scripture, yet how can they give credence to the realities of the church
as it is, all the while striving for the ideal of what God's Word calls it to be?
Only as the whole counsel of Scripture is sought can these inequities reach a
balance. This can only be accomplished by acknowledging the fallen nature of
our world and the frailty of humanity, while at the same time seeking the
guidance of the Holy Spirit in the current cultural applications of biblical
concepts.

Commandments four and five, those dealing with decision-making,
should be re-examined in light of today's society. The church cannot respond to
the governing needs of the "now" by using yesterday's methods. Fully
democratic processes and consensus seeking are values more indicative of the
American infancy into which the Brethren of the I700's were thrust - a vastly
different social structure than that of the early church presented in Scripture.
Have the Brethren asked their pastoral leadership to submit to church traditions
that are based more upon socio-historic standards than biblical ones?^° The
Brethren should explore Scriptural texts dealing with autocracy and
representative democracy in the decision making process. Perhaps today's words
of "efficiency" and "effectiveness" are really in step with the biblical council of
good stewardship.

1 0 Commandments of Pastoral Leadership

A more realistic theology of the church and a more balanced theology
of church polity would have a profound effect on commandments six through
ten presented earlier in this work.^' Briefly stated here are some possible
ramifications of an unhealthy church.

The accountability issues of commandment six are certainly valid
portrayals for life together in community. For the Brethren pastor, however,
being a transparent and vulnerable model carries great risk. An insecure and
suspicious church body often rejects such pastoral modeling. This fact,
combined with the potential excesses of radical Congregationalism, can result in
pastoral submission ending in pastoral termination!"

Likewise, the servant-leadership discussed in commandment seven is
an important biblical injunction; however, the practical outworking of this
concept can prove hazardous to the Brethren pastor. An unhealthy church body
can refuse the leadership aspect and abuse the pastor's service. The "hired hand"
or "chaplain" metaphors have been used to describe such Brethren pastorates.
The result is oftentimes a disillusioned, burned-out pastor!

Further, the eighth commandment imploring the Brethren pastor to
avoid positional authority is biblically sound. Though the Brethren have
unofficially spumed positional authority, they have officially dealt with the
pastorate in a manner similar to other denominations that have embraced
hierarchy. This mixed message of Brethrenism has often confused Brethren
pastors and can contribute to unhealthy congregations."'"'* A schizophrenic church
government damages both the sheep and the shepherd!

Commandment nine finds its strength and foundation in Ephesians
4:11-13, where equipping the saints is a hallmark of healthy church leadership.
However, busyness, independence, and spiritual shallowness in the church's
membership short-circuits pastoral attempts to enable and empower. Seeking to
equip saints who are not faithful, available, or teachable can lead to great
frustration for the Brethren pastor. The Brethren pastor may respond in extremes
~ workaholism or sloth — neither of which is beneficial for the pastor or the
church being served!

Pastoral calling, as described in the tenth commandment, is a wonderful
Scriptural example of the combination of the mystical (God calls) and the
practical (the church confirms). Remembering that the pastoral candidate comes
from the body and is affirmed by the body, God may remain an unseen and
unheard entity in the process. Unfortunately, some pastors are hired to lead
Brethren churches without the call of God to empower and guide!

Finally, a few disclaimers are in order. First, what has been written
describes possibilities that may be more representative of the few extreme cases
than the general rule

for Brethrenism. However, many of these possibilities have become realities and
can easily spread to healthy bodies if left unchecked.

Second, what has been described as Brethren issues are certainly not
limited to this small strain of Christianity. Many Christian groups struggle with

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

similar issues. Yet, the Brethren cannot settle for a "misery loves company"
attitude and a throwing up of our theological hands.

Third, some of what has been presented as problematic have no
foreseeable solutions, from my vantage point. Of course, that can be considered
a hopeless statement; however, it is actually hope that causes me to write.
Perhaps others, from their vantage point, can provide insights that when
combined will lead to greater theological understanding and health.

Notes

Millard Erickson, Christian Theology. (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House,
1983), 21-22.

'The American Heritage Dictionary defines dogma as "Theology: A system of
doctrines proclaimed true by a religious sect."

John H. Yoder writes of this grouping of churches that it "differs from the
other streams of evangelicalism... in that it has no one founder, no one classical place or
generation of origins, no foundational corpus of normative writings, no primary
institutional bearer of its theological identity, and no accredited body of teachers and
writers whose way of working we could observe. See John H. Yoder, "Thinking
Theologically From A Free-Church Perspective" in Doing Theology in Today 's World.
(Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1991), 251.

See the preface of The Free Church & the Early Church, edited by D.H.
Williams (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002), vii-xiii. Williams gives a brief but thorough
introduction to this aversion to theological thinking, some reasons for it, and some
preliminary rebuttal to such thought.

^Barry L. Callen, Radical Christianity. (Nappanee, IN: Evangel Publishing
House, 1999), 83.

Dale R. Stoffer, Background and Development of Brethren Doctrines 1650-
1987. (Philadelphia: Brethren Encyclopedia, Inc., 1989), 2.

Jack L. Oxenrider, "What Do Brethren Believe About the Church?," The
Brethren Evangelist, June 1982: 6.

^Kenneth Sullivan, "Setting Direction for The Brethren Church," The Brethren
Evangelist, May 1990: 6.

^Stephen Swihart, "Biblical Leadership in the Church," The Brethren
Evangelist, May 1978:9.

'"Letters to the Editor, The Brethren Evangelist, October 1978: 20.

"See Gospel accounts in Matthew 27:51, Mark 15:38, and Luke 23:45 for
references to the Temple curtain tearing during Christ's time on the cross. See the book
of Hebrews for multiple references to Jesus as our "high priest."

'■^See The Brethren Church_Manual of Pastoral and Congregational
Procedures, 16.

'^Mark 6:4, NIV.

'"^Roy A. Andrews, "Spiritual Gifts Coordination: Integrating Spiritual Gifts
Into A Biblical Model Of Administration/Leadership" (Masters Thesis, Ashland
Theological Seminary, 1993), 17-21.

'^John T. Byler, "What On Earth Is Church Polity?," The Brethren Evangelist,
June 28, 1975: 13.

10 Commandments of Pastoral Leadership

See The Brethren Church Manual of Commissioning, Licensing, and
Ordination Procedures, 64. J. Allen Miller, noted Brethren leader from the early 1900's
writes of this phenomenon in his article "The Origin and Spirit of the Brethren People,"
He states, "In seeking to characterize what I like to call the spirit and the genius of
Brethrenism I always find myself at a loss for words. In the first place this is true because
it is a LIFE that I am trying to depict. And what makes this all the more difficult at least
for me is the fact that it is not the life of a particular man or woman but the life of a
community that I am trying to describe. Yes, it is a life. To appreciate it one must really
enter into it."

'^Jack L. Oxenrider, "What Do Brethren Believe About the Church?," The
Brethren Evangelist, June 1982: 7.

' Jack L. Oxenrider, "A Brethren Management Theory," The Brethren
Evangelist, September 1982: 4.

"^Smith F. Rose, "Brethren Church Government," The Brethren Evangelist,
June 28, 1975: 13.

" Dale R. Stoffer, Background and Development of Brethren Doctrines 16 SO-
WS?. (Philadelphia: Brethren Encyclopedia, Inc., 1989), 84.

"Dale R. Stoffer, "Let Us Be Brethren," The Brethren Evangelist, June 1988:
8.

"See The Brethren Church Manual of Pastoral and Congregational
Procedures, 36.

""^Jack L. Oxenrider, "A Working Brethren Model," The Brethren Evangelist,
August 1982: 12.

^^Frederick T. Burkey, "Challenges and Opportunities," The Brethren
Evangelist, March 1979: 10.

-^Dale R. Stoffer, "Let Us Be Brethren," The Brethren Evangelist, June 1988:
8.

- Larry R. Baker, "Power Struggles and the Pastor's Role in the Church," The
Brethren Evangelist, February 1993: 10.

Jack L. Oxenrider, "Defining Church-Pastor Relationships," The Brethren
f'vawge/w/, October 1982: 9.
^''ibid., 10.
^«lbid.

'Mary Ellen Drushal, "Brethren Megatrends 2000," The Brethren Evangelist,
June 1990: 8.

"Dale R. Stoffer, Background and Development of Brethren Doctrines 1650-
1987. (Philadelphia: Brethren Encyclopedia, Inc., 1989), 68.

''Ibid., 126
^^Ibid., 209.
"See The Brethren Church y4 Manual of Procedure for The Brethren Church,

^^Luke 22:26, NIV.
"See John 13:1-17.
Ronald W. Waters, "Leaders for a Growing Church," The Brethren

Evangelist, March 1993: 4.

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

^^Jerry R. Flora, The Message of Faith. (Ashland, OH: The Brethren Church,
Inc. 1996), 105.

Jack L. Oxenrider, "Understanding Organizational Design," The Brethren
Evangelist, July 1982: 6-7.

"^'Norman L. Edwards, "The Brethren Church: Financial and Organizational
Study," February, 1994: 14.

"Jack L. Oxenrider, "A Working Brethren Model," The Brethren Evangelist,
August 1982: 14.

"Jack L. Oxenrider, "A Brethren Management Theory," The Brethren
Evangelist, September 1982: 4.

The Manual of Pastoral and Congregational Procedures cites, "Ordination
possesses both divine and human aspects. It is a formal recognition of God's call in a
person's life and affirms both that those spiritual gifts needed for a special calling are
present and that God promises grace to fulfill the responsibilities of the task. But
ordination also includes human components. It assumes that God's calling must be
ratified by human witnesses as well who can testify to the evidence of the divine call. The
act of laying on of hands is also performed by persons with the appropriate authority who
can likewise vouch for the person's character and integrity. In the ordination process,
God and human beings cooperate to provide the best possible leadership for the further
advance of God's kingdom purposes."

Dale R. Stoffer, Background and Development of Brethren Doctrines 1650-
1987. (Philadelphia: Brethren Encyclopedia, Inc., 1989), 126.
^^See 1 Timothy 5:22.
^'Seel Timothy 3:6.
^^Seel Timothy 3:10.

Unlike many denominations, the Brethren have not understood Scripture to
present levels of hierarchy in leadership that are normative for all times and situations.
Terms such as "overseer," "elder," and "bishop" are all lumped into one category as an
ordained clergy. Laypersons are ordained as "deacons" and "deaconesses." See J. Allen
Miller, Christian Doctrine - Lectures and Sermons. (Ashland, OH: The Brethren
PubHshing Company, 1946), 106.

Erickson concludes his chapter on the "The Government of the Church" with
a brief yet interesting historical appraisal of the three major forms of church polity
functioning today. See Millard Erickson, Christian Theology. (Grand Rapids: Baker
Book House, 1983), 1086-1087.

After listing seven assumptions about Brethren management theory that were
idealistic, Oxenrider reftjtes what I have stated; however, his appraisal is over twenty
years old and he is no longer a part of the Brethren Church to give an updated evaluation.
Nevertheless, I have included his comments here to be considered by future researchers.
"The accusation will be made by some that such a theory of leadership and church
organization is impractical and idealistic - that it fails to take into account the fact that
the church exists in a fallen world and that there are problems of carnality within the
church. These charges are false. The Brethren Church grew out of a reaction to these very
problems within the world and the institutional church. It was a reaction to these very
things that gave birth to the Anabaptists and, later, the German Pietists, both of which are
the parent movements to The Brethren Church." See Jack L. Oxenrider, "A Brethren
Management Theory," The Brethren Evangelist, September 1982: 6.

10 Commandments of Pastoral Leadership

"General Conference Moderator for 1990 wrote in the denominational
magazine the following candid comments regarding this unfortunate circumstance, "A
fiind should be established that would provide for counseling, restoration, and assistance
to pastors and their families who have been chewed up and spit out by a local church. I
am embarrassed to even admit this happens in Brethren churches, but it does, and it needs
to be dealt with at every level" See Mary Ellen Drushal, "Brethren Megatrends 2000,"
The Brethren Evangelist, June 1990: 9.

^ Longtime Brethren pastor Larry Baker, after assessing the reasons for
congregational/pastoral conflict, wrote the following, "In some congregations the pastor
is neither expected nor allowed to exercise his responsibility and authority. He is viewed
as an employee of the congregation with 'chaplain' responsibilities." See Larry R. Baker,
"Power Struggles and the Pastor's Role in the Church," The Brethren Evangelist,
February 1993: 10.

"^■^Oxenrider writes about this issue in the following, "A well-defined and
understood organization is a key to the effective ministry of a local Brethren church and
to the effective function of the pastor within that church. Where church structures are
confused or ill-defmed, increasing difficulty will result. Where organizational structures
are confusing or hidden, the pastor will experience great difficulties in his role of
directing the affairs of the church. A clearly understood and used organizational structure
is essential for the effective leadership-management of the Brethren Church." Jack L.
Oxenrider, "A Working Brethren Model," The Brethren Evangelist, August 1982: 14.

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

Pauline Theology: A Review Article

Allan R. Severe*

James D. G. Dunn, The Theology of Paul the Apostle. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998.
808 pp., cloth, $50.00.

Dunn's book is a detailed work on the theology of the great apostle and the
culmination of forty years of study, lectures, and publications. In the Preface Dunn begins
by mentioning his interest in Paul, even as a boy, and how that interest took on a more
profound aspect. "In my student days the fascination deepened as I began to appreciate
something of Paul the theologian. The combination of profound theological reflection and
sensitive grappling with all too real human problems, of outspoken argument and pastoral
insight, 'found me' at many points" (p. xv). Having been found by Paul, it could be said
that this book focuses on what Dunn as "found out" concerning Paul's theology.

Given the nature of a full-scale work on Paul, Dunn had to make several
difficult decisions on approach and method. First, was to use the book of Romans as a
template for a more complete explanation of Paul's theology. The value in this is to use
the major theological themes developed in Romans. The problem with this approach is
that the other letters in the Pauline corpus are treated in a "more broken" (p. xvi) way,
which is less agreeable. But Dunn sees the other possibility of analyzing each letter as
problematic in its own right.

"A second important decision was to treat the subjects in sufficient detail for
(Paul's) theological and (my) exegetical rationale to be clear" (p. xvi). Thus at certain
places in the book, Dunn provides quotations of key scriptural texts, sometimes at great
length (e.g. pages 138 and 302). Dunn is aware that the reader may not always have the
texts of scripture at hand. Not only does this provide a convenience to the reader, it also
assists in reinforcing certain key points by the writer.

A third critical decision was to decide on the degree of engagement with other
scholars on the "substance and detail" (p. xvi) of Paul's theology. The massive volume of
scholarly work available on Paul could easily turn an already large discussion into an
endless one. Thus difficult choices had to be on what scholars to include in the discussion
based on the themes being developed.

A final difficult decision was what to entitle the book. The Theology of Paul
was not self-explanatory outside scholarly and ecclesiastical circles, and The Theology oj
St. Paul, according to Dunn, would not correctly characterize an apostle who used the
term "saint" to refer to all believers. Thus Dunn settles for The Theology of Paul the
Apostle, since "apostle" is clearly one title Paul cherished (p. xvii).

In the Prologue Dunn wrestles with the complexity of whether or not a
theology of Paul is possible, and if so, how one should be written. He asks and answers
several key questions as he works toward a solution. Why a theology of Paul? The
answer: "Paul is the first and greatest Christian theologian" (p. 2). What is a theology of
Paul? It is a study wedded to "historical analysis and contextualization" that is neither
necessary nor possible with many other early Christian writings (p. 11). It is theology that
has everything to do with everyday living (p. 9). Can a theology of Paul be written? Yes,
it can. In fact it is possible to write a theology of Paul in a way not possible with anyone
else in the first century of Christianity (p. 13). How do we write a theology of Paul?

* Allan Bevere (Ph.D., Durham University) is Assistant Professor of Biblical
Interpretation and Theology at ATS.

Pauline Theology: A Review Article

According to Dunn, not around a center of core principles reminiscent of much German
scholarship in the twentieth century, which led to a theology too inflexible putting Paul
into a static, unchanging world (pp. 19-20). Nor should a theology of Paul be written
around the notion of his theological development, of which the problems have been
clearly stated (p. 22). Dunn finally settles on Beker's model of coherence within
contingency, whereas (quoting Beker), "the coherence of the gospel is constituted by the
apocalyptic interpretation of the death and resurrection of Christ" (p. 23). One key
assumption is that Paul's thought is essentially coherent unless incoherence is
demonstrated. This is simply a matter of respect for Paul and his work. How do we move
toward a theology of P anil The answer here is two-fold: First, through dialogue. This is
not simply theological dialogue, but the kind of dialogue where we learn to understand
and appreciate others. We thus dialogue with Paul, not only in his theology, but also in
his history, and in his person and on his own terms. Second, in using Romans as a
template for the discussion, since it was written to articulate and "defend his own mature
understanding of the gospel (Rom. 1:16-17) as he had thus far proclaimed it and as he
hoped to commend it both in Jerusalem and beyond Rome in Spain" (p. 25).

Having put forth the task and its method, Dunn then moves into Paul's theology
proper. The progression of the chapters reveals a traditional theological approach from
God to sin, from Christ to salvation, from church to sanctification. Chapter two is focuses
on the discussion of "God and Humankind," then it moves to chapter three, "Humankind
Under Indictment." From there: chapter four, "The Gospel of Jesus Christ;" chapter five,
"The Beginning of Salvation;" chapter six, "The Process of Salvation;" chapter seven,
"The Church;" chapter eight, "How Should Believers Live?" and chapter nine,
"Epilogue."

In chapter two Dunn focuses on Paul's doctrine of God and humanity. For Paul,
the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and Israel (p. 43) is the foundation of theology.
Paul was firm in his conviction that there is only one God, and that this God is the creator
of the world and its judge. It is this understanding of God that is indispensable for his
understanding of salvation; and it is this thoroughly Jewish view of God that creates the
primary tension in Paul's theology as a Jew who believed in Jesus and called to proclaim
the Gospel to the Gentiles. Thus Paul's theology is not abstract reflection, but it is
"sustained and informed by his own experience in conversion and mission and prayer" (p.
50).

Paul's understanding of humanity works within various aspects. Human beings
are embodied, that is, they are social, having the desire and the ability to enter into
relationship, which is indispensable to human existence. Human beings are merely
human, weak and subject to "appetites and desires" (p. 78) that make them vulnerable. At
the same time, as rational, they are "capable of soaring to the highest heights of reflective
thought" (p. 78); and as emotional beings, able to experience the most profound feelings
and motivations. And most significantly, human beings are "animated by the mystery of
life as a gift" (p. 78).

In chapter three "Humankind Under Indictment," Dunn takes up the subject of
Paul's understanding of Adam, sin and death, and the law. There is clearly a dark side to
humanity, an indispensable dimension of sin. Here Dunn makes some helpful references
to this dark side as depicted by such literature as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Picture oj
Dorian Gray, Gulliver's Travels, and Shakespeare's portrayal of tragic heroes (p. 81).
Yet, Paul focuses on Adam to explain this dark side of humanity.

Human beings were created to be in relationship with God, which is the very
essence of human life. But human beings believed a more fulfilling relationship with the

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

world was possible apart from relationship with God. In thus turning away from God and
focusing solely on the creation, human beings attempt to become their own creators. "In
consequence humankind has fallen when it thought to rise, has become foolish not wise,
baser not superior. It has denied its likeness to God and preferred the likeness of beasts
and things" (p. 101). Humanity thus stands under indictment.

Sin leads to death. The forces of evil are real and working in the world. These
forces are not simply to be reduced to human will and selfishness. "There are also
constraints and pressures operating within and upon human society which combine with
human weakness to corrupt both individual and community" (p. 127). Sin is individual
and social. "Humankind lives out its life in the service of sin, whose payoff is death" (p.
129).

For Paul, the law plays an important role in explicating sin bringing it to
consciousness as transgression. It has the same, though less obvious task, with the
Gentiles through conscience. Thus all humanity, Jew and Gentile, are guilty before God,
having missed the mark of what God has intended for human beings.

While the law in some respect plays a role with Gentiles, it has a special
relationship with Israel, "particularly to protect and discipline Israel in the period from
Moses to Christ" (p. 160). Such a role for the law is only interim, eliminated with the
coming of Jesus Christ.

Israel is unable to recognize the temporary role of the law, assuming that the
law had given them a privileged relationship. Thus Israel is even more vulnerable to the
indictment of Romans 1:18-3:20. The coming of Christ has ushered in an "eschatological
shift," and Israel's insistence on the continued significance of the law means that "Israel
is now 'behind the times'" (p. 160).

God gave the law to Israel first and foremost to provide direction for living and
provide the terms by which Israel could maintain her covenant status with God. How this
relates to the law's functioning to protect Israel, as well as Peter's criticism of Israel's
inability to recognize the eschatological shift in Christ, are unclear.

One thing is clear: the power of sin uses the law to enslave human beings.
Israel's own rejection of the temporary status of the law and using it to cling to its
privileged status is an obvious example of how sin exploits the law to trap humanity in
sin and death. Thus, the law given by God as an interim guide to expose sin and put forth
the terms of the covenant, now becomes an ally of the very sin it was given to expose.
Logically, therefore, the law as an ally of sin leads to death.

Chapter four, "The Gospel of Jesus Christ," is the beginning of the solution to
the plight of the law, sin, and death. "Paul's gospel, the divine response to the divine
indictment, was centered wholly on Jesus Christ" (p. 181). For Paul, divine response was
made personal in his encounter with the risen Christ on the Damascus road, and it
completely turned Paul around. Christ was the key for knowing God's purposes for
humanity and he revolutionized Paul's values. Christ became Paul's "supreme passion"
(p. 181).

Dunn argues that Paul was indeed familiar with Jesus' ministry prior to his
crucifixion and was influenced in his letters by the Jesus tradition. Jesus' own Jewishness
and his messiahship were important features of Paul's christology, and "God's actual
presence" (p. 206) in Jesus is clearly expressed in Paul's later work.

Paul believed his own gospel was entirely in keeping with Jesus' own teaching.
Thus Jesus' Jewishness was not to be rejected; indeed, Jesus had fulfilled the messianic
hopes of his people. This was not to be forgotten. Simultaneously, this continuity

Pauline Theology: A Review Article

between Paul's gospel and Jesus' teaching meant that the good news was not only for
Israel, but for all humanity.

"There can no doubt as to where the center of gravity of Paul's theology is to
be found. It lies in the death and resurrection of Jesus" (p. 208). In explicating the
meaning of Jesus' death, Paul uses a variety of metaphors. The most significant ones are
representation, sacrifice, curse, redemption, reconciliation, and conquest of the powers (p.
231). Dunn makes clear his view that these aspects of Christ's work on the cross are
indeed metaphors and what is significant about a metaphor is that it is "not the thing itself
but a means of expressing its meaning. It would be unwise, then, to translate these
metaphors into literal facts, as though, for example, Christ's death were literally a
sacrifice provided by God (as priest?) in the cosmos, conceived as a temple" (p. 23 1).

While I am not inclined to accept Dunn's view that these aspects of the
significance of Christ's sacrifice are to be understood as metaphorical alone (and I doubt
Paul would accept it either), Dunn is surely correct to state that all of the different
"metaphors" Paul presents reflect a richness to the importance of Christ's death, and we
must not make one of these images normative over all the others.

Paul certainly presents Christ's sacrifice as God initiated. "The act of Jesus is
the act of God" (p. 232). The variety of metaphors reveals the influence of the
proclamation of the gospel. The atonement itself is very much related to the experience of
atonement. Thus, for Paul there can be no alternative scheme of salvation. Soteriology is
focused entirely on the cross and the resurrection. Christ's crucifixion is an effective
remedy for the power of sin and death.

Along with the crucifixion, Paul understood the resurrection of Jesus as
decisive. There is no real distinction to be made between Jesus' resurrection and
exaltation. The risen Christ is the last Adam. He is God's co-regent, and co-lifegiver with
the Holy Spirit. In his sonship he is the elder brother of a new family and also the Son of
God in power. In all of this, Paul's monotheism remains intact. Jesus' Lordship is held
within its bounds (p. 265).

Dunn argues that Paul does indeed have a concept of Christ's preexistence, but
not in the traditional theological sense. Instead it is the preexistence of Wisdom now
identified by and as Christ. Wisdom (and Spirit, as Dunn argues) was a basic way of
speaking of God's interaction with his world and with his people. Paul's christology puts
forth the tensions between Adam and Wisdom that led to subsequent theologizing over
how Jesus could be understood both as divine and human.

There is no doubt that Christ's second coming was a definite aspect of Paul's
theology, and he maintained that belief in his later letters. While it was an integral part of
his theology, Dunn suggests that it was not part of "the center of gravity of his
christology" (p. 314), and unlike the cross and resurrection, the parousia never attained
confessional status. The different imagery Paul uses to refer to the second coming is not
mutually consistent, and no attempt should be made to draw it together into a single
portrayal (p. 315).

In chapter 5, "The Beginning of Salvation," Dunn discusses Paul's
understanding of the nature of what it is that Christ has done in his cross and resurrection.
Paul's metaphors for salvation draw on the customs of the time. Justification and the
removal of a debt are legal metaphors. Redemption is a metaphor from the practice of
slavery or captivity in war. There are also communal images such as citizenship. He also
draws images from religion (set apart), and from everyday life (adoption). These different
metaphors were attempts to express a reality that defied simple explanation. Again, Dunn

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

uses the language of metaphor because it is necessary to express such deeply moving
experiences (pp. 332-333).

Dunn devotes a major section of this chapter to justification by faith, not
because it is a major concept in Paul, but because of its significance in Protestant
interpretation of Paul. As part of the school of the "new perspective on Paul," Dunn seeks
to present an alternative to the typical Lutheran understanding of "works of the law" as a
reference to good works, and the misunderstanding that the Judaism of the first century
was a religion where one's salvation was earned.

Justification means, of course, acceptance by God, the God who justifies the
ungodly. Christ's death is a representative death; that is, sinners who trust in Christ do
not escape death, they share in Christ's death. Justification opens up unhindered access to
God. It is "acceptance into a relationship with God characterized by the grace of Israel's
covenanf (p. 388). Gentiles are granted a share in Israel's inheritance. Justification is
above all liberation, which is clearly the major point Paul makes in Galatians. It is here
that Dunn makes his case for the traditional rendering of pistis Christou as "faith in
Christ," over against the alternative proposal "faith of Chrisf (e.g. Richard Hays).

Less judicial in nature is Paul's view that salvation is participation in Christ.
For Dunn, participation is the "more natural extension of Paul's christology" (p. 390).
There is a mystical aspect to this participation, revealed to some extent in the phrase "in
Christ," which occurs eighty-three times in the Pauline corpus, a motif neglected in
modem scholarship, which Dunn finds surprising. The phrase and related phraseology
highlights that what has happened in salvation depends upon Christ, it refers to the status
of believers subjectively, and it is used to refer to Paul's own work and activity (p. 398).
Dunn also discusses the "striking feature of Paul's theology" (p. 401) — the "with Christ
motif and its complementary formulations (e.g. into Christ, the body of Christ, through
Christ, etc.). Dunn notes that Christ's work is not only for the individual, but that Paul's
soteriology is corporate in nature. Participation in Christ does not remove the believer
from the world; it provides the foundation for a daily life that is differently motivated (p.
41 1). The gift of the Holy Spirit demonstrates that the Paul's gospel has everything to do
with everyday realities.

Baptism signifies those everyday realities. Baptism was socially significant in
the earliest Christian community revealing that conversion was not "some private
spiritual transaction" (p. 447). Those baptized were publicly renouncing their old ways
and putting on a new way of life. Baptism is also clearly linked to the death of Christ. As
important as baptism was to Paul, he did not believe it to be the be all and end all of
salvation, as evidenced by his comments to the Corinthians not to esteem their baptisms
too highly (p. 449). Finally, Dunn argues that, for Paul, baptism itself is not the
replacement for circumcision; it is the gift of the Spirit that replaces circumcision, even
though baptism "in effect formed as effective a group boundary as circumcision" (p.
455).

In chapter 6, "The Process of Salvation," Dunn discusses the eschatological
tensions in Paul's theology and the tension of relating the gospel to unbelieving Israel
(Romans 9-11). For Paul the gift of the Spirit is the starting point for the believer, thus
there is no second step or phase where one receives the Spirit after conversion. Paul's
understanding of spirituality and maturity are not to be connected to earthly wisdom,
eloquent speech or the exercise of certain spiritual gifts; spiritual maturity is revealed,
seen in those who live according to the Spirit they have been given (p. 495).

"The believer's whole life is lived in the overlap of the ages, within the
eschatological tension between Adam and Christ, between death and life" (p. 495).

Pauline Theology: A Review Article

Christians live within this tension; they do not escape from it. In this very real sense,
then, salvation is a process. Suffering is thus viewed as an integral part of this process.
This process also provides the foundation for ethics. "In every moral decision there was a
choice to be made, for the flesh or for the spirit" (p. 497). While apostasy is a real
possibility for Paul, that does not diminish the assurance of adoption and the guarantee of
the Spirit for believers.

In reference to Israel, Dunn states "Paul bares his soul as nowhere else" (p.
531). His understanding of the future of Israel was closely linked to his own calling as an
apostle to the Gentiles. He hoped that his ministry to the Gentiles would lead to Israel's
turning. This hope, according to Dunn, was unfulfilled, and while Paul has been often
misinterpreted in reference to Israel and its place in the covenant, Dunn argues that Paul
himself presents part of the problem. While Paul has been used throughout Christian
history in a negative way in reference to Israel, Dunn thinks it is possible to use Paul,
particularly "Paul the Israelite," as an authentic voice of Israel to build bridges between
Christians and Jews (p. 532).

Dunn discusses Paul's theology of the church in chapter seven. The church is,
at the same time, different things — the body of Christ, the church of God, a community
without cult, and a charismatic community sharing the experience of the Spirit. Paul's
ideal understanding of the church is lessened by "the social realities of community
formation within hostile environments" (p. 598). The question in Dunn's mind is whether
Paul's model of church as charismatic community expresses "the idealism and unreality"
of the movement's enthusiasm of the first generation of Christians? Do the Pastoral
epistles represent a corrective to this idealism with its institutionalization of authority and
its "routinization of charisma." Dunn is not satisfied with the pitting of the ecclesiology
of 1 Corinthians 12-14 against the ones put forth in the pastorals. Dunn mentions, in
particular, the work of Hans Kiing, who understands Paul's charismatic vision of the
church as the fundamental framework for Pauline ecclesiology.

In this chapter, Dunn concludes with an extended discussion of the Lord's
Supper. The significance of the Lord's Supper for Paul is beyond debate with its
importance being maintained throughout the history of church tradition, particularly in
Catholicism and orthodoxy. It is thus disappointing that any discussion of the practice is
limited to one letter (1 Corinthians 10-1 1). This Dunn attributes to Paul's ad hoc theology
by epistle. Moreover, the fact that Paul has to address the subject so little suggests that
the Lord's Supper was so common and fundamental to the life of the early church, that
abuses, such as what was taking place in Corinth, were rare (p. 600). For Paul, the Lord's
Supper is spiritual food; it is the sharing in the one body. The Lord's Supper re(-)presents
the death of Christ with the new covenant graciously given. In "linking the Lord's Supper
with judgment as well as spiritual food, with Christ's coming again as well as his death,
Paul underlines the extent to which celebration of the Lord's Supper does indeed
"proclaim" the whole gospel and provide instruction as well as sustenance during the
long slog from the already to the not yet" (p. 623).

Chapter eight, "How Should Believers Live, "takes up the subject of Paul's
ethics. He begins with questioning (and rightly so) the traditional distinction made
between indicative and imperative. "In fact, however, the 'theology followed by
application' dichotomy is misleading. Paul never spoke other than as a pastor. His
theology was a living theology, a practical theology through and through. The application
is inherent in the exposition itself (p. 626). This does not mean a complete rejection of
the indicative and the imperative. It is true that for Paul that the indicative of what Christ
has done is the basis for the imperative of what believers must do (p. 630). The

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

underlying principles of Paul's ethic strike a balance between "internal motivation and
external norm" (p. 668). The external norms include such things as traditional wisdom,
vices and virtues, notions of right and wrong accepted by people of good will,
perspectives on community interdependence and the good ordering of society. It is
Christ's love and self-giving that add a distinctive Christian perspective to these norms
integrated to a thoroughly Jewish background of Paul's moral discussion.

The internal motivation is a combination of inner trust that depends upon the
compulsion of the Spirit. It is also a renewed mind, the mind of Christ, always seeking to
know the will of God. For Paul ""both the outward norm and the inward motivation were
essential for ethical living" (p. 669).

In the final section of chapter eight, "Ethics in Practice," Dunn looks at how
Paul puts these inward motivations and outward norms into practice by analyzing specific
moral issues. He begins by affirming that Paul's moral context as a social context. His
ethics cannot only be dealt with as personal ethics. He then analyzes Paul's discussion on
a variety of matters — living in a hostile world (Romans 12:9-13:14), living with
fundamental disagreements (Romans 14:1-15:6), sexual conduct (1 Corinthians 5-6),
marriage and divorce (1 Corinthians 7), slavery (I Corinthians 7:20-23), and social
relations (1 Corinthians 8-10).

On all moral matters, the eschatological tension is clearly evident and forming,
and Paul shows great sensitivity in steering a difficult course in living in the already and
not yet. "If in the end of the day the lasting impression is not just the principles which
Paul enunciated for determining Christian conduct but the care with which he sought to
live them out and the complications entailed, that is probably as Paul himself would have
wished it" (p. 712).

The Epilogue of chapter nine is a postlegomena to Paul's theology. Dunn
begins this last chapter where he started the book: reminding the reader that to write a
theology of Paul, one must dialogue with Paul, theologically, historically, socially, and
personally. The foundation of Paul's theology was stable. Paul did not think of
Christianity as a new and different religion. The Jewishness of his theology is seen in the
pillars of his faith, God, Israel, Torah, and Scripture. Paul's theology remains Jewish,
even though, after his conversion, the fulcrum point of his theology was Christ, "the point
on which a whole larger mass swings round into a new plane or direction" (pp. 722-723).
For Paul, this made sense and could be no other way. "For Paul, God was now to be
known definitively by reference to Christ" (p. 723). Christianity is Christ; he is the lens
through which all reality comes into focus. Cross and resurrection are central to this
reality.

Dunn ends the Epilogue by reminding us that people cannot be isolated by their
thinking alone. Paul's enduring example to us is not only as a theologian, but also as a
teacher and pastor and as a Christian. Indeed, his theology can only be properly
understood when Paul is viewed as a whole person. "Paul theologized by writing letters.
This means that his theology was always wrapped around with the greetings,
thanksgivings, and prayers of letter openings, with the travel arrangements, personal
explanations, and farewells of letter closings. Or, should we say, his theologizing always
began and ended with the practicalities and little things of human relationships. Paul's
theology, however, complex and high-flown, was never of the ivory-tower kind. It was
first and last an attempt to make sense of the gospel as the key to everyday life and to
make possible a daily living which was Christian through and through" (pp. 736-737).

Dunn's book will be an indispensable resource on the theology of Paul for
years to come. It is a thorough discussion with detailed analysis written by someone with

Pauline Theology: A Review Article

an unparalleled command of the subject and resources. Particularly helpful are the brief
bibliographies given at the beginning of each section, in addition to the general
bibliography at the beginning of the book. One could take issue with some of the scholars
he chooses to exclude from the discussion, but what would be the significance of such a
criticism? With a written text of 736 pages and attention to many and diverse sources,
such critique would be quite petty. One could also criticize his use of Romans as a
template, but again, why bother? Dunn has made a good case for his methodology, while
recognizing it has limitations, as is the case with all methodologies. No doubt there are
points where others will take issue with him on matters of Paul's theology, and rightly so,
but that just means that the great discussion on the greatest Christian theologian of the
first century, and every subsequent century, will continue.
Thanks be to God!

Ashland Theological Journal 2005

Book Reviews

Craig G. Bartholomew and Michael W. Goheen, The Drama of Scripture: Finding Our
Place in the Biblical Story, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2004. 252 pp., $19.99.

The prevailing practice in biblical scholarship is to examine the Old and New
Testament documents on their own terms, apart from the rest of the canon. Bartholomew
and Goheen take a different approach. They step back from the historical-critical task
and present the entire Protestant canon as a single, unified story of God's work in the
world. Rather than a work of critical scholarship, which would focus on the historical
context or textual questions, their book is an attempt at narrative theology. It does draw,
however, on the latest scholarship in its presentation of the biblical narrative and
therefore serves as a worthy introduction or teaching tool.

After an opening Prologue, in which they lay out their presuppositions of the
Bible as a single, grand narrative, the authors turn to the selections of Scripture that
compose their telling of the story. The remainder of the book is structured in six Acts
and an Interlude. Acts One and Two tell the story of creation and fall. Act Three, the
longest in the book, portrays the history of the Nation of Israel. The Interlude stands in
for the intertestamental period, with special attention paid to Jewish culture in the years
leading up to the beginning of the Common Era. Acts Four and Five describe the life of
Jesus and the development of the early church , with a closing movement on living in
God's story today. Finally, the drama ends with Act Six, as the the authors point toward
the coming eschatological work of God.

The book has several strengths. It is a highly readable work. The authors' clear
and simple writing style allows the reader to be caught up in the movement of the story
itself. The book also contains twenty six figures, the majority of which are well-placed
maps, which add to the sense of story and make the characters' movements and actions
more conceivable. Other figures provide visual reference for some of the theological
concepts that arise in the course of the story. Finally, the authors maintain a good
balance between the biblical story itself and the historical background behind the story.

At times this historical context is presented in what scholars would regard as
an over-simplified manner. Little or no space is given to the debates over particular
historical-critical issues. Such a presentation, however, is well within Bartholomew and
Goheen' s thesis. The Drama of Scripture does not argue that the Bible is a single, unified
story; it simply assumes that it is and builds on that assumption.

The book has several possible uses. It would be an excellent companion text in
an introductory course on the Old or New Testament. In the pastoral setting, it would
provide an accessible overview of the Bible for the new, adult believer. And for those
Christians who are themselves looking to step back and gain a fresh perspective on the
Bible, Bartholomew and Goheen's work might well prove worth a read.

Jonathan E. Kane

Book Reviews

Tim Dowley, The Kregel Bible Atlas. Grand Rapids, MI. ICregel Publications, 2003. 91
pp., hardcover, $21.99.

Dowley, a noted biblical history expert, opens this book with a geographic
overview of the Holy Land, then traces the major highlights and events of the Old
Testament from the journeys of Abraham to the rebuilding of the temple after the
Babylonian Captivity. He then devotes a section to the Intertestamental period, focusing
on the Alexander the Great and the Maccabean rule. His section on the New Testament
begins with the Roman Empire as it existed at the time of Christ and includes Jesus' life,
the journeys of Paul and concludes with the expansive spread of Christianity in A. D.
300.

The more than 80 maps are precise, easy to read and specific to the purpose of
illuminating the text. In addition to the expected maps, Dowley includes campaigns
during the time of the Judges, David's flight from Saul, the possible routes of the exodus,
Jesus' travel and ministry in Galilee, and the spread of Christianity before Paul. The
author has juxtaposed many of his own photographs with some of the maps, which offer a
well tailored schematic and detailed presentation. His insightful writing gives context to
the prophetic books such as Haggai and Zechariah, which are included in the section on
the return from Babylonian exile.

An atlas is essential for any serious student as Scripture assumes the reader has
a certain knowledge of the terrain, climate, soils and economy of the region. It is
impossible to fully understand inferences or meanings without this basis. The text is
complete in its coverage of geographical features and major events in the Bible, and each
page is full of maps, colorful photographs, summarizing charts and clarifying diagrams.
This book is an excellent companion for the Bible student and lay person alike. Its size
and price make it affordable, and its coverage make it a valuable addition to a home or
church library.

Mary Elizabeth Nau

J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hays, Grasping God's Word: A Hands-on Approach to
Reading, Interpreting, and Applying the Bible. Grand Rapids, ML: Zondervan, 2001.
431 pp., hardcover, $37.99.

Touted as a "user-friendly book for serious readers who desire to journey into
the world of the Bible," (p. 9) Grasping God's Word readily lives up to its title. Written
by two seminary professors, the authors' backgrounds in biblical interpretation. Old and
New Testament, Greek, Hebrew, and spiritual formation provide an excellent mix to a
textbook that is critical, yet practical in its approach. The three main components of the
book consist of laying a foundation for thoughtful reading, discussion of hermeneutical
issues and guidelines for interpreting the major literary genres of the Bible.

In Part 1, the authors lay their foundation by likening biblical interpretation to
that of a journey. On this "interpretative journey," readers are encouraged time and again
to read the text of Scripture thoroughly and carefully in order to determine the meaning
within the text before advancing one's own ideas. Readers are taught to read at a micro
level (sentences) and then expand out to the macro level (discourses), giving attention to
details one would normally omit such as repetition, contrasts, comparisons, dialogue,
conditional clauses, story shifts, etc.

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In Part 2, the authors move into hermeneutical issues such as what the reader
brings to the text, historical-cultural and literary contexts, word studies and Bible
translations. It is here that one sees the shift from the practical to the theoretical, an
approach the authors say their students have responded to positively. In dealing with the
issues of preunderstanding and presupposition and their influence upon one's
interpretation of the biblical text, even the staunchest critic of the role of culture in
interpretation will have to admit the validity of the authors' position. For example, the
reader is asked to read Romans 13:1-7 and then consider if it would have been wrong to
participate in the Boston Tea Party with its apparent act of rebellion. (Here the authors
acknowledge their readers from outside of America and ask them to reflect on a similar
event from within their particular culture.)

Also within Part 2, Duvall and Hays tackle the tougher issues of historical-
cultural and literary context, defining their terms and giving advantages and
disadvantages to the use of these approaches. Relevant examples are given of some of
the common misuses of Scripture such as the illustration found in the gospels about a
camel going through the eye of the needle. The authors maintain the passage means just
what it says — it is impossible for a large animal like a camel to squeeze through the eye
of a sewing needle.

In the final sections of the book, the authors address meaning, the role of the
Holy Spirit in interpretation and principles specific to biblical genres. As to meaning, the
authors answer the question of who controls the meaning and discuss the levels of
meaning that can be found in the text. A generous part of one chapter is spent discussing
the role of allegory in interpretation, using Martin DeHaan's interpretation of a particular
Old Testament passage as an example of violating interpretive principles related to
historical-cultural context. The Bible Code and typology are covered as well. In a
separate chapter, the authors address the role of the Holy Spirit in interpretation and
outline their view on whether a text can be understood apart from the Holy Spirit,
acknowledging Him as the "divine Author" in the Scriptures" (p. 201).

This book could serve as a text at the college or seminary level. Each chapter
provides either review questions or assignments that offer hands-on and/or reflective type
of exercises of the material. Good use is made of stories and anecdotes in the
introduction of each chapter to provide a platform for the material that is going to be
covered. The book's appendices include guidelines for writing exegetical papers and
building a personal library. Also helpful is the publisher's website which offers a sample
syllabus, lesson plan and exegetical paper.

All in all, the authors achieved their goal of offering a hermeneutics text that
would help fill in the gaps in their students' knowledge of the Bible as well as equip them
"for life and ministry" (p. 13). In so doing, they have provided a text that will be of
particular value in an evangelical school.

Patricia M. Pope

Alan Reynolds, Reading the Bible for the Love of God. Grand Rapids, ML: Brazos Press,
2003. 143 pp., paper, $12.99.

With a foreword written by Eugene Peterson and reviews from other notables
in the Christian faith, expectation is high for more than just another book on Bible study.
Written by a former pastor and university chaplain, Reynolds states that he has been more
of generalist than a specialist, one who tries to see Christian faith in the context of the

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Book Reviews

world (p. 7). This may explain his tendency to get bogged down in the discussion of
technical and historical matters. For instance, he describes the events that led to the
scientific study of the Bible and its subsequent impact on the Church's approach to
Scripture more as an object to be observed than a place for meeting God (p. 19).
Reynolds' point is valid and his goal of laying the historical groundwork is admirable.
He does a much better job of relating the applicability of biblical passages to the
believer's hfe.

His discussions regarding prayer and worship as ways of responding to God
and evangelism as the fruit of a deepening relationship with Christ are very well
presented. Reynolds contends that response to Scripture through prayer and worship is
not enough (pp. 103-104). He has quite a bit to say on the issue of evangelism, defining it
in its broadest sense as "whatever the church does to relate the gospel to the world" (p.
106).

Following his discussion on evangelism, Reynolds deals with holiness and
describes it as that which calls Christians to action which can only be found in a
deepened "relationship with the Word of God" (p. 1 19). It is within this discussion that
Reynolds turns centuries of church practices on their head such as the Church's
separation from the world into monasteries and the keeping of guidelines and customs as
the means of holiness.

Instead, Reynolds emphasizes a holiness that finds itself anchored in love; this
provides a transition into the final portion of the book where he seems to get to the real
reason behind writing it. Rather than being a book of techniques on enhancing one's
reading experience, Reynolds offers an alternative: read for love (pp. 122-123).
Reynolds devotes an entire chapter to the issue of love, defining it at its various levels. It
is agape, however, where Reynolds says self-fulfillment can be found, and it is at this
level that Reynolds feels one's reading should take place.

However, he does not let the reader off the hook at this point. He encourages
participation in the renewal that he sees taking place in which people are seeking to read
the Bible for an experience of and relationship to God. It is his contention that with this
as a goal, the Church may avoid some of the disputes that have long plagued it (p. 134).

While the title might indicate that the reader is going to get techniques on how
to read the Bible, Reynolds encourages that the Bible be read with love as the goal. As
he so aptly puts it in his conclusion, the Bible is where "we meet and hear the voice of the
One who calls us into communion, in love" (p. 135). As one reads in this way, a love for
the Scripture can be cultivated or rediscovered. The book emphasizes that one's
relationship with God should be the primary object in reading Scripture.

Patricia M. Pope

Paul D. Wegner, The Journey from Texts to Translations. Grand Rapids: Baker
Academic, 1999/2004. 462 pp., paper, $29.99)

Being a Wycliffe Bible translator and avid student of the Bible, I have had a
more than passing interest in the subject matter of this very helpful book. So it was with
eager anticipation that I began reading Wegner' s volume and I was not disappointed.
Well-written, well-organized and concisely stated, his presentation is a readable and
fairly comprehensive introduction to a whole host of inter-related topics having to do
with the written texts of the Jewish and Christian Scriptures and the means by which they
have been preserved, passed down, and promulgated through the centuries. Beginning

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Ashland Theological Journal 2005

with the nature and composition of the Bible (including a convenient overview of the
synoptic problem), the author then surveys the canonical process whereby both the Old
and New Testaments of the major branches of Christianity attained their distinctive
shapes, the hand-copied transmission and resulting variety among the numerous original-
language manuscripts of the books of the Bible, and the basic principles of textual
criticism of both Old and New Testaments along with the most important manuscripts
used in each of those disciplines respectively. Then, following a brief section on early
Bible translations and the first printed versions of the Greek New Testament, the author
concludes with an extensive and informative account of the English Bible that spans over
615 years of translation history. From the ground-breaking work of John Wycliffe (1382)
and William Tyndale (1534) to the Authorized Version of 1611 and on through the
veritable explosion of Bible translations in the mid- to late-20"' century, Wegner traces
the fascinating story of English Bible translation as far as the publication of the New
Living Translation (1996) and The Message (1997). Along the way he includes bits of
relevant cultural, historical, and political background as well as interesting biographical
details and even portraits or photographs of some of the major players in the story he
relates.

Wegner's book is made even more attractive and useful by the plentifiil
presence of reproductions of early manuscripts and printed versions of Scripture, maps,
pictures of important archeological artifacts and many, many charts and diagrams that
conveniently summarize the author's prose descriptions and contain a plethora of useful
information from "Paleo-Hebrew and Square Scripts," to "Description of the Books in
the Old Testament Apocrypha," to "Variants in Editions of the Authorized Version." The
last major section of the book concerning the history of English Bible translation also
includes a number of useful comparisons and evaluations of the different modem English
Bible versions in chart form.

There are a few drawbacks in the book. The lack of a comprehensive
bibliography occasionally requires a time-consuming back-tracking through several
footnotes (actually endnotes) in order to retrieve the full bibliographical citation of a
particular source. Indeed, the use of endnotes, rather than footnotes, is perhaps the most
inconvenient aspect of the book. Wegner makes full use of a wide range of sources and
authorities to document his material, but having to turn to the back frequently and flip
through nearly 30 pages of endnotes to find a particular source or read an additional
comment, was both laborious and time-consuming. Of lesser importance is the repeated
use of the Lord's Prayer (Matt. 6:9-13) to provide a "taste" of the kind and quality of
each English translation as it is discussed. Initially interesting, this pattern becomes
somewhat tedious by about the 20* recital in yet another version that differs only slightly
from the last.

While not all readers will agree with Wegner's conservative views on the
nature and authority of Scripture, or with every one of his evaluations of the different
modem language versions he reviews, especially his mildly pejorative (and sometimes
perhaps even inaccurate) use of the word "paraphrase," there is no question that he has
produced a work that is exceedingly useful. The book is a mine of information for both
students and teachers of Scripture and anyone who spends time with it will be stimulated,
informed and made more appreciative of those who have done the difficult and often
thankless job of producing vemacular Scriptures for God's people throughout the ages.

Mark Hepner

103

Book Reviews

Elmer A. Martens and Willard M. Swartley, eds. Believers Church Bible Commentary.
Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, in process.

The Believers Church Bible Commentary is the work of a specific
hermeneutical community attempting to interpret the biblical text. The Believers Church
is identified as those Christians who are committed to "believers' baptism, the rule of
Christ in Matthew 18.15-20 as crucial to church membership, belief in the power of love
in all relationships and a willingness to follow Christ in the way of the cross."
Eventually all the books of the Bible will be treated. These volumes attempt to be
faithful to the text of scripture standing within a specific church tradition. Critical issues
receive attention but not in the narrower interest to be avante garde in the scholarly
debate. Writers are selected from the Believers Church tradition, they in turn consult
with another biblical scholar and work with editors during a process of feedback. Then
the manuscript is read by an Editorial Council of six members. These six are
representatives from the Brethren Church, Mennonite Church Canada, Church of the
Brethren, Brethren in Christ, Mennonite Brethren and Mennonite Church USA. Dr.
David Baker is the representative for the Brethren Church on the Editorial Council. The
Old Testament editor is Elmer A. Martens and the New Testament editor is Willard M.
Swartley. The target audience includes pastors, teachers and Bible study groups.

Introduction to the various volumes are usually extensive and generally include
a Preview, Content and Major Themes, Structure, Address, Authorship, Date, Historical
Context, Pastoral and Hermeneutical Considerations, Translations and Other
Commentaries. Each commentary follows the same basic format of Preview, Outline,
Explanatory Notes (extensive), Text in Biblical Context ad Text in the Life of the
Church.

The last section is unique and especially interesting in its application to the
church.

Richard E. Allison

BibleWorks Version 6.0. 2004. www.bibleworks.com 1-888-747-8200. $299.95.

Bible Works 6.0 (BW) is a powerful research tool accessible to students,
pastors, and scholars alike who are in need of doing serious research efficiently. With all
the databases within BW, it is possible to conduct a seemingly endless list of different
kinds of searches and to dump the results - references, texts, etc. - into any document in
which you are working. BW 6.0's new features include: a Diagramming Tool to create
grammatical diagrams of text, including Greek and Hebrew; Flash cards to build personal
flashcard sets (print or electronic) and quiz yourself; Greek/Hebrew paradigms; Auto-
complete morphologies that provide available options in an automatic popup list; Popup
gloss and definitions that open a mini-window showing the gloss for Greek and Hebrew
words to appear as your mouse passes over tagged words; Lexical/Grammatical Helps
Window that displays a color-coded list of all lexical and grammatical references,
including the introductory line from each reference as you move the mouse over tagged
text; text coloring that allows you to highlight text by hand or highlight search results
with various colors and formattings; a text comparison tool that allows you to compare
multiple Bible versions at once; a series of editable outlines of biblical texts; a clone
window that opens an identical copy of your BW window in which you are working, and

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new Greek and Hebrew fonts that allow you to share documents in HTML, Word,
Outlook, and many other applications.

Shall I go on? Okay. There are new databases as well. These include
Tichendorf s Greek NT with complete apparatus; the complete works of Josephus, parsed
and lemmatized, with Whiston's 1828 English translation; WTM Groves-Wheeler
Westminster Hebrew OT Morphology database v. 4.0 with two accent tagging systems
and editorial comments; the Aramaic New Testament (Peshitta; viewable in Estangela or
Hebrew letter script) with the Murdock English translation; the Targumim, parsed,
lemmatized, and tied to entries in the Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon; Gesenius'
Hebrew Grammar; Moods and Tenses of NT Greek, by Burton; Basic Hebrew for Bible
Study, by Futato; Matthew Henry's Commentary ~ complete and linked to BW; Apostolic
Fathers (Greek); and a few translations, including the Bishops' Bible (1595), Tyndale's
New Testament (1534), and the NET Bible with notes and maps.

Had enough? Well, there's more. BW 6.0 has new modules available. The
following tools are also available for unlocking: Beginning Biblical Hebrew (full text), by
Futato ($25), Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New
Testament, by Wallace ($25); Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax, by Waltke and
O'Connor; and The Qumran Sectarian Manuscripts with morphological tags ($80). Also
available are BDAG (3'"'' edition, $125) and HALOT {4* edition, $159), or both together
(BDAG and HALOT, $197). Apologies to those who bought Brill's two-volume
concordance to the non-biblical texts of the DSS ($299.00). Upgrades are available from
BW 4 ($150) and BW 5 ($125). Information for this and system requirements are
available on the BW website.

Nothing is perfect, and the improvements BW has made over the years are
indicative of their constant effort to improve their product. Having Josephus in Greek is
priceless (apologies to those who bought Brill's [now two-volume] concordance to
Josephus [$349]) though Whiston's translation is less reliable than that in the Loeb
volumes. Perhaps BW will soon include the works of Philo (with Yonge's translation).
Translations for the Apostolic Fathers and the Targumim would be helpful. The Peshitta
of the OT would be most welcome, as well as a parsed text of the NT. There are much
better Syriac fonts available than that used in BW, which seems to be a BW creation
(BWHeba). Some accents on LSJ lexicon do show up in the display garbled. The same is
true for the UBS dictionary, some of Louw-Nida, and Thayer's dictionary. It is
unfortimate that you cannot display or output other Greek fonts, such as SBL's SPIonic,
without remapping fonts from BW's BWgkl.

It is amazing what you can do with this product! Having BDB full and abridged
and Bible dictionaries (including ISBE!) is very helpful. There's even a key to LSJ's
abbreviations (I've always wanted one!). The flashcard component is great for those
keeping up on language skills. There are even parsing cards for Hebrew and Greek.
Vocabulary can be set by frequency, by book, or by frequency within a book, etc., though
it does not seem set to the LXX, only NT Greek. With a few clicks of a button, you can
use this feature to see that Jude has 226 different words. 16 of which are hapaxes. This is
excellent for someone studying the text of a particular book. Moreover, the vocabulary
flashcards are expandable and one can create databases for Aramaic, Latin, German, and
French. HopefiiUy these will appear in fiature upgrades.

While this tool may be a bit too much horsepower for many, it can be very
useful for students serious about keeping up language skills, pastors who want an
efficient way to work in primary sources, and Bible translators who will find the original
language tools essential and perhaps the scores of various Bible translations to be a

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helpful resource. More than once I've found myself punching the air in triumph and
exclaiming my joy at the depth of work I can accomplish with a few buttons that used to
take me hours. Though the price can be a bit offsetting, BW does offer discounts for
those buying in bulk, and will take about 10% off at ETS and SBL conferences.
Considering all the books you do not have to buy if you have BW, the cost is easily
justifiable to the nervous spouse concerned about the cost of books.

This review is by no means complete. Fuller reviews are written by Moises
Silva in WTJ 66.2 (2004) 449-54 and a full article comparing Bible software packages by
H. Van Dyke Parunak, "Windows Software for Bible Study," JETS 46.3 (2003): 465-95
(comparing BW version 5).

Daniel M. Gurtner, Bethel Seminary, St Paul MN

Logos Bible Software Series X, Release 2.1b, 2004. Logos Bible Software, 1313
Commercial St., Bellingham, WA 98225-4307. www.logos.com. Original Languages
Library, $399.95; Scholar's Library, $599.95; Scholar's Library Silver Edition, $999.95.

Christof Hardmeier, Eep Talstra, Bertram Salzmarm, Stuttgart Electronic Study Bible.
Stuttgart: German Bible Society (www.bibelgesellschaft.de) / Haarlem: Netherlands
Bible Society (www.bijbelgenootschap.nl), 2004. Software, 240 Euros.

Electronic resources for biblical and theological study are expanding at a rapid
rate, as they are in all fields of study. These two products continue the expansion of
offerings using the Libronix Digital Library System. This journal has published two
previous reviews or earlier versions (ATJ 28 [1996] 116-120 and 34 [2002] 94-97).
Many of the features of the software, as well as some shortcomings, were addressed
there, so here we will look at some additional features.

The Logos software continues to add Bibles, Bible study tools, and a plethora
of other material across the spectrum of theological education. Some very useful new
tools have been added to the libraries to aid in linguistic analysis. One is called a 'verb
river' which presents the occurrence of verbal forms in a passage in a graphical, visual
form so one can see changes in, for example, number and gender within a passage. For
example. Exodus 20 is clearly shown to have both singulars and plurals at the beginning
and end, but only singulars in the middle, Decalog section. There is also a similar
graphical river showing variants between 10 different English translations, including
KJV, NIV, NRSV, and NLT.

A feature not reviewed before is the Word Study Guide. Opening this tool from
within Genesis 1 , for example, can open up a screen with each Hebrew word listed with

an English gloss, e.g. 'beginning', a transliteration, 'r ft, and various links: the

enhanced Strong's lexicon. Englishman's Hebrew concordance (referring to every
occurrence of the word), the Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains,
and several other dictionaries and word study tools. These links open up the resource in
its own window, making word analysis tools easy to access, though one still needs to
know how to analyze, evaluate, and use the information provided.

A largely forgotten tool for language analysis is sentence diagramming, where
the relationship between words in a sentence can be clearly demonstrated. The program
provides a diagrammatical function which can be used for Hebrew, Greek or English,
aiding in understanding a passage's syntax.

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Finally, the Graphical Query feature makes complex searches easier through
visualization of the relationship between the words to be searched rather than simply
listing the words. For example, it is relatively straightforward to make a query regarding
every occurrence in the NIV where David precedes Jesse by not more than 5 words, and
it is also possible to search for proximate words displaying various grammatical features.
This sophistication allows textual analysis in ways impossible or extremely time-
consuming without computer resources.

The Logos tools will help students of Scripture at all levels, from novice to
seasoned scholar. The company is also always eager to hear of available resources which
they might add to their repertoire, or of new concepts which need to be developed.

SEES is more limited in scope to actual Bible analysis tools: 18 Bible versions
in Hebrew, Greek, German, English, French, and Dutch; dictionaries (Hebrew-German,
Hebrew-English, Greek-English of the LXX, and NT Greek-English and Greek-German);
and 4 helpful databases (the BHS database from the Free University of Amsterdam; the
CCAT LXX database; the GRAMCORD NA^^ NT database; and the German
lemmatization database. A most valuable prize in this package for serious scholars of the
original language biblical text is the availability for the first time, to my knowledge, of
the marginal text-critical apparatus for BHS and NA"^. This relieves the frustration of
having to constantly consult a printed source while working with a computer-based
resource.

Both of these resources have great depth which can be plumbed for serious
Bible study. Some of these are easily accessible, but some of the more advanced need one
to consult the help material available in electronic and printed form. When using these in
SEES, remember that it originated in German, so if you find you can't read the
instructions, don't panic, but look for the English translation which is also included.

David W.Baker

William G. Dever, Who Were the Early Israelites and Where Did They Come From?
Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003. 268 pp., cloth, $25.00.

Following the format and tone of What Did the Eiblical Writers Know and
When Did They Know It? (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001), Dever addresses the question
of the origin of Israel, presently one of the most contested issues in biblical scholarship.
He aims to offer "the average educated reader" an accessible account the emergence of
Israel, supported by "convergences" between archaeology and the Bible. Whereas the so-
called "maximalist-minimalist" controversy constitutes the main focus of the prior
volume, the present book concentrates on the disparate portraits of Israel's beginnings
rendered by the Bible and the archaeological record, with primacy given to the latter.

The book provides an excellent and compact synthesis of archaeological
excavations, surveys, methods, and models and will therefore be of particular interest to
readers looking for a concise overview of the archaeological record as it impacts the
books of Joshua and Judges. Dever begins with a brief assessment of the Exodus and
wilderness traditions in light of the archaeological record (which offers little in the way
of confirmation). He then summarizes the three models that, in the past, have been used
to explain Israel's origins in the land: conquest, gradual infiltration (by pastoral nomads),
and peasant revolt. The summaries are illumined by brief but informative accounts of the
excavations at key sites (such as Jericho, Ai, and Gibeon - none of which yield
significant evidence of occupation during the period in question). He then charts the shift

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in archaeology from the 1970's - away from monumental remains and large sites in favor
of surveys, smaller settlements, and material culture. He believes these yield evidence of
a developing sense of ethnicity that is both continuous with and distinct from the culture
of Late Bronze Age Canaan. Among the distinctive elements are house plans and village
layouts, the absence of pig bones, indications that the society was kin-based and
autonomous, and indications of different potting techniques (although with styles that
demonstrate continuity).

A review of previous attempts to synthesize archaeology and the Bible opens
the second main section of the book and leads to a refutation of Israel Finkelstein's
proposal that the explosion of settlements in the central highlands is to be explained by
the resedentarization of peoples originally displaced by the massive destructions that
marked the end of the Middle Bronze Age. Dever then advances his own proposal,
namely that Israel emerged from a melange of groups that withdrew from Canaanite
culture at the point of collapse and settled the central highlands in search a new society
and lifestyle. He finds support for this proposal from archaeology - in remains that
suggest the highland settlers had experience as subsistence farmers and that their villages
display a homogeneity of material culture - and from the Bible - in the opposition to
kings and their concomitants reflected in various texts. In short, he sees Israel gradually
emerging from "an agrarian movement with strong reformist tendencies driven by a new
social ideal" (p. 189).

Dever believes that it is better to refer to the early highland settlers as "proto-
Israelites," and he locates the heartland of what became Israel in the central highland
regions of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin. He suggests that the Joseph tribes
probably shaped the larger literary tradition of Israel to a large degree and eclipsed the
traditions of other proto-Israelite groups, a possibility reinforced by the disproportionate
attention given to the Joseph tribes at various points in the Hebrew Bible. He asserts that
the Exodus-Sinai traditions, and indeed the pivotal role accorded to Moses, cannot have
been an essential part of this process and are probably to be attributed to "Yahweh-alone"
reforms, probably during the reign of Josiah. Moses, like Joshua, is more myth than man.

Dever's comprehensive review and assessment of archaeology in Palestine
succeeds in offering an informative and accessible synthesis of a vast and complex
discussion. Many readers will find this worth the price of the book in itself. His
assessment of convergences and proposal for Israel's origins is thoughtful and informed
but begs for more elaboration. He suggests, for example, that traditions about Moses
may have entered early and may have been transmitted through pre-Israelite folk religion.
Yet he also asserts the Canaanite fertility themes continued as the fundamental aspect of
Israelite religion, the arena of which would also seem to be folk religion. Mosaic religion
is fundamentally aniconic and covenantal and therefore antithetical to the fertility cults.
How, then, did folk religion constitute the medium for both?

Regrettably, Dever's rhetoric sometimes undercuts the fair-minded, centrist
persona he constructs, particularly as it perpetuates tired and outdated stereotypes of
evangelical scholars, whom it seems are hardly worth mentioning. Whether through
willful ignorance or intentional caricature, he lumps conservatives and evangelicals
together with fundamentalists and Orthodox Jews as those who read the biblical text
"uncritically, quite literally," an assessment difficult to comprehend in light of some of
the evangelical works he cites in his bibliography. Those who situate the Exodus in the
15' Century (this reviewer not among them) are summarily dismissed as "a few diehard
fundamentalists." From these and other comments, one can reasonably infer, therefore,
that the "average educated readers" he has in mind do not include many of evangelical

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persuasion. This predilection notwithstanding, readers will find in this book an informed
and provocative introduction to the contemporary discussion on Israel's origins.

L. Daniel Hawk

Steven Grosby, Biblical Ideas of Nationality: Ancient and Modern. Winona Lake, Ind.:
Eisenbrauns, 2002. 269 pp., cloth, $29.50.

This volume brings together ten essays previously published in a variety of
journals and anthologies. They include the following: "Religion and Nationality in
Antiquity"; "Kinship, Territory, and the Nation in the Historiography of Ancient Israel";
"Sociological Implications of the Distinction between 'Locality' and Extended
'Territory'"; "The Chosen People of Ancient Israel and the Occident: Why Does
Nationality Exist and Survive?"; "Borders, Territory, and Nationality in the Ancient Near
East and Armenia"; ""''Aram Kulloh and the Worship of Hadad: A Nation of Aram?"; "the
Category of the Primordial in the Study of Early Christianity and Second-Century
Judaism"; "Territoriality"; "The Nation of the United States and the Vision of Ancient
Israel"; and "Nationality and Religion."

The essays are united by the author's interest in concepts of boundaries,
territoriality, and nationality in the ancient Near East, with particular attention to Israel.
Grosby asserts that the literature of ancient societies manifests notions of "nationality"
that approximate modem concepts. As a whole, the essays advance this argument by
exploring and developing interlacing topics: nationality as a concept founded on a trans-
tribal collectivity living on bounded territorial entities; the role of "primordiality" (the
importance attached to birth to particular lineages and specific territory); the influence of
monolatry and a "law of the land" (and particularly Deuteronomy) on unifying smaller
collectives into an Israelite nation; the relationship between the this-worldliness of
nations and the other-worldliness of religion in shaping national consciousness; and
parallels between ancient and modem expressions of these. To a large extent, the
author's discussions of ancient Israel interact with classical models of Israelite religion
and society (e.g. Wellhausen, Alt, von Rad), a puzzling focus given the explosion of
studies which, in the last 20 years, have appropriated the social sciences to address the
very topics of kinship and territory that form the heart of his program. Nevertheless, the
call to explore associations between ancient and modem concepts of nationality is worth
pursuing. The essays collected here offer useful models and language for shaping the
project.

' L. Daniel Hawk

Rodney R. Hutton, Fortress Introduction to the Prophets. Minneapolis: Fortress Press
2004. 115 pp., paper, $16.00.

The primary purpose of this text is to provide a brief overview of the pre-exilic
and exilic prophets. Hutton, a Old Testament Professor at Trinity Lutheran Seminary,
wrote an intelligent written but easily comprehendible book that provides a great starting
place for college students, beginning seminary students or anyone interested in leaming
more about the prophets of the Old Testament. At 115 pages the book does not
adequately cover any of the prophets but it does introduce the major themes surrounding
them sufficiently. Unfortunately, the book does not cover any of the later, post-exilic

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prophets, except to briefly mention them at the end of the text. The purpose of the book is
to expose the reader to the general concepts and purposes of Old Testament prophesy
instead of exhaustively introducing each prophetic book. Subsequently, the books
discussed include Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah, Zephaniah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and
Jeremiah.

Hutton provides a refreshing, balanced presentation of both conservative and
liberal thought. One of the finer points of the book was the adeptness he displays in
addressing issues of how to read Israelite prophecy. Should prophecy be read solely
through the lens of Christ or do the prophets only speak in their own context? The
controversial Isaiah 7 passage regarding virgin birth was presented lucidly. The
beginning student will greatly benefit from the well-articulated discussion of both sides
of this complex issue. While Hutton sides with a traditionally liberal view in regards to
virgin birth, he recognizes the importance of a more orthodox view. Finally, he draws
out what he feels is of more significance, one should trust in God to provide deliverance.

Authorship, historical context, literary form and literary structure in the
prophets are all areas of relevance in the prophetic books. Each prophetic book Hutton
discusses is used to exemplify and discuss these different issues. A fair presentation of
the facts on each issue is presented in order to help the reader understand the bigger
picture. While no book is written without bias, Hutton falls on different sides,
conservative and liberal, on the various issues. No notes are used in the book, which
would prove helpful for the reader to further explore the theological debates and facts
presented by Hutton. Regardless, for a student who is still learning about the prophets and
theological positions, the book's articulations will be beneficial.

Hutton utilizes Hebrew in an effective manner. There were several instances
where a basic knowledge of Hebrew grammar was necessary to understand the point
being made but his use was appropriate for a beginning reader. While an academic
approach was not abandoned there were short devotional application pieces interspersed
throughout the book. According to Hutton, in Isaiah, the theme of the book is to trust in
God's deliverance. In Jeremiah, after a lengthy discussion of the nature of the prophets
prophesying in the name of Baal, the main theme for Hutton is a false confidence in God.

Overall, this book is helpful for understand the basics of prophetic literature,
the literary form, historical context, theological positions, and means of interpretation.
The length of the book prohibited any in-depth analysis but it did provide a good starting
point for further exploration. Yet due to the brevity, it would not be well suited for a
thorough introduction to the prophets. In addition to the length, an extensive amount of
time is devoted to the book of Jeremiah. This fiarther inhibits getting a fiill picture of the
entire group of Old Testament Prophets. While not ideal for thorough introduction.
Introduction to the Prophets is a stimulating book that should provoke new students of
the Bible to want to further explore the nature and content of the Old Testament Prophets.

Curtis D. Bissell

James W. Watts, ed., Persia and Torah: The Theory of Imperial Authorization of the
Pentateuch. SBL Symposium Series. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2001. 228
pp., paper, $39.95.

The book of Ezra contains a letter, purportedly written by Artaxerxes, which
gives imperial authority to Ezra and enjoins obedience to "the law of your God and the
law of the king" (Ezra 7:26). In 1984, German scholar Peter Frei proposed that the letter

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reflects a policy typical of the Achaemenid empire, whereby the Persian authorities
granted a degree of autonomy to subject peoples by authorizing local legislation. The
proposal has ramifications for the study of the Pentateuch, for this was indeed the case,
one could reasonably be infer that the "authorization" of a law code for Judah served as a
catalyst for the formation of the Pentateuch. The essays in this volume examine and
evaluate the proposal from a variety of perspectives.

The first essay, "Persian Imperial Authorization: A Summary," is a translation
of a German original published by Frei in 1996. In it, Frei elaborates his theory through a
review of texts from Egypt, Yehud, Elephantine, and Asia Minor that he offers as
examples of imperial authorization. Joseph Blenkinsopp responds with an essay titled
"Was the Pentateuch the Civic and Religious Constitution of the Jewish Ethnos in the
Persian Period?" which examines the Egyptian, biblical, and Elephantine texts cited by
Frei. Blenkinsopp affirms that some of Frei's conclusions are possible but reserves
judgment on the theory as a whole due to inconsistencies between the biblical account
and the process of authorization, questions about the process itself, and the existence of
attractive alternatives. The next essay by Lizbeth Fried, "'You Shall Appoint Judges':
Ezra's Mission the Rescript of Artaxerxes," examines Ezra's mission and concludes that
it was confined to the appointment of judges in accordance with Persian law. Lester
Grabbe ("The Law of Moses in the Ezra Tradition: More Virtual than Real?") comes at
the issue from an even different angle; he questions the historicity of the biblical account
and some of the historical constructs that support the theory of imperial authorization.

Gary Knoppers' contribution, "An Achaemenid Imperial Authorization of
Torah in Yehud," raises the question of whether the Persians actually encouraged the
collection or writing of local law codes and answers by seeing a more passive Persian
involvement in local affairs. Donald B. Redford, in "The So-Called 'Codification' of
Egyptian Law Under Darius I," evaluates a key supporting pillar of Frei's argument and
concludes that the recording of Egyptian law drawn up by order of Darius was more a
translation into Aramaic undertaken to familiarize imperial authorities with local
traditions, as opposed to an authorization of local legislation. In the final essay, '"Persian
Imperial Authorization': Some Question Marks," Jean Louis Ska goes to the heart of the
matter and questions whether any of the documents cited by Frei really constitute
evidence of the type of imperial authorization he proposes. Speaking to the origin of the
Pentateuch in particular. Ska finds the needs of the Second Temple community to be a
more plausible explanation than an intervention from imperial authority.

As this review indicates, the respondents do not as a whole find Frei's thesis to
a compelling one. All essays, however, are well-written and stimulating and offer many
insights into the context of postexilic Yehud. They will therefore be of most interest to
readers who wish to know more about the history of this community - and how that
history is constructed and evaluated.

L. Daniel Hawk

Andrew Louth, ed., with M. Confi, Genesis 1-11, Ancient Christian Commentary of
Scripture: Old Testament, ed. T. C. Oden. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2001. lii + 204
pp., cloth, $40.00.

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same fields before us. Part of the task of any exegete worthy of that title is to be aware of
the thoughts of these others.

The aim of Thomas Oden and InterVarsity Press is to aid in this endeavor by
making available commentary on Scripture from the patristic period, the first seven
centuries of the Church. Oden begins by introducing the project itself, the plenteous
resources which had largely been neglected up to now, the ecumenical range of
contributors and consultants (Greek Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and
Evangelical), as well as providing useful comments on misogyny, anti-Semitism and
Pelagianism. The volume editor, professor of patristic and Byzantine studies at the
University of Durham, then introduces the volume itself He comments on the varieties of
versions (Hebrew, Greek, Latin) and various theological issues such as typology and
original sin.

The commentary proper begins each section with the verse or pericope under
discussion (taken from the RSV). Following an overview of the passage, there is
comment on words and phrases drawn from the fathers. For those used to working with
Jewish sources, the layout is similar to that of the rabbinic commentaries.

The volume, and the series, fills an important gap in exegetical resources.
While it will not be the only, or even the first, commentary, which a student of Scripture
will have on the desk, it is an important resource if one wants to seriously grapple with
the text. If nothing else, I hope that the series lifts our modem eyes from a superficial
personal application based on all too shallow exegesis to a time when the Bible was
considered worthy of serious theological engagement.

David W. Baker

Creach, Jerome F. D., Joshua. Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and
Preaching. Louisville: John Knox Press, 2003. 168 pp., cloth, $24.95.

Jerome Creach is an associate professor of Old Testament at Pittsburgh
Theological Seminary. The purpose of the interpretation biblical commentary series is to
be a resource for teaching and preaching while emphasizing the use of historical and
theological results to find meaning within the biblical text. Creach believes that Joshua
was "written in the ancient world to trace national origins and support nationalistic

goals their concern is to create identity and teach values, not to report 'what really

happened'" (p. 5). The narrowness of Creach's focus does not include: the historical
phenomenon of Joshua, an editorial history, a comparison of the LXX and the Masoretic
Text, or a detailed analysis of the whole book (p. 4). He believes that the theological
themes in Joshua are rooted in Deuteronomy: obedience to torah, warfare and herem, and
the unity of Israel. Creach uses source and redaction criticism to locate the author(s) and
the audience of Joshua (p. 4). He divides Joshua into three distinct parts: God's gift of the
land (Josh. 1-12), dividing the land for an inheritance (Josh. 13-22), and when YHWH
had given rest (Josh. 23-24).

There are several advantages to Creach's study of Joshua. Creach effectively
deals with the issues that surround the ban. He demonstrates that the authors of Joshua
struggled with the issue of the ban. The only sins reported in the land of Canaan are
Israel's transgressions. Yet any Canaanite who surrendered to Israel's God could be
saved (p. 42). Another advantage of Creach's work is that he tries to understand violence
within the context of Joshua's time. He recognizes that violence was defined as any
action which defied God's sovereignty, especially pride and "imperious self-interesf ' (p.

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15). Violence was not understood as the utter annihilation of a whole people group.

There are disadvantages to Jerome Creach's study as well. Creach is somewhat
successful in his argument that Joshua was a prophet. However, Creach misuses Hosea
12:13 as one of his points that Joshua was a prophet. He believes that the second prophet
in Hosea 12:13 is a reference to Joshua. Hosea 12:13 referred to one person, Moses, who
was the prophet who brought Israel out of Egypt. The second reference to "a prophet" in
verse thirteen also referred to Moses. The author(s) of Hosea contrasted the main
character of verse twelve, Jacob, with the main person of verse thirteen, Moses. The
second disadvantage of Creach's book is that he reads too much into the text. He draws
conclusions from the color of the cord that Rahab hung out of her window and the fact
that the spies were hidden under flax (Josh. 2:6, 18, 21). He compares Rahab with the
virtuous woman of Proverbs 31:10-31. Joshua 2 does not say that Rahab worked with
flax (Prov. 31:13) or that she dressed her family in crimson clothes (Prov. 31:21). Creach
also hypothesizes that Rahab may have been a prostitute in order to pay back a family
debt which would show that Rahab was really devoted to her family (p. 39). Rahab was
devoted to her family in that she saved them from being killed; however, Joshua does not
say that she was a hooker in order to repay a family liability (Josh. 2:12-13). The third
disadvantage to Creach's research is that he does not take into consideration the broad
perspective that the diversity of the United States has upon the applications of Joshua. He
states that:

Americans, diverse in ethnicity and experience, tend to adopt and identify with
a single view of national origins. Settlements at Jamestown and Plymouth have come to
embody values for the nation as a whole that collapse the variegated experience of
immigrants into one (p. 53).

This "tendency" probably does not account for the numerous slaves who were
brought over from Africa. This "tendency" probably does not account for the Chinese
who were exploited for the railroad systems in the West. What about Middle Easterners,
Hispanics, and other Asians? If Creach's view of the whole of Americans is the white
majority then maybe he is right; however, many would disagree.

Jerome Creach successfully stayed within his focused topic and he approached
the theological argument of herem effectively. Yet sometimes his applications do not fit
the text or the relevance of the vast opinions of society. He also stretches the meaning of
Hosea 12:13 in his search to find a text that actually referred to Joshua by the title of
prophet.

Heather Hicks

Eugene F. Roop, Believers Church Bible Commentary: Ruth, Jonah, Esther. Scottdale,
PA: Herald Press, 2002. 283 pp., paper, $24.99.

The Believers Church Bible Commentary: Ruth. Jonah, Esther is a well-
written, easy to read commentary on three short biblical narratives. It was written in
response to the expressed need of many different churches for help in biblical studies.

The foreword of the book gives great detail about the Roop's purposes and the
Believers Churches' goal in writing this commentary. The author worked primarily with
English translations of the biblical stories for the easy understanding of the lay audience.

These three books of the Bible are looked at separately and broken down into
the detailed episodes of each book. Special attention is given to the overall themes of the
books; debated issues are addressed, but not emphasized. Each biblical book is given an

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Book Reviews

overview, outline, introduction, detailed analysis of the episodes in the book, and a
conclusion. Attention is also given to the application of the texts within the church
setting. Difficult terms throughout the text are addressed at the end of the book in the
form of short essays, and are referred to in the text by bracketing and italicizing the term.
The book also has an extensive bibliography and index of ancient texts.

Due to a printing error, the first thirty-two pages of the book are repeated at the
end of the book. Hopefully, the publishers have already discovered this, and it will not
be an issue in later press runs.

This commentary is very easy to read. The expansions and explanations by
Roop were well written. It would make a wonderful addition to the library of any Sunday
school teacher, pastor, or person interested in learning more about Ruth, Jonah or Esther.

Amy Kinder

Steven J. Lawson, Psalms 1-75. Holman Old Testament Commentary. Nashville:
Broadman and Holman Publishers, 2003. 384 pp., hardcover, $19.99.

The Holman Old Testament Commentary series attempts, in a concise way, to
deliver an essential understanding of the Old Testament books. Interpretation is based on
the NIV version of the Bible. The purpose is to present a practical resource guide for
teachers and pastor to assist them in their teaching of the Old Testament. The
introduction to the volume on Psalms 1-75 contains many helpful articles such as: unique
features, book title, human authors, time period, intended purpose, superscription and
notations, literary types, book divisions, literary style, figures of speech, and acrostics.

Each of the covered Psalms 1-75 receive a patterned treatment. First there is an
illustrated introduction to the Psalm. Then follows a verse-by-verse commentary that
interprets the passage with accompanying identification of the main idea and the
supporting idea. Third, the conclusion draws together the themes identified in the
passage. This is followed by a life application section with additional illustrative
material. Next is a prayer followed by a deeper discoveries section designed to provide
explanation for keywords, phrases and background information. The seventh section is a
somewhat detailed teaching outline of the Psalm and concludes with issues for
discussion.

The book is obviously a resource for teaching in the local church. One aim of
the work is to "make every minute of preparation time meaningful." Thus the market is
to pastors, teachers and personal devotional study. Each psalm received four to eight
pages of treatment. The author is the senior pastor of Christ Fellowship Baptist Church in

Mobile, Alabama. He holds a D.Min. degree from Reformed Theological
Seminary.

Richard E. Allison

David George Moore and Daniel L. Akin, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs. Holman Old
Testament Commentary, ed. Max Anders, vol. 14. Nashville: Broadman & Holman,
2003. 367 pp., hardcover, $19.99.

Most commentaries are written for academics, pastors and other persons
educated in biblical scholarship. This volume is clearly written with a different target
audience in mind. The format of this book is designed for those who are interested in

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learning and applying the text without wading through lengthy discussions on textual
criticism and other more academic arguments. Even so, the introduction of Ecclesiastes
includes a fair discussion of the issues relating to authorship, while no such discussion is
presented in Song of Songs. Overall, due to the extensive illustrations and application
discussions, this material seems to be best suited for an American audience, or for those
with an otherwise western cultural understanding. Theologically, the writing attempts to
fairly represent many sides of significant academic discussions, but teaches from a
generally evangelical perspective.

The introduction to Ecclesiastes includes a summary of the overarching theme,
a description of the discussions on authorship and date of origin, an outline, an overview
of its genre, its canonicity and other background notes. The body of the commentary is in
a different format than normally seen. The scripture is broken up not by chapter, but into
passages that represent sections of logical thought. Each section under analysis includes
an introductory section, commentary, conclusion, application and notes for deeper
discoveries. These sections then conclude with a teaching outline and issues for
discussion. Overall, Ecclesiastes is presented in clear, understandable language that helps
the reader to sift through passages that can include complex and sometimes baffling
forms and difficult terminology. My only difficulty in reading Ecclesiastes, was that the
authors seem to try too hard to make a dark subject more cheerful than is merited.

The section on Song of Songs is laid out similar to Ecclesiastes, but, in
addition, this introduction includes sections on the purpose of the book and a description
of how the book can speak to a modem generation. Song of Songs is similarly well
written, and, although this book does not present the same difficulty to the reader that we
find in Ecclesiastes, the authors point out many interesting highlights along the way.

The format of this commentary puts a lot of material on a lower shelf,
accessible to many who may consider traditional commentaries to be too difficult or
complex. Combined with the authors' understandable writing style, this volume is
worthy of serious consideration by laypersons normally put off by academic
commentaries.

John Partridge

Richard S. Hess, Song of Songs. Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and
Psalms. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2005. 285 pp., hardcover, $29.99.

Richard S. Hess's Song of Songs is the first volume of the Baker Commentary
on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms, edited by Tremper Longman III. Hess,
professor of Old Testament at Denver Seminary, is the author and editor of numerous
works, including the commentary on Joshua in the Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries
and Israel's Messiah in the Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls. In the present volume, as
Calvin Miller of Beeson Divinity School comments on the back jacket flap, he opts to
"tear away the brown wrapping" from the often controversial Song of Songs, introducing
readers to the sacred music of this exotic "song for the ages."

The intent of the new series is to present the message of each biblical book to
an audience that includes "clergy and future clergy, namely seminary students" (p. 8).
This volume thus was written to be accessible to nonscholars, although abundant
footnotes provide detailed information for scholars and venturesome nonscholars alike.
Limiting the scope of the series to the Psalms and Wisdom books allows each volume to
be "tailored" to the unique character of that portion of the Hebrew Scriptures and to

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highlight significant poetic conventions, a task which Hess accomplishes richly and
thoroughly.

Hess's commentary consists of an introduction and individual chapters
representing his seven major structural divisions for the Song. As will be the case for all
commentaries in the series, each division is accorded (1) an original translation, (2) a
detailed interpretation, and (3) a final reflection on theological implications. The
introduction includes a section entitled "How (Not) to Read the Song," in which Hess
explains that the Song of Songs is not a drama or sequential narrative, an allegory, an
anthology of diverse erotic poetry, a "manifesto for free love," a description of a married
relationship, or a sex manual. It is a literary work similar in imagery and metaphor to
Egyptian love poetry; "a fantasy that explores the commitment of an erotic love affair"
(p. 35), probably in the context of marriage; and an introduction to the concept of sex as a
gift from God, "an experience of love whose intensity has no parallel in this cosmos and
serves as a signpost to point to the greater love that lies beyond it" (p. 35).

In the "Translation" sections, Hess leaves no word unturned: his detailed notes
offer historical and etiological facts for virtually every significant word in each section,
thought-provoking arguments for nontraditional lexical decisions, and alternative points
of view. The "Interpretation" sections consist of verse-by-verse comments that address
literary, historical, rhetorical, even psychological issues. In addition to detailed
observations concerning other interpretations, the section footnotes encompass
information on parallel texts, explanations of literary and poetic conventions, and
discussions of thorny grammatical and lexical concerns. The "Theological Implications"
sections, which are short (sometimes less than one page) but comprehensive, link the
Hebrew text to Christian application. Overall, despite his strong belief that the couple in
the Song are, at least ultimately, married, Hess affirms that physical love is the main
focus of the Song. Passion, he declares, is "the closest experience this side of the grave of
the transcendent knowledge of the living God" (p. 34), and his last theological reflection
connects the still-unsatisfied longing of the couple in the Song's final scene to the human
yearning for God's love, which will reach consummation only "in the marriage of Christ
and his Bride," described so eloquently in Rev. 19:7-9 (p. 251).

In a book dedicated to presenting God's message, Hess's theological reflections
seem brief, but such brevity may nudge the reader toward further, independent
theological reflection — an especially good exercise for seminarians. Nonscholars should
at least skim the extensive footnotes, which provide a wealth of fascinating information,
much of it comparatively "user-friendly," and the substantial bibliography. This book
speaks to different levels of scholarship without forcing one level on the reader, raises
thought-provoking questions without imposing answers, presents a theological challenge
without threatening faith. One need not agree with everything Hess says to conclude that
he solidly achieves the series' goal to "inform readers and... stimulate reflection on and
passion for" (p. 9) a sacred writing that has intrigued, shocked, and challenged readers for
centuries.

Susan A. Blake

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Stephen R. Miller, Holman Old Testament Commentary: Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah,
Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. Nashville, Tenn.: Broadman and Holman Publishers, 2004.
Xiii + 378 pp., hardback , $19.99.

The Holman Old Testament Commentary Series edited by Max Anders is one
of the most helpful biblical resources for local church Bible study. Stephen R. Miller
well utilizes the form and structure of the Holman commentaries which are known for
their eight-fold presentation of the material (Introduction, Commentary, Conclusion, Life
Application, Prayer, Deeper Discoveries, Teaching Outline, and Issues for Discussion).
Any lay teacher would find themselves delightfully equipped to lead a study of these six
prophetic books as Miller provides interesting, insightful, and informative information
that brings these ancient prophecies to life for the modem day and time. Miller provides
relevant historical facts that impinge on the life and times of the prophets. He includes
helpful diagrams and charts to organize personalities, dates, and eras of the time, and, ties
the prophetic literature to the New Testament when appropriate. His illustrations and
anecdotes are diverse and to the point.

While all church leaders would benefit form having Miller's work on their
shelf, for a deeper understanding of the literature one would need to supplement the study
of these prophets with other works which address them within the broader Book of the
Twelve. Unfortunately, though Miller makes a passing remark with respect to the
Twelve to argue for the unity of Zechariah, he fails to bring the context of the Twelve to
bear on the interpretation of the individual books and passages. Recent scholarship is
making significant strides to read the Twelve as a theological unity which sheds
considerable light on the message(s) of the Minor Prophets (cf. the recent works of
scholars such as C. Seitz, R. Clements, R. Rendtorff, J. Jeremias, T. Collins, R.C. Van
Leeuwen, etc.).

Failing to tap into this discussion of The Twelve means that several interesting
issues involving these prophets were overlooked in the commentary. For example, how
does the compassion formula (Exodus 34) that occurs in Nahum 1:2-3 function in the
light of the way it grows and develops within The Twelve (Joel, Jonah, and Micah)?
What about the significance of Malachi's divorce theme in respect to Hosea's marriage
motif? How does Malachi's last verse respond to Joel's eschatological judgment? What
roles do the books without historical superscriptions (Joel, Obadiah, Nahum, Habakkuk,
and Malachi) play in the theological development of the Twelve? What is the
significance of the three consecutive uses of mass a in Zechariah 9, 12, and Malachi 1? Is
Haggai-Zechariah presenting the fruit in Zion that Habakkuk is waiting for? How do the
books relate to Micah 3:12, the center of The Twelve? The way one views the Minor
Prophets as a unity influences the interpretive force of various themes and motifs running
through the individual books.

In Miller's defense, dividing the Minor Prophets into two commentaries did not
especially yield itself to focusing on the contours of the entire corpus. This division is an
editorial decision. Nonetheless, a few remarks as to how the material of Nahum-Malachi
corresponds to reading The Twelve as a theological whole could still have been
maneuvered.

Steven D. Mason, St. Mary's College, University of St. Andrews, Scotland

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Book Reviews

A. Andrew Das, Paul and the Jews. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2003. 256
pp., paper, $24.95.

In many ways Andrew Das is an old school scholar. He has a careful eye to
detail, is exegetically laborious, and he is interested in the comparative dynamics of
Pauline letters. In many ways too, the exegetical conclusions of Paul and the Jews are not
radically different than those of authors from a generation ago. Yet Das is significantly
aware of the "New Perspective on Paul," and is seeking to move that discussion forward.
The newest offering brings together the best of what the New Perspective has to offer,
with cautious critiques and careful exegesis to see the study through. Essentially, Paul
and the Jews is a study of Galatians and Romans focused by the question: how does Paul
understand Judaism in light of the Christ event?

Das asks two questions of Galatians: What does Paul find problematic about
the Law? Why can the Law not save? Most significant for answering these questions is
understanding audience. Das suggests that Jewish Christians were promoting Gentile
law-observance alongside faith. For Paul, this denied the power of the new thing God did
in Christ and the Spirit. The Law always pointed to Messiah, and the Hebrew Scriptures
displayed God's grace and mercy in the person of Jesus Christ. When Paul met Jesus, this
altered the way he viewed his Judaism, and concluded that if faith did this, the Law did
not have efficacy.

Das then turns to Romans. He begins with chapters 14-15, and the
identification of the "weak" (Gentiles law-keepers) and the "strong" (other Gentile
Christians). This context is confirmed by a background in which Jewish Christians
established the Roman church, but were expelled by Claudius. Without their support.
Gentile believers were ostracized in the synagogue and left to worship on their own and
without Kosher resources. Regarding Romans 9-11, Paul's Christology forces him to
speak negatively and positively about ethnic Israel. Das critiques the "two-covenant"
theory for not including all of the data, concluding that the only way to read Rom 9-1 1
consistently with 1 1:25-31 is that in the future ethnic Israel will be converted. Das asserts
God's impartiality, yet argues that Paul still holds a position of primacy for national
Israel.

Can impartiality and primacy co-exist? Das dedicates a chapter to studying this
very issue, and focuses specifically on how Romans 1 1 fits with Galatians 3-4 and 1
Thessalonians 2:14-16. Das concludes that Paul does not curse Israel for disbelief, but
holds out hope for ethnic Israel. He maintains racial distinction, but his Christology still
requires all to be saved by a faith in Christ.

In chapters 6 and 7, Das turns to Paul's view of the Mosaic Law. Like his view
of Judaism, Paul feels ambivalently regarding the Law. Das affirms the finding that Paul
objected to the ethnic exclusivity of the Law, but adds that Paul also had other critiques.
He concludes that Gentiles will be judged according to the same Law, but with the power
of the Spirit Gentile believers fulfill the Mosaic Law while (paradoxically) not seeking to
obey it, thus enjoying the benefits of Israel's election.

"Hope" is the motif Das chooses to end with. He concludes that Paul's "radical
reconceptualization of grace" when he encountered Christ changed his view of Judaism
and Torah significantly. Das recognizes that although Paul holds out hope for his Jewish
compatriots, his Christocentric theology remains a stumbling block.

Das's strengths are his competence in creating plausible background
hypotheses for his careful exegesis, and offering significant critique and correction to the

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New Perspective on Paul, while still swimming the same stream. Das shows significant
respect for differing conversation partners and he is eager to tackle difficult texts.

Unfortunately, though. Das resultant treatment of the key text, Romans 7, was
far too brief and cursory at best. In an attempt to capture Paul's ambivalence (I believe),
Das's exegetical conclusions are sometimes ambivalent, and he never really explains how
Israel's primacy and God's impartiality work as they sit together in tension, despite
several tries. Although Das does not come off as a traditionalist, it is unclear how Das's
monograph is a "newer perspective" on Paul, and what difference the New Perspective
has actually made.

Despite his desire to contribute to Jewish-Christian dialogue, does Das actually
contribute in that direction? Das's Paul is consistently ambivalent and significantly
negative toward ethnic Israel and the Mosaic Law. This is, however, one of the keener,
and most subtle, insights of Das: true dialogue in Jewish-Christian relations must be
predicated with a faithful reading of Pauline texts.

Upper-level NT students and serious seminarians should find much beneficial
in this volume. Das is detailed, but presents his arguments logically and understandably.
Most of all. Das offers an important contribution to and critique of the New Perspective
on Paul in an excellent introduction to Paul and Judaism.

Brenton Dickieson, Regent College, Vancouver, BC.

David A. deSilva, An Introduction to the New Testament. Contexts, Methods & Ministry
Formation. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity; Leicester, UK: Apollos, 2004. 975 pages,
cloth, $40.00.

Guthrie has been the venerable volume that InterVarsity Press contributed to
the genre of New Testament introduction. Donald Guthrie's massive tome (1161 pages)
was most recently issued in 1990 in its fourth revised edition. Now we have a weighty
and worthy complement to Guthrie from IVP, one that extends the typical borders of the
genre — as indicated in the book's subtitle. Dr. deSilva, who teaches New Testament and
Greek at Ashland Theological Seminary, has made notable contributions to scholarship in
his many prior books and articles, particularly in his studies on the social contexts of the
world in which the New Testament emerged.

As a longtime teacher of seminary introductory NT courses, I have heard
students' reactions to a succession of introductory texts. While many agreed that Guthrie
thoroughly covered the issues (at least up through the mid-1980s), reading his text was
tough going, and many considered it too dry and laborious. Both Carson, Moo, Morris
and Achtemeier, Green, Thompson presented worthy improvements. Professor deSilva
offers the latest and perhaps the best successor. First, he expands the genre from the
standard concerns of "introduction," viz., authorship, recipients, characteristics, purpose,
date, structure and integrity, language and style, contents, plus other matters specific to
particular books. To these he adds (1) important introductory chapters, (2) recurring
"exegetical skill" sections that introduce the readers to the wide range of disciplines
currently practiced in NT studies, and (3) a section on "ministry formation" at the end of
the study of each NT book. The book brims with pictures of places, maps, tables, and
many sidebar type articles that address issues pertinent to the subjects at hand. A few
examples include "The Contents of Q," "Differences Between the Greek and Hebrew
Texts of the Old Testament," "The 'Faith of Jesus Christ' in Galatians," "Paul's Use Of
The Old Testament In 1 Corinthians," "The Didache," and "How Christian Is James?"

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The three initial chapters position the book and explain some of its notable
features. Chapter 1, entitled "The New Testament as Pastoral Response," reminds readers
that the NT books were written to help Christians understand who they were in
distinction to the Jews on one hand and the pagan world out of which they have come on
the other. The NT books respond to pastoral concerns, and we neglect the point of the
Bible apart from a careful appraisal of their implications for life and ministry today.
Accordingly, at the conclusion of most chapters deSilva includes a section on "ministry
forrnation" that suggests ways to apply the major themes or concerns of each book. Many
of his applications are hard-hitting but true to the text. On ministry formation from
Philippians he writes, "Many Christians live as if Paul's exhortation to 'be of the same
mind' means 'if you are willing to think and to worship as I do, then we can have
fellowship and experience God together.'" (p. 666). Ouch!

Chapter 2 sets the NT in its historical and cultural contexts in the first century
world — growing out of developments in the intertestamental period and within the
diversity of Judaism and the many Greco-Roman religions and philosophical schools.
Chapter 3 addresses a constellation of issues under the rubric of "The Cultural and Social
World of the Early Church" including such matters as purity and pollution, honor and
shame, patronage, and the family. Awareness of these kinds of cultural matters does not
end with this chapter, however. It prepares the reader for components of the following
chapters on the gospels. So we find, "Cultural Awareness: Jewish Purity Codes and
Mark's Gospel," "Cultural Awareness: Honor Discourse in Matthew," "Cultural
Awareness: Luke and Patronage," and "Cultural Awareness: Kinship Language and the
Interpretation of John's Gospel."

Following a chapter on gospel criticism the book moves sequentially from
Mark to Matthew and then to Luke and Acts; to John and the Johannine Epistles; then,
after a prologue to the study of Paul, through Paul's letters, including an excursus on
pseudepigraphy and the canon; then to the general epistles; and finally to Revelation.
Each chapter concludes with a significant bibliography for further reading.

A feature that sets this book apart from its peers is the addition of "exegetical
skill" sections sprinkled throughout, usually at places where their practice helps shed
light on its usefulness in illuminating the biblical text at hand and the critical method
itself DeSilva divides the skills into their areas of special focus: "inner texture: close
study of the text itself," "intertexture: the text in conversation with other 'texts,'" "social
and cultural texture: the intersection of a text with its world," and "ideological texture:
agendas of authors and interpreters." In other words, instead of introducing students only
to the background of the books of the canon — how and why they emerged — deSilva
helps students grasp the larger plan for the full exegesis of the texts themselves, what
Vernon K. Robbins calls "socio-rhetorical interpretation." DeSilva illustrates how the
various exegetical tactics can combine to produce the best understanding of the text. In
the process, readers will find few skills unmentioned — and no doubt quite a few that
many seminary students have not encountered before.

A glance at the table of contents will confirm that the author has outlined a
comprehensive agenda for himself I conclude that he has succeeded marvelously. While
understandably not including a defense of his henneneutical approach to the NT, deSilva
has provided his readers with a virtually complete introduction to the background,
contents, and values of studying the NT while also showing readers what they need to do
to grasp that message well. At the same time, of course, no reader will agree with all the
conclusions in a book that covers so much territory. Some might well suspect that his
bent toward social-scientific criticism predisposes him to find more examples of kinship,

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honor/shame, or patronage than are clearly present. He sometimes prefers Paul account of
something rather than Luke's when their accounts are difficult to reconcile where others
might pardon Luke on the grounds of his selective reporting. To his credit, deSilva
sometimes is willing to remain on the fence on some interpretive issues when he believes
the evidence is evenly divided. For example, on the authorship of Ephesians he writes,
"Either position faces serious obstacles, and it is best to conclude that there are no easy
resolutions of this particular question (however much scholars on both sides might
represent the solution as clear and indisputable!)" (p. 721). He invites readers to think
through for themselves answers to the tough issues (such as pseudonymity) while
emphasizing that all such interpretive disagreements need to be subsumed under the
affirmation that what is in the canon is authoritative Scripture. So, he advises, "nor
should the value of the Pastorals be diminished should they be found decisively to be
pseudonymous" (p. 748).

Overall, this is a remarkable achievement. Its unique constellation of
components sets it apart from all other books on NT introduction. I am going to test it out
on my next classes in NT introduction. I think it will serve my students well.

William W. Klein, Denver Seminary

James D.G. Dunn, ed., The Cambridge Companion to St. Paul. Cambridge; Cambridge
University Press, 2003. 324 pp, hardback, $65.00 / paperback, $23.99.

The Cambridge Companion Series is designed to provide a solid introduction to
a particular topic for new readers and non-specialists. This particular volume provides
such a service by acquainting the reader with the current issues being discussed in the
area of Pauline studies. The most appropriate audience for this text would seem to be
college or seminary-level students being introduced to the life and letters of St. Paul for
the first time. Edited by James D.G. Dunn, this book contains articles about St. Paul
from some of the foremost Pauline scholars today.

Beyond simply providing commentary on specific Pauline epistles, this text
offers articles which discuss topics of the life of St. Paul himself The introduction,
written by Dunn, provides key information so the beginning student will understand some
of the debates in Pauline scholarship over the past two centuries. To this end Dunn
briefly surveys F.C. Baur, the History of Religions School and the New Perspective.

After the introduction, the book is divided into four primary sections. The first
section which is entitled "Paul's life and work," includes the following contributions:
"Paul's Life" (Klaus Haacker) and "Paul as missionary and pastor" (Stephen C. Barton).
This section is primarily designed to show the reader what historical information about
the life of the Apostle can be gleaned from biblical texts.

The second section, entitled "Paul's letters," examines the Pauline epistles
themselves with general commentary on the text. This section contains the following
articles: "1 and 2 Thessalonians" (Margaret Mitchell); "Galatians" (Bruce Longenecker);
"1 and 2 Corinthians" (Jerome Murphy-O'Connor); "Romans" (Robert Jewett);
"Philippians" (Moma Hooker); "Colossians" (Loren T. Stuckenbruck); "Ephesians"
(Andrew T. Lincoln); "The Pastoral Epistles" (Arland J. Hultgren).

One particular area of this section which will certainly be of interest to the
reader just beginning to study the Pauline epistles is the portion which discusses whether
or not the Pastoral Epistles were written pseudonymously (142-143). While Hultgren, in
the end, concludes that these texts were written pseudonymously, the reader is provided

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with the arguments, in five clear and simple to understand points, which have caused the
author to hold these views. The reader is thus able to see the data supporting both sides
of the argument and is able to better understand the dilemma for which there will never
be an absolute solution. Rather than simply casting the opposing side in a pejorative
light, Hultgren clearly shows why such a belief can be held.

The third section, entitled "Paul's theology," includes the following
contributions: "Paul's Jewish presuppositions" (Alan F. Segal); "Paul's Gospel" (Graham
N. Stanton); "Paul's Christology" (L.W. Hurtado); "Paul's Ecclesiology" (Luke Timothy
Johnson); "Paul's Ethics" (Brian Rosner). Since many readers of the New Testament are
often puzzled by Paul's use of scripture, Segal's article will also likely be of interest to
the beginning reader. In this article Segal discusses such topics as Paul's handling of
scripture (e.g. Paul's use of midrash in Gal. 3:6-14) and what Paul's presuppositions may
have been as a Pharisee (164-71).

The final section, which is simply entitled "St. Paul," includes the following
articles: "Paul in the second century" (Calvin J. Roetzel); "Paul's enduring legacy"
(Robert Morgan); "Contemporary perspectives on Paul" (Ben Witherington, III).
Witheringon's article has several facets which will be helpful to the reader unfamiliar
with the topic. One such area is that Witherington juxtaposes Alan Segal's views about
Paul's Jewish-ness against opponents of such a view (257-58). The debate which he
singles out is the degree to which Paul was a "good Jew" (257). Other sections of
Witherington 's article provide broad overviews of such topics as feminist and
liberationist approaches to the Pauline Epistles as well as a discussion of understanding
the corpus through the lens of rhetorical criticism.

Readers unfamiliar with the technical terminology used in biblical studies will
greatly appreciate the glossar)' provided at the beginning of the text. While this text is
certainly broad in focus it provides a solid foundation from which the reader is able to
venture out into the larger world of Pauline studies. It seems this book would be helpful
in an introductory course and would aptly serve as a supplement to a New Testament
introduction text book.

Marcus P. Adams

Bart D. Ehrman, Lost Scriptures: Books that Did Not Make It into the New Testament.
New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. vi + 342 pp., cloth, $30.00.

Lost Scriptures provides a readily available and accessible collection of
Christian texts from the second through the fourth centuries CE, some republished here in
their entirety, some available here only as selections. Ehrman has included many of the
important witnesses to emerging Gnostic Christianity, ascetic streams of Christianity, as
well as proto-orthodox Christianity, though the Apostolic Fathers are on the whole poorly
represented in this collection (though these are readily available in other collections
edited by Ehrman). The collection groups works by genres in the same order as the New
Testament: extra-canonical Gospels, Acts, Epistolary Literature, and Apocalypses,
concluding with early witnesses to the formation of an authoritative canon of New
Testament writings.

There is an unmistakable agenda behind the collection of these writings,
namely an attempt to level the playing field, as it were, turning back the clock to a period
in which "orthodox" Christianity was but one group among many vying for the right, as it
were, to define what Christianity was. Gnostics, Docetists, and ascetics should not be

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thought of as "heresy" (which Ehrman equates with "false belief," though "divisive
faction" would be more apt), but as promoters of competing understandings of Jesus'
significance and message. The introduction to the collection positions readers to
experience the expressions of faith in the various documents as fundamentally "equal,"
without giving due notice to the unequal geographic and demographic distribution of
these views, an inequality that would support the traditional view that there was in fact a
broad consensus regarding the apostolic message and elite or sectarian groups that "split"
from this consensus to pursue their own adaptations of the Gospel. The process of
canonization, a process of selection that is now recognized largely to have proceeded
from the ground up rather than to have been imposed on a broad-minded, inquiring, and
tolerant church from above, is much more susceptible to the traditional rather than this
revisionist view of diversity in the early church.

Such tendencies aside, Ehrman is to be commended as always for investing his
considerable energies into putting the primary texts in the hands of the general reader.
The study of early Christianity should certainly not be limited to the reading of the New
Testament, but must extend to the careful study of the apostolic fathers and the literature
collected in this volume. This treasure trove of primary sources was published primarily
to complement the reading of his Lost Christianities (New York and Oxford: OUP,
2003), but it would serve equally well as a complement to the reader's independent
exploration of the varieties of expression of the Christian faith in the first three to four
centuries. . .

-- ■ David A. deSilva

Michael J. Gorman, Apostle of the Crucified Lord: A Theological Introduction to Paul
and His Letters. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004. 624 pp., paper, $39.00.

The man who wrote the book on Pauline Spirituality {Cruciformity: Paul's
Narrative Spirituality of the Cross) has now ventured into the broader world of Pauline
Introduction. Michael Gorman has not, however, left behind his Christocentric
theological reading of Paul. Instead, Apostle of the Crucified Lord is a theological
introduction to the biography, mission, spirituality, and letters of Paul.

The first section of the book introduces Paul's frame of reference, overviews
his mission, and provides an introduction to his letters that is sensitive to Paul's social
contexts. Gorman has three chapters in this introductory section that deal with Paul
ideological mindset: Paul's gospel, Paul's spirituality, and Paul's theology. The chapter
on Paul's gospel forms a good introduction to the current discussion, but it is the latter
two chapters that display Gorman's distinctive contribution within Pauline studies.

Gorman's acute observation of Paul's inseparable connection between gospel
and life was explicated in depth in his Cruciformity, and he focuses the discussion in this
theme here. There are six distinctive aspects of Paul's spirituality that Gorman discusses:
Paul's lived experience is Covenantal, Cruciform, Charismatic, Communal,
Countercultural, and (New-) Creational. Gorman's chapter on Paul's theology is less
specific and demanding of Pauline particularities, but rather draws out twelve key Pauline
theological themes that are effective in broadly representing Paul's theological
formulation, even if they are different in scope and form from traditional Pauline
theologies.

The second section contains introduction and commentary to the thirteen letters
attributed to Paul. As promised, the chapters are theologically focused. This does not

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mean that Gorman is ignorant of contextual issues — quite the opposite. Each chapter
begins with a brief discussion of academic issues, a description of the geographic and
sociological setting, and an overview of the setting of the book within Paul's pastoral
ministry. Gorman exegetically summarizes significant chunks of Pauline texts within
what he deems to be chronological order. He draws out the theological themes that are
significant to Paul's gospel, theology, and spirituality as delineated by Gorman in the first
section of the book.

Between the covers of Apostle of the Crucified Lord are many of the tools
needed to move undergraduate students on the path of reading Paul's letters with
theological acuity. Gorman includes numerous maps, lists, pictures, exegetical charts,
stimulating quotations, summaries, reflection questions, and introductory bibliographies.
This text should suffice as both background reading and reference material for beginning
students engaging in Pauline studies. Gorman gives us the best of the conversations
taking place in contemporary Pauline studies, but steers completely clear of intimidating
vocabulary and purely academic peculiarities.

This attempt at accessibility has a downside. Gorman could have included some
footnote discussions to help students in research and to be more forthcoming about where
he lands on key academic debates that obviously lurk in the background. This is
unfortunate, because Apostle of the Crucified Lord represents a key step in the New
Perspective on Paul — testing the basic hypotheses of the movement by seeing if it stands
up to the test of theological integration and biographical presentation. Gorman is also an
example of the positive things that can come of the new focus on narrative readings of
Paul, on the question of contextual backgrounds and exegesis, and on social
repercussions of Paulinism, both ancient and modern. Much of that background
discussion, however, remains veiled to the eager student wishing to pursue those paths.

Apostle of the Crucified Lord is intended as a comprehensive, but accessible
introduction to Paul and his writings for undergraduate theological students. In this aim,
Gorman has succeeded. To date, I know of no better theological introduction to Paul that
opens the student to critical issues yet still roots them in the personal and ecclesial
ramifications of Paul's letters, both ancient and modem.

Brenton Dickieson

Douglas Harink, Paul among the Postliberals: Pauline Theology beyond Christendom
and Modernity. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2003. 288 pp., paper, $24.99.

Paul among the Postliberals is a synthesis of postliberal students of Karl Barth,
particularly Hauerwas and Yoder, and a synopsis of this postliberal reading with the New
Perspective on Paul (NPP). The result is a brilliant picture of how the NPP and postliberal
thinking fit together in biblical studies, theology, ecclesiology, and social and political
ethics to form a fundamental critique of evangelical and liberal theological formulation.

Methodologically speaking, Harink tries to understand Paul in his contexts
while recognizing faithful repetitions of that Word in our world today. The result is five
essays tied together by a Barthian-Pauline dialogue. Douglas Harink is a theologian, and
admittedly builds his understanding of Pauline studies upon a limited number of scholars
within the NPP, particularly Stendahl, Sanders, Dunn, Donaldson, Hays, Schweitzer,
Kasemann, Beker, and J. Louis Martyn.

Following the Pauline logic of Barth, Hauerwas, and Yoder, in chapter 1
Harink challenges the traditional Protestant view of justification that is currently being

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reconfigured by the NPP. "Justification by faith in Christ" is a phrase that is
inappropriately translated. "Faith," for Paul, represents the faithfulness of God in Christ.
God's faithfulness is what is contrasted with human works, not an abstract inner
justification that takes place within the individual having faith in an objectified Christ.
Instead, justification is a community event that represents Paul's all-encompassing
apocalyptic worldview in his mission to the nations. Harink demonstrates that the NPP is
opening up new possibilities of understanding Paul, but probably goes to far in a critique
of traditional Protestant readings.

Harink argues that those who interpret Paul as apocalyptic are reading Paul
correctly, a reality that is particularly strong in Galatians. Chapter 2 brings together
Hauerwas's Pauline-styled struggle against ideological liberalism with a reading of
Galatians by Martyn. Galatians is about Paul trying to enclose the listeners in the
apocalyptic event of Jesus Christ and the decisive action of God in Christ which Paul
himself experienced. Paul in his apocalyptic thought coherently integrates theology,
politics, and ethics to free Gentiles from bondage.

In chapter 3 Harink shows that Yoder's political reading of Paul — imitation of
Jesus in pacifism, renunciation of coercive power, and submission to the cross — is
essential for the church's contemporary paradigmatic life and mission. The church must
be involved in the struggle against the enslaving religious and political principalities of
this world in an ethic of body politic where God transforms these world powers in the
context of the church and the work of the cross towards a new humanity.

Harink asserts in chapter 4 that Jews continue to be occluded by liberals taking
the pluralist option and Evangelicals taking the supersessionist option, both finding their
root in Paul. Both of these options, however, are anti-Judaistic and un-Pauline. Harink
offers a thoroughly critical reading of N.T. Wright; but an apocalyptic approach
demonstrates that God's action in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ both encloses
and sustains God's irrevocable election of Israel.

In the final essay, Harink addresses the issue of pluralism. Basic to Harink's
presentation is a critique of the understanding of religion itself in modem times. For Paul,
what was key was that Christians become a people under the lordship of Jesus Christ,
together with Jews in Rome, and within a pagan context in Corinth.

Though not comprehensive in the genre of systematic theology, Harink's
synopsis is an essential step for Pauline studies and, dare I say, for the theological
disciplines. Outside of contributions to the Jewish-Christian dialogue, what has been
lacking in the NPP has been an understanding of how these new developments will look
in larger theological systems or in the life of the church. Harink provides for both with a
book written for his peers, but with an eye to the student and the clergy.

In so doing, Harink has also provided greater exegetical support for postliberal
theology. Because of the limitations of the work, not every aspect of postliberal theology
as he proposed it came across as either Pauline or helpful to church life today. Indeed,
Harink also offers some critiques of his own Barthian theological movement against the
NPP.

Harink is largely uncritical of the NPP. As such, his work will be vulnerable to
the rising critical counter-tide to the NPP. But some integration must be attempted, even
if it is limited in scope. Paul among the Postliberals is a surprisingly refreshing synthesis
of two fields in which there are obvious points of dialogue, and it is brought to us by a
Canadian scholar who is certainly worthy of attention.

Brenton Dickieson

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Scot McKnight and Grant R. Osborne, eds., The Face of New Testament Studies: A
Survey of Recent Research. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004. 544 pp., paper, $32.99.

This volume is a collection of essays by 22 scholars on a nearly comprehensive
list of subjects in New Testament studies. It is divided into four parts, the first of which
concerns the "Context of the New Testament." In it are essays on "Galilee and Judea: The
Social World of Jesus" (pp. 21-35) by Sean Freyne and "The Roman Empire and Asia
Minor" (pp. 36-56) by David A Fiensy. Part 2 addresses "New Testament Hermeneutics."
Contributions include Eckhard J. Schnabel on "Textual Criticism: Recent Developments"
(pp. 59-75), Stanley E. Porter, "Greek Grammar and Syntax" (pp. 76-103), David A.
deSilva, "Embodying the Word: Social-Scientific Interpretation of the New Testament"
(pp. 1 18-129), and Craig A. Evans, "The Old Testament in the New" (pp. 130-145).

Part 3 is simply "Jesus." Scot McKnight writes on "Jesus of Nazareth" (pp.
149-176), Klyne Snodgrass on "Modem Approaches to Parables" (pp. 177-190), Graham
H. Twelftree on "The History of Miracles in the History of Jesus" (pp. 191-208), and
Craig L. Blomberg on "John and Jesus" (pp. 209-226).

Part 4, "Earliest Christianity," is the largest portion of the book. The
contribution on Acts is by Steve Walton ("Acts: Many Questions, Many Answers, 229-
250) who is writing the WBC on that book. The veteran Bruce Chilton lends his expertise
to "James, Jesus' Brother" (pp. 251-263), while Donald A. Hagner addresses "Matthew:
Christian Judaism or Jewish Christianity" (pp. 263-282). Paul is addressed by Bruce N.
Fisk and James D. G. Dunn. The former wrote "Paul: Life and Letters" (pp. 283-325), the
latter "Paul's Theology" (pp. 326-348). This is followed by Darrell L. Bock on "Luke"
(pp. 349-372), Robert L. Webb on "The Petrine Epistles: Recent Developments and
Trends" (pp. 373-390) and Peter G. Bolt on "Mark's Gospel" (pp. 391-413).

George H. Guthrie provides an excellent essay on "Hebrews in Its First-
Century Contexts: Recent Research" (pp. 414-443), followed by Klaus Scholtissek on
"The Johannine Gospel in Recent Research" (pp. 444-472) and Grant R. Osborne, author
of the recent BECNT on Revelation, contributes his experience in "Recent Trends in the
Study of the Apocalypse" (pp. 473-504). The volume concludes with extensive indices of
subjects (pp. 505-514), authors (pp. 515-532), and scripture (pp. 533-544).

The book gives little or no attention to the Johannine epistles or that of Jude,
and the order of chapters seems a bit odd. Nevertheless, this collection of essays provides
valuable orientations to entire fields of study by experienced and capable scholars,
offering insight into methodological and theological issues. For the busy student, pastor,
or scholar, this book is a worthwhile investment to get up to speed on areas outside their
expertise. In an age of ever increasing specialization, a book such as this that provides
both breadth and depth is a welcome contribution.

Daniel M. Gurtner, Tyndale House, Cambridge, England

Francis J. Moloney, Mark: Storyteller, Interpreter, Evangelist. Peabody: Hendrickson,
2004. 224 pp., paper, $19.95.

Francis J. Moloney occupies the Katherine Drexel Chair of Religious Studies at
the Catholic University of America. His The Gospel of Mark: A Commentary was the
2003 Reference Book of the Year according to the Academy of Parish Clergy. The 2004
book is billed as a New Testament Commentary but it is not truly that. Only 55 pages of
the 224 page text are devoted strictly to commentary.

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The book is organized in four parts. Part the first, is entitled "Mark." To the
author, Mark is a "shadowy figure" and one cannot be certain as to the identity of this
Mark. Nor can it be accurately determined when this story of Jesus first saw the light of
day. However, he does posit that this Mark, whoever he is, is a "creative and original
thinker." According the Maloney, Mark never appears as a character in the work or is
named. He points out that this is a characteristic found throughout the book with
numerous nameless persons as principle characters in the story. Papias' second century
reference to Mark gets only passing recognition. Maloney views the work not as history
but as a proclamation of the faith of the early church. The desire of the writer of Mark
was to communicate a particular theological perspective.

The second division of the book deals with "Mark: the Storyteller." The author
views the many summaries in Mark as textual markers delineating the structure of the
work. In this section the author sees the Gospel story unfolding in four parts:

1 . The Gospel Begins

2. Jesus' Ministry in GaHlee

3. Jesus' Journey to Jerusalem, Death, Resurrection

4. Women Discover the Empty Tomb

The first half of the Gospel answers the question, "Who IS Jesus?" The second half of
the Gospel presents "The Suffering, Vindicated Son of Man, the Christ, the Son of God."

The commentary is found in Part Three of the work. The limited remarks are
helpful and at times provocative. The author asserts that, "Mark, the storyteller has
consciously taken material from traditions about Jesus that come to him and shapes them
in a way that is referred to as 'chiastic.'" He accepts the fact that Mark concludes at verse
eight of chapter six.

In the third section of the book, the author deals first with "Mark, the
Interpreter of Jesus of Nazareth" including "Jesus the Christ, Jesus the Son of God,
and Jesus the Son of Man." Next in this section are the author's assertions on "Mark the
Interpreter of Christian Community" including "The Disciples," and "At the Table of the
Lord."

The fourth part of Maloney's work is entitled, "The Good News of the Gospel
of Mark." In this section, he sees Mark looking back to the biblical traditions and the
events in the life of Jesus to revive the flagging spirits of the struggling Christian
Community.

At the conclusion of each of the four sections are helpful and extensive
footnotes. The work concludes with a thorough fifteen page bibliography, a three page
index to modem authors and a five page index to ancient sources. The work is certainly
engaging.

Richard E. Allison

Stephen Pattemore, The People of God in the Apocalypse: Discourse, Structure, and
Exegesis. Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series, 128. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press. Pp. xv, 256. $75.00.

In an important contribution to the study of Revelation 4-22, Pattemore
examines the structure and message of main part of Revelation through the aid of
relevance theory, an approach more commonly utilized in the context of theoretical
linguistics than in biblical studies. The methodological foundation is laid in chs. 1-3 (pp.
1-67). Relevance theory provides an overarching structure to all other theories, where

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seeking "relevance is thus a criterion at all levels of language analysis, including the
interpretation of literary texts" (p. 22). Relevance theory operates with the assumptions
that: (1) the text is a real communication event; (2) relevance theory provides a precise
definition of the text; and, (3) relevance theory recognizes there is a "trade off between
processing effect and contextual effects [that] can be used to prioritize cognitive
environments and thus becomes a criterion for analyzing text" (pp. 47-48).

With regard to Revelation, relevance theory is understands both the text-
external factors and text-internal features of a text that influence reading. Pattemore is
specifically concerned to discuss the structure, understood as a chiasm, as well as how the
Apocalypse views the people of God (pp. 62-67). The structure of Revelation is
understood as a chiasm, in the tradition of Lund and others (see pp. 62-64). The people of
God represent three groups. First, there are the addressees, those Christians who are
addressed in 1:1-11 and 22:10-21. Second, there is the audience, the seven churches
addressed in 1:12-3:22. Finally there are the actors, those featured in 4:1-22:9. These
those figures featured in the opening throne vision of Rev 4-5. These include the one
upon the throne, the heavenly creatures and the Lamb. The saints of God figure
prominently in 7:1-8; 9:4; 11:18; 12:1-11; 17:4), the witnesses of Rev 11; as well as the
enemies of God including the serpent (Rev 12) the two beasts (Rev 13) and the prostitute
Babylon (Rev 17) (pp. 64-67).

Chapters 4-6 build on the theoretical foundation to interpret important
passages, including the martyred souls under the altar (Rev. 6:9-11); the 144,000 of Rev
7 and 14 and the New Jerusalem. In the application of relevance theory, the reader
sometimes encounters less radically new interpretation than further confirmation of
findings derived from other methods. For example, Pattemore's conclusions reinforce
Johns's findings that John does not envisage active military resistance against the forces
of evil, but that conquest belongs to God alone (pp. 192-93).

More intriguing is Pattemore's analysis of the structure of Revelation 4-22.
Pattemore understands the fifth seal of Rev 6:9-11 as providing the structural themes for
what follows. Thus, pp. 92-1 13 focus on how the vision of the martyrs plays out in the
rest of Revelation. The story culminates in Rev 20:4-6, with the triumph of the martyrs
over their enemies, the serpent, beast and false prophet. It is as the martyrs follow their
Lord in sacrificial death (Rev. 5:9-10), that they inherit the promised kingdom (p. 1 12).

Pattemore concludes with a discussion of the hermeneutical utility of relevance
theory. In short, it provides a balance between the excessive claims of historical
methodology in the past, and the tendency of some scholars to reject it today. Rather,
relevance theory gives

a theoretical basis for the prioritization of the original communication

situation and the importance of historical-critical research. RT has

helped to avoid the extremes of, on the one hand, a pursuit of

"authorial intent" on the mistaken assumption that we have an

objective means of discovering it and, on the other hand, abandoning

all interest in intentionality in favour of an ideologically driven

imposition of meaning (p. 214).

It is, perhaps, in providing such a balanced approach that relevance theory is most useftil.

It is certainly not a replacement for serious historical critical analysis, as Pattemore would

be first to assert. What it does provide is an additional paradigm for understanding the

sometimes obscure text of the Apocalypse.

Russell Morton

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Stanley E. Porter and Jeffrey T. Reed, Discourse Analysis and the New Testament:
Approaches and Results. JSNTSS 170; Studies in New Testament Greek 4. Sheffield:
Sheffield Academic Press, 1999. Cloth. $85.00.

This collection of essays explores the theory and practice of discourse analysis,
demonstrating its range of applicability and fruitfulness across the New Testament canon
in regard to questions of structure, linguistics, narrative criticism, and meaning. Written
by established scholars in the field of discourse analysis, it is an excellent introduction to
this emerging exegetical discipline.

Contributions include: S. E. Porter and J. T. Reed, "Discourse Analysis and the
New Testament: An Introduction"; Eugene Nida, "The Role of Context in the
Understanding of Discourse"; J. T. Reed, "The Cohesiveness of Discourse: Towards a
Model of Linguistic Criteria for Analyzing New Testament Discourse"; S. E. Porter, "Is
Critical Discourse Analysis Critical? An Evaluation Using Philemon as a Test Case"; M.
B. O'Donnell, "The Use of Annotated Corpora for New Testament Discourse Analysis: A
Survey of Current Practice and Future Prospects"; S. L. Black, "The Historic Present in
Matthew: Beyond Speech Margins"; R. E. Longacre, "A Top-Down, Template-Driven
Narrative Analysis, Illustrated by Application to Mark's Gospel"; ibid., "Mark 5.1-43:
Generating the Complexity of a Narrative from its Most Basic Elements"; W. Schenk,
"The Testamental Disciple-Instruction of the Markan Jesus (Mark 13): Its Levels of
Communication and its Rhetorical Structures"; J. M. Watt, "Pronouns of Shame and
Disgrace in Luke 22.63-64"; G. Martin-Asensio, "Participant Reference and
Foregrounded Syntax in the Stephen Episode"; T. Klutz, "Naked and Wounded:
Foregrounding, Relevance and Situation in Acts 19.13-20"; R. J. Erickson, "The Damned
and the Justified in Romans 5.12-21: An Analysis of Semantic Structure"; J. P. Louw, "A
Discourse Reading of Ephesians 1.3-14"; S. H. Levinsohn, "Some Constraints on
Discourse Development in the Pastoral Epistles"; E. R. Wendland, "'Let No One
Disregard You!" (Titus 2.15): Church Discipline and the Construction of Discourse in a
Personal, 'Pastoral' Epistle"; A. H. Snyman, "Hebrews 6.4-6: From a Semiotic Discourse
Perspective"; B. Olsson, "First John: Discourse Analyses and Interpretations"; J. Callow,
"Where Does 1 John 1 End?"

David A. deSilva

Robert M. Price, Deconstructing Jesus. Prometheus Books, 2000. 284 pp., cloth,
$31.95.

Who was Jesus of Nazareth? A Galilean eschatological prophet? An itinerant
Cynic? A Jewish rebel? An Essene hermit? Or, pure myth? Just as the Christian faith
has splintered into many sects due to a lack of exegetical unity, the enlightenment
tradition of higher criticism has birthed flocks of divergent schools, each with its own
interpretation of the "historical Jesus." Scholars have been incessantly remaking the man
within the text to the point at which there are now myriad Jesus-models. There are "too
many plausible portraits, each centering on a different selection of gospel data" (p. 265).
Jesus Seminar member Robert Price boldly stands up in criticism of his colleagues,
embarking not to give another trite liberal reconstruction, but instead to deconstruct the
fabled figure of first-century Palestine.

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Price's initial task is to usher his audience into the dialectic eddies of today's
liberal scholars. He masterfially maneuvers through their work, always taking routes that
lead to the greatest skepticism about whether the Jesus of history can be known. This is
consistent with his deconstructionist agenda (in the true spirit of Jacques Derrida), and
consequently Price's primary affirmation is that the finished versions of the canonical
gospels are actually pastiches of clippings from sources carefully selected by the
redactors we know as Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. To add thrust to his case he back-
dates some of the Nag Hammadi gospels into the first century so that they become
contemporary - and in some instances anterior - to the New Testament documents (p.
33), thereby releasing their influence on the early church so that any and all views
concerning Jesus are players in the evolution of Christian theology. Price interacts with
scholars such as Koester, Robinson, Crossan, and especially Mack, to unfiirl a panoply of
Jesus movements and Christ cults, each with its own kerygma and theological bent, that
together manifest the ineffability of any real, historical Jesus.

Price peels back stratum after stratum, untwining variegated styles of
mythology (as identified by dogmatic background) from the gospels. This includes an
examination of the gradual fabrication of the "cruci-fiction" myth, since it may have been
woven into the story during redaction. What we end up with is a wildly synchretic
systematization of viewpoints. Price reasons that the gospel-writers realized the necessity
to dock their version of Jesus in history in order to make it viable; "the need to concretize
and thus to define and control Christian thinking and practice had earlier led to the
historicizing of the Jesus figure itself, the result being an earthly 'life of Jesus'" (p. 251).

While Price displays a broad wealth of awareness about Judaism in the ancient
Greco-Roman world, he seems eager to theorize the first century into an unlikely zoo of
cults and philosophies that all happened to be complicit in the permeation of the Jesus
story using mythic interpolation via written sources. Lately, it has become fashionable to
vilify traditional Christians and their beliefs while glossing their contraries, and with
Deconstructing Jesus one suspects that Price truly enjoys pinning subterfuge on
orthodoxy's origins. He demonstrably knows how to stir up controversy and entertain the
skeptics. His expressions and side notes regularly demean the conservative bloc of
scholars; he suggests that the more concrete gospels won out because "simple-minded
dogmatism is always more popular" (p. 28). He is also sure to give N.T. Wright a poke
in the eye along the way as he jovially tramples on orthodoxy. Price's quasi-
sensationalist headings are also redolent of tabloid headlines. He, like many other
members of the Jesus Seminar, knows how to attract attention with scandalous revisions
of old ideas. He writes new gossip, guaranteed to sell - though it is granted that this is
precisely his indictment of the canonical gospels!

Deconstructing Jesus can help scholars build more knowledge of the mystery
cults and movements surrounding the locale of Jesus' ministry, and can facilitate the
integration of these notions into one's ever widening view of the New Testament.
However, it delivers unduly vitriolic blows to alternatives of Price's thought,
undermining the overall integrity and objectivity of his scholarship and, consequently,
minimizing his impact on the perennial dialogue about the Galilean Jew, Jesus of
Nazareth.

Jacob Louis Waldenmaier

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Robert H. Stein, Studying the Synoptic Gospels: Origin and Interpretation. Second
edition; Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2001.

This updated and expanded version of the 1987 edition remains the best
introduction to the modem state of the question regarding the Synoptic Problem and its
solution. Stein begins with an exploration of the commonly observed similarities and
differences between the Syntopic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) that have made
literary interdependence the preferred explanation, and then lays out the cases for Markan
priority and the existence of the sayings collection Q, although he remains sensibly
flexible regarding the exact nature of this hypothetical text (whether oral or written,
whether a single collection or multiple collections). He then addresses most sensibly the
problem of Matthew-Luke agreements against Mark, which have been put forward as the
major objection to Markan priority, and concludes with a review of the value of source
criticism (the discipline that largely drives this conversation) ands its relationship to the
larger program of historical-critical interpretation.

In a second part. Stein presents the discipline of form criticism and the
operating philosophy that has tended to guide its application. This opens up a fine
discussion of the history of the Jesus tradition from oral to written form, and a conclusion
about what we can learn from form criticism. A third part presents a clear and amply
illustrated introduction to the theory and practice of redaction criticism, which remains an
essential critical skill for analyzing the voice, theological convictions, and pastoral
concerns of each evangelist.

This book is highly recommended for all students of the Gospels, but especially
for those entrusted with the exposition and proclamation of the Word.

David A. deSilva

Stephen Westerholm, Perspectives Old and New on Paid: The "Lutheran" Paul and His
Critics. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004. Pp. xix + 488, paper, $35.00.

Westerholm has set out to update his 1988 Israel's Law and the Church's
Faith, which was a review and refutation of the New Perspective on Paul. This second
edition soon took on a life of its own, and has grown by about 250 pages. Those who read
Israel 's Law will recognize the main intent. Nevertheless, unlike the original, this book is
divided into three parts.

First there is the new, detailed description of the views of Augustine, Luther,
Calvin and Wesley. He lumps these into the general category of the "Lutheran" view.
Although this is anachronistic, he has a point: that what is criticized as Luther's invention
is the product of centuries of reading Paul through Augustinian eyes. The section is
excellent, and from the first pages one notes that Westerholm is the master of articulating
the fine distinctions between one thinker and another. He will enter part two as their
champion. One omission, in the summary of the often-neglected theology of Wesley, was
the crucial doctrine of universal prevenient grace. This is one of the main differences
between Wesley and the Reformers with regard to depravity, and it thus forms a
cornerstone for his views on election and justification.

The second section corresponds to Part One of the older volume. Here
Westerholm applies the same methodology, to try to explain in detailed yet plain terms
what are the viewpoints of the proponents and then the opponents of the New
Perspective. Originally he had gone from Wrede to Heikki Raisanen. In this new volume,

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Book Reviews

he shows how the discussion has been able to move past the skepticism of the latter, with
some rich developments from roughly 1986-2002. Within this period falls the bulk of the
contribution by James Dunn and N. T. Wright for the New Perspective; it has also given
the opposition plenty of time to mount a counterattack (Cranfield, Schreiner, Thielman
and others). All have had time to evolve in their thinking, and scholars such as Dunn have
produced disciples (Bruce Longenecker). Plus there are many other studies that are not
aimed at this particular debate but which are of use in the discussion. Westerholm shows
a remarkable amount of awareness and erudition. His bibliography by itself is an account
of the New Perspective debate, although I noticed one or two small omissions.

Westerholm is gifted at taking in mountains of secondary materials and then
digesting them into clear prose. Take as an example the summary of the New
Perspective's reading of the "Lutheran" position on p. 117: "From his own experience,
and with considerable acumen, Luther had described a religion of works; the pattern, it
was supposed, would surely serve for Judaism as well. And in fact, the correctness of the
model was thought to be established by the efforts of one or two intrepid souls who
culled from rabbinic writings quotations to illustrate each of its aspects. The
hermeneutical circle was then made complete when these quotations were taken to
provide background material for understanding Paul. The apostle was thus interpreted in
contrast with Judaism, which itself was interpreted in the light of the Catholicism of
Luther's day, which in turn was interpreted by Luther's reading of Paul. Until recently
the cycle showed every sign of being self-perpetuating." I have not seen a more succinct
description anywhere.

At the end of Part Two the reader stumbles into the only very slightly tongue-
in-cheek "The Quotable Anti-' Lutheran' Paul". Here he lets the various proponents of the
New Perspective speak for themselves on some key issues of Paul, grace, the Law,
Judaism, and justification.

Part Three is Westerholm's own synthesis and presentation of his ideas. He
develops some of the key concepts and terms (righteousness, works of the Law). He
offers a fine discussion on the meaning of "legalism," a word that one finds almost
universally used without definition. A very useful section is the new Chapter 1 7 - Grace
in Sanders' Judaism. He also goes through the individual epistles to test his model.
Finally, Westerholm's conclusion, wonderfully titled "Grace Abounding to Sinners or
Erasing Ethnic Boundaries?" is much more nuanced in this version and shows some
careful interaction with the insights of his opponents.

Nevertheless, the genius of the book - as with the 1988 version - lies not with
the positive contributions of the last part. He is a good exegete, but pedestrian at handling
other ancient sources - ironically enough, incarnating a regular criticism directed toward
those who reject the New Perspective. Westerholm chooses instead to interact with, for
example, the rabbis as the secondary literature touches on them. He merely touches on
the Sanders' observation too often neglected in discussions of Paul and the Law - that
the Jews had no doctrine of depravity in the Augustinian sense. This could go a long way
to explaining why Paul was relatively so pessimistic about the Law's power to lift up
humanity. It is a point developed by Timo Laato (Paul and Judaism: an anthropological
approach. Scholars, 1995) and others (Westerholm, Chapter 13). Yet Westerholm
himself does little to avail himself of these insights which should bolster his own case.

Not everyone will enjoy Westerholm's off-beat sense of humor, but I certainly
do. At one point he goes off on a rant about how exegetes imagine they can understand
Paul when they can't even understand their own spouses. He can also tell a fine anecdote
or story with just the right sense of aptness. The "Whimsical Introduction" is unlike

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anything you'll have read in a serious book for a long while. I found this helpful in
keeping up the spirits when the data came in so densely.

We must point out that the volume has no topical index, which is a scandal in a
work with this amount of detail; I wanted to search for "prevenient grace," simul iustus,
and Qumran theology, but had to skim the book to find them.

If you can't tell the players without a program, that program is Westerholm's
Perspectives. No student of Paul can pass this one by, even if it is used as a guide to what
others are saying.

Gary S. Shogren

Stephen Westerholm, Understanding Paul: The Early Christian Worldview of the Letter
to the Romans. 2"'* edition; Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004. 176 pp., paper, $14.99.

This is the revised edition of his Preface to the study of Paul (Eerdmans, 1977).
The subtitle tells the story: Westerholm introduces the reader to Paul's worldview, using
the text of Romans as a guide to its major facets. He wants to be able to answer an
outsider's question, "what is so big about Paul?" The major impediment lies in
worldview: "Contemporary readers of Paul... soon encounter difficulties. Many do not
share the assumptions that underlie Paul's vision of life; and to make sense of his train of
thought without grasping its premises is no easy matter" (p. 1 1). Thus the author starts off
with some questions that might strike a first-time reader: why does Paul sound so self-
important? Why isn't Paul as concerned as we are about feelings of guilt? Why is
homosexual activity an offense against God?

The basic "Jewish-Christian worldview" that Paul accepts is that "God is good,
and so is his creation; evil represents an inappropriate and disruptive response on the part
of moral beings to what is good; the triumph of the Good is ultimately assured by the
character of God" (p. 24 note 7).

Westerholm's chapters follow a standard outline of Romans. In each, he begins
by asking modem and post-modem questions about tmth, reality, responsibility and
freedom, and God. He then typically moves on to a description of the Jewish-Christian
worldview, usually with reference to the Old Testament. He ends with the specific
development of that view as found in Romans.

An outstanding chapter is "3. War against goodness". Here Westerholm delves
briefly but carefully into questions of determinism vs. freedom, the language of right and
wrong, and the nature of freedom and restraint in a pluralistic society. In the following
chapter, he captures the nature of sin and judgment well with "Paul allows that human
beings (even Gentiles!) may do good... [but] the very selectivity with which humans
sometimes choose to do the right, sometimes the wrong, may itself be seen as an
expression of their setting themselves up as moral arbiters independent of God" (p. 62).

At every point, the author takes great care to distinguish a Westem worldview
from the Pauline one; for example, in his conclusion he shows that Paul's image of
sacrificing ourselves to God (Rom. 12:1-2) is one of the hardest concepts for us to
swallow, given our obsession with personal freedom and autonomy.

Westerholm writes with his customary humor and parabolic style. He
particularly tickles the fancy with stories about an albatross couple (yes, as in birds!)
named Jack and Jill, and later about giggly teenaged pals Ashley and Chrystal. The
albatrosses help to illustrate what we mean by human freedom, the girls what we mean by
sin. His book is fantastic for someone with a college course in philosophy but with little

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to no understanding of the Bible or Christianity. It's also of great use for Christians of
whatever stage, particularly in helping them to articulate their faith today.

Gary S. Shogren

Bruce W. Winter, Roman Wives, Roman Widows: The Appearance of New Women and
the Pauline Communities, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2003, 211pp. + bibliography
and indexes, $26.00.

Bruce W. Winter offers a new perspective that is well worth the time for New
Testament scholars to consider. He provides access to many ancient sources that present
a different picture of first century Roman women than is offered in most New Testament
background material. His aim was, "to place before the reader new material, regarded as
apposite to the texts, for the consideration of those in the academy as well as those in the
church" (13).

This book is a result of research produced in conjunction with the Institute of
Early Christianity in the Greco-Roman World, Cambridge. Winter uses extant literary
and non-literary sources to illuminate New Testament texts, quoting verbatim ancient
historians, epigraphists, papyrologists, and archaeologists who are not normally
accessible to New Testament scholars. In his attempt to provide a picture of the ancient
world. Winter incorporates information from Roman, Greek, and Near Eastern cultural
studies as well as from New Testament studies.

Chapter one lays the groundwork for the rest of the book by defining terms and
outlining what he intended to accomplish, sketching a clearer picture of the Sitz im Leben
of the recipients of the Pauline letters. He divided the remaining chapters into three parts.
Part one gives evidence for the emergence of a new breed of wife, one whose lifestyle is
considerably different than the traditional ideal, thus the appearance of 'new women".
His fundamental premise is that "new women" appeared in Greco-Roman society first in
the imperial household, then through their influence in the rest of the Empire. These
flaunted the traditional mores and roles of women, rivaling men in sexual promiscuity.
Material from contemporary writers, playwrights, and poets shows some actually
endorsed infidelity of married women. Next, he examines legislation by Augustus on
sexuality and marriage as evidence of attempts to promote traditional Roman values
against a perceived threat to Roman society by the mores of the new emancipated women
(57). Concluding part one. Winter examines the philosophical schools' rejection of
sexual promiscuity and the counter-cultural teaching of abstinence outside of marriage
and fidelity inside of marriage, and that men ought not be less moral than women. They
encouraged both men and women to study philosophy since it teaches the cardinal
virtues. Their comments in defense of philosophy make it clear that some had charged
that philosophy education promoted the headstrong and arrogant women to leave the
responsibilities of the home.

Based upon the above information, part two deals with New Testament texts
concerning women in the Pauline communities. He discusses the symbolism of removing
the marriage veil and its implication in 1 Corinthians 11:2-16. The discussion of the
proper woman's appearance in 1 Timothy 2:9-15, appears to have been preventative
(120). It proscribes apparel that would signal lack of moral respectability and sexual
availability, and prescribes adornment with the female virtues of modesty, self-control,
and good deeds. While financial problems led to instructions limiting "honoring" of
widows to the old, other instructions dealt with concerns of lifestyle that would discredit

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the church in 1 Timothy 5:11-15. The search for the Sitz im Leben of Titus 2:3-5 deals
with the uniqueness of culture on the Isle of Crete where women enjoyed legal privileges
that gave them financial independence and some protection against sexual predators.
These verses imply that the young wives had abandoned their responsibilities toward
their spouses, children, and households for a lifestyle like the "new women", so now they
were being called back to their senses and a resumption of their responsibilities.

Part three concentrates on the new roles of women in public life by examining
the crucial epigraphic material and then discusses their possible influence on the
opportunities for Christian women in the Pauline mission. He concludes that the
evidence, though limited, supports an enabling of Christian women to contribute to a
wider sphere of service, (204).

I only had two complaints with this book. I was disappointed that Winter
didn't address the implications of 'new women" on the discussion of authentein in 1
Timothy 2. I also would have liked for him to delve more deeply into the verses on older
widows. He was content to link the stringent requirements for them with financial
limitations, and give just a passing comment about the similarity with the requirements of
elders. In spite of these defects, I would highly recommend this book. It contains a
treasure trove of ancient sources that shed new light upon the Sitz im Leben of the Pauline
communities. Any serious New Testament scholar would do well to consider their
implications upon the standard interpretations of these texts.

Lynne McVay

Ben Witherington III, The New Testament Stoty. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004. x +
283 pp., paper, $18.00.

The New Testament Story is organized into two parts of five chapters each.
Part One explains the development of the NT, while Part Two examines the stories within
the NT. End material includes a "Basic Acts Timeline," a "Chronology of Paul's Life
and Letters," a chart translating biblical weights and measures into their English and
metric equivalents, and maps of the Roman Empire, Palestine, and Paul's Journeys.
"Exercises and Questions for Study and Reflection" conclude each chapter.

Chapter One presents the ancient world's preference for the spoken word over
the written word, and then discusses the tools and methods used to produce, publish and
distribute literary documents in the first century CE. Witherington also argues against the
evolution of orthodox Christianity from many competing, equally acceptable varieties of
Christianity.

Chapter 2 is a model of clarity and brevity. Witherington outlines the Synoptic
Problem in two and one-half pages, distinguishes Q from the Gospel of Thomas in a
single page, and then provides a three-page outline of Q's contents and main themes.
Readers unfamiliar with Q should appreciate this material. Witherington then discusses
the Passion narratives and briefly suggests reasons to believe that Paul was familiar with
both Q and the Passion material.

Chapters 3 and 4 discuss the authorship, dating and main themes of the
individual NT books. Chapter 3 covers the "Letters and Homilies" while chapter 4 treats
the gospels. Acts, Rev, and the Johannine letters. The general organization is by
chronology rather than author, or canon. Thus, Witherington begins with Gal (seen as an
early letter to south Galatia), then Jas, Jude, 1-2 Thess, and so on. Some readers may be
surprised by the early dates for Jas and Jude, or by the late date for 2 Pet ("near the end of

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Book Reviews

the first century," 67), but none are irresponsible.

Chapter 5 ends Part One discussing the canon's formation. Witherington
concludes that widespread recognition established the NT canon, rather than formal
decisions or decrees. The discussion is basic without being simplistic.

Chapter 6 begins Part Two by examining the NT's use of several OT stories,
finding that the NT authors have an eschatological and usually a Christological approach
to the OT.

Chapter 7 examines NT stories about Paul and Peter, beginning with Paul's life
as revealed in the letters (depending most heavily on Gal and 1 & 2 Cor, with less
material from 1 & 2 Thess, Phil, and a very few citations from Rom). Witherington then
treats Paul as presented in Acts, focusing on the Damascus Road story found in chapters
9, 22, and 26. This chapter includes a helpful chronology of Paul's life. The discussions
of stories about Peter and the "Tales of the Holy Family" (Chapter 8) are sensitive to
subtle differences between parallel gospel accounts, as Witherington is throughout the
book.

The final two chapters turn to stories about Jesus. First, "Stories of Jesus
Outside the Gospels," starts with Paul, especially the hymn in Phil 2. Then, Witherington
draws out subtle differences in the public's understanding of Jesus between Luke and
Acts. From Hebrews, Witherington discusses material related to Jesus' death, and finally
Jesus as seen in Rev chapters 12, 5, and 19.

Chapter 10 covers the gospels' treatment of Jesus. The discussion of Mark sees
that gospel raising, then answering questions about Jesus' identity and mission.
Witherington ties the presentation of Jesus in Matt to Jewish Wisdom traditions, and
stressed the full, universal picture in Luke. Finally, Witherington emphasizes the
presentation of Jesus as divine in John.

The book is accessible to a wide audience. The few notes appear at the bottom
of the appropriate pages. Witherington frequently refers to his own work, but this
indicates the substantial time and thought behind The New Testament Story.
Occasionally, Witherington seems too confident of things merely possible or probable,
e.g., at least four letters to Corinth from Ephesus (60). The New Testament Story is a
cross between a NT introduction and a NT survey, without being fully either. For this
reason while many readers will find the book informative and interesting, it is not a likely
textbook.

James R. Blankenship, John Brown University

David E. Aune, ed., The Gospel of Matthew in Current Study: Studies in the Memory oj
William G. Thompson, S. J. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001. Xii + 191 pp., paper, $25.00

Originally presented at a 1998 colloquium held at Loyola University, Chicago,
the essays in this volume are a tribute to an influential Matthean scholar, William G.
Thompson. Fr. Thompson, who passed away in 1998, was an energetic scholar, teacher,
and pastor, interested in the Gospel of Matthew not only as an academic, but also as a
servant of the church. This volume is a tribute, with essays representing various scholarly
methodologies. There is also recognition of the church's need to communicate the
message of Matthew in a sensitive manner to previously overlooked groups, particularly
Jews and women.

The first essay, by T. H. Tobin (pp. 1-4) is a brief biographical sketch of
William Thompson's life and ministry. It is followed by: D. Senior, "Directions in

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Matthean Studies" pp. 5-21; A-J Levine, "Matthew's Advice to a Divided Readership,"
pp. 22-41; G. N. Stanton, "The Early Reception of Mathew's Gospel: New Evidence
From the Papyrii?" pp. 42-61; "D. J. Harrington, "Matthew's Gospel: Pastoral Problems
and Possibilities," pp. 62-72; E. Wainwright, "The Matthean Jesus and the Healing of
Women," pp. 74-95; R. S. Ascough, "Matthew and Community Formation," pp. 96-126;
W. Cotter, "Greco-Roman Apotheosis Traditions and the Resurrection Appearances in
Matthew." pp. 127-153; J. D Kingsbury, "The Birth Narrative of Matthew," pp. 154-165;
and A. J. Saldarini, "Reading Matthew Without Anti-Semitism," pp. 166-184.

While all the essays are of high quality, three deserve special mention
Levine's essay was particularly stimulating. On the one hand, it is a call for traditional
scholars not to neglect feminist contributions to Matthew. On the other hand, it reminds
feminists not to misrepresent Judaism so that Matthew continues to be used as an anti-
Semitic tract. Kingsbury points to the importance of the genealogy of Mt. 1:1-17, that
ties Jesus, Mary's son, who is adopted by Joseph, into Israel's history. Here the reader
finds a consciousness of Jesus' ultimate origin in God (pp. 164-65). At the same time,
Matthew informs the reader of Jesus' origin, ancestry, and ultimate eschatological
importance (p. 165). Finally, Saldarini provides an agenda for reading that allows the
interpreter to be aware of the unfortunate use of Matthew's gospel in the past. He reminds
us that Matthew's polemic was against the Jewish leadership and not the Jewish people.
He also provides a program for blunting that polemic for contemporary readers. This
essay should be considered by any minister who wishes to preach or teach from Matthew
in a manner that is both true to the gospel's message, and also sensitive to Jewish
concerns.

In conclusion, this collection of essays is a worthy memorial to Fr. Thompson.
It provides stimulating intellectual fodder, but not at the expense of isolating the
academic pursuit of truth from the church's proclamation. The collection of essays is a
useful tool both for scholarly research and pastoral reflection. Fr. Thompson would have
approved.

Russell Morton

Craig S. Keener, The Gospel According to John: A Commentaiy, 2 vol. Peabody, MA:
Hendrickson, 2003. xlviii + 1636 pp., cloth, $79.95.

Keener' s massive commentary, perhaps the most comprehensive since
Schnackenburg's, presents the reader with a formidable task. The bibliography is
enormous, consisting of 167 pages in itself (pp. 1243-1409). The introduction, likewise,
is a monograph in itself, consisting of 330 pages. Yet, despite the length, Keener's work
demonstrates a remarkable amount of methodological unity. The limitations of scope, as
outlined in the preface (pp. xxv-xxxi), are followed through the entire commentary. The
method followed is to examine the Gospel of John in its broadest possible context. The
emphasis is upon the Gospel in its final form. As a result, source theories are rejected,
and the unity of the final form, with the exception of 7:53-8:11, which is acknowledged
as an interpolation (pp. 735-38), is affirmed. This judgment includes John 21, which
Keener affirms as belonging to the original gospel (pp. 1219-22), and reflects a historical
incident (1222-24), as opposed to many scholars who consider it to be an appendix by a
later hand.

Keener sets the Gospel of John in its Mediterranean context. In the course of
his discussion, two specific contexts are considered: the Hellenistic/Roman environment

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and the Jewish or Jewish/Christian setting. Major themes, such as "Son of God," the
"Spirit," the Paraclete, etc., are examined in terms of how the language would have been
understood in both a Gentile and Jewish environment. To fulfill this purpose, Keener
engages in a skillful and thorough employment of the ancient sources. His familiarity
with the primary materials enables Keener to avoid the pitfalls of reliance on standard
works such as the TDNT and Strack-Billerbeck, in view of these sources' problematic
character, especially with regard to Judaism. The citations pointing readers to original
sources alone make the commentary worthy of scholarly attention.

Keener does not avoid controversy. In rejecting source critical conclusions as
unreliable. Keener also concludes that complicated theories of authorship, such as
Brown's, are not helpful. Rather, the Gospel of John could very well contain eyewitness
reminiscence. This witness is not a simple reporting of the "facts." "The eyewitness has
clearly taken liberties in the telling of the story, probably developed over years of
sermonic use; but a strong case can be made for Johannine authorship and therefore that
the Gospel contains substantial reminiscences, as well as theological interpretations, of
Jesus" (p. 115). While other scholars conclude that the Gospel of John represents the
reflection of a Johannine community that originates with a disciple of Jesus, Brown's
"Beloved Disciple," few will be so bold as to state that the Gospel was actually written
by an eyewitness to Jesus' ministry. Indeed, in consideration of the difficulties in
reconciling the Johannine Jesus with the Synoptic portrait, most scholars would affirm
the opposite. In light of J.P. Myer's reconsideration of the value of the Gospel of John for
the historian of the life of Jesus, especially its portrayal of Jesus as a disciple of John,
perhaps Keener's reconsideration of this staple of critical orthodoxy is timely.

Keener also gives more credence to the accounts of the miraculous in John than
scholars who are still bound by the enlightenment view of reality. "As a former atheist
who has personally witnessed, occasionally experienced, and is regularly exposed to
reliable testimonies of instantaneous supernatural phenomena within circles where such
phenomena regularly occur . . . often through my work in Africa or among Pentecostals, I
confess my own skepticism toward the prevailing anti-miraculous skepticism of Western
culture" (p. 267). Thus, Keener is able to exercise a critical sympathy, rather than critical
distance with the text.

Such critical sympathy enables Keener to write a work that is not only rigorous
in its historical method, but also offers theological insight to the reader. The work is
certainly not a devotional commentary, but does represent an empathy with the author
and theological sensitivity not always present among commentators. The work, thus, is
helpful not only on an academic level, but also to pastors who are willing to wade
through the detail of the commentary to plumb the depths of John's Gospel. This labor is
only appropriate for a gospel, which, as one of the great church fathers is reported to have
said, can be waded into by the simplest child, but contains more depth than the deepest
sea.

Russell Morton

Ben Witherington III, 77?^ Acts of the Apostles: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary. Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998. 874 pp., $54.00

Witherington' s book does not represent the traditional, verse-by-verse
commentary typical of modem scholarship, but instead is written as a running exposition.
As such the writing style flows nicely and is very readable. The difficulty is that the lack

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of chapter and verse markings from section to section make it difficult to find a particular
discussion on a specific verse or verses. Since a commentary is inevitably used as a
reference, this makes it more difficult to use it as such. The text itself is typical of
Witherington's thorough style, while footnotes are reserved for more technical points. In
addition, he frequently offers excursuses throughout the text entitled, "A Closer Look," in
which he delves in more detail on a particular subject germane to the discussion at hand.
For example, following his discussion of the Jerusalem church's early experiment in
communal sharing, Witherington takes "a closer look" at the social status of the first
Christians (pp. 210-213).

The technical discussion of Greek is reserved for the footnotes, and is helpful
for those familiar with Greek. Yet, those not versed in the biblical language will not be
hindered by such discussion in the body of the work. Also helpful for those who do not
have access to ancient works are the rather long quotations from ancient sources, where
necessary (e.g. Ovid's Metamorphoses, 8.626ff. on pages 421-422). The one
disadvantage to this format, of course, is that it can make for a confusing read as one
moves from text to footnotes to excursuses and back to text. Also of interest are black
and white photos of various landmarks, sculptures and artifacts.

Witherington views the author of the Gospel of Luke and the author of Acts as
one and the same person, a point not much debated today (p. 5). He also takes the view
that Luke-Acts are meant to be two volumes of one work as opposed to two separate
writings. Also, it is likely that Luke did not have a third volume in mind (pp. 807-810).
The author wrote "the first volume... with at least one eye already on the sequel" (p. 8).
Acts (along with the Gospel) is primarily an example of ancient historiography
(particularly earlier Greek historiography with similarities to Hellenized Jewish
historiography; p. 39). As far as date is concerned. Acts may have been written in the 70s,
but the early 80s is a stronger possibility. Witherington is not persuaded by arguments
that Theophilus, to whom Luke and Acts are addressed, is a kind of Lukan community.
That Theophilus is an individual seems clear. He could likely have come out of the
synagogue and have been a recent convert to Christianity (p. 64).

As is typical for Witherington, he employs and dialogues with a large number
of varied resources, so the book is a bibliographic treasure-trove. Witherington's
commentary is a fine piece of work and will aid anyone in a closer study of Acts.

Allan R. Severe

Douglas J. Moo, Encountering the Book of Romans: A Theological Exposition. Grand
Rapids, ML Baker Academic, 2002. 203 pp., paperback, $21.99.

Douglas Moo's theological exposition of Romans is aimed at upper level
college students. It exhibits excellent, contemporary and evangelical scholarship. While
presenting factual content the work also introduces historical, geographical and cultural
background material. Dealing with critical issues it substantiates the Christian faith. The
work features illustrations, photographs, maps, figures, tables, charts sidebars, excurses,
chapter outlines, chapter questions and objectives, a glossary and a bibliography.

Pictures include a model of Rome, Jerusalem, a Torah scroll, Sinai, a model of
the temple platform and many others. Examples available of diagrams are "Paul's Target
in Romans," "Following the Argument of Romans," and "The Two Israel in Romans."
Sidebars include "Paul's Situation in Rome," "The Righteousness of God," "The Ring
Composition of Romans 508," Jews and Gentiles," and "The Weaker Brother." Excurses

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Book Reviews

include "Jewish Condemnation of Gentiles," "Salvation Through Works," " Modem
Answers to the Human Dilemma," " Keys to the Christian Life," "Old Self, New Self,"
"Realm Transfer," "Law and the Christian," "Applying Romans 7," "Sinful Nature,"
God's Decision and Ours," "Romans and Capital Punishment."

The sidebars identify issues and apply material in Romans to the issues.
Chapter outlines begin each chapter of the text and provide the author's overview for the
reader. The brief list of objectives at the beginning of the chapter tends to focus the
reader's attention. The study questions provide further study suggestions. The glossary is
a very helpful definition of otherwise more technical terms.

The study of Romans is similar to taking a long excursion. For both, a person
needs adequate preparation. The author helpfully provides introductory material. He
begins by identifying Romans as a letter to a particular people (Gentile Christians and
Jewish Christians residing in Rome) but a particular author, (Paul). He carefully explains
the difference between ancient and modem letters. There is an extended discussion on
the current debate about Romans as to the Reformation Approach (a focus on individual
salvation) and the New Perspective Approach stating that the real concern in Romans is
that of adding Gentiles to God's people without disenfranchising the Jews.

Dr. Moo, Professor of New Testament at Wheaton Graduate School is the
author of a number of books. A major accomplishment is his volume in the New
International Commentary on the New Testament entitled Epistle to the Romans. His
Ph.D. is from the University of St. Andrews. This is an exceptionally helpful and
readable commentary for use by anyone looking to enhance their knowledge on the New
Testament book of Romans.

Richard E. Allison

Ben Witherington, III with Darlene Hyatt, Paul's Letter to the Romans: A Socio-
Rhetorical Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company,
2004. 421pp, paper, $36.00.

Dr. Ben Witherington is professor of New Testament at Asbury Seminary,
Wilmore, Kentucky. He has written numerous books some of which are socio-rhetorical
commentaries on Mark, Acts, Corinthians and Galatians.

The inimitable Witherington has done it again. He has authored a readable
commentary that contributes great socio-rhetorical insights. This work displays a vast
knowledge of early Jewish theology, the historical situation of the first century and the
rhetorical forms of the era. He draws heavily on Quintilian for the latter. The book of
Romans, according to Witherington, opens with a common epistolary opening and
greeting followed by Exordium, Narratio, Propositio, Probatio with Arguments I and II, a
Recapitulation, Arguments IV-VIII, Refutatio with Arguments IX-XII, Peroratio
concluding epistolary greetings and Final Benediction.

Witherington focuses on the contribution that social and rhetorical devices
make in interpretation. Rhetorical devices identified include among others insinuation,
diatribe and impersonation. He maintains that the last one is the key to understanding
Romans chapter seven. All of this is an attempt to hear Paul on his own terms.

The various sections of the commentary contain a new clear translation of the
text, an extensive commentary, copious explanatory notes of technical and controversial
topics and a part entitled "Bridging the Horizon." This is filled with suggestions for
contemporary application of the text. A twenty-three page comprehensive bibliography

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appears in the frontal material. This is followed by a twenty-five page introduction
dealing with language and style, audience, social level of Roman Christianity, Rome and
its Christians, structure and rhetoric. Witherington quotes 179 modem authors, 98 ancient
writers and writings along with seven pages of index to Old Testament and New
Testament scriptures plus Apocryphal references. Thus Witherington exhibits his vast
knowledge of Jewish and Greco-Roman literary works as well as secular and ancient
church scholars and modem exegetes.

Professor Witherington describes Romans as a "deliberative discourse which
uses an epistolary framework." His outline of the book is as follows:
Chapters 1 -4 The Gospel to the Jew First
5-8 The Gospel to the Gentiles
9-11 Rejection of the Message by Most Jews
12-5 Correction of Theological Assumptions
16 Opposition to Those Creating Division
The overall theme is that God is impartial, caring about justice and redemption for all.
This is a major exegetical study that takes seriously the Wesleyan and Arminian readings
of the text. The author contends that far too long the Augustinian, Lutheran and
Calvinistic readings have prevailed. This is especially true in chapters 8-11 where
Witherington takes his cues instead from early Jewish discussions affirming both divine
sovereignty and human freedom.

Richard E. Allison

Mark J. Edwards, ed.. Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. New Testament VIII:
Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians . Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999. Cloth.
$40.00.

Peter Gorday, ed.. Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. New Testament IX:
Colossians, 1-2 Thessalonians, 1-2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon. Downers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity Press, 2000. Cloth. $40.00.

Gerald Bray, ed.. Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. New Testament XI:
James, 1-2 Peter. 1-3 John, Jude. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000. Cloth.
$40.00.

Thomas C. Oden serves as the general editor for a tmly new and needed series
of commentaries on the Bible, bringing together relevant samplings of comments and
reflections on Scripture made by early church leaders of the first through the eighth
centuries CE. Ecurhenical in scope, this series anticipates covering the Old Testament in
thirteen volumes, the Apocrypha in two, and the New Testament in twelve. In an age in
which scholars stress the importance of "hearing" the Scriptures not only from within
one's own social location (e.g., interpretation within the Western tradition of more or less
elite male readers), but from other social and ideological locations as well (e.g., Asian
Christianity, Latin-American Christianity, feminist interpretation, and other post-colonial
interpretations), this series provides an often-overlooked dimension, enabling a far more
global approach to interpretation insofar as it makes the readings of interpreters from
other times and from the varying cultures of the circum-Mediterranean available and
accessible.

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The volumes are organized much like standard commentaries, with the
Scripture text broken down into manageable sections (pericopes), followed by the
editor's overview of the kinds of questions that guided patristic interpretation. Short
selections from the works of such fathers as Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Epiphanius,
Tertullian, Cyprian, Victorinus, Ambrose, John Chrysostom, Gregory of Nyssa, Jerome,
Augustine, and many others follow, each with a brief subheading that provides the focal
point of the selection. Using this resource alongside modem critical commentaries helps
balance the important, yet often atomistic, insights from exegetical study of the Scriptures
with the theological, ethical, and ecclesiastical reflection on the same texts that occupied
the minds of those who forged the Great Church. This kind of resource is also a helpful
balance to the reading of the texts from a particular, narrow, and often rather "recent"
theological perspective, providing the truly ecumenical perspective of those who, in the
main, reflected on Scripture before Orthodox and Roman Catholicism split, and long
before Protestant movements separated from the Roman Catholic Church.

David A. deSilva

Thomas R. Yoder Neufeld, Believers Church Bible Commentary: Ephesians. Scottdale,
PA: Herald Press, 2002. 400pp., paper.

The author graduated from Mennonite Brethren Colleges, the University of
Manitoba and received his M.Div. and Ph.D. from Harvard Divinity School. His
dissertation was on Ephesians. He has pastored and is currently director of Graduate
Theological Studies as Conrad Grebel College in Canada, The commentary is the result
of "reflecting on, analyzing, dissecting, preaching and teaching" the book of Ephesians.

Following development of the address and opening greeting, the author moves
to a hymnic and poetic passage that is worshipful in character and capped by a great
prayer. Next comes the description of sinners and oppressive evil and an exposition of
the two ways. Chapter two concludes with the definition of peace as a radical
relationship to Christ. The author believes Ephesians views the church as a community
of holy ones whose thrust is ministry. The second half of Ephesians "anticipates the
believers response to God's grace." The armor of chapter six receives a proper
application to the church as opposed to the general view of applying it to the individual
Christian.

A number of excellent essays on such title as "Apocalypticism," "Cosmology,"
and "Gnosticism" plus seven others add much to the content of the work. In addition,
there are twenty one pages of bibliography plus references to Old Testament,
Apocryphal and New Testament cited in the work.

The author's love for Ephesians is apparent and challenges the reader to
encounter the book.

Richard E. Allison

Gene L. Green, The Letters to the Thessalonians. The Pillar New Testament
Commentary. Grand Rapids / Cambridge: Eerdmans , 2002. 400 pp., cloth, $42.00

Green's work is a full commentary, both up-to-date and well documented. He
has a firm grasp on issues relating to the church at Thessalonica and its context. Without
a doubt, the longish and fascinating Introduction is the equal to that of any commentary

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on these letters. He enters into the details of historical, archaeological and sociological
research in a winning fashion, presenting fresh conclusions even with the customary
caveat that these letters are already much commented on.

As can be seen at a glance, his study of the Greco-Roman world occupies a
dominant place in the development of the letters. For example, what was the nature of the
Thessalonians' refusal to work? Traditionally it has been regarded as an outgrowth of
their eschatological perspective. Green, in agreement with scholars such as Wanamaker,
rejects the supposed link between the "laziness" of the Thessalonians and their false
expectation of the last days. Yet Green is not simply going along with the new trend. The
complete and updated Bibliography reveals that he spared no effort to carry out extensive
research of his own and to extend the application further than did Wanamaker. He
concludes that the believers' dependence on the system of "clientalism" was why the
authors pressed the believers to honest work. In this institution, individuals would
associate with a patron of relatively higher social position and better financial solvency,
expecting from him benefits such as food and representation; meanwhile, they would
give to the patrons honor and augment their social level by greeting them each morning
and lending them their allegiance (208). With this background Green denies that the
uncertainty of the members of the church of Thessalonica with respect to the Day of the
Lord motivated them to abandon their work responsibilities. In fact, the authors never
associate the work issue with eschatology. Therefore, the apostles were attacking directly
this economic and social dependence that characterized the relations between clients and
patrons (341).

Although it is clear that Green has done his exegetical homework, there is not
much emphasis on the analysis of grammar and syntax. Greek terms have been
transliterated into English. Nevertheless, he provides a highly-detailed, fresh, clear
exposition that will prove useful to pastors, students and exegetes.

For those who wish to go deeper in the Greco-Roman background, specifically
that which relates to Macedonia, this is the work to consult. If in addition to this strength
there were a more detailed analysis of the Greek text, it would have been a monumental
volume.

Pablo Roberto Calderon Romero, ESEPA International Christian University,

San Jose, Costa Rica

Eriand Waltner and J Daryl Charles, The Believers Church Commentary: 1-2 Peter and
Jude. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1999. 352 pp., paper, $19.99.

Eriand Waltner is the author of the commentary on I Peter. He has served in
ministry as a pastor, Bible teacher, president of the General Conference Mennonite
Church, professor of New Testament at Mennonite Biblical Seminary and president of
the Mennonite World Conference.

Waltner views I Peter as a letter of encouragement to persons experiencing
painful encounters. He correctly views the suffering of Christians in Asia Minor not as
the result of a wide ranging political persecution but resulting from living in a hostile
environment. They were being falsely accused, mistreated and abused for no other
reason than that they were Christians. The author views the book as a call for hope in
such a situation and based on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The call is
to be triumphant in trouble by responding properly to experiences of suffering foregoing
retaliation.

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J. Daryl Charles is the author of the commentary on II Peter and Jude. He
teaches religion, culture and Christian Though at Taylor University. His doctoral work
was done at Catholic University of America and Westminster Theological Seminary.
Charles believes the often neglected books of II Peter and Jude have much to say to
contemporary "confusion in matters of faith and morality." The author calls for the
church to rediscover and reexamine these epistles. His reasons are threefold. First is their
relative obscurity. Little time is spent in the literature sorting out their "cryptic
references." Secondly, historical-critical scholarship has relegated the two letters to the
second century and therefore not authentic. Thirdly, their emphasis on eschatology
relates them to ethics where in the literature they have been overlooked. Interpreting
these letters requires an understanding of their respective backgrounds. Jude is to be
understood against a background of "Palestinian Jewish-Christianity." II Peter is written
to persons living in a "pagan Gentile environment." Thus it deals with ethics rather than
doctrine. Presented also are pastoral insights on how to live in a " pagan society,
communal accountability and discipline, spiritual authority, moral formation and the
relation ship between doctrine and ethics." Unfortunately Jude is the neglected epistle
while II Peter is the misunderstood epistle. The commentary is a reader-friendly
approach exhorting Christians struggling in a pagan social environment.

Both of these works are accompanied with insightful essays on pertinent
subjects, an expanded bibliography and finished off with an extensive eleven page index
to Ancient Sources.

f Richard E. Allison

Simon J. Kistemaker, Revelation. New Testament Commentary Series. Grand Rapids:
Baker Academic Press, 2001 . x, 635 Pp. $39.99.

Kistemaker' s commentary can best be described as a "traditional" analysis of
John's Apocalypse. Authorship is ascribed to the Apostle John (pp. 18-26, 91). Likewise,
use of Greco-Roman or Babylonian mythology, even in Rev. 12-13, is rejected (pp. 353-
54). Furthermore, Kistemaker expresses a reserve, if not discomfort, with the "preterist"
interpretation of Revelation, that understands John's vision as exclusively addressing the
events of the Seer's own time (pp. 38-40). This judgment differentiates Kistemaker from
some of the more critical scholars on Revelation, although they would not use the term
"preterist."

Nevertheless, Kistemaker is no fundamentalist. If he rejects a Neronic allusion
in the mark of the beast in Rev. 13:16-18, he also rejects a literalism that says in the end
all unbelievers will receive a literal mark on their hands or foreheads. Rather, the mark is
understood as symbolic (see pp. 30-32; 392-96). Similarly, the millennium of Rev. 20 is
viewed as symbolic, in accordance with traditional amillennialism (see pp. 45-48; 533).
Thus, if Kistemaker is uncomfortable with the "preterist" view of Revelation, he is also
has some discomfort with the "historicist" interpretation, that sees Revelation as an
outline of church history (pp. 40-41), as well as the extremes of the "futurist" view (pp.
41-42), so common in popular theology. Rather, Kistemaker accepts a reserved form of
"idealistic" interpretation. He interprets John's vision symbolically, portraying the
heavenly reality behind earthly events (pp. 42-44). Yet, while visions of Revelation are
symbolic, they nevertheless portray important truths.

While Kistemaker' s understanding of Revelation as a symbolic vision is
correct, his rejection of John's employment non- Jewish traditions in formatting his vision

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is unfortunate. John is very likely utilizes imagery from all the comers of his cultural
environment, particularly ruler cult and some astrological allusions in Rev. 4-5 and
combat myth in Rev. 12-13. The result provides even greater impact upon readers
intimately acquainted with these themes. While John's primary source is the Hebrew
Bible, particularly Daniel, Ezekiel and Isaiah. The Seer is also a creative artist who
utilizes not only biblical themes, but extra biblical imagery and invests it with new
meaning.

Yet, Kistemaker's commentary has positive value. Although it is highly
traditional, it does not fall into the trap of pseudo-literalism or fantastic prediction so
common among some popular writers, particularly those of dispensational leanings.
Kistemaker is no Tim LeHaye, and his commentary will surprise readers of the "Left
Behind" series. Kistemaker also provides useful analysis of Greek terms at the conclusion
of each discussion. This feature is particularly helpful to those readers lacking access to
some of the helpfial exegetical tools.

In conclusion, Kistemaker's commentary possesses serious weaknesses, in part
driven by its ideology. Nevertheless, it provides a necessary corrective to some of the
more extreme interpretations of Revelation. Its perspectives would make it more
acceptable to some of those hitherto inclined to a literalist reading, perhaps opening
perspectives to a more helpfiil understanding of John's Apocalypse.

Russell Morton

Grant Osborne, Revelation. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand
Rapids: Baker Academic Press, 2002. Xx + 869 pp., cloth, $49.99.

Osborne's commentary is the third massive work on Revelation that has
appeared since 1997. From 1997-1998, Word published David Aune's massive 3 v.
commentary in the Word Biblical Series. In 1999, Beale's commentary was issued in the
New International Greek Testament series. In 2002, Osborne's book on Revelation
appeared. All of these commentaries have their strengths and weaknesses. Osborne's
work, as the most recent commentary, reflects the contributions of both Aune and Beale,
yet with his own perspectives.

Perhaps the most interesting feature of Osborne's work is his eclectic
methodology. He accepts certain features of historical critical analysis of Revelation. He
recognizes that Revelation was written in the first century, in opposition to the imperial
cult. Yet, at the same time he employs the "futurist" exegesis (pp. 21-22) characteristic of
both dispensational and classical premillennial interpreters. In making this
methodological combination, he continues in the tradition of G.E. Ladd, whose
commentary likewise represented a combination of classical premillennial and historical
critical method. Like Ladd, Beale attempts to reach a broad, evangelical audience. Yet,
one wonders if, in the end, also like Ladd, he has produced a commentary that in its
acceptance of multiple methods, does result in confusing inconsistency for the reader.

This methodological confusion is most evident in the discussion of Rev. 12-13
(pp. 454-522) and ch. 20 (pp. 696-725). In both cases Osborne recognizes that John
addresses Christians of the first century. Thus, the beasts of Rev. 1 3 represent Rome and
the emperor cult. Yet, Osborne also ascribes a double meaning to the texts to preserve a
literalistic future reading. Thus, he accepts the theory that Rev. 13 predicts a personal
antichrist, and that Rev. 20 predicts a literal millennium. Both of these assertions place
him in a distinct minority among academic interpreters of the Apocalypse

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One of Osborne's most helpful contributions is his analysis of the text, where
he attempts to avoid imposing a structure, but lets it arise from his reading of the text.
Rather than imposing a seven fold structure on the book, Osborne sees Revelation as
consisting of five units: 1. Prologue (1:1-8); 2. Churches addressed (1:9-3:22); 3. God in
majesty and judgment (4:1-16:21); 4. Final judgment at the arrival of the eschaton (17:1-
20:15); and 5. Epilogue (22:6-21) (pp. 30-31). The outline has the advantage of
recognizing the transitional character of Rev. 4-5. Nevertheless, it fails to recognize that
17:1-19:10 also describe God's judgment, with the eschaton beginning in 19:11 rather
than in 17:1.

Likewise, despite a tendency to embrace some of the more questionable
features of "futurist" exegesis, Osborne maintains a focus on the central message of
Revelation, which is a call to God's people to endure impending persecution in holiness,
and that "holiness is the antithesis of political compromise and demands unswerving
allegiance and faithfulness to God alone" (p. 43). This feature is a regular theme of the
"summary and contextualization" sections that conclude the discussion of each passage.
Here readers from evangelical or fundamentalist communities are especially well served
and challenged to think of Revelation in new ways.

In conclusion, it must be remembered that Osborne's commentary is addressing
a specific audience that may not be familiar with the critical approach to John's
Apocalypse. Osborne introduces critical themes, especially Revelation's focus upon the
demand for uncompromising loyalty to God in the face of a hostile society, in a manner
that will be congenial to these readers. He thereby entices them to think of Revelation in
a manner that does justice to John's text. In the process he may be opening the true riches
of John's vision to those who have not previously seen them.

Russell Morton

James P. Mackey, The Critique of Theological Reason. Cambridge University Press,
2000. 333 pp., hardback, $59.95.

As scientific progress soars over horizons of human ingenuity and discovery,
postmodernism has emerged as the vanguard philosophical framework through which
much of the secular world sees reality (or the lack thereof). Consequently, the modus
operandi for intellectual thought has become the deconstruction of language - and of
thought itself- culminating in the very death of the subject. God, then, who was once the
cornerstone of metaphysics, has been dismissed along with all the other outmoded
infatuations of the West.

But James P. Mackey suggests that theology has dwelt within the postmodern
formulation all along. God has actually never fallen by the wayside; in fact God has
thrived through it. The dichotomy between philosophy and theology is erroneous. To
demonstrate this, Mackey provides this tour de force in which he attempts not to work
around postmodernism, but rather through it, to construct a new theological
methodology. The synthesis of philosophy and theology is quite akin to the incarnation
of Word into flesh.

The book's two sections are first "historical-critical" and then "critical-
constructive." The historical-critical part is an intriguing account of postmodemism's
evolution that traces the subject in its trajectory through the modem era's philosophical
gauntlets from Descartes to Sartre. Mackey highlights some functional motifs which
have shifted our conception of the subject such as Cartesian dualism, Kantian and

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Hegelian phenomenology, and existentialism. He then explores the ramifications of
David Deutsch's psychobiological analysis of the human consciousness.

In the critical-constructive part Mackey dons the postmodern cloak to
reconstruct theology, of which he successftilly argues philosophy was never actually rid.
The book's title takes a cue from Immanuel Kant's The Critique of Pure Reason, in
which Kant examines a priori knowledge derived by reasoning alongside (yet distinct
from) empirical experience. Kant put faith in the human ability to reason through
emotional subjects such as morality, and now Mackey cautions that we have in Western
thought removed such humanity from theology. Hence he advocates the theological use
of human creativity in expressions like the arts. Art is after all a mode of reason which
can reveal the morals and mysteries concomitant with allegiance to God. Mackey in this
way moves toward an experiential theology encapsulating the reality that what it means
to be made in the likeness of the Creator is to be creative. Even the classical Western
philosophical proofs for God's existence are not proofs, but aesthetic expressions borne
of human artistic (linguistic) inspiration. Theological reason is therefore essentially
postmodern. Mackey asserts that 21 ^'-century theology should integrate "the best" of
what philosophy, science, and art bring to humanity's table.

This is a sophisticated essay that employs ideas and terminology with which
only readers of philosophy would be familiar. However, Mackey does well to articulate
the concepts in such a way that any novice philosopher or theologian may grasp them as
the book moves along. Insightful, relevant, penetrating, and at times refreshingly witty.
The Critique of Theological Reason is an availing addition to any theological repertoire.

Jacob Louis Waldenmaier

Gerhard Sauter, Gateway to Dogmatics: Reasoning Theologically for the Life of the
Church. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003. 310 pp., paper, $27.00.

The introductory sentence of Gerhard Sauter' s book invites the reader to a
"workshop in dogmatics", a workshop that is "not for instruction but for gaining
experience". Most educators wrestle mightily with putting our best teaching on paper for
others to use, but Gerhard's effort is notable, not so much for how its success might be
judged, but for the sheer joy and scope of the effort itself. I might be hard-pressed to
decide how to use this book, but it sure whets the appetite for gaining the experience
Sauter celebrates in its pages.

Sauter invites the reader to use the book in a variety of ways, and it would be
my recommendation that the reader start with the second section, "Dogmatics in the
Church". This section follows the first section "Dogmatics as a Phenomenon" which I
found laborious to read as well as refreshingly insightful. Sauter makes a case in this first
section for dogmatics as a child of the canon, the "fruit of the confession of Christ". In
this, and throughout the book, Sauter is certainly Barthian, Christocentric, generously
orthodox, and ecumenical within the guardrails of Xxi-sola Lutheran expression of the
faith. He makes a careful, respectful, and hopeful argument that dogmatics will be
experienced in the church and the academy as a source of freedom to ask better questions,
offer better ideas, and engage the world more wisely because of the limitations rendered
by sound theological thinking. The historical texture of this first section is daunting in
scope, but Sauter does a masterful job of avoiding oversimplification or cause-effect
reductionism that robs God's history with his people of its dynamic messiness.

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Sauter takes this sense of messiness to new heights of both insight and humility
in the second section of the book which focuses on the Church. Sauter organizes his tour
deforce by outlining Luther's "marks of the Church":

baptism, the Lord's Supper, the gospel, the forgiveness of sins,

mutual conversation and the comfort it gives, the office of preaching,

prayer and confession, the cross and suffering, the acknowledgement

of marriage and of the political order, the sufferings of the church in

the world, and the renunciation of retaliation (98).

He then deals with each of these in turn and with varying degrees of depth, but in this

section, the usefulness of the book was made clear. This is a solid textbook for use in a

variety of practical theology or pastoral theology classes. His resistance to marketing in

the church from worship erosion to theological laziness to need-based church

programming is passionate without lapsing into ax-grinding judgementalism.

A few pithy examples will have to suffice from this eloquent section: "An
orientation to needs makes for lasting alienation from the question of the inner basis of
the church's being"(97). "The inner grounding of all proclamation is surprise, surprise at
the interjection of God that is so full of promise" (121). "Proclamation is admonished by
dogmatics to let the answer given by God be heard clearly and not to lose sight of its
ramifications" (128). "...the aim of pastoral care is not simply to heal and purify a
subjectivity that has regained control. Pastoral counseling takes place with the hope that
the no longer disintegrated and divided individuals belong in their wholeness to God's
kingdom (146-7).

Sauter obliquely addresses some of the more evangelical complaints that arise
from Earth's work, the epistemology of Scripture and soteriological universalism.
Although much mistrust on these points comes from forgetting Barth's much-needed
historical corrective, Sauter contributes to a careful dialogue with his historical
predecessor at Bonn and works hard to preserve the essential paradox of revelation while
adding a clarifying apologetic for the proclamation and demonstration of the gospel as
the mission of the Church. An example of Sauter' s skill is affirming that "though God
has reconciled the world in Christ, not all are included in this reconciliation... an all-
inclusiveness of this kind would be a fundamental mistake. Why? ...it would make
'others' an element in defining my own position... communication means primarily
perceiving others as truly others. It means seeing them as they are..." (178-179).

Sauter' s third section is ""Dogmatics Put in Motion" and he focuses on three
areas where he finds historical dogmatics wanting in a variety of ways: pneumatology,
anthropology, and "giving an account for the hope that is in us". Sauter sees the latter
with soteriological implications grounded in hopeful kingdom eschatology.

The penuhimate section of the book is titled "Dogmatics in Crisis: False Trails
and Dead Ends" and focuses on the idea that

Theological integrity means not promising more than we can
perform, not feigning an insight that cannot properly be attained, not
allowing for errors and confusion in thinking or discourse even for
the best of purposes (239).

The last section is "Dogmatics as Vocation," and Sauter makes a warm and
inviting case for academic theologians to serve the church as those who equip pastoral
ministers to be good diagnosticians for the work, witness, mission, thinking, and
leadership that are all a part of equipping the saints for redemptive ministry in the world.
This section is followed by informative appendixes and indexes.

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Throughout the book, Sauter centers on the sovereignty of God and God's
unrivaled providential grace. Reformed theologians like myself find much to celebrate,
but Sauter doesn't forget to remind us at every turn that these very attributes of God are
the grounding for much needed humility, too.

The only thing that bothered me throughout much of the book, however, was
what I consider a bit of sloppiness in his trinitarian language. More than a few times the
Trinity was described in functional terms such as "creator, as redeeming reconciler, and
as life-giver". I came away with the impression that Sauter' s efforts at inclusive
language did marginalize the scriptural revelation of God, particularly regarding Father
and Son language. I forthrightly admit that, as a woman whose doctoral work was in
trinitarian theology, I am attentive to this dynamic, but Sauter' s evasion of this language
is so pervasive (with rare exception) that 1 must register this deference to an otherwise
very fine and compelling "workshop" experience!

Robbie F. Castleman, John Brown University, Siloam Springs AR

N. T. Wright. The Resurrection of the Son of God. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003.
Xxi, 817 pp., cloth $49.00

The third volume of N.T. Wright's Christian Origins and the Question of God,
this volume is both the most readable in the series as well as the most stimulating.
Originating out of a series of lectures at Harvard, and at first expected to be only a short
volume (see the preface, pp. xv-xxi), the present magisterial work presents a
comprehensive analysis of the meaning of resurrection in the early Judaism and
Christianity in general, as well as a comprehensive analysis of the meaning of the
resurrection of Jesus in particular. In the process, Wright gives a full analysis of what
resurrection meant and what it means.

Wright begins his analysis with a detailed discussion of death in the ancient
world (pp. 1-81). He points out that the ancients, far from possessing a naive belief that
death could be overcome, were fully cognizant of the fact that death is a "one way street."
Indeed, in ancient literature, there is no place for resurrection outside of the Old
Testament, particularly in the later material of Daniel, and in Second Temple Judaism
(see pp. 85-206). Thus, the commonly held assumption of many New Testament scholars
since the Enlightenment, that the resurrection is a reflection of an ancient world view that
did not understand the permanence of death, is incorrect.

In Part 2 (pp. 207-398), Wright discusses the resurrection in Paul. This is the
natural place to begin, since many scholars understand Paul's teaching on the
resurrection, particularly in 1 Cor. 15 as meaning that the resurrection was a spiritual
manifestation or appearance, and that it is not physical. Wright goes into great detail to
show that such an interpretation is precisely what Paul did not mean, and that such an
analysis is a misreading of the apostle's language, and a misunderstanding of Paul as a
Jewish writer. Rather, Paul's understanding of the resurrection is intimately connected
with his view of God as Creator. Furthermore, the whole thrust of 1 Cor. 15 looses its
strength if Paul is speaking about a "spiritual" rather than physical resurrection. The view
presented by Paul, while thoroughly monotheistic, is also connected with Jewish ideas of
Jesus as Messiah and Son of God. In fact, the only reason these titles can be applied to
Jesus in Paul's thought is because God has acted and raised Jesus from the dead.

Part three (pp. 399-584) discuss the resurrection outside of Paul, both in the
New Testament and the early Christian fathers. Again, the scholarly consensus that the

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resurrection was not originally understood as being a physical act, but a "spiritual" one
that only later was understood as physical is not upheld by the evidence. This point is
made especially clear in part 4, the story of Easter (pp. 585-684). In the analysis of the
"strange stories" of the resurrection, Wright points out that no one in the ancient world
would have made up stories like the resurrection accounts to justify the later doctrine of
the physical resurrection of Jesus. While each story reflects each gospel author's
interests, they, nevertheless, point to some original event that occurred, contrary to the
expectations of the first disciples, to propel them into proclamation of the message of
God's resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

Finally, Wright recognizes that an attempt to reproduce the events of the past is

not the sole concern of the historian. Events have significance only if they have meaning,

and it is the meaning of the resurrection that Wright examines in part 5 (pp. 685-738).

The resurrection is not a safe doctrine for private devotion. Nor is it a comforting belief

in an afterlife in heaven. Rather, the resurrection matters because creation matters, and

creation matters because the creator matters (p. 737). The resurrection represents God's

dynamic act. After the resurrection, it is impossible to say that Caesar, or the state, or any

human organization or pretension is Lord. Only God is Lord, and loyalty is due only to

his son, the Messiah, Jesus. Such a proclamation flies in the face of all human arrogance.

No wonder the Herods, the Caesars and the Sadducees of this world,

ancient and modem, were and are eager to rule about all possibility of

actual resurrection. They are, after all, staking a counter-claim on the

real world. It is the real world that tyrants and bullies (including

intellectual and cultural tyrants and bullies) try to rule by force, only

to discover that in order to do so they have to quash all rumours of

resurrection, rumours that would imply that their greatest weapons,

death and deconstruction are not, after all, omnipotent, (p. 737)

Thus, the resurrection not only provides assurance of what God has done in Christ, but
also presents a challenge to Christians today to live in absolute loyalty only to God and
Christ, and not to allow themselves to be compromised by the counter-claims of state or
class or comfortable Christianity. It is this claim that provides a bridge between
traditional affirmation that God raised Jesus from the dead and the challenge to a post-
colonial church to live according to the demands of that proclamation.

Russell Morton

Jeff Astley, David Brown and Ann Loades, eds.. Problems in Theology: Creation. New
York: T&T Clark, Ltd., 2003. 1 19 pp., paper, $19.95.

Problems in Theology: Creation is a reader with articles from many
theologians. The selections reflect a broad spectrum of the different theologies on
creation that have presented themselves over the years. This reader contains
approximately thirty-five excerpts from biblical passages and a range of Christian
thinkers through the centuries.

This book has been divided into four chapters, all dealing with separate issues
that are currently debated. The articles deal with ideas such as the meaning of creation,
the Gaia theory, process theology and creation in the New Testament and in Christian
thought. Some voices heard in this book are John Macquarrie, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and
Karl Barth, to name just a few. The general layout of each chapter is an overview of the

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topic, then articles from authors supporting the idea, and finally those in contention with
each idea and articles containing tensions and criticisms of the ideas.

The articles in this reader flow well when read as a whole, but would also be
very useful and easily accessible if used individually. This reader, though eclectic, has a
definite Christian undertone throughout, as can be seen in the introduction and especially
with the placement of the problems and critiques at the latter part of the chapters.

Problems in Theology: Creation is a great book for teachers and students who
wish to look at current issues concerning the theology of creation. The discussion
questions at the end of each chapter are appropriate for educational settings. This book as
a reader will facilitate conversation among pastors, teachers and serious students
interested in creation theology.

Amy Kinder

Philip F. Ester, ed.. The Early Christian World. 2 volumes. London: Routledge, 2000.
1342 pages. Cloth.

The Early Christian World is a compendious introduction to the first four
centuries of the Christian movement and the social, cultural, and political world that
surrounded it. It has pride of place as the standard reference work to the topics it treats,
and draws from the ranks of contributors who are well versed in social-scientific,
cultural-anthropological, and ideological criticism, thus bringing new interdisciplinary
paradigms to the study of early Christian history in addition to the foundations of
historical-critical, tradition-critical, and other more established avenues of inquiry.

The volume is divided into nine parts. The first sets the Christian movement
solidly in the context of the Mediterranean world of late antiquity, including the
following contributions: "The Mediterranean context of early Christianity" (Philip Esler);
"Armies, emperors and bureaucrats" (Jill Harries); "Graeco-Roman philosophy and
religion" (Luther Martin); "Jewish tradition and culture" (James Aitken). The second
part examines topics relevant to the development of early Christianity, with essays on
"The Galilean world of Jesus" (Sean Freyne); "Early Jewish Christianity" (David
Horrell); "Paul and the development of gentile Christianity" (Todd Klutz); "The Jesus
tradition: The gospel writers' strategies of persuasion" (Richard Rohrbaugh);
"Christianity in the second and third centuries" (Jeffrey Siker); "From Constantine to
Theodosius (and beyond)" (Bill Leadbetter). Part three looks more closely at the
institutional expansion of Christianity through "Mission and expansion" (Thomas Finn),
"The development of office in the early church" (Mark Edwards), "Christian regional
diversity" (David Taylor), and "Monasticism" (Columba Stewart, OSB). Part four
attempts to balance the more diachronic approaches of parts two and three with topical
explorations related to "everyday Christian experience." Here one finds essays on
"Social levels, morals and daily life" (Bruce Malina), "Sex and sexual renunciation"
(Teresa Shaw), "Women, worship and mission: the church in the household" (Gillian
Cloke), "Communication and travel" (Blake Leyerle), and "Worship, practice and belief
(Maxwell Johnson).

Parts five and six examine the intellectual and artistic heritage of the early
church, the latter section representing a truly innovative balance to the typical interest
only in the "ideas" of the patristic period. Contributions to Part Five include "The
Apostolic Fathers" (Carolyn Osiek), "The Apologists" (Eric Osborn), "The early
theologians" (Gerald Bray), "later theologians of the Greek East" (Andrew Louth), "Later

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theologians of the West" (Ivor Davidson), "Creeds, councils and doctrinal development"
(Trevor Hart), and "Biblical interpretation" (Oskar Skarsaune). Part Six explores
"Architecture: the first five centuries" (L. Michael White), "Art" (Robin Jensen),
"Music" (James McKinnon), and "Imaginative Literature" (Richard Bauckham).

The seventh and eighth sections offer analyses of challenges to the emerging
Christian movement from outside (with essays on "Martyrdom and political oppression"
by W. H. C. Frend, "Graeco-Roman philosophical opposition" by Michael Simmons, and
"Popular Graeco-Roman responses to Christianity" by Craig de Vos) and within (with
essays on "Internal renewal and dissent in the early Christian world" by Sheila McGinn,
"Gnosticism" by Alastair Logan, "Montanism" by Christine Trevett, "Donatism" by
James Alexander, and "Arianism" by David Rankin).

The final section offers profiles of leading Christians from the second through
the fourth centuries, including Origen (Fred Norris), Tertullian (David Wright), Perpetua
and Felicitas (Ross Kraemet and Shira Lander), Constantine (Bill Leadbetter), Anthony
of the Desert (Columba Stewart, OSB), Athanasius (David Brakke), John Chrysostom
(Pauline Allen and Wendy Mayer), Jerome (Dennis Brown), Ambrose (Ivor Davidson),
Augustine (Carol Harrison), and Ephrem the Syrian (Kathleen McVey), closing, perhaps
a bit subversively, with Julian the Apostate (Michael Simmons).

Written by acknowledged experts in each field, this work is a necessary
resource for every institutional library.

David A. deSilva

Richard L. Crocker, An Introduction to Gregorian Chant. New Haven, CT: Yale
University Press, 2000. 256 pp., hardcover + compact disc, $37.50.

In recent years, modem listeners have been attracted to ethereal and tranquil
sounds of chant. Several recordings of chant, in fact, have been listed on best-sellei
charts. This introduction to Gregorian chant will engage both casual listeners anc
students of the style. Richard L. Crocker, professor emeritus at the University o]
California at Berkeley, is one of the foremost scholars in the area of chant, having spem
more than forty years in the study of this genre of music. In this well-written volume, he
offers an excellent introduction to the history of chant and its meaning and function m the
liturgy. His long career of teaching and writing enables him to explain with clarity and
authority how chant developed, how it was written down, and its past and present usage ir
worship. He does not shy away from technical information and subtleties of style, but the
author brings the novice along with graceful definitions of the terms needed in the
discussion. Crocker makes it clear that he assumes the reader will be listening to chani
alongside the reading of this text. Accompanying the book is a compact disc containing
26 tracks of chant recorded by Crocker, Markika Kuzma and The Orlando Consort. Foi
each of the tracks, Crocker provides a succinct commentary on both the melody of the
chant and the text, providing both the Latin and English translation and situating the texi
in its liturgical context. Occasionally in the historical discussion and in the commentary.
Crocker shows the melodic contours of the chant. Instead of traditional musical notation,
however, he uses graph-like charts that illustrate well musical contours while being more
accessible to readers who are not musicians.

A glossary and index are useful tools for the reader searching for particulai
information, and Crocker provides a brief bibliography. Carefully chosen plates oj
manuscript pages illustrate the discussion. He states in his Acknowledgments, however

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that he depends in large measure on long held tradition in the performance styles of the
music; readers who wish to explore fuller documentation of those performance traditions
may consult David Hiley's Western Plainchant, a recognized standard in the field. The
gift of this book is Crocker's ability to discuss the complex matters of musical style anc
notation, liturgy and worship, and monastic traditions in ways that are more like listening
to an engaging conversation rather than reading a scholarly tome. This introduction wil
be appreciated by those who simply enjoy listening to chant as well as those who are
engaged in formal study. It will be a valuable addition to both undergraduate and
graduate studies in music history, liturgy, and church history.

Deborah Carlton Loftis, Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, Virginia

Columba Stewart, Cassain the Monk. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1998,
pp. 286, $25.00.

William H. Shannon, Anselm: The Joy of Faith. New York: The Crossroad Publishing
Company, 1999, pp. 189, $15.95.

Karin Maag, ed., Melanchthon in Europe: His Work and Influence Beyond Wittenberg.
Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1999, pp. 191, $17.99.

A frequent problem in book reviewing is an over-supply of books by publishers
to institutions who publish academic journals. Many worthy books accumulate on
shelves unreviewed long after the date that they should have come to public notice.
Having located several of these books on our journal shelf, I have decided to give them
brief attention in the hope that some will want access to them for their own study or
purchase. Fortunately, all three are still readily available, either from the publishers or
through internet sources.

Cassain the Monk gives justifiable notice to one of the more prominent
monastic figures of the late fourth and early fifth century. He served as a bridge between
the Eastern monastic tradition and the developing Western establishment of monasticism.
He and Germanus had come to Rome bearing a letter from John Chrysostom, which
asked for the pope's help in his battle with the imperial and ecclesiastical powers that
were trying to depose him. Cassain remained in Rome for some time and then became
prominent in the monastic structures in Gaul, where he drew upon his monastic life in
Egypt and the teaching of his mentor, Evagrius Ponticus, in developing a theology and a
pattern of monastic life for the monks under his influence.

Stewart portrays the tensions that affected Cassain at this time. Origen, from
whom he borrowed much, had fallen from favor in both East and West. And Augustine
had repelled Pelagianism with his strong views of sovereign grace. Cassian's views can
best be described as semi-Pelagian, so he had to do his work as one who had limits placed
upon his theological utterances.

The major contribution of the book is its use of Cassain's two major treatises
for the monks under his instruction: his Institutes and his Conferences. Stewarts's
knowledge of these texts, the details of monastic life, and the theological themes of the
time are outstanding. He helps his readers see the connections between Cassain's
theology and the regular features of monastic life. Cassain the Monk becomes a lens
through which to see the monastic institution of the time as well as the traditions that
grew out of those begiimings.

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It is not an easy book to read since it aims to elucidate detailed teachings in
Cassain's texts. It will have its greatest appeal to students and scholars (the book has 89
pages of reference notes and another 30 pages of bibliography). But it will appeal to
those who have an appreciation for the monastic tradition. Here contemplative Christians
can uncover their roots in Christian antiquity.

Anselm: The Joy of Faith also reflects the monastic tradition through another of
its great leaders. Anselm followed Cassain by seven centuries, and, though bom in Italy,
his career became notable in northern France and then England, where he became the
Archbishop of Canterbury. Shannon's object in writing the book is to demonstrate
Anselm's place in history, as he lived at a time when new thinking was about to flower in
the church and the culture. He also wants to highlight Anselm's contributions to
Christian thought (p. 13). Specifically, the author wants to highlight Anselm's
spirituality as that which can transcend time and speak forcefully to a modem readership
(p. 34). By spirituality the author means a consciousness of God that infuses all of life
with meaning and purpose (pp. 35-36) and not just certain devotional practices.

Anselm's career is set in the context of three great movements of the eleventh
century. The first is the monastic reform that began at Cluny and spread throughout the
church. Anselm's spirituality is both a result of that movement and a cause of its
enhancement. Secondly, he supports the vision of the papacy as the supreme office of
God's kingdom upon earth. It is because he represented allegiance to the pope as the
universal shepherd of the people of God that he experienced difficulty with the Norman
kings of England. This highlights the third tension of his time: the investiture
controversy. Because he defended the church's right to appoint bishops against the kings
who claimed it as their traditional feudal right, he had to twice flee from his duties at
Canterbury and take refuge in monastic and papal support on the continent.

Entwined as he was with these movements and events, he lived his life as
service to God and helped others (monks above all) to experience a life infused by God.
What he left through his writing helps us appreciate his contribution to his age. On the
one hand, we have his Proslogion, where he developed the classic proof for God's
existence (which Kant later called the "ontological argument"), and his Cur Deus Homo,
in which he approached the mystery of atonement through the concept of the "satisfaction
theory" (Christ alone met both the human and the divine requirements for salvation).
Shannon's explorations of these theological concepts are very helpful, especially for
those whose background in theology is limited. On the other hand, the author also wants
us to see Anselm at prayer, as a letter writer, and as a person who highly prized religious
friendships.

Shannon maintains that both these contributions reflect the "joy of faith" for
Anselm. In the first he is an early example of a new rational approach to theology. Yet,
for Anselm (as also Augustine) it is reason at the service of faith, understanding what one
already believes. His prayers, letters, and friendships also explore the "joy of faith" as
they show the soul in communion with God and with fellow pilgrims of the religious
joumey. These two elements, so often polar opposites in many lives, are bound together
in Anselm. That is why the author feels he is such a good exemplar for those who today
seek to find a unifying approach to life.

Shannon's book will appeal to a larger audience than Stewart's for a number of
reasons. It is more brief; it appeals to those outside the monastic lifestyle; and it is
written in a more reader-friendly style. The book pulls the reader along; one does not
need to push through dense thickets in order to make new discoveries. The piety of both

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these monastic leaders is equally genuine; but the Anselm of Shannon's book is more
accessible.

The book on Melanchthon moves time on by five more centuries. It is
definitely not monastic in outlook. Melanchthon was immersed in the new humanist
approach to Christianity. He was schooled in the university, not the monastery. He
served a long career as a writer and teacher at Wittenburg, the seat of the Protestant
reformation and a decided foe of the monastic system.

Melanchthon 's role as Luther's subordinate and as a chief architect of
Lutheranism after Luther's death is generally recognized in the scholarly world. The
purpose of this book is to appreciate Melanchthon 's interaction with and his influence
upon the wider Protestant reform in Europe, particularly in his interaction with leaders of
the Reformed tradition of Protestantism.

The eight essays that comprise the book were delivered at two lecture events in
1997 to celebrate the 500* year of Melanchthon's birth. Four were given at the Meeter
Center for Calvm Studies in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and the remainder at the Sixteenth
Century Studies Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Karin Maag is to be congratulated for
bringing these papers together in their present form, as the fifth book published in the
series of Texts and Studies in Reformation and Post-Reformation Thought (for which Dr.
Richard A. Muller of Calvin Theological Seminary is the series editor).

Each of the essays concerning Melanchthon is of considerable interest and
reflects profound scholarship. A student of the Reformation could be well-served by
noting the sources referenced in the various studies. The chapters in general cover three
areas of interest. First, they note where Malanchthon was willing to take a path separate
from Martin Luther and the conflicts and tensions this created within the Lutheran
movement, particularly after Luther's death. Secondly, and more importantly, they probe
the limit of Melanchthon's compatibility with the Calvinistic Reformation and the
notable people within it, like John Calvin, Heinrich BuUinger, and Martin Bucer (whose
moderate stance and ecumenical spirit were attractive to Melanchthon). Finally, they try
to explain the uniqueness of Melanchthon's theological methods. His commitments to
Renaissance humanism and to rhetorical analysis, in particular, are noted as factors that
shaped his person and his scholarship.

As Karin Maag notes in her introductory chapter, Melanchthon suffers - like
the other second generation leaders of the Refonnation - from being critiqued for his
agreement with or divergence from the founder. This often means that he is not
appreciated in his own right as a leading figure of the Reformation (pp. 15-16). This
book goes a long way in helping to correct this defect.

Luke L. Keefer, Jr.

Peter Day, A Dictionary of Christian Denominations. London: Continuum, 2003. 516
pp., cloth, $75.00.

The one volume dictionary by Australian-bom Peter Day, a member of the
Russian Orthodox Church, contains information on over one thousand Christian
denominations and movements. These begin with articles on the "Aaronic Order" and
continue through to "Zwinglians." Included are mainstream historical churches, heretical
sects, cults and groups that sprung up around charismatic leaders. An Appendix contains
alternate names of the groups treated in the main body of the work.

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The carefully written, informative articles include readily recognized groups as
well as the following lesser known groups: Agapemites, Manazarites, Angel Dancers,
Body-Felt Salvation Church, seven different Churches of Christ, twenty one different
Churches of God, Doukhabors, Ephrata Society, Familists, Grant Brethren, Henricians,
Illuminati, Jumper, Koinonia Partners, Lehrerheut, Madaeans, eight Methodist groups,
Navigators, Old Order Dunkers, Priscillianists, twenty two Reformed groups, Stundists,
Today Church, fifteen United Church groups, and Voice of Elijah.

Richard E. Allison

Renate Bethge, Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A Brief Life. Translated from the German by K. C.
Hanson. Minneapohs: Fortress Press, 2004. 88 pp., cloth, $12.

Renate Bethge, author and editor of this work, is the niece of Dietrich
Bonhoeffer and the widow of Bonhoeffer' s close friend, the late Eberhard Bethge, expert
on Bonhoeffer. In this volume, Bethge sensitively sketches Bonhoeffer' s dramatic life
and his personal witness against Nazism during World War II. She portrays Bonhoeffer's
life as a symbol of Christian resistance against Hitler. Bethge offers sympathy for and
deep understanding of Bonhoeffer's authentic struggle.

Bethge chronicles Bonhoeffer's life in this brief volume. She focuses on his
major life movements from childhood and youth to the beginning of the Nazi era. Then
she details the period of the Preacher's Seminary in Finkenwalde and his trips to
America. She concludes with his conspiratorial trips, resistance activities, imprisonment
and execution.

Bethge describes Bonhoeffer's life events with pictures, personal letters, and
autobiographical notes on nearly every page of this short work. This material makes the
book a valuable treasure in Bonhoeffer studies and biographies. The reader enjoys
personal glimpses into the actual life of Bonhoeffer in a clear, accessible way.

This work is a beautiful treasure only a family member could produce. It is a
gift of Bonhoeffer's great witness to Jesus Christ. The work is accessible for clergy, laity,
professors and students of Bonhoeffer. The book offers gems of insight into the life of
Bonhoeffer.

JoArin Ford Watson

Stanley Hauerwas, Prayers Plainly Spoken. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1999.
132 pp., paper, $17.00.

This book was pubhshed because of Hauerwas's students who initially began
asking him for copies of his written prayers given at the start of each class, and who then
encouraged him to publish his prayers. Initially, Hauerwas resisted the suggestion, chiefly
because he did not want to appear pious (which, quite frankly, has never truly been a
problem for Hauerwas); his concern being that "in our time 'holiness' is too often one of
the ways the truthfixlness of religious claims is lost" (p. 13).

Hauerwas suggests that the lack of "holy" language in these prayers (i.e. pious
tones and set formulas often associated with saying a prayer) is one of the reasons
students wanted them. He states, "If anything, these prayers are plain. They are so
because I discovered I could not pray differently than I speak. In other words I thought it
would be a mistake to try to assume a different identity when I prayed" (p. 14).

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Ashland Theological Journal 2005

Hauerwas lays a theological foundation for prayer in his introduction (pp. 11-
18). The aspects of that foundation are that prayer is taught, that any theology that does
not help Christians to pray cannot be Christian, that "God wants our prayers and the
prayers God wants are our prayers" (p. 17), and the language of prayer enhances our
lives, because our very lives are indeed prayers to God.

The prayers in this book were written with reference to specific occasions,
sometimes with attention to the specific topic being studied in class, and other times in
response to world and community events, as well as happenings at Duke Divinity School
and the University. In other words these prayers involve "simply the stuff of life" (p. 16).
Accordingly, after the introduction, the prayers are categorized into three sections:
Beginnings (pp. 21-35), Living In Between (pp. 39-114), and Endings (pp. 117-132). A
few examples of prayers from the book highlight the different occasions for which these
prayers were written.

In a prayer entitled. Save Us from Dullness, written at the start of a new class,
Hauerwas writes.

Our Only Father, humble us Mary-like before the cross of your Son,
our Lord, Jesus of Nazareth, so that through the Spirit we may be
joined in the one body, the church, thus becoming your one mighty
prayer for the world. Gracious God, whose grace terrorizes us and
sustains us, we pray for courage as we begin this course. Invade our
lives, robbing us of fear and envy so we might begin to trust one
another and in the process discover a bit of truth. In this serious
business grant us the joy and humor that comes from your presence.
And for your sake, save us from being dull. Amen (p. 26).

Several prayers for peace are contained in the book. A particularly interesting
one is A Plea for Peace with Chickens.

Sovereign of All Life, we pray that you will give us the patience to
stay still long enough to witness the beauty of your creation. Help us
to live at peace with your world, especially with our brothers and
sisters in and without your church. Help us to live at peace with those
creatures not like us — that is, dogs, pigs, and even, God help us,
chickens. And help us live in peace with ourselves. Amen (p. 57).

One prayer in the book is offered in reference to what Hauerwas describes as "a
particularly egregious act by a member of the divinity school community that brought
shame on the school (p. 84).

Weird Lord, you never promised us a rose garden, but right now we
could use a few daisies or zinnias. We feel confused, unsure of where
we are, angry because a wrong has been done, and we are unsure who
(sic) to blame. It ought to be somebody's fault, but even the one who
is to blame is so pathetic it hardly seems worth the effort. So we are
left with ourselves. Work on us to make us a community of
truthfulness, a community where friendships flourish, a community
of joy in the good work you have given us. Help us to know how to
go on, confident that you have made us characters in the best story
since creation, since it is (Hauerwas' emphasis) the story of creation.
It is good to be your people. Amen (pp. 84-85).

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Not one to avoid controversy, Hauerwas writes several blunt prayers on various
issues. One was given "during the celebration of the five hundredth anniversary of
Columbus's 'discovery' of America" (p. 25).

Dear God, our lives are made possible by the murders of the
past — civilization is built on slaughters. Acknowledging our debt to
killers frightens and depresses us. We fear judging, so we say,
"That's in the past." We fear to judge because in so judging we are
judged. Help us, however, to learn to say no, to say, "Siimers though
we are, that was and is wrong." May we do so with love. Amen (p.
25).

Hauerwas employs stark language in his theological reflections. This is seen in
particular in one prayer entitled, Stuck with a God Who Bleeds.

Bloody Lord, you are just too real. Blood is sticky, repulsive,
frightening. We do not want to be stuck with a sacrificial God who
bleeds. We want a spiritual faith about spiritual things, things
bloodless and abstract. We want sacrificial spirits, not sacrificed
bodies. But you have bloodied us with your people Israel and your
Son, Jesus. We fear that by being Jesus' people we too might have to
bleed. If such is our destiny, we pray that your will, not ours, be
done. Amen (p. 90). "^

In his last section on endings, Hauerwas writes several prayers on the occasion
of the deaths of different individuals, including that of Henri Nouwen in 1996, who at the
time of his death was the chaplain at Daybreak, a home for the mentally handicapped in
Toronto.

Lord of Life, Lord of Death, we give you thanks for the life, the
ministry, the witness of Father Henri M. Nouwen. His life was
constituted by words, but he longed for silence. You have now
constituted him by your eloquent silence, by naming him a member
of that chorus called the communion of saints. We pray for his
friends at Daybreak, who will rightly feel the silence of his death as
loss. May they look into one another's faces and see your unfailing
presence. So seeing, may they rejoice in the life of this strange man,
who so willingly exposed his life so that we might rejoice in the life
you have given us. Amen (p. 124).

There will be some who find Hauerwas' clear and blunt prayer language
offensive, particularly his addressing of God as "weird," "strange," and "terrifying."
Others will no doubt also find some of his prayers quite controversial, particularly in
reference to war and violence. Perhaps what Hauerwas has written on page 1 7 of the
introduction may be offered as a response. "We do not need to hide anything from God,
which is a good thing given the fact that any attempt to hide from God will not work.
God wants us to cry, to shout, to say what we think we understand and what we do not."

Prayers Plainly Spoken is a book worth reading. It is to be added to that great
company of prayers offered by the saints throughout history, those prayers that improve
the praying of all believers.

Allan R. Bevere

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Ashland Theological Journal 2005

Bradley P. Holt, Thirsty for God: A Brief History of Christian Spirituality. 2nd ed.
Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2005. 226 pp., paper, $18.00.

The original 1993 edition of Thirsty for Gcxi received a brief notice in this
journal which said in part, "This is an ideal short survey, the best of its kind in print"
{ATJ 33 [2001]: 83). The second edition is even better in almost every way. The
author's preface singles out for attention new material, the introduction of maps, and
more suggestions for spiritual practice.

After an initial chapter on spirituality and Christianity, two new chapters
appear. The first discusses what spiritual formation is — being, relating, and doing -
while the other concerns Jesus Christ and the Bible. Both of these strengthen the
foundation for what follows. They open up what Christian spirituality (description and
analysis) and spiritual formation (process and experience) are about, and the canonical
material which underlies them. At the end of the book, the discussion of the twentieth
century has now become two chapters: "The West since 1900" and "The Non-Western
World since 1900." This gives more opportunity for Dr. Holt to develop one of his
strong points: Christianity beyond the English-speaking world. A former missionary
educator in Nigeria, he is biblically, historically, and theologically convinced that the
Christian faith must be international, with all the diversity that entails.

The structure of the central part remains as it was: "The Beginnings of a
Global Community" [the ancient church], "The European Era" [the medieval church],
"Protestant and Catholic Reform," and "The 'Modem' Era." There is enough new
material to increase the book from 150 pages to 226, with slightly larger page size. The
author highlights new or expanded discussions of "Celtic spirituality, medieval women
mystics, J. S. Bach, the holiness movement, Oswald Chambers, Therese of Lisieux, C. S.
Lewis, Henry Nouwen, Rosemary Radford Reuther [sic]. Pope Shenoudah III, and
Desmond Tutu, among many others" (p. vii). Dr. Holt also includes more of his own
personal comments and opinions throughout the book.

Another significant improvement is that ten maps appear in the opening pages.
Each map is keyed to one of the chapters and identifies significant places mentioned in
the discussion. For example, the map of modem Europe shows the location of Dietrich
Bonhoeffer's secret seminary in Germany (Finkewalde), the ecumenical monastic
community at Taize, France, and sites where the Holy Mother has been said to appear in
France (Lourdes), Portugal (Fatima), and Croatia (Medjugorje). This new feature is
extremely helpful and will be welcomed by all readers.

The third improvement to which the author calls attention is the more extensive
descriptions of spiritual practice. These come at the end of each chapter, making this
more than just a brief history of Christian spirituality. It can function as a first text for
leaming the spiritual disciplines which historically have nurtured believers. A larger
variety is introduced beyond the first edition - not only corporate worship and meditative
reading, but also writing letters for social justice and going on a pilgrimage.

But Holt's first purpose remains: to provide an introductory survey of the rich
history of Christian spirituality, and to do it broadly and inclusively. This he has
accomplished better than any author I know. The only exception worth mentioning is
that some dates - in both editions — are wrong. They show up in the text's discussion
and also in the helpful timeline at the back of the book. For example, it is generally
agreed that Ignatius of Antioch died in the decade A.D. 1 10-120, but the dates suggested
for him (1607-220?) are very near those given for Tertullian (1607-225). Hildegard of
Bingen was bom in 1098, not 1 109; Julian of Norwich was almost certainly bom in 1342,

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not 1353; Ignatius of Loyola died in 1556, not 1531; and Richard Foster is not nearing
eighty (he was bom in 1942, not 1928). Inexplicably, Augustine, who was included in
the first edition's timeline, is omitted in the revision. Hopefully such uncorrected errors
will not detract from the otherwise excellent changes in this second edition.

Bradley Holt has performed an outstanding service for both church and
academy in producing this revision of Thirsty for God. Now more than ever it is "an
ideal short survey, the best of its kind in print."

Jerry R. Flora

Henri Nouwen, Turn My Mourning into Dancing: Finding Hope in Hard Times. Ed.
Timothy Jones. Nashville: Word Publishing, 2001. Xvi + 1 1 1 pp. Hardcover, $16.99.

This wonderful book of Henri Nowen's collected writings was compiled
posthumously by Timothy Jones. It is a gift on the subject of hope in a hurting world. To
compile these thoughts of Nouwen, Jones gleaned the archival holdings at the Henri
Nouwen Literary Center and the Henri J. M. Nouwen Archives and Research Collection
at the John M. Kelly Library, University of St. Michael's College in Toronto.

Nouwen's thoughts are gathered as treasures of a life lived in the compassion
of God in service to humanity. Jones states that after Nouwen's death in 1996, interest in
Nouwen's work has grown immensely. In the preface, Jones states, "More than anything,
1 believe, the continued interest grows out of who he was: a heart broken before God and
opened for his fellow friends and readers" (p. xi). Jones writes that Nouwen was "a man
with a heart that constantly reached out to hurting souls" (p. x.). Jones describes him this
way: "Henri was complex and unfinished; he knew it well and did not pretend otherwise.
But still, he also knew, there was ministering to be done. Suffering to care for. Hope to
bring to bear in life's dark places" (p. xi).

Jones learned that digging through Nouwen's notes in the archives provides
glimpses from his pen and life (p. xii.). He writes, "As we learn from this chronicler of
the possibilities of a human life lived vibrantly with God, may our sorrows also turn to
expectancy and even joy" (p. xii).

Jones arranges Nouwen's thoughts in the book in five movements through hard
times entitled, "From Our Little Selves to a Larger World, From Holding Tight to Letting
Go, From Fatalism to Hope, From Manipulation to Love, From a Fearful Death to a
Joyous Life" (p. v). In the introduction, Nouwen describes the meaning of these
movements. He writes, "But these steps in the dance of God's healing choreography let
us move gracefully amid what would harm us, and find healing as we endure what could
make us despair" (p. xvi). Nouwen continues, "We can ultimately find a healing that lets
our wounded spirits dance again, that lets them dance unafraid of suffering and even
death because we learn to live with lasting hope" (p. xvi).

The strength of the book is Nouwen's call to hope throughout life's ups and
downs. Growing up, Nouwen was captivated by the trapeze artists at the circus. Nouwen
writes of the trapeze, "But the real hero is the catcher. The only thing I have to do is
stretch out my hands and trust, trust that he will be there to pull me back up" (p. 43).
Nouwen's thoughts here turn to God as he writes, "We can say no less about the God
who encircles our little lives and waits to catch us and hold us — in the hard junctures and
the good, in the precarious moments and the times we soar" (p. 43).

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Throughout the work, Nouwen resounds his theme of hope. He tells us that
memory speaks of God's faithfulness in the past and gives us courage for the present and
the future. Nouwen writes, "Memory also reminds us of the faithfulness of God in the
hard places and joyous moments. It lets us see how God has brought good from even the
impossible situations. Remembering in this way allows us to live in the present" (p. 59).

Nouwen also focuses on the power of hope. He continues, "Hope makes you
see God's guiding hand not only in the gentle and pleasant moments but also in the
shadows of disappointment and darkness"(p. 60). Nouwen promises everlasting hope in
the Risen Christ. He states, "For the journey of Christ did not end on the cross. On the
road to Emmaus we see the picture changed from despair to hope... That allows us to
hope that the journey from life to death leads finally from death to life" (pp. 103-104).

Nouwen beautifully concludes this wonderful collection of thoughts on hope
with the movement from death to eternal life. He states, "Confronting our death
ultimately allows us better to live. And better to dance with God's joy amid the
sorrowing nights and the hopeful mornings" (p. 1 10).

This book is a precious gift of Nouwen's works on spirituality that is accessible
to clergy and laity interested in Nouwen's spirituality. This book is a treasure of the
great legacy and contribution that this extraordinary man of God left for us. As Jones
gleaned this work from Nouwen's unpublished writings, what a beloved gift of hope he
discovered from this legendary spiritual guide.

JoAnn Ford Watson

Dallas Willard, Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God.
Dovraers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1983. 228 pp, paper.

More than anything else, it was the title that prompted me to read this book.
Now, I am glad that I did. I have often wondered if everyone "hears" God in the same
way. What does God's voice sound like? How do we hear God?

Dallas Willard attacks these and many other questions Christians may ask in his
book Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God. This book was
previously published under the classic title, In Search of Guidance. The former title, the
one it is currently being published with, is a great title for the material included in the
book.

Willard does not shy away from the difficult questions that people of faith often
ask when we think of developing a conversational, intimate relationship with God. He
states that they key to hearing God is building a close and personal relationship with God.
It is not surprising to find that Christians live in the tension of knowing that hearing from
God is crucial to a personal relationship with God and yet not clearly knowing how to
develop that personal relationship with God through hearing and listening to God. What
does hearing from God sound like? Willard is keenly aware that this tension exists and
he does not try to diminish this fact rather he addresses it head-on. Willard then moves
us to a deeper understanding of what hearing from God is not to encouraging the reader
that everyone can have a full, satisfying, and glorifying relationship with God when we
understand what it means to communicate with God and not to God. He states, "We must
never forget that God's speaking to use, however we experience it in our initial
encounter, is intended to develop into an intelligent, freely cooperative relationship
between mature people who love each other with the richness of genuine agape love"
(pg. 31). It is this relationship with God that Willard helps us develop through this book.

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The book has nine powerful chapters dealing with everything from using
Scripture to hear God, from understanding our redemption, to recognizing the voice of
God. He especially does a great job dealing with the issue of silence from God in chapter
nine. Each chapter is followed by a set of questions to help us process the material and to
examine our own personal relationship with God. This makes Hearing God a great book
to use for small groups or Bible studies as well as a personal spiritual formation tool.
There is no question that after reading this book, you will have a more spiritual walk with
God what will be gratifying to you and glorifying of God. I highly recommend this book
for pastors or for anyone who wants to develop a more formative relationship with God
through prayer and silent times.

Vickie Taylor

Rowan Williams, The Dwelling of the Light: Praying with Icons of Christ. Grand
Rapids, Mi.: Eerdmans, 2003. 84pp., cloth, $16.00.

Like the icons it studies, this little book opens succinct yet inviting gateways
into the depths of God. While many books on icons explain conventions and symbols or
offer personal reflection, this one brings the reader into an encounter with the profound
theological and spiritual beauty of its subjects. This is a book that explains both icons
and the incarnation of Christ with a simple and engaging style that provokes, prods, and
suggests but never fully elaborates. Williams begins with an introduction that reflects on
the Incarnation as it reviews the early arguments for and against representing divine
images. Put simply, icons do not attempt to depict God through pictures and images.
Rather, they depict humanity saturated with God and transformed by divine life. With
this in mind, Williams undertakes conversations with four icons, each of which brings out
treasures both old and new. A meditation on an icon of the Transfiguration confronts the
reader/viewer with a glimpse of God's glory in Christ, a glimpse of "violent force" that
interrupts and overthrows our assumptions about God and humanity. An icon of the
Resurrection shows us a Savior who comes out of the depths of the divine life and
overcomes humanity's frozen divisiveness and hostility. Rublev's icon of the Hospitality
of Abraham brings us into the dynamic circle of the divine life, in which we are drawn by
the Son to the Father and into the Father's breathing out of the Spirit. Finally, an icon of
Christ as Pantocrator (Ruler of All) confronts us with the Truth that longs to be known,
the love that welcomes, and the gaze that helps us to see who we really are.

This is a book for contemplative readers. Williams' comments, like the icon
reproductions that introduce them, nourish when savored. Regrettably, the small size of
the book blurs and condenses the icons to such an extent that their beauty cannot be fully
apprehended. Williams' reflections, however, will certainly encourage readers to seek,
appreciate, and encounter for themselves the spiritual splendor of icons of Christ.

L. Daniel Hawk

Robert Wuthnow, Creative Spirituality. Los Angeles: University of California Press,
2001.297 pp., $45.00.

While much study has been done on the relationship of religion and the arts,
there is very little that explores the spiritual journey of the artist. A more apt title for this
book would be the spirituality of creative people, for it does not describe an innovative

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approach to spirituality, but rather the varied spiritual paths of artists. What makes this
book most interesting is its energy. Based on material from interviews with at least fifty
living artists, Wuthnow weaves together a series of mini-biographies of a wider than
expected range of artists. From dancers to musicians, poets and painters, sculptors,
woodcarvers, actors and more, he engages the reader by reporting the story of their lives,
their spiritual turning points, and dilemmas they have faced or face now. This is not
simply a book for artists; it is for all who are on a spiritual search. By reflecting on the
discoveries of artists, one can find direction, confirmation and insight for one's own
spiritual walk.

In each chapter, some of the personal searching of each creative person is
explored. More than just a glimpse into a creative life, one begins to get a feel for their
art and how it defines them as persons. The book is an endeavor to show how human
giftedness reflects upon one's pursuit of God, faith, and spirituality in general. Wuthnow
masterfully weaves together the particulars from each artist's journey, making
comparisons and showing parallels. He seems to glean insight in order to create a
tapestry of spiritual understanding. One example is that several of the artists the reader is
introduced to promote some element of mystery in their spiritual journey.

The strength of this book is that it draws you in. One finds himself/herself
caring about the individuals whose lives are being told. Each person's journey is
different, and many were quite compelling. The compiler is unbiased. This does not
come off as a "Christian" book about art. The descriptions of peoples' faiths are given
enigmatically, but not to sway the reader as to their legitimacy. Wuthnow is fair to the
faiths, and describes both those who are disenchanted with the religion of their
upbringing and those who remain faithful to it. In this sense he deals honestly with his
subjects, not avoiding or denying pain, struggle or injustice. As a result, a shared
learning occurs.

Outside of a few writing excerpts, the only thing absent from this work was
anything visual. It is difficult to describe the work of creative artists without being able
to see or hear or sample their work in some way.

Reading Creative Spirituality was alluring and captivating. Anyone interested
in the arts and aware of how the study and pursuit of the creative affects the human spirit,
or simply concerned about the development of faith and spirituality, will certainly find
this a stimulating gem.

Jonathan Mathewson

Herbert Lockyer, Jr., All the Music of the Bible. Peabody, MS: Hendrickson Publishers,
Inc., 2004. 209 pp., paper, $ 14.95.

This is a rare find in a book, a functional and purposeful survey of almost all
the music in the Bible. Herbert Lockyer, Jr. offers this useful tool in the tradition of his
father's "All Series" books. Arguably, the book covers at least the most important music
of the Bible, fi-om Moses' Song of the Sea to John's Hymn of Victory in Revelafion. He
opens with a brief history of ancient music that will allow all readers, musician or not, to
grasp the context and importance of the Biblical passages to come. Also included is a
chapter on hymnody in the church. While this is one of the lengthiest chapters in the book
it is a straightforward presentation of several centuries of Christian music that is brief by
contrast to other books on the subject.

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Book Reviews

Lockyer's style is simple and succinct yet delivers a tremendous amount of
practical information. The comparison between this book and other histories of church
music is tantamount to comparing Tchaikovsky's popular "Nutcracker Suite" to his
Symphony No. 2~both are amazing works of art that can be enjoyed by all. However,
while most people may never have heard the latter, nearly everyone has at least heard the
"Nutcracker Suite" while roaming the mall at Christmas. Other histories are laden with
lists, dates, exegeses, politics, and doctrine; Lockyer's treatment is one that will be
equally useful to the lay reader or the pastor seeking illustrations for Sunday's sermon.
Music directors will want to refer to this book over and over again as a foundational
source on musical passages. Songwriters will want to flip through the pages to find
references to dozens of inspirational songs and hymns. Each passage covered also
includes some historical and theological essentials, but just enough to be easily digested
in a sitting. It would be an excellent study for church music groups or choirs, and equally
engaging for non-musicians desiring a better understanding of the musical/poetic
passages of the Bible that are often overlooked.

All the Music also contains a chapter on musical instruments in the Bible,
complete with Bible references and known facts about each. The author includes chapters
on the Song of Isaiah, the Song of Songs, and Songs of the New Testament. Students and
teachers of sacred music will find great interest in the five comprehensive
appendices — Psalms That Mention Song or Singing; Weil-Known Songs and Hymns of
the Bible; Songs of the Bible Mentioned Only by Name; References in the Bible to
Instruments; and Great Hymns and Songs of the Church. Also enjoyable are three
sections from Herbert Lockyer, Sr.'s notes on musical topics, including a chapter entitled,
"Beethoven and the Blind Girl."

This is a melodious offering that should find its way on to the shelves of every
church library. It will be music to the ears of students and pastors for its straightforward
and unpretentious style. It is the everyperson's comprehensive source on Biblical music,
leaving the minutiae to other sources and providing a well-rounded and inclusive
foundation that will inspire readers to spend more time making music than reading about
it.

Christine M. Martin

Milton C. Moreland, ed.. Between Text and Artifact: Integrating Archaeology in Biblical
Studies Teaching. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2003. 243 pp., paper, $34.95.

The archaeology of the land of the Bible has always held a soft spot in the heart
of biblical studies. Ever since the birth of "biblical archaeology" (the archaeology of a
specific region - Syro-Palestine - during a wide range of periods of time - Late Bronze
through the Roman Era) in the first half of the twentieth century, biblical scholars,
students, and church members alike have taken a special interest in this field and have
attempted to utilize it in their lectures, papers, sennons, and Sunday school lessons.
However, the well of biblical archaeological information has not been fully taken
advantage of in most biblical studies classroom settings. Why? Perhaps the quest of
integrating the two fields appears too daunting. Or perhaps the instructor is fearful of
conflicting information? Or maybe it is the instructor's lack of personal archaeological
experience that keeps him / her at bay?

Cast your fears aside, whatever they may be, for the Society of Biblical
Literature has added a new volume to their repertoire. Between Text and Artifact:

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Integrating Archaeology in Biblical Studies Teaching is a collection of thirteen essays
written by biblical archaeologists and biblical scholars of both testaments on how to
incorporate archaeology into the biblical studies classroom. These essays range in scope
through the Hebrew Bible, gender, the Christian New Testament, and the Dead Sea
Scrolls. A few essays from Between Text and Artifact are worthy of noting.

Anne Killebrew's essay "Between Heaven and Earth: Educational Perspectives
on the Archaeology and Material Culture of the Bible" provides a necessary background
into the emergence of biblical archaeology and how it evolved into the discipline that it is
today through an examination of its "classical publications".

The contribution of Carol Meyers focuses on a hot topic - gender. Entitled
"Where the Girls Are: Archaeology and Women's Lives in Ancient Israel", Meyers
writes about how archaeological evidence can provide information on the daily life of the
ordinary women, and men, of ancient Israel. In order to listen to the voices of the not-so
visible women of the Hebrew Bible, archaeological data provides necessary tools to do so
and to communicate it to biblical study students.

J. P. Dessel provides a sort of top-10 of biblical archaeology text books of the
past, present, and the future in "In Search of the Good Book: A Critical Survey of
Handbooks on Biblical Archaeology". Each book is given an overview of their content,
pros and cons. This essay should prove to be helpful to any biblical studies instructor
searching for some reliable archaeological material.

Of particular interest to biblical scholars who teach in faith-based colleges,
universities, and seminaries is Scott Starbuck's essay "Why Declare the Things
Forbidden? Classroom Integration of Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology with Biblical
Studies in Theological Context". Starbuck addresses a more specific issue than most of
the other contributions: the relationship between biblical studies, biblical archaeology,
and faith. He is honest is his opinion that incorporating archaeology into biblical study
classrooms that are of a faith tradition can be difficult. Starbuck writes, "This article
offers empathetic and practical reflection for biblical studies instructors who recognize
the integral relationship between theological reflection and the assessment of
archaeological realia but are perplexed if not beleaguered by student resistance to the task
(99)." Starbuck provides observations from his experience, with four primary outcomes
to this merger and attempts to provide a possible answer to these dilemmas.

For those of us attempting to bring together biblical archaeology with New
Testament studies, Milton C. Moreland presents the reader with highlights of topics of
interest and daily life in his essay "Archaeology in New Testament Courses". Morland is
especially interested in the archaeological data that illuminate the daily life of the Galilee
Region during the time of Jesus of Nazareth. Moreland gives hope to New Testament
instructors by stating, "In the classroom, I have found that the more I am able to integrate
this material into my teaching, the more students are able fully to grasp the settings and
meanings of the New Testament texts..." (149).

This is just a taste of the rich information, resources, and advice that these
essays hold. As a biblical studies instructor and archaeologist, I genuinely appreciate the
insight and care that was put into this volume. I highly recommend integrating biblical
archaeology into any biblical studies classroom and this is just the book to help you get
there.

Cynthia Shafer-EUiott

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Book Reviews

Suzanne Richard, ed.. Near Eastern Archaeology: A Reader. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns,
2003. xviii + 486 pp., hardcover, $45.00.

One could argue that the work under review has not been correctly named.
This 'reader' of Near Eastern archaeology is more appropriately called a 'handbook' of
Syro-Palestinian archaeology (from the Palaeolithic to the Byzantine Periods), as it has
over sixty brief articles on a myriad of subjects that are focused around the archaeology
of Syro-Palestine (but not Mesopotamia and Egypt, for instance). However, one will
become immediately sympathetic to Richard when one understands the long and arduous
process that was undertaken along the road to publication. The project actually began
over a decade ago with another editor as a one volume encyclopedia of Syro-Palestinian
archaeology. Inherited by Richard, the original project folded and she was left with over
400 entries, but no publisher. However, the project was salvaged when it was recast "as a
reader (or better, "handbook")' and was significantly reduced in size. In essence, it is a
classical 'rags to riches' story, as the work has been recognized by the American Library
Association's "Choice" magazine as an "Outstanding Academic Title".

As stated. Near Eastern Archaeology: A Reader is a collection of articles under
two extremely broad and somewhat vague sub-headings, 'Theory, Method and Context',
and 'Cultural Phases and Associated Topics'. In essence, the subjects range from
archaeological theory and methods, descriptions of selected peoples groups (e.g.,
Samaritans and Nabateans), and discussions of archaeological periods. In addition, there
are numerous entries on specialized topics, such as archaeozoology, paleoethnobotany,
scarabs, epigraphy, languages, weaponry, and religion. However, the organization of
the volume leaves something to be desired, as topics such as jewelry, mosaics, and
numismatics are in the 'Theory' section, while 'Theory in Archaeology: Cultural Change
at the End of the Early Bronze Age' is in the 'Cultural Phases Section'. Moreover, the
articles appear to be grouped somewhat haphazardly (unless, of course, this reviewer has
missed the rationale for the organization of the book), as 'Archaeological Survey in the
Southern Levant' is sandwiched in-between 'Everyday Life' and 'Restoration of Ancient
Monuments: Theory and Practice'. In addition, some articles do not appear to adequately
reflect the contents therein (e.g., 'Levantine Archaeology' and 'Everyday Life'), thereby
making the volume less useful for handy reference. The articles also vary somewhat in
size, from about three to nearly twenty pages. Though there are some illustrations and
maps, although the articles on 'Geography of the Levant' and 'Roads and Highways'
oddly contain none.

Despite the organizational deficiencies, this is a good single-volume reference
for Syro-Palestinian archaeology, appropriate for both student and specialist.
Richard has recruited many of the top people in the field (e.g., Dever, Rast, Hopkins,
RoUefson, Leonard, Younker, and Berlin), and has noteworthy articles on
'Paleoenvironments of the Levant', 'Archaeozoology', and 'Palaeoethnobotany'. Each
entry has a basic overview of the subject in question, as well as a detailed bibliography
which provides a reference • point for further study (although annotations for the
bibliographic entries would have made them more usable). This volume is not,
however, appropriate for a textbook on Syro-Palestinian (or Biblical) archaeology, but as
a resource for students and teachers alike. For all practical purposes, this reviewer
expects to employ this handy reference tool in courses on ancient Israel.

Mark W. Chavalas, University of Wisconsin- LaCrosse

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John MacArthur, ed., Think Biblically! Recovering a Christian Worldview. Wheaton:
Crossway Books, 2003. 368 pp., $19.99.

This series of essays written by faculty members of the Master's College, and
edited by John MacArthur, attempts to engage and motivate readers to adapt a worldview
based on scripture. The book covers a very wide range of topics from creationism to
worship and music to how Christians should view history. In an age of ever-changing
philosophies and worldviews, the attempt to establish a Christian worldview is a noble
cause.

This book should keep a reader engaged and thinking throughout the entirety of
its reading. Several of the essays are really quite excellent, particularly those about
Church and State, Biblical Approaches to Economics, and the essays on Christian
femininity and masculinity. The church and state essay, for example, poses this question:
"The view that God has some kind of covenant relationship with America, a predominant
view in the nineteenth century along with postmillennialism, still lingers today. But is
this road to political power clearly marked out biblically"? (291)

The essays are written from a very conservative Christian point of view, which
will help the reader to understand where the writers are coming from, particularly if they
do not share so conservative a point of view. This may mean, however, that rather than
being in constant agreement with the authors, readers may find the need to be forming
their own stances on the issues addressed. Stances taken within the book of a literal six
day creation and an almost complete rejection of any theories of modem psychology will
likely differ from the perspectives of many others within the faith.

Generally it is a very engaging and interesting book; however, there are some
positions taken that may annoy some readers. Statements such as "rampant crime, drug
abuse, sexual perversion, rising suicide rates, and the abortion epidemic... These trends
are directly traceable to the ascent of evolutionary theory...," (73) are made but not well
defended. A reader might wonder if the world was perfect until Charles Darwin came
along. At times certain scriptural interpretations are made and not well defended, while
any opposing views are treated in an unapologetic manner.

There is certainly a need for a Christian worldview and the book makes a
valiant effort at doing so. Its conservative stance will offend some potential readers. A
person with a sound grounding in the Scriptures would benefit from a reading of the
book, whether to stimulate thinking through certain issues or to gain a better
understanding of the positions of other Christians.

Michael Bertsch

Stanley Grenz, The Moral Quest: Foundations of Christian Ethics. Downers Grove:
InterVarsity Press, 1997. 379 pp., cloth, $24.99.

This is a book for the intellectually minded, but carefully enough written for
anyone who is open to mending heart and mind together in living an authentic Christian
life of virtue. The Moral Quest will enhance, inform, and challenge any reader's
understanding of the deep foundations of ethics, or more particularly, the foundations of a
post-modernist moral theology. The book is the "comprehensive statement of a Christian
ethic," a "vision" of Christian morality as a community-based ethic (228). It is, to be
sure, easy to agree with Grenz that the deepest problems of the modem mind and
contemporary life are cormected with the collapse of the objective, traditional foundation

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Book Reviews

of ethical value. However, Grenz does not describe the historical collapse of the
objective foundation of ethics as clearly as he might.

Briefly, the objective foundation of ethical value and the intrinsic value of
persons has, for 2,000 years, been grounded in the substantial, immaterial soul, made in
the image of God. The substantial soul has an essential ethical nature, an innate moral
power, capacity, and teleology, which makes moral experience, moral knowledge, and
moral development possible — not to mention communion and a relationship with God.
The immaterial soul is one's person, an enduring subject and owner of experiences,
knowledge, character, and virtue. Post-Dai"win, substance dualism was largely given up
by the academic intelligentsia — either because it was deemed a non-natural substance and
not accessible by "the scientific method," or because it did not fit into either a
methodologically naturalistic, or atheistic, worldview. Post-Bultmann and John A.T.
Robinson, academic theologians quickly gave up dualism and adopted the now
fashionable view of holism (Physicalism in various forms). Only in the past few decades
has the intelligentsia, including theologians, started to realize that the death of the soul
entails the death of the intrinsic value of persons. Thus, we now find ourselves in the
midst of the modem crisis of the collapse of the foundation of value, wherein Grenz
offers a communitarian foundation of ethics.

Also, be advised, this is not a book in applied ethics. There are no refined
arguments offered on any particular ethical issue. In fact, this feature reflects Grenz 's
sense of our historical place and contemporary needs, as he joins the "growing number of
ethicists [who] no longer see the task of ethical discourse as determining the proper
response to ethical quandaries the moral agent faces in the here and now. Instead they
see their task as drawing from a vision of who we are to become..." (203). Here a critic
might reply, for example, that instructing someone in the midst of an ethical quandary
over adultery or euthanasia about your eschatological vision of their future, is unhelpftil if
not the recipe for a temporal moral disaster.

Grenz's moral quest is "to discover what a truly biblical vision of the ethical
life entails within the contemporary context... to develop a community-based ethic of
being" (205). He is attracted to "the newer voices" which instruct us to give up "the
quest for the one true ethical theory" and adopt "a new focus on the community" (209).
Why should we be enticed to adopt the latest fashion in ethics? Grenz co-ops the answer
of Wayne Meeks here: "individuals do not become moral agents except in the
relationships, the transactions, the habits and reinforcements... that together constitute life
in community" (209). Later, in his own words, he tells us that post-modern
communitarianism has discovered the foundations of ethics: "Ultimately we derive our
personal convictions from the community from which we gain our understanding of
virtue and goodness... the principles or worldview of that community reference" (230).
This is a positive, if vague, way of asserting the doctrine of the Blank Slate (tabula rasa),
a fully naturalized theory dominant in psychology and sociology. It is the theory that the
human mind is the functioning brain, which has no essential rational nature, no innate
ethical structure, no inherent moral content, and no innate knowledge of God. Put
another way, if the Blank Slate theory is true, then the traditional doctrine of being
created in the image of God is false. According to Meeks, Tillich, post-modernism, and
Grenz, we are Silly Putty at birth (a morally blank, unstructured biological organism) that
will likely get ethically imprinted and molded by culture, i.e., by a tradition, a story, or a
community. This is, of course, the foundational axiom of Cultural Relativism as taught
by Ruth Benedict and Margaret Mead, i.e., that our moral nature is ultimately a cultural
product. The ultimate moral agent is not the individual but the amorphous thing called

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Ashland Theological Journal 2005

society, culture, or community. Enculturation imprints our blankness. It gradually turns
us into moral beings, i.e., communitarian beings. On this theory, we are bom as 0%
moral beings, and we gradually become a moral being by degrees, as we become
enculturated. {For a refutation of this now out of date [?] theory, see Steven Pinker, The
Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature [Viking, 2002]).

The overall argument Grenz offers is historically organized — from ancient
Greek philosophers to the moral theologies of Augustine, Aquinas, and Luther, to
contemporary post-modem philosophers and theological ethicists. Throughout the
various chapters, Grenz argues subtly against all the elements of the traditional
foundation of ethics and for his post-modemist replacement theory. He does not,
however, refer to his view as a theory of ethics; rather he presents it as "the biblical" and
"the Christian" view throughout the book. Since he could be more forthcoming to help
the non-professional academic reader understand just when and where he is standing
inside and outside of orthodoxy, the following short list of his post-modem doctrines
might be helpful to the typical reader. Grenz either asserts or argues: that we are not
created in the image of God (194-195, 258, 265) but only become imago Dei after we
encounter a community, a "narrative," or a "story" (261-262, 264, 268, 275, 345 note 79);
that there is no substantial soul (263-264); that we have no innate ethical nature (258);
that there is no universal human ethic (294); that we do not have intrinsic ethical value
(252, 258); that we are bom moral blank slates (230-231); that we may be humans at
birth but only subsequently do we become persons because personal identity is only
constmcted "through our participation in communities of reference" (272); and, if we
assume his theory is correct, then a newbom child gradually becomes a person as the
external, contingent, relative, communitarian environmental "chemical" (my word)
somehow morphs the amoral, non-person into a moral agent, enculturating us into "our
fundamental existence as persons-in-relationship," as per Tillich (264, 345 note 79; but
also 194-196, 203, 209, 228, 251-253, 265, 298). (For a critique of holism, Physicalism,
and the psychosomatic unity theory, see Howard M. Ducharme, "The Image of God and
the Moral Identity of Persons: An Evaluation of the Holistic Theology of Persons," in
Law and Religion, edited by Richard O'Dair and Andrew Lewis [Oxford University
Press, 2001], pp. 1-25).

Howard M. Ducharme, University of Akron

Christopher J. H. Wright, Old Testament Ethics for the People of God. Downers Grove:
InterVarsity Press, 2004. 520 pp. hardback, $19.95.

After thirty years of research and writing on Old Testament ethics, the author
has drawn together his life-work in a single volume. More than a revision of his ground-
breaking Eye for an Eye (British title: Living as the People of God, 1983), OTE includes
five revised chapters from Walking in the Ways of the Lord: the ethical authority of the
Old Testament (1995) and a valuable expanded review of literature (ch. 13). Two
important chapters, "Ecology and the earth" (ch. 4) and "Hermeneutics and authority in
Old Testament ethics" (ch. 14) are also new. "Further reading" sections conclude each
chapter. All this is done in a lucid, flowing style with a well constmcted outline.

While researching his Cambridge dissertation (1977) the author was told, "the
subject [of Old Testament ethics] doesn't exist." Since then Wright has helped to lead the
renewed interest in Christian ethics and the Old Testament. More than seventy percent (as
he notes in the preface) of the hundreds of titles in his valuable bibliography have been

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Book Reviews

published since that time. The many emendations and the final chapter engage this
ongoing scholarly discussion.

Wright sets out "to provide a comprehensive fi^amework within which Old
Testament ethics can be organized and understood" (p. 11). He accomplishes this goal in
three parts. Part one, "A Structure for Old Testament ethics" describes the social shape oj
Israel as the paradigm by which Old Testament ethics may be organized. This social
shape is a triangle of relationships that emerges from biblical theology: the theological
(God), social (Israel), and economic (land) angles. At the comers of the theological-
social-economic triangle stand God-Israel-Land. God is the creator-redeemer, to whom
the land and all in it belonged and belong. Israel was made in God's image for
relationship, but rebelled and brought evil consequences into their life and land. These
relationships, good and bad, form the foundation for ethical discussion today.

Part two, "Themes in Old Testament ethics," develops themes of Old
Testament theology as ethical resources for today by means of his paradigmatic relational
framework. The God-Israel-Land relationships are described under the following titles:
"Ecology and the Earth" (ch. 4), "Economics and the poor" (ch. 5), "The land and
Christian ethics" (ch. 6), "Politics and the nations" (ch. 7), "Justice and righteousness"
(ch. 8), "Law and the legal system" (ch. 9), "Culture and family" (ch. 10), and "The way
of the individual" (ch. 11). In order to make this paradigm useful beyond the Old
Testament, the triangle is enlarged by degrees to include thee larger sets of relationships:
1) a New Testament typology (God-Church-koinonia), 2) the inclusive paradigm (God-
fallen humanity-Earth), and 3) the eschatological (God-redeemed humanity-New
Creation).

Part three, "Studying Old Testament ethics," surveys other Christian
approaches to the Old Testament and ethics. He surveys confessional approaches from
the early Church, the Reformation, and the present day (ch.l2). Chapter thirteen is an up-
to-date survey of literature that Wright has found helpful in his own work. The final
chapter is entirely new, engaging critical issues of methodology, ideology, hermeneutics,
and authority. It will be of interest to scholars, but the section on authority will be more
widely appreciated for its cogent argumentation.

Does the subject of Old Testament ethics exist? Wright has made a persuasive
argument for "an organic unity, a broad harmony that holds the vast and varied edifice
together" (p. 445). His book title, however, continues to belie the complexity of the task
he has engaged so well. The Old Testament is a witness about God and his people and not
primarily a text on ethics. The academic discipline of ethics does not usually use ancient
theological texts as primary sources. Wright uses the Old Testament as a resource and
witness for the constructive task of ethics yet retains the descriptive moniker "Old
Testament ethics." Some shift in his self-understanding is clear in the subtle but
important refinement of the subtitle in part one from '''The Framework o/Old Testament
ethics" (1983) to "^ Structure /or Old Testament ethics" (2004).

The title's phrase Old Testament Ethics also suggests that the gap between the
competing and developing ethics of Old Testament peoples and present Christians has
been systematically bridged. I wish that more of the diversity of the ancient voices,
contexts, and genres could be carried over the historical distance. The competing biblical
voices of the "protest groups jamming in the wings" (Goldingay) are not so evident. If
Christian character is to be formed and built up by means of the Old Testament, these
also must be heard. Wright has intentionally chosen the clear and major voices of
Scripture. The most difficult texts and genres are left untouched. Even his appendix,

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Ashland Theological Journal 2005

"What about the Canaanites" really defers the theodicy question. He hints at a new book
to deal with difficult texts. I hope he writes it.

This significant book will serve well as a textbook for theological colleges and
clarifies the scholarly discussion. Buy this book (and his next one).

J. K. Bruckner, North Park Theological Seminary

Henry Cloud and John Townsend, Boundaries Face to Face: how to have that difficult
conversation you 've been avoiding. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003. 266 PP, hardcover,
$22.99

Boundaries Face to Face takes the principals established in Cloud and
Townsend' s Boundaries to a level in which one can begin to feel comfortable having
difficult conversations with others as Jesus would have had them. Cloud and Townsend
build upon their belief that when you decide to have a confrontation, you decide to face
issues in the relationship and deal with a portion of the relationship that needs to be
addressed, with the specific purposes of improving the relationship, intensifying intimacy
and developing more love and respect between two people.

This book goes into depth when describing how to handle the conversation and
offers specific tips and examples. It is also helpful that they explore reasons behind the
desire for a confrontation and speak about pitfalls to avoid. The information in this book
is backed by scripture and the authors relate the information and the scripture well. This
book takes the time to adequately define the needed components of a good conversation
and how to develop those components. The book defines the difference between
forgiving and trusting others, something so many Christians struggle with. Christians
have often been taught that forgiving means forgetting, and Cloud and Townsend make it
clear that this is not the case. This is a common sense how-to book that would benefit
both professionals and lay persons.

In a time where a lot of people struggle with holding other's accountable for
their actions and are timid about confrontation, this book gives you the sense of how
Jesus would have handled needed confrontation. The book reminds us that there is
nothing loving about avoiding confrontation or not holding others accountable. As
Christians, this is our duty, when done in love and for the right reasons. It is our duty and
responsibility to hold others accountable to live a Christ-like life. I would recommend
this book to those who want to learn how to do just that, coniront with love and respect.

Elaine Bednar

Junietta Baker McCall, Bereavement Counseling: pastoral care for complicated grieving.
New York, London and Oxford: The Haworth Pastoral Press, 2004. 306 pp., paper.

This book proves to be an important tool for anyone who will have the
opportunity to work with the bereaved in a pastoral setting. Understanding that loss is
part of the human experience. Dr. McCall is kind and insightful as she addresses difficult
types of grieving with suggestions as to best help those grieving loss. The book is a hope
filled book to assist the bereaved through the stages of grief and on to recovery. I
particularly was encouraged with Dr. McCall' s ability to intertwine clinical suggestions,
spiritual direction and hope.

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Book Reviews *

Dr. McCall is aware that when one's grief becomes "complicated and
dysfiinctionar', help becomes even more necessary to assist one to get disentangled from
a challenging grief process. This process entails disengaging one's self from
dysfunctional coping behaviors, problem causing coping behaviors, dysfunctional
thoughts and those thought related feelings. Dr. McCall is emphatic about the need to
work through the above barriers to prevent permanent damage, distress and disease.

This book is founded on four basic assumptions:

1) Grief is natural but not simple, can be painful and
upsetting, hard to recover from, and that some never
recover from this grief

2) Many times, help is essential to recover from significant
loss and should be timely and offer variety of means of
help.

3) All health care providers should maintain continuing
education in this area to further understand grief, helpful
interventions and proper timing.

4) That there could be a benefit for advanced training on grief
and loss for clergy and spiritual care providers, the people
that are most often turned to in a time of crisis and grief

The ability to discern between normal grief, complicated grief, and
dysfunctional grief precludes the ability to provide helpful and specific interventions. Dr.
McCall uses an ample amount of examples/vignettes to help increase the care givers
discernment. This book offers a no nonsense guide to assessment, treatment strategies,
standard interventions, and increased technical skills. With a person-centered position
that promotes meaningful interactions to facilitate positive outcomes, I believe this book
would be usefiil to all who interact with difficult grief

Elaine Bednar

Thomas P. O'Connor and Nathaniel J. Pallone, eds.. Religion, the Community, and the
Rehabilitation of Criminal Offenders. New York, London and Oxford: The Haworth
Press, Inc., 2002. 283 pp., paper.

This book is a composite of fourteen articles, many that contain research
backed by studies, on the interaction of religion and corrections in regards to the White
House's faith-based initiatives and a number of religious groups that have an effect on the
criminal justice system. The collection has the specific purpose to look at the
relationship between religion, the community and offender rehabilitation and then answer
four questions 1) What is it?, 2) Is it so?, 3) Is it loving? and 4) is it good?. In other
words, is the relationship intelligible, truthful, ethical and religious?

The collection begins with an accurate historical essay as to how the penal
system developed and how it was religiously based. One article found that religion in the
penal system is varied albeit extensive. Another article found that there is a continuum of
sincerity as to why inmates attend services, possibly because religion helps to alleviate
deprivations found in the penal system. Another article found that prison Chaplains,
through their work, cut down on recidivism. There is also a discussion in two articles
about the role that Islam has played in the prisons as well as comparing male to female
participation. There are three articles that debate whether or not religion influences

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Ashland Theological Journal 2005

rehabilitation and the results vary from a substantial yes, to a position of maybe, but only
with certain classes of crime. The two articles concerning how the studies should be
done give advice as to which research methods to use and the validity/reliability of study
data collected. The remaining articles discuss how rehabilitation must be based on love
and building community.

This collection of articles, while being thought provoking, do not answer the
questions that they have set out to answer. Methodologically, the majority of studies had
good sample size however the sample size dwindled in the articles on how rehabilitation
affects recidivism. There is a danger of losing support for religious activities in the penal
system when one begins to use words such as love, without explaining the meaning of its
use. The penal system needs to understand the difference between the person and the
behavior, a concept that is often struggled with. One conclusion is that recidivism is
directly correlated to the internalization of religion, and perhaps that is the research in
which the penal system has a need to evaluate to further "allow" religious activities for
it's inmates.

Elaine Bednar

Todd E. Johnson, ed.. The Conviction of Things Not Seen: Worship and Ministry in the
2r' Century, Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2002. 236 pp., $22.99.

Ask anyone who attends church on a regular basis about worship, and they will
almost certainly have an opinion on how they think worship should, or more commonly,
should not be done. Those involved in ministry will be more familiar than they might like
to admit with the various worship debates and arguments, and they will surely have a few
war stories to share from their own church. Worship is perhaps the most widely disputed
topic in the church today, making this book an incredibly timely and useful resource for
pastors, worship leaders, seminarians, and lay leaders.

This provocative and enlightening volume is a compilation of essays written as
a tribute to Robert Webber, a leader in worship studies and renewal. Johnson calls it a
festschrift; it is indeed a celebration, not only of Webber's work and inspiration, but also
of what has been and what is to come in the worshipping church. Voiced by a collection
of writers with varied voices and experiences, this book is an invaluable resource for
anyone who "does" worship.

While each of the offerings in this book can easily stand alone, the flow of the
book from beginning to end offers the reader an edifying journey through the worship
spectrum. The chapters cover a wide range of information: evaluation of the culture and
times we are worshipping in, the need for discernment rather than debate, the importance
of rituals, worship as pastoral care, and our visual culture, to name a few. Yet each topic
flows seamlessly into the next, allowing every reader, regardless of prior knowledge to
understand the dynamics of the many-faceted debate. Each author has artfully followed
Webber's approach of engaging the history of the church in every discussion,
encouraging the reader to learn from history rather than simply trying to rewrite it.

This book presents a means to enter into the dialogue of worship with greater
understanding and vocabulary. Constance Cherry's essay on culture and tradition offers
an enlightening explanation of post-modernism that sets the stage for her colleagues to
follow. John Witvliet's offering on music in worship argues that "music is not God," but
acknowledges its great importance in worship and enccu-ages church musicians to think,
question, and imagine greater purpose for their art in the worship setting. Worship as

173

Book Reviews

pastoral care is ttie subject that William Willimon employs to engage his students in the
worship debate, and he shares his ideas on the importance of ritual in personal growth
and spiritual formation. These represent just a few of the brightest spots in a book that
offers constant enlightenment.

What some will find to be the greatest strengths of this book, others will
consider its major weaknesses. The authors have a clear motive in encouraging a change
in worship that better reflects the rapidly changing culture. They encourage readers not
only to engage in the debate, but to lead the movement towards worship renewal and
revival. The book offers few answers, but presents a plethora of hard questions. It
challenges us to move beyond the controversy we find ourselves buried in over music and
media, hymnals and "high church," and to enter into the deeper issues that are at the heart
of the matter. The warning label on the book might read: "The contents of this book may
be a choking hazard. Prophetic voices will cause spiritual discomfort."

This approach will not seem so radical to those who recognize that the church
is already in a state of discomfort that requires attention. Readers will find that Webber's
approach to worship renewal is no more radical than the early church was. In fact, his
theory of "an ancient-future worship" calls us to learn from our past and return to our
roots, not to discard the old for the new as many fear. The Conviction of Things Not Seen
poses a challenge to question the status quo, but with humility and discernment. It pays a
warranted tribute to a man who has inspired many, but even more so, moves us to
dialogue with one another and to imagine ever greater ways to honor the God who alone
is worthy of our worship.

■^ Christine Martin

Irving Hexham, Stephen Rost, & John W. Morehead III, gen. eds.. Encountering New
Religious Movements: A Holistic Evangelical Approach. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel
Publications, 2004. 322 pp. paper, $18.99.

In an increasingly pluralistic world, confrontational evangelism is often
considered distasteful if not wrong. Within Christian circles deeply committed to
evangelism and world missions, there are increasing questions about the effectiveness of
aggressive apologetic witness. On both accounts readers will welcome the tone and the
message of this book. Its central concern is effective evangelism, with the conviction that
a missiological commitment to incarnational ministry gets better results than an
apologetic approach that frequently antagonizes the people it wants to convert.

The book is arranged in three sections which investigate evangelism in terms of
its history, its methods, and its applications. The basic thrust of the first two sections is
that contextualization is a better approach to evangelism than confrontation is. However,
chapters five and six are a cautious challenge to this thesis. Sin is embedded in every
particular culture. Some elements of a pre-Christian religious culture are barriers to
evangelism rather than bridges for the gospel message. Contextualization has limits;
some fear that accommodation can result in syncretism.

The third section of the book, which is the largest, uses case studies of how one
might approach a Christadelphian or a follower of La Veyan Satanism. Other chapters
are narrative in nature as they relate strategies that have been useful for Mormons and
various types of New Age groups.

The book is provocative because it is calling Christians to consider whether
their methods of evangelism are effective, especially when confronting certain people

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Ashland Theological Journal 2005

whose religious convictions are deep. This is a legitimate concern, since evangelism and
mission occupy the borderland between theory and practice. The writers and editors are
not pushing an esoteric agenda. Several of them belong to the Issue group on new
Religious Movements that is part of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelism.
They are mapping out new evangelistic territory for many evangelical Christians around
the world. The book is a "trip-pic" for the journey ahead of us; it is not, and does not
claim to be, a travelogue of a mission successfully completed.

Encountering New Religious Movements should be read by Christians who
have a keen interest in sharing their faith with neighbors near and far. Having used it in a
seminary course on New Religious Movements, I can report that students responded
positively to its tone and its contents. Hopefully it will receive a wide readership, for it
raises vital questions that Christians must be addressing.

Luke L. Keefer, Jr.

Robert E Weber, Ancient-Future Evangelism: Making Your Church a Faith-Forming
Community. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2003. 218pp., paper, $14.99.

Webber, a noted author and lecturer has written this book, second in the
Ancient-Future Series, as a response to questions posed at the 1999 meeting of The
International Consultation on Discipleship. Two questions that he addresses in this book
are the large number of converts to Christianity that fall away and the "paradox of growth
without depth."

In setting the stage for his premise, he compares the post-Christian culture of
today with the culture in the first, second and third centuries, in that they both are non-
Christian, culturally diverse, and relativistic. During the first centuries the culture was
pagan, and Christians were part of an alternative culture that evangelized the world in
unparalleled numbers. Most of these converts remained in the faith. He asserts the need
to draw on the past to learn for the future.

His approach to evangelism is based on a second century model from
Hippolytus' work, 77?^ Apostolic Tradition. It is a process that begins with conversion,
continues with instruction in discipleship, and leads to a mature faith formation. The
final step in the process is for one to come to a vocation within the church and beyond the
church. The transition from one step to another is marked by a rite of passage, the final
one being baptism. His model is a return to the unitive process of the Hebraic tradition
and teaching of the early church that follows the pattern of "believing, belonging and
behaving." It is a process that takes time.

Weber then focuses on the content of teaching. As in the first book in this
series, Ancient-Future Faith, he calls for a return to proclaiming the story of God's
mission to rescue humanity and Jesus' death, resurrection, and second coming as the core
of all teaching and worship. His passion for worship is evident as he admonishes
churches to "pay attention to worship" in telling the story each week. Participating in this
kind of worship leads to greater depth of faith and commitment within the congregation.
At this point the church is ready to reach outward to bring this process to its own
indigenous culture.

Weber uses charts to concisely reiterate his points on theology or process.
Each chapter concludes with questions that challenge honest reflection of one's own
church, and which help to point in the direction of intentional evangelism. It is a helpfial

175

Book Reviews •

guide for church leaders and pastors who desire to re-form their church into a community
committed to faith building from within in order to reach out with lasting impact.

Mary Elizabeth Nau

Terry W. York, America's Worship Wars. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2003.
138 pp., paper, $16.95. ,

In recent decades, the conflict within congregations over differing preferences
in the style of worship has escalated to the point that the conflict is often described as
"war." The upheaval resulting from this conflict has polarized Christians and divided
congregations. For ministers and congregations who find themselves in the midst of this
conflict, Terry W. York draws on his knowledge as musician, minister, and educator to
offer a thought-provoking examination of the threads of influence that escalated into war.
Though the discussion of the historical developments of the conflict is written mainly
from the perspective of the free church tradition, and Southern Baptists, in particular,
York does draw on the experiences of other Christian communions at salient points, most
notably Roman Catholic and Lutheran struggles.

York rightly identifies the struggle in terms of the pressures that cultural
changes exert on our understanding of worship and theology. Using the language of
warfare throughout the book, York identifies the two sides of the conflict as "veterans of
the fort" (those who are comfortable within the sanctuary and traditional forms) and
"veterans of the front" (those who want to take the central biblical message to the streets,
embracing cultural changes). He points out the influences of large non-denominational
evangelical movements such as the Billy Graham Crusades, the radical nature of the
Jesus Movement, and the attraction of para-church youth ministries. York argues that in
the 1970's and 1980's theo-political shifts within denominations were reflected by shifts
in worship style by congregations. That on occasion those shifts were imposed by the
minister without consensus from the congregation increased tension levels. Other
significant influences discussed are Contemporary Christian Music, the church growth
movement, the impact of televangelism, and shifting patterns of language.

In looking toward a "negotiated peace" York emphasizes that the leaders of the
Church must effect the coming together. He points out the work of several leaders who,
in his opinion, are working toward that peace: Graham Kendrick, Sally Morgenthaler,
Donald Hustad, Harold M. Best, Marva Dawn and Robert Webber. For those who are
just now beginning to explore the field of worship studies, his brief discussion will point
the reader to a wide range of further reading.

York is most insightful as he discusses the status of Christianity within
American culture. In past decades, the Church enjoyed a highly respected position at the
center of American culture. Increasingly in recent decades, however, Christianity has
been pushed to the margins of our culture, no longer enjoying the same position of status.
York reminds us, however, that this is not necessarily bad. He suggests that historically
Christianity has been more effective in its mission when it was at the edges of society.
Worship practice, though, is in transition and this process is far from over. It is in the
transition that conflicts arise. Though he asserts that the worship wars were inevitable,
York is convinced that there are ways to end the wars and offers a theological vision for
resolution. Perhaps rightly, he leaves the practical application of his theological vision up
to individual congregations to implement.

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Ashland Theological Journal 2005

This slender volume is accessible to both clergy and laypersons interested in
the conflict over worship. It could form the basis of congregational study groups and
would be enlightening reading for worship committees. York's work will also be useful
in college religion classes that discuss the intersection of Christianity and culture and
seminary classrooms engaged in the study of worship in the free church tradition.

Deborah Carlton Loftis

Jerome Berryman, Godly Play. Minneapohs: Augsburg Press, 1995. 158 pp., $1 1.00.

Religious education begins in the Sunday School classroom. Whether children
annoy us or delight us, they are the church of today. How we teach and engage them
spiritually will determine the plight of the church and, most importantly, the future of our
students' faith. For this reason, I was drawn to this slightly older book about religious
education. Children have changed over the years. Problems such as Attention Deficit
Disorder are much more common. Teaching methods in schools have gradually changed
along with them. It seems clear then, that our approach to Sunday School must also
adjust to the needs of children.

Godly Play takes a new and innovative approach to this long enduring practice
of Christian Education. Berryman relates learning to games. We play games from the
time we are children, and we adapt to them quickly. The rules are often gathered simply
by experiencing the game. We are constantly acquiring new games: the math game, the
science game, the music game, the religious game, and the ministry game. Berryman
calls us to uphold one game differently: the godly game. The acquisition of spiritual
understanding will determine the type of spiritual faith-walk we will have throughout life.
He invites us to join in the play as an adult, allowing the children to witness how we play
and to play along with us. The book contains significant material on how one learns and
applies religious language. The book is sub-titled "An Imaginative Approach to
Religious Education," and he gives both practical and theoretical tools for engaging both
the teacher and the students' imagination. While his writing and the life history he
includes is not limited to one type of congregation or denomination, Berryman definitely
falls in a mainline and liturgical category.

For the most part, the book is a practical philosophy of Christian education.
The author writes autobiographically, giving insights into how he created this and the
companion curriculum. Largely borrowing from the Montessori Method, which involves
more individualized learning, he draws you into the thinking behind the lesson. The book
is fascinating in that it helps the Sunday school teacher realize and recognize what is
going on inside children's minds. It shows how to interpret their response to the lesson,
combining philosophy, psychology and biblical truths. What makes this book appealing
is its depth. It helps the teacher or Christian educator understand the why behind the how
and what of the lesson. In effect, it teaches the teacher how to be creative and how to
better involve students in the learning process. Surprisingly, Berryman includes a great
variety from church history, theology and ecclesiastical material.

This is no simple Sunday School manual, although it was not a difficult read
either. I would recommend this book as an excellent resource to pass on to that tired or
discouraged Sunday School teacher. A slightly different approach to the preparation of
the material might revive what has become a tedious practice. In addition, it might help

177

Book Reviews *

them regain the interest of students who have come to expect a certain approach to the
lesson each week. Let's face it, kids play the game too.

Jonathan Mathewson

Richard & Renee Durfield, Raising Pure Kids in an Impure World. Bloomington,
Minnesota, Bethany House Publishers, 2004. 188 pp, paper, $12.99.

Raising Pure Kids in an Impure World is an updated version of an earlier book
by the Durfields titled Raising Them Chaste (1991). The title implies that the book is a
broad collection of strategies for child rearing in a fallen world, but instead it is the
description of the authors' particular strategy of using "Key Talks." The "Key Talk"
strategy is designed to approach young people as they transition from childhood into the
teenage years and all of the sexual pressures, internal and external, that they face at that
time. Parents, or other persons of influence in the lives of young people, are instructed to
prepare a time of frank, one on one discussion in a formal and public environment, often
a restaurant, in order to emphasize the seriousness of the topic to be discussed. The
authors outline such a discussion and list several basic elements that form a nexus of
discussion and a number of optional elements that may be included, depending on the
young person's personality and specific questions. Central to the "Key Talk" strategy, is
a fairly in-depth discussion on the nature and meaning of covenant making, and the
presentation of a key shaped ring sealing the young person's covenant with God.

The particular strategy laid out in Raising Pure Kids might strike some parents
as over the top and may not appeal to everyone, but within it is valuable, practical advice
on many subjects of interest to the parents of children approaching, or within, this
difficult time of transition. Addressed are issues such as when and how to have "that
talk" with your child, discussions on prayer and advocacy for your child, as well as
dating guidelines.

Despite the title, and what seemed to be the outline of a specific strategy, I
found this book to have considerable value for its advice and encouragement. This would
be a useful addition to the library of any parent struggling to help their children make the
transition to adulthood.

John Partridge

Anne B. Keating, The Wired Professor: A Guide to Incorporating the World Wide Web
in College Instruction. NY: New York University Press, 1999, 256 pp.

The web has been used in teaching for a few years now. The question
surrounding this use of the web is this: is it being used well? The Wired Professor is a
great book detailing how the web can effectively be used in higher education. As the
Director of Technology Resources for Ashland Theological Seminary, I was immediately
interested m what this book could offer me and the faculty in regards to using the web to
enhance our classroom instruction.

I found the book to be written for people like me as well as people with limited
understanding or experience with the Internet. Chapters one and two focus on the history
of the Internet, and the so-called information highway as well as a guide to how the
internet works. Chapters three through six focus on issues of curriculum, web-site
development, instructional design and conclude with a great chapter of tips and tricks.

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Ashland Theological Journal 2005

The book even has a companion website which gives information at your fingertips when
creating or updating a website. The site even includes examples of faculty websites they
consider outstanding that one can view. However, it is apparent that this site is not
updated regularly if at all.

A good web-page for higher education would help students find the
information on the web that is useful and accurate as well as provide forums for
communication, tutorials for added instruction, and research tools. The Wired Professor
guides one through the different tools and gives instruction on how to use these tools
effectively in the classroom as well as outside.

I would recommend this book to educators who want to enhance their teaching
by using tools that speak to the current generation and will assist other generations in
developing their understanding of the power of technology tools as well as giving them
some much-needed hands-on experience. I would recommend, however, that the reader
be patient while getting through the mounds of information provided by this book. It is
thorough and detailed and for those not accustomed to reading technical material it may
seem overwhelming.

Vickie Taylor

179

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1^ Baker Academic

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ISSN: 1044-6494

Ashland

Theological

Journal

Ashland Theological Seminary
Ashland, Ohio 2006

ISSN: 1044-6494
Ashland Theological Seminary
Ashland, Ohio

ASHLAND THEOLOGICAL JOURNAL

2006 _^_

CONTENTS

Celebrating the Centennial of Ashland Theological Seminary 1

Dale Stoffer

The Rhetoric of Political Discourse in the Labor Movement: Dr. H, Frank
Hixon's Rhetoric of Reform in Wisconsin in the Nineteenth Century 5

D. Ray Heisey

Critical Junctures in American Evangelicalism
Randall Balmer

The Age of Revivals and the First Amendment 43

The Transition from Postmillennialism to Premillennialism 51

The Construction of a Subculture 59

The Rise of the Religious Right 67

Never Without a Witness: The Apocrypha and Spiritual Formation 77

David DeSilva

English Spirituality: A Review Article 91

Jerry R. Flora

Pentecostal Hermeneutics: A Review Article Ill

Paul Elbert

Book Reviews 117

Journal articles are indexed in Elenchus of Biblica, New Testament Abstracts, Old
Testament Abstracts, Religious and Theological Abstracts, and Religion Index One;
reviews are indexed in Index to Book Reviews in Religion. The latter two indices,
published by ATLA, 300 S Wacker Dr, Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60606, are also
available online through BRS Information Technologies, DIALOG Information
Services and Wilsonline. Views of contributors are their own and do not necessarily
express those endorsed by Ashland Theological Seminary.

VOLUME XXXVIII

Published and copyright held by Ashland Theological Seminary, Ashland, Ohio, 44805.

Printed in the USA.

Editorial Preface

This issue of the Ashland Theological Journal honors the 100* anniversary
of the founding of the Ashland Theological Seminary. The Academic Dean, Dr Dale
Stoffer, provides perspective on the occasion, and the events which commemorated
it. A significant figure in the history of the institution was Dr H. Frank Hixon, one
of the first graduates of Ashland College and also one of its early presidents. His
important place in the history of the institution and beyond is highlighted in a major
article. We are also pleased to be able to publish the contents of the annual Fall
Lecture Series, which this year was delivered by Dr Randall Balmer, an expert on
American religious history. His analysis of Evangelicalism, its past, present, and
future, is a welcome addition to an ongoing dialog at the Seminary concerning our
own identity as an Evangelical institution.

We also include other important material by and about Seminary
colleagues, past and present. Dr David deSilva, the Trustees' Professor of New
Testament and Greek at ATS, presents in written form a presentation made at a
conference marking the inauguration of the Renovare Spiritual Formation Bible. Dr
Jerry Flora, Professor Emeritus of Theology and Spiritual Formation at ATS, directs
attention to helpful resources in his area of specialty which derive from the British
isles. We also include a review article on a volume authored by an ATS alumnus,
Dr Kenneth Archer. This, plus a number of reviews, should provide at least some
material of use to everyone. We pray God's richest blessings on us and you during
this special. Advent season. ..

St Nicolas Eve, 2006
David W.Baker

Ashland Theological Journal

Celebrating the Centennial of Ashland Theological Seminary

By Dale R. Staffer*

On September 11, 1906, a new chapter began in the story of theological
education at Ashland Theological Seminary. Though occasional courses had been
offered in theology since the latter 1880s and a theological course of study had
appeared in 1895, the beginning of the seminary is generally dated as 1906. The
reasons for this are that prior to 1 906 there were very few resources, either financial
or personnel, that were dedicated to theological training and there were relatively
few students in the theological department. In 1906 J. Allen Miller, who had served
as the president of Ashland College since 1899, resigned in order to turn his fiill
attention to his first academic love: theological education. He was the dean of the
Theological Department from 1906 until 1933. In 1913 the theological program at
Ashland College was for the first time designated a seminary. Until 1930 the
seminary remained essentially a Bible Department of the college. However, in 1930
the seminary became the first graduate division of the college.

The fortunes of the Brethren Church and of Ashland College and Seminary
were closely tied from the 1880s through the 1940s. For both, these years included
financial and leadership crises during the late 1800s, a period of growth under
capable leadership between 1900 and the late 1920s, and then controversy during
the 1930s that resulted in a division in 1939 between the "Ashland" Brethren, the
supporters of Ashland College and Seminary, and the "Grace" Brethren, the
supporters of Grace Theological Seminary, founded in 1937. A key figure in this
controversy from the Grace Brethren side was Alva J. McClain, who had replaced J.
Allen Miller as the dean of the seminary in 1933. He was eventually dismissed by
the Ashland College trustees in 1937 and then helped form Grace Theological
Seminary.

Ashland Theological Seminary, as a result of this division and other
factors, struggled to survive throughout the 1940s and 50s. The deans of the
seminary during these difficult years were Willis Ronk, Melvin Stuckey, and
Delbert Flora. Throughout most of this period there were only three or four faculty
members and less than twenty students. There were frank discussions at the college
and in the Brethren Church about the closure of the seminary. However, college
[president Glenn L. Clayton and seminary dean Delbert Flora felt that the seminary
jwas needed in order to provide trained leadership for the Brethren Church. But this
jmeant that significant advances needed to occur in all areas of the seminary's life.
Under the leadership of Joseph R. Shultz, who became dean in 1963, the seminary
began a bold venture of expansion that included accreditation by the Association of
Theological Schools in 1969. This dramatic transformation featured the opening of
extensions, the development of counseling programs, the recruitment of students
from a wide variety of denominations, and catering to non-traditional students.

* Dale Stoffer (Ph.D., Fuller) is Professor of Historical Theology and Academic
Dean of ATS.

Celebrating the Centennial of Ashland Theological Seminary

These initiatives enabled the seminary to grow from 22 students in 1963, to ovei
100 students in the early 1970s, and over 400 students by the early 1980s.

In 1982 Fred Finks followed Shultz as vice-president and later president oi
the seminary. He guided the school to continued growth; in the 2006 academic yeai
the seminary reached 894 students. The number of faculty has grown apace, from
five faculty in 1964 to twenty-one full-time faculty in 2006. Over half of the
student body is now women; about one-third is African-American; and about one-
third is found in extensions in Cleveland, Columbus, and Detroit. Since the 1960s
international students have added to the diversity and enrichment of the seminary
community. The seminary has also partnered with the Brethren Church in bringing
theological training to the Argentine Brethren Church and other mission sites ir
South America through the South American Theological Seminary in Colon,
Argentina. In 2006 Finks transitioned to the presidency of Ashland University and
John Shultz became the eighth president of Ashland Theological Seminary.

From 1922 until 1958 Ashland Theological Seminary met on the campus
of Ashland College (now designated Ashland University) in Miller Hall. In 1958
the seminary moved to the former John C. Myers estate on Center Street in Ashland.
Since then a number of additional properties have been acquired and new facilities
have been built: the library was expanded in 1965, with further additions in 1976
and 1991; seminary student housing was built in 1970; the Ronk Memorial Chapel
in 1975; the Shultz Academic Center in 1989; the Gerber Academic Center in 1997;
and the Sandberg Leadership Center in 200 1 .

The centennial year has offered the seminary community the opportunity tc
celebrate its remarkable history in a number of ways. During the centennial year oi
2006 the following festivities have occurred: a Centennial Dinner on January 20,
with guest speaker Charles Munson and the viewing of a historical video; Great
Commission Week, February 6-10, featuring two outstanding international
graduates of the seminary, Prasanth Kumar and Radu Tirle; two trips to Israel in
March; the Spring Ministries Conference, April 3-5, with Tony Evans, Bill Hybels,
and Knute Larson as the special speakers; the commencement service on June 3 a1
which Fred Finks spoke; a concert by New Song on July 19 during the week of the
Brethren General Conference; a Founders' Day Weekend, September 9-10 (classes
began on September 11, 1906) including a Saturday picnic and Sunday worship
with Detroit alumnus Ed Branch; and the Fall Lecture Series with Randall Balmei
as the special speaker (his lectures are featured in this journal). Two other features
of the centennial year were the publication of an Ashland Theological Seminary
Centennial Cookbook and the preparation of a history of the seminary.

As part of the celebrations on Founders' Day Weekend, the seminary
community dedicated a Wall of Remembrance on September 10, 2006. The granite
wall featured the names of all the faculty and administrators at the seminary during
the century of its existence; a separate plaque also listed all the present employees
of the seminary. The dedication service offered an exceptional opportunity to look
backward with gratitude to the Lord for his grace and to the many who have served
so faithfiilly and so sacrificially; to look at the present with wonder at the personal,
physical, and financial resources with which God has blessed the seminary; and tc

Ashland Theological Journal

ook to the future with renewed dedication to serve the Lord through our mission to
'equip men and women for ministry as servant leaders in the body of Christ and the
NorXd at large . . ."

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"The Christian name of God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
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Ashland Theological Journal 2006

The Rhetoric Of Political Discourse In The Labor Movement: Dr. H. Frank
! Hixson's Rhetoric Of Reform In Wisconsin In The Nineteenth Century

' By D. Ray Heisey'

I. Biographical Background of H. Frank Hixson, 1858-1894
Hixson's Education at Ashland College

JHixson's Early Life

Hixson was bom in southern Ohio on August 8, 1858, the same year as
Teddy Rooseveh. In fact, they were similar in personality, in temperament, and in
[political views. If Hixson had not died so young, he might have aspired to some of
jthe same heights of political office that the young Roosevelt did. Frank Hixson was
jthe second of eight children (the first one and the two immediately following Frank
jail died in infancy). His parents were Rev. Armanus J. and Martha McClure Hixson
jof Highland County, Ohio, members of the Dunkard Church. Rev. Armanus Hixson
ihad been one of the early supporters of the new college at Ashland from the
beginning which led to Frank's attendance there.

Frank Hixson had attended the National Normal School in Lebanon, Ohio,
I which awarded him an M.A. degree prior to coming to Ashland in 1879. Hixson
[was the instructor in mathematics for the first several years. His friend, David
j Bailey, who was also a teacher of mathematics and who also attended lectures and
! later elected a trustee, writes in his journal for September 19 of that first year,
("carpenters are making a lot of noise. "^ The new building was obviously in the
! finishing stages as the new students arrived on the new campus. Bailey records that
I there were 55 students enrolled in the fall of 1879 but the following fall term the
j number had increased to 75.^

I Being the oldest son and the first to go to college, Frank was given special

! opportunity to go to the new Ashland College sponsored by the Brethren Church.
His father, as an early supporter of the college, personally was involved and present
[ at the opening of the college. Hixson was enrolled as one of the first students in
; 1879 and was a member of the first graduating class in 1881.

Ashland College was chartered in 1878 by the Brethren Church and
opened its doors as a new college in September 1879. The new students who

D. Ray Heisey (Ph.D., Northwestern University), is Professor and Director Emeritus, School
of Communication Studies, Kent State University. Revision of a paper presented at the
Conference of the Canadian Society for the Study of Rhetoric, Dalhousie University, Hahfax,
Nova Scotia, May 29-31, 2003.

This paper is an elaboration on part of a chapter on Anna Elizabeth Baker Hixson (1861-
1945) and Dr. Hiram Frank Hixson (1858-1894) in a biography of Dr. Hixson's father-in-
law, Dr. W. O. Baker of Louisville, Ohio. See D. Ray Heisey, Healing Body and Soul: The
Life and Times of Dr. W. O. Baker, 1827-1916. Grantham, PA: The Brethren In Christ
Historical Society, 2004. In preparing Baker's biography, I discovered Hixson as an
unknown labor leader, deserving of attention, and falling within the populist reform stream of
Robert Schilling, Robert La Toilette, and Ralph Nader.

The Rhetoric of Political Discourse in the Labor Movement

enrolled and who arrived, were looking "forward with eagerness to the opening
day." One of the histories describes what they saw. "The college building was at thf
southern edge of town and stood, as it must have appeared, rather lonely thougl
majestically in a large twenty-eight acre field. There were no trees, no lawns, nc
artistic landscape to appeal to the eye of the student."^

Ashland College was opened as a coed school with an emphasis on the
practical and useful "in the line of a chosen vocation.""* It consisted of a
"commodious and new" main building and a dormitory that would hold 12C
students. The college claimed for itself five "distinguishing features": "1. It is
thoroughly Christian, but not sectarian. 2. Its location affords an unusual number oi
advantages. 3. It combines the most liberal course of instruction at the least expense
to the student. 4. It inculcates the spirit of plaiimess and economy in dress and
manner of living and aims to adorn the mind rather than the body. 5. It aims to teach
self-government on the principles of love and respect." Tuition for a year, in
advance, was $30.00 and a furnished room with board was $3.00 per week.^

Ashland's Course of Study

A statement by another student who attended Ashland at the same timci
perhaps gives an insight into the thinking of parents at the time. C. F. Brown writes'
that his father consented to his going to Ashland in 1879 because it was "Christian
from the foundation, and has carried Brethren Ideals from the beginning" where "it
was required of every student to attend this Bible study" "in Chappel [sic] where the
Bible was read and prayer offered."''

The English course was two years, the scientific course three years, and the
classical course four years in length. The classic classes included a heavy schedule
of mathematics, Latin, Greek, rhetoric, physics, chemistry, U.S., English, French,
and Roman history, and Bible. ^

The Literary Society

Hixson was a very active participant in the Pierian Literary Society that
emphasized the development of public performance, oratory, and elocutionary skills
in presenting declamations, reading essays, and in debating controversial issues,
such as "foreign immigration ought not be encouraged," or "The immortality of the
soul caimot be proven without the Bible." Another debate was on whether women
should have the right to vote, which was reported in the local newspaper with the
comment, "and as it always should be, it was decided that women should not vote."^

In the Literary Society, Hixson met a young woman, Anna Baker, with
whom he fell in love. There is evidence that Frank was a dashing, colorful young
man who knew his way around. As one of the teachers, he held a special place in
the life of the college and would have been one of the leaders of the graduating
class. Here was a case of one of the highly regarded young ladies, the oldest
daughter of a physician and a clergyman, being sought and won by one of the young
teachers, himself the son of a clergyman and a highly respected leader in the
Brethren Church.

Anna Baker was a very visible young lady at the college. Her reputation
for effective public performance was noted in the local newspaper on more than one
occasion. In March of 1880, in her first year of college, she was singled out by the

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

reporter of the Pierian Society, "Miss Baker, with her usual skill, read a fine essay."
The next month, in April, Anna was highlighted again for her performance. The
reporter wrote: "Last Friday evening the Pierian Society held the first session of this
term. The performers acquitted themselves nobly. Among the declamations the
choicest and best rendered selection was given by Miss Baker. The piece was a
difficult one, consisting of intermingled narrative and descriptive style. The well-
controlled voice and beautiftil cadence of the declamation held the audience
spellbound. The effect was indeed remarkable, for the closet critic could find but
jfew objections to it."^

i At this same program, Anna was elected secretary of the Society when

Miss Wiley, the previous secretary, "declined in favor of Miss Baker." The previous
slate of officers had been re-elected. Declining in favor of Anna could have been
because of her obvious talent or perhaps because of her relationship with the man
who was elected president of the society, H. Frank Hixson.

Hixson, as one of the teachers of the College and also working on his own
degree, participated with the students in the activities of the societies. Hixson had
previously made an impressive speech in which he "laid before the society its
duties, pointing out the faults which demanded correction, and the virtues that
should be continually cultivated." On this occasion, the reporter commented on his
talents as follows: "Mr. Hixon [sic], one of the founders of the society, is just the
right man to occupy the chair at this phase of the society; he will conduct it safely
through this critical period. His knowledge of parliamentary rule will lend to the
chair a power it has not feh for awhile."'° i

Frank Hixson's Graduation

Frank Hixson graduated from Ashland in the spring of 1881. The program
for the 1881 commencement exercises lasted five days. Saturday, June 18 was
examinations; Sunday, June 19 was the baccalaureate sermon by President R. H.
Miller; Monday was the annual address before the Literary Societies; Tuesday was

the close of examinations, the closing chapel and
class day exercises, concluding with Literary
Entertainment; Wednesday, June 22 was the
educational anniversary with several addresses,
one by Elder A. J. Hixson, Frank's father, and the
commencement at 8 P.M.''
To show that the new college was not all too
serious, the Entertainment Program on
Wednesday evening bears noticing. The flyer
announcing the program is headed by the words,
"Hear Ye, Hear Ye, Hear Ye. Grand Blow-Off of
the New Bom Alumni! Spectacular Presentation
of Chromos." The selections include prayer, four
music presentations of popular songs, humorous
orations by the graduates, followed by the
presentation of spoof "degrees" by the president.
The titles of the orations were, "How to board
myself," "How to wait on the wash girl," "What I

Ashland College 's First
Graduating Class (left to right:
F.M. Plank, S.H. Yeater, E.
Wigton, H.F. Hixson)

The Rhetoric of Pohtical Discourse in the Labor Movement

know about pulling up trees," and Frank Hixson's First was, "The beneficial effecil
of beans." The description of his oration is, "We have an example of the effects o1
College fare. This Lilliputan was purchased as at great expense. He has spent thet
last three months on this oration, and will begin to torture you by saying, "Honor tq
the memory of our Fathers"(who first planted beans.) On account of his smallnesss
of stature, Stubbs [one of the professors] will hold him in his hand during the
performance. After he has finished. Hale and Huber (walking bean poles) will wrapi
him in his flannels."'^

The spoof degrees that were presented to the four graduates were N.B.F to
Yeater for "Natural Bom Fool," D.C.L. to Plank for Darwin Connecting Link,
P.J.B. to Wigton for "St. Croix— 1860— X," and C.P.A.B.E. to Hixson for
"Champion Pork and Bean Eater."'^

The serious commencement program the next evening again had orations
by the graduates entitled, "Lessons from Life," "The Tendency of the Age," "Worth
Makes the Man," and Hixson was the final speaker again of the program with, "The
Honor of Nations." The program concluded with the conferring of the degrees by
President Miller.

Frank Hixson and Anna Baker Get Married

The relationship between Anna Baker and Frank Hixson developed
seriously during the first year and continued into the second. Their relationship,
suggested by the connection they had within the Pierian Society leadership, is
further noted by the fact that she is listed as the first of four ushers at the
commencement exercises in June 1881 at Hixson's graduation.''* This was at the end
of their second year studying together. At the literary societies' combined program
of entertainment for the first commencement in 1881, Frances Davidson, friend of
the Baker family, presented an essay called, "Silent Forces." She was in the class
one year behind Anna Baker. '^ During this same spring session, Frances Davidson
had a talk with Frank Hixson "on the difference of our church [Brethren in Christ]
and theirs, the Dunkards. He cannot see the difference as I do. The subject is to be
continued at some future time."'^ Frances returned to the college one more year but
later transferred to Kalamazoo College in Michigan to graduate in 1884, which was
near where her parents had moved in 1881.'''

The two-year relationship between Frank Hixson and Anna Baker brought
them together in marriage on September 1, 1881. The local newspaper announced in
its September 1 issue, "Professor H. F. Hixson left for Louisville, Ohio, yesterday
morning. Rumor has it that he will not return alone."'^ The marriage certificate
indicates that they were married on September 1, 1881, by Rev. Robert H. Miller,
who was the president of Ashland College during the 1880-82 period, which was
the final two years of Anna's study there for her degree, signed by the local probate
judge, most likely in Anna's hometown, Louisville, Ohio.'^

Anna's Graduation from Ashland in 1882

Thus, Anna returned to Ashland College as Mrs. Frank Hixson for her third
and final year in 1881-82 and Hixson returned as a professor of the college. Perhaps
their relationship was a factor in her somehow moving fi-om the sophomore class to
the senior class.

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

The first year had been somewhat stormy as the trustees tried to remove
President Sharp. He submitted his resignation but later a committee ruled in his
favor and the case dragged on for almost a year.

Hixson Elected President of Ashland College

Frank graduated in June 1881. Anna married him in September of the same
year and graduated in June 1882 and gave birth to their daughter, Methyl, in the fall
of 1882. The next spring Hixson was elected President of Ashland College during a
stormy transition period in which the progressive wing of the Brethren church was
coming out on top of a conflict with the conservative wing. The turmoil in the
college administration had begun before when R. H. Miller was elected the new
president after Sharp (the first president), whose election was interpreted by one
denominational paper as the "last bid to keep the college conservative."^*^ But
Robert Miller lasted only two years as he resigned in the spring of 1882. After
Miller, Rev. Joseph E. Stubbs served only one year as president during 1882-83.^' It
was during this period that "the last of conservative-minded trustees disappeared
from the board."^^ The conflict between the conservatives and the so-called
Progressives of the Brethren Church caused considerable turmoil at the college,
particularly in its administration.

Hixson, one of the Progressives, and who had been an active leader in the
debating societies and a popular professor at the college from the begirming, was
elected the new president on June 14, 1883.^^ He served for two years, 1883-1885,
and then resigned.^"^ What is known about his presidency comes not from the history
of the college but from the local newspaper reports of the college activities for these
two years he served. His daughter. Methyl, bom in the fall of 1882, would have
been one and two years old during this time period of his presidency and would
have been the delight of faculty and students alike.

In one of the newspaper accounts of the college activities in May 1882
mention is made of the vice president of the college. Professor Burgess, getting
married to Julia Leonard of Ashland. With a clear
reference to the Hixsons who had gotten married
the previous fall, the reporter writes, "Our College
is famed for such surprises, comprising cases both
of professors and students, so that the fixture is
clouded in uncertainty; hence we can only say:
Who's next?"^^

An Honorary Ph.D. for Hixson

There is strong reason to believe that
Ashland College bestowed on Hixson a Ph.D. or
an honorary Ph.D. degree in 1883 after two more
years of study there following his graduation in
1881, or when he was elected president and began
his presidency. There are five reasons for this
conclusion. (1) Hixson claims on his application
for admission to Johns Hopkins University for graduate study dated October 1,

The Rhetoric of Political Discourse in the Labor Movement

1885, in his handwriting, that he had received a Ph.D. from Ashland College in
1883 and "can present" the diploma to prove it.^*'

(2) The Johns Hopkins University Directory published in 1926 lists Hixson
as a former graduate student in philosophy during 1885-86 and as holding a Ph.B.
degree in 1881 and a Ph.D. degree in 1883, both from Ashland College. He is also
listed as President of Ashland College from 1883-85, which has been established
independently of his own claim.^'' (3) Many colleges during this time awarded
honorary Ph.D. degrees to faculty members, to alumni, to clergymen, and especially
to college presidents "after they had taken office" or "were conferred the same year
or the year following the inauguration.""^^ (4) While all the Midwest newspapers
who reported on Hixson used the title. Dr. Hixson, two of them specifically claim in
their biographical sketches of him at his death that he "received the degree of doctor
of philosophy."^^ These two do not mention the institution that awarded him the
degree.

(5) A check with the Ashland University Archives resulted in the finding
that the above fact cannot be proven one way or the other, first, because "Ashland
College did not keep good records on its early students," and second, "in 1952 the
fire in Founders Hall destroyed all of the alumni information."^^ The Archives does
reveal that "an employee card" for Hixson says he "Received his Ph.D. at J.H."
Perhaps in the reconstructing of the records after the fire, someone remembered that
he had a Ph.D. but assumed it was from Johns Hopkins since he had gone there,
instead of from Ashland. The Archivist reported that "Ashland did not offer
honorary Ph.D.'s until 1932."^' One of the histories of the College claims, however,
that Ashland College during the 1880s "conferred upon [John H. Worst, one of the
first students at the college, but did not graduate] the Honorary Degree of Doctor of
Laws" for his work in North Dakota in education, including being President of
North Dakota Agricultural College.^^ Maybe Hixson' s honorary Ph.D. for becoming
president, or an awarded Ph.D. for "advanced study and research" while teaching,
was a casualty of the fire in 1952.^^

Getting the College Back on Track

During the first year of his presidency, Hixson made a sfrong effort to get
the college back on its original track of offering a solid college course. In the years
1881 and 1882 when the Brethren Church was breaking into the Progressive and the
traditional branches, the division also affected the college administration. It was
reported that some people viewed the college as offering "simply a normal course,"
and that "this was the design of certain members of the Board of Trustees, when two
years ago the old course, against the unanimous protest of the faculty and the entire
community, was abolished."^"^

Hixson wanted "to retain the advanced students" and thus promised to
restore the old course of instruction, which was "a frill college course," as well as
extend it.^^ Through the course of his two years he apparently was able to achieve
this, for the report in the local newspaper commended him for his excellent work in
saying, "Professor Hixson deserves great credit for his Herculean though silent
efforts to place the College on a firm basis. For the past two years he has borne up
bravely under the universal calumny heaped upon all cormected with the school,
determined to let the work show for itself "^^

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

Hixson apparently placed a number of departments "on a firm foundation,"
including the Commercial Department, the Normal and the Musical Departments,
the latter two "of which were [never] before on a firm basis." His efforts continued
to be opposed by the Board of Trustees, even in the public columns of the Board's
organ, the College Record. This no doubt was one of the reasons Hixson resigned
from his office at the end of the two years.^^

At the graduating exercises in June of 1885, Hixson's final year as
president, he presented to the graduates their diplomas and then addressed the class
by "instructing them to place their mark high in whatever calling they chose to
make their life work, and to ever press onward and upward, striving to gain and
maintain higher heights."^^

That Hixson was successful as far as the students were concerned is seen in
several ways. The graduating class in 1885 was reported as the largest in its history,
with six in the Collegiate department and six in the Normal department. President
and Mrs. Hixson entertained the graduating classes in their home on Monday
evening of commencement week. The local newspaper editorialized that "in all
cases the President has sustained the good will of the students and especially the
present class on whom was always insisted the necessity of thoroughness of
work."^^

Finally, on the Thursday evening following the commencement
ceremonies that had taken place Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, as the students
were about to leave for home at the train depot, Professor Brumbaugh stepped
forward and gave to the president a "thank you" speech, and presented to him on
behalf of the students a handsome cane. The paper commented, "And nothing could
speak in louder tones of praise for the excellent work done in the school by
President Hixson, than the presentation to him by the class and students of a gold-
headed ebony cane."'*'^

Hixson served only two years at Ashland College as president before
taking up other endeavors. Following Hixson, Rev. W. C. Perry, a graduate in the
class of 1885 who had been Principal of the Normal Department that Hixson had
reestablished under his presidency, served for two years, 1885-87. He was followed
by William W. Felger, also in the class of 1885, who served for 1887-88."*' During
this time the college debt increased annually. Because of the mounting debt, in June
1888 the college had to be sold and put into a receivership.'^^ It seems that the
conservative ex-trustees who had received the property sold it back to the
progressives who obtained a new charter and started a campaign to obtain a
financial footing for the college.'*^

Hixson apparently had trouble with the trustees from time to time. He
decided in April not to have a summer term for 1885 but the trustees a month later
decided "to go ahead with summer term." A month after that the executive
committee decided to take off $400 ft-om Hixson's salary.'*'* In the fall, after Hixson
left, approximately 25 students were enrolled at the college."*^

Hixson to Johns Hopkins for Graduate Study

In October 1885 Hixson went to Baltimore to enroll in graduate work at
Johns Hopkins University. There is some controversy about what this involved

The Rhetoric of PoHtical Discourse in the Labor Movement

because his obituary says that he took "a post graduate course" at Johns Hopkins"^^
while another source claims that he went to Johns Hopkins as "dean of mathematics
for a year."'''' One of the subjects Hixson had taught at Ashland was mathematics,
but the archival records at Johns Hopkins indicate only that he was a graduate
student in psychology in 1885-86 and is listed in the following classes: History of i
Philosophy, Psychology, Education, Introductory to Psychology, and Elocution. ^

The Hixsons to Parsons, Kansas to set up a Normal School

Following his year at Johns Hopkins, in the fall of 1886, Hixson and ai
Prof. Crowle "organized a normal school at Parsons, Kansas,""*^ his former i
residence, which was a fast-growing railroad town in the southeastern part of the
state. The town had received some notoriety a few years earlier (in 1879 while
Hixson was in his first year at Ashland) when President Rutherford B. Hayes and
General W. T. Sherman stopped at the town on their way to Neosha Falls District
Fair where the President took time to address the gathered crowd.^"

The Hixson school, though well attended, apparently lasted only a few
years. From 1870 to 1897 numerous normal institutes were established in Parsons
with anywhere from 100 to 150 students in each, some of which had a lengthy
existence and some short-lived.''' Hixson' s "Business school at Parsons closed
about 1887," but the exact date is not known, and he "became identified with the
Baptist church in 1887 and was ordained a minister of that church,"^^ thus severing
his ties with the Dunkard church with which he and his family had been
associated.^"* Hixson's name is not listed with the pastors who served the Baptist
church in Parsons, but he is mentioned as being the president of the Young People's
Society of Christian Workers in that church.^''

The 1886, 1887, and 1888 Ashland College catalogs, listing college
alumni, show Arma and Frank as living in Parsons, Kansas where he is said to be
conducting a nonnal school, so apparently he was directing the school for three
years. Their second child, Raymond, was bom June 6, 1887, in Parsons while Frank
was running the normal school there.

Hixson to the Midwest for the Labor Movement

Frank Hixson gave up his calling in formal education about 1888, at the
time of the formation of the "National Farmers' Alliance and Co-operative Union of
America" in the south and north^^ and began studying "the industrial problem with
direct reference to the labor movement, and devoted himself to a championship of
organized labor principally as editor of labor publications and lecturer and organizer
of unions and trade councils. "^^ His motivation for getting involved in the labor
movement can be speculated by his living in southeastern Kansas for three years,
working in an educational endeavor that may have been dwindling and by the
raising of the consciousness of the farmers in that area for what was happening to
them. His hometown of Parsons was a railroad town. He had seen the consequences
of what happened to the farmers when exploited by the railroad tycoons and
lobbyists supporting them.^^

In the late 1880s "the hard times" enabled the Farmers' Alliance to
increase its membership "enormously," making it "a power to be reckoned with in

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

the whole Northwest."^^ Hixson, ever the opportunist, seized on the chance to use
his leadership ability and his speaking talent to help organize the farmers to change
their lot by supporting a new party. The next year he became involved in local
politics farther west when he "spent four months in the state of Iowa lecturing to
farmers and in 1889 organized the Farmers Alliance which soon became a
flourishing organization in that state. "^^ General James B. Weaver, a member of the
Iowa Farmers Alliance, later became the nominee for president of the People's
Party. ^^ Hixson reportedly worked for the People's Party in Ohio, Iowa, Missouri,
Indiana, Illinois, and Kansas before going to Wisconsin.^

When Hixson moved to Wisconsin he continued his leadership of the labor
movement and the People's Party. As "a persistent, constant advocate of the
principles of that party and in order to propound them in a manner which would
make itself felt in 1 890, he purchased the Racine Advance," giving that paper a
larger stature throughout Wisconsin.^^ His paper was one of "perhaps two hundred
or more, that championed the movement," including the Advocate that Stephen
McLallin launched in 1889 in Meriden, Kansas before he moved it to Topeka in
1890, which became "easily the most important Populist newspaper in America,"
along with William Peffer's Kansas Farmer. ^^

Death of the Hixson Son

While Anna and her two children were visiting friends in Ashland in 1891,
Raymond became ill with measles and then suffered further complications with a
more serious illness. Hixson was summoned to be with him but Raymond soon
rallied, so he shortly returned to his work in Wisconsin. However, the boy suddenly
grew worse on a Tuesday night and died the next morning, on February 12, just
under four years of age. The body was shipped to Louisville, Ohio, not back to
Kansas, and the funeral was held in the home of the Bakers and the body buried in
the Baker Family lot in the Valley Chapel cemetery.^"^

Hixson "was one of the original organizers of the people's party, having
taken a prominent part in their Omaha convention," which was held on July 4,
1892.^^ He edited labor papers in Kansas, Indiana, and Ohio, where he edited a
paper in Canton called the Forum, and finally went to Milwaukee where he was
associate editor of the Advance.^^ In 1893 he went to Oshkosh, Wisconsin where he
became editor of the Labor Advocate in that city and developed into a very
prominent labor leader in that state.

After leaving the field of education, in all of his political activities as
reported in the newspapers, he is always referred to as "Dr. Hixson." He was
perceived in the Midwest as "The Doctor." His Ph.D. degree from Ashland, his
serving for two years as a college president, his doing post graduate work in
psychology at a famous eastern university, his establishing a normal school in
Kansas, all contributed to his reputation for being educated and learned, giving him
a proper ethos to assume editorial control of labor papers and political leadership in
the People's Party. He apparently was a powerful speaker and debater and was well-
informed on labor issues. His speeches were well supported with facts and had
tightly developed arguments. He was an agitator, an organizer, and a tireless
speaker throughout the state and the region.

The Rhetoric of PoUtical Discourse in the Labor Movement

II. Hixson's Leadership in the Populist Party in Wisconsin '

To illustrate the degree to which he was involved in Populist Party politics j
a list of his speaking engagements during the political campaign of 1894 isi
provided. It shows the intensity and variety of his efforts at improving the conditior
of the working people of his time. It is interesting to observe that during the timet
Hixson is writing and speaking on behalf of labor in the upper Midwest, his father-ij
in-law is preaching in the pulpit in Ohio on Christian life issues and writing onl
church doctrine, resulting in his book that his church asked him to publish. Theyj
both liked to write.

Hixson's Spealdng in the 1894 Political Campaign

The Hixson list is taken from the Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Daily]
Northwestern.
January 10, 1894 — Dr. H. F. Hixson will address the Carpenters union No. 634 atl

the Trades and Labor Council hall on January 1 8, open to the public.
January 25 — Dr. H. F. Hixson offered the free use of 500 choice books in his own

library for the benefit of the workingmen at the Trades and Labor Council

meeting last evening.
January 27 — Dr. Hixson endorsed the speech at city hall by Rev. G. H. Trever oni

the duty of clergy to speak against the social ills of society caused by|

capitalism. He got into "a lively tilt" with Mr. Houghton in arguing thati

corporations not saloons caused pauperism.
February 3 — Following an address by Mr. Houghton on the needs of thei

workingman, "loud calls" were made for Dr. Hixson to address the packed city '

hall. He spoke against child labor in the factories and "taunted" Mr. Houghton i

to give his views on the causes of the current national depression.
February 17 — Dr. Hixson addressed the Workingman' s Club at the "completely

filled" city hall Friday night on the subject, "How to Prevent Panics." His

remedy for panics was for national banks to be established instead of state

banks so that the banking system could be run like the postal system where no

capitalists were made from the profits.
February 23 — Dr. Hixson followed up an address on the role of wages in social

development by Prof. White by disagreeing with his assumptions, because

"men had not been honest, competition had not been free, opportunities had not

remained equal and law had defeated natural development."
March 9 — Dr. Hixson spoke at the Workingman' s Club last evening following an

address by Prof. Reilly on the municipal ownership of the electric light plant.

He believes in the municipal ownership of every public utility and the

government ownership of railroads.
March 23 — Dr. Hixson spoke following an address by C. Hanson at the

Workingman' s

Club that in union there is strength and that the consumers of products are the

real employers.
March 30 — Dr. H. F. Hixson spoke following an address on the good results of

unions at the Workingman' s Club by endorsing the view that "the union of

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

laboring men is a matter of necessity for their own protection." A resolution

was passed at the
meeting that all Oshkosh clergymen should preach a sermon during April on "The

Abolition of Child Labor in Factories" as part of their obligation to preach the

gospel.
April 5 — Dr. H.F. Hixson will speak before the Workingman's Club this evening on

"Government Ownership of Railroads." He is strongly in favor of government

ownership, because "Either the people must own the railroads or the railroads

will own the people."
April 19 — Dr. H. F. Hixson spoke at length against the private ownership of

railroads and quoted many authorities to prove his theory.
April 20 — Dr. Hixson of Oshkosh will speak at the city hall [in Menasha] tomorrow

night on the labor question.
April 23 — Dr. Hixson was appointed to a committee of leading citizens by Mayor

Oelierich to establish a free public library for the city of Oshkosh.
May 18 — Dr. Hixson will lecture at Green Bay on May 31, on "The Future of

Labor."
June 7 — Mayor Oelierich announced committees for the July Fourth celebration

with the Printing and Advertising Committee consisting of five persons,

including Dr. Hixson.
June 8 — Hixson was elected president of the new Federal Union organization and

will represent the union at the Wisconsin Federation of Labor annual

convention on July 4.
June 12 — Hixson gave the welcome address at the 2"'^ annual convention of the

Wisconsin Federation of Labor.
June 12 — The president of the Farmer's Alliance announced that the Law

Committee consists of three persons, including H. F. Hixson and Dr. H. F.

Hixson is announced as the state lecturer for the Farmer's Alliance.
June 20 — editorial in the paper published against Hixson' s The Labor Advocate.
July 9 — Hixson is quoted as saying, "There will be no trouble here [by the

American Railway Union]" for "the men have received no orders from

President Debs to strike," when asked by reporters whether there will be a

strike in Oshkosh in support of the famous Pullman railway strike in Chicago

that had begun on May 11. Two days earlier than Hixson' s statement Eugene

Debs had been arrested.
July 31 — Hixson addressed the County Convention of the Populist Party by urging a

strong ticket. He was elected chairman of the county committee and was placed

on the executive board. Nominations had to be submitted to Hixson for

confirmation.
August 15 — The Populists have organized a club at Marinette and claim to have 100

members. Many of them are ex-Democrats.
August 21 — Hixson addressed the Populist meeting at city hall on the "present

conditions based in legislation." He urged the passing of new legislation to help

the workingman which means that people should support the People's Party

which follows principles, not men. He urged people to subscribe in support of

The Daily Advocate.
August 22 — The paper reported the story, "Populists on the Gain."

The Rhetoric of Pohtical Discourse in the Labor Movement

September 3 — Dr. H. F. Hixson was the orator of the day at Eau Claire today.
September 20 — Dr. Hixson speaks at Fond du Lac Friday in the interests of the

People's Party.
October 3 — The People's Party at Madison has decided to put Dr. Hixson, editor of

The Labor Advocate of this city, against Gov. McKinley of Ohio in joint debate

on the political issues of the day, October 9, at Madison.
October 4— Dr. Hixson has gone to Kansas, called there by the serious illness of his

mother.
October 6 — Prof H. F. Hixson, of Oshkosh, Wis., is in the city, called here by the

probably fatal illness of his mother. {The Parsons Daily Sun, Kansas) This is

the day that his mother died in Parsons, Kansas.
October 9 — Gov. McKinley is in Madison in "A Blaze of Glory," but there is no

debate with Hixson who is in Kansas where his mother has died.
October 16 — Dr. H. F. Hixson has returned from Kansas, where he attended the

funeral of his mother.
November 1 — Hixson was obliged to give up speaking while at Chippewa Falls and

had to go to bed from which he never left.
November 3 — Dr. Powell, mayor of La Crosse and twice the People's Party

candidate for governor, addressed the crowd, giving a great tribute to Hixson

who "had worked earnestly and untiringly for the success of the People's Party

and now at the last moment before the battle, the incessant campaigning of the

past three or four weeks about the state had finally exhausted him" and was

now too ill to be present.
November 6 — Election Day. The People's Party did not win. The Republican Party

won in a landslide nationally, in Wisconsin, and in Oshkosh.
November 7 — An editorial stated that the Republican win was "a wonderful victory

and land-slide without precedent in American history. ..."
November 8 — In Hixson's hometown of Parsons, Kansas, the headlines said, "A

Great Victory. Republicans and Good Citizens Rejoice. Populism Wiped Out

Forever in Labette County." {The Parsons Daily Sun)
November 9 — The official vote results indicated the expected success of the

People's Party wasn't even close in Wisconsin (for governor in Winnebago

County):

Upham, Republican 6,538

Peck, Democrat 3,964 (the incumbent was defeated)

Powell, People's 1,056

Cleghom, Prohibitionist 374
It should be noted here that the source below indicates that Hixson was candidate
for Lieutenant Governor of the People's Party, but the newspaper reports that
Smock was the candidate and received about the same number of votes as did
Powell for Governor.

Hixson's Illness and Death

November 16 — A letter was received today [at the newspaper] from Dr. Hixson,
who is lying ill at Chippewa Falls, in which he stated that the sensational
accounts of his condition are erroneous and that in a short time he hopes to be
in this city.

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

November 23 — Hixson succumbed to his illness and his body was accompanied by
his father, A. J. Hixson, back to Parsons, Kansas, where the funeral was held in
the Baptist church and he was buried in the Oakwood cemetery where his
mother had been buried six weeks earlier. Sausaman (1977) provides a final
paragraph that is instructive of how intense he was as a politician.

At the time of his last illness. Dr. Hixson was a candidate for
lieutenant governor of Wisconsin, and was stumping the state in
the interest of this office. Following the death of his mother, '

which occurred at Parsons only six weeks before that of the noted
labor leader. Dr. Hixson returned from her bedside to his arduous
duties during the heat of the fall campaign. Soon afterward he
developed a severe cold. Insteadof remaining indoors, the Doctor
headed an immense procession marching through the streets in the
sleet and mud, later delivering a ringing speech over two hours in
length when he was scarcely able to stand. In all probability he
would have been elected to office as he was carrying the platform
of the state. On the train en route to the next place he became
violently ill and was removed to St. Joseph's hospital at Chippewa
Falls where he died ten days later. His fine library and handsome
little yacht were willed to the trade and labor council of Oshkosh.
His estate of $10,000 was bequeathed to his wife and daughter.^''
November 26 — Funeral services were held for Dr. H. F. Hixson at the Hibemia
hall in Oshkosh where the Trades and Labor Council adopted a resolution
mourning the loss of "an able, true and earnest worker in the cause of humanity
and reform, and whom we have learned to love and esteem for his kind and
cheering words and for his earnest work among the toiling masses of our city
and state."

Anna and Frank Hixson's Separation

There is reason to believe that Anna and Methyl may very well not have
been living with Frank during his political endeavors in rallying labor groups
together and organizing for his campaigns. There are five pieces of evidence that
suggest this.

First, during all of the time that Hixson is reported speaking to labor
groups, being elected to offices in labor organizations, and being mentioned as a
leader of thought and action in the state of Wisconsin, there is never even a mention
of Mrs. Hixson in either the "Short Notes," the "Social" columns, or the
"Personalities" columns, when it was common practice for the paper to mention the
wife of this notable or that leading person as having visited somewhere or
entertained some guests. These columns were full of social items about the town's
citizens, such as "Mr. and Mrs. Fred W. Spink of Milwaukee are visiting at the
residence of City treasurer Spink,"^^ or "Mrs. Florence Smith is visiting with
relatives in Waupaca" and "Mrs. M. Carney and daughter, Miss Mamie Carney, of
Stockbridge have been the guests of Miss A. M. Gibson for the past few days."^

Mrs. Hixson is never mentioned. Her daughter, Methyl, was twelve years
old. Did they never go to Ohio to visit her parents? Did her father. Dr. Baker, never
visit her, yet he traveled to Canada, Colorado, Kansas, Illinois and other places? Did

The Rhetoric of Political Discourse in the Labor Movement

none of their mutual friends from Ashland days ever visit them, especially since
Hixson was becoming a well-known politician?

Second, in the Oshkosh Daily Northwestern, which had reported so well on
all of his activities as a politician and labor leader, the account of Hixson's death as-
one of the leading news stories with a large headline on page one, right-hand
column, does not mention Mrs. Hixson or his daughter. Hixson's own Labor
Advocate does not mention his wife or daughter in its extensive coverage of
Hixson's death or funeral.

Third, the Resolution, passed by the Trades and Labor Council in memory
of Hixson at their next formal meeting, in Oshkosh, does not mention Mrs. Hixson,
his wife, or Methyl, his daughter, while it does extend "sincere sympathy to the
relatives of the deceased."^*^ If they had been living with him in Oshkosh and had
been part of his daily life and of all his activities, it seems strange that the organized
group which he had led for years would not have at least mentioned them in a way
other than merely being his "relatives."

In similar fashion, the People's party club in Madison passed unanimous
resolutions on his passing in which it praised Hixson's accomplishments and
abilities as "the people's peerless champion"'^' and ordered that the resolutions "be
published in Madison daily papers, the Oshkosh Labor Advocate, and the
Milwaukee Advance" and that "a copy be sent to Dr. Hixson's father in Parsons,
Kas [sic]." Nothing is mentioned about his wife and daughter.''^

Fourth, the obituary of Hixson that appears in the Louisville, Ohio, local
paper, upon his death, reports. "He leaves a wife, Mrs. Anna Baker Hixson, and a
daughter. Methyl, who reside at Louisville. "^^ It would hardly report their residence
as Louisville, if they had been living with him during those years in Wisconsin.

Fifth, the account of his death, frineral, and burial in the Oshkosh paper
reports that his father, A. J. Hixson, not his wife and daughter, accompanied the
body back to Kansas for burial.^"* It is understandable that burial would be in
Parsons, his original home. But why would the paper not report that his body was
being accompanied by his wife and daughter if they had been living with him? Also,
at the time of his serious illness in Chippewa Falls, where he lay in bed for several
weeks, his father was sent for and arrived in Chippewa Falls to be at his beside.^^
Why does it not mention that his wife and daughter were sent for or were at his side
in his illness?''^

III. Hixson's Rhetoric in the Populist Party

Hixson's rhetoric was a Populist message. He advocated the Populist Party
arguments that both major political parties were guilty of supporting the
monopolies, big business, and big government and that they were doing nothing to
change legislation to stop the corruption. He argued for the government ownership
of railroads and public utilities, the establishment of national banks, instead of state
banks, that would control the making of money, and he pressed his listeners to get
involved in politics because it was "their business" to do so in light of "the
discontent of laboring people throughout the land."^^

Ashland Theological Journal 2006
Hixson's Message in His Speeches

Hixson was a true Populist. Nugent' s characterization of the Populists as
those who "were determined to see that these changes [from industrialization]
should benefit all the people and not just a few"^^ fits Hixson precisely. Nugent
continues, "The majority of them therefore accepted industrialization but
condemned monopoly, accepted bank and finance but condemned usury and
financial sleight of hand, welcomed accumulation but condemned economic
feudalism, welcomed enterprise but condemned speculation. It was not industry and
urbanism that oppressed them, they thought, but their abuse."^^ In short, the
Populists attacked "landlordism, transportation monopoly, and money shortages."^"

The message was one of identification with the interests of the people. The
owners, the corporations, the banks, and the political parties indebted to them, were
exploiting the common people. Hixson wanted to expose these evils on behalf of the
people, to wake them up, and persuade them to do so something about it. "Burke
contends," argues Mader, "that identification is possible because all of us have the
same motives, or inherent needs, and that the terms for these motives name
'relationships and developments that, mutatis mutandis, are likely to figure in all
human association.'"^' Hixson became a voice for the people in his message of
identifying the claims of the Populist party with their interests. "You persuade a
[person]," says Burke, "only insofar as you can talk his language by speech, gesture,
tonality, order, image, attitude, idea, identifying your ways with his [sic]."^^ This
form of persuasion Burk calls identification.

The Evil of Landlordism

Hixson attacked all three of these evils that the Populist party had
identified. "Of all the exploitation," he said, "landlordism is perhaps the worst and
most excessive. The earth equally belongs to all the people of all generations....
Society, the community, creates nearly all the value of land and to the community it
belongs." Hixson complained that "the rents are out of all proportion to profits in
business and, to say the very least, the rents ought to come down, and come down a
good deal." "It is unfair," he wrote, "that the masses bear all the burdens for the
benefit of landlords, usurers, and monopolists. The system is rotten and wrong and
must be destroyed but in the mean time adjustments of this nature are in order. "^^

The Evil of Monopolies

The second evil attacked by the Populists and by Hixson was monopolies.
Regarding the railroad monopoly issue, Hixson argued the same line of reasoning,
that owners were making all the money at the expense of the laborers.
Transportation serves all the people and should therefore be owned by the people.
Since the "railroad by fraudulent capitalization is a heavy tax upon the public," and
the "railroads control congress, state legislature and courts," and "possess power
antagonistic to republican principles of government," the solution must be
government ownership. Hixson said, "The railroads should be taken possession of
by the government in the interests of the whole people at their true cash value," so
that the government would own and operate the railroads "at cost like the postal

The Rhetoric of PoHtical Discourse in the Labor Movement
system, but under civil service regulation to prevent the evils of the patronage

- •.•>84

system.

The Evil of Controlling Money

On the third issue, the money problem, in Hixson's speech on "How to
Prevent Panics," given at the city hall in Oshkosh, on February 16, 1894, he
acknowledged that the cause of panics "was hard to determine" but "one thing was
certain, that there had never been a panic that was not caused by the manipulation of
the volume of money." When wages decline, he said, the volume of money declines
and then the capitalists hoard up their money. This has happened under both the
Democratic and Republican parties. Hixson said that the panic of 1 873 was caused
when "the demonetization of silver was attempted by the capitalists" "under cover
and by fraud" which caused unemployment and "thousands of tramps roamed
around the country." Capitalists, he said, like to make the volume of money less so
that they can be "made rich by the workingmen's labor."^''

The remedy, according to Hixson, was to let the goverrmient "make all the
money and there would be no liability of depositors losing money." Instead of
allowing the creditors to make the financial laws, which means the "bankers were
the only ones who derived any benefit from them," "the government should
establish a system of national banks, in fact and not in name, backed by the people."
"The interest on the money," claimed Hixson, "would pay the running expenses of
the government, and would not make a few men rich. In this way all society would
be bettered."^*'

Getting Workers Involved in Politics

The other issue that Hixson pushed hard in the political campaign was to
encourage the workingmen to get involved in politics by joining the unions and the
Populist party. At a meeting again at the city hall on August 20, 1894, Hixson
addressed the Populist party audience by saying, "politics was a matter of business
with laboring men, they were in politics for business, and this fall they would show
the 'other fellows,' that they had been in business." Speaking of the labor discontent
throughout the country, Hixson said he thought it "the duty of every true American
citizen to investigate the cause of discontent. Politics ought to be a question not of
men, but of the principles they represent instead."^''

Hixson went on to discuss his belief that the cause of the discontent was in
legislation and the remedy must "be found in the same place." "If you are
supporting a party which you know brings 'present conditions,'" he said, "you are a
criminal if you continue it. You are supporting a party which brings the most
heinous crime of all — anarchy."^^

Wherever Hixson spoke, and it was many times in many places, he kept
the Populist message before the people and identified his party as the party of the
people.

Hixson's Message in His Editorials

As the editor of the Labor Advocate, Hixson had access to a weekly
audience in addition to the audiences of his platform speeches. The themes of his

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

editorials, his columns, and his comments on state and national events every week
hammered home the same message — the people are suffering from the exploitation
of the plutocrats and no one is speaking out for them but the People's party.

Mass Starvation

His editorials took the form of a major article at one time and the form of
smaller pieces at other times. For example, in January 1894, the first month that he
was in office, he wrote three small essays. One was on the issue of starvation in
which he said that the "public school question, the tariff question, the temperance
question and all grave questions of the day are relegated to insignificance in the face
of starving men, women and children." He said the conditions that have resulted in
this mass starvation are due to "the legislation of the last thirty years." The problem
is not in production of food, he continued, but in an improper "system of
distribution and exchange."^^

The Cut-Throat System

In a second one, Hixson blasted the "cut-throat system" where, it is not the
fittest that survives, but "the strongest and most unscrupulous." He said, "The
manufacturer who desires to pay fair wages and provide sanitary conditions for his
employes [sic] comes into competition with the unscrupulous man who grinds his
employes [sic] down to starvation wages in cheap and unhealthy shops. "^° The third
essay called attention to the "cheap goods, cheap labor" of those who come to town
selling "a stock of old shopworn refiise or bankrupt goods purchased for a song and
sold under the name of 'sacrifice.'" This bringing of "cheap pauper labor to
compete with [legitimate labor] and reduce their wages to a starvation level" has
rightly been objected to and should be taxed as "a means of protection."^'

The Failure of the Major Parties

An example of the longer article by Hixson is one appearing in Jan. 27,
1894. The title, "Republicans — Democrats," discloses Hixson's major theme, that
both major parties are guilty of the same abuse. When one party replaces the other,
the policies remain the same. Hixson said, "The present conditions are the result of
a system that has been directed by the republicans and abetted by the democrats
since early in the days of the war."^^ He followed this with the publication of a list
of business failures over a 14-year period from 1880-1893 and the huge liabilities
resulting fi"om these failures.

Hixson's editorial concluded that these figures "show the result of
concentration of wealth in the hands of the few and the ruin of business to increase
the value of cash.... The man must either be an ignoramus or a knave that can ask
the masses to continue to support the gang of miserable traitors that have produced
such results. "^^

Obstacles in the Labor Movement

The next month, February, Hixson published a major editorial on page one,
"The Labor Movement." In this article he described the "obstacles" that the labor
movement must encounter and the "plain facts" that must be kept in mind "to ensure
the success of the Labor Movement." He based his argument on one fundamental

The Rhetoric of Pohtical Discourse in the Labor Movement

truth — "the Universal Brotherhood of Man [sic], and the natural and logical
deduction, the equal heir ship of all mankind [sic] of all generations to the earth and
all its resources." Hixson then argued that two equally important conclusions must
be accepted from this one fundamental truth. They are, one, that it "is inconsistent
with natural or divine law that one man should be able to live upon the labor of
another without rendering an equivalent, for, in the sweat of his own face shall man
[sic] eat bread," which means that "monopoly" "is inconsistent with public
welfare," and two, that since "the present system" is "entrenched in law," it "must
be destroyed by the enactment of new laws in accordance with natural rights. "^"^

Hixson phrased the object of the labor movement as "the restoration of
their natural rights to the people so that they may have the opportunity to work, to
live and enjoy an equal share of the results of the progress of the ages past." This
object, he continued, must not be diverted by the pursuit of other reforms, which
can still be legitimate, but which must "keep straight in line for the goal of human
freedom and natural rights. "^^ Only the People's party could be trusted to protect
that freedom and preserve those natural rights.

The Populist Party the Answer

Further examples of Hixson' s shorter pieces in his editorial columns are
"The Labor Agitator," and "Where Do You Stand?" In the former, he used the
analogy of Christ who had little opposition so long as he healed the sick and fed the
hungry, but as soon as he denounced "their rotten system of usury, extortions and
oppression, those ancient prototypes of the modem republicans and democrats
raised the cry of 'crucify him,' 'crucify him.'" "The history of every movement
against tyranny and crime against the natural rights of the weak and unfortunate of
the human race," he continued, " has been written in the abuse... and blood of the
agitator, the fanatic and the crank. "^^

In the latter column, Hixson again referenced historical figures from
Christ's time, the Revolutionary War period, and the Civil War period, to compare
with "the advocates of justice today." He attacked the "present plutocratic system
[as] nothing but confiscation. Confiscation of the life, virtue and happiness of the
masses to feed the licentious pomp of the apes of foreign aristocracy."^^ Hixson's
editorials were hard-hitting and direct in their attacks on the men of wealth,
privilege, and corruption — in both parties. Thus he always came around to the
conclusion that the Populist party was the answer because only it could advance
new legislation to change the present system.

Government Ownership of Communications

Hixson's editorials in the March 1894 issues covered such topics as the
government ownership of the telegraph and telephone, which "should be managed
in the interests of the people instead of being used to enrich corporations,"^^ and
restoring confidence by wresting "the affairs of govemmenf "from the hands of the
political and financial free hooters who seem to have formed an alliance for the
purpose of plunder" and putting them back in the hands of the people so that
"hereafter they will have to conduct their own affairs in their own way if they
secure protection for their own interests. "^^

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

The Interests of the People

In other columns Hixson reported on the "Wages in Oshkosh" which were
lower "than is paid in any other city in the United States," causing employers to
"have amassed millions in a few years out of the earnings of others."'°° In the
column on "The Banking System" Hixson claimed that it was "destroying our
prosperity" due to "the monopoly of money" [that] reduces the masses to poverty
and makes the producers of wealth pay tribute to the rich."'^' Related to this was the
column that summarized the losses during the year that he said were equal to "the
expenses of the entire civil war." "Is it not time," asked Hixson, "that the plutocracy
be overthrown by the ballot and a policy in the interests of the people instituted?" '°

In April one of Hixson' s editorials covered the issue of "Municipal
Ownership" of the utilities. He favored this, of course, and used it to attack the other
newspaper in town by claiming that it had curried "favor with the wealthy
corporations and combines that secure special advantages by law to tax and
dominate the public to their own enrichment. These combinations are especially
generous in contributions to campaign funds to secure the election of their parasites
to make the law through which such special privileges are secured."'"^ Hixson's
editorials were replete with accusations against the establishment of the main
political parties and of the government. Only a fresh new party could be trusted to
put the affairs of the people back into their own hands.

Hixson's Rhetorical Strategies^*"*

Hixson, an experienced persuader in constructing messages, used a variety
of strategies to present the Populist party message of identification with the people
of Wisconsin. His rhetoric may be seen at a number of levels — as an organizer, a
speaker, as an editor, and as a leader of a rhetorical movement. Skillful in
discerning what was needed to rally the workers and to motivate them to get
involved in the political process, he attacked the problem of lethargy and ignorance
from a number of fronts. As an educator, he realized the importance of informing
people before he could change them.

He wanted them to see their reality in the way that he saw it, so he constructed what
Burke called a dramatistic view. Life is a drama with actors, motives, and
consequences of choices. When a rhetor uses identification with an audience, the
human drama is presented in ways that make sense to the people and that explain to
them what is happening in their lives. The rhetor gives motives to them for
believing and acting.

As an Organizer

Hixson was a very active organizer in encouraging the workers to form
clubs for meeting together to discuss their common concerns and to join in their
union activities. As a teacher he wanted the workers to learn information and be
knowledgeable. One of the most successful efforts was Hixson's formation of the
Workingmen's Club in Oshkosh which he proposed and started "for the discussion
of economic subjects." It brought to the city important speakers to address the issues
of the day."^^ He proposed this Club at the regular meeting of the Trades and Labor
Council which the delegates "heartily" supported and requested the executive board

The Rhetoric of Political Discourse in the Labor Movement

to follow through with the matter. It became a very successful means of keeping the
issues before the working people and of allowing them to hear articulate speakers
define the evils of their day and propose solutions.

The first meeting of the Club was January 19, 1894, at the Danish
Brotherhood hall where Professor Hewitt of the State Normal School spoke on "The
Teaching of the Present Industrial Depression." '''^ His main point was that though
there were many causes of the depression, the most important lesson is that the
workingman must organize because only "organized labor" can obtain an increase
in wages and in improving conditions for work.

The next month, on February 9, the Club met to hear F. W. Houghton talk
on "The Essential Needs of the Laboring Man." The Club proved to be a popular
idea as "Every seat in the city hall was occupied and many stood up in the rear of
the room" to hear the speaker say that if "rich men are wrong, rebuke them with the
ballot." He fiirther advocated that the working man should follow the cardinal
principles of being "skilled in his work, faithfiil to his employer, honest and moral
in his conduct, ambitious and aggressive in his ideas, and economical in his habits."
He also "gave great praise to Dr. Hixson for organizing the club for the discussion
of the important questions of the day."'*^''

Hixson went to other cities to organize, as well. In Fond du Lac, in the fall
of 1893, he had organized a Populist Club that met every two weeks on Monday
evening where they had "very interesting discussions at the club regarding the
present hard times and the people are being educated to understand what is the
matter and what must be done.""^^ This club was formed in addition to the fact that
the city already had two Knights of Labor assemblies, one English and one German,
and a cigar makers union. Hixson' s emphasis was on providing opportunities for the
working man to hear discussions, debates, and speakers so that they would become
informed in making decisions about political affairs.

As a Speaker

Hixson' s second strategy in building a dramatistic movement was to use
his speaking ability, which was recognized as powerful. This rhetorical ability had
several characteristics that he himself designed for specific ends. First, he
employed an extensive and full speaking schedule for himself He was relentless in
appearing before the public. He was in great demand as a speaker throughout the
state. We have already seen the heavy speaking schedule that he had during the
campaign. He was designated as the official state lecturer of the Wisconsin State
Farmers' Alliance.'°^ Further, he was one of the most popular speakers and debaters
for the Populist party throughout the state. The Labor Advocate fiilly reported
whenever Hixson was to speak and usually claimed after the event that the hall was
filled. An example is after he spoke at the Woodworkers union at the end of January
1894. "A large number of woodworkers were present," reported the paper, "filling
the hall to overflowing. Dr. Hixson delivered an address advocating the union of the
workers of the trade to unite for their mutual advantages, showing the advantages of
organization for the advancement of the interests of the members socially,
educationally and for mutual protection."""

The second strategy of Hixson's rhetoric was using a highly visible format
in arranging the speaking events. He often set up what amounted to a debate, or a

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

j equenced discussion in which both sides would be presented, or at least the giving
)f an opportunity for other speakers to respond after a main speaker had made his
)resentation. On one occasion the Workingmen's Club committee decided that the
principal speaker should be limited to 45 minutes and then subsequent speakers
Ibllowing would have ten minutes each. The intent was to give opportunity for other
points of view.'" This most certainly was a rule that Hixson initiated. Very
]Tequently the paper reported that Dr. Hixson also addressed the meeting if the
'eatured speaker had been someone else, as was true when the Club was addressed
py F. W. Houghton on "The Essential Needs of the Laboring.Man." Hixson
'•esponded when the main speaker was finished."^

On a later occasion of the Club's meeting, when there was "standing room
pnly" to hear Hixson address the group on the cause of panics and how to prevent
^them, a Prof Hewitt and two other gentlemen "took part in the discussion and
brought out new points but no one antagonized the speaker with arguments."''^
, Hixson eagerly accepted opportunities to debate the issues during the 1 894

jpolitical campaign. One of the most important ones was his acceptance of a debate
iwith Gov. William McKinley of Ohio that the People's party organized for the
jcapital city, Madison. Unfortunately, the death of Hixson 's mother in Kansas
prevented him from following through with the debate, but its scheduling shows the
jVisibility of Hixson's stature in the state and the level of his competence in debating
the issues. '''*

A third characteristic of Hixson's speaking was his use of an appeal to the
thinking process of his listeners. He was not primarily a rabble rouser or an
emotional speaker, though he could rise to the occasion if the situation demanded,
such as the time at the end when he gave that "ringing speech over two hours in
length" even though he was ill and should have been in bed. For the most part,
Hixson's method was to bring to the attention of the laboring class facts, statistics,
and information that were in their interests to know and to have at hand in order to
think through the issues. He wanted them to be informed first, and then be able to
act. He gave "some five hundred choice books" from his own library to the Trades
and Labor Council Library where the working men would have access to books,
magazines, and periodicals of the day free of charge.''^

In his speech on preventing panics given in the city hall on February 16,
1894, Hixson emphasized that these meetings were to be taken seriously and were
"no place to indulge in personalities or to have petty squabbles." He also wanted to
be criticized and claimed that the answer to the cause of panics "could only be
determined after hard study."' '^

As a consequence of his stress on thinking about the issues, the fourth
characteristic of Hixson's speaking was his substantial use of quotations, facts,
figures, statistics, and information to advance his arguments and his self-designated
rational conclusions. In his speech on preventing panics, Hixson quoted David
Hume, Senator John P. Jones, and W. H. Crawford, one of the assistant secretaries
of the treasury."^ The speech on government ownership of railroads included
lengthy quotations from the New York Board of Trade and Transportation and a
report from 1874, twenty years earlier, that the Senate had produced on the
monopoly of the railroad tycoons. He named the eight senators names who wrote
the report and included detailed statistics of the number of miles of railroads, the

The Rhetoric of Political Discourse in the Labor Movement

dollar amount of the capitalization, and the amount of rebates that the railroads gave
to the oil company for shipping, thus ruining the competitors."^

A fifth characteristic of Hixson's speaking, showing that he was a
moderate, was that he favored the changing of legislation as a solution, not the use
of marches or any form of violence. He advocated the use of the ballot to change the
legislation that was needed to protect the working people. This is why he was so
active in organizing political rallies and speaking at so many forums and meetings.
He wanted to get people involved in the political process and persuade them to vote
for the People's party as thinking people. He believed that he had a better chance of
persuasion if he approached the issues as a moderate. Thus when the railway strike
was on he reassured his town that his unions would not be part of it. And when
Coxey's Army marched on Washington, he criticized that approach as not the best
solution.

As an Editor

Hixson followed similar strategies in his editorial work as he did on the
speaking circuit. In his major piece on the Republicans-Democrats, he offered what
he called "some plain facts for the people to careftilly consider before they decide
upon their future political action," and then gave a thirteen-year statistical summary
he obtained from R. G. Dunn & Co. in New York on how many thousands ol
business failures there had been each year and how many millions of dollars in
liabilities resulted."^

The Hixson editorial on the cause of the panic includes the reprinting oi
"three brief chapters in the history of the financial policy of the two old monopoly-
ridden parties to destroy America," which explain his thesis that the "history of the
development of present conditions is a long one, and embraces many phases, but
each phase is intimately associated with legislation, special legislation, by which
rights and powers belong to the whole have been devoted to the interests of the
speculators, the financial pirates, that have possessed themselves of the legislative
power in states and nation."'^"

In addition to using facts and historical quotations to support his claims,
Hixson made it a standard policy to expose what he called lies and falsehoods
published by other papers. One of the classic cases was his editorial, "Some Lies
Nailed," in which he wrote: "Among the monopoly papers there are liars and liars.
Some lie guardedly, and in such a way as to make their statements look plausible.
Others lie boldly and with perfect disregard of the truth. Among the latter class is
the Globe-Democrat, a republican paper of St. Louis, with a democratic editor.
After the recent elections it came out in an article which as a sample of falsehood is
monumental." He then printed the article from that paper and concluded, "There are
exactly twenty-two sentences in that article and they contain thirty-three distinct
lies — more lies to the square inch of newspaper, perhaps, than was ever before
printed." This is followed by giving six of the "lies" and answering them one by
one. To give one example, "Lie No.l. 'The Collapse of the Populists.' The returns
show that the populists gained in every state holding elections, unless, perhaps, it is
Kansas."'^'

In another editorial, titled, "The Lying Press," Hixson denounces "the old
party press" for its labeling of the working men who were out of jobs as "tramps

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

ind vagabonds." Referring to Coxey's Army of workers who were marching on
Washington to call attention to their plight of being jobless, Hixson quotes one
■ailroad manager who refuted the press's description with the claim that they are
'made up of sober, intelligent, determined men. They are nine-tenths American
Dorn. They are respectable, honest, and remarkably well organized. There are no
3ums among them." Hixson concludes with the call to have the workers all boycott
he press of "the old parties" and "have nothing to do with their issues of lies and
vilification."'^^

This approach in identifying the lies of his opponents suggests a third
.strategy Hixson used as an editor. He often published the literal words, arguments,
or article of his opponents in order to refute them point by point. In an editorial on
whether the Cleveland administration was Republican or Democrat, Hixson quotes
jat length from the Daily Northwestern in Oshkosh to show that it is in sharp contrast
{to the Chicago Daily Times on this issue of the financial policy that Hixson believed
jwas ruining the country. Hixson concluded the editorial by suggesting with tongue
jin cheek that the Republicans ought to nominate Grover Cleveland at their next
convention because he "has ruined the democratic party and it has no more use for
:him."'23

In another case, Hixson printed an entire article from the Kansas City
Journal about the how the "financial reformers" will cast their support with the
iRepublican party in order to write one concluding paragraph in which he said that
jthe article was "ludicrous comicality" because the facts demonstrate otherwise when
[the voting in the House and Senate is examined for free coinage votes. Hixson then
reported that vote in each case to disprove the conclusion of the Journal }^'^

In a further editorial, Hixson quoted at length from the Democratic party
convention platform of 1892 in Chicago and then used it to show how the party had
pledged certain things to do but which "it will not do." After quoting the
Democratic party pledge to follow the principles formulated by Jefferson, Hixson
wrote, "That is enough to make a cow laugh."

Hixson then quoted from the historical record from Jefferson and from
previous convention platforms to show how the party had deviated from those
Jeffersonian principles. One example was the pledge to "practice the most rigid
economy in conducting our public affairs." Hixson then wrote, "When the platform
of 1840 was adopted the democratic party administered the affairs of this
government at a cost of about 75 cents a head. But the last democratic congress
considered the average cost of $7 a head was not enough and therefore voted to
increase the salary of its members."'^^

A fourth strategy as editor was to keep his readers informed about other
labor news, other union activities, and the writings of others on labor issues. He
brought to their attention those items that would enhance the status of the labor
organizations and encourage confidence in the labor leadership. For example,
Hixson published in regular columns each week what he called "Labor Notes" in
which he reported such pieces of information as "Four unions of cigarmakers were
formed in December," "J. J. Ingalls is said to be getting a good ready to join the
Populists," "Father McGlynn is speaking in the eastern cities on the labor problem
and donating the receipts to the unemployed," and "The labor organizations of
Chicago propose taking a hand in politics hereafter and have formed an

The Rhetoric of Political Discourse in the Labor Movement

organization, called the Union Labor League, to that end."^^^ He placed these Notes
on page one of his paper to give them more prominence.

After Hixson had been installed as editor for a couple months he
inaugurated a nev^ feature to keep his readers informed about news in general. He
began a large section on page two called "Pith of the Week's News," consisting oj
"Important Events Reduced to Their Lowest Terms." He used six categories with
the titles, "Congressional, Religious, Political, Foreign, Miscellaneous News, and
Market Reports," with each topic having about a dozen different sentence news
items in it. Examples of the first item in each of these from March 10, 1894, are:
Congressional — "President Cleveland returned after a nine days' trip through
Carolina... feeling greatly improved," Religious — "Members of Diversey Avenue
German Evangelical society, Chicago, laid the comer stone of their new church,'
Political — "Gov. Altgeld returned to Springfield from Hot Springs, Ark. He denied
intending to snub Lieut.-Gov. Gill," Foreign — "In the treaty with Morocco Spair
insists that the Riff tribes must go ftarther into the interior," Miscellaneous News—
"Publishers and printers of St. Paul are in the midst of an animated dispute over the
scale of wages," Market Reports — "Chicago-Common to prime. . .$1 .50 @5 10."'^^

As a way of raising the consciousness level of union members in theii
everyday interactions, Hixson printed an article from the Eight-Hour Herald thai
advocated union members informing merchants when they purchase goods that the)
are union members. Following the article, Hixson wrote that this article "is right tc
the point. In this city, the union men are largely the patrons of the merchants,
druggists, butchers, bakers, dentists, doctors, milliners, etc., but those people do nol
know it, simply because the union men and their families fail to make known the
fact."'2«

Hixson published the addresses of leading men in the Populist party,
writers that were sympathetic to the Populist platform, and letters from person such
as H. H. Livingston, described as "one of the brightest young democrats in
Missouri" who had decided to leave the Democratic party he had longed hoped
would bring democracy back to the people. Instead he wrote, "I propose to vote foi
and support the Populist party with all my vigor. The appalling wrongs inflicted
upon the common people is [sic] enough to drive any conscientious man to this
course. "^^^

Finally, Hixson used ridicule, sarcasm, humor, and political cartoons as an
appeal to gain supporters for his cause. In reporting of one the labor leaders in
Oshkosh, F. J. Weber, he said of the man, "What he lacks in grammar he makes up
in sincerity and earnestness. He deals in facts and logic and convinces the people
and rouses them to act in the proper manner. This is what is wanted, not dudes with
highly polished collars and cuffs and hands itching for corporate lucre. "'^°

One of Hixson's attempts at ridicule was his publishing of W. S. Morgan's
"Democratic Prayer" that became so popular that the National Reformer had tc
reissue it. Hixson wrote that the seven prayers were so valuable that he decided to
publish all seven of them in his paper, one a week. He hoped that doing this would
help to increase his subscriptions at the same time. The first part of one of the
prayers and its ending are as follows:

Oh, thou great and mighty Cleveland! Thou art great beyond all

others. Thou are wiser than two serpents. Thou art all powerful,

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

for in the hollow of thy hand thou holdest the offices. Oh,
almighty master, thou art great beyond comprehension. Before
thee there was none other, neither shall there be any after thee, for
thou shalt have a third term. Aye, thou shalt be our king, and John
Sherman shall be our priest at the gold altar. ...Lead us not into
temptation of the Populists, but deliver us from the evils of more
money, better prices and less debts. Give us bonds; give us gold;
give us debts; give us state banks; give us Chinamen; give us
more Greshams; give us low prices; give us hard times; give us
our political creed; give us office; and we will ever sing thy
praises and thine shall be the power as long as we have a 'chance'
to vote for thee. Amen."

One of the poems Hixson published was called "Grover's Hymn."

My country, 'tis of me,

Land of monopoly.

Of me I sing:

Land of the goldbug rule.

Land of the tariff fool.

The daily press my tool —

Great God! I'm king!— Ex.'^^

As a Rhetorical Movement Leader

In being an organizer, a rhetorical advocate, and an editor, Hixson became
a rhetorical movement leader. The political movement he engaged in was reformist.
He wanted change in the political leadership by throwing out the two main political
parties and installing the People's party. In this attempt he used his voice and his
pen. In this sense he was what Eric Hoffer calls a "Man of Words,"^^^ and what
Golden et al call a rhetor of "social protesf who uses "a demanding and urgent
rhetoric aimed at (a) unifying and molding an organized effort from the powerless
disciples and (b) concerned with symbolically destroying the establishment in an
effort to initiate the desired change."'^^

A rhetorical movement is a pattern of verbal behavior by an organized
collective of individuals using a variety of means of agitation and mobilization that
employs a sequence of phases of activity toward a common end — ^the use of
language for social change. The antislavery movement and the civil rights
movement were rhetorical movements. The nineteenth century reformist movement
represented by the People's party was a rhetorical movement. As previously
suggested, one of the methods of studying rhetorical movements is the dramatistic
perspective of Kenneth Burke. This includes the concept of the speaker's message
as an identification with the interests of the audience and the use of universal
motives of establishing hierarchy, guilt, victimage and redemption through verbal
behavior.'^'*

Humans are symbol-using animals who use language and covenants to
establish a hierarchy of order. This hierarchy can result in oppression that in turn
can cause some to become disenchanted with it and want to say No to it. The denial
eventually produces a feeling of guilt in bringing about an alienation, so there must

The Rhetoric of Political Discourse in the Labor Movement

be a process of mortification, which is the symbolic killing of oneself, or
scapegoating, the process of symbolically killing some one else. Following the
sacrifice comes the redemption process of building a new order, which brings new
life.

In Hixson's rhetorical movement of reform, and in particular the People's
party, can be seen his disenchantment with and attack on the political establishment
for its corruption, its support of monopolies and business corporations, and its
making of policies that suppress the working class people. His symbolic saying of
No to monied interests and major political parties created the guilt for rejecting the
establishment. The sacrifice had to be the killing politically of the two parties which
in turn made them into the scapegoat in Hixson's eyes. If this were to occur, this
would enable the process of redemption to bring into the political arena new life and
a new order. Hixson's insistent call for protecting the human fi"eedom and natural
rights of the common people by removing the monopolies that the two political
parties supported and that the government legislated into being was the vision for
the new order.

The Impact of Hixson's Rhetoric of Reform

Losing the 1894 Campaign

The election of 1 894 in which Hixson worked hard for the success of the
People's party did not come out the way he had hoped. The official figures
published for Wisconsin were as follows:

Governor

Upham, Republican 6,538

Peck, Democrat 3,964

Powell, Populist 1,056 , w„

Cleghom, Prohibition 374
The results for the other state offices were at the same ratio. '^^ The news headline
in the Daily Northwestern was that the "Republicans Sweep the State."'^^ Hixson's
own paper featured the Democratic viewpoint on the election when it published the
headline, "The New York World's Opinion of the People's Party Says That in the
West and South the People are Dissatisfied With Both Old Parties - Calls Populism
a Serious Factor in American Politics."'^'' A month later it published a political
cartoon showing the gains the People's Party had made compared to 1892. It
showed a figure similar to the Statue of Liberty holding a banner with the following
numbers:

People's Republican Democrat

1892 1,000,000 6,000,000 6,125,000

1894 3,000,000 5,850,000 4,950,000'^^

The People's party was putting the best light that they could on their overall defeat.

Winning the People

Hixson's personal impact may be seen in the eulogies that came his way
following his death, just a couple weeks after the election. Taking eulogies for what
they are, it is still instructive to examine them for the points of emphasis that they
make about the man. The editorial in the Labor Advocate said that Hixson was a

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

man "with master mind and noble heart, with unusual talent and a bright future." It
called "the doctor one of the brightest minds and most capable workers in the
movement for reform" and "a ripe scholar, a progressive thinker and an aggressive
worker for the cause of humanity." Claiming him "a martyr to principle" because he
"hastened his death by lecturing night after night when the beginning of the disease
which caused his death had entirely unfitted him for the platform," the new editor
concluded that "he loved humanity more than himself."

"In the death of Dr. Hixson," he continued, "the people's [sic] party loses
one of its brightest orators and most skilled debaters [sic]. His ability was known
not only in Wisconsin but in a dozen states where he had championed the cause of
the weak against the strong and taken sides with labor in its effort to secure better
conditions."'^^

Hixson' s successor at the Labor Advocate gave him great praise also in
terms of the status of the paper. He claimed that the past year, which was the year of
Hixson' s editorship, "has been a very successful one" and "its standing among its
subscribers and advertisers has never been so good as at present time." Further he
boasted, "It is considered the leading populist and labor paper in the state, and its
attitude on affairs of the industrial world has given it a welcome in the homes of the
masses.

In Madison, the state capital, the People's party club passed resolutions on
behalf of their friend and advocate, Dr. Hixson, on Sunday, December 1, saying that
he was one of "the champions of the people's party principles" and "one of the most
eloquent and potent advocates of humanity's cause in the state of Wisconsin." The
resolution described him in Madison on one occasion as one "who created a great
sensation in the capital city last August, by the logical, convincing and powerful
arguments he gave fi-om the east steps of the capitol at that time." The resolution
further stated that the club "deeply and sincerely deplore[d] the sudden departure"
of "the people's peerless champion who so cheerfully sacrificed himself for the
cause of humanity at all times by his impassioned tongue and trenchant pen."^"*'

Winning the Issues

Though Hixson and the People's party were not successftil in the campaign
of 1894, he was part of a movement in Wisconsin that eventually emerged into a
significant political force. Hixson had urged his party followers to change the
conditions that were causing the depression, namely, to vote for the People's party,
not the Republican or Democrat candidates who were cut out of the same cloth. He
argued that both of those party officials simply wanted to have and maintain power,
not change legislation that would help the workingman.

Democratic political leaders "capitalized on Republican corruption," but
they, too, "appeared willing to utilize questionable means to maintain power," and
were seen as "deeply involved in their association with big business tycoons to
become a reform party."'"^^ Except for the election of 1892 when Grover Cleveland
won the White House, Wisconsin had voted Republican.'''^ The Republican win of
1894 which swept the Democratic Governor Peck out of office was part of the
movement to discredit the Democratic national administration. But the Republicans
didn't have all the answers either.

The Rhetoric of PoUtical Discourse in the Labor Movement

Hixson was a regional reformer who assisted in the work while Robert
Schilling "crafted the Wisconsin People's party" in the mid-1 880s where he had
been arrested and jailed for leading peaceful boycotts that ended up in violence
when state troops fired on and killed five demonstrators on May 5, 1886, at
Milwaukee's eight-hour-day strikes. ^"^"^ Schilling was the leader of the Knights of
Labor in Wisconsin before forming the People's party where he had "spearheaded
the eight-hour-day movement" in 1886.''*^ He was elected national secretary of the
People's party in 1891.^^^

The Rise of the Progressive Movement ^

The year that Hixson campaigned so vigorously throughout Wisconsin,
1894, was the "peak year" for the People's party in Wisconsin, even though it "had
little impact," for the labor movement "was to find its political outlet in a new
socialist movement, built by Victor Berger, and in the support of Robert La
Follette's progressive movement, which was to capture control of the Republican
party. "'"^^ Perlman, in Commons (1966), says that this was the year that "was
exceptional for labour disturbances" and the year that "the trade unions were active
participants in politics," as Hixson' s story demonstrates.'"^^

The new circumstances and changing conditions helped to set the stage for
the rise of the Progressive Movement that made Wisconsin come to the national
attention of political observers. Robert La Follette is given the credit for being the
Progressive leader as the twentieth century began,''* but the efforts of populist
leaders like Schilling and Hixson must be taken into consideration in assessing the
forming influences in that labor state.

Wisconsin produced another leader of thought in the person of Frederick
Jackson Turner of the University of Wisconsin who, in the months before Hixson,
was ardently campaigning for the workingman, and presented his now famous paper
to the American Historical Association in Chicago. In this paper he advocated his
"Frontier Thesis" that argued the westward expansion was the heart of the American
character. "Behind institutions," he said, "behind constitutional forms and
modifications, lie the vital forces that call these organs into life, and shape them to
meet changing conditions."'^"

Hixson was one of these "vital forces" who
helped call new life into the established forms by his pen
in The Labor Advocate and by his voice on behalf of the
People's party. He helped to bring to light the
unacceptable working conditions of the laboring class and
to make popular the rights of the workers and ordinary
people in the face of the dominating big business and
corporate greed. As Nesbit says of Schilling, it could be
said of his colleague Hixson that though he had a "most
persuasive voice arguing for a community of purpose and
action," his career in the Wisconsin labor movement "may well stand as a metaphor
for the trials of industrial labor in those tumultuous years."'^' In this way, Hixson
was an identification with both the positive and the negative of the movement.

I Ashland Theological Journal 2006

iHixson on the Cutting Edge

I Though the People's party that Hixson helped lead in Wisconsin did not

win in the 1 894 election, Fink concludes that at the end of the Gilded Age "the
workingmen's political movement had at least raised a critique of corporate power
and an affirmation of popular rights that would play an abiding role in the political
culture."'^^ Wages, working hours, unionization, and child labor laws were among
the issues Hixson fought for, helping to make Wisconsin one of the leaders among
jthe states. Non-union wages (15 cents an hour) were less than half that of union
[wages (33 cents) in manufacturing occupations' ^ and the minimum age for children
to work was 14 in only nine states, including Wisconsin.'^'*

Reformers wanted laws covering more occupations, raising the minimum
age for working, and decreasing the number of hours they could work. Brandeis
says that "prior to 1900 the typical child labor law remained limited in scope to
children employed in manufacturing; set a minimum of 12 years; fixed maximum
hours at 19 per day; contained some sketchy requirements as to school attendance
land literacy.... "'^^ Hixson was on the cutting edge in a state that became well-
known for its reform movements.

IHixson an Intellectual Turned Agitator

I Though Hixson 's reform efforts may have lived on in the emerging

'Progressive Movement in Wisconsin following his death, and in the larger labor
reform movement, it is also true that at the heart of this labor "agitator," as he was
called, and as he called himself, was the soul of an educator. He was a teacher,
whether in a college, in a normal school, in the pulpit, in a labor hall, or in the
columns of a labor paper. There are two of his books in the possession of the author
from his voluminous hbrary.'^^ It was estimated to have held anywhere from 250 to
500 volumes, which he loaned to the free library of the city of Oshkosh and later
established for the Trades and Labor Council. The Hixson name plates are on the
inside covers.

One book shows his interest in the gospel and the humanities as a book to
be used among his union members. '^^ It is the 670-page, The Life and Words of
Christ, by Cunningham Geikie, 1880. The nameplate indicates that it is Number
246 in "The Dr. H. F. Hixon [sic] Library. Trades and Labor Council Property." The
other book is A Natural Philosophy by G. P. Quackenbos, 1872. It is No. 157 A in
the "Private Library of H. F. Hixson." The preface of the philosophy book says, "It
is in the hope of investing this subject with a lively interest and bringing it home to
the student by exhibiting the application of scientific principles in every-day life,
that the Natural Philosophy here presented to the public has been prepared."'^ Such
a book underscores Hixson' s career of bringing ideas down to earth for practical
application. He was an intellectual turned activist.

Inside the front cover and the back cover are a number of handwritten
notes, quotations, and poems that help to disclose the mind of Hixson himself In
the back, he has inscribed from Horace Mann, "Education is to inspire truth as the
supreme good and to clarify the vision of the intellect to discern it." This may well
have been his motto for life as a teacher and reformer.

Another verse on the inside front is, "It is not just as we take it. This
mystical life of ours, Life's field will yield as we make it, A harvest of thorns or

The Rhetoric of Political Discourse in the Labor Movement

flowers." It is not just the intellect that he wants to clarify and change, but he wants
to stir the emotions to take action to make life into the good and the beautiful.
Another verse he has written that reveals his penchant for action is, "To have ideas
is to gather flowers; to think is to weave them into garlands." His life's commitment
to think, to inquire and to investigate is seen in this verse as well as his statement
from the speech on how to prevent financial panics: "It was then through the efforts
of labor agitators, (such men as myself) who want to know the why and wherefore
of things" that legislation was passed to change the conditions that had enabled the
"capitalists" to be "made rich by the workingmen's labor."' ^'

Others perceived Hixson as being "a profound thinker always studying to
elevate the condition of his fellowman, and though sometimes erratic in his maimer,
it must be said of him that everything he undertook was begun with a sense of its
righteousness and justice."'^*' His intensity and sincerity were highlighted in an
editorial at the time of his death.

With the death of Dr. Hiram F. Hixson, the people's [sic] party
loses one of its hardest workers in the state of Wisconsin. He was
really one of the originators of the movement having inculcated
many of its principles while addressing Farmers Alliance
gatherings in Ohio and other states.... He implicitly believed in
the principles for which he fought, and he worked arduously for
those principles regardless of wealth, honor or position, when he
might have attained all three by simply training the batteries of his
ability to their direction. The intense fanaticism of the man is
readily seen, when, almost overcome by the disease that snuffed
out his life, he persisted in walking at the head of a procession,
through several inches of slush, and afterwards holding the
attention of audience for two hours in a room where heavy
clothing failed to keep the audience from being chilled.'^'

It is interesting that Hixson had established his own credibility as a leader
in the Wisconsin labor movement, when he had never been a laborer himself and
had not come up through the workingmen's ranks, nor had he grown up in
Wisconsin. He came into the state as a "doctor," as an intellectual, an editor of labor
papers and as a reformer from here and there. His own power of writing and of
speech must have been persuasive and effective, for he was always looked to for a
response in those Workingmen's Club meetings that he attended regularly and at
which he often had something controversial to say following the main address.

He was recognized as a speaker who was well-informed and who had the
facts on his side and used them. In this way he was similar to his father-in-law who
was well known for his well-supported sermons and writings, with "facts," and
"evidence," with scripture, with observations from life, and with sequential
arguments. Hixson' s passing from the scene left a hole in Wisconsin politics and in
the political rhetoric of reform but most certainly also in the life of his wife and
daughter who met tragic ends, as well.

For his wife, forty years in a state hospital was a sad end to a promising
young woman who married a promising young man, both with many talents. In
addition to all his educational and political accomplishments, Hixson was also a

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

talented flute player. '^^ If Anna's voice lessons at Ashland and at Berea had made
her into a singer, perhaps for a few years they sang and played together before the
tragedies struck.

For his daughter, who became a graduate of Boston Latin School and
Radcliffe College, forty-five years in a state hospital in Kentucky was another sad
end to a young woman with great promise.'^"* Anna brought into the Baker family a
man of great ambition, considerable talent, and uncommon promise. But with it all
came tragedy and untimely deaths of body and mind.

In a final sense, Hixson became a rhetorical sacrifice in Burke's concept of
the death of the old order for bringing in the redemptive process of the new order.
The rhetoric of reform in political discourse arises in every generation. Hixson was
an interesting and colorful representative of his — an educator turned agitator.

' John M. Bailey, "Notes on The Diaries of David Bailey," August 1999. Typed notes in the
i Ashland University Archives. Chapter 2, p. 2 (9-19-79).
I ' Ibid., (9-16-79) and p. 3 (9-9-80).

i^ Clara Worst Miller & Edward Glenn Mason, The History of Ashland College, 1878-1953.
i Ashland, OH: Brethren Publishing Co., 1953, p. 20.

■* Annual Catalogue, Ashland College, 1884-85, p. 5. Available:
http://archives.ashland.edu/catalogs/1884.
Mbid., 1879 catalogue.

^ Handwritten article [1919] by C. F. Brown, about his days at Ashland College, beginning in
1879, in the Ashland University Archives.
^ Annual Catalogue, Ashland College, ibid., 1884-85, p. 6.
^ "College Items;' Ashland Press, March, 18, 1880, p. 3.
■^Ibid., April 8, 1880, p. 3.
"* Ibid., Jan. 15,1 880, p. 3, and Apr. 8, 1 880, p. 3.

" Program of the "Commencement Exercises, Ashland College, Ashland, Ohio, for 1881,"
copy in the Ashland University Archives.

'^ Program of the 1881 class tided, "Hear Ye! Hear Ye!! Hear Ye!!! Grand Blow-Off of the
New Bom Alumni!," copy in the Ashland University Archives.
'^ Ibid.

''' Program for the "Graduating Exercises, Class of '81, Ashland College, June 22, 1881,"
copy in the Ashland University Archives.

'^ For a biographical sketch of Frances Davidson, see E. Morris Sider, Nine Portraits:
Brethren in Christ Biographical Sketches. Nappanee, IN: Evangel Press, 1978, pp. 157-212.
'^ Frances Davidson Diaries, op. cit., Apr. 18 and May 6, 1881.

'^ Sider, op. cit., p. 161. Sider notes that in 1884 she "appears to have been the first person in
the denomination, man or woman, to have obtained a formal academic degree," p. 161.

The Ashland Times, Sept. 1, 1881, p. 5.
'^ Copy in the Stark County Courthouse, Marriage Records, Canton, Ohio.
^° Ashland College Bulletin, 1886. Available: http://archives.ashland.edu/achistory.
^' Professor Stubbs was vice president under Miller and taught Greek, Bible, and English.
According to Frances Davidson, he was "the best and most respected Prof, in the college,"
but told Frances he was not going to stay at the college past that year. This was "the greatest
blow" to her and caused her to reconsider whether she wanted to stay. See her Diaries, op.
cit., for Dec. 18, 1881. As it happened, he must have changed his mind, because he stayed on
as president the next year, 1882-83, but she did not stay.
^^ Miller & Mason, op. cit., p. 29.
^^ John M. Bailey, op. cit.. Chapter 2, pages 4 and 13, for June 14, 1883 and March 13, 1883.

The Rhetoric of Political Discourse in the Labor Movement

^'* Miller & Mason mention Hixson as one of the men who "directed the affairs of the

college" from 1882 until 1888, more as "principals" than as "presidents," p. 29. The Ashland

College Bulletin, p. 19, lists Rev. Elijah Burgess as acting president for 1883-84 but indicates

that he was "not resident." "Frank Hixon" [sic] is listed as principal from 1884-85. Available:

http://archives.ashland.edu/achistory/page 1 7.html. The newspaper accounts for this period

make very clear, however, that Frank Hixson was serving as president of the college from

1883-85, in terms of the language used to describe him and in terms of the activities

associated with his name. The Diary Notes by John M. Bailey of David Bailey's Diaries also

makes it definite that Hixson was elected on June 14, 1883, as president of the college. He

writes, "Trustees elect Hixson president." The Ashland University Archives holds an

employee card that says he was "president."

" Ashland Press, May 4, 1882, p. 3.

^^ Johns Hopkins University Special Collections and Archives, Record Group 13.010, Office

of Registrar, series 1, "Hixson, Hiram Franklin." Copy made available by James Stimpert,

Archivist.

^^ W. Norman Brown, "Hixson, Hiram Franklin," Johns Hopkins Half-Century Directory,

1876-1926. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University, 1926, p. 165. Copy made available by

James Stimpert, Archivist.

^^ Stephen E. Epler, Honorary Degrees: A Survey of Their Use and Abuse. Washington, D.C.:

American Council on Public Affairs, 1943, p, 17. See chapter III on the opposition to the

honorary Ph.D. The U.S. Bureau of Education reported that in 1881 49 honorary Ph.D.

degrees were awarded, 30 in 1882, and 36 in 1883 (p. 62). It was noted that some of the big

eastern universities engaged in the practice and that "the practice of conferring honorary

Ph.D. degrees was spreading to the small colleges all over the country" (p. 64). Opposition to

the practice began growing in the 1880s and 1890s when Michigan, Princeton, and

Dartmouth stopped giving the honorary Ph.D. (p. 60). But as late as 1897 honorary Ph.D.

degrees were still awarded by Hamilton College, St. John's College, Dartmouth College, and

Union College (p. 67). In some cases the degree was conferred "for advanced study and

research carried on in residence" (p. 65). There could have been two motivations for Ashland

College to award such a degree to Hixson. He may have carried on advanced study while he

continued teaching there for two years following his graduation in 1881 or to lend status to

him as the new president as he began office and thereby to the college itself which was going

through a difficult transition period following the church's division into the Progressives and

conservatives.

^^ "Gone to His Last Rest," The Chippewa Herald, Nov. 23, 1894, p. 3. Copy made available

through the kindness of Trent L. Nichols, Director, Wisconsin Historical Foundation. "To His

Everlasfing Rest," The Labor Advocate, Nov. 30, 1 894, p. 1 .

^° David Roepke, Ashland University Archivist, personal communication to the author, April

23,2002

^'Ibid.

^^ Miller & Mason, op. cit., p. 22.

^^The present article on Hixson was completed in 2003. During the summer of 2006, Dale

Stoffer, Academic Dean of Ashland Theological Seminary, discovered in his research a

source that does positively claim Hixson was awarded a Ph.D. by Ashland College Board of

Trustees at its board meeting on June 26, 1883, just days after he was elected the new

president on June 14. The source is The Progressive Christian, V, p. 3 (June 20, 1883 and

June 27, 1883). Communication to the author, August 30, 2006.

^^ The Ashland Times, May 21, 1885, p. 1.

^^ Ibid.

^^Ibid. . ,

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

^' Ibid. The following week the same newspaper reported, "On Tuesday evening were the

graduating exercises of the Normal Class. The College had never before in its history sent out

a single graduate from the Normal Department. But, when two years ago Professor Hixson

was elected President this department was immediately set on a firm basis and the Normal

Class organized. Six of those who entered have completed the course laid out, which is equal

to the course of the best normal schools." The Ashland Times, June 4, 1885, p. 1.

^^ The Ashland Press, June 4, 1885, p. 3.

^'^ Ashland Times, May 21, 1885, p. 1.

^'^ Ibid., June 4, 1885, p. 1.

'" Miller & Mason, op. cit., p. 30; Annual Catalogue, Ashland College, 1884-85, op. cit., p.

19. Page 19 states that Elijah Burgess was acting president for 1883-84 ("not residenf ) and

that A. E. Winters was for 1885, but "never assumed office." Miller & Mason state that

Hixson, Winters, Mykrantz, Perry and Felger "should be designated as principals" from

1882, when Robert Miller resigned, until 1888, p. 29. They do not mention Stubbs or

Burgess. The 1884-85 catalogue does not include Mykrantz, p. 19. The Miller & Mason

history acknowledges that many of their facts about these leaders of the college "have been

provided from manuscripts left by Dr. J. Allen Miller," p. 29, who was president of Ashland

from 1899-1906, p. 20 of the 1884-85 catalogue, op. cit. In light of these inconsistent dates

and names, the information from the two local newspapers during 1883-85, at the very time

of Hixson' s presidency, as they used the title, would lend credence to their claim since it was

contemporary.

"^^ Ashland College Bulletin, 1886, p. 9. Available: http://archives.Ashland.edu/

achi story/page07 . html

^^ John M. Bailey, op. cit., 1888, Chapter 2, p. 4.

^ Ibid., June 6, 1 885, Chapter 2, p. 4.

^^ Ibid., Oct. 30, 1885, Chapter 2, p. 4

^^ "Dr. H. F. Hixson Dead," The Daily Northwestern (Oshkosh, WI), Nov. 23, 1894, p. 1.

'*'' William A. Sausaman, "Ten Generations of Hixsons in America (1686-1976)." Springfield,

IL, 1977, p. 78. Typed manuscript in Special Collections, Wright State University.

"^ Johns Hopkins University Circulars, Vol. 5, No. 44 (November 1885), pp. 16, 17, 26;

James Stimpert, Archivist, The Milton S. Eisenhower Library, The Johns Hopkins

University, personal communication to the author, March 28, 2002. Mr. Stimpert writes that

there were no deans or other such administrative posts at Hopkins until the 20' century.

"^^ Sausaman, op. cit.

^'^ Nelson Case (Ed.), History of Labette County, Kansas and Its Representative Citizens.

Chicago: Biographical Publishing, 1901, "Religious Organizations," pp. 321-334. Available:

http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/archives/labette/1901/321-334.

^' Ibid., "Educational," pp. 195-201.

^^ "Faculty Record of H. T. [sic] Hixson," an employee card in the Ashland University

Archives.

" "Biographical [of 'Hiram F. Hixon']," The Labor Advocate, Nov. 30, 1894, p. 1.

^"^ Case, "Religious Organizations," op. cit.

^^ John R. Commons, David J. Saposs, Helen L. Sumner, E. B. Mittelman, H. E. Hoagland,

John B. Andrews & Selig Perlman. History of Labour in the United States, Vol. II. New

York: Augustus M. Kelley, Publishers, 1966, p. 489.

^^ "Dr. H. F. Hixson Dead," op. cit.

^^It should be noted, however, that Hixson was thinking about the labor problem much earlier

than this, even while he was teaching at Ashland College. The Progressive Christian reports

that his topic in the Free Lecture Course at the College on May 7, 1883, was "The Status of

America." In this address he "he dwelt to some extent on the conflict between labor and

The Rhetoric of PoHtical Discourse in the Labor Movement

capital." See The Progressive Christian, V, p. 3 (May 16, 1883). Supplied by Dale Stoffer in

a communication to the author, August 30, 2006.

^^ John D. Hicks, The Populist Revolt: A History of the Farmers' Alliance and the People's

Party. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1961, pp. 102, 103.

^^ "Gone to His Last Rest," The Chippewa Herald (WI), Nov. 23, 1894, p. 3. Copy made

available through the courtesy of Trent L. Nichols, Director, Wisconsin Historical

Foundation, Madison, WL "To His Everlasting Rest" also indicates that he "organized the

Farmers' Alliance in the state of Ohio," op. cit.

^^ William A. Peffer, Populism, Its Rise and Fall. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas,

1992, p. 44.

^' Sausaman, op. cit.

^^ "Gone to His Last Rest," op. cit.

"Peffer, op. cit., pp. 60, 61.

^'' The Ashland Press, Feb. 19, 1891, p. 1; "Local Matters," The Ashland Times, Feb. 19,

1891, p. 5.

^^ "Gone to His Last Rest," op. cit.

^^ "Dr. H. F. Hixson Dead," op. cit.; "To His Everlasting Rest," op. cit.

^^ Sausaman, op. cit.

^^ The Daily Northwestern, Jan. 25, 1894, p. 4.

^^ Ibid., Aug. 1, 1894, p. 4.

™ "To His Everlasting Rest," The Labor Advocate, Nov. 30, 1894, p. 1. ~

^' "Madison Notes," The Labor Advocate, Dec. 14, 1894, p. 1.

^2 Ibid.

^^ "Death of Dr. H. E.[sic] Hixson," The Louisville Herald, Dec. 7, 1894, p. 5.

''^ "Dr. Hixson's Funeral," The Daily Northwestern, Nov. 26, 1894, p. 4; "Gone to His Last

Rest," op. cit.

^^ The Daily Northwestern, Nov. 15, 1894, p. 4. The Labor Advocate reports that his" father

had been telegraphed for and arrived in Chippewa Falls ten days prior to the death of his son,

and during that time remained by his bedside," Nov. 30, 1894, p. 1.

^^ There is also no mention of his wife accompanying him to Parsons, Kansas, when he went

for the funeral of his mother six weeks earlier. In fact, in all of ten different accounts of

Hixson's illness, death and fianeral arrangements in four different newspapers, there is not

one mention of his wife or daughter being at his side or attending the funeral. The Chippewa

Herald reports, "At his bedside when he expired was his father A. J. Hixon [sic], of Parsons,

Kansas, M. P. Larrabee, of this city and other gentlemen of local prominence. His final

moments were peaceful as a child's, and he retained consciousness to the last. He recognized

the faces congregated around him and from time to time before the end came addressed a few

remarks to his father mainly in the nature of an instruction regarding matters which he wished

accomplished after he had gone," "Gone to His Last Rest," Nov. 23, 1894, p. 3. Copy made

available through the kindness of Trent L. Nichols, Director, The Wisconsin Historical

Foundation, Madison, WI.

'''' "Populists Meet," The Daily Northwestern, Aug. 21, 1894, p. 4. See also "To Prevent

Panics," The Daily Northwestern, Feb. 17, 1894, p. 5 and "Dr. Hixson Speaks," The Daily

Northwestern, Apr. 6, 1894, p. 5.

Walter T. K. Nugent, The Tolerant Populists: Kansas Populism and Nativism. Chicago:
The University of Chicago Press, 1963, p. 238.
™Ibid.

^° Ibid., p. 239.

*^' Thomas F. Mader, "Burkean Rites and the Gettysburg Address." In David Zarefsky (Ed.),
Rhetorical Movement: Essays in Honor of Leland M. Griffin. Evanston: Northwestern
University Press, 1993, p. 133.

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

^^ Quoted in Marie Hochmuth Nichols, "Kenneth Burke and the 'New Rhetoric.'" In James

L. Golden, Goodwin F. Berquist & William E. Coleman, The Rhetoric of Western Thought,

Fifth Edition. Dubuque, lA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co., 1992, p. 218.

^^ "Reduce the Rents," The Labor Advocate, Feb. 10, 1894, p. 1.

^'* "Dr. Hixson Speaks: Government and Railroads," The Daily Advocate, Apr. 6, 1894, p. 5.

^^ "How to Prevent Panics," The Dailv Northwestern, Feb. 17, 1894, p. 5.

^^ Ibid.

^^ "Populists Meet," The Daily Northwestern, Aug. 21, 1894, p. 4.

^^ Ibid.

"Problem for the Intelligent," The Labor Advocate, Jan. 20, 1894, p. 4.
"A Cut Throat System," ibid.

^' "Cheap Goods, Cheap Labor," ibid.

^^ "Republicans-Democrats," The Labor Advocate, Jan. 27, 1894, p. 1.

^Mbid.

^"^ "The Labor Movement," r//e LaZ7or^Jvoca?e, Feb. 3, 1894, p. 1. i •"■'

^^Ibid. ■ -

^^ "The Labor Agitator," The Labor Advocate, Feb. 3, p. 4. .' .

^^ "Where Do You Stand?", The Labor Advocate, Feb. 24, 1894, p. 4.

^^ "Government Ownership," r/2eLaZ)or ^^vocate. Mar. 10, 1894, p. 1.

^^ "Confidence," The Labor Advocate, Mar. 10, 1894, p. 3.

^"° "Wages in Oshkosh," r/ze la&or^Jvocate, Mar. 17, 1894, p. 1.

'°' "The Banking System," The Labor Advocate, Mar. 1 7, 1 894, p. 1 . '

^''^"Summary of Losses," 7%e LaZ^or^tivoca/e, Mar. 31, p. 1. '

'°^ "Municipal Ownership," The Labor Advocate, Apr. 7, 1 894, p. 4.

**^^ Most of this section on Hixson's Rhetorical Strategies and half of the following section on

The Impact of Hixson's Rhetoric of Reform have been published as an article under the title,

"Wisconsin's Populist Leader: Dr. H. Frank Hixson's Rhetorical Strategies and Impact in the

1894 Campaign," Journal of the Wisconsin Communication Association, XXV, 2005-2006

[March 2006], [14-24].

'"-' The Labor Advocate, Jan. 13, 1894, p. 4.

^°^ Ibid., Jan. 27, 1894, p. 5.

'"' Ibid., Feb. 10, 1894, p. 5.

^"^ Ibid., Feb. 3, 1894, p. 5.

109

Ibid., Mar. 10, 1894, p. 5.

Ibid., Feb. 3, 1894, p. 5.

Ibid.

Ibid., Feb. 10, 1894, p. 5.

Ibid., Feb. 24, 1894, p. 5.

The Daily Northwestern, Oct. 3, 1894, p. 5.

The Labor Advocate, Jan. 27, 1894, p. 4.

Ibid., Feb. 17, 1894, p. 5.
^ The Daily Northwestern, Feb. 17, 1894, p. 5.
" Ibid., Apr. 6, 1894, p. 5.

The Labor Advocate, Jan. 27, 1894, p. 1.

Ibid., Feb. 3, 1894, p. 1.
'"Ibid., Feb. 10, 1894, p. 3.
'^^ Ibid., May 5, 1894, p. 4.
'^Mbid., Feb. 3, 1894, p. 4.
''' Ibid., p. 8.

^^^ Ibid., Feb. 10, 1894, p. 3.
'^^ Ibid., Jan. 13, p. 1 and Jan. 20, p. I.

The Rhetoric of Political Discourse in the Labor Movement

'^Mbid., Mar. 10, 1894, p. 2.

'^* Ibid., Mar. 24, 1894, p. 4.

'^''ibid.. Mar. 31, 1894, p. 3.

'^^ Ibid., Mar. 10, 1894, p. 5.

'^1 Ibid., Feb. 3, p. 4.

'^' James L. Golden, Goodwin F. Berquist & William E. Coleman, The Rhetoric of Western

Thought, 5"" Edition. Dubuque, lA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 1992, p. 423.

'^^ Ibid., p. 424.

'^^ Thomas F. Mader, op. cit., pp. 132, 134-137.

^^^ TheDailyNorthw'estern,no\.9,\%9A,^.\. a. ,--^

'^^ Ibid., Nov. 7, 1894, p. 1.

^^^ The Labor Advocate,T>QC.lA^9A,^.\.

'^^Ibid., Jan. 4, 1895,p. 2.

'^''lbid.,Nov. 30, 1894,p. 4.

'^"ibid., Dec. 7, 1894,p. 4.

'^' Ibid., Dec. 14, 1894, p. 1.

'"^^ Larry Gara, A Short History of Wisconsin. Madison: The State Historical Society of

Wisconsin, 1962, p. 173.

'^Mbid.,p. 171

^'^ Leon Fink, Workingmen 's Democracy: The Knights of Labor and American Politics.

Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1983, pp. 194, 196.

'^^Ibid., p. 161.

'""^ Robert C. Nesbit, Wisconsin: A History. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press,

1973, p. 394.

•^^Ibid.

''^^ John R. Commons, et al, op. cit, pp. 501, 51 1.

'"^^ See Gara, op. cit., chapter six.

'^'' Quoted in Gara, op. cit., pp. 176, 177.

'^' Nesbit, op. cit., p. 384.

'^^ Leon Fink, op. cit., p. 227.

'" Don D. Lescohier, History of Labor in the United States, 1896-1932, Vol. III. New York:

The Macmillan Co., 1935, p. 56.

'^'^ Elizabeth Brandeis, "Labor Legislation," in Lescohier, op. cit., p. 405.

''' Ibid.

'^^ These were among the books from Dr. Baker and his daughters that were given to the

author's parents at the time of the daughters' deaths in the 1940s: Cunningham Geikie, The

Life and Words of Christ. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1880 and G. P. Quackenbos, A

Natural Philosophy: Embracing the Most Recent Discoveries in the Various Branches of

Physics, and Exhibiting the Application of Scientific Principles in Every-Day Life. New

York: D. Appleton & Co., 1 872. 450 pp.

'^^ Though he was an ordained Baptist minister, he apparently never had a charge.

'^^ Quackenbos, op, cit, p. 3.

159 44Jq Prevent Panics," The Daily Northwestern, Feb. 17, 1894, p. 5.

'^"^ "Gone to His Last Rest," op. cit.

'^' "[Editorial]," The Chippewa Herald, Nov. 23, 1894, p. 2. Copy made available through

the courtesy of Trent L. Nichols, Director, Wisconsin Historical Foundation, Madison, WI.

'^^ Ten years following the death of Hixson, Anna suffered mental illness in the form of

schizophrenia and was institutionalized in the Massillon (Ohio) State Hospital where she

remained until her death in 1945.

'^^ Sausaman, op. cit.

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

^^ His daughter. Methyl Hixson Bradbury, likewise suffered from schizophrenia and was
institutionalized in a state hospital in Louisville, Kentucky, about ten years following her
mother's commitment, and remained there until her death in 1963. She left her three small
boys for her husband, William F. Bradbury, a Harvard graduate and a successful high school
teacher, to bring up with the help of a German housekeeper. For the full account of these
stories of Hixson' s wife and daughter and family, see D. Ray Heisey, Healing Body and
Soul: The Life and Times of Dr. W. O. Baker, 1827-1916. Grantham, PA: The Brethren in
Christ Historical Society, 2004.

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Ashland Theological Journal 2006

Critical Junctures in American Evangelicalism: I
The Age of Revivals and the First Amendment

By Randall Balmer*

With the possible exception of the Second Great Awakening, no event in
American religious history was more formative than the First Great Awakening, a
massive revival of religion that swept through the Atlantic colonies in the middle
decades of the eighteenth century. The Great Awakening reconfigured religious life
in the colonies, and it introduced to American society a peculiar strain of
evangelicalism that remains America's folk religion to this day. The Great
Awakening featured such itinerant preachers as James Davenport, Gilbert Tennent,
George Whitefield, and Andrew Crosswell, who articulated their evangelical
message to receptive audiences, and it also showcased the intellectual gifts of
Jonathan Edwards, who emerged as the principal theologian and apologist for the
revival.

Edwards was a grandson of the estimable Solomon Stoddard, known (not
affectionately) to Puritans in Boston as the "pope of the Connecticut Valley."
Edwards's father, Timothy Edwards, was also a Congregational minister, and young
Jonathan, a precocious and intellectually curious child, prepared to take up the
family business. He graduated from Yale College at the age of seventeen and
studied an additional two years to study theology. After a brief and unremarkable
stint as pastor of a Presbyterian congregation in New York City, Edwards returned
to Yale as tutor in 1723, serving effectively as head of the institution in the
confusing aftermath of the Anglican Apostasy, when the rector of the
Congregationalist school, Timothy Cutler, and several tutors converted to the
Church of England.

Edwards stayed at Yale for two years before accepting a call as assistant
pastor to Stoddard, his grandfather, in Northampton, Massachusetts, and then
succeeded to the pulpit at Stoddard's death in 1729. As early as the 1690s,
contemporaneous with accounts from Gulliam Bertholf, a Pietist preacher in New
Jersey, Stoddard had been reporting "harvests" among his congregations, by which
he meant stirrings of religious revival. Stoddard's detractors in Boston were
skeptical, in part because they didn't care for Stoddard's theological innovations
regarding the Lord's Supper, which he treated as a converting ordinance and not one
reserved to those who were demonstrably regenerate.

During the winter of 1734-1735, a revival of religion swept through
Northampton, during Edwards's tenure as pastor. Three hundred people were added
to the congregation, and religion, according to Edwards, became the dominant topic
of conversation among the townspeople. After the revival waned somewhat, the
fires were rekindled with the visit of George Whitefield in 1740, during his tour of
the Atlantic colonies. By this time the revival was widespread, a phenomenon

* Randall Balmer (Ph.D., Princeton) is Ann Whitney Olin Professor of American
Religion at Barnard College, Columbia University. He was the ATS Fall Lecture
series speaker in 2006, and his presentations on that occasion are presented here.

Critical Junctures in American Evangelicalism: I

known to contemporaries as a "great and general awakening" and to historians as
the Great Awakening.

The Great Awakening reshaped American society in important ways. In
New England especially, and to a lesser degree in the Middle Colonies and in the
Chesapeake, the revival fractured the unity of colonial society. Countless New
England towns bear witness to the effects of the revival. The village green in New
Haven, Cormecticut, for instance, has the Old Light Congregational church at the
center, flanked by the New Light congregation on one side and the Episcopal church
on the other. The revival divided congregations and communities, but it also
disrupted the social fabric of colonial America, the halcyon vision of the Puritans
where church and state were both coterminous and mutually reinforcing.

The Awakening also introduced evangelicalism into American society;
more accurately, it created a strain of evangelicalism unique to North America,
unlike previous iterations coming out of the Protestant Reformation. I generally
refer to the ingredients in this mixture the three Ps: the remnants of New England
Puritanism, Pietism from the Continent, and Scots-Irish Presbyterianism. The
confluence of these streams during the years of the Great Awakening produced
evangelicalism in America, and to this day evangelicalism retains some of the
characteristics of each: the obsessive introspection of Puritanism, the doctrinal
precisionism of the Presbyterians, and the warm-hearted spiritual ardor of the
Pietists. Although, as we will see, the Second Great Awakening utterly recast
evangelical theology, the essential elements of the three Ps can be discerned to the
present day.

Other forces were at work that abetted the success of the Great Awakening,
factors that would have a profound impact on evangelicalism throughout American
history. The arrival of Whitefield signaled an important shift in the tactics of
revivalism. Whitefield, an Anglican clergyman, had been trained in the London
theater, so he understood how to modulate his voice and pause for dramatic effect.
In the context of colonial America, in a society that had no theatrical tradition,
Whitefield' s stentorian preaching was inordinately successful. Contemporaries said
that he could bring tears to your eyes simply by saying "Mesopotamia," and as even
the hardened religious skeptic Benjamin Franklin could attest, Whitefield was a
persuasive orator. Franklin's famous account of Whitefield' s visit to Society Hill in
Philadelphia stands as a monument to Whitefield' s effectiveness. Franklin admired
Whitefield as a friend, though he had no time for his religion or for Whitefield' s pet
project, an orphanage in Georgia, which Franklin regarded as too remote to do
much good. Early on in Whitefield' s oration, Franklin recognized that he was
heading toward an appeal for fimds. He resolved not to give anything, then, after a
time, decided to surrender the coppers in his pocket. Another rhetorical flourish and
Franklin consented to give the silver, and Whitefield concluded so gloriously that
Franklin entirely emptied his pockets into the collection plate, gold and all.

Franklin's account of Whitefield's visit to Society Hill also included his
carefiil calculations that Whitefield's voice could be heard by ten thousand people.
This brings us to another observation about evangelical innovations during the
Great Awakening: popular appeal. As Whitefield perambulated along the Atlantic

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

seaboard, he would often ask to use the local meetinghouse. But as word of
Whitefield's success began to circulate, many of the settled clergy, fearing for their
livelihoods, denied him access. Undaunted, Whitefield took his message directly to
the people, preaching in the open air in the fields or on the village greens or Society
Hill. By circumventing the clergy and the established churches, Whitefield and his
evangelical confreres displayed the knack for populist communications that would
become characteristic of evangelicalism to the present day. From the open-air
preaching of Whitefield and a passel of itinerant preachers to the circuit riders and
the colporteurs of the nineteenth century to the urban evangelism of Billy Sunday
and Billy Graham in the twentieth century, evangelicals have always understood the
importance of communicating directly with the masses, absent the niceties of
ecclesiastical and denominational forms or even sanctified venues.

So influential was Whitefield's extemporaneous preaching that even
Edwards struggled to keep pace with the changing times and circumstances of the
Great Awakening. If you visit the Beineke Library at Yale and ask to see the
originals of Edwards's sermons, you'll notice that they are palm-sized folios
stitched into a booklet; Edwards scholars speculate, plausibly, that Edwards
concealed the text of his sermons in his hand in order to convey the impression that
he was preaching extemporaneously, when in fact he was not. Itinerant preachers
like Whitefield, on the other hand, had the advantage of being able to repeat the
same sermons time after time to changing audiences, thereby perfecting their styles
of delivery - an advantage, as Franklin noted, denied to the settled clergy, who had
to come up with fresh material every week.

Aside from the rhetorical advantages enjoyed by Whitefield and others,
itinerancy had an enormous effect on religion in the eighteenth century. It provided
religious options for the populace, options other than the established
Congregationalist churches in New England, the Church of England in the South,
and the traditionalist Dutch Reformed and Anglican churches in the Middle
Colonies. The presence of itinerants forced the settled clergy to compete in what
was emerging as a religious marketplace. Clergy could no longer rely solely on
their livings; they had to maintain a rapport with their congregants for the simple
reason that their congregants had other ecclesiastical options, especially with the
emergence of the Baptists in New England and the Chesapeake, the Pietists and the
Presbyterians in the Middle Colonies, and various religious "entrepreneurs" in
Pennsylvania and the South.

A kind of religious populism emerged in the eighteenth century that
obtains to this day and can be seen most clearly in the televangelists and the
megachurches. The televangelists, moreover, have solved forever the great riddle of
itinerancy throughout American history: Through the miracle of electronic
communications, the itinerant preacher, always an insurgent presence, can now be
everywhere at once. But the ubiquity of itinerant preachers and the emergence of
religious options in the eighteenth century had another important effect: the absence
of anticlericalism. The caricature of the besotted, overweight, indulgent vicar or
parson - so common in British humor - has no real counterpart here in America.
The reason, I believe, is simple. In a fi^ee marketplace of religion, clerics cannot

Critical Junctures in American Evangelicalism: I

afford to be complacent or negligent toward their congregants. They must always
be conscious of popular sentiment - a two-edged sword, no doubt, because
populism can always degenerate into demagoguery or into a theology of the lowest
common denominator. But itinerancy and the religious marketplace ensure that
religious leaders are always attentive to popular sentiment, and they ignore it at their
peril.

Itinerancy and the free marketplace for religion also figured into the First
Amendment proscriptions against religious establishment. Roger Williams, Puritan
minister in Salem, Massachusetts, ran afoul of the Puritan authorities shortly after
his arrival in the New World in 1631. Specifically, Williams feared the deleterious
effects on the faith if church and state were too closely aligned. In his words, he
sought to protect the "garden of the church" from the "wilderness of the world" by
means of a "wall of separation." This notion challenged the orthodoxy of the
Puritan experiment, and for his troubles Williams was banished from the colony.
He proceeded to Rhode Island, which the Puritans came to regard as a cesspool of
religious heresy, and founded there a haven of religious toleration, which
guaranteed liberty of individual conscience and the separation of church and state.

While in Rhode Island, Williams also founded the Baptist tradition in
America, a tradition that, until very recently, enshrined two notions: adult or
believer's baptism (as opposed to infant baptism) and the separation of church and
state. Williams's ideas about disestablishment were picked up by such evangelical
leaders as Isaac Backus and John Leland, and one of the great ironies of the
eighteenth century is that the evangelicals allied themselves with Enlightenment
types to press for religious disestablishment in the new nation.

This alliance of strange bedfellows produced the First Amendment to the
U.S. Constitution, which reads in part: "Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" It codified the
free marketplace of religion that had been the configuration by default in many of
the colonies. It ensured that Americans would never have to deal with the miserable
effects of religious establishment, effects that many of the founders knew all too
well from their experience of Great Britain and the Continent. While it is probably
true that Thomas Jefferson wanted to maintain that "line of separation" in order to
protect the fragile new government from religious factionalism, whereas Williams
wanted the "wall of separation" to preserve the integrity of the faith, the happy
consequence of the First Amendment is that both sides benefited handsomely.
Religious faith has flourished in America as nowhere else precisely because the
government has (for the most part, at least) stayed out of the religion business. At
the same time, allowing religious groups to function fi^eely in the marketplace of
popular discourse has tended to dissipate voices of political dissent, just as James
Madison predicted in Federalist Number 10.

The First Amendment has allowed religious entrepreneurs, fi"om Mother
Ann Lee and Joseph Smith to Mary Baker Eddy and Elijah Muhammad, to peddle
their wares in the free marketplace of American religion. But no group has
functioned more effectively in this marketplace than evangelicals themselves.
Evangelicals understand almost instinctively how to speak the idiom of the culture,

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

whether it be Whitefield's extemporaneous, open-air preaching, the circuit riders
blanketing the South in the antebellum period, or the curricula and the entertainment
of the megachurches, exquisitely attuned to the tastes of suburbanites in the late
twentieth century. No religious movement in American history has benefited more
from religious disestablishment, which makes the persistent attempts on the part of
the Religious Right to eviscerate the First Amendment utterly confounding. Why
would any evangelical seek to compromise the very basis for the popularity of his
faith?

Perhaps we can bring some clarity to the issue with a counterfactual
proposal: Suppose the founders had followed the historical precedent of at least a
dozen centuries and established a religion for the new nation. Suppose, in other
words, that the First Amendment contained only the provisions of the second clause,
guaranteeing freedom of speech and the press, and no proscription against religious
establishment? What would religion in America look like today?

We don't have to search very far. In Great Britain, the Church of England,
the established religion, draws less than 3 percent of the population to its Sunday
services. Several years back, the bishops of the state Lutheran church in Sweden,
seeing the benefits of disestablishment, successftiUy petitioned the Swedish
parliament to rescind the Lutherans' establishment status. The results were so
overwhelming that the Lutheran bishops in Norway have now asked to be
disestablished.

The First Amendment has ensured a salubrious religious culture in the
United States, one unmatched anywhere in the world. If the founders had not stood
up to those who wanted to designate Christianity as the religion of the new nation,
the religious environment would most likely look very different, anemic in
comparison with the religious vitality we see both today and throughout American
history.

If the First Great Awakening introduced evangelicalism into the American
context, the Second Great Awakening in the decades surrounding the turn of the
nineteenth century reshaped the movement in profound ways. Although some of
the changes were tactical, the most dramatic shift was theological.

One of the first things I learned in my study of American church history
was the profound difference in the theological underpinnings of the First and the
Second Great Awakenings, as reflected in the theological dispositions of their
respective apologists, Jonathan Edwards and Charles Grandison Finney. Edwards's
history of the revival, published in 1737, remains a classic statement of a Calvinist
approach to revival. The title, in many ways, tells you all you need to know about
Edwards's understanding of the remarkable events in Northampton: A Faithful
Narrative of a Surprising Work of God. It was Edwards's clear understanding that
the revival in Northampton was a gracious visitation of the divine; there was
nothing that Edwards had done to prompt such a visitation, much less to merit it.
God, in his wisdom and infinite mercy, through the agency of the Holy Spirit, had
chosen to work his regenerative wonders among the people of Northampton without
regard to the merit or the efforts of either the congregants or their minister. In so
doing, God had demonstrated his unfathomable mercy for all to see.

Critical Junctures in American Evangelicalism: I

Charles Finney, on the other hand, had a very different understanding o:
revival. Finney famously declared in his Lectures on Revivals of Religion tha
revival was "the work of man." Finney, bom in Warren, Connecticut, and trained as
a lawyer, had a religious conversion in 1821 and determined that he had been giver
"a retainer from the Lord Jesus Christ to plead his cause." The St. Lawrence
presbytery licensed him to preach in 1 823 and ordained him the following year. He
began preaching in upstate New York under the auspices of the Female Missionary
Society of the Western District in 1824.

Early in his career, Finney harbored doubts about Calvinism, not so much
on theological as on pragmatic grounds; Firmey was convinced that Calvinistic
determinism simply did not lend itself to revival. Instead, he preached that by the
mere exercise of volition anyone could repent of sin and thereby claim salvation.
Contrary to the Calvinist and Edwardsean doctrine of election, the notion that God
alone determined who was or was not part of the elect and thereby regenerate,
Finney preached that salvation was available to all; it required merely an assent on
the part of the individual.

Finney's soteriology elevated persuasion to new heights of importance. If
only the preacher could convince sinners to repent and to accept salvation for
themselves, then the revival would be assured, no need any longer to wait for the
mysterious movings of the Spirit or the even more elusive effectual "call" of
Calvinist election. In order to help things along, Finney promoted what he called
"new measures," a set of strategic initiatives to engender revivals: protracted
meetings, the use of advertising, allowing women to testify at religious gatherings,
and the "anxious bench" or "mourner's bench," where those deliberating their
eternal fates could come for counseling.

It doesn't take much imagination to recognize that these "new measures"
have become part of the fabric of modem evangelism, as witnessed by Billy
Graham cmsades in the twentieth century; Graham's call for his auditors to "make a
decision for Chrisf comes straight from Finney's playbook. But the familiarity of
these tactics tends to disguise their revolutionary character in the early decades of
the nineteenth century. Whereas Jonathan Edwards had understood revival as "a
surprising work of God," Finney described it as "the work of man." Therein lies an
utter reconfiguration of evangelical theology, from the Calvinist orientation of the
First Great Awakening to the Arminian theology of the Second Great Awakening,
which also had strong affinities with Wesleyanism, the theology of John Wesley.

Why did Finney's formulation take hold so rapidly in the early decades of
the nineteenth century? Several reasons. First, Finney's new theology fit the
temper of the times. Among a people who had only recently taken their political
destiny into their own hands, Finney assured them that they controlled their
religious destiny as well. At least as popularly understood, salvation was no longer
an anxiety-laden process of waiting to determine whether or not you were among
the elect; now, in Finney's scheme, an individual could initiate the process by
means of volition. If you want to be saved, all you need to do is to decide to be
saved. No need any longer to sweat through the elaborate Calvinist soteriology as

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

propagated in deadly detail by such Puritan divines as William Perkins and Jonathan
Edwards.

Finney's formula had obvious appeal in the new nation, especially among a
people inebriated with self-determinism. And to this day we Americans cherish this
notion of rugged individualism and control of our own destinies. The Edwardsean
theology of salvation and revival seems stilted and confining, whereas Finney's is
supple and accommodating.

Finney's formulaic approach to revival also fit the social and economic
circumstances of the nineteenth century. In an age of nascent industrialization and
scientific rationalism, Finney's notion that revival was available simply by
following an ordered set of steps and observing certain conventions worked very
well. To hear Finney tell it, all you needed to do was combine the elements -
advertising, protracted meetings, women's testimony, anxious bench - like you
would in a chemical formula, and revival would be assured. And in an age of
nascent industrialization and one increasing enamored of technology, Finney's
formulaic approach to revival fit the temper of the times. By the time that B. W.
Gorham published his Camp Meeting Manual in 1854, the business of revivalism
had been reduced to a science; Gorham, enlarging on Finney's prescriptions,
dictated everything from locations to publicity strategies to instructions on how to
construct the tents - all in the effort to guarantee a successful camp meeting.

The twentieth-century iteration of Gorham' s Camp Meeting Manual is the
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and especially its preparations for one of
Graham's crusades. The well-oiled corporate machinery of the BGEA has been
honed to utter perfection and a model of efficiency. Once a venue has been chosen
for a revival (at least three years before the event itself), the organization sweeps
into motion, calibrating everything fi"om site selection and religious alliances to
music programs and press coverage. Nothing is left to chance, and all contingencies
are accounted for down to the tiniest detail. Far from relying on "a surprising work
of God," modem revivalism owes an incalculable debt to the formulaic strategies of
Charles Finney and B. W. Gorham.

The overriding genius of Finney and the theological innovations he
introduced to American evangelicalism is that they suited perfectly the Zeitgeist and
the emerging self-perception of Americans. Finney's Arminianism comported well
with the storied rugged individualism that so shapes American identity, and his
insistence that we control our own religious destiny was far more congenial to the
American illusion of self-determinism than the arcane Calvinist doctrines of
foreknowledge, predestination, and election.

After the Second Great Awakening and the theological iimovations of
Charles Finney, evangelical theology would never be the same. Reformed theology
made one last, albeit sustained, stand in the person of Charles Hodge and his
nineteenth-century colleagues at Princeton Theological Seminary. But theirs was a
forlorn and hopeless battle, one fought increasingly on the ramparts of a hyper-
rationalism that owed more to the Enlighteimient than it did to Calvin or even to
historic Christianity.

Critical Junctures in American Evangelicalism: I

In recent years, Calvinists have tried to stage a comeback on two fronts,;
both theological and historical. Various evangelical historians have tried to assert
that the theological essence of evangelicalism is Reformed, not Wesleyan or'
Arminian, and that the true progenitors of contemporary evangelicalism are thei
Princetonians, not the Finneyites. Some denominations, such as the Southern!
Baptist Convention and my own denomination, the Evangelical Free Church, havei
even tried to recast themselves in the tradition of Reformed theology rather than^
Arminian theology. The Free Church, for instance, a denomination with deep roots
in Pietism and strong affinities with Arminianism, has, through the agency of its
flagship seminary. Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, laid claims to be Calvinist.
Among under consequences, a denomination that ordained women in its early years,
now frowns on the ordination of women.

What's the attraction of Calvinism to contemporary evangelicals? I think
the attempt to recast themselves in the Reformed tradition is a reaction, at least in
part, to the runaway success of pentecostalism in the twentieth century. That is,
many evangelicals, especially those associated with seminaries, believe that
Calvinism is more intellectually respectable and theologically rigorous than
Wesleyanism or Arminianism, and so they have taken great pains to associate
themselves with the Reformed tradition in an attempt to trade on what they perceive
as its intellectual heft - even to the point of denying their own historical and
theological roots.

Such efforts come largely to naught, however, at the grass roots. Finney's
pragmatism and his brand of Arminianism carried the day among evangelicals - in
the antebellum period and ever since. At least as understood at the popular level,
the revivalist's plea to come to Jesus or Billy Graham's invitation to "make a
decision for Christ" make little sense in the Calvinist and Edwardsean scheme of
revival, where the even the repentant sinner must await the visitation of grace.
Finney assured all Americans that they controlled the mechanism of salvation, and
the evangelical tradition has never been the same.

But it still would have foundered without the underpinnings of the First
Amendment. Freed itself from establishment status, and not compelled to compete
against another religion that enjoyed establishment status, evangelicalism has
competed freely in the American religious marketplace. And it has done so with
intelligence, vigor, and savvy. From the open-air oratory of George Whitefield to
the organizational efficiency of Billy Graham, evangelicals have understood better
than anyone else how to communicate to the masses, how to speak the idiom of the
culture. The message they propagate is simple, straightforward, and utterly
indebted to Charles Finney. Come to Jesus. Make a decision for Christ. You
control your own spiritual destiny.

And somewhere, on president's row in the Princeton, New Jersey,
cemetery, Jonathan Edwards, theologian of the First Great Awakening, is spiiming
in his grave.

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

Critical Junctures in American Evangelicalism: 11
The Transition from Postmillennialism to Premillennialism

By Randall Balmer

Charles Finney's theological revolution had repercussions for evangelicals
far beyond the arcane arena of soteriology, the doctrine of salvation. At least as
popularly understood, Finney's Arminianism assured Americans that they
controlled their own religious destiny, that they could initiate the process of
salvation simply by exercise of volition. Finney's declaration that revival was "the
work of man" led to a codification and a routinization of evangelism. Beginning
with Finney and extending to B. W. Gorham's Camp Meeting Manual and to Billy
Graham and various revivalists of the twentieth century, the enterprise of revival
became formulaic, almost mechanistic. As long as you followed certain
conventions, Finney and others promised, revival would ensue.

The social implications of Finney's ideas were even more profound. If
individuals controlled their ultimate destinies, surely it didn't require much of a leap
to suppose that their actions here on earth could affect the temporal realm as well.
And the aggregate actions of believers could bring about monumental changes in
society.

Aside from the individual empowerment implicit in Arminian soteriology,
another theological discipline figured into antebellum evangelicalism:
postmillennialism. Throughout church history, generations of theologians have
puzzled over the prophetic passages of the Bible, from Isaiah and Ezekiel and
Daniel in the Hebrew Bible to Revelation and 2 Thessalonians in the New
Testament. Jesus himself suggested some sort of apocalyptic development within a
generation, and the book of Revelation contains all manner of images and events
that should or should not be interpreted literally and should or should not be
understood as prophetic. What do we make of the mark of the beast or the
emergence of the antichrist? Revelation 20 talks about a millennium, one thousand
years of godly rule. What does that mean? When will it occur, now or later? Aim
Lee Stanley of the Shakers, for example, taught that the millennium was already in
place and that this new age dictated that women and men should no longer engage
in sexual relations, whereas John Humphrey Noyes of the Oneida Community
believed that the millennial age loosened the bonds of exclusivity in marriage,
thereby allowing for sexual license.

Theologians over the centuries have disagreed, sometimes spectacularly,
over the meaning of these apocalyptic passages, but by the nineteenth century two
broad streams of interpretation had emerged: premillennialism and
postmillennialism. Although the multitude of interpretations and the infinity of
nuances make generalizations difficult, those who numbered themselves
premillennialists believed that Jesus would return to earth to take his followers out
of the world, an event known as the rapture. Those left behind would face hardship
and judgment in a period known as the tribulation. Eventually, however, Jesus and
his followers would return to earth for the millennium, one thousand years of
righteousness, before the culmination of time in the last judgment.

Critical Junctures in American Evangelicalism: II

Postmillennialists, on the other hand, held that Jesus would return to earth after the
millennium, that there would be no disruption between this temporal age and the
onset of the millennium.

The sequence here is crucial. Premillennialists believe that Jesus will!
return before the millennium (hence /remillennialism), whereas po5'ftnillennialists!
hold that Jesus will return after the millennium, the one thousand years oft
righteousness. Although this may appear to be a recondite doctrinal debate, the(
unfortunate detritus of people with too much time on their hands, the distinction!
here has had enormous repercussions for the ways that evangelicals approachi
society. If you believe that Jesus will return after the millennium with no disruption!
in the advance of time, the corollary is that it is incumbent on believers to construct
the righteous kingdom. If, on the other hand, your reading of scripture leads you to
believe that Jesus will come for his followers before the millennial age, then the
onset of the millennial kingdom will come later in the apocalyptic calendar, thereby
absolving believers from responsibility for bringing about the millennial kingdom in
this age.

This is exactly what played out among evangelicals in the nineteenth
century. Given the Arminian theology that dominated the Second Great
Awakening, the doctrine that individuals could exercise their volition to initiate the
salvation process, it should come as no surprise that the concomitant eschatology of
the Second Awakening was postmillennialism, the notion that Jesus would return
after the millennium. The corollary of postmillennialism was that believers bore the
responsibility for bringing on the millennium by dint of their own efforts. Those
who had appropriated salvation for themselves now looked to broaden their efforts
and inaugurate the kingdom of God on earth, more particularly here in America.

And that is precisely what they set about to do. The Second Great
Awakening unleashed a reforming zeal unmatched in the annals of American
history. Evangelical converts, convinced of their mandate to usher in the
millennium, set about to purge society of its ills. They recognized that slavery was
an abomination and inconsistent with a millennial society, so they organized to
abolish it. They were part of the temperance crusade, which in the nineteenth
century was a progressive cause. They joined with Horace Mann and others in
support of public education, known as common schools in the nineteenth century.
Part of the rationale for public schools was to advance the lot of children of the less
fortunate and also provide a foundation for democracy by allowing children of
different backgrounds to learn from one another in the classroom and on the
playground and get along with one another with at least a measure of comity.
Evangelicals opened female seminaries to raise the literacy rates among women to a
level of parity with men by the middle of the century, and they sought to advance
the rights of women generally, including the right to vote.

All of these initiatives were directed (at least in part) toward the goal of
constructing the kingdom of God on earth. To take another example, the
redoubtable Lyman Beecher was horrified when Aaron Burr, vice president of the
United States, killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel in Weehawken, New Jersey, on
the morning of July 11, 1804. (Dick Cheney was not the first sitting vice president

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

in American history to shoot a man!) Beecher decided that the barbaric practice of
duehng was not a fixture of the millennial kingdom, so he launched a campaign,
ultimately successful, to outlaw dueling as part of his efforts to inaugurate the
millennial age.

Much of this reforming energy unleashed by the Second Awakening came
from women. Finney had authorized women to participate more fully in religious
gatherings than they ever had before (with the possible exception of the first
century), and evangelical women, many of them freed by nascent industrialization
and middle-class privilege from the drudgery of subsistent living, devoted their
considerable energies to social activism. These evangelical women served as
tireless foot soldiers in the campaign to usher in the millennial age.

America would never be the same. Postmillennialist evangelicals in the
antebellum period, convinced that they could bring about the millennium by dint of
their own efforts, animated social reform and utterly reshaped American society.
The power of their arguments and the urgency of their activism led Americans to
the brink of irreparable schism and the Civil War.

With the onset of war, however, the postmillennial optimism of antebellum
evangelicals began to fade. The carnage of the war itself represented a
disappointment; northern evangelicals hoped that the moral clarity of their case
against slavery, combined with divine favor, would bring the conflict speedily to a
conclusion. Victory, however, proved elusive. But there were other factors at work
in American society as well, factors that called the entire postmillermial enterprise
into question.

The character of American society over the course of the nineteenth
century was reshaped by both indusfrialization and urbanization. Industrialization,
beginning with the textile mills of New England, changed forever the both the work
and domestic patterns of Americans. Employment in the mills transported adults
out of the home and into the workplace, thereby altering the dynamics of the family.
Men, working now beyond the ken of church and home, began to socialize in
networks with fellow workers; their wives increasingly socialized with one another
and in circles defined by religious affiliations. Men came to be seen as "worldly,"
an impression that lent urgency to the Second Great Awakening in boom areas like
Rochester, New York, but also fed what historians have called the "feminization" of
American religion, the shift of spiritual responsibility from men to women.

If industrialization altered American domestic life by changing patterns of
socializing, the accompanying demographic phenomenon of urbanization similarly
shook the theological understanding of America's evangelicals. The move to the
cities exposed evangelicals to a different world from the relatively bucolic and
small-town life that had prevailed in the earlier decades of the nineteenth century.
Add to that the changing ethnic and religious composition of Americans, and
evangelicals suddenly felt their hegemonic hold over American society slipping
away.

Put in its starkest terms, the teeming, squalid ghettoes of the lower east
side of Manhattan, festering with labor unrest, no longer resembled the precincts of
Zion that postmillermialist evangelicals had envisioned earlier in the century.

Critical Junctures in American Evangelicalism: II

Immigrants, including Jews and Roman Catholics, most of whom did not share
evangelical scruples about temperance, represented a threat to the millennial i;
aspirations of American evangelicals. The world, at least as seen through the lens ;'
of the United States, was getting worse, not better. Righteousness, which was often i:
conftised with white, middle-class, Victorian ideals, had given way to wickedness:
unemployment, filth, drunkenness, disease, and the corruption of urban political I
machines.

Faced with this wretchedness, American evangelicals looked to alter their r
eschatology. Postmilleimial optimism about the advent of a millennial kingdom i
here in America no longer seemed appropriate, so evangelicals cast about for •
another interpretation of those biblical prophetic passages. They found an answer <
from an unlikely source, a former barrister and Anglican priest named John Nelson i
Darby, who had left the Church of England in 1831 for a small, Pietistic group
called the Plymouth Brethren. Darby became enamored of a new hermeneutic of
biblical interpretation called dispensationalism or dispensational premillennialism.

Dispensationalism posited that all of human history could be divided into
discrete ages (or dispensations) and that God had dealt differently with humanity in
each of these dispensations. God had struck a particular deal, or covenant, with
Adam, for instance, and another with Noah and Abraham and with the people of
Israel. The present dispensation. Darby argued, called for the separation of true
believers fi^om nonbelievers in anticipation of the imminQnt, premillennial return of
Jesus. In other words, Jesus may return at any moment, before the millennium, and
the corollary of Darby's teaching was that those left behind at the rapture would
face the judgment and the wrath of God. Indeed, Darby even insisted that the social I
degeneration evident everywhere should be taken as evidence that Jesus would soon i
return to rescue believers out of this mess.

Darby came to North America to propagate these ideas, making seven i
visits between 1859 and 1874. He found there a receptive audience; his scheme
eventually caught the attention of such evangelical figures as Dwight L. Moody, A.
J. Gordon, and James H. Brooks. Just as Finney's Arminianism suited the temper of
the new nation, the pessimism implicit in Darbyism took hold among American
evangelicals. Premillennialism, with its assertion that Jesus would return at any
time, effectively absolved evangelicals of any responsibility for social reform.
Dispensationalism taught that such efforts ultimately were unavailing.

For American evangelicals, part of the appeal of dispensationalism was its
esoteric nature. Darby provided the Rosetta Stone for understanding the conftising
and sometimes contradictory prophecies in the scriptures. Dispensationalism
allowed evangelicals triumphantly to announce, in effect, that they had cracked the
code. They understood the mind of God. Anyone who did not acknowledge this
historic breakthrough was, by definition, benighted, and terrible judgment awaited I
them at the return of Jesus.

It is worth noting that not all nineteenth-century evangelicals fall into this
tidy scheme of antebellum postmillennialists and postbellum premillennialists.
William Miller, a farmer and biblical interpreter from Low Hampton, New York,
believed that Jesus would return sometime in 1843 or 1844. Approximately fifty

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

thousand followers were persuaded by his arcane calculations, and as the date
approached they whipped themselves into a frenzy of anticipation. When Jesus
failed to materialize as predicted on October 22, 1844, Miller's followers returned
home disappointed, and this passage is known to this day among Adventists as the
Great Disappointment.

If the Millerites represented the premillermial exception in antebellum
evangelicalism, the most notable exception to premillennialism among evangelicals
in the latter part of the nineteenth century was the Salvation Army. Known
originally as the Christian Mission when it was established in the slums of London
in 1865, the Salvation Army, part of the holiness movement, retained its emphasis
on social reform and social amelioration even after it arrived in the United States in
1880. The Salvation Army, with its slum brigades, its street-comer preaching, and
its battles against the systemic ills of the ghettoes, managed to retain its twin
emphases on evangelism and social reform.

With their embrace of dispensationalism, however, evangelicals on the
whole shifted their focus radically from social amelioration to individual
regeneration. Having diverted their attention from the construction of the millennial
realm, evangelicals concentrated on the salvation of souls and neglected reform
efforts. "I look upon this world as a wrecked vessel," Moody famously declared.
"God has given me a lifeboat and said, 'Moody, save all you can.'"

The social and demographic upheavals of the late nineteenth century mark
the beginning of a great divide in American Protestantism. As evangelicals
retreated into a theology of despair, one that essentially ceded the temporal world to
Satan and his minions, other Protestants allied with the Progressive movement
assumed the task of social amelioration. Led by such pastor-theologians as
Washington Gladden of Columbus, Ohio, and Waher Rauschenbusch in New York
City, aided by such theorists as Richard T. Ely of the University of Wisconsin, and
popularized by Charles Sheldon's novel In His Steps, the Social Gospel emerged to
take up the cause of social reform. Although they seldom invoked the language of
postmillennialism, the proponents of the Social Gospel, also known as Social
Christianity or Christian Socialism, sought to make this world a better place,
especially for the wretched of society. They believed that Jesus redeemed not
merely sinful individuals but sinful social institutions as well.

To that end, the Social Gospel, working arm in arm with political
Progressives, pushed for child-labor laws and for the six-day work week. They
sought to discredit and to destroy the urban political machines by exposing their
corruption. They advocated the rights of workers to organize, and they sought to
blunt the effects of predatory capitalism. At the same time that evangelicals were
retreating into their otherworldy reverie, looking for the imminent return of Jesus,
the more theologically liberal Social Gospel advocates sought to reform the present
world to make it more nearly represent the norms of godliness.

As the twentieth century progressed, these two streams of American
Protestantism grew more divergent. Although the Social Gospel itself was
popularly discredited by the Bolshevik Revolution of 1 9 1 7 and the attendant rise of
Communism, the ideas of Rauschenbusch resurfaced in the thought of Martin

Critical Junctures in American Evangelicalism: II

Luther King Jr. in the 1950s after King had encountered the Social Gospel in
graduate school. Though the Social Gospel label had lost its allure, liberal
Protestants continued to align themselves with the ideals of the Social Gospel, the
mandate that the followers of Jesus bore responsibility for redressing the evils of
society. As evident in the civil rights struggle, opposition to the war in Vietnam,
support for the rights of women, and a sympathetic disposition toward immigrants
and the poor, liberal Protestants have tried to retain the principles of the Social
Gospel, which in turn reflects, at least dimly, the principles of nineteenth-century
postmilleimialism.

And what about the evangelicals, the other stream of American
Protestantism? Throughout most of the twentieth century, at least until the rise of
the Religious Right in the late 1 970s, evangelicals clung to premillennialism and its
emphasis on individual regeneration rather than social amelioration. They evinced
little interest in social issues; this world, after all, was doomed and transitory.
Politics itself was corrupt and corrupting, and many evangelicals did not even
trouble themselves to vote. Jesus would appear at any moment to rescue them from
the morass of the present world, so why invest any significant energies in making it
a better place? With time so short, moreover, all resources - money, energy,
personnel - should be deployed in the enterprise of evangelism and missions,
bringing others into the kingdom of God in preparation for the end of time.

Fueled by dispensationalist ideology, evangelism and missionary efforts
flourished among evangelicals in the early decades of the twentieth century - at a
time when mainline Protestants, fraught with misgivings, were throttling back on
missionary activity, especially after the Re-Thinking Missions report of 1932.
Evangelism took many forms, from the vaudeville antics of Billy Sunday and the
corporate efficiency of Billy Graham to the "Four Spiritual Laws" of Campus
Crusade for Christ and the come-to- Jesus appeals of the televangelists. But the
overriding focus of their efforts was individual redemption, not social action. When
asked about reforming society, Graham would routinely respond that the only way
to change society was "to change men's hearts," by which he meant that only the
aggregate effect of individual conversions would bring about real reform.

Aside from the emphasis on personal evangelism and the neglect of social
amelioration, what have been the effects of the evangelical shift from
postmillennialism to premillennialism? I can think of two material consequences
related to the evangelical penchant for dispensationalism. The first is lack of
concern for the environment and the natural world. For much of the twentieth
century, and even militantly so during the last several decades, evangelicals have
been notoriously uninterested in environmental preservation. If Jesus is going to
return soon to rescue the true believers and to unleash judgment on those left
behind, why should we devote any attention whatsoever to care of the earth, which
will soon be destroyed in the apocalypse?

In recent decades, this premillennial disposition on the part of evangelicals
combined with some blend of capitalism and libertarianism to produce a concoction
even more hostile to environmental interests. This amalgam reached its apotheosis
in the person of James G. Watt, an Assemblies of God layman and Ronald Reagan's

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

iecretary of the Interior. Watt had been associated with the so-called Sagebrush
Rebellion, a coalition of western ranchers who wanted to open more wilderness
ireas to development and who opposed any efforts to alter their favorable grazing
ights on federal lands. After Reagan, who famously remarked that if you'd see one
Redwood tree you'd seen them all, tapped Watt to be Interior secretary. Watt
•emarked to stunned members of the House Interior Committee that, "I don't know
low many future generations we can count on before the Lord returns." Watt
nsisted in later years that he meant that environmental resources had to be
lusbanded long enough to last until the rapture, but his remark was widely
nterpreted as a justification for his lack of interest in environmental protection.

The second twentieth-century legacy of evangelical premillennialism is
iCSS pernicious but no less regrettable: bad religious architecture, sometime
spectacularly bad architecture. If Jesus is coming at any moment, why waste
3recious time and resources on fancy buildings? The unfortunate legacy of this
ittitude can be seen in evangelical church buildings and on countless Bible institute
ind Bible college campuses, where function doesn't merely triumph over form, it
itterly obliterates it. Cinderblock and folding chairs will do just fine, and the
Geological neglect of the sacraments, so common among evangelicals, only
xacerbated this tendency to neglect aesthetics.

To be fair, another factor contributed to the bad architecture, namely a lack
3f resources. Following the fundamentalist-modernist controversies of the 1920s,
many evangelicals felt duty-bound to secede from mainline Protestant institutions -
churches, denominations, seminaries, mission boards - and strike out on their own,
separated from what they reviled as godlessness. Such independence may have
been noble, at least according the standards of fundamentalism, but it was also
:ostly because it meant that the separatists left behind church and schools buildings,
not to mention endowments. They started from scratch, at considerable expense,
and they simply could not afford to be fancy.

The combination of premillennialism and economic stringency may not
ntirely excuse the architectural atrocities that evangelicals constructed in the
twentieth century. It does help to explain them.

The theological shift from postmillennial optimism to premillennial
pessimism had ripple effects that shaped evangelicalism throughout most of the
twentieth century. The evangelical embrace of American society that animated
various antebellum reform movements gave way, in the face of profound social and
demographic changes, to a deep and brooding suspicion and the expectation of
imminent judgment. Evangelicals by the turn of the twentieth century no longer
sought to construct a millennial kingdom; that would have to await divine
intervention. Instead, they turned inward, tending to their own piety and seeking to
lure others into a spiritualized kingdom in preparation for the imminent return of
Jesus.

By adopting dispensational premillennialism, evangelicals ceded the arena
!of social amelioration to Protestants who had been shaped by the teachings of the
Social Gospel. Although they rarely used the language of postmillennialism, these
more liberal Protestants took up the cause of advancing the kingdom of God on

Critical Junctures in American Evangelicalism: II

earth, even as evangelicals retreated ever more determinedly into their owe
subculture.

By 1900, the chasm between the liberal Social Gospel and evangelical
dispensationalism was firmly established. The very people who had reshaped the
nation in the early and middle decades of the nineteenth century now found
themselves divided. American Protestantism would never be the same.

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

Critical Junctures in American Evangelicalism: III
The Construction of a Subculture

By Randall Balmer

When talking about evangelical attitudes toward society, it is possible, with
only modest contrivance, to divide the twentieth century into four equal twenty-
five-year periods: 1900 to 1925, 1925 to 1950, 1950 to 1975, and 1975 to 2000.
Within each of these quarters, evangelicals approached the broader culture in very
different ways, moving from suspicion and separation during the first half of the
twentieth century to engagement and something very close to capitulation in the
latter half. Just as social and demographic changes in American society profoundly
shaped evangelical theology in the nineteenth century, so too the historical
circumstances in each of these eras had broad repercussions on evangelicals and
vangelicalism in the twentieth century.

At the dawn of the twentieth century, America's evangelicals were
profoundly suspicious of the social changes that had buffeted the United States in
the latter half of the nineteenth century. Evangelicals' adoption of dispensational
premillennialism in the waning decades of the nineteenth century, with its assurance
that Jesus would return at any moment, effectively absolved them from the task of
social reform. The social needs of the cities, in any case, were overwhelming and
jseemed to defy redress. Better to hunker down, seek the regeneration of other
individuals, and scrutinize your own spiritual affairs in preparation for the rapture.

In an odd and somewhat indirect way, evangelicals' embrace of Charles
Finney's Arminian theology during the antebellum period exaggerated this
jtendency. Whereas Wesleyanism and Arminianism empowered individuals to seize
icontrol of the salvation process, the corollary was that salvation thus attained could
|also be imperiled by the failure to live a godly life. Endless theological discussions
labout "eternal security" among evangelicals (whether or not one's eternal fate had
[been irreversibly secured at conversion) would have been, if not impossible, at least
jsomewhat less probable among die-hard Calvinists, who taught the "perseverance of
ithe saints," that those whom God had elected for salvation he would preserve to
{ultimate glorification. Arminians could claim no such assurance of "eternal
jsecurity," so the task of examining the state of one's soul and devising various
devotional exercises to shore up one's spirituality became at least a minor
obsession.

With these characteristics - the emphasis on a personalized, introspective
faith combined with a general disregard for social reform - evangelicals entered the
jtwentieth century.

! Although no one could have suspected it at the time, nothing reshaped the

jintemal dimensions of evangelicalism in the twentieth century more than the events
'in Topeka, Kansas, on January 1, 1901, the first day of the new century. Agnes
Ozman, a student at Charles Fox Parham's Bethel Bible College, began speaking in
jtongues after the manner of the early Christians in the second chapter of the Acts of
!the Apostles. News of this phenomenon spread to other students and, by means of
Parham's itinerations, throughout the lower Midwest. William J. Seymour, an

Critical Junctures in American Evangelicalism: III

African American hotel waiter, carried this pentecostal gospel with him to Loi
Angeles early in 1906, and glossolalia (speaking in tongues) broke out again or
April 9 at a house on Bonnie Brae Street, where Parham was staying. Within i
week, the fledgling movement relocated to a former warehouse at 312 Azusa Street
and for the next several years the Azusa Street Mission became synonymous wit!
divine healing, pentecostal enthusiasm, and the preparation of missionaries, whc
farmed out across North America and the world with their pentecostal gospel.

One of the traits of the early years of pentecostalism was its interracia
character; Seymour himself was black, and contemporaries noted the absence o
racial barriers on Azusa Street. The second notable characteristic was that, like
Finney's gatherings in the Second Great Awakening, women were allowed tc
participate, and some assumed important leadership roles in the early years o
pentecostalism. Sadly, those distinctive elements dissipated. As pentecostalisn
began to organize into institutional forms - the Church of God in Christ, fo:
example, or the Assemblies of God - the denominations were racialh
homogeneous, even exclusive. Although women were ordained as missionaries am
pastors in pentecostal circles in the early decades of pentecostalism, that practice
declined over the course of the twentieth century.

Among evangelicals elsewhere, a deepening suspicion began to infect thei
attitudes toward society. American culture, increasingly urbanized and overrun b^
immigrants, looked increasingly alien. Billy Sunday, a former baseball player fo
the Chicago White Stockings, railed against the evils of the cities and taunted hi;
auditors to "hit the sawdust trail" and give their lives to Jesus. Another irritant t(
evangelicals was their uneasy relationship with mainline Protestant denominations
as evidenced by the fundamentalist-modernist controversy. The leaders o
Protestantism were departing from Christian orthodoxy, evangelicals charged, b
countenancing Charles Darwin's ideas and by compromising on the integrity am
the inerrancy of the scriptures. The German discipline of higher criticism, whicl
cast doubts on the authorship of several books of the Bible, had won acceptance ii
many Protestant seminaries and among too many leaders of mainline Protestan
denominations.

Evangelicals issued a full-fledged declaration of war against what the}
called "modernism" with the publication of a series of pamphlets called Th
Fundamentals. Written by conservative theologians and financed by Lyman am
Milton Stewart of Union Oil Company of Califomian, these twelve pamphlets
published between 1910 and 1915, contained conservative defenses of such issuei
as the virgin birth of Christ, the authenticity of miracles, the inerrancy of the Bible
and the premillennial return of Jesus. Those who subscribed to the doctrinei
contained therein came to be known as "fundamentalists."

In 1923, J. Gresham Machen, a theologian at Princeton Theologica
Seminary, published a book entitled Christianity and Liberalism. The two, h(
argued, are fundamentally different, and liberal - or modernist - Protestants shouk
take the honorable course and withdraw from Protestant seminaries anc

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

denominations, leaving them to conservatives, the rightful heirs of Protestant
orthodoxy.

Liberal Protestants refused to heed Machen's directive, of course, and the
era of suspicion that marked evangelicalism in the first quarter of the twentieth
century gave way to an era characterized by separation. The career of Machen
himself illustrates this transition. Machen became increasingly estranged from his
colleagues at Princeton, and his agitation against modernism also angered leaders of
the Presbyterian Church. A reorganization of the seminary forced his ouster in
1929, and Machen went on to form an independent missions board, Westminster
Theological Seminary, and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Similar struggles
beset other denominations. Although many conservative evangelicals remained
affiliated with mainline congregations and denominations, struggling to effect
change or a kind of reclamation, many others bolted to form their own
congregations, denominations, and affiliated institutions.

Symbolically, at least, the precipitating event was the famous Scopes trial
of 1925. After the Tennessee legislature passed the Butler Act, which forbade the
teaching of evolution in the state's public schools, Austin Peay, the governor,
signed the measure with the explicit understanding that it would not be enforced.
The American Civil Liberties Union had other ideas, placing advertisements in
Tennessee newspapers in search of someone to test the constitutionality of such a
law. Civic boosters in Dayton, Tennessee, saw an opportunity. They summoned
John T. Scopes, a teacher in the local high school, to their gathering at Fred
Robinson's drug store, plied him with a fountain drink, and secured his cooperation,
even though he couldn't recall whether or not he had taught evolution when he
filled in for the regular biology teacher.

That technicality mattered little, and by the time the combatants assembled
in the second storey of the Rhea County courthouse for the trial itself, the attention
of the entire nation was focused on Dayton, Tennessee. The event drew three of the
nation's most illustrious men: William Jennings Bryan, the "Great Commoner" and
three-time Democratic nominee for president; Clarence Darrow, who had often
fought along side of Bryan in various Progressive causes; and H. L. Mencken of the
Baltimore Sun. Bryan, who assisted in the prosecution of Scopes, had few concerns
about Darwinism as a scientific theory; he worried more about the effects of social
Darwinism. As the trial unfolded, broadcast live over Chicago radio station WGN,
and under the scrutiny of the phalanx of journalists, led by Mencken, Bryan
acquitted himself poorly, even though he won his case.

He, and by extension all evangelicals, lost decisively in the larger
courtroom of public opinion. Mencken mercilessly lampooned evangelicals and
especially Bryan himself, who died suddenly in Dayton five days after the trial. The
ignominy surrounding the Scopes trial convinced evangelicals that the larger culture
had turned against them. They responded by withdrawing fi-om the culture, which
they came to regard as both corrupt and corrupting, to construct an alternative
universe, an evangelical subculture.

The building that took place among evangelicals in the second quarter of
the twentieth century was truly astonishing. They set about forming their own

Critical Junctures in American Evangelicalism: III

congregations, denominations, missionary societies, publishing houses, Bible
institutes, Bible colleges, Bible camps, and seminaries - all in an effort to insulate
themselves from the larger world. The project was ambitious and Herculean and
costly, but evangelicals believed that the integrity of the faith was at stake. In this
era of separation, evangelicals sought to remain unsullied by liberalism, by
modernism, or by the world. They withdrew from politics and from any culture
outside of their own subculture. That was dictated in part by necessity, by the
financial and logistical demands of creating a whole new infrastructure, but it also
represented a choice to remain pure.

By the end of the second quarter of the twentieth century, evangelicals had
burrowed into their own subculture. They socialized almost entirely within that
world, and so comprehensive was this alternative universe that it was possible in the
middle decades of the twentieth century (as I can attest personally) to ftmction with
virtual autonomy from the larger culture and have, in fact, very little commerce with
anyone outside of the evangelical subculture.

By mid-century, a few evangelicals thought that the separatist impulse,
especially as embodied by such hard-core fundamentalists as Bob Jones and Carl
Mclntire, had gone too far. Carl F. H. Henry provided a kind of manifesto for the
renewed engagement of evangelicals with the larger culture with the publication in
1947 of The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism, which argued against
the separatism that had become the overriding characteristic of evangelicalism in
the second quarter of the twentieth century. The formation of Fuller Theological
Seminary the same year that Henry's book appeared provided the so-called
neoevangelicals with institutional ballast for their re-engagement, albeit cautious
engagement, with American society in the third quarter of the twentieth century.

As evangelicals tentatively began to emerge from the subculture, they also
reclaimed one of the elements of their heritage that had served evangelicalism so
well throughout American history: the ability to speak the idiom of the culture and
to exploit new and emerging communications technologies. No one illustrated this
better than Billy Graham, son of a dairy farmer in North Carolina who became
America's first religious celebrity.

Like many evangelicals, Graham had been reared in a fundamentalist
household, which is to say that he had imbibed the notion that separatism was
somehow akin to orthodoxy itself Graham's one semester at the ultra-
fundamentalist Bob Jones University apparently soured him somewhat on
fundamentalism; he transferred to a Baptist school in Florida and eventually to
Wheaton College in Illinois. Graham's considerable gifts as a preacher began to
emerge, and early in his career he made a self-conscious decision to reject
fundamentalism in favor of a broader, more inclusive evangelicalism.

The contours of this new understanding of the faith emerged during his
revival campaign (which he called a "crusade") in Portland, Oregon, in 1950. In the
course of that crusade, Graham made several crucial decisions. First, he decided to
incorporate his operation as the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, thereby
adopting a corporate model, which was all the rage at mid-century, and holding

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

himself accountable to a board of directors. In so doing, Graham was able to avoid
any hint of financial impropriety - or any other kind of impropriety - throughout a
career that extended well beyond a half a century. Graham also decided in Portland
to start the Hour of Decision radio broadcast, thereby using mass media to advance
his message.

The rest is history. Graham's "team" exploited new media technologies
brilliantly, and his anti-communist rhetoric in the 1950s drew the attention of
several important people, including newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst
and Richard Nixon. Graham's final break with the fundamentalists occurred during
his storied nine-week Madison Square Garden crusade in 1957, in the course of
which Graham committed the unpardonable sin of enlisting the cooperation of New
York City's ministerial alliance, which included some theologically liberal
Protestants. The fundamentalists never forgave him.

Graham's willingness to engage the world outside of evangelicalism and
his uncanny ability to speak the language of the larger culture set the tone for the
third quarter of the twentieth century. His regular appearances on the Tonight Show
and the Dick Cavett Show coupled with his very public friendships with a
succession of U.S. presidents was enormously, if incalculably, important to
evangelicals. Among a beleaguered people, who saw themselves as utterly
^marginal in society, Graham's celebrity allowed them the vicarious satisfaction of
jfeeling somehow less marginal.

I Graham's eagerness to engage the culture affected others. Consider the

lease of a Reformed Church in America pastor from Alton, Iowa, who was pastor of
the Ivanhoe Reformed Church in Riverside, Illinois. In 1955 Robert Schuller
accepted what was essentially a missionary posting to Orange County, California.
iVery quickly he discerned that this was an automobile culture, so he rented the
iOrange Drive-in Theater and distributed leaflets throughout the area inviting the
ipeople of southern California to "Come as you are ... in the family car." Schuller
jperched him atop the concession stand and preached to the headlights.

Or consider Chuck Smith in nearby Costa Mesa. In 1 965 Smith, a pastor
in the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, accepted the pulpit of a small
icongregation of contentious people on the verge of disbanding. He tapped into the
jhippie culture of Huntington Beach and turned Calvary Chapel into the beachhead
|of the Jesus Movement of the early 1970s and, in so doing, recast both the music
and the worship styles of evangelicalism. On other fronts, several evangelical
preachers exploited changes in the regulations of the Federal Communications
Commission to launch their own media empires: Pat Robertson's Christian
Broadcasting Network, Jim Bakker's PTL Network, Paul and Jan Crouch's Trinity
Broadcasting Network, as well as countless radio and television programs. The
istage (quite literally) was set for the further emergence of evangelicals into the
broader culture in the final quarter of the twenfieth century.

The evangelical strategy of engagement with the larger culture in the third
iquarter of the twentieth century prepared evangelicals for a fuller engagement
beginning in the mid-1970s. By then the so-called evangehcal resurgence was well
under way, a resurgence that both was both real and illusory. The reemergence of

Critical Junctures in American Evangelicalism: III

evangelicalism was illusory in part because of the mainline mirage, the
misperception that mainline Protestant denominations were more powerful and
influential in the middle decades of the twentieth century than they actually were.

When evangelicals exited mainline denominations beginning in the 1920s,
they had formed their own congregations and, to a lesser extent, denominations.
Many of the congregations, however, remained independent, unaffiliated with a
denomination, a pattern that has been exaggerated with the rise of the
megachurches, most of which are not part of any denomination. These
circumstances skewed the reporting of membership statistics. Put simply,
evangelicals in nondenominational congregations did not show up in aggregate
statistics; no denominational agency was reporting their presence. Add to that
another peculiarity of theology: Like the Puritans of the seventeenth century, man^'
evangelicals demand a public profession of faith before the entire congregation
before admitting that person to church membership, whereas the criterion for
membership in many mainline churches is baptism, often done in infancy. In other
words, the real challenge in many mainline churches is getting your name off of the
membership rolls, while the spiritual standards for evangelical church membership
can be intimidating. It's not unusual, then, for a mainline congregation to list a
membership of, say, a thousand and have only two hundred show up on a given
Sunday, whereas the situation may be exactly the opposite in an evangelical
congregation: one thousand on a Sunday, but a membership of only two hundred,
(For many years, in fact. Calvary Chapel had no category for membership at all.)

The mainline mirage, then, suggested that mainline Protestants were more
numerous and influential than they really were. Beginning in the mid-1960s,
however, and continuing more or less to the present, the trajectory of mainline
membership, attendance, and giving has been in steady decline. At the same time,
evangelicalism has been growing - in numbers, certainly, but more important in
cultural visibility and influence.

Why did evangelicals emerge so emphatically in the 1970s? The short
answer is that the time was ripe. The infrastructure that evangelicals constructed in
earnest following the Scopes trial - colleges, seminaries, publishing houses, media
concerns - was now sufficiently established so that it could provide a foundation foi
evangelicals' return to the public square. More important, American society
seemed ready to hear evangelical voices once again. After the Watergate scandal,
the ignominy of Vietnam, and the implosion of the counterculture, Americans were
ready to hear a new message, a message that cloaked itself in a very simple
morality, one that appropriated the language of Christian values.

No politician understood this better than a Southern Baptist Sunday-school
teacher from Georgia. Jimmy Carter had failed in his first bid for governor, losing
to an arch-segregationist, Lester Maddox, in 1966. Carter's defeat prompted a
spiritual renewal and then a second gubernatorial run in 1970, this one successfiil.
Almost immediately. Carter began to plot an improbable course that would lead to
the Democratic presidential nomination six years later. One of the keynotes of his

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

successful campaign for the White House was that he would "never knowingly lie
to the American people."

On the heels of Carter's political success as well as the popularity of Born
Again, the memoir of Charles Colson, one of the Watergate felons who converted to
evangelical Christianity, Newsweek magazine declared 1976 "The Year of the
Evangelical." That designation turned out to be four years premature; in 1980 all
three of the major candidates for president claimed to be bom again Christians:
Carter; Ronald Reagan, the Republican nominee; and John B. Anderson, the
Republican-tumed-independent who was a member of the Evangelical Free Church
of America.

By 1980, however, the evangelical landscape had changed entirely. Carter
had lured evangelicals, southerners especially, away from their subculture and out
|of their apolitical torpor. He did so by speaking the language of evangelicalism;
although his declaration that he was a bom again Christian sent every joumalist in
[New York to his rolodex to figure out what he meant, evangelicals themselves
(understood perfectly well. He was speaking their language. He was one of them
land, more important, unafraid to say so.

One of the greatest ironies of the twentieth century is that the very people
jwho emerged to help elect Carter in 1976 turned against him four years later. The
'rise of the Religious Right as a political entity is something I will address later, but
ithe effects of this political activism have been seismic. Without question,
jevangelicals have definitely shed their indifference toward temporal matters,
jplunging into the political process with a vengeance. The ripple effects have been
jsignificant. According to pollster Louis Field, had it not been for the participation
jof politically conservative evangelicals in 1980, many of whom were voting for the
first time, Jimmy Carter would have beat Reagan and Anderson by 1 percent of the
popular vote. Since then, in elections from the presidency to the local school board,
ipolitically conservative evangelicals have made their presence felt. They have
iprovided for the Republican Party the volunteer efforts that labor unions once
jsupplied for the Democratic Party, thereby altering the American political landscape
lin the final decades of the twentieth century.

I With political success, however, has come compromise, which of course is

Ithe way of politics, and this is why I characterize the final quarter of the twentieth
(Century as the era of capitulation on the part of evangelicals to the larger culture.
jConsider the Reagan years. The televangelist scandals broke in the mid-1980s, and
{television preachers peddled the so-called prosperity gospel, the notion that the
jAlmighty was itching to bestow the emoluments of middle- and upper-middle-class
llife on the faithful - so long as the faithful followed the principles of trickle-down
iprosperity: send checks to the televangelist and the showers of blessings will rain
down on the faithful - after the blessings had first cycled through the rain barrel of
the televangelist. The "name it and claim if doctrine had been present in some
|evangelical circles as early as the 1 940s, but this spiritualized Reaganism flourished
las never before in the 1980s.

One of the characteristics of evangelicalism in the middle decades of the
^twentieth century had been a suspicion of "worldliness." The most damning thing

Critical Junctures in American Evangelicalism: III

an evangelical could say about a fellow believer was that she was "worldly," anc
"worldliness" included a strong suspicion of affluence. I heard a lot of sermons ir
my youth about the perils of wealth and about camels trying to negotiate the eyes oi
needles. Those sermons all but disappeared in the 1980s as evangelicals became
quite comfortable indeed with their niche in the suburbs.

The premillennial rhetoric of decades past persisted, but no longer with the
same enthusiasm or conviction, as upwardly mobile evangelicals settled intc
middle-class comfort. Yes, Jesus come again. But take your time; we're doing jusi
fine.

And indeed they were. Megachurches dotted the suburbs. Christian radic
and television flooded the airwaves. Political success had bought access to the
councils of power. Evangelicalism during the final quarter of the twentieth centur>
was still a subculture - with its distinctive jargon, mores, and celebrities.

But after 1980 or so it was no longer a counterculture.

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

Critical Junctures in American Evangelicalism: IV
The Rise of the Religious Right

By Randall Balmer

By now, well into the twenty-first century, the story of the rise of the
Religious Right, the loose coalition of politically conservative individuals,
congregations, and organizations, is well known. On January 22, 1973, the U.S.
Supreme Court handed down its landmark Roe v. JVade decision that effectively
struck down all laws banning abortion until "viability," the point at which a fetus
could survive outside the womb. The Roman Catholic Church had been arguing
against legalized abortion for a very long time, but sheer outrage at the Roe decision
had the effect of rallying evangelicals to the antiabortion cause.

For most of the twentieth century, evangelicals had been content to exist
within the safety of their subculture, this network of institutions they had
constructed in earnest following the Scopes trial of 1925. The subculture
functioned as a kind of bulwark against the corruptions of the larger world, and
evangelicals' wholesale adoption of dispensational premillennialism late in the
previous century effectively absolved them from concerns about social
amelioration. Although many evangelicals, including Billy Graham, railed against
"godless Communism" during the cold war, their fixation with the imminent return
of Jesus rationalized their lack of interest in the present world. "Believing the Bible
as I do," Jerry Falwell declared in 1965, "I would find it impossible to stop
preaching the pure saving gospel of Jesus Christ, and begin doing anything else -
including fighting Communism, or participating in civil-rights reforms."

Dealing with the victims of systemic discrimination and racist violence
was one thing, however, but the defense of those poor, defenseless babies was
another. The Roe decision of 1973 shook evangelical leaders out of their
complacency; even though their own congregants did not want them involved in
political matters, the urgency of the Roe ruling compelled them to action. They
were willing to take on the risk of alienating their own constituencies because of the
greater moral imperative of fighting the scourge of abortion.

These leaders of the Religious Right looked for ways to justify their
sudden, albeit reluctant, plunge into politics, so they began to refer to themselves as
the "new abolitionists," an effort to align themselves with the nineteenth-century
opponents of slavery. The political activism on the part of these evangelical leaders
was initially viewed with suspicion by rank-and-file evangelicals, but they quickly
were persuaded of the moral urgency of fighting abortion.

The scenario about the rise of the Religious Right I've just rehearsed is
compelling and familiar. It's also a work of fiction. The only factual elements of
the preceding story are the 1965 quotation from Jerry Falwell, the self-designated
use of the term "new abolitionists," and the Roman Catholic Church's longstanding
arguments against abortion. As early as the Iowa precinct caucuses in 1972, the
bishops were urging their communicants to support candidates opposed to abortion.

Evangelicals, however, took a very different view of the matter in the early
1970s. Meeting in St. Louis during the summer of 1971, the messengers (delegates)

Critical Junctures in American Evangelicalism: IV

to the Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution that stated, "we call upon
Southern Baptists to work for legislation that will allow the possibility of abortion
under such conditions as rape, incest, clear evidence of severe fetal deformity, and
carefully ascertained evidence of the likelihood of damage to the emotional, mental,
and physical health of the mother." After the Roe decision was handed down on
January 22, 1973, W. A. Criswell, former president of the Southern Baptist
Convention and pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, expressed his
satisfaction with the ruling. "I have always felt that it was only after a child was
bom and had a life separate from its mother that it became an individual person,"
one of the most famous fundamentalists of the twentieth century declared, "and it
has always, therefore, seemed to me that what is best for the mother and for the
fiiture should be allowed."

While a few evangelical voices, including Christianity Today magazine,
mildly questioned the ruling, the overwhelming response on the part of evangelicals
was silence, even approval; Baptists, in particular, applauded the decision as an
appropriate articulation of the line of division between church and state, between
personal morality and state regulation of individual behavior. "Religious liberty,
human equality and justice are advanced by the Supreme Court abortion decision,"
W. Barry Garrett oi Baptist Press wrote.

If the Roe decision was not the precipitating cause for the rise of the
Religious Right, however, what was? The catalyst for the Religious Right was
indeed a court decision, but it was a lower court decision. Green v. Connally, not
Roe V. Wade. In the early 1970s, the federal government was looking for ways to
extend the provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1 964, the landmark legislation that
Lyndon Johnson pushed tlirough Congress and signed into law during the summer
of 1964. The Civil Rights Act forbade racial segregation and discrimination, and in
looking for ways to enforce that law the Internal Revenue Service ruled that any
organization that engaged in racial discrimination was not, by definition, a
charitable organization and therefore should be denied tax-exempt status and,
furthermore, that contributions to such institutions no longer qualified for tax-
exemption.

On June 30, 1971, the three-judge District Court for the District of
Columbia affirmed the IRS in its Green v. Connally decision. Although Green v.
Connally addressed the case of a segregated school in Mississippi, the ramifications
of the ruling were widespread. Institutions that engaged in racial discrimination, be
they churches, clubs, or schools, were no longer tax-exempt. As the IRS prepared
to apply the ruling, one of the schools directly in its crosshairs was a fiandamentalist
institution in Greenville, South Carolina: Bob Jones University. Founded in Florida
by arch-fiindamentalist Bob Jones in 1 926, the school had been located for a time in
Cleveland, Tennessee, before moving to South Carolina in 1947. In response to
Green v. Connally, Bob Jones University decided to admit students of color in 1971,
but the school maintained its restrictions against admitting urmiarried African
Americans until 1975. Even then, however, the school stipulated that interracial
dating would be grounds for expulsion, and the school also promised that any

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

students who "espouse, promote, or encourage others to violate the University's
dating rules and regulations will be expelled."

The Internal Revenue Service pressed its case against Bob Jones
University and on April 16, 1975, notified the school of the proposed revocation of
its tax-exempt status. On January 19, 1976, the IRS officially revoked Bob Jones
University's tax-exempt status, effective retroactively to 1970, when the school had
first been formally notified of the IRS policy.

Bob Jones University sued to retain its tax exemption, and conservative
activist Paul Weyrich saw an opening. Weyrich had been fighting for conservative
causes going back to Barry Goldwater's failed bid for the presidency in 1964. He
sensed the electoral potential of enlisting evangelical voters in conservative causes,
and he had been trying throughout the early 1970s to generate some interest from
evangelical leaders on matters like abortion, school prayer, and the proposed equal
rights amendment to the U.S. Constitution. "I was trying to get those people
interested in those issues and I utterly failed," Weyrich recalled in the 1990s.
"What changed their mind was Jimmy Carter's intervention against Christian
schools, trying to deny them tax-exempt status on the basis of so-called de facto
segregation."

The Bob Jones case caught the attention of evangelical leaders, although I
do not believe that the primary motivation for the galvanization of evangelicals was
racism. Rather, they saw themselves as defending what they considered the sanctity
of the evangelical subculture from outside interference. As I was growing up in
evangelicalism in the 1950s and 1960s, I recall the visits of a succession of
presidents of various Bible colleges and Bible institutes. They were raising money
and recruiting students, and one of their mantras was that their institutions did not
accept federal money; therefore, the government couldn't tell them how to run their
shops, who they admitted or not, who they hired or fired.

Green v. Connally changed that. Evangelical leaders, prodded by Weyrich,
chose to interpret the IRS ruling against segregationist schools as an assault on the
integrity and the sanctity of the evangelical subculture. And that is what prompted
them to action and to organize into a political movement. "What cause the
movement to surface," Weyrich reiterated, "was the federal government's moves
against Christian schools," which, he added, "enraged the Christian community."
Ed Dobson, formerly Falwell's assistant at Moral Majority, has corroborated
Weyrich' s account. "The Religious New Right did not start because of a concern
about abortion," he said in 1990. "I sat in the non-smoke-filled back room with the
Moral Majority, and I frankly do not remember abortion being mentioned as a
reason why we ought to do something."

The Bob Jones case found its way all the way to the Supreme Court in
1982, when the Reagan administration argued on behalf of Bob Jones University.
On May 24, 1983, however, the Court ruled against Bob Jones. The evangelical
defense of Bob Jones University and its racially discriminatory policies may not
have been motivated primarily by racism. Still, it's fair to point out the paradox that
the very people who style themselves the "new abolitionists" to emphasize their

Critical Junctures in American Evangelicalism: IV

moral kinship with the nineteenth-century opponents of slavery actually coalesced
as a political movement effectively to defend racial discrimination.

And how did opposition to abortion become part of the Religious Right's
program? According to Weyrich, once these evangelical leaders had mobilized in
defense of Bob Jones University, they held a conference call to discuss the
possibility of other political activities. Several people suggested possible issues,
and finally a voice on the end of one of the lines said "How about abortion?" And
that, according to Weyrich, was how abortion was cobbled into the agenda of the
Religious Right - in the late 1 970s, not as a direct response to the January 1 973 Roe
V. Wade decision.

Another element of Paul Weyrich 's statement merits closer examination.
Looking back on the formation of the Religious Right, Weyrich insisted that
opposition to abortion was not the precipitating cause behind evangelical political
activism. His alternate explanation reads as follows: "What changed their mind was
Jimmy Carter's intervention against Christian schools, trying to deny them tax-
exempt status on the basis of so-called de facto segregation."

Here, Weyrich displays his genius for political maneuvering and chicanery.
The Internal Revenue Service had initiated its action against Bob Jones University
in 1970, and they informed the school in 1975 that it would revoke its tax
exemption. Jimmy Carter was still running for the Democratic nomination when
Bob Jones University received that news, and he was inaugurated president on
January 20, 1977, precisely one full year and a day after the IRS finally rescinded
the school's tax-exempt status. And yet, according to Weyrich, it was "Jimmy
Carter's intervention against Christian schools" that precipitated the rise of the
Religious Right.

As president of the United States in the final years of the 1970s, Carter was
dealt a bad hand - the Arab Oil Embargo and the concomitant energy crisis, high
interest rates, the Iranian hostage situation - and it is a hand that, in many respects,
he played badly. But he also fought against some lavishly funded, highly organized,
and fiendishly deceptive opponents who would do almost anything to undermine
him. Weyrich' s attribution to Carter of the IRS action against Bob Jones University
provides a case in point. Even though the action was consummated a fiill year
before Carter even took office, when Gerald Ford was still president, Weyrich
succeeded in pinning this unpopular action on the Democratic president and using it
to organize a movement to deny him reelection in 1980.

One of the many ironies surrounding the Religious Right, of course, is that
evangelicals had helped sweep Carter to victory in the presidential election of 1976.
His rhetoric about being a "bom again Christian" had energized evangelicals, many
of whom had been resolutely apolitical until the mid-1970s. His improbable run for
the presidency, his candor about his religious convictions, and his promise to restore
probity to the White House resonated with many Americans, especially after having
endured Richard Nixon's endless prevarications. But no group responded more
enthusiastically than evangelicals themselves. Many of them registered to vote for
the first time in order to cast their ballots for the Sunday-school teacher from Plains,

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

Georgia, and even televangelist Pat Robertson later boasted that he had done
everything short of violating FCC regulations to ensure Carter's election.

Not all evangelicals were enthusiastic about Carter, however. Tim LaHaye
insisted that he had been suspicious from the beginning. Once they had galvanized
as a political movement, leaders of the Religious Right claimed that Carter's
unwillingness to outlaw abortion provided a compelling reason to work against him
- Carter had taken the position during the 1976 campaign that he was "personally
opposed" to abortion but that he did not want to make it illegal - but that was a
retrospective judgment because evangelicals did not embrace abortion as an issue
until the 1980 campaign.

What about other issues that fed the rise of the Religious Right? Phyllis
Schlafly, a Roman Catholic, had been opposing the proposed equal rights
amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but the issue had little traction among
evangelicals in the early 1970s. As the Religious Right was gearing up in
preparation for the 1980 election, however, Beverly LaHaye started a new
organization. Concerned Women for America, in 1979, claiming that she resented
the assumption on the part of feminist leaders that they spoke for all women.

The decision on the part of the Religious Right to oppose feminism as part
of their agenda was a curious one. Following the lead of Charles Finney and
Phoebe Palmer and Sarah Lankford and countless Quaker women, evangelicals had
been in the forefront of the women's rights movement throughout the nineteenth
century and into the twentieth century. An essential part of the argument for
women's suffrage was that women could bring moral arguments to bear on social
issues, especially temperance. Given their own legacy, evangelical women should
have been marching beside people like Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan in the
women's movement of the 1960s and 1970s, and one can only speculate about the
ways in which America might have looked different in the final decades of the
twentieth century had they done so. At the very least, it seems likely that an
evangelical presence in the women's movement might have curbed some of the
more radical elements of feminism. But that, of course, is speculation. Instead, the
leaders of the Religious Right, who were and are overwhelmingly male, opposed the
women's movement, thereby betraying evangelicalism's own heritage as
nineteenth-century feminists.

In their search for a comprehensive political agenda, the leaders of the
Religious Right grabbed onto such issues as support for Israel, derived from their
chiliastic reading of biblical prophecies, and the abolition of the Department of
Education. But in establishing a social agenda, which they insisted was based
directly on the teachings of scripture, they ignored the issue of divorce in favor of
opposition to abortion and, later, homosexuality.

On the face of it, this was a curious move. The Bible, not to mention Jesus
himself, says a great deal about divorce - and none of it good. The Bible says
relatively little about homosexuality and probably nothing at all about abortion,
though pro-life advocates routinely cite a couple of verses. Jesus himself said
nothing whatsoever about sexuality, though he did talk a good bit about money.
Still, the preponderance of the biblical witness, which the Religious Right claims as

Critical Junctures in American Evangelicalism: IV

formative, is directed toward the believer's responsibility to those Jesus calls "the
least of these," toward an honoring of the meek and peacemakers, and, on social
matters, against divorce. Yet the Religious Right made no attempt to outlaw
divorce.

Why is that? First, the divorce rate among evangelicals by the late 1970s,
when the Religious Right was gearing up, was roughly the same as that of the larger
population. Second, the person that the Religious Right exalted as their political
savior in 1980 was Ronald Reagan, a divorced and remarried man who, as governor
of California, had signed a bill into law legalizing abortion. The Religious Right's
designation of abortion and homosexuality as the central issues of their social
agenda allowed them to divert attention from their embrace of Reagan but also to
locate "sin" outside of the evangelical subculture (or so they thought).

This attempt to externalize the enemy proved effective. By the logic of
their own professed fidelity to the scriptures, the leaders of the Religious Right
should have been working to make divorce illegal, except in cases of infidelity. Not
more difficult, but illegal, because they seek to outlaw abortion. Instead, they have
chosen to be draconian on abortion and homosexuality, even though the biblical
mandate on those matters is considerably more ambiguous. The Religious Right's
opposition to abortion has been weakened, moreover, by its insistent refusal to be
consistently "pro-life." Unlike the Roman Catholic Church, which, following the
lead of the late Joseph Bemardin, archbishop of Chicago, has talked about a
"consistent life ethic," the leaders of the Religious Right have failed to condemn
capital punishment or even the use of torture by the Bush administration. The
failure to oppose capital punishment and torture leaves the Religious Right open to
the charge that their agenda is driven by hard-right ideologues rather than by moral
conviction. And what do we make of the fact that the Republican-Religious Right
coalition has controlled all three branches of the federal government since Samuel
Alito's confirmation to the Supreme Court on February 1, 2006, and yet this
coalition has made no effort to outlaw abortion?

Despite the internal contradictions and ironies surrounding the Religious
Right, no one can deny its political effectiveness. The Religious Right more than
likely provided the margin of victory for Reagan in 1980 over two evangelical
opponents: Carter, the incumbent, and John B. Anderson, Republican member of
Congress from Illinois who was running as an independent. The Religious Right
help to reelect Reagan four years later and to elect Reagan's vice president, George
H. W. Bush, in 1988, even though the support fi"om politically conservative
evangelicals was considerably more tepid. The Religious Right viewed the Clinton
years as something of an interregnum; as someone shaped by the Baptist tradition in
the South and as someone clearly at ease behind the pulpit of an African American
congregation, Clinton was able to siphon enough evangelical votes away fi-om the
Republicans to win election in 1992 and reelection four years later.

The Religious Right never forgave Clinton for interrupting their
ascendancy. With the emergence of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, they pounced
with a vengeance, and their failure to remove him from office by impeachment was

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

a source of unmitigated disappointment. They finally had Clinton in their sights,
but the Senate failed to pull the trigger, despite the Republican majority. Ed
Dobson and Cal Thomas, both of them former assistants to Jerry Falwell, published
a bitter lamentation about the betrayal of the Religious Right by the political
process. Their book. Blinded by Might: Can the Religious Right Save America?,
answered the subtitle with an emphatic no. Politics, they argued, was an arena of
compromise, not suited to religious convictions. Besides, what had the Republican
Party actually delivered to politically conservative evangelicals?

A fair question. No one can deny the political influence of the Religious
Right or the leaders' proximity to powerful politicians. Since the 1980s, politically
conservative evangelicals have supplied the Republican Party with the foot soldiers
that labor unions once provided for the Democratic Party. But what have
evangelicals received in return?

Both Reagan and George H. W. Bush (who had run for the Republican
presidential nomination in 1980 as a pro-choice Republican) promised a
constitutional amendment banning abortion, but neither made a serious effort to
amend the Constitution. Reagan appointed C. Everett Koop, an evangelical and an
abortion opponent, to the position of surgeon-general, and Gary Bauer held a policy
position in the Reagan White House. But the legislative accomplishments of the
Religious Right, despite the putative allegiance of a majority of Congress to the
agenda of the Religious Right, is negligible. Even George W. Bush's much-
trumpeted faith-based initiatives program has fallen far short of his promises;
according to Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction, by David Kuo,
formerly the assistant in Bush's office of faith-based initiatives. Bush had delivered
only $80 million of the $8 billion dollars he promised to the program, less than 1
percent. "In 2004 we really did break our necks to turn out the vote, James Dobson
complained in September 2004. "For the two years since then, I have been
extremely disappointed with what the Republicans have done with the power they
were given."

The Rise of the Religious Right in the late 1970s and its pandering after
power provides an important lesson about evangelicalism. The widespread attempt
on the part of the Religious Right to compromise the First Amendment - by means
of faith-based initiatives, public prayer in public schools, the use of taxpayer
vouchers for religious schools, emblazoning the Ten Commandments and other
religious sentiments on public places - all of these efforts ultimately undermine the
faith by identifying it with the state and by suggesting that the faith needs the
imprimatur of the government for legitimacy. After Judge Myron Thompson ruled
(correctly) that the granite monument placed by Roy Moore in the lobby of the
Alabama Judicial Building represented a violation of the First Amendment's
establishment clause, one of the protesters screamed, "Get your hands off my God!"
This protester may have forgotten that one of the commandments etched into that
block of granite said something about graven images, but the entire incident
illustrated the dangers of trivializing or fetishizing the faith by associating it with
the state. The overwhelming lesson of American religious history is that religion,
especially evangelicalism, has flourished here as nowhere else precisely because we

Critical Junctures in American Evangelicalism: IV

have followed Roger Williams's dictum that the church should remain separate
from the state, lest the "garden of the church" be overcome by the "wilderness of
the world."

The other lesson for evangelicals in American religious history is that
religion always functions best at the margins of society and not in the councils of
power. Methodism of the nineteenth century comes to mind, as does Mormonism
and the holiness movement. In the twentieth century, pentecostalism provides the
best example of a religious movement operating at the fringes of society - and
flourishing. When the faith panders after political power or cultural respectability,
however, it loses its prophetic edge. The failure of the Religious Right to condemn
the Bush administration's policies on torture provides perhaps the most egregious
example. But twentieth-century American history provides another example as
well: the white-middle-class aspirations of mainline Protestants and the ecumenical
movement in the cold war era that led to an enervation of mainline Protestantism.
Paradoxically, it was the resurgence of evangelicalism, coming from the margins,
that re-energized Protestantism. Now, because of the Religious Right's dalliance
with the Republican Party in the decades surrounding the turn of the twentieth
century, it is evangelicalism itself that stands in need of renewal.

And there is evidence that this is already taking place. Midway through
George W. Bush's second term in office, in the face of economic stagnation,
policies that overwhelmingly favor the affluent, indifference toward the poor and
the environment, and moral malpractice in the use of torture and the conduct of the
war in fraq, evangelical voices have begun to rise in opposition, calling
evangelicalism to its better self Evangelicals like Jim Wallis and Tony Campolo
are beginning to be heard, and a new group calling itself "Red Letter Christians," a
reference to the words of Jesus in many editions of the New Testament, organized
in September 2006 to offer an alternative evangelical voice. Indeed, history may
very well judge the ascendancy of the Religious Right in the final decades of the
twentieth century as an aberration because of its distortion of the New Testament
and its failure to honor the legacy of nineteenth-century evangelical activists.

Because of its malleability, its populism, and its uncanny knack to speak
the idiom of the culture, evangelicalism will continue to be America's folk religion
well into the twenty-first century. The mechanisms for course corrections are
inherent to evangelicalism, which has always remained remarkably free of the
institutional machinery of episcopacy, creed, tradition, or denominational
bureaucracy. And the unparalleled ability to communicate to the masses, from the
open-air preaching of George Whitefield in the eighteenth century to the stadium
crusades of Billy Graham in the twentieth century, has always ensured that
evangelicalism remains accessible to all Americans.

The history of evangelicalism in America reveals its suppleness, its infinite
adaptability to cultural circumstances. The adoption of a novel configuration of
church and state in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries provides one example,
and the theological shift from Calvinism to Arminianism in the new nation provides
another. The move from postmillennialism to premillermialism may have had the

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

unfortunate effect of removing evangelicals from the arena of social amelioration,
but it was an understandable response to the seismic social and demographic shifts
of the nineteenth century. Evangelicals responded to the fundamentalist-modernist
controversy and to the Scopes frial by constructing and burrowing into their own
subculture, and the rise of the Religious Right in the late 1970s represented a
response to the perceived attacks on the sanctity of the subculture. The attempt on
the part of the leaders of the Religious Right to obfuscate the real origins of the
movement suggests a level of deception that should be disturbing to any believer.
The effect of the Religious Right has been to deliver the faith into the captivity of
right-wing politics.

Evangelicalism has profoundly shaped American history and culture. The
challenge facing evangelicals now in the early years of the twenty-first century lies
in finding a way to reclaim the faith from the depredations and distortions of the
Religious Right.

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Ashland Theological Journal 2006

Never Without a Witness: The Apocrypha and Spiritual Formation

By David A. deSilva*

The Protestant Christian who reads her Old and New Testaments hstening
for God's Word might suppose that God fell silent between his people's return from
the Babylonian exile until the Word-made-Flesh began to speak anew. But, in fact,
we serve the God who was never without a witness, who never left God's people
without the knowledge of God's counsels. This is good news for us who count on
God to speak not just in the fixed forms and limited time of the Scriptures, but
rather to make his living voice known in every age — including the present
moment!

The intertestamental period was far from silent. It was a fertile period in
which the faith of the ancestors was being re-imagined and re-appropriated for the
rapidly-changing circumstances of life under the shadow first of Greece and then of
Rome, both at home in Israel and abroad in the Diaspora. The absence of prophets
did not mean the absence of the voice of God, as spiritual teachers listened for
God's word in their sacred texts, experienced God's presence through their spiritual
disciplines, and called one another to continue to order their lives around the God
who was the source of all life. It was a period full of witnesses to life with God,
whether they gave that witness in their lives and deaths, or recorded that witness in
writing to nurture future generations of disciples.

Now these witnesses, you might argue, were not perfect. You might say
that they were merely human writers. But if that is so, even then we must give ear
to them, at least with the same earnest attention that we give to the most popular
human authors whose spiritual advice we cherish today. But there is still an
important difference. There is no doubt that the works of a Max Lucado or Rick
Warren represent the finest devotional fruit that blossoms on the tree that is the
church, and many are nourished and delighted by this fruit. But the authors of the
Apocrypha are located deeper down among the roots of that tree. The apostles
themselves drew their nourishment from these roots as the tree began to sprout
when it was but a young sapling. In the most formative centuries of our faith.
Christian teachers mined these books as rich treasure troves on the life lived with
God, and the life of responding to God. The whole tree has continued to be
nourished by them, even though some of its branches do not seem to know it.

We can derive much wisdom from our spiritual forebears who left us the
books that Protestants call the Apocrypha, that Catholic and Orthodox Christians
intersperse throughout their Old Testaments as part of their Scriptures. As the
apostles discovered, we too will find that these pious Jews offer valuable spiritual
direction for our journey toward Christ-likeness and for our growth in our life with
God.

* David A. deSilva (Ph.D., Emory University) in Trustees' Professor of New
Testament and Greek at ATS.

Never Without a Witness: The Apocrypha and Spiritual Formation

Their first word to us would be that life with God requires awareness. It I
requires that we give our attention to God and God's provisions for hfe in his
presence, which is itself a discipline when we are surrounded by so many other
focal points competing for that attention. Life with God requires awareness of\
God's gifts. For all its variety, the literature contained in the Apocrypha is
dominated by a central theme — the challenge of holding onto the awareness of the
value of the covenant way of life in the midst of a dominant Gentile society whose
own way of life promises more immediate and impressive enjoyment of this world's
goods. During this period the high priests themselves would lead the Jerusalem
aristocracy toward seeking out Greek learning, Greek customs, Greek forms of
government. Jewish elites in every land would be drawn to look away from their
own heritage toward becoming sufficiently acculturated to the Greek way of life to
become "players" in the larger economical, political, and cultural spheres.

In this environment, on the eve of the most extreme attempts to re-make
Jerusalem after the model of the Greek city, a Jewish sage named Ben Sira set up
his school in Jerusalem, teaching the young elites of the city about the way to live
wisely and make their way profitably in the world. At a time when many such
teachers might have been emphasizing the importance of learning how to adapt to
the Greek way of life, Ben Sira sprinkles his teachings with reminders of the
distinctive gifts that God has given Israel, especially the gift of the covenant, the
gift of the Law. To those seeking Wisdom, Ben Sira directed them first toward the
Wisdom that God provided them, a wisdom that was far more valuable than all the
wisdom of the Gentiles:

"I came forth from the mouth of the Most High...

I dwelt in the highest heavens...

Over every people and nation I have held sway.

Among these I sought a resting place; '

in whose territory should I abide?

Then the Creator of all things gave me a command,

He said, 'Make your dwelling in Jacob.'

Wisdom continues:

"... Come to me, you who desire me,

and eat your fill of my fruits.

Whoever obeys me will not be put to shame,

and those who work with me will not sin."

All this is the book of the covenant of the Most High God,

the Law that Moses commanded us. (Ben Sira 24, passim)

Ben Sira points his students to the rich spiritual resource that God has already given
them, namely the Torah. Many of their peers had forgotten its value in their desire
to get "more" of what the Greek world has to offer. They had lost their awareness

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

of the value of God's provisions as the foundation for a life lived with honor,
success, integrity, wholeness, and security. Because of this lack of mindfulness,
Ben Sira's contemporaries have begun to be seduced to seek the satisfaction of their
core longings apart from God and God's covenant, a path that put the nation in
considerable jeopardy in the decade following Ben Sira's death.

Ben Sira, then, would counsel us to center our hearts and our minds in a
deepening awareness of God's gifts to us. Foremost among these is the gift of
God's presence and oversight of our lives, God's nearness to hear, to guide, to
deliver. This is something to which the other authors of the Apocryphal books
would also repeatedly draw our attention, as would the author of the Letter to the
Hebrews: "let us approach the throne of favor with boldness, so that we may
receive mercy and find favor for timely help" (Heb 4:16), whether that help takes
the form of comfort, guidance, strength in temptation, deep healing or
transformation. God's presence and guidance comes alive for the Christian disciple
especially through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is, indeed, that
promised inheritance that Christ has secured for all who join themselves to
Abraham and the people of promise through him (Gal 3:14). The Spirit writes the
Law upon our hearts and enables us to live in line with God's just decrees more
completely than the Law with which God graced God's historic people Israel, to
which Ben Sira points.

In our hunger for "more" in this world, we are put in jeopardy of becoming
forgetful of God's many gifts already bestowed upon us, forgetful of the fact that
"his divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness through the
knowledge of him who called us" (2 Peter 1:3), a provision that leads us to share in
God's very nature. Life with God begins as we keep our minds focused on God's
gifts to us. These gifts include: redemption, the Holy Spirit, the spiritual guidance
of Scripture and of the cloud of witnesses that have devoted themselves to growing
in awareness of God's gifts and paths (the conversation of the sages, for Ben Sira),
God's coming to us in the sacraments, including the sacrament of the present
moment whenever we open up the moment to God's intervention. Such a centering
on God's gifts opens us up to the awareness of how rich we truly are in God, and
how full life becomes when we live out of this center.

Their second counsel to us might be that life with God requires humility.
Among the Apocrypha are two confessions of sin and prayers for forgiveness and
deliverance — the Prayer of Azariah and the Prayer of Manasseh. Like the biblical
psalms, these two beautiftil prayers model for us the honesty that we are to have
before God about our own failings, and our utter dependence on God both for
forgiveness where we have gone astray and for any progress that we make in
growth as disciples. Our successes in the journey of discipleship come from God's
investment in us, for his name's sake and for the manifestation of his character as
the God of those who repent.

Manasseh was the most wicked king of Judah. It was on account of him
that God's decree of devastation and exile would not be reversed. Unlike the story
in 1 Kings 21, however, the story in 2 Chronicles 33 speaks of Manasseh himself

Never Without a Witness: The Apocrypha and Spiritual Formation

going into exile and repenting of his deeds, and of God accepting his prayer and
restoring him. We even find a reference to the text of his prayer being preserved in
the Annals of the Kings (2 Chron 33:18-20). This provided an opportunity for a
pious author to re-create, as it were, that prayer of repentance as a testimony both to
the limitless mercy of God and to the place of repentance in the process of
transformation. In so doing, he did not merely create a piece of historical fiction.
Early Christians recognized that the Prayer of Manasseh was also the prayer of
every soul before the Holy God, and therefore did not preserve the prayer as a piece
of history in connection with 2 Chronicles 33. Rather, they preserved it within the
liturgical context of biblical prayers gathered together in the "Odes," a supplement
to the Psalter found in fifth, sixth, and seventh century copies of the Greek Bible.

O Lord, according to your great goodness you have promised
repentance and forgiveness to those who have sinned against you,
and in the multitude of your mercies you have appointed
repentance for sinners, so that they may be saved. Therefore you,
O Lord, God of the righteous, have not appointed repentance for
the righteous, for Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, who did not sin
against you, but you have appointed repentance for me, who am a
sinner. (Prayer of Manasseh 1:7-8)

The author calls us to approach God with the humility to recognize that we stand
not among the righteous who need no repentance, but that God has appointed
repentance for us, for me.

And now I bend the knee of my heart, imploring you for your
kindness. I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned, and I
acknowledge my transgressions. I earnestly implore you, forgive
me, O Lord, forgive me! (Prayer of Manasseh 1:1 1-13)

The example of this prayer summons us to allow God's searching eye, and our own
gaze, to look deeply within ourselves, and to allow that gaze to expose us as sinners
and to have the humility of spirit to accept that designation, so that we may also
receive the deep forgiveness and rehabilitation that God longs to provide.

It's not necessarily that we're all that bad, that we need to beat ourselves
up for some sin, or magnify some trifling offense. Nor is it the case that we need to
motivate ourselves to do more and more so as to avoid any "sins of omission" by
more effort. It may far more often be the case — I would venture to say for
conscientious disciples like those who make room in their lives for spiritual
formation conferences — that we rather need to keep bringing before God those
parts of ourselves, our lives, our secret hopes that have not been established by
God. This author counsels us to allow God's examination to break down all that is
untransformed in our lives, all that we have erected to keep Christ out of those
places, to hold onto our old selves in those places. He urges us to "bend the knees

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

of our hearts" more and more fully, yielding those poorly built strongholds to him,
so that God may raise us up, build us up anew in those places in ways that reflect
Christ alive in us now in those places as well.

For you, O Lord, are the God of those who repent, and in me you

will manifest your goodness; for, unworthy as I am, you will save

me according to your great mercy, and I will praise you

continually all the days of my life. For all the host of heaven sings

your praise, and yours is the glory forever. (Prayer of Manasseh

1:13-15)

The result of this process of examination, repentance, and humbling ourselves

before God for the transformation of our lives is also one that teaches humility. The

process does not serve our own aggrandizement, but the glorification of God, the

ultimate purpose for our lives as God's creatures. As we are redeemed by God

from death-bound drives and behaviors, God's character as "the Lord Most High,

of great compassion, long-suffering, and merciful" (Prayer of Manasseh 7) is

revealed by the results in us and our lives.

The second prayer, the Prayer of Azariah, counsels humility from another
important angle. What do we do when the circumstances around us move us to cry
out for deliverance? What happens when we find ourselves in the furnace? The
story of Daniel's three companions becomes the occasion for the composition of
another prayer. When Azariah, Mishael, and Hananiah were cast into the furnace
having just made their bold declaration of loyalty to the One God, with what words
did they address themselves to God? Again, a pious Jew of the post-prophetic
period supplied them with a prayer for deliverance and a hymn of thanksgiving,
both of which continue to be used in the worship life of the Christian church.

Reflecting on all the ills that have befallen wayward Israel, and thus
including himself, Azariah prays:

Blessed are you, O Lord, God of our ancestors, and worthy of
praise; and glorious is your name forever! For you are just in all
you have done; all your works are true and your ways right, and
all your judgments are true. You have executed true judgments in
all you have brought upon us and upon Jerusalem, the holy city of
our ancestors; by a true judgment you have brought all this upon
us because of our sins. For we have sinned and broken your law
in turning away from you; in all matters we have sinned
grievously. (Prayer of Azariah 3-5)

It belongs here to humility to acknowledge God's justice, to hold fast to the
conviction that God is in the right. / may not be in the right, and may therefore
need to submit myself to God's righteousness, seeking what God's justness means
in my circumstances, conforming my perception to God's. My people may not be
in the right, and indeed sometimes the sins which we must confess are not our own

Never Without a Witness: The Apocrypha and Spiritual Formation

individually, but those of our congregation, our denomination, our nation, or ouri
race. My circumstances may not be right, such that I need to look for God's^
conforming these circumstances to his justice, the basis for the hope of the(
oppressed being that God is just and brings about justice. But God is always in thei
right. Once again, it requires humility to acknowledge God's rightness, to search]
out the meaning of God's rightness for my situation, and to look assuredly for the
manifestation of God's righteousness in the future.

The author lays out the ultimate basis for his plea for deliverance for his
people:

For your name's sake do not give us up forever, and do not annul
your covenant. '^ Do not withdraw your mercy from us, for the
sake of Abraham your beloved and for the sake of your servant
Isaac and Israel your holy one, to whom you promised to
multiply their descendants like the stars of heaven and like the
sand on the shore of the sea. Do not put us to shame, but deal with
us in your patience and in your abundant mercy. (Prayer of
Azariah 13-14, 19)

We are led by his example not to expect God to deliver us on the basis of our
former service, our dedication to God, or anything else that is our own. Rather, in
humility we are led to place all our expectation for deliverance first on the basis of
God's name being associated with us, that earlier act of God's grace by which God
named us his own and pledged himself to us, and next on the basis of God's
commitment to those spiritual ancestors to whom God has pledged himself or taken
delight, under whose spiritual aegis we gather. For the author of this prayer, this
means Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; for those who have joined themselves to God in
the new covenant, this means Christ. Finally, we ground our hope for God's
response to us once again in God's own character as generous of spirit toward the
wayward.

At no point does this spiritual guide allow us to find our own acts of piety
to be a source of pride before God:

In our day we have no ruler, or prophet, or leader, no burnt
offering, or sacrifice, or oblation, or incense, no place to make an
offering before you and to find mercy. Yet with a contrite heart
and a humble spirit may we be accepted, as though it were with
burnt offerings of rams and bulls, or with tens of thousands of fat
lambs; such may our sacrifice be in your sight today. (Prayer of
Azariah 15-17)

There is no trace of this author presuming to do God a service by taking the time to
pray, or by giving God attention. Rather, he is painfiiUy aware that he cannot offer
God the holy and perfect service that is God's due (here, under the historical

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

circumstances of being unable to offer the prescribed sacrifices in the prescribed
sanctuary with the prescribed staff). He acknowledges humbly that it is an act of
kindness and favor on God's part to receive our acts of prayer, praise, and
confession, modeling this as the appropriate spirit in which to approach God.
Finally, the author points us to the proper goal for all our prayers:

Deliver us in accordance with your marvelous works, and bring
glory to your name, O Lord. Let all who do harm to your
servants be put to shame; let them be disgraced and deprived of
all power, and let their strength be broken. Let them know that
you alone are the Lord God, glorious over the whole world.
(Prayer of Azariah 20-22)

Humility manifests itself in acknowledging that the primary objective is the
manifestation of God's honor in our lives and circumstances. Our vindication is not
the final issue. The vindication of God's honor — God's name, that God has
caused to dwell with us — is the final issue both in our deliverance and our
enemies' discomfiture. This is a mark of humility in that it maintains the proper
order of things: as dependent beings, our lives are a means to an end; as the infinite
Creator, God's honor is that end. It is in this spirit that spiritual giants of the
Christian tradition have always prayed, beginning with Jesus: "Hallowed be thy
name."

Several of these authors would surely counsel us that life with God
requires discipline and investment. 4 Maccabees would probably be the first-
century equivalent of Richard Foster's The Celebration of Discipline. Its author
writes in order to remind his audience of the immense value of the Law of Moses
and the life lived in accordance with that Law. To do so, he presents the Jewish
way of life — the Torah-driven life, if you will — as the path by which people
could achieve the Greco-Roman ideal of the virtuous person, the person who had
completely mastered his or her passions. Greek and Roman philosophers targeted
the passions, by which they meant the emotions, the drives, and the physical
sensations to which people were prone, as the principle obstacle to a consistent life
of virtue. A person could exhibit courage or fortitude only if he mastered the
emotions of fear or the physical sensations of pain that he would encounter in the
midst of the challenges that called for courage. A person could exhibit justice only
if she mastered the drive of greed that might cause her to withhold generosity from
the poor, or the emotion of anger that might cause one not to honor an alliance, or
the drive of lust that might drive one to violate a neighbor's marriage. A person
could exhibit wisdom if he did not allow the prospect of short-term pain to deprive
him of long-term gains to be won by perseverance. Keeping the passions in check,
therefore, became an important focal point of Greco-Roman ethics.

The author of 4 Maccabees regards the Torah as God's provision for the
mastery of the passions, for keeping the passions in check and keeping the rational
faculty — the faculty that knew the virtuous course of action — operating without

Never Without a Witness: The Apocrypha and Spiritual Formation j

impediments. All of the laws of Torah, even those we might consider obscure andi
meaningless, find meaning in terms of how they train people to master their)
passions and come more and more alive to the life of virtue. By prohibiting thei
eating of pork or lobster, the Torah trained the pious Jew to curb her desire fori
certain foods, teaching her to exercise self-control in small ways that would prepare
for self-control in greater ways. By commanding the lending of money without
interest and the cancellation of debts in the seventh year, the Torah trained the
pious Jew to curb his greed and love for money, learning to make room for his
neighbor's financial needs against his own inclinations to acquire more for himself.
Exemplary stories like Joseph resisting the advances of Pharaoh's wife or Moses's
restraint in dealing with his rivals taught the pious Jew to resist giving in to lust or
anger.

The author builds up to his climax by showing how the disciplined life of
Torah lay behind the remarkable achievements of certain Jewish martyrs, who
allowed themselves to be tortured to death rather than breaking faith with the
covenant. Defending the nobility of the Jewish way of life against the arguments of
the tyrant Antiochus IV, the martyr Eleazar says "you scoff at our way of life as if
living by it were irrational, but it teaches us self-control, so that we master all
pleasures and desires, and it trains us in courage, so that we endure any suffering
willingly; it instructs us in justice, so that in all our dealings we act impartially, and
it teaches us piety, so that with proper reverence we worship the only living God"
(4 Maccabees 5:22-24). It is this training that allows Eleazar, along with seven
brothers and their mother, to remain true to their commitment to honor God and
walk in God's ways rather than be defeated in their purpose by the tyrant's coercive
tortures.

The path to moral consistency — even in the face of seemingly
insurmountable pressures to act contrary to one's religious commitments and
personal integrity — is laid through the disciplined life. The author values Torah
observance as promoting that disciplined life that exercises one in ways that enable
one to achieve mastery of the passions, to make progress in virtue in both small and
great ways. The example of the martyrs provides the extreme case that proves that
Torah observance leads to the mastery of the passions. Their example, however,
also demonstrates the value of all the smaller victories over the passions — the
regular, disciplined occasions for learning to master the passions — that the Torah-
led life inculcates. He articulates an approach to Torah-obedience that is not
legalistic, but that is intent on discovering the fi*eedom that the law-filled life can
bring.

He would ask us, then: "where do you find those disciplines that enable
you, through constant exercise, to master the drives and experiences of your
untransformed nature, so that you can experience greater freedom and growth in the
life with God?" While we live no longer under the Torah, the Holy Spirit still leads
us forward in the same contest to master the passions. Paul writes to the Christians
in Galatia: "Live by the spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what
the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

the flesh.... And those who belong to Jesus Christ have crucified the flesh with its
passions and desires" (Gal 5:16-17, 24). Paul and the author of 4 Maccabees share
a fundamental conviction — to be most fully alive to God, we need to be most fully
available to the virtuous inclinations and desires that God's Spirit plants within us.
And we need to make room for these inclinations and desires by dying to the
inclinations and desires that our untransformed self continues to cast up into our
minds. Moreover, they share the conviction that the stakes involved here are very
high. The martyrs understand that yielding to the passions (for example, of fear and
pain) leads to alienation from God, whereas mastery of the passions for the sake of
remaining faithful unto death leads to eternal life in God's presence. Paul puts it in
the familiar words: "If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap decay from the
flesh; if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirif (Gal 6:8).

The Holy Spirit has, through the history of spiritual formation and spiritual
direction in the Christian church, implanted disciplined practices that fulfill much
the same function as the Torah-led life fulfilled for the author of 4 Maccabees.
Fasting in various forms, prayer vigils, or seeking simplicity of life are all practices
deeply rooted in the Christian tradition that train us in little ways to master our
drives and impulses so as to better equip us to master them in larger ways as well,
when the pressures to yield the mastery are greatest. Practicing these spiritual
disciplines is not a matter of legalism, of fasting only in a certain way, or feeling
guilty when we begin a night in a prayer vigil and end up sleeping in the presence
of the Lord. It is a matter of training ourselves continuously to prioritize the life
with God over the life of our natural inclinations, so that we discover ever greater
degrees of freedom in Christ fi*om the passions and desires of the flesh, trusting that
every small exercise trains us for faithful outcomes in greater trials. Our culture
elevates self-gratification to the level of a core value or non-negotiable good. The
disciple who would grow in the knowledge and love of God must embrace all the
more the counter-cultural heritage of the church, ordering her life around the
spiritual disciplines that train our desires on God rather than toward the world's
addictive, short-term painkillers.

Among the authors of the Apocrypha, we find another writer coming at the
importance of investment and discipline for growth in the life with God from a
quite different angle. 2 Esdras 3-14 is a Jewish apocalypse written toward the end
of the first century AD. To read this book is to immerse oneself in the same
thought world that one finds in Daniel and Revelation, placing oneself in the
company of angels, of symbolic figures, of monstrous beasts, of series of
disruptions of the natural order, and of mighty deliverers.

The author of 2 Esdras goes there to wrestle with some very difficult
questions. Jerusalem had been destroyed again by a Gentile power, this time the
armies of the Roman Empire in 70 CE. Thirty years later, contrary to all
expectation, God still hasn't done anything to punish the Romans for their violence
and bloodshed. Instead, the people who never gave a thought about worshiping the
One God continue to flourish, while the people who at least tried to follow God's
commandments are scattered and demoralized. Where was God's justice in all this?

Never Without a Witness: The Apocrypha and Spiritual Formation 1

How could the author make sense of his traditional beliefs — for example, that GodI
indeed chose Israel for God's self and even made the world for the sake of!
Abraham's offspring? What good was there in trying to keep the commandments;
when it was so difficult, when the evil inclination within the human being kept!
undermining his or her best efforts to attain God's promises through obedience?

The author tries to see his situation from the perspective of Ezra, the
Jewish elder also faced with the problems of "reconstruction" after the first
destruction of Jerusalem six centuries before. The final answers at which the author
arrives are not our chief interest. Rather, it is in the example he sets for us, who
also have to wrestle with our own tough, heart-wrenching, world-view-shaking
questions along the journey with God. First, we see a person willing to invest his
emotional and intellectual energies in honest, open, no-holds-barred conversation
with God in prayer. The author has learned from the Psalmists and from Jeremiah
the art of being transparent before God, of allowing himself that level of intimacy
with God that is willing to bare all thoughts, questions, feelings, frustrations, pain
— even accusation. No question, no topic is "off limits" in his prayer life, which is
finally the only way in which he can open up those deep, sealed-off areas to God's
restorative word and presence.

Second, we see a person willing to invest enormous amounts of time in
this process of wrestling with God. Receiving answers from God is easy. Getting
to the place where we can receive God's answers, where we have arrived at the core
issues that God needs to address in our life with him — that takes real work. The
author begins at a place familiar, I would venture to suggest, to everyone here —
being unable to sleep because of the thoughts that trouble him. These are not just
the anxious thoughts that beset us, say, the night before giving an address to a
thousand people, but the kinds of thoughts that gnaw at the core of our being, that
deeply unsettle our spirits. How the author responds is instructive. This becomes a
point of entry into extended prayer, taking those thoughts to God and following
them wherever they lead, pouring out his whole self to God and looking expectantly
for how God will move. This leads him to the presence of a messenger of God,
whose first task is to remind the author of who the author is and, by contrast, who
God is — often a sufficient response in and of itself But the author keeps pressing
forward to push through to the other side of this spiritual crisis.

He follows the prompting of God's messenger, devoting himself to fasting,
prayer, and completely honest self-disclosure before God for weeks at a time, at the
end of each week being able to pull back another layer of the problem and to
discover another dimension of God's answer. He puts business as usual on hold,
despite the clamoring of the Jewish elders who try to call him back to his pastoral
responsibilities — not realizing that the author is engaged most fully in those
responsibilities when he is most fully seeking and listening to God. He takes
significant time to be alone and seek God's face, and this brings him to the place
where God can fully reveal God's counsels to him — not only for his resolution of
his personal crisis, but for the equipping of the whole community of faith to deal
with such challenges and discover the paths of God through their difficult times. It

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

would be too easy to overlook the final stage of his journey, where, having met God
at his place of deepest questioning and need, he praises God continually for a final
three days.

If our own experience of God's ability to convey God's perspective on,
and vision for, our situation — to give us an "apocalyptic adjustmenf — is
somewhat less vivid than this author's, he would ask us how much of ourselves, our
energies, our time we were committing to seeking that "apocalyptic adjustment."
This is not to suggest that if you go out and fast for a month you'll see visions of
heaven opened, but to suggest that if you devote ten minutes to prayer looking for
God to resolve an issue that has taken deep hold in your life, and may indeed have
taken years to develop, you're probably setting up unrealistic expectations.
Someone has said that "our focus determines our reality," and focus develops
through discipline over time. When the reality that we are seeking as our focus is
the invisible God in the midst of a very present, imposing, visible world with its set
of expectations and drives, our goal requires a lot of discipline and a lot of well-
invested time.

Life with God is, for us, like any other relationship: we have to protect our
time that might be eaten up by professional duties, competing drives, empty
entertainments, and pure waste, so that we can invest appropriately in that
relationship. And if we really want to grow in that relationship, or break through
some impasse in our relationship, or move to the next level in intimate
communication, we need to set apart special time — often extended time — and
order our lives around the relationships that are centrally important rather than try
to fit those relationships into the leftovers of our lives. The author of 2 Esdras
challenges us to sanctify hours of our days, days of our weeks, weeks of our years
to God, offering what is, for mortal beings, perhaps the costliest sacrifice of all —
time.

If our spiritual directors from the intertestamental period could give us
only one more word of spiritual counsel — and they certainly could give us many
more such words — it would be that life with God requires eternity. We find
especially the authors of 2 Maccabees and Wisdom of Solomon — the two books
among the Apocrypha that probably exercised the greatest theological influence
upon the early church — raising their voices to interject this point into our
conversation. Life with God requires eternity first in the sense of requiring a belief
in our own eternity. It requires that we be able to live life now with a view to a
never-ending future with God, a long view that enables sacrificial discipleship and
radical obedience in the here and now. Second Maccabees tells the story of the
Hellenizing reforms that led to the all-out suppression of the practice of the Jewish
way of life, then going on to tell of the first few years of the Maccabean revolution.
In this text we again encounter the old priest Eleazar, the seven young brothers, and
the mother of the seven faced with the choice: break faith with God by disobeying
his commandments, or die wretchedly by being flayed and torn limb from limb.
Convinced of God's power to raise God's faithful ones from the dead, and of God's
commitment to deal justly with his faithful ones by doing so, they choose the latter.

Never Without a Witness: The Apocrypha and Spiritual Formation

They are remembered to have offered their bodies to God — giving their hves back i
to the God who gave them hfe in the first — confident that God would respond to i
his faithful clients' loyalty by renewing their lives beyond death.

We truly hope never to be in their position, but we are similarly called to
offer our lives and our bodies to God, to give back to him the life he gave us. "No
longer offer your bodies to sin as instruments of wickedness, but offer yourselves to
God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your bodies as
instruments devoted to God's righteousness" (Rom 6:13); "I appeal to you, brothers
and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy
and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship" (Rom 12:1); "He died for
all so that we might live no longer for ourselves, but for him who died and was
raised on our behalf (2 Cor 5:15). We make this offering not in our death, as did
the martyrs, but in our lives, as we die to our own agenda and come alive to serve
God's desires for our lives, our families, our churches, our world. We make this
ongoing offering knowing that our own hope for life beyond death is bound to our
commitment to be conformed to the pattern of Jesus, the One who gave away his
life his whole life long for the sake of God's redemption of God's creatures.

Life with God requires eternity, finally, in the sense that the journey of
discipleship keeps drawing us forward in a never-ending relationship with God. It
is one in which the shadowy hints of life with God in the present eventually yield
to the consummation of life with God in his real presence forever. The author of
the Wisdom of Solomon identifies the failure to recognize "the secret purposes of
God," namely that "God created us for incorruption, and made us in the image of
God's own eternity" (Wis 2:22-23), as the fundamental mistake that so many people
make. Instead, they attribute their existence to "mere chance" and death to be the
final period on that existence. In the absence of discerning God's purposes and the
full scope of what God plans for them, they fill their lives with counterfeit purposes
— chiefly the acquisition of goods, the painkillers of pleasure, and the replacement
of genuine purpose with the aimless exercise of power — that leave them empty
and, ultimately, opposed to those who live for God.

Those who set their hearts on discovering God's purposes and their minds
on walking in God's paths, however, find their whole experience to be bathed in
significance. Even adverse circumstances become a "trial" of their virtue, an
opportunity to stretch and grow in their disciplined lives, a process of refinement:
"having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good, because God tested
them and found them worthy of himself; like gold in the fiimace he tried them, and
like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them" (Wis 3:5-6). Rather than turning
to numbing painkillers, they are able to face the difficult circumstances openly and
triumph through them, discerning God's greater purposes — purposes leading to
eternity. Wisdom, the "image of God's goodness," enters their souls and "makes
them friends of God, and prophets" (Wis 7:27). Life with God deepens as we
become more aware of these moments where eternity breaks into our time -bound
existence, these traces of God's presence in and hand upon our everyday lives.
Attending to those moments, creating space for them, living in response to them,

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

treasuring them — these things characterize people who hve now as those who will
live forever, who grasp for more and more of God rather than more and more of this
world's goods. And this points us to what is perhaps the most basic and necessary
step of faith that we will take — to tiiist that God is indeed refashioning us in the
image of God's own eternity, and to arrange our lives around facilitating that
process as the first priority of each day of our existence.

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Ashland Theological Journal 2006

English Spirituality: A Review Article

By Jerry R. Flora

Gordon Mursell, English Spirituality. 2001. 2 vols. Louisville: Westminster
John Knox Press. 548,580 pp. $39.95 ea.

Imposing. Impressive. Intimidating. Such feelings must be normal
when one first approaches Gordon Mursell 's history of Christian spirituality in
England. In bulk the two blue volumes resemble the black tomes of Karl
Earth's Church Dogmatics. With 1128 pages and more than 6000 fine-print
notes, this is a work to be reckoned with. But it is also interesting and inviting.
Mursell's clear style and pastoral approach make it a journey worth taking as he
surveys almost two milleimia of faith. The massive documentation reveals that
the author has read widely, deeply, and carefully. This is no quick overview, but
a refined, nuanced discussion abounding in detail. From Regent College in
Vancouver, veteran teacher and author James Houston writes, "This is the most
comprehensive, scholarly, and up-to-date survey ... an essential guide and
standard history of the subject" (dust jacket).

Not yet sixty years of age, the Very Reverend Gordon Mursell is Area
Bishop of Stafford in the Diocese of Lichfield. Bom in Surrey, he initially
studied at the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music in Rome. While there he lived
with a family whose genuine faith caused him to begin taking Christianity
seriously. Returning to England, he joined the Anglican Church, attended
Oxford University's Brasenose College, and trained for ordination. Since then
he has been a parish priest, an instructor in pastoral studies and spirituality, and
provost and dean of Birmingham Cathedral. For much of the 1990s he was
rector of St. Mary's Church, Stafford, where he did most of the research and
writing for English Spirituality. He is in fi^equent demand as a speaker and
teacher noted for his clarity, enthusiasm, and infectious humor. His interests
include music and hill walking ~ not to mention his wife Anne, who is a
psychiatrist.

Mursell was the editor of an earlier volume. The Story of Christian
Spirituality: Two Thousand Years, from East to West (Fortress Press 2001).
That collaborative effort surveyed the entire Christian spectrum, each chapter
written by an expert in its area. Contributors included well-known authors such
as Richard Burridge (Jesus and the origins of Christian spirituality), John
McGuckin (the early fathers and the Eastern tradition), and Bradley Holt (the
twentieth century). Mursell himself contributed the chapter on the Anglican
spirit. Lavishly illustrated in color, the book is a visual feast. English

English Spirituality: A Review Article

Spirituality, by contrast, is a typical black-on-white production but made
attractive by its orderly arrangement, clear writing, outstanding documentation,
and error-free printing. With the United States being the child of England, it is
both right and important for Americans to familiarize themselves with the
contributions of English spirituality to our Christian heritage. This book offers
just what is needed. The purpose of this article is to offer a rather full summary
of its contents and briefly evaluate it.

Mursell divides his history into eight major chapters as follows:

1 . Context and background

2. Anglo-Saxon spirituality

3. Medieval spirituality (1066-1300)

4. Late medieval spirituality ( 1 300- 1 500)

5. "Spirituality, reformation and revolution" (1500-1700)

6. English spirituality in the is"' century

7. Spirituality and the Victorian age

8. Spirituality in the 20* century

Each chapter begins and ends with Mursell commenting on some piece of art or
music, architecture or literature that encapsulates for him the spirituality of that
period. Each chapter has its own bibliography and notes, and the volumes are
separately indexed.

Until now, the most nearly standard history in this area has probably
been Martin Thornton's work of the same title: English Spirituality (1963,
reissued 1986). That book, acknowledged by Mursell, is a generation old, much
briefer (330 pages), and more narrowly focused. Its subtitle discloses the focus:
An Outline of Ascetical Theology According to the English Pastoral Tradition.
Thornton described his work as "essentially a pastoral book, aiming only at the
needs of parish priests" (Thornton 1986, 19). In addition to his valuable, helpful
treatment we now have the broadly conceived research, original writing, and
massive documentation of Bishop Mursell.

Volume I: From Earliest Times to 1700
In chapter 1, "A Hard and Realistic Devotion," Mursell sets out the
context and background of English spirituality. He acknowledges that both
"spirituality" and "English" are concepts hard to define with precision. (He
investigates only English spirituality. Scotland, Wales, and Ireland are not
directly considered.) His choice is for an aspectival approach that cuts a broader
swathe than Martin Thornton attempted. He moves quickly to delve into the
spirituality of the Bible, noting that it is rich and complex because it contains
Hebrew, Greek, and Roman cultures in its seedbed. What emerged in the early

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

centuries from such a background was sure to be variegated. In one valuable,
compact paragraph the author describes important aspects of that variety:
The eastern Christian tradition tended to take a more
optimistic view of human nature and its capacity to be
divinized, transformed into the very life of God; the western
tradition, with a more negative view of humanity and a larger
emphasis on the consequences of the Fall, emphasized this
less, and tended to be more introspective. Furthermore, there
existed in both east and west two different kinds of theology:
apophatic theology held that God, always strictly unknowable,
could be approached only through the mystery of love, and
that the closer we come to God, the less we have to say about
it. Cataphatic theology took a more affirmative view of
human capacity to apprehend the reality of God. Both these
exerted immense influence on the western Christian tradition
(1:14).

The specifically Roman form of that tradition may have ended with the
death of St. Augustine in A.D. 430, but his influence reigned supreme in Europe
for the next thousand years. It was a conflation of Platonism and biblical
thought which impacted all of western Christian spirituality. England, so close
to Europe, would always be affected by what was happening in church and
society across the Charmel.

The methodology employed to investigate this, says Mursell, must
consider not merely private experience, but social and political contexts; not
merely power and domination, but intimacy and love. It must maintain the
biblical tension "between structure and spontaneity, between priest and prophet,
between the institutional and the charismatic" (1:20). Biblical spirituality sees
this life as a journey toward a home which is always ahead, always in the ftiture.
That means the spiritual life is an adventure - "the surest mark of its
authenticity, and the best possible reason for studying it" (1:21). At numerous
points in the two volumes the author will return to this conviction that Christian
life and its spirituality is an adventure.

Chapter 2, "The Seafarer: Anglo-Saxon Spirituality," surveys the
greatest extent of time, moving from unknown beginnings into the 1 1"' century.
How or when Christianity first came to England no one knows. Tertullian,
writing ca. A.D. 208, mentioned Britons who were Christians, and three English
bishops attended the Council of Aries in 314. Roman missionaries arrived at
Canterbury in southern England in 597 to follow up earlier informal evangelistic

English Spirituality: A Review Article

efforts. At roughly the same time Celtic monk-evangelists from Ireland were
penetrating western Scotland from lona and northeastern England from
Lindisfame. But whether the faith in any given place tilted toward Rome or
Ireland, it was always dominated by the monasteries.

The monks did much to preserve the culture that preceded them,
assimilating it or redirecting it to new ends. For instance, they took the popular
Anglo-Saxon virtue of warfare and internalized it as spiritual combat with the
Cross its weapon rather than the sword. Along with prayers for protection,
asceticism and penance become important. However, as Mursell cautions,
"monastic texts, religious art and penitentials tell us a great deal about how lay
people were expected to pray, but very little about how they actually did" (1:45).
This conmient might also apply to many of the following centuries. What is
known is that there was emphasis on the communion of saints, and the church
was seen as a symbol of the heavenly city.

In the latter part of the chapter, as in every chapter, Mursell offers
"individual studies" of persons who exemplify what he has discovered. For the
period of Anglo-Saxon spirituality he highlights three: (1) St. Cuthbert of
Lindisfame (d. 687), the monastic leader who exemplified holiness as then
conceived; (2) the Venerable Bede, (d. 735), author of the first history of
Christianity in England, whose spirituality called for a lived wisdom; and (3)
Alcuin (d. 804), "one of the most attractive figures in the English spiritual
tradition" (1:61), who taught for many years in Europe at the court of
Charlemagne, who founded the Holy Roman Empire in A.D. 800.

Throughout his two volumes Mursell attempts to credit leading women
in the history as well as men. In the present chapter, for example, he singles out
St. Leoba (ca. 700-780), a nun from a double monastery in Dorset. "She was a
person of formidable intellectual power ... the equal of any Anglo-Saxon holy
man.... Indeed in many respects Leoba could be taken as the classic exemplar
of Anglo-Saxon monastic spirituality" (1:35). Might she then merit a full
"individual study" rather than mere mention in passing?

The influence of Europe continued strong in the 10*11* centuries,
especially in reform movements among the monasteries. What remained as
essential in Anglo-Saxon spirituality was "its vigorous eclecticism" which
managed to blend "vernacular imagery and patristic sophistication, Irish
exuberance and Roman sobriety, hero and holy man, with extraordinary
success" (1:66).

With chapter 3, "St. Godric and the Deer: Medieval Spirituality
(1066-1300)," Mursell's survey enters a period of great transition. Although
England had been assaulted in earlier Viking raids, defeat by the Normans at the

Ashland Theological Journal 2006 ■ >■

battle of Hastings (1066) bound the island more closely to western Europe than
to Scandinavia. Reform movements occurring on the Continent had definite
bearing on England, and the prevailing motif of the 12*-13"' centuries was one
of "inexorable and fundamental change" (1:90).

The earlier uncertain, even chaotic times were past, and a new social
system was in place. Feudalism's hierarchical order pervaded every aspect of
medieval society. In religion it meant

God was the king's liege lord, the ruler of the world, the fount

of all ordo, the ultimate protection against chaos. The angels

were his principal vassals, the monks his elite troops, the true

Christian his faithful follower doing homage to his heavenly

lord (1:91).

Along with this came a revival of classical learning as scholarship moved

beyond the monasteries into the newly founded universities. Still, it was the

time of "the last and greatest flowering of western Christian monasticism"

(1:92). The Benedictine order, dominant for more than 500 years, was now

joined by Cistercians (reformed Benedictines) and Carthusians. In addition,

houses of canons were springing up - communities of persons who followed a

religious rule but lived within a town rather than in an isolated area. One further

trend caught on rapidly; namely, hermits or recluses dwelling alone on the edges

of society in order to give themselves to prayer, fasting, the pursuit of

perfection, and spiritual counsel. Earlier persons who answered this call had

exemplified power and inspired fear. Now Godric, typical of the later time,

saved the life of a deer and so demonstrated a holiness of beauty, compassion,

and reverence more than force or fear. It was indeed a time of change.

In each chapter of English Spirituality Mursell sets out a series of
themes which he believes are specific to the period under discussion. In the
medieval period, for example, discovery of individual selfhood and devotion to
the humanity of Christ become prominent. Some might connect these to the
slow, certain shift that was occurring among intellectuals away from exclusive
dependence on Plato's eternal realities toward a more ready acceptance of
Aristotle's this-worldly interest. The latter's devaluing of the feminine did not
stop numbers of women from embracing the emerging spirituality. The
suffering of Jesus, his noble manhood, and union with him in spiritual marriage
emerge as important to devout women. "The celibate woman becomes not only
a queen but a mother; and Christ is both lord, lover, and child" ( 1 : 102).

From the 11* century on, parish clergy gradually replaced monastic
clerics as guides for the laity. Preaching and the sacrament of penance came
under their jurisdiction, the latter increasingly seen as substitute for pilgrimage

English Spirituality: A Review Article

to a holy site. With the growth of the new middle class, a number of lay-led
organizations for spirituality arose. This was fueled by the arrival in England of
European friars (Dominicans in 1221, Franciscans in 1224) committed to the
religious life but free to move about from place to place. "As confessors,
educators, and above all as preachers, the friars were able to address themselves
to a range of issues which had never much troubled the monks: private
property, money, usury, and much else besides" (1:109).

Finally, illness and death were definitely to the fore in medieval
English spirituality. Miracles of power tended to recede in reporting, and
healing stories took on new prominence. Saints and angels (especially guardian
angels) rose in importance as members of God's feudal court, "putting in a word
for lesser mortals" (1:110). And hell, purgatory, and prayers for the dead all
increased in size.

Mursell concludes the chapter by offering individual studies of two
figures influential in medieval English spirituality. Anselm of Canterbury (d.
1109), sometimes called the second Augustine, differed fi"om his master in
contending with doubt and anxiety more than heresy and unbelief His
introspective Prayers and Meditations led him to picture Jesus and Paul as those
who suffer and give birth - mother figures offering life and hope to the world.
And, as is well known, Anselm assumed and incorporated the structures of
feudal society in his approach to the atonement.

Aelred of Rievaulx (d. 1 1 67) was largely responsible for the
"astonishing spread of Cistercian influence and spirituality at the time" in
England (1:123). His lifelong interest in the inner workings of the human
psyche led him to think deeply about reason, friendship, love, and Jesus'
motherhood as well as his Lordship.

Chapter 4, "The Quest for the Suffering Jesus: Late Medieval
Spirituality (1300-1500)," is nearly double the length of chapter 3 because so
much more material is available. The 14* century in England was one of human
unrest, natural disaster, and chaotic despair which historian Barbara Tuchman
described in her bestseller A Distant Mirror (1978). In 1337 the Hundred Years
War with France began. In 1378 a rival papacy was established at Avignon. In
1381 the Peasants' Revolt broke out, in which city and country dwellers alike
rebelled against government attempts to force them back into feudal serfdom.
And at mid-century the so-called Black Death jumped fi-om Europe to England,
ravaging the island and killing nearly half the population in eighteen months.
Today many authorities believe it to be the greatest natural disaster in recorded
history, some placing the death toll in Europe and Britain as high as 75 million
people.

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

Impacted by all these outward events, the English church was
experiencing a crisis of faith. Rising individualism, fueled by many factors,
challenged age-old assumptions in the career of Oxford's John Wyclif (d. 1384)
and the resuhing Lollard movement. Although much still remains uncertain,
Mursell is able to write, "What made Wyclif in particular, and Lollardy in
general, so suspect in the eyes of contemporary churchmen was their shared
emphasis on the importance and integrity of the individual over against the
church" (1:171). While that movement was fostering family spirituality, the
monastic orders were stagnating. No outstanding figure of the period was a nun
or monk, and the expansion of the Carthusian order was due mainly to their
favor among the royal court. Those living as solitaries (hermits, recluses) also
grew in number, increasingly consulted as sources of spiritual guidance.

Mursell identifies more diverse themes for the late medieval period
than for any comparable time. One of the most important was the practice of
penance, which now saw a flood of literature and devotion. More and more
churches were built, and cathedrals multiplied their daily services. The dogma
of transubstantiation had been officially promulgated in 1215. With Christ now
believed to be physically present in the eucharistic bread, a related trend led to
enclosing the high altars.

The arduous journey of life required companions and protectors, and
their number grew in size and significance. The cult of saints, prayers to
guardian angels, the cult of the Virgin, devotion to the name of Jesus, to the
Christ child, and ~ above all ~ to the wounds of Jesus marked the time. The
earlier Anglo-Saxon preference for Christ as victor over death, the one who
harrows hell, was now replaced by the tortured one vividly and viscerally
portrayed. There was great emphasis on the universal reality of human death.
Contemplating one's own demise, prayers for the dead, and the establishment of
chantries multiplied. (The latter were endowments providing for priests to chant
daily masses for the soul(s) of the departed. Sometimes altars or chapels for this
purpose were constructed inside large churches.)

With the benefit of hindsight Mursell can detect one final important
trend of that time:

Knowledge and love, intellect and emotion, theology and
spirituality, began, slowly but surely, to be prised [sic]
apart.... Where Anselm had held theology and spirituality
together to the advantage of both, late medieval writers
allowed them to diverge, so that theology became an arcane
scholastic discipline, and spirituality a perilously subjective
affair (l:195f.).

English Spirituality: A Review Article

It is almost a given that anyone describing English spirituality of the
14* century must treat four specific writers. Bishop Mursell does so, but with
an added surprise. As expected, he presents individual studies of Richard Rolle,
"the solitary lover"; Walter Hihon, who stressed interior re-formation; the
anonymous author of The Cloud of Unknowing, who wrote of God in the
darkness; and the woman history calls Julian of Norwich, whose Showings
(Revelations of Divine Love) expound God's compassion. Mursell' s surprise is
that, to this quartet, he adds one more voice: Margery Kempe. After bearing
fourteen children, Kempe took a vow of chastity within her marriage, later left
her family and spent the remainder of her life in unending pilgrimage. She was
noted for her outbursts of loud weeping. Thus some writers have described her
as histrionic or even psychotic. But, like Martin Thornton before him, Mursell
sees her in a positive light and treats her with empathy, respect, and
appreciation. "Margery Kempe," he writes, "lays bare the cost and implications
of seeking God in the midst of the world. And that is precisely her enduring
value" (1:237).

"The Fellowship of St. Antony: Spirituality, Reformation and
Revolution (1500-1700)," brings the author to the fifth and largest chapter in
his two volumes. This discussion could almost stand alone as a book. The
chapter uses 176 pages of text and bibliography, buttressed by a staggering 1483
endnotes (some nearly a page long), to survey these two centuries so crucial for
English spirituality. As stated earlier, Mursell wrote the section on Anglicanism
in The Story of Christian Spirituality, and now he builds on that foundation.
Imposing. Impressive. Intimidating. But also interesting and inviting.

Many authors and books have described the English Reformation of the
16* century and the Puritan Commonwealth of the 17*. Mursell does not
attempt to repeat those efforts but assumes them. "What was the effect of the
Reformation on English spirituality?" he asks. "First, piety became more
secular" as the church came under the control of the crown. "Secondly, there
was an immense visual and architectural change." Monasteries were stripped or
destroyed. Wall paintings of the suffering Christ were replaced with quotations
from scripture. Statues and other accoutrements of medieval worship gave way
to pews and pulpits. "Thirdly, there was an important change in the role and
significance of the clergy" (1:295). Criticism of erring priests accelerated,
chantry priests disappeared, and the confidence of many laypersons increased.
The family became a center for piety, and "the 'godly household' is a phrase
characteristic of much Protestant spirituality" (1:297).

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

Given the nature of the Reformation, Mursell devotes one section of
this chapter to spirituality and the Bible. Translation and dissemination of
scripture became major concerns at this time. William Tyndale (d. 1536) played
the central role followed by the translators of the King James Version Bible
(1611). The Psalms were especially lifted up for use in both public and private
worship, many martyrs of the period going to death with Psalms on their lips.

Reformation spirituality took form in England in the vigorous
preaching of such figures as Hugh Latimer and the creation of The Book of
Common Prayer by Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury. Both men
were executed in Queen Mary's brief, bloody attempt to restore Catholicism as
the religion of the kingdom (1553-58). Successive editions of the Prayer Book
showed varying theological trends, but the final result (1662) was "a manual of
lay spirituality" (1:311) as well as "a standard manual for liturgy and a
compendium of spiritual guidance" (1 :3 13). Four and one-half centuries later its
liturgy continues to unite the Anglican Communion around the world.

Anglican spirituality of the 16*- 17"^ centuries owed much to the
patristic tradition as well as scripture. Some of this came through Richard
Hooker (d. 1600), whose influence was felt mostly during the long reign of
Elizabeth I (1558-1603). Avoiding the extremes of both Catholic and
Calvinistic theology, he set out what some have called a middle way {via
media). Mursell describes Hooker's famed Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity as "a
genuinely independent theology ... in which the pastoral and practical are
always held together in the search for truth" (l:314f ). The other figure equal in
influence was no doubt Lancelot Andrewes (d. 1626), "a scholar of prodigious
ability" (1:315), who was influential in the court of James 1. There his gifts
made him a natural leader among those who produced the new translation of the
Bible ordered by the king.

Beginning with Hooker and Andrewes, and continuing through much
of the rest of his work, Mursell offers sections on the theology and practice of
prayer as set out by the writers being discussed. Hooker's perspective sets the
direction for the Anglican spirituality of succeeding centuries.

This is a crucial point: where the reformed tradition seeks to
separate the state of sinfulness from the condition of
redemption, God's fi^ee act of justification in Christ forming
the point of separation. Hooker, following the medieval
Catholic tradition, seeks to hold both together. For him, it is
not that we were once sinners and are now saved: rather it is
that we are still both, at the same time. Where holiness in the
Protestant tradition is a process of separation from the world

English Spirituality: A Review Article

into a gathered church, holiness in the tradition of the Church
of England is better seen as a process whereby all of our
selves is brought into unity with the redeeming Christ, in a
church virtually coterminous with society around it ( 1 :32 1 ).

Mursell singles out several major emphases in the Anglican spirituality
of the 17* century, a time which "proved to be the most fertile and creative
period in the Church of England's history thus far" (1:325). The 1662 Book of
Common Prayer became the lodestar for the Restoration church following
Cromwell's revolution. Women's personal journals were published, and some
even wrote prophetic texts. Bishop Joseph Hall's Arte of Divine Meditation
(1606) became especially influential. And the Latitudinarians lifted up a broad,
general spirituality influenced by the beauty of creation and the Platonic
tradition. Especially notable among their number were Peter Sterry, Sir Thomas
Browne, and Thomas Traheme (whose writings impacted C. S. Lewis).

The spirituality of English Catholics in the 1 6* century centered around
four principal figures: Sir Thomas More, lord chancellor to Henry VIII, who
was executed in 1535 for reftising to recognize the king as head of the church;
John Fisher, chancellor of Cambridge University, executed in the same year;
John Colet, dean of St. Paul's Cathedral, who attacked churchly worldliness and
clerical misbehavior; and Robert Southwell, tortured over a three-year period
before his execution in 1595. On into the 17* century the changing winds of
society created periods of intense anti-Catholic feeling. The result was that
many leading Catholics spent much of their lives in Europe. It is not surprising,
then, that "taken as a whole, English Catholic spirituality in this period is
scarcely comparable with the riches of its continental counterparts in Spain and
France" (1:355). What seems apparent is a sense of exile with a resulting
spirituality of separation and withdrawal into the hoped-for safety of convent or
family.

In his discussion of the 16*- 17* centuries our Anglican author gives
the most space to Puritan spirituality. The label is a slippery one, sliding over a
variety of persons and groups within and outside the established church.
Dissatisfaction with the established hierarchical church characterized those who
were called Dissenters, Separatists, Baptists, Presbyterians, Independents,
Congregationalists, Quakers, and various kinds of Radicals. Until the late
1620s, "episcopal Calvinism was the dominant orthodoxy in the Church of
England" (1:356). Most Puritans were Calvinists of some kind, and many were
very learned. Mursell moves through the discussion by highlighting major
theological loci such as the God of Puritan spirituality, the work of the Holy

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Spirit, conversion (conversion narratives were especially popular), assurance
and faith, the godly life, the theology and practice of prayer, and the practice of
spiritual direction. He cites many writers but especially the thinking of two
Puritan leaders: John Owen, "perhaps the greatest theologian of the
Cromwellian period" (1:359), and the irenic Richard Baxter (d. 1691, the same
year as George Fox, founder of the Quakers).

Many Puritans saw the Reformation as a second Pentecost, so
highlighting the Spirit's activity was at the heart of their spirituality. (Such
emphasis, however, was rare in Anglican or Catholic spirituality.) The process
of sanctiflcation ~ total transformation of the entire person and ultimately of
society - was at the core of their belief and behavior. Implied in such an
approach were spiritual disciplines (fasting in particular), boldness in witness
and in prayer (the frankness of a child with a parent), and an eschatology which
held that the humble would be exalted in a heaven that is warmly sociable.
Thus, corporate worship filled with praise and celebration of the sacraments/
ordinances (especially the Lord's Supper) was vital as a foretaste of the future.

In this period the separatist group called Friends or Quakers emerged
with their belief in the inner light that is Christ. "But the central ingredient of
Quaker spirituality, as with that of Puritanism in general, was the doctrine of the
Holy Spirit, and the consequent stress on the primacy of spiritual experience
over any kind of reason-centred, externally-constructed, faith" (1:382). This led
them to silence and interiority, but also to action in the world, for which they
have become justly known. "In this respect the Quakers stand in the classic
Christian tradition of contemplative prophets" (1:385).

Mursell concludes this large, detailed chapter with individual studies of
one Catholic, one Puritan, and three Anglicans. Thomas More died, as was said,
rather than compromise his convictions. His approach to prayer is the only one
our author highlights from the 1 6* century. From the 1 7* century John Bunyan
is famous for his allegory The Pilgrim 's Progress from This World to That
Which is to Come. Mursell contends, however, that scholars of spirituality have
unjustly ignored the Bedford tinker. "What Bunyan did was to turn the somber
perspectives of covenant theology and justification by faith into a thrilling
adventure'" (1:411) - the believer's lifelong pilgrimage in response to God.
Anglican preacher-poet John Donne received acclaim during his lifetime, but
George Herbert's came after his brief life. The former's melancholy was
consumed with how to be saved, while the latter was asking how should a saved
person live? And flourishing in mid-century was Jeremy Taylor (d. 1667), best
known as the author of (The Rule and Exercise of) Holy Living and Holy Dying.
"Taylor's work is the quintessence of Anglican piety, and every word of his vast

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oeuvre is charged with his passionate longing to renew the church he loved"
(1:450).

This chapter, as mentioned, is so long and so detailed that it could
almost stand alone as a book. But there is more to come.

Volume 2: From 1700 to the Present Day

The latter half of Mursell's survey is neatly periodized as the 18*
century, the Victorian age, and the 20* century. As before, each chapter offers
historical context, then discusses Anglican, Catholic, and other Christian
spiritualities of England - in that order. For many readers, the discussion at this
point may seem more familiar, but Mursell's presentation continues to have a
rich texture that surpasses other surveys.

Chapter 1, "Enthusiasts and Philosophers," begins with a discussion
of 18* century England's social and intellectual context. This was the time
when Britain became a world power with large holdings in far-flung colonies
and a slave trade to support farming and industry in them. It was a century
when urban society grew rapidly and human knowledge increased exponentially.
It was the Enlightenment, the Age of Reason ~ a time when science and faith,
revealed truth and observed truth, collided. Emotional "enthusiasm" and
rational "philosophy" were seen to be at odds. Historian Edward Gibbon {The
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire) mounted a special challenge when he
preferred the emperor Julian the Apostate over the Christian monks of the 4*
century.

AngHcan piety of the 1 8* century can often seem calm, composed, and
ordered. A common view was that reasoned understanding of the physical
world leads to the inference of a creator, which is supplemented by what
scripture and tradition reveal. The Evangelical revival movement arose as a
response and reaction to this ordered calmness. Leaders such as George
Whitefield, John and Charles Wesley, William Cowper, and John Newton called
for passionate faith and compassionate social action. Mursell illustrates their
idea of the working of grace by analyzing Newton's great hymn "Glorious
Things of Thee Are Spoken, Zion, City of Our God."

English Catholic spirituality of the time was somewhat similar except
that there was no corresponding church renewal. "What is striking is a gradual
movement away from a firmly world-denying, monastic pattern of piety towards
one more concerned to equip Catholics for life in this world" (2:33). Lay
spirituality came to the fore, especially in manuals on meditation and in such
works as Alban Butler's Lives of the Saints (1756-59).

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The Society of Friends (Quakers) were among those who dissented
from both Anglican and Catholic approaches. Plainness, simplicity, and a
quietist strain came to mark their faith but did not prevent their social work for
the common good. Two of the most outstanding Dissenters were Daniel Defoe,
author oi Robinson Crusoe (1719), and Philip Doddridge (d. 1751) ~ neither of
them a Quaker. Simultaneously, "A preoccupation with taste, with seeking to
separate the 'tasteful' from the everyday, was characteristic of England in the
eighteenth century - and not only of its courtly elite" (2:48). This leads Mursell
to offer a section on spirituality and beauty as seen in such creative individuals
as artist William Blake and poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. They represent an
antidote to the extremes of both rationalism and religiosity.

Mursell's "individual studies" of volume 1 are now titled "case
studies," and his choices and titles describe the richness of what he finds. Each
encapsulates a tradition in 18* century English spirituality. (1) "Isaac Watts and
the Independent tradition" considers the father of English hymnody with special
attention to "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross." (2) William Law (the ascetic
tradition) is best known for A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life (1728),
which influenced the young John Wesley. Law contended that "there is only
one kind of Christianity and Christian perfection: not a 'higher' kind for
cloistered or expert Christians and a 'lower' kind for the rest" (2:78).

(3) The Wesley brothers (the Methodist tradition) receive high praise
fi"om our Anglican author. He describes John as "a man of superlatives" (2:86)
who "longs to communicate a religion that will be attractive; and he cannot see
the point of one that has little or no effect on people's lives" (2:95). Leaning
toward the theological East, Charles "goes further than almost any Protestant
writer in using the language of merging to denote our union with God in Christ"
(2:100). But his hymns are his real contribution, and Mursell gives special
attention to "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing." Although he sees weaknesses in
the Wesleys, the bishop concludes his case study with this encomium:

No one went further in trying to hold together head and heart,
'philosophy' and 'enthusiasm,' in a single convincing
synthesis at the very time when powerful forces were prising ■ '
[sic] them apart: no one came nearer to succeeding (2: 1 03).

(4) Mursell offers Samuel Johnson (d. 1784) as a case study of those in
the literary tradition. While often thought of as the father of the English
dictionary, Johnson was also a devout, prayerful Christian. (5) Women writers
emerged in the 1 8"^ century as a larger, more cohesive group than at any earlier
period. All of them called for a practical spirituality which would begin in the

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English Spirituality: A Review Article

home and transform people's lives. Outstanding among them was Hannah
More, a nationally prominent figure associated with the Clapham Sect and
author of Practical Piety (1811).

Chapter 2, "Kinship and Sympathy," surveys the 19* century, the
Victorian age, "an era of expansion and renewal within all the main branches of
English Christianity" (2:176). With Catholics receiving full political rights and
slavery abolished in the Empire before Queen Victoria came to the throne,
England could enjoy a time of unprecedented expansiveness during her long
reign (1837-1901). It was also a period of great changes in science (Darwin's
Origin of Species, 1859), commerce (the Industrial Revolution in full swing),
political power (conflicts within the Empire and with Napoleon's France), and
secularization (liberalism in society and church).

Much English spirituality of the time was fueled by a German import,
the Romantic Movement. This fostered "a life rooted in enduring but invisible
values such as love and beauty and justice, but without necessarily embracing
the teachings of any given religion" (2:177). Literary figures such as William
Wordsworth and Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote of human dignity, individual
potential, and love expressed in compassion. They also gloried in fantasy, play,
and kinship with nature.

The Church of England responded to this in several ways. Begiiming
in 1833, the Oxford Movement tried to renew the national church by leading it
in a more Roman Catholic direction. They relied on extensive use of the early
church fathers and a high sacramentalism. Prayer in this vision calls for more
than petition - it must be adoration, delight in God's presence, the integrating
focus for the Christian community. Their achievement was mixed. While the
Anglican Church came to a new appreciation of its Catholic heritage, parts of
the movement have been criticized for being too churchy.

Where the Oxford Movement sought guidance from the past,
Liberalism preferred the present. Thus adherence to current learning, the
universal Fatherhood of God, an evolutionary view of the divine Kingdom, and
a call to follow Jesus in sacrifice were values that thinkers such as Frederic
Maurice (d. 1872) and Charles Kingsley (d. 1875) upheld.

Local parishes responded to these challenges in individual ways. From
his research Mursell comments, "Beneath the surface, the mainstream Church of
England in the Victorian and Edwardian eras may have had more vitality than it
has often been given credit for" (2:217). This can be seen in parish support for
education, social action, evangelism, and missions. Some bishops worked for
the spiritual enrichment of their diocesan clergy. There was a large trend toward

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constructing new church buildings and (even more) restoring old ones. Many of
these began to be used for daily prayers to the exclusion of everything else.

The Evangelical approach to English spirituality flourished in the
Victorian age. Early in the century Charles Simeon (d. 1836) of Cambridge
was one of the most prominent Evangelicals within the Anglican Church. His
attempt to hold together Calvinist and Arminian theology, along with his
pastoral influence on students and clergy, proved to be especially significant.
American evangelists D. L. Moody and Ira Sankey visited England in 1873, and
thereafter the most prominent figure was Baptist pastor Charles Haddon
Spurgeon (d. 1892). "What is fascinating and important about Spurgeon is that
he was a Calvinist through and through" (2:224). Always the preacher, he
presented his theology in a way that was attractive and powerful. "His
spirituality is confident, ftill of joy; but it is marked by a recognition of the
breaking process that inevitably precedes thaf (2:229). Although some of his
views were exclusivist, Mursell finds Spurgeon to be "at once heartwarming and
adventurous, but above all attractive" (2:231).

The larger Nonconforming tradition, of which Evangelicalism was one
part, tended to find its greatest appeal among the lower middle classes and
skilled artisans. As the century progressed, however. Dissent became more
respectable. The Primitive Methodists, Salvation Army, and Irvingites
(forerunners of present-day Pentecostalism) fall here. Perhaps more than any
other Nonconformists, Unitarians sought to hold together insights from scientific
rationalism and Evangelical experience.

Roman Catholic spirituality in 19"'-century England contained three
strands. There were traditional Catholics who declined to participate in
Anglican worship. There was a flood of Irish immigrants who brought with
them their own piety. And there were notable converts from Anglicanism,
among them poet Frederick William Faber ("Faith of Our Fathers," "There's a
Wideness in God's Mercy"), Henry Edward Manning, Archbishop of
Westminster, and the sensitive, stormy, Irish-bom Jesuit George Tyrell (d.
1909). More appreciated today than in his own time, Tyrell especially lifted up
God's love, beauty, and attractiveness; kinship and sympathy with nature; public
worship; and interior piety. For English Catholics in general, devotion to the
Virgin Mary and the Blessed Sacrament, the practice of penance, and the life of
prayer continued to be vital. Finally, English spirituality in the Victorian era
saw an extension of religious orders. New ones were founded, old ones were
renewed, and their numbers increased among both Catholics and Anglicans.

The author concludes this chapter with an intriguing series of case
studies. (1) John Henry Newman, whose life spanned nearly the entire 19*

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century, was the most famous convert from Anglicanism to Catholicism. Of all
the writers considered in the book, Mursell believes him to be the most difficult
to evaluate. He concludes,

Newman's is a wholly uncompromising, radically supernatural
spirituality, intensely compassionate to people's spiritual
needs and the salvation of their souls, entirely uninterested in
their physical needs.... There is little interest in the world of
nature in Newman, little concern for social justice or the
affairs of the world. This may be the fault of his context
rather than of his personality; but it unquestionably limits his
appeal (2:278f.).

(2) Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins lived only half as long as
Newman, but his verse is widely appreciated. He wrote of "inscape" (God's
design and form of things) and "stress/instress" (how the divine design works
out in human practice). Two themes recur often in his poems: exile and death.
The first was Hopkins's own spiritual experience, and the second preoccupied
him as well as many Victorians. Sex was little discussed, but death was spoken
of often.

(3) Dora Greenwell, George Eliot, and Charles Dickens were all
writers, but the first is little known. Mursell chooses her because she was a
Catholic laywoman, a biographer and poet who had read widely, and a person
sympathetic to a variety of Christian spiritualities. Eliot and Dickens were
famous novelists, but neither was conventionally religious. Their spiritualities
must be teased out of their fiction. "Sympathy, not religious observance, is what
counts" in their writings (2:300).

"Losing Our Absolute" is the striking title of Mursell' s chapter on the
20"^ century. Scarred by two world wars and impacted by exponential changes
in society, Anglican, Catholic, and free churches in England all declined in
numbers. "There was," however, "an enormous market for 'spirituality',
understood as a search for meaning with reference to enduring but invisible
realities such as wholeness, compassion, justice, and self-fulfilmenf (2:361).
All these values bear witness to "an unprecedented development: 'spirituality'
and 'religion' were beginning to be prised [sic] apart" (2:361). The organization
of this final chapter, therefore, is somewhat different from the preceding ones.

The Church of England in the 20"^ century produced writers "of
amazing diversity and vitality" (2:361). Mursell casts his net widely, finding
value in the work of authors such as William Temple (especially), John Stott,
John V. Taylor, Gabriel Hebert, John A. T. Robinson, W. H. Vanstone, G. A.

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Studdert-Kennedy, and John Macquarrie. One of their significant achievements
was to emphasize the corporate nature of Christian spirituality without
sacrificing individual experience. Another was their recognition that prayer is
human response to divine love. Its basic nature, therefore, is that of relationship.
It is communion more than petition.

For the Catholic Church the 20''' century's greatest event was Vatican
Council II (1962-65), but Mursell chooses to dwell mostly on the thought of
writers prior to the Council. Baron Friedrich von Hugel (d. 1925), a naturalized
English citizen, was "a walking ecumenical movement" (2:379), best known for
his The Mystical Element of Religion as Studied in Saint Catherine of Genoa
and Her Friends (1908). Dom John Chapman (d. 1933) was famous for his
letters of spiritual direction, "an attractive English version of the French
Catholic tradition exemplified by St. Vincent de Paul and Jean-Pierre de
Caussade" (2:385). For Gerald Vann (d. 1963), spirituality is pietas, duty to
God. It includes love, gratitude, obedience, prayer, and action. Compassion
(God-like pity) is "the defining Christian quality because it is at the furthest
possible remove from a me-centred perspective" (2:389). Donald Nicholl (d.
1997), like von Hugel a layman, wrote of holiness as something practical,
relational, unhurried, integrating, and never individual. Mursell's entire
discussion here is good, but one can still wish for more on the Catholic Church
of England in light of Vatican II.

Free Church spirituality declined in the 20'*^ century if numbers are the
measure, but it also showed "a vigour and vitality that belied the statisticians'
report" (2:393). Again Mursell casts his net widely, this time catching up
writers such as P. T. Forsyth (especially), John Oman, W. R. Maltby, William
Sangster, R. Newton Flew, Leslie Weatherhead, H. H. Farmer, Olive Wyon, and
Gordon Wakefield. Together they represent a willingness from the perspective
of historic Dissent to engage contemporary challenges, not hide from them. For
these leaders the way forward is the way through, and they expounded that with
a sense of adventure and passion.

"One of the most distinctive features of English spirituality in the
twentieth century is the growth of the Pentecostal movement - effectively the
only branch of Christianity to exhibit sustained growth in the country during this
period" (2:405, underscore added). This world-challenging spirituality moved
from the U.S. to England in the 1960s. It glories in God's victory over all
opposing powers. Worship and praise, healing and deliverance are

anticipations of the eschatological kingdom. "It is a defiant, celebratory form of
spirituality" (2:407), having much in common with Black experience. For the
latter, social context is indispensable in producing a spirituality expressed in

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social action. Music is central to worship, prayer is spontaneous and free,
visions and dreams can empower believers, and hope stubbornly challenges evil
and suffering.

Finally, many monastic communities in England declined during the
20* century, as did the churches which founded them. Franciscans and
Carmelites, however, found new ways to incarnate the monastic vision in an
increasingly urban culture. At the same time the retreat movement grew
significantly alongside "an astonishing diversity of experiments in community
life; and even if many of these were short-lived, they often exerted a profound
influence well beyond their walls" (2:409).

For a time in which most of England's church membership and worship
attendance drastically declined, Mursell offers case studies unified around the
theme of recovery. He chooses to highlight the recovery of mysticism in Evelyn
Underhill, "the most important scholar of mysticism in the early twentieth
century" (2:414). The enthusiasm of journalist and apologist G. K. Chesterton
(d. 1938) recovered for many the sense of wonder. C. S. Lewis and Charles
Williams (both influenced by Chesterton), together with novelist-playwright
Dorothy Sayers, labored in the recovery of tradition. All were writers carefully
informed about the centuries prior to their own. The Nonconformist scholar
Olive Wyon (d. 1966) was "one of the most impressive contributors to the
nascent spirituality of ecumenism in England" (2:447). She illustrates the
recovery of unity. The recovery of theology welded to spirituality can be seen
in the work of Austin Farrer (d. 1968). This friend and confidant of C. S. Lewis
receives exceptionally high praise from our author. Finally, professor, bishop,
and archbishop (York 1956-61, Canterbury 1961-74), A. M. Ramsey studied and
wrote about glory, especially as it emerges from suffering. His was a mind that
was "pithy, precise but profoundly spiritual" (2:461).

This final chapter concludes with two sections unique to it: (1) "In
order to do justice to the increasingly pluralist nature of English society in the
twentieth century" (2:466), Mursell offers brief thematic treatments of Christian
spirituality and social justice, feminism, war, the arts, psychology, and the
secular quest. (2) He also includes a glossary of forty-two writers whose work
he discusses in the chapter but whose biographical details he reserves for this
appendix.

Evaluating Mursell' s large gift to the reading public is not an easy
task. No summary - even a long one - can do justice to the rich texture of this
work. He has produced a survey that is historically comprehensive,
theologically informed, pastorally sensitive, widely appreciative, and scholarly
to the core. He intends his extraordinary endnotes to be an extension of the

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discussion. They offer commentary and reading suggestions while highlighting
agreements and disagreements found in the sources. (He even points out
differences between first and final editions of some books.)

Given the nature of the subject and the sources available, it is almost
certain that such a work must major on spiritual literature. How to assess the
non-literary aspects of spirituality is an even larger task, which Mursell noted at
the outset. We can welcome his emphasis on qualities in the literature such as
wholeness, attractiveness, and adventure. As a history of English spiritual
literature, this is likely to be the definitive work for a long time to come.

This review article has already offered a few comments by way of
evaluation. Bishop Mursell has given us so much that it seems ungrateful to ask
for anything more. But if we may ask, it might take the following lines. Will he
follow up with a comparable survey of Scottish, Welsh, and Irish spirituality?
The latter in particular has been studied often, but too often romanticized.
Besides, many Americans confuse the historic parts of Great Britain (or consider
them together), so we in the former colonies need still further help.

It is often said that the modem missions movement began (so far as
England and the U.S. are concerned) with William Carey in 1792. Some have
described the 1800s as the greatest century of missionary advance. More on this
might enhance the last two chapters, especially in light of 1 9* century mission
societies and the leading role women played in some of them. While Mursell is
careful to include women throughout the book, the only real mention of
"overseas evangelism" comes in a short discussion of the author's great-great-
grandfather, a Baptist pastor (2:238f ). What kind of spirituality produced the
missionary movement, and how did missions impact the spirituality of
congregations and individuals?

Finally, with the technology available today for printing, one has to
wonder if the publishers could have included a few pictures. Each chapter
begins and closes by considering some item of literature, a building's
architecture, a work of art, or piece of music. Understanding would be
improved if readers could actually see what is being described. And if the
author's friendly smile can be seen on the Internet, why can't it appear on the
dust jackets of the two volumes?

All this is to say that here is a treasure of scholarship attractively
presented. It is easy to concur with James Houston's assessment: "Mursell has
succeeded brilliantly in writing the most exhaustive study available" (dust
jacket). English Spirituality should be on the shelves of all large libraries. It
should be read by all Anglophiles. And it should be consulted by all students
doing research in this field of study. We have much for which to thank the

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English Spirituality: A Review Article

bishop, and we have good reason to anticipate even more from his mind in the
future.

110

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

Pentecostal Hermeneutics: A Review Article

By Paul Elbert*

Kenneth J. Archer, A Pentecostal Hermeneutic for the Twenty-First Century: Spirit,
Scripture and Community. Journal of Pentecostal Theology Supplement Series 28.
London/New York: T & T Clark, 2004, xii + 219 pp., hardback, £40.00.

This book polishes a University of St. Andrews doctoral thesis supervised
by Richard Bauckham, who observes that it provides "both an illuminating reading
of the history of Pentecostal hermeneutics as well as an insightful proposal for the
kind of Pentecostal hermeneutic that is appropriate to our contemporary context."
The argument, advanced in six well-articulated and understandable stages, is that in
the development of the century-old movement there can be found an authentic
Pentecostal hermeneutical approach which can be retrieved and reappropriated.
It is necessary first to define this revivalist, restorationist, gender-insensitive, and
multi-racial movement fi-om the perspective of its origins. Its growth involved a
rejection of rationalistic excess and instead offered wholeness, healing, and a frame
of reference for understanding human experience and ultimate spiritual concerns. A
passion for the Kingdom of God arose from a reading of the biblical metanarrative
and a passionate desire for unmediated experience with the heavenly Jesus and with
the Holy Spirit. Archer rejects secular definitions of Pentecostalism provided by
historians who appeal to social forces or to an evangelicalized or rationally sanitized
rewriting of Pentecostal history. Instead, Pentecostalism originated and progressed
due to the logical coherence of the Five/Four Fold Pentecostal message validated by
supernatural signs amongst the community and in direct opposition to the
predominate worldview of rationalistic, philosophical, and cessationistic
presuppositions traditionally applied both to narrative and to epistolary discourse in
the New Testament. To validate this definition Archer appeals directly to personal
testimony of the participants, making no attempt either to make their testimony
conform to contemporary secular models of reality or to pour modem
historiographical odium upon it. This seems particularly appropriate, given the
one hundred-year celebrations of the Azusa Street phenomenon (1906-2006)
now underway in Los Angeles and throughout the world.'

Next, Archer elucidates the confi-ontational paradigm shift away from the
dominant hermeneutical context of the early-nineteenth century, with both its
intensive Enlightenment-oriented and dispensational thinking, toward an authentic
Pentecostal hermeneutic. The Pentecostals said "yes" to both the authority and
trustworthiness of Scripture and to the authority of experience based upon
Scripture's trustworthiness and reliability. Archer finds it unfortunate then that
American Pentecostals, under the pressure of evangelicalization, joined the National
Association of Evangelicals in the 1 940s and reworked their doctrine of Scripture to

Paul Elbert is an Adjunct Professor at the Church of God Theological Seminary, Cleveland,

TN.

Ill

Pentecostal Hermeneutics: A Review Article 1

embrace "inerrancy." The hermeneutical effects of this embrace have been alwaysii
been assessed negatively by Pentecostal scholars.^ A^rcher believes that it caused ai
deleterious invasion of a "modernistic foundation already poured by the academici
Fundamentalists at the turn of the twentieth century (which assumed that) thei
Pentecostals simply had to be educated into the modernistic thought and argumenti
of the more 'intellectual' tradition" (64). Results of this evangelistically
suppressing and shame-enhancing union may be observable today in the
marginalizing of testimony, of tarrying, and in the propensity of some to be led
more by their own acquisition of academic history than by dreams, visions, and the
Holy Spirit.

In his fourth chapter, "Early Pentecostal Biblical Interpretation," Archer
works from original literature to discern a commonsensical Bible Reading Method
that relied upon inductive and deductive reasoning skills to interpret Scripture in
light of Scripture under the illumination of the Holy Spirit. According to Archer,
this is different from the traditional scholastic Protestant Christianity, which
employed more of "proof-texting system" (74). The Bible Reading Method was
thoroughly pietistic and synchronic, requiring all of the biblical data to be gathered
and harmonized with respect to plot and context. The biblical past and the present
could thereby potentially unite, contrary to traditional epochalistic-oriented creeds
and ecclesiastical dictums that suggested, and even demanded, otherwise. Oneness
(or Triunity) and Trinitarian Pentecostals saw the first Jerusalem Pentecost and its
ensuing repetitions in the ministry of disciple-believer-witnesses as a "commanded
promise" (91) for all Christians who were afar off, whether they be Jew or Gentile,
a personal promise to all believers beyond narrative time.

How this reading method of the Pentecostal story forged a convincing
hermeneutical narrative tradition and arrived at meaning is illustrated (99) by its
contemporary employment in L. Daniel Hawk's narrative study of Joshua.^ Plot
encompasses the framework of the story and its detailed arrangement of incidents
and patterns as they relate to each other. This understanding of plot also operates in
the mind of the reader who then tends to organize and make connections between
events. Hence, the narrative elicits a dynamic interpretive relationship between text
and readers. One may note as well that the great narratives of Homer have long
been read by classicists in just this manner, similar to how Homer was read by
Greco-Roman students in the New Testament period. But of course Pentecostals
were (and very much today are) engaged in a battle of interpretation with their
Protestant forerunners who inherited a catechistic tradition of what may be
considered to be "apostolic-age" hermeneutics.'^ In this scheme the New Testament
and Luke-Acts in particular was (and often is) read cessationistically through
narrowly selected Pauline glasses and via the historically venerated imposition of
epochalistic temporal carvings and the cocooning of narrated events, all of which
were foreign to the Bible Reading Method with its emphasis on coherence,
cohesion, and biblical metanarrative whereby the spiritual past and the spiritual
present could be harmoniously fused.

Pentecostals allow for the biblical stories to challenge, reshape, and build
their tradition and are comfortable with Central Narrative Convictions (1 14-18) like

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Ashland Theological Journal 2006

"repetitive themes, aspects of narrated time, plot development, and characterization"
(118). Archer suggests that an intuitive grasp of narrative features is probably
facilitated among people who have a reliance on oral corrmiunication and who listen
to how stories are told, perhaps being similar culturally to hearers in the first
century to whom New Testament documents were read (and to such hearers in the
majority world today). From the point of view of the Bible Reading Method and the
concept of a Latter Rain fi-om the Old Testament, a New Pentecost seemed (and
seems) entirely realistic and right, "Pentecostal worship was more than it seemed.
Outsiders saw only fanaticism, but insiders saw more. They discerned order within
disorder, reason within unreason. Not a bad bargain for saints heaven bound."^

The last two chapters, "Current Pentecostal Hermeneutical Concerns" and
"A Contemporary Hermeneutical Strategy" focus on guidelines for the future. In
hermeneutical concerns, six scholars (all Pentecostals like L. Daniel Hawk above)
come to the fore, namely French Arrington, Howard Ervin, John McKay, Mark
McLean, Roger Stronstad, and John Christopher Thomas. Archer skillfully
highlights their important contributions to interpretative technique and method, to
which should now be added the study of James Shelton.^ Archer too, in his words,
hopes "to avoid the epistemological foundationalism of Modernity and
reappropriate the active participation of the community and Holy Spirit in the
interpretive process" (195).

Robert Menzies, who argues that Luke's pneumatology is different fi-om
and is ignorant of a Pauline pneumatology, is assessed among Archer's
hermeneutical concerns as following "the hermeneutic of evangelicalism" (140),
which might be otherwise labeled as an "apostolic-age" hermeneutic. Archer
provides a penetrating critique of this "Evangelical Historical Critical Method"
(148-54). Menzies' argument, which does imitate, perhaps unconsciously, the
intent of the epochalistic temporal carving of Luke-Acts and the supportive
assumption of authorial isolation prevalent in Evangelical Protestantism, might also
be reconsidered in light of reasonably expected theological and pneumatological
links between Luke and his esteemed predecessor, with apologies for mentioning
my own work. ''

In his hermeneutical strategy, Archer offers suggestions as to how an
interdependent tridactic dialogue between Scripture and its story world, the Holy
Spirit, and readers in community can result in a negotiated meaning that is creative
and practical. Archer wants to stimulate a hermeneutical strategy that is informed
by an "early Pentecostal ethos" and to challenge a heretofore-uncritical acceptance
of the "Evangelical modernistic approach" (195) among Pentecostals. Archer wants
to de-emphasize the predominant attention in that method to discern "the past
determinate meaning of the author's intent" and to emphasize "the reality that
interpretation involves both the discovery and creation of meaning for the present"
(194). He undoubtedly feels that the Evangelical methodology, replete with the
Spirit-extinguishing heritage of both Lukan and Pauline cessationism along with
their divisive and contextually dangerous presuppositions, has leaned too much
toward the world behind the text, perhaps overly concentradng, for example, on its
historicity or on its presumed affixment to an "apostolic age," rather than toward an

113

Pentecostal Hermeneutics: A Review Article

appropriate unity between the biblical text and the present context (193). In all oi«
this Archer raises a significant point. However, one might observe that when a Newi
Testament author's probable original meaning, as deduced by due and carefuli
attention to the contemporary communicative procedures in the Greco-Roman
world, comes into coincidence with present experience and divine action, the
community would thereby find a sense of helpful assurance as well, another
assurance which I am sure that Archer would indeed welcome and appreciate.^

In conclusion, Archer's critical hard-hitting thesis is not a simplistic or
romanticized vision of the past or of the present. The cumulative impression of the
evidence Archer adduces is that the Spirit, Scripture, and the Spirit-filled
community can thoughtfully, experientially, and practically function together.
Sometime Archer's presentation borders a bit on the socio-jargonistic side, but he
kindly provides a short glossary of terms (197-98) with definitions for those
unattuned to such worldviews. However, I find Archer's analysis to be easily
navigated, entertaining, wonderfully succinct and plausible, filled with interpretive
gems and insights that have an instinctive appeal. Therefore in the century ahead,
as its title suggests, his thesis could provide a stimulating tonic to both hermeneutics
and to faith throughout the major sectors of Christendom.

See Estrelda Alexander, The Women ofAzusa Street (Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press, 2005);
Grant McCIung, ed., Azusa Street and Beyond: 100 Years of Commentary on the Global
Pentecostal/Charismatic Movement (Gainesville, FL; Bridge-Logos, 2006).

Matthew S. Clark, "Pentecostalism's Anabaptist Roots: Hermeneutical Implications," in
The Spirit and Spirituality: Essays in Honour of Russell P. Spittler (ed. W. Ma and R. P.
Menzies; Journal of Pentecostal Theology Supplement Series 24; London/New York: T & T
Clark, 2004), 194-21 1 (206), observes that "Pentecostal interest in the accuracy of Scripture
is based on a different concern to conservative evangelicalism: not to validate the great
confessions of the church, but to inform a choice for a lifestyle of discipleship and witness."

L. Daniel Hawk, Eveiy Promise Fulfdled: Contrasting Plots in Joshua (Louisville, KY:
Westminster/John Knox Press, 1991).

With respect to Evangelical Protestants, Dr. Archer was a participant in a recent five year
dialogue with them as reported in "Pentecostal/Charismatic Themes in Luke-Acts at the
Evangelical Theological Society: The Battle of Interpretive Method," JFT 12/2 (2004), 181-
215 (n. 23). Previous to this Dr. Archer had already whetted our appetite for the details of his
thesis that Pentecostal hermeneutics will emich the study of interpretation in the twenty-first
century via his observations that "Pentecostalism's contribution to hermeneutics is in the area
of community participation and experiential understanding. There exists a promising
Pentecostal hermeneutic rooted in the classical spiritual ethos of Pentecostalism" (Kenneth J.
Archer, "Pentecostal Hermeneutics: Retrospect and Prospect," JPr 8 [1996], 63-81 [81]) and
his argument that "Pentecostals used the Bible Reading Method with a desire both to believe
and obey . . . nor did they create a new method" (Kenneth J. Archer, "Early Pentecostal
Biblical Interpretadons," J/T 1 8 [2001], 32-70 [69-70]).

Grant Wacker, Heaven Below: Early Pentecostals and American Culture (Cambridge:
Harvard University Press, 2001), 111.

James B. Shelton, "Epistemology and Authority in the Acts of the Apostles: An Analysis
and Test Case Study of Acts 15:1-29," The Spirit and Church 111 (2002), 231-37.

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Ashland Theological Journal 2006

' Paul Elbert, "Possible Literary Links Between Luke- Acts and Paul's Letters Regarding
I Ispirit-Language," in Intertextuality in the New Testament (ed. T. Brodie, S. E. Porter, and D.
MacDonald; New Testament Monographs Series; Sheffield: Sheffield-Phoenix Press, 2006),
iforthcoming. An expanded version of the thesis offered in Brodie et al, ed., Intertextuality,
:|was presented at the Society for Pentecostal Studies, Fuller Theological Seminary (March
!2006), entitled "Probable Literary Connections Between Luke-Acts and Paul Regarding
jSpirit-Language."

' This approach, also quite commensensical as well by contemporary critical standards with
respect to authorial integrity, would, I suggest, be substantially similar to a "bible reading
method" with its inherent application of interpretive principles as cogently framed by Adele
jBerlin, "A Search for a New Biblical Hermeneutics: Preliminary Observations," in The Study
\of the Ancient Near East in the Twenty-First Century: The William Foxwell Albright
Centennial Conference (ed. J. S. Cooper and G. M. Schwartz; Winona Lake, IN:
Eisenbrauns, 1996), 195-207.

115

EXTENDINGvJe^ONVERSATION

Seeing the Word

REFOCUSING NEW TESTAMENT STUDY
Markus Bockmuehl
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studies is acute, and his recommendations
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Body and Character
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Mikeal C. Parsons

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the u.se and subversion of physiognomy by
Luke." — R. Alan Culpepper, McAfee School of
Theology

Reading Scripture
with the Church

TOWARD A HERMENEUTIC FOR
THEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION
A. K. M. Adam, Stephen E. Fowl,
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Ancient Near Eastern Thought
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Jolm H. Walton

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Ashland Theological Journal 2006

Book Reviews

Yohanan Aharoni, Michael Avi-Yonah, Anson F. Rainey, Ze'ev Safrai, The Carta Bible
Atlas, 4th ed. Jerusalem: Carta, 2002; distributed in the U.S. by Eisenbrauns, P.O. Box 275,
Winona Lake, IN 46590. Pp. 223, cloth, $38.95.

This very usefiil atlas was originally published in Israel under this title and then
translated into English and published in the U.S. as The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Changes from
the third edition are few indeed, with a brief new introductory note, a slight reordering of the
end-pages and the addition of an index or persons. Those who already have the third edition
should be satisfied with it.

An edition of the atlas is useful and should be in every serious Bible scholar's
library. It goes through the Bible chronologically (and on into the siege of Jerusalem in A.D.
70) giving detailed maps of different biblical and extra-biblical events along with generous
explanations of these events. For example, a map of Abram's migration shows the entire
ancient Near East, with arrows indicating the suggested route fi'om Ur to Haran to Shechem,
down into Egypt at Zoan, and back north to Beer-sheba. Relevant scripture verses accompany
the maps. While many of the maps are conjectural, the volume supplies an invaluable
supplement to the biblical text, breathing additional life into the journeys and battles which a
simple textual rendition is unable to parallel.

David W.Baker

Yairah Amit, Reading Biblical Narratives: Literary Criticism and the Hebrew Bible.
Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001. 187 pp., paper, $20.00.

In 1981 Robert Alter wrote The Art of Biblical Narrative. In 1993 David Gunn
and Darma Nolan Fewell offered Narrative in the Hebrew Bible. Like these earlier
contributions, Reading Biblical Narrative explores the distinctives of Hebrew narrative. The
unique characteristics of Hebrew story telling are summarized and demonstrated with
examples taken fi-om a range of Old Testament texts.

This work began as a series of 13 lectures delivered at Tel Aviv University 1999 -
2000. It was subsequently published in Hebrew and then translated and published in English
in 2001. Amit works with the Tanakh translation and makes judicious use of Hebrew in her
explanations. Amit's text is 147 pages of content (this excludes bibliography and notes)
compared with Alter' s 189 pages of smaller type and the even longer text by Gunn and
Fewell at 205 pages which also contains an extensive bibliography. The most significant
difference of Amit's text is that it omits full discussions of scholarly debate or history and
remains focused on demonstrating characteristics of Hebrew Bible narrative. This, combined
with its easy reading style, makes it ideal for introductory courses on biblical exegesis and
the bibliography provides direction for those interested in further study.

Introductory chapters cover the power of stories (chapter 1 ) and incorporating the
findings of historical biblical criticism (chapter 2). The following chapters cover matters
determining story boundaries, understanding plot and structures, characterization, the use of
time, setting, determining significance, and narrative context. Chapter seven covers the role
of the narrator. Although many narratives are employed for examples and comparisons, the

117

Book Reviews

author most fully considers the accounts of Tamar and Judah in Genesis 38 (an account firsl^
treated by Robert Alter and also by Gunn and Fewell), Tamar and Amnon in 2 Samuel 25
and Naboth's vineyard in 1 Kings 21, often returning to them for further consideration
throughout the book. (Anyone inclined to write on these texts would do well to make use ol
Amit's book.)

The author's chapters covering narrative techniques such as plot and structure^
characterization, time, and setting are well done and clear and will certainly improve a
reader's ability to do a close and judicious reading of the text. I would have liked to have
seen more work with the play of language present in the Hebrew Bible. Alter, for instance,i
devotes a chapter to the use of repetition and Gunn and Fewell devote a chapter to repetition/
metaphor, and allusion.

Amit combines an unwavering trust in the narrator with a claim that one can
discern a 'plain interpretation' (page 129). Amit states, "Whatever accords with thei
narrator's statements or God's must be beyond doubt" (page 129.) This un-nuanced stance
combined with the book's brevity and focus is one of its weaknesses. While careful to
differentiate between the narrator and the author, she resolves contradictory statements within
the text by bracketing them as belonging to different authors with different agendas (page
99). Gunn and Fewell deal with this same issue in a more nuanced way and bring into the
discussion the use of irony directed both towards characters and toward the reader. While
rightfully critiquing those who create interpretations based too much on lacunae and gap-
filling while ignoring textual data, Amit too easily suggests, for example, that Judah in
Genesis 38 should be viewed in a favorable light because the narrator seems concerned to
present him that way. Others who read this story see a much more ambiguous character.

Amit touches lightly on the role of a reader. She challenges those who assess
characters based on assumptions they bring to the text. However she fails to address the way
in which we all read ideologically and her discussions of the text's ideology focus on
historical concerns (e.g. page 120) and do not mention matters that affect present day issues.
For example, the text's patriarchy and its influence on the presentation of women within the
text is something that needs to be addressed. If the goal is to develop skill with reading
Hebrew narrative, then issues such as these must also be brought to the table. Admittedly
they lead into areas of study outside of narrative criticism yet they play such a significant role
in our reading that to leave them unaddressed leaves the student of scripture with the
mistaken idea that we read objectively and the text alone controls the meaning.

Donna Laird, Drew University

Andrew Louth, ed., with M. Conti, Genesis 1-11, Ancient Christian Commentary of
Scripture: Old Testament, ed. T. C. Oden. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2001. lii + 204 pp.,
cloth, $40.00.

Exegetes do well by remembering the observation of John Donne that "No man
is an island, entire of itself" While we do have our own exegetical observations to make, we
are blessed by a 'great cloud of witnesses', living and dead, who have plowed these same
fields before us. Part of the task of any exegete worthy of that title is to be aware of the
thoughts of these others.

The aim of Thomas Oden and InterVarsity Press is to aid in this endeavor by
making available commentary on Scripture from the patristic period, the first seven centuries
of the Church. Oden begins by introducing the project itself, the plenteous resources which
had largely been neglected up to now, the ecumenical range of contributors and consultants
(Greek Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Evangelical), as well as providing usefiil
comments on misogyny, anti-Semitism, and Pelagianism. The volume editor, professor of

118

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

patristic and Byzantine studies at the University of Durham, then introduces the volume
itself. He comments on the varieties of versions (Hebrew, Greek, Latin) and various
theological issues such as typology and original sin.

The commentary proper begins each section with the verse or pericope under
discussion (taken from the RSV). Following an overview of the passage, there is comment on
words and phrases drawn from the fathers. For those used to working with Jewish sources,
the layout is similar to that of the rabbinic commentaries.

The volume, and the series, fills an important gap in exegetical resources. While
it will not be the only, or even the first, commentary which a student of Scripture will have
on the desk, it is an important resource if one wants to seriously grapple with the text. If
nothing else, I hope that the series lifts our modem eyes from a superficial personal
application based on all too shallow exegesis to a time when the Bible was considered worthy
of serious theological engagement.

David W. Baker

Samuel Terrien, The Psalms: Strophic Structure and Theological Commentaiy. Eerdmans
Critical Commentary Series. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003. 11112 pp., $95.00.

A seasoned student and gifted teacher of Hebrew Bible, the late Professor Terrien
has pressed a wealth of insights into his substantial Psalms volume (971 pp.). Chief among its
assets are the depth of introduction and richness of actual translations. Ancient Near Eastern
Background, Music of the Psalms, and Theology of the Psalms are among the valuable topics
treated in over 60 pages of rich and readable introduction. True to form (and faithful to text),
Terrien attends to divine presence in the Psalms: "The apprehension of the Presence or the
terror of its loss dominates the imagination of the psalmists" (57), and again: "The motif of
Yahweh's presence seems to constitute, alone, the generative and organic power of [a
theology of the Psalms]" (46).

Translation of each psalm is fresh yet not forced, marked by a studied attempt to
retain the Masoretic Text, at least in its consonantal form. Consider a sample from the first
psalm:

"Blessed is the man

That does not walk with the ungodly for guides,

Nor stand on the roadway with the sinful, • .

Nor halt for a rest at the camp of cynics.

But his delight is in the Law of the Lord..." (p. 69, italics and arrangement original).

Within the commentary proper each psalm is presented by franslation,
bibliography, and a discussion of form, commentary, and date-and-theology. Form is treated
with brevity. Occasionally a brilliant insight breaks through (e.g., twin palistrophes in Ps.
51). Commentary is thoughtful, arranged by strophic headings.

This volume lies open to lay and scholar alike. While it offers a more current
bibliography than Artur Weiser's Old Testament Library work, some still will favor Weiser's
gift for penetrating the pathos of the poet. Finally, avoidance of Hebrew in Terrien's writing
will ease reading for some while complicating it for others.

Paul Overland

119

Book Reviews

Paul E. Koptak, Proverbs. The NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan^
2003. Pp. 712, cloth, $29.99.

Bruce K. Waltke, The Book of Proverbs, vols. I and II. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004,1
2005. Pp. 693 and 589, respectively, cloth, $50.00 each.

Eminently readable, Koptak's volume opens a healthy variety of vital topics in a
30-page introduction. While based on the NIV translation, his work includes a responsible!
sampling of insights from Hebrew while not overwhelming the reader with detail. Despite
relatively brief treatment of textual issues, still it remains sensitive to poetics and rhetorical
dimensions of the text. The primary strength of this work lies in its conscious effort regularly
to bring biblical insight into conversation with modem culture. It places implications fori
personal transformation within easy, even unavoidable reach.

Arrival of Waltke's work has been worth the wait. Consistent with the author's
commitment to careful scholarship, this two-volume work, 25 years in the making, spares
nothing in pursuit of detailed explication of the text. Witness the extent of introduction and
bibliography (170 and 37 pages, respectively). The collage of apparently disconnected
sayings contained in Proverbs poses for Waltke the principal challenge — to discern latent
coimectedness through poetics. Here he at times concurs, at times contrasts prior proposals —
all in quest of exposing the tissue of the wider text, those sinews knitting the composition into
a more cohesive (and thus more illuminating) whole.

Regular attention to fine shades of meaning further evidences a scholar's care. A
rare treasure of seasoned insight, this work will become a must-read or at least a must-consult
for all serious scholarship in Proverbs firom this point forward.

Paul Overland

Michael V. Fox, A Time to Tear Down and a Time to Build tip: A Rereading of
Ecclesiastes. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1999. 422 pp., paper, $34.00.

. Ecclesiastes. JPS Bible Commentary. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication

Society, 2004. 87 pp. plus 24 pp. introduction. ;v

At a recent SBL reception Professor Michael Fox was presented with a
festschrift — an index of longevity applied to the study of Hebrew wisdom literature. While
the two volumes reviewed here do not include that festschrift, they are representative of
works that have issued from his decades of scholarship.

In A Time to Tear Down and a Time to Build Up Fox offers a significant deepening
of his earlier study entitled Qohelet and His Contradictions (JSOT Supplement 71). It is
difficult to overestimate the value of this new volume for anyone determined to get a grip of
this provocative and timely biblical book. For his trek into the uneven territory of
Ecclesiastes, Fox rightly starts at the trailhead marked by those statements within Ecclesiastes
which veer in opposite directions (p. 3). For example: for the author of Ecclesiastes is all of
life darkly futile or can one find periodic points of light and joy amid pervasive gloom?

Three primary strengths of A Time to Tear Down and a Time to Build Up are its
depth of introduction, conscious engagement with alternative interpretations, and readability.
First, the introduction commands fully 34% of the work, and offers carefully-researched
insights concerning principal concepts emerging from the landscape of Ecclesiastes (e.g.,
Hebrew terms for vanity /futility and chasing after wind). Second, Fox carefiilly introduces
the reader to alternative interpretations, beginning in the preface with an overview of

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commentaries. As a result, one detects a sense of dialog among scholars rather than a one-
sided lecture (fitting for a biblical book so marked by internal give-and-take!). Third, the
work is eminently readable, despite a no-holds-barred policy of wrestling with profound
questions of interpretation. Frequent use of Hebrew in transliteration makes this work of
particular use to those wanting to stay close to the original composition.

At one-fourth the overall length, Ecclesiastes (JPS) treats many of the same
introductory topics in a 24-page introduction, but in overview fashion. A snapshot of nine
key terms compresses to four pages. When reviewing alternative interpretations, medieval
Jewish writers occupy a suitably prominent position. The layout of the commentary-proper
offers a bilingual biblical text above (Hebrew, New JPS English), with relatively brief verse-
by-verse comment below. Many notes involve clarifying the translation, suggesting that Fox
may not have been entirely satisfied with the NJPS rendition. For the student wishing either
a briefer treatment of particular passages (when compared to A Time to Tear Down and a
Time to Build Up), or one seeking rapid access to past Jewish interpretation viewed through
the lens of a modem master-scholar, this JPS commentary is a true treasure.

Paul Overland

Reuben J. Swanson, New Testament Greek Manuscripts: Gospel 4-Pack. Sheffield: Sheffield
Academic Press/Pasadena, Ca.: William Carey International University Press, 2005. Pp.
Matthew xx + 304; Mark xix + 271; Luke xx + 420; John xix + 302, paper, $88.95.

This set of four volumes serves as an important tool for textual criticism in the
gospels. Each book provides the complete text of Codex Vaticanus, as exemplar, with
numerous other uncials and papyri arranged, likewise in full, in horizontal lines underneath.
Swanson supplies users with an introduction extensively explaining the nature and use of the
tool. Its primary contribution is that it provides the Greek text of the gospels, not as eclectic
texts - as one would find in the most common editions (NA27 and UBS4) - but in word-for-
word transcription. Even the most comprehensive critical editions of the gospels, S. C. E.
Legg's Nouum Testamentum Graece: Euangelium secundum Mattaeum (1940) and Marcum
(1935) (both available from scholarly reprints, http://members.aol.coni/goodbooks7/) are
eclectic in compilation and presented exactly like the critical apparatus of the NT27. Another
source for an enormous amount of textual material on the gospels and other documents,
available free of charge and updated regularly, is Wieland Willker's website (http://www-
user.uni-bremen.de/~wie/ww tc.html).

The present edition, however, is unique in its presentation of full texts, allowing
users to consider variant readings within their particular manuscript's context. This is an
important feature that, when used carefully, will reward thorough study. One should note,
though, that no attempt is made in this set at analysis of textual variations. For a recent
approach to that subject, one may consult Wayne C. Kannaday, Apologetic Discourse and the
Scribal Tradition: Evidence of the Influence of Apologetic Interests on the Text of the
Canonical Gospels (Atlanta: SBL, 2004). Swanson' s work is acclaimed by Bruce Metzger as
"an innovative and useful tool for the study of the Greek text of the New Testament." (p. ii).
One could hardly offer a dissenting opinion to such praise. Indeed, serious exegesis or textual
criticism in the gospels can hardly be engaged without these important tools at hand. The
only uncertainty pertaining to it is its availability. At one point it was distributed by Tyndale

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House Publishers (Wheaton, 111.), who has indicated that the set is out of print. The individual)!
volumes for the gospels (and other NT books) are still widely available.

Daniel M. Gurtner, Bethel Seminary, St. Paul, MN

Richard B. Hays, The Conversion of the Imagination: Paul as Interpreter of Israel's
Scripture. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005. Pp. xx + 213, paper, $20.00.

Richard B. Hays' book is a collection of revised essays that were originally
published over a span of more than two decades. Following his influential volume Echoes of
Scripture in the Letters of Paul, this work covers a wide variety of issues related to "Paul as
Interpreter of Israel's Scripture," and argues for a more sophisticated reading of Paul that
goes beyond simply concluding that he was proof-texting, arbitrary in his referencing, or
contradictory. Hays' stated purpose is threefold: to demonstrate that Israel's Scripture was
foundational to the apostle's theology, to argue that Paul's own hermeneutical framework is a
worthy model for contemporary readers, and to encourage the modem church to allow a
"conversion of the imagination" that happens when one reads and interprets as Paul did {viii).
What exactly does Hays mean by a "conversion of the imagination?" He envisions this as an
"epistemological transformation" (x) or paradigm shift that involves both a new
understanding of one's identity and a mind that is renewed and "remade by the gospel" (196).
The title is quite apt given the centrality of this concept in nearly all of these essays.

Hays highlights six themes that contribute to how Paul operated as an exegete.
First, an emphasis on "metalepsis" runs throughout each chapter, whereby he reasons that
Paul's quotations can only be fully appreciated when a broader context of the original citation
is recognized. Second, Hays argues that Paul's quotations and allusions were meant to shape
identity by helping his readers to reimagine themselves as the people of God. Third, Paul
employed a narrative-approach to understanding Scripture. Hays argues that, for Paul,
Scripture is not "merely a repository of isolated proof texts, rather it is a saga of God's
election, judgment, and redemption of a people through time" {xvi). Fourth, Paul's
interpretation is shaped by an apocalyptic perspective that demonstrates the Christ event as
the necessary lens through which the Scripture is to be perceived. Fifth, the task of exegesis,
for Paul and for the church, is as much an art as a science, and that his interpretation should
be appreciated poetically as well as technically. Lastly, Hays posits that Paul approached
Scripture from a "hermeneutic of trust," and that the church would better understand the
apostle's thinking by approaching the texts in faith.

Though Hays rightly admits that his overall thesis is not unique, the individual
essays are creative and thought-provoking while at the same time examples of responsible
exegesis. Even more, he does not shy away from hotly debated topics such as the meaning of
dikaisUne theou (chapter 3), the functions of the law (chapter 5), and Paul's use of Habakkuk
2:4 (chapter 7). At the same time. Hays proves himself to be open to criticism and
appreciative of feedback especially in chapter 9, a response to critiques of Echoes of
Scripture in the Letters of Paul.

As convincing as Hays' thesis is, though, one is continually confronted with the
question, could Paul 's original audience pick up on these frequent allusions, or bring to mind
the original context of Paul's quotations? He suggests that Paul's original reader "not only
knows Scripture but also appreciates allusive subtlety" (49), but does not offer substantial
explanation of how this knowledge was obtained. On occasion he does provide a possible
scenario that mitigates this concern, but without a more thorough exploration of this matter,
the issue is difficult to evade.

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Nevertheless, in the end Hays is successful in proving his overall thesis. The
Conversion of the Imagination is a clear and compelling investigation into how Paul used
Scripture in a meaningful way and there are few better qualified for undertaking such a work.
As this topic will undoubtedly continue to be discussed and debated among New Testament
scholars, one will hardly be able to engage without reference to this deft exegete and critical
work.

Nijay K. Gupta, South Hamilton, MA

Ulrich Luz, Studies in Matthew, translated by Rosemary Selle. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
2005.Pp.xii + 385, paper, $30.00. ' >

This book contains eighteen essays written between 1971 and 2003. The final
essay, "The Significance of Matthew's Jesus Story for Today," is new, providing a useful
summary of issues discussed throughout the book. The essays are divided into various
sections, including: Matthew's story, Matthew and his traditions, christology, ecclesiology,
ethics, miracles, Matthew and Israel and hermeneutics. In the course of these discussions, the
reader is able to follow the thought of one of the most important commentators on Matthew
of the late twentieth and early twenty first centuries, whose contributions include a
commentary on Matthew in four volumes in the original German (EKK) and three volumes in
English translation (Continental Commentaries and Hermeneia).

Luz tackles some thorny issues in these essays. None is as difficult as the issue of
anti-Judaism in the Gospel of Matthew (pp. 343-361). While evangelical readers may
welcome Luz's refusal to follow the popular call to discard these difficult sections of
scripture, they will certainly be challenged by his conclusion that texts such as Mt 23; 27:25
and 28:11-15 cannot inform our current attitudes toward Judaism. Rather, these texts
represent Matthew's reflection on his own situation, and need to be reconsidered in light of
the Church's abominable record of persecution of Jews.

Luz is able to come to this conclusion because of both his understanding of
Matthew as story, and his utilization of the hermeneutical method of H. G. Gadamer.
By employing Gadamer' s method, Luz reminds readers that biblical texts possess not only a
meaning for their original audience, which the exegete needs to recover, but also contain an
"effective history," or history of reception. Stated briefly, "effective history" means that texts
continue to live in the context of their interpretive communities, which are both shaped by the
texts and shape the understanding of the texts themselves through their historical location
(see pp. 325-327). Thus, pluralism in interpreting texts is not a surprising phenomenon, but a
natural corollary of text's effect upon interpreting communities.

In short, Luz's essays provide useful insights for the interpretation of Matthew's
Gospel and the broader issues of how scripture becomes word of God to readers and hearers
today, especially in our post-Christian and post modem world. Rather than endorsing a
cavalier attitude that "everything goes" in interpretation, Luz is able to relate how religious
pluralism makes Matthew more relevant for readers today. For example, by exploring the
"effective history" of the text in the church fathers (and mothers) and in Anabaptist sects, the
one is confronted with demands that often are domesticated in the dominant traditions,
particularly Reformed and Catholic, of the church. For example, Luz understands that the
demands of Mt 5:43-48 and 6:10 are better understood in Anabaptist tradition than in the
more "mainstream" traditions, and the effective history of these smaller bodies within the
church informs readers how better to understand the evangelist's message. Yet, these
traditions also highlight the inconsistencies of Matthew itself, especially in light of Mt 23,
which appears the antithesis of 5:43-48.

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In conclusion, Luz's essays provide the reader with an important insight into tha
development of thought of an important commentator on Matthew, whose own struggles with
the text are reflected, but not necessarily resolved, in the course of these studies. This bookl
provides a helpful companion volume to the massive commentary, and also supplies readers
with productive insights on specific topics. The book is a necessary tool for any serious
students of Matthew.

Russell Morton

Scot McKnight and Grant R. Osborne, eds.. The Face of New Testament Studies. A Survey oji
Recent Research. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic; Leicester, UK: Apollos, 2004. 544i
pp., paper, $34.99.

The Face of New Testament Studies is the companion to The Face of Old Testament
Studies (ed. David W. Baker and Bill T. Arnold). This is a collection of twenty-two essaysi
which covers a generous swathe of issues germane to the study of the New Testament. Thei
book seeks to "provide 'macroscopic' overviews of the field and give students a handle on
the most important voices in the discipline" (p. 9). Students of the New Testament will find:
The Face of New Testament Studies a helpful point of departure for their own research, for
these essays provide summaries of current research, analyses of various positions, andi
relevant bibliography.

The book itself divides into four parts, organized by fields of scholarship:

Part 1, "Context of the New Testament," contains two articles. Sean Freyne's
article focuses upon the social climate of Galilee and Judea. In the second essay, David
Fiensy discusses the material culture of the Roman Empire and Asia Minor.

Part 2 consists of five essays on "New Testament Hermeneutics." (1) Eckhard
Schnabel brings readers up to date on the field of textual criticism. (2) Stanley Porter assesses
the state of Greek grammars available today and some challenges to older ways of the study
of syntax and grammar. Next, (3) Greg Clark provides a historical overview of "general
hermeneutics." A survey is given, moving through the Protestant Reformation, the
Enlightenment, Romanticism, and late Modernism. (4) David DeSilva surveys the state of
social-scientific criticism as it is practiced within New Testament studies. DeSilva
distinguishes "social description," which assesses socio-cultural realities, fi-om the use of
social-scientific "models" that seek to explain behaviors, structures, and patterns reflected in
the NT texts. Finally, (5) Craig Evans discusses the New Testament's use of the Old
Testament. He covers Jewish exegesis in antiquity and various methods employed by the
writers of the New Testament.

Part 3 is designated for "Jesus" studies. Four essays are included. (1) Scot
McKnight examines recent scholarship and concludes: "though it has taken nearly a century
of badgering and bullying. Christian scholarship has gradually accepted the challenge of
Henry J. Cadbury to avoid modernizing Jesus, and... finally offered to the reading public... a
Jewish Jesus who is credible within first-century Judaism" (p. 176). Next, (2) Klyne
Snodgrass discusses different scholarly assessments of Jesus' parables. (3) Graham Twelftree
considers "the history of miracles in the history of Jesus." (4) Craig Blomberg discusses the
scholarship of the Gospel of John.

Finally, Part 4 concerns "Earliest Christianity." This section contains a series of
eleven essays covering a range of topics germane to New Testament studies. Steve Walton
discusses the complex status of Acts studies. Bruce Chilton discusses the scholarship on
James the brother of Jesus. Donald Hagner discusses the Gospel of Matthew and the issue of
'Christian Judaism' or 'Jewish Christianity.' Bruce Fisk covers aspects of Paul's life and

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Ashland Theological Journal 2006

letters. James D.G. Dunn writes about Paul's theology. Darrell Bock discusses Lukan
scholarship. Robert Webb surveys Petrine scholarship. Peter Bolt surveys recent scholarship
on Mark's Gospel. George Guthrie discusses recent research on the book of Hebrews with a
view to its first-century context. Klaus Scholtissek surveys recent research on the Johannine
Gospel. Finally, Grant Osborne discusses recent trends in the study of Apocalypse of John.

Don Carlson, Hebrew Union College- Jewish Institute of Religion

Francis J. Moloney, Mark: Storyteller, Interpreter, Evangelist. Peabody: Hendrickson,
2004. 224 pp., paper, $19.95.

Francis J. Moloney occupies the Katherine Drexel Chair of Religious Studies at the
Catholic University of America. His The Gospel of Mark: A Commentary was the 2003
Reference Book of the Year according to the Academy of Parish Clergy. The 2004 book is
billed as a New Testament Commentary but it is not truly that. Only 55 pages of the 224
page text are devoted strictly to commentary.

The book is organized in four parts. Part the first, is entitled "Mark." To the
author, Mark is a "shadowy figure" and one cannot be certain as to the identity of this Mark.
Nor can it be accurately determined when this story of Jesus first saw the light of day.
However, he does posit that this Mark, whoever he is, is a "creative and original thinker."
According the Maloney, Mark never appears as a character in the work or is named. He
points out that this is a characteristic found throughout the book with numerous nameless
persons as principle characters in the story. Papias' second century reference to Mark gets
only passing recognition. Maloney views the work not as history but as a proclamation of
the faith of the early church. The desire of the writer of Mark was to communicate a
particular theological perspective.

The second division of the book deals with "Mark: the Storyteller." The author
views the many summaries in Mark as textual markers delineating the structure of the work.
In this section the author sees the Gospel story unfolding in four parts:

1. The Gospel Begins ■-

2. Jesus' Ministry in Galilee ' ' ' ' ■ •'

3. Jesus' Journey to Jerusalem, Death, Resurrection

4. Women Discover the Empty Tomb

The first half of the Gospel answers the question, "Who IS Jesus?" The second half of the
Gospel presents "The Suffering, Vindicated Son of Man, the Christ, the Son of God."

The commentary is found in Part Three of the work. The limited remarks are
helpful and at times provocative. The author asserts that, "Mark, the storyteller has
consciously taken material fi^om traditions about Jesus that come to him and shapes them in a
way that is referred to as 'chiastic.'" He accepts the fact that Mark concludes at verse eight of
chapter six.

In the third section of the book, the author deals first with "Mark, the Interpreter of
Jesus of Nazareth" including "Jesus the Christ, Jesus the Son of God, and Jesus the Son of
Man." Next in this section are the author's assertions on "Mark the Interpreter of Christian
Community" including "The Disciples," and "At the Table of the Lord."

The fourth part of Maloney's work is entitled, "The Good News of the Gospel of
Mark." In this section, he sees Mark looking back to the biblical traditions and the events in
the life of Jesus to revive the flagging spirits of the struggling Christian Community.

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Book Reviews i

At the conclusion of each of the four sections are helpful and extensive footnotes.
The work concludes with a thorough fifteen page bibliography, a three page index to modem
authors and a five page index to ancient sources. The work is certainly engaging.

Richard E. Allison

Kenneth Schenck, Understanding the Book of Hebrews: The Story Behind the Sermon.
Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2003. 144 pp., paper, $19.95.

This brief guide to Hebrews features a very innovative approach to the exploration
of a biblical text. Rather than start "behind" the text with arguments concerning authorship,
audience, and situation, Schenk begins "within" the text with an exploration of the "story
world" created by the text, laying out, in effect, the narrative world and plot into which the
author invites his audience. He continues in a second chapter to investigate the complication
and resolution of that plot ("Humanity's Problem and Christ's Solution") more fully from
within Hebrews' "narrative," and follows this with detailed examinations of the opening
chapter of Hebrews, the "characters" who exhibit faith and distrust, and the background and
significance of the author's argument concerning the sacrifice and priesthood of Jesus. Only
after taking the readers through the "story" and argument of Hebrews does Schenk return to
the historical questions about the situation addressed by this text, and how Hebrews offers a
"word-on-target" for that situation.

The volume is well written, thoroughly conversant with contemporary English
scholarship on Hebrews, and well documented. It admirably achieves its goal, which is to
provide a first introduction to this difficult sermon. Sidebars, tables, and a glossary make the
running text even more accessible to readers unfamiliar with Hebrews (many sidebars
provide the text of verses from Hebrews relevant to the discussion), with the environment of
the first century, and with literary-critical approaches to the Bible.

David A. deSilva

Murray J. Harris, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians: A Commentary on the Greek Text.
New International Greek Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005. Pp. cxxvii
+ 989, cloth, $75.00.

Harris's commentary on 2 Corinthians demonstrates depth of scholarship and
attention to detail. His descriptions of the Greek text are thorough and precise. He shows
acute awareness of textual and grammatical issues. Nevertheless, the commentary also suffers
severe shortcomings, which limit its value to students and scholars.

Positively, the detailed discussion of the Greek text of 2 Corinthians will be helpful
to any intermediate to advanced student or scholar of the Greek language. Readers may
question, however, why Harris utilizes the older Bauer-Amdt-Gingrich-Danker (BAGD)
lexicon, the second English edition of Bauer's lexicon, rather than the Bauer-Danker- Amdt-
Gingrich (BDAG), third English edition, of Bauer.

While this choice may be explained by Harris having completed most of his work
before BDAG was available, a more serious shortcoming is to be noted in Harris's lack of
engagement with rhetorical and social scientific investigations of 2 Corinthians. While one
may question some of the assumptions of sociological or socio-rhetorical criticism, 1-2
Corinthians are the NT writings where the methodology is most helpful. One wonders why,
for example, in commenting upon 2 Cor 2:17, where Paul notes that he and his associates do
not act as "peddlers of the word of God," Harris makes no allusion to popular images of

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philosophers, particularly the Cynics, against whom such exactly charges were often raised
(pp. 253-56). Reference to the later work of Lucian of Samosata, Philosophies for Sale,
would also provide a helpfial illustration to popular conceptions of philosophers, against
which Paul was contrasting his own behavior. This lacuna is all the more surprising in light
of Harris's comments on 2 Cor 11:7, where he specifically does note the contrast between
Paul's behavior and that of "peripatetic lecturers" (pp. 754-56).

In contrast to many other scholars of the Pauline corpus, Harris attempts to
reconcile the chronologies of Acts and 1-2 Corinthians to explain Paul's circumstances and
reasons for writing. While some would find this approach to be helpful, others might consider
it an attempt at harmonization. Harris also distinguishes himself from numerous other
commentators on 2 Corinthians in hypothesizing that the letter is a single unit, rather than a
composite of Pauline fragments (see pp. 8-51). Harris recognizes that the tone of 2 Cor. 10-
13 is very different from 2 Cor 1-9. This feature is explained by the theory that although 2
Corinthians was written as a single letter, it was not all written at the same time, and 2 Cor
10-13 was added to chs. 1-9 after Paul received disturbing news about the state of the
Corinthian congregation (pp. 50-51). A similar theory is also found in the commentaries by
Ralph Martin and C. K. Barrett's classic.

Also problematic, Harris's commentary does not offer adequate indexing. Indexes
are included for modem authors, Greek terms, and subjects. Conspicuously absent are is an
index to scripture references and an index of ancient writers. Readers may wonder why such
useful tools, necessary for any critical commentary, are wanting.

In conclusion, Harris's commentary has much that is useful, particularly with
regard to grammatical analysis. The book needs, however, to be supplemented by social
analysis, such as the works of Theissen (Social Aspects of Pauline Christianity), Malherbe
(Paul and the Popular Philosophers), Meeks {First Urban Christians), and Winter {After
Paul Left Corinth; Philo; Paul Among the Sophists). It is unfortunate that the findings of
these scholars could not have been more effectively integrated into Harris's commentary.

Russell Morton

Joseph A. Fitzmyer, The Letter to Philemon. Anchor Bible 34C. New York: Doubleday,
2000. xvi+ 138 pp., cloth, $21.95. ;- ; ' .. -;

Recognized scholar Joseph Fitzmyer, S. J., offers a solid and responsible
introduction and commentary on Paul's letter to Philemon. The introduction and a
substantial bibliography (28 pages of resources) occupies the first full half of the volume.
This introduction treats the usual issues of historical setting (authorship, date, the vexed issue
of the location of Paul's imprisormient), offers a reasonable defense for the now almost
universally adopted explanation for the occasion of the letter (Onesimus has sought out Paul
as a mediator between himself and Philemon, and is not a "runaway" slave) and judicious
critique of other available reconstructions, and provides a helpful section on the institution of
slavery in the Greco-Roman world. This is followed by a clear analysis of the letter's
significance, theological contribution, and structure. A verse-by-verse commentary follows
in the second half, providing all the text-critical information, the lexical analysis, comparative
texts, and other historical-critical interpretive aids.

David A. deSilva

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Book Reviews i

Ian Boxall, The Revelation of Saint John. Black's New Testament Commentary. Peabody,ij
MA: Hendrickson; London: Continuum, 2006. xvi + 347 pp, cloth, $29.95

It takes significant courage to contribute a commentary on Revelation as a^i
successor to G.B. Caird's classic Commentary on the Revelation of St. John the Divine*
(1966), for Caird's volume for years was the standard for both readability and scholarship.!
Nevertheless, after four decades Caird's work has become dated, and a supplement is needed. I
Boxall, who, like Caird, hails from Oxford University, has taken up the challenge admirably.

Boxall begins with a brief introduction (pp. 1-20), which concludes with an outline
of Revelation. From the begirming, the reader may observe both Boxall 's debt to the tradition
of Caird, as well as where he supersedes his predecessor. Boxall 's discussion of the genre of
Revelation demonstrates, as well as can be expected in a mere two and a half pages, an
awareness of the controversy surrounding apocalyptic and apocalypticism. Is Revelation an
apocalypse, a prophecy or both? Boxall opts for the third conclusion, noting that the
Apocalypse is also in the form of an epistle. Yet, Boxall also recognizes that John is heir to a
long tradition of Jewish visionary literature, including apocalyptic speculation and merkevah
mysticism.

Boxall differs fi-om Caird most dramatically in allowing for the possibility that
John, son of Zebedee could be the author of Revelation. Nevertheless, he concludes that a
certain agnosticism in the area of authorship is necessary (p. 7). Likewise, Boxall differs from
Caird in recognizing that the opposition that John sees is not necessarily overt imperial
persecution as much as local, provincial harassment and persecution (see Rev 2:13). Here
Boxall demonstrates acute awareness of current scholarship that calls into question the
existence of an imperial persecution during the reign of Domitian.

Boxall's sensitivity to the text, as well as his awareness of scholarly debate, is
particularly evidenced in three areas: his discussion of the throne scene in Rev 4-5; John's
use of combat myth in Rev 12-13, and the disturbing portrayal of Babylon in Rev 17. In Rev
4-5, he notes how the twenty four elders may represent both the twenty four priestly orders of
1 Chron 24:1-18 as well as the total of the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles.
Here Boxall notes, correctly, that John's imagery may be multivalent. What is disappointing,
however, is his lack of recognition that John may also utilize Greco-Roman astrological
imagery as well, providing a rich tapestry of allusion for the reader. Boxall's understanding
of the Lamb imagery of Rev 5 is more satisfactory, noting that the Lamb represents both a
sacrifice and an avenging agent.

Boxall's recognition of the presence of combat myth in Rev 12 acute, although
Caird's analysis may, ultimately, be more correct. Although Boxall notes the work of Yarbro
Collins, he does not reference the foundational studies Gunkel and Bousset. Boxall also
provides carefiil consideration of feminist critique of John's imagery in Rev 17. Yet, he also
recognizes not only John's disturbing imagery of Babylon as the Great Prostitute, but also the
counterbalancing positive female imagery, such as the woman of Rev 1 2 and the portrayal of
the New Jerusalem in Rev 21-22. Thus, Revelation's disturbing imagery derives from John's
uncompromising contrast between good and evil.

At various points in the commentary, Boxall includes helpful excurses which
provide the reader with assistance in understanding the Apocalypse and its ancient world. In
the commentary sections themselves, Boxall is somewhat constrained by the limits of the
Black series. The other serious weakness of Boxall's work is that the bibliographic references
are almost exclusively to titles available in English. Thus, the reader is not only denied
reference to some of the classic foreign language works, but some of the more recent
interesting commentaries, such as Giessen's, are also not mentioned.

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Overall, Boxall provides a good introductory commentary upon the Apocalypse of
ifohn. His work represents some of the best elements of the tradition of Caird in that Boxall
liiotes the relevance of the apocalypse for its original readers. Likewise, Boxall brings the
discussion of Revelation up to date with reference to contemporary scholarship.

Russell Morton

William Yarchin, History of Biblical Interpretation. Hendrickson Publishers: Peabody,
Massachusetts, 2004. Pp. 444, cloth, $34.95.

William Yarchin presents History of Biblical Interpretation to meet the need for a
smgle-volume reader that covers the entire span of the Bible's history, presenting various
[aspects of its interpretative tradition. Given the vast presence the Bible enjoys in world
jculture, a truly comprehensive survey of the history of biblical interpretation is admittedly
jbeyond the book's scope. Taking this into consideration, Yarchin has selected only readings
Jrepresentative of the most influential exegetical treatments of biblical texts though the ages.
jHe has carefully selected only those portions which contain some of the more clearly
expressed statements of biblical interpretation. Consequently, and to the author's own
Jadmission, some works have been excluded in favor of others. For example, Yarchin
ideliberately excludes New Testament exegesis as well as the Jewish kabbalistic interpretive
tradition. Even so, students of the Bible are sure to reap maximum benefit from History of
Biblical Interpretation.

The contents of the book proceed chronologically from the second century B.C.E.
to the end of the twentieth century C.E., presenting both the Christian and the Jewish
lexegetical traditions. The book is divided into five major sections. Part 1 (150-70 C.E.)
covers the important elements of pre-Christian and pre-Rabbinic biblical interpretation. Part
2 (150-1500) deals with key figures among the Church Fathers. Part 3 presents rabbinic
Judaism, introducing the reader to the important Jewish contemporaries of the Church
jFathers. Part 4 ( 1 500-present) illustrates the shift of scholarly interest in the Bible to
Jphilological and historical questions. Part 5 ( 1 970-present) deals with the issues which
occupy modem interpreters, issues such has "subjectivity" and "ideological motivation".
Each chapter begins with a succinct introduction by the author in which he provides context
and background relevant for approaching the author(s) and/or period under discussion. At the
end of these helpful introductions are included short bibliography-six works at most-for
further study. Readers will find these bibliographies very usefiil, for they include classic
studies on the subject as well as more recent articles.

A special feature of History of Biblical Interpretation is W. Yarchin's own
contribution of fresh, original English translations of three commentary traditions on Psalm
23. Yarchin has rendered into English the Hebrew and Aramaic of Traditional rabbinic
comments on Psalm 23 as they appear in the Yalqut Shim 'oni. He has franslated the Latin
from the patristic Glossa ordinaria. Also, an English translation is given for the sixteenth
century Latin text of the Critici sacri.

The real strength of the book is that it includes a representative sample of classical
Jewish as well as patristic interpretive traditions. Moreover, readers will also gain from its
pages an exposure to more recent theories of biblical interpretation and the contributions
from a range of scholars like P. Trible, Edgar V. McKnight and Segovia. History of Biblical
Interpretation is sure to provide students, pastors and teachers alike with a real sense for the
rich interpretive traditions which the Bible has, and continues, to generate.

Don Carlson, Hebrew Union College- Jewish Institute of Religion

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Book Reviews

David Bagchi and David C. Steinmetz, eds., The Cambridge Companion to Reformation
Theology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004. 289 pp., $24.99 (paper).

This is the fifteenth book in the series of the Cambridge Companion books on the
Bible, church history, and theology, with more volumes projected to follow. The books in
the series are written to serve non-specialists, helping them to acquire an introductory grasp
of vital historical topics. One indication of the intended audience is the absence of reference
notes in the chapters. The readers are not cheated on content, however; and a rich
bibliography at the end of the book directs readers to numerous primary and secondary
sources for each person or movement covered in the book.

The editors provide a helpful introduction to the book, in which they cover the
historiography of the Reformation period over roughly the last half century. They note the
loss of interest in Reformation theology, as scholars abandoned the "great men and their
ideas" approach to history, while turning to more critical questions of the period and
refocusing on the social history of the common person in the sixteenth century religious
setting. They point to renewed interest now in the theology of the Reformation and its many
spokespersons. This volume, then, comes at a favorable time.

Eighteen chapters comprise the book, each written by a specialist on the topic.
There are four chapters on the religious background to the Reformation, giving new
prominence to the rich diversity of late medieval theology which was the soil from which the
Reformation grew, though it was not the cause of the Reformation. Three chapters cover
Luther and the development of Lutheran theology, including an interesting study on
Melanchthon, who modified Lutheran theology even while he preserved Luther. Four
chapters serve the Calvinist Reformation, giving attention to Bucer along with the standard
figures of Zwingli and Calvin. The thought of the English and Scottish Reformations merit
three chapters. The Radical reformation is represented by only one chapter on Anabaptist
theology, but it is the longest chapter of the book. And Anabaptist sources in the selected
bibliography are again lengthy, rivaling the sources for Luther. Finally the editors each write
a chapter on the Catholic reformation, one covering Catholic theologians before Trent and the
other focusing on the theology expressed at the council of Trent.

Overall, it is an accomplishment in intellectual history. Not only will the reader
acquire a great store of information, s/he will likely be stimulated to pursue additional
reading on the thought of the reformation. The editors encourage that pursuit in their
concluding section, where they sketch out new sources for and fresh inquires about
Reformation thought.

It is easy to be enthusiastic about this book. It is informative, contemporary,
accessible to the ordinary reader, and about the ideal length. It concludes while the reader is
still interested in the topic and anxious for pointers toward other sources in the field. It
demonstrates that specialists can communicate with common readers and instill in them the
passion of the scholars' pursuit of knowledge that matters. And all this comes at a price an
ordinary person can afford!

• I ; ir,; ,, Luke L. Keefer, Jr.

James J. Buckley & David S. Yeago, eds.. Knowing the Triune God: The Work of the Spirit
in the Practices of the Church. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001. 283 pp., paper, $29.00.

The opening sentence of this book presents its central claim as: "knowing the triune
God is inseparable from participating in a particular community and its practices - a

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Ashland Theological Journal 2006

participation which is the work of God's Holy Spirit" (1). Resulting from the work of the
Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology in Northfield Minnesota, Knowing the Triune
God is an attempt to do theology in a way that engages "the whole of the Christian tradition,
in its diversity and richness" (3). A joint venture of both Catholic and Evangelical
theologians, including Anglicans, Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans, and Roman
Catholics, the book is divided into nine essays, each written by a different theologian, and
each covering a specific topic relating to the idea of knowing the triune God through the
Church by the Holy Spirit. This is a laudable effort with a worthwhile benefit for anyone
I seeking a richer understanding of Christian theology.

This book is very helpful as a survey of theological concepts with deep academic
and insightful discussion stemming from a strong grounding in the tradition of the Church. It
is historically rooted, challenging in its discussion, diverse in its bias, and broad in its topics.
This book will whet the theological appetite, and provide a great basis for further inquiry and
greater study. It is a difficult read, exposing the deeper end of the theological pool, and is
therefore probably best-suited for the graduate-level student.

Knowing the Triune God is divided into three sections, each consisting of three
individual chapters. The first section of the book deals with the sources of knowing the
j Triune God. The sources include the Church, focusing on its practices, theology and doctrine,
the Bible, and the liturgy.

The middle section of the book deals with aspects of formation in knowing the
triune God, focusing on a few specifics within the sources mentioned in the first section. The
[three individual chapters here include contemplation, focusing on St. Augustine's
understanding of contemplation as a joint exercise in theology and spirituality, the baptismal
catechesis, concerning the teaching and preparation surrounding baptism in the early church,
and interpretation, referring to the interpretation of the created order.

The final section of the book offers three areas of dispute concerning knowing the
triune God. Here, the theologians tackle questions surrounding the fractured state of the
Church, the question of whether Christians serve the God of Israel, and the issue of natural
revelation and its implications for the role of the Church in knowing God. I thought this
section was interesting, but it was more of chore to read and altogether not critical to the
book.

The premise of Susan Wood's insightfiil discussion on liturgy is the idea that "In
the liturgy, we do not acquire knowledge about God; we acquire a knowledge of God" (96).
The idea of the participatory knowledge of God is prevalent throughout the book and
especially in Wood's discussion of liturgy, as well as the chapter on baptism and
contemplation. Wood goes on to say that "it is not by looking at things, but by dwelling in
them that we understand them" (101). She applies this to liturgy by saying that as we "dwell"
in the liturgy of the Church, we actively participate in the Christian story and our lives are
thus formed "into a Christian community" as we assume that drama as our own (106-7).

Along the lines of ecclesiastical participation, L. Gregory Jones, Dean of the
Divinity School and Professor of Theology at Duke University, writes a beautiful chapter on
baptism catechesis, which I found especially insightful. It really exposes the richness of the
process of baptism for the early church:

Overall, this dramatic journey of baptismal catechesis highlighted the
centrality of initiation into the spectacular drama of God's creating,
redeeming and consummating work. [...] Through a combination of
scripture preaching and teaching, formal instruction, dramatic ritual,
spiritual direction, and apprenticeship in the deeds of holy living, the
practices of baptismal catechesis fostered a spectacular vision - and,

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•

Book Reviews

more importantly, embodiment - of what it means to become part of the
journey into the reign of God's dazzUng Ught. (161)

Knowing the Triune God, is a rich and challenging book offering a greatei
theological understanding, especially concerning the knowledge of God and the function ol
the Church in that knowledge. It will encourage deep thinking over a broad range ol
theological matters, undoubtedly leaving the reader hungry for more. One frustration with the
book is the lack of biblical discussion on the Spirit's role in the Church. The authors seem to
simply make the assumption that anything the "Church" does is an act of the Spirit, which
was surprising. I would have loved to see a greater development of the theology of the Spirit.
Another hesitation is that at points, the book is simply a chore to plow through, with
seemingly insignificant academic discussion that becomes even harder to follow given the
sequestered format of the book. Regardless of these critiques however, reading this book is
well worth the effort and will prove helpful in any effort to fiarther know the triune God and
the function of the Church in that pursuit.

Ryan W. Likes, John Brown University

Reinhard Hiitter, Suffering Divine Things: Theology as Church Practice. Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans , 2000. 314 pp., paper, $ 30.00.

Reinhard Hutter assumes the task of defining the role of theology as a purpose of
the church in contrast to both academic theology, which remains detached from the average
Christian, and modem thought in which "the church is nothing else than a private association
of people with common interests... this sociological self-designation undermines the church's
own self understanding, that is, the promise entrusted to it and its mission"(3). He writes,
"The problem emerging in theology is at the same time a problem for the church," which is
the tendency to either privatize religion or, on the contrary, "toward objectified, increasingly
reified forms of faith designed to counter the subversive dynamic of modernity itself '(3).
Hutter makes a valiant effort, employing the works of exceptional theologians to demonstrate
the validity of his resolution.

Hiitter' s style and language demand the reader to have a thorough background in
theological discourse and some familiarity with the authors from whom Hutter shapes his
arguments. This book is best suited for educators and students of upper level theology,
perhaps in a class on methods of theology. Church leaders who wish to cultivate a deeper
understanding of theology in their congregations will find this book useful as a foundation
and motivator.

The book is best read in order from start to finish; Hutter establishes a foundation
and methodically builds layers upon it. I found section three of Part One a powerfiil aid to
understanding his argument, as it sets the basis for Part Two in which Hutter develops the
supporting points. His work reaches full strength in Part Three, building on the role of the
spirit in church theology and Luther's Doctrina. Part Four is the climax and conclusion,
explaining, as the title suggests, theology as church practice.

Hutter begins with a discussion of Adolf von Hamack and Erik Peterson's
approach to the church as a "public" and the need for doctrine, although he differentiates
between doctrine and theology. Hutter defines pathos as "the surrender to God's presence
such that this presence defines or determines us and in so doing inevitably also defines or
determines out theological discourse" (31). Secondly, he describes poiesis as creative work;
both terms are foundational to the book, as theology is necessarily an actualization of being
acted upon.

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Ashland Theological Journal 2006

Part Two involves George Lindbeck's work on church practice in the cultural-
inguistic model, which HUtter uses to explain, "Faith is actualized within these contexts of
anguage and activity that themselves actualize the content of faith... the inseparable
uxtaposition of faith actualization and faith content" (45). Therefore, those in the church learn
-eligion by practicing its exercises.

After establishing the groundwork, Hiitter begins Part Three by tying the book
ogether with a concise summary of his overall purpose.

My intention is to articulate critically, from the perspective of the Trinity
and the economy of salvation, the relationship between church and
theology, and to develop the pathos of theology explicitly from both a
pneumatological and ecclesiological perspective (95).

The Christian is the poietic work of the Spirit, Hutter writes, "The existence of the church
and of every believer is pathically determined in that they are constituted by the Spirit, that is,
linsofar as their qualification as a work of the Holy Spirit is their pathos" (118). Theology is a
natural outworking of this in the church.

Hiitter then revisits the concept of the church as a public, which is vital to his
discussion,

"The church as public and theology as the discursive church practice
mutually imply one another. If the church is indeed a public, then it
requires a discourse that publicly gives account of the actualization of the
core practices and of doctrine. If theology is the discursive church
practice (rather than the science, philosophy, history, or philology of
religion), then it presuppose the church as public" (166).

Because the church is a public, it must participate in theology. That participation is rooted in
the Spirit's work, and is implemented in the church through exercise.

Hutter binds all his points together to demonstrate the importance of theology as a
specifically church practice. Theology is the expression of the pathos of the Holy Spirit
working in the church itself Hiitter provides a detailed and thorough demonstration of his
thesis. I appreciate the overarching theme of faith as pathos, being worked upon, or
"suffered," through the creative work of the Spirit. I am concerned that the depth of technical
language might repel much of the church itself, ironically leaving his exhortation beyond its
reach. His thoroughness and precise use of language lends towards repetitiveness. The book
is excellent as a technical exposition on the purpose and place of theology. Church leaders
and theologians should consider Hutter' s proposition and flavor the church with the practice
of theology.

Laura J Smith, John Brown University

John Schwarz, A Handbook of the Christian Faith. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 2004. 295
pp., paper, $13.99.

In his preface to A Handbook of the Christian Faith, John Schwarz makes very
clear the purpose of his book and his target audience. He writes: "I decided someday I
would write the kind of book that I wished someone had given me when I became a
Christian, a book that answered questions like the following...." Schwarz proceeds to list
numerous questions he had when he first became a Christian, ones that he would attempt to
answer in his book. And he does indeed succeed. A Handbook of the Christian Faith is a

133

' '' - Book Reviews !

manageable, 295-page overview of the Christian faith, discussing most of the basic tenets o
Christianity.

Schwarz chose an appropriate layout and flow to introduce the Christian faith. H(
begins with the Bible, proceeding from the Old Testament to the New Testament. Following ij
his discussion of Jesus, the Gospels, and what he calls the "Outward Movemenf (thti
remaining books of the New Testament), Schwarz hits several more topics with chapters |
titled "The Church", "Christian Beliefs", "Other Religions", "Growing In and Sharingj
Christ", and "Living Christianly", in that order. Each chapter is divided into sections by titles I
in large print. These titles not only make the book easy to follow, but they also make thei|
material less overwhelming, as the text is broken into many parts. i

On the whole, Schwarz is very thorough. He introduces all the major players in the
Bible, from Adam and Eve to Paul of Tarsus. He also provides biblical references, so that a
reader might be able to find the stories in Scripture. He supplies readers with historical,
contexts, citing names like Constantine and Augustine. And perhaps the most daunting task I
he tackles is introducing Christian doctrine without regard to a specific denomination. While
there will certainly be discrepancies between Schwarz and some denominations, he does a
fair job in discussing doctrine, beginning with a doctrine of creation and concluding with an
eschatology. He uses a salvation by grace through faith model to explain Jesus' life andi
work.

Much to his credit, Schwarz does not shy away the hard to explain issues in thei;
Bible and Christian history. Though he does not mention the Documentary Hypothesis in
discussing the two accounts of creation in Genesis, he does acknowledge that two separate
accounts are present. He also mentions Q in discussing the Synoptic Gospels, which
exemplifies the appropriate balance he maintains in mixing scholarly material with more
general knowledge. Of course, A Handbook of the Christian Faith is just that: a handbook.
Thus, it cannot, should not, and does not mention every detail of Christianity.

This book would be an appropriate tool for a new Christian to have. Not only
would it provide a basic introduction to the religion, it would also prompt more questions to
be answered by a different means. The book might also be useful to a seasoned Christian
who would like a refresher in details or a reminder of his or her heritage as a Christian. And,
while this text might not be academic enough to be used in a classroom, it would make a
good text for a Sunday school class to delve into. It really is quite amazing how much
Schwarz manages to pack into one book, one text that can be easily transported, easily
referenced, and easily shared.

Michelle Skupski-Bissell

Mark A. Noll, The Rise of Evangelicalism. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003.
293 pp., cloth, $23.00.

In this carefully researched and well-written analysis of 18"^ century British and
American revivalism and some of its leading figures, Mark A. Noll unearths the fascinating
story of the rise and development of early evangelical Christianity. Using a pleasingly clear
writing style, the author begins by describing the contours of the political, ecclesiastical and
spiritual "geography" of 18* century Britain and North America. He then goes on to trace
the antecedents of Evangelicalism back to a variety of revitalization movements in the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries on the Continent and in England, each of which shared a
common concern to return to "a more personal and more internal practice of the Christian
faith" (p. 54). With Noll's able guidance, early Evangelicalism's conviction that a personal
and sensible relationship with God lies at the heart of true Christianity is found to be rooted

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

solidly in the fertile soil of Puritanism's experiential Calvinism, Continental Pietism's focus
on "true Christianity" marked by personal godliness and a "palpable experience of God," (p.
85) and the voluntarily organized lay societies dedicated to spiritual renewal that sprang up
within the confines of the High-Church Anglicanism of England. Having laid this
foundation, the remainder of the book charts the growth and development of early
Evangelicalism, describing its subsequent fragmentation and eventual consolidation, as well
as the religious, social and psychological conditions of the time that both shaped it and were
shaped by it.

This book is highly recommended as a reliable and insightful account of the rise of
evangelical Christianity. Professor Noll admirably achieves his goal of using his historical
and biographical material to "clarify the significance of what happened when hundreds, then
thousands, then tens of thousands, came to agree with George Whitefield that 'it was best to
preach the new birth, and the power of godliness, and not to insist so much on the form'" (p.
25). The author is well acquainted with the relevant sources and writes with understanding
and empathy about a century peculiarly characterized by frequent, dramatic outbreaks of
revivalistic spirituality which generated both ardent defenders and angry detractors. His
account of the rise of evangelicalism is placed carefully and credibly within the cultural and
social contexts of the day, a procedure that makes his analysis very convincing. Weaving his
narrative of historical causes and effects together with fascinating biographical accounts of
Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield and the Wesley brothers, among others, Noll retells the
story of this 100 year segment of church history in a way that is at once both lively and life-
like. This study has the additional advantage, as should all good histories, of containing
insights and observations that are relevant for today's readers, particularly those who label
themselves 'evangelical.' As one progresses through the book, it is hard to avoid a sense of
deja vu as it becomes strikingly clear that the over-riding emphasis on a personal, experiential
relationship with God, accompanied by the tendency to devalue ritual and liturgy and to
derive and validate religious truth from personal experience and direct communication from
God, as well as from the Bible, is nothing new to modem evangelicalism. Another
challenging insight comes from his observation that because early evangelicalism was
primarily personal in its focus and orientation, it did not have a strong reforming influence on
society in general. Writes Noll, "Changing the world was never as important for the early
evangelicals as changing the self or as fashioning spiritual communities in which changed
selves could grow in grace" (p. 262). The fact that this evaluation could legitimately be made
of large portions of the evangelical church today, shows in ways both commendable and
convicting just how close to its roots evangelicalism has remained since the early days of its
development.

Mark Hepner, Papua New Guinea

Gordon Lathrop, Holy Ground: A Liturgical Cosmology. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress,
2003.240 pp., $25.00.

Gordon Lathrop 's book seeks to examine "the ways in which Christian worship
may help us to imagine, understand, care for, and live in the world" (ix). Written in a style
that is geared toward clergy and theological students, Lathrop seeks to enact a liturgical
renewal in a "top-down" fashion by appealing to those who have the most influence on the
actual structure and content of church liturgies. Throughout the book the goal of evaluating
how liturgical practice should and does shape the personal cosmologies of all its participants
is readily evident and forces the reader to consider the influence that the liturgy can have
upon one's life.

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Book Reviews

- The book's introduction is a cosmological prolegomena that convinces the reader

of the importance of the task at hand. With the first section, "Liturgical Worldmaking"
Lathrop provides the philosophical foundation for liturgical cosmology, drawing on ancieni
philosophical cosmology and reorienting it in relation to the Gospel of Mark. This important
initial groundwork is referred to often in the rest of the book. The second section, "Liturgical
Ethics", is the most practical of the three as Lathrop examines the ethical implications ol
baptism, Eucharist, and liturgical time. In each chapter, he offers a list of very concrete and
practical suggestions for renewing and reorienting liturgy in order to reflect a more ethical
cosmology. This section could be read as a stand-alone section, although its depth will be
missed without reading the first part of the book. Additionally, the section could be used
after the initial reading as a reference for ideas to transform liturgical practice. The final
section of "Liturgical Poetics" seems to be the least helpful of the three; however, the
beginning contains a helpful and necessary caution in regard to how the liturgy could
reinforce "cosmological distortion".

A recurring theme in the book is that of a liturgical juxtaposition of cosmologies,
which is expounded early in the work:

For the Scriptures, none of the various candidates for a central cosmic
principle can be adequate— not the perfect sphere, not the ruling planets,
not the conquering god, not the dominant role of humanity, not the end of
time, not the Logos, not the Son of Man, not the tree of life. But the
cosmologies suggested by all these can be received if they are turned, if
their terms are reused to speak of the living God, if the community
encounters that living God through all the gaping holes in their
cosmological fabric (44).

This refusal to concede to a meta-cosmology is found throughout the book, along with othei
facets that point to the author's postmodern tendencies. Often Lathrop finds the power ol
liturgy within the mixture of two seemingly contradictory components: "silence is set next tc
speech, concrete symbols juxtaposed to lengthy discourse" (196).

The real foundation for Lathrop 's work is Plato's story Timaeus, which Lathrop
says is the Western world's most influential philosophical cosmology. Lathrop goes on tc
argue that the story of "the son of Timaeus" in the Gospel of Mark functions as an "explicil
mimesis and reversal of Plato and made the Gospel of Mark a profound contribution tc
cosmology" (31). Lathrop does not argue that Mark's Gospel is a full cosmology, but says
that "[t]he biblical business, time and again, seems to be to propose a hole in these systems oi
to reverse their values while still using their strengths, to turn or re-aim their words toward
another purpose" (39). This idea of exposing "holes" in various cosmologies is returned tc
again and again and makes the valid point that no cosmology is essentially perfect and
beyond critique. This also seems to be another way for Lathrop to reject any sort of meta-
cosmology and to retain his postmodern bent.

One of the most disheartening aspects of Lathrop 's book for many will be the
rejection of many biblical stories as historic events. While some may concede to him that the
son of Timaeus story in Mark may not exactly be historical fact, I would think that many
would be taken back by his assertion that the exodus did not actually occur. In a similai
manner, some will find his suggestion to bless homosexual couples and to baptize
homosexual individuals as contrary to biblical standards.

While these two aspects of Lathrop's own personal beliefs might find disagreement
with potential readers, it would be wise to take Lathrop's own advice and see this simply as a
"hole" in his own personal theology and to not throw the book out altogether. He offers

136

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

profound reflection upon an event that for many worshippers is nothing more than a dull
ritual reenacted on a weekly basis. With his help, even with its "holes", the Christian liturgy
can be used as an event that transforms the way God's people understand and live within his
universe.

Matt Cleaver, John Brown University

Therese of Lisieux, The Little Way for Every Day: Thoughts from Therese ofLisieux. Edited
and translated by Francis Broome. New York: Paulist Press, 2006.

Devotees of St. Therese of Lisieux will find in this little volume daily readings
arranged for an entire year. Each month begins with a carefully chosen Scripture text, which
establishes the theme. Daily readings are comprised of two or three sentences which are
excerpts taken from her autobiography, poems, letters, and other written materials.
Scriptural references are usually cited in endnotes. The readings are intended to be used
devotionally, and the editorial arrangement and lack of annotation presuppose a familiarity on
the part of the reader with St. Therese. For those who have never read the Little Flower,
some of her language may be startling, if not baffling. For example she prays, "I begYou, O
Jesus, to cast Your divine glance on a great number of little souls. 1 beg You to choose in
this world a legion of little victims worthy of your love" (67). The book would be more
accessible with the addition of a brief introduction to St. Therese, including a biographic
sketch and her importance in the history of Christian spirituality. For those already familiar
with St. Therese, this book is a fine little companion for daily devotions or a series of retreat.

Elaine A. Heath, Perkins School of Theology.

Mark Water, ed.. The Encyclopedia of Prayer and Praise. Peabody: Hendrickson, 2004.
1184 pp., cloth, $24.97.

This lengthy Christian prayer reference encyclopedia is a treasure trove of prayer.
It gathers over 5,000 prayers and articles about prayer between its covers. Part One contains
the prayers of individuals arranged by topic. Part Two contains historical works by various
authors on the subject of prayer. The work opens with a table of contents for the two parts of
the book. Part One begins with a detailed table of contents and concludes with an index to
authors and subjects plus an appendix of biographical information. Part Two opens with a
detailed table of contents. Part One, however, is cross referenced to appropriate articles in
Part Two. The work is very well indexed for friendly exploration.

Part One includes a number of contemporary prayers but the main emphasis of the
section is the rich heritage of classic Christian prayers. The goal of selecting edifying
Christian payers is surpassingly attained. Prayer selections from such personas as Abelard,
Alcuin, Anthony, Baxter, Bede Durer, Fenelon, Kepler, Milton, Moore. Knox, Luther
Schweitzer, Anselm, Augustine, Blake, ten Boom, Spurgeon, Francis, Tyndale, Polycarp,
Gregory, Andrews, Dionysius, Erasmus, Bonar, Ignatius, Jerome, Kuyper, Calvin, Clement,
Tyndale, Eusebius, Melanchthon, Kempis, Law and Pascal are found there as well as prayers
by 400 other persons. Then in addition there are prayer sections fi-om The Book of Common
Prayer, Gallican Sacramentary, Lenten Triodon, Leonine Sacramentary, Serum Breviary,
Book of Common Worship, Didache, Evanlgelical Lutheran Hymn-Book, Euchologum
Anaglican, Genevan Book of Order, New Church Book of Worship and the Treasury of
Devotion. Divisions in Part One include such headings as: "Prayers for Christian Growth,"

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Book Reviews

"The Christian Year," "Everyday Life," "Daily," "Blessings and Doxologies," "Bible
Prayers," " Famous Prayers" and many others.

In Part Two there is a massive collection of extracts on the topic of prayer from
such people as: Anselm, Edwards, Murray, Origen, Francis de Sales, Forsyth, Kempis,
Augustine, Bounds, TertuUian, Wesley, Taylor Chrysostom, Madam Guyon, Calvin, Bruce
and an additional 80 others. Also found in Part Two are collections of prayers from six
sources. These include: "Roman Catholics and Prayer," Stories About Prayer," "Helping
Children Pray," and "Quotations About Prayer and Praise."

This is a book that every pastor, student and all other persons interested in Christian
prayer can spend a lifetime. It is both selective and fulfilling.

i \ ' ■ 1? Richard Allison

Nancy Pearcey, Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from Its Cultural Captivity, Study Guide
Edition. Wheaton: Crossways Books, 2005. 396 pp., cloth, $25.

The tradition of Francis Schaeffer lives on. It has been restated and applied to the
context of Western Civilization thirty years later by the comprehensive world view writing of
Nancy Pearcey. Pearcey, who studied at L'Abri and continues to work with others who are
off-spring of the Schaeffer legacy, has written an astute analysis of the role of Christianity in
the public realm.

The introduction of the book, which has thirteen extensive chapters and four
appendices, describes how we have a cultural need to understand the Christian worldview and
train our children in thinking in terms of worldviews. The next four chapters explain what a
worldview is, and how the failure of Christians to think in terms of worldview has isolated
them from the culture, including a wide variety of subject areas. Of the Christian view which
should engage culture and influence all subject areas, she states, "all creation must be
interpreted in light of its relationship to God" (p. 35). But this has not been the predominate
perspective. Our beliefs have been locked into a private world and we have failed to think
Christianly about all matters. She critically remarks that, "In many Christian schools, the
typical strategy is to inject a few narrowly defined "religious" elements into the classroom,
like prayer and Bible memorization — and then teach exactly the same things as the secular
schools. The curriculum merely spreads a layer of spiritual devotion over the subject matter
like icing on a cake, while the content itself stays the same" (p. 37).

Pearcey supports many of her cultural points with a variety of anecdotes such as
explaining the compartmentalization of subject matters by telling of the Christian physics
professor who believed his physics had nothing to do with his faith. The first section of
chapters on worldview thinking looks quite a bit like some of the foundational work of
Schaeffer in Escape From Reason. At first this began to bother me, then as I read further it
was obvious she was going deeper into the issues than Schaeffer did, was broadening the
topics, and was providing new examples. One of the strengths of this section was her
philosophic analysis of how Platonism has so strongly influenced the West, especially its
impact in the church in creating a radical dualism between the material and the immaterial,
and between the secular and the sacred. This section is essential reading for anyone planning
to send their children to the public schools or off to contend with the philosophies of the
modem university.

The second section, chapters five through eight, is the best section of the book. It
focuses on the impact of Darwinism and on its philosophical and scientific failures. Two
points that she argues for are the central focus of this section. First, evolutionary Darwinism
is necessarily linked to naturalism. Second, the link between Darwinism and naturalism is

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he reason why it is held to so dogmatically and often uncritically. This makes belief in
evolution a philosophical question and not a scientific question. It is believed because it
supports naturalism, and naturalism is an assumed, not proven belief. This includes a
classical apologists' approach to the design argument in that it has historically been argued
that design is obvious in biology, and that now the argument is shifting to biochemistry,
cosmology, and the structure of DNA. She explains how Darwinism has universal
implications for setting the foundation for pragmatism, law, and opening the door to the
postmodern reaction. Much of Pearcey's background is in science and this section confirms
her understanding of this area and the ramifications of naturalistic Darwinism.

Chapters nine through twelve delve into the development of evangelicalism in
America. Pearcey traces the expansion of Christianity through the Great Awakenings which
as she says, "With few outright atheists to address, the revivalists did not seek to convert
people to Christianity so much as to what they called 'experimental religion' — the idea that
religious truth should not merely be believed but also experienced" (p. 269). This led to
revivals which were reproduced by techniques. This helps explain, says Pearcey, why
evangelical churches are typically weak in apologetics and worldview thinking. Evangelicals
have bought into the two-fold view of life which separates the religious and experiential from
the secular and rational. This has also led to two wings of the evangelical church, one
populist and the other scholarly. Chapter twelve's focal point is the role of women in
beginning and participating in the culture war. The "feeling" orientation of the American
church resulting from the divided reality has contributed to the "feminization" of the church.

The last chapter, number thirteen, describes living out the Christian worldview in
practice. This includes such areas as in leadership, the use of money for ministry, the
marketing of the gospel, the Christian writer taking credit for something he has not really
written, and how all of these are best addressed when the Christian world view is practiced
properly. She affirms, "Only by sitting in the supematuralist's chair will we have the courage
to do what's right even when it costs" (p. 376).

The book includes four appendices on the secularization of American politics.
Modem Islam, the war between materialism and Chrisitianity, and finally a section on
practical apologetics at L'Abri. The book is long and could be more effective as three books:
one on worldviews, one on science, and one on politics in American culture. Due to the
overload of topics, frequent quotations, and useful anecdotes, the reader could have problems
relating the examples to the broader principle. But these are very minimal concerns.

The book builds on the work of Francis Schaeffer, James Sire, C.S. Lewis, Phillip
Johnson, and other twentieth century apologists. Pearcey takes us into the twentieth century
by successfully critiquing the anti-intellectual, feeling-oriented, market driven Christianity of
today. It is her belief that in order to win the world for Christ, Christians must also win the
mind of the world. This book, which received an Award of Merit in Christianity Today's
2005 book awards and won the 2005 ECPA Gold Medallion Award in the Christianity and
Society category, can be read as an introduction to worldview thinking by those unfamiliar to
the concept or by those who want to probe deeper into the Christian worldview. It ties
together thoughts that I have never seen associated to one another before. It should be read
by all who want to think Christianly and should be required reading for teenagers before
embarking for the University.

Mark Hamilton, Ashland University

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Book Reviews

Kyle D. Fedler, Exploring Christian Ethics: Biblical Foundations for Morality. Louisville:
Westminster John Knox Press, 2006. 233 pp., paper, $29.95.

Kyle Fedler, Assistant Professor of Religion at Ashland University, has provided us
with a much needed book for establishing foundations for Christian ethics in his recent
Exploring Christian Ethics: Biblical Foundations for Morality. He does this by a thorough
investigation of the sources on which we draw, sources necessary for making the claim that
the content and vision of our ethic is specifically Christian. In Part I, Fedler provides a brief
yet helpful and critical overview of philosophical proposals, the language of ethics, and the
different ways for construing the moral life. He then moves on to a rich exploration in Part 2
of the "Biblical Foundations for Morality."

In Part 2, Fedler starts with one of the most important, yet often neglected sources
for Christian ethics, the role of Scripture, by emphasizing that it is important to attend to how
we use the Bible in ethics. He elevates our awareness that it's not just that we think the Bible
is an authoritative source for Christian ethics, but it is equally important to give attention to
the ways and methods for how Scripture is used, or abused, as a source for ethical
convictions, decisions and actions. He offers concrete suggestions for the Bible's role in
ethics and in our moral deliberations. This sets the stage for his exploration of biblical
foundations for morality in the remainder of Part II.

Fedler first takes us through Genesis, the Mosaic Covenant, and the Prophets. He
describes Genesis 1 through 3 as the "scaffolding upon which we build our moral vision"
(page 68), a structure assumed and built on in the Law and the Prophets. He goes on to
describe the moral ethos of various texts and presents some theological and ethical
implications of this biblical material that moves us toward important moral considerations.
His insights into the Mosaic Covenant in chapter 6, particularly his focus on the Ten
Commandments, are especially pertinent for Christian ethics today. He gives readers a
perspective that can reclaim the importance and narrative context of the Decalogue for a faith
community as opposed to a random collection of prohibitions carved in stones for public
display.

The "scaffolding" continues to rise and reaches its pinnacle in Exploring Christian
Ethics in chapter 8. Fedler explains the implications and normativity of Jesus Christ and
discipleship for Christian ethics. The "very heart of Christian ethics" is the teaching,
ministry, and life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (page 139). The centrality of Christ
for our morality and ethics are rooted in the "imitation of Christ" in our lives as followers and
disciples (chapter 9). This story of Jesus is continued in the story of the Church and is at the
heart of the "ethics of Paul" (chapter 10). While Paul did address a number of ethical issues
facing the early church, issues such as sexuality, divorce, remarriage, gender relations, ethnic
conflict and civil authority, we are reminded that Paul's moral vision was rooted in the
Gospel of Christ. Fedler therefore provides us an important reminder, through the apostle
Paul, that Christian ethics is not about our opinions and stands on particular issues, but is
instead, informed by the Gospel of Christ, being "new creations," and grasping that it is this
Gospel and Christian faith which shapes our moral convictions and character.

There are many strengths to this book and much to commend it not just as a
textbook for courses but one important for people desirous to understand what it is about
Christian ethics that makes it specifically Christian. It is well organized, clear and easy to
read. While the focus is not applied ethics, Fedler does provide helpful questions and
suggestions for practical application. He is clear throughout the book that we ought to take
seriously the implications of the Gospel and Christian faith in all areas of life, such as
economics, sexuality, justice, peace making, families, the environment, respect for all of life,
and politics to name a few. By providing such an important work in the "biblical foundations

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

tf morality," Fedler equips his readers to think and imagine the myriad of possibilities for the
elationships between our Christian faith, our character and our moral convictions.

Wyndy Corbin Reuschling

(im Wallis, God's Politics: Why the Right Gets it Wrong and the Left Doesn 't Get It. New
fork: HarperCollins, 2005. 399 pp., paper, $14.94.

The subtitle of God's Politics reflects the two problems which Jim Wallis seeks to
jiddress related to the relationship between Christian faith and our current political climate.
Why does the Right get it wrong? Because, according to Wallis, conservative political
politics, viz a viz the Republican Party, have politicized evangelical Christianity in particular
and squeezed it into its own ideological mold, using it to justify policies that betray
commitments to biblical Christianity, such as working for peace, alleviating poverty, and
advocating for social justice. However, the Left doesn't "get it" according to Wallis. Why?
Instead of politicizing Christian faith, the Left has privatized it, pushing it to the margins by
ignoring the importance of faith commitments to the majority of Americans. What Wallis
appeals to and presents in his book is "God's Politics" that are "not to be ideologically
predictable or a loyal partisan" (page 5). The major motif of God's Politics is God is
personal but never private (chapter 3). It's not that Christians should not be involved in
political and social activism according to Wallis. Wallis has a long history of social activism
as founder and president of Sojourners, a ministry that believes the Gospel (read:
"evangelical") integrates faith with commitments to social justice. Sojourners has been an
important voice for reminding Christians and others that biblical faith is not only compatible
with working for peace and justice but actually demands it.

Wallis' book, God's Politics, attempts to give Christians who are weary and
suspicious of party politics an alternative vision to what is presented to us by Republicans,
Democrats, and Libertarians. The vision offered by Wallis is a fourth option, a "prophetic
politics" (chapter 6). A prophetic politics, in line with the biblical prophets and Jesus, would
enable us to expand our horizons beyond the litmus tests of abortion and same sex marriage
to a more comprehensive moral vision that includes eliminating poverty, addressing racism
and sexism, caring for the creation, and active involvement in peace making to name a few.
For Wallis, these issues can not be tagged as "jusf conservative or "jusf liberal concerns
according to party politics. His appeal to us is that we see these as Christian concerns, rooted
in a prophetic vision found in Scripture and at the heart of God's shalom for our world.

After identifying his concerns in Parts I and presenting his alternative of prophetic
politics in Part II, Wallis then moves on to address three particular issues of concern, issues
where he present alternatives according to a prophetic politics. In Part III, he addresses the
problem of war, violence, and international relations through the sub-title of the section,
"When did Jesus become pro-war?" Wallis' focus is on the current war on terror and in
particular the war in Iraq as well as the larger Middle East conflict. He exposes the
ideologies masked as theology used to justify war and the predicament and problems this has
presented for our global relationships and our moral credibility in the world. Wallis then
turns to the prophet Micah to inform our response to war, global justice and peace.

In Part IV, Wallis takes on economic justice as a moral issue by posing the
question, "When did Jesus become pro-rich?" For Wallis, the presence of poverty in the
world's richest country is a serious moral failure. He is dismayed by our unwillingness to see
poverty in such a light. He identifies the ways in which the Right reduces solutions to
poverty to the personal level without identifying the historical and structural causes of
poverty. A prophetic politics is a call to responsibility by all and for all to work for economic

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Book Reviews !

justice. He ends this section with a reflection on the prophet Isaiah and a reminder that
"budgets are moral documents" and perhaps more accurate reflections, beyond our rhetoric,:
of what a people truly value. !

In Part V, Wallis addresses the selective nature of morality and the danger of
"litmus tests" to ethics by wondering, "When did Jesus become a selective moralist?" Wallis
takes the opportunity to expand the conversation on pro-life to one that is consistently and
more comprehensively pro-life for not only abortion but capital punishment and the anti-life
ideologies and racist policies and practices that have been America's "original sin" (chapter
19). Wallis links this with his concerns about the selectivity of the "family values" debate,
helping us to see the various cultural and social forces, such as violence, the media, thei
structure of work, gender equality, and the quality of our community lives as serious "family
values" that the Church may have a prophetic word to say and different model to present to
our culture.

Wallis' book is provocative, intentionally and helpftiUy so, from one who has an
admirable and lengthy track record in courageously speaking up on these issues for well over
forty years. While one may disagree with some of Wallis' diagnoses, analyses and solutions,
this is an important book to read for the following reasons. God's Politics gives us a
language and perspective to address issues from the perspective of Christian faith. Wallis
names the limitations of Republican and Democratic politics by presenting a wider moral
vision that is rooted in biblical faith and that is more reflective of the spiritual roots of
evangelical social activism in the 19"^ century. This book therefore is an important reminder
of the nature of evangelical faith and a helpful remembrance of a different kind of evangelical
history than is being written today. God's Politics is an important caution to our idolatrous
tendencies to place our hope in political leaders, party politics and power instead of in God.
Even though Wallis purports to take on both the Right and the Left, much of his critiques are
leveled against the policies and practices of the Right. Perhaps this is because they have been
the ones in power, those who have courted the votes of religious conservatives most
aggressively, and have most often used religious language to support their policies. The
warning against idolatry however still extends to the tendencies of Christians to place their
trust and hope in either political party rather than in God.

This is where Wallis leaves us in God's Politics in his powerful epilogue. It is a
call to trust God, to hope and to carry on in the task of prophetic politics since "we are the
ones we've been waiting for."

■ Wyndy Corbin Reuschling

Mark Dever, Nine Marks of a Healthy Church. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2004. Pp. 287,
paper, $15.99.

Mark Dever' s book is a welcome addition to the growing literature on church
health. He is a local church pastor, pastoring Capital Hill Baptist Church in Washington DC,
and is also Executive Director of 9Marks Ministries.

In a world where it can be so easy to be caught up in programs, events, and the
latest contemporary whatever, and thinking that all of this is healthy, Mark Dever is calling
the church back to her historical, healthy roots. A driving force behind the book is these
thoughts from Mark,

Unhealthy churches cause few problems for the healthiest Christians; but
II ! they are cruel taxes on the grov^h of the youngest and weakest

Christians. They prey on those who don't understand Scripture well.
i'. They mislead spiritual children. They even take the curious hopes of non-

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Christians that there might be another way to Hve, and seem to deny it.
Bad churches are terribly effective anti-missionary forces. I deeply
lament sin in my own life, and sin's corporate magnification in the life of
so many churches. They seem to make Jesus out to be a liar when He
promised life to the full (John 10:10). (p. 13)

! With these thoughts, and others, in the background, Dever launches into his model

jf church health. Even though the work is entitled, and he will enumerate, Nine Marks of a
Healthy Church, there are really only two overarching marks to his model. Dever states.
We need churches that are self-consciously distinct from the culture. We
need churches in which the key indicator of success is not evident results
by persevering biblical faithfulness. We need churches that help us to
recover those aspects of Christianity that are distinct from the world, and
that unite us. (p. 28)
What are those marks? The two overarching marks are: 1. The preaching of the Message;
2. The leading of disciples.

Mark number one breaks down this way in the author's work —

1 . Expositional preaching

2. Biblical theology

3. Biblical understanding of the good news

4. Biblical understanding of conversion

5. Biblical understanding of evangelism

These marks all reflect the concern to preach rightly the Word of God. As one reads these
five marks there will be a lot of unanimity over what is written. I personally believe these
chapters are worth the price of the book and more.

Mark number two breaks down this way in the author's work —

6. BibHcal understanding of church membership

7. Biblical understanding of church discipline

8. Biblical understanding of church leadership

9. Concern for promoting Christian discipleship and growth

These all reflect concern the right administration of the borders and markers of Christian
identity. These four marks have the potential to create a lot of discussion between one church
community and another. Different backgrounds can and do see these areas differently.

The two appendixes ("Tips for Leading the Church in a Healthy Direction" and
"The Nimierical Nineties and Beyond") are invaluable to anyone concerned about church
health. Appendix two is a review of crucial literature written beginning with a work
published in 1987 by Kennon L. Callahan and concluding with a work written by David
Garrison in 2004.

Dever says this about the appendix: "Here, in outline form and in chronological
order, is just a smallsample of prescriptions from various recent authors for the problems of
the local church." (p. 249)

I found Dever' s work stimulating, refreshing, and reformative. As mentioned, the
fu"st five Marks are calling us back to God, and we need to be reminded that the church
belongs to God in Christ Jesus who is the head of the church. Also, I found it very practical
to take the two appendices mentioned and to place them before my congregational leadership.
Why not? To have a healthy church, it is up to the leadership to lead the way. Thus, you too
will find it a wise practical application to place these two appendices before your leaders as a
teaser to then, asking them to read the book for their personal edification, and then for the
healthy edification of the congregation that they are serving in for the Lord of the Church.

G. Edward Wishart

143

Book Reviews

Michael Jinkins, Letters to New Pastors. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2006. 186 pp.,
paper, $15.00

Rest assured, anyone reading this book in lieu of ordination exams will be forever
grateful they read Jinkins' Letters to New Pastors. In fact, if there was one book I
recommend to any candidate for ordained ministry, Jinkins' book of letters is it.

Jinkins' Letters to New Pastors is a surprisingly important book for all pastors.
Between the lines of these fictitious letters of a mature pastor to brand-spanking-new pastors,
Jinkins subtly is calling all pastors to stay connected. There is, on one hand, much for new
pastors to learn from more experienced ones. Also, on the other hand, the church has a great
need for "old" pastors to communicate the wisdom they possess to "new" ones. Everyone
has something to learn from this unique book. In other words, this book is for everyone.
Though the book does not contain a table of contents, the main topics include the following:
calling, advice. Christian denominations, preaching, discipleship, the pastoral vocation,
teaching moments, the Sabbath, creation, theological language, counseling, church politics,
"spiritual" matters, the Bible, reading, authority, hospitality, grief and loss, the question "is it
all worth it," and much, much more.

Certainly, new pastors will get a kick out of this book. Its lessons and reminders
are refreshing and hauntingly amusing. This book tries to get at the heart of good pastors -
the spirit. Jinkins fashions these letters in a thoughtful and intentional way as the author-
narrator builds relationships with his pen pals. This book reminds pastors that the calling to
ordained ministry is the last thing any of us should individually seek. Rather, it is a calling
that comes from God alone, and God's calling is purposefully our vocation's life-force, or
else our good-intentions run the risk of endangering congregations. This is a crucial lens for
anyone.

Pastors of all ages and experience levels will appreciate this book. From the
mundane everyday frustrations of where to place the coffee table, who can use the church's
fine china, and rations of post-it notes that come with church work, Jinkins at the offset
reminds us that "the kingdom of God is not immune to irritation and annoyance," insert a
great sigh of relief for those new pastors reading this, "and the church is not an idealist's
abstraction or a Utopia," writes Jenkins, "The church doesn't hover twelve feet off the
ground. Whatever miracles of transformation and formation God is up to in the church, they
happen right where you live and worship" (7). Our preaching and pastoral care happens
under the strangest and graceless of circumstances, but no matter what, we are always called
to remember that in life and in death, we are God's. And if we're anything else, we are
missing the point.

Jinkins' real kicker is perhaps unexpected. Sometimes those hard-to-love
dysfunctional members in our church are, in fact, the best teachers and gifts God has given
us. A tough pill to swallow. But an essential lesson, perhaps the number one lesson, for new
pastors of all ages to learn and appreciate, again and again. After all, according to St.
Gregory, the church is a "weird beast," and "the pastor is more likely to be just another
orangutan in God's ecclesiastical zoo. Christ himself is the zookeeper, the caretaker" (8, 9).

After reading this book, one thing is clear. A pastor's road of discipleship is not
meant to be a road walked alone. We are all in this together, and Jenkins reminds us that the
great friendships of our time are essential to Christ's ministry in the world. I hope you enjoy
this book as much as I have.

Joshua Stewart, First Presbyterian Church, Fort Worth, Texas

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Ashland Theological Journal 2006

Halbert Weidner, Grief, Loss, and Death: The Shadow Side of Ministry, The Haworth
Pastoral Press, 2006. 81 pp., cloth, $19.95.

Weidner writes this book for the wounded minister. The shadow side of ministry
according to this insightfiil author is the human side. It is the side of ministry that lives
outside of the professional role of pastor. How does a pastor deal with inevitable grief, loss
and death on a personal level? At the same time how does one handle such disasters on a
professional level?

The author, who is pastor of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Honolulu, Hawaii,
writes from his experience in a Catholic parish. However ministers of all denominations
would profit from exposure to this book.

It will help prepare caregivers for the stress on their personal lives by the demands of
ministry. A seminary class on practical ministry would be wise to include this book on a
reading list for new pastors.

"The shadow side of ministry shoots a bullet through the brain that does not kill or
prevent thinking or feeling. But the bullet creates a hole, a long, hollow, empty chasm that
thinking and feeling must somehow bypass. The wounded minister does not recover the
previous self, cannot remember what the old self thought or felt. Like a veteran of a secret
war, there may be a new life after the shamefiil wound, but no public way to heal. But there is
a public way of speaking about it and this may help relieve some of the shame and some of
the self-blaming."

Treatment of individual subjects brought up in the book is profound but not
extensive. Weidner does not pretend to have an 'academic' answer for many of the issues he
uncovers. His uncovering of them however is important.

Cliff Stewart

David L. Bartlett, What's Good About This News? Preaching from the Gospels and
Galatians. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2003. 152 pp., paper, $19.95.

This book consists of David Bartlett' s Lyman Beecher Lectures along with
accompanying sermons that serve as sermonic example of each lecture. Bartlett is committed
to Good News. He teaches homiletics at Yale Divinity School and his practical instructions to
his students prove invaluable throughout the book. For example: "I nag new preachers not to
nag. I urge them to try the following experiment: Try preaching a sermon that does not once
say 'we ought' or 'you ought' or 'we must' or 'you must' or 'let us remember that...' which is
always just a veiled rhetorical way of saying 'we must.'

The context for these Beecher Lectures is that they were delivered within days of
the September 1 1, 2001 terrorist attacks. Bartlett is very much sensitive to the context of this
bad news. He is able to use it effectively in his emphasis on good news from the Gospels.

He is attempting to describe different aspects of the good news from each of the
four gospels and the letter to the Galatians. What is it that makes the gospel - gospel in
various strains of scripture? In the local church setting this reviewer would comment that the
lectures and sermons are intellectually out of reach of the normal non-academic setting, but
they are not to be dismissed. This book could be the start of a preacher looking at each of the
four Gospels asking the same question Bartlett asks in this series of lectures and sermons.
What's good about this news? The answers might surprise you.

Cliff Stewart

145

• 'V Book Reviews

Brian K. Blount and Gary Wayne Charles, Preaching Mark in Two Voices. Louisville:
Westminster John Knox Press, 2002. 273 pp., paper, $24.95.

More books in the pastor's library need to be written like this preaching text on the
Gospel of Mark. Blount, an African American seminary professor (Princeton Theological
Seminary) and Charles, a suburban local church pastor (Old Presbyterian Meeting House,
Alexandria, VA) team up to write an effective commentary with examples of sermons that
emerge from good exegesis.

What makes this exposition even stronger is the diverse cultures from which each
author emerges. It provides a dimension to the book that is not often found. In fact, I am
aware that Ashland Theological Seminary is attempting this same kind of diverse cultural
teaching in many courses.

Professor Blount's honesty and insight into his own background reflects one who
both knows his text and also applies it to his life both past and present. The sermon entitled
'Makes Me Want to Holler' is one that should be in an anthology of sermons that cause one
to not just talk about the faith but put it into action. Blount, of course is a well-known New
Testament scholar whose analysis of the text reflects a depth that Charles cannot match.
However, Charles has his own moments of sermonic insight that is hard to match also. His
reflections on the demoniac of Mark 5 alongside a personal encounter with schizophrenia are
one the reader will not forget.

If one is preaching through the Gospel of Mark I would suggest that this volume is
indispensable to getting to the heart of the text and at the same time modeling preaching that
takes the text to the heart of the reader.

Cliff Stewart

Sally A. Brown, Patrick D. Miller, eds.. Lament: Reclaiming Practices in Pulpit, Pew, and
Public Square. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2005. 167 pp., paper, $24.95.

Edited by Brown and Miller, this collection of essays/sermons focusing on the
subject of lament provides a diverse look at an aspect of faith and worship that has largely
fallen to disuse in American culture. Duff, in her essay of 'Recovering Lamentation as a
Practice in the Church', notes that in the Old Testament book of Psalms, Lament psalms far
outnumber the Psalms of Praise. However in a commonly used Presbyterian hymnal the
responsive readings include praise-oriented psalms at a ratio of sixteen to one!

The Princeton Theological faculty members who contributed to this volume
provide an interesting assortment of perspectives. New Testament professor Brian Blount
provides a striking 'Lament' sermon that is characteristic of his rich African American
background and sensitivities. Ellen Charry shares personal insights dealing with the untimely
death of her husband.

From the introduction is this statement: '...what ultimately shapes Biblical lament is
not the need of the creature to cry its woe, but the faithfulness of the God who hears and
acts.'

This book bridges the gap between theoretical theology and real life existential
situations of loss and grief It is very helpfril to the pastor who wants to embrace this kind of
honest prayer in worship.

Cliff Stewart

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Ashland Theological Journal 2006

J. Kent Edwards, Effective First-Person Biblical Preaching: The Steps from Text to Narrative
Sermon. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005.

Did you know that it is possible to bake your own bread? Sadly, most people do
not. They say that bread-making requires a skill only the most well-trained chefs can
acquire. But give that same skeptic a slice of bread mixed and kneaded by your own hands,
cut while still warm from the oven, and there is the possibility that you will have won a new
convert.

Kent Edwards will in the same way convert the most jaded preacher into believing
that it is possible to preach a sermon so warm and inviting, so crackling with energy and
excitement, so filled with richness and depth that your hearers will come away having feasted
on the word of God. Kent's goal in his book Effective First Person Biblical Preaching is to
move preachers out of their well-worn style of expository preaching into using the richness
of narrative preaching. He says "The primary reason I preach narrative passages of Scripture
in a narrative style is to be faithful to the biblical text. I want to say what God said in a
biblical text, and only what God said in a biblical text. I cannot be faithfiil to the meaning of
the original text without being homiletically respectful of its genre" (pp. 20-21 ).

Kent makes it seem possible that anyone can bake their own bread, I mean, preach
their own first person narrative sermon. He accomplishes this through an engaging writing
style that describes his own successes and failures in narrative preaching. He gives
invaluable suggestions and practical advice every preacher can use even if he or she never
preaches a narrative sermon. However, for those who have the desire to preach a narrative
sermon, he makes the impossible seem possible. He does so by describing sermon
preparation as a series of steps, not unlike a recipe, and by insisting on the importance of
developing conflict and tension as absolutely essential in making the sermon interesting,
vital, and effective.

Kent divides his book into three parts. The first two parts describe the separate
halves of the sermon preparation task: the exegetical stage and the homiletical stage. In part
one he invites the preacher to exegete a narrative passage of Scripture in order to determine
the single big idea inherent in the story itself Part two is to take all the passion and energy of
the story and prepare a presentation of that same idea in a story that connects with us in our
totally different culture and context. Part three of the book answers frequently asked
questions.

Kent's description of the questions to ask and the process to use in preparing the
sermon moves along in concise, readable style. By the time you finish the book you say, "I
can do that!" Then he concludes with several narrative sermons - both written out and on an
enclosed CD-ROM - that demonstrate effective first-person biblical preaching. You have not
only learned how to bake bread; you have eaten it too.

Douglas J. Pretorius, St Paul Lutheran Church, Bellville, OH

J. Ellsworth Kalas, Preaching the Calendar: Celebrating Holidays and Holy Days.
Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004. 136 pp. , paper, $14.95.

The author is now professor of Homiletics at Asbury Theological Seminary, and
has a rich background of service as a pastor. His suggestion is that pastors consider preaching
the calendar. For many years pastors have been urged to preach with the Bible in one hand
and the newspaper in the other. Why not also put a calendar into the hand that holds the
Bible? Don't many people come to church on certain Sundays of the calendar year with
certain expectations? Kalas suggests that the preacher acknowledge this fact and consider

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Book Reviews

sermons that take seriously the particular day in the yearly calendar. This book's simple
format is taking sixteen recognizable days in the calendar, providing a brief introduction to
the particular day along with a sample sermon. The sermons are of uneven quality but they do
stimulate creative thought for the sermon writer. Of particular interest is the discussion and
sermon on 'Low Sunday.' Not to be overlooked are the short but valuable histories of special
Sundays in the church year. Use this book for sermon starter ideas and focus.

Cliff Stewart

Dean Borgman, Hear My Story: Understanding the Cries of Troubled Youth. Peabody:
Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 2003. 415 pp., paper, $19.95.

In the Preface of his book Hear My Story: Understanding the Cries of Troubled
Youth, Dean Borgman outlines a number of goals for the volume. He wants to bring the
suffering of youth to attention, to look for a holistic solution to the problem by taking into
account the hurts of other nations, and provide a resource for those people working with these
troubled youth. His method of accomplishing these goals is telling stories of triumph and
defeat in youths' lives, thus the title of his book. He emphasizes this power of stories in the
first chapter "The Postmodern Challenge... and Stories" and reiterates it often throughout the
book. For all the emphasis he places on telling stories, however, Borgman fails to provide
readers with a significant amount of them. And those included are often told in third person,
thus taking the voice away from the troubled youth.

Borgman organizes his book in a manner that will allow it to be used as a reference
book. He divides the text first into four sections: Context and Scope of Trouble; Growing
Up Healthy and Unhealthy; The Problem of Violence; and Addictions, Healing, and
Reconciliation. He farther divides these sections into chapters. And within these chapters,
he divides the material with bold headings, making it relatively easy to locate a specific
passage. He concludes each chapter with "Questions for Reflection", which primarily
prompts personal reflection, and "Resources", which lists books, videos, and websites to
consult for more information. These are both very worthwhile additions to the book, inviting
readers to pause and digest the information in each chapter and to seek fiirther details about
the ideas presented.

Borgman believes that ultimately Jesus is the solution to the problems of troubled
youth. He spends all of Chapter 3: "Facing Troubled People with Jesus" discussing Jesus'
role as healer and inserts Scripture references throughout the rest of the book. Borgman also
emphasizes that we must understand how youth got into trouble before we can help get them
out. Thus, he discusses many factors that might have led to problems, from the lack of father
involvement to social disorders. Then he discusses the problems themselves, covering timely
issues like school shootings, bullying, and life in ghettos. He concludes his book with what
we might consider the toughest issues: suicide, murder, drugs and alcohol, and sexual
struggles. And true to his purpose, he does examine the troubles of youth in terms of the
world, not just this country, often comparing American statistics with worldwide statistics.
He provides good amounts of factual data, citing studies, polls, and statistics. He mixes in
some interviews, and the occasional story.

In his Preface, Borgman offers some very pertinent advice: read the book in parts.
Don't attempt to read it cover to cover, as the material is thick. He suggests exploring first
the chapters that are most appealing, then reading the others when appropriate. This book is
415 pages long and indeed thick, not necessarily in topic, as he suggests, but in writing style.
Borgman tends to wander in his discussions, use language that is not as precise as it could be
and use language that is vague.

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Ashland Theological Journal 2006

As Borgman suggests, the youth worker might be the person most interested in this
book. The material could provide a glimpse into the mind of a youth the leader is struggling
to work with. Hear My Story plays to a very specific audience, and those outside of this
audience may not want to delve into this lengthy book.

Michelle Skupski-Bissell

J.O. Balswick, P.E.King, K.S.Reimer, The Reciprocating Self: Human Development in
Theological Perspective. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2005. 334 pp., paper, $24.

I have taught courses in Human Growth & Development and Developmental
Psychology for a number of years and have always found the standard textbooks to have a
common problem — they give little or no serious attention to the spiritual aspect of human
development. Additionally, as authors Balswick, King and Reimer note, existing
developmental theories lack a guiding teleology (goal) of human development. This book is a
refreshing answer to the problem and so much more. In fact, the authors begin the book by
stating clearly their purpose in writing: "to present an integrated view of human development
that is based on social science research and biblical truths" (p. 9).

The book is written in three parts. Part One is comprised of five chapters that lay
the foundation upon which the rest of the book builds. Chapter one describes the current state
of developmental theories as having the developmental dilemma of not moving beyond a
naturalistic teleology. The authors cite a number of reasons for this and then discuss how
modem theorists seem to be shifting their focus from individual development to that of
personal development in the context of relationships with others. From a Christian
worldview, the authors expand the sphere of relationships to include a relationship with God.
They define the reciprocating self as "an emerging aspect of personal identity understood in
the context of relationship, both with God and with others" (p. 22) with the best relational
contexts for healthy development being rich in "unconditional love commitment, gracing,
empowering, and intimacy" (p. 25) and that there is a certain mutuality of influence that
occurs in these environments.

Chapter two elucidates the concept of the reciprocating self from a theological
perspective and discusses in depth why it is important for us to understand God's intention
for human development. The issue of teleology is addressed in connection with a discussion
of the imago Dei. The authors state, "Being created in the image of God is very important to
a Christian view of human development" (p. 31). It is fi-om understanding that God has
created humans in His image that one can begin to comprehend how egregiously hollow the
views of human development are that have embraced only a naturalistic paradigm. Chapter
Three focuses fiirther on delineating the conditions for optimal development in relationships.
The authors contrast: personal relationships rich in covenant (unconditional love)
commitment with those that are conditional in nature; responses to failure that are gracing
with those that are shaming; utilization of power and resources for empowering others with
those that seek to control; and relationships that promote intimacy with those that promote
isolation. Chapters Four and Five present an overview of developmental theories that help the
reader better understand the concept of the reciprocating self The authors interact with the
theories to show strengths and limitations in them in relation to their theological model. The
works of Lemer (developmental systems theory), Vygotsky (social context theory), and
Bronfenbrenner (ecological theory) have much in common with the theological model
presented and are intricately woven into the fabric of each of the chapters in the next section.

Part Two contains six chapters that present the reciprocating self as encountering
various issues associated with the life-span stages of Infancy, Childhood, Adolescence,

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Book Reviews

Emerging Adulthood and Young Adulthood, Middle Adulthood, and Late Adulthood. While
not exhaustive, the authors present a number of developmental issues encountered at the
different stages as seen through the lens of the reciprocating 5e//"model. These chapters do a
masterful job of approaching developmental issues from a Christian perspective. For
example, in discussing attachment in infancy, the authors discuss whether there is any
connection between the quality of relationship (between infant and caregiver) and the ability
to form a relationship with God in later development. Biblical references are also given
where appropriate in dealing with developmental issues. An example of this is found in the
section on care for the elderly in Late Adulthood (chapter 1 1). Each of the chapters addresses
the impact of various ecosystems upon development of the reciprocating self dind the type of
support that is necessary for optimal outcomes.

Part Three is comprised of three chapters that have direct connection with practical
ministry in the local church. Chapter 12 addresses the topic of morality. Utilizing Kohlberg's
theory as a starting point, the authors build the case for moving beyond stages of moral
development toward the development of moral transformation of the person via the
reciprocating relationship with God and others. Chapter 13 deals with spiritual and religious
development. The authors delineate between these two concepts before discussing such
development from a theological perspective. The works of Fowler and Loder are examined
prior to a section on differentiated faith. The chapter ends with a proposed model for the
development of differentiated faith as conceptualized by the authors. The book concludes
with a chapter titled Turning Steeples into Scaffolds that addresses "the wider religious and
social context within which a differentiated faith might best be developed, nurtured, and
maintained" (p. 285). It seems fitting that a chapter should be devoted to how the Church
(which is made up of persons at all phases of development) can become a community that
promotes healthy development. The chapter ends with some practical principles for helping
such a community develop.

This book is an excellent resource for anyone interested in human development
from a Christian perspective. It contains a set of discussion questions for each chapter (listed
in the Appendix) that provide opportunity for personal study and reflection on the material
presented. I believe this book has much to offer and I recommend this book as supplemental
reading for the graduate courses I teach.

David P. Mann

C. K. Robertson, ed.. Religion as Entertainment. New York: Peter Lang, 2002. 301 pp.,
paper, $29.95.

In his introduction, C. K. Robertson, the editor of this book, writes that his goal in
gathering these essays is to "promote broader and deeper conversation for students, scholars,
and educated readers regarding the influence of religion on our culture and the influence of
our culture on various aspects of religion" (3). The wide range of topics covered here, based
on the underlying theme of religion and its connection to entertainment, provides a variety of
starting points for good conversations and discussions seeking biblical and culturally relevant
solutions to challenging problems for the church within the American culture.

Robertson primarily intended this book as a "college or seminary textbook,
addressing issues pertinent to classes in history, religion or cultural studies" (3). While this
book could be used to spur discussions in the classroom, it may contain too many topics and
be too broad to cover in a class. However, it could possibly be better used as a resource for
research in the history or culture of any of the topics addressed within the essays. One could
read a single essay within this compilation for study, research, or discussion on any one of

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the individual topics, or one could read the book as a whole in order to study or discuss the
broad topic of religion and entertainment.

The book is divided into two main sections. The first one is entitled "How
Religion Is Used as Entertainment" and covers a wide variety of topics from the Awakening
to religious cults to televangelism. Michael Rusk begins this collection with a discussion of
the Great Awakening and the development of the American expectation to be entertained in
worship. Rusk focuses on Whitefield's and Edwards' sermons and their development as
religious entertaiimient.

In this first section, Donald Heet writes an essay on preaching. Heet discusses the
difference between preaching as entertaining versus preaching as mere entertainment. He
uses John Chrysostom (the Golden Mouthed) as an example of a good preacher who does not
"succumb to the temptation of becoming an entertainer, but [has] the obligation not to be
dull" (69).

Robert Viau writes an essay on religious cults and their replacement of traditional,
established religion for many in the U. S. Viau writes that the theatrical techniques of the
charismatic leaders of cults are used to create "shock, surprise, and extreme sensation to
make a strong impact on potential followers in a world in which most people's senses have
been deadened by constant bombardment" (119). Viau argues that many cult followers adopt
this entertaining spirituality in place of more traditional religion because of many cults'
willingness to arise to meet "cultural, social, and political problems that the current
established orthodoxies could not solve" (115).

While the first section is about religion as entertainment, the second section is
about "How Religion Is Used in Entertainment." The essays in this section also cover a wide
range of topics relating to how entertainment is portrayed in television, movies, and music.
James McGrath starts this section off with an essay on religion in science fiction television
and movies. McGrath discusses the different portrayals of religion and religious ideas within
science fiction and then goes on to conclude his essay by writing, "Religion in science fiction
is thus a prophetic announcement of possible futures for religious traditions, and provides
religious communities with an opportunity to address not merely contemporary issues, but
future ones as well" (168).

Robertson himself writes an essay included in this section about "Ministers in the
Movies." Robertson traces the development of the portrayal of ministers in the movies from
heroes to hypocrites. He then ends his essay by discussing an interesting idea of movie
directors as a type of ministers "offering their own grand visions of God, life, and existential
meaning in new and creative ways" (237).

S. Clark Heindel discusses the youth culture's fi-equent replacement of religion
with music in his essay "It's Only Rock and Roll." Heindel writes, due to the church's
problem with initiating youth into the community, many youth's "search for meaning, joy,
love, took them [...] to the rock music culture — not to traditional Judeo-Christian avenues"
(277). Heindel 's point is that many youth have felt more entertained and accepted in the rock
culture than in the traditional religious culture.

These six essays are only a taste of the fourteen essays within this compilation.
Combined, these essays discuss many of the avenues of the main topic of religion and
entertainment. From Eastern meditation to Elvis, these essays provide challenging questions
that need to be, not only discussed, but also answered.

One difficulty, as one can probably see from this review, is that this book is very
disjointed at times. It is often difficult at first to determine how some of the specific essays
fit into the broad topic. The drastic differences between topics often make it difficult to

151

Book Reviews

smoothly travel through the book's various themes. However, the wide range of topics does
provide a colorful mix of questions and problems addressing the church today.

Liza Miller, John Brown University

Nigel Brush, The Limitations of Scientific Truth: Why Science Can 't Answer Life 's Ultimate
Questions. Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic and Professional, 2005. 280 pp., paper, $14.99.

"Science can be a seductive alternative to Biblical truth-but how trustworthy are the
claims of science? Brush examines the inherent limitations of scientific truth and reveals why
Biblical truth is the only authority that can be completely trusted."

"Science is a process of searching for the truth, and there are few things more
certain in science than the fact that as the process continues, current theories will be revised
and eventually abandoned in favor of new theories." From the Preface

These are just two statements that can justly sum up the work by Dr. Nigel Brush,
assistant professor of geology as Ashland University in Ohio. Dr. Brush received his Ph.D.,
from UCLA. He is a committed Christian and scientist and has conducted archaeological,
geological, and environmental fieldwork in England, Canada, New York, Ohio and
California.

Brush's book needed to be written. It will help the Christian to understand why the
Bible is still the leading document of absolute truth.

Brush divides his book into seven parts:

Part 1 : The Human Quest: Seeking Truth- Here he deals with "Ultimate Questions"
and three pathways to truth - religion, philosophy, and science.

Part 2: Shifting Sands: The Temporal Limitations of Scientific Truth- In this
section Brush reviews revolutions in astronomy from Ptolemy to Einstein, as well as the
ruling paradigm of truth in science.

Part 3: Faulty Foundations: The Logical Limitations of Scientific Truth- Brush
answers the question. Why does scientific truth change? In answering the question, he takes
us on a journey through Bacon, Hume, the Vienna Circle, Popper, Lakatos, Feyerabend, and
wonders why there is a reluctance to abandon falsehood.

Part 4: Biased Methods: The Cultural Limitations of Scientific Truth- What a
journey we are taken on in this section of Brush's work: Seeing science as history, literature,
and propaganda; Traveling through notables such as: Gould, Lewin, Ferris, Morton and
Broca, and others. Here Brush strives to help us understand the self-examination that is
taking place in science.

Part 5: Undiscovered Countries: The Spatial Limitations of Scientific Truth- This
is a journey through the micro-universe, macro-universe, and the hidden universe showing
why absolute truth will not be found through scientific research.

Part 6: False Interpretations: The Empirical Limitations of Scientific Truth- Brush
examines the greatest of all obstacles to a successftil dialogue between science and nature —
the empirical limitations. We are introduced to Stephen Hawking, C. S. Lewis, Carl Sagan,
the Apostle Paul and others. We share a journey on purposeful design, and subjectivism.

Part 7: The Human Quest: Finding Truth- In conclusion. Brush presents a model
for science. Here there will be some surprises to some minds. Science should be seen as a
tool and as a servant. Science does not provide absolute truth and should not be feared.
Christians should see science as useful. Christians also need to face along with scientists,
what Brush believes to be the real ultimate question: "How will you interpret this evidence?

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Ashland Theological Journal 2006

vVill you cast your lot with the age-old rebellion of mankind against God, or will you submit
!:o His authority and mercy?" (p. 276).

Brush has given us a primer on scientific data from astronomy, to biology, to
quantum theory, to cosmology, and other areas. His book is a wonderful resource to have at
Dne's fingertips. He has also given to me, a new assurance, a stronger affirmation that the
vvord of God is with us to assist into the journey of absolute truth as no other evidence can.
Science and philosophy can assist us on the journey, but it is only the Word of God that can
Tuly bring us to the absolute truth: God as found in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit of
he Living God.

Do we need to fear science and philosophy? No! When it is understood that they

ire tools, and servants of God to help us to know truth, then there is nothing to fear.

hristians need to remember, all truth is truth from God, no matter where that truth is found.

rhus, we are liberated. Science is not a threat to our faith, because the evidence shows that

science cannot produce absolute truth.

I hope that Brush's book is will received and that the word is spread about this
ivork. It is truly worth the reading and the sharing, and the confidence that will grow in the
Dcliever's life from spending time with this marvelous work.

' «' I G. Edward Wishart

Fleming Rutledge, The Battle for Middle-earth: Tolkien's Divine Design in The Lord of the
Rings. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004, 204, 373 pp., paper, $20.00.

Widely held to be one of the best loved stories of our time, J. R. R. Tolkien's
Fantasy saga The Lord of the Rings is also cherished by many as a great Christian allegory.
As such, many authors have contributed to the parsing of Tolkien's tale into themes, motifs,
|and archetypes. The attempts of such authors can be stymied, however, by the fact that
Tolkien often expressed his preference for the power of story over the ham-handedly didactic
nature of direct allegory. In light of this difficulty, Rutledge uniquely honors Tolkien's intent
by structuring his analysis around the progression of the Rings narrative rather than a
thematic outline of his own design. In doing so, Rutledge gradually reveals what he calls the
["deep narrative" underlying Tolkien's work and how it touches the very heart of what it
[means to be a Christian struggling against evil in a fallen world.

! While it is difficult to tweeze the arguments of arguments of an analysis that is so

iorganically drawn, it can be said that Rutledge 's book is strongest where it discusses the
issues of divine election, human susceptibility to evil, and the importance of empathy. In
tracing the various paths of Tolkien's central characters, Rutledge shows that all three of the
above topics are at the heart of each conflict and that successful resolution comes primarily
out of the characters' ability to rely on the hope that good is at work in the world rather than
their own ability to judge. In making this point, the author frequently takes a slightly more
devotional bent as he applies this lesson to our own human history.

While Rutledge's unique format lends to the narrative-like build of his analysis, it
also, in the opinion of this reader, weakens his book a bit. The text sometimes seems to
ramble aimlessly - dropping and picking up points as they appear in the course of the saga.
At times, one longs for the point for point structure that the author chose to avoid.
Furthermore, the book is slightly diminished by Rutledge's frequent reference to current
events such as the terrorist attacks of September 1 1* and America's military efforts in Iraq.
Such references give this analysis of Tolkien's timeless story the flavor of dated political
argument.

153

V Book Reviews

Nevertheless, The Battle for Middle-earth is a worthy purchase for those who
believe that Tolkien's saga is one of the "stories that really matter," to quote the character
Sam Gamgee. It will lend such a reader fresh eyes to see the Christian heart that wrote the
tale and a new appreciation for the power of storytelling. If nothing else, it will inspire the
reader to crack open his or her copy of The Lord of the Rings once more, and that's a
welcome inspiration to any true fan. \ ( , <■ ,, ':'■■. .

' Adam P. Kime

Ben Witherington III and Christopher Mead Armitage, The Poetry of Piety: An Annotatea
Anthology of Christian Poetry. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002. 172 pp„ paper,
$16.99.

Although Ben Witherington III and Christopher Mead Armitage never directly state
a purpose for their book The Poetry of Piety: An Annotated Anthology of Christian Poetry,
their brief introduction suggests that they want readers to recognize the tradition of religious
poetry and discover its relevance for today. The Poetry of Piety is an anthology of work
beginning in the mid- 1500s with one poem by Sir Walter Ralegh. The remaining entries
following chronologically and end with one poem by Peter Kocan, bom in 1947. The
chronological ordering of poems highlights the progression of poetry through the years.
Thus, there is a high representation of sonnets, some poems written in quatrains, and very
few written in free verse, as free verse has been popular only a short time compared to the
more traditional styles of writing.

Each entry is set up in the same manner. Witherington and Armitage begin with a
brief biography of the poet, followed by a poem that addresses a Christian topic. The
commentary on the poem is divided into two sections: "The Poetry" and "The Piety". As
one might expect, "The Poetry" section discusses the poem in literary terms focusing on the
composition of the poem. "The Piety" discusses the apparent and suggested religious
elements present in the poem. This division in the commentary is one of the shortcomings oi
this book. It is difficult to separate form and function, which the authors attempt to do in
dividing their commentary in two sections. Too many times their "Poetry" section made
comments that should have appeared under "Piety", and vice versa. It might have served the
poems and the book as a whole better just to have one fluent commentary following each
poem. The discussion of each poem ends with "Questions for Reflection" that invites the
reader to reflect on his or her life in light of the message the poem conveys.

Anthologies of poetry as a subgenre do a disservice to the poets and the poems they
contain. Poems are meant to be read in the context they were written. Plucking a poem out
of the book it was published in is like reading a verse of Scripture without considering the
verses before and after it. This said, Witherington and Armitage do a fair job in preserving
the integrity of the poems. For more famous poets who produced lots of work, the authors
include more than one poem. John Donne is represented by 6 poems whereas F. R. Scott, by
only one. Often times the authors also provide a historical context for the poem, which
further places it in its original context.

The ideal reader of this book is one who is just beginning to appreciate poetry. It
shows the transformation of poetry over the years and provides brief commentary as insight
into the poems themselves. The reader should also be one who is concerned with
appreciating poetry more for its insights than as an art. A subtitle for this book should have
included the word devotional, as the entries and their Questions for Reflection read more like
devotionals than as scholarly discussions of poetry. Thus, The Poetiy of Piety has a place

154

Ashland Theological Journal 2006

among today's anthologies as it appeals to a very specific audience, one that gains members
rapidly in a society that shies away from the challenges of poetry.

Michelle Skupski-Bissell

155

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ISSN: 1044-6494
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ASHLAND THEOLOGICAL JOURNAL

2007

CONTENTS

'he Discovery of god 1

R. Patrick McLaughlin

Jicea and its Aftermath: A Historical Survey of the First Ecumenical

Council and the Ensuing Conflicts 19

J. David Ray

slam and Current Realities in the Middle East 33

Dale F. Walker

'reventing Burnout in Ministry - A Health and Wellness Approach 49

David P. Mann

Moving Toward the Kingdom and the Seven Deadly D's 57

Gene Heacock

Postmodernism: A Review Article 99

L. Daniel Hawk
Book Reviews 103

VOLUME XXXIX

Published and copyright held by Ashland Theological Seminary, Ashland, Ohio, 44805.

Printed in the USA.

Editorial Preface

This issue of the Ashland Theological Journal, Hke all which have
preceded it, is dedicated to the service of God and his Kingdom. While it is a
pleasure to minister in his name from the pulpit, the lectern, or the counseling
office, it is also a high calling to minister to you whose faces we cannot see,
those actively involved in 'front-line' work for God. An aspect of God's
Kingdom is the topic of an article by Dr. Gene Heacock, Executive Director of
the Sandberg Leadership Center which is providing excellent service for
leadership fransformation in the church and society. Dr. David Mann of the ATS
counseling faculty provides help in an area all too needful for today's minster,
prevention of ministry burnout. David Ray, a recent graduate, shows that church
conflict, a frequent cause of pastoral stress, is not limited to today's church, but
has been evident since early in the life of the church. More current conflict is the
subject of an article by Dale Walker of Asbury Seminary. It is one of several
presentations earlier this spring on the encounter between Christianity and
Islam. Also included is a fictional presentation by a recent graduate, Ryan
McLaughlin, showing that one's thinking can usefiilly be piqued in other ways
than academic reflection. We hope that there is much among these, as well as
the various reviews, which might encourage, and challenge each of you.

This issue reaches you ate a different time of year than is customary.
We are initiating changes so that publication preparations may be done during
the summer rather than during the already overburdened academic year.

September 5, 2007

David W. Baker

The Sovereign Lord is my strengthi ... He will bring me safely over the mount]

(Habakkuk.

DOCTOR OF MINISTRY PROGRA

AT ASHLAND THEOLOGICAL SEMINA

"For more than 30 years, Ashlar\)
Theological Seminary has been offering tt,\
Doctor of Ministry Degree. Your D.Mi^
experience can be designed to match yoi [
ministry need, passion and vision. All ofth
is done in the environment ofcollegial tear,
ing, academic excellence, and spiritui
formation. " — Dr Leroy A. Solomon, Deo

D.MiN. Tracks Offered;

Transformationtu. LEADERSH]

The realities of spiritual leadership
in an era of constant change

Spiritual Formation

Personal guidance and formation
in the image of Christ

Formational Counseling

Integrating spiritual direction, inner
healing, and Christian counseling

Black Church Studies

Individualized programs
under the direction of Dr. Bill Myers

Canadian Students

Half the coursework is at Canterbury
College, Windsor, Ontario

Independent Design

Choose classes and create courses
that meet personal needs

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Ashland Theological Journal 2007

The Discovery of god

by R. Patrick McLaughlin

I should begin by introducing myself to you. My name is R. Patrick
McLaughlin, and I am the author of this story. I feel it is necessary to establish
my identity due to the nature of the narrative I hope to share. Everything
considered, I recognize that this is an odd introduction, but in order for you to
fully appreciate the world I have created (yes, I realize I am using past tense
even though from your point of view I have not yet created this world), I believe
it is necessary.

In this story you will recognize my words, which are the source of my
creative power in my world, in three forms. The first is in this plain format
lacking quotation marks. This is my narration of occurring events and also my
commentary. The second form will be italicized, also lacking quotation marks.
This will be my dialogue with characters in the story. The third form does not
need to be explained, as I am sure that you will recognize it when it happens.
Now. . . let there be creation.

It was quiet, a stilled silence, and dark. How can I describe what it
looked like? It was the absence of anything. I will call it "nothing." That is
how things were. But I replaced the nothing. At first there was only white, like
a blank canvas. That is where you joined me. And now, with your permission,
we will take a journey together, a journey that will begin and end with the
discovery of god.

His name will be Dorim. That is what I will call him. What will he be
like? I hope he will appreciate all that I have done for him, and all that I will do
for him. I hope he becomes everything I want him to become. I hope he turns
out the way I want. But how could he not? I love him dearly. Before creating
him I already know that I will do anything for him.

Dorim, Dorim, wake up.

Dorim lay sleeping on the floor of the earth, amidst the leaves and
stones. Turning slightly, he seems to be aware that I am calling him. Still, he
does not answer.

Dorim, it is time to wake up.

"Who is calling me?" he asks as he slowly sits up.

It is a shame really, because I enjoy watching him sleep. He is so
innocent.

R. Patrick McLaughlin is a graduate from ATS with the MAR and MA (Theological
Studies) degrees.

The Discovery of god

"Who is calling me?" he asks again. I should respond.

It is I.

"Who are you?" he asks.

I am the author.

"The author?"

I appreciate his curiosity. I hope he never loses it or misuses its
potential.

Yes, the author. Everything you see, feel, and experience is the result
of what I write. Another way to think of me is the creator, if that helps.

Dorim stands up and looks around. There are trees randomly scattered
on rolling hills where long blades of grass get caught in the high wind.
Cascading like waves in the ocean, they peacefully sway as far as he can see.
The sky is bright blue. White clouds dance across it, occasionally breaking the
warm sunlight.

Animals, both large and small, run together through the fields. In the
air, birds swoop and glide with all the grace of my imagination. The waters
thrive with seemingly infinite forms of life, all of them as splendid as the
deepest colors of my dreams.

On the horizon a vast chain of mountains stretches across the long
plains. The taller ones are capped with pure white snow. At their base rests a
thick forest with a great variety of plant life. Trees of different seed grow as
they climb the mountains toward the shorter peaks. Flowers of every color spill
out of the forest onto the open fields where streams make their way to endless
oceans.

Dorim stands in awe. The beauty of my world brings a beaming glow
to his face. It is a world in which vast diversity swirls together like melodies
intertwining into perfect harmony. Everywhere he looks, there is peace.
Everywhere he looks, there is abundant life.

Turning around, he sees a great tree in the distance. Towering high
above the other trees, it stands as a testament to my greatness. Its leaves dance
in the soft breezes, casting elusive shadows all about the earth. The greens and
yellows twirl in front of its thick branches. Like an intricate tapestry these
branches weave together forming a perfect sphere high above the ascending
trunkof the tree. It is truly a work of art.

He does not know this at the moment, but I have created this tree
retrospectively. He really cannot know, but I am attempting to make a point to
him, though I know he will not understand it. I have entered into the past to
create this tree. That is how things are as the author. Being outside of the story,
I have access to every point of time simultaneously. I can see the beginning and

Ashland TheologicalJournal 2007

the end even now. As a reader, you will understand this better within the next
1,312 words you read.

"It's all so beautiful," he says to me as he stares in wonderment. "I
have never seen anything like this before."

/ am glad you like it.

"I love it."

It is all yours.

"Mine?" he asks.

You may wonder, as I have just created Dorim, how he understands
what I am saying. Somehow, he does. I made him that way, so it is no surprise
to me. I say it is no surprise to me, but of course as the author I cannot really be
surprised. I always know what will happen next. Surely I cannot write anything
without knowing what I am writing.

"Are you still there?" he asks me.

When I am not speaking to him it is only natural for him to wonder if I
am still here. He cannot see me. How could he? He is a character in a story I
am creating, and I am the author outside of the story. We are in two very
different categories, Dorim and I. Even though I have an image in my mind that
is similar to myself as I write about him, we are utterly different from one
another. Thus, I could not write about our interaction any other way. The best I
could do is to describe myself to him in his terms, but he would not ftilly
understand. As a character in the story he could never comprehend what it is
like to be outside the story. So I only speak to him in metaphors describing
myself, and not me as I truly am; that is, as I am outside the story.

"Are you still there?" he asks again.

Yes, I am here.

"What did you mean when you said this is all mine?"

It is yours to take care of.

Dorim stands and looks out across the land. "What is this place
called?"

What would you like to call it?

"Lyria," he says.

Then 'Lyria ' it is.

Dorim looks in the distance, and there is smoke rising. It was only a
matter of time until his attention was drawn to it. A lengthy wall extends far
across the borders of Lyria. Behind it are strange rock formations, much less
natural than the mountains previously mentioned. They are symmetrical towers,
like high-standing skyscrapers in an unforgiving city.

He looks bewildered. "What is that?" he asks.

The Discovery of god

And so it begins. My breath is already stolen from me.

That is Andra, the land of avast city. r ,

"Andra?" he asks. "Can I go there?" '

Absolutely not, Dorim. Andra is a place far from Lyria. It is a single
massive city of jagged rocks and buildings. They are entangled together like a
dissonant chord, forming a hopeless snare. As the city is so far away from all
of my trees, it is infectious, polluted by a combination of its self-productivity and
its disposition. If you live there, you will surely become ill and die.

"Why not put your trees there as well then?"

/ cannot live in Andra, and my trees cannot live without me. Andra is
polluted because I am not there. That is its disposition.

Dorim turns to me in confusion. "Why aren't you there?"

I do not answer immediately. It is not the right moment. Sensing my
reluctance, Dorim moves quickly to another question.

"Did you create that place?" he asks. "You did say you are the creator,
right?"

This is a strange sensation. He is questioning me. In his heart, I know
his true thought is, 'Why did you create a place that could kill me?' I shall
answer his hidden question.

/ had to create it.

"Why?" he asks. "You said those who live there will die."

But that is only because those who are with me will live. Understand,
without me life will end. But I want you to live by your own choice. Without
Andra, there would only be Lyria. If that were the case, how could you choose
to live in Lyria?

"I am not sure I understand," he says.

/ know, Dorim. In time, the answers will come. Until then, you must
trust me.

Dorim smiles as he turns warmly back to the beautiful sights of Lyria.
"I do trust you," he says. "This place is perfect, and I have no need to leave. I
will stay with you, here in Lyria."

For the longest time, Dorim and I talk about a great many things. He
does amazingly well at his task of taking care of everything I have made. The
world beckons at his call in full submission and he in turn governs in love.

In the morning, when the dew is still fresh, he walks through the fields
stirring the animals to life. During the day he travels all throughout Lyria, from
the high mountains to the low valleys. Everywhere he goes, he tends to the life
of Lyria. Whether tree or flower, mammal or reptile, bird or fish, he gives the
greatest care to ensure their comfort.

Ashland Theological Journal 2007

As the sun slowly falls behind the horizon, he often stands on the cliffs
in the east and spreads his arms as the swift breezes blow in from the sea.
Closing his eyes, he imagines he is a bird taking flight over the forests. At
night, he lies down in the fields and stares into the sky, watching the lights
dance as he drifts into peaceftjl slumber.

However, over time he seems to grow overly inquisitive. Even with a
world as grand as my deepest imagination, he stands at the border and looks
onward. Part of him is not satisfied. Part of him feels alone. Worst of all, I find
him looking at Andra with silent curiosity. In his head, he hears a foreign voice
calling out to him. It is the voice of doubt. It is his own voice, but he does not
recognize it.

One day, I notice he is walking through the woods carrying a strange
rock. It is a rock fi^om the base of the outer wall at Andra.

Dorim, what is that you are carrying?

His face turns pale with a sensation that is new to him. It is fear.
"Nothing," he says through a quivering voice, "just this rock."

Where did you get it?

Looking long at the rock, Dorim takes a deep and long breath. "Why
won't you let me explore Andra?" he asks me.

/ told you Dorim, you will die if you go there. Andra is where I am not.

"How can you not be there?" he continues. "You made it. You must
have been there when you made it."

It does not work that way. I am everywhere, but not the way you
understand it.

"Then explain it to me."

You will not understand.

"Am I not intelligent enough?"

// has nothing to do with that. Your existence is simply not analogous
to mine. You cannot understand what my existence is like.

"Why did you make me that way? Why not make me able to
understand?"

It simply is not possible.

"Why not?" he asks, quite irritated.

/ can try to show you, but it will not make sense from your perspective.

"Please," he says, "just try."

Very well. Turn around.

Dorim turns around and sees a massive tree stretching up into the
beautifiil sky.

"What?" he asks me.

The Discovery of god

What about that tree?

"It is a great tree," he says. "You can see it from almost anywhere in
Lyria."

At this point, as I mentioned before, 1 ,249 words eariier to be exact, I
am returning to an earlier section of the story to write this tree into existence.

Ijust created it.

"Nonsense," he says, "this tree has been here as long as I can
remember."

Yes I know, but that is only because I just went back in the story to
create it.

"Went back?"

Into the past.

"No," he says in disbelief. "That's not possible. That tree has always
been there. I remember it."

/ am sure that is how it seems. I want you to trust me, Dorim, even
though you cannot understand.

"Are you keeping something from me?"

Dorim, you know that I would do anything for you. Have I ever given
you reason to doubt that?

"Take me the Andra then. Prove what you say is true."

You still do not understand. I cannot take you to Andra, because if I
were in Andra it would no longer be Andra; it would be Lyria.

"That doesn't make any sense!" His voice is escalating.

Look at the tree again.

Dorim, though goaded, turns again to look at the great tree.

What do you want to see? .•

"What do you mean?" '

What do you want to see happen to that tree? ^'

"Anything?" . . -

Anything.

Dorim shakes his head trying to make sense of our conversation. I can
tell he feels frustrated, as if I am giving him riddles rather than explaining
myself plainly to him. Finally, he decides to comply with my request. "Make it
glow," he commands.

The tree begins to glow vibrantly, as if reflecting the brightest light
from the sun. Dorim shields his eyes.

"Make it stop!" he cries.

Immediately the tree ceases to glow. Dorim slowly removes his hands
from his eyes.

Ashland Theological Journal 2007

"How do you do it?"

/ told you, Dorim, I am the author. I am the creator of everything you
experience. The world will bend to my words.

Dorim turns sharply. "And what about me?"

This is an interesting question.

What would you like to say?

"You can make me say something?"

Yes.

Dorim looks into the sky with disgust. "You can't make me say
anything."

Andra would be evil.

"You want me to say that?"

Yes.

"I won't say it," he cried out, "because I don't know it aside from you
telling me that."

You said you trusted me, Dorim. You need to trust me.

"I want to trust you. But how can I really trust you if I don't
understand you?"

/ make myself known to you. I have told you nothing false. Please trust
me, Andra would be evil.

"Then you created evil," he accuses.

No. Andra only has the power that you give it. If you do not live there,
it is good. As soon as you leave Lyria, Andra becomes evil. . i ,

"I don't understand."

To be in Lyria is to be with me. I needed to create a place other than
Lyria. If I did not, then you would be forced to live in Lyria. I have told you this
before. I have set before you two places, one is with me, and the other is apart
from me. Choose to be with me.

"And it would be evil for me to be apart from you?"

Yes.

"And the main difference between Andra and Lyria is your presence?"

Yes.

"So without Andra, I would not be able to choose to be with you."

Yes. Because I have done this, you can choose where to live. You can
choose to remain with me in Lyria.

"Then as long as I choose to stay in Lyria, Andra just means that I am
free to leave."

Yes.

"So, Andra is only a threat if I enter it."

The Discovery of god

And if you did enter it? ' .. • . '

"Then Andra would be evil."

But Dorira pauses after he says this. He looks down. He remembers
that this is exactly what I wanted him to say.

"If I stay here," he whispers desperately, "I will always say what you
want me to say."

I remain silent. I know that if he does what I want him to do, it is for
his own good.

"What kind of freedom is this?" he asks as he laughs to himself, almost
defiantly.

What?

"What kind of freedom is this?" he shouts at the top of his lungs.

I have made you free, Dorim.

"Do you control me like you control the great tree? At the whim of
your wit do I act?" <

No, you are different.

"How?"

Because you only act as you want to act. You only act in line with your
character, with your nature.

"But you gave me that character! You gave me that nature, didn't
you?" Dorim stands in a rage. "This is no kind of freedom!"

Turning from me, he walks away. He is leaving me. Before I made
him I decided I would do anything for him, and I know this will cost me
everything.

Dorim...

He pauses. Fiercely, he turns to me. "I know why you don't want to
me to go to Andra. It's because in Andra you won't have control over me
anymore. I will have control over myself! I won't need you there, because I
will become what you are!" ■

With this he turns again and continues walking. j

Dorim, come back. \

This time he does not respond. He does not even hesitate.

Dorim!

As he walks, he knows that I am with him, and will be as long as he is
in Lyria. He begins to run now, as if fearing either his conscience or my voice
will dissuade his pursuit. Suddenly, he stops and turns around. For the entire
reach of his sight, he sees only peace, swaying grass and beautiful trees against a
backdrop of majestic mountains. Everything he knows is there in Lyria.

Ashland TheologicalJournal 2007

Looking again in front of him, he sees a great stone wall. It is Andra.
His feet are flush with a large wooden door. I call to him, but he does not want
to hear me. He places his hand on the cold rock and walks along the wall with a
distorted smile on his face. For the first time, he feels truly free. Like silence
before a storm is his feeling of freedom before an intense slavery. After walking
for a while, he stops. Again, he stands before a large wooden door. In fact, it
looks exactly the same as the last door.

"That's odd," he says as he rubs his eyes.

He looks in both directions down the wall and sees no other door.
Quickly he moves farther along the wall about ten paces and then looks back.
There is no door there, but in front of him stands the same wooden door. It is
following him. Andra desires to have him. Taking a deep breath, he pushes on
it.

As the door opens, he sees it: tall grey towers on frost-covered bedrock.
There are endless streets and walls spilling forth in every direction. Everything
is faded and cold. Overhead a dull sky moves aimlessly along the horizon. The
calloused bricks loom over Dorim everywhere he turns. There is no life on the
floor or walls. The green plants and vibrant flowers of Lyria are nowhere to be
found. All is lifeless, colorless, distant and unfeeling. I call to him again, but he
does not hear me. Instead, he walks deep into Andra.

The city is a maze, its walls forming entangled corridors that lock their
prey inside them. With the passing of hours, the harsh comers of the buildings
shift to new positions, making the already impossible stone labyrinth a
perpetually changing secret. It is an unsolvable puzzle from the inside. And
that is where Dorim stands, lost inside this curse. I call to him again.

Dorim, please come back.

There is a pale look in his eyes. For a moment, his heart warms. Part
of him wants to return, but it cannot convince his more determined side. He
feels conflicted. Deep inside, he hears a muffled and distorted voice calling as if
from a distant dungeon. It proclaims my words, but only in vain. The greater
part of his resolve fights against me. In frustration, he strikes his head against a
rock to stop the voice he hears. Everything goes black. He falls asleep.

Time and time again this occurs. I can see that he does not respond to
my voice, at least not from this great void that separates us. No matter how
many times I try to call him, he does not listen. He is becoming consumed by
himself. I am not with him, not as I desire to be. He is alone, and he has left me
alone as well. At this rate, he will die soon. For now, if I cannot bring him out
of Andra, I will have to protect him while he lives there. As much as I want him
to return, I will have to give him instruction on how to survive in Andra. But no

The Discovery of god

amount of instruction can sustain him indefinitely while he is away from me.
The air is poisonous. Without the trees of Lyria, without my presence, he will
not survive long.

I want him to return. In his absence, the world has grown wild.
Throughout Lyria the peace that once reigned under Dorim's stewardship has
been replaced with chaos. All is spinning in disarray and confusion. The
animals have turned on one another without Dorim governing them. The plants
have grown untamed and competitive. I remember how they lived together in
harmony, but now all life has turned to one desire: self-preservation. Only the
fittest survive while the weak are left to the whims of the powerftil. Dorim's
relationship to the rest of my creation was an integral part to the world's design.
Without him, all has fallen into ruin. While he stays in Andra, the entire world
rejects his authority. The stones dance about him, mocking his reign. They pay
no heed to his welfare. The world mourns and taunts its once powerftil servant.

I know the conflict inside of him will not easily be solved, but still I
call to him from the distance. Dorim was right: there is part of me that is in
Andra. Somehow, even though he is there, I am near him. It is the words I
write. I cannot be far removed, because through my words I am as near to him
as ever. With every letter I write, I am somehow beside him, in his presence.
But I feel so far away, like an outcast from my own creation. He is much like
the world: he both mourns and taunts his once powerful servant.

As he wanders aimlessly through the endless halls of stone, I speak to
him about how to live in Andra. I tell him the rules that he must follow for his
survival. But he will never be able to follow them; he lacks the strength while
he is away from me. These laws may help him stay alive, but he will never be
free to breathe like he breathed in Lyria. Nor will these instructions I give him
stir his memories of better times in Lyria. As long as he is so far from me, he
will never remember what true freedom is, what true life is. Still, it is better that
he survive by these laws, albeit only survival for a short period of time, than not
to survive at all.

He hears me less and less as the ftature turns swiftly into the past. He
has forgotten the beautiftil colors of Lyria. He is parched for water. As he
breathes, clouds of dust swarm into the air, only to re-enter his lungs with his
next inhaling. His eyes are darkened and glazed. For as long as he has lived
there, he has never seen the brightness of the sun. He knows only grey. He
feels only cold and damp. Though once enjoying the plethora of life in Lyria, he
now smells only the lifelessness of rocks and his own stench that stalks him like
a shadow. He has lost himself. Whereas at one time he knew who he was by
knowing who I am, now he has nothing by which to define his existence. He

Ashland Theological Journal 2007

Speaks only to himself, conjuring specters that do not actually exist. Walking
without purpose, he stumbles over his own feet. With only himself as a
measure, he has lost all identity.

With every passing moment, Dorim becomes more ill, wasting away
like a rock under constant, dripping water. I know what must be done.
Someone must go into Andra to save him. It is the only way. But whom do I
send? As the author, I could create another character to send, but after entering
Andra, he or she would no longer hear me either. Surely that character would
die alongside of Dorim. Not only that, but I know that Dorim would not listen
to a stranger. He needs to hear my voice, but my voice cannot effectively reach
him. I must find a way to get my voice into Andra through a person who will
not lose touch with me while there.

There is only one way this is possible. I will write myself, R. Patrick
McLaughlin, as a character in this story. It is the only way I will be assured
Dorim will hear me and the character will not lose sight of me. How could I
lose sight of myself? In this way, I can enter into the story to save Dorim while
simultaneously remaining outside of it to guide myself. As a character of the
story, I must be careful to remain fully obedient to myself as the author; for, I
might find myself attracted to the deceptive freedom of Andra as well. It is a
risk I must take. Before making Dorim, I agreed I would do anything for him,
and this must be done or he will die. I always knew it would come to this. As I
mentioned before, there are no surprises.

Ryan, wake up. It is time.

Ryan turns and looks around. How strange it is to be part of this story!
The feeling is unlike anything I have known before.

Walking to the walls of Andra, Ryan stands at a wooden door. -

Wait. Before you enter, swallow this.

A small glass sphere of pure water descends from the sky. Ryan
swallows it just as I requested.

This is my voice. I put it in you so that when the time comes, it will be
released from you. You are my very own, like a son created from my essence,
hut you have been as long as I have been, because we are one and the same,
though different. I am well pleased with you. You must not fail.

Ryan takes a deep breath and opens the door to Andra. As he enters, he
notices that the air is thick like a blistering, humid day. Immediately he feels the
pain of separation. I feel it, too. We feel it together, the same, yet differently.

Andra is a horrid maze. You are trapped inside of it. In order to find
and save Dorim, you will have to do exactly as I say.

"I will not waver," Ryan says to me.

The Discovery of god

With great precision, I direct him through the sharp turns. But there is
a problem. Andra recognizes something is stirring. As far as truth can be told,
the author is not in Andra, because Ryan is a character in the story. How clever
this is! But Andra senses something is amiss. It will not give up its prize
without a fight. Falling from the towers, large stones surround Ryan. Andra is
trying to trap him. ; . ;

"What should I do?" Ryan asks me.

You are as the author. You can speak the words. Speak as I have
spoken.

"Andra turns peaceful, and the rocks move to the side," he says.

All the towers cease to crumble, and everything becomes peaceful. The
rocks that blocked his path move away and the streets are clear before him.

You must hurry, Ryan. Dorim needs you.

As determined as ever, Ryan runs through the maze. I direct his every
step with my words. Finally, he turns a comer and sees a man lying helplessly
on the ground. It is Dorim. His skin is pale and his eyes blank like those of one
long dead, but he is still breathing.

/ have sent you at the right time. Wake him.

"Dorim, wake up!" Ryan shouts as he shakes Dorim.

As his eyes slowly open, a dry coating crumbles away.

"Who are you?" Dorim whispers desperately.

"Do you not recognize me?" Ryan responds.

"Your voice," he says, "I know your voice."

He is still delusional, driven nearly mad by the poisonous air and the
lack of water and food. But even now, as I am so near to him, he knows his
master's voice.

"Dorim you must get out of here. You are going to die."

"You have the voice of the author," Dorim says in a hoarse tone. "How
is that possible?"

Ryan looks down at the earth, and then to the grey sky. He sighs. "I
am as the author," he says to Dorim.

"Impossible," he slurs. "If you're the author, then who is writing the
story?"

"I know it does not make sense, but you must believe me. You cannot
accept that I am the author and that the author remains outside of this tale, but it
is true. It does not make sense fi^om your perspective, or fi^om mine, but you
must believe me! Dorim, I need you to trust me."

When Ryan says this, Dorim stands and looks into his eyes. For a brief
moment, he remembers what it is to be human, to be alive. For a brief moment,

Ashland Theological Journal 2007

he feels a sensation of peace and clarity. Somehow, he sees me in Ryan. But
this is short-lived. He has come face to face with truth, and his heart cannot bear
it. He sees himself as he should be, and it breaks him.

Dorim's head begins to shake. He convulses out of control.

"Get away from me!" he shouts.

He pushes Ryan down and begins to stagger away. But he stops before
long. Turning slowly, his eyes roll to the back of his head.

"You're not the author," he cries wildly. "You can't be! You are a
slave of Andra sent to deceive me."

"He has lost his mind," Ryan shouts to me. "He is going to kill me." -

This is the only way.

A tear falls down Ryan's trembling face. His body shakes, brimming
with fear. "So be it," he whispers softly.

Dorim bends to pick up a shard of rock broken off from the towers and
walks slowly towards Ryan.

Tell him how to get out.

"Dorim, do you remember all the rules you follow to survive here?"

There is no response.

"Dorim, listen to me! Those rules cannot save you. If you stay here
you will die! I have come to save you. I am as the author, Dorim! You must
leave here."

Tell him how.

Dorim holds up the rock and moves more quickly towards Ryan, who
looks at the dense maze.

"The walls move, creating a straight path to the edge of Andra. There a
door waits leading to Lyria."

A loud rumbling noise erupts from Andra as the walls violently shift.
Momentarily, Dorim stops to take note of the changing world. In the distance a
wooden door appears at the end of a long path. What once was a maze is now a
hallway to Lyria.

Dorim screams fiercely and charges at Ryan.

Ryan cries out to me, "He will not hear me when I am dead!"

My voice is in you. When you die it will be released, and he must drink
the water.

"I see," Ryan says, still trembling. "The water is your voice from
Lyria. If he drinks it, he will hear you."

Dorim swings mightily at Ryan's head, knocking him to the ground.

"Dorim," Ryan groans as he staggers at the deafening blow, "drink the
water inside of me. You need the water."

The Discovery of god

Again, Dorim strikes Ryan. He pauses, watching Ryan try to lift I
himself up. He is on his hands and knees, crawling, screaming, dying. He is the !
creator of all things. He is my very self I cannot bear to watch. As he bleeds,
everything inside of me breaks. Dorim swings again. Ryan calls out in anguish.
Andra has tasted his blood and calls for more of it. I carmot bear to know it. I
cannot bear to write it. . .

On the ground, my dead body lies broken like a piece of glass on
jagged rocks. Dorim drops his makeshift weapon, now covered with blood. The
walls of Andra howl as the wind whips through them. The unforgiving city has
won. Closing in around Ryan and Dorim, the walls leave the two of them in
utter darkness. But it is not the end. From Ryan's tattered body, a small pearl-
shaped object emerges, ft is my voice, and it erupts like thunder.

The walls shatter in every direction. Dorim shakes with fear. When he
comes to his senses, he notices Ryan is no longer with him. All that is left is the
small pearl-shaped object. Suddenly, water springs forth out of it. ft is the
water of Lyria. Dorim' s thirst is great. He falls to his knees and drinks the
water. The dust in his mouth washes away in a great flood. The pasty film that
covered his withered throat disappears. The water rushes through every inch of
his body and becomes like fire in his veins. For the first time in as long as he
can remember, Dorim knows what it is to feel alive. Andra still shrieks while
the stones rumble loudly as they move about. Dorim covers his ears. The sound
is nearly unbearable. Suddenly, like the eye of a great storm, everything falls
still for one brief moment and all that remains is a tranquil whisper.

Dorim, run to the door.

Dorim looks at the sky in disbelief He can hear my voice. I am inside
of him. "How is this possible?"

Run, Dorim!

The rocks that once blocked Ryan's path now move in Dorim' s way as
the cries of Andra resound more deafening than ever. Dorim runs madly for the
door. Andra cannot stand his leaving.

"What do I do?" he asks me in panic.

Remember Dorim, Andra would be evil.

"What?"

You must say what I want you to say. Say the rocks move!

"The rocks move!" Dorim shouts without hesitation.

Like leaves caught in a hurricane the rocks burst into the sky. As soon
as the path clears, Dorim continues running. The remaining walls close in
quickly. As he runs, his arm gets caught in one of their crevices, and his hand
grips the rocks. All at once the towers completely collapse around him. He

. 14

Ashland Theological Journal 2007

could command them away, but part of him still wants to remain in Andra.
Pulling on his arm, his body begins to tear apart. He is simultaneously holding
on and pulling away. The rocks cut him viciously as they tumble to his side.

Dorim, you must leave it behind!

With all of his might, Dorim pulls. His arm is left hanging on the wall
as he sprints to the door and opens it. As he slams the door shut, Andra
becomes completely silent.

Falling flat on his face, Dorim weeps bitterly.

Do not weep, Dorim. Why are you sad?

Dorim stands with his back to Andra. "Is Ryan still in there? How. . .?"

'Wo Dorim, I am here.""

Looking up, Dorim sees Ryan standing in the open fields of Lyria.
Suddenly, he disappears out of the story.

/ will always be a character with you now, Dorim. I know what it is to
be like you.

Dorim looks down at his torn body and knows that words cannot
describe how penitent he feels for his actions against me. "Part of me is still in
there," he says morosely.

You will never go back, Dorim. You know that, right?

"I will never want to," he replies. "There is no longer a need for
Andra. I freely choose to stay with you forever."

Turning towards Andra, Dorim sees the city lying in ruins. It destroyed
itself while trying to keep Dorim inside of it, and to some extent, it succeeded in
both aims.

What do you want to see?

"What do I want to see?" he asked, slightly mystified.

What do you want to see happen to Andra?

"Anything?"

Anything.

"When I entered Andra," he says as he turns away from the remains of
the city, "it turned against me and against you. It wanted me to die, and you to
be left alone. Part of me turned against you in going there, and again in wanting
to stay there. Justice must be done, and only you can do it."

Then I will do what must be done.

Dorim turns again to Andra. From the sky a strange sound begins to
drone. A purple wind with floating lights cascades upon the city. Instantly it is
consumed. The land that was once Andra is left as only a desolate field.

"Why not just destroy that land?" Dorim asks.

The Discovery of god

The goal is not destruction, but redemption. Whatever seeks to be
redeemed will be redeemed. The rest has been destroyed, and there is bitter joy
in it. Now everything will be one.

The sky above begins to clear, and the sun bursts forth on the once-
forsaken land. From the barren dirt, one small green leaf appears. Soon,
another joins it. Like a crescendo in a symphony more and more life appears.
Color floods the land, consuming the shades of grey. As all manner of flowers
and trees emerge, the whole world becomes Lyria. The animals cry out in joy at
the sight as all the world sits in still peace and harmony.

"So," Dorim says, "after all of this time, am I now back at the
beginning? Have I finally returned to Lyria?"

At the beginning? Not at all, Dorim. Andra is destroyed. As you said
yourself, you no longer need Andra in order to freely choose Lyria. Because
you have experienced Andra, and I have saved you from it, you know what Lyria
truly is. No Dorim, you are so far from the beginning.

Dorim smiles. "How can I ever thank you?" he asks.

This is the point for which I have been waiting from the beginning: the
turning point. Dorim now knows that I love him and that I have given
everything for him. Now, I will hear what I have longed to hear from the very
beginning. After his long journey, I will hear him say, on his own accord, that
he loves me.

You can thank me by answering a question. Do you love me, Dorim?

I want so badly for him to say it, but he does not.

Dorim, do you love me?

Again, there is silence. He will not say it. I could write that he says it,
but I want him to say it on his own.

Please Dorim, tell me that you love me.

He does not say anything. Instead, he stands there lifeless. I know that
he will not say it, not unless I write it. But I do not write it, and he never says it.
Now I understand. . . now I realize.

I look around me only to see an empty room and empty pages filled
with my thoughts. I am alone. This is no victorious story; it is a whim of my
imagination. There is no Dorim; he is only the shadow of Ryan Patrick
McLaughlin.

When I take a step back and consider all I have created in this world, I
must admit it is not good. For, I now realize that ultimately I only had the
power to control it. I never had the power to set any of it genuinely free. I
lacked the ability to allow Dorim to do what he wanted, independent of my
omnipotence. He could never have chosen to love me, because I could never

Ashland Theological Journal 2007

have granted him the gift of choice. I was the only free agent in this story.
Uhimately, I was the only character.

The truth is clear: I had no power at all. While I had the power to
create a world and manipulate its every move, I could not create a world that
moved without my perennial manipulation. It would have been such a beautiful
story. . . if only I were more powerful. What a great power would be needed to
compose a world without the creator writing its every word! One would need
the power to sacrifice exhaustive control.

But I have no such power as to limit myself in these ways. Now I
know the miserable reality I have created, if I can call it reality at all. Dorim,
along with the rest of this world, will die with my ceasing to imagine them. This
has truly been the discovery of god. Dorim discovered that I am god, and I
discovered that I am not.

The Institute of Formational
Counseling

Created in 2003, the Institute of Formational

Counseling seeks to equip Christian leaders in proven pathways of
heahng for broken people. The focus of the Institute is upon the ministry
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on those being trained and the men and women they serve. Through The
Institute of Formational Counseling, ATS offers Spirit-empowered
training opportunities to the broader Christian community. Upcoming
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• October 18-19, 2007: Speakers Forum: Calvin Miller

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• May 15-16, 2008: Speaker Forum: Siang-Yang Tan

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• June 11-14, 2008: Formational Prayer Seminar

• September 3-6, 2008: Formational Prayer Seminar - Advanced

To view the complete listing of upcoming events and brochures, please
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Ashland TheologicalJournal 2007 i -" ■ •. , '

Nicea and its Aftermath: A Historical Survey of the First Ecumenical
Council and the Ensuing Conflicts

by J. David Ray* '

The First Ecumenical Council — Nicea 325
With the ascension in 312 of Constantine to the place of co-ruler of the
Roman Empire came a fairly sudden and monumental shift in the life of the
Christian Church in the world. Certainly the church had previously experienced
times of moderate peace and tolerance from its neighbors in the Empire. But
never before had it known anything close to the acceptance and freedom which
was now thrown open to it by this new ruler. Constantine is often heralded as the
first Christian emperor of the Roman Empire — the man who declared
Christianity to be the official dogma of Caesar's realm.

Though the former is almost certainly true, the latter is somewhat less
so. While he no doubt considered himself to be a follower of Christ, he did not
mandate his faith to be the faith and practice of all. Constantine was that curious
and at times contradictory mix of the soldier-politician. He knew the value of
giving his subjects a good measure of personal and social ireedom as a means of
buying loyalty and minimizing dissent. But Constantine made it quite clear that
his personal sympathies lay with the Christians, and thus it was inevitable that
those who shared his own faith would be the primary beneficiaries of the
Emperor's power and blessing. When, in 324, Constantine defeated his co-ruler,
Licinius, he not only became the absolute ruler of the Roman Empire — he also
became the most powerful political leader whose favor and protection the
church had known.

It is difficult to say whether the presence of this new pro-Christian
Emperor actually caused the eruption of the Trinitarian conflict (the Church now
having the freedom to pursue such matters instead of giving the bulk of its
energies to mere survival), or whether Constantine' s arrival at the throne was an
issue of providential timing (the conflict was ready to come to a head, and
Constantine provided the platform for it to be addressed more completely). Most
likely, both are true. The Church was no longer an infant, but was certainly in its
childhood, and struggling to settle its identity, clarifying fundamental doctrine to
delineate who is truly Christian and who is not. By the very nature of the name
"Christian", it is apparent that the first major doctrinal conflict to be settled is,
"What does the church believe about Jesus Christ?" So, just as the entrance of
the Savior into the world was "in the fullness of time", so also all the needed

*J. David Ray (B.A. Kent State) is a 2006 ATS graduate with an MA in Historical
Studies.

Nicea and its Aftermath: A Historical Sxirvey of the First Ecumenical Counsel and the

Ensuing Conflicts

political, social, and ecclesiastical environments were right for the church to
come together and seek to clarify and codify its core belief. It was in this setting
that the First Ecumenical Council was called.

The question was not, of course, a new one. The divinity of Jesus and
His equality with God the Father had been discussed and debated virtually since
the days of the apostles. Now, with the storms of state-endorsed persecution
having passed, the climate was right for different sides of the issue to be
promoted more openly. Under Constantine, the Eastern half of the Empire, still
deeply saturated in the milieu of Greek philosophical speculation, quickly
proved to be a fertile ground for the exploration of theological ideas — an
environment which the Emperor himself encouraged. In every major city of the
Empire, old and new theologies were tossed about and endlessly debated.
Alexandria — the intellectual capitol of Africa — quickly became the breeding
place of a doctrine which was soon to shake the Empire.

Arianism takes its name fi^om its most visible and vocal proponent,
Arius, a Libyan priest who quickly showed himself adept both at attracting
attention to himself and winning converts to his views. Tall, dark-skirmed, and
by all contemporary accounts remarkably attractive physically and personally,
he seems to have had little trouble in building a following. Alexandria, where
Arius served, was the ideal locale for him to freely develop and propagate his
ideas. The core of his teaching is today called "subordinationism"~the idea that
Jesus the Son is not eternal, but is the first and the greatest creation of God the
Father. Thus, Jesus cannot be called equal with the Father in either divinity or
authority, but is subordinate to the Father.

Arius did not, however, teach that Christ was of the same substance as
humans, but that He had a degree of divinity in that He was the first and greatest
creation of the Father. Hefele observes that "[Arius] would certainly not have
created so much disturbance in the minds of the people, had he not found in
Alexandria a field well-prepared to receive this theory of subordination, even so
far back as the time of Origen.' He goes on to describe the young priest as
"arrogant, ambitious, sincere, cunning^ We do not know precisely when Arius
began his teaching, but most sources seem to suggest it was between 318 and
320. We do, however, know for certain that he quickly attracted the attention
and then the support of Bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia, the great city in
northwest Asia Minor near the Bosporus.

This Eusebius was an influential friend to make, since his see, so close
to the Imperial city of Constantinople, was then considered one of the most

Ashland TheologicalJournal 2007

prominent in the East. Also, Eusebius seems to have had a good relationship
with the Emperor, and thus Arius wasted little time in cultivating the bishop's
name and influence — a helpful resource for feeding his own ambition and for
gaining an audience for his doctrines. Thus, a peaceful Empire, a pro-Christian
I Emperor, good roads and communication, an ambitious and persuasive priest, an
I influential friend, and a culture active with theological speculation all provided
the perfect environment for the rapid spread of this new heresy.

Meanwhile, back in Alexandria, Arius and his ideas were attracting
attention of a different kind. Alexander, the Bishop there and Arius' immediate
superior, was alarmed both by the doctrines and by the methods of the young
Libyan priest. It is here that we first see the great wisdom of this seasoned cleric.
Himself a survivor of the recent persecutions, Alexander was now working to
bring peace, healing, and spiritual growth to his see. He quickly realized both
the error of subordinationism, and the immediacy of the danger it and its chief
advocate were posing — not just in North Africa, but for all of the Church.
Anxious to check the spread of Arianism and to quickly excise its leaders,
Alexander convoked a synod at Alexandria, most likely in 321. The gathering
was attended by nearly one hundred Egyptian and Libyan bishops. And the
proceedings seem to have been fairly speedy and decisive. Arius and his
supporters were anathematized, and the synod made clear that all who ascribed
to subordinationaism were considered to be outside of Christian orthodoxy.

The expulsion had little effect on Arius, except to increase his
popularity and his resolve. He continued to preach, using his considerable
smoothness of speech and personal charm to win converts from both the laity
and from the higher clergy. It is an interesting note of Christian history that the
proponents of heretical doctrines are often gifted with exceptional skills of
communication and personal persuasion. The defenders of orthodoxy, on the
other hand, have often been pedantic, tedious, and unapproachable. It is
certainly fair to say that the subordinationist doctrine seems, at first glance at
least, more logical and easier to grasp than orthodox trinitarianism. But it also
seems that much of the cause of the rapid spread of this heresy was a direct
result more of Arius' persuasiveness than of the strength of his ideas.

Needless to say, Alexander and his colleagues were not pleased with
the young priest's insubordination, and the open conflict between the two camps
now threatened to erupt into fuUscale schism. Constantine took pains to keep
abreast of any brewing conflict within the Church, not only because he saw
himself as the guardian of the faith, but also because he wisely saw that any
major dissension within the church could open the door to political instability in

Nicea and its Aftermath: A Historical Survey of the First Ecumenical Counsel and the

Ensuing Conflicts

his Empire. Word of the troubles in Alexandria soon reached him (perhaps
through Eusebius of Nicomedia?), and his response was to send a letter to both
Alexander and Arius, urging them to forgive one another of any personal
offenses and to set aside their theological differences for the good of both
Church and state.

Alexander, however, recognized the critical importance of the issue and
the impossibility of reconciling the two views. Arius also was not interested in
relenting on his cause, which might mean yielding the celebrity and
accompanying access to influential people it was bringing. Even the intervention
of the Emperor was insufficient to solve the dispute, and it was only a short time
later that Constantine used his authority to convene what we now know as the
First Ecumenical Council.

We do not know if the Council was Constantine's own idea, or the
suggestion of his advisors. But more than likely he consulted with his key
bishops before formally issuing the summons. Though Constantine seems to
have considered himself to be an above-average theologian, the better
assessment is that he had a working knowledge of the most fundamental aspects
of Christian teachings, but little more. He certainly was more than a little
curious, and throughout his reign he always kept sharp (though not always
orthodox) men of theology close at hand.

Although Constantine clearly did not adhere to the ancient Roman
concept of the emperor as quasi-god, he does seem to have maintained enough
regal vanity to believe that he was learned and wise in all important fields that
his authority would touch.^ Though we have no formal statement from either
Constantine or other contemporary accounts, his actions in regard to the
Arian/Trinitarian conflict would indicate that he saw himself as either the
temporal head of the church or, at the very least, its divinely-ordained supreme
earthly protector. Thus, he must have seen it as not only his right but his duty to
use his imperial authority to protect and to strengthen the church.

Constantine issued a decree calling for all bishops throughout the
empire to attend the Council which would meet at Nicea. The advantages of this
location were primarily its proximity to Constantinople and easy access both by
water and by road. Also, though close to the imperial capitol, Nicea was far
enough away to provide ample protection from the distractions (and intrigues) of
Constantinople. The decree included a provision that the travel expenses were to
be covered by the imperial treasury, and all were assured safe conduct
guaranteed by the full authority of the imperial forces. There is a remarkable
irony in this, with the violent state endorsed persecutions of Christendom still

Ashland TheologicalJournal 2007

well within recent memory, and a great many of those who packed their bags for
the trip to Nicea bore in their own bodies the visible wounds and infirmities
which they had received for the name of Christ. Citing contemporary accounts
concerning the participants, Hefele relates that, "Paphnutius had one eye bored
out and his legs cut off during Maximin's persecution. Another, Paul of Neo-
Caesarea, had had his hands burnt by the red-hot irons that Licinius had
commanded to be applied to them^ Many more had lost family and dear fiends at
I the hands of the same state that was now warmly bidding them to come together
I for their mutual benefit. It must have seemed a powerful witness to the sudden
i twists and turns of governing powers and human opinions that these same roads
I on which they were traveling at imperial beneficence only recently had been
used to carry them and their fellow disciples for show trials, physical and mental
torture, and all too often, painfiil death.

Sources generally agree that there were three hundred eighteen bishops
in attendance, as well as many others from the lower clergy. The Council
opened on or about May 25, 325, and the group quickly began to work on the
Arian dilemma. Arius, though only a priest, was given full freedom to present
his case. As many as seventeen or eighteen bishops openly sided with him, as
well as a great many priests and laymen. Alexander, Bishop of Alexandria and
point man for the orthodox position, initially directed the defense, but his
precocious young deacon and clerk, Athanasius, was most likely the guiding
force in shaping Alexander's presentation.

The bishops had been working for nearly three weeks when, on June
14, Emperor Constantine arrived to formally open the Council he had called.
Eusebius of Caesarea describes the scene:

At the signal which announced the entrance of the emperor, all

arose, and he appeared in the midst of them, his purple robe,

resplendent with gold and precious stones, dazzling the eyes

of the beholders. That his mind was impressed with religious

awe was evident in his downcast eyes, his blushing

countenance, and his modest step and movement.^

With a mixture of fatherly demeanor and the humility of a man who recognized

that he was in the company of his spiritual superiors, he addressed the group in

Latin, thanking them for their attendance, rejoicing that he may share their

company, and stating his sense of responsibility to use his power to keep

dissension from harming the church. Therefore, he instructed, they were not to

quit until they had resolved the conflict. It is clear that, while Constantine made

reference to the appearance of heterodox teachings, he was trusting that as men

Nicea and its Aftermath: A Historical Survey of the First Ecumenical Counsel and the

Ensuing Conflicts

of God, whatever the bishops could all agree to would be acceptable to him as
being the will of God.

Although the council's debate began as a battle between the Arian and
the Alexandrian parties, a third party quickly emerged seeking a compromise
between the two camps. Led by Eusebius of Nicomedia, this group (often called
the "semi-Arians) sought to tone down Arius' extremism and to blur some of the
differences with Alexander's camp. This view initially drew a larger number of
adherents than did either the orthodox or the strict Arians, and clearly many saw
it as a via media for resolving the conflict in a way that would make everyone
present somewhat satisfied. The Council's central mandate clearly was to
produce a document which could be presented as the church's united statement
on the question of Christ's nature and His relationship to the Father. Whether
they intended to produce an actual creed for general congregational use is less
clear. But as the participants hammered through the issues at hand, a creed is
indeed what began to take shape.

The orthodox then proposed the word homoousious (consubstantial) to
define the essential relationship of the Father and the Son. Obviously, the strict
Arians balked at the concept. But the semi-Arians proposed instead
homoiousious (of a similar — though not identical — substance), hoping perhaps
that the ambiguity would be adequate to bring the participants together. At this
point it seems that the young Athanasius revealed the best of his intellectual and
rhetorical skills. This new proposal, he posited, was perhaps even worse than the
overt Arian view of one God — the Father, and His greatest creation, Christ the
Son. In that, at least, was still monotheism, but the homoiousious of the semi-
Arians opened the door for at least two gods, and did nothing to establish a clear
view of Christ's relationship of authority with the Father. Most damning,
however, was the lack of any biblical or early church support for such a view.
Athanasius' withering and pointed attack on the semi- Arian proposal was clearly
effective, as it is apparent that a large number of the semi-Arians abandoned the
idea and began to side with the orthodox. Beisner notes that ''homoousious, of
course, was the main bone in the new form of the creed. The Athanasians were
delighted at its presence. There was no possible way the Arians could reinterpret
it to fit their theology, and it was impossible for any Arian, without being
dishonest, to sign the Nicene Creed."

To be fair, both camps were, at least in part, developing their theologies
in an effort to avoid heretical paths that had previously plagued the church. The
key argument for Arius was the preservation of the fundamental monotheism
that was at the core of Judaism and one of its most critical links with

Ashland Theological Journal 2007

Christianity. In a culture that had been dominated by pagan polytheism, it was
vital that the Christian gospel make clear its absolute incompatibility with that
system. An eternal Son, co-equal with the eternal Father, was simply too close to
a doctrine of two gods, and posed too great a risk of being just another variation
on polytheism. Certainly, it is easier for the average person to comprehend the
subordinationist view than to grasp the Alexandrian tenet of Father and Son as
co-equal, co-eternal, and co-divine. This was, perhaps, the prime strength of
Arianism that led to its easy acceptance.^

Secondary to this argument from monotheism was Christ's suitability
as the complete substitutionary sacrifice. If Christ is not a created being, how
could he then be able to make atonement for people who were not like Him?
There could, in the Arian view, be no substitution for human sin from one who
was fully divine. Thus, while Jesus could be a special, unique creature, one
possessing many divine powers, even a co-creator. He had to be a created
human to bear the sins of created humans.

For Alexander and his orthodox party, there was also much at stake.
They saw Arianism as contrary to the biblical witness concerning Christ, and at
best a serious blurring of Christ's unique identity as fully divine and fully
human. They saw Arianism as the artificial creation of a middle order halfway
between divinity and humanity that was not attested to by the biblical record nor
had it been the testimony of the church since the apostolic generation. Christ
simply could not be able to offer redemption through Himself unless He was
also in full equality with God, to whom alone belongs the power of redemption.

As the debates proceeded, Eusebius of Nicomedia himself vacillated,
displaying his personal vanity and political pragmatism by trying to gauge
which way the council would finally go and wanting to appear that this had been
his place all along. Historians are generally agreed that Eusebius wanted
essentially two things: to keep his post, and to curry favor with the Emperor.
The contrasts between Eusebius and his ranking opponent, Alexander, are
striking. While Eusebius is perpetually checking the winds of popular opinion,
cultivating relationships with the power brokers and other influential persons of
church and state, Alexander seems completely oblivious to much of anything
else going on around him except his quest for the purity of the church's doctrine
and the maintenance of clerical discipline. Indeed, the writings of Alexander
which are still available are lengthy and tedious, with a painstaking attention to
detail that is admirable but which does not hold the reader's attention or foster a
desire to read more. Eusebius is the ever-striving politician, Alexander is the
ever-vigilant theologian. Not coincidentally, their chief underlings— Arius and
Athanasius, respectively, reflect similar character traits.^

Nicea and its Aftermath: A Historical Survey of the First Ecumenical Counsel and the

Ensuing Conflicts

The introduction of homoousious thus focused the debate, and in a
short time brought about the end of the semi-Arian compromise and forced all
the participants to choose either the Arian or the Athanasian position. There was
no longer any middle ground. The Creed itself was completed on or about June
19, and though there is not universal agreement as to how many of the bishops
signed, most witnesses agree that all but two did (although some accounts say as
many as eighteen remained opposed until Constantine himself intervened with a
mixture of fatherly persuasion and thinly-veiled threats against the dissenters'
continued employment in their sees). The Creed thus became the doctrinal
standard for Christendom, and the boundary separating orthodoxy from heresy
regarding the divinity of Jesus Christ. The Council formally adjourned on
August 25, 325, with a large feast hosted by Constantine to thank the Council
for its work.

This was not, however, to be the end of the story. A man like Arius,
with a towering self-confidence, a love for the limelight, and a circle of
sympathetic friends in high places, was not about to let a group of elderly
churchmen block the road for his ambitions. Indeed, the Council members
barely had time to return to their homes and churches before Arius' influential
supporters began working to undermine the effect of the Council's work-
especially the dogma oi homoousious. In Constantine, Nicea's vanquished found
a responsive and fairly naive ear.

Of course, it is impossible for us to make an authoritative statement on
the extent of Constantine 's understanding of the theological issues involved, or
in his motives for taking the side of the Alexandrian party, or in his later
decisive shift against them. It does seem apparent that, at least at the outset, he
thought the differences between the Alexandrian and Arian positions trifling,
since he at first urged Alexander and Arius to work things out or put the issue
aside. We must bear in mind that his imperial worldview was thoroughly Roman
in its value of order virtually above all else.

While Christian historians have traditionally sided with the view that
Constantine 's motivation for intervening stemmed mainly from his genuine
devotion to Christ and His church, others, in recent times particularly, have
suggested significantly less noble inclinations. Indeed, the same man who so
piously presided over Christendom's first general council would, within a year,
order the murder of his first-bom son Crispus and shortly thereafter, the young
man's mother, Constantine 's first wife, Fausta. Truly, like so many strong
leaders, he was a man of stark contradictions which caimot be easily reconciled
Av'hile maintaining historical honesty.

Ashland Theological Journal 2007

In 328, only a brief time after his triumph at Nicea, Alexandria's aged
Bishop Alexander died. And his faithful understudy and wunderkind
Athanasius — still barely thirty — was the obvious choice as his successor. Yet,
any honeymoon Athanasius might have hoped for in his new bishopric was
severely short-lived. Indeed, the young cleric would not have had time even to
arrange his desk before the Arian party fiercely began a new round of attacks,
clearly hoping both to exact retribution on the man they saw as the architect of
the defeat at Nicea, and also to keep him far from any position of power and
influence that might strengthen the hold of the orthodox on the development of
church doctrine.

Perhaps the most significant player in this act of the drama was the
conniving Eusebius of Nicomedia. Up until now his skills in choosing sides and
arguments had proven faulty. Most likely a true Arian at the core, power more
than doctrine seemed dear to his heart. His vigorous defense of Arius at the
Council had soured the Emperor's opinion of him, and Eusebius' slowness in
supporting the homoousios had earned him three years of exile. But as soon as
he returned, he immediately began courting Constantine's favor once more, and
his toadying skills apparently won back the favor of the great eastern warrior
and self-styled protector of Christendom.

Eusebius wasted no time in convincing the Emperor that homoousios
posed a grave threat to the church, being an unsound and incomprehensible
doctrine that would only confuse the masses and which could not survive the
attacks it would invite from pagan religions.

The first tangible victory for the Arians came with the Emperor's
exhortation to Athanasius to restore Arius to communion in the church.
Athanasius' response is likely just what the Arians were hoping for: a firm
refiisal. Surely the Arians knew that, for all of his bluster about being a humble
protector of the church, Constantine was a man of vanity commensurate with his
imperial authority. Regardless of his doctrinal sympathies, he was not likely to
respond with warmth and favor to anyone in his realm — whether nobleman or
cleric — who showed the temerity to balk at his bidding. Thus it was that
Athanasius immediately saw his favor in Constantine's eyes evaporate.

The Arian party did not waste an instant in seizing the opportunity this
change in atmosphere was opening for them. Working on multiple fronts,
particularly through local councils as well as Constantine's inner circle, the
Arians quickly engineered a smear campaign against the Alexandrian bishop as
well as a drive to exonerate their banished hero. Eusebius of Nicomedia
managed to arrange a synod at Tyre whose primary purpose seems to have been
the defamation and ouster of Athanasius. How this gathering was sanctioned and

Nicea and its Aftermath: A Historical Survey of the First Ecumenical Counsel and the

Ensuing Conflicts

justified is not quite clear. Certainly the church has never recognized its validity.
Yet, it was successful in its mission, which was inevitable given its sponsorship
and makeup. Most of all, though, was the emperor's concurrence through
silence. There was now no doubt that Athanasius had lost Constantine's favor,
so he was ousted from Alexandria in 336 and forced into exile in Trier in Gaul,
thus begiiming a cycle of forced movement that would last for much of the
remainder of his life.

What was the real reason for Constantine's change in preference
toward Arianism? It is fairly unlikely that it was the result of deeper personal
theological reflection. He was certainly a man of complexity, and also a political
pragmatist who was more prone to make decisions based on current exigencies
rather than long-term vision. Though many have offered speculations, the truth
is that we can be no more sure of the motives for Constantine's conversion to
Christianity than we can be of the genuineness of his Christianity itself

Meanwhile, the Arians were making the most of their newfound
acceptance with the Emperor. Unity in Christendom remained paramount for
him. Possibly aided by the influence of his sister Constantia, a committed Arian
sympathizer, the emperor invited Arius to return to the fold, provided he simply
provide his assent to the Nicene declaration. For one so blinded by personal
ambition and arrogance, to give formal lip service to the Emperor concerning a
dogma he passionately had fought and would continue to fight with all his
power seemed inconsequential.

Arius had a chance to regain power and influence at the highest level
(and have the last laugh on his enemies), and he was not about to let such a
trivial matter as doctrinal conviction detour his path. To seal the deal,
Constantine ordered the Bishop of Constantinople to administer Communion to
the prodigal priest. But even the leader of the Roman Empire did not have the
final say in the matter, as Arius, openly exulting in what would be the
consummation of his victory, died suddenly of an unknown illness the very
night before the service of restoration was to occur. Some suspected foul play,
but many of those still faithful to the Nicene faith saw it as God's hand
preventing a heretic from defiling the church.^

While Athanasius' exile in Trier might have appeared to be a defeat, it
was to plant the seeds that would grow to produce a strong Trinitarian
foundation in the Western church. Olson notes that,

[on] his travels to and from Trier, Athanasius made many

contacts with Christian leaders in the West who came to

sympathize with him. After all, Constantine was not

Ashland TheologicalJournal 2007 i ,' . '

universally considered a hero in the Latin West for moving the

imperial seat eastward to Constantinople. Just because 'i

Athanasius was being exiled by the emperor was no reason for ;

them to shun him. He was received by many Western bishops

with open arms, and his influence among them for Trinitarian

orthodoxy (the Nicene formula) was profound. ^°

If the road for Athanasius and the orthodox party had become bumpy, it
was only to get worse. And remain so for quite some time. The following year,
337, Emperor Constantine became seriously ill. The great defender of the church
had, like many in his day, postponed baptism into the church until it appeared
his remaining days were few, fearing that any significant post-baptismal sins
would complicate his hopes for eternal glory. Thus, in what was one of the most
critical moments in his personal faith, the emperor could certainly select any
cleric he preferred to do the honor. Perhaps, then, the clearest mark of how
things had turned is the man that he chose: Eusebius of Nicomedia — the crafty
and conniving spokesman for Arius at Nicea and fierce opponent of homoousios.
Arius may not have lived to see the victory of his own vindication, but his
friend, defender, and partner in heresy could certainly smile at the irony of his
new status as the emperor's favorite cleric.

Shortly afterward, Constantine died, having effectively bequeathed his
empire to his three sons, Constantine II, Constantius II, and Constans (creativity
in naming children seems to have been a gift that eluded this family).
Constantine II was given the territories of Gaul, Britain, Spain, and part of
Africa. Constantius II received Constantinople and most of the East, while
Constans landed between the two, inheriting Italy, the remainder of Africa, and
the Illyrian provinces.

Whatever peace the empire might have hoped for from its new leaders
was short-lived. In 340, Constantine II went to war against Constans and died in
the conflict, his brother then staking claim to his lands. Constans is generally
regarded as having shifted from Arianism to the Nicene faith, and is in fact the
only one of the three to actually receive Christian baptism. But in general, the
tide of opinion in the east was turning toward Arianism, which was now entering
its days of glory.

During the years which followed, political rather than theological
conflicts drove the issue. Constans increasingly sought to find some middle
ground. Initially he banned pagan sacrifice, but later issued an edict that
discouraged any harm to pagan temples. In 350, a revolt by Magnentius, one of
his generals, drove him from power. He was assassinated later that year, and
numerous accounts declare that he was dragged from a temple before being

Nicea and its Aftermath: A Historical Survey of the First Ecumenical Counsel and the

Ensuing Conflicts

killed. Magnentius was a committed pagan, but, in an attempt to strengthen his
support base, he declared himself to be sympathetic to the Nicene cause. Indeed,
it was he who issued the first Roman coins bearing the chi-rho emblem that had
been Constantine's sign of Christian allegiance. However, within a year after his
victory over Constans, Magnentius was attacked and defeated by Constantius,
giving the latter sole rule of the empire for the next decade.

Constantius soon came under the sway of an outspoken Arian, Valens,
bishop at Mursa Major, where Maxentius had been defeated. The influential
bishop used his position to rally support for Constantius, which earned him great
favor in the emperor's eyes. Valens used his new political power to bring the
emperor's energies against the Nicene party, and a string of councils and synods
were called at which the Arians freely exercised their new power in condemning
Nicene leaders.

For the ensuing generation, instability ruled the church regarding the
doctrine of the homoousios. The battle was played out on the local as well as the
imperial level, with the prevailing doctrine varying even from town to town.
Local councils became almost as ubiquitous as dandelions in spring. As difficult
as this must have been for orthodox clerics, it must certainly have provided more
confusion for the laity, who could only try to gauge for themselves which party
to believe and which bishops and priests had their spiritual best interests at heart.
For Athanasius, it would have been a matter of trying to determine whether he
was in or out of official favor on any given day in any given town. Indeed, as the
primary standard-bearer for Nicene orthodoxy, he was perpetually caught in the
shifting imperial winds, and made an easy whipping-boy or champion for
whatever preference a particular emperor happened to be holding. The record of
his exiles and repatriations reads like a dizzying travelogue of the fourth century
Roman Empire, as Collins' summary indicates:

Athanasius was exiled to Trier in Gaul by Constantine I in
336, then sent back to Alexandria by Constantine II in 340.
Constans [won over from Arianism to orthodoxy by
Athanasius himself] forced his brother [Constantius II, who
had banned him from Alexandria] to accept Athanasius back
again in 346, but Constantius was able to send him off once
more in 356, after he made himself ruler of the whole Empire.
The bishop remained in exile till after the death of Constantius
in 361, and was then allowed back to Alexandria by the pagan
Julian, who was happy to intensify the divisions within the
Christian ranks. ^'

Ashland TheologicalJournal 2007

Julian, a nephew of Constantine, sought to return the empire to the
paganism he saw as its past glory. Though raised a Christian, no doubt the
rampant and liberal familial bloodshed he had witnessed within his own
professing Christian family had aided in the development of his distaste for the
"religion of the Galilean", as he contemptuously called it. Julian's decree of 362,
however, allowed a number of exiled bishops to return to their sees (perhaps
hoping to fuel sectarian conflicts among the various Christian factions). Later
that same year, though, he apparently had second thoughts about his clemency to
Athanasius, likely having begun to recognize and fear the bishop's tremendous
influence. He declared that it had not been his intention to include Athanasius in
the earlier decree, and back to exile he went for a fourth time.

The following year, Julian's brief reign ended, and Athanasius again
came home to Alexandria under the blessing of the new emperor, Jovian. The
latter's tenure was also brief, and his successor, Valens, (no relation to the
bishop of Mursa Major) was a devoted Arian who wasted no time in reversing
Jovian's decree reversing Julian's amendment of his own decree — and, for a
fifth time, Athanasius was sent off. This time, however, he was permitted to
simply move outside the limits of Alexandria. Soon after (possibly that same
year), Valens relented and Athanasius was allowed to return to his native city to
live out his remaining years.

The struggle after Nicea continued for fifty-six years, and was most
consistent and intense in the East, whereas the West, more and more an
orthodox stronghold, experienced gradually increasing stability on the Nicene
issue. Finally in 381, Emperor Theodosius, a staunch Nicene supporter who
harbored little good will toward the Arian party, determined to end the crisis
once and for all by calling another general council. The Council of
Constantinople (also known as the Second Ecumenical Council) essentially
restated the conclusions of Nicea, and ordered the immediate restoration of all
bishops who had been ousted for their allegiance to the Nicene faith. While this
was not the end of Arianism, it was the end of the party's reign through imperial
favor. Theodosius was no Constantine — there would be no vacillating in this
emperor's doctrinal allegiance, nor in his zeal to remove those who were not
completely loyal to the Councils' findings.

ft was a victory for orthodoxy, and for Athanasius personally — yet one
he did not live to see. The great bishop, theologian, pastor, involuntary traveler,
and defender of the faith died peacefiilly near Alexandria on May 2, 373, finally
home, surrounded by fiends, and confident that the One he had faithfully served
and for whom he had suffered much would ultimately triumph.

Nicea and its Aftermath: A Historical Survey of the First Ecumenical Counsel and the

Ensuing Conflicts

' Charles J. Hefele, A History of the General Councils (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1871),
vol. 1,239. ^

^ Ibid, 242. . , . ,, ,. ,„,,„': . ,.,,.

^ Timothy D. Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press, 1981). Barnes insists that Constantine was, in fact, well-versed in Christian
theology, but it was not the driving force in his decisions surrounding Nicea.

'' Hefele, 272.

^ Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, translated by C. F. Cruse (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson
Publishers, 1998), 395.

^ E. Calvin Beisner, God in Three Persons (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1984),
119.

^ Justo L. Gonzalez, A History of Christian Thought, vol. 1 (Nashville: Abingdon Press,
1987), 26 Iff

Barnes, Athanasius and Constantius: Theology and Politics in the Constantinian
Empire (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993). Barnes puts forth an
energetic and dense attempt to de-mythologize Athanasius, critiquing his character and
motives.

Hans A. Pohlsander, The Emperor Constantine (London: Routledge Press, 1996), 51.

Roger C. Olson, The Story of Christian Theologv: Twenty Centuries of Tradition and
Reform (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 1999), 163.

'' Roger Collins, Early Medieval Europe: 300-1000 (New York: St Martin's Press,
1999), 64.

Ashland TheologicalJournal 2007 i

Islam and Current Realities in the Middle East

by Dale F. Walker* .;

First of all, I want to thank the planning committee of the Ministry
Conference for choosing to focus on the challenge of Islam in today's world - a
vitally important theme. And thank you for the invitation to speak with you
today. As usual, when an invitation comes to prepare a talk on a particular
theme, the process helps me clarify in my own mind some of the issues I think
are important. Whether I can be successful in passing on this clarity to you is
something we'll have to see during the course of this lecture. One of my friends
asked me how I was going to present this topic. I answered that I might have to
read the morning newspaper to make sure what the current realities are. This is
just a warning to remind us that anything we say today may be changed by
events tomorrow. I doubt it though. I imagine most of you have had the
experience of picking up a newsmagazine in a doctor's office, leafing through it,
reading some interesting bits, then suddenly realizing that the magazine is two
or three years old! News of the Middle East seems to stay basically the same,
from week to week, from year to year, from decade to decade. But my hope is
that tomorrow's events may seem a little clearer to us because of the background
we can discuss today.

We as Americans, and we as Christians, are finally learning to give
some attention to the Middle East. We have tended to think that in the
modernization and the Westernization of the world, the people of the Middle
East would develop and become something like us. This comes through very
clearly in the mission literature of the 19* and early 20* centuries. The
Missions established schools in all the Middle Eastern countries, educating a
new elite, which in another generation or two, they thought, would take control,
bringing the people to Western Christianity and the countries into the modem
world.' Well, the new elites did take over, without much change in their Islam,
and with some strange twists in their modernization, which was hardly
recognizable.

I myself hadn't paid much attention to the Middle East, except insofar
that the lands of the Bible are located there, with also a general awareness of
modem Israel and its national development. Like many of us, I suspect, I could
more easily relate to the names and places of the Bible and the ancient Near

Dale F. Walker (Ph.D, Cornell), is Affiliate Faculty at the E. Stanley Jones School of
World Mission and Evangelism at Asbury Theological Seminary. This paper was orally
presented as part of the Spring Ministry Conference/Great Commission Week 2007 at
ATS, and retains its oral character.

Islam and Current Realities in the Middle East

Eastern world, than to the names and places of the modem Middle Eastern
reality. My wife and I were missionaries in Indonesia for thirty years, where we
dealt with Muslims, and Islam, everyday. But this was an Islam far removed
from the theoretical Islam of the Middle East, or so we thought. I hadn't given
the Middle East much thought until seven years ago when I was asked to prepare
a course on Missions to Muslim Peoples at Asbury Seminary. This was still
pretty much theory, until September ll"', 2001, wham! The theory became
reality. And we all had to learn quickly that the Middle East is very much a part
of our world. An aside here - historians in the future will be grateful that such a
watershed event took place right at the beginning of a century. And this may be
seen as a defining moment of the whole 21^' century.

It is still rather difficult to say with any confidence what the Middle
East is and what it is not. The past few years have given us more and more
experts, often debating with very shrill voices. And where the Middle East is
concerned, wherever there are two or three experts, there are bound to be four or
five different opinions. But it's very fashionable to begin with some negatives,
explaining what the Middle East is not. I'll follow this method too, discussing
some common misconceptions about Islam and the Middle East, then showing
some of today's interplay of Islam, society, and political currents, then, I hope,
turning to some ways we as Christians can relate to what is going on.

The Middle East, Islam, and Arabs

We tend to equate the Middle East, and Islam, and the Arabs, but these
three terms need to be carefiilly distinguished. One prevalent misconception is
that all Middle Easterners are Arabs. An obvious exception is Israel, where
Arabs do live, but as a minority. There are other less evident exceptions.
Turkey is usually considered part of the Middle East, though it bridges Asia and
Europe, and many Turks desperately want to be in the European world, not a
part of the Middle East. What is clear is that the Turks are not Arabs. Both
sides would be horrified at any suggestion like that. It's been only a few
generations since the Turks ruled most of the Arab peoples, in the Turkish
Empire, and memories are long in the Middle East. Though the Turks are
strongly Islamic, they are not likely to look with favor on Arab solidarity or
Arab power.

Another non-Arab part of the Middle East is Iran. Iranians are
descendents of the ancient Persian Empire, conquered by the Arabs very shortly
after the time of Muhammad in the 7* century. The Persians were quickly
drawn into the orbit of Islam, and for centuries were the leading lights of Islamic

Ashland TheologicalJournal 2007

civilization, but retaining their own language and culture. In our time, the ethnic
bond is often stronger than that of faith: remember the horrific warfare between
Iran and Arab Iraq during the 1980s. By the way, this was when the wise heads
in Washington, in order to counteract the AyatoUah Khomeini in Iran, decided to
build up a new two-bit dictator they'd found, Saddam Hussein.

So not all Middle Easterners are Arabs. The next general
misconception we have to deal with is that all Arabs are Muslims. They are not.
Except for Israel, of course, Muslims dominate in all the Middle Eastern
countries, but in many of these places there are substantial Christian minorities.
Or at least there were. One of the tragedies of the current Middle East is that
religious minorities have been decimated in most of the countries. For instance,
it has been estimated that in Palestine and Jordan, about 25% of the Arab
population in 1900 was Christian; in 2000, only 3% remained. In Syria in 1900,
40% were Christian; in 2000, only 5%). In Iraq, the figure of Christians was
35% in 1900, less than 2% in 2000.^ Most of the decrease in the percentage has
been due to emigration, especially to Europe and North America, but the ratio
decreased also because of extremely high population growth among the Muslim
Arabs. Although there was discrimination, and at times outright persecution of
Christian minorities in all the countries, most of the people were able to
emigrate, and were not simply killed, except for the Armenian Christians in
Turkey; around one and a half million Armenians were massacred by the Turks
in the early 1900s.

The great decrease in the Christian populations of the Middle East was
tragic for the countries involved, especially since the Christians were generally
better educated, and made up a large part of the middle class and professional
classes in many of the countries, and thus could not participate in national
development of the 20* century. So doctors, nurses, teachers, etc. were in short
supply. Having said that, we should realize that Christians still play vital roles
in several of the Middle Eastern countries. Some very prominent people are
Christians. Among these is a former Secretary-General of the United Nations,
Boutros Boutros-Galli, an Egyptian Christian.

By the way, evangelical Christians in North America tend to look down
on the traditional churches in the Middle East: the Coptic Church in Egypt, the
Maronite Church in Lebanon, and the various Orthodox churches. We see them
as so ritualistic, so "catholic," many of their people so nominal in their faith.
This is very true. But there is life, and renewal, in many places. And in spite of
all their faults, these churches have survived discrimination and often
persecution through fourteen centuries under Islamic rule. We ourselves, under

Islam and Current Realities in the Middle East

the most favorable conditions of freedom, have a hard time passing on the faith
to the next generation. Maybe we have things to learn from each other.

The reality is that Christians are now small minorities in many of the
Middle Eastern countries. And in several of the countries there are very few
Christians at all: in Turkey, and in Saudi Arabia and the whole Arabian
peninsula. The few Christians who are there, often as secret believers, need our
prayerful concern.

The third misconception I want to mention is the impression that all
Muslims are Arabs. We have already seen that Turks and Iranians are non-Arab
Muslims. In fact, only less than a quarter of the Muslim population of the world
is Arab. Even though the first Muslims were Arabs, in the 7* century, and
Arabia in many ways remains the center of the Muslim world, the vast majority
of Muslim peoples are non-Arab. The four largest concentrations of Muslims
are in Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India. These countries contain well
over half of the 1 .2 billion Muslims in the world today. Closer to home, we
know that only a small part of the Muslim community in the United States is
Arab: most American Muslims are African- Americans or people from South
Asia: Pakistan and India.

An important question now is, who speaks for Islam? Who can
represent the religion to the world? People of Arab background, south Asians,
or African-American newcomers to the faith? Many assume that the authentic
Muslim voices are those from the center, Arabs from the Middle East. Egyptian
scholars and writers have often claimed this role. Others look to Iran for
intellectual leadership at the present time. Many of the famous, older books on
Islam were written by Pakistanis (Ameer Ali and Fazlur Rahman are examples).^
Indonesian Muslims have hardly been heard from on the world scene, yet they
have definite ideas about what Islam should mean in the present century.
African-American Muslims are beginning to assert themselves, saying that if
Islam is to be a worldwide religion, we cannot just look to the Middle East to
define what the faith should be. In the 21^^ century, we might see much freer
discussion among Muslims themselves about what Islam is and how it should
relate to the modem world. For instance, American Muslims might start shifting
the meaning of Dar'ul Islam (the House of Islam). It is usually assumed that for
Islam to be practiced freely, there has to be Islamic political control. But
American Muslims are beginning to say that they already have more freedom to
practice Islam than Muslims in tightly controlled societies have ever had. A
person's "islam," surrender to God, can be more meaningftil when it is a free
choice.

Ashland TheologicalJournal 2007

It's this last point of defining Islam that I want to focus on in a little
more depth. We have seen that the Middle East does not automatically mean
Arab, that Arab does not necessarily mean Muslim, and that the Muslim
community is much wider than the Arab community. Nevertheless, Islam is still
a determining factor, perhaps the determining factor in everything that happens
in the Arab world, and in the Middle East. Even though some of the present
leaders are the purest secularists, and some, such as Saddam Hussein of recent
memory, are regarded as very bad Muslims, and none measure up to what the
radicals think a Muslim leader should be, nothing is said or done in these
countries without regard to the various currents of Islamic thinking and the mass
opinion of Muslims throughout the region. In order to understand something of
the hold which Islam has on the whole Middle East, we need to go back in
history to see how some of the present-day attitudes developed.

The interplay of Islam, society, and political currents

Although Muslims often like to think that the religion began with
Abraham, the first person submitted to the one God, Islam as a new religious
force began, of course, with Muhammad, who received something of a prophetic
call around the year 610 AD, near Mecca. Preaching for several years amid
growing persecution, Muhammad gathered some fellow believers, and they
emigrated from Mecca to the town we now call Medina, a couple hundred miles
away. This was in 622, which later became year 1 in the Muslim calendar. In
Medina, Muhammad became not only the spiritual leader, but also the political
leader and cultural arbiter, the final and absolute spokesman for God. By the
time of Muhammad's death, in 632, the new faith had spread to virtually the
whole Arabian peninsula.

Within the next ten years, Muhammad's followers had taken control of
neighboring countries: Egypt, Persia, and the areas we know as Palestine, Syria
and Iraq. We need to mention a common misperception at this point. Though
the Muslim armies went with sword in hand, they often did not need to use it. In
Egypt, the Coptic Christian masses welcomed the Muslim armies as liberators
from the hated Byzantine Greek rulers. The same thing happened in Damascus
and Jerusalem. The people were generally not forced to become Muslims.
Although Christian and Jewish subjects were not given full citizenship, and
there was steady and sometimes relentless pressure to become Muslim, some of
the areas did not have a Muslim majority until several hundred years later.

During the early years, the Christians probably did not look on the
Muslims as having a new and different religion. They took note that the
Muslims stressed that God is One; Jesus was an important part of the Muslim

Islam and Current Realities in the Middle East

teaching, as well as the Virgin Mary, the only woman to be mentioned by name
in the whole Qur'an; and there seemed to be some kind of acceptance of the
previous Scriptures. The whole Islamic system at that time probably did not
seem any more peculiar or outlandish than many of the other Christian and
semi-Christian sects. In fact, the earliest accounts of Islam by Christian writers
talk about it in terms of a Christian heresy. In fact, there is still some validity in
comparing Islam to other quasi-Christian sects, such as Mormonism: a new
prophet, a new revelation, a new book, etc."*

At any rate, Islam spread very quickly through North Africa, Spain and
into France, within 100 years after Muhammad. There was also rapid expansion
into central and south Asia. Expansion into the Balkans, into southeast Asia,
and into sub-Saharan Africa came a little later, as well as some reverses: a loss
of France, later of Spain, and footholds in Italy and Sicily.

Besides the rapid expansion of Islamic control, what came to be known
as Islamic civilization developed very rapidly at the same time (roughly 650-
1250 AD). We are used to thinking of the development of Western Civilization
as a straight line from Greece to Rome through the Dark Ages, and to Western
Europe in the Renaissance. Our Dark Ages, however, were the Ages of Light in
the Muslim areas. The Arabs took over the science and philosophy of the
Greeks, built on this and developed a powerful and forward-looking civilization.

It was in Spain that Western Europeans were first in close contact with
Muslim culture. Huge numbers of scientific and philosophical manuscripts were
translated from Arabic into Latin. Thomas Aquinas developed a new theology,
based on the philosophy of Aristotle. But he learned Aristotle through the Arab
philosophers. Other Western scholars did the same. Many other influences of
the Muslim civilization came through the Crusaders. The Arabs regarded the
Crusaders, mainly 1100-1300 AD, as uncouth, uncivilized, and barbarian.
When the Crusade armies were able to reach their goal of conquering Jerusalem,
it was with a tremendous slaughter of the inhabitants, some 30,000, according to
the Crusaders' own accounts. Eighty years later, when the Muslim general
Saladin recaptured Jerusalem, orders were given that no person was to be
harmed, a deliberate attempt to point out the differences between Muslim
civilization and what they saw as the Christian counterpart.

I'm drawing these comparisons to show that at the time, the Islamic
culture and civilization was very far advanced indeed. In fact, present-day
Muslims look back at these centuries as the Golden Age. Islam was expanding
everywhere; the culture was developing rapidly in every direction. The armies
were victorious. The only setbacks, in Spain, and in Palestine during the
Crusades, were due to disunity among the Muslim factions. As soon as the

Ashland TheologicalJournal 2007

Muslims could be united, in Syria and Palestine, the Crusaders could be pushed
into the sea, from whence they had come. When we hear present-day
Palestinians using the same language about Israel, this simply shows that the
Arabs consider the nation of Israel a temporary intrusion, as the Crusader
kingdoms proved to be.

Even until the 1500s, Muslim scientific progress, measured by the
weaponry of the armies, was on a par with that of Western Europe. But at that
point, Western scientific development took off, while Muslim civilization began
to stagnate. There was very little further scientific and cultural development,
and today the stories about the glorious times of the heroes are all about people
and events of several hundred years ago. Various attempts have been made to
catch up with Western development. The Turkish Empire borrowed Western
military models, but found that these didn't quite work. Educational models
were imported; these never reached the masses; industrial, economic and
political models from Europe were imported, adapted, and basically discarded.
Nothing seems to work to counterbalance the almost complete Western
domination of the Middle East.

The obvious question is, "What went wrong?," to borrow the title of
Bernard Lewis' book on this theme.^ How did the bright, flowering culture of
the Middle Ages stagnate so quickly, and so deeply that no one can get out of
the morass? More often the question becomes, "Whose fault was it that the
Golden Age passed away?" Here some possible answers lay close at hand. The
Mongol invasions from central Asia in the 1200s destroyed Baghdad, which was
the leading city of the whole civilization. The Mongols eventually became
Muslims, but the impact of their invasions was a setback from which the culture
only gradually began recovering. Arabs see the impact of the Turkish Empire,
from the 1500s to the early 20"^ century in the same light. But mostly the blame
shifts to the Western colonial domination, beginning in south Asia and southeast
Asia in the 1500s, then to the Middle East with Napoleon, around 1800, and
continuing domination by France and Great Britain throughout most of the
Middle East until the mid-20* century.

There is some truth in all these assessments. Colonial domination does
suck the wealth of the conquered nations, giving little in return. And the spirit
of the subjugated peoples is often so broken that the culture stagnates. This is
why most nationalistic movements begin with renewal of language, literature,
and other cultural values. But this cannot be the only answer. The colonized
nations have been their own masters for at least a couple of generations now,
and matters have not improved for most of the people in most of the countries.

Islam and Current Realities in the Middle East

The blame is shifting now. We can't get out of the mess we are in, people say,
because of Western economic and cultural dominance, especially from America.

Coca-cola, McDonalds, Hollywood, CNN, the oil companies: these are
the new symbols of economic and cultural domination from America. And now
for the past 15 years, American infidel soldiers on the holy soil of Arabia! Such
degradation had not occurred since the times of Muhammad! Everything seems
to be getting worse, not better. Are the Middle Eastern countries destined to be
just a part of the global American colonial empire, at least until the oil runs out?

But there is one thing the West cannot take away from the Middle East,
and that is Islam. So goes the thinking of a lot of people; national cultural
renaissance has to begin with a revival of Islam in our midst. There seems to be
general agreement on this. Few would dare suggest that renewal could come
through scrapping the Islamic heritage. But how is Islam to be revived in the
present Middle East? What should be the relation between Islam and modem
life? How can Islam guide society and culture at the present? These are major
questions, and there is no agreement on the answers, or even on the approaches
to be taken.

Turkey has tried a purely secular national state, since the 1920s.
Though people are staunchly Muslim, there has been no Islamic presence in the
constitution, the government, or in political life. Religious political parties, and
most Muslim organizations, have been banned, until recently. Religion has been
a private, home affair. Even the wearing of Islamic dress is forbidden, at least in
schools and public offices. Turkey has become one of the more modem,
developed countries of the Middle East, but the route it has chosen with regard
to the role of Islam is anathema to most of the other peoples in the Islamic
world. And even in Turkey itself, there are recent changes, questioning, and
even reversing, this "secular" stance.

Iran has chosen another way, since the revolution of the 1970s: a
"theocracy" of the mullahs, the religious leaders. This made some sense in Iran,
following the Shi'ite variety of Islam, where the religious leaders do have some
priestly ftinctions, unlike the majority Sunni Islam, where religious leaders are
basically teachers, and have very little governing authority. The Iranian model
was followed in Afghanistan, by the Taliban, with disastrous results. In Iran
since Ayatollah Khomeini, the model has been further nuanced and developed,
and seems to be working to some extent in providing a viable political process.
It remains to be seen, however, whether modem national development can be
sustained with the theocratic model.

Saudi Arabia is mled by a king, who follows a very strict puritanical
sect of Islam, the Wahhabis. Wahhabi teachings, fi-om a teacher and reformer of

Ashland Theological Journal 2007

the 1 S"' century, control all religious and cultural rulings, and influence to some
extent political decision-making, though I suspect that oil economics plays a
larger role.

Other countries have experimented with all sorts of models of basing
political, social, and cultural life on the teachings of Islam, none of them very
successfully. At lest, none have emerged as ways to be emulated by the rest of
the Middle Est. All kinds of Muslim organizations have emerged, with Islamic
ideas that can be characterized as fairly liberal, as conservative, or as
reactionary. Let's take a closer look at one of the reactionary movements,
variously called revolutionary, or Islamist, or fundamentalist.

The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in the 1940s. The
Brotherhood violently opposed President Nasser in his attempt to mold
independent Egypt according to Western models. At times persecuted, at times
free and honored, the Brotherhood is probably the largest and most influential
radical organization today, and at present represents a voting bloc of 20% of the
seats in the Egyptian parliament.

A writer who belonged to the Brotherhood was Sayyed Qutb, who was
killed, or martyred, by President Nasser in 1966. Qutb's life mirrors that of
many other radicals. He started out in the mainstream. A prolific writer, he
developed commentaries on the Qur'an, and many other books, with the purpose
of relating Islam to modernity, in order to build up a modem culture based on
Islam. He lived and studied in the United States for two years, 1948-1950, and
was radicalized in the process, by the racism he found, and also seeing what was
happening in the secularization of Western culture. He was especially shocked,
he later said, because of the role America had in the establishment of Israel and
the mistreatment of the Palestinians. By the way, Qutb had very interesting
comments on the secularization of the churches he had visited. He thought they
were doing everything but proclaiming the Gospel!

Qutb returned to Egypt, and became a radical Islamist leader until his
imprisonment and death. His later books continue to be influential. Though
they are generally banned throughout the Middle East, they are passed along in
the radical underground, and are readily available in the West. His best-known
book, Milestones, is fascinating reading.^ Qutb rejects any "watering-down" of
the Islam found in Muhammad and the first generation of his followers. The
Qur'an and the Hadith, traditions and sayings of Muhammad from the first two
or three centuries of Islam, are to be the only sources and patterns for life today,
which is to be governed completely by the Shariah, the law based only on those
sources. There is to be complete separation from all Western and modem
influences. If the government today is not following this, it is the duty of every

Islam and Current Realities in the Middle East

Muslim to rise up and overthrow it, in order to establish the Shariah as the on
rule of law. Islam is to be aggressive and militant in extending this rule (
Shariah throughout the world. These sentiments got Qutb killed by the Egyptii
government, but it is easy to see how Osama bin Laden and other Musli
radicals can read Milestones and follow Qutb's program as a major part of the
ideology today.

There is no doubt that this type of thinking is now very widesprej
throughout the Middle East, and throughout the world of Islam, and seems to 1
getting stronger. Just how influential it is, no one knows. Certainly no outsid
can really gauge something like this; what I do not see is Muslim teache
openly criticizing it. Most estimates from Muslims themselves, that Milestone
is just a passing fad, not very important, or that Milestones is the wave of tl
future, sound like special pleading of what the speaker wants to see happen. B
at least here is something we can grab hold of, in an attempt to understand how
large number of Muslims see themselves and the future of the Middle East. It
not a very pleasing scenario, but I would say to Muslims who disagree wi
Qutb's analysis, "Show us where he is wrong, and draw us a different picture."

Christians and the Middle East today

In a very sketchy way, I have tried to show some of the Middle Easte:
realities and how Islam is at the center of everything that happens in the Midd
East. I want to turn now to some questions that rise concerning our ov
relationship to Islam, as Christians, and particularly as evangelical Christiar
Our record since 9/1 1, at least in the public eye, hasn't been too edifying. Ho
can we understand more of what Islam is, and how can we give our Christi<
witness concerning this system of belief?

Let's start with the question always asked in relation to recent event
Is Islam a religion of Peace? President Bush, pushed by Middle Eastern realitii
and the niceties of diplomacy, proclaims that it is. Many evangelicals, push(
by combative and confrontational tradition, loudly assert that of course it isn
How should we think about this question? As usual with broad either/(
questions, it depends a lot on how we define the terms. So what is Peac(
Muslims confidently point to the Arabic word salaam, which means "peace
related to the word shalom in Hebrew. In Semitic languages, the determinir
sounds are the root consonants of a word, and the same consonants s-l-m are
salaam, and are in the word Islam, as well as in the word Muslim. So, it is sai
Islam means "peace," and a Muslim is a peaceful person. The relationsh
between the words is not quite that simple: Islam technically meai
"submission, surrender," and Muslim means a person who is in submission, or

Ashland TheologicalJournal 2007

surrendered, that is, to God. It is fairly easy to involve the word "peace" if you
want to say that a person is at peace through surrender to God. Meanings of
words, however, are tricky, very slippery. A biblical study of the Hebrew word
shalom, for instance, should include the paragraph beginning in Deuteronomy
20:10: your army surrounds a city and offers "peace" to it. If accepted the
populace becomes your slaves; if this kind of "peace" is not accepted, you fight,
kill all the men, and take the women and children as the spoils of war.

What can it mean to say that a whole religious system is one of peace?
Are we talking about ideals? We want to see the whole world at peace in the
Kingdom of God; Muslims want to see the whole world at peace in the Dar 'ul
Islam, the House of Islam. Are we talking about the past record? No religion
has very clean hands. Muhammad and the early Muslim leaders did not come
up with anything new in the military and political realm. They could have
learned it all from the example of Constantine and his successors in the
Byzantine Empire. In history, the most dangerous situations have been the
wedding of a religion, any religion, to temporal, political power. Whenever it
has occurred, there has been a tremendous amount of bloodshed, suffering, and
has led to a revulsion against all religion. The principle of separating religious
and political power was first learned in Europe of the 1 7* century, and was later
enshrined in the American constitution. When tempted to ignore it, look at what
is happening in Israel, among other places, today. Muslims will eventually have
to learn, as people of other religions have been slowly and fitfully trying to
learn, that we all have to scale back our ultimate goals of power in order to live
together without killing one another.

Another question which is always asked, especially in religious circles,
is: Are God and Allah the same or different? For many people, Muslims as well
as Christians, the answer is obvious, they are not the same. Many Muslims do
not want to use the English word God to refer to Allah, because of the feeling
that the word God does not convey the Oneness of Allah. On the other hand,
many Christians say that Allah is a different deity, mainly, I think, because of
the feeling that we should demonize Islam in any way possible.^

Other cooler heads, Muslim as well as Christian, have realized that
there has to be some close relationship between the words. Etymologically, the
Hebrew Elohim in the Old Testament is certainly related to the Arabic Allah.
Also, there is the realization that in many parts of the world, the question of
identity would never be asked. Through much of the Middle East, when
Christians worship, they pray to Allah, since that is simply the Arabic name for
God. In other places too, such as Indonesia and Malaysia, Christians have
simply borrowed the Arabic name to express the One God. Recently, however,

Islam and Current Realities in the Middle East

the government in Malaysia, spurred by Islamic radicals, has passed laws
forbidding Christians to use the word Allah, and several other theological words,
in effect copyrighting the name of God for Islam. These laws affect Christian
discourse in public and in publications, but cannot really be enforced further
than that.

If we worship one God, and Muslims worship one God, we have to be
talking about the same entity. We may have different understandings of what
God is like and how God is revealed to humanity, but if there is to be any
discussion about this, we have to be at the same starting point. Part of our
witness can then be how that one God became flesh and lived among us, in Jesus
the Messiah, or in Arabic, Isa al-Masih. For me, it is very telling that many
Muslims who become Christians testify not that have discovered a different
God, but that they never before understood who God was, and now they know
God through Jesus Christ.

Many other matters of faith will come up for discussion when we are
talking to Muslims. Many Christians shy away from witnessing to Muslims,
since there seems to be so much fanaticism and often-violent reactions to
Christian teachings.^ But many Muslims love to talk about faith; many are as
eager to witness to you, as you are to witness to them. There can be fruitfiil
exchange if we learn to listen to what the other is saying, and then speak
respectfully and confidently about our faith. It may be long before fhiit is seen,
but our Lord is calling us to plant the seeds.^

One other set of questions that I must mention here is so important
since it colors everything else in the current realities in the Middle Est. Also, we
as evangelical Christians are very much involved in the issue, and must think
clearly about the practical issues involved. These are the questions regarding
Israel in the present Middle East.

Arabs unanimously regard the founding of the modem state of Israel as
an intrusion into the Middle East; it represents a new Crusade of the West /
Christians against the Arab / Muslim world. The expansionist policies of Israel
since its establishment only prove to them the diabolical nature of the intrusion,
and the complicity of the United States in using Israel as an anti-Arab / anti-
Islamic tool. Actions of Israel since 1967 and 1973 concerning land and
Palestinian rights fly in the face of world opinion, except in Israel and the
United States, and become convenient seedbeds for the growing of every
movement of unrest throughout the Middle East. Osama bin Laden may not
really care about the Palestinians; he probably doesn't. But when he mentions
their mistreatment, the whole Middle East responds with gut feelings of anger
and frustration. The big question the Arabs ask is: "Why should we have to

Ashland Theological Journal 2007

suffer in order for the West to right the wrongs of Anti-Semitism in the
Holocaust?"

Many Christians, on the other hand, have been at least sympathetic with
Israel. And many have been trying to provide theological justification not only
for Israel's existence, but also for its expansion, something the Zionists
themselves didn't do very much. We don't know just how much influence
evangelical Christianity had in President Truman's decisions to vote for the
establishment of Israel at the United Nations in 1947, and to recognize the new
government in 1948, but he was at least aware of dispensationalist
interpretations about the establishment of a new Israel. Since then, these
interpretations have grown more numerous, and more strident, especially since
Israel gained control of the Temple mount in 1967. We have seen evangelical
leaders in full, uncritical support of the Israeli state as the ftilfillment of biblical
prophecies, with no consideration of the means involved. Arabs, including
Christian Arabs, are treated as if they were not present in the Holy Land.'^

The various Wesleyan movements and also the strong Calvinist
churches were never very much involved in dispensationalist thinking. But
recently it seems that among many churches, there is uncritical acceptance of
claims of this type of biblical interpretation. Much of this, however, needs to be
questioned. Should modem Israel be regarded as a continuation of biblical
Israel? Is the modem nation-state of Israel what is meant in the various
prophetic writings in the Bible? Either way, shouldn't modem Israel be called
to live up to a commitment to the Old Testament covenant with Israel? One of
the characteristic features of that covenant was neighborly concem for the
stranger and the sojoumer in the land; surely that might somehow include the
Palestinians.

These issues are very complex, and we can hardly deal with them in
one short paper. But what I would like to see is Christians, and especially
evangelicals, as well as our national govemment, evaluating the questions of
Israel and Palestine in a more even-handed way, recognizing the problems and
the tmth on both sides.

Summarizing

It's time to sum up, which can't really be done. It would mean a
summary of a summary. But I would like to stress the need for awareness that
these are all issues of our present world that should be aired and discussed fully.
The answers and mistakes of history should not be just accepted and repeated.
Instead, where is the Lord leading us as Christians today? And in what direction
should our nation be moving?

Islam and Current Realities in the Middle East

In the days of the Wild West frontier, at least in the Hollywood version,
the symbol of authority was a Colt revolver, called a "Peacemaker." I'm afraid
we are still too much imbued with this idea! Surely our Lord had something
different in mind when he said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be
called the children of God."

' Much of this story is told in Lyle L. VanderWerff, Christian Mission to Muslims: The
Record (South Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1977).

^ Estimates from 1900 are compiled from various sources. Present-day estimates are
from P. Johnstone and J. Mandryk, Operation World ([Minneapolis]: Bethany House,
2001).

^ For example, Ameer Ali, The Spirit of Islam: A History of the Evolution and Ideals of
Islam with a Life of the Prophet (London: Chatto & Windus, 1978) and Fazlur Rahman,
Islam, 2"*^ ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979).

"* This was recognized long ago. A book on the Mormons published around the end of the
19"^ century had the intriguing title, America 's Islam.

^ Bernard Lewis, What Went Wrong? Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002).

^ Sayyed Qutb, Milestones (Indianapolis: American Trust, 1993). The Arabic original
was published in 1964. There are several editions and translations, some with different
titles.

^ Unfortunately, most books on Islam which are available in the Christian bookstores
present this confrontational viewpoint. A number of more helpful books are available
from evangelical publishers. Look for books by Phil Parshall, Bill Musk, Colin
Chapman, Christine Mallouhi among other evangelical authors.

* A practical call to neighborly concern is a little book by Shirin Taber, Muslims Next
Door: Uncovering Myths and Creating Friendships (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004).

^ Christians will need greater understanding about Islam and what Muslims believe. An
excellent book for this is: Roland E. Miller, Muslim Friends: Their Faith and Feeling (St.
Louis: Concordia, 1995). Miller goes on to discuss Christian witness to Muslims in his

Ashland TheologicalJournal 2007

recent book, Muslims and the Gospel: Bridging the Gap (Minneapolis: Lutheran
University Press, 2005).

'" A good source for this history is: Stephen L. Sizer, Christian Zionism: Road-map to
Armageddon? (Leicester: InterVarsity Press, 2004).

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Ashland Theological Journal 2007

Preventing Burnout in Ministry — A Health & Wellness Approach

by David P. Mann

I became a Christian in the early 1970s,and during that time there was a
saying that seemed to capture the fervor of new commitment: "I'd rather bum
out than rust out for God." This seemed like a wonderful rally cry for those who
desired to follow the Lord closely with all of the zeal we could muster rather
than simply being a person who claimed the title without putting into practice
the things necessary for the Christian life (see James 3:22-25). As with most
cliches, there seemed to be another message within the message that I've
reflected on over time. What has stood out to me is that either way the common
theme is out (whether by burning out or rusting out). What is missing is the call
to a balanced life wherein one will neither bum out nor mst out as we serve
Him.

Over the years that I have served in the pastorate, in chaplaincy, and in
outpatient clinical counseling ministry, I have seen Christian leaders whose
passion for the Lord and his work lose their zeal and come to a place wherein
they are questioning both their walk with Him and their call to ministry. They
have never been close to msting out but have most definitely come to a place
where they have either bumed out or, as I've been known to say a time or two,
have become very "crispy around the edges." In the worst case scenarios, these
leaders have even fallen into moral difficulties that have cost them their
ministries.

But how can this happen? To answer this question we'll need to gain a
brief understanding of the term "burnout" as well as its application to Christian
ministry. We'll also take a look at how one cannot only prevent bumout but also
achieve a healthy, balanced life through giving attention to a wellness model of
living.

Burnout Defined

The phenomenon of bumout was present long before Dr. Herbert
Freudenberger coined the phrase in 1974 to describe behaviors he observed
among staff members of human service agencies. Working with people and
programs is draining work whether it is in clinical or ministry settings and

David P. Mann (Ph.D., University of Akron; LPCC-S), is Associate Professor of
Counseling at ATS.

Preventing Burnout in Ministry: A Health and Wellness Approach

caring individuals can become prone to experiencing burnout (James 8c
Gilliland, 2005).

Burnout has been defined as "exhaustion of physical or emotional
strength or motivation usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration"
(Merriam- Webster Dictionary). When dealing with burnout, people feel as if
they are trying to muster enough energy not to keep their heads above water, so
to speak, but rather to keep just one nostril above water!

Symptoms of Burnout

The experience of burnout is one that involves all levels of our being —
physical, behavioral, emotional, interpersonal, attitudinal, and spiritual.
Physically persons may experience chronic exhaustion, muscular tension,
susceptibility to physical illnesses such as colds, and a host of other symptoms.
I've shared in a number of settings that our bodies can give us indications that
we need to attend to the stresses of our lives //we would but listen. Instead of
choosing to not "bum the candle" at both ends, we look for how we might
acquire more wax! Some of the behaviors that accompany burnout include the
loss of creativity and enjoyment that was once present, frequent changing or
quitting ministry positions, vacillating between over-involvement and
detachment, and errors in judgment. Emotionally one can experience depression,
anxiety and panic attacks, feelings of meaninglessness and emptiness, mood
swings, irritability, and even thoughts of suicide as a means of escape.
Interpersonal symptoms include the inability to cope with minor interpersonal
problems (such as constructive criticism), marital problems, distance or
enmeshment with others (i.e., personal boundary problems), and withdrawal
fi-om fi"iends and family. Attitudes are affected by burnout and can be evidenced
by cynicism, perfectionism, boredom, pessimism, callousness, complaints about
time and money, and veiled hostility in humor (which may be evidenced in
joking statements such as "I love the ministry, it's the people I hate"). Spiritual
symptoms can include a loss of meaning and purpose, feeling as if one has lost
their faith or calling by God, detachment from others of the faith, lack of desire
to practice spiritual disciplines such as prayer and scripture reading, and even an
"I alone am left Lord" approach to ministry (see 1 Kings 19:10). (James &
Gilliland, 2005; Greenstone & Leviton, 2002).

Alligators and Assessment

Someone once said, "It's hard to concentrate on draining the swamp
when you're up to your neck in alligators" (Anonymous). That is a fairly
accurate depiction of people experiencing burnout. It is difficult to see where

Ashland TheologicalJournal 2007

we've gotten off-track when we are struggling to deal with all the "alligators" of
our lives but it is necessary to make an assessment of where we are currently so
that we'll be able to chart out a healthier path for the future.

I recently taught a pastoral counseling class for students preparing for
pastoral and other Christian leadership roles. One of my course assignments was
that students take a minimum of a half day retreat and write a short paper
reflecting on the experience. My purpose? I believe that it is important to begin
practices early that can be repeated throughout a lifetime of ministry to
encourage health and wellness and avoid problems such as burnout. The
feedback received from the class on this project has shown me that it is
necessary to stop on occasion, invite the Lord into those times of retreat, and in
conjunction with Him take a look at the various areas of our lives to be refreshed
and to realign priorities.

In the Gospel of Mark we read the following: "Very early in the morning,
while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitar>'
place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and
when they found him, they exclaimed: 'Everyone is looking for you!'" (1:35-
37). We are ever learning from our Lord and ever discovering things about
ourselves as we read scripture. In this passage I believe we can see clearly that
Jesus spent regular times apart from others and the busyness of ministry to
spend time with the Father. I believe we also see in this passage an approach to
life (as evidenced by the disciples' response) that many in ministry can find
themselves practicing — a propensity toward being driven by the urgent (i.e.,
perceived needs of ministry) at the expense of the necessary (i.e., ordering our
inner world in time of prayer and solitude).

The beginning point for avoiding burnout, then, is a thoughtfiil
assessment of what constitutes health and wellness and what areas we find
ourselves needing to address. To begin this assessment, we'll need some
understanding of what health and wellness are.

Health and Wellness Defined

Health is defined as "the condition of being sound in body, mind, or
spirit" as well as a "flourishing condition" and wellness being "the quality or
state of being in good health especially as an actively sought goal" (Merriam-
Webster Online Dictionary). This flourishing state of soundness in body, mind,
and spirit as an actively sought goal seems to coincide with Jesus' call to the
weary and burdened in Matthew 1 1 :28-29 to take on His approach to living that
leads to the abundant living spoken of in John 10:10 ("I am come that they

Preventing Bumout in Ministry: A Health and Wellness Approach

might have life, and have it to thefuW). From a Christian worldview, we might
further describe health and wellness as akin to achieving maturity in our lives.

Christian maturity involves accomplishing that to which God has
uniquely called each of us. The Biblical word for mature is telios, which is
translated />er/ec/ in the King James Version and mature in most recent versions.
A thing is teleios, if it realizes the purpose for which it was plaimed; a person is
perfect if he or she realizes the purpose for which he or she was created and sent
into the world. So then, a person will be teleios if they fulfill the purpose for
which they were created (Benner, 1985; Barclay, 1975).

What Constitutes a Mature Life of Health and Wellness?

I don't recall where I first heard it, but someone once challenged pastors
and Christian leaders to lead by example with the following statement: "If it's a
mist in the pulpit, it's a fog in the pew." To achieve the kind of life that gives
evidence of health and wellness, we must gain an understanding of what creates
such a life and be intentional about practicing the principles that bring it into
being. To come to such an understanding, it is best to think in terms of balancing
the major dimensions of our lives: intellectual, physical, emotional,
occupational, social, and spiritual.

Intellectual

The major dimensions of our lives intersect and interact with each other
but for the sake of discussion here, I will describe them individually. The
intellectual dimension of our lives involves what we might commonly refer to as
what happens between our ears — our thought life. The Bible speaks quite often
about the importance of this particular dimension. One example is found in
Ephesians 4:23 where the vital link between putting off the old self and putting
on the new can be found in the renewal of our minds. Philippians 4:8-9
challenges us to take control of what we think upon with the result being a
positive impact upon our lives. These and a number of other scripture passages
encourage us to give attention to what we think about and meditate on. It is also
important to challenge our minds by developing a lifelong learning mentality
wherein we learn because we are curious about life and have a desire to grow.
One safeguard against bumout is developing this area of life by reading for
relaxation, taking a new class, going to seminars, and nurturing curiosity about
all kinds of things (e.g., nature, art, science). Another safeguard against bumout
is to challenge the type of thinking that predisposes one to feeling overwhelmed.
Many of the things that we tell ourselves that have the words should or ought in

Ashland TheologicalJournal 2007

them are generally going to be unrealistic expectations that we have of ourselves
(and others) that create frustration as we fail time and again to meet these ideals.

Physical

The physical dimension is the one most prone to feeling like I am
meddling. The reason for this? Many of us struggle with a bit more body mass
than we might like to admit. We might even joke a bit about that fact that we're
not being overweight, we're just height-impaired for our size. The down side of
living in a land of plenty that has a pace at near the speed of light is that we get
much busyness but little time to plan for proper nutrition and reasonable
exercise. Connected to the shoulds and oughts mentioned above, we need to get
away from unrealistic expectations (the stuff of which New Year's Resolutions
are made) and develop some healthy living principles that we can live with for a
lifetime. Over the past year or so I have made some of these changes and am
feeling the benefit of them. My annual visit to the doctor had a new twist to our
past conversations on the extra pounds I was carrying. The word "diabetes"
came up in predicting the outcome of sustaining the same lifestyle I had been
accustomed to. Through making changes in diet and exercise, our conversation
was much more positive at the next annual visit. Caring for our bodies is spoken
of in Scripture more than once and pointing these out here might seem like an
induced guilt trip which is the last thing that would be needed. I encourage you
to find little ways to change that will accumulate over time into being more
healthy physically. I also encourage you to connect strengths with weaknesses to
accomplish your goals. For example, I regularly have morning devotions (that
involve the reading of Scripture and some devotional material and prayer) but
rarely had an exercise routine. I seem to stay more focused in my prayer time
when not sitting perfectly still so now after reading, I walk on my treadmill and
pray. Another way to cormect more than one dimension would be to walk with
someone else regularly or join a sports team (this connects the physical with the
social dimensions). The bottom line is that proper rest, exercise, and diet
safeguards the body from built up stress and by doing so increases one's ability
to ward off burnout.

Emotional

The emotional dimension involves our inner world of emotions and the
things that factor into positive and negative feelings. Interconnected with our
thought life, we need to be carefiil how we talk to ourselves about life. In other
words, our emotions are strongly influenced by what we think. As noted above,
when we think of positive things, we have a sense of peace and general

Preventing Bumout in Ministry: A Health and Wellness Approach

contentment. On the other hand, if we choose to live in what I refer to as th<
"what if neighborhood," we will be filled with anxiety. The "what i
neighborhood" is simply this: persons who tend to think about everything ba(
that could happen to them or others (i.e., "what if. . . .") will mentally work out al
the scenarios in their minds so as to have a plan just in case one of thes<
negative situations arise. This might seem like a plausible plan for being read^
for all events, however, what this really does is cause the person the emotiona
stress and strain associated with a myriad of situations that most likely wil
never happen! There is great benefit in developing a positive attitude toward lif
and in taking care of this important dimension. Taking care of the emotiona
dimension of our lives includes developing a healthy sense of humor, accepting
life as it is not as one thinks it should be, learning to forgive oneself and other
for failings so as not to develop unrelenting guilt, shame, and resentment, an(
developing an interpretation of life's events that helps to foster growth (se(
James 1:2-3 and 2 Corinthians 4:8-12; 12:7-10).

Occupational

Often overlooked is the occupational dimension of developing a healthy
lifestyle. This dimension deals with finding satisfaction and a sense of worth ii
one's work without basing one's sense of worth on one's work. It is a balancing
act to be sure. When we are talking about professions such as pastoral ministry
the waters can become murkier yet as it is very easy to confuse one's workfo,
God with one's walk with God. When this happens, the pastor's devotional tim(
can become an extension of his or her sermon preparation time and by so doinj
can rob them of much needed personal, spiritual renewal. Workaholism can b(
just as much a part of the pastorate as it is in corporate sectors of society. W(
need, therefore, to be careftil when working inordinate amounts of hours at th<
church not to assume we will receive a "get out of stress free" card since it i;
"for the Lord." Part of staying healthy in the occupational realm is learning t(
say one of the most powerful little words around — "no" — and find that th<
world does not come crumbling down as a result of it. Avoiding bumou
necessitates that we develop an approach to work that is healthy and fits with th(
other dimensions. One suggestion for developing a healthy approach to work ii
taking control of one's calendar so as to be sure the significant people (family &
fi"iends) and things (exercise, rest, outside interests) are given needed time
Discovering one's best and worst times of the day for particula
activities/projects and scheduling around this is another suggestion. Fo:
example, if you are the most mentally sharp in the beginning of the day, plan fo
the most brain-intensive tasks to be accomplished then and save the less taxing

Ashland Theological Journal 2007

ictivities for later in the day if possible. Taking breaks from work by getting
iway from one's work space for a bit can create space within the day to breathe,
f you are prone to eating your lunch at your desk or work station so you don't
ose any time on projects, try doing something different that gets you away
nentally and physically (e.g., take lunch to a break room; go out for lunch; go
m a walk).

Social

The social dimension involves developing relationships with others that
ire meaningful and mutually beneficial. We have been created to be in
elationship with God and others and so budgeting our time wisely to be able to
;onnect with others is vital for our health. I will note, however, that the amount
)f time needed with others varies greatly between those who lean toward
ntroversion and those from the extraverted camp. For introverted persons, being
n interpersonal situations tends to drain their emotional "batteries" whereas for
!xtraverted people, it seems the more time spent with others, the better!
different is just different as it applies to the introversion-extraversion continuum
ind each one needs to find what is most restorative to them. The social
limension can also be enhanced by interacting with people who are very
lifferent from oneself such as those from other cultures, ages, and lifestyles,
developing relationships with others who have similar interests is also very
valuable. In my first pastorate I discovered the tremendous value of developing
riendships outside of my normal circle. I enjoyed playing racquetball and so I
oined a local YMCA where I met up with others who enjoyed playing the game
IS well. I was not their pastor, I was fellow racquetball player and friend. The
elationships I developed over time with these folks helped balance out my life
especially when I would take life a bit too seriously (and felt the stress of doing
!o). This is also another example of the interaction between dimensions — in this
ease, the social and physical.

Spiritual

Nurturing the spiritual dimension of health and wellness involves
)ractices that create space for us to meet with God and be transformed more and
nore into the likeness of Christ. The classical spiritual disciplines (Richard
i^oster's Celebration of Discipline delineates a number of these) can position us
0 have such encounters with God and create the opportunity for change. One of
he corporate disciplines, worship, can involve both the spiritual and social
limensions as we gather with others in the pursuit of nurturing this dimension.
iVe must be carefiil not to confuse the busyness of doing spiritual activities with

Preventing Bvimout in Ministry: A Health and Wellness Approach

being in His presence for renewal. Spending time in God's presence in personal
prayer can be a source of refreshing from life's stresses and a means of sharing
our concerns with Him. Meditating upon the Scriptures can also serve to not
only buffer us from the stresses of life, but also to foster change in our attitudes
toward these stressors.

Conclusion

Burnout is a phenomenon to which persons who are passionate about
their work/ministry can become vulnerable if they are not careful. Symptoms of
burnout can manifest themselves on multiple levels of our lives so we need a
prevention approach that balances intellectual, physical, emotional,
occupational, social, and spiritual dimensions. ■

References

Barclay, W. (1975). The gospel of Matthew, Vol.1. Philadelphia: The

Westminster Press.
Benner, D.G. (Ed.) (1985). Baker encyclopedia of psychology. Grand Rapids,

MI: Baker Book House.
Greenstone, J.L., & Leviton, S.C. (2002). Elements of crisis intervention: Crises

and how to respond to them, 2"'^ ed. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
James, R.K., & Gilliland, B.E. (2005). Crisis intervention strategies, 5''' Ed.

Pacific Grove, CA: Wadsworth Publishing.

16'

Ashland Theological Journal 2007

Moving Toward The Kingdom And The Seven Deadly D's

by Gene Heacock*

Abstract '

The purpose of this work is to present the biblical theme of the
Kingdom of God as the central model for Christian leadership, congregational
life, mission, and cultural transformation. The Kingdom offers an alternative
paradigm in contrast to established evangelical forms grounded in human
wisdom and understanding.

Through biblical paradigms and statistical research, the author
describes the condition of early 21^* century American Christianity. Through the
use of systems thinking and cultural diagnosis, he defines what he terms the
"seven deadly D's" of American church life. The Kingdom of God is presented
as the only theological, systemic approach to remedy these maladies.

The significance of this work is in recovering the model of the
Kingdom of God as the necessary biblical corrective to modem evangelical
leadership formation and church practice. This includes implications for the
rethinking of Evangelicalism, a new approach to theology, and the formation of
multidimensional leadership. This will assist 21^' century Christian leaders in
dealing with complexity, diversity, changing spiritual paradigms, and
interdenominational unity. It offers hope as new fiiel and a Kingdom model as a
cognitive construct as well as recommendations for application.

This paper will introduce the reader to the condition of the church in
the United States today. The author will use the term "system" to describe it.
The term is used both in its popular sense and in the specific meaning as it
relates to systems theory and change.' He will then describe the process in
which he rediscovered the Kingdom of God, and propose that the Kingdom of
God is the only comprehensive theological systemic solution to the seven deadly
D's of church life. He will explain what they are and contrast them to the
teaching of Scripture as the necessary corrective. Scripture is "the word of the
great King,"^ and God's design to remedy the church from the condition
described as the seven deadly D's. Only the King can solve the problems within
his Kingdom.

There are many reports ranging fi-om mission agencies^ and public
surveys'*, to futurist predictions, that indicate the church in America is waning in
vitality and influence. This writer's pilgrimage forced him to ask, "Why is

* Gene Heacock (D.Min, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) is Executive Director
of the Sandberg Leadership Center at ATS.

Moving Toward the Kingdom and the Seven Deadly D's

American Christianity in the condition it is in, and how did it get that way?" Y
knew he had to first deal with the Kingdom of God within him before he cou
deal with the larger issues of the church. God began a deeper work of gra(
within him and increased his passion and devotion for Jesus. He then directe
his attention to the church in America. He began to seek God's will through tl
revelation given in Holy Scripture. He needed to learn how to listen for God
voice and follow his leadership. His reflection led him to identify what he cal
the seven deadly D's of church life in America. This writer's conclusion is th
only the Kingdom of God has the needed theological corrective to conquer the;
seven deficiencies. The Kingdom is a comprehensive systemic approach.^
includes the doctrine of creation.^ It provides spiritual power and spiritu
dynamics to convert and sanctify believers.^ It is transformational.^ It gives
corporate paradigm for Christians to cooperate in mission and in the publ
square cooperatively.^ It is Christ's model for relational unity in the midst (
great diversity (John 13:34, 17:21). The Kingdom is God's design for person
discipleship'^ and cultural diagnosis." The Kingdom's thrust is alwa]
missional.'^ The advancement of the Kingdom includes spiritual warfare.^^ Tl
Kingdom provides the relational aspects within community. '"* The Kingdo:
provides a new model of leadership.'^

God's Kingdom is advanced during revival that results in great cultur
and societal change.'^. It includes repentance''^ and is a source of great hope f(
God's people.'^ The King is invited to come to Earth to transform the Ear
through prayer (Matthew 6:10). In united believing prayer, the great histor
awakenings have occurred.'^ The Kingdom offers great hope in the wor
today."°

Moving Toward the Kingdom - Defining the Kingdom

This writer's interest in the Kingdom grows out of his conviction th
Jesus Christ came to Earth as God in the flesh and his Word is supreme. Wht
one sees Christ, one sees God; when one hears Christ speaking, one hears Gc
speak. The focus of Christ's teaching and the discipling of his followers was c
the Kingdom of God. In Jesus Christ's earthly ministry, he spoke directly abo
the church only two times (Matt. 16, 18) yet taught on the Kingdom of Gc
dozens of times. ^'

In modem times, we as Christians have focused so much on the visib
church that we have often neglected the invisible Kingdom. Often, the visib
church has been substituted for the Kingdom. This is reductionistic; the churc
becomes myopic and sometimes idolatrous.^^ This writer's conviction is that tl
deeper needs of spiritual vitality, the transformation of the individual, an entii

Ashland Theological Journal 2007

culture, and the expansion of the Gospel to reach all nations, can be found in the
Kingdom of God as transforming presence. This model is needed in the 21st
century.

This writer is convinced that in the Kingdom one can find the solution
to the greatest needs within Western Christianity today; namely a "new"
approach to theology, a theological track for transformational leadership, a new
paradigm of the Holy Spirit, and the need for a new reconfiguration of
denominational cooperation for the 2 1 st century. This writer realizes that these
"new" thoughts are actually old thoughts found in Jesus' teaching and ministry.
He was a wise steward of the Kingdom who knew how to bring out old truths as
well as new (Matthew 13:52).

When Jesus spoke about the Kingdom, he used a loaded term pregnant
with Old Testament history, meaning, and promise. Jesus spoke from a Hebraic
worldview. That worldview is holistic and capable of handling the tensions of
the Kingdom. Modem readers have attempted to over-define, redefine, or
compartmentalize the Kingdom. This writer is proposing that the Kingdom is a
comprehensive term capable of handling multiple definitions, dimensions, and
tensions. The Kingdom touches not only the individual, but also culture,
commerce, recreation, literature, ecology, justice and racial harmony. The
expansion of the Kingdom has had a leavening effect upon all of history. One
author describes history as being "under the influence,"^^ and documents how
Christianity has transformed civilization throughout history. This is the
expansion of the King's shalom (the Gospel) to all nations. Christ's last
instructions to his disciples at his ascension were related to the Kingdom's
dynamic work on earth (Acts 1 :8).

Throughout this work, this author will use the term "Kingdom of God"
to mean the rule of God, as he follows Ladd's definition that "the Kingdom of
God is basically the rule of God."^"* Ladd also has noted that "God's kingdom,
His malkuth, is His universal rule. His sovereignty over all the earth"^^ and that
"the Kingdom of God is His Kingship, His rule. His authority."^^ The terms
"reign" and "realm" are often associated with understanding where the Kingdom
is, how it operates, and when it will come in totality.

Alva J. McClain presents eight historic and theological positions in his
attempt to define the Kingdom. They are the "national, millennial, celestial,
ecclesiastical, spiritual, moral, liberal social, and the modem eschatological
kingdom."^^ Howard Snyder also identifies eight expressions. They include "the
Kingdom as future hope, inner experience, mystical communion, institutional
church, counter system, political state. Christianized culture, and earthly
utopia."^^ Both McClain and Snyder also recognize the challenge of defining the

Moving Toward the Kingdom and the- Seven Deadly D's

Kingdom. McClain quotes Louis Berkoff: "No one can make a serious study of
the subject without discovering that the Kingdom of God is a many-sided
conception, and that its presentation in the gospels is complex rather than
simple. The study of its various aspects leads to a difference of emphasis; and
this gives birth to a large number of, often disparate, views. "^^ Snyder will
approach these disparate views by proposing a resolution. The Kingdom can
have multiple definitions, which he labels "polarities." They may appear to be
contradictory but Snyder insists that they are actually complimentary. They are
opposite poles held in tension with one another but all are equally true. Snyder
will propose a multidimensional model that looks like a gyroscope, to balance

1 • 30

these tensions.

As noted, this writer will use the term "Kingdom of God" to mean the
rule of God. That rule includes God's rule over all things and his design is to
reconcile all things to himself (Colossians 1:19). Therefore, the rule of God
would include the material, spiritual, the seen, and the invisible. God's rule
requires a Christian worldview, a doctrine of creation, and the conviction that
God is at work in history. Kingdom rule is to have a transforming influence
upon culture. The Kingdom model invites God's diverse subjects to
cooperatively work together on earth as they await Christ's return.

This writer recognizes the historic viewpoints regarding the multiple
definitions of the Kingdom. His focus is on the spiritual dynamics.^' of the
Kingdom rather than an over-definition of "the Kingdom." Throughout this
article, the Kingdom of God will be proposed as God's solution for many of the
seen and symptomatic issues of the visible church in a somewhat simplistic
fashion. This writer realizes the complexities of modem life and the historic
cycles of Christianity's advancement and regression. He is aware of unique
forms of spiritual warfare that we as Christians face in the church in America
today. He does not propose the Kingdom of God as a Pollyanna panacea, a cure-
all for all of modem life or for all of the ills of the contemporary church. Nor
does he set up the contemporary church like the proverbial straw-man to bash
down for what it is not. His attempt is not to use the Kingdom as a wrecking ball
to knock the church down, but rather to plant seeds for thought and to cultivate
the future church's leadership growth. John Stott eloquently stated that "vision
begins with a holy discontentment with the status quo."^"^

This writer, like many, is not content with the spiritual state of
Christianity and the church in America. While there are wonderfiil and notable
exceptions of church life and the expansion of the gospel, it has been repeatedly
stated that 85 percent of the churches in America have plateaued, declined, or
are dysfiinctional.^^ Not only have the church's statistics reached epidemic

Ashland TheologicalJournal 2007

proportions; spiritual transformation and growth in sanctification within the
Hves of Christians is often superficial. There is little difference tyetween the
moral behavior of Christians and non-Christians. The spiritual tide is out and the
wind of the Spirit, in many places, is barely perceptible. As Lovelace has stated,
"spiritual warfare in its most basic definition is the advancement of the Kingdom
of God over the Kingdom of darkness. "^"^ We as Christians are presently groping
in spiritual darkness. We are in need of light. We need God's transforming
presence through massive spiritual awakening. Revival is God's solution.

Today, Christians have a need for spiritual transformation, yet many
Christian leaders propose human-centered managerial, organizational, and
methodological solutions. Leadership often has been defined as the following of
principles rather than following a living person. Some believe that leadership is
the same in business, sports, government, and the church. They all follow the
same principles, as "no matter what the profession, the principles of leadership
remain the same."^^ This writer is concerned that this emphasis may divert
evangelicals away from a God-centered solution. The core problem is spiritual
and theological. Most of the solutions proposed today are prescribed
symptomatically rather than systemically. Only the Kingdom of God offers a
truly biblical, systemic solution for spiritual change. It includes repentance, the
truth of God's Word, reconciliation, and inviting God's transforming presence
through the person of the Holy Spirit. The Kingdom's expectation is that the
whole world will be touched by the expansion of the Gospel. God's
incamational presence will change every area of one's life.

This writer will include Lovelace's definition of revival to mean the
advancement of the Kingdom of light over the Kingdom of darkness. This
writer is convinced that there is a cause-and-effect relationship between historic
awakening, the advancement of the Kingdom of God, and social change. The
intangible element of hope is the vital link in personal renewal and cultural
transformation. Many of the movements of revival today offer dualistic
solutions. At times revival is reactionary and not proactive. In addition, revivals
often have not focused on the transformation of an entire culture. True
awakening (Divine intervention) is when an entire culture experiences a massive
paradigm shift that changes the history of a nation.^^ True revival "is when the
people of God become saturated with the presence of God."^^ True revival is
"when the power of God's light push[es] back the forces of darkness." This
writer contends that we as Christians must pray and prepare for true awakening,
not just individual revival or revivalism. His conviction is that there must be an
entirely new type of leader who holds Scripture and theology in high regard and
who is engaged in personal renewal. These leaders rely on God's power to

Moving Toward the Kingdom and the Seven Deadly D's

transform them. They then multiply that change into society to advance the
Gospel globally.

Proper understanding of the Kingdom of God will provide a theological
framework for transformational leaders. These leaders are equally committed to
scholarship and the dynamic operation of the Holy Spirit. The focus of this
article is the call for God-centered, Kingdom-oriented, multidimensional,
transformational leadership in the 21st century. In short, it is Kingdom
leadership. The need for a new type of Christian leader is overwhelming and the
task of preparation is multifaceted and multidimensional. This author's
conviction is that traditional methods of preparation and approaches toward
training must be re-examined if one is to train this new type of leader. A new
approach to theology is needed, not new theology. Kingdom leaders think about
theology, and its interaction and application, as it is incarnated within the greater
culture. Systemic theology deals with the spatial, racial, and systemic issues in a
post-modem culture in a biblical, holistic fashion. It is called "systemic
theology" in contrast to classical "systematic theology." Theology can become
flat and one-dimensional rather than dynamic, interactive, and relational. It can
be compared to reviewing a company's stock portfolio of assets and liabilities
versus meeting the owner personally. The Kingdom of God emphasizes the
dynamic operation of meeting the owner, the King, in a dynamic partnership.

This writer is deeply committed to the methodology of Jesus'
leadership. He was relational and lived in community. He modeled a
multidimensional approach to leadership. He was prophet, priest, and King. He
knew how to lead in the unseen and the seen simultaneously. These multiple
levels must be recovered to recapture a Kingdom mindset for 21st century
leaders. This writer is concerned that many evangelicals have lost a proper
emphasis on the unseen dimension, something this writer calls "intangibles."
Intangibles deal with unseen dimensions of things such as hope, unity,
perseverance, and spiritual dynamics. Evangelical tradition has much to offer in
this area. Many have lost contact with God's supernatural presence. The Holy
Spirit's work is often ignored or assumed, rather than invited. These intangible
elements are often assumed, missing, or misused. This loss has robbed
Evangelicalism of its spiritual birthright.

Evangelicals often have become so caught up in visible success that
they forget about the invisible realities of character, and the unseen dimensions
of ministry."^" It is these invisible and intangible elements that produce energy to
move ahead. Hope, unity, and repentance are intangibles. They are needed for
God's people to progress and to gain forward movement. Christianity is a
movement not an organization. It is this writer's interest to see the Gospel

Ashland Theological Journal 2007

expand. He wants to understand how these intangible dynamics of the Kingdom
catalyze change in the world and bring about transformation. This is what rivets
this writer's attention to Jesus' words in the New Testament regarding the
Kingdom of God. It is also this writer's conviction that a biblical understanding
of the Kingdom will help 2 1 st century leaders discover a new paradigm of the
Holy Spirit. It is this writer's hope to discover how the Kingdom operated within
the first century so such knowledge can guide those in the 21st century into a
new reconfiguration of unity and advancement of the Gospel into the whole
world.

The Kingdom of God offers a comprehensive theological framework
and solution for all of these identified areas. The Kingdom is God's design and
it is the necessary corrective to combat the maladies that are faced at a pastoral
level, because it is a systemic solution. This writer will propose several
conclusions regarding the Kingdom, and then will examine the seven deadly
D's. It will become clear that the Kingdom provides a biblical, systemic solution
for the multiple maladies that plague the church in America.

This writer's conclusion regarding the Kingdom as God's rule is as
follows:

• Kingdom rule is comprehensive over all of creation; therefore there is
no secular world.

• Kingdom rule provides a theological fi-amework and worldview;
therefore the Gospel is to touch all of reality.

• Kingdom rule is righteousness revealed; therefore Kingdom subjects
are to be transformed into this righteousness.

• Kingdom rule is power released at conversion; therefore Kingdom
subjects will reveal growth in heavenly values.

• Kingdom rule is shalom and relational peace; therefore Kingdom
subjects seek organic unity.

• Kingdom rule is progressive and expansive; therefore Kingdom
subjects grow in transformation and are missional throughout the Earth.

• Kingdom rule is comprehensive; therefore all of reality is evaluated by
the King's standards.

The Seven Deadly D's and the Kingdom

What are the seven deadly D's of church life in America? Simply
stated, they are:

1 . The Great Divide between the secular and the sacred, resulting in the
loss of the Kingdom.

Moving Toward the Kingdom and the Seven Deadly D's

2. The Great Disconnect of the Gospel from worldview, resulting in a
weightless Gospel.

3 . The Great Divorce between belief and behavior.

4. The Great Deception between decisions and conversions.

5. The Great Division between the church as an integrated, whole body
of Christ into a steady decline of increased fragmentation and rampant
spiritual conftision. This has resulted in division regarding the church's
role in public life.

6. The Great Diversion of programs versus making disciples; the great
omission in the great commission, which has been the removal of the
word of obedience.

7. The Great Delusion that the church in America is healthy.

These seven maladies are the result of a complex set of root causes over
the last century, many whose origins are found in the Enlightenment. They
include theological, cultural, and spiritual issues. They are very broad, including
Western empiricism, cultural pluralism, post-modernism, and higher education.
Within Evangelicalism, leadership paradigms, consumerism, mega-church
models, and generational issues have caused debilitating spiritual loss. This
compartmentalization of the Christian faith has resulted in moral compromise,
spiritual schizophrenia, and the lack of spiritual vitality. The church has lost
much of its theological framework and much of its spiritual depth.

The Great Divide

While Kingdom rule is comprehensive over all of creation, the Great
Divide between the sacred and the secular is real. Many have documented this
Great Divide, including A. W. Tozer, Leonard Ravenhill, Harold Ockenga,
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, H. Richard, Reinhold Niebuhr, and Carl F. H. Henry in the
mid-20th century. They have all called for repentance of the religious status quo
and the need for cultural change"*'

Following the writers listed above, the prophetic voice of Martin Luther
King, Jr., and the reformation perspective of Frances Schaeffer were heard. In
the 1970s and 1980s, alarming statistics from George Gallup, Jr., were presented
and the prophetic voices of Jim Wallis, Tom Sine, Ron Sider, and John Perkins
were heard. At the beginning of the 2 1 st century, God has raised up voices from
within American Evangelicalism such as Henry Blackaby, Charles Colson,
David Wells, James Engle, Howard Snyder, and others from outside America,
including Os Guiimess, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, and leaders from the
developing world. Christianity is in need of deep change and renewal. The

Ashland Theological Journal 2007 ■ '

information is available, but an ear to listen and a willingness to learn
repentance is the key to transformation. The great delusion that the church in
America is fine can easily be refuted by Shaw, who writes that "evidence that
the winds of secularization have grown stronger is seen in the statistical growth
of those who identify themselves as 'nonreligious.' Os Guinness has called this
'the most dramatic change on the entire religious map of the twentieth century.'
The net result of secularization in the modem world has been to make religious
ideas less meaningful and religious institutions more marginal." ^'^ Unfortunately
secularization has a great impact upon the church as well. George Gallup notes
that "comparing churched and non-churched Americans in a number of
categories (cheating on taxes, inflating resumes, and similar deceitful
behaviors), the pollster found 'little difference in the ethical views and behavior
of the churched and the unchurched' ... even among conservative Christians."'*^

There is a systemic spiritual issue in the church in America that cannot
be solved without dealing with root causes in a repentant, holistic, systemic
approach. However, because the outward condition of the church is
overwhelming and the symptoms of moral decline are so alarming, most
approaches have been designed symptomatically rather than systemically. A
Kingdom mindset and systemic approach is needed for massive spiritual change.

The comprehensive call to reform the church systemically in both
theology and spirit can be recovered through the discovery of a comprehensive
model. How would a rediscovery of the Kingdom of God remedy the roots
causes of the seven deadly D's? The Great Divide between the secular and the
sacred is a direct result of a loss of the Kingdom of God. The great King of the
Kingdom is the creator of all things; all things belong to him, were created by
his command, are part of his domain, and are under his sovereign control. There
is no secular world; this mindset is a creation by a world in spiritual rebellion,
and the creation of language and worldview that attempts to put a wedge
between the seen and the unseen. Alistair Petrie proclaims the magnificent
vision of God's sovereign leadership, stating "God is Lord over history, nations,
kingdoms, and all the peoples of the earth. Jeremiah 10:7 refers to God as 'King
of the nations', and Psalm 22:28 declares that 'dominion belongs to the Lord and
he rules over the nations'... whatever happens on His land comes under His
ultimate sovereignty. The quality of our stewardship, which God has entrusted
to us, determines how He acts toward us and within our lives.""^"*

It is out of this biblical worldview and a Hebraic understanding that the
Kingdom of God is best understood in contrast to the Great Divide. It is this
understanding that will combat the fallacy of thought of the Great Divide. The
Kingdom of God points to a Hebraic holistic view of both God's role as the

Moving Toward the Kingdom and the Seven Deadly D's

creator of all matter and the sustainer of all things.'*^ The Kingdom of God is the
interpretive, theological bridge between the Old and New Testaments."*^
Scripture continues to point us to this transcendent God who rules over all of
creation, over all powers seen and unseen, over history, nations, rulers, tragedies
and war, blessings and curses, as well as individual destinies. He rejoices in his
creation because "the Earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof (Psalm 24:1).
He reveals himself in the canvas of creation that causes one to run into the
sanctuary and cry, "Glory!" (Psalm 29:9). God has revealed himself as both
transcendent and imminent. This great King cannot be separated or bisected into
secular and sacred.

The Great Divide has become the source of both great apathy and
misery in the world, as many Christians have embraced this ungodly division
with tragic consequences. It is what Martin Luther King, Jr., described as an
"other worldly religion."^^ According to King, it is a gospel that has no concern
for racial equality or economic justice. He says that "I have watched churches ...
commit themselves to a completely other worldly religion which makes a
strange biblical distinction between body and soul, between the sacred and the
secular. ""^^ Marvin Wilson reminds us of our Hebraic roots, as he notes that
"according to Hebrew thought, there was neither cosmological dualism (the
belief that the created world was evil, set apart from and opposed to the spiritual
world) nor anthropological dualism (soul versus body). To the Hebrew mind, a
human being was a dynamic body-soul unity, called to serve God his Creator
passionately, with his whole being, within the physical world.""*^

Abraham Kuyper reminds one that the world is owned by God, as he
says "There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence
over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all does not cry 'mine'."^° It is also
apparent that God's rule is challenged. According to C. S. Lewis, "There is not
one square inch of neutral ground in the universe; it is all claimed by God and
counter-claimed by the enemy."^' The Puritans recognized God's sovereign
ownership, but they were realistic in recognizing that regaining God's rule over
the world was a painstaking process echoed in the words of John Owen. "We
regain the Kingdom of God one inch at a time."^^ The creation of a theological
framework and a vocabulary that accepts secularization as a fact of life in the
modem world has attempted to remove the Lordship of Christ over every area of
life. This mindset has radically affected the spiritual life of the typical American
Christian in a profound and negative way. This has resulted in its macro-
systemic expression in the creation of the spiritual-cultural rebellion of the 20th
century. On a micro-personal scale, this has resulted in pseudo-Holiness,
cultural absorption, and cultural escapism within the individual's lifestyle.

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James Davison Hunter has suggested that the loss of the sacred canopy ,^^ which
he describes as "a broader cosmology"^"* has opened up the culture wars within
American society. He suggests that the core of the culture wars is rooted in the
lack of a biblical worldview within the broader society.

The integral relationship of one's private spiritual life and the
expression of that faith in the public arena is an area of growing tension and
confusion among American Christians. If the Great Divide is accepted as
"normal," the believer will often become confused, compartmentalized, and
fragmented. This loss of clarity can also affect individual motivation to penetrate
society as salt and light. The Great Divide can also result in a corporate defeatist
mindset and a loss of hope that society can change through supernatural
intervention. This has dimmed the believer's hope that God's Kingdom
(spiritual awakening) can come to earth again in his or her own day.

Lovelace suggests that the loss of this "broader cosmology" has
resulted in an anti-supernatural mindset that has affected Christians greatly. He
argues that many modem evangelicals doubt the possibility that true revival
leading to massive spiritual awakening and cultural change is possible. Lovelace
asks, "Can waterfalls flow backwards?"^^ He means, can God change the current
cultural decay in America? This will require a massive spiritual paradigm shift
among evangelicals.

The Great Divide is illustrated in the use of vocabulary that separated
the Old English word "wholly" into two separate words now used as "holy" and
"whole. "^^ This has resulted in a hundred greater evils in understanding the
Great Divide. Unfortunately acceptance of the terminology and mindset of a
secular world has caused a redefinition of salvation as an escape from the world.
Once again, one can gain understanding from the Hebrew roots. According to
historian Timothy Smith, "The Hebrew sensibility, as contrasted with that of
Hellenic Platonism, stressed the wholeness of human beings, the unity their
psychic and physical existence, and the bonds that link social experience to
inward spirituality."^^

The Great Divide between the secular and the sacred attempts to
dethrone God of his rightftil authority. God is not welcomed in the public
square. Not only has this mindset been created in the general public's mind, but
gradually over time it has influenced many evangelicals. This dualistic approach
has undermined the consuming passion to see the immediate and long-term
leaven of God's presence invade every facet of life. The Great Divide is often
represented by the church's perception of its role in the world and the role of the
pastor. The Kingdom of God will not allow this division.

Moving Toward the Kingdom and the Seven Deadly D's

Once the secular mindset has been firmly established within the church
and its leaders, it often is perpetuated by religious control,
compartmentalization, and dualistic thinking among Christian leaders and lay
people alike. This mindset affects the external, overall mission and vision of the
church, as well as the internal morale and expectations of church leaders. Often
the church's focus is internal rather than external.

Eugene Peterson describes the typical mindset of many of the 110
million adherents in America who occupy houses of Christian worship on any
given Sunday. Peterson will push the extreme reality of the permanence of the
Kingdom of God as the consummate call for every believer. He will stand up
against the status quo with a bold declaration. He has noted that:^^

As a pastor, I don't like being viewed as nice but insignificant. I bristle ...
with the comment, 'This was wonderful, Pastor, but now we have to get
back to the real world, don't we?' I had thought we were in the most-real
world, the world revealed as God's, a world believed to be invaded by
God's grace and turning on the pivot of Christ's crucifixion and
resurrection.

If he realized that I actually believe the American way of life is doomed
to destruction, and that another kingdom is right now being formed in
secret to take its place... yes, I believe that the kingdoms of this world,
American and Venezuelan and Chinese, will become the kingdom of our
God and Christ, and I believe this new kingdom is already among us.

If the Great Divide is perpetuated, we as Christians reduce the rule of
God to a building, a tradition, or a certain hour of the week. In this way, it is
possible to treat God more like a pagan, regional deit>' of the Old Testament
than the sovereign, transcendent Lord of all. Peterson (1989) writes that "I am
being subversive. I am undermining the kingdom of self and establishing the
kingdom of God. I am helping them to become what God wants them to be,
using the methods of subversion."^^

The maintenance mindset among many clergy and lay leaders is one of
the root causes of Christian cultural isolation, cultural absorption, and
eschatological escapism. This has resulted in ritual religious dualism and
enculturalization rather than cultural transformation. A good starting point in
dealing with the secular versus the sacred of the Great Divide is for leaders to
rediscover their true identities and mission through the Kingdom of God.
Peterson once again recognizes that this secular mindset within the church can

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be a product of sin that is encultured within the church. The church can actually
be one of the greatest obstacles to Kingdom growth. The church can become so
encultured and sinfiil that it no longer responds to God's call to be the salt and
the light.

The call for a new Kingdom orientation. Kingdom dynamic. Kingdom
relationships, and Kingdom mission is clearly needed. The heart of the Great
Divide is theological and spiritual. There is a need for theological and spiritual
reformation, and revival, among Christian leaders, pastors, churches, and
mission agencies. ^^ This change also will require different preparation and
strategy for Kingdom leaders in seminaries in contrast to the standard approach
for professional ministry training in the church. Kingdom leaders need
preparation to participate in the expansion of the Kingdom, not in the
maintenance of a religious organization. This will force seminaries to reconsider
the multidimensional aspects of leadership and a transformational, theological
framework to be an impetus to see the Kingdom of God come on earth. The
standard approach to leadership is insufficient, because traditional preparation
for ministry training is often one-dimensional and does not include the Kingdom
of God. According to Peterson, many pastors and church leaders are naive
regarding the reality of the need for, and regarding the challenge of bringing
about, deep change in the church today. Peterson writes that "we think the
church is already the kingdom of God and, if only better organized and
motivated, can conquer the world. But nowhere in Scripture or history do we see
a church synonymous with the kingdom of God. The church in many instances
is worldlier than the world. When we equate the church and the kingdom and the
identity turns out to be false, we feel 'taken in'. Little wonder that anger and
cynicism are epidemic behind the smiling veneer of American pastors."^' Few
evangelical leaders are prepared to deal with the unseen dimensions of ministry
and the idolatry within the church. The training of subversives is the work of the
Kingdom.

The Great Disconnect

Kingdom rule provides a theological framework and worldview.
Therefore, the Gospel is to touch all of reality. The next deadly D that the
Kingdom of God must address is the crucial issue of worldview. Worldview is
the lens and framework through which individuals process information and
ideas, culture and values, choices and lifestyle. Alexander Solzhenitsyn has
documented the loss of worldview as one of the markers of cultural decline
within Western civilization.^^ His great concern was the loss of absolutes and the
loss of moral courage to stand against the mainstream of society. Robert C.

Moving Toward the Kingdom and the Seven Deadly D's

Sproul expands upon the importance of worldview and its effects upon people,
as he notes that "students of history realize that no society can survive, no
civilization can function without some unifying system of thought."^^ Sproul
expands the idea of a unifying system of thought by asking, "How do the parts
fit together to make a whole? Some kind of glue is required in order for the parts
to stick together ... the glue is found in a unifying system of thought, what we
call worldview."^"* Worldview shapes people's values and provides them with a
framework to interpret reality. An entire culture is shaped through worldview. It
determines what is true and what is of utmost importance. Worldview is more
important than worship style, church model, methodology, or denominational
affiliation.

Most Christian leaders assume a worldview for themselves and the
people they lead. Charles Colson clarifies the importance of worldview in light
of cultural transformation, as he writes that:

We are either contributing to the broken condition of the world or
participating with God in transforming the world to reflect his
righteousness. We are either advancing the rule of Satan or establishing
the reign of God.

Evangelicals have been particularly vulnerable to this narrow view
because of our emphasis on personal commitment. On one hand, this has
been the movement's greatest strength, bringing millions to a relationship
with Christ.

But this emphasis on a personal relationship can also be Evangelicalism's
greatest weakness because it may prevent us from seeing God's plan for
us beyond personal salvation. Understanding Christianity as a total life
system is absolutely essential. ^^

Colson's analysis is that the overemphasis on a personal relationship
with Christ, and the abandonment of Christian worldview, have leflt much of
Evangelicalism impotent to engage the greater culture and to catalyze deep
transformation. He clarifies the need for greater integration of thought and social
action among evangelicals. Colson further writes that "to engage the world,
however, requires that we understand the great ideas that compete for peoples
minds and hearts. A debilitating weakness in modem Evangelicalism is that
we've been fighting cultural skirmishes on all sides without knowing what the

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war itself is about. We have not identified the worldviews that lie at the root of
cultural conflict - and this ignorance dooms our best efforts."^^

Christian worldview must be returned to Kingdom leaders as part of the
theological track needed in preparation for revival and awakening. Worldviews
are shaped in the soul in this life as preparation for the next life. When heaven's
values become a vital part of Kingdom subjects here on earth, the potential for
great spiritual and social change exists. Without a proper worldview, the
Gospel's power is confined, especially if there is a wide-spread acceptance of
the secular-sacred divide The Gospel becomes over-personalized and leaders
focus almost exclusively on salvation. The weakness in this approach is that the
Gospel has little connection to everyday life. This is what Mark Shaw describes
as a "weightless gospel."^^

The weightless gospel is a gospel that reduces Christian faith to
personal salvation and life in the local church. Fundamentalist, evangelical,
Pentecostal, and charismatic churches often have had an inadequate worldview
of the comprehensive nature of the Gospel to redeem all things. This has been
true about many on the radical fringe. There are many revivalists who lead the
church in renewal prayer, but do not have a doctrine of creation. The term
"weightless" describes the lack of substance that connects the Gospel with all of
reality. Os Guinness originally coined the term in his critique of modem
Christianity, which was borrowed from Nietzsche's description of everything
being in flux, in a state of meaninglessness, substance-lessness, and nothingness.
Shaw applies this description to the lack of theological underpinnings exhibited
within much of Western Christianity. Shaw describes four major categories of
weightlessness:^^

1 . Weightlessness in relationship to cultural change.

2. Weightlessness in relationship to moral transformation.

3. Weightlessness in relationship to unity in the church.

4. Weightlessness in relationship to holding converts.

According to Shaw the effects of the weightless gospel include:

1 . Loss of converts and "easy-believism."

2. Little social or cultural impact.

3. Lack of moral transformation in converts.

4. Lack of unity in and between churches.

Moving Toward the Kingdom and the Seven Deadly D's

The result of this weightless condition of the Gospel can be most
simply described as the idolatry of the church. The connection between
weightlessness and idolatry is this — the visible church replaces the invisible
King. Therefore, the needs, demands, and goals of the church are seen as real
and the call of the King and the Kingdom go unnoticed. The church itself, which
is to be a means to an end, often has become the end. The visible church often
can dominate people's thinking and blur their focus on, and worship of, the
unseen God. The visible church can become idolatrous and it has become an
obstacle that keeps people from focusing on the invisible God. Herbert
Schlossberg argues that "any institution can become idolatrous, but it appears to
be a particular hazard with institutions of religion ... it is only a short step to the
religious institution's becoming an active agent in the promotion of idolatry or
even to become an idol itself as people confiise the means of worship with the
object of worship. "^^ Schlossberg further asks, "What more could anyone ask of
religion? Well, it might be said that a religion should have God at its end. But
anyone with a hierarchy of values has placed something at its apex, and
whatever that is, is the god he serves. The Old and New Testaments call such
gods idols and provide sufficient reason for affirming that the systems that give
them allegiance are religions."^" The Great Divide results in the idolatry of the
church. The Kingdom of God is the necessary corrective to this idolatry.

One of the marks of a church that was "weighty" is described in 1
Thessalonians 1:9 in the turning away from idols. Idolatry was an issue in the
New Testament church and it is a real and pressing issue within the
contemporary church as well. This idolatry can result in Christian cultural
captivity reminiscent of the spiritual bondage of the Israelites during Moses'
day.'" The realization of one's cultural and spiritual captivity can become the
seedbed for a mighty intercession if it is acknowledged and repented. Shaw links
the importance of worldview, a weighty Gospel, and the need to return to the
theology of the Kingdom of God.

The connection between the loss of a Christian worldview and a
weightless gospel is clear. The need to recover the Kingdom of God as a
theological framework and corrective is needed. The needed leverage to conquer
the secular-sacred dualism can be addressed in understanding that the Kingdom
of God began in the Old Testament writings and in Hebraic thought. Its
worldview is systemic, not individualistic, and vitally connected to the Earth and
to culture.

The doctrine of creation, a biblical theology of culture, and a renewed
study of the cultural mandate must be explored to prevent future generations of
leaders from succumbing to the illusion of the Great Divide. To pray "thy

Ashland TheologicalJournal 2007 .-''.

Kingdom come on earth" (Matthew 6:10) is more than a request for individual
spiritual blessing, but rather a comprehensive recovery of God's power, grace,
and presence for all of Creation.

The Book of Order of the Presbyterian Church USA describes God's
consummate concern for the reclaiming of all things in this way:^^

God created the material universe and pronounced it good. The
covenant community understood that the material world reflects
the glory of God. The prophets warned, however, against
offering the material as a substitute for offering the self to God.

In Jesus Christ the Word became flesh, and God hallowed
material reality. Jesus presented his body as a living sacrifice. In
his ministry, he used common things like nets, fish, baskets, jars,
ointment, clay, towel and basin, water, bread, and wine.
Working in and through these material things, he blessed and
healed people, reconciled and bound them into community, and
exhibited the grace, power, and presence of the Kingdom of
God. (1.3023-3033)

The Great Divorce

Kingdom rule is righteousness revealed. Therefore, Kingdom subjects
are to be transformed into this righteousness. The call to live in relationship and
submission to the great King of the universe requires submission to his standards
of righteousness. Unfortunately much of Evangelicalism has suffered the same
kind of moral erosion as the surrounding culture. The Great Divorce between
belief and behavior, as seen in moral life and in public behavior, is sufficient
cause to reconsider the authoritative claims of the Kingdom of God upon
individuals and churches alike. The greatest heresy of the 21st century is not in
orthodox doctrinal confession, but rather in the dualistic divide between belief
and behavior. Consistency in lifestyle is not expected in the personal and
corporate life of believers. The alarming statistics revealing this divorce,
between biblical information (one's belief system) and one's practice, are
catastrophic. The effect this Great Divorce has had upon pastors, lay leaders,
and the eyes of the watching world is difficult to document. Many view the
church as an irrelevant and hypocritical institution.^^

The spiritual and moral decay of the lives of believers, the breakdown
of marriage and family, and the lack of spiritual depth and growth among
confessing Christians, have all reached epidemic proportions. Many have

Moving Toward the Kingdom and the Seven Deadly D's

documented this Great Divorce. Ben Freudenburg writes that "the life values of
Christian teenagers and adults are often indistinguishable from the world's life
values. In survey after survey, the beliefs of Christians are largely the same as
the beliefs of non-Christians."^"^

George Bama writes, "Religion, although an enduring interest of
Americans, remains oddly incapable of influencing the lives of a large number
of people. "^^ Bama documents what many Christian leaders have suspected: the
Great Divorce has reached epidemic proportions. He says, "No matter how you
look at the statistics, they seem to point to the same conclusion: The American
church exerts precious little influence on society. Not only is church growth
failing to keep up with the nation's birthrate, but the behavior of those who
identify themselves as Christians cannot be distinguished statistically from those
who make no such claim." In a recent interview, Bama wamed, "Despite the
activity and chutzpah emanating from thousands of congregations, the church in
America is losing influence and adherents faster than any other major institution
in the nation."''^ Then he predicted one of two outcomes for the United States
within the next few years: either "massive spiritual revival" or "total moral
anarchy ... It all depends on whether the church can rouse itself to respond to
current trends."

The August 5, 2002, edition of Christianity Today tells of Bama's ten-
year campaign to awaken church leaders about the Great Divorce. He stated
optimistically over five years ago, "At the risk of sounding like an alarmist, I
believe the church in America can tum itself around and begin to affect the
culture, rather than be affected by it."^^ Unfortunately, he laments today that the
Great Divorce between belief and behavior is steadily becoming the norm
among Christians in America. "Nothing's changing and the change we are
seeing is not for the better."''^

Not only have individual believers been affected by this Great Divorce,
but entire congregations have been devastated by the lack of intemal consistency
and outward expression of corporate life. William Hendricks writes that "there is
a dark side to recent reports of surging church attendance in North America.
While countless 'unchurched' people may be flocking in the front door of the
church, a steady stream of the 'churched' is flowing quietly out the back. These
are the disillusioned Christians, people for whom the faith has not tumed out as
advertised."^^ He suggests that the deepest needs of the American heart and soul
are not being touched. The call for consistency comes not only from statistics,
but also from Christian statesmen who lament the evangelical dropout rate. In
thewordsofJ. I. Packer :^°

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I turn finally to those whom I call disaffected deviationists, the
casualties and dropouts of the modem evangelical movement,
many of whom have now turned against it to denounce it as a
neurotic perversion of Christianity. It is distressing ... because , .

there are so many of them. Who are they? They are people who
once saw themselves as evangelicals, either from being
evangelically nurtured or from coming to profess conversion : ,
within the evangelical sphere of influence, but who have become
disillusioned about the evangelical point of view and have turned ;
their back on it, feeling that it let them down.

Some leave it for intellectual reasons ... others leave because
they were led to expect that as Christians they would enjoy ...
trouble-free circumstances ... hurt and angry, feeling themselves
victims of a confidence trick, they now accuse the
Evangelicalism they knew of having failed and fooled them ... it
is a mercy if they do not therewith similarly accuse and abandon
God himself. -

Modem Evangelicalism has much to answer for in the number of
casualties of this sort that it has caused in recent years by it
naivety of mind and unrealism of expectation.

Christian author Philip Yancey laments, "Sometimes in a waiting room
or on an airplane I strike up conversations with strangers, during the course of
which they learn that I write books on spiritual themes. Eyebrows arch, barriers
spring up, and often I hear yet another horror story about church. My seatmates
must expect me to defend the church, because they always act surprised when I
respond, 'Oh, it's even worse than that. Let me tell you my story.' I have spent
most of my life in recovery from the church."^'

All is not well with the church in America. The church is broken in
many ways. Unfortunately, the church is not broken enough in a spiritual sense,
according to the words of Psalm 51:17. It often has been that in the times of the
greatest darkness, a tme spirit of brokenness is often found among God's people.
The data regarding the moral state of the church point to a spiritual problem far
deeper than statistics or spiritual dropouts can tell. The greater need is for
spiritual renewal and revival. The Kingdom of God and its emphasis is needed
to correct the malady of the Great Divorce.

Moving Toward the Kingdom and the Seven Deadly D's

This mindset also has affected public perception of the reality of God,
in the eyes of the unbelieving world. Clergy sex scandals, financial deception,
power struggles, church splits, decreasing concern for racial justice and social
issues, have all resulted in a loss of credibility for the church within the
surrounding culture. This lack of consistency in holiness and sanctification has
resulted in worldliness that has spiritually jaded large segments of the
population. It has caused them to dismiss the church as a hypocritical institution.
The church is no longer the visible compass for how people are to live their
daily lives. Only a recovery of the theological and spiritual roots of the Kingdom
of God (a recovery that includes repentance, brokermess, and humility) can
transform the lethargy of the church. It is this writer's contention that when the
church is renewed and revived, the public perception of the church will change
for the good. This has been God's pattern in history^^ and has been the root of
the Gospel's power to change culture.^^

The King of the Kingdom in the Scriptures demands righteousness
from his subjects. He also empowers them to serve and live righteously for him.
Righteousness is not only a gift imparted to the believer through justification
(Romans 5:1-10), but a new condition and new orientation toward all of life that
is expressed in righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:11-21). Righteousness is not
merely a theological concept alone but a comprehensive lifestyle. The righteous
are those "whose way of thinking, feeling, and acting [are] wholly conformed to
the character of God."^"^

The New Testament knows nothing of this disconnect between belief
and behavior. An in-depth recovery of biblical truth and spiritual renewal based
on the holiness of the great King will bridge this great gap in the unholy
disconnect. Jesus warned that words or acts alone do not constitute a true
relationship with him (Matthew 7:22-23). Jonathan Edwards expresses this same
thought:

The external acts of worship consisting in bodily gestures,
words, and sounds are the cheapest part of religion, and least
contrary to our lusts. Wicked men enjoy their covetousness, their
pride, their malice, envy, and revenge, their sensuality and
voluptuousness, in their behavior amongst men . . . they will be
willing to compound the matter with God, and submit to what
forms of worship you please, and as many as you please. Words
and sounds are the cheapest part of our religion, and least
contrary to our lusts. ^^

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Jesus also clearly teaches that a consistent lack of spiritual change
(Gospel fruit) will reveal the hypocrisy between belief and behavior, and over
time will reveal the true nature of a person's beliefs. A simple summary of a
word study of "fruit" reveals the true measure of a converted life. The Gospel
jfruits which are evident according to the New Testament include:

A life change, starting with repentance (Matthew 3:8).
A new connection with the life of Christ (John 15:1-2). ' '

An expectation to do good works (Colossians 1:10).
A new relational character quality (Galatians 5:22-26).
A Godliness that displays the reality of God at work in a life (Romans
7:4-6).

A desire to worship and praise Jesus (Hebrews 13:15).
A commitment to be a peacemaker within the Christian community
(James 3:17-18).

A desire to give to God financially (Romans 15:28).
A desire to multiply and spread the Gospel around the world
(Colossians 1:5-6).
• A desire to see others come to Christ (John 15-16).

The call for theological and spiritual reflection and repentance is
needed to eliminate the mindset that the Great Divorce is acceptable within the
hfe of individuals or the corporate behavior of churches.

The Great Deception

Kingdom rule is power released at conversion. Therefore, Kingdom
subjects are to be transformed into this righteousness and to reveal growth in
heaven's values and character here on Earth. The Great Deception between
decisions (human response) and conversion (a Divine initiative) must be dealt
with if spiritual vitality and transformation is to occur within the church as it
now exists. Tragically, we as Christians have reduced the clear call for a radical
reorientation of all of life upon entry into the Kingdom of God into a decision to
"get saved" or to be "bom again." It is clear that a human response to the work
of Christ is necessary (Acts 2:36-41), but humanity's response is not the work of
conversion.

The lack of spiritual quality control regarding the issue of conversion,
and the unwillingness of many Christian leaders to speak out on this subject, has
added dysfunction into the already cloudy mist of deception. The danger of this
deception is false assurance of salvation and lack of transformation. The danger

Moving Toward the Kingdom and the Seven Deadly D's

is that salvation may be reduced to a human decision in contrast to salvation by
the will of God (John 1:13). Without delving into the theological complexities
and historic positions on this topic, it is crucial that a call be issued by the
church to its own members to test themselves. "Examine yourselves to see
whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ
Jesus is in you - unless, of course, you fail the test?" (2 Corinthians 13:5).

The Kingdom standard is for Kingdom subjects to do serious inventory
regarding the state of their own souls. They are to remember that "moment in
time" when they "responded" to God, but also to passionately respond to the
present work of the Spirit of God in their daily lives. As the Apostle Paul
reassures, "I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test" (2
Corinthians 13:5).

Jesus' teaching about the absolute necessity of conversion, and
renewed in-depth study of Scriptural proof of conversion and the fruit of
conversion, would do more to renew the church than all the church-growth and
church-health seminars combined. Gordon Smith notes there is "a pressing need
to think theologically and critically about conversion" because the "goal of
conversion is transformed humanity. "^^ Smith insists that the subject of
conversion and the transformation of the individual must occur with a genuine
salvation experience. He challenges evangelicals to reexamine their theology
and practices. Kingdom subjects are to be salt and light in a decaying world
(Matthew 5:13-16).

The needed theological weight to recover from the Great Deception can
be found in examination of the biblical expectation that conversion is a
prerequisite for entrance into the Kingdom. Unfortunately, the gap in the Great
Deception is growing wider every year. A well-known pastor challenges the
Great Deception in his ministry, noting that:

Why should we assume that people who live in an unbroken
pattern of adultery, fornication, homosexuality, deceit, and every
conceivable kind of flagrant excess are truly bom again? Yet
that is exactly the assumption Christians of this age have been
taught to make. They have been told that the only criterion for
salvation is knowing and believing some basic facts about
Christ. They hear from the beginning that obedience is optional.
It follows logically, then, that someone's one-time profession of
faith is more valid than the evidence of that person's ongoing
lifestyle. The character of the visible church reveals the
detestable consequence of this theology. As a pastor, I regularly

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re-baptize people who once 'made a decision', were baptized,
yet experienced no change.^^

Charles Shaver laments about this Great Deception, and the huge back
door in the church. Shaver comments that "the evidence of such losses mounts
up. A study of statistics from all major denominations for the past 20 years
reveals that nearly 40 percent of our evangelistic recruits are lost to the church
within seven years."^^

The clear teaching of the Kingdom of God will not allow passive
assimilation of man-made decisions to be substituted for an in-depth call for
total surrender to the King of Kings. The governing authority of every believer
is to be God's Word, and this includes every area of a person's life. There are no
"off-limits" signs in the lives of God's people. Even the great "bom again
discourse" that Jesus had with Nicodemus focused not only on the removal of
sin but on in-depth spiritual transformation. Entrance into the Kingdom requires
a whole new way of life; a radical reorientation of everything. If Divine
conversion is reduced to human decision then the Kingdom of God becomes
optional rather than mandatory. Human beings become the initiator, and leader,
of the spiritual journey, not God.

If entrance into the Kingdom becomes human-centered (based on a
decision) rather than God-centered (based on God's work of conversion), not
only is there potential eternal loss but the defining, operative paradigm of the
Christian life becomes ego-centric rather than theo-centric. This loss of a
Kingdom dynamic (model of conversion) and Kingdom ethics (model of
behavioral expectations) must force a fresh reexamination of the biblical
teaching of conversion as one of the most crucial concerns in the modem
church.

Jesus' teaching on the Kingdom of God, Jesus' model of this radical
new reorientation of all life, and Jesus' promise to return and reconcile all
things, become the spiritual DNA and dynamic force formed in the life of the
believer. This begins at conversion but the power of the Kingdom is continual.
This has been called "spiritual dynamics."^^ This tragic loss of emphasis will
require spiritual courage and a new passion for precision of spiritual tmth and
personal experience. Throughout the great reforming and revival movements of
church history, this Kingdom entry point (conversion) has been rediscovered at
an in-depth level. It must be fresh for every generation. This was tme during
Martin Luther's time, as well as the times of John and Charles Wesley, George
Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, and Charles Finney. It has been the theme of all
revivalists who call for tme conversion, not for a human decision alone. Entry

Moving Toward the Kingdom and the Seven Deadly D's

into Christ's Kingdom is a critical issue for evangelicals to revisit. The courage
to speak today will require strength, tact, and great compassion.

The Great Division: Tlie Absence of Unity

The Kingdom's rule is shalom and relational peace. Therefore,
Kingdom subjects seek organic unity. The Great Division describes the current
state of the church in its fragmentation and division. The church w^as designed to
be integrally and organically related to her resurrected head, not a
conglomeration of individualistic corporate entities. There are encouraging signs
and positive steps being taken, moving tow^ard the unity described in John 17.^"
Yet, many expressions of the visible church are marked by a steady decline of
unity, increased fragmentation, and confusion among genuine believers in
knowing how to relate and work with one another.

This has resulted in increased sectarianism among some Christians and
syncretistic ecumenism among others. The results are often spiritual prejudice or
superficial pluralism. The most serious consequences have been rampant
spiritual confiision regarding the cooperative mission of the church and division
regarding the church's role in public life. Particularly crucial is the tension and
division regarding differing views on how Christians are to relate with culture,
and defining the church's role in public life. Although not a new problem,^' the
tension regarding the issue of church in culture has escalated in recent times.

James Dobson described this tension in a recent newsletter. He
lamented that evangelicals may be retreating again, and he expressed the need
for evangelicals to have a model that helps them engage in cultural
transformation. Dobson lamented that "Our culture's continued moral decline
and, more importantly, the apparent hesitancy of some within the Christian
community to try and stem the tide. They believe that for Christians to involve
themselves in cultural issues - even though they are profoundly moral in nature
- is to dilute the Gospel message. "^^ Dobson cites three voices that give
expression to this argument, including veteran newspaper columnist Cal Thomas
who writes that "there is no biblical mandate for reforming the world through
government ... The time is ripe for conservative Christians to spend less time
trying to influence Caesar, to consider what it means to render unto God, and to
start rendering. The kingdom of God is not going to arrive aboard Air Force
One." Dobson worries that evangelicals may be again reducing their personal
faith to just that - personal faith alone without a vision for cultural or societal
change. He writes that ''Christianity Today published an editorial on April 1
titled 'Enough Bullying.' It severely criticized those of us who believe religious
broadcasters should speak out on cultural issues. The statement read, '[Christian

Ashland Theological Journal 2007

activists are] often seen as indignantly condemning the sins of the world more
than proclaiming the good news of salvation from those sins.'" The editorial
went on to decry "the politics of hysteria and outrage."

There is a need for common unity in the church and for greater clarity
of the role and ftmction of the church in public life. The church was never
intended to act independently of its Lord, nor was its mission ever to become
individualistic, escapist, or myopic. The early church viewed the Kingdom of
God as a present reality (Acts 1:7). They served a sovereign Lord to whom they
could appeal (Acts 4:23-31). Kingdom purposes here on Earth were to be
powerfully displayed. Their advancement would be shaped in unity (Acts 4:32).
This corporate solidarity to see Christ's Kingdom come to Earth has been
divided by sectarianism and differing philosophies of cultural interaction.^^

There are some disturbing trends that contrast the encouraging signs of
unity that have been observed. The church is not fiinctioning as one and still
suffers from increasing fragmentation, division, and confusion. It is this writer's
conclusion that a Kingdom model is a necessary corrective for the Great
Division.

At the beginning of the 20th century, there were approximately 1 ,900
denominations in the United States, Canada, and Europe. By the late 1980s the
estimate was 22,000.^"^ This is not only true of the church in the West; it is a
truly global and international phenomenon as well.^^ Leith Anderson describes
new shapes and forms of the church multiplying like McDonald's franchises in
the United States and beyond.^^ This does not include all the new missional
churches, evangelistic agencies, parachurch ministries, or house churches. There
also has been a proliferation of cell churches, ethnic churches, mega-churches,
and Apostolic networks. Truly increasing multiplication of diversity will
continue in the fiiture. There is the need for a unified Kingdom paradigm that
emphasizes the organic interconnectedness of the church. Willingness to change
one's thinking from a localized parish mentality to a regional Kingdom model
may be one of the great paradigm shifts for leaders in the next several decades.
This was the pattern modeled by the first century church and it is the model for
Kingdom cooperation, ft is this writer's conclusion that a Kingdom model is just
such a cooperative, regional model. Denominational theory has validity, but far
too often it restricts healthy Kingdom growth.

Shaw has suggested that Jeremiah Burroughs' model of denominational
unity surrounding him and his associates at Westminster is an appropriate
model. He argued for a denominational theory of church unity based on six
principles.^^ This writer contends, however, that the issue of the organic unity of
the Kingdom of God transcends even the borders of denominational theory.

Moving Toward the Kingdom and the Seven Deadly D's

The Kingdom is the only organic, multifaceted, multidimensional
vision large enough to include the legitimate diversity within the Body of Christ
today. The great unifying thrust of the Kingdom, as echoed in the Lausanne
Covenant, expresses this Kingdom missional concern:

He has been calling out from the world a people for himself, and
sending his people back into the world to be his servants and his
witnesses, for the extension of his kingdom, the building up of
Christ's body, and the glory of his name. We confess with shame
that we have often denied our calling and failed in our mission,
by becoming conformed to the world or by withdrawing from it.
Yet we rejoice that even when borne by earthen vessels the
Gospel is still a precious treasure. To the task of making that
treasure known in the power of the Holy Spirit, we desire to
dedicate ourselves anew.^^ ^ >

This Scriptural and historic call to unity represents the integral unity of
all true Kingdom subjects. Rex Koivisto explains that "We confess that we have
often lost the fiillness of our Christian heritage, too readily assuming that the
Scriptures and the Spirit make us independent of the past. In so doing, we have
become theologically shallow, spiritually weak, blind to the work of God in
others, and married to our cultures. "^^ He calls for reformation within
Evangelicalism: "We call for a recovery of our ftall Christian heritage.
Throughout the church's history there has existed an evangelical impulse to
proclaim the saving, unmerited grace of Christ and to reform the church
according to the Scriptures."'°° Koivisto further explains that:"''

We deplore the scandalous isolation and separation of
Christians from one another. We believe such division is
contrary to Christ's explicit desire for unity among his people
and impedes the witness of the church in the world.
Evangelicalism is too frequently characterized by an
historical, sectarian mentality.

Therefore we call evangelicals to return to the ecumenical
concern of the Reformers and the later movements of
evangelical renewal. We are convinced that unity in Christ
requires visible and concrete expressions.

Ashland Theological Journal 2007

After careftjl reflection upon the Great Division and its tragic and
fragmenting effects, this writer suggests these principles to complement
Burroughs' work on denominational theory, and Koivisto's work in the history
of denominational theories of unity, to move to the model of the Kingdom of
God (see Figure 1).

Only a fresh investigation of the pages of Scripture and a new
invitation for the Holy Spirit will bring greater revelation into a cooperative,
systemic understanding of Kingdom relationships. This will equip a new
generation of leaders to work cooperatively toward Kingdom purposes.

The Great Diversion: The Domination of Programs

Kingdom rule is progressive and expansive. Therefore, Kingdom
subjects are to grow in transformation and they are missional throughout the
earth. The Great Diversion has become so prevalent in the modem church that
the rediscovery of obedience as the normative expectation of converted people
within the Kingdom will suffice. The proliferation of congregational programs
over the last 100 years, and the intensification and specialization of need-based
ministries, have diluted the central call of the Great Commission to make
disciples. Programs are not the root problem. Rather, the root problem is a need
for the visible expression of a greater redirection of the church's focus and
energy toward a final goal.

The simplest definition of "disciple" is the word "follower". To be a
disciple means to be a Christ-follower, a Christ-bearer, a Christ-learner, and a
Christ-obedient individual. Church membership, church ministry,
denominational affiliation, church models, paradigms of the Holy Spirit, as well
as theological and methodological approaches, all have value and importance.
But most importantly, the spiritual seed of the Kingdom of God is planted in
hearts by the Holy Spirit. It is cultivated by making and reproducing disciples.
No one approach, model, or methodology can fully disciple an individual. It is a
sovereign lifelong interactive process as well as an intentional ministry focus.
These areas target key concepts in the forming of disciples.

Foundations for Discipleship: An Introduction and framework

• The Great Omission in the Great Commission - obedience (Matthew
28:18-20).

• The fourfold function of God's Word - accountability (Heb. 4:13; 2
Timothy 3:16-17).

• Christianity is a lifestyle not a belief system alone (Deuteronomy 6:4-9;
Mark 1:17).

Moving Toward the Kingdom and the Seven Deadly D's

• Disciples live in transforming community - relational (Mark 3:13; John
13:34, 17:21).

• Discipleship is transformational not only informational - life change
(Romans 12:1-2; 2 Corinthians 3:18, 4:16).

• Christlikeness is our goal - Christ is our model (Matthew 10:24-25).

o Relationship - Intimacy with God (Mark 1 :35).
o Character (John 5:19).

o Work (John 14:12-14). ;•

A Biblical Definition of Discipleship ■

• A disciple is one who is called and follows and loves Jesus with his
whole self (Mark 1:17, 12:29-31).

• A disciple does not dictate his own plans (John 1 :27, Luke 17:7-10).

• A disciple is one who has surrendered all (Luke 14:33).

• A disciple is one who carries his cross (Luke 14:27, Matthew 16:24).

• A disciple is one who is becoming more like Christ (Matt. 10:24-25,
Rom. 8:29).

• A disciple is one who actively obeys Christ's commands.

o Worship (Mark 12:29-31).

o Discipleship (Matthew 7:21, Mark 1:17, John 14:15).

o Fellowship (John 13:34).

o Witness (Matthew 25: 37-40, 28:18-20).
Disciples display intimacy and a dynamic walk with God. They exhibit
faithfulness under pressure and serious obedience to follow Christ whatever the
cost involved. Without the intentional making of disciples we as Christians will
continue to reproduce more of the same spiritual seed that has clogged the fields
in our churches over the past generation as well as in the present day. Warner
quoting Tozer said, "Christianity will always reproduce itself after is own
kind."'^^

It is what Howard Ball calls "the great omission"^°^ in the Great
Commission. He meant the removal of the word "obedience." Immediately this
writer began to see that the whole thrust of the church, the approach of program-
based ministry, and the consumer mindset, had all domesticated the call for
radical discipleship. The Lordship of Christ over the individual believer's life,
and the functional headship of Christ over the corporate church's mission, had
been removed. Without obedience built within the mandate and the mission of
the church, the church can easily proceed into many paths, yet not prepare
disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. The church may be theologically accurate but
may still be spiritually obstinate. The distinct possibility exists for creating the

Ashland TheologicalJournal 2007 ,■ '

church described in the bulleted Hst of "Almost a Great-Commission Church"
(Matthew 28:18-20):

Doctrine and Christology are correct. ' : . .

Agreement - missions is important. ^

Teaching ministry is emphasized.

Practice of Trinitarian baptism.

Belief in the resurrection. • ' '•'

Belief in omnipresence of God. /

Personal nature of God.

God's active presence to do the work.

A good church by human standards, perhaps, but not an obedient
church. Dallas Willard explains that the greatest need of the modem church is
obedience to Jesus Christ. Willard writes that "more than any other single thing,
in any case, the practical irrelevance of actual obedience to Christ accounts for
the weakened effect of Christianity in the world today, with its increasing
tendency to emphasize political and social action as the primary way to serve
God. It also accounts for the practical irrelevance of Christian faith to individual
character development and overall personal sanity and well-being."'*^''

The only response for disobedience is repentance and a return to the
Kingdom call to make disciples. Programs will never replace the call that Jesus
makes to surrender all to enter the Kingdom. True commitment can never be
created in a classroom but a Kingdom-oriented approach toward obedience to
the King of the Kingdom can be cultivated. Discipleship is as much a spirit as it
is a methodology. For centuries Puritan pastors cultivated the spirit of
discipleship among its community with few modem tools, resources, or
programs. They understood biblical obedience, spiritual pilgrimage and warfare,
and the death-to-self that was required to follow Christ. '°^

The Great Delusion: Our Churches Are Healthy

Kingdom mle is comprehensive. Therefore, all of reality is evaluated
by the King's standards. The last deadly D needs the least amount of
explanation. If the church in America is fine, then repentance, renewal, reform,
and awakening are unnecessary. However, the church in America is in great
need of a deep spiritual touch, comprehensive reformation, and the theological
tracks expressed in the Kingdom of God. In case one still believes the church is
fine, read the following description by Tom Clegg titled The Condition of the
Church in America }^^

Moving Toward the Kingdom and the Seven Deadly D's

Who would have believed that in 100 years the U.S. would go
from the #1 missionary sending nation in the world to the #2
missionary receiving nation? As we enter the new millermium,
the U.S. is now the third largest unchurched nation in the
world.

As of May 1, 2001, we were 278 in population. Of these, 75
million are churched, leaving 200 million unchurched by the
church of Christ, despite the fact that there are 363K churches
in America populating its 28,500 ZIP codes. That works out to
be about seven churches per ZIP code, to reach a population of
97K! , , .,

The birth rate is 3.9 million per year; 2.3 million die; 2.76
leave the church; 2.72 join the church - for a net loss of 450K
- and it grows larger every year. There is one birth every eight
seconds; one death every 15 seconds; one immigrant arriving
every 30 seconds; for a net gain of one person every 11
seconds in the U.S. The church loses one person every 25.17
seconds and gains one new person every 25.26 seconds.

Is the United States a mission field? Let's take the next 24
hours and examine the case. What will happen?

10,799 babies will be bom - 6,403 will die; 6,148 will be
married - 3,1 10 divorces will be granted; 3,246 babies will be
aborted - 3,445 unmarried women will give birth to a child;
84 people will commit suicide; 45 people will die from HIV
aids; 43 will die in alcohol related automobile accidents; 4,630
fifteen-year-old girls will give up their sexual purity; 1,312
students will drop out of high school; 6,000 under 18 will start
smoking; 28,206 will be arrested - 4,274 related to driving
abuse violations; 3,396 households will declare bankruptcy;
63,288 people will secure food stamps.

In that same 24-hour period:

Ashland TheologicalJournal 2007

41 1 will convert to Islam; 872 to Mormonism; 5,000 will join
the church of Christ and receive baptism; eight churches will
close their doors and six will open.

The result is that several thousands of people will die every
day in the U.S. without every hearing about the good news of
the Gospel. Literally, they have never heard that Christ died
and rose again for them.

Other interesting facts indicating that America is a dark place:
The largest center for teaching Eastern Meditation Techniques
exists in Fairfield, Iowa; The largest Buddhist Temple in the
world is in Boulder, Colorado; The largest Muslim
discipleship center in the world in located in Brooklyn, New
York.

Missiologists tell us that it is easier to get a hearing for the
Gospel in Asia, Africa, and South America than it is in
America!"

The time has come for change, revival and a Kingdom model.

Moving Toward the Kingdom and the Seven Deadly D's
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American Society (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1983), 233.

Ashland Theological Journal 2007

" Alvin. J. Schmidt, Under the Influence: How Christianity Transformed Civilization
(Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001).
'^'^ Ladd, The Gospel of the Kingdom, 11.
Ibid, 20.

^^ Ibid, 21.

''' Alva J. McClain, The Greatness of the Kingdom - An Inductive Study of the Kingdom
jo/ GoJ (Winona Lake, IN: BMH Books, 1983), 7-16.
I^^ Snyder, Models of the Kingdom, 18.
'^ McClzm, The Greatness of the Kingdom,! .
^^ Snyder, Models of the Kingdom, 17.
'' Mostrom, Christian Spiritual Dynamics.

^'' John Stott, "A Vision for Holiness: Exposition of Galatians 5:22-24." Preaching
[Today, Vo\.9A{\992).

^^ Abrey Malphours, Planting Growing Churches for the 2P' Century (Grand Rapids:
Baker Books, 2004), 44.

Richard H. Lovelace, When God Colors Outside the Lines: Becoming an Empowered
Evangelical Conference (Hopkinton, MA: The First Congregational Church, 1998)

John C. Maxwell, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership - Follow Them and People
Will Follow You (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1998), 138.
^^ Lovelace, When God Colors.
^^ Stackhouse, "Revival and Renewal." .-, ;

Roberts, Revival Commentary.

Lovelace, Dynamics of Spiritual Life.
'"' Selw^n Hughes, "Six Effects of Real Revival." Pulpit Helps, Vol. 27, No. 6 (June
2002), 37-41.

"*' Stackhouse, "Revival and Renewal."

'^'^ Mark Shaw, Ten Great Ideas from Church History (Downers Grove, IL: Inter Varsity,
1997), 112.
^Mbid, 112.

Alistaire Petrie, Releasing Heaven on Earth - God's Principles for Restoring the Land
(Grand Rapids: Chosen Books, 2000), 37.

Wilson, Our Father Abraham, 81.
'^^ John Bright, The Kingdom o/GoJ (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1953), 18.

Martin Luther King, Jr., A Documentary - Montgomery to Memphis, Flip Schulke, ed.
(New York: W.W. Norton Company, 1976), 214
^^ Ibid, 215.

Marvin R. Wilson, Our Father Abraham: Jewish Roots of the Christian Faith (Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing, 1989, 168.

Abraham Kuyper, "Sphere Sovereignty, " A Centennial Reader, James D. Bratt, ed.
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998), 488.

Mark Shaw, How to Survive the Current Awakening (Sheldonville, MA: Conservative
Baptist Pastors Gathering, 1990).

Moving Toward the Kingdom and the Seven Deadly D's

^^ WiUiam N. Kerr, "English Puritanism," CH 275, Lectures on English Puritanism

(South Hamilton, MA: Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, 1980).

^^ Peter Berger, The Sacred Canopy (New York: Doubleday, 1967).

^'' James Davison Hunter, Culture Wars: The Struggle to Define America (New York:

Basic Books, 1991).

^^ ho\Q\diCQ, When God Colors. ■ '' ■ ' • ■

^^ Walter Kaiser, Jr., "Revival on God's Terms," Lecture on Revival: Awakenings in

Scripture (South Hamilton, MA: Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary Prayer

Conference, 1997).

^^ Wilson, Our Father Abraham.

^^ Eugene H. Peterson, "The Subversive Pastor; Our Mission to Undermine the Kingdom

of Self and Establish the Kingdom of God," Leadership Magazine, Vol. 10 (Spring

1998): 48.

^^ Peterson, "The Subversive Pastor," 49.

^^ Engle, A Clouded Future, 6-30, 1 24- 1 29.

^' Ibid, 51.

^"^ Alexander Solzhenitsyn, A World Split Apart, at Harvard Class Day Exercises,

Thursday, June 8, 1978.

R. C. Sproul, Lifeviews - Make a Christian Impact on Culture and Society (Old
Tappan: Fleming H. Revell, 1986), 29
^^ Ibid, 29.

^^ C. Colson, Against the Night: Living in the New Dark Ages (Ann Arbor: Servant
Books, 1989), 14.
Ibid, 17.

^^ Shaw, Ten Great Ideas.

^^Ibid. •"

^^ Schlossherg, Idols for Destruction, 5.

™Ibid.

^' O. Guinness, God in the Dark (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1996).

^^ The Book of Order of the Presbyterian Church USA, Part II. Louisville, KY: Office of

the General Assembly (1999-2000).

R. N. Bellah, Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life
(New York: Harper and Row Publishers, 1985), 64.

'''^ Ben Freudenberg, The Family Friendly Church (Loveland, CO: Group Publishing
Company, 1998), 11.

George Bama, The Second Coming of the Church - A Blueprint for Survival
(Nashville: Word Publishing, 1998), 139.
'' Ibid.

" George Bama, Boiling Point (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2001), 32.
'' Ibid.

HQnAxicks,, Exit Interviews, 17.

^^ J. I. Packer, Knowing Got/ (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1976), 32-33.

Ashland Theological Journal 2007

*' P. Yancey, Soul Survivor: How My Faith Survived the Church (New York: Doubleday,

2001).

^^ Garth Rosell, Revival and Reform: Biblical and Theological Issues of Revival and

Spiritual Awakening, MC/RR 1011-MC/RR 1040 (2001-2003).

^^ Schmidt, Under the Influence.

^^ David W. Diehl, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker Book

House, 1984), 953.

*^ Shaw, Ten Great Ideas, 116-117.

*^ Gordon Smith, Beginning Well (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001), 26.

*' John F. MacArthur, The Gospel According to Jesus (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994),

xxii.

Charles Shaver, Conserve the Converts: A Manual to Help Conserve the Results of
Personal and Mass Evangelism (Kansas City: Beacon Press, 1998), 14-15.
*^ Mostrom, Christian Spiritual Dynamics.

^^ Joe Aldrich, Reunitus (Sisters, OR: Questar Publishers, 1994), 67.
^' Richard H. Niebuhr, Christ and Culture (New York: Harper Row, 195 1).
'^ James Dobson, "Family News from Focus on the Family," Focus on the Family
Newsletter (May 2002), 1-2.
^^ Stackhouse, "Revival and Renewal."

Aldrich, Reunitus.

Shaw, Ten Great Ideas, 69-7 1 .

94
95

^^ Leith Anderson, A Church for the 2V' Century (Miimeapolis: Bethany House

Publishers, 1992).

'^ Shaw, Ten Great Ideas, 69-72.

^* John Stott, The Lausanne Covenant (Minneapolis: World Wide Publications, 1975).

Rex Koivisto, One Lord, One Faith: A Theology for Cross Denominational Revival
(Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1993), 292.
'""Ibid.
'"^ Ibid, 295.

^^^ Art Warner, quoting A. W. Tozer (Foxboro, MA: Church of the Immanuel, 1988).
'"^ Howard Ball, Churches Alive Seminar (Foxboro, MA: First Baptist Church, 1989).
'"'' D. Willard, Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ (Colorado

Springs: NavPress, 2002), xv.
Rosell, Revival and Reforn
'"^ Clegg, Tom. The Conditi
Northgate Alliance Church, Ohumwa, Iowa, 2001.

Rosell, Revival and Reform.
'"^ Clegg, Tom. The Condition of the Church in America. Message given May 1, at

►»

The Sandbe

enter Presents:

IiieiADER8HIP

TR|!iSft>RMATIO]V

ROUNDTFs^BLE 2007

Two-j!||Event: N(|veml|r 8-9, 2007
3 Natioi^i^^^^^gnizlll Speakers

Dr. Howard Snyder Dr. Alistair Petrie Di . -^„.„ ^^„.

For information concerning the 2007 Roundtable contact- Renae Osbo|
Sandberg Leadership Center
910 Center Street • Ashland, Ohio 44805
419-289-5323orrosboml@ashland.edu J

Ashland TheologicalJournal 2007

Postmodernism: A Review Article

by L. Daniel Hawk*

James K. A. Smith. Who 's Afraid of Postmodernism? Taking Derrida, Lyotard, and
Foucault to Church. Grand Rapids, Mi.: Baker Academic, 2006. 160 pp., paper, $16.99.

Crystal L. Downing. How Postmodernism Serves (My) Faith: Questioning Truth in
Language, Philosophy and Art. Downers Grove, 111.: InterVarsity Press, 2006. 240 pp.,
paper, $18.00.

While other segments of the church have carried on a lively interaction with
postmodernism for decades, evangelical Christianity has only recently begun to interact
meaningfully with postmodern sentiments and their cultural expressions. When, in 1 998,
1 first presented my section on "Postmodernism and the Church" for the seminary's
Church Planting Institute, only one book by an evangelical writer appeared on the
bibliography I distributed to participants. Now, however, I find myself adding new
works by evangelical writers every year.

It has become common, and even fashionable, to claim that we have entered the
"postmodern" age. Many evangelical treatments of postmodernism, however, have
focused on cultural trends, demographics, and "emerging" spirituality as opposed to the
deep currents that course beneath the surface. These surface surveys, along with the
increasingly-popular appropriation of the term, have given rise to a degree of
oversimplification, misunderstanding, and caricaturing of what has been called
postmodernism or postmodemity, both by those who view postmodernism as an opponent
of orthodox Christianity and those who view it as an opportunity to rework categories of
Christian thought.

The claim that we have entered the "postmodern age" is a case in point (and a
red flag for anyone interested in a serious engagement of postmodernism), as the
demarcation of history and culture into discrete "ages" with definite and discemable
boundaries is a quintessentially "modernist" operation. It is more accurate to assert that
we are on the cusp of a profound cultural transition that has been centuries in the making.
Like a hologram, we now see two images transposed on culture, one waxing and the
other waning as cultural shifts alter fundamental perspectives on reality, morality, the
self, and the world.

The publication of these thoughtful, informed, and constructive engagements
with postmodernism is therefore most welcome. Both offer accessible and lively
introductions to postmodernism that interlace commentary with personal experience and
connect theory to practice via illustrations drawn from the media and arts. More than
this, however, both writers offer their readers cogent and irenic critiques of
postmodernism that clarify the challenges and opportunities it presents to the Church.

* L. Daniel Hawk (Ph.D, Emory), is Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at ATS.

Postmodernism: A Review Article

Smith follows a trajectory established by Francis Schaeffer and aims at
serious engagement with philosophy (with particular attention to the role
presuppositions) for the benefit of "students and practitioners." He begins by providi
an orientation to postmodemism/postmodemity and elaborating his goals and approach
the topic. He is particularly concerned to demythologize "postmodernism by showi
that what we commonly think so-called postmodernists are saying is usually not the cas
and to demonstrate the "deep affinity" their claims have "with central Christian claim
(p. 22). The program is accomplished in this and subsequent chapters through
discussion of a recent film, which becomes the platform for illustrating an axic
associated with the philosopher in question and which in turn leads to an overview of 1
critique of contemporary Western culture. Each chapter then concludes with a case stu
that describes a congregation shaped by these perspectives.

Three successive chapters deal, respectively, with Jacques Derrida, Jea
Fran9ois Lyotard, and Michel Foucault. Smith enters Derrida's deconstruction
program through the latter' s claim that "there is nothing outside the text" and provides
masterful and careful synopsis of his thought that places it in contrast with philosophi(
antecedents (e.g. Rousseau) and evangelical misinterpretations (e.g. D. A. Carson). T
next chapter, which takes up Lyotard's "incredulity toward metanarratives," is worth t
price of the book in itself It is refreshing to read a discussion of "metanarratives" ire
an evangelical writer who has actually read and understood Lyotard (who was r
concerned with dismantling big stories but with the Enlightenment project's use of th(
to legitimate its claims and conceal its mythic infrastructure.) The chapter on Fouca
takes up his dictum that "power is knowledge" via a tour through Discipline and Punii
illustrated by a particularly insightful analysis of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Ne;
and supplemented by disparate "reads" of what Foucault was after.

In the final and most substantial chapter. Smith offers proposals toward
"Applied Radical Orthodoxy" that reclaims premodem practices and issues in
postcritical dogmatics of second naivete" (117). He directs attention to the incarnation
the starting point for a theology and practice that avoids both the Cartesian quest ]
cognitive certainty and the postmodern rejection of determinate confession. Centeri
theology on the incarnation provides a path by which the Church might be emancipat
from the impulse to transcend history that infuses both ahistorical liberalism (Christian
as a system of timeless values) and evangelical primitivism (Christianity as a replicati
of the early church). The incarnation, as well, inspires an aesthetic of worship and
sacramental imagination that facilitate a "participatory ontology."

This is a valuable introduction to postmodernism in many respects. It calls i
a constructive engagement with postmodernism, corrects misinterpretations of some of
prominent voices, and offers useful points of reference for assessing its impact
theology and practice. I would press Smith on two points, however. First, while I cone
with his point that Foucault imbibes deeply of the Enlightenment myth of emancipation
think he sidesteps the import, for the church, of Foucault' s assertion that human society
fiandamentally configured by networks of power relations and "the endlessly repeat
play of dominations." Here Foucault offers a powerful optic for confronting the ubiqu:
of sin in a fallen world where interactions are inescapably enmeshed in hierarchies

100

Ashland Theological Journal 2007

power. As such, he confronts Christians with an important reahty check. As long as the
Church remains in the world, the primal impulse to dominate others will infuse its
operations and influence the knowledge it produces, even in Christian communities that
seek to inculcate counterdisciplines toward godly ends.

Second, Smith's proposal for a postcritical dogma that appropriates the logic of
the incarnation provides an avenue for rethinking the foundations and operations of
Protestant theology. Protestantism originated and developed in tandem with assumptions,
perspectives, and convictions that gave rise to the Enlightermient and modernism, and the
Cartesian anxiety for certainty configures the framework Protestant dogmatic systems.
The waning of these ftindamental assumptions, however, has precipitated something of
an identity crisis within Protestantism, particularly among its more conservative
adherents. Re-centering dogmatics in light of the incarnation then offers an opportunity
not only to recast faithfully the content of Christian confession but even notions of what
dogma is, how it is communicated, and how it functions in the life and mission of the
Church.

Rethinking Protestant paradigms through the lens of the postmodern critique
constitutes one of the main threads of Crystal Downing 's overview of postmodernism.
Downing offers a wide-ranging and comprehensive introduction to the topic that weaves
together leading ideas and thinkers with their manifestations in art, literature, and popular
culture. She begins the first of four sections ("Situating This Book") with a brief
orientation to postmodernism and Christian responses to it, followed by a personal
narrative of her journey from conservative evangelicalism to a realization that
postmodern thought offers important resources for Christian life and mission.

The second section, "From Modernism to Postmodernism," comprises three
chapters. The first offers a wide-ranging overview of the development, characteristics,
and pivotal voices of "modernism," from its emergence in the Renaissance through the
Enlightenment and into the late 20'*^ Century. The following chapter explores the
expressions of modernist and postmodernist thought in art, literature, and architecture,
with attention to such ideas as originality, genius, autonomy, and intentionality. The final
chapter of the section zeroes in on postmodemism's "anti-foundationalism," that is, its
denial that truth can be apprehended through reason alone and expressed through
universal axioms. Here Downing carefully elaborates the ways in which strains of
"modem" Christianity have been shaped by the quest of certitude through the application
of reason, corrects misapprehensions of postmodemism's critique, and explores
postmodem Christian options (including "Radical Orthodoxy").

Downing devotes herself to "Situating Influential Postmodem Thinkers" in the
third section. As in Smith's book, Derrida and Foucault figure prominently. Downing,
however, aims for a more comprehensive and eclectic overview of the postmodem
landscape. This includes a discussion of postmodemism's intellectual and cultural
precursors, explanations of its divergences from modemism, and cameo appearances by
such figures as Richard Rorty, Homi Bhabha, Thomas Kuhn, Jacques Lacan, and Jean-
Fran9ois Lyotard. Although Downing focuses on Derrida in a chapter on Deconstmction,
the following chapter, on the cultural constmction of knowledge, takes the form of a
rapid-fire presentation of various threads of postmodem thought on language, tmth,

101

Postmodernism: A Review Article

culture, and religion. Here again, she places these threads in dialogue with Christian
thought and thinkers (e.g. C. S. Lewis) and points to their potential for helping the
Church rethink and recover aspects of Christian thought that have been skewed or
constrained by Enlightenment thought and modem culture.

In the final section, "From Relativism to the Relating of Faith," Downing
directly confronts the bugbear that terrorizes many evangelical opponents of
postmodernism; that is, the view that truth is "relative" and "subjective." Drawing
together the various topics and perspectives she has elaborated throughout the book,
Downing cogently explains postmodernism' s distinction between "facts" and
"interpretation." She is not scandalized by postmodemism's pluralism and
acknowledgement of multiple truths but rather counsels confidence in Christianity's
confession of revealed truth centered in the person of Christ.

Downing 's rapid pace and stream-of-consciousness presentation may leave
some readers' heads spirming. Frequent illustrations and autobiographical narratives,
however, keep things from blurring together, particularly for the novice. Her "zoom out"
perspective is an excellent complement to Smith's "zoom in" approach.

Together, Downing and Smith offer inviting entry points into the maze of
postmodern thought and serve as reliable guides for readers who wish to track the maze.
Both articulate an unapologetic apologetic for postmodernism and the significant
resources it offers Christians concerned with thinking critically and creatively about how
to witness to "the faith once delivered." These books offer accessible, knowledgeable,
and engaging treatments of postmodernism, whether read as introductions or as refresher
courses.

102

Ashland TheologicalJournal 2007

Book Reviews

John Rogerson, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of the Bible. Oxford: Oxford
University, 2001. 412 pp., cloth, $49.95.

The volume under review is one of those rare works that offers a collection of
essays which, individually, are of uniformly high quality and readability and, as a whole,
achieve a tight overall coherence. The book guides the reader through its subject matter
by organizing the contributions into four sections prefaced by a lucid and engaging
orientation by the editor. The first two sections, both titled "The Making of the Bible,"
deal first with the historical background of the scriptures and second with the
composition, transmission, and translation of biblical texts. John Rogerson's essay on the
historical background of the Old Testament focuses primarily on scholarly discussion on
Israelite religion and its development. Philip Davies' essay on the Apocrypha follows
with a brief discussion on issues of canon and a survey of the contents and composition.
Margaret Davies then places the topic of canonization more squarely at the center in an
absorbing essay on the composition of the New Testament documents.

Geoffrey Khan opens the second section, on texts and transmission, with a
meticulous account of the development and transmission of the Masoretic text and the
role of variant traditions, such as those reflected in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint.
Philip Davies then offers brief accounts of the textual histories of the individual books
that comprise the Apocrypha and is followed in turn by David Parker, who deftly
elaborates the operations of the textual study of the New Testament in tandem with the
textual, social, and theological issues that gave rise to them. Stanley E. Porter concludes
the section with an informative survey of translations of the Bible, a discussion of the
difficulties involved in establishing the textual base for translation, and an overview of
the issues involved in translating the Bible meaningfully into English.

The largest number of essays appears in the third section on "The Study and
Use of the Bible." In "The Early Church," Herming Graf Reventlow summarizes the
contributions of key figures in the era, and G. R. Evans explores, among other things, the
impact of the Bible on preaching and education in "The Middle Ages to the
Reformation." David Wright examines the impact of such developments as the printing
press, the translation of the Bible into the vernacular, and the emergence of historical
methods of interpretation in "The Reformation to 1 700." Ronald Clements completes the
historical overview, in "1700 to the Present," with a cogent discussion of biblical
scholarship's interaction with the intellectual and cultural currents that emanated fi'om the
Enlightenment. George Bebawi, in "The Bible in the Eastern Churches," helpfully
explains the Eastern insistence on explaining the scriptures according to the Church's
faith, worship, and ideal of holiness, and Philip Alexander gives a masterful overview of
seminal developments in Jewish interpretation - encompassing early commentary,
rabbinic midrash, the medieval shift to philology, and the impact of the Enlightermient -
in "The Bible in Judaism." David Jasper's essay on "The Bible in Literature" concludes

103

Book Reviews

the section by discussing the appropriation of biblical texts and motifs in the works of
influential English authors from the Medieval Era to the present.

The concluding section, "Contemporary Interpretation," comprises four essays.
The first, by Yvonne Sherwood, elaborates the objectives and operations of feminist
scholarship as it addresses the negative images and absence of women from the biblical
text and traditional interpretation. The last three essays frame the globalization of
biblical interpretation from the perspective of Liberation Theology. M. Daniel Carroll R.
provides a succinct discussion of the origin and development of Liberation Theology in
Latin America and summarizes the hermeneutical proposals of a number of key figures in
the movement. Gerald West discusses and unites the complex and many-faceted
character of Africa's engagement with the Bible by explaining it as a series of
transactions. Luise Schotfroff concludes the section with an essay on the ways Liberation
Theology has impacted biblical interpretation in Europe. John Rogerson then completes
the volume as a whole with a short epilogue that gives a nod to contemporary approaches
(e.g. formalist, ideological, deconstruction) but argues strongly for the primacy of the
historical-critical method and the attempt to discern authorial intent.

Taken together, the essays offer a masterful and very readable account of the
Bible's history that is rich in detail and complemented by a judicious selection of
illustrations. Yet there are significant omissions. Formalist, social-scientific, and
"postmodern" approaches are presented as an afterthought and are not given an
explanation sufficient to acquaint the novice reader with their operations and ends. The
positioning of contemporary biblical interpretation within the rubric of Liberation
Theology seems incomplete, especially given disaffection with the term in many quarters
and a reorientation toward postcolonial reading strategies. Perhaps this explains the
striking absence of any discussion of biblical interpretation in central and east Asia,
where liberationist categories have not caught on but where, nonetheless, energetic
engagement with the Bible continues apace. Finally, it is somewhat disappointing to find
so few references to evangelical and pentecostal/charismatic engagement with the Bible,
especially since these currents constitute a vital and growing expression of Christianity in
many global contexts.

These comments notwithstanding, readers will find this volume an excellent
introduction and reference for the history and study of the Bible.

, L. Daniel Hawk

104

Ashland Theological Journal 2007

John Day, Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan. JSOTSup 265. Sheffield:
Sheffield Academic Press (now handled by Continuum, New York), 2000. 288 pp., cloth,
$60.

Judith M. Hadley, The Cult of Asherah in Ancient Israel and Judah: Evidence for a
Hebrew Goddess. University of Cambridge Oriental Publications 57. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2000. Xv + 265 pp., cloth, $105.

That Israel was not alone in its religious world is show by the prophets' all too
frequent condemnation of Yahweh 's people for following other gods. These two books
ably present some of the options available for their spiritual adultery. The first looks
across a broad panoply of deities, most specifically in their relationship to Yahweh, while
the second plumbs the evidence available on one particular goddess.

John Day, Professor in the Faculty of Theology, University of Oxford, brings to
bear the decades of research made available since the publication of W. F. Albright's
Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan almost forty years ago. He is well qualified to do so,
having already published numerous books and articles on aspects of the topic. In the first
chapter. Day looks at Yahweh and El, who he sees as originally separate deities. There
was, however, influence of the latter on the former in such aspects as Yahweh being
ancient, wise, and creator. El's dwelling in paradise is also explored, as are several
features of El, such has his association with calves/bulls, which are rejected as being part
of the worship of Yahweh.

Chapter two studies Asherah, a goddess associated with Yahweh in several
recently discovered texts. Day takes the mention of Asherah in these to refer to cult
symbols rather than the goddess herself He does hold that the goddess was Yahweh 's
consort among many in Israel who turned their backs on orthodox Yahwism and lived in
syncretism with the surrounding Canaanite culture, the very practice which the prophets
condemned. Two chapters are dedicated to Baal and the appropriation by Yahweh of
some Baal imagery. There is also a brief discussion on Dagon. The following chapters
combine several deities, one on the goddesses Astarte, Anat, and the Queen of Heaven,
another on the astral deities (sun, moon and Lucifer), and one on the underworld deities
(Mot, Resheph, Molech, and the Rephaim). Day concludes with a discussion of the
development of monotheism, which he sees arising in the pre-exilic period, being
especially reinforced by Josiah's reforms, and firmly established after the exile. Day
concludes with a valuable bibliography of almost 30 pages, and indexes of references and
authors.

Judith Hadley is Associate Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at
Villanova University. She also is an expert in ancient religion, especially the goddess
Asherah and the textual and archaeological evidence concerning her. She brings all of
these to bear in this monograph. After introducing previous research on asherah, Hadley
explores the goddess Athirat in Ugaritic literature and Asherah in the Bible. She suggest
an evolution of understanding, starting with her as El's consort, but devolving into simply
a wooden cult object. She then studies the Khirbet el-Qom inscription associating
Yahweh and asherah (most likely as a cult object) and the Kuntillet Ajrud material which

105

Book Reviews

provides inscriptions and pictorial representations relevant to the topic. She interprets the
writing and the art as being unrelated from each other, with the writing done by someone
other than the artist and not being comments on the representations. She completes the
evidential survey by looking at finds from Lachish, Pella, Taanach, Ekron, and
Jerusalem, as well as a chapter on female figurines. A twenty-five page bibliography is
followed by indexes of biblical and extra-biblical passages, modem authors, and subjects.
Both books are models of scholarship in areas with diverse but incomplete
streams of evidence. Various views are presented fairly, with the authors' own
conclusions clearly drawn. The books show that religious enculturation has a long
history, with today's manifestations of cultural and political Christianity only continuing
a long fradition.

David W.Baker

Alfred Rahlfs, ed. Septuaginta. Revised and corrected edition by Robert Hanhart. New
York: American Bible Society/ Stuttgart: German Bible Society, 2006. 2201 pp., cloth,
$79.99.

Print editions of the LXX have a long history (see K. Jobes and M. Silva,
Invitation to the Septuagint [Grand Rapids: Baker, 2000] pp. 69-75), and Rahlfs' has
been the standard edition since 1935. This revised and corrected edition was prepared by
the able hands of Robert Hanhart, himself editor of Gottingen critical editions of 1 , 2
Esras, Esther, Judith, Tobit, and 2 and 3 Maccabees. The nature of the revisions are
spelled out in a short introduction (pp. xi-xii), which is expanded upon in an article by
Hanhart published elsewhere: "Rechenschaftsbericht zur Editio Altera der Handausgabe
der Septuaginta von Alfred Rahlfs," Vetus Testamentum LV (2005): 450-460.

The present edition leaves the Rahlfs text "largely untouched" and restricts
revisions "to the most inevitable changes." It is, in Hanhart' s words, "a moderate revision
of the first edition" (p. xi), limited largely to errors and misprints. These pertain to
accentuation (at Prov 7:4; Exod 27:20; 30:24) and transmission of a different form of a
word (Isa 5:17; 53:2) in the text. They also pertain to some matters in the critical
apparatus including, first, mistakes in collating that become apparent as the Gottingen
editions become available. Second, revisions to the apparatus are made toward correcting
Rahlfs' way of quantifying textual traditions from "about a quarter," etc., to specifying a
specific quantity as done in the Gottingen or Brooke-McLean editions. Third, corrections
were made of misleading simplifications of textual transmissions. Finally, the present
edition includes uncials Q, C, and V, and recensions O and L, where Rahlfs only uses B,
S, and A.

The typesetting, font, formatting, color, and even the binding are identical to
the Rahlfs edition. The aim of the revision is the same as that of the original Rahlfs: to
provide a reliable edition of the LXX at a moderate price for ministers and students. That
the revised edition is now available will surely make it the standard edition, though one
need not replace the old Rahlfs on one's shelf For these revisions comprise such a slight

106

Ashland Theological Journal 2007

percentage of the overall Rahlfs edition that replacing one's copy of the first edition may
not be entirely warranted, provided one is aware of the errors present in the 1935 text.
However, for serious work in the LXX, especially where text critical matters are
concerned, one best consult the Gottingen editions for the most up-to-date critical text
and apparatus.

Daniel M. Gurtner, Bethel Seminary, St Paul, MN

Tomoo Ishida, History and Historical Writing in Ancient Israel: Studies in Biblical
Historiography. SHANE, 16. Leiden: Brill, 1999. Xiv + 219, cloth, $122.

Questions of history and historiography of the Hebrew Bible have been gaining
momentum in recent years, and this collection by a leading Japanese biblical scholar
helps track his own not inconsiderable contribution to the debate. The volume consists of
revisions of 14 articles previously published between 1973 and 1993.

The contents are arranged in two sections. The first is entitled "Dynamism in
History and Historiography" and deals with the pre-Israelite nations, the shophet
('judge')as leader of the pre-monarchical 'tribal leagues', the term 'nagid' and its
relationship to kingship, struggles for the Israelite throne, the 'people of the land', and the
house of Ahab. The second section looks at the Succession Narrative, specifically
Solomon's birth and succession, Nathan's prophecy, Abner's murder, and the succession
narrative against the background of the Aramean kingdom of Sam'al and the Apology of
Esarhaddon.

Ishida describes himself as a conservative in the current debate over biblical
historiography. By his own definition, this included: analyzing the extant text rather than
its purported sources; recognizing the possibility of late texts being compiled from earlier
sources; an actual historical Sitz-im-Leben giving rise to biblical historical texts, none of
which are purely works of literature; extra-biblical sources, while valuable, but are
auxiliary and need to be carefially studied in their own right.

The volume provides a valuable antidote to much that is written about Israelite
historiography. It should find a place in academic theological libraries.

David W. Baker

Hennie J. Marsman, Women in Ugarit & Israel: Their Social & Religious Position in the
Context of the Ancient Near East. OTS 49. Leiden: Brill, 2003. X + 781 pp, cloth, $165.

The destruction of the city of Ugarit in the 13* century BC left a snapshot of
Canaanite civilization as it was at that period, the time of the Israelite judges. Ugarit has
provided considerable insight into the religion of the period, and in this volume its texts
yield important sociological information concerning women and their roles. The author.

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Book Reviews

and independent Dutch scholar, received her doctorate from the Theological University at
Kampen. Her thesis there is the basis for this volume.

The book is divided into five unequal sections. In the first, Marsman sets her
methodology within the history of feminist interpretation, looking at its development
from the mid- 19* century through the late 20* century, especially drawing on the early
work of Rosemary Radford Reuther. She seeks to establish a methodology to answer her
research question: "whether the social and religious position of Israelite women was
worse, equal or better than those living in neighbouring polytheistic cultures" (p. 1). In
essence, she explores whether monotheism or polytheism are better for women.

The second, largest section covers women's social position. It includes sections
on women in their family of origin as well as the one into which they marry, with all of
their aspects (courtship, marriage, motherhood, divorce, widowhood, etc.). It also
explores royal and non-royal women, as well as those involved in business, professional
life, and slavery. Marsman concludes that women's social position was similar in both
Israel and Ugarit.

Chapter three explores women's religious position as both worshipper (through
prayer, making vows, bringing offerings [especially in the context of the cult of the dead]
and religious specialist such as priestess (unattested in Israel and Ugarit , practiced in
Mesopotamia and Egypt, though decreasing through tirne), singers and dancers,
magicians and sorcerers, and prophets. There is special discussion of what has
traditionally been designated as 'cultic prostitution', with the author joining those who
question whether the practice actually existed. She presents a wealth of evidence, which
is to some extent skewed due to the chief tradents being males with greater vested interest
in male rather than female practices.

This last point is developed in the fourth chapter, which looks at the non-
literary epigraphs available as evidence. These include letters, seals and bullae (seal
impressions on clay), and legal and administrative texts. She found similarities with the
situation depicted in literary texts, so again concludes a lack of differences between Israel
and its northern neighbor. The fifth and final chapter presents the author's summary and
conclusion. It is followed by indexes of abbreviations, authors, subjects, and ancient texts
cited. Unfortunately, there is no separate bibliography.

Marsman is to be thanked for a thorough start on so vast a topic. The
considerable evidence she has compiled will be of great help for all interested in the vital
topic. The volume should be in all academic theological libraries. It is unfortunate that its
costs will likely preclude its purchase by others interested in the subject.

David W.Baker

Victor H. Matthews, Old Testament Turning Points: The Narratives That Shaped a
Nation. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005. 208 pp., paper, $18.99.

Victor H. Matthews, professor of Religious Studies at Missouri State
University, is the author of numerous works, including The Social World of Ancient

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Israel and Old Testament Parallels. This most recent contribution is a valuable tool for
students seeking an overview of major themes in Old Testament theology.

In his survey of the Hebrew Scriptures, Matthews identifies eight "turning
points" or events that contain elements and themes essential to the larger narrative of the
Hebrew Bible. For example, the Abrahamic covenant established by Yhwh in Gen. 15-17
becomes a central reminder of Israelite national identity in later scriptural passages
(Exod. 33:1, Josh. 24:3, 2 Kings 13:23, Neh. 9:7-8, Isa. 51:2, Sir. 44:19-21). Other
"turning points" that resonate through the biblical canon include the expulsion of Adam
and Eve from the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:4-3:24), the Exodus of the Israelites from
Egypt (Exod. 12:33-40:38), the establishment of Jerusalem as the capitol of the Davidic
kingdom (2 Sam. 5:6-7:29), the secession of the Northern Tribes under Jeroboam (1
Kings 12:1-19), the fall of Samaria to the Assyrians (2 Kings 17:41), the destruction of
Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 25:1-21), and the return of the Israelites from
Exile (Ezra l:l-Neh. 13:31).

Matthews examines each of the "turning points" in eight separate chapters,
which address their relationship to the broader biblical cannon and Ancient Near Eastern
literature. Of particular value to the student of the Hebrew Bible is Matthews' analysis of
the retelling of these stories in later biblical writings. Matthews' work helps the modem
reader to draw similar cormections between characters, events, and themes that the
ancient Israelites would have drawn. Matthews points out that ancient Israelites heard
these stories not read them and that the biblical texts themselves have social texture,
which gives them an enduring quality and ability to contribute to social identity (p. 8).
Matthews suggests that cultural values were passed on by the Israelites to succeeding
generations through the "turning point" narratives.

The methods used in Old Testament Turning Points include canonical, social
scientific, and literary approaches with emphasis on the themes of covenant, ethical
expectations, judgment, and restoration. Matthews' presentation of the material is
accessible and includes a glossary of technical terms and important concepts, which make
the work more accessible to lay readers. Matthews also includes an index with references
to subjects as well as scriptural and Ancient Near Eastern writings that appear in the text.
Throughout his work, Matthews remains focused on the topic specified by his title
supplying many individual arguments that contribute to the purpose of the whole work.

Jacob D. Dodson, Regent University

Benjamin E. Scolnic, If the Egyptians Drowned in the Red Sea, Where are the Pharaoh 's
Chariots?: Exploring the Historical Dimension of the Bible. Studies in Judaism.
Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America, 2005. Pp. 198, paper, $35.00.

This series. Studies in Judaism, is a comprehensive, interdisciplinary collection
of anything and everything pertaining to the Jewish faith. The collection ranges from
biblical studies, to discussions on modem Jewish theology, to commentaries on the
Talmud and other extra-biblical historical texts important to the faith. Even among this

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series, Pharoah 's Chariots is a unique work, since it spans two disciplines within itself:
biblical studies and archaeology.

Scolnic's work is an engaging defense of the historicity of certain events in the
Hebrew Scriptures using contemporary archaeological evidence. His aim is to encourage
biblical believers to make their own judgments on what is proven or unproven by
archaeological evidence. He seeks to re-establish the Bible as a piece of historical
evidence on par with extra-biblical literary material. He claims that, because of the
religious fervor the Bible incites for or against it, it has been relegated to a status of being
worth "less than nothing" (p. 2). His arguments engender appreciation for the field of
archaeology, as well as reminding a believing audience that the doors have not been shut
on faith. While a variety of archaeologists have sought to prove or disprove the biblical
accounts, Scolnic makes the case for an objective and humble middle ground that realizes
that the minute amount of archaeological evidence makes absolute certainty impossible.

Some of the subjects examined include: the origins of the Garden of Eden,
Noah's ark and the great flood, the status and life of the real Moses, the historicity of the
Exodus, and various predictions of the prophets. The strength of Scolnic's work is in
reminding the reader that the Bible should be "presumed true" until proven false (p. 1).
However, the strength of each individual chapter varies greatly. For instance, the chapter
on Moses reminds the reader that it is tradition that has elevated Moses to the status of
"Prince of Eg>'pt," whereas the biblical text makes no such claims. He argues that Moses
would have had little status as a foreign child in the royal harem when Pharaoh had
legitimate children of his own. As such, it is not surprising that Moses is not recorded in
the Egyptian annals. It is these areas of textual re-examination and objective
archaeological study where Scolnic's work shines. However, other chapters are not so
strongly argued. For instance, Scolnic devotes a chapter to the argument that Amos
successfully predicted the major earthquake of 763 BCE. Unfortunately, that chapter
mainly involves the evidence that an earthquake occurred, but the decision to believe that
Amos predicted it is largely left to faith. Although inconsistent evidence is one of the
eternal problems of archaeology, in these weaker chapters, it is easy to get the impression
that Scolnic is defending his position against an opposing view that the casual reader has
no familiarity with.

It should be noted that the book's title really doesn't accurately prepare a casual
reader for the content within. Where are Pharaoh 's Chariots? seems to be the question
of an amateur bible-reader confiised by textual inconsistencies, when in fact the book
only addresses historicity of biblical claims. Similarly, while the book pretends to be
written to an amateur audience, it is much too advanced for most people unfamiliar with
biblical and archaeological terminology. Despite Scolnic's commitments to "keep
references to a minimum," the book is far too footnote-laden to be considered casual
reading (p. 2). Furthermore, while there are moments where esoteric terms are explained,
they are inconsistent, and many times the casual reader is left in the dark. Finally,
potential readers should be made aware that the book is not meant to be an objective
textbook or primer on the subject of biblical archaeology. Instead, each chapter consists
of the author's own carefully thought-out theories based on the evidence.

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I would recommend Pharaoh's Chariots to any person with more than a
passing interest in biblical archaeology, especially anyone who has found him- or herself
overwhelmed by the wide and varying opinions on the matter.

Benjamin Gemmel

Gale A. Yee, Poor Banished Children of Eve, Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003. 298 pp.,
paper, $26.00.

In her introduction Gale Yee states, "The men writing the Bible used women,
particularly those who were socially, culturally, and racially Other, as tropes for evil and
destruction" (p. 3). Her purpose, however, is not to catalog this symbolization but "to
explore relationships between the sexism embodied in this symbol and other forms of
oppression" (p. 4). Therefore through her exploration of gender she raises issues of class,
status and race in the texts. Yee selects four distinct time periods of Israelite history and
using social sciences examines the society. She then turns to Ideological criticism to
explore the rhetorical strategies of the biblical texts and its connection to the lived
experience of the community. In the process Yee considers how these texts both rely on
and re-inscribe various beliefs and ideas about women.

In chapter 2 Yee provides a wonderfully clear description of ideological
criticism. She builds her definition from Marxist literary critics (primarily Terry
Eagleton) who have paid particular attention to how the lived experience of a society
produces particular ideas and beliefs. Following Eagleton she details six different ways
in which ideology has been categorized: from beliefs that are entirely neutral to those that
promote and legitimate the interests and power of particular social groups all the way to
those that are pejorative and rely on false beliefs. Yee develops the connections between
ideology and social practice noting that the former provides a rational for the latter. She
then explores various rhetorical strategies that justify beliefs or values. For example;
rationalizing, legitimating, universalizing, or naturalizing a concept. These ideological
strategies do not exist in a vacuum but "exist only in relation to other ideologies." There
are other explanations, other ways of forming a society that compete with any ideology.
Written texts produced in the context of this discourse between competing ideologies,
contain within them, "the potential for contradiction and dissonance in ideological
formations" (P. 13). Yee places her study of the characterization of women in the midst
of these competing discourses and the lived experience that gives rise to them. She
considers the symbol of woman as evil in light of the prior ideology of gender that this
reworks. In particular she asks what beliefs about women make this trope 'work'? (Or
not work if one replaced the woman with a man?)

Chapter 3 provides a survey of ancient Israelite culture through the lens of
social sciences. The author examines modes of production, kinship and patrimony, honor
and shame, the separate world of women (and hence the lack of textual information about
their lives) and a section on 'weapons of the weak' or informal power. All these
contribute to the beliefs and ideas that inform the biblical text. Once again Yee's brief
overview is clear and incisive and particularly informative.

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Book Reviews ■ A; '

Chapters 4-7 each cover a bibhcal example of the use of women as evil. Yee
interprets the women in the selected texts as tropes for a social group or nation. She
follows the scholarly consensus regarding date of writing, moving from the 1 0"' century
to post-exilic. Chapter 4 deals with Eve, chapter 5 with the woman in Hosea, chapter 6
with the two sisters in Ezekiel, and chapter 7 with the Other woman in Proverbs. Each
chapter begins with an "extrinsic" analysis of the social, political, and economic context
for the text. This analysis then leads to an intrinsic analysis of the text's rhetoric. Her
method opens up a number of lived conflicts that tend to become masked under the
"symbolic alibi" of the women. In Genesis a public class conflict is shifted to the private
domain of family where Eve's subordination obscures the peasant class that is
subordinated by the king. Hosea's narrative of divorce is a critique of Israel's male
leadership but the rhetoric reinforces the subordinate status of women to men. Ezekiel is
analyzed in the context of deportation and exile and Proverbs 1-9 in the context of
Empire and the tributary position of Yehud.

There are two minor weaknesses in the book. Yee's analysis rests on
particular historical contexts which could be contested. The other is one that
accompanies any focused approach. The analysis isn't always compelling. Are all these
images of evil women really about class conflict? While Hosea clearly directs his attacks
towards leaders, and the daughters in Ezekiel provide language for the pain of war and
exile, it is not so obvious that Genesis 1-3 is about peasants and kingship nor is the Other
woman in Proverbs 1-9 convincingly about the importance of endogamous marriage.

The strengths of this book are many. By putting feminist criticism in dialogue
with social sciences Yee exposes the community conflict and trauma coded within the
rhetoric of unfaithfiil wives and promiscuous daughters and how that rhetoric re-inscribes
for the reader those same beliefs about women. The analysis is well done and it is written
with great clarity. Her focus on how the symbolism of woman as evil provides a
gendered mask for other oppressive systems (classism, racism, colonialism) is a much
needed analysis and a much needed warning for those reading these texts today.

Donna Laird, Drew University

Stephen C. Barton, ed. The Cambridge Companion to the Gospels. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2006. xi + 300 pp., cloth, $27.99.

This collection of 1 3 essays draws together some of the most respected Gospels
(and more broadly NT) scholars. Primarily from the United Kingdom and the United
States, they include Stephen Barton, Loveday Alexander, Francis Watson, Richard Hays,
Stephen Fowl, Joel Green, and Marianne Meye Thompson. One expects, in this series,
brief discussions by a variety of experts on critical issues pertaining to the topic of
interest - in this case the four canonical Gospels. The first portion of essays, entitled
"approaching the text," offers insightful discussions of such issues as genre, the
uniqueness of the fourfold shape of the Gospels, and the significance of the Jewish
Scriptures (e.g. the LXX) for their interpretation.

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The second section deals directly with each Gospel in turn, covering the usual
matters of authorship, themes and emphases, and major contributions to the life of Jesus.
Given the limited space available to summarize the content and interpretation of a
Gospel, these chapters are lucid and rewarding. The final section, "the afterlife of the
Gospels," concerns how these biblical stories have affected the church and society
through the development of doctrine, the embodiment of the Gospels through imitation
and contemplation, and the application of the message of the Gospels to the arena of
politics and morality.

The attraction of this introductory textbook is that it does not simply rework the
same issues as other comparative survey-style books. Among others, two distinct
emphases make this volume special. First, the essays tend to highlight the literary
aspects of the Gospels over and against the dissecting work of the quest for a "historical
Jesus." Second, there is a focus on the church, in all its diversity, and how it has been
shaped by the four Gospels throughout the ages. When most textbooks stress the world
"behind the text," this one is carefiil to notice the world "of the text," and the world "in
front of the text."

There are, however, a few concerns worth noting. To begin with, multiple-
authored compilations such as these - as attractive as they are - tend to suffer from
redundancy, and this is no exception. For instance, the question of genre is dealt with in
one specific chapter, and yet it is discussed again and again (with little addition) in
several other essays. Second, though this volume concentrates on the Gospels, the book
of Acts seems to crop up here and there, especially in the chapter on Luke. It seems to
have an unclear status within this collection of essays. More definitiveness on the
category of Acts would have been profitable. Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, this
volume had to work with and around the earlier volume The Cambridge Companion to
Jesus. However, several important theological questions are dealt with in the "Jesus"
volume that were not worked over again in this one. But, if an instructor needed to
choose one of these for a course on the Gospels, it would be a very difficult decision.

The "Cambridge Companion" series has succeeded in collecting essays from
expert scholars who have distilled the background, content, and impact of the Gospels.
As a complementary volume to the Companion to Jesus, the unique focus on the
spirituality of the Gospels will benefit both student and pastor.

Nijay K. Gupta, Durham University, England.

Richard Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony.
Eerdmans, 2006. xi + 538.

It is sometimes assumed that faith and history cannot coincide and still produce
viable scholarship. One characteristic of the third quest for the historical Jesus, however,
has been the attempt by some scholars to eliminate the dichotomy between history and
faith. Bauckham argues that any reconstruction of Jesus cannot help but be reductionistic
if it does not also consider the perspective of Christian faith and theology. He believes
that a better way forward is one in which faith and theology meet in the historical Jesus

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instead of parting company (5). This volume is what he labels as his first attempt to set
forth the evidence and methodology for such an approach.

The focus of Bauckham's research is the use of eyewitness testimony by the
gospel authors. Through a reexamination of the much debated Papias fragments,
Bauckham suggests that Papias' gathering of recollections from various elders in the
early church represents a preference for eyewitness testimony. While NT scholarship
typically thinks of oral tradition as stories being passed around anonymously, he argues
that Papias' statements demonstrate that the role of individual transmitters of the tradition
was as important as the information being handed down (34-35). In light of this
conclusion, Bauckham suggests that a more precise nuance needs to be made. Rather than
understand the gospels as oral tradition (i.e. stories handed down anonymously) they
should be understood as oral history, that is, stories handed down by either eyewitnesses
or people who knew and received their information from eyewitnesses.

Based on his conclusions about oral history, Bauckham examines the role of
named individuals in the gospel. He notes that while many characters in the gospel stories
are unnamed, many are identified. He suggests that when a character is named (e.g.
Simon of Cyrene) the reason is that these individuals were the eyewitnesses to the
original event and, perhaps, even the authoritative guarantors of the traditions (39).
Bauckham argues that the inclusion of names in the gospel tradition is neither
meaningless nor fabricated but evidence that the gospel authors, like Papias, preferred to
use oral history. For instance, the figure of Peter in Mark's gospel forms an inclusio that
he claims lends a Peterine perspective. In John the use of anonymous disciples and the
figure of the beloved disciple also form and inclusio that Bauckham suggests is evidence
for eyewitness testimony.

Bauckham provides a copious amount of research to support his hypothesis. In
addition to analysis of the gospel traditions, he includes chapters which examine the
following topics: names in the gospels; Palestinian Jewish names in the first century; the
importance of the twelve disciples as eyewitnesses; the role of anonymous persons in the
gospels; models of oral traditions; the reliance of eyewitness memory; the Gospel of John
as eyewitness testimony; and the role of the beloved disciple. All of these are used
effectively to support his claim that the gospels should not be understood as oral tradition
but as oral history, that is, documents which preserve eyewitness testimony.

This is an ambitions work which, although narrowly focused on one topic,
encompasses a wide range of material and issues. Consequently, any criticism must be
tempered by the acknowledgement that much credit and appreciation should be given to
Bauckham for his work. The most significant drawback to the hypothesis, in my opinion,
is the tremendous amount of weight he has given to the Papias fragments and the kinds of
information that he suggests we can learn about oral history. The fragmentary nature is
one problem that forces Bauckham to make suggestions that, while perhaps plausible, are
not always convincing. Coupled with this is the fact that the fragments are preserved only
by Eusebius, who Bauckham concedes was highly critical of Papias. The problem, then,
is that all of our knowledge about Papias and his opinions has been mediated by a third
party who is not a supporter of the views expressed by Papias. This does not mean that

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we should dismiss the evidence out of hand, but it should elicit caution with the kind of
conclusions that are suggested.

A second criticism is the overly comprehensive nature of the project. While I
support Bauckham's attempts to test his methodology, the sheer amount of information
and analysis that is presented is overwhelming at times. While the focus on eyewitness
testimony in the gospels is a positive contribution, the broad coverage of material does
not always allow for the kind of penetration that such an important topic warrants.
Moreover, while those who are interested in highly specialized gospel studies will find it
very helpful, the average student and layperson will not be able to engage it at a sufficient
level.

Overall, Bauckham is to be praised for his work. The last 20 years has
witnessed a steady rejection of the form critical method along with the demise of the
criterion of double dissimilarity. Bauckham's contribution encourages scholars to take
the claims of the NT authors more seriously. His efforts will go a long way towards
removing the supposed dichotomy that exists between history and faith.

John Byron

Warren Carter, John: Storyteller, Interpreter, Evangelist. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson
Publishers, 2006. xvi + 264 pp. $19.95.

Carter's book is a valuable introduction to the Gospel of John. Its ten chapters
and postscript are divided into three major sections. Section one is John as storyteller, and
consists of six chapters covering the genre of the Gospel of John, its plot, its major and
minor characters, John's distinctive language, and his style. In section two, John's role as
an interpreter is covered. This section has only one chapter, making it the weakest
element of the book. Section three, contains two chapters and a postscript. Here, Carter
discusses the identity of the person or persons behind the Gospel of John, and its
message. The postscript analyzes the extent to which that message may or may not be
incorporated into the life and witness of the twenty- first century church.

Some of Carter's most interesting observations are found in the first section. He
notes that the Gospel of John, contrary to earlier research, does not constitute a unique
genre of Greco-Roman literature. Rather it is an example of the Hellenistic bios that
incorporates the various literary features of a revelatory biography (pp. 15-18). Carter
further notes the importance of plot in John's gospel as both a literary device and a means
of providing movement, (pp. 21-45), as well as literary themes One of these themes is the
conflict between Jesus and oppressive power systems, represented by both the Roman
governor, Pilate, and the temple establishment. Carter's focus on John's socio-political
dimensions provides the reader with a new appreciation of its impact on the original
readers/hearers.

The second section discusses John as an interpreter of the Jesus tradition. The
role of oral tradition in John's Gospel is noted. Carter concludes that the gospel shows
indications of an extensive period of oral refinement and collection, which may explain
some of the narrative inconsistencies that previous scholars understood as indicators of

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John's use of separate literary sources (p. 150). John's role as a re-interpreter of the Jesus
tradition is examined in light of circumstances facing a late first century church (pp. 155-
74). John's narrative demonstrates opposition to oppressive power structures, both
religious and secular that faced Jesus and the gospel's later audience (pp. 170-72.).

The third section examines John's role as an evangelist. What did the text mean
to its original readers/hearers and what does it mean to the church in the early twenty-first
century? Carter concludes that postmodern Christians can and should appropriate John's
opposition to oppression, but recognize that some of the gospel's language can, itself,
become oppressive, such as the phrase "the Jews" to denote Jesus' opposition. This
language has been used to justify the Church's shameful record of anti-Semitism in the
past, and Carter concludes it should be rejected. Rather, contemporary readers need to
reflect on when Christians find themselves as opponents of God's justice. In this reading,
John can once again be utilized to address socio-political oppression as well as spiritual
conflict faced both in the emerging church of the two-thirds worlds and in the established
churches of North America and Europe.

While the individual features of Carter's readings may not be entirely original,
he has combined them in a creative way to produce a challenging monograph. His
attention to what John must mean for Christians today as well as what it meant in the first
century demonstrates how exegesis addresses both the original meaning of a text, as well
as its continuing significance.

Russell Morton

John J. Collins and Craig A. Evans, eds. Christian Beginnings and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Grand Rapids: Baker, 2006. 144pp., paper, $16.99.

It would be no exaggeration to say that the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls
would easily make the list of top ten archaeology finds relevant to biblical studies in the
last couple of centuries. Numerous scholars have dedicated their research fully to these
often tattered and faded bits of scrolls. Study centers in universities have cropped up for
the sole objective of scrutinizing these texts. Even in seminaries you may find courses
taught with a specific focus on the history, literature, archaeology and theology of the
Qumran community. More than 50 years after the discovery of the scrolls, there is a need
to step back and evaluate how these interesting texts have affected our understanding of
the New Testament. Christian Beginnings and the Dead Sea Scrolls sets out to
accomplish such a goal in a succinct way. This brief collection of essays arose fi-om the
Hayward Lectures (Acadia Divinity College, Nova Scotia) in 2004 where several
respected scholars offered papers, many of which appear in this volume. The list of
contributors is quite impressive including John J. Collins, Craig Evans, Martin Abegg Jr.,
and Barry D. Smith. Though this is not intended to be an introduction to the Dead Sea
scrolls, the topics discussed are of general interest to New Testament interpreters and
students of nascent Christianity and include themes such as messianism, the matter of the
"works of the law" in Paul and 4QMMT, and the interpretation of the Old Testament in
the New Testament and the scrolls.

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One the most appealing features of this collection is when scrolls specialists
such as Abegg offer glimpses into the progression of their own research and show how
the landscape of study in this field is constantly being reshaped as new fragments,
methods, interpretations, and cross-disciplinary insights are brought to the fore. That
such a book is written with interest from so many different kinds of scholars proves just
how significant these ancient texts are for biblical studies and even how much more there
is to discover historically, culturally, and theologically.

At times, though, the diversity of the book can seem double-edged. Given how
brief the essays are (the last two chapters being eight pages and five pages respectively),
the cumulative effort can seem inchoate, leaving the reader unsatisfied. Additionally,
though the Dead Sea scrolls are meant to be in the foreground, a couple of essays pay no
more attention to the scrolls than to Philo and Josephus. The reader may occasionally
feel that the interest is more in the New Testament within its early Jewish context than
the contribution of Qumran/?er se.

This book probably appeals most to students and researchers who concentrate
on the New Testament (and the early church), but resource the scrolls from time to time
as background texts. Written for a wide audience, one can hardly find better guides to
these useful and insightful scrolls than the scholars found in this collection of essays.

Nijay K. Gupta, Durham University, England

Moma D. Hooker. Endings: Invitations to Discipleship. Peabody, Massachusetts:
Hendrickson Publishers, 2003. 104 pp., paper, $14.95.

Endings is a companion book to a previously published volume entitled
Beginnings. Both books deal with the beginnings and endings of the four gospels.
Fittingly, Moma Hooker, uses T.S. Eliot's poetic as a tie-in between the books: 'To make
an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.'

Hooker's approach is both thorough and appealing to the reader. Both of her
books provide a good introduction to the gospel writers as she analyzes their style and
purpose.

The gospel endings are not unrelated to their beginnings. The final words of
each gospel point back to their beginnings, inviting us to read the story once more! All of
the gospels present what the author entitles a 'suspended ending'. None of the gospels
give total closure. Why? - so that the disciple can continue the story into the future.

Should not a book on Endings have an interesting end? A provocative ending to
this exploration of the endings of the gospels is these last recorded words of Dietrich
Bonhoeffer on the eve of his execution. 'This is the end - for me, the beginning of life.'

Cliff Stewart

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Frederick J. Long. Ancient Rhetoric and Paul's Apology: The Compositional Unity of 2
Corinthians. Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series 131. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2004. 291 pp. cloth, $80.00.

This monograph is a revised dissertation completed under Carol Stockhausen in
which Fred Long posits that 2 Corinthians is a "unified apology drawing on the well-
known Greco-Roman forensic tradition" (1).

In the first chapter Long presents a helpful survey of scholars who address
problems and solutions related to the composition of 2 Corinthians. In essence the major
problems related to its unity have been the following issues: 1) a disjunction between
2:13 and 2:14, which seems to be picked up again between 7:4 and 7:5; 2) a possible
interpolation at 6:14-7:1; 3) whether chapters 8-9 are originally from a separate letter;
and 4) whether chapters 10-13 are originally a different letter due significantly to their
harsh tone and the abrupt changes this makes with the previous sections. For Long, the
best way to demonstrate the letter's unity is by showing that 2 Corinthians functions as
"historical rhetoric working with generic features of ancient apology" (10).

In Part 1 (chapters 2-6) Long surveys the genre of forensic discourse in terms
of exigency (rhetorical situation that accounts for the circumstances necessitated for the
discourse, such as alleged wrongdoings and a judicial setting), invention (types of
argumentation and construction involving issues such as stasis, topics, artificial and
inartificial proofs), and disposition (rhetorical arrangement including components such as
narratio, parititio, and refutatio). Numerous ancient works are cited (especially pages
17-22), with writings from Quintilian, Cicero, Aristotle, Demosthenes, Isocrates, Plato,
and Andocides dominating this section. Long concludes that 2 Corinthians best resembles
a "propagandistic apologetic letter" directed at an assembly (ekklesia) and also includes
exhortative (2 Cor. 6) and deliberative material (2 Cor. 8-9). In this apology Paul
promotes his ministry and defends "his right to the Corinthians' allegiance in the
collection for the saints" (112).

In Part 2 (chapters 7-10) Long establishes how 2 Corinthians conforms to a
forensic self-apology (cf 2 Cor. 12:19). In terms of exigency Paul is charged with failing
to visit the Corinthians after he claimed he would, and he is accused of having worldly
intentions, such as using manipulative rhetoric and duplicity related to financial gain
(1:17; cf 1:12-13; 2:1-2; 11:8; 12:16-18). In relation to invention Paul uses various
topoi, artificial and inartificial proofs. In particular he uses qualitative stasis to admit his
use of rhetoric; for Paul such persuading of persons is done "in the fear the Lord" (2 Cor.
5:11). In terms of disposition Paul deliberately arranges his letter in the tradition of an
apology with prooemium (1:3-7), narratio (1:8-16; also distributed at 2:12-13 and 7:2-
16), divisio/partitio {\:ll-24), probatio (2:1-9:15), refutatio (10:1-11:15), self-adulation
(11:16-12:10), and peroratio (12:11-13:10). This particular arrangement, among other
things, stresses in the partitio and unpacks through the probatio that the reason Paul did
not visit the Corinthians was due to their moral failings. The authenticity of Paul's
preaching of Christ is affirmed, and along with the Corinthians, Paul receives the

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"deposit" of the Spirit. Moreover he is not attempting to lord it over the congregation, but
he is a co-worker in relation to their money collection.

Long concludes that this particular reading of 2 Corinthians displays the letter's
unity by showing the seams at 2:13/14 and 7:4/5 "are transitions out of and into well-
crafted distributed narrative material (1.8-16; 2.12-13; 7.2b-16)" (235). The material in
6:14-7:1 belongs to a larger unit fi-om 5:11 to 7:1, which emphasizes the Corinthians'
immorality and relates to the partitio at 1:23. The collection of 2 Corinthians 8-9 not
only encourages the congregation to support Paul's endeavor, but it also functions as the
apostle's counter-charge that if the congregation members refuse to participate, they will
show that they cannot keep their word. Finally, the change of tone in 2 Corinthians 10-13
"is to be expected" for the beginning of a refutatio, which naturally follows the probatio
section of such discourses (178, 235).

Part 1 is specifically helpful in demonstrating the nature of Paul's letter as an
apology, and in Part 2 Long's treatment of the peroratio as a recapitulation of the entire
letter's arguments (190-97) is outstandingly perceptive (the book also includes two
appendices that elaborate on the letter' s peroratio and topoi respectively).

One area of disagreement I have with the monograph is Long's insistence that 1
Corinthians is the sorrowfiil letter Paul mentions in 2 Corinthians 2:3^ (cf 7:8), which
he holds in contrast to scholars who claim the letter is either missing or survives as 2
Corinthians 10-13. While Long's view is certainly possible, Paul's mentioning of sorrow
does not seem to adequately reflect the multi-faceted work of 1 Corinthians, and it is not
at all clear that Paul would be specifying only the situation in 1 Corinthians 5-6.
Moreover, in keeping with this view. Long maintains that Paul's "second visif with the
Corinthians (2 Cor. 13:2) refers to his "proxy" visit in spirit recorded in 1 Corinthians
5:1-5 (238). It seems to me more plausible to suggest that Paul made an actual (physical)
visit to Corinth in between 1 and 2 Corinthians, even if this encounter was not recorded
in the Book of Acts, and he intended to do so again.

It is also questionable whether 1 : 1 7-24 is the appropriate partitio or propositio
for the letter instead of 2:14-17; the latter of these passages is maintained by George
Kennedy and Ben Witherington. It may be the case that 2:14-17 fits better with 2
Corinthians 3-6, and 1:17-24 fimctions better as part of the composition's narratio.
Admirably Long gives his reasons for rejecting 2:14—17 as the thesis and posits a variety
of words and themes to connect the dots between 1:17-24 and 2:1-7:1 (157-62). But in
the end, major themes in these chapters, such as the Mosaic Law/new covenant, suffering
in the mortal body, and the nature of the body in relation to death/ resurrection, are not
treated with the specificity they deserve and seem to make odd bed fellows with 1 : 17-24.

Perhaps the problem with the letter's unity is not so much our finding the
perfect partitio or propositio as it is the realization that Paul may not be the rhetorician he
is sometimes made out to be. His arguments are not very clear to us, and sometimes they
were not even clear to his ancient readers (i.e., 2 Pet. 3:15-16). No doubt Paul intended to
be persuasive, but how do we know he deliberately set out to follow step-by-step all the
proper procedures of composing 2 Corinthians as an exemplary piece of forensic
rhetoric? Must he be entirely conscious of making sure all aspects of his propositio or
partitio were lucidly unpackaged in the letter? Why is not possible, in an age before the

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invention of "undo" buttons on word processors, that Paul went on some irreparable
tangents when writing 2 Corinthians?

In any case Long's work is a valuable contribution in support of the unity of 2
Corinthians. It is well-researched, succinct, and has many helpful tables.

B.J. Oropeza, Azusa Pacific University

Daniel G. Reid, ed.. The IVP Dictionary of the New Testament. Downer's Grove:
InterVarsity Press, 2004, 1 174 pp., hardcover, $50.00.

The IVP Dictionary of the New Testament (IVPDNT) is an abridgement of the
four NT-related dictionaries in InterVarsity Press' ongoing reference series: Dictionary of
Jesus and the Gospels, Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, Dictionary of the Later New
Testament and Its Developments and Dictionary of New Testament Background. This
single-volume work offers the most indispensable articles from the four dictionaries in
order to provide beginning students with an encyclopedic resource at an introductory
level. The IVPDNT includes articles on every New Testament book, significant events,
theological topics, and socio-cultural issues. Though the dictionaries in general are
known to represent evangelical theology, a sampling of the list of contributors
demonstrates remarkable diversity: David E. Aune ("Apocalypticism"), Richard
Bauckham ("Second Letter of Peter"), Bruce Chihon ("Judaism and the NT"), James
Dunn ("Letter to the Romans"), Everett Ferguson ("Greco-Roman Religions"), Larry
Hurtado ("Christology," "Lord," "Son of God"), Larry Kreitzer ("Adam and Christ,"
"Eschatology"), Stanley Porter ("Sin"), James M. Scott ("Adoption"), Marianne Meye
Thompson ("Gospel of John"), Geoffrey Wainwright ("Baptism," "Lord's Supper"),
Edwin Yamauchi ("Gnosticism," "Synagogue").

Articles range in length from the shortest at just over three pages (e.g. "Servant
of Yahweh") up to nearly twenty pages (e.g. "Christology I"). With a student readership
in mind, a glossary of terms is supplied in the index covering words and phrases that are
particular to NT studies. Additionally, article bibliographies have been updated to
include the most recent resources on each issue and references to foreign works have
more or less been eliminated. Some articles which overlap with similar ones in another
dictionary have been collated and, at times, condensed.

Having used the Dictionary of Paul and His Letters as a required text for a
survey course on Paul, I highly commend InterVarsity Press for its efforts to produce
relevant and accessible reference resources for students of the Bible. Some may fault
IVPDNT for omitting articles that seem vital. I was a bit surprised that no articles focused
specifically on "grace," "Old Testament in Paul," or "prayer." Nevertheless, NT
instructors will find IVPDNT valuable for its succinct, informative articles on the crucial
themes and issues of the New Testament from a number of excellent scholars.

Nij ay K. Gupta, Durham University, Durham UK

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Matthew C. Williams, Two Gospels From One: A Comprehensive Text-Critical Analysis
of the Synoptic Gospels. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2006. 256 pp. $21.99.

For the last forty years the solution to the Synoptic Problem has been a cause of
debate. While the Two Document Hypothesis remains the dominant paradigm, in 1964
W. R. Farmer reintroduced the Two Gospel, or Griesbach, Hypothesis as a valid
alternative solution of synoptic relationships. In brief, the Two Document Hypothesis
proposes that Mark was the first gospel written, and utilized as a source by the authors of
Matthew and Luke. Material common to Matthew and Luke reflect an otherwise
unknown source known as "Q." A minority of scholars, however, hold to one or the other
variations of the "Two Gospel Hypothesis." As developed by Griesbach, this theory
states that Matthew is the first written Gospel, which was used by Luke. Mark is a
condensation of Matthew and Luke. Another form of the Two Gospel hypothesis was
advanced in the 1950's by Austin Farrar. Farrar proposed that Mark was the first Gospel
written, followed by Matthew. Later, Luke used both Matthew and Mark. A recent
advocate of this position has been M. Goodacre {The Case Against Q).

While both the Two Document Hypothesis and the Farrar Hypothesis propose
the priority of Mark, the Griesbach Hypothesis does not. Attacking Marcan priority has
been utilized by Farmer as a major argument in favor of the Griesbach hypothesis. This
approach is also used in a series of essays edited by O. L. Cope and A McNicol in One
Gospel from Two: Mark's Use of Matthew and Luke (2002). Williams's book, as the title
indicates, answers Cope's and McNicol's challenge. In particular Williams focuses upon
the stylistic argument; which states that Mark's style is less refined than either Matthew's
or Luke's, and that these differences are best explained by Matthew and -Luke altering
Mark's rough Greek. That Mark's Greek is less refined than Matthew's or Luke's is
agreed on all sides. The proponents of Matthean priority, however, hold that this data
simply refiects Mark's attempts to abridge Matthew and Luke.

Williams answers the questions on style in a new way. Noting the manner in
which copyists improved Mark's text, Williams examines whether Matthew did
something similar. In short, does Matthew display the same tendencies as Mark's
copyists in improving or smoothing out a text (pp. 23-47)?

This question is answered in three phases. First, a short history of textual
history is provided, noting the conclusions of how copyists altered texts either
unintentionally or intentionally (pp. 49-64). Second, using textual apparatus of the
Nestle- Aland 27* edition of the Greek NT, 27 percent of Mark is examined (pp. 65-124).
The textual variants are noted and the tendencies are analyzed. Third, the differences
between Mark's text and Matthew's are analyzed (pp. 125-202). On the basis of this
analysis of the data, conclusions are reached (pp. 203-215). Williams gives decisive
evidence that the same tendencies evidenced in copyists' improvements to Mark are also
present in Matthew, and that the best conclusion is that Mark is Matthew's source.

Williams provides both detailed analysis and summaries to his discussions of
the textual developments of Mark and the relationship between Mark and Matthew. The
Greek is translated word for word, and Greek word order is maintained. A reader either
lacking Greek, or whose Greek is weak will have trouble following the details. These

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Book Reviews ' .'

readers are helped by the summaries provided at the end each chapter and the by the
conclusion. Williams demonstrates that Marcan priority continues to offer the best
solution to the Synoptic Problem, although in a minority of cases, such as Mk 2:26//Mt
12:24 and Mk 6:20//Mt 14:9, Matthew's reading appears to reflect a more original gospel
tradition. These phenomena may be explained either by the continuing influence of oral
tradition, the loss of original Marcan readings or Mark/Q overlaps (pp. 208-14).

Williams's book provides stimulating reading for those interested in the
Synoptic Problem. For most, however, the arguments will be tedious. The book is a
useful reference for those who wish to discuss or write on the intricacies of synoptic
relationships but will be of less use to those engaged in a pastoral ministry where such
questions seldom arise. For these individuals, accessing the book through a local library
and reading the summaries would be adequate.

■ . , Russell Morton

Anthony G. Thiselton. / Corinthians: A Shorter Exegetical and Pastoral Commentary.
Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2006. 325 pp., cloth, $30.00.

The author has written a much longer commentary on I Corinthians published
in 2000. Because of its length he was urged to consider a shorter commentary. However,
this new commentary (one sixth of the larger work in length) is not a condensation of the
larger. Thiselton' s lifetime of research on I Corinthians allowed him to relook at First
Corinthians, concentrating on the texts applying to pastoral and practical issues of the
day. In this reviewers' opinion, the author has succeeded. This is a 'must' commentary
for use in the pastorate.

Of great value is the introductory material, which reconstructs life in Corinth
during the time of Paul. The information provided sheds much light on the Corinthian
ethos. Thiselton includes with each exegetical study a very helpful section entitled
'Suggestions for Possible Reflection.' In many ways this might be the most helpful
portion of this commentary for Bible teachers. The questions posed are relevant to the
text and to contemporary life.

Another helpful feature of the commentary is the inclusion of the Corinthian
text in a section-by-section basis throughout the commentary. It is certainly handy for the
pastor who does not want to handle two books at the same time.

Cliff Stewart

A. K. M. Adam, Stephen Fowl, Kevin Vanhoozer, and Francis Watson. Reading
Scripture with the Church: Toward a Hermeneutic for Theological Interpretation
Grand Rapids: Baker, 2006. 160 pp., paper, $17.99.

The authors of this volume are leading voices in the theological interpretation
of scripture, an approach that, among other things, seeks to close the divide between the

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work of biblical scholars and theologians. Each contributes an essay elaborating his
approach and, in a second section, responds to the essays of the other three. Adam
asserts that Protestant interpretation has been constrained by a grammatical approach
fixated on deciphering words and texts in an attempt to get the right meaning. Instead, he
argues that biblical theology is a "signifying practice" open to all in the Church and
focused instead on clues for performance as Christians seek to imitate Christ. Drawing
on Thomas Aquinas, Stephen Fowl asserts that the literal sense of scripture - the stable
foundation for interpretation - is not singular but multi-vocal, though bound by the rule
of faith and theological concerns. Kevin Vanhoozer views the biblical text as the
medium for the divine author's intent and seeks the single, though complex literal sense
that both records and solicits participation in the theodrama of life with God. Francis
Watson, via a study of the four gospels, reminds readers that Christ is mediated through
the scriptures, which exhibit both a oneness and an irreducible plurality.

The strength of this volume is the space that it creates for dialogue on key
issues pertaining to the interpretation of the Bible within the Church. The reader who
comes to the book unfamiliar with the discussion will, however, find that he or she has
entered the conversation mid-stream. The aim of the authors is not so much to present a
summary of their approaches as it is to place them into meaningful dialogue with each
other. Novice readers may therefore benefit by viewing these essays as invitations to
explore the more developed presentations that each contributor has developed elsewhere.
More seasoned readers will appreciate the way that the essays clarify both the
commonalities and the differences of each approach.

L. Daniel Hawk

Kester Brewin. Signs of Emergence. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2007. 224 pp., paper,
$14.99. . .

The subtitle of this book is 'A Vision For Church That Is
Organic/Networked/Decentralilized/Bottom-Up/Communal/Flexible/Always Evolving.'
So 'what is a mainline denominational pastor reading this book for?' is a question that I
am asking! Despite the irony of a devoted member of a non-emerging church reading a
book about the emerging church I find this book quite interesting and practical. Brewin
has a readable style to his writing. He is persuasive in his urging that the emerging church
will come not fi'om the top down but from the bottom up! The author has a refreshing and
renewing vision of how life in the church will literally grow from the dirt of existence.
Brewin' s entire chapter on the subject of dirt is both provocative and stimulating. After
completing the book I find myself hoping that this first book by the author will not be his
last. A creative aspect of the book is poems found in most of the chapters. Be sure to
follow the references to www.vaux.com for more creative liturgy, which 'emerges' from
Brewin' s church organization.

Cliff Stewart, Senior Pastor, First Central Presbyterian Church, Abilene, Texas

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Book Reviews w- v

Linda Day and Carolyn Pressler, eds.. Engaging the Bible in a Gendered World.
Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006. Pp. 260, paper, $29.95.

Engaging the Bible serves two purposes: to honor feminist Old Testament
scholar Katharine Doob Sakenfeld, and to introduce unfamiliar readers to a broad
selection of forms of feminist biblical interpretation. Sakenfeld, author of now-classic
feminist volumes like Just Wives? Stories of Power and Survival in the Old Testament
and Today, as well as gifted teacher and William Albright Eisenberger Professor of Old
Testament Literature and Exegesis and Director of Ph.D. Studies at Princeton
Theological Seminary, has influenced many of the contributors to this volume. Her
unique talents at both scholarship and teaching provide for the dual format of this book.
Similarly, Sakenfeld's focus on the Old Testament inspires Engaging to focus primarily
on the Old Testament.

Contributors include Phyllis A. Bird, Nancy R. Bowen, L. Juliana Claassens,
Linda Day, F. W. Dobbs-AUsopp, Freda A. Gardner, Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz, Nyasha
Junior, Jacqueline Lapsley, Eunny P. Lee, Patrick D. Miller, Christie Cozad Neuger,
Kathleen M. O'Connor, Dennis T. Olson, Carolyn Pressler, J. J. M. Roberts, Kathryn L.
Roberts, Anna May Say Pa, C. L. Seow, Beth LaNeel Tanner, and Sarah Zhang.
Represented forms of feminist biblical interpretation include: mainstream feminist, from
a mainly Caucasian, upper class American perspective; mujerista, a form of feminism
centering on the unique experience of the American Latina community; "womanist,"
originating from African American women in response to mainstream feminism's lack of
attention towards racial, class, and other types of oppression; Asian feminist, expressing
the unique position of many Asian women in present-day patriarchal societies very
similar to those represented in the Old Testament; masculist, a post-feminist form of
interpretation incorporating issues of equality and gender-neutral language while
engaging the text from a male perspective.

The broadness of perspective contained within Engaging the Bible does as
much justice to the ever-expanding and evolving discipline of feminist biblical
interpretation as is possible in 260 pages. Though the text does not seek to provide it, a
rough history of the discipline can be easily discerned as some essays discuss very early
feminism from over three decades ago, with others then reacting to those views, and still
others reacting to those reactions. In addition, while academic study and feminist biblical
interpretation have been the victims of much misplaced criticism in many Evangelical
circles, each contributor's dedication both to Scripture and to its central teachings of
justice and love inspire the reader's confidence in both the feminist hermeneutic and in
scholarship as a whole. These features add to the compilation's value as a textbook.

Unfortunately, a side effect of the broad scope of the essays is that there is no
central theme, except each authors' indebtedness to Sakenfeld. And the heavy emphasis
on Old Testament Scripture—most likely a result of each contributor's being influenced
by Sakenfeld—gives Engaging an incomplete or unbalanced feel. However, this is a
small qualm with what is ultimately an interesting and comprehensive introduction to one
of the most controversial and exciting disciplines in biblical scholarship today.

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I would recommend Engaging the Bible as an introductory textbook on
feminist biblical interpretation, or to anyone who would like to learn more about the
discipline.

Benjamin Gemmel

Thomas N. Finger. A Contemporary Anabaptist Theology: Biblical, Historical,
Constructive. Downers Grove: Inter Varsity Press, 2004. 603 pages, hardback, $35.00.

Systematic theologies do not abound in the Anabaptist tradition. Partly this is
due to the original character of Anabaptism. It was a "folk movement" with few trained
leaders, and those who were educated were soon lost to the movement through
martyrdom. When it engaged theology, it was the practical instruction of Scripture rather
than the creedal arrangement of doctrines that dominated the process. Thus, Finger sees
his task as taking the implicit theology of Anabaptism and making it intentionally explicit
(chapter 1). He believes Anabaptist theology has significant contributions to make to
evangelical and ecumenical Christianity. He is also willing to engage historic and
contemporary expressions of Christian theology interact with Anabaptist theology as a
true partner in dialogue.

Part I of the book sets forth his methodology. Scripture is his primary source,
aided by Anabaptist historical perspectives. He then engages contemporary Anabaptist
theologians like C. Norman Kraus, John Howard Yoder, Gordon Kaufman, Duane
Freisen, James McClendon, Nancy Murphy, and J. Dermy Weaver. His agreements and
disagreements with Anabaptist writers is one of the values of the book. He then interacts
with other Christian traditions and perspectives: Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Reformed,
Evangelical and contemporary theologians of many perspectives. Each chapter
concludes with his own position clearly articulated as a legitimate Anabaptist theology
for the present.

Part II is devoted to what he believes is the central conviction of historic
Anabaptism: the new creation begun by Jesus Christ, carried on by the Holy Spirit, and
drawn to eschatological completeness in God's consummation of human history. He
looks at new creation through three dimensions: the personal, the communal, and the
missional. He is asking what salvation means for the individual, how this new reality is
manifest in the church, and what these themes suggest regarding the Christian's
responsibility to the world. It is quite fitting that his Anabaptist theology devotes nearly
one hundred pages to the doctrine of the church, not as an institution, but as an
embodiment of the Kingdom values and teachings of Christ.

In Part III he explains what he believes was the convictional framework behind
Anabaptism, even thought it was not always expressed articulately or consistently, there
being marked differences between various Anabaptist spokespersons. He therefore
devotes three chapters to Christology, Anthropology, and Eschatology. The chapter on
Jesus is the longest of the book, indicative, I believe, that Finger believes that the doctrine
of Christ is most cmcial for Anabaptists and all Christians. In keeping with the
Anabaptist focus upon Jesus and the Gospels, he prefers the "Christus Victor" reading of

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'AV Book Reviews •"

atonement, though he beUeves some of the themes from the "substitutionary" and "moral
influence" theories are compatible with the "Christus Victor" model.

He opts for Alexandrian Christology over Antiochene Christology, even though
he admits that there are problems with the former and attractive Anabaptist parallels in
the latter. Finger also defends the work of the early councils at Nicea, Constantinople,
and Chalcedon as best representing the early church's understanding of Christ.
Consequently, he critiques fellow Anabaptists C. Norman Kraus, James McClendon, J.
Denny Weaver, Gordon Kaufman, and John Howard Yoder at length in this chapter. He
also is critical of James Dunn's interpretation of Philippians 2:5-11 which rejects
implications of Christ's preincamate deity and Unks it only to his resurrection. He
believes it is most natural on both biblical and theological grounds to see Christ's work in
new creation in light of his preincamate deity.

The book reflects extensive scholarship, not just in Anabaptist writings, but
also in the areas of patristics. Reformation history and thought, and contemporary
Christian doctrine as expressed in Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, mainline
Protestantism, Evangelicalism, and post-modernist theology. His interaction with other
theologians and theological traditions is generally genial and fair. He becomes more
confrontational when issues of Scripture, Christology, the Trinity, atonement, and
eschatology are the issue under discussion. At these points we encounter the real Thomas
Finger and probably have the most to gain by hearing his theology.

For the present, Finger's book is a good place for one to encounter the
Anabaptist theological perspective. He is not as well known as John Howard Yoder was,
but his contribution is more comprehensive than Yoder's was. It will be some time
before another Anabaptist theology can cover the issues as well as Finger does.
Meanwhile, one hopes that his theology will be rewarded with a wide readership.

Luke L. Keefer, Jr.

Kevin J. Vanhoozer, The Drama of Doctrine, A Canonical Linguistic Approach to
Christian Theology. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 2005. Pp. 488 , paper,
$39.95.

Kevin Vanhoozer continues his service to the academy and church in this
volume that its author affectionately refers to as the "Great Pumpkin" due to its bright
orange cover. This "Great Pumpkin" is a thorough, carefiil, and metaphor-driven
exphcation of Vanhoozer's trinitarian and canonical theology of scripture.

A major focus throughout the book is the way Vanhoozer's thesis grounds the
authority of the text in the canon itself in respectful distinction to Lindbeck's work which
finds the authority of Scripture on the its pattern of use by the Christian community. For
Lindbeck, writes Vanhoozer, "the authoritative source of Christian doctrine is not the
story in and of itself but the story as read, or rather 'practiced, ' in the Christian
community. Lindbeck's cultural-linguistic model betrays a structural instability of sorts

Ashland Theological Journal 2007

just at this point, unsure of whether it is accountable to the story or to the practice that
allegedly embodies and enacts it" [emphasis original].

The story that is the illocutionary manifestation of what God does in saying is
of paramount concern in Vanhoozer's canonical linguistics. The story, the drama of
doctrine, is indispensable to both the understanding (scientia) and wisdom (sapientia)
that is necessary for both prepositional truth and the embodiment of the Gospel by the
Church.

The idea of canonical doctrine as "theo-drama" isn't just an occasional word
choice in Vanhoozer's book. For this volume, it is the driving metaphor that intentionally
organizes, informs and enables the book to serve as a robust model for a theological
hermeneutical paradigm in the academy and as an invigorating reintroduction of
Scripture's unique authority in both church belief and practice. It seems in reading this
volume that not one page of the divine theo-drama is left unturned or unexplored. The
language, history and function of the playwright, script, actor, dramaturge, prompter,
director, improvisation, performance, cast, audience, theatre, and even stage fights and
props are all woven into Vanhoozer's often eloquent soliloquy celebrating what God has
done in Christ Jesus. The only time the elaborate metaphor seems to get in the way or
become a bit tiresome is when one doesn't need it anymore to get the point. The
canonical linguistic approach in this work is a profoundly satisfying explanation of what
Christians mean when we say that scripture is the word of God.

Vanhoozer's work has been reviewed by many fine scholars as an intra-
academic conversation that recognizes keenly how Vanhoozer is building upon and, in
refining and course-correcting the work of Karl Barth and Hans Urs von Balthasar. I
would like to commend the Great Pumpkin for use in the classroom. I have used this
book for an introductory class in hermeneutics for conservative evangelical students in
the Master of Ministry program and I have taught Vanhoozer's canonical linguistic ideas
to undergraduates in an upper division New Testament hermeneutics class every semester
where I teach. These students who are usually very practiced at and comfortable with
decontextualized prepositional truth statements, cut-and-paste proof-texting, and would
passionately defend "biblical inerrancy" (no matter what that might mean), have found in
Vanhoozer's theo-dramatic theology a way to understand how to approach the "Holy
Bible" as truly holy for the first time in their lives. God has spoken and God is still
speaking what he has spoken. The "speech-act" of God in Christ and by the Spirit was
and is the story alive, transformative, powerful then, still and forever.

In class, I parallel this idea by my own metaphor that reflects my "first life" in
medicine. Understanding the theo-drama of canonical linguistics is like knowing the
difference between an autopsy and surgery. In an autopsy the pathologist can get at the
"truth" of a dead thing and it matters little exactly how you take "it" apart and put it all
back together. In surgery, the surgeon carefially uncovers the "innards" of a person who
still breathes and has a name, a family, a story. And it very much matters how you put it
all back together. Much biblical study, research, hermeneutics and theology is the
practice of pathologists not surgeons — and this is true whether the practitioner is a liberal
dismissing a claim or a literalist proving a point.

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This volume could easily be relegated to the rarified air of the academic
community and its conversation, but throughout the work, Vanhoozer reminds the reader
that the theater for God's theo-dramatic presence, rehearsal and performance is the
Church. In the preface Vanhoozer mentions that these ideas were first developed for
people in his congregation. He closes the book with this compelling reminder, "Doctrine
provides direction for what is ultimately a pastoral project, namely, that of helping
congregations to create cruciform shapes of community life that can be practicable led in
particular contexts... In soliciting the church's participation in the theo-drama, the pastor
translates and extends canonical practices into congregational practices. ..the local church
will become masterpiece theater only to the extent that its focus is on living out the drama
of redemption and on rehearsing the kingdom of God that is its raison d'etre".

Robbie F. Castleman, John Brown University

Chung, Sung Wook, ed. Karl Barth and Evangelical Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker
Academic, 2006. 302 pp., paper, $27.99.

A book that is a collection of essays or talks by a wide variety of theologians is
often difficult to assess because the perspective of the theologians is different and
because the original audiences, if the work was not done specifically for this book, may
be different. This book gathers essays by a wide variety of evangelical theologians, some
of whom are critical of Barth's contribution in the specific doctrine they work with, and
some of whom are positive about Barth's contribution.

Gabriel Fackre's essay on Revelation seems to have been done some time
before this work. It has only two recent bibliographic references, and those are from the
1990s. He examines primarily the Dogmatics (CD) IV.3/1 and I/l. He gives passing
references to theologians like Rahner that can be confusing if you don't know the
theologian. In his summaries he provides a vast mound of ideas and quotations, but he
does not seem to discuss the strength of Barth's view of Scripture, the extensive exegesis
within the Church Dogmatics that support his doctrinal positions.

Kevin Vanhoozer' s work on the earlier evangelical criticisms by evangelical
leaders and Barth's true positions is one of the longest articles. But some of the questions
seem to share the older, conservative view of Barth's position. Are there really
similarities between Van Til and Barth? Was Barth's position really that the Bible
becomes the Word of God? And does what Vanhoozer calls "speech-act philosophy"
really explain the differences between Barth and some evangelicals? What Vanhoozer
recognizes that is different from Fackre is the importance of Barth's actual use of
scripture in the Church Dogmatics.

Chung's own article is more hostile toward Barth, "evangelical theology should
take issue at many points with Barth's theology." It is particularly Barth's idea of God in
terms of substance, not acts, that Chung takes issue with. The question might be, don't
we need to think about the implications of being tied to the traditional metaphor of
substance as a mistake of the early church with its over-dependence upon Platonic

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Ashland Theological Journal 2007

categories? Jesus never really talks about God's substance, but he speaks regularly about
God's acts.

Oliver Crisp's article about Barth on creation critiques Earth's view from the
perspective of American evangelicals in a reformed tradition; although the context of
Earth's own theology is his critiques of the Roman church and European liberalism, so
the matches won't always be neat. For example, Earth's reaction to natural theology
came from his critique of Roman theological ideas and his reaction to Nazism and the
way Nazi Germans tried to use the church for its own purposes. Yet Crisp's conclusion is
balanced, "What Earth offers is a biblically informed and theologically robust doctrine of
creation...." And, Crisp, comments that there is no theologian with whom he agrees on
every issue.

Elocher's work on Earth's anthropology is also quite long, but it begins with
the right issue, I think. There are differences in Earth's discussions on anthropology from
the hermeneutical clues he gives when he comments upon his own work, and Elocher is
balanced in dealing with the difficulties of Earth in his consistently thought out
anthropology in positive ways.

Richardson's work on Earth's view of revelation indicates Earth's break with
propositional revelation and how he uncouples a theology of revelation from natural
theology. The important issue for Earth is the living presence of Christ in revelation.
After Richardson outlines Earth's view, he doesn't seem to take us to any platform from
which to assess it.

Macchia discusses Earth's pneumatology, trying to bring into harmony a
number of different perspectives on the place of the Spirit, particularly in the church, in
Scripture and in the new birth. Macchia comments that he finds "Earth's pneumatology
so rich and complex that even where I take issue with him I am made to wonder whether
or not I have understood him correctly." A humble comment.

McGrath examines Earth's doctrine of justification, admitting his immense
debt to Barth vision which is intellectually coherent, and which makes us think. McGrath
suggests that a full critique of Barth demands a reconnection of the disciplines of
systematic theology and biblical studies. He mentions briefly one issue that comes up in a
number of the chapters, that of universalism, which he believes is the inevitable
conclusion of Earth's doctrine of election. Bloesch, in his foreword to the work,
distinguishes the universal dimensions of the atonement from the universal restoration of
the whole of human creation. Bolt, pg 213, says that Earth thinks it proper for Christians
to hope for the salvation of all people. And Karkkainen tries to make the point that
universal reconciliation does not leave anybody or anything out, and in his article he is
the only author who cites a collection of passages from the Dogmatics.

The last chapter by Franke on the Postmodern turn of theology poses
challenges to foundationalist theologies. He provides a helpfiil assessment of where
Earth's theology differs from that of Postmodern thinking. Franke cites McCormack and
Hunsinger, and their critique of von Balthasar's formula that ignores how Earth remained
a truly dialectical theologian. And Franke believes many evangelical critiques of Barth
are flawed for they don't present his views accurately. As for Franke he asserts the need
to remember that Earth's focus is theological, not philosophical; and where he anticipates

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' Book Reviews

postmodern themes we need to read that within the framework of the whole of Earth's
theology.

A book filled with provocative ideas about Barth as various evangelical
theologians assess him.

Robert Ives, Pastor Emeritus, Grantham Brethren in Christ Church, Grantham PA

Justo L. Gonzalez, editor. The Westminster Dictionary of Theologians. Louisville:
Westminster John Knox Press, 2006. 440 pp., cloth, $44.95.

Written by Hispanic scholars under the editorship of Justo Gonzalez, this
volume is a fine companion resource to any pastor's library. Of particular value is the
coverage of globally well-known contemporary theologians. The dictionary was
originally written in Spanish and published in Spain. This reviewer could not detect a
specific Latin American bias, but did note a freshness and clarity for individual entries.
Entries by editor Gonzalez are particularly helpful (see 'John Calvin' as an example.) An
index to entries would have been appreciated.

Cliff Stewart

Marcus Jastrow, Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the
Midrashic Literature. Peabody: Hendrickson, 2005. Xviiii + 1736, cloth, $49.95.

Jewish interpretation of the Hebrew Bible started with the Mishnah in the first
centuries A.D. , which itself received interpretation in the Talmud. The two main centers
producing Talmudic commentary were Jerusalem and Babylonia. The present work is a
dictionary of these early sources, and others which were written in Hebrew and Aramaic.
It was first published in 1903, the year of the author's death, and is an important tool for
those interested in post-biblical interpretation. This is a reprint in one volume of previous
two-volume editions, with no changes made from the original text.

David W. Baker

Shirin Taber. Muslims Next Door. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004. Pp. 137, paper,
$9.99.

Muslims Next Door attempts to narrow the perceived cultural gap between
Americ^in Christians and Muslims of all types. Shirin Taber is uniquely qualified for the
task, as the daughter of an Iranian Muslim father and an American Catholic mother. She
has traveled to many different Muslim countries, most notably her father's native Iran.
Furthermore, she has befiiended many Muslims in America and has been able to obtain a
broad understanding of the types of struggles, hopes, and fears that beset the average
Muslim living in America post 9-11.

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Ashland TheologicalJournal 2007

Each chapter in Muslims Next Door attempts to combat stereotypic
misconceptions about Muslims. Examples include, "all Muslims hate the West,"
"Muslim women are oppressed," and "all Muslims are radical fundamentalists." The
chapters end with discussion questions geared towards engendering kindness toward
Muslims. Most of these discussions revolve around how the chapter affected the reader's
previously conceived notions of Muslims. The chapter structure, as well as the book as a
whole, is very well-written, well-organized, and easy to grasp. It lends itself to being
read as part of a small church group.

Since Muslims Next Door concentrates mainly on stereotypes and hov/ they can
affect the relationships between Muslims and Christians, it is intentionally lacking in
theological discussion. Taber notes in her introduction that discussion of the theological
differences between Muslims and Christians was beyond the limits of the book. While I
applaud her decision to stick to her strengths, the missing theological discussion may be
the only real weakness when one considers the book's intended audience. Many
Christians who are wondering about Islam would be interested in discussing theological
differences, at least on a somewhat superficial level. As a result, many small groups
looking to discuss Islam will be forced to supplement Muslims Next Door with another
volume. And that is unfortunate, because Taber's warm and caring voice would do a
great service to the sometimes cold and dividing topic of theology. However, even with
this weakness considered, the low price and readability of Taber's book makes it worth a
purchase, even if it cannot answer all questions Christians have about Muslims.

Muslims Next Door is recommended for anyone seeking to know more about
the lives and struggles of Muslims in their neighborhood or around the world.

Benjamin Gemmel

John S. McClure. Preaching Words: 144 Key Words In Homiletics. Louisville:
Westminster John Knox Press, 2007. 170 pp., paper, $24.95.

McClure' s book would be considered a companion volume for homiletic
students. It is a broad-brush approach defining many elements of sermon writing,
strategies for composition, and methods of delivery. Although the author presents a way
that this book could be used systematically as a text for class syllabus, I would find that
to be rather laborious and disjointed. The book does provide a way for one to familiarize
oneself with some new developments in the field. The bibliography is a helpful tool in
and of itself.

Cliff Stewart

Lane P. Jordan. 12 Steps to Becoming a More Organized Mom: Positive and Practical
Tips for Busy Moms. Peabody: Hendrickson, 2006. 264 pp., paper, $14.95.

I was a little mislead by the title of this book. I thought this was going to be a
book about organization in terms of the traditional sense of the word. I was thinking on

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Book Reviews

the line of organizing my home in the physical sense, my kitchen, closets, etc. It is more
in the sense of how to become a more successful Mom by creating a balance of discipline
and fun, time for the kids and time for yourself, taking care of the family's physical needs
regarding meals, managing work and finances and seeking God.

Lane does have a lot of good suggestions but I felt most of it, for me, was
common sense. At times I found it overwhelming and found myself feeling guilty
because I never could find the time to do many of the things she suggested. What the
reader needs to understand is that not all the things suggested may work for her family
due to the age of the children, marital status and financial situation. You need to pick and
choose what would work for you and realize that you may not be able to do everything
Lane suggests.

The one thing I liked is that Lane asks you to do a personal inventory at the end
of each chapter. This helps the reader to step back and take a look at your priorities in
each of the 12 areas she discusses. She also gives suggestions on how meet those
priorities.

This is a good book for Moms with young children. I think if I had read this
book when my children were younger I would have done a few things differently.

Donna Johnson

132

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ASHLAND THEOLOGICAL JOURNAL

2008

CONTENTS

No Other Foundation 1

Luke L. Keefer, Jr.

Regaining Our Identity 9

Alison Vorlicky

Jesus' Temptation: A Reflection on Matthew's Use of Old Testament
Theology and Imagery 15

Andrew Schmutzer

A Man of No Reputation: Jesus and Ascribed Honor in the
Gospel of John 43

Nijay Gupta

A Comparative Analysis of John Calvin and Martin Luther Concerning the First
and Second Commandments = 61

Timothy Shaun Price

Book Reviews 75

VOLUME XL

Published and copyright held by Ashland Theological Seminary, Ashland, Ohio, 44805.
Printed in the USA.

Editorial Preface

The Greek philosopher HeracHtus, in saying "change alone is
unchanging", seems to have known the life of each of us as individuals, as well
as of Ashland Theological Seminary as an institution. Every quarter new
students arrive, and others graduate, facing changes in location and ministry.
Staff and administrative changes have implications for those of us who remain,
but can also affect the Seminary's public face. One major change in this area
over the past year is the reconfiguration and fuller staffing of the development
department. This will likely impact many of our alumni readers.

Faculty also change, with some departing and others arriving. At the
graduation ceremony in June, we said 'farewell' to Dr. Luke Keefer, our
colleague and friend who has served not only the Seminary as Professor of
Church History and Theology, but also the wider church during his twenty-one
years with us in Ashland. All who were present were touched by his graduation
address to this year's graduating students. In order to share it more widely, we
include it as our first entry in this issue. While retired, Luke and Doris have not
left us, since will continue to teach courses periodically. We as an institution
wish Godspeed to our friend in this new stage of life, and are pleased to dedicate
this issue of the Ashland Theological Journal to him.

Arriving to fill the resultant teaching needs is Dr. Paul W. Chilcote who
comes as Professor of Historical Theology and Wesleyan Studies. He has taught
at Methodist Theological School in Ohio, Asbury Theological Seminary, and
Duke Divinity School in the US, and at St. Paul's United Theological College in
Limuru, Kenya. He is widely published in the areas of Wesleyan studies,
worship, and spirituality, and will make a valuable addition to Ashland. We
welcome him, his wife Janet, and their daughters to our community.

We also welcome you, our readers, some of whom have been with us
for years, and others who are new, to this new issue. I trust it contains material
which will encourage and stimulate your thinking as well as your service for
God's Kingdom.

September, 2008

David W. Baker

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

No Other Foundation

By Luke L. Keefer, Jr

In the mid 1530's Merino Simons felt called of God to minister among
the Anabaptists of Holland and ultimately to become a leading minister among
them. Over-zealous Anabaptist prophets had caused many followers to take
over the city of Muenster and try to jump-start the Kingdom of God upon earth
by destroying God's enemies. Many perished as the bishop's armies recaptured
the city, executed the leaders, dealt severely with the misguided Anabaptists,
and reestablished order in the city. Simons felt called to collect the scattered
sheep and restore them to Christ's order. He felt their leaders had deceived the
innocent in getting them to leave the true foundation in Christ and to try to build
the church upon a false foundation. Over time he brought many back to the true
foundation, but he did more. He repaired the tarnished image of the Anabaptists
in the Netherlands. In fact, he succeeded so well in getting new converts into
the Anabaptist fellowship that the Anabaptists (who would later be called
Mennonites in honor of his name) became the largest Protestant Church in
Holland until the early 17**^ century, when the Reformed movement became the
dominate faith in Holland. Having the right foundation, Christ Jesus, is the key
to building a faithful church. Simons knew this truth, and used 1 Cor. 3:11 as his
signature mark upon every treatise he published. His story inspires the title I
have chosen for my remarks.

I. Christ is the Foundation of Ministry

I believe you already share this conviction, so 1 shall not try to justify
its truthfulness. What is surprising about this assertion is the context that led
Paul to declare it. Corinth was both spiritually gifted and torn apart by division
and strife. This unleashed leadership tensions at Corinth, and Paul was at the
middle of it. It was probably Paul's worst ministry problem of his entire career.
I & II Corinthians read like his personal diary. One page reveals him to be so
low that he despairs of life itself The next day he exalts in the all-sufficient
grace of Christ.

* Luke L. Keefer, Jr. (Ph.D, Temple University), Professor of Church History
and Theology, The Charles and Arma Frey Brethren in Christ Chair Emeritus,
delivered this address at the graduation ceremony of ATS in June, 2008. ^. ,

No Other Foundation ■

Now, the point of it all is this. Corinth is one example of every place
and every time. I have the task of announcing to you on this joyous day: "Get
ready Corinth has an appointment with you." Why? All of us have egos, and
sooner or later we will be clashing with other egos in the church. Now, it is
right in the middle of a discussion about leadership conflicts in the church that
Paul asserts that the only foundation for ministry is Jesus Christ, whom he has
already described in the preceding chapters as Christ crucified. How does Christ
crucified relate to leadership struggles in the church? It relates because of Jesus'
instmction of the disciples concerning the appropriate style of ministry.

In Mark chapters 8-10 Jesus spells out the nature of servant ministry.
The incidents in these three chapters are somewhat bizarre. As soon as Peter
confesses that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, all hell breaks loose among
the twelve. In chapter 9 the disciples actually argue about which of them is the
greatest. Jesus responds by talking more clearly about his upcoming death in
Jerusalem. In chapter 10 James and John try to get Jesus to promise them the
two top positions in his kingdom. Jesus has had enough! He takes his disciples
aside and explains the difference between servant leadership, exemplified by his
willingness to lay down his life for the salvation of others, and the type of
lordship rule which the Gentiles (read Rome) exercises. Rome's leaders strove
for the top position, used power indiscriminately, and put down all rivals with
violent force. The disciples did not get the message of servant leadership at that
point of the story, but they did get it after the resurrection and Pentecost. Paul
must have received it from them because his ideas about leadership are so close
to Jesus' teaching in Mark 8-10.

His difficult experience at Corinth made him apply this model to
himself, as one of the people involved in the plot. In chapter 4 (verse 6) he
applies this lesson of servanthood to Corinth, to ApoUos, and to himself and
other ministers caught up in this conflict. Verse 1 of chapter 4 leaves no doubt
about his conclusion: he and ApoUos are merely servants of Christ. The people
must consider them in that light, and he and Apollos must line up with Jesus'
model of servant ministry. That is why he asserts that Jesus, the crucified one, is
the foundational model of ministry and leadership.

Now, all this would be wonderful if we could just resolve to be servant
leaders and everything else just fell into place. But, I want to have you look at a
picture that tells us that it is hard to keep ministry and ministers on the true
foundation.' If you go just beyond the old Roman Forum area in the city of
Rome you will see Trajan's Column. It has that name even though the statue
atop the column is St. Peter. If we look closely at the column below Peter, we
will see that the entire column is a table of Trajan's military exploits that gained

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

him fame and eventually the Emperor's crown. The city guide on our Ashland
Theological Seminary tour in 1 998 told us that this column signified the triumph
of Christianity over the evil, persecuting Roman Empire. My memories of
church history told me that this superficial interpretation was not supported by
the facts. At a deeper level is contradicts what Jesus taught in Mark 10.

Lordship and servantship are polar opposites. They cannot be mixed
and blended. If we have 49% lordship rule and 5 1 % servanthood ministry, we
do not have a legitimate Christian ministry. You can't have servanthood unless
you completely renounce lordship. Embrace lordship in any degree and you
have turned your back on the way of Jesus. In other words, your ministry will
have slipped from the true foundation to a false one.

This is one factor that makes ministry hard; it is a style of leadership
that means dying with Christ. For no matter how hard you try to be a servant,
you will meet people — parishioners, board members, supervisory clergy, and
even fellow ministers — who don't play by the same rules. By default or by
design they are "power mongers." It will seem like you are a lamb among
wolves. What shall you do? Organize a power group of your own to fight back
or overthrow these people. No, because then you get off the true foundation and
play the power game by their rules.

Instead, you stick to servant leadership and employ the strategy of
Jesus, what Tom Sine calls the " mustard seed conspiracy." You plant tiny
seeds of mustard that in due time become great plants. You hide yeast in the
bread dough and let it make the bread rise and take the shape of a loaf You take
Jesus' advice and let your light shine, and stand amazed at how a small candle
can defeat the darkness. You become salt that dissolves in the food it is
flavoring, but makes the dish tasty and memorable. Jesus' servanthood model
enables you to deal with powerful giants and bring them down in the name of
the Lord. Servanthood Paul says is the way to minister in church conflicts. It is
the one true foundation: Christ crucified is the pattern for ministry.

Paul wants to build the Temple, the house of the Lord in his Corinthian
letter. The foundation is crucial, but it takes more to construct God's building.
Old Sarum, just a few miles from Salisbury, England makes visual the next
point I wish to make.' You can see the old castle mound where the local prince
once lived, as did also the bishop of the cathedral next to the castle mound. The
prince and the bishop had a conflict that caused them to part ways. The bishop
moved to Salisbury and decided to build a new cathedral church. He had his
builders bring the stone from Old Sarum to Salisbury to construct his new
church. Today, nearly 800 years later, Salisbury is still one of the most
magnificent cathedrals in England.

No Other Foundation > > I

All that is now left of Old Samm is the stone foundation. A foundation
alone is not sufficient for God's house. Walls are also needed. In Paul's
discussion in I Cor. 3, he moves directly from the laying of the foundation to the
construction of the walls. Here he addresses the character of a minister: the
motives and the methods that characterize one's ministry.

II. The Methods (Character) of a Minister

Let's think first of the two sets of materials he mentions: the good kind
which include gold, silver, and costly stones. This set is contrasted to the inferior
group of wood, hay, and straw. What distinguishes these two sets of building
materials from each other? The first group is costly material; the second is
cheap. The first group lists durable materials; the other is subject to decay.
Finally, the one is aesthetically pleasing; the other is not.

Imagine going into a cathedral and seeing here and there a block of
wood where a stone should be, or a bale of hay instead of a marble stone, or
tuffs of straw filling up a space between two stones where there should be
mortar. Would the view satisfy the artist within you? Would you feel safe in
that church in stormy weather? Would you insure that building with long-term
coverage if you were a business person? These are rhetorical questions and you
know the answer.

Now, in just the same way, our character shapes our ministry. If you
are a lazy person, you will be a lazy minister. If you cut comers on everything
you do, you will cut comers in your ministry. If you are content to purchase
inferior goods just because they cost less, you'll be cheap in your ministry. It
takes more than being on the right foundation to be faithful in ministry. You
have to carefully lay the walls one stone at a time.

At various times in the Corinthian letters Paul castigates those who
would be ministers who work from base motives and use deceitful methods. He
tells how careful he has been ministering, going beyond the required standards,
to minister for Christ's glory and not from motives of accumulating money. He
would rather tell people the tmth and have them dislike him than to give
deceitful messages that will please his hearers.

A minister of good character is like one of the stone masons of the
Medieval cathedrals. Character has been defined as the person you are when no
one is looking. The Medieval stone cutters and carvers put the same careful
work into figures that would be placed a hundred or more feet from the ground
as they did the ones that people could touch. These stones would never be seen
clearly from the ground, and many were completely hidden from sight. The

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

masons did their work to please God, the only one who had their work in his
view. Ministers with character do the same.

Paul knew that a minister's job as the builder of God's house would be
subjected to the test of fire. That could be the fire of one's own accusing
conscience, the fire of criticism from those under his ministry, or the ultimate
fire of God's judgment. He determined to minister so that he would not suffer
the loss of reputation or reward.

Have you ever gone to a party and then discovered that you were
expected to bring a gift. That is what it will feel like if we are one of those
whose works are burnt up at the last day. On the one hand, we will want to
thank God for his grace and mercy that saved us. But there will not be anything
in our hand that we can give Christ in thanks for his love.

So if we want some gift for God, we must start to purchase it now. We
must allow God to crucify us to the world and to its values and methods. We
must seek the power of Christ's resurrection to raise our character up to the
standards He has set before us. We must allow the Holy Spirit to be the fire of
the Lord that sweeps through our lives and bums out the character defects that
are an offense to God and to the ministry entrusted to us.

Paul has spoken to us about laying the foundations and raising the walls
of God's house. But he then leaves his metaphor of the building and goes on to
other topics. I would like to suggest a way to complete his building with a
roofing structure. I once had the chance to take the roof walk at Salisbury
Cathedral. The second stop on the tour brings you to a location beneath the roof
and above the ceiling. There you see the medieval trusses that hold up the
ceiling below and the enormous weight of the roof above. I think of this when I
pause to consider what Paul said about preaching the word of the Lord. And
that brings us to our third metaphor.

III. The Heart of our Message is Christ Crucified

Paul admits that his preaching is not eloquent by the world's standards.
He does not have the oral gifts that some others have, especially ApoUos. But he
does know how to preach by the anointing of the Holy Spirit. And he knows
how to set forth Christ crucified as the power that demolishes human opposition
to the gospel. Some consider the cross to be fooHsh and weak; Paul believes it
is the wisdom and strength of God.

It is at this point that Paul brings two themes together that he has
developed separately throughout both letters. It is almost as if we are watching
Paul sew two pieces of cloth together. One moment his needle is above the
cloth and he talks of ministry and its proper execution. The next moment his

No Other Foundation

needle is beneath the cloth and he is talking about knowledge or wisdom. He
binds both subjects together by the single thread of Christ crucified.

I want to look at this theme of knowledge in a very brief sketch. There
are two types of knowledge: worldly wisdom and its opposite, the knowledge of
God. The one is the human love of knowledge for its own sake (or to be more
precise, knowledge for the sake of ego enhancement). The other is the
knowledge of love. The first, Paul says, puffs up. It draws attention to one's
self And it is mostly concerned to impress others with what one knows. The
other seeks to glorify God and build people up in the knowledge of God. Years
ago James Denny made this observation about preaching: in the pulpit we
cannot simultaneously demonstrate that we are clever and that God is wonderful.
We will do one or the other, but we can't do both.

And that observation brings a story to mind that Ian Maclaren includes
in his book Beside the Bonnie Briar Bush, a collection of 19* century stories
from the highlands of Scotland. He personally knew the young ministerial
graduate in the story so he protects the young man's privacy by only using his
first name, John.

John had recently completed his university training and had just been
called to his first pulpit in a village church. He was an outstanding student and
won awards for his scholarship. As he moved into the manse he was trying to
be modest and not expecting a call to an Edinburgh parish for at least two years.
He had just completed his first sermon draft and had a glow of satisfaction as he
read it aloud.

Being a bachelor, his aunt had agreed to move into the manse with him
and be his housekeeper. When he came downstairs for his evening meal on
Friday, she had a chat with him about his first sermon. She had been praying for
him and his first service. She asked him if he remembered the deathbed scene
with his mother just five years ago. Mother and son had a close bond of
affection between them because his father had died years earlier. His mother
had clutched his hand in hers and begged of him that if ever God called him into
ministry he would remember "to speak a good word for Jesus." The aunt told
him she had every confidence in him that he would do well. But she expressed a
concern for the common people of his parish, fearing that he might speak over
their heads.

After supper and dishes were over, they went their separate ways to
their rooms, the aunt to pray for him and he to a relaxing evening of reading his
books. He saw his sermon manuscript on the desk, and that brought him back to
the request of his dying mother. Twice he started to crumple its pages, and

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

twice he smoothed them out again. And then he fell to his knees and prayed like
he had not prayed in a long time.

The next morning being Saturday, he faced the daunting task of
preparing a new sermon; the old manuscript now was ashes in his fireplace. His
aunt assured him that God would give him a new one. He asked how she could
be so confident about that. She merely replied, "My room is above yours and 1
heard you pray last night." He got his message as his aunt said he would.

On Sunday morning the church was crowded. Everyone wanted to hear
the new minister who came with such a good reputation preceding him. In fact,
half the people from the Church of Scotland came too, eager to hear the new
preacher in town. He was humble and he was scared; when he led the
congregation in the Lord's Prayer he missed two whole petitions of the prayer.
But once he began to preach, it was as one who had found new life. An
awesome silence fell upon the congregation. There was an unmistakable sense
of the presence of God. Maclaren was sitting next to the young man's aunt. He
couldn't remember many details in later years about the message other than its
topic — it was about Christ. Maclaren mentions notable preachers of the time,
including Charles Spurgeon, whom he had personally heard. The young
minister's sermon stood up will against the outstanding preachers of the time.
As his aunt summed up the incident the following day, "Aye, laddie, that was
your mother's sermon." He had "said a good word for Jesus."

Now, you may ask. how is a sermon like a cathedral ceiling? I'll tell
you. In our visit to Rome in 1998 we got to see the Sistine Chapel and the
magnificent ceiling Michelangelo had painted. When people enter the chapel,
they get silent, and they look up, for a very long time — until their necks begin to
hurt. They change places in the chapel to relieve their neck and to see different
features of the masterpiece. They don't want to be disturbed, and they ignore
your urgent signs that we must move on or we will miss our scheduled time to
tour St. Peter's Cathedral.

Well, that is what happens when you "speak a good word for Jesus."
At some point in the message you become of secondary importance, the outward
voice of the Lord. The people of faith are drawn upward in their hearts. They
are gazing upon the living God and listening to the voice that raised the dead
into new life. The message of Christ crucified provides the ceiling and the roof
for the house of God just as it provided its true foundation and its sturdy walls.

Conclusion

I want to finish with one last picture. Wells Cathedral is located in
southwest England. Its western front is filled with more statues than any other

No Other Foundation

church in England.^ In medieval times it was a pilgrimage church. As the
faithful traveler crested the last hill, the western end was the sight that filled
their vision. The people of the time believed that pilgrimage depicted the life of
a Christian in search of the heavenly sanctuary. These people on the front of the
church were like the cloud of witnesses that cheered them on their way and bid
them to enter the sanctuary, which was a copy of the heavenly Jerusalem.

Old and New Testament saints are on the bottom tier of this cloud of
witnesses. The kings, queens, and other notable people who promoted the
Christian faith in England form the next several tiers. Then we come to the level
of the angels and archangels. Above them are the apostles, with St. Andrew, the
patron saint, in the middle. He holds the cross of Christ like the letter X in
English, but it represents the x of the Greek word Christor (Christ). Even here
Christ crucified is still the central note. And finally there is Christ, seated in
splendor and in judgment. If you can see it with the help of proper lenses, his
one hand is raised in a sign of blessing. The other one is extended in a gesture
of welcome.

As we leave this place today, we go as pilgrims. We will not say,
"Goodbye." For we expect to meet again (in person, or by telephone, letters, or
emails). And we will bear each other up with words of encouragement and acts
of kindness. At one moment we will be one of the pilgrims. At another we will
be in the great crowd of witnesses cheering on the pilgrims who are running
toward the door of God's house.

We will meet again. We are certain of that, and that is why we say,
"Fare-well" (may it go well with you until we meet again). In the meantime, let
us remember to "speak a good word for Jesus"!

ENDNOTES

' A picture of Trajan's Column can be found on the internet. Try a Google Search under
Wikipedia.org, for example. First, look at the entire column with St. Peter at the top.
Then get a close-up view of the column where Trajan's war victories are depicted.

Find the picture of Old Sarum at the same computer site. Look for the photo which
clearly shows the complete pattern of the Cathedral foundation.
" Locate Wells Cathedral at the same site. Study its western front.

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

Regaining Our Identity

By Alison Vorlicky*

Most, if not all of us, have heard the saying, "I got stuff, you got stuff,
we all got stuff." I do not know about you, but when I hear that saying, there is
a part of me that chuckles because I know that to be true, but there is another
part of me that inside says, "If anyone really knew how bad my stuff was, I
would be alone journeying through life by myself." There are people around us,
in our congregations, seminary, even in this room, that are broken and wounded
and at the depths of their souls they are crying out for help, for attention and for
someone to notice that they are in so much pain. People search and search for a
place, person or thing to trust, yet they fear letting anyone into that dark place of
their soul because of the rejection, condemnation and judgment they might face.
No matter how discouraged a hurting person is, there is a small sense of hope
inside and they pray for a day or even a moment in which they can breathe and
be freed from the pain. They pray for a day where they know they will be
dwelling in safety.

Today's message is called "Regaining our Identity," and before I read
you the passage from Psalm 4, 1 would like to take a moment to pray. Lord I ask
that your Holy Spirit would dwell upon us today and that as I deliver the
message you have laid upon my heart that my fellow brothers and sisters in
Christ would be able to discern and hear your voice, your truths and the hope
that you bring. I pray that you open our hearts and our minds to a message that
is challenging not only spiritually but emotionally for some people. I pray Lord
that you would open our spiritual senses so that we might be able to see life and
your love through a new perspective and through a new lens. Lord camp your
angels around us, protect us and bind the enemy from this place. We praise and
thank you Lord. Amen!

*Alison Vorlicky (M.Div., ATS, 2008) delivered this sermon to the Seminary chapel on
May 12, 2008.

Regaining Our Identity

The Psalms are a collection of songs, prayers and poetry that express
the heart and soul of humanity. The Psalmists pour out their true feelings,
confess their sins and express their fears and doubts to God. They ask God for
help in times of trouble and they show an expression of praise and worship to
Him. As you read the Psalms, you will hear the laments of believers. You will
hear them crying out to God from the depths of their despair and you will hear
them singing to Him in the heights of celebration. The Psalmists do not hold
anything back when speaking with God. You will always hear their honest
feelings and you will see how God comforts them in their struggles and times of
distress. You will see how God has brought them to new heights of joy and
praise as they discover His unfailing and everlasting love and forgiveness. The
Psalms bring hope, comfort and bring us into a deeper and closer relationship
with God.
Please open your Bible to Psalm 4. . .

Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. Give me
relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my
prayers. How long, O men, will you turn my glory into
shame? How long will you love delusions and seek false
gods? Know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself;
the Lord will hear when I call to him. In your anger do not
sin; when you are in your beds, search your hearts and be
silent. Offer right sacrifices and trust in the Lord. Many are
asking," Who can show us any good?" Let the light of your
face shine upon us, O Lord. You have filled my heart with
greater joy then when their grain and new wine abound. 1 will
lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me
dwell in safety.

Psalm 4 is a Psalm of despair, emotions, and a hurting soul crying out
to God for relief But as you continue to read the dialogue between God and
David you begin to hear hope and joy, a joy that is not temporary but a joy that
is lasting. Psalm 4:1 begins with David's cry for help to God to relieve him of
his distress. Following in verses 2-7, you begin to hear a different voice, a
different dialogue between God and David, or God and victim/ abuser. There is
the idolatry of false gods, David questioning the length of his suffering, and God
reminding us not to sin in our anger. David was obedient and trusted in the
Lord. His heart was filled with great joy and in verse 8, David rejoices in God's

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

protection and peace, for God has heard his prayers and has been faithful in
bringing him safety.

David cried out to God and ahhough God might have seemed far away
during his suffering, God shined His light and His face upon David. He allowed
David to see that in Him, there was hope and freedom that would come. As God
stood by David, God also stands by us. His heart's desire is for us to be freed
prisoners and when we are held captive, it breaks His heart. In the end, David
knew that no matter what attack he faced, no matter what abuse he encountered,
he knew that he could dwell in the safety of the Lord. This is a message that
needs to be conveyed to the hurting, to the abused and to the ones under attack.
God is with us every step of the way. He weeps when we weep and He rejoices
when we rejoice. If we, like David, could know that He is with us every step of
the way, and if we allow Him to lead and to shine His light into our lives, we too
could dwell in His safety. As David found hope in the midst of his suffering,
God offers and promises the same hope for us.

Yet, there are many people, especially children, who are in the midst of
abuse that are crying out to God and are not able to find Him anywhere. They
feel abandoned, rejected, alone and they search high and low for the one thing to
ease the pain of their souls. They ask, as David did, "how long, how long O
God, must I endure this suffering."

As I reflected on the many times I cried out to God for help, to relieve
me from my distress and to show some sort of mercy upon my soul, I also
reflected on the many children that are in the midst of, or have endured the
suffering of sexual abuse and have cried out to God for help, asking how long
they must endure their suffering. Through my own abuse and through my own
suffering, God revealed to me that no matter how hard life gets, how much
adversity we face, or how much our soul aches, that in Him we will find peace
and joy.

Sexual abuse is a topic that is often avoided and that is not being
addressed or talked about within the church. Do you realize that one out of
every three to four females and one out of every five to six males are sexually
abused? Do you know that over sixty five percent of children placed in foster
care homes and in adoptive families experience sexual abuse for the first time
after placement? And these are only statistics based on the number of cases that
are reported. Not only have these children been removed from their parents,
homes and everything they have ever known, they are going into a new
environment where everything is unknown. They are scared, feel abandoned

Regaining Our Identity -•

and rejected and then their soul, purity and innocence gets stripped away. To
them God is so far away and is non-existent. They do not know the love of
Jesus and they do not know that He will be there strength, refuge and their light
in such a dark and lonely time.

Take a look around this room. Take a good look because there are
people here in this room that live with the pain, with the anger, and with a
shattered soul because someone took away their purity and innocence. They
live with a fear all day, every day, and cannot fall asleep at night with their
hearts silent because it is trembling with fear. They cry out to someone, to God,
to stop the abuse from happening. They are not able to sleep at night without
anger and fear because they do not know when the next time their perpetrator
will come into their rooms and strip them of everything they have. When God
seems so far away, it is hard for them to image the peace that comes when
dwelling in the Lord's safety (4:8). Fellow brothers and sisters, this isn't a post-
modem issue that is taking place. Dating back to Genesis, God reveals to us that
sexual abuse and incest is real. In Genesis 19:1-36, Lot offers his daughters for
sexual favors to protect two strangers. In 2 Samuel 13:14-15, Amnon rapes his
half sister Tamar, and in 2 Samuel 11:1-5 we see how David's authority and
power coerced Bathsheba into having an adulterous affair.

Now ask yourselves why? Why does God disclose to us in His Word
these horrific acts of sexual misconduct? Is it because it is accepted in God's
eyes or is it because God knows how sin destroyed the one thing He created us
for, love. There are lives that have been shattered, souls that have been broken
and a purity that cannot be restored.

So ask yourselves this question? Why are we leaving so many children
in fear, danger and in darkness? Think about it. If we embrace one hurting soul
at a time and show them the strength and power of Christ, and if we could love
them in a way that is not threatening, but embracing, loving and without bounds,
we will show these victims that they can persevere and have victory in Christ.
What needs to be understood is that a child's image of God is created by the
relational intimacy their parents show them. When children are abused by their
parents or their parents fail to protect them from the abuse, they begin to realize
something in their soul was stolen and they will try anything to still their internal
storm. You see, the things that shape us are not our beliefs but our experiences.
When our experiences are filled with anxiety, fear and pain, it is hard to see God
in the midst of the circumstances.

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

As a church, we need to take action and bring people the truth of
Christ. We need to tackle this "Huge" yet often avoided issue and we need to
show the lost and broken that God is always with us and He promises never to
leave us or forsake us (Joshua 1:5). He promises to protect us and He promises
to walk by our sides through the valleys and through the shadows of darkness.

As a body of believers, it is our responsibility to step in and start
making a difference in so many children's lives. Isaiah 61:1 says," The Spirit of
the Lord is upon us and He has anointed us to preach the good news to the poor,
bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim freedom for the captives, release the
prisoners from darkness and comfort all who mourn." God knew that His voice.
His unfailing love and His forgiveness was a message that needed to be
conveyed, received and a message that we all need to stand firm on.

Church! Brothers and sisters! When was the last time you prayed for
those children in foster care, the children that have experienced sexual abuse or
the children that have never known the silence of their hearts? When was the
last time you prayed for those who have never known what it feels like to feel
safe? Are you willing to sacrifice a part of you for a part of them? I am not
asking you to all of the sudden be a foster parent, but I am challenging you to
not overlook this subject. It is prevalent, alive and is seen throughout the Bible
and amongst us today. I believe that we are called and obligated to address this
and to take the appropriate action instead of leaving it in the governments and
states hands. We need to show these children, adolescents and surviving adults
that with the healing presence of the Lord, there is comfort, safety and freedom,
but most of all, there is HOPE.

There is hope and if we could position these hurting souls before the
presence of Lord and if they could encounter Jesus just one time, if they could
feel alive for just one moment, imagine the transformation that could occur. No
matter what they face, no matter how long they face it, they will know that God
loves them and is walking with them through each attack. Through His
unfailing love, they will be able to receive healing and restoration to in a life
they were so hopeless about. Their souls, lost innocence and identity will be
able to find rest in Jesus. To me that is exciting. I would have given anything to
know the hope, peace and safety of the Lord when I was abused. But I have
found it now and I know that He was with me every step of the way. So should
these children...

N EW from Wyndy Corbin Reuschling

REVIVING EVANGELICAL
ETHICS

THE PROMISES AND PITFALLS
OF CLASSIC MODELS OF
MORALITY

Wyndy Corbin Reuschling

9781587431890
192 pp.. $22.99p

Classic theories of Aristotle,
Kant, and Mill have influenced
Christian thought in morality
and ethics for centuries. But
they can go only so far, Wyndy
Corbin Reuschling writes in
Reviving Evangelical Ethics.
While the philosophers'
approaches to three key
elements — virtue, duty, and
utility — have been used widely
in forming ethical and moral
practices, Corbin Reuschling
sees spiritual danger in
their limitations. She probes
deeply to deconstruct each
theory, then reconstructs a broader, biblically based framework for personal and group ethics. This
introductory text provides helpful biblical and theological reflection for students of Christian ethics.

"This book honors evangelical commitments to the authority of scripture, to a personal relation
with Jesus, and to evangelism. But it challenges some of the ways evangelicals have brought those
commitments to bear on Christian ethics, and it suggests better ways, ways that might indeed revive
evangelical ethics." — Allen Verhey, Duke University

"Combining appreciation and critique, Wyndy Corbin Reuschling skillfully teases out the particular
dynamics at work in the moral thinking of many evangelicals. By carefully analyzing the impact of
several moral traditions on evangelicalism, she invites readers into a fuller recognition of the shaping
power of scripture and Christian community, and into more robust practices of Christian discipleship.
This book is an important contribution to understanding and strengthening evangelical ethics."
— Christine D. Pohl, Asbury Theological Seminary

if alls

wyUdy corbin

REUSCHLING

(^ BrazosPress

Available at your local bookstore, www.brazospress.com, or call 1-800-877-2665
Subscribe to Border Crossings, the Brazos monthly electronic newsletter, at www.brazospress.com

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

Jesus' Temptation: A Reflection on Matthew's Use of Old Testament
Theology and Imagery

By Andrew Schmutzer*

Introduction

Jesus' temptation in Matt. 4:1-1 1 was far more than an isolated event of
three tests. At one level, it was a challenge to His entire redemptive mission. Yet
internally, Matthew's construction of the account is utterly drenched in OT
theological themes, imagery, and dialogue that reverberates with the words and
events of an entire nation tested to its core. Israel's testing was their opportunity
to enact their loyalty to God's Covenant. Similarly, Jesus' temptation threatened
to derail His obedience to His Father. Image and theology, history and mission
all converge in this text.

It is one thing to understand what was at stake, but exactly why
Matthew weaves so many OT images and themes into this drama deserves
another look. Jesus recognized the devil's tests as redemptive distortions,
unacceptable detours from His kingdom mission. '

The victorious Son achieved what the national son did not — using
unique biblical texts and sites. Jesus' temptation was not only determinative for
His service, but the devil's tactics themselves were cut from the rich fabric of
Israel's historical experiences with YHWH. :

THE TEMPTATION OF CHRIST AND ITS OT THEMES (Matt. 4:1-11)

Metaphorically speaking, the OT often functions as the "theological
dictionary" of the NT, animating its message. The biblical writers used specific
genres, terms, topographical symbols, and a host of rich images to communicate
to their audience." John the Baptist's preaching was no different, capitalizing on
the peoples' familiarity with OT themes in his stinging call to repentance (3:1-

*Andrew Schmutzer (Ph.D., Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is Associate Professor
of Bible at Moody Bible Institute.

Jesus' Temptation

12; cf. 4:17).^ In Matthew's account, the temptation of Jesus is intimately tied to
the language of John's baptism scene. "^ A study of Jesus' temptation cannot
overlook some vital connections.

The 'Elijah' Ministry of John the Baptist ^

As a person, John is presented as "Elijah-like" since John offers a
renewal to Israel (cf 1 Kgs. 18:21).^ His preaching was the final prophetic
installment of covenant renewal (Mai. 4:5-6).^ Even his wilderness location
calls the people to acknowledge their current state of spiritual exile, ^ for they
must trek out to "see him" (3:1; cf 1 1:7-9).^ John had in mind a "new exodus"
built on Moses' work and Isaiah's prophecy (Psalm 114; Isah. 40:3). Their
repentance in the Jordan valley reenacts Moses' earlier covenant renewal at the
edge of the Jordan (Deut. 9: Iff); Israel's national repentance in the OT could
include an element of reenactment.^ Significantly, it is here that Jesus
emerges — at a new "Jordan crossing" — to lead out a purified remnant, ending
their exile. '° "The baptism and temptation of Jesus inaugurates the renewal of
the people of God.""

Jesus' baptism was not for His repentance but to model for Israel true
submission and endorsement of John's word, fulfilling Israel's covenant
requirements (3:15; cf 5:17).'^ Jesus' actions prove a model of obedience to
God's law, the very law He will quote in His temptation. As the divine Son
(3:17), Jesus does not merely repeat the experiences of the "national son," He
resumes these experiences at their core (Exod. 4:22; Deut. 8:5),'^ but succeeds
where Israel had failed.'"^ However, it is vital to see how the Father's testimony
is integrated into the Son's ensuing temptation.

Old Testament Texts in Full Bloom

John's voice is one of preparation, but it is the Father's declaration that
breaks the silence of 400 years: "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am
well pleased" (3:17, TNIV). These combined voices constitute the OT legal
requirement of two witnesses.'^ The "opened heavens" (3:16) signal a new era,
marked by new revelation. Yet these words are not new. In fact, three OT texts
are represented here. "This is my Son"^^ draws on Psa. 2:7, a king's personal
testimony of his adopted "messiahship" and commission by the LORD.'^ The
Father's declaration officially commissions Jesus for ministry as the ultimate
anointed Messiah (cf Mark 1:1; Psa. 2:2).'^ According to contemporary
rabbinic thought the dove reflected Israel,'^ but more likely signals a new era of

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

life analogous to Noah's dove (Gen. 8:8-11)."° The greater Son was now the
focus. The Spirit not only anointed Jesus, authorizing His ministry (Acts 10:38),
but the Spirit also enabled Jesus to inaugurate the eschatological age itself.^'
This powerful role of the Spirit fialfilled Isaiah's expectation that the Spirit of
God would rest on the Servant and king who would bring about Israel's
restoration (Isah. 61:1-2).^'

The second OT text in the Father's declaration signaled that the kingly
reign of this Messiah would indeed be different: "my Son... with him I am well
pleased" alludes to Isah. 42:1.'^ The tenor of the Servant Songs (Isaiah 40-55)
portrayed a role of affliction and personal sacrifice; but coupled with Psa. 2:7,
Matthew's point becomes clear — Jesus will be a suffering King!

The third OT text is more opaque. In the middle is the phrase: "my Son,
whom I love," likely an allusion to Gen. 22:2, a phrase used by God for Isaac

(MT yahid; LXX agapetos)}'^ Abraham's profound obedience and submission
to God's command to sacrifice Isaac had an acute effect on Israel's theology.
Jesus was the only Son whom the Father loved, yet whom He was willing to
sacrifice for the sake of the world. Jesus as it were, is now called to imitate
Isaac's quiet availability.^^ We can now grasp the weight of the Father's
pronouncement, for it gives Jesus His "fundamental theological orientation for
his ministry," His guidelines to undertake His mission. ^^ In the end, the
declaration of the Father combines divine Sonship of the royal Messiah with the
Spirit's endowment of the Servant of the Lord.^' This pulls together OT texts
and increasingly raises the status of Jesus for both audience and reader. Not
surprisingly, the cross will find kingship language reemerging.^^

Typology in Matthew's Presentation
As William Dumbrell observes, "The office of messiah is thus not one
that grows out of disappointment with the empirical monarchy... but rises with
the advent of kingship itself"'^ Beginning with the patriarchs, notions of
kingship came early and uniquely defined David. ^° With Jesus' temptation, a
four-step "process" is achieved:

1 ) Selected by God ( 1 Sam. 16:1= David; Matt. 3:17 = Jesus)

2) Anointed by God's prophet (1 Sam. 16:13 = David; Matt. 3:16-17 =
Jesus)

3) Endowed for office by the Spirit (1 Sam. 16:13 = David; Matt. 3:16 =
Jesus)

4) Attested public military acts (1 Sam. 17 = David; Matt. 4:1-1 1 = Jesus)

Jesus' Temptation

Significantly, these four elements that distinguished David were not associated
with another king until the ideal kingship of Jesus' ministry.^' With Jesus'
temptation, cosmic hostility erupts on the redemptive stage.

For Matthew, the parallels to Jesus' temptation focus on Israel's
wilderness experience and Moses' life.^" Like Moses himself, Jesus' temptation
scene reflects a general pattern of "withdrawal and return" evident in the
formation of servants prepared for great work.^^ Departure into the wilderness is
a common theme verging on a type scene (cf. Genesis 27-32; Exod. 2:1 1-22).^'*
The exodus imagery fosters a strong Christological reflection. ^^ Broadly
speaking, Jesus also "passes through" water, moves into a wilderness, and
experiences the core tests of hunger, self-denial, and idolatry that Israel did. In
fact, Matthew capitalizes on themes from Deuteronomy 6-8, precisely where
Moses explains how a series of tests revealed Israel's devotion to the Lord.
Thus, "testing" was the process in which the covenant partner was scrutinized to
determine fidelity. ^^ As Israel's champion Jesus fought as a representative of
His people, using the law as a greater Moses. ^^ Additionally, the texts Jesus
quoted were all from Deuteronomy, passages where Moses explained the goal of
Israel's wilderness testing (Deut. 8:1-5).

The context of Jesus' temptation is better appreciated by observing the
geographical and thematic orientation of His ministry. ^^
A Genealogy, birth, and the infancy of Jesus (1:1-2:23)
B Jesus in JUDEA: baptism, temptation, and preparation (3:1-4:17)
C Public ministry around GALILEE; preparing the disciples (4:18-

10:42)
X Response to Jesus' public minis tiy — the kingdom parables (11:1-

16:20)
C Private ministry in GALILEE; preparing the disciples (16:21-18:35)

B' Jesus in JUDEA: from Palm Sunday to Passover (19:1-25:46)
A' Suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus (26:1-28:20)

In this concentric layout the outsides pertain to Judea, recounting Jesus'
baptism and temptation, while His passion and death occur on the opposite side
(A, B, B', A'). Jesus obedience during His desert testing (Matt. 4:1-11) is
perfected during His final testing in Gethsemane (Matt. 26:39).^^ The inner
portion reveals Jesus' ministry in Galilee (C, C') with the central unit focusing
on Jesus' seven parables of the kingdom (X).

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

The Literary Architecture of the Temptation

The actual temptation account is triadic, composed of three related
units (vv. 1-4, 5-7, 8-11)/° Rising in intensity, each unit is highly stylized,
reflecting a literary genre of rabbinic disputation or debate/' These scenes are
also joined through imagery of rising geographical elevation: "up... into the
wilderness" (4:1), "on the pinnacle of the temple" (4:5), and culminating with "a
very high mountain" (4:8). "*" Each encounter begins with the narrator's note of a
specific location, which is then followed by a confrontational dialogue. As for
the characters, the devil is the resourceful initiator and Jesus the vigorous
responder. With each temptation the devil issues a proposition that brings a swift
and climactic response from Jesus, formally closing that exchange.

In fact, it is dialogue that makes this entire temptation unique as Jesus
and the devil wage war with words. ''^ While the devil uses "Son of God" (4:3,
5), Jesus twice responds with "Lord your God" (4:7, 10). Twice the devil states:
"If [= since] you are the Son of God" (4:3, 6), a statement that builds on the
Father's earlier pronouncement ("my Son," 3:17).'''' The devil's first two
propositions ("if you are") end with the third and climactic declaration for
worship ("if you bow"; 4:3, 6; cf v. 8). This reflects a movement from personal
to universal as the issue of cosmic sovereignty concludes the temptations.

Significantly, the issue is not whether Jesus is God's Son, but what kind
of Son He would be — a self-seeking Son or submissive Savior. The fact that
Jesus includes a direct reference to "God" in all three responses reveals His
loyalty to His Father (4:4b, 7b, 10b). Jesus was under authority, tested by
authority before He could assert His own authority.'*'' This language and
dialogue adds a personal touch to Jesus' encounter. While these temptations do
not occur in a public forum, their didactic force is clear enough. What transpires
is richly typological, deeply Christological, and highly supernatural.''^
The narrator opens with the Holy Spirit leading and closes with angels
ministering (4:1, 11). The following diagram shows the structure and content of
Matthew's account along with the OT citations and allusions in Jesus'
temptation.

Jesus' Temptation -

Mountain

While Matthew's "high mountain" was symbolic or visionary (4:8a), it
forms a thematic extension from the temple (4:5b) since temples were built atop
mountains. ^^ Zion, and the temple built there, was the "cosmic mountain,"
replicating the heavenly mountain of YHWH at Sinai (cf. Psa. 48:1-4).'''^ In OT
imagery divine councils occurred on mountains (Isa. 14:13; cf. Exod. 24:12-18).
Matthew's mountain imagery draws numerous analogies to Moses' life and
Israel's own worship (cf Exod. 3:1b, 5; 12). Theophanies occurred at Mt. Sinai
(Exod. 3-4; 32-34) and divine decrees were made there (Exod. 19-20).^^ When
Jesus viewed the "kingdoms of the world and their glory" (Matt. 4:8), the event
at least echoes Moses' climb of Mt. Nebo to survey the Promised Land (Deut.
32:49-52; 34:1-8).^^ But mosaic imagery hardly stops here.

Jesus' fast recalls the same experience of Moses and Israel (Exod.
24:18; 34:28; Deut. 8:2-3).*'^ However by fasting "forty days and forty nights,"
Matthew emphasizes the typological number and its correspondence to Moses
and Israel more than Jesus' growing state of hunger. ^^ Unique to Matthew, the
"forty nights" further confirms Jesus' fasting to Moses' forty-day-and-night
fast.^^ As Moses fasted prior to confirming God's covenant with Israel, so Jesus'
rigorous fast is also preparatory, reflecting an appeal for divine assistance in His
time of danger (Deut. 9:9; cf Esth. 4:15-16)^'' and even preparation for war (cf
1 Sam. 7:6).^' Engaging the devil, Jesus fights a "new Canaanite" and emerged
as the triumphant champion on behalf of His people. ^^

One Encounter, Three Ingenious Tests

According to Matthew, the devil tempts Jesus after His forty-day fast
(cf Luke 4:2). So it is arguable that the devil's sequence of tests capitalize on
Jesus' physical weakness (T^ temptation), then the insecurity of life (2"''
temptation), climaxing with the attraction of devotion as a solution (3'^'^
temptation).''^ But how Jesus overcomes the "tempter" (4:3a) requires another
look at the makeup of these tests. ^"^ We'll briefly consider the devil's proposals
then the substance of Jesus' answers. ^^

A Desperate Socio-Religious Context

Throughout the three tests it is the nature of Jesus' Sonship that is at
stake, not its fact.^^ What is often misunderstood, however, is the actual goal of
these tests. The devil's ploy is to construct scenarios that tempt Jesus to rely on
His Sonship in self-serving ways.^^ External seduction rather than internal lust is

22 ' .

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

the strategy here.^^ Yet when we read these as isolated and "moralized" tests we
fail to appreciate the gravity of what's really at stake — a redemptive mission that
extended beyond Jesus' personal moral fortitude, though requiring it. In essence,
the devil attempts to lure Jesus away from His redemptive messianic mission.
While we might assume that serious temptations would, at some level, involve
"money, sex, and power," the devil's attack was more sophisticated than that.
What, for example, was so treacherous about making bread for himself (4:3; cf.
3:9)? Leading off this ordeal-like temptation, eating bread seems almost
ridiculous, until one looks further.

The devil's propositions amount to three different "paths" Jesus could
take as messianic deliverer. It is arguable that each test reflects a popular
expectation of the messianic role within the prevailing culture of that time.^^ We
could call the first test the way of the populist (4:3-4).^^ Would the messianic
Son provide for His own physical needs or trust His Father's provision? Only
the Son fully clothed in human frailty could model the strain of obedience amid
desperate need.^' Making bread would not only satisfy Jesus' hunger, but as a
social strategy it would also give the masses what they want (cf. Matt. 14:17;
John 6:7, 26) — nothing resonates with the masses like hunger. ^^ But grateful
people would come at the cost of Jesus' self-satisfaction. So the Son refuses to
be a messianic magician, creating a "new manna" for himself.

The second test is the way of the wonder-worker (4:6-7). Would the
messianic Son place himself in mortal danger and force God to deliver him since
the Father did operate from the Temple? As a strategy, forcing His Father into a
spectacular deliverance at an international location might indeed galvanize the
crowds. But dazzled crowds at the sacred site would not justify divine protection
merely for Jesus' self-vindication. So the Son reftises the role of deluded
visionary and that kind of demonstration of divine authorization for His
ministry.

The final test could be termed the way of the political opportunist (4:9-
10). Would the messianic Son use instant wealth, profile, and even militaristic
maneuver to attain power? As a strategy such influence might liberate an
oppressed nation. But redemption is for relationship and not social revolution,
and certainly not self-promotion.'**^ So the Son refuses this means of universal
recognition in exchange for "all the kingdoms of the world" (4:8).

The devil's tests were driven by scenarios of seduction: from
dependence to self-assertion (i.e., bread); from trust to coercion (i.e., danger),
from allegiance to betrayal (i.e., power). Giving in to these temptations was not
about Jesus' personal piety, but His recognition of an unacceptable detour. The

Jesus' Temptation ■ , ■ '

Mountain

While Matthew's "high mountain" was symboHc or visionary (4:8a), it
forms a thematic extension from the temple (4:5b) since temples were built atop
mountains. ^^ Zion, and the temple built there, was the "cosmic mountain,"
replicating the heavenly mountain of YHWH at Sinai (cf Psa. 48:1-4).^'* In OT
imagery divine councils occurred on mountains (Isa. 14:13; cf. Exod. 24:12-18).
Matthew's mountain imagery draws numerous analogies to Moses' life and
Israel's own worship, (cf Exod. 3:1b, 5; 12). Theophanies occurred at Mt. Sinai
(Exod. 3-4; 32-34) and divine decrees were made there (Exod. 19-20).^^ When
Jesus viewed the "kingdoms of the world and their glory" (Matt. 4:8), the event
at least echoes Moses' climb of Mt. Nebo to survey the Promised Land (Deut.
32:49-52; 34:1-8).^^ But mosaic imagery hardly stops here.

Jesus' fast recalls the same experience of Moses and Israel (Exod.
24:18; 34:28; Deut. 8:2-3).^^ However by fasting "forty days and forty nights,"
Matthew emphasizes the typological number and its correspondence to Moses
and Israel more than Jesus' growing state of hunger.*'^ Unique to Matthew, the
"forty nights" further confirms Jesus' fasting to Moses' forty-day-and-night
fast.^^ As Moses fasted prior to confirming God's covenant with Israel, so Jesus'
rigorous fast is also preparatory, reflecting an appeal for divine assistance in His
time of danger (Deut. 9:9; cf Esth. 4:15-16)'° and even preparation for war (cf
1 Sam. 7:6). '' Engaging the devil, Jesus fights a "new Canaanite" and emerged
as the triumphant champion on behalf of His people.'"

One Encounter, Three Ingenious Tests

According to Matthew, the devil tempts Jesus after His forty-day fast
(cf Luke 4:2). So it is arguable that the devil's sequence of tests capitalize on
Jesus' physical weakness (1^' temptation), then the insecurity of life (2"^
temptation), climaxing with the attraction of devotion as a solution (3'^'^
temptation).'^ But how Jesus overcomes the "tempter" (4:3a) requires another
look at the makeup of these tests.'"* We'll briefly consider the devil's proposals
then the substance of Jesus' answers.'^

A Desperate Socio-Religious Context

Throughout the three tests it is the nature of Jesus' Sonship that is at
stake, not its fact.'^ What is often misunderstood, however, is the actual goal of
these tests. The devil's ploy is to construct scenarios that tempt Jesus to rely on
His Sonship in self-serving ways." External seduction rather than internal lust is

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

The devil's propositions amount to three different "paths" Jesus could
take as messianic deliverer. It is arguable that each test reflects a popular
expectation of the messianic role within the prevailing culture of that time.^^ We
could call the first test the way of the populist (4:3-4).^° Would the messianic
Son provide for His own physical needs or trust His Father's provision? Only
the Son fully clothed in human frailty could model the strain of obedience amid
desperate need.^' Making bread would not only satisfy Jesus' hunger, but as a
social strategy it would also give the masses what they want (cf. Matt. 14:17;
John 6:7, 26) — nothing resonates with the masses like hunger. ^^ But grateful
people would come at the cost of Jesus' self-satisfaction. So the Son refuses to
be a messianic magician, creating a "new manna" for himself.

The second test is the way of the wonder-worker (4:6-7). Would the
messianic Son place himself in mortal danger and force God to deliver him since
the Father did operate from the Temple? As a strategy, forcing His Father into a
spectacular deliverance at an international location might indeed galvanize the
crowds. But dazzled crowds at the sacred site would not justify divine protection
merely for Jesus' self-vindication. So the Son refuses the role of deluded
visionary and that kind of demonstration of divine authorization for His
ministry.

The final test could be termed the way of the political opportunist (4:9-
10). Would the messianic Son use instant wealth, profile, and even militaristic
maneuver to attain power? As a strategy such influence might liberate an
oppressed nation. But redemption is for relationship and not social revolution,
and certainly not self-promotion.^' So the Son refuses this means of universal
recognition in exchange for "all the kingdoms of the world" (4:8).

Jesus' Temptation

devil's temptations were intended to remove the cost of sacrifice and the
necessity of self-denial, and thereby, derail Jesus from the way of the cross (cf
Heb. 2:18; 4:15; 5:8).

Jesus' Response as a l"** Mosaic Preaching

In each successive test Jesus not only responds with Scripture ("It
stands written..." [4:4, 7, 10]), ^"^ but He employs texts drawn exclusively from
Deuteronomy (i.e., bread [Deut. 8:3], danger [Deut. 6:16], power [Deut.
6:13]).^^ More than "proof texts" of the law, Jesus shows His penetrating grasp
of Scripture by employing key portions rooted in the wilderness experience of
Israel's testing (Deuteronomy 6-8). God desired humility from the nation's
testing (Deut. 8:16). Jesus' parry with the devil reveals His stewardship and
obedience to the covenant as a new Moses. Yet more is happening beneath the
surface than a mere duel with Scripture.

Jesus' references to Deuteronomy come from Moses' "2"*^ Address"
(4:44-28:68) — the very heart of the book with its call to love God.^^ Here
Moses' tone is one of exhortation, calling for covenant loyalty to God. This
significance is heightened when one realizes that Jesus strategically uses Moses'
"preaching" to Israel from Deuteronomy when could have cited the epoch-
making events themselves from the book of Exodus. In this way Israel's demand
for food (Exod. 16:2-8) and God's provision of manna (Exod. 16:13-31)^^ stand
as the backdrop for Jesus' claim that "people do not live on bread alone, but on
every word" (Matt. 4:4 = Deut. 8:3).^^ As Moberly explains, "The creative word
of divine power which will meet Jesus' needs is not a new word of his own but
that word which has already been given normative shape in Israel's scriptures,
which calls human life into true relationship with God."^^ Whereas Israel had
shown an untrusting heart, Jesus illustrated how covenant obedience to God's
eternal Word was more important than temporal bread. Similarly, Israel's
rebellion at Massah (Exod. 17:1-3) and God's provision of water (Exod. 17:4-7)
became the backdrop for Jesus claim not to "put the Lord your God to the tesf
(Matt. 4:7 = Deut. 6:16).^" Whereas Israel tested God by doubting His presence
with them, Jesus emphatically refused to test the rescuing-presence of His
Father.

Finally, Israel's idolatry with the "golden calf (Exod. 32:1-35),*"
resolved only by Moses' intercession (Exod. 32:1 1-14), forms the backdrop for
Jesus' response: "Worship the LORD your God, and serve him only" (Matt.
4:10 = Deut. 6:13).^"^ Israel's actions had brought God to the brink of canceling

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

His covenant with them (Exod. 32:8-10).^^ In a parody of the tabernacle
construction (Exod. 25:1-9), the people had built a golden calf (Exod. 32:1-6)
and in so doing broke the first two commandments.^'* By contrast, Jesus makes
no concession and refuses any substitute for God's presence, thereby proving
His love for God. Trading loyalty was not the way to obtain glory.

Jesus' Use of Deuteronomy

Jesus' use of Deuteronomy, with its allusions to Exodus, raises some
important observations. First, Jesus achieved a symbolic second "preaching" of
Deuteronomy as a new Moses, qualified to lead a purified remnant. If these
covenantal texts defined Israel's mission, they did all the more for Jesus, the
eschatological Son. Second, Matthew's thematic arrangement of Jesus'
Deuteronomy quotations (Deut. 8:3; 6:16; 6:13) appears designed to preserve
the chronological and thematic development of the Exodus events themselves
(Exod. 16:2-8; 17:1-7; 32:1-6). This, in turn, highlights Matthew's rich
typological themes drawn between the national and divine Son.

Moreover, Deut. 6:13 — Jesus' final quote — encapsulates the vertical
theology of the first group of commands, addressing right relationship to God in
worship, service, and use of the Divine name. Illustrated negatively by the
golden calf scene (Exodus 32), Israel was neither to forget God (Deut. 6:12) nor
follow the Canaanite gods (Deut. 6:14). Significantly, between these two poles
is Deut. 6:13, contrasting their past "bondage" (Dnay) in Egypt with their
present "service" (13^) to God.^^ What Deuteronomy emphasizes is that service
is defined through one's life (cf Deut. 10:12). Jesus' obedience was the perfect
expression of Deuteronomy's teaching on "fearing" the Lord (6:13).^^
Typologically, the significance of Jesus' obedience in the wilderness is a study
in contrasts since it was there that Israel had enraged God with their rebellion
and apostasy (cf Psalms 78; 81; 95; 105-106).''^

Third, it is arguable that Matthew has intentionally set the order of
Jesus' tests to reflect the form of the Shema — a spiritual plumb line by which the
people were constantly measured (Deut. 6:4-5; cf Matt. 13:21-22; 19:17).^^ By
implication, loving God with one's "heart" meant the refiisal to make bread in
self-interest.^^ "Life" meant the refusal to jump and activate divine
protection. '°° "Might" was tied to idolatry and the refusal to worship the devil in
exchange for the kingdoms of the world. "^' Viewing the tests in light of the
Shema helps explain the movement beginning with the inner being, then adding
the whole person, and finally concluding with all one claims as one's own.'°" By

Jesus' Temptation

citing from the introduction of Moses' speech (Deut. 6:4-9), Jesus pointed to the
entirety of Moses' address. But concluding with Deut. 6:13 — "serve him
only" — Jesus focused on exclusive worship through a text used as a summary
for the Decalogue itself. "^^ In Deut. 6:13 "the first three commandments are set
forth in positive rather than negative form."'°'' Quoting part for the whole also
reflects the use of Psalm 91.

The Devil's Use of Psalm 91

The Psalter also played a role in Jesus' temptation. Both ingenious and
contextual, the devil in turn, responds by quoting Psa. 91:11-12.'"^ Since a
deliberate hurling does not correspond to an accidental stumbling, omitting "in
all your ways" may have been intentional rather than incidental.""' The Temple
was a place of refuge, not presumption. '°^ Moreover, the Son was to serve the
Father, not vice-versa. "Those who dwell in the shelter of the Most High" (Psa.
91:1) began precious words in a psalm of protection, "'^^ but the devil "displaces
the true concept of miracle in Scripture... into that of magic." "^'^ Sanitizing a
dare with a cherished text, the devil prods Jesus to fall back on His Sonship with
God "as a direct claim of privilege to all the promises of God.""°

Further analysis reveals a rich socio-religious backdrop to Psalm 91
that likely explains its use here.'" While the devil quotes vv. 11-12, v. 10 is the
stunning preface: "no evil shall befall you, no scourge [Targum: or demons]
shall come near your tent.""^ The Aramaic Targum, employed in Jesus' time,
reflects an early tradition of demonic harassment: "You will not be afraid of the
terror of the demons that go about in the night, nor of the arrow of the angel of
death that he shoots in the daytime, nor of the death that goes about in the
darkness, nor o^the company of demons that destroy at noon.""^

Used for exorcisms in Jesus' day, false understandings of God's
requirements and promises also swirled around Psalm 91, as the devil's use
shows (Matt. 3:9; cf. Mark 5:7)."^ The language of divine promise is always
relational requiring an appropriate interaction with the God of the promise."^ So
while the devil's use of Psalm 91 may have been centered on Christ, it was
hardly Got/-centered."^

The movement of embedded dialogue is also important. Only in Jesus'
temptation does the devil quote Scripture and Jesus in turn, engage him. The
four quotations are not those of the narrator — three come from Jesus, and one
from the devil himself! When Jesus began citing Scripture (4:4 = Deut. 8:3), the
devil mimicked this by citing an equally well-known psalm (4:6 = Psa. 91:11-

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

12). But following Jesus' second refusal and His reference to "God" (4:7),"^ the
devil cunningly substitutes himself for God in the final test, offering Jesus the
whole world in exchange for His submission."^ At this point, Jesus calls him
"Satan" (4:10a). Because the final test attacks the very foundation of the
covenant relationship, Jesus counters with the core theme of Deuteronomy —
exclusive covenant commitment to the Lord. ' ' Satan was, after all, representing
the interests of his own kingdom (12:26).'^° For Jesus, what "stands written" has
divine authority and "is not the biblical text in the abstract but the text in its
meaningfulness for the current situation .'"^'^^ Later Jesus will be given what here
He must decline. His only extemporaneous words in the entire discourse are
reserved for banishment: "Go, Satan!"'"

Seeing beyond the existential moment, Jesus views His tests as
redemptive distortions and stays on the path of pain and suffering to follow His
Father's will. There simply could be no messianic kingdom without the cross. '^^
Having rejected food (4:3) and angelic assistance (4:6), He receives both at the
end (4:1 1).'^"* Hailed as king (Matt. 2:2), He chose the crown of thorns and the
Divine King finally reigned from the cross under the title "King of the Jews"
(Matt. 27:37).'"^ Unlike Israel, however, Jesus demanded neither food nor
miracle; messianic expectations were not met on the triumphalist terms of the
religious masses but through trust in His Father. The temptation of Jesus shows
the cost of His Sonship. '"^ As Evans states, "Having accepted God's rule for
himself, Jesus has begun to proclaim the rule of God for all of Israel. By
remaining loyal to God, Jesus remains qualified, as God's "son" (Mark 1:1 1), to
proclaim God's kingdom."'"^

What the devil tested was Jesus' commitment to kingdom stewardship
defined by suffering. Jesus' mission remained intact since He remained
qualified. As evidence, both the Baptist and Jesus began their ministries by
announcing the in breaking of the kingdom (3:2; 4:17). Jesus accomplished this
phase and one day He would even provide a "new manna" for His people (Matt.
14:13-21; 15:29-38). On other mountains, Jesus was not only transfigured (Matt.
17:1-13), he announced at the close of His life that all earthly power was His,
but it came from God and only after the cross (Matt. 28:1 8). ''^

Conclusion

At both theological and practical levels, the account of Jesus'
temptation offers much grist for reflection. Our analysis has attempted to
appreciate the OT theology and imagery that animate Matthew's pericope as
well as uncover some socio-religious trajectories surrounding the temptation.

Jesus' Temptation

For Jesus, the eschatological sites of wilderness, temple, and mountain fueled
significant reenactments, proving Jesus to be an obedient Son where the national
son had failed. Negatively, Jesus' tests threatened redemptive distortions to his
messianic mission. Positively, numerous OT texts illustrate a theological
continuity of obedience, and even suffering, that continues to define the people
of God (Matthew 5). Aligned with the Mosaic figure and the ethics of his
preaching, Jesus modeled an obedience reflecfing on the historical pathos of
Exodus 16, 17, and 32, but quoting from Deuteronomy 6-8 as the abiding ethic.

Exploiting the theological themes of the "Shema" (Deut. 6:5), Matthew
structures Jesus' three tests to highlight true covenant-obedience. Significantly,
Jesus' own quotations culminate with Deut. 6:13, an overview of the first three
commands and, by extension, a summary of the entire Decalogue. These texts
highlight Jesus' vertical orientation to God that proved essential in His
temptation. The outcome was that Jesus remained qualified for his messianic
mission. From His temptation, thematic ironies reverberate throughout
Matthew's gospel in Jesus' feeding of people (14:13-21), Divine transfiguration
(17:1-13), and His declaration of dominion (28:16-20).

Practically speaking, giving in to temptation may not only destroy, but
also forfeit at the cosmic missional level. Ironically, it is the upright that struggle
and are tested. Stanley Grenz explains:

We repeatedly discover that the intensity to which we sense the force of

the onslaught of temptation corresponds to the degree to which we are

resisting it. In those areas where we are especially vulnerable, we know

little of the power of temptation. In such situations we yield to the evil

impulse without a struggle, sometimes even without perceiving our

own defeat. In other areas — areas where we are gaining victory over

the tempter — we have a greater sense of its power... [Jesus] was

completely cognizant of what was at stake in the choices placed before

him. And he was entirely conscious of the cosmic implications of the

decisions he needed to make.

Integrity is crucial, but it was never meant to function apart from redemptive

mission, merely preserving self.'^° Whenever one balks at the accountability of

the body, rationalizes the consequences of sin, or minimizes the reputation of

Christ, the larger backdrop of Christian community is crumbling. As Jesus'

temptation illustrates, such struggles are not about one individual salvaging

personal holiness, far more may be at stake. '^'

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

Believers must see through the physically full, physically safe, and
politically powerful, to the kingdom implications.'^" Like Jesus making bread,
believers must be able to see beyond the possible, and even the fair, to the issues
of stewardship on a redemptive horizon. Temptation truly has a "bigger picture,"
and Jesus apparently drew from His pivotal experience of temptation to teach
the disciples how to pray.'^^ Notice that concern for kingdom work, the Father's
will, the evil one, and even bread all reappear; and all in the context of
community.'^'*
''Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come, , '

your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors,
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one. "^^^

ENDNOTES

' The Targum of Isaiah reveals mounting eschatological hope in its use of the phrase:
"the kingdom of your [sg/pl] God is revealed!" (nN"''7;nN jnnbST b^nnba, 24:23; 31:4;
40:9; cf nN"'bjnt< •yrbia Knobn, 52:7). Within the OT was a core belief that God reigned
from generation to generation (Dan. 4:34; cf Exod. 15:17-18; Num. 23:21; Psalms 47;
93; 96-99). This reign would require a "new exodus" and a renewed entry into the
Promised Land. Marking the in breaking of God's rule, John the Baptist preached
repentance and judgment. In preparation for Jesus' ministry, John attacked Jewish
particularism, warning against reliance on mere physical descent from Abraham which,
in turn, undermined their nationalism (William J. Dumbrell, The Search for Order:
Biblical Eschatology in Focus [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1994], 186-87). Tying together this
"already and not yet" were the OT concepts of Spirit and kingdom that surround Jesus'
baptism and temptation (Matt. 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13). Therefore, following
his temptation, Jesus announced the arrival of the kingdom by means of the Spirit that
empowered him at his baptism (cf Joel 2:28; Matt. 12:28; John 3:5; Rom. 14:17; Gal.
5:16-21; ibid., 188). The ethical emphasis of Jesus' teaching showed how he could be
both expectant of the future and demanding of the present (Matt. 22:34-40; Mark 12:28-
34; Luke 10:25-28; Bruce D. Chilton, "Kingdom of God," in The Oxford Companion to

Jesus' Temptation

^ John Goldingay, "The Old Testament and Christian Faith: Jesus and the Old Testament

in Matthew 1-5, Part 2," Themelios 8 (1983): 5.

^ Such phrases include: "heaven is at hand," "flee the coming wrath," "the ax at the root

of the trees," "harvesting," and "burning chaff." Harvest imagery is a common medium to

describe judgment in the OT (Isa. 17:13; Jer. 13:24; 15:7; 51:33; Joel 3:12-14; cf. 4 Ezra

4:30-32).

■* Unlike Luke's account of Jesus' temptation (Luke 4:1-12) that only employs de ("but")

and Km ("and"), the adverbs and conjunctions used by Matthew reveal an emphasis on

escalating sequence: xoxs ("then" [4:1,5,10,1 1]); nakxv ("again" [4:7,8]). In fact, tots is a

favorite of Matthew, occurring 90x.

" John the Baptist's ministry retained the ethos of his priestly levitical heritage through

Zechariah. Using water, John was purifying an eschatological remnant. A similar

"washing," according to rabbinic tradition, prepared Israel for the Sinai encounter with

God (Jorg Jeremias, Ncm' Testament Theology: The Proclamation of Jesus, vol. 1.; tran. J.

Bowden [London: SCM, 1971], 44; cf 1 Cor. 10:1-12).

^ This may have been a sabbatical year, allowing a great and diverse number of people to

assemble at the Jordan (William S. LaSor, "John the Baptist," in Great Personalities of

the New Testament: Their Lives and Times [Westwood, NJ: Fleming H. Revell, 1961],

28).

^ Craig L. Blomberg, "Matthew," in Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old

Testament, ed. Greg K. Beale, Donald A. Carson (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2007), 13;

Stephen G. Dempster, Dominion and Dynasty: A Theology of the Hebrew Bible, New

Studies in Biblical Theology 15, ed. Donald A. Carson (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity,

2003), 231; Similarly, Craig S. Keener, A Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew (Grand

Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999), 137. Many OT texts that refer to the wilderness experience of

Israel conclude with the national exile (e.g., Psalms 78, 105, 108). This shows that the

"wilderness" became a potent metaphor for "exile" experiences (cf. Isa. 55:1-2; Walter

Brueggemann, "Wilderness," Reverberations: A Theological Handbook of Old Testament

Themes [Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2002], 231-32).

^ Dumbrell, Search, 182. John's animal-skin clothing and near vegetarian diet of locusts

and wild honey is not only that of an "exiled" person, but one avoiding unclean food

(Matt. 3:4; cf. Gen. 3:21; Exod. 10:4; 2 Kings 1:8; 2 Mace. 5:27).

Ubid. 161;cf. Hos. 14:1; Amos 4:4; 5:5; Joel 2:12; Zech. 1:3; Mai. 3:7; Rev. 2:5.

'° Craig A. Evans, "Jesus and the Continuing Exile of Israel," in Jesus and the

Restoration of Israel, ed. Carey C. Newman (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1999), 99.

John also speaks of a baptism for the wicked, but one in "fire" rather than the Spirit

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

(Matt. 3:10-12; cf. [wicked] Isa. 26:11; 65:15; 66:24; Jer. 4:4; 15:14; [righteous] Isa.

44:3; Ezek. 39:29; Joel 2:28).

" William D. Davies, Dale C. Allison, Jr., A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on The

Gospel According to Saint Matthew, International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: T &

T Clark, 1988), 1:402-403.

'^ Dumbrell, Search, 163. Akin to Matthew's use of four gentile women in Jesus'

genealogy (i.e., 1:3 [Tamar], 5a [Rahab], 5b [Ruth], 6b [Bathsheba]), so John's baptizing

of the Jews (3:11a) essentially employs a. proselyte ritual that aligns Jew with Gentile

(William F. Flemington, The New Testament Doctrine of Baptism [London: SPCK,

1953], 16).

'^ Cf Hos. 11:1 with Matt. 2:15. For a helpful analysis of Jesus' sonship, see R. W. L.

Moberly, "Jesus in Matthew's Gospel as Son of God," in The Bible, Theology, and Faith:

A Study of Abraham and Jesus, ed. Colin Gunton and Daniel W. Hardy (Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press, 2000), 184-224, especially 198-205.

''' According to Earl E. Ellis, "a case can be made out that Matthew has in mind Christ as

the 'embodiment' of Israel" {Paul's Use of the Old Testament [Grand Rapids: Baker,

1981], 132). Jesus is God's Son since he is David's heir; see 2 Sam. 7:14; Luke 1:32;

Matt. 16:16; John Goldingay, Old Testament Theology: Israel's Gospel. Vol. 1 (Downers

Grove: Intervarsity Press, 2003), 817.

'^ Craig Keener, New Testament Background Commentary (Downers Grove:

InterVarsity, 1993), 53; cf Deut. 17:6; John 1:7, 8.

^^ The parallel account(s) reads: ''You are my Son" rather than ""This is my Son" (cf

Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22), making Matthew's more particularized wording beneficial both

to Jesus personally and to the crowd as a public pronouncement (I. Howard Marshall,

New Testament Theology: Many Witnesses, One Gospel [Downers Grove: InterVarsity,

2004], 97).

'^ Even in Psalm 2, the declaration of royal sonship (2:7) climaxes in universal dominion

(2:8). The Davidic king was described as "son" to God, an ancient Near Eastern idiom of

formal adoption status and "sonship" (2 Sam. 7:14; Psa. 89:26-27; cf Exod. 4:22-23). For

this reason, the king sits "on the throne of the kingdom of the LORD" (1 Chr. 28:5; cf

29:20, 23), language the more eschatologically-sensitive LXX intentionally mutes in key

manuscripts {Codex Vaticanus) because the MT directly equates human and divine

kingship (see Gary N. Knoppers, 1 Chronicles 10-29: A New Translation with

Introduction and Commentary, Anchor Bible [New York: Doubleday, 2004], 944). The

"Royal Psalms" that celebrate the Davidic kings are like royal robes with which Israel

drapes each successive "son of David" at his coronation, but none has shoulders broad

enough to fill them out. It is during the plight of Israel's Exile that Messiah takes on a

decidedly eschatological sense of the hoped-for "Son of David" (Bruce K. Waltke,

Genesis: A Commentary [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001], 52; also Gerald H. Wilson,

Psalms, NIV Application Commentary, Vol. 1 [Grand Rapids: Zondervan 2002], 114-

17).

Jesus' Temptation

Craig L. Blomberg, Matthew, New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman,
1992), 82. Two Qumran texts connect the title "son of God" with the anticipated
apocalyptic leader (messiah) to be sent by God (4Q246 [= 4QpsDan ar^]; 4Q174 [=
4QFlor 10-14]).

'^ Herman L. Strack and Paul Billerbeck, Kommentar zum Neuen Testament ans Talmud
imdMidrasch, Vol. 1 (Munich: C. H. Beck, 1922), 123-25.

^° Goldingay, Old Testament Theology, 1:816; cf. Psa. 55:6-8. Similarly, the "brooding"
imagery also recalls the original creation (Blomberg, "Matthew," New Testament Use,

"' Keener, Background, 53.

Frank Thielman, Theology of the New Testament: A Canonical and Synthetic Approach
(Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005), 699.

^■^ For a discussion of Isaiah's "servant" (42:1-12), also energized by the Spirit, see
Robert B. Chisholm Jr., Handbook on the Prophets (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002), 99-101.
^'^ A text Paul similarly uses (Rom. 8:32; cf Matt. 12:18). R. W. L. Moberly also sees
Genesis 22 in the background, adding national Israel (Exod. 4:22-23) and the Davidic
kmg{Psa.2:7;TheBible, Theology, and Faith, \9S-99).
^^ Goldingay, "Old Testament," 5.
^^ Ibid

' Robert H. Gundry, Matthew: A Commentary on His Handbook for a Mixed Church
Under Persecution, 2"'' ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994).

-^ Cf. Matt. 26:29; Luke 23:42; 23:51; John 3:5; especially Mark 15:2, 9, 12, 18, 25, 32,
39.

^^ William J. Dumbrell, The Faith of Israel: A Theological Survey of the Old Testament,
2"^ ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002), 85.
^°Cf Gen. 17:6, 16; 35:11; 49:10; 2 Sam. 7:12; cf Psa. 105:15.

^' Rolf Knierim, "The Messianic Concept in the First Book of Samuel," in Jesus and the
Historian: Written in Honor of E. C. Colwell, ed. F. Thomas Trotter (Philadelphia:
Westminster, 1968), 43-44.

^^ Keener, Matthew, 137 (cf Matt. 2:13, 16, 20-21). By contrast, the accounts of Luke
and Mark develop an AdarnVJesus comparison as evidenced in their genealogies.
Matthew, for example, omits any reference to the "wild animals" (Mark 1:13b); for
further discussion, see Evans, "Inaugurating the Kingdom," 49-75, especially 65-66; John
P. Heil, "Jesus with the Wild Animals in Mark 1:13," Catholic Biblical Quarterly 68
(2006): 63-78. Heil holds that Mark's reference to the animals argues more for the
Israel/Jesus typology than the traditional Adam/Jesus typology.

Bruce K. Waltke, An Old Testament Theology: An Exegetical, Canonical,
and Thematic Approach (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007), 352.

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

^'* A type scene is a literary convention that repeats common ingredients,
recognized by both the narrator and audience, for explaining an episode within a story
(e.g., betrothal accounts at wells, sibling rivalry, and dying heroes).
" Cf. Matt. 2:16-18 with Jer. 31:15; Exod. 1:15-22; Matt. 26:17, 26-28 with 1 Cor. 5:7;
11:25; and Exod. 1 7:6 with 1 Cor. 10:4.

^^ Daniel J. Harrington, The Gospel of Matthew, Sacra Pagina (Collegeville, MN:
Liturgical Press, 1991), 66.

^^ Keener, Matthew, 138. For examples of representative characterization in epic
literature, see 1 Samuel 17; 2 Sam. 2:14-16.

^* Adapted from Duane L. Christensen, The Unity of the Bible: Exploring the Beauty and
Structure of the Bible (New York: Paulist Press, 2003), 199-200.

^^ Eugene E. Lemcio, "The Gospels Within the New Testament Canon," in Canon and
Biblical Interpretation. Scripture and Hermeneutics Series, Vol. 7, ed. Craig G.
Bartholomew, Scott Hahn, Robin Parry, Christopher Seitz and Al Wolters (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 2006), 136. According to LaSor, the garden of Gethsemane was "the greatest
temptation He ever faced: the temptation to save Himself But He knew that if He saved
Himself, He could never save others" ("Jesus the Son of Man," in Great Personalities,
46).

^° Cf Luke 4:3-4; 9-12; 5-8 [Mark 1:12-13]. Similarly, the concatenation of "Jesus-
Spirit-Father" at Jesus' baptism establishes the triadic baptismal formula employed in
Matthew's final commission (28:19).

"*' Raymond F. Collins, "Temptation of Jesus," Anchor Bible Dictionary, 6:382.
"Disputation" is an overarching genre found in legal, wisdom, and prophetic texts (cf.
Isa. 10:8-10; 28:23-28; Jer. 2:23-28; 2:1-5; Amos 3:3-4a, 5a, 6-8; 9:7; Mic. 2:6-1 1, etc.).
Also called "controversy dialogue," it rhetorically contains a thesis and counter-thesis by
its respective parties. Its "dialogue" is contentious in tone and confrontational in stance
(Andrew E. Hill, "Non-Proverbial Wisdom," in Cracking Old Testament Codes: A Guide
to Interpreting the Literary Genres of the Old Testament, ed. D. Brent Sandy and Ronald
L. Giese, Jr. [Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 1995], 263-64; also Keener, Matthew,
143; William W. Klein, Craig L. Blomberg, and Robert L. Hubbard, Jr., Introduction to
Biblical Interpretation, 2"'* ed. [Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1993], 366, 393-95; Eugene
M. Boring, "Matthew," in The New Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 8 [Nashville: Abingdon,
1995], 162).

'^^ Luke's reversed order of temptations two and three reflect his thematic emphasis on
Jerusalem. For Matthew, the final temptation corresponds the climax of his entire account
in 28:18 (Graham H. Twelftree, "Temptation of Jesus," in Dictionary of Jesus and the
Gospels, ed. Joel B. Green, Scott McKnight [Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1992],
823).

'^^ Lewis Schiavo, "The Temptation of Jesus: The Eschatological Battle and the New
Ethic of the First Followers of Jesus in Q," Journal for the Study of the New Testament 25
(2002): 144-46. Jesus' triadic temptation mimics "the three nets of Belial" in Ethiopian

Jesus' Temptation

Enoch (7 Enoch 8), the Damascus Document (CD 4:15-19), and the Ascension of Isaiah

(4:8-12). These texts not only speak of "triple tests," they also possess similar themes

including the highly eschatological "battle for the word" (ibid.. 153-57).

^^ This is a first class condition, assumed true for the sake of argument, but here used

manipulatively by the devil (see Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics:

An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996], 690-94).

Throughout Jesus' earthly ministry, the demons never question His identity; they recoil,

fully cognizant of his mission. In fact, the next confrontation finds the demons fearful of

God's Son, terrified that they would be destroyed (Matt. 8:29; cf v. 16; Simon J.

Gathercole, The Pre-existent Son: Recovering the Christologies of Matthew, Mart and

Luke [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006], 277).

'^^ Frank Kermode, "Matthew," in The Literary! Guide to the Bible, ed. Robert Alter,

Frank Kermode (Mass: Harvard University Press, 1987), 397.

^^ For a discussion of typology and its use in early apostolic tradition, see William W.

Klein (et al). Introduction, 31-34. Literarily, Jesus' encounter with Satan essentially

brackets the book of Matthew with the antagonism of the Jewish leaders closing Jesus'

ministry, thereby defining a cosmic conflict (Boring, "Matthew," 162).

**^ The verb avrix^n ("was led up") is an aorist passive, which always appears in the

passive and indicates an action that comes from the outside. "Was led/taken up by the

Spirit" (riysTO sv icb/' tuvstjiitv) does occur in visionary accounts of intertestamental

literature (/ Enoch 71:1, 5; Ascen. Isa. 6:9; cf. Rev. 1:10; Ezek. 3:14; see Schiavo, "The

Temptation of Jesus," 144-46; also Wallace, Greek Grammar, 165-66).

^^ Mark is more forceful, stating that: "Immediately (euOix;) the Spirit drove him

(8Kpd?iA,8i) into the wilderness" (1:12), with the notion of "casting" or "driving ouf (cf.

"sent him out," TNIV). Other thematic connections revolve around the "wilderness" and

the "voice of God," which is central to Jesus' use of Deuteronomy as the "word of God"

(Matt. 4:4).

^'^ Israel's Exodus is the sin qua non of God's "leading/guiding acts" (Exod. 13:18, 21;

15:13, 22; Deut. 8:2; Neh. 9:12; Pss. 77:20; 78:14, 52; 106:9; 136:16; Hos. 11:2-4). The

prophets also see the Spirit's presence in the Exodus (Isa. 63:10-1 1, 14; Hag. 2:5).

^^ "To be tested/tempted" (7isipaa6r|vav), aorist infinitive passive, stresses purpose.

Blomberg's observation is helpful: "Matthew warns against two common errors —

blaming God for temptation and crediting the devil with power to act independently of

God" {Matthew, 83).

^' James 1. Packer, Keep in Step with the Spirit: Finding Fullness in Our Walk with God,

T^ ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2005), 73.

^^ Gordon B. Gibson, "Satan," Eerdmans Dictionaiy of the Bible, ed. David N. Freedman

(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000), 1 169.

" Frederick D. Bruner, The Christbook (Waco: Word, 1987), 100. Similarly: "My child,

when you come to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for testing" (Sir. 2:1; cf 4:17b; 6:7a;

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

44:20d). In this initial poem of 2:1-18, Sirach elaborates on the need to remain faithful
the Lord's "words" and "law" as a testament to one's "humility" and state of "heart" (see
2:15-17).

■■* Dumbrell, Search, 163. Matthew's use of "holy city" (4:5) is a rare expression and
contains eschatological overtones (Matt. 27:53; Rev. 21:1; Isa. 48:2; 52:1; Neh. 11:1, 18;
cf Dan. 9:24, 26; Rev. 11:2; 21:2, 10; CD 20:22 ["city of the sanctuary," 12:1]). The
Qumran community saw itself fulfilling the call of Isa. 40:3 (1QS8:13-14; 9:19-20),
retreating to the wilderness to await Israel's eschaton. In a similar vein, desert
monasteries continue to this day (William H. Propp, "Wilderness," The Oxford
Companion to the Bible, ed. Bruce M. Metzger and Michael D. Coogan [Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1993], 799). For an explanation of "wilderness theology," see William
R. Stegner, "Wilderness and Testing in the Scrolls and in Matthew 4:1-11," Biblical
Review \6 {\961): 18-27.

-'^ Cf Exod. 15:22-26; 16; Lev. 10; Deut. 1:19-46; Jer. 7:24-26; Ezek. 20; Psalm 78;
Nehemiah 9; Acts 7:38-43; 1 Cor. 10:5-12; Heb. 3-4. See the helpftil discussion of David
W. Baker, "Wilderness, Desert," Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch, ed.
Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2003), 893-97;
also Propp, "Wilderness," Oxford Companion, 798.

^^ Brueggemann, "Wilderness," Reverberations, 23 1 . The wilderness motif is developed
as the people of God struggle in a new "Canaan-wilderness," delivered by Christ from
slavery to sin. This is the theological thrust of Psalm 95 as it is used in Hebrews 3 (see
Peter Enns, "Exodus Route and the Wilderness Itinerary," Dictionary of the Old
Testament: Pentateuch, 280).

^^ Propp, "Wilderness," Oxford Companion, 798. Though less common, the wilderness
can also be a place of spiritual renewal (cf Gen. 16:7; Exod. 3:1-4:17; Luke 5:16; John
11:54). The scapegoat tradition surrounding Azazel (Leviticus 16) later represented the
chief of wicked angels. Also called a "desert demon," this tradition may also lie behind
the emphasis of Jesus' temptation in the wilderness (see Armand Maurer, "Azazel," in
Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls, ed. Lawrence H. Schiffman and James C.
VanderKam [New York: Oxford University Press, 2000], 1:70-71).
^^ Propp, "Wilderness," Oxford Companion, 798. Moses' insightful intercession with God
(Exod. 32:1 1-14) showed that he understood that the Promised Land without the presence
of God would miss the whole point — Israel's redemption was for relationship not mere
possession.

^^ Keener, Matthew, 139.

'^ Nobuyoshi Kiuchi, "Living Like the Azazel-Goat in Romans 12: IB," Tyndale Bulletin
57 (2006): 260. While Kiuchi's argument centers on Rom. 12:1 as having the OT
background of the Azazel-goat, the same imagery applies to Jesus' temptation as the
messianic sin-bearer in the theology Matthew's account, stipulating that Jesus was
"driven out" (1:12).

Jesus' Temptation

^' Robert H. Mounce, Matthew, New International Biblical Commentary (Peabody, Mass:
Hendrickson, 1991), 30.

^^ Carol Meyers, "Temple, Jerusalem," in Anchor Bible Dictionaiy 6:358. The "Songs of
Zion" in particular (Psalms 120-134) portrayed Jerusalem and its temple as the cosmic
center of the universe; see P. E. Satterthwaite, "Zion in the Songs of Ascents," in Zion:
City of Our God, ed. Richard S. Hess, Gordon J. Wenham (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
1999), 105-128.

^^ For a helpful discussion of the temple and its apparatus, see John M. Monson, "The
Temple of Solomon: Heart of Jerusalem," in Zion, 1-22.

"^ Richard J. Clifford, The Cosmic Mountain in Canaan and the Old Testament, Harvard
Semitic Monographs 4 (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard, 1972), 7.

^^ For theophanies, see 1 Kings 19; Rev. 21:10; for divine decrees, see Exod. 18:5; 24:13;
Num. 10:33;and"Zion,"Psa. 68:16[17];Isa. 2:2; 1 Mace. 11:37.

^^ A theme also found in apocalyptic literature (2 Bar. 76:3; 1 Enoch 24-25). Relative to
the site of Jesus' baptism and temptation, Mt. Nebo is located in West Jordan, about 12
miles East of the mouth of the Jordan. Mountains also function prominently in Jesus'
ministry as locations of praying, healing, and teaching (Matt. 5:1-7:27; 14:23; 15:29;
Mark 3:13; 6:46).

^' Others also see the connection to Moses (Gundry, Matthew, 55; cf Davies and Allison,
Matthew, 1:165-72; cf Deut. 9:9, 11, 18, 25). Elijah also endured a forty-day fast en
route to Mt. Horeb/Sinai (1 Kings 19:8).

^^ The forty days of the Lenten season, observed since the fourth century, stems from the
forty days and nights of Jesus' fast within the context of his temptation (Lamar
Williamson, "'MaXthtw A:\-\\,'' Interpretation 38 [1984]: 51-55).

^^ Gundry, Matthew, 54. Even the account of Moses' fast emerges from the context that
Jesus will quote to the devil (cf Deut. 9:9-18; ibid., 54-55). Additionally, only Matthew
stipulates "fasting," followed later by additional instructions (6:16-18).
^° Cf Ezra 8:21-22, 31b; Dan. 9:3; 6:17-25. This is likely the rationale behind Jesus'
comment that some demons are driven out "only by prayer and fasting" (Matt. 17:21).
Further, Jesus' mention of fasting as incompatible with wedding festivities reflected his
conviction "that already the messianic age with its marriage banquet had broken into
history," though he was aware that the bridegroom "would be violently taken away from
his disciples before the kingdom of God came in all its fullness" (Mark 2:19-20; Larry R.
Helyer, Exploring Jewish Literature of the Second Temple Period: A Guide for New
Testament Studies [Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2002], 170).

^' Daniel L. Smith-Christopher, "Fasting," Eerdmans, 456; cf 1 Sam. 14:24; 2 Sam.
11:11-12; 1 Mace. 3:46; 2 Mace. 13:12.

'''^ Greg K. Beale, The Temple and the Church 's Mission: A Biblical Theology of the
Dwelling Place of God, New Studies in Biblical Theology 17 (Downers Grove:
InterVarsity, 2004), 172-73; Keener, Matthew, 138.

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

^^ Anthony J. Saldarini, "Matthew," in Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible, ed. James D.
G. Dunn and John W. Rogerson (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003), 101 1.
'''^ Switching from "devil" (l:b) to "tempter" (3a; contra Luke) emphasizes function. By
switching terms, Matthew also establishes overt parallels to the Pharisees and Sadducees
who "tempt" Jesus regarding the gospel (cf. 16:1; 19:3; 22:18, 35); especially with the
combination of 7ipoaspxo|aav ("approach") with Trsvpd^o) ("test") used for both the devil
(19: 3; cf. Mark 10:2) and the Pharisees and Sadducees (cf 22:18, 23, 35). Also in
disputation, Jesus routinely duels with the Jewish leaders by quoting Scripture.
^^ Rather than viewing the temptations as exclusively (1) salvation-historical [= recalling
Israel], (2) Christological [= against contemporary expectations of messiahship], (3) or
parenetic [= taking Jesus as a model for believers], Keener seems correct to see elements
of all three fianctioning in Matthew's account {Matthew, 137).
^^Keener, Ma«/zew, 139.
^^ Gundry, Matthew, 55.

^* Stanley J. Grenz, Theology for the Community of God (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
1994), 276.

^^ Keener, Matthew, 139; Bartholomew and Goheen, The Drama, 134.
^^ These descriptive phrases are adapted from Keener {Matthew, 139-41) along with
Bartholomew and Goheen {The Drama, 133)
^' Gathercole, The Pre-existent Son, 55.

^^ Keener notes a Jewish tradition expecting a new exodus from a new Moses with a new
manna {Background, 54).

*^ E.g., the Zealots and the Jewish aristocracy (Matt. 26:55, 61; 27:1 1-12; John 18:36).
^^ Essentially a formula (cf Matt. 2:5; CD 1:13; 5:1; 11:18, 20; IQS 5:15; Sanh. 10:1;
Sukk. 2:10; Gen. Rab. 1:4; 3 Enoch 2:4).

^' Namely: "People do not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the
mouth of God" (Deut. 8:3, TNIV); "Do not put the Lord your God to the test" (Deut.
6:16, TNIV); "Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only" (Deut. 6:13, TNIV).
^ Gordon J. Wenham, Exploring the Old Testament: A Guide to the Pentateuch, Vol. 1
(Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2003), 132-32. See Daniel I. Block, "How Many is God?
An Investigation into the Meaning of Deuteronomy 6:4-5," Journal of the Evangelical
Theological Society Al (2004): 193-212.

^^ Later in Israel's history manna was symbolically used as "bread from heaven,"
representing God's care (Neh. 9:20; John 6:31; cf Rev. 2:17). This 40-year provision was
so momentous that ajar of manna was kept in remembrance (Exod. 16:33).
^^ The use of 'o avSpoTioq ("humankind" [=mNn, Deut. 8:3]) emphasized Jesus'
identification with the plight of humanity yet in the context of dependant Sonship — He
spoke as a man, juxtaposing "human being" to the devil's "Son of God" (cf. John 19:28).
*' R. W. L. Moberly, The Bible, Theology, and Faith, 202; emphasis mine.

■ ' Jesus' Temptation " '

'^^ Israel's national rebellion became memorialized through the term "Massah," derived
from the Hebrew verb "to test, contend." These were occasions when people demanded
"wonders" (cf. Num. 20:1-13, 24; 27:14; Deut. 9:22; 32:51; Pss. 95:8; 106:52).

Cf. Exod. 23:20-33; 34:1-11; Psalm 81.

^' Matthew's construction of Jesus' response (4:10) essentially reflects the LXX (Deut.

6:13), though with key changes: replacing "fear" (cpopsco) with "serve/worship"

(TipooKuveco); further, the addition of "only" (faovco^ to the text of Deut. 6:13 sharpens the

issue as one of exclusive commitment to God (cf 1 Sam. 7:3).

^^ Wenham believes Moses' smashing of the tablets (Exod. 32:19) cancelled the covenant

just made {Exploring, 78).

'Ubid, 77.

^^ Duane L. Christensen, Deuteronomy 1:1-21:9. Vol. 6A, revised, Word Biblical

Commentary, ed. John D. Watts (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2001), 1 :147.

^^ In Deuteronomy, "to swear in the name of YHWH" parallels "to fear him, serve him,

adhere to him" (Deut. 6:13; 10:10, 20; cf Isa. 48:1).

^^ See the articulate argument of William H. Propp, Water in the Wilderness: A Biblical

Motif and Its Mythological Background, Harvard Semitic Monographs 40 (Georgia:

Scholars Press, 1987), 37-38, 68-69, 109.

^^ While some scholars are not convinced of this connection others find this a viable

argument based on theological continuities, socio-religious practice, and the literary

contours of Matthew's pericope. With some basis in rabbinic interpretation {m. Ber. 9:5;

Sipre Dt. #32), this view also has modem adherents (Gundry, Matthew, 56; Donald H.

Hagner, Matthew 1-13, Vol. 33A, Word Biblical Commentary [Dallas: Word, 1993], 66;

Saldarini, "Matthew," 1011; Birger Gerhardsson, The Testing of God's Son [Lund: C. W.

K. Gleerup, 1966], 71). Liturgically, the Shema is the greatest passage in the Pentateuch,

the fundamental Jewish creed of faith. The context mentions God's love for Israel 4x and

Israel's love for God 12x. "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all

your life and with all your might" (Deut. 6:6; cf 1 1:13-21; Num. 15:37-41). This notion

of "love" is beyond emotion, reflecting the language of ancient Near Eastern treaties in

which sworn loyalty is paramount (Robert Alter, The Five Books of Moses: A Translation

with Commentaiy [New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2004], 912).

^^ The word "heart" {leb) refers to the seat of one's emotions and intellect, practically

"inner being." For further discussion, see Bruce K. Waltke, An Old Testament Theology,

224-27.

'^"^ The word "life" {nepes) in this context refers to a person or "essential-self (cf Lev.
21:11). The translation of "soul" is misleading since it assumes a body-soul dichotomy
foreign to OT thought (Alter, Five, 912).

' ' The word "might" {me'dd), usually an adverb meaning "exceedingly," is here a noun
meaning "wealth" or "property" (so Qumran: CD 9:1 1; 12:10; see Gundry, Matthew, 56).

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

In the OT, demon worship and idolatry are closely related (cf. Deut. 32:17; Psa. 106:37-

38; / Enoch 99:7). Later Jesus would claim to have freed Satan's possessions, having

bound him (cf. Matt. 12:29). "The kingdoms of the world" functions in counterpoint to

God's gift of "the kingdom of heaven" (John Nolland, The Gospel of Matthew. NIGTC,

ed. I. Howard Marshall and Donald A. Hagner [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005], 167).

"*" Block, "How Many," 204. Another triadic expression used for totality: "hands,"

"foreheads," "doorframes" (Deut. 6:8-9); similar rhetorical use occurs with: "iniquity,"

"rebellion," and "sin" (Exod. 34:7).

'°^ Other "summaries" of the Decalogue include: Lev. 19:3-4 (1'', 2"^ 4'\ and 5""

commands); Deut. 10:20 (1" three commands); Psa. 81:8-10 (prologue with T' and 2"^

commands); Psa. 50:18-20 (7'\ 8"\ 9^ and 10th commands); cf Ezek. 22:1-12; Hos. 4:2;

Jer. 7:9.

'"■^ Patrick D. Miller, "The Place of the Decalogue in the Old Testament and Its Law," in

The Way of the LORD: Essays in Old Testament Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,

2004), 8. That Jesus internalizes the commandments in the following Sermon (Matt.

5:21-30) shows Matthew's intentional development of the 2"'' Moses theology.

"^^ Contra Richard T. Mead, who sees little contextual use surrounding Psalm 91 ("A

Dissenting Opinion about Respect for Context in Old Testament Quotations," in The

Right Doctrine from the Wrong Texts: Essays on the Use of the Old Testament in the

New, ed. Greg K. Beale [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1994], 159). For a helpful discussion of

how the psalms are used in the gospels, see Dale A. Brueggemann, "The Evangelists and

the Psalms," in Interpreting the Psalms: Issues and Approaches, ed. David Firth and

Philip S. Johnston (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2005), 263-78.

"^^ Gundry, Matthew, 57. Following Jewish disputatious practice, Jesus in turn quotes a

more pertinent passage. Interpretively, he illustrates the danger of valuing wording over

meaning (Keener, Matthew, 143).

"^^ The theological significance of the devil's challenge: "If you are the Son of God,

throw yourself down" (4:6) reverberates at the cross in: "If you are the Son of God, come

down from the cross" (27:40, 42). What the primary kingdom antagonist initiated echoes

later in the mouths of the masses. Jesus' obedience to either one would have annulled his

redemptive mission (Paul W. Meyer, "Matthew 27:38-44: A Sermon," in The Word in

This World: Essays in New Testament Exegesis and Theology, The New Testament

Library, ed. John T. Carroll [Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2004], 299).

"^^ The imagery of "lifting up" (Psa. 91:12) functions as a metaphorical expression for aid

in time of trouble (Pss. 35:15; 37:31; 38:17[16]), and works in thematic counterpoint to

"stumbling." The angelic rescue mentioned in 91:12a, b is a concrete illustration of the

prior guarding "in all your ways" (91:1 lb).

'°^ F.-L. Hossfeld, E. Zenger, Psalms 2, Hermeneia. Tran. by L. M. Maloney

(Minneapolis: Fortress, 2005), 2:433.

"° H.-J. Kraus, Psalms 60-150, Continental Commentary, Tran. H. C. Oswald

(Minneapolis: Fortress, 1993), 1:225. ^ ^ •■

Jesus' Temptation

^'' Four exorcism Psalms are found in llQapocrPs, and Psalm 91 concludes these three

apocryphal psalms. The Qumran tabulation of David's psalms stipulates: b'^ pjV TWl

yniN D''jJU£]n, "and songs to intone over the stricken, four" (llQPs^ 27:9-10; James A.

Sanders, The Psalms Scroll of Qumran Cave 11 (UQPs"); Discoveries in the Judean

Desert of Jordan IV [Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1965], 91, 92-93, n. 10; see P. W. Skehan,

"A Psalm Manuscript from Qumran (4QPs'')," Catholic Biblical Quarterly 26 [1964]:

313-22).

"" This "looming evil" becomes clearer still in light of phrases in w. 5, 6: "the terror of

the night" (5a), "the plague that stalks in darkness" (6a), and "the scourge that rages at

noon" (6b; see Robert Alter, The Book of Psalms: A Translation with Commentary [New

York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2007], 322).

"^ David. M. Stec, The Targum of Psalms: Translated, with a Critical Introduction,

Apparatus, and Notes, ed. Kevin Cathcart, Michael Maher, and Martin McNamara

(Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2004), 175; emphasis noting Aramaic plus to MT

(cf Psa. 91:13 with Luke 10:19). The TgPss of Psalm 91 lists "demons" 3x (vv. 5, 6, 10).

The only other reference to demons in the entire Psalter is Psa. 121 :6 (MT: "The sun shall

not strike you by day, nor the moon by nighf ; cf TgPss: "When the sun has dominion by

day, the morning demons shall not strike you, nor the night demons when the moon has

dominion by night").

"^ Within the mid-first century. Psalm 91 is attested on amulets as an apotropaic text (=

"magical papyri"), and, not surprisingly, affixed to house walls. Analogous to the

religious use of Deut. 6:4-9, it is evident that protective amulets citing only medial

(91:10-13) or incipit parts (91:1-2) have in view the entire psalm (Hossfeld and Zenger,

Psalms 2, 433). Josephus confirms this use of Psalms, citing David's ability to charm

Saul's evil spirits with music {Ant. 6 §166 [1 Sam. 16:13]; see also 8 §45, regarding

Solomon's composed incantations).

"^ R. W. L. Moberly, The Bible, Theology, and Faith, 203.

"^ Goldingay, "Old Testament," 8.

"' Lit. "the Lord your God" (Kupiov xov Geov gou, 4:7) reflects Moses' focus on the

covenant language in his 2^^ Deuteronomy address, employing "YHWH your God" 31x

and "YHWH our God" 4x. Thus 35 out of 68 total occurrences of the phrase appear in

Moses' 2"'' speech from which Jesus quotes (Block, "How Many," 193).

"* Saldarini, "Matthew," 1011.

"'^ Ibid., Block, "How Many," 193. Later, Paul brings out the Christological significance

of the Shema in Rom. 3:29-34 and especially 1 Cor. 8:1-6; see discussion in Nicholas T.

Wright, "Monotheism, Christology and Ethics: 1 Corinthians 8," in The Climax of the

Covenant: Christ and the Law in Pauline Theology [Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1991],

129).

'^'^ However, the triumph of God's kingdom will mean the destruction of Satan's (see

Evans, "Inaugurating the Kingdom," 55-63).

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

''' Earl E. Ellis, "Biblical Interpretation in the New Testament Church," in Mikra: Text,

Translation, Reading and Interpretation of the Hebrew Bible in Ancient Judaism and

Early Christianity, ed. Martin J. Mulder (Assen/Maastricht: Van Gorcum, 1990), 694.

The theology flaunted by Satan at the outset of Jesus' ministry: m2in OJN lay ("I will be

with him in trouble," Psa. 91:15a [= Matt. 4:6]) is, significantly, celebrated by Jesus for

his disciples at the close of his ministry: D^'DTrbD D3n^ run ("look, I am with you

always," Matt. 28:20b; Delitzsch's Hebrew translation used for illustration).

'" An eerie anticipation of Peter's rebuke ("Get behind me, Satan!" [Matt. 16:23]), and

the scorn of the religious by standers also echoes Satan's theology ("Come down from

the cross, if you are the Son of God!" [Matt. 27:40bf; cf. Wisd. 2:18]). Evans states, "for

Jesus and his following, the exorcisms offered dramatic proof of the defeat and retreat of

Satan's kingdom in the face of the advancing rule of God" ("Inaugurating the Kingdom,"

75); see also Dominic Rudman, "Authority and the Right of Disposal in Luke 4:6," New

Testament Studies 50 (2004): 77-86.

'^^ Keener, Matthew, 142.

'^"^ Angels had already protected Jesus (Matt. 2:1-23), and would again if summoned

(Matt. 26:53).

'"^ Dumbrell, The Search, 256.

'"^ Ulrich W. Mauser, "The Temptation of Christ," Oxford Companion, 736.

'''^ Craig Evans, "Inaugurating the Kingdom," 66; emphasis mine.

'^^ Boring, "Matthew," 164.

'^^ Grenz, Theology for the Community, 111; emphasis mine.

'^° Yet this individualistic view of integrity is always just around the comer (see, for

example. Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth am I Here For [Grand

Rapids: Zondervan, 2002], especially, 252-72). A helpful corrective is Glen A. Scorgie,

"Hermeneutics and the Meditative Use of Scripture: The Case for a Baptized

Imagination," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 44 (2001): 271-84.

'■'' Bartholomew and Goheen, The Drama, 133.

John Shea, The Spiritual Wisdom of the Gospels for Christian Preachers and Teachers
(Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2004), 104-105.

' This is also the argument of Paul S. Minear, Christians and the New Creation:
Genesis Motifs In the New Testament (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 1994),
120-121, 123; and Sydney H. T. Page, "Satan: God's Servant," Journal of the
Evangelical Theological Society 50 (2007), 458.

'■''^ Eight plural pronouns in the prayer (e.g., "our," "we") clearly define the individual
within community.

'^^ Matt. 6:9b- 13, TNIV. The word for "temptation" (mepaanoi;) can also refer to
"testing" (6:13a). Keener translates the line, "Let us not sin when we are tempted"
{Background, 62). Similarly, "And don't let us yield to temptation" (NLT^). The request
is both rhetorical and reflexive, asking God for protection so as not to "fall victim."

Jesus' Temptation

Salvation is rescue, whether from "evil" (neuter) or "the evil one" (masculine, v. 13b; so
TNIV, HCSB, NRSV). That Satan is the likely referent in 6:13 is supported by the use of
the masculine in 13:19 for the "evil one" who steals away the word of the kingdom from
receptive hearts (5:37, 39; 13:38-39; cf John 17:15; so Gundry, Matthew, 488).

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

A Man of No Reputation: Jesus and Ascribed Honor in the Gospel of John

By Nijay Gupta*

Who is Jesus? The question of his identity appears to be a leitmotif in
the canonical Gospels as a whole and in John's Gospel in particular.' Jesus'
identity is quite regularly brought into question: Who is this man that is
approaching Jerusalem on a donkey (Matt 21:10)? Who is this man that calms
storms (Mark 4:41)? Who is this man that blasphemes (Luke 5:21) and claims to
forgive sins (Luke 7:49)? Who is this man that heals (John 5:12)? Each Gospel
answers the "identity" question in a particular way. Each writer made deliberate
choices in order to nuance and bring to light aspects of Jesus' personality,
instruction and character. But, all of them sought to describe him as the long-
awaited Messiah of Israel. John's Gospel is known for being distinctive,' but it
is certainly no less emphatic on this point. It is the manner in which Jesus is
portrayed that makes this Gospel stand out in its depiction of his messianic
identity.

In order to pursue the method by which John accomplishes this, one
must consider the purpose of the Gospel of John. Many have turned to the
comment in John 20:31, "these have been written that you may believe that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in
his name."" Based on texts like this, it is reasonable to suggest that the fourth
Gospel was written with the intention of depicting Jesus as the true Messiah who
is worthy of belief. Exactly how and why this Gospel is unique is still a matter
of some debate. Certainly there is variety in chronology, topology, narrative
dynamics, and the development and employment of Jewish and Greco-Roman
imagery. One particular method of analysis, though, has been very insightful as
an interpretive tool. In the last century many scholars have shown an interest in
how cultural anthropology allows the Gospels to be read with an awareness of
the societal codes particular to the ancient Mediterranean peoples. Specifically,
the study of honor and shame in early cultures has led to fruitful insight into the
social dynamics of the Gospels."^

One does not have to dig deep in order to notice that John's Gospel is
full of the imagery and language of honor and shame commonly found in the

*Nijay Gupta (M.Div., Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) is a Ph.D.
student at the University of Durham, Durham, England

A Man of No Reputation: Jesus and Ascribed Honor in the Gospel of John

general corpus of literature at that time. The primary technical term for honor
(xi|ir|) and its cognate verbs and adjectives appear several times throughout the
Gospel as well as companion terms that can be closely associated with honor.
Additionally, references to concepts and terms related to status, power, and
position occur with some frequency.

The Synoptic Gospels also have similar kinds of evidence that lead one
to conclude that understanding the honor-shame cultural codes was necessary
for proper interpretation. Much attention has been given to the way in which
Jesus is characterized as a man of honor according to the system understood in
the Mediterranean societies. It is the purpose of this study to investigate how
John is distinct in his depiction of Jesus as a man of honor - a man who is
worthy of belief as the Messiah. Now, there is no paucity of research on John's
understanding of honor, ^ but the interest, for the most part, has focused on what
is called achieved honor^ - that is, honor which one earns throughout his or her
life. There is another class, ascribed honor, which involves the worth which is
"passively attained."^ Ascribed honor is often ignored or simply taken for
granted, but plays a vital role in understanding a person's honor rating. And it is
specifically this issue that makes John's Gospel unique in its representation of
Jesus as a man of honor.

Several commentators and exegetes have argued that the canonical
Gospels follow the patterns that would be expected when trying to represent a
"hero" (in this case Jesus) as a person of honor. For instance, Jerome Neyrey
avers that the author of the Gospel of Matthew clearly depicts Jesus as a man
who held both high ascribed and achieved honor throughout his life.^ However,
even though John's Gospel demonstrates an interest in honor language, it would
seem that John did not set Jesus up in the same way as Matthew or the other
Synoptics. In fact, it would seem that John's Gospel follows the conventions of
proving Jesus to be a man of honor according to the established codes of
achieved honor, but elements related normally to Jesus' ascribed honor are
eliminated, suppressed, or even turned against him from a human perspective.
Therefore, Jesus does, in fact, achieve honor in the eyes of the reader through
his miracles and works, and through his preaching and teaching, but the typical
elements that would be ascribed to him are not represented or highlighted in a
way that would be expected by the implied reader. This does not suggest
ignorance on the part of John, since he so clearly follows the traditional steps of
underscoring Jesus' achieved honor (challenge-riposte, outstanding teaching,
virtuous deeds, noble death). Rather, there seems to be intentionality and
purpose in this suppression of Jesus' ascribed honor. That is not to say that

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

John's intention was to depict Jesus as a man without ascribed honor, but he
simply did not describe Jesus in a way the typical reader would have expected.

The discussion begins with an overview of the honor-shame system of
the time and its relevance to the Gospels and particularly to John. Then, the
matter of genre will follow which is relevant when determining the expectations
of early readers. Next the context will be set by taking an in-depth look at how
ascribed honor was typically determined. Then, the Gospel of John will be
explored in order to evaluate exactly how it identifies Jesus with respect to
ascribed honor. Finally, some theories will be posited concerning why John
would characterize Jesus in such a way.

The social function of and interest in honor and worth may seem alien
in our modem American society. Why was it so significant? Julian Pitt-Rivers
explains that it had a primary place in early societies because it involved "the
destiny of a man and his relations with other people and with God."^ To a large
degree, a person at that time determined his or her self- worth on the basis of the
honor. Vernon Robbins defines honor in this way:

honor stands for a person's rightful place in society, one's social
standing.... Honor is a claim to worth along with the social
acknowledgment of worth. The purpose of honor is to serve as a social
rating that entitles a person to interact in specific ways with his or her
equals, superiors, and subordinates, according to the prescribed cues of
the society. '°

In our culture there are many different forms of value systems. In early
societies there was much more unity when it came to a collective understanding
of values upon which the people agreed. In fact, people such as those
encountered in the Gospels were forced even at the earliest ages to learn and
follow the defined ways of gaining honor and respect. Honor, then, was given
based on the person's capability of living out the expected values and virtues
that were understood to be worthwhile at that time in that place."

The roots of this contextually determined honor-shame code can be
traced even back to Homer. Arthur Adkins, in his highly influential study of
Greek values, argues that, for Homer, "the chief good is to be well spoken of,
the ill to be badly spoken of, by one's society, as a result of the successes and
failures which that society values most highly."'" Therefore, value was
understood primarily in terms of groups. Adkins emphasizes that, as a function
of this culture, "the standard remains overtly 'what others say'."'^

Since the study of honor and shame first entered the discipline of
cultural and historical anthropology,'"* most scholars have praised its value in

A Man of No Reputation: Jesus and Ascribed Honor in the Gospel of John

reading ancient texts with the appropriate social awareness. However, this
interest has led skeptics to reject the results altogether. It has been noted that
"some early cross-cultural studies degenerated into what has been called
'parallelomania.' This abuse of parallelism almost caused biblical scholars to
discard, rather than refine, cross-cultural studies."'"^ Gary Burge, applying this
critique to the Gospels, expresses that ''the sociological grid may be made to fit,
even when the ancient evidence is not appropriate to the study at hand.'"^ It is
on the basis of concerns such as these that John' Gospel must be carefully
scrutinized in order to determine whether the honor-shame code and language is
relevant enough to warrant reflection.

It has been noted on many occasions by scholar Bruce Malina that the
Gospels are about the "transformation of social structure." In order to defend
and evaluate this claim, one must be conversant in the social aspects of that
structure, where and how divisions are defined, and what transformation would
look like. This can be accomplished by paying attention to clues such as
terminology, key images, specific activifies, dialogue cues, and physical space
and positions.

The fourth Gospel is filled with the language and imagery of honor and
shame. David deSilva suggests that the words Ti|ir| and 5o^a are the most
common terms that are used to refer to "honor" and "reputation."'^ The former
is found in the fourth Gospel only a handful of times even along with its cognate
verb (4:44; 5:23; 8:49). However, the latter term, usually translated "glory,"
occurs over 30 times in the Gospel. Margaret Davies is convinced, though, that
"glory" should not be the primary translation for 5o^a in the fourth Gospel.
She argues that "the Johannine use of 5o^a^co is synonymous with Ti)j,a(o
(honour) with which it is sometimes juxtaposed."'^ One must make note of the
biographical works of writers such as Plutarch and Suetonius to see how
frequently 5o^a is used with relationship to honor.'' This is not to say that the
Old Testament imagery of glory is irrelevant to John's use of 6o^a. There are
clear examples where 5o^a necessitates the translation "glory." However,
translators may sometimes be too quick to use "glory" instead of "honor."'"

The concept of authority also plays an important role in the honor-
shame system and John takes a great interest in this matter."' Someone who
exercises power and/or has authority must have honor and raises his honor
whenever he uses that power. John frequently employs these terms in playftil
and often ironic ways. A simple survey of John's Gospel would prove this
(1:12; 5:27; 10:18; 17:2; 19:10-11). Bound up in the idea of power is the
concept of judgment. Judgment is given by someone with authority, also used
inpeculiarwaysbyJohn(3:19;5:22, 24, 27, 30;8:16; 12:31; 16:11). -.■■. < .,.

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

One might also observe the employment of such key ideas as grace/gift
giving" (1:16-17; 4:10), the marking of what is evil and what is good (3:19; 7:7;
10:11, 32; 18:23, 30), the socially encoded actions of blasphemy"^^ and slander
(10:33, 36), and obedience (14:15, 23, 24; 15:10, 20). On a discourse level,
David May argues that even Jesus' stock "truly I say" statements introduce a
speech with authority based on honor. ^"^ Such characteristics as those which
have been mentioned lead to the conclusion that the author of the fourth Gospel
knew and employed the language expected of a text that honors a great person.

As previously emphasized, though, John's Gospel is unique on many
levels. Although the Gospel exhibits characteristics of praise and honor in the
other Gospels and in other related texts, there are distinct deviations. One
particular divergence involves John's portrayal of Jesus' ascribed honor. This
area of research, namely Jesus' ascribed honor, is valuable but rarely studied.
Philip Esler confesses that "too little attention has been paid in discussion of
New Testament Christology to the question of how Jesus' honour is promoted
by the various ways in which he is described.""' Malina and Neyrey are
convinced that, in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, there is significant weight
placed on Jesus' ascribed honor. ^^ However, John's Gospel does not seem to
follow the same pattern of demonstrating Jesus' honor. Therefore, this study
seeks to determine what John was communicating with regard to Jesus' ascribed
honor.

Now that the relevance of honor and shame in the fourth Gospel has
been presented, it is beneficial at this point to examine the various elements of
ascribed honor. Ascribed honor differs from achieved honor in that it is given
to a person passively "on account of accidents of birth or grants bestowed by
people of higher status and power.""^' This is contrasted with the fame which
one gains by his or her own virtue, teaching, bravery, power, and good deeds. A
thorough assessment of the elements that make up ascribed honor is compulsory
for two reasons. First, scholars often focus on one or two areas such as birth and
provenance instead of the sum of the components. And, secondly, the aspects of
ascribed glory may be very different in that time and place than what we might
expect here and now. This leads to oversimplification and many valuable
factors tend to be neglected.

The first and possibly most important way to show high ascribed honor
is based on pedigree - that is, claiming the honor of one's parents or ancestors.
Malina and Neyrey comment that "being bom into an honorable family makes
one honorable, since the family is the repository of the honor of past illustrious
ancestors and their accumulated acquired honor.""^ It would have been difficult
to determine someone's honor rating without knowing his relative prominence

A Man of No Reputation: Jesus and Ascribed Honor in the Gospel of John

based on lineage. Maria Pia Di Bella explains that in Mediterranean societies,
"every man was invested at his birth with a quota of honor deriving from his
family and/or his village, since he was a part of the whole which bequeathed to
him, among other things, his 'share' of this collective honor.""'

The importance of family does not end with associating the person with
his parents or forefathers. Other significant factors include issues such as the
person's birth order and whether she was adopted or not. The TrpcoxxoKoq was
commonly the object of blessing and favoritism. This was reinforced not only by
Jewish communities (Gen. 25:29-34; Deut. 21:15-17), but also generally in
ancient cultures. Therefore it was honorable to be the first-born as well as being
a natural son. On the other end of the scale, it was less honorable to be an
adopted son. However, being adopted into a prominent family certainly would
raise the honor of the child.

Nationality also played a fundamental role in determining honor.
Ancient societies often saw people of the same ethnicity as kin and spoke of
them in like terms, calling one another "brothers" (Gen 19:7; Tob 2:2; 2 Mace
1:1; Acts 1:16) and speaking of patriarchs like Abraham as their "father" (Isa
51:2; Matt 3:9; Luke 3:8; John 8:39). The Jews were not unique in this belief as
ancient Greek literature clearly attests. ^°

Another factor in ascribed honor is the presence or absence of
remarkable physical attributes. Often the appearance of the person was taken
for granted or simply ignored in ancient biographies partly because there was
little to discuss and largely because it was simply unknown. The exceptions
occurred when there existed numerous artistic works upon which to draw
(especially statues) or, as legend tells, if their beauty was incredible or a
physical feature was unusual or even disgraceful. Plutarch, writing about Marcus
Cato, stated that "he was of a ruddy complexion and grey-eyed" (Cat. Maj.
2.1.3) and that Agesilaus had one leg that was shorter than the other {Ages.
5.2.1). Suetonius, on the other hand, commented that Gains Caligula was of
"outstanding physical excellence" and a "handsome" man {Cal. 4.3.1-3).

Related to birth and honor are also any occurrences associated with
one's nativity that would have been considered noteworthy. Often, in ancient
vitae such happenings included omens, miracles, and divine manifestations.
Plutarch made mention of these sorts of incidents such as the visions of the
mother of Pericles and the parents of Alexander {Per. 3.3.2).

Several components of ascribed honor were not directly associated with
the family. For instance, a person may have had honor ascribed to him through
endowments and public acknowledgment by an official. Along with wealth that
was inherited, these elements affected the person beyond their own actions.

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

Included in this category we may add honor by association. Someone's worth
and value may have been directly or indirectly changed by virtue of their
relationship or proximity to a prominent person. This kind of collateral impact
may be seen in the significance of one's education. Neyrey argues that "a
person's education and training offer an encomiast an occasion to praise an
individual both for ascribed and achieved honor.... Thus education and nurture
by an outstanding teacher ascribe honor to an individual precisely because of the
excellence of the teacher."^' This may be the thinking behind the Apostle
Paul's mention of Gamaliel in defense of his actions in Jerusalem (Acts 22:3).

A final factor in determining someone's ascribed honor is provenance,
that is, one's Traipiq. Apparently it was commonly believed that certain places
were marked as locales of honor. Cities like Athens, Ephesus, Alexandria, and
Rome were known for having people of great intellect and wealth. Even the
apostle Paul preserved his honor and petitioned for the opportunity to speak to
an angry Jewish crowd by claiming that he was from Tarsus in Cilicia, "no
ordinary city" (Acts 21:39).

All of the aforementioned qualities, attributes, or situations
demonstrated one's ascribed honor. Encomiasts rarely referred to each and
every aspect, but utilized whatever means necessary to persuade the audience to
favor a certain individual. A person's ascribed honor was usually detailed at the
beginning of the discourse. One may have assumed a person's nationality,
wealth, social status, and even occupation based on name and title. However,
regardless of whether mention was made of one's ascribed honor repeatedly in a
biographical work or not, it was of critical value in the mind of ancient readers.
It is this point that needs to be kept in mind as these cultural particularities are
understood with a view towards the portrait of Jesus in John's Gospel.

Scholars have studied John's representation of achieved honor and
found it more or less in tandem with comparative Greco-Roman literature. But,
how exactly does this Gospel represent Jesus' ascribed glory - especially with
the Synoptics in view? On this very matter, I believe it is demonstrable that John
is unique and purposely does not amplify or highlight these ascribed attributes as
the early readers would have expected. In fact, it would seem that instead
elements that normally would raise Jesus' ascribed worth are suppressed and
sometimes ignored. So, on the one hand Jesus is praised by many for his
miracles, teaching, and bravery; but, on the other hand, he seems to have a poor
reputation if any at all ft-om a typical social- value audit. After an analysis of this
argument is sustained through a survey of the Gospel as a whole, some cursory
conclusions will be made concerning why the author would wish to do this in

A Man of No Reputation: Jesus and Ascribed Honor in the Gospel of John

contrast with the conventions of the time. In the same way that ascribed honor
was outlined above, the next task is to consider each area in the Gospel of John.

The first factor, and probably most important, involves lineage.
Aristotle argues that "good birth has the effect on its possessor of making him
more ambitious; for if a man has something to start with, he will tend, as men
commonly do, to add to the pile" {Rhet. 2.15.6-8). In Greek or Roman
biographies the lineage is typically discussed as an introduction. It is
interesting, for example, to note that many classical scholars believe that,
although no extant manuscripts of Suetonius' biography of Julius Caesar have
the origins of his family, it is assumed that the introduction contained such
information and is now lost.^"^ But, what is one looking for in the family line?
Aristotle recommends that remark be made of anything "notable for virtue, or
wealth, or for something else which men think honorable, and that many of the
line... have been persons of eminence" {Rhet. 1.5.44-55).

This interest in lineage does not belong only to the Greeks and Romans.
Josephus, in his Vita, began with tracing his sacerdotal ancestry claiming that
"with us a connexion with the priesthood is the hallmark of an illustrious line"
(1:1-2). Now, the style of presentation was usually a prosaic narrative
recounting significant figures in one's past, as is the case in most Greco-Roman
and Jewish biographies. Philo, for example, began his De Vita Mosis with the
race, provenance, and merits of Moses' parents and ancestors (1.5-8). It was
also common for the same sort of thing to be accomplished through genealogies
(e.g. Exod 6:14-27). The Gospels of Matthew and Luke both contain
genealogies that trace Jesus' ancestry (Matt 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-38). It is the
opinion of many scholars that these genealogies were included for the purpose
of ascribing Jesus with honor in view of respected and noteworthy forefathers.^^

However, John's Gospel does not begin with a family history of any
kind. It is unique in many ways, but it would be odd to the first century reader
that no history is provided of his family. We do have hints all throughout the
Gospel that Jesus no ordinary man. According to H. Moxnes, in the eyes of his
readers, Jesus' claims "were inconsistent with the modest village in which he
was raised. "^"^ Nevertheless, John's Gospel begins with the famous logos
prologue and not with the typical social history. John Stibbe argues that the
author is purposefully withholding information and comments that "the Word
comes on stage with a complete absence of preliminaries. Who is the Word?
Where does he hail from?"^^ Though some scholars are hesitant to view chapter
one alongside the other Gospels, Culpepper argues that, "in order to appreciate
the distinctiveness of the prologue, one must compare it with the beginnings of
the three Synoptic Gospels."^*^ Therefore, one should seriously consider John's

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

intention in suppressing Jesus' past, especially concerning his parents and
ancestors. At various times in the fourth Gospel, questions concerning ancestry
are prominent (John 8:19, 33, 39). And, what is more, even the brief comments
made incidentally about Jesus' family reveal his ancestry to be at best modest
and at worst disgraceful. Early on, Jesus is referred to as the son of Joseph
(1:45), an unusual appellation amongst the Gospels, but C.K. Barrett is
convinced that this kind of title firmly grounds him as a real human being and
even "discredits his claim to have come down from heaven. "^^ It is interesting
to note that the Jews, in defense of their own heritage, claim that "we were not
bom of fornication; we have one Father, even God" (8:41). Certainly this might
be their way of claiming a pure line, but several interpreters consider the
possibility that the Jews suspected that Jesus' birth was illegitimate.^^ Here is
another example of how elements such as the miraculous events are concealed
or ignored. Jesus' virgin birth is of great significance in Matthew and Luke, but
not in John.

What about Jesus' other family members? Matthew, Mark, and Luke
freely make mention of Mary, the mother of Jesus; yet John's Gospel appears to
go to great lengths to avoid mentioning her by name. Compare the similar
questions posed by astonished Jews:

"Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His

brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?" (Matt 13:55

NRSV).

"Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we
know?" (John 6:42 NRSV).

From beginning to end, Mary is only known as "Jesus' mother" (2:1,
12; 19:25-27). It would stand to reason that if, by the time the fourth Gospel
was written, many of the readers would have recognized this mother as Mary,
she did not need to be named. But the lengths to which John goes to circumvent
mentioning her by name may be a subtle way of suppressing the honor
associated with his miraculous birth.

Also related to family is the matter of Jesus' brothers. The first
mention of them in John's Gospel involves the simple comment that he traveled
to Capernaum with them (2:12). We do not know their names, though Matthew
makes it clear that he had four brothers: James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas
(13:55). These brothers do not play a major role in the Gospels and seem to be
quite insignificant as characters in John's Gospel. Especially in the Gospel of
John, since there is no birth narrative, the reader does not know that Jesus was

A Man of No Reputation: Jesus and Ascribed Honor in the Gospel of John

the first to be bom as in Luke 2:7. D. Bock is convinced that this reference in
Luke probably implies that Jesus received the legal rights and privileges
ascribed to the firstborn son.^^ John gives no impression that this was the case.

If this ambiguity weren't enough to put Jesus' ascribed honor in
question, consider John 7:5, where it is noted that "even his own brothers did not
believe in him." Now, it was considered disgraceful for siblings to fail to
cooperate. D. deSilva explains that in the ancient Mediterranean world it was
taken for granted that "the relationship between siblings is the closest, strongest,
and most intimate of relationships."'**^' James, the brother of Jesus, became a
devoted follower after the resurrection and eventually was known as one of the
most influential leaders in the Jerusalem church.'*' However, what we have in
John's text does not point in this direction.

Jesus' ethnicity in John's Gospel is also an interesting issue when
viewed in light of his ascribed honor. Clearly Jesus was Jewish as reflected in
the New Testament as a whole. This fact never seems overtly in question. The
woman at the well identifies Jesus correctly as a Jew (4:9). Conversely, though,
angered Jews accuse Jesus of being a Samaritan and possessing a demon (8:48).
This charge may simply be an insult, since Jesus only responds that he does not
have a demon (8:49).'*^ However, although Jesus is clearly Jewish, John does not
allow this fact to become a key identity marker in the Gospel. Barrett comments
that "the Samaritans call Jesus a Jew, just as the Jews call him a Samaritan; in
this world he is never anything but a stranger."'*^ This kind of selective
highlighting by John would put Jesus' ascribed glory in doubt according to
human standards. The clear rejection of Jesus' "Jewishness" was a grave
insuh.^^

Physical features, as a category, have been known to be a source of
praise and honor for the encomiast. For example, Suetonius commented that
Otho was "bow-legged, and with splay feet.... His entire body was depilated
[hairless], and a well-made toupee covered his practically bald head" {Lives of
the Caesars 8.12.1-4). Now, nothing is really known about the true physical
appearance of Jesus in the New Testament, let alone in John's Gospel.
However, in comparison to the Synoptics, Jesus is represented a bit differently.
First, as mentioned before, there is a bit of uncertainty regarding his ethnicity
(whether Jewish or Samaritan), if one could interpret the accusation in such a
way. Also, Jesus, in the Synoptics, was often accosted by others, whether blind
men (Matt 9:27; 20:30; Mark 10:47; Luke 18:38) or a desperate mother or father
(Matt 9:18; 15:22). In other words, he was, apparently, easily recognized in the
Synoptics. Whether this was because of his entourage or his physical features
cannot be determined. But, in John's Gospel, Jesus tends to be the one who

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

pursues others, whether the lame man in Bethesda (John 5:1-6) or the man blind
from birth (John 9); he calls upon them and not the opposite."*^ We have no
reason to believe that either man would have recognized Jesus as a healer or the
Messiah. The blind man describes his healer as the "the man they call Jesus"
(9:1 1). Leon Morris posits that "since he speaks of him as no more than a man
[it] shows that he has, as yet, little understanding of his Person.""*^

Another major feature of ascribed honor is provenance or origin.
Menander, in his writings on rhetoric, explains of a hero that "if his native
country is famous, you should place your account of it first, and mention it
before his family" (see 369.18-370.5).''' In the Gospel of John Jesus' origin is
of deep interest, as marked by the frequency of tioOsv (John 7:27; 9:28; 19:9).
The Gospels describe Jesus as a Nazorean (Matt 26:71; Mark 1:24; Luke 18:37;
John 19:19). What did it mean to be from Nazareth? Nathaniel's comment is
illuminating: Can anything good come from there (John 1:45)? J. Beasley-
Murray observes that "Nazareth was utterly insignificant... akin to his birth in a
stable; it is part of the offense of the incarnation."'*^ From a sociological
perspective J. Neyrey states that "Nazareth in Galilee had a low or negative
honor rating.""*^ How is John distinctive when the Gospels refer to his home as
Nazareth? It appears that Matthew would have understood that readers may
look unfavorably upon Jesus' place of origin, so he purposefiilly described
Jesus' birth in Bethlehem - the honorable city of David. If that weren't enough,
Matthew associated Jesus and Nazareth with the realization of prophecy: "So
was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: 'He will be called a
Nazarene'" (2:23). Matthew felt that an explanation was necessary since Jesus
was raised in such an "unpromising location."^°

The region of Galilee is also associated with Jesus (John 7:41) and this
fact seemed to be well known by the Jews, as mentioned in the Synoptic
Gospels. This was quite natural since Nazareth was known to reside in the
lower region of Galilee. However, Galilee, as a locale, had a distinct image and
reputation apart from the city of Nazareth. It could be viewed a number of ways
depending on one's perspective and opinion. On the one hand it was known to
be prosperous and growing, rich with produce from the land, in a prime location
along many trade routes, and so "was far from being a rural backwater."^'
However, if one were to take the comment about Galileans in Acts 2:7 as
sarcastic, it might be concluded that some Judean groups would have thought of
them with less appreciation.^^ In John's Gospel we are not meant to hold
Galileans in high regard. Firstly, the multitudes that heard Jesus' teaching in
chapter seven show disunity over his identity. Some attest that he must be the
Messiah. Others refuse to believe this claim, asking, "How can the Christ come

A Man of No Reputation: Jesus and Ascribed Honor in the Gospel of John

from Galilee?" (7:41). The reasoning behind this response can be found a bit
later in the chapter when the Pharisees exclaim that "a prophet does not come
out of Galilee" (7:52). These Pharisees do not speak with the knowledge of any
prophecy explicit in the Old Testament and they also do not seem to be aware
that Jesus was bom in Bethlehem. ^^ Indeed, it would seem that these Pharisees
were also ignorant of Matthew's argument that his birth was in unison with
prophecy. If that weren't enough, when Nicodemus came to the defense of
Jesus, the others accused him by asking, "Are you from Galilee, too (7:52)?". It
is possible that Nicodemus was, in fact, from Galilee and this was just a case of
"local patriotism."^"* However, this very well may be an insult; after all, in the
eyes of some Jews "Galilee was despised as an area that did not keep the Law
with the scrupulousness of Judea."^^ It is not compulsory to infer from this that
Galilee was looked down upon. But, neither is Galilee set up as a prominent
area and the center of fulfilled prophecy (Matt 4:14-16). At the very least it is
clear that John made no explicit attempt to represent Galilee as an honorable and
prestigious place.

Finally, the matter of upbringing and education was important in the
evaluation of one's ascribed honor. Josephus remarks, in his own Vita, "I made
great progress in education" and goes on to explain that at the age of fourteen,
"the chief priests and leading men of the city used constantly to come to me for
precise information on some particular in our ordinances" (1:9). This was quite
remarkable for a teenager! Apparently it was rather common to note one's
advanced understanding at a young age. F. Bovon explains that "in both Greek
and Jewish biography, there is the topos of the gifted hero, who at twelve years
demonstrates his superior intelligence: Cyrus, Cambyses, Alexander, and
Epicurus-or Solomon, Samuel, and Daniel. "^^ Luke records an episode where
Jesus is with the teachers in the temple and interacting in such a way that the
onlookers were astonished with his brilliance (2:47). The fourth Gospel gives
no hint that Jesus had such an honor-raising interaction. In fact, the Jews who
heard him teaching in the temple marveled, saying, "How did this man get such
learning without having studied (7:15)?" This comment does offer some honor
to Jesus in that he showed clarity in understanding, but this would be classified
as achieved or earned honor. It is the particular manner and status of his
schooling that would have ascribed him honor. If anything, the Jews' words
were scornful and not merely evidence of surprise. ^^ They may have even been
envious and enraged because he was so wise and yet did not formally study
under a great rabbi. ^^ Jesus did not have the appearance, name, wealth, or status
in the eyes of these Jews to warrant such respect based on his teaching. They
perceived themselves as the appropriate teachers who fit all the right social

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

criteria for such distinction. Jesus was an uneducated, poor, wandering teacher
from the meek region of Galilee. He was no famous or honorable figure - at
least not by their standards.

Based on this survey of John's Gospel, it is evident that the author was
intentionally shaping how the reader understood Jesus' birth, family, ancestry,
physical traits, home region and town, and his education. In comparison with
the Synoptics especially, and to a lesser degree Jewish narratives and Greco-
Roman ancient biographies, it would seem that the natural manner of ascribing
honor to a hero was modified in the fourth Gospel. The author of this unique
Gospel seems interested in honor, but refuses to follow the expected order or
system. Jesus' ascribed honor (according to common conventions) appears to be
hidden or at least suppressed, even though the author likely knew of ways to
communicate the opposite. The purpose of this investigation was to clarify and
evaluate some of these factors.

It would be profitable now to consider some possible reasons why John
would represent Jesus in this way, deviating from the basic pattern of the
Synoptics. First, John was not as radical to question the validity of the
conventional ways of determining honor in that time as one might think. Philo,
for instance, found the criteria for ascribed honor problematic and saw little
value in simply praising "high offices, fame and honours, abundance of wealth,
noble birth, health and efficacy of the sense or strength and beauty of body" {De
Abrahamo, 263). Showing overall skepticism, he remarks:

Fame (5o^ai) and honour (xijiai) are a most precarious possession,

tossed about on the reckless tempers of flighty words of careless men;

and, when it abides, it cannot of its own nature contain genuine good

(264; cf Virt. 166).

Such thinking was countercultural, but represented a valid concern
regarding the often superficial criteria for determining honor. Nevertheless, it
was also possible that John had a theological reason that centered on the person
of Jesus. Throughout this Gospel Jesus is abandoned and alienated, yet he
remains ever connected and faithful to his sender - the Father. Is it possible that
John puts all factors of worth aside in order to highlight that Jesus had no real
attachments to the world, whether it was family or hometown? These assertions
appear to be central to John's message. Perhaps it is the case that all other
factors fade into the background. There is no need for human appreciation or
tolerance for petty standards that have no category for who Jesus really is.
Another way to look at John's purpose in failing to highlight Jesus' ascribed
honor from a human perspective is to understand the Evangelist as transferring

A Man of No Reputation: Jesus and Ascribed Honor in the Gospel of John

the discussion of honor to another sphere or plane of analysis. DeSilva
expresses this notion as the re-drawing of the "court of reputation" - that group
from which the honor of a person is recognized.^^ In the case of John's Gospel,
the concern for honor should be with a view towards God's court. DeSilva is
right, then, to point out that John (on a theological level) actually intensifies the
honor discourse. ^° This is, perhaps, most apparent in John's descriptions of
Jesus' lineage and provenance as he claims God to be his father- thus also
exposing his belief that he is from God's realm.^' Though deSilva has drawn
attention to the idea that John does promote ascribed honor to Jesus in his
Gospel by not using the traditional criteria, I have chosen not to focus on this
"spiritual" aspect. John does not simply replace earthly or mortal categories
with heavenly or metaphysical ones. Instead, the reader is confronted with a
man who cannot claim any worth by human standards. This, I think, is meant to
characterize his life in the world and especially his status before his death.

It is also possible that John's purpose involved his audience. Though
debates continue over whom the Gospel was written for and who his initial
audience was, it cannot ever be known for sure.^^ But, it is possible that his
audience was composed of poor and less-than-prominent figures in the greater
society. If they knew that Jesus the Messiah did not need or exploit any of these
qualities, then they could identify with this hero and walk with heads and arms
lifted high as part of the family he redeemed by his noble actions and death.
After all, "it is their relationship to God that gave Christians their honor-
ascribed, not achieved- as 'children' of God."^^

This revelation had the possibility' of revolutionizing the current social
system. Value was not dependent on birthright, inheritance, wealth, occupation,
beauty or education. Just as it was the case with Jesus, even the simple and
meek could be honored - not by the world, but by God himself through Christ.
His sacrifice was not just his suffering physical abuse, being slandered, and
enduring the crucifixion, but also included the constant accusation of disgrace he
received and the general disregard for his honor and value as the Son of God.
Truly Jesus was the model of humility, unjustifiably hated, as the prophet Isaiah
said, "as one from whom men hide there faces he was despised" (NIV 53:3).
The Septuagint expresses it this way - "he was dishonored (LXX f|Ti^aa0Ti) and
held of no account." It is this Jesus - a man of no reputation - that Christians
honor in worship.

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

ENDNOTES

Leland Rykan et al., eds., "Passion of Christ," Dictionary of Biblical Imagety
(Downer's Grove, 111.: InterVarsity Press, 1998), 628.

^ See Robert Kysar, The Maverick Gospel (rev. ed.; Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John
Knox, 1976).

^ There is some debate about whether or not this statement regarding belief was intended
to produce belief or simply to strengthen and encourage existing faith. F.F. Bruce makes
a convincing argument that the issue goes beyond textual criticism and should not
exclude the possibility of both concepts regardless of aspect. See Frederick F. Bruce, The
Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1983), 395.

^ See Bruce Malina, The New Testament World: Insights from Cultural Anthropology
(Atlanta, Ga.: John Knox Press, 1981).

^ E.g. Bruce Malina and Richard L. Rohrbaugh, Social-Science Commentary on the
Gospel of John (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1998).

^ For example see Jerome Neyrey, "Despising the Shame of the Cross: Honor and Shame
in the Johannine Passion Narrative." Semeia 69 (1994): 1 13-37.

^ Barth L. Campbell, Honor, Shame, and the Rhetoric of 1 Peter (Atlanta, Ga.: Scholars
Press, 1998), 12.

^ Jerome Neyrey, Honor and Shame in the Gospel of Matthew (Louisville, Ky.:
Westminster John Knox Press, 1998).

' J.G. Peristiany and Julian Pitt-Rivers, eds.. Honor and Grace in Anthropology (New
York: Cambridge University Press, 1992), 215.

'^ Vernon K. Robbins, Exploring the Texture of Texts: A Guide to Socio-Rhetorical
Interpretation (Valley Forge, Pa.: Trinity Press International, 1996), 76.
" David A. deSilva, "Honor and Shame," DNTB 518.

'' Arthur Adkins, Merit and Responsibility: A Study in Greek Values (Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1 975 , c 1 960), 154.
'^ Adkins, Greek Values, 154.

'■* Julian Pitt-Rivers identifies that the first study of honor and anthropology occurred in
the 1960's. ^QQ Honor and Grace, 215.

'^ Victor H. Matthews and Don C. Benjamin, "Honor and Shame in the World of the
Bible," Semeia 68 ( 1 994): 1-161.

'^ Gary M. Burge, Interpreting the Fourth Gospel (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book
House, 1992), 31.

David A. deSilva, Despising Shame: The Social Fimction of the Rhetoric of Honor and
Dishonor in the Epistle to the Hebrews (Atlanta, Ga.: Scholars Press, 1996), 2.
'* Margaret Davies, Rhetoric and Reference in the Fourth Gospel (Sheffield: JSOT Press,
1992), 132. See also Ronald Piper, "Glory, Honor and Patronage in the Fourth Gospel:
Understanding the doxa Given to the Disciples in John 1 7," in Social Scientific Models
for Interpreting the Bible (ed. John Pilch; Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2001), 283.
'^ E.g. Suetonius' work on Claudius (5:1:29) and Galba (6:3:1-2).

A Man of No Reputation: Jesus and Ascribed Honor in the Gospel of John

-"For instance John 5:41, 44; 7:18; 9:24; 12:28, 43; 17:4.
^^See J. Neyrey, "Johannine Passion Narratives," 160.

^■^ The act of gift giving is an act of conferring honor. See Peristiany and Pitt-Rivers,
Honor and Grace, 240.

■^■^ See David A. deSilva, Honor, Patronage, Kinship and Purity: Unlocking New
Testament Culture (Downer's Grove: InterVarsity, 2000), 28.

-^ David M. May, "Mark 3:20-35 from the Perspective of Shame/Honor," BTB 17 (1987):
84.

■ Philip Esler, The First Christians in their Social Worlds: Social-Scientific Approaches
to New Testament Interpretation (New York: Routledge, 1994), 25.
-^ See Bruce Malina and Jerome Neyrey, "Honor and Shame in Luke-Acts," in The Social
World of Luke- Acts: Models for Interpretation (ed. Jerome Neyrey; Peabody, Mass.:
Hendrickson, 1991), 47; Neyrey, Matthew, 90-105.
~^ deSilva, Honor, Patronage, Kinship & Purity, 28. i ; , :

-^ Malina and Neyrey, "Luke-Acts," 27.

^^ Maria Pia Di Bella, "Name, Blood and Miracles: The Claims to Renown in Traditional
Sicily," in Honor and Grace in Anthropology (ed. John G. Peristiany and Julian Pitt
Rivers; Cambridge: University Press, 1992), 151. See also Moxnes, "Honor and Shame,"
172.

^^ See deSil-va, Honor, Patronage, \64.
■"' Neyrey, Matthew, 102.

"' Suetonius, introduction to The Twelve Caesars, (trans. Robert Graces; Middlesex,
Eng.: Penguin, 1957), 9.

^^ Craig S. Keener, A Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
1999), 77. See also Raymond E. Brown, The Birth of the Messiah (New York:
Doubleday, 1993), 65; Bruce J. Malina and Richard L. Rohrbaugh, Social-Science
Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels (Philadelphia: Augsburg Press, 1992), 24. For
similar comments on the Gospel of Luke, see Luke T. Johnson, 77?^ Gospel of Luke (SP;
Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, 1991), 72; Malina, Synoptic Commentary, 306;
John Nolland, Luke 1-9:20 (WBC; Dallas: Word Books, 1989), 169. , •: '-

^'^ Moxnes, "Honor and Shame," 172.
^^ M. Siihhe, John's Gospel, 13.

■^^ Alan Culpepper, The Gospel and Letters of John (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1998),
110.

^'' C. K. Barrett, The Gospel According to St. John (2"^* ed.; Philadelphia: Westminster
Press, 1978), 184. See also Ernst Haenchen, John: A Commentary on the Gospel of John
(Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984), 292. I would not go as far as Haenchen does,
supposing that John was denying or ignoring the virgin birth. More likely this
demonstrates the subtle concealment of Jesus' ascribed glory.

^^ For example see Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John (rev. ed.; NICNT; Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995), 409; Brown, The Birth of the Messiah, 357.
^^ Darrell L. Bock, Luke 1-9:50 (BEC 1; Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1994), 207.

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

'^^ deSilva, Honor, Patronage, 166.

^' See Peter H. Davids, "James," NBD 541 .

'^~ Barrett offers some insightful comments on this interaction (St. John, 350).

^^ Barrett, St. John, 232.

'^^ See Smith, Jo/z«, 23.

'*" The story of the official's son (4.46-54) is certainly an exception.

^^ Morris, John, 429. See also Barrett, St. John, 359.

'^^ See Neyrey, Matthew, 93.

''^ George R. Beasley-Murray, John (WBC; Nashville: Thomas Nelson Pub., 1999), 27.

See also Morris, John, 145; James Strange, "Nazareth," ABD 4:1050. Brown also

entertains the possibility that Nathaniel, being from Cana, is reacting to something like

rivalry among neighboring small towns. See The Birth of the Messiah, 63.

'*' Neyrey, Matthew, 96.

^° Donald A. Hagner, Matthew 1-1 S (WBC 1 ; Dallas: Word Books, 1993), 39. ij,

^' J.H. Paterson, "Galilee," NBD 394. |

" See R. Reisner, "Galilee," DJG 253.

^^ Smith, Jo/z«, 177. ,)

-^ Barrett, St. John, 332. , , • .U

^^ Beasley-Murray, Jo/z«, 121. '■

^^ Fran9ois Bovon, Luke (Hermeneia 1; Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002), 111.

"Barrett, 5/. Jo/?rt, 317. ''

^^ See Morris, John, 359; Brown, The Birth of the Messiah, 316. [

^^ David deSilva, The Hope of Glory: Honor Discourse and New Testament

Interpretation (CoUegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, 1999), 81.

^° Ibid., 70. :."

^' Note how often Jesus refers to God as his father, literally dozens of times especially

throughout chapters 5, 8, and 14-17; see deSilva, Hope of Glory, 84-5. In terms of Jesus'

true "home," consider the provocative use of avcoOev ("from above") in chapter 3 (vv. 3, ,!

7; cf. 8.23). John 3:31 is quite explicit: "The one who comes from above is above all; the •;

one who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthy things. The one who ^i

comes from heaven is above all."

^^ See Richard Bauckham, ed.. The Gospels for All Christians: Rethinking the Gospel

Audiences (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998).

^^ Moxnes, "Honor and Shame," 23, 175.

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A Comparative Analysis of John Calvin and Martin Luther Concerning the
First and Second Commandments

by Timothy Shaun Price*

In the Ten Commandments one is able to see a clear expression of
God's moral law presented to the human agent. Though its applicability has at
times been in question, throughout Christian history the Ten Commandments
have been central to the manner in which believers were instructed in how one is
to act. Interestingly, both Calvin and Luther wrote at length concerning their
view of the Ten Commandments. Though most church historians focus on the
manner in which the Lutheran, Reformed, and Roman Catholic traditions
differed in the areas of faith and works, or law and gospel, David Steinmetz
states, "Some of the fiercest Reformation controversies centered on specific
commandments and their meaning for the life of the Christian churches."'
Examining Luther's and Calvin's perspectives upon this topic should provide
some insight into the manner in which the Christian should implement the Ten
Commandments into his or her life. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to
provide a brief introduction and comparison of Luther and Calvin concerning
the Ten Commandments with reference to how these two Reformers differed in
their interpretation of the Commandments. To provide the reader with some
insight into Luther's and Calvin's thoughts concerning the Commandments, this
paper will deal specifically with the First and Second Commandments."

Martin Luther

Luther once said:

I have often said, and I will say it again: Whoever rightly
understands the Ten Commandments and especially the First
Commandment, I will gladly sit at his feet and let him be my
doctor (teacher). I consider myself more learned than the
fanatics because they do not understand the Ten
Commandments. Thank God, I understand them, but I also
know that the Ten Commandments remain my Donatus, my
ABC book, yes, my Bible, in which I must ever remain a
pupil, although I have read through the Bible over and over.^

*Timothy Shaun Price has an MA and ThM in ethics and an MDiv in evangelism and
biblical languages from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest, NC.

A Comparative Analysis of John Calvin and Martin Luther

Luther primarily provides his exposition of the Ten Commandments
within his Treatise on Good Works.^ This treatise grew out of Luther being
asked to write a sermon on good works in response to being accused by his
enemies that his stress upon justification by faith alone would lead to a total
neglect of good works, and therefore, to lawlessness and immorality." Luther
has at least three guiding principles in dealing with the Decalogue and the topic
of good works. First, he makes it clear that the "first and most precious good
work is faith in Christ."^ He does a masterful job of blending the doctrine of
sola fides with a necessary confluence of good works by stating that this highest
work is actually faith in Christ. Second, Luther believes that the subject of good
works is often grossly misunderstood. He says, "There is no silver, gold,
precious stone, or rare treasure that has as many substitutes and flaws as good
works. "^ Throughout this Treatise he continually points to ways in which good
works and, therefore, the Decalogue are misunderstood because of
misinterpretation.

Third, and perhaps most pertinent to the topic of the subject at hand,
Luther says, "We have to learn to recognize good works from the
commandments of God, and not from the appearance, size, or number of the
works themselves, nor from the opinion of men or of human law or custom, as
we see has happened and still happens because of our blindness and disregard of
the divine commandments."^ He draws this interpretation from Matt. 19:16-22
in which Jesus is asked by a young man what he should do to inherit eternal life,
and Christ answers, "If you would enter life, keep the commandments."^

Of supreme importance to this topic, Luther and his subsequent

followers draw from the Catholic standard of the time in his delineation of the

Decalogue. When comparing Calvin's understanding of the Decalogue to

Luther's, Luther's delineation results in a combination of the First and Second

Commandments into one commandment, and a splitting of the Tenth

Commandment into two commandments. '° To avoid confusion, perhaps it

would be helpful to quote what Luther referred to as the First Commandment:

You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make

for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is

in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the

water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or

serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God,

visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third

and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing

steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my

commandments (Ex. 20:3-6).

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

When writing the Small Catechism, Luther followed the standard
medieval catechism text, and thereby reduced the First Commandment to: "You
shall have no other gods."" Luther says that a god is "that upon which one
relies for all good things and in whom one takes refuge in all times of trouble.
Thus, to have a god is nothing less than to trust and believe in that one from the
whole heart."'"

In his Treatise Luther says that this Commandment means that God is
saying, "Since I alone am God, thou shalt place all thy confidence, trust, and
faith in me alone and no one else."'^ Timothy Wengert argues that for Luther
the Decalogue is actually seen in light of the First Commandment.'"* He quotes
Luther when he says, "It (the First Commandment) is to illuminate and impart
its splendor to all the others. In order that his may be constantly repeated and
never forgotten, you must let these concluding words run through all the
commandments, like the clasp or hoop of a wreath that binds the end to the
beginning and holds everything together."'^ Luther also expresses belief in the
priority of the first commandment in the Treatise. He says:

And this faith, this trust, this confidence from the heart's core
is the true fulfilling of the First Commandment. Without such
faith no work at all can satisfy this command. And because
this commandment is the very first of all commandments and
the highest and the best, (the one) from which all others
proceed, in which they exist and by which they are judged and
assessed, so its work (that is, the faith or confidence that God
is gracious at all times) is the very highest, and best from
which all others must proceed, in which they must exist and
abide, and by which they must be judged and assessed.
Compared with this work the other good works are like the
other commandments would be if they were without the first
and if there were no God. Therefore, St. Augustine speaks
rightly when he says that the works of the first commandment
are faith, hope, and love.'^

Another fascinating aspect of Luther's interpretation of his First
Commandment, as well as the others, is his understanding that each
commandment would in fact take a lifetime before the believer came anywhere
close to achieving its purpose. Luther sets up an interesting scenario in which
faith is the highest "work." At first this sounds antithetical, but he sets up his
scenario in such a way that this "work" is completely unachievable apart from
Christ, and with Christ it would nonetheless take more than a lifetime to perfect.
He states in the Treatise, "Does not this single First Commandment give us

A Comparative Analysis of John Calvin and Martin Luther

more work to do than any one man can do?"'^ Faith and works are integrally
tied together in the Treatise. In fact, Luther says, "Yes, this confidence and faith
must be so high and strong that a man knows that all his life and works are
nothing but damnable sins in the judgment of God."'*

Because Luther understands the First Commandment to deal primarily
with one having other gods, he relegates the pertinent topic of images or icons
and does not directly deal with them in the Treatise. Luther does so elsewhere
such as in a sermon delivered in Wittenberg on March 11, 1522, entitled,
"Concerning Images."'^ Because Luther is adopting the Catholic delineation of
the Decalogue, he does not see the subject of idols as the central message of the
First Commandment. He therefore says, "Concerning them (images) also it is
true that they are unnecessary, and we are free to have them or not, although it
would be much better if we did not have them at all. I am not partial to them."^"
Luther's senior colleague on the faculty of theology, Carlstadt, believed that the
First Commandment required a radical simplification of worship and the
elimination of all cultic art.^' Carlstadt's radical thinking of the purpose of the
First Commandment was a foreshadow of the reconsidering of the First
Commandment by the second generation reformers.

In sum, Luther's understanding of the commandment "You shall have
no other gods," involves putting one's faith and trust in the one true God, for
"without such faith no work at all can satisfy this command."'^ Therefore the
purpose of this commandment is to "require that kind of true faith and
confidence of the heart that is directed toward the one true God and clings to
him alone. "^^ To put one's full faith and confidence of the heart in anything
other than this one true God is to achieve far less than the work which is called
upon by the believer in this commandment.

John Calvin

Much of Calvin's dealing with the Decalogue is contained in the
Institutes II. vii-viii. Chapter seven is entitled, "The Law was Given, Not to
Restrain the Folk of the Old Covenant Under Itself, but to Foster Hope of
Salvation in Christ Until His Coming," and Chapter Eight is entitled,
"Explanation of the Moral Law (The Ten Commandments)."'^'' In chapter eight
Calvin demonstrates his explanation of the purpose and function of the
Decalogue as a whole. The law functions to "lead one to a greater detestation of
sin.""^ Here Calvin also elucidates his understanding of the purpose of the
"inward law"^^ or moral law which has been put in the hearts of men.

In Calvin's understanding there are three uses, or "three parts''^'' of the
moral law, which he demonstrates in chapter seven. The first use is the

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

pedagogical or convictional use in wtiich the law acts like a miiTor in which one
learns to see himself or herself as God does. Calvin states, "The first part is this:
while it (the moral law) shows God's righteousness, that is, the righteousness
alone acceptable to God, it warns, informs, convicts, and lastly condemns, every
man of his own unrighteousness."^^ Calvin's second use of the law is the
political or civil use in which the law acts as a bridle to restrain man from being
even worse than he may currently be. He states, "The second function of the
law is this: at least by fear of punishment to restrain certain men who are
untouched by any care for what is just and right unless compelled by hearing the
dire threats of the law.""^ His third use is the didactic or normative use in which
the law acts like a lamp which teaches believers to be perfect and pleasing in the
sight of God. While the other two uses may be considered negative, this is a
positive use which leads to sanctification. Calvin believes this to be the primary
use of the moral law. He states, "The third and principle use, which pertains
more closely to the proper purpose of the law, finds its place among believers in
whose hearts the Spirit of God already lives and reigns."^" He goes on to state
that this use of the law reveals two things: a proper understanding of the Lord's
will and by frequent meditation upon the law one will be aroused to obedience
and drawn back from sin.^'

Although the function of the law may not be of primary significance to
the subject at hand, the importance of discussing Calvin's uses of the moral law
in reference to the Decalogue is that Calvin saw the Ten Commandments as the
central revelation of God's moral law. Therefore, when discussing the First and
Second Commandments, Calvin is viewing them as a focal point of revelation.
This is seen prima facie in the title Calvin chooses the give Chapter 8 of Book
11^"^ in which he equates the moral law with the Ten Commandments.

Throughout Calvin's exposition he translates from the Vulgate. He
identifies the first commandment in Exod. 20:2-3 as, 'T am Jehovah, your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You
shall have no other gods before my face." Calvin is thoroughly theocentric in his
writing about the commandments. He makes it clear that in God revealing
himself as "I am Jehovah," "God first shows himself to be the one who has the
right to command and to whom obedience is due."^^ He goes on to say, "The
purpose of this commandment is that the Lord wills alone to be pre-eminent
among his people, and to exercise complete authority over them.""''^

Compared to Luther, Calvin's exposition of the First Commandment is
relatively short in the Institutes. He sees this commandment as God stating that
he himself is preeminent and, therefore, man should have no strange gods.
Calvin also provides his understanding of the Decalogue in at least two of his

A Comparative Analysis of John Calvin and Martin Luther

Other writings: a series of sermons on the commandments which were delivered
in 1555, and in his Commentaries. ^ He deals with the First Commandment in
his second sermon which was delivered on June 12, 1555/^^ In this homily
Calvin examines many of the Christological implications of the First
Commandment which are not present when he examines it in the Institutes.
Also, it seems that in this sermon he goes to greater lengths to examine Israel as
a particular people which has been called out of Egypt.

Calvin speaks much on the First and Second Commandments in his
harmony of the last four books of the Pentateuch. '^^ One interesting aspect of his
Commentaries is that he sees much of the activity of the Exodus as leading up to
the Decalogue. In fact, he refers to the institution of the Passover as "The
Ceremonial Supplements of the First Commandment."^^ He does so because he
views the activities of the Exodus event and the Law of Moses as centered
around the Decalogue. Throughout his exposition he arranges the activities of
the Exodus event and giving of the law under each of the Commandments which
it is related to. When Calvin does approach the First Commandment he says, "In
this commandment God enjoins that He alone should be worshipped, and
requires a worship free from all superstition."^^

Calvin quotes the Second Commandment as being Exod. 20:4-5, "You
shall not make yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in
heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or in the waters which are under the earth;
you shall not adore or worship them." In the First Commandment God declares
that he alone is God, and here he declares "with what kind of worship he should
be honored. ""^^ Calvin says that the purpose of this commandment is "that he
does not will that his lawful worship be profaned by superstitious rites. To sum
up, he wholly calls us back and withdraws us from petty carnal observances,
which our stupid minds, crassly conceiving of God, are wont to devise.""*' This
commandment is directed towards believers in the one true God in that it
restrains man from creating a representation of God, who is incomprehensible
into an image to be perceived by our perceptions, and towards unbelievers in
that it "forbids us to worship any images in the name of religion."'*'^

In his Commentaries Calvin says that the Second Commandment
provides a definition of "legitimate worship" of God. ''"^ He also makes a case for
the separation of the Catholic form of the first commandment by saying that the
First Commandment explains who should be worshipped and the second
commandment states how He should be worshipped. In this commandment one
sees that "the words simply express that it is wrong for men to seek the presence
of God in any visible image, because he cannot be represented to our eyes.""*"^
This theocentric focus of the commandment is also present in Luther.

66 i

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

Calvin delivered his sermon on the Second Commandment on June 17,
1555/^ In this sermon Calvin takes a similar stance as to what he does in the
Institutes. He argues that this commandment forbids man from directing worship
towards anything or anyone other than God. He says that the evil of idolatry is a
"vice (that) is rooted in the depths of our bones. "'^^ In a similar fashion to
Luther, Calvin saw both a positive and negative aspect as being present in each
of the commandments. Both are present in this sermon by Calvin. The negative
aspect is stated in that man is warned against the dangers of idolatry. The
positive aspect is stated in the fact that when idolatry is not present all one's
worship and adoration is directed towards God. Therefore, in being commanded
not to be idolaters, mankind is commanded to be worshippers of God.

Comparative Analysis of Calvin and Luther

The most obvious difference in Calvin and Luther's understanding of
the commandments is that Calvin, as a later reformer than Luther, chose to break
from the traditional Catholic delineation of their First Commandment by seeing
it as two commandments. Calvin initially discussed the First Commandment in
the 1536 edition of the Institutes, and by this time there was much debate among
the Catholics and Reformers over the purpose, functioning, and numbering of
the commandments. What began as a disagreement over the meaning of the First
Commandment, "prompted dissension over such related issues as the role of art
in Christian worship, the nature of the Lord's Supper, the authority of the Old
Testament for the church, and the pace of ecclesiastical reform.""*^

In particular, Calvin and Luther differ on their interpretation of the
focus of the First Commandment. In both his Large Catechism and his Treatise
on Good Works Luther focuses on man's faith as the primary emphasis of this
commandment. In the Large Catechism Luther says that to "have a god is
nothing else than to trust and believe in him from the heart.""^^ Luther expresses
the same sentiment in numerous places in the Treatise by understanding faith as
the highest work which is the purpose of the First Commandment.'^'^ Therefore,
this interpretation views faith and works as integrally tied together as one
requires the other.

Calvin's emphasis in the First Commandment focuses more upon the
third use of the law, in that he says the "first foundation of righteousness is the
worship of God."^° In God saying "you shall have no other gods," God is
saying, therefore man is to worship the one true God. While Luther's emphasis
focuses more upon man placing his faith in God alone, Calvin focuses upon
God's place as preeminently above creation, and therefore deserving of worship
and righteousness on behalf of the creature.

A Comparative Analysis of John Calvin and Martin Luther

Calvin was somewhat of an innovator in his view of the Second
Commandment. Luther disagreed with Carlstadt and Zwingli who were banning
all images from worship to form a further severance from the Catholic faith
because of their interpretation of this commandment. Luther stated that he was
indifferent towards the matter. Calvin sided with Carlstadt and Zwingli, but with
a slightly deviant purpose. Calvin did not rail against iconoclasm in itself, but
rather what was at the heart of this issue; namely worship which is misdirected
towards someone or something other than God. The medieval church had
approved of image worship, and when Luther adopted this form of the
commandments, the proscription of images became a parenthetical inclusion
under the First Commandment.^'

Calvin speaks against the Catholics and the Lutherans in this regard
when he discusses the division of the commandments into two tables in the
Institutes . He says:

Those who so divide them (the commandments) as to give i

three precepts to the First Table and relegate the remaining
seven to the Second, erase from the number the commandment
concerning images, or at least hide it under the First. There is
no doubt that the Lord gave it a distinct place as a
commandment, yet they absurdly tear in two the Tenth
Commandment about not coveting the possessions of one's
neighbor. Besides, their division of the commandments was
unknown in a purer age, as we shall soon see.'"

Calvin's reinstitution of the Second Commandment also provided an
emphasis upon "spiritual worship" which is present in his Commentaries and in
the Institutes. He states in the Commentaries, "God, therefore, calls for the
affections of the heart, that He alone may be spiritually worshipped."^"^ In his
prohibition of idols in the Institutes Calvin explains how believers spiritually
worship an invisible God. By this Calvin means that no image could rightly
express one's worship of God. Therefore images or idols will detract from the
worship of God. ^"^

Related to Calvin and Luther's understanding of the First
Commandment^^ is the fact that they have similar affinities concerning natural
law. Calvin and Luther both have an understanding of part of the identity of
natural law being present in the Decalogue. Calvin views the written moral law
in fact as being a statement of natural law. He says this is so because what is
engraved on the stone tables of the law is also engraved in the hearts of men. ^^
Calvin's use of natural law arguments in this case and others was controlled by

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

his "pessimism about man's unaided ability to perceive the truth or know God"
because of the Fall.^''

In Calvin's writings the written law and natural law go hand in hand.
He states that "the Lord has provided us with a written law to give us a clearer
witness of what was too obscure in the natural law."^^ Calvin was influenced by
Luther in his definition of natural law and places more of an emphasis on the
extent to which man's understanding of natural law was darkened by the Fall.^^
Many scholars have seen a clean break between the Catholic view of natural law
based upon Aquinas and the views of the Reformers concerning natural law.
Perhaps this is not the case, as both Luther and Calvin invoke natural law as
being present in the Decalogue. ^°

Conclusion

Luther and Calvin are clearly agreed that the First and Second
Commandments prohibit the worship of any God besides the one true God.
Luther argued against Carlstadt (with whom Calvin agreed) that the prohibition
of idolatry did not mean the prohibition of all visual art from worship. This issue
between these great minds was not whether these commandments were valid but
rather in interpretation and application.^'

There are several ways in which Luther's and Calvin's differences
concerning the Decalogue and the First and Second Commandments in
particular are relevant today. First, both Reformers add a valuable contribution
to dialogue upon this subject. One may not agree completely with Luther's or
Calvin's interpretation of these commandments, but they both contain a wealth
of wisdom from which one is able to draw. Secondly, because of the importance
which Luther and Calvin both placed upon the First Commandment, their
interpretation guides much of their hermeneutic for the rest of the Bible. ^~
Luther and Calvin see a theocentricity in these commandments which pervades
the message of the Bible as a whole. Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly,
there is a devotional character to the study of Luther and Calvin on the
Decalogue. A reexamination of Luther and Calvin on the commandments leads
the reader to a deeper understanding of what he or she thinks about the First and
Second Commandments in relation to his or her theology. The moral norms
which are set forth in the Decalogue are guiding principles for one's life, and
therefore a thorough examination of what those who have gone before us think
about this subject should deepen one's understanding of biblical theology.

In conclusion, Luther downplayed the importance of a prohibition
against idolatry because he saw this as parenthetical compendium to the First
Commandment. Calvin took a theocentric view of the First and Second

A Comparative Analysis of John Calvin and Martin Luther

Commandments which resuhed in his understanding of the commandments to
invoke worship and display the righteousness of God. The similarity and
differences of these two thinkers concerning the Decalogue continues to guide
the church's perception of the purpose and function of the law to this day.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Calvin, John. Commentaries on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a

Harmony. Translated by Charles William Bingham. Vol. 1-2. Reprint 1999.

Calvin 's Commentaries, vol. 2. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1999.
. Institutes of the Christian Religion. Edited by John T. McNeill. Translated

by Ford Lewis Battles. The Library of Christian Classics Vol. XX.

Philadelphia: Westminster, 1960.

. John Calvin 's Sermons on the Ten Commandments . Edited and Translated

by Benjamin W. Farley. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1980.
Charles, J. Daryl. "Protestants and Natural Law." First Things 168 (Dec. 2006): 33-38.
Clark, R. S. "Calvin on the Lex Naturalis." Stubs 6, no. 1 -2 (May-Nov. 1998): 1-22.
Harkness, Georgia. John Calvin: The Man and His Ethics. New York: Henry Holt and

Company, 1931.
Krey, Philip D. W., and Peter D. S. Krey. trans, and eds. Luther 's Spirituality. New York:

Paulist Press, 2007.
Lowell C. Green. '"What Does This Mean' Luther's Exposition of the Decalogue in

Relation to Law and Gospel with Special Reference to Johann Michael Reu."

Logia 7, no. 2 (Eastertide 1998): 3-10.
Luther, Martin. The Christian in Society. Vol. 44. Luther's Works Edited by James

Atkinson. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1966.
. The Large Catechism. Edited by F. Samuel Janzow. Saint Louse: Concordia

Publishing House, 1988.
McNeill, John T. "Natural Law in the Thought of Luther." Church Histoiy 10, no. 3

(Sept. 1941): 21 1-227.
Sider, Ronald S., ed. Karlstadt 's Battle with Luther. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1978.
Steinmetz, David C. "The Reformation and the Ten Commandments." Interpretation 43,

no. 2 (July 1989): 256-266.
Wengert, Timothy J. "Martin Luther and the Ten Commandments in the Large

Catechism." Currents in Theological Mission 3 1, no. 2 (April 2004): 104-1 14.

ENDNOTES

' David C. Steinmetz, "The Reformation and the Ten Commandments," Interpretation 43
no 2 (July, 1989), 256.

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

^ My purpose in dealing with two commandments rather than one is threefold. First, in

the Lutheran tradition the Protestant categories of the l^'-2"'^ commandments are

combined into one commandment creating Luther's first commandment, and the lO"'

commandment is split into two creating Luther's 9"^-10"^ commandments. Luther

adopted this categorization from the Catholic Church. Calvin on the other hand, adopts

the category which commonly classified under the Protestant tradition. Secondly,

examining two commandments will provide the reader with a fuller examination of

Luther and Calvin's thoughts on the commandments by representing the fluidity of their

thought concerning the commandments. Third, Luther and Calvin both viewed the first

commandment as the highest principle which guided their interpretation of the other

commandments.

^ Quotation taken from Lowell C. Green, '"What Does this Mean' Luther's Exposition of

the Decalogue in Relation to Law and Gospel, with Special Reference to Johann Michael

Reu," Logia 7 no 2 (Eastertide, 1998), 3.

'' Martin Luther Luther 's Works, ed. James Atkinson, vol. 44: The Christian in Society

(Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1966). Luther does examine the first commandment

elsewhere such as in his large catechism and in a sermon dealing with images.

^ Ibid., 17.

Mbid., 19.

^ Ibid., 21.

^ Ibid., 23.

^Matt. 19:17

"^ For the purpose of clarification, whenever the Second Commandment is referred to in

this article it will be the Reformed delineation of the Decalogue, not the Lutheran, unless

otherwise noted.

' ' Green, "What Does This Mean," 4.

'" Philip D. W. Krey and Peter D. S. Krey, trans, and eds., Luther's Spirituality, (New

York: Paulist Press, 2007), 193.

'^ Luther, Luther's Works, 30.

'"^ Timothy J. Wengert, "Martin Luther and the Ten Commandments in the Large

Catechism," Currents in Theological Mission, 31, no. 2 (April, 2004): 104.

'^ Ibid. Quotation taken from Martin Luther, "The Large Catechism, Ten

Commandments," par. 326, in The Book of Concord, trans. James Schaaf, in ed. Robert

Kolb and Timothy J. Wengert (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2000), 423.

'^ Luther, Luther's Works, 30. In Luther's view it would be an incomplete statement to

say that this commandment alone is the heart of the message of the Ten Commandments.

Rather, it is a proper interpretation of this commandment understood in the light of faith

in Christ. In each of Luther's discussions concerning the commandments in the Treatise

he never misses an opportunity to express how a particular commandment is understood

in the light of faith. Faith allows one to call upon God, listen to His Word, and therefore

obey God's norms.

'^ Ibid., 33.

A Comparative Analysis of John Calvin and Martin Luther

'^ Ibid., 37.

''' Ronald S. Sider, ed., Karlstadt's Battle with Luther (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1978), 25-

27.

^'^' Ibid., 25. Much of what Luther had to say about images was in response to the less

famous Wittenberg reformer, Andreas Bodenstein von Carlstadt who was in favor of the

removal of all images from the churches.

^' Steinmetz, "The Reformation and the Ten Commandments," 257. ^

" Luther, Luther's Works, 30.

"' Martin Luther, The Large Catechism, ed. F. Samuel Janzow (Saint Louis: Concordia,

1988), 13.

^■^ John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, The Library of Christian Classics, ed.

John T. McNeill and trans. Ford Lewis Battles, vol. XX (Philadelphia: Westminster,

1960).

"" Ibid., Institutes. II. viii. 376.

^^ Ibid., Institutes. II. viii. 367. ;

^' Ibid., Institutes, II. vii. 6, 354.

2^ Ibid.

^"^ Ibid., II. vii. 6, 358.

^° Ibid., II. vii. 6, 360.

^' Luther was similar to Calvin in that he viewed both the civil and the spiritual uses of

the law as active. For Luther the spiritual use as causing conviction was the primary use

of the law. Luther does not articulate Calvin's third use of the law in his writings, but it

would seem pretentious to assume would not view sanctification as a possible use of the

law.

^^ This chapter is entitled, "Explanation of the Moral Law (The Ten Commandments).'"

" Calvin, Institutes, II. viii. 14, 380.

^^Ibid.,n. viii. 382.

^^ There are some differences in the manner in which he approaches the text in this

sermon series and in his Commentaries. In the sermons, Calvin is preaching from Deut.

4:44-6:1-4, whereas in the Institutes he takes his text from Deuteronomy 20. The

sermons have been compiled and edited in John Calvin 's Sermons on the Ten

Commandments, ed. and trans. Benjamin W. Farley (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1980).

In the Commentaries, Calvin provides a harmony in which he examines various texts side

by side as they may coincide chronologically.

John Calvin, John Calvin 's Sermons on the Ten Commandments, ed. and trans.
Benjamin W. Farley (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1980), 51-64.

^ John Calvin, Commentaries on the Four Last Books of Moses arranged in the Form of
a Harmony, trans. Charles William Bingham, vol. 1-2, reprint 1999, Calvin's
Commentaries, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1999).
^^ Ibid., vol. 1,454.

■^^ Ibid., 418. In Calvin's interpretation of the warning following the Second
Commandment he draws from Old Testament passages to compare the jealousy of God to

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

that of a husband. Israel has defiled itself by casting away shame and following after
adulteries (Jeremiah 3; Hos 2:4ff; Isa 62:4-5. Because God is a holy God, he is therefore
even more wrathful than a human husband when his bride has inclined her heart to a rival
(Hos 2:19-20). Therefore, the setting up of idols or images detracts the worship of God
for something of far less value.
"•^Calvin, /ra///w?e5, II. viii. 17, 383. ■
^'Ibid.

'^^ Ibid., II. viii. 384.
'^^ CdiWm, Commentaries, vo\. 2, \06.
^ Ibid., 107.
^ John Calvin, John Calvin 's Sermons on the Ten Commandments.

Ibid., 65.

Steinmetz, "The Reformation and the Ten Commandments," 258.

Luther, Large Catechism, \3.

Luther, Treatise on Good Works, 23.

Calvin, Institutes, II. viii. 11, 377.
^' Georgia Harkness, John Calvin: The Man and His Ethics (New York: Henry Holt and
Company, 1931), 91.

Calvin, Institutes, II. viii. 12, 378.

Calvin, Commentaries, vol. 1, 419.

Calvin, Institutes. II. viii. 17, 383.

A similarity between Luther and Calvin is their understanding of the priority of the
First Commandment. Both Reformers see the Decalogue as normative for faith and
practice, and the First Commandment as the guiding principle for all of the others. Calvin
says this commandment show that "the Lord will alone to be pre-eminent among his
people {Institutes, II. viii. 382)." Without a right understanding of who God is and his
relation to creation, one will be unable rightly to implement the other commandments.
^^ Calvin, Institutes, II. viii. 368.

" R. S. Clark, "Calvin on the Le.x Naturalis;' Stubs 6 no. 1-2 (May-Nov. 1998), 9
^^ Calvin, Institutes. II. viii. 16. 368.
^^ John T. McNeill, "Natural Law in the Thought of Luther," Church History 1 0, no. 3

(Sept., 1941): 221.

J. Daryl Charles, "Protestants and Natural Law," First Things 168 (Dec, 2006), 33.
' Steinmetz, "The Reformation and the Ten Commandments" 265-266.

This is seen, for example, in Calvin's Harmony of the Books of Moses wher
interprets all of the Mosaic Law and the Exodus events in light of the Decalogue.

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

Book Reviews

Stephen D. Renn, ed.. Expository Dictionary of Bible Words: Word Studies for Key
English Bible Words Based on the Hebrew and Greek Texts. Peabody: Hendrickson
Publishers, 2005. 1171 pp., hardcover, $29.95.

The editor is the Coordinator of Language and teaching at Inaburra School in
Sydney. Australia. His dictionary examines 7,260 Hebrew and Greek words. Each entry
is anglicized and accompanied by the Hebrew or Greek word plus the code number for
the revised Strong's numbering system. It is intended to be a replacement for Vine's
Expository Dictionary. Words are listed according to their English equivalent. Where
required, both the Old Testament and New Testament words are recorded along with their
range of meaning and explanation. There are a number of additional notes that
accompany the words where appropriate.

As an add-on to the book, there is a CD that contains the complete dictionary
with limited commentaries, Bible versions, topical works, backgrounds, and maps. There
is an index to all Hebrew and Greek words. These include the word in the original
language, its English equivalent, and the Strong's number.

The work contains only key words and is not exhaustive. In fact, some words
are rather limited. For example, under "learn" and "teach" there are eight Hebrew and
three Greek entries. There are at least eight Greek words with reference to teaching and
learning used in the Bible, however, so this is a non-technical reference work suitable for
some pastors and lay students.

Richard Allison

Marc van de Mieroop, A History^ of the Ancient Near East ca. 3000-323 BC. 2d ed.
Blackwell History of the Ancient World. Oxford/ Maiden: Blackwell, 2007. xix + 341
pp., paper, $37.95.

In this volume. Van De Mieroop provides us with a clear and accessible history
to the ancient Near East. While the second edition appears only three years after the
book's initial publication in 2004, the changes made reflect the goal of making the book
more accessible and usefiil for students as an introduction to ancient Near Eastern history.
To this end, the second edition contains a number of new illustrations and maps, and the
"Guide to Further Reading" at the end has been expanded by several pages.

The present work begins with an introductory chapter that briefly discusses
methodological approaches to ancient Near Eastern history in light of the available
sources. In this chapter. Van De Mieroop also surveys ancient Near Eastern geography
and prehistory. This chapter thus lays the necessary groundwork for the rest of the
volume.

The remainder of the work is divided into three main parts that reflect,
according to Van De Mieroop, basic forms of political organization characterizing

Book Reviews

ancient Near Eastern history: city-states (ca. 3000-1600 BCE), territorial states (ca. 1600-
1000 BCE), and empires (ca. 1000-323 BCE). Part I begins with a discussion of
urbanization and the development of writing in Mesopotamia. Over the course of five
chapters spanning the Uruk expansion to the collapse of Hammurabi's dynasty in
Babylon, Van De Mieroop characterizes this unit of ancient Near Eastern history as one
of competing city-states and varying degrees of political centralization.

Part II surveys the ancient Near East during the later part of the second
millennium, describing the formation, interaction, and collapse of various territorial
states: Kassite Babylonia, Hittite Anatolia, Egypt, Mittani, Assyria, Elam. and Syria-
Palestine. Van De Mieroop portrays diplomatic and economic connections between these
states as a key feature of this period. The introductory chapter of Part II provides a
helpful framework for describing these interactions, and this part's concluding chapter
avoids facile, single-solution explanations when discussing the collapse of the regional
system at the end of this period.

Lastly, Part III surveys the history of the ancient Near East during the first
millennium, tracing the domination of Assyria to the Neo-Babylonian and Persian
empires and concluding with the conquest of Alexander the Great. The relationships of
these empires to Egypt and the Levant are also discussed. While brief and somewhat
elementary. Van De Mieroop's discussions of Israel and Judah within this larger context
will be of interest for biblical scholars.

Overall, the book is well-structured and accessible. The prose of the text is
clearly written and readable. The present work's many maps, illustrafions, and boxed
features (including English translations of pertinent texts) are useful and will be of
interest to students. Every chapter except the first begins with a timeline of key events,
offering to the reader a helpful framework for understanding the chapter's contents. The
king lists at the end of the book provide a practical reference guide for beginning and
advanced scholars alike.

In the midst of these positive elements, there are a few elements of the book
that could have been developed more. Van De Mieroop chooses to adopt the Middle
Chronology throughout for simplicity's sake, which is understandable given that this
work is an introductory textbook. Nevertheless, the present work would have benefited
from brief descriptions of the various chronological views in order to make students
aware of different options such as the Ultra-Low Chronology, which has recently
received renewed attention in the scholarly literature (e.g., Hermann Gasche, et al..
Dating the Fall of Babylon: A Reappraisal of Second-Millennium Chronology [1998] or
Akkadica 119-120 [2000]). Another drawback to the present work is that Van De
Mieroop devotes only a short chapter to the Persian period at the end of the book.
Additional information on the Achaemenid empire would have been helpfiil, especially
since this period has become a significant focus in recent years among both historians and
biblical scholars.

Despite these minor points, A Histoty of the Ancient Near East is a well-written
and valuable work. Van De Mieroop has combined both clarity and accessibility, making
this a welcome addition for beginning students of ancient Near Eastern history.

Benjamin J. Noonan, Hebrew Union College

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

Thomas A. Robinson, Mastering New Testament Greek: Essential Tools for Students.
Peabody: Hendrickson, 2007. 230 pp., paper with CD ROM, $19.95.

This third revised edition of Mastering New Testament Greek expands previous
resources and adds three new ones — an index of Greek word endings, a visual model for
prepositions and cases, and a short Greek-English cognate dictionary.

Brief recommendations for how to use the book are followed by a list of
roughly 250 Greek words and their English transliterations. Robinson recommends
learning these first, since it is a fast and easy way to begin to build one's Greek
vocabulary.

The next section lists the most common cognate roots in order of their
frequency of occurrence. As one might expect, this section comprises almost half the
book. The information provided for each root includes its basic English meaning,
memory aids (if any), the actual Greek words based on the root and their English
translations, their parts of speech, etc. This tool allows users to learn whole groups of
words by becoming familiar with a single root.

The third section compares Greek prefixes and suffixes to English ones, then
provides examples of English words using them. The section that follows lists "Identical
Greek/English Prefixes and Suffixes" along with their meaning and an English example
for each. Section five, "Derived English Words," lists the English word, a breakdown of
how it is derived from the Greek, and a definition of the word.

The sixth section is the "Mini Greek/English Cognate Dictionary" which is
alphabetized by the basic Greek cognate stem, followed by the English meaning and
several examples of English words using the stem. The last section provides charts
showing how prepositions and cases relate to words.

These main sections are followed by two short appendices and three indices.
The first index lists words that appear ten to nineteen times in the New Testament. The
second index is basically a Greek parsing guide, but instead of complete words it lists
word endings and is alphabetized backwards, starting with the last letter of the ending.
The third index/mini dictionary lists Greek words and cognate roots along with their
corresponding page number in Section 2.

The CD-ROM included with the book contains six tools for learning Greek.
The simplest tools — for alphabet and pronunciation — work best. 1 could not get the
vocabulary tool to work at all; the instructions/help were inadequate and I could not find
the pdf help document that was supposed to be on the CD. Some might find the verb
"decoder" and word deconstructor helpful. The Greek Internet Grammar tool connects to
an internet site that contains basic grammar information, but is still "under construction."
All in all, the CD-ROM was a disappointment.

On the whole, this book can be a helpful resource for students learning New
Testament Greek. The tools it contains, particularly the section on cognate roots, have the
potential to enhance one's ability to master the language. How much one gets out of

Book Reviews

Mastering New Testament Greek depends on whether or not the tools Robinson provides
meet a need and how much effort one is wilhng to put into learning Greek.

Lori Shire

Markus Bockmuehl, Seeing the Word: Refocusing New Testament Study. Grand Rapids:
Baker, 2006. 297 pp., paper, $21.99.

The modem study of the New Testament has become a maze of scholarship
that, according to Bockmuehl, has largely lost its way. He sees several factors that
contribute to this academic din, including "an almost total collapse of method" (31) and a
super-saturation of literary output that lacks quality. But, he finds the most disturbing
element of the modem approach to this discipline within the biblical studies guild is a
lack oi'' shared purpose or subject matter'' (38). Though Bockmuehl acknowledges that
some scholars have tried to rescue NT scholarship from this plight, such attempts have
fallen short again and again. While accepting that there are no easy and quick solutions,
he proposes two avenues for reining in and "refocusing" New Testament studies (as the
subtitle asserts).

First, Bockmuehl encourages that scholars pay closer attention to the "effective
history" of the NT which involves an appreciation for what influence it has had
throughout history, not just among scholars, but also as evident in more common thought
as evidenced through art and other forms of popular expression. In particular, he is
interested in the period before 150 AD, because it offers the best "historical
understanding of early Christianity's texts, persons, and events" (169). Secondly,
Bockmuehl suggests that one should appreciate the fact that the NT was intended for a
particular kind of reader - what Bockmuehl refers to as the "implied reader" (see 68-99).
At least discussing the relevance of the implied reader might aid the discipline in
discerning a common goal - if such an objective is desirable. Though these are his two
main propositions, he also continually affirms the significance of the canonical shape of
the New Testament. He finds that, in the midst of the theological cacophony of the
canon, there is a christocentric melody encouraging the notion that "the New Testament
text itself begs to be read systematically. . ." (108).

What Bockmuehl has offered is hope for a way forward through a dizzying
labyrinth that constitutes the present state of the field. I am quite happy with his
suggestions, but I am not opfimistic that it will bring the kind of unity for which he
hopes. No doubt evangelicals, such as myself, will applaud his efforts and encourage
others to read this book. But, those with a hermeneudc of suspicion will probably not
find Bockmuehl's presentation compelling, however cogent his arguments may be. In
fact, in some ways, this book may deepen a rift between those who wish to better "see the
Word" and those who don't. Nevertheless, Bockmuehl's voice is, at many times
throughout the book, a prophetic one that is calling the discipline away from the over-
specialization to which it is now resigned. If some are unhappy with his proposals, I am
sure Bockinuehl would welcome other suggestions. He concludes his book with a

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

summary "epilogue" in hopes that the discussion will continue. I think all can agree that
such a conversation is welcome and necessary.

Nijay K. Gupta

Simon J. Gathercole, The Pre-existent Son: Recovering the Christologies of Matthew,
Mark, and Luke. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006. xi + 344 pp., paper, $34.00.

It has become fashionable in the circles of New Testament scholarship to
remark about how the Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels is not presented as having
preexisted. Unlike the Gospel of John, the authors of the Synoptics do not provide a
prolegomena describing Jesus as a preexistent being nor does there seem to be any
statements by Jesus that would confirm such a conclusion. But Gathercole's book
provides a reason to rethink this approach. Through a careful study of the Synoptic
Gospels, he demonstrates that there is sufficient evidence to assert that the authors do
communicate a belief in the preexistence of Jesus. The book is divided into four parts.

In part one, Gathercole provides an overview of early Christianity. He
demonstrates that sufficient evidence exists to claim that belief in Jesus' preexistence was
an important part of Christian theology prior to the writing of the Gospels. This is evident
not only in the Pauline Epistles but also in Hebrews and Jude. Moreover, in the
Synoptics, the transcendent quality of Jesus' actions suggests he is a preexistent being.
These include his transcendence between heaven and earth (the transfiguration), his
authority to forgive sins, and his controlling of nature (calming of storms). Coupled with
these are activities that are carried out "in the name of Jesus" which stands in the OT
framework of the "name of YHWH" and provides him an inclusion with the divine
identity (76). Even statements made by Jesus suggest his ability to transcend space and
time as with his promises to support and affirm the work of the earthly Church from his
heavenly location (Matt 18:15-20; 28:18-20).

Part two contains the substance of Gathercole's argument. He focuses on those
statements in which Jesus says "I have come" followed by a purpose clause. After an
overview in which he answers possible opposition from some, he notes that the "I have
come" statements are not used by people in general or even those specially commissioned
by God. They are, however, often used in conjunction with angelic proclamations which,
as Gathercole suggests, is where they are best understood. "The angelic statements
provide both more appropriate and more abundant evidence than any of the other theories
reviewed earlier. Crucially, angels do sum up their earthly activity in a particular visit
with the T have come + purpose formula"'' (1 13-14). "[T]he structure of angels' comings
from heaven to earth - to fulfill a divinely ordained function that is the purpose of the
mission - fits extremely well with the language of Jesus' 'coming' sayings" (115).
Following a broad survey of 'coming' sayings in Jewish literature, he concludes that
there is a consistent use of the "I have come" + purpose formula in early Judaism, not for
human figures but for the visit of heavenly figures (145-46). With this in mind,
Gathercole examines ten of these sayings in the Synoptics which he concludes provides

Book Reviews

evidence for Jesus having come from heaven. These statements are not about
preexistence, as such, but rather focus on Jesus' purpose. However, the impHcation is that
Jesus was preexistent and came to fulfill a specific divine mission (176). Complimenting
the above is a brief examination of these statements in which Jesus claims "to have been
sent", which also, Gathercole concludes, supports his contentions.

Part three is a critique of the Wisdom Christology. Gathercole concedes that
this category has been helpful, but is not as relevant as some have claimed. Moreover,
since Wisdom, unlike Jesus, was not understood to be a preexistent entity apart from
God, but as an attribute of God, it does not really convey the notion of a preexistent being
that became incarnate (209). In particular, Jesus' statements about gathering Jerusalem
should not be read through Wisdom Christology, but as Jesus the transcendent figure who
exists in the histoiy of Israel (Matt 23.37).

Part four is an examination of four titles of Jesus in the Synoptics: Messiah,
Lord, Son of Man, and Son of God. While the first two titles provide some evidence for a
belief in Jesus' preexistence, the second two tides are more firm. This section closes with
a chapter in which Gathercole engages some modem theological debates in conjunction
with preexistence.

This is a well researched and written treatment on the topic. The strength of his
argument is found in his quarrying of the historical data which he applies to the text with
careful exegesis. Gathercole is aware that he is writing against the grain here and he is to
be commended for his efforts. Whether one agrees with him or not, it is clear that his
challenge to New Testament scholarship cannot go unanswered. While it is probably too
detailed to be used as a textbook it will certainly warrant reading by scholars and students
alike.

John Byron

Michael C. Parsons, Luke: Storyteller, Interpreter, Evangelist. Peabody, MA:
Hendrickson Publishers, 2007. 230 pp., paper, $19.95.

The work is an interesting guide to the writings of Luke including volumes I
(the Gospel) an II (Acts. Parsons views Luke's writings as undergirded by Greco-Roman
rhetorical traditions. He considers Luke an interpreter of the gospel story utilizing
traditions and social conventions of the world. His thrust is to challenge the reader to
approach Luke-Acts as if they were a part of Luke's audience, the first century Gentile
church.

Parsons is professor of Religion at Baylor University where he has taught since
1996. He is the author of eight books most of which focus on Luke- Acts.

Luke: Storyteller, Interpreter, Evangelist is a non-commentary commentary in
which one will find plenty of exegetical material. However, this material serves basically
as examples of the use of Greco-Roman rhetorical traditions. After an introduction to his
work, the author proceeds to approach Luke-Acts as the title suggests. Thus the three
sections of the book are devoted to Luke as storyteller, interpreter, and evangelist.

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

As a storyteller, the author begins by viewing Luke-Acts as a travel narrative
sharing an overarching geographical plan. The Gospel ends in Jerusalem and the church
begins in Jerusalem. Throughout, the author leans heavily on the rhetorical traditions of
the Greco-Roman world utilizing chreia (anecdotes reporting edifying sayings or
actions), fables and narrative based on Theon's Progymnasmata to understand more fully
Luke's message. These terms are adequately explained by the author.

As interpreter, the author views Luke as introducing his Greco-Roman
understanding of social customs and cultural values. These include with their definition
and illustration friendship and physiognomy. Also, Parsons in this section views
Jerusalem not as the center of the world, but that the Gospel moved beyond it
encompassing the whole world. As evangelist. Parsons views Luke-Acts as
reconstituting the people of God.

Extensive and valuable footnotes are found at the end of each chapter. A
twenty page bibliography as well as an "Index to Modem Authors" and an extensive
"Index to Ancient Sources" add to the value of the book.

Richard Allison

Brian S. Rosner, Greed as Idolatry: The Origin and Meaning of a Pauline Letter. Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007. 214 pp., paper, $22.00.

In this interesting exercise in exegetical interpretation with a view towards New
Testament ethics, Brian Rosner investigates the much-neglected, but highly provocative
statement "greed is idolatry" in Colossians 3:5 (see, similarly, Eph 5:5: "the greedy
person is an idolater"). Acknowledging that a host of interpretive, historical, and
theological questions are raised by this terse phrase, Rosner approaches his study on the
analogy of mountain climbing. This involves looking at the models of other climbers (ch
2: history of interpretation), collecting maps and supplies (ch 3: methods and
hermeneutical approaches), comparing similar peaks (chs 4-7: backgrounds and origins
of concepts), and the surveying of the immediate surrounding regions (chs 8-9: the direct
exegesis of the given passage).

Rosner' s exhaustive exploration of the interpretive history of this phrase
yielded six distinct meanings of the association between greed and idolatry in Col 3:5:
"greed is as bad as idolatry, leads to idolatry, entails the worship of the demon or god of
mammon, like idolatry involves forbidden service and obedience, like idolatry involves
inordinate love and devotion, or like idolatry involves misplaced trust and confidence"
(pp. 46-7). Provisionally dismissing the "nonmetaphorical" options as viable
interpretations, Rosner finds the latter three options to be most probable. Thus, in terms
of method, he devotes a major section to how and why analyzing the phrase in question
as a metaphor is profitable.

Book Reviews

key biblical texts (e.g. the Ten Commandments, the incident of the worship of the golden
calf, etc.), comparative Jewish texts such as Philo's writings and the Dead Sea Scrolls,
and the New Testament milieu (including portions of the gospels. Revelation, Romans
and Philippians). In terms of origins, Rosner draws the broad conclusion that Jewish
traditions such as the first commandment are foundational.

When looking at the immediate epistolary context of the criticism of greed,
Rosner concludes that the reference probably involves the sharing of possessions in the
"family setting of the early church" (p. 128). On the basis of his analysis, then, Rosner is
able to develop a "profile" of the greedy which pertain to ''those with a strong desire to
acquire and keep for themselves more and more money and possessions, because they
love, trust, and obey wealth rather than God" (p. 129). In Colossians and Ephesians, the
linking of greed to idolatry is meant, then, to expose the greedy as those who refiase to
offer God the exclusive right of love and trust (see p. 148). In the concluding chapter
Rosner offers some theological reflections on how the modem church can profit from a
focused concern with greed and the relationship between attitudes toward material
possessions and religious worship.

This book is a very welcome contribution to New Testament ethics and a
masterful example for students especially regarding how to do biblical exegesis. His
mastery of hermeneutical tools, his detailed knowledge of both ancient biblical and non-
biblical text, his comprehensive analysis of early and modem interpretations, and his
pastoral and theological sensitivity are admirable. Perhaps a couple of small quibbles are
worthy of notice, though. Rosner's dismissal of the option that the phrase is meant to
view money as a god may have been a bit too hasty. The line between speaking
metaphorically of a god and literally may be more hazy than we presume (see Acts
17:18). Secondly, Rosner seems to treat the phrase "greed is idolatry" in Colossians as
an idiomatic phrase and, thus, not too directly tied to the argument of the letter altogether
(though he is interested in the Sitz im Leben of the phrase in the early church). He does
not offer, then, a verse-by-verse analysis of the phrase in its literary context (as one might
see in a commentary). However, the inclusion of this sort of section in his book may
have enabled him to ground his argument more closely in its immediate context.

In the end, though, the exegetical strengths of this book far outweigh the very
small criticisms mentioned, and students and pastors alike will find this work
intellectually stimulafing and theologically refreshing.

Nijay K. Gupta

David M. Scholer, ed.. Social Distinctives of the Christians in the First Century, Pivotal
Essays by E. A. Judge. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2008. 227 pp., paper,
$24.95.

Scholer presents an anthology of eight important essays of E. A. Judge on the
demographics, social classes, institutional stmctures, and cultural conventions related to
class in the Roman Empire. The individual essays address a particular topic of social
situations in the first century. Judge, an early pioneer of social-scientific criticism, uses

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

various New Testament issues to provide an understanding of the early church's character
as a social institution within and as a reflection of its culture. The essays illustrate the
Hellenist community's social institutions, identify the social classes from which
Christians were drawn, discuss the Christians' relation with public authorities, and
describe the organization of the early Christians, primarily using Pauline documents.

Judge's essays provide one with a perspective on New Testament authors and
readers influenced by political and social situations of the times. He explains the reader's
social situation as demonstrated in the Gospels, Acts, and the Epistles. His discussion of
social patterns of the Christian groups in the first century includes ideas such as national
monarchy, eschatology, Jerusalem, Hellenistic cities, obligation of the individuals to
society, household societies, the republic, cultic gods, social identity of early Christianity,
the position of women, and judicial hearings. Judge uses a broad scripture base for his
discussions of the readers; however, he only uses St. Paul's letters to illustrate the
writers' social situations. Judge also uses St. Paul's writings to discuss rhetoric in
antiquity, Paul's place in society, Paul in the Jewish establishment, Paul and Hellenism,
the systems of rank and status, and the way people use rank to assert superiority over
each other.

Since the book is an anthology of essays, there are no transitions between
essays. Therefore, if one attempts to read it as a book, it is difficult reading. The first
essay has a great preface which serves as an excellent introduction to the essay, but the
remaining essays do not have an introduction. Each essay has good material on the social
issues of the first century, and this book of essays is a great resource for New Testament
scholars. However, the various themes of the individual essays make it difficult at times
to see the overall thrust of the book.

Eldridge Frazier, II

Colin G. Kruse, The Gospel According to John. Tyndale New Testament Commentary.
Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003. 395 pp., paper, $16.00.

The fourth Gospel is well served, in terms of commentaries, by seasoned
scholars such as C.K. Barrett, H. Ridderbos, and L. Morris; in more recent years
commentaries by D.A. Carson, C. Keener, and B. Witherington III have taken up the task
of renewing interest in John's Gospel for a new generation of students, pastors, and
scholars. Many of these aforementioned works can be intimidating due to technical
discussions and advanced excurses on Greek grammar and historical background. What
good evangelical resources are there for lay people or ministers who do not know Greek
but still desire an exegetically-driven analysis of the biblical text? This appears to be the
niche of the Tyndale Commentary series and Colin Kruse' s contribution succeeds in
engaging in this theologically-rich Gospel in a simple and cogent manner.

In a brief chapter on introductory issues, Kruse offers a conservative approach
to the author, purpose, and audience of the Gospel. The "beloved disciple" is best
understood as the apostle John who became a leading figure in Ephesus (p. 18-19). The

Book Reviews

purpose of his Gospel was to encourage belief in Jesus as the Messiah (John 20:30-31),
but secondary objectives may also have included edification for suffering and persecuted
believers (p. 19) as well as providing a supplement to the Synoptic Gospels (see p. 23).
In accordance with this scenario, Kruse proposes that a date of writings in the 80s or 90s
AD is quite reasonable. Also found in the introduction of the book is a brief summary of
John's theology pertaining to the trinity, eschatology, soteriology, ecclesiology,
sacramentalism, faith, obedience, as well as discussions of the themes of "witness" and
the role of "the Jews."

The exegetical comments that comprise the majority of the book are clear and
reasonable. On most verses, Kruse has only enough time to fill out the meaning of the
statement or paraphrase the sentence. When he encounters a real exegetical controversy,
he offers multiple perspectives and hints at the most plausible solution. The
hermeneutical approach to the commentary is never overtly mentioned in the preface or
description of the series, but it appears that Kruse is especially interested in the socio-
historical background to the letter, and literary features with special attention to
intertextuality and the influence of Old Testament (and intertestamental Jewish) themes.
Another notable feature is Kruse's repeated caution against over-stating the case for
John's anti-semitic tendencies (see pp. 213-4).

Though the commentary does not presuppose a knowledge of Greek, Kruse
deftly corrects misinterpretations of John's Gospel based on grammatical issues. For
instance, in John 10:29-30, when Jesus claims that "I and the Father are one," Kruse
points out that the adjective "one" is in the neuter form and not the masculine and thus it
should not be understood that they are one person. Rather, the implication is that "the
oneness of Father and Son here is oneness in mission and purpose" (p. 242).

Given the brevity of the commentary and the constraints of writing to those that
do not have training in exegesis, Kruse inevitably avoids depth in his analysis on most
occasions. But, I am amazed at how smoothly the commentary flows and how he is
repeatedly able to illuminate a passage with only a few sentences. My only criticism,
perhaps, is his tendency to appeal to rabbinic texts to shed light on Jewish thought and
attitudes. The problem of anachronism is probably in the minds of readers that come to
the text with a background of theological study and they might give Kruse the benefit of
the doubt that he is aware of this danger. However, given that the primary audience is
church lay leaders and pastors, I feel less comfortable.

The above minor criticism notwithstanding. Kruse offers students and Christian
leaders a concise commentary on the Gospel of John that precludes overly allegorized or
spiritual readings as well as historically dismissive ones. This book is a valuable
resource for the pastor's library.

Nijay K. Gupta

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

Ben Witherington III, / and 2 Thessalonians: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary. Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006. 286 pp., paper, $30.00.

Ben Witherington, professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological
Seminary, is not just a prolific writer, but a prolific commentary writer who wishes to
cover every book of the New Testament in his lifetime - and he is currently a good way
along! His approach is technically a «/c/?e-commentary as his subtitle demonstrates, but
Witherington is always attentive to the basic exegetical and historical issues that arise
from the text. Nevertheless, he has become famous for his "socio-rhetorical" approach.
His method is "rhetorical" in the sense that he wishes to be attentive to the rhetorical
categories and conventions that Paul works with in constructing the arguments and
language of his letters. Whereas many scholars have leaned heavily on the paradigm of
"Paul as letter-writer" (i.e. epistolary analysis), Witherington makes the argument that in
the first century the sending of letters was still seen as "oral textuality." Thus, Paul's
epistles were "surrogates for oral speech, surrogates for what Paul would have said if he
were with the recipients" (p. xiii). How does this affect the interpretation of the letter?
Witherington brings this to bear on a number of levels, not least of which in appealing to
early rhetoricians (like Quintilian) and demonstrating that Paul acknowledged and
employed many formal rhetorical tools. A central concern of ancient rhetoric was in the
type of speech (i.e., deliberafive, forensic, and epideictic). Witherington is so insistent
that this greatly affects how one reads Paul's letters such that "failure to recognize the
species of rhetoric Paul is using and such crucial matters as where the thesis statement or
final summary of the speech is leads to all sorts of misinterpretation of these documents"
(xiv). The "social" aspect of the methodology of commentary is meant to bring out the
context of the letter and how Paul's rhetoric is meant to address directly the problems,
questions, or happenings in the churches.

The commentary is always exegetically rich and written in a smooth style that
is not bogged down with overly technical comments. Any appeal to the Greek text is
transliterated and footnotes, for the most part, are brief. The reading level of the
commentary suggests that it is geared towards pastors and students with a view towards
theological issues and the enrichment of personal devotion. A number of helpful features
are certainly noteworthy. In the introduction, Witherington includes an annotated
bibliography that comments on the most useful commentaries, monographs, and
theological studies. Secondly, on several occasions, the reader encounters helpfiil
excurses (called "A CLOSER LOOK") on various theological problems such as the
language of election, the supposed problem of anti-semitism in 1 Thess 2:14-16. the
Parousia, and the "Restrainer" in 2 Thessalonians, among others. Thirdly, Witherington
includes, on occasion, a section called "Bridging Horizons" which looks to bring the
ancient message of the text into the modem world and explore the theological and
pastoral applications of the passages in view.

In terms of the overall orientation of the commentary, Witherington shows a
fine balance of appeal to the Old Testament backgrounds, the contemporary Jewish and

Book Reviews

Greco-Roman contexts, and modern interaction with other commentators (especially I.H.
Marshall, A. Malherbe, C. Wanamaker, and to a lesser degree, F.F. Bruce, E. Best, and
J.B. Lightfoot). Witherington defends the Pauline authorship of both epistles and the
canonical orders as the correct historical ordering as well (with 1 Thessalonians written
before 2 Thessalonians; contra Wanamaker). He labels 1 Thessalonians as "epideictic"
and 2 Thessalonians as "deliberative," with the latter addressing social and eschatological
problems.

Witherington writes in such a pleasing style that this commentary is enjoyable
to read (unlike many very workmanlike, reference commentaries). His approach covers a
range of issues and opens the reader's eyes to the ancient world as well as the intertextual
fields of discourse happening in the text. If 1 have one concern with the commentary, it is
that Witherington has pressed his rhetorical approach too far. Though he has established
that a rhetorical approach is needed, it is not clear that Paul would be quite so familiar
with the detailed techniques demonstrated by Cicero or Quintilian. Where did Paul learn
such techniques? Also, the reliance on determining the type of rhetoric seems too rigid
for Paul, though one could see how a more tentative hypothesis can be insightful.

Overall, in a world stuffed with commentaries (especially on Paul's letters),
this work will have no trouble defending its place as supplementing other rhetorically-
driven commentaries and also culling theological insights from these fertile texts. Pastors
and seminary students will find this an excellent guide to the Thessalonian epistles.

Nijay K. Gupta

Raymond F. Collins, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus: A Commentaiy. New Testament Library.
Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2002. 328 pp., cloth, $39.95.

This commentary contributes to Westminster John Knox's "New Testament
Library" series which claims to offer "critical portrayals of the historical world in which
the books [of the New Testament] were created." It also aims to "pay careful attention to
their literary design" as well as to "present a theologically perceptive exposition of the
text." The style of the commentaries series is marked by the presence of an original
translation and a level of engagement accessible to pastors and students as Greek/Hebrew
words are transliterated and footnotes are kept to a minimum. This particular volume on
the Pastoral Epistles is by catholic biblical scholar Raymond Collins (Catholic University
of America) who is known for his research on the Thessalonian correspondence in
particular.

In the brief introduction (14-pages), Collins treats issues such as literary
features, key themes, and general orientation to the letters. Included as well is a
discussion of the authenticity of the letters. He agrees with the critical scholarly
consensus that these letters are pseudonymous based on concerns with stylistic and
lexical issues, theological views, and historical peculiarities of the three documents.
Thus, Collins concludes that "Revering the memory of Paul and intending to actualize his
teaching, an anonymous author invoked his authority in composing the Pastoral Epistles"

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

(8). However, given the brevity of his argument for pseudonymity and the nature of his
textual comments, he seems to argue /row this conclusion rather than ybr it. Indeed, he
appeals frequently to how "the Pastor" (his title for the pseudepigrapher) includes
fictional historical and personal details for the sake of epistolary "verisimilitude" (see,
e.g., pp. 8, 99, 129, 214). However, under Collins' theory of pseudonymity, some
historical details in the texts seem completely superfluous, such as "Paul" remembering
Timothy's tears (2 Tim 1:4). The scenarios that Collins' suggests that can account for
these details appear to be, at times, a tenuous attempt to imagine the thoughts of the man
who is imagining Paul's thoughts!

Nevertheless, there is still much too commend this commentary. Collins offers,
as promised, a vast amount of valuable contextual information regarding parallels to
relevant contemporaneous literature. He draws connections between the Pastorals and a
number of Hellenistic conventions including common epistolary characteristics,
rhetorical devices and designs, and philosophical thought. It is not unusual for Collins to
provide illuminating "background" information quoting frequently from writers such as
Epictetus, Euripides, Aristotle, Plato, Plutarch, Lysias, and Onasander.

If there was a time when the Pastoral Epistles were neglected in Pauline
studies, that problem is in the process of being dealt with as recent commentaries have
appeared from such scholars as I. Howard Marshall and Philip Towner. Raymond
Collins' contribution is a welcome one as we continue to situate these important canonical
letters in their socio-historical, literary, and theological contexts.

Nijay K. Gupta

Rebecca Skaggs, The Pentecostal Commentary on 1 Peter, 2 Peter, and Jude. New York/
London: T & T Clark/ Cleveland: Pilgrim, 2004. Xiv + 175 pp, paper, $24.00.

Dr. Skaggs has produced a brief commentary on the epistles of the Apostles
Peter and Jude. Because this commentary claims to be "Pentecostal," I will evaluate it by
its contribution to a Pentecostal understanding of Christianity. The Holy Spirit's role in
Christianity is vital, and I appreciate anyone who helps develop a greater awareness of
His work in Christ's Church. Depending on what translation is used, Peter refers to the
Holy Spirit six times at 1 Peter 1:2, 1:11, 1:12, 1:22, 3:18, 4:14, and 2 Peter 1:21. Jude
refers to the Spirit twice at verses 19 and 20. Dr. Skaggs comments on these verses in
particular will be very relevant as well as her three sections devoted to the Holy Spirit
(see pp. 14-15 "The Holy Spirit in 1 Peter"; 90-91 "The Holy Spirit in 2 Peter"; and 154-
155 "The Holy Spirit in Jude").

Book Reviews

and a wonderful opportunity for us to better understand the Spirit's role in our Christian
life. The phrase "sanctified by the Spirit" is an important theme to Pentecostals because
of their deep roots in the Holiness Movement of the 1 800s. Skaggs, however, offers us
only one sentence regarding this theme: "Satisfaction means a setting apart, and however
the theological concept is viewed by scholars, it is quite clear that the author is saying
that the readers have been set apart by the Holy Spirit according to God's plan" (16). I
refer to commentaries because of the "theological concept" that is elaborated upon.
Skagg gives us no such help. She merely restates here what the Apostle has said.

The next reference to the Holy Spirit occurs in 1 Peter 1:11, "they [the OT
prophets] inquired what person or time was indicated by the Spirit of Christ within
them. . ." Skaggs gives us a little more insight here. She reports that this title for the Holy
Spirit is unique in the New Testament and serves as an experiential bridge between
Peter's suffering believers and the suffering OT prophets. "Indeed, it is by means of the
work of the Spirit that Peter's suffering readers are participating in the sufferings and
future glory of Christ which were prophesied by the prophets" (21). This spiritual
relationship is not spoken of further than this. This is a missed opportunity to really
advance Pentecostal understanding of the relationship between the Old and New
testaments.

1 Peter 1:12 ("...those who preached the good news to you through the Holy
Spirit sent from heaven...") is not even mentioned in Skaggs' commentary! As we
remember, Peter was the one who stood up from among the eleven and preached on the
day of Pentecost about the good news of Christ having ascended and who was pouring
out His Spirit upon His Church (Acts 2:14ff.). No mention is made of this obvious
connection. And no scholarly comment upon this verse means a possible vital furtherance
of our understanding of Pentecostal homiletics is missed.

For a reference to the Holy Spirit in 1 Peter 1 :22 we have to look to the King
James Bible: "Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit
unto unfeigned love..." Granted, Skaggs is not using the King James Bible for her
commentary text, but this is an important verse because many Pentecostals use the King
James Bible and hold it in very high regard. Skaggs does not comment at all on this
important textual tradition. The link between the Spirit's work, the Christian's obedience,
and love is a strong one, heavily supported by the New Testament writers.

There are two usages of the phrase "in the spirit" in 1 Peter 3:18 and 4:6. It
could be argued that these verses are not talking about the Holy Spirit, but the human
spirit as opposed to the carnality of human "flesh." Nevertheless, when a Pentecostal
reads the phrase "in the spirit," the Word of God has effectively grabbed their attention
and rightfully so. (Skaggs does not have a section in her commentary on 1 Peter 3:18-22,
but is actually included in her section on 13-17.) Skaggs does, however, capitalize
"Spirit" in 3:18, so in her mind it is a reference to the Holy Spirit. Here our commentator
does give us somewhat to sink our teeth into. She refers to "in the Spirit" as "the area in
which the Holy Spirit works without human limitations, whereas the sphere of the flesh
is characterized by suffering and death.... Hence, the phrase 'in the Spirit' must refer to
the existence in and to which Jesus was raised when the power of God was able to work
without the limitation of human existence" (51). She then relates the believer's being

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

"made alive in the new existence in Christ" to Christ's own being "made alive again in
the Spirit" (51). Skaggs' gives us something to ponder here. How does the Holy Spirit
work in spite of our human limitations to bring us into this newness?

If 1 Peter 3:18 is a reference to the Holy Spirit, we can assume that the very
same phrase, "in the spirit," in 4:6 is also a reference to the Spirit of God. Skaggs does
admit that the terms "flesh" and "spirit" are used here in the same sense as they are in
3:18, but she does not comment on what the phrase signifies here in 4:6, save that "in the
final time of judgment, God will reverse the negative judgment of humans and these ["the
dead" to which "the gospel was preached"] will live in the new resurrection life" (57).
But the phrase Peter gives us in 4:6, "they might live in the Spirit like God," is rich with
joyftil and hopeful meaning.

Chapter four, verse fourteen is the last reference to the Holy Spirit in Peter's
first epistle; it tells us that the "Spirit of glory and of God" rests upon those who suffer
reproach for Christ's sake. How believers respond to suffering has been the main theme
of Skaggs' commentary and will continue to be the theme she uses to unite all of Peter's
sayings together into one cohesive message. She rightfially comments that "when you are
abused, you are blessed, since then the spirit comes as support to help you and gives you
a share in God's glory" (65, italics hers). Skaggs further comments of God's glory, "one
of the main characteristics of God is glory. ..which is revealed in Jesus.... Glory is also a
significant theme for Peter" (65). She mentions three times when the Apostle Peter uses
the idea of "glory" (1:7, 5:4, and 5:10). Glory, or the Shekinah Glory, is very important to
many Pentecostals. It barkens back to the glory of God in the Holy of Holies. It barkens
back to the Mount of Transfiguration. It is a wonderful expression Peter gives us: "the
Spirit of Glory." Further comment by Skaggs about the relationship between the Holy
Spirit and the Glory of God would be most welcome.

The Holy Spirit is only mentioned in 2 Peter once: 1:21. It speaks of OT
prophets being "moved by the Holy Spirit." This reminds the reader of 1 Peter 1:11-12.
Because Pentecostals believe that the Spirit still moves people to prophesy, whether
interpreting a message of tongues, outright prophesy, or a message of knowledge or
wisdom, this verse is very important. Skaggs admits that the Holy Spirit is the source and
origin of prophecy, and she makes a clear distinction between human and Holy Spirit
(111-112). There are certain keywords that knowledgeable Pentecostals gravitate toward,
and prophecy is one of them, and fiarther comment about the relationship of OT prophecy
and NT prophets, in the Pentecostal sense (see also Acts 11:27, 13:1, and 15:32; 1 Cor.
12:4-11), would be well received. Further comment about exactly how the OT prophets
were "moved by the Holy Spirit" would be most usefiil as well.

Book Reviews

between the believer and God is made possible" (14-15), and "the Holy Spirit (divine
power) is the means by which the godly life is developed and maintained" (91). These are
obvious doctrinal understandings that can be derived from most of the NT writers. But I
looked for the actual "meaf in the text of the commentary, and I was disappointed. Too
many wonderful opportunities for a "Pentecostal Commentary" were not taken advantage
of or were missed completely.

We have yet to look a the Holy Spirit in Jude, and a strong Pentecostal
distinctive is mentioned by the Apostle Jude in verse 20: praying in the Holy Spirit as
well as a reference to those who are "devoid" of the Spirit in verse 19. Skaggs, first, deals
with those teachers who Jude must rebuke who do not have the Spirit of God. Again, she
merely restates what Jude has said: "Jude himself clarifies his particular use of the word
by adding the phrase 'not possessing the Spirit.'" (170). I understand that false teachers
do not have the Spirit, but more could be said here about the relationship between the
Spirit and truth. Consistently, whenever the Spirit is mentioned, Skaggs misses
opportunities to make her commentary truly "Pentecostal."

"Pray in the Holy Spirit" is a phrase that jumps off the page to most
Pentecostals because it speaks directly to their experience of praying in tongues. Skaggs
merely says, "It is very likely that this phrase refers to the special prayer in the Hoy Spirit
knows as glossolalia. In any case, the readers' prayer in the Holy Spirit contrasts vividly
with the claims of the false teachers that they are led by the Spirif (171). There is a
world of distinctly Pentecostal experience. Scripture reference, and opportunity that
Skaggs chooses not to include in her comments. It is obvious to most Pentecostals that
Jude is talking about glossolalia, it is of no use to merely state this.

In conclusion, I am not sure what makes Skaggs' commentary "Pentecostal." I
do not believe she has advanced Pentecostal scholarship. This is regrettable.

Bryan Miller

Peter H. Davids, The Letters of 2 Peter and Jude. The Pillar New Testament
Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans/ Nottingham: ApoUos, 2006. xxxii + 348 pp.,
cloth, $34.00.

The letters of Jude and 2 Peter have, through much of the history of the church,
been the most neglected writings of the New Testament. There are many reasons for this,
including Jude's direct reference to the Testament of Moses and 1 Enoch (Jude 9-10, 14),
the very real linguistic differences between 1 and 2 Peter, and, in the more tolerant age of
the latter half of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, an ecumenism that distains
harsh words against heresy. Yet, since the early 1980's, a number of useful commentaries
on these two letters have appeared, including Bauckham (WBC, 1983), Hillyer (NIBC,
1992); and Neyrey (AB, 1993). Davids's commentary joins this presfigious group. While
one may not agree with it in all that it asserts, the work reflects careful and thoughtful
scholarship in service of the church.

While his conclusions are rather cautious, Davids demonstrates a familiarity
with the controversies surrounding Jude and 2 Peter. He acknowledges that while 2 Peter

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

follows Jude in the canonical sequence, it is likely that the chronological order of the two
letters is the reverse. In particular, the manner in which 2 Peter 2 reflects the argument of
Jude indicates an acquaintance of the former with the latter (pp. 136-41). Thus, when he
comments on Jude and 2 Peter, Davids reverses the canonical order and begins with
Jude..

Unlike many scholars, Davids places both Jude (p. 16) and 2 Peter (pp. 130-31)
in the first century, although he is agnostic on with regard to authorship. Davids is open
to the possibility that 2 Peter is pseudepigraphic. The testimony to the Transfiguration in
2 Pet. 1:16-18, therefore, is intended less as a verification of Petrine authorship than as a
rhetorical element to support the contention made in 1:19-21. As such, it represents a
conventional rhetorical proof for the contention that prophecy is God breathed (p. 206 see
Aristotle, Rhetoric 1335-3 6a).

On the other hand, 2 Pet. 3:14-16 is not necessarily evidence that 2 Peter dates
from the second century. Davids recognizes that the author may not be acquainted with
all of Paul's letters, and that it is unlikely that at an early house church or churches in any
particular city had access to a collection of the full Pauline corpus. Davids concludes
from the evidence of 2 Peter that the author only knew two or three of Paul's letters.
Thus, while we see an early canonization formula, it does not mean that Peter's canon
corresponds to that of the later church.

A fourth critical issue is 2 Peter's milieu. Davids recognizes 2 Peter's use of
fifty-seven hapax legomenna (words found nowhere else in the NT, p. 131), as well as the
Hellenistic features of the virtue list of 1 Pet. 1 :5-l 1 (pp. 176-81). Yet, Davids locates the
language of 2 Pet. 1:5-11 in the world of Hellenistic Judaism, not stoicism. In this
respect, Davids overlooks the fact that, both in its language and its rhetorical style, 2
Peter is one of the most, if not the most, Hellenistic document of the New Testament.

Yet. Davids notes the rhetorical method of both Jude and 2 Peter. He is
particularly indebted to D. F. Watson, Invention, Arrangement and Style: Rhetorical
Criticism of Jude and 2 Peter (1988). While neither 2 Peter nor Jude reflect the
"educated" rhetoric of represented in the handbooks of Aristotle, Cicero or Quintillian,
the two letters do correspond to Asian style of rhetoric (pp. 131-32). It is noted that Jude
follows the rhetorical structure of a letter rather closely (pp. 24-25), while Peter's style is
more reminiscent of a sermon or speech within a letter structure (pp. 143). This
differentiation may be more apparent than real, since both letters would have been read
aloud and interpreted in oral performance.

Finally, Davids is not content to understand Jude and 2 Peter as reflections of
the Church's past, but as living documents. They address real problems of the twenty-
first century. Davids notes, for example, how easy it is for Christians today to
compromise, to preach a message that appeals to the conventions popular in society as a
whole, neglecting the hard demands of the gospel, including a life of separation and
purity (see p. 245). The false teachers of both Jude and 2 Peter also succumbed to this
temptation. Thus, the two letters provide a paradigm of encouragement and warning to
believers today.. The message of both letters, hard as it is, needs, therefore, to be heeded.

Russell Morton

Book Reviews

Lany Christenson, Answering Your Questions about Speaking in Tongues. Minneapolis:
Bethany House, 2005. 142 pp., paper, $7.99.

This book was originally published in 1968. This reprint celebrates the thirty-
seventh anniversar>' of the printing of such a simple, easy to read, and understandable
book on such a deep controversial subject - speaking in tongues.

Christenson tackles a difficult subject, yet makes it plain that the scriptures do
discuss speaking in tongues and other gifts of the Spirit. Many would acknowledge that
Scriptures tell of such gifts, yet not practice, or even agree with such gifts to be used
within the body of Christ. Christenson's prayer is that "these chapters will help Christian
people come into both an understanding and a personal experience of a beautiful gift of
the Holy Spirit" (8).

It is interesting to note that in "1960 classical Pentecostals numbered about 25
million worldwide. Forty-five years later Pentecostals and charismatics numbered 553
million, trending toward 811 million by 2025" (8). While one may argue with the
theological meaning of speaking in tongues, or if it was for biblical times only, one
cannot argue with the fact of an increased growth of believers who practice the spiritual
gift of tongues.

In chapter one, Christenson begins with his personal testimony, which is hard
to argue with, as a person's personal experience can speak loud to any reader of the book.
Before 1960 it was common to believe that speaking in tongues was simply an
"emotional phenomenon" (15). Yet the traditional historic Christian denominations began
to experience this phenomenon called speaking in tongues.

A description of speaking in tongues follows, and it declared a manifestation of
the Holy Spirit, with references to biblical scriptures to support the statement. "It should
be manifested decently and in order" (19). Tongues can be called a gift, but is it truly a
language? Christenson gives support by use of the definition of language; "Language is
an expression of meaning in terms of feeling or thought" (25). Does this gift have value?
The author suggests that the most important value is for private devotion.

Chapter two discusses speaking in tongues as a sign of baptism with the Holy
Spirit. Who is the baptizer? Jesus Christ is the one who gives the gift. Christianson uses
the word PILOT to consider the five aspects of the baptism with the Holy Spirit. These
are Power, Instantaneous, Link, Objectivity, and Tongues. What is this gift for? This gift
is for exhortation and testimony. He follows with a sermon "You Shall Be My
Witnesses."

Chapter three considers tongues as a gift. Christenson offers that tongues can
create a new dimension in the worship of God. All Christians commune with God and,
even though they may not understand the language of tongues, communion still takes
place between the believer and God. Christianson explores questions and problems such
as emotionalism, overemphasis, and divisiveness concerning speaking in tongues. There
is also consideration of theological and practical aspects of gifts.

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

Chapter four examines this gift as a ministry. The author considers this gift in
relationship with other gifts and ministries within the body of Christ. This gift is not to be
used with selfish motives such as showing off or declaring oneself as more spiritual than
a brother or sister. It works in union with other gifts "for building up the body of Christ"
(Eph. 4:12).

Chapter five describes how a believer may receive the blessing of speaking in
tongues. A healthy diet of the Word of God and a devotion time set aside with God is of
most importance. Christenson closes with the appendix, "How to Have a Daily Quiet
Time With God." Whether one agrees or disagrees on the subject of the baptism with the
Holy Spirit, one can definitely agree that all Christians need to have a daily quiet time
with God. This book was rightly titled as it does answers questions about speaking in
tongues.

Dawn Morton

Mark Husbands and Daniel J. Treier, Justification: What's at Stake in the Current
Debates? Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2004. 278 pp., cloth, $23.00.

There is. perhaps, no Christian doctrine more studied, discussed, and debated
than the concept of justification. One might question the need for another book on the
subject. But, as the subtitle suggests, there is a minefield of issues involved in the subject
including questions of grammafico-historical exegesis, systematic theology,
hermeneutics, ecclesiological concerns, and ethical matters. This collection often essays,
originally a presentation of papers at a conference at Wheaton Graduate School (2003),
narrows the discussion to just one question: is imputed righteousness fictive, forensic or
transformative! What makes this particular collection attractive is that it takes an overtly
inter-disciplinary approach. The perspectives from which justification is viewed are four-
fold: (1) biblical theology, (2) modem systemafic theology (3) historical theology
(especially Lutheran, Anglican, Reformed, and Wesleyan), and (4) ecumenical
considerations.

One quickly observes that various fields of scholarship, though eager to join
together in dialogue, struggle to understand the terminology and methodological
approaches of each other's disciplines. D.A. Carson underscores this point by noting
how the "theologian" studies a subject versus an "exegete." In Carson's opinion, both
have particular methodological tendencies and neither one is safe from blind spots. If it
is sometimes the tendency of the theologian to proof-text, the exegete is equally capable
of missing a bigger concept that may not necessarily arise from "philology and formulae"
(50). But, this attempt at approaching justification fi^om various theological angles is
worthy of recognition.

Although the study was clearly concerned with justification and imputation, it
was a bit surprising to see no discussion of "the new perspective on Paul" which
continues to spark debate and has now become a notable subject in denominafions. This
criticism notwithstanding, pastors and students alike will find these essays thought-

Book Reviews

provoking and, I think, they succeed in forcing the reader to engage with a well-worn
issue from different vantage points.

Nijay K. Gupta

I.H. Marshall, Aspects of the Atonement: Cross and Resurrection in the Reconciling of
God and Humanity. Colorado Springs: Paternoster, 2007. viii + 139 pp., paper, $19.99.

This short work on the atonement comes from a man who has been dubbed "the
dean of New Testament evangelical scholars,'" I. Howard Marshall. In the first two
chapters, Marshall sets his sight at defending the doctrinal position "penal substitution"
from a number of criticisms. Though Marshall believes that no single metaphor of
Christ's work is completely sufficient to explain his saving action, he finds that the idea
of substitution is certainly a primary concept. Some, like S. Chalke, have criticized the
penal substitution view because it appears to reason that God could only aid sinners by
acting violently against his own Son which would even seem to condone such abhorrent
things like child abuse. Marshall responds by surveying the judicial and forensic imagery
of the New Testament (e.g., punishment, vengeance, wrath) to show that the language of
judgment is a significant biblical theme. But he is keen to point out that it is possible to
maintain that God's attitude towards sin is a "sinless expression of wrath, free from the
elements that disfigure human wrath" (pp. 23-4). It is a grave mistake, reasons Marshall,
to conclude that the holy character of God does not express itself in "judgement and
wrath when [his] creation is spoilt by sin" (p. 24). In response to the idea that a penal
substitutionary view sees a God that punishes an innocent son, Marshall cogently argues
that this is an unnecessary inference. The New Testament as a whole demonstrates that
the Father does not act independently against the Son, but "[t]he death of Jesus is the
single action of Father and Son together" (p. 57). The terminology of "penal
substitution" may be part of the problem as it appears to be prone to misunderstanding
and overextension. Thus, Marshall accepts the equivalent phrase "Substitutionary
suffering and death," though certainly it is not as pithy (pp. 65-6).

Marshall's third and fourth chapters deal, respectively, with the role of Christ's
resurrecfion in justification, and the importance of "reconciliation" as an effect of
atonement. In the fornier chapter, based on Romans 4:25, Marshall draws attention to a
much neglected issue: how is it that Jesus was "raised for our justification"!
Scholarship often focuses on the death of Christ as the ultimate act of obedience that
brings about justification. Marshall adds that Christ's resurrection was also necessary as
"the death by itself is not sufficient to justify us without the verdict of God expressed in
his carrying into effect the result of Christ's death, namely the pardon and enlivening of
the sinner who is now brought into the new life of the justified" (p. 91). The final chapter
on reconciliation is an attempt to place this concept as a comprehensive one that
demonstrates the effects of justification. The focus here is on the relational aspects of
atonement, both between God and sinners, and within humanity itself.

This work on the atonement shows Marshall at his best: clear discussion, irenic
interaction, honest with ambiguities, and often raising penetrating questions for further

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

exploration. Certainly this little book will be referenced much within the ongoing
debates regarding the central themes of salvation in the New Testament.

Nijay K. Gupta

Francesca Aran Murphy, God is Not a Story: Realism Revisited. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2007. 356 pp., cloth, $120.

This monograph by Francesca Murphy, Reader in Systematic Theology at the
University of Aberdeen, is a critical evaluation of narrative theology, at least at the level
of its major contributors: Hans Frei, George Lindbeck, Herbert McCabe, and Robert
Jensen, and two traditional interlocutors: Thomas Aquinas and Karl Barth. On the very
first page Murphy expresses her concern: "...the driving force of narrative theology, the
method itself, slides into the place of content or subject matter" (1).

Murphy's basic argument begins with a description of the two types of
narrative theology: Story Barthianism and Grammatical Thomism. The point of these
expressions for Murphy "is not to show that narrative theologies are in or out of line with
Thomas' or Barth 's writings but that, far from bending theology back to the shape of
biblical revelation, they intensify the angular rationalism to which contemporary theology
is culturally prone" (6). Murphy provides a historical context for narrative theology and
explains its focus on "story." Murphy argues that narrative theology belongs to the genre
of melodrama, which she claims is movie-like: "Most Hollywood films aspire to the
movie version of melodrama, that is, to closed romantic realism, called closed because
these films . . . create worlds that do not acknowledge that they are being watched and the
actors behave as if the camera isn't there" (4). Using this analogy. Murphy begins to
critically reflect on the premises of narrative theology.

Why the movie parallel? Murphy's answer is rooted in image. "Our argument
will be that narrative theology does not achieve its own most valuable aim of reinstafing
the imaginative and biblical basis of theology. It does not obey the curves of the narrative
of salvation. In order adequately to respond to the images of this revealed history, one
needs to know or understand this image, but also to respond to it in love - because the
mysteiy which the God-given image expresses is love. We will argue that, in place of
such loving assent, narrative theologies offer a pre-verbal machine of the reality,
providing the materials for an abstraction of essence, not for the concretization of an
image. Since such cognitive acts do not set the perceiver free to love another as another,
narrative theologies substitute a methodology for the personal love of God" (23). For
example, as chapter two argues, narrative theologies have tended toward a monological
rather than dialogical notion of the person, and thus of the Church. Even more, rather
than avoiding the foundationalist game, narrative theologies play by its rules. "Despite its
aim of avoiding foundationalism, the hermeneutics of narrative theology misses its own
best intentions because it is using a non-relational idea of truth. Instead of turning to the
other, this a-historical idea of truth keeps twisting back on itself, generating a fideistic
foundationalism" (80). For Murphy, as chapter three argues, the primary objection to

Book Reviews

narrative theology is that the priority of the narrative method entails either that
storytelling itself becomes the foundation upon which God stands, or else that story itself
is the wider concept which contains the idea of God (93). But God cannot be one of the
characters in the story or made lesser than story, nor can God be identified with story
(123)!

In the last half of the book. Murphy moves the reader from melodrama to
"drama" as a category for dealing with Scripture. Chapter four shows the implicit
problems rooted in melodrama concerning the existence of God and the problem of evil.
Chapter five moves closer to a dramatic theology where, using the work von Balthasar
and others. Murphy argues that the dialogical aspect of life and religion is best
understood by the analogy of drama. Chapter six deals more closely with the Trinitarian
God, claiming that narrative theology is unable to deal with its Trinitarian complexity. In
the end, according to Murphy, narrative theology's descriptive approach to the Trinitarian
persons lends itself to the problem of Modalism (24). Murphy concludes in chapter seven
by claiming that the truth of Scripture is more dramatic than cinematic. "We have
claimed, not only that narrative theologies do not succeed on their own terms, but that
what they propose can feasibly be achieved without making God a story. The post-
Christian world isn't simply secular or a-religious; its melodramatic imagination
expresses a yearning for Christian drama" (315). For Murphy, the reading of Scripture is
the reading of a "theo-drama."

God is Not a Story is a needed overview and response to a major aspect of
contemporary theology. Murphy responds to some of the most influential theologians in
the twentieth century and presents them, and all students of Scripture, with a serious
challenge. Though not for the light-hearted, for a complex conversation looms in the
background, this book is an important read for all students of Scripture and theology.

Edward W. Klink III, Talbot School of Theology

Robert A. Peterson and Michael D. Williams, Why I Am Not an Arminian.
Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2004. 215 pp., paper, $17.00.

The conversations between Calvinists and Arminians have been continuing for
the past several hundred years. The book Why I Am Not an Arminian and its companion
book Why I Am Not a Calvinist are two recent additions to this dialogue. However, only
Why I Am Not an Arminian will be reviewed here.

Robert A. Peterson and Michael D. Williams, both fi-om Covenant Theological
Seminary, have collaborated on a very stimulating book. The book's chapters follow
what one would more or less expect from a book of this nature. The discussions include
such theological topics as: I) Predestination; 2) Perseverance; 3) Freedom; 4) Inability; 5)
Grace; 6) and Atonement. But included as well are two historical chapters: one on
Augustine and Pelagius and another on Arminius and the Synod of Dort.

The book's obvious intention is the defense of Calvinistic theology. What
makes this book unique is that it brings together both historical evidence and theological
evidence to make its point. By using this approach they do not dwell only on favorite

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

scriptures, yet this book uses scripture extensively. Their writing is broad enough to
engage the reader, but specific in certain areas that cause reflection.

In general, this book would be very beneficial to those learning about
Calvinism or Calvinists who are looking to reinforce their particular perspective. With
this in mind there are two specific issues with the book. First, the chapter on Augustine
and Pelagius is the stereotypical argument against Arminianism — namely, the association
of Arminius with Pelagius. The authors try to diffuse this by using the term "Semi-
Augustine" to describe Arminianians, but the connotation remains obviously biased.
However, this reference does not occur until the end of the chapter.

A second major problem is the flow of the book. The book is entitled Why I
Am Not an Arminian, but the major chapter on Arminius is not until the middle of the
book. This chapter is the longest chapter in the book, and its format varies greatly from
earlier and later chapters that were devoted only to theological arguments. It appears as if
there are actually two books combined into one, the first being a theological book and the
second a historical book. This could have been solved by creating two parts, or better
integrating the historical perspective within the chapters on theology. This is not to say
that the book's information is in any way lacking. Every chapter is very well written and
enlightening. In fact, the fifth chapter alone (Arminius and the Synod of Dort) is worth
the purchase of the book.

This book would be very useful as a supplemental text for one studying
theology. Pastors who have an interest in theology, will appreciate the brevity of the
book.

Larry Sterling, Jr.

Jeffery L. Staley & Richard Walsh, Jesus, the Gospels and Cinematic Imagination: A
Handbook to Jesus on DVD. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2007. 208 pp.,
paper, $19.95.

From the passion plays performed in medieval Europe up till and beyond
Edison's invention of moving pictures, dramatized depictions of the life of Jesus have
captured the imagination of audiences. Indeed, the first ever depiction of Jesus in a film
was the 1898 cinematic presentation of the famous passion play in Oberammergau. The
twentieth century witnessed numerous Jesus films that ranged from reverent to bordering
on derisive. Since the 1960's there has been a steady stream of these films each
presenting viewers with a portrayal of Jesus that is often formed by the social and cultural
location of the director and producer. In recent years these films have attracted the
attention of New Testament scholars who have begun to study these cinematic Gospels in
an attempt to analyze their modem day proclamation. It is in response to this growing
interest that Staley and Walsh offer this volume.

Staley and Walsh have provided the reader with a valuable tool for exploring
the 'reel Jesus'. The authors review eighteen different Jesus films that span
approximately one hundred years. Each chapter examines a film's (1) plot summary, (2)

Book Reviews

memorable characters, (3) memorable visuals, (4) key scriptures, (5) cultural
location/genre, and (6) the director. Every chapter is concluded with a helpflil list of
DVD chapters that indicate where the film scenes can be found in the Gospels. Adding to
the value of this book is two additional chapters; one that suggests ways for analyzing
Jesus films and another that suggests how to teach a class on Jesus and Film.

The result is that Staley and Walsh have created a user friendly manual for
scholars and film buffs alike. This volume will be particularly helpful for those who plan
to teach a class on the "reel Jesus' or pastors who want to use clips from the films as a
way to illustrate a sermon. The publisher has done a fine job with keeping the price
within a reasonable range. I highly recommend it.

• ' John Byron

Geza Vermes, The Resurrection: History and Myth. New York; Doubleday, 2008. xi +
171pp., cloth, $18.95.

The belief in resurrection is central to the Christian faith. It is a religion that
celebrates the conquest of death by its deity and looks forward to the day when its
adherents will no longer face the same enemy. But rarely do those who profess a hope in
the resurrection (Jesus' and their own) have a historical understanding of the origins of
the belief in resurrection. Too often we assume wrongly that belief in resurrection has
always been in the purview of the biblical authors. In this volume Vermes surveys views
of the resurrection and afterlife in the ancient world, the Hebrew Bible and the New
Testament. In straight forward prose, he traces and analyzes the origin and development
of the belief in resurrection that is both which is easily digestible for readers on all levels.
The book is broken into two parts.

In part one. Vermes surveys the view of the afterlife and resurrection in the
ancient world, the Hebrew Bible and Early Judaism. He demonstrates that with a few
excepdons like the Epic of Gilgamesh (p. 5), death and Sheol were considered to be the
unavoidable destiny of all humans. Life on earth was a unique experience which afforded
no second chance and, therefore, rewards for piety were expected prior to death rather
than in an afterworld ( p. 18). Yet there is some hint in the Hebrew Bible towards a belief
in life beyond death. Both Elijah and Elisha resuscitate the recently dead, which not
technically a resurrection, do provide a clue that the ancients held hope for some type of
continued form of life (p. 23) Couple with these is the assumpfion of Enoch and Elijah
and Moses in later Jewish tradition (p. 27). More direct statements are in Ezekiel 37:5-6
and Daniel 12:1-2. The most significant development in life-after-death belief comes
about during the Maccabean period when Jews who are being martyred look forward to
receiving back their body in an afterlife (p. 30). This shift in perception is due, Vermes
contends, to the need to explain why righteous individuals suffer without receiving a
reward for their piety. The belief in resurrection adds an eschatological element that
removes the dissonance the faithfiil encountered between their belief God's protection of
the righteous and the martyrdom of the faithful.

Ashland Theological Journal 2008

In spite of the above background. Vermes demonstrates that it would be
incorrect to conclude that resurrection was the accepted hope of all Jews. A survey of
Philo turns up no references to resurrection. In fact, the opposite is true. Philo has a very
Platonic view that understands the need for the soul to be free from the body (pp.40-41).
The documents among the Dead Sea Scrolls also reveal little information about the
afterlife, but there does not seem to be any anticipation of resurrection (p. 43). Evidence
from the Josephus and the NT would indicate that the Sadducees also did not hold to a
belief in resurrection and an afterlife (p. 41). The only group in the Second Temple era
that can be identified as clearly holding a belief in the resurrection is the Pharisees (p.
45). While this is clear in the NT is does add a wrinkle to the investigation. For as
Vermes ably points out, Pharisees were only one of a number of religious groups that
made up Second Temple Judaism, and they seem to have only represented a small
fraction of the population (P. 48). Add to this the evidence that belief in resurrection was
absent among Greeks and Romans and the resulting picture is a proportionally small
group of people who hoped for the restoration of their bodies after death.

In part two of the volume Vermes examines resurrection and eternal life as
presented in the NT. Although the resurrection of Jesus is central to Christianity Vermes
discovers some surprising data; there is very little in the way of teaching about
resurrection in the synoptic gospels, John and Acts (pp. 64, 68, 111-117). Vermes
concludes that "the subject did not play a major role in Jesus' teaching in the Synoptics"
(p. 73). And in John, the concept of resurrection, which is tied to eternal life, is only for
the believer (p. 74). There is little in the way of a general resurrection of both the
righteous and the wicked.

In the case of Jesus' own predictions about his death and resurrection. Vermes
notes that these were totally unexpected by his followers (p. 81-82). Moreover, the
gospels themselves do not agree on the details surrounding the resurrection which adds to
the difficulty of accessing the veracity of the information (pp. 90-99). In the end, the
belief the Jesus had been raised from the dead hangs on the existence of an empty tomb
and the visionary experiences of his followers (p. 108).

While there is a dearth of teaching about resurrection in the Gospels, the letters
of Paul are replete with the topic. In fact, while there is little about resurrection in the
teaching of Jesus, it is the focus of Paul's gosp>el (p. 1 19). Vermes demonstrates that in
Paul resurrection is enmeshed with the Parouisa (1 Thess 4) since Jesus is the firstfruits
of a general resurrection of believers (1 Cor 15) a belief that is symbolized by baptism
(Romans 6) that mystically unites believers with Christ (Romans 8). Vermes concludes
that: Saint Paul turned it [resurrection] in the centerpiece of his mystical and theological
vision, which was soon to become quasi-identical with the essence of the Christian
message" (p. 128).

In the closing chapter and epilogue of the book Vermes wrestles with the
meaning of resurrection. He presents six theories for the resurrection of Jesus and finds
none of them to be completely satisfactory (p. 148). In the epilogue he suggests that,
while not believing in literal resurrection, the meaning of resurrection is inner
transformation. "The conviction in the spiritual presence of the living Jesus accounts for

* ' ' Book Reviews

the resurgence of the Jesus movement after the crucifixion. However, it was the supreme
doctrinal and organizational skill of Saint Paul that allowed nascent Christianity to grow
into a viable and powerful Resurrection-centered world religion" (p. 151).

This is an informative and well written volume. Vermes presents a competent
survey of a vast amount of information without becoming mired in minutiae. His
handling of the evidence is fair and equitable. While those who hold to the bodily
resurrection of Jesus will, no doubt, disagree with his conclusion about its significance,
they will still benefit from a historical understanding of the origins and development of
belief in resurrection. Readers will appreciate, perhaps for the first time, how unusual
such a doctrine was in the ancient world, even among Jews. It will be particularly helpful
for students since it provides a more abbreviated and accessible consideration of the topic
in contrast to more recent and no less important treatments on the subject. Highly
recommended!

John Byron

John D. Roth, Stories: How Mennonites Came to Be. Scottdale: Herald Press, 2006. 244
pp., paper, $10.99.

Here is church history from the underside. Persecuted by Protestants as well as
by Catholics, and regarded a threat to Christendom, the Anabaptists were treated like
heretics and their story neglected or confined to the periphery of European church
history. In terms of religious studies, the Anabaptists and their kin are a "Little
Tradition" minority in contrast to Christendom's Catholic, Lutheran, and Calvinist "Great
Tradition" majorities.

Historian John Roth's Stories presents some of the highlights of a tragic
history. Roth is a superb storyteller. He is also professor history at Goshen College as
well as director of the Mennonite Historical Library and editor of The Mennonite
Quarterly Review. He begins with the assumption that history matters. Christians for
2000 years have told and retold the biblical stories. In them they have found spiritual
comfort, guidance, and hope. In telling the Anabaptist story, the author has chosen
selectively and carefully. Myths are dispelled, false impressions corrected, blots and
blemishes shown. It's a story that should be told, one with applications and challenges
for today's Christians who also face challenges and are tempted to compromise.

Roth's history of the church begins in the Book of Acts where the Christian
community began as a movement which slowly evolved into an institution. With the
conversion of Constantine in the fourth century, Christianity metamorphosed and became
Christendom. "Under Constantine and his successors, Christianity went fi"om the
persecuted religion of a minority to the state religion of the Roman Empire" (38). The
outcome was drastic, and changed the character of the church. Now "the decision to
become a Christian was no longer voluntary. Now everyone within the territorial
boundaries of the empire was compelled to be a Chrisfian" (40). As a result Europe
became officially Christian in name, but to a large extent the radical meaning of being a

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Ashland Theological Journal 2008

disciple of Jesus was lost. This is an important part of the story that needs to be told in
the non- Western majority world.

A number of points arise. Christendom produced a territorial notion of the
church. Infant baptism originated in the fourth century following the establishment of
Christianity as a state religion. Monasticism developed as a compromise in an effort to
preserve something of the original spirituality of the Jesus movement. With conscription
of Christians into the militaiy, just war theory took the place of earlier pacifism and non-
violence. The Protestant Reformation should have restored something of the Church's
earlier spirituality and simplicity but for the fact that Luther hated the Anabaptists. The
shameful persecution of a peace-loving Christian minority by the Catholic and Reformed
Churches of Europe is a dark blot on Christian history.

Churches of indigenous origins in Asia, Africa, and Latin America will find
points of similarity to their own experiences of exclusion by the mainstream. An
alternate telling of history is appropriate in today's expanding nonwestem Christian
world. This well-written narrative deserves wide circulation. Laity as well as clergy will
benefit. .

„ Roger E. Hedlund

Laurence Harwood, C.S. Lewis, My Godfather: Letters, Photos and Recollections.
Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2007. 147 pp., cloth, $16.00.

C.S. Lewis, My Godfather has a great beginning foundation. It is written by
Laurence Harwood, whose father was one of Lewis' dearest undergraduate and lifetime
fi"iends. Harwood writes of Lewis, his father, and Owen Barfield that they shared a love
of, "classics, myths, legends, philosophy and ancient history, Greek and Latin, English
literature, opera and walking tours cemented the camaraderie of the three undergraduate
friends during their time at Oxford — and for the rest of their lives" (11). Harwood
actually was Lewis' godson, but in spite of this promising premise, the book has a
difficult time maintaining the reader's attention. The book is a nice testimonial to
Lewis' relationship to Harwood and his fulfilling the responsibilities of a godfather. It is
also interesting to watch their relationship mature as Harwood grows from a boy into a
man and their relationship becomes a friendship. This occurs as Lewis begins to seek his
advice on raising his stepsons.

The book is consumed with numerous extensive quotes from letters by Lewis
and letters to Lewis. It is amazing how well preserved these letters are. Of course there
are some very amusing quotes from Lewis. One I enjoyed most was his description to
Laurence of Joy and the boys upon their arrival at the Kilns. Jack Lewis states: "We have
an American lady staying in the house with her sons, eldest nine and a half Whew! But
you have had younger brothers so you know what it is like. We didn't: we do now. Very
pleasant, but, like surf bathing, leaves one sort of breathless" (127). Some of these
letters provide great insight into Lewis while others are minimally significant, especially
when Harwood first tells the reader something about Lewis then follows it up with a long

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Book Reviews

quote to support his point. This often becomes a bit redundant. In my opinion it would
have been better to let the quotes speak for themselves or to edit the letters more
extensively. This would have better kept the reader's attention.

The reader gets a strong sense of Lewis' love for walking and for communing
with friends at small pubs. The book clearly demonstrates Harwood's obvious love and
admiration for Lewis. He writes, "No doubt he (Lewis) would have felt his greatest
achievement was to open the windows of Christianity in a way no one else had done in
his generation; he has indeed opened windows for us all..." (140).

When 1 first heard this book's topic and saw the cover with the old photographs
on it, I was excited to dig in and read it. However, I found it more tedious than expected.
Seldom do I criticize layout or the editing process, but in this case I must because the
long quotes in italics were not easy to read. This occasionally distracted me from the
content. I would only recommend this book to the most ardent of Lewis fans who know
something already about his life and friends.

Mark Hamilton

Colin Gunton, 77?^ Barth Lectures. Ed. Paul Brazier. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 2007. 285
pp., paper, $39.95.

This is a remarkable book that contains the complexities of a good mind and
the casual comments a professor is likely to make in lectures. It was created after Colin
Gunton's death in 2003 from tapes made from his lectures. One wishes Gunton might
have expanded the discussions in writing the book himself, and added more discussion of
other periods of Earth's life, as well as making more technical references, yet what we
have is the sort of humanness of a good lecturer tackling the work of a theologian he
respected and had himself learned from.

We get perceptive insights into the dialogue partners with whom Karl Barth
interacted in shaping his theology, both from history and from among his contemporaries
we. The variety of works Barth wrote (Romans, Anselm of Canterbury, the Dogmatics)
we meet in a manner not overly technical, but certainly learned.

We are given insights into Earth's theological method: "Read the man
himself!" (xxiii); "You must wrestle with the text until the walls that divide you from the
first century are broken down and it speaks anew to our century" (25); "That the light
shines in the darkness is not open to question, there is, however, grave doubt as to
whether it has been seen, even by the church..." (27); "because of the unknowability of
God you can never be sure if you have tied God down fully in your concepts" (32);
"There are no dead theologians from the past - all theologians are alive today in their
works" (55).

Gunton adds to such comments, and the lectures have a number of anecdotes
about Barth. He gives the chronological movement of Earth's thought as he is lecturing.
He gives brief explanations of movements that help to set them into a framework that
clarifies what scholars might understand but students are still learning, like the remark on

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Ashland Theological Journal 2008

p. 55 that "Anselm is pre-Thomas." Well, sure, but students might not know that, and it is
helpful in assessing what Barth has done with Anselm.

And then Gunton will add good continuity questions, like "The influence (of
Anselm on Barth) notwithstanding, what are the differences between Barth and Anselm?"
(62). A good question, answered in 2 pages of the text.

Or, again, Gunton, after discussing the way into the Dogmatics asks, as he
looks at the first paragraph of I.l, "So, what is Barth saying?" I wish the professor I
learned theology under had used such questions as I was trying to figure out, what on
earth does this mean? And in Gunton 's classes, there it would be! Again, as Gunton
approaches the Economic Trinity in 1. 1, "The crucial question is the first - Who is God?"

Then Gunton will ask questions like, what is the relation between theory and
practice in Barth? Answering, "Barth doesn't think in terms of theory, theology isn't
theory for him. . . theology is ethics and ethics is theology" (122).

Then Gunton will introduce into the play such actors as Kant and Hegel:
"Hegel tried to get away from the static view of the relationship between mind and
knowledge." That comment by itself could save a student hours of time trying to discover
what on earth Hegel means. And the lectures are full of such comments.

Sometimes it seems as if Gunton has set himself an impossible task, as when he
introduces Barth's doctrine of reconciliation (CD IV/1-3, pp. 147ff) by showing how
Barth sets about to counteract the dualism of seeing Christ as divine and human. Barth
weaves them both together, and what a task that would be in the face of creeds and
historical figures.

The whole of the lectures weave together strands of theology, historical
theology, theologians and meaning in such a helpfiil way that a theological student might
well ask, why didn't I travel to London and study with Gunton for a time? Now it's too
late, but this book will be helpful.

When I heard Gunton lecture in Oxford in some earlier time, I knew Barth only
partially and 1 came away from the lecture saying, well, Barth can't be all that difficult
after all, can he? And here in The Barth Lectures is the evidence of help for another
generation of students and pastors.

Robert B. Ives

Timothy George, ed., God the Holy Trinity: Reflections on Christian Faith and
Practice. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006. 175 pp., paper, $20.00.

God the Creator has forever known himself and in salvafion history has
revealed himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Essays in this collection attest a
contemporary revival of Trinitarian theology. Contributors include Roman Catholic and
Orthodox as well as Anglican, Baptist, Presbyterian, and Holiness theological traditions.

Several writers remind us that a note of mystery must always accompany our
understanding of deity. Alistair McGrath finds the doctrine of the Trinity "biblically
warranted" but also respects John Stott's caution in discussions with Judaism and Islam.

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Book Reviews

We must neither inflate the doctrine with socio-pohtical baggage, nor deflate its
importance. "Christians do not beHeve in a generic god" (34), but a God known through
his acts in history and identified by Scripture as the One who delivered Israel through the
exodus and who raised Jesus from the dead. As Gerald Bray states, "we can never
contain the transcendent mystery of deity within the limited horizons of our own hearts"
(49). And that makes this book relevant for dialogue in today's pluralistic world. Bray
points out that early Christians agreed with Judaism about the nature and character of
God, and were able to equate the biblical God with Greek philosophical conceptions of
the Supreme Being — but never with Greek deities like Jupiter or Saturn (41). Bray also
establishes an important hermeneutical shift in which Judaism is defined by externals of
the Mosaic covenant (land, circumcision, tabernacle, ark and temple) whereas Christian
marks are internal (spiritual relationship to God) as heirs of the Abrahamic covenant. "In
Paul's mind it is not Christians who have rejected Judaism, but Jews who have rejected
Christ" and their own heritage (45). Jesus taught his disciples to understand the Father as
the God whom they already worshipped (47). One can conceive parallels in
contemporary dialogue with Islam in Asia.

An experiential dimension appears in several essays. Bray, for example,
concludes, "To confess God as a Trinity is to worship him in our hearts, as those hearts
are stirred by the Spirit of the Son, crying, 'Abba, Father!'" James Earl Massey unfolds
the experience of the Triune God in the hope and faith expressed in African-American
spirituals, an experience which resonates well with oppressed peoples anywhere
including India's Dalits. J.I. Packer explains the 'experimental' component of Puritanism
centered in communion with God the Trinity as the heart of John Owen's theology: "It is
the power of truth in the heart alone that will make us cleave unto it" (94).

Two essays move the reader beyond traditional approaches to the study of
theology. Frederica Mathewes-Green utilizes the arts to depict the Old Testament Trinity
(Genesis 13), pointedly observing, "There is no such thing as theology that is purely
intellectual" (87). Ellen T. Charry begins her essay on the Soteriological Importance of
the Divine Perfections by stating, "Western Christian theology is undergoing a great
upheaval about how to speak of God" (129). She then proceeds to do just that.

Grappling with issues of Christian unity, Avery Cardinal Dulles reiterating the
Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) doctrine of Petrine primacy, nevertheless concedes the
validity of a variety of ecclesial types and traditions (81). "Every Christian is marked by
special relationships with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirif (69), and this also is to
reflect in the mission of the Church. An eccentric Trinitarian treatment of the question of
reunion was attempted by a nineteenth century theologian who identified the Roman
Catholic Church with the Father (Petrine), the Orthodox Church with the Son
(Johannine), and Protestantism with the Holy Spirit (Pauline). Amusing, but not
convincing.

Of particular interest and contemporary relevance is Timothy George's essay
on the Trinity and the Challenge of Islam in which the author rightly points out that Islam
rejects a caricature of the Christian doctrine of the Trinity (114). Islam itself must be
understood against the background of Arabian polytheism and idolatry prior to the
mission of Mohammad (113). Explication of the designation of God is a helpful

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Ashland Theological Journal 2008

observation: "In fact, Allah was a common word of address for God by Arabic Christians
centuries before Muhammad was bom" (119). The crux of the matter is the place and
understanding of Jesus as more than a prophet. "If Jesus was less than fully divine, it
would be idolatrous to worship him" (124). The author takes a clue from Paul on Mars
Hill: the unknown God is revealed in Jesus Christ. "Only from God's self-revelation in
the history of Israel and in the event of Jesus Christ do we learn the nature of the
unknown God" (125).

Here, then, is help for articulating the Christian message in our contemporary
world. Help, that is. for students and thinkers, as for activists and practitioners.

Roger E. Hedlund

Ernest S. Lyght, Glory E. Dharmaraj and Jacob S. Dharmaraj. Many Faces, One Church:
A Manual for Cross-Racial and Cross-Cultural Ministry. Nashville: Abingdon Press.
2006. Xiii + 1 39 pp., paper, $ 1 5.00.

Many Faces, One Church is a work-study manual prepared especially for the
United Methodist Church, USA. As such it is specific to the challenges of ministry and
mission in the context of urban-rural North America. The major challenge confronted is
the pernicious racism which permeates American society and churches. The integration
of new immigrant populations is compromised by persistent American racist prejudices.
It is to the credit of the United Methodist Church that they have responded
simultaneously to both issues through bold and creative action. Other denominations can
benefit greatly by the insights and recommendations offered. For instance, pastors in
any denomination need a superintendent or other official to whom they can go as a
"pastor of pastors;" denominations should provide counseling options and financial
assistance for counseling for clergy and clergy families; training should be provided for
leaders; sources are needed for salary support for many ethnic-minority clergy; cross-
racial appointments require intentional follow-up guidance and encouragement.

Seminary training fails to prepare candidates for ministry in today's multi-
ethnic society. Anglo pastors and leaders frequently lack cross-cultural awareness. Few
role models exist for ethnic-minority pastors. "Without friendship or support from other
minority and ethnic-minority pastors in similar situations, some pastors can become
hostile and withdrawn" (41). The writers point out that "ethnic-minority pastors express
emotional fhistrations differently than their American counterparts" and that this can
create misunderstanding, tensions and communication break-downs. Most American
denominational leaders are ill-equipped to deal with cultural problems. The authors of
this book are themselves minority and ethnic-minority ministers. Out of personal
experience they offer valuable guidance: "Allow minority and ethnic-minority pastors
time to grow;" visit them occasionally; hold pastors accountable; offer feedback through
face-to-face meetings; work at eradicating racial discrimination (60). North American
Anglos tend to see only two sides to every concern — a right side and a wrong side — and
will defend what they consider right and attack what they consider wrong, whereas

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Book Reviews

"patience and an openness to understanding and accepting another's perspective is what
is needed for an honest and true assessment to occur" (67).

Ernest S. Lyght is Bishop of the West Virginia Conference of the United
Methodist Church. Glory Dharmaraj is executive secretary for justice education for the
Women's Division of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. Jacob
Dhamiaraj is pastor of Shrub Oak United Methodist Church in Shrub Oak, New York.
Both Glory and Jacob are natives of India. Bishop Lyght is an African American from
Maryland who grew up in racially segregated America.

The book concludes with an extensive appendix of helpful resources such as
job descriptions, sample forms, suggested personnel policies and procedures, sexual and
racial harassment guidelines, and a bibliography.

Roger E. Hedlund

James W. Thompson, Pastoral Ministry According to Paul: A Biblical Vision. Grand
Rapids: Baker, 2006. 1 74 pp., paper, $ 1 7.99.

As the title of the book suggests, James W. Thompson (Abilene Christian

1 University) is interested in mediating a discussion between biblical studies and practical

i ministry. In a sense, Thompson is urging Christian leaders to go back to the basics in

order to understand three important questions for ministry: "What is a minister? For what

roles do we prepare future ministers? What are the goals of ministry" (11)? Thompson

finds that the apostle Paul to be a worthy guide in the quest to understand "the telos of

ministry" (10).

! Before engaging directly with the core of Paul's (undisputed) letters

(Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, Galatians, Romans, 1-2 Corinthians), Thompson first

I divulges some of the missteps that scholars have taken in an attempt to apply Paul's

I theology to ministry. In particular, he balks at the traditional focus on "justification by

I faith" that takes almost a sole interest in saving the soul of the individual. Instead,

I Thompson promotes a "new perspective on Paul for pastoral ministry" where a more

1 nuanced approach leads to a refined definition of ministry: "participation in God's work

of transforming the community of faith until it is 'blameless' at the coming of Christ" (20).

!; Thus, Thompson adumbrates early on a number of key themes that are fleshed out in later

chapters. A Pauline pastoral theology is theological (i.e., God-centered), eschatological,

communal, forensic (i.e., looking towards judgment), and transformation/ethical.

Thompson is also influenced by scholarly interest in the narrative features of Paul's

theology as made popular by N.T. Wright and Richard Hays. He argues, therefore, that a

grand theological narrative "forms the substructure of Paul's reflection" (25).

Once Thompson turns to the Pauline letters, each epistle is studied section by
section and one question is always at the forefront, what are the implications for pastors
of what Paul writes to his readers? Though the text is mostly free from footnotes, one
i can tell that a lot of exegetical work has come before Thompson's exploration of the

Apostle's pastoral theology. One feature of this book that is particularly thought-
provoking is the attention given to Paul's "pastoral ambition" - the understanding he had

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of his own ministry and the regular reference he made to the judgment he will face
regarding the operation of his own churches (see 20-23). Thompson challenges ministers
to keep in mind that Paul felt responsible not only for the forensic salvation of
individuals, but their [trans] formation as well.

Though the brief commentary-like chapters seem to repetitively return to the
same main points, he clearly does not lack scriptural evidence for his claim that Paul's
vision for ministry is "ecclesial, cruciform, and eschatological" (148) and follows a
common theological narrative. Pastors and other church leaders will find many words of
wisdom here that can help to plan a ministry or refresh it with an offer to drink deeply
from the letters of Paul. As Thompson has demonstrated that much can be gained from a
conversation between pastoral and biblical studies, we can hope that more books like this
will appear for the benefit of both disciplines and, especially, for the minister and lay
leader.

Nijay K. Gupta

Tony Dungy. Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, and Priorities of a Winning Life.
Forward by Denzel Washington . Carol Stream: Tyndale House Publishers, 2007. 301
pp., cloth, $26.99.

It seems most Christian sports books are full of fluff, often focusing on athletic
success or the powers of the athlete to overcome great odds to achieve success in some
miraculous manner. Seldom do they focus on the daily challenges that all normal
humans face. This often makes the successful athlete's experience unrealistic and
something to which the amateur athlete or non-athlete cannot personally relate. This is
not the case with Tony Dungy's autobiography, Qinet Strength. This book is different in
that it connects the faith journey of Tony Dungy, the coach of the 2007 Super Bowl
winning Indianapolis Colts, to the life experiences and challenges many of us encounter.
This book is primarily about life and faith, so the person who is looking for a pure sports
book might be a bit disappointed. There is plenty about football though, covering
Dungy's college days as a quarterback and the lack of opportunity as a professional
quarterback because of his race, his emergence as a coach, and exciting football moments
in his coaching career. It is also insightful to see how Dungy is connected to many of the
great coaches of all-time such as Chuck Noll and Bill Walsh, and current coaches such as
Lovie Smith and Herm Edwards (two of Dungy's closest friends). But the book is not
primarily about sports.

This book's main character is seemingly Coach Dungy, however the true
central character is Jesus Christ. Dungy clarifies how he was raised in a family of faith
but found it necessary to learn to trust Christ through the various trials he experienced in
daily living. He describes in detail several specific challenges where he experienced the
sovereign hand of God directing him, such as his college career, his professional
teammates who were a testimony of faith to him, his failures as a professional athlete
leading to the discovery of his profession, his failures and firings as a coach, his eventual

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meeting of his future wife, dealing with his son's suicide, and his eventual winning of a
Super Bowl.

Dungy's most difficult experience was his son Jamie's suicide. He does not
sensationalize the situation, nor does he placate the voyeuristic desires of the readers who
want to know the whys and hows of the suicide. Instead he elaborates on the support he
found from Christian friends, his Church's care, and on his own words at the funeral
service, including some stirring anecdotes about Jamie. Dungy concluded his remarks at
the funeral with the following: "The last and most important thing I want to leave you
with is this. Despite my having shed a few tears here, this is really a celebration in the
midst of tragedy. When Jamie was five years old, he accepted Christ as his Savior.
When Lauren and I would talk to him about his identity, about who he was and who he
wanted to become, that was one thing we could tell him for sure, for certain — that his
identity was in Christ. The apostle Paul wrote that nothing can ever separate us from the
love of God that's in Jesus Christ" (255). The one constant through all these
experiences is the theme that God is ultimately in control directing the events of life and
that faith is the appropriate response to every situation.

Near the end of the book Dungy summarizes: "And so we press on. We press
on with our memories, our hearts buoyed by a God who loves us and wants us to know
him deeply. We press on with our sense that life's not always fair. And we press on with
the knowledge — and — assurance that even though we can't see all of God's plan. He is
there, at work and in charge, loving us. We press on with the conviction that even though
we don't deserve the gifts and blessings we've been given. He gives them anyway. We
press on with the conviction that even though we don't deserve the gifts and blessings
we've been given. He gives them anyway. We press on into an abundant life on earth,
followed by an eternity with God" (297). Dungy understands the appropriate role of
sports, something that all athletes and parents of blooming athletes should understand.
He writes, "But football is just a game. It's not family. It's not a way of life. It doesn't
provide any sort of intrinsic meaning. It's just football. It lasts for three hours, and when
the game is over, it's over" (xiv).

The book is chronologically structured, practical, and well-written. The central
theme is the need to put one's priorities in order and to consistently live out these
priorities as a role model for others. Often Dungy pauses to raise great questions and
usually provides his own answers. At one point, pondering the issue of fame Dungy asks,
"What will people remember us for? Are people's lives better because we lived? Did we
make a difference? Did we use to the fullest the gifts and abilities that God gave us? Did
we give our best effort, and did we do it for the right reasons?" (144). In response he
states, "God's definition of success is really one of significance — the significant
difference our lives can make in the lives of others. This significance doesn't show up in
win-loss records, long resumes, or the trophies gathering on our mantels. It's found in
the hearts and lives of those we've come across who are in some way better because of
the way we lived" (144).

Mark Hamilton

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Ashland Theological Journal 2008

Paul F. M. Zahl, Grace in Practice: A Theology of Everyday Life. Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 2007. 267 pp., paper, $18.00.

According to Zahl, Grace in Practice is "about how Christianity works" (27),
and in it he tries to "bring the gospel of law and grace into direct encounter with the real
and tangible stress" (29-30) of living in today's world. It is an ambitious and worthwhile
undertaking that is, to some degree, successful.

While Zahl begins with a description of Old Testament law as "true," but
"impotent and counterproductive" (9), he has more than just OT Law in mind. For
instance, law manifests itself in the demands of culture, criminal codes and personal
standards of behavior. Though Zahl allows for the necessity of what he calls the "first use
of the law" (165), i.e., basic rules for protection, he sees law in all its other uses as the
"great depressant" because it "stimulates the opposite thing to which it intends" (32).

Against this bleak picture of the law, Zahl posits a warm and inviting picture of
grace. Grace is "one-way love" whose "logic is hidden within the intention of its source"
(38). Because it is nonjudgmental, grace is able to produce the behavior that law
demands. In addition, grace "neither expects anything in return nor 'tweaks' the object of
its concern" (129). To enable readers to understand and extend grace, Zahl also describes
humankind's total depravity and the nature of human will, which he insists is "un-free"
(103 ff). Once we see human will as un-free, we are better able to show mercy and
compassion to fellow sinners.

After laying this foundation about law, grace and the human condition, Zahl
looks at some of life's difficulties and how grace might be engaged to bring about
positive outcomes. He does this most successfully in his third chapter on family
relationships, where he provides a number of practical suggestions. From there, he also
tries to tackle societal issues such as politics, war and criminal justice. (It is in this
chapter where he also attacks shopping malls with surprising vehemence.) Zahl then
moves on to examine church-related issues. He finishes up with some general, but
insightfial conclusions about God's grace as the only hope of humankind.

The blurb on the back cover of Grace in Practice describes it as
"conversationally written" and rewarding to "any Christian." Don't be misled by these
comments into thinking that the book is an easy read. While Zahl fills its pages with
many illustrations and references to literature and movies (a few of which he gets wrong),
Grace in Practice is a challenge. The first chapter on law and grace is a whopping 93
pages long — a full third of the book. There is plenty of room for disagreement with
Zahl's view of law, grace, and human nature. He also makes controversial statements that
are sure to provoke, if not anger, then at least a good deal of concern in the minds of
readers. His chapter on societal difficulties offers some interesting food for thought, but
little in the way of practical application for the individual Christian — particularly with
regard to criminal justice.

On balance, Grace in Practice is great for serious-minded readers who want to
learn more about grace in everyday life, but aren't afraid to tackle some meaty
theological issues along the way. I found Zahl's description of grace beautiful and

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Book Reviews

uplifting, and gleaned many insights from his work. Those points on which 1 disagree
continue to stimulate my curiosity and creativity. Grace in Practice would also be an
excellent choice for the classroom, as it is sure to provoke lively discussion.

Lori Shire

Dean Borgman, When Kumbaya Is Not Enough: A Practical Theology for Youth Ministry.
Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1997. 241 pp., paper, $12.95.

Borgman declares, "This book is not a theology of youth; it is a theology of
youth ministiy (p. xi)." The author has spoken truthfully as the book engages the reader
into the subject of theology as the foundation of youth ministry, yet with a practical spin
on it. This book takes the reader deep into thought about theology and how it is related to
every aspect of youth ministry.

Chapter one dives right into the subject of the book and discusses theology and
the challenges of youth ministry as a foundation to the book.

Chapter two discusses "how to do theology on young people's turf (pp. 18-
33)." Borgman considers Peter Ward's writings of the youth ministry's missiological task
of youth.

Chapter three considers exegesis with the Word, the World, and oneself (pp.
34-61). Theology begins with awareness of God and ''with the exegesis of Scripture (p.
34)." Borgman walks the reader through the "how-to's" for exegesis.

Chapter four contemplates youth culture (pp. 62-88). Cultural questions of
youth and ministry towards youth are considered (p. 63). Culture, family, individual
needs, and faith are explored. Cultures and subcultures are reflected upon along with how
Christ can transform the culture.

Chapter five takes into account growth and development of the young person
(pp.89- 104). Developmental theorists are taken into account along with the responsibility
of the youth leader to assist the youth to spiritual growth.

Chapter six ponders the strong influences of family and peers (pp. 105-125).
Understanding the family today and how it has influence on the growing teen brings
understanding to some of the complexities of youth ministry. Few role models, latch key
children, and divorce have great impact upon the teen. Peers of the youth sometimes has
a greater authority over the life of a teen.

Chapter seven reflects on the pop culture and its impact upon the youth (pp.
126-151). Drama, stories, technology, media, and movies speak to the youth. One must
ponder these avenues and find ways to incorporate them into the ministry.

Chapter eight mulls over the value of humor (pp. 1 52- 171). Theories and types
of humor are exposed. Youth ministry can be enhanced by humor used correctly in
teaching, announcements, etc. Humor can be beneficial to youth and to the youth leader.

Chapter nine teaches appreciation of the music of young people (pp. 172-188).
Youth communicate through music. It is not merely just listening to sounds, but a voice
in the culture. Since youth are using music as a tool of communication, it makes sense

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that the youth leader should use music in ministry towards youth. It gives common
ground in order to talk with the youth through the language of the youth.

Chapter ten gives respect to sexuality (pp. 189-219). There must be a positive
approach to sex, not a judgmental attitude and ridicule. Compassion is needed in order to
talk about such a sensitive issue. Practical advice is given for some tough areas of
sexuality.

Chapter eleven confers to living out one's theology with their heart and hands
(pp. 220-234). "Living out this theology and explaining it to young people calls for
theology with a heart, theology that reaches out to real situations, touches deepest hurts,
brings freedom to those oppressed, and empowers those deprived of opportunity (pp.
220-221)." The youth leader is called to connect theology in a practical way for the teen.
Steps for planning and evaluating youth programs are included in this chapter. Borgman
concludes with "More important than an intellectual understanding about God and God's
ways is our personal experience of God and the community of faith in which we live,
worship, and serve (p. 232)." It is an example to the youth in our culture. It allows leaders
to speak into the lives of youth.

Each chapter ends with questions for reflection and discussion, which can aid
the reader to consider personal application of the book's principles. No doubt, this solid
foundational book is considered a textbook for youth ministry and training of ftiture
leaders. A must read for all who work with youth.

Dawn Morton

L. Gregory Jones and Stephanie Paulsell, eds.. The Scope of Our Art: The Vocation of the
Theological Teacher. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002. 263 pp., paper, $14.99.

A diverse group of theological teachers investigates a variety of aspects of the
vocational calling of theological educators. Included in the topics of discussion are:
spiritual formation, religious devotion, teaching techniques and practices, academics,
scripture, and sharing personal experiences in the profession and calling of teaching. But
it is not merely the discussion of such topics that are valuable in this text, but the
integration of such subjects together for the theological educator. Truly, this book could
be a foundational resource for all educators as it embraces such basic truths about the
practical aspect of teaching.

The book is divided into three sections: Formative Practices of the Theological
Teacher's Vocation; Theological Teachers in their Classrooms; and Theological Teachers
in their Schools.

The first section includes subjects such as the spiritual formation of the scholar.
Writing and reading is considered a spiritual discipline for the theological teacher.
Writing alone can bring the theological teacher into a disciplined study that brings fruit to
the details in written word. Writing is a skill which all educators must endeavor to pursue
and require their students to attain. Reading is an academic skill but also a
"transformative spiritual discipline" that can be articulated within the Christian life (p.

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'■ Book Reviews

46). Academic demands are high from institutions, but can there be contemplation of
theological meaning behind the vocation of teaching? The declaration would be "yes."
Nouwen is a source that is shared declaring that the "goal of our life is not people. It is
God" (66). A chapter is devoted to vocational kinship of Georgia Harkness, first female
theologian of the United States.

The second section concerns the teacher's impact within the classroom. The
power of conversation is contemplated as the teacher causes the student to interact with
the text and with each other. Teaching theology should be a ministry of hope to the
students and it can only happen if educators view it as an act of stewardship. Courage is
needed for the task of teaching. Wisdom is beyond thinking and it endeavors to reach out
into a greater scope beyond ourselves in order to live in a complex world. Ceaseless
prayer is described as "one cannot know God without the desire of the whole being to
love God and neighbor on a continuous basis" (164). The classroom must be an
"environment of prayer" {ibid).

The third section discusses subjects that would assist theological teachers
within their schools. The Rule of St. Benedict is considered in this section as an
understanding for theological education. Theological education can either be troublesome
and tiresome or it can be a work unto God. Considerations and the value of teaching in
"outback" institutions provide a place where one can learn and be in community with one
another. Theological education is valued no matter the size or status of institution. One
can be called to do great works in a less known institution. What is the sense of our
vocation and how does that play out in the picture of life? There are dramas and tensions
within life that play into the vocation. What is the relationship of the theological
seminary to the educator? Do they have a part in each other's growth and identity? There
is a collective vocation because many are involved in the educational process of an
institution. Although many people are involved, each theological educator is still
responsible for their own part of the process of education.

These are just a few of the highlights from a collective resource of theological
teachers. Each chapter and contribution gives insight to the expertise of the contributors.
The educators reveal their own passion of teaching as it relates to the vocation of the
educator. It is a fine foundational piece for any professor in a theological institution.

Dawn Morton

Dan P. McAdams, The Redemptive Self: Stories Americans Live By. New York: Oxford
University Press, 2006. 390 pp., cloth, $35.00.

What is the well-lived life? According to psychological theorist Erik Erikson,
the well-lived life must include "generativity." This 7"^ stage of human development is
defined as an adult's concern for and commitment to promoting the well-being of future
generations through involvement in parenting, teaching, mentoring, and other
contributions that leave a positive legacy of the self for the future. Dan McAdams,
Professor of Psychology and of Human Development and Social Policy and Director of
the Foley Center for the Study of Lives at Northwestern University, has written

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Ashland Theological Journal 2008

thoughtfully on this human task of generativity from a unique point of view, where
developmental theory meets American cultural history.

Based on ten years of research of caring and productive adults, McAdams
proposes that story-telling is the genre by which people tell about their lives. Stories are
cultural texts that provide identities. Stories contain images, scenes, plots, and themes
that people borrow and rework into their lives. The examination and expression of these
stories is the vehicle by which adults create a coherent narrative and achieve a redemptive
life. In his research, McAdams found that the more redemptive the story, the better a
person's overall psychological well-being.

This book is a fascinating examination of American adult development.
Americans hold to a sort of national mythology, i.e. we are the chosen people whose
manifest destiny is to grow and improve, move ever upward, go from rags to riches,
oppression to enlightenment, and so forth. McAdams shows the influences — both
philosophical and religious — that have created this American persona.

According to McAdams, about 80 percent of Americans identify themselves as
Christian. Religious thinking in America is based on two contrasting thoughts: Puritan
Christianity and European Enlightenment. Our Protestant heritage stresses that Christians
are chosen people who are supposed to do good work in the world. He extols the benefit
of religion and points out that both medical and psychological research indicate religious
people enjoy increased longevity, lower levels of delinquency among youth, better
mental health, lower divorce rates, and so forth. Among Americans, research shows a
positive correlation between measures of generativity and indices of religious and
spiritual involvement.

But he does not cast an uncritical eye on religion. He devotes a chapter to the
African American experience in America. Some churches were complicit in condoning
slavery. His discussion of slave narratives was particularly poignant. McAdams writes
that African-American slaves were the most intrinsically religious and redemptive
Americans.

He also explores the fact that generative religious people express themselves
within the American cultural suit of rugged individualism, self-reliance, and upward
mobility. Americans give high priority to the "I" and the value of personal agency. Plus,
over the years, American religion has accommodated itself to a growing commercial
culture. This creates tension when joined with communal values of love, friendship, and
community. The powerfial language of the individual self is always in competition with
the language of community.

Furthermore, he writes that Americans tend to think we are distinctive in the
world. In history, Americans have used redemptive rhetoric to justify national expansion,
imperialism, opportunism, and a range of other violent acts and programs.

In Chapter 9, McAdams poses the question, "Can everything be redeemed?"
We live in a society that expects, even demands, happy endings to tough stories.
McAdams writes, "I believe there is a kind of tyranny in the never-ending expectation in
American life that bad things will and should be redeemed." McAdams adds that tragedy
opens people up to each other and sometimes brings them closer. McAdams explains,

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Book Reviews

"Americans are known for their pragmatic, can-do, optimistic spirit. But this attitude
about life finds it difficult to allow for the possibility that life's deepest meanings may be
found in tragedy, as well as redemption."

Finally, while McAdams is a research psychologist, his book contains practical i
insights for clinicians. He writes about the power of language, how episodic memory
shapes identity, how literary techniques can be adapted to therapeutic settings, and other
narrative-type tools. He explains, "...much of what is interesting in narrative identity
flows from the dramatic license we employ in shaping our memories and goals into a
compelling narrative form. To a certain extent, we make our stories. With limits, we
decide who we are, who we were, and who we may become."

Clearly, not every adult is moving toward generativity. People get stuck in
contaminated plots and vicious circles, as McAdams discusses in Chapter 8. Erikson
wrote that the opposite of generativity is stagnation. People feel stuck, stagnant,
immobilized. But life story-telling, viewed within developmental, biographical and
cultural contexts, can be a means of helping that facilitates personal empowerment and
generativity. Ultimately, McAdams views story-telling as an avenue to meaning. As he
concludes. "Living life well, with meaning and purpose, is as much an act of imagination
and artistry as anything we ever attempt. Life-story telling is an art. You have the
material; now what story are you going to make?"

Sanda Gibson

Pete Ward, God at the Mall: Youth Ministiy that Meets Kids Where They're At. Peabody,
Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1999. 147 pp., paper, $12.95.

From the title of this book, one would assume that all youth pastors must meet
at the mall in order to have quality ministry for youth. This is not the point of the book;
nor should this book be taken lightly, as it is a solid foundation of youth ministry that
wrestles with theology, sociology, anthropology, missiology, methodology, and
philosophy of youth ministry.

The author declares that "confusion over terminology" is a problem among
those who work with youth. Two terms "youth ministry" and "youthwork" are used
simultaneously and yet synonymously (10).

The author declares in chapter one that there are two disciplines of youth
ministry called outside-in and inside-out. Outside-in is a concept of bringing youth into
the group from the outside in order to bring the youth to the church and ultimately to a
relationship with Christ. Inside-out is a concept of taking the youth to the outside so that
other youth may hear the story of Christ and begin a relationship with the church and
with Christ. Inside-out becomes a family concept; we are all related to each other whether
through actual blood lines or by friendship and therefore, it can be a safe cocoon within
our church as most have been raised within the church. Outside-in may bring youth to
Christ, but they look different, have special problems, and most likely will not fit in with
the church. Ward declares, "It is fundamental to my argument that both of these traditions

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of youthwork have a place in the Hfe of the church (27)." This chapter is the heart and
passion of the book.

Chapter two discusses the difference between a theology of youth ministry and
a theology of young people, while chapter three discusses the incamational approach to
youth ministry. Relationships are the key to youthwork; whether it is with each other to
reach friends for Christ or relationships with adults and youth leaders in our churches and
community.

Popular Culture as a relevant subject of youth ministry is the focus of chapter
four. The youth minister must learn the language of the culture in order to be effective.
Knowing the culture of the church is not enough; one must know the culture of youth. At
the same time, the culture of the youth should not stand alone; there must be a marriage
of the two cultures.

Ward considers the incarnation of the Word of God and Christ within youth
culture in chapter six. A challenge is given to youth ministers to know the gospel story
and to have a firm grasp of God's word in order to translate the gospel story to the youth
culture. Two case studies reveal how youth ministries can be shaped by the gospel story
and the youth culture. Youth leaders must understand the gospel story through the
cultural lens of youth.

Chapter seven discusses that youth ministry cannot be, nor should it be, an
entity unto itself "Youth ministry grows form a partnership in the gospel. Those working
with young people and those who support that work ... are participating in the activity of
the body of Christ" (129-130).

This is a missiological book. The church may consider trends and fads
regarding youth, however; it still fails to recognize that youth are a culture by themselves.
Ward is known for his studies of youth ministry in this type of mindset. Sociological and
anthropological dimensions are included. The most valuable part of the book is this: The
gospel story is still powerful in today's youth culture. Now, it is the task of the youth
minister to communicate it effectively.

Questions are provided at the end of each chapter. As always, Ward brings
clarity to the subject and challenges the reader in thought and process. Ward's book is
worth the time to read and a definite must read for all involved in youth ministry.

Dawn Morton

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ISSN: 1044-6494
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ASHLAND THEOLOGICAL JOURNAL, 2009

CONTENTS

The God Who Sees, Genesis 16:1-13 1

L. Daniel Hawk

Paul and the Python Girl, Acts 16:16-19 5

John Byron

'Where is our Moral Outrage?" 11

Wyndy Corbin-Reuschling

Reading the Story of the Levite's Concubine Through the Lens of

Modern-day Sex Trafficking 15

Mitzi J. Smith

A Review of the Scholarly Debate on the Meaning of "Head" (Ke(^a'kr\)

in Paul's Writings 35

Alan F. Johnson

Clearing Up Misconceptions About Corporate Election 59

Brian Abasciano .

Waterfalls Can Flow Backward, an Evangelical Theology of Hope 91

Eugene Heacock

The Worldview of the Ashland Brethren and its Missiological Implications 123

Roy A. Andrews

James D. G. Dunn and the New Perspective on Paul: A Review Article 137

Nijay K. Gupta

Book Reviews 145

Journal articles are indexed in Elenchus ofBiblica, New Testament Abstracts, Old Testament
Abstracts, Religious and Theological Abstracts, and Religion Index One; reviews are
indexed in Index to Book Reviews in Religion. The latter two indices, published by ATLA,
300 S Wacker Dr, Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60606, are also available online through BRS
Information Technologies, DIALOG Information Services and Wilsonline. Views of
contributors are their own and do not necessarily express those endorsed by Ashland
Theological Seminary.

VOLUME XLI

Published and copyright held by Ashland Theological Seminary, Ashland, Ohio, 44805.

Printed in the USA.

Editorial Preface

The Church, the assembly of the redeemed, needs a good memory. First, it
must keep in mind its own history, those things which necessitated redemption in the first
place, as well as the powerful and magnificent grace of God which brought about that
redemption. It also needs to keep constantly in mind those who have not yet experienced
God's redemption, or those who have, but are yet to enjoy a fialler measure of its freedom
and blessing.

An institution like Ashland Theological Seminary also needs to remember. A
very pleasant memory is its faculty, past and present, who have contributed so much to
making Ashland what it is. One we would like to honor with this issue is Dr. O. Kenneth
Walther, whose address to the graduating class of 2009 marked his retirement after thirty-
two years of service to Ashland (the second longest period of service to the Seminary of
any faculty member in its history), both as Professor of Greek and New Testament and as
Dean. Since 1977 he has taught in the areas of New Testament, languages, archaeology,
and hermeneutics, as well as serving as curator of the Flora Archaeological collection.
His wife, Linda, has also served the Seminary as an adjunct instructor in Latin and
German. It is to our esteemed and beloved colleagues. Ken and Linda Walther, whom we
dedicate this issue of the Journal.

This journal issue also reminds us of areas in which God's kingdom is still
being worked out. One of these areas was highlighted at a recent missions conference at
the Seminary: the horrific subject of human trafficking, in which trade the United States
plays a significant role. Chapel addresses in conjunction with the conference were given
by Ashland faculty John Byron, Wyndy Corbin -Reuschling, and Dan Hawk. These are
presented here, as is a separate, related paper on sex trafficking by another faculty
member, Mitzi Smith.

We also welcome contributions from other colleagues, alumni, and friends of
ATS in areas of exegesis, theology, historical theology, and leadership, as well as a
lengthy review section. Our prayer is that material found here will serve to strengthen
God's people and ftirther his Kingdom.

August 18, 2009

David W. Baker

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

The God Who Sees
Genesis 16:1-13

L. Daniel Hawk

One of the remarkable things about the Bible is that it tells the stories of
people who generally don't matter to others. And one of the remarkable things
about Bible readers, and particularly Christian ones, is how little attention these
stories receive, even though the Christian story is populated by those whom the
world esteems not. The story of Hagar is one of the most striking of these
stories. For the most part, Hagar has escaped the notice of commentators, who
generally view her story as little more than an appendage to the more prominent
story of Abraham and Sarah.

I want to bring Hagar' s story front and center as we reflect together on the
issue of human trafficking. Hagar is a slave, a person whose identity is shaped
by others, whose decisions are made by others, and whose value is determined
by others. After a brief introduction, in which she is defined with reference to
her mistress Sarai, Hagar moves to the edge of the story. She makes no
decisions, and she says nothing. Although the narrator dignifies her by calling
her by name, her name is not uttered by Abram or Sarai. To them, she is only
"the slave girl" (vv. 2, 5, 6). And she is valuable for only one reason: her
sexuality.

In the eyes of Abram and Sarai, Hagar is property; she is an available sexual
partner whose purpose is to fulfill the desire of her owners. As the story begins,
her owner Sarai wants a baby but cannot have one. Hagar has an available
womb. Sarai gives her slave to her man as a sexual partner. And Hagar is silent
and compliant as her sexuality is bartered. She has no choice. She cannot
refuse. The decision about whom she will give her body to is made for her. The
text conveys no sense of love, affection, or intimacy with the old man to whom
she is given. Giving her body is all she is good for.

The terse language of the story gives us plenty of space to wander around
inside it. We do not know how Hagar, an Egyptian, was sold into slavery.
Perhaps she was the child of slaves. Perhaps her parents were impoverished and
sold her to this wealthy couple in order to sustain the rest of their family.
Perhaps she was kidnapped by ruffians or marauders. Whatever the case, her
life was not her own.

Hagar's story is reflected in the lives of countless millions of human beings
in today's world. The U.S. State Department reports that 14,500 to 17,500
people, primarily women and children, are trafficked just to the U.S. every year.
Although human trafficking takes many forms for many purposes, the vast

L. Daniel Hawk (Ph.D. Emory University) is Professor of Old Testament and
Hebrew at ATS.

The God Who Sees

majority of those who come to the United States, or who are enslaved within the
United States, are trafficked within the commercial sex industry. Like Hagar to
the interpreters, they remain largely unnoticed by a Church whose focus is
directed elsewhere.

The Lord, however, is a God Who Sees.

Hagar' s story takes a turn once she becomes pregnant. When she does, the
biblical voice tells us, she looks "contemptuously" at Sarai. One can hardly
blame her, although many have. Sarai had started things off by elevating Hagar
to the status of "wife," no doubt one of those "seemed like a good idea at the
time" decisions. We do not know the source of Hagar' s contempt. Does she
disdain Sarai for her childlessness? Does she now see an opportunity to gain
more value in the warped hierarchy that configures Abram family values? Or
does it go deeper? Does she finally express how she feels about her mistress,
who has given her to a man she had no decision to be with?

What is clear is that, although now a wife, Hagar is still under the control of
others. She is still not free, and she may not express her feelings or opinions.
She is not allowed to hold any other attitude toward her owners than
compliance. Slaves are not permitted to talk back. In a harsh reality check,
Sarai appeals to Abram to set things right. And she appeals to God: "May the
Lord judge between you and me" (v. 5). Her words open a window into the
theology of the slave-owner. Sarai and Abram see nothing wrong in the way
they are treating Hagar. People do not appeal to God as a judge for one thing if
they suspect God will judge them for another! In their world, and in their view
of the world, their exploitation of another human being is completely justified.
We may ask, "Will not the Lord judge between Abram, Sarai, and Hagar?"

The reality is that Hagar remains in under the power of her owners. And
now that she has become a problem, Sarai makes life miserable for her. Life
becomes unbearable, and she flees. We are not told that anyone pursues her.
Perhaps she has become more trouble than she was worth and Abram bids her
good riddance. She flees alone into uncertainty. We are not told that anyone
notices or helps her, this pregnant woman with desperation in her eyes and
anguish on her face.

The Lord, however, is a God Who Sees.

The Angel of the Lord finds her near a spring near a place called Shur. The
Angel's appearance at this point in the story has drawn the attention of many
interpreters, take the opportunity to wax eloquent on the identity of the Angel
and the theological ramifications of his appearance. Is the Angel a high-class
heavenly being? The pre-Incamate Christ?

How easily we are distracted by theological rabbit trails when the things
that break God's heart are staring us right in the face!

"The Angel of the Lord found her." Does that verb strike you as an odd
way of talking about a God who knows and sees everything? "Finding"

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

assumes "seeking," and "seeking" assumes "valuing." "Finding" conveys
Hagar's worth to God. No one from the family has come after Hagar. No one
along the way has noticed her. But God has been searching for her. Do you
remember the shepherd who drops everything and finds the one lost sheep? Or
the woman who finds the lost coin?" No human being looks for her. But God
finds her.

When the Lord finds her, he calls her by name and speaks her name and the
identity human beings have given her: "Hagar, slave-girl of Sarai (v. 8)." He
greets her with a question (v. 8), which is what people do when they want to
communicate connection and caring. We say, "How are you" or "how's it
going?" A question upon meeting invites a response and draws the hearer into
dialogue. That is a different kind of conversation than slaves are used to having.
Conversations between slaves and masters tend to be one-way. For the first time
in the story, Hagar speaks. "I am running away."

The Angel speaks and Hagar confides, but the next words come as a shock:
"Go back to your mistress and put yourself under her power" (v. 9). I confess
that I don't know what to do with this. The conversation takes place near Shur,
which is close to the border of Egypt. Hagar has been trying to get home and,
just at the point of fi^eedom, God meets her and tells her to go back to intolerable
enslavement.

I could offer any number of explanations for God's command at this point,
but I suspect all would pale in the light of Hagar's own questions. I can explain
this puzzle no better than I can explain why thousands of Israelites would later
live and die in Egypt, waiting for God to deliver them. Or why God would take
so long to respond to the cries for fi^eedom fi^om generations of enslaved people
in this country. Or why those who escape fi^om today's trafficking are often
recaptured and returned to even greater misery. Perhaps you have an answer.

We should not miss, however, that this command is joined to the promise
that follows. "I will greatly increase your seed" (v. 10). "Descendants" or
"offspring" doesn't really capture the sense of what is happening here. In the
ancient world, "seed" comes from men, not women. To those familiar with the
larger story of Genesis, God's promise has the ring of the familiar. It is the
same kind of promise, in almost the same language, that God gives to Abram
(12:2; 15:4-5). In a warped world where power, position, and value are tightly
intertwined, the Lord comes to an escaped slave and gives her the same promise
that the he gives to the high and mighty. What's more, the promise of posterity
follows a command to go into an uncertain future, just as does in the story of
Abram's call across-the-River.

The Angel is not finished with this. Hagar will bear a son, who will be
named Ishmael, "God will hear." Like Abram's other better-known son,
Ishmael will personify God's promise. "God will hear"; yishma, the kind of
hearing that evokes a response. "Ishmael" is both a confirmation and a promise.

The God Who Sees

God has heard her cries, and God will continue to hear. With this promise,
Hagar recognizes and takes heart in the dignity and attention God has given her.
"You are the God Who Sees!" The God of creation has given life and dignity to
a runaway slave. Human beings devalue and turn a deaf ear. The Lord has
heard. Human beings cannot lower their eyes to look upon her. But God sees.

This is where Hagar' s story ends for the moment. Later we learn that she
does indeed return. Like Abram, her faith in God's promise is risky and costly.
Abram leaves his family and surroundings and ventures into the unknown. In
response to the One who has asked the unthinkable of her, Hagar returns to a
place of pain that she knows all too well (21:8-19). She returns, however, with
purpose and promise. She knows that God who sees and hears is her helper.

Hagar's story is one of those stories in the Bible that gives us a vision of
what matters to God in a world gone bad. It invites us to align our vision with
God's, to see what God sees and as God sees, and to hear what God hears and as
God hears. Where and who is Hagar today, if not those who suffer the
degradation and despair of forced labor and sexual trafficking? How will God
come to them with a human face and human hands? Who will be their helper
and deliverer? Who cares to notice their unspeakable misery? Who sees them
as God sees them? How does God's vision redefine our ideas of what is really
important?

There is so much wrong with our world. It can be overwhelming. None of
us can answer every need that presents itself to us. But we can all see and hear.
And perhaps the Lord will call some of us to be an Angel to someone who needs
to know that God sees.

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

Paul and the Python Girl
(Acts 16:16-19)

By John Byron*

The theme of the current series is "The tears of the Oppressed" with a
specific focus on human trafficking. This is a topic that we rarely are asked to
consider. The practice of kidnapping, selHng and exploiting human beings
reminds us of slavery which we often equate with a bygone era in our nation's
history. Legalized slavery in the USA was dissolved well over one-hundred
years ago and we have a new president to demonstrate just how far we have
come from those dark days in our nation's history. But the fact is slavery has
always existed in human history and while it may no longer have the approval of
the government the chains of slavery, literally and metaphorically, are just as
secure on the lives of human being as they were at any other time in history.
Today slaves cannot be identified simply by their skin color, ethnic origin or the
places we find them working. In this new era of slavery, the oppressed and
exploited are all around us but more hidden. We may pass them on the street and
not even know who they are much less that they are a victim of the modem
crime of human trafficking.

When I was asked to speak on this topic from a New Testament
perspective I admit that I was struck by what I felt was the impossibility of the
task. As one who has written two books and a number of essays and articles on
the topic of slavery in the New Testament, I have found it more and more
difficult to demonstrate how the Bible undermines the claims of the
slaveholders. Apart from a passing criticism of slave-traders in 1 Timothy 1:10
it is difficult to identify any criticism of slavery in the New Testament.
' In many cases the Bible has done more to perpetuate slavery than to eradicate
it. This became even clearer to me last year as I worked on a chapter examining
African-American responses to Paul and slavery. The Bible was one of many
tools that white masters used to keep the enslaved in their oppressed state.

On the other hand, I began to wonder if there is a way that the Bible,
although bound by time and culture, can speak to us on this subject. As I
prepared for today I read the recent issue of the seminary's publication "The
Table" and was introduced to a world that I was not conscious of As I watched
the video from the ministry Love 146 in chapel I was confronted with the human
face of the crime. As I continued to think about modem day slavery and the fact
that it disproportionately affects young women, many of those children, I began

*John Byron (Ph.D., University of Durham) is Associate Professor of New
Testament at ATS. The oral nature of this chapel presentation has been preserved.

Paul and the Python Girl

to think about stories of slave girls in the Bible.^ In particular I was drawn to the
story of the slave girl in Philippi that is related to us in Acts 16:16-24. As I read
the story with a new set of eyes I began to ask questions of the story to see what,
if anything, I could learn that would be relevant to the topic of human
trafficking. The results of this reading are somewhat disturbing. The questions I
asked only raised more questions. But it is perhaps the pondering of questions
rather than the search for answers that will coax us to action.

The first thing that attracts my attention is the terminology used to
describe this woman. In Acts the author introduces us to her simply as iraLSLOKri.
The term is evocative of many things. First it is a term that is properly translated
here as "slave girl".^ But it is not the more common Greek term of SouXti which
clearly designates the status of slavery (Acts 2:18).'* The term used to describe
this woman can be somewhat ambiguous since it can also mean "young woman"
or "maiden" without any hint of slavery.^ But this is one of the more sinister
aspects of slavery language in the Bible. At times it can hide the cruelty and
inhumanity of slavery. The same term was even used at times to refer to
prostitutes. ^It was not uncommon in antiquity for a master to force a slave, male
or female, to sell their bodies so that the master could profit. Young children
were often used as a part of this practice. The appearance of the term here in
Acts is probably suggestive that this was a young woman, perhaps a child or
teenager. There is no suggestion here that she was being forced to work in the
sex trade, but it does provide the context in which this was always an option
should her owners so decide.

The second thing I notice is that she said to have made much profit for
her masters. Again the terminology is curious. In verses 16 and 19 the people
who are benefitting from her are described as KuptoL ("masters"). Notice that
this is in the plural rather than singular. Often when we think of slavery we think
of one or more slaves owned by an individual or a family. But the presentation
of the noun in the plural here suggests at least two masters and does not limit our
imagination to suggest that she could have had as many as ten (or more). This
young girl is not only a slave but she is a slave owned by multiple people. In the
context of slavery the story presents her as nothing more than an investment, a
business opportunity from which her owners can profit. This would, no doubt,
complicate her relationship with her owners since the more people who have a
financial stake in her the more people who are making demands on her. Added
to this is the fact that as a piece of property, an investment, anyone of her
owners would have been at liberty to use her sexually or otherwise.

The description of her abilities to tell fortunes is unusual. The NRSV
simply says that she had a "spirit of divination". But in the Greek she is actually
said to have a spirit of python (TtvsU [la ;r60cova). The python was originally the
name of snake that inhabited the Greek city of Delphi. Legend related that the
snake was killed by Apollo. At Delphi the priestess of Apollo would deliver

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

oracles, and she was called Tru9ia (Pthyia). The woman would fall into an
intoxicated trance and speak for Apollo.^ There seems to have been some sort of
connection to the Delphi oracle and the fortune telling that the young woman
was performing for her owners. Whatever the source of her unusual gift,
whether spiritual or psychological, it is clear that her owners were exploiting her
abilities for their own gain. This is the basis of all slavery; one person or group
of persons exploiting the bodies of others for personal gain without any concern
or thought for the victim.

The last thing that I observe is that this young girl has no name. We are
never told who she is only that she was a slave-girl with an unusual gift for
fortune telling. This in itself is not all that unusual. In slavery human beings lose
the dignity of their name. An important characteristic in all forms of slavery
is disconnection. Slavery as an institution has the ability to disconnect
completely (an) individual(s) from family, ethnic and cultural ties. M.I.
Finley identifies three components of slavery that provide advantages for the
owner over the slave: the slave's property status, the totality of power over
him/her, and his/her kinlessness.^ Slavery eradicated family and national ties
and replaced them with new relationships created artificially by the
individual's position in the institution. It is this aspect of slavery that
Orlando Patterson identifies as natal alienation. "Slaves differed from other
human beings in that they were not allowed freely to integrate the
experience of their ancestors into their lives, to inform their understanding
of social reality with the inherited meanings of their natural forbears, or to
anchor the living present in any conscious community of memory."^ Natal
alienation isolated the slave making compliance with an owner's demands to
be effected out of a desire by the slave to have some type of personal
connection. The effect of natal alienation in the Greco-Roman period is most
evident in the way slaves were identified. Both slaves and former slaves were
easily identified by their servile name, and their inability to record the identity of
their father or tribe. The only identification slaves and freed persons could
legally use was that of their owner/patron's name which immediately revealed
their status as a former slave. Even after death the effects of this stigma
continued as demonstrated by numerous epitaphs describing the deceased as the
former slave of "so and so".'°

Without a name to identify this girl it is not impossible to suggest that
she was known not by her family but her unusual gift. I suppose some may have
certainly referred to her as the "python girl". Why not? What was important
about her to her clients was not her name but what it was they could get from
her. She had an unusual gift attributed to a "spirit of python", why not refer to
her in that way. It seems clear that the situation of this young-girl in Philippi is
not all that different from many that are trapped in the modem slave trade.
Human trafficking disproportionately affects young women, many of those

Paul and the Python Girl

children. They are exploited by what it is they have to offer, quite often their
bodies. They have no names. The video fi^om Love 146 demonstrates this
phenomenon even in the modem era. The ministry takes its name from the
number given to an 8 year old girl waiting to be purchased in a brothel. '^ No
name, no personal identity, no dignity. Like the python girl in Philippi, they are
not even people. They are commodities to be bought, sold and traded.

As I continued to read the story in Acts 1 6 I noticed that there is more
we can learn here. Not about the slave girl but about us. We can see how we
perceive slaves, how we might react to them and how we may or may not be of
assistance.

The first thing I notice is that there is a significant contrast here
between some of the characters. While slavery affects women and children
disproportionally, it does not do so to all women and children. Prior to the story
of the python girl we have the story of Lydia. She is a woman who seems to
have been somewhat successful by first-century standards. She is a business
woman who sells purple cloth which suggests that she has a degree of personal
freedom. This is emphasized by the fact that we are not told that she has a
husband. In normal circumstance in antiquity, women were the property of their
husbands or some other male figure and were not free to travel about or run their
own business. Moreover, she must have been a wealthy and fairly powerful
woman since we are told that her and her "household" were converted and
baptized. This means that she has perhaps a family (if she was widowed), but
that she more than likely has slaves. Apparently the house was big enough that
she could invite Paul, Silas, Timothy and other unnamed individuals to stay with
her. This means not only room for sleeping but food and other comforts of life.

Notice the contrast then to the python girl. Lydia is named, is
successful and thus in a class all together different than the Python girl. Slavery
has the ability to create social walls between us those who are enslaved to the
point that they seem less important, less noticeable and less in need of attention
whether from the author of Acts or from ourselves. They cause us to lower our
eyes to the street when we walk by and pretend not that we don't see them but
that they do not exist.

That leads to still more observations. Notice how we meet this young
girl. Acts 16:16 notes that it was while Paul and the others were on their way to
the place of prayer that they first encountered the python girl. It was in the
course of going to church, that she began to bother them. But notice this is not a
onetime event. She follows them declaring to others who they are, an event that
takes place repeatedly over the course of "many days" (16:18). This means that
people, including the Apostle Paul, continued to ignore the python girl even
though she made it difficult for them to ignore her. Somehow, this is not the
picture we normally associate with the heroes of the faith.

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

But it is when Paul does respond and why he responds that is even
more troubUng. The young woman walks behind them declaring that "These
men are slave of the Most High God who proclaim to you the way of salvation".
There is no suggestion that what she was saying was incorrect and that Paul
needed to silence her because she was saying something that may have misled
potential converts to Christianity. No, the problem, we are told in 16:18, is that
Paul got annoyed with her persistent following of them and cast the spirit out of
her. Not as a part of a process of leading her to salvation or rescuing her from
her plight in slavery, but because he had had enough of having to deal with her.

I wonder how many of us are like Paul in this story. We are able to see
those like Lydia who represent one aspect of society, but we are blind when it
comes to seeing the less fortunate among us. How many do we overlook
everyday on our way to work, the grocery store, or, as with Paul, on the way to
church? Is the only reason we notice them is because they annoy us or get in our
way on the sidewalk? Would we rather complain to the city that these people be
forced to move on so that we do not have to look at them. Do fail to see or
perhaps question what might have brought them to this place in their life? When
we see prostitutes on the street do we assume that they have chosen that lifestyle
and therefore get what they deserve? Do we ever think that they may be forced
to do this?

This leads to a final thought. As 1 read over the story I was struck by
the fact that the python girl disappears after Paul rebukes the spirit. What
happened to her? Was she converted? Did she join the church? Did her owners,
realizing that they could no longer make money one way, exploited her in
another way, perhaps sexually? I looked over a number of commentaries and it
is amazing how many of them said that the girl was saved. They see the stories
of Lydia, the python girl and the Philippian jailer as a three part salvation story.
But while the text is clear about Lydia and the jailer, we are told nothing about
the python girl. What happened to her? The answer is a mystery. But perhaps we
can allow this gap in the story to invite us in and ask ourselves what will we do?
What can we do? Will we be part of the solution or will we go on ignoring the
problem and only respond when it annoys us and gets in the way of what we
want to accomplish? What kind of after care will provide those who have been
enslaved? What can we do to help? As I stated in the beginning, this reading of
the passage raises more questions that it does answers. Questions about how we
perceive others and the prejudices that lurk within us. But it is perhaps the
pondering of questions rather than the search for answers that will coax us to
action.

Paul and the Python Girl

ENDNOTES

' Paul's letter to Philemon is often referenced as a critique of slavery, but Paul's

statements about Onesimus's status as a slave are so ambiguous it is impossible to

determine exactly what Paul thinks about slavery. For further discussion see: Barclay,

J.M.G., 'Paul, Philemon and the Dilemma of Christian Slave-Ownership', NTS 31 (1991),

pp. 161-86; and John Byron, Recent Research on Paul and Slavery (Sheffield: Sheffield

Phoenix Press, 2008), 1 16-137.

^ Of the 600,000-800,000 people trafficked across international borders each year, 70

percent are female and 50 percent are children. The majority of these victims are forced

into the commercial sex trade. (Figures are taken from the United State Department of

Justice - http://www.oip.usdoi.gov/ovc/ncvrw/2005/pg51.html).

^ BAGD, 729-750.

^BAGD,259.

^ The same term is used to describe Rhoda in Acts 12:13.

^ C.K. Barrett, Acts (ICC; Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1 994), 784.

' For ftirther information see: Everett Ferguson, Backgrounds of Early Christianity

(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993), 200-205.

* Moses I. Finley, Ancient Slavery and Modern Ideology (New York: Viking Press,

1980). 75, 77.

^ Patterson, Orlando, Slavery and Social Death: A Comparative Study (Cambridge, MA:

Harvard University Press, 1982), 5.

''^ John Byron, "Slaves and Freed Persons: Self-Made Success and Social Climbing in the

Corinthian Congregation," Jian Dao 29 (2008), 100-101.

^' http://www.lovel46.org/pages/page.asp7page id=21460

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

"Where is our Moral Outrage?"

By Wyndy Corbin Reuschling*

It is often customary, and perhaps somewhat perfunctory, when invited
to speak in Chapel, or other such venues, to start with something hke this: "I'm
thrilled, or delighted, or excited, at the opportunity to be here today and share
with you." The topic that draws our attention is human trafficking. Therefore it
would be more honest for me to start by stating that I'm not so thrilled or
delighted or excited to address this issue because wouldn't it be better if there
was no such thing as human trafficking to address? This is not a topic that
should thrill us, delight us or excite us. But it is an important and dire topic that
draws our attention during this Global Christianity Conference and the focus on
human trafficking.

As Christians, what are we to think of this issue and how are we to
respond? As I think about human trafficking, I am drawn to a story in Scripture
that may be familiar to us but contains a twist that we tend not to see, or one that
we sadly ignore or overlook. The story is recorded for us in Genesis 19:1-11.
It is the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. This particular story in
Genesis 19 is part of the larger narrative of Abraham and his nephew. Lot, who
parted ways back in Genesis 13. They had returned from Egypt and began to
settle in the land the Lord had promised to Abram and his offspring. The
accumulation of wealth and occupation of the land created tension between
Abram and Lot, and their herdsmen. Eventually they parted ways and Lot
"pitched his tents" near Sodom (Gen. 13:13). After a bloody battle, the goods of
Sodom were carried away, along with Lot and his possessions since he was
living in Sodom (14:12). After battle, the King of Sodom came to Abram,
suggesting that Abram keep the goods as spoils of war. Instead he asked that
Abram offer the people to him, including Lot (14:21-24) and offer which Abram
declines. It might be interesting at this point to speculate what it might have
been like for Lot to be treated as a possession, a spoil of war, a commodity to be
traded, especially when we confront Lot's later behavior in this larger narrative.

Later Abraham and Sarah are visited by "three men." It is in this
narrative that Abraham and Sarah are promised a son. It is also in this narrative
that Abraham learns of the pending destruction of Sodom (Gen. 18:16-21) and
what the Lord will do. The Lord said, "The outcry against Sodom and

*Wyndy Corbin Reuschling (Ph.D., Drew University) is Professor of Ethics and
Theology at ATS. The oral nature of this chapel address is unchanged.

Where is our Moral Outrage?

Gomorrah is so great and his sin so grievous that I will go down and see what

they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me " (Gen. 18:20-21).

Even so, still Abraham pleads for the preservation of Sodom (18: 22ff), God
relents, and Lot later returns to Sodom to live.

We meet the dubious Lot again, this time sitting in the public space of
the gateway at entrance of the city (Gen 19:1). This may indicate that Lot was a
person of prominence, and perhaps even a town leader. This was a privileged
space for Lot. Lot greets the two visitors. They were likely the same visitors
whom Abraham met who delivered the news about the birth of Isaac. They also
were the ones who later delivered the bad news about Sodom to Abraham
prompting his pleas for mercy, perhaps because his relative Lot lived in Sodom.
There is a sense in these stories that these visitors were angels and there are even
references to "the Lord himself visiting. This makes sense if we remember the
purpose of the visit to Sodom: "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so
great and his sin so grievous that I will go down and see what they have

done " It was the Lord who heard the outcry against Sodom, perhaps from

people in Sodom, and it was the Lord coming to check things out to see if "what
they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me."

Lot, in typical Near East custom, shows hospitality to these strangers,
offering them a meal, refreshment and a place to stay, literally entertaining
angels (Hebrews 13:2). What happens next may be familiar. The men of Sodom
descended on Lot's house, demanding the visitors be brought outside so they
could have sex with them. And perhaps our moral concern ends here because
we probably hear this side of the story a lot.

But if we keep reading this narrative as we should, the story is not over.
How does Lot respond? Lot said, "Look, I have two daughters who have never
slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like

with them " (Gen 19:6-8). Imagine this: "Here, take my daughters and do

with them as you wish." And again we hear, "The outcry against Sodom and
Gomorrah, is so great and his sin so grievous that I will go down and see what
they have done "

Lot was ready to give away his daughters as objects to secure the
protection of the visitors, to secure his own protection (he had done okay in
Sodom) and to buy favor with the men of the city. The offering of his daughters
was to secure his own benefits and the benefits of the men of the town. They
were offered as payment in place of something else. They were offered as
commodities not sold but given away freely as objects to fulfill the sexual
desires of others. What would compel Lot to do something like this? Why
would Lot traffic his own daughters, not just selling them, but giving them away
to sexual exploitation? And what do we do with this narrative in our sacred
Scriptures? Why have we ignored this part of the story .^ "The outcry against

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and his sin so grievous that I will go down and
see what they have done "

What are the horrors, the wickedness of human trafficking? If we
imagine where this text takes us, what would be the outcry of the Lord against
the grievous sin and wickedness of trafficking humans as commodities on a
market for the purposes and pleasures of others? The United Nations defines
human trafficking as the "acquisition of people by improper means such as
force, fraud or deception, with the aim of exploiting them."

' Human trafficking is one of the most extreme forms of exploitation of
the powerless. Lives are commodified, bought and sold, or traded, like
consumer products to meet the needs of other persons. Human trafficking
exploits persons made even more vulnerable by poverty, family abuse, gender
inequality, limited job opportunities, civil war, immigration and displacement
due to war and violence. These also should receive our moral attention and
outrage. Human trafficking relies on the unbridled acceptance of global
consumerism and global capitalism that enable "cheap goods," yes, even people,
to cross borders with as few barriers as possible. This should also receive our
moral attention and outrage.

Worldwide, there are nearly two million children in the commercial sex
trade. There are an estimated 600,000 to 800,000 children, women and men
trafficked across international borders annually and the numbers may be even as
high as two million." The total market value of illicit human trafficking is
estimated to be in excess of $32 billion.^ According to the US Department of
State, approximately 80 percent of human trafficking victims are women and
girls, and up to 50 percent are minors who are bought and sold for sexual
exploitation."* In many parts of the world, women lack legal status, fundamental
human rights, access to education, employment and opportunities to secure their
own means of survival, thereby increasing their risk of not just being sold into
prostitution by others but entering into prostitution as one of the few means
available for economic survival. The human trafficking of women and girls for
sexual exploitation, like Lot's daughters, assumes that they have less dignity,
less worth, no voice, no names, and that they are even less than human. Their
existence if valued for what they produce for others even as they are treated as
products. "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and his sin so
grievous that I will go down and see what they have done "

So, where do we start? Perhaps we start by hearing the outcry of those
victimized and oppressed such as what the Lord heard. ''The outcry against
Sodom and Gomorrah (and Lot?), is so great and his sin so grievous that I will

go down and see what they have done " The Lord went to Sodom, in the

form of angels who were recognized as humans. The Lord did not hesitate to go
to the place where sin and wickedness was the norm. Where might we go and

Where is our Moral Outrage?

where should we be in the places where humans are trafficked for the benefit
and profit of others? In sweat shops? In places where we buy our own clothes?
To street brothels? In rural communities in Ohio that depend on migrant labor?
At the port of Toledo purported to be one of the most active ports in the human
slave trade today?

Why might we ignore the second part of the story of Lot, the visitors,
Sodom and Lot's daughters? Why might we be more outraged about the first
part of the story and not the second, where Lot willingly offers his daughters up
to sexual exploitation? "Here take my daughters and do with them what you

like " I'm sure that I don't have to convince you of the moral outrage of

human trafficking as a fundamental of violation against persons and an offense
to God. You know that it is not just wrong, but wicked. It is easy to see moral
problems "out there." There is a common and unfortunate misperception that
ethics is about correcting the bad behaviour of other persons. But this lets us off
the hook. Ethics is about confronting our own practices, moral insensitivities
and blind spots. What at about our own ethical sensibilities? What is our moral
complicity in this story? Why have we not seen this part of the story and the
ways in which it is re-enacted everyday in the lives of girls and women? Why
are we not outraged at the silence surrounding the giving of Lot's daughters over
to sexual abuse and exploitation? What do we make of the fact that few people,
including us, have expressed so little outrage at all of the grievous sins of
Sodom and Lot's complicity in them?

Seeing and not believing is perhaps a spiritual problem, one with
which I'm sure many of us have struggled. But seeing and not caring is a moral
problem. We see the story. . ..but do we care? "The outcry against Sodom and
Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if
what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. "

ENDNOTES

http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/index.html.

http://www.humantrafficking.org.

http ://www . unodc. org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/index . html

http://www.state.gOv/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2008.

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

Reading the Story of the Levite's Concubine Through the Lens of
Modern-day Sex Trafficking

By Mitzi J. Smith*

The story of the gang rape and mutilation of a Levite's concubine wife
in Judges 19 is a difficult text to read; it is indeed a "text of terror," as Phyllis
Trible has argued.^ This text of terror constitutes for some the quintessential
narrative for elucidating oppression and violence perpetrated against women and
their victimization. Texts both reflect and critique everyday life. Texts of terror
contain vivid and mundane images of women's oppression and brutality. They
reflect and critique our ignorance, complicity, and culpability in the brutality
and victimization of women and others. We resist the idea that the perpetrators
of heinous acts could be one of us, anyone like us, or anyone familiar to us.

Our text is fraught with and reeks of images and language of
familiarity. Familiarity can and often does render risk and danger invisible.
What is familiar and therefore often normal requires little caution or critique.
Ideas of personal or communal safety and minimization of risk are often based
on familiarity. Normally expected behavior, particularly normalcy practiced by
authoritative or dominant persons or institutions, can camouflage or render
invisible oppression and violence. In contexts of perceived familiarity and/or
normalcy, oppression and brutality against women and children can more easily
occur with little or no interference. We warn our children, and rightly so, to
beware of strangers. But traffickers in human flesh are often not strangers.
Every year thousands of women and children, drawn from every comer of the
world, are recruited or drafted into modem-day sex slavery in the United States."
"In story after story, a trafficker, often a known member of the community, a
friend of the family, or sometimes a relative, offers a better life in America."^

This paper offers an analysis and reading of the story of the unnamed
Levite's concubine (secondary or slave) wife"^ both through the lens of and in
tandem with the phenomenon of modem-day sex slavery or human sex
trafficking. The concept of familiarity, as manifested in language and
relationships weaved throughout the text, will serve as a dominant theme for
analyzing this story. Among the ancients, the most vulnerable in society
(conquered and subjugated men, women and children) could be enslaved. In
modem-day sex slavery the most vulnerable in society are preyed upon. As in
ancient slavery, modem-day slave owners enjoy free access to enslaved bodies
for labor, profit, and sexual satisfaction. Since slavery is now illegal in the
U.S.,^ enslavers utilize cunning and deceptive means to acquire slave bodies.
Slave holders employ the pretence and the situation of familiarity to lure women

*Mitzi Smith (Ph.D., Harvard) is Associate Professor of New Testament and Christian
Origins at ATS.

Reading the Story of The Levite's Concubine Through the Lens of
Modem-day Sex Trafficking

and children into sex slavery. The story of the Levite's concubine wife contains
language and representations of familiarity that invite dialogue between the text
and the phenomena of modem-day human sex trafficking.

Familiarity has to do with proximity.^ By proximity I mean nearness in
terms of ethnicity, culture, geography, social status, religious affiliation, and/or
gender. People who we consider proximate to us are those most like us. Ideas
of in-group homogeneity are linked to perceptions of familiarity.^ We believe
that those most like us and most known to us are less likely to hurt us.
Familiarity can be employed as both a deterrent against violence and the ideal
pretext or context for the perpetration of violence. We seldom expect what is
familiar to us to be ominous toward us. We trust and choose to form
relationships with others based on proximity. We select our neighbors, fi^iends,
associates, religious practitioners, employees, significant others, and marriage
partners based on our perceived knowledge of them and their similarity or
proximity to us; that is, what and how much we have, or think we have, in
common.

The problem is that proximity does not necessarily guarantee
knowledge or safety. Persons can control how much and what they want to
reveal about themselves to other people. Proximity is unreliable as a safety
gauge since both the self and those proximate to us are capable of unimaginable
and unspeakable crimes, as the concubine's story demonstrates. Many crimes
against the most vulnerable in a society are committed by people who are
familiar or proximate to their victims. Modem-day enslavers or slave owners
employ what is familiar or proximate to lure young girls into sex slavery. In
Florida a 1 6 year old girl was ensnared into selling her body by a girl of the
same age whom the victim met in high school - someone she presumed to be
her peer and schoolmate. A man posing as the schoolmate's father met the
victim's parent under the mse of taking the two girls to the shopping mall.
Instead the 1 6 year old victim was held captive in a house and repeatedly gang
raped. U.S. authorities were incredulous when they questioned witnesses and
members of the Zambian Acapella Boys Choir to find that Rev. Grimes, "a man
of God," and his daughter had enslaved the boys. Grimes had presented himself
to the boys and their parents as well-dressed, polite and the bearer of promises
of a better life in America.^

The story of the concubine fi"om Bethlehem of Judea relates a raw
display of violence and bmtality against a young woman whose social position
and familial relationships afford her no protectors and who eventually is the
victim of men govemed solely by their own insatiable lusts. The socio-historical
context is broadly described, in nuce, by six, previously spoken, words: "there
was no king in Israel" (19:1; 17:6; 18:1, NRSV).^ The concubine's story (and
the book of Judges) concludes with the addendum, "In those days there was no

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes," (21:25,
NRSV).'° These words reflect both the absence of social order or anarchy and
the absence of personal critical reflection and ethical responsibility. But prior to
the double Levirate priest narratives (17-18 and 19-21), the aphorism reads
differently: "the Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord," NRSV
(2:11; 3:7, 12; 4:1; 10:6; 13:1; cp. 17:6; 21:25)." The two phrases ("right in
their own eyes" and "evil in the sight of the Lord," NRSV) are parallel; two
sides of the same coin. That which is right in the eyes of Levite priests proves to
be evil in the sight of the Lord. The prevalence of such moral individualism in a
patriarchal, class conscious and/or xenophobic society can become the recipe for
the oppression and victimization of women, children, the poor, and the stranger
within.

The motif of travel or journey provides a useful framework for
analyzing the concubine's story. Several journeys contribute to the progression
of the story from its beginning to its denouement. Arrivals, departures, and
transience create movement, temporally and spatially, in the story.
Grammatically, travel (arrival and departure) is marked by the finite form of the
Hebrew verb halak (to go, come, travel, or walk) or the verb 'abar (to cross
over). We find the idea of transience in the Hebrew participle gar (sojourning),
which describes both the Levite and the old man of Gibeah. At the beginning of
the narrative, the unnamed Levite is introduced as one sojourning in the distant
border of the hill country of Ephraim (a later metonym for the Northern
Kingdom, IKgs 12:25) who took for himself a concubine wife ( 'issd phileges)
from Bethlehem of Judea (19:1). In the status transformation from a father's
unwed daughter to a Levite 's concubine wife, the young woman exchanged one
master for another. While unmarried and living under her father's roof, she was
to remain sexually unavailable. But once the Levite took her as his wife, she
must become sexually available. "He is subject; she, object. He controls her.
How he acquired her we do not know; that he owns her is certain."'^

Nevertheless, it is not unusual in the Hebrew Bible for a woman,
especially a concubine, to be taken (e.g.. Gen 16: 3; 20:2-3).'^ She will be
taken to the tent ( 'ohel) or place jmaqdni) of her Ephraimite husband as his
concubine wife (cp. Judges 8:31). What begins ostensibly as a benign and
mundane domestic transaction will morph into a fatal and extraordinary
spectacle. "What victims of human sex trafficking share in common is "the hope
and the promise they felt at the beginning of their journey" '"* ~ dreams of a
better and different life.

It will be from an Ephraimite sojourner's home that her husband will
discard her to be ravished some Israelite "brothers" (19:23-25). Thus, the first
action in the story, also the first journey, is the implicit transportation of human
property across geographical boundaries from Bethlehem to Ephraim. Modem-
day sex trafficking depends on the ability of the victim's predators to transport

Reading the Story of The Levite's Concubine Through the Lens of
Modem-day Sex Trafficking

her across geographical boundaries; to remove her permanently or temporarily
from her normal geographical surroundings. Christian, a former victim of sexual
slavery, opines "pimps do not know state or national boundaries."'^ Sometimes
the border crossing is international and at other times it is local or domestic. Sex
trafficking is not just an overseas problem. The primary destinations for persons
trafficked across international borders include Australia, Bahrain, Japan,
Malaysia, Singapore, as well as the United States.'^ An estimated "300,000
children in the U.S. are at risk of being sold into slavery."'^ Further, the FBI
estimates that "well over 100,000 children and young women are trafficked in
America today. They range in age from 9 to 19, with the average age being 11."
'^ Many young victims come from what many would consider "good families,"
but are enticed or coerced by clever predators.'^

Second Journey. In the second journey, the concubine wife leaves her
husband's residence and returns to her father's house. ^° This young woman is
both a runaway and a concubine; neither her status as a runaway or as a
concubine should mitigate her oppression and victimization. The most at risk
populations for human trafficking exploitation are the 1.3 to 2.8 million
runaways and homeless youths living on America's streets. ^' Many of the child
victims of sex trafficking are runaways or children hoping to escape from
unhappy home situations enticed by promises of love and a better life. These
child runaways end up abused, beaten and forced into a financial indebtedness
that they are compelled to repay by selling their bodies. ^^ Nearly three-fourths
of all U.S. victims of human trafficking are women and half of the victims of
modem-day slavery are children. ^^ Human trafficking affects all races,
nationalities, and genders. Nevertheless, over half of the cases of sex trafficking
in the U.S. involved black children. Fifty-five percent of persons "under age
eighteen arrested on prostitution-related charges [in the U.S.] are black
children." ^"^ Every 40 seconds, a child goes missing in the U.S.A.; more than
2,000 children a day; about 500,000 disappear without being reported missing,
and for most missing children their bodies are never found. ^^

Our story does not contain the first documented case of a runaway wife
who abandons her master/mistress (e.g., Hagar, Gen. 16:6).^^ Unlike Hagar, the
Levite's wife does not voluntarily return to her master; she is retrieved. It is
unusual for a young woman who has abandoned her master/husband to return to
her father's house (19:2). The Levite will never relinquish his right to take his
concubine wife. After she leaves him, he will take her from her father's house.
In fact, the many references to the Levite as "son-in-law" or husband ( 'is) and to
the father as "father-in-law" foreground the legal relationship that continues to
exist among the parties (19:4, 5, 6, 9).

Like all characters in the story, the concubine is anonymous, even in
her father's house. Cheryl Exum argues that her anonymity is a literary

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

"strategy for distancing the reader from the character."^^ It is only when she
returns to her father's house that she is referred to as a young woman (na'ar)
and only for the purpose of identifying the father (19: 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9). In the
grammar of the text, the young woman is present either as a possessive pronoun
("her") or as the second noun in a Hebrew construct pair ("the father of the
young woman"). Her grammatical position, behind her father, serves to identify
a father in relation to his daughter, rendering him present and her absent. ^^ In
the story, she is hidden and silent; yet, the reader knows she is present, in her
father's house."^ Dina a former victim of sex trafficking in Cambodia testified
about the necessity of remembering that victims of sexual slavery are human:
I want you to remember we are not "problems," we are not
animals, we are not viruses, we are not garbage. We are flesh,
skin and bones; we have a heart, and we have feelings. We
are a sister to someone, a daughter, a granddaughter. We are
people we are women, and we want to be treat with respect,
dignity. And we want rights like the rest of you enjoy. ^'^
Human trafficking flourishes as its victims remain "invisible" (a term
often used to describe modem-day slavery) to others.^' Children stay enslaved
for extended periods of time since no one identifies them as slaves. Their
enslavement is invisible to their communities, but this is the paradox.
According to David Batstone, "slaves toil in the public eye."^^ The concubine's
victimization remains invisible to us because what we see, or don't see, we
declare as normal - her victimization is concealed behind ideas of patriarchal
normalcy. If what is visible or invisible is also familiar and we have
predetermined the familiar to be safe and non-threatening, then the familiar, or
familiarity, can be used to as a pretext or context to commit the unthinkable.
The concubine ceases to exist, in the story, until the Levite reclaims her from her
father's (his father-in-law's) house (19:9). In her father's house, she lives in a
state of liminality; she is unclaimed property. Sex traffickers or slave owners
confiscate the identification and/or passports of their victims in order to further
complicate the possibility of escape. Foreign victims trafficked into the U.S.
found without passports are often either jailed or repatriated or both. Maria's
story is a story of confiscated and unclaimed property. She was enticed with her
father's permission and taken from Albania to France and the Netherlands where
she was trafficked. She shares the following:

There are many Marias like I am, and that is the reason to
bring this story to daylight — to stop "Maria's Story" from
happening again, I come from a little village in Albania where
my parents and my sisters still live. They probably think I am
dead, and I hope so. It is easier than the truth — I have done
things they never can imagine. I shall never see them

Reading the Story of The Levite's Concubine Through the Lens of
Modem-day Sex Trafficking

again.... It was only four years ago when a young man from
Skopje came into my father's shop. He was very polite and
well dressed and he asked about life in our town. When I said
there was little to do, my father asked if he was there to talk or
to buy something. My father is very old-fashioned and he was
always protecting me from boys, which I did not like. I was
almost seventeen years old and did not need my father's
protection. The smile the young man gave me said he
understood. But he talked to my father politely, paid for some
times, and I saw him going away in a Mercedes-Benz
car. ..Perhaps two weeks after, the young man arrived again.
This time my father was away in a cafe and we talked (later, I
wonder if he watched the shop to see my father going out).
His name was Damir and he spoke of the famous cities he
often visited... Damir said that he worked for a modeling
agency that looks for petty girls like I was... If I wanted to do
it, he would arrange for a colleague to speak with my parents.
I was very excited and said yes. Some days passed and a
woman entered the shop. She was Damir's colleague. Her
jewels and expensive clothes made me embarrassed of my
own. She spoke to my parents and showed them a contract. I
will earn a certain amount of money, so much to me for living
and the rest to my parents. When my father asked about
safety, Vanja said that young models live together and always
with chaperones. I begged them to allow me, and finally my
father signed. I remember he was very sad about me going
away. Vanja took me to a photo shop for passport photos and
said Damir hoped to see me soon. ...I kissed my parents
good-bye. It was the last time I saw them... We drove some
hours to Durres on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Damir was
waiting for us... He had our new passports but told us he must
keep them... He paid for our passports and documents. They
belong to him and to be without them in a foreign country
means, going to prison if the police find us. If we try to
escape, he and his friends will kill us and no one will ever
know. If we succeed and go to police, bad things will happen
to our families and everyone will hear we are prostitutes.^^

The reason why the concubine wife leaves her husband is either
because she played the harlot (znch) (according to the MT [Masoretic Text]) or
she became angry (drgisthe in Greek text or LXX; [znh in the Hebrew]) with

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

him (19:2).^'* According to Trible, "The story itself allows either reading."^^
Pamela Reis has argued that the woman was unfaithful for him; "[t]he Levite
was prostituting his wife."^^ Perhaps the Greek text invites dialogue between
its translation of the MT and the MT's rendering of the text. If the Levite was
prostituting his wife, as Reis argues, and the concubine expected to possess the
status of wife, under such an arrangement the concubine would have reason to
become angry. Or perhaps the concubine has been falsely accused of fornication
by her husband and thus her anger and departure (see Deut. 22:15-21). This
might explain why her husband waited four months to go and "speak tenderly to
her heart." Of course, if the wife was culpable, the husband may have
determined after four months that he would forgive her and/or he simply wanted
his property back. But as Trible has observed, "the narrative censures no one for
the concubine's departure,"^^ but the story hints at the Levite's guilt.

The Levite's concubine wife exercised agency when she left her
master's home and traveled to her father's house. Her abandonment of her
master/husband can be perceived as an act of survival. ^^ The cost of staying
outweighed the potential consequences of flight. Her father does not send her
back; maybe he knows something we don't know. Or maybe the fact that he
does not send his daughter back confirms that he does not consider her actions
unreasonable or unjustified. It is clear that even if the concubine's flight was
justified, her master could (and did) forcefiilly reclaim her^^ fi-om her father's
house. Her agency is circumscribed. If the concubine's master had abused her in
any way, her victimization did not compel her father to transgress social rules
regarding men and their concubines. The same agency the concubine exercised
to leave her husband would not allow her to stay indefinitely in her father's
home. Modem-day sex traffickers gain control over their victims through
physical violence (forced starvation, beatings and gang rape, etc.) and threat of
ftirther violence. Traffickers use the victim's physical and mental confiision,
limited communication skills (in the case of foreign-bom victims), and fear of
the external world to convince them of the absolute subjugation of their bodies
and lives. The message communicated to the victim is that any attempt to
reassume control will be punished.'^^

The relationship between agency and victimization is a hotly debated
issue among advocates of human sex trafficking victims. The question is
whether victimization and agency should be seen as contradicting terms. Some
believe that if one can exercise agency, then one cannot be a victim. Liz Kelly
notes that when women exercise agency in the context of domestic violence we
do not deny their victimization, even though they may return to their abusers,
but different logic is applied to trafficked women. If trafficked women exercise
any agency, they are not considered victims."" But Kelly argues "[ajgency is
exercised in context, and contexts are always more or less constrained by
material and other factors. "'^^ In a patriarchal society where women's bodies are

Reading the Story of The Levite's Concubine Through the Lens of
Modem-day Sex Trafficking

subject to male authority and male authority is ultimate authority, women (and
other subordinates) have no places of refuge; thus, agency is circumscribed and
complex.

Third Journey. Four months after the concubine leaves her husband, he
travels to Bethlehem of Judah to retrieve her from her father's house. In her
father's house, the young woman remains eerily silent amidst the fellowship that
occurs among the two men. Her silence is not her story, but it is an important
part of her story. For her to speak would defy her status as human property.
Her silence is part of her poverty and her predicament."*' Women and children
(and some men) who are not permitted to tell their own stories and to speak
about their own oppressions and victimization without censure suffer in silence
and sometimes indefinitely.

Fraternity as familiarity among men allows for male enjoyment and
self- gratification to the exclusion of female well-being. Enjoyment is the
privilege of males in this story. We would not know the concubine was in her
father's home, if the narrator had not told us so. She is never included in the
eating-drinking-and-spending-the-night scenes. "Neither food nor drink nor
companionship attends the female, but the males enjoy it all."'^'* Fraternity as
familiarity among men finds expression in the language of eating, drinking and
spending the night ~ the son-in-law under the father-in-law's roof. "^^ Reis notes
that a literal translation of the Hebrew would render verse 19:6 as "And they sat
and they ate, two of them together, and they drank'' (emphasis not mine), "so
that the reader suspects drinking to excess." This collocation of phrases does
not necessarily indicate inebriation among men. The emphasis could be upon
the camaraderie and conversation that takes place when two men share food to
the intentional exclusion of all others in the household. This phrase, "the two of
them together," it should be noted, also appears in the MT when no drinking is
mentioned (19:8). Also, later in the story when the Levite and the old man eat
together, it is explicitly stated that they are sharing wine, but the phrase "the two
of them together" is absent from the MT (19:19-21).

In the midst of male fraternity we find the language of the heart. The
Levite travelled to his father-in-law's house to speak to the heart of his
concubine wife (19:3). Similarly, Shechem spoke to Dinah's heart after he raped
her (Gen 34:3) and Hosea will allure his wife by speaking tenderly to her (Hos
2:14-15). Erik Eynikel has noted that if the concubine had committed adultery,
her sin would have been punishable by death rather than by "speaking to her
heart."'*^ Modem-day sex traffickers place themselves or others in relationship
with the intended victims by pretending to be in love with the victim and
sometimes are able to use longtime acquaintances to lure them into desperate
and fatal situations."*^

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

While the Levite attempts to speak to his concubine's heart, the father
endeavors to influence the Levite 's heart. After the Levite has spent three days
in his father-in-law's home, the father prevails upon his son-in-law to stay
another day, "to refresh your heart with a piece of bread" (my translation)
(19:5). On the fourth day, the two men share a meal and some drink. And once
their appetites are satisfied, the father encourages the son-in-law to stay another
night because "it will be good for your heart" (19:6). This day/night pattern is
repeated in verses 8 and 9. The language of the day time requests ("refresh your
heart") differs fi-om the language the father employs when he wants his son-in-
law to stay the night ("it will be good for your heart"). Perhaps, this night
language ("it will be good for your heart") is an indirect reference to the danger
that lurks in the night, which the Levite (and by extension the young woman)
will avoid if he spends the night. Maybe it is a veiled appeal to the son-in-law to
be good to his wife, which goodness is predicated upon the Levite 's avoidance
of night travel or even a reconsideration of his plans to take the daughter back.
The father's hospitable treatment of the son-in-law may be perceived as an
attempt to ensure her safety.'*^ Perhaps the sharing of meals was more an
attempt to advocate for his daughter than to fi-atemize with his son-in-law.

While the young man (na 'ar) traveling with the Levite is absent fi-om
the story until the Levite travels to retrieve his wife and rendered silent in the
father-in-law's house, the young man does eventually speak. Thus, every male
in the story, even the male servant, speaks for himself When the travelers arrive
at Jebus (later Jerusalem), the young man attempts to convince the Levite to stay
the night in Jebus so as not to risk a late night arrival in Gibeah.^^ In fact, when
they arrive in Jebus, the narrator notes that the Levite has a pair of saddled
donkeys and his concubine; the young man is not mentioned as among the
Levite's property as previously noted (19:10; cp. 19:3). The young man once
silent is now rendered vocal. But, unequivocally, the young man is servant and
the Levite is his master {'adoni). Vocal intellectual agency is connected with
maleness in the story. Of course, the Levite rejects his young male servant's
admonition and insists on crossing over ('dbar) into Gibeah or Ramah because
the Jebusites are not children of Israel (19:12-14).

Perceived familiarity contributes to ideas of group homogeneity in
matters of moral behavior allowing for blindness to intra-group danger and to
stereotypical notions about the dangerous foreigner/outsider. The story of the
concubine is replete with language of familiarity or proximity, such as: "her
father," "her husband," "father of the young woman," "father-in-law", "son-in-
law," "wife," "brothers," "Bethlehem, Judah," "Ephraim," "Benjaminites,"
"Gibeah" and "children of Israel." Reis has aptly noted that "the six repetitions
of the phrase 'father of the woman' hammer the woman's vulnerability and the
father's familial relationship into one's consciousness and prompt the reader to
contrast the man's bond with his behavior. He is her father, father, father,... but

Reading the Story of The Levite's Concubine Through the Lens of
Modem-day Sex Trafficking

he does not act like a father."^' While many horror stories of human trafficking
can be told, most sex trafficking is "mundane, involving everyday, routine
power and control relationships" similar to domestic violence and child sexual
abuse. ^"

Fourth Journey. The fourth journey occurs when the Levite leaves his
father-in-law's house with this concubine in tow returning to Ephraim. The
narrative gives the impression that the Levite's actions are routine and void of
critical reflection - in spite of the father's attempts to appeal to his son-in-law's
heart. Just like he got up {qum) to retrieve his concubine after she had been gone
for four months, he got up {qum) and left his father-in-law's home. And after
the brutal sexual assault on his concubine, the Levite will get up {qum) and leave
there too.

The Levite's penultimate destination will be the home of a fellow
Ephraimite. The sun has gone down when they are near Gibeah, Benjaminite
territory. They sit in the city square in the dark, but not one of the natives offers
to take the travelers in. Hospitality (at least for the Levite) will be offered by
one whose background is familiar and/or similar to the Levite's; his host will be
an old Ephraimite man sojourning in Gibeah — a "homeboy." "The tribal town
becomes the alien place.. .one from the territory of the master, will provide the
hospitality that the natives do not offer."^^

Geographical language indicating the familiar and unfamiliar (foreign)
is significant in our story. Both the Levite and the old man are sojourners; the
old man is a sojourner in Gibeah who originated from the hill country of
Ephraim and the Levite is a sojourner dwelling in Ephraim traveling through
Gibeah (19:1, 16). Jebus, where the Levite refused to spend the night, was
considered a dangerous foreign city where the people are not Israelites (19:12).
But Gibeah where the Benjaminites dwell is a place where fellow Israelites live
and thus a place of familiarity and proximity; it is a safe place for spending the
night. The hospitality of "brothers" is preferred to turning aside among
foreigners. Ironically, the old man warns the Levite not to sleep in the public
square of the Israelite town (19:20). While the old man could travel from the
field and back home every evening unmolested, a traveler cannot remain safely
in the public square in the night (19:16). Hedging his bets, the Levite confesses
that he is traveling to the house of the Lord (19:18b).

Intra-group notions of superiority and security foster a domestic versus
inter-national dichotomy regarding among whom and where danger exists. The
domestic or familiar is considered safer than what is foreign and unfamiliar. In
our story domestic space and place are determined to be safer than foreign space
and places and the people who inhabit them. Paradoxically, domestic and
familiar space proves a dangerous and fatal place for a concubine (slave) wife.
In America, young women are enslaved having been enticed into homes under

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

the guise being hired as domestic workers. Christian Elangwe immigrated to
America to "take care of kids" and instead she was enslaved:

The agreement was that I'm going to babysit and while I'm
babysitting continue my education and go to school, the
whole year passed and they didn't send me to school.... Days
go by, years go by. . . .When I asked her one time, the lady told
me that just bringing me to America is more than good
enough — they don't have to do anything with me.... I should
be happy that I'm here.... It was seven days week. I did
everything from five in the morning until maybe midnight or 1
A.M. ...Nobody was allowed to call me and I wasn't allowed
to call anybody. The five years I was with them I never talked
to my parents. They never paid me anything while I was
there. When I asked them, they said they didn't have to.^"*

Similarly, Roseline from Cameroon was only in the States a week when her
employers began abusing her. She states the following:

I couldn't go for a whole week without getting hit. I really
didn't know what to do. I was just hoping that one day it
would stop. I did everything that she wanted me to do. I tried
to make sure that everything was right so I wouldn't get yelled
at or beaten up, but everything I was doing wasn't right so I

still got beaten by her or her sister When I came my bed

was in the kitchen. It was actually a couch. And when I was
in the kitchen sleeping, the husband, who always liked to go to
bed really late at night, 2 A.M. or 3 A.M. sometimes, started
approaching me, trying to sleep with me. I was fighting, and
he would say, "I'm just trying to make you feel like a woman.
I'm not going to get you pregnant." It didn't just stop there;
he continuously did that until it got to the point where I started
going to bed in double clothing. ^^

"We" are your servants, the Levite says to the old man from Ephraim. The
Levite permits the old man to have the same access to all his property that he
enjoys. So the old man takes him in and by extension his property. All the
Levite needs is hospitality; he has food, wine, and servants; he describes his
concubine as a maid servant {'mk) (19:19). The old man simply provides
hospitality - a safe place to eat, drink and sleep; the old Ephraimite man and the
Levite from Ephraim wash their feet, share a meal, and drink wine together.

Reading the Story of The Levite's Concubine Through the Lens of
Modem-day Sex Trafficking

"Though the master is safe in the house, the woman is not."^^ Just as in the
father-in-law's home, hospitaUty occurs among men. "He" and not "they" are
welcomed into the old man's house (19:21). The ubiquitous donkeys will be
fed. But we are never told that the concubine and the young slave boy ate or
drank. The hospitality between the men is literally described as men "being
good to their heart" (19:22).

Eating and drinking among the two Israelite men is interrupted by
perverse men of the city (later described as "brothers" and "lords of Gibeah")
who want to know, sexually, the old man's male guest. The men pounding at
the door refer to the old man as "the master {ba 'al) of the house" (19:22; but the
Levite is 'adoni, 19:26, 27). The old man chooses to sacrifice his virgin
daughter and the Levite's concubine rather than to allow the men to have sexual
relations with his male guest. The men who have an appetite for men are offered
a virgin daughter and a Levite's concubine; two women as surrogate for one
man (19:24). Remember Lot's daughters (Gen. 19:8)! An acceptable substitute
for sexually ravishing one man is the offering up of two women (a wife and a
daughter) as the objects of sexual violence. It is considered a "vile thing" to
ravish a man.

But the "brothers" refijse the old man's compromise. And the Levite
shoves his concubine out into the dark into the hands of the (Israelite) men.
Concubines are more dispensable than virgins; more worthy of sexual violence.
The Levite casts his concubine to the perverted and lust driven "brothers"
allowing them to do to her as is right in their own eyes just as he himself has
done what was right in his own eyes. "She was a dispensable commodity, used
to solve an annoyance between males. "^^ Throughout the night, the "brothers"
gang raped the Levite's concubine. "No one within [the house] comes to her aid.
They have all fallen away in the darkness of night."^^

In the morning they let her go (w.25-26). And the young woman drags
her emaciated body to the threshold of the door where the men on the other side
slept through the night of her terror in shalom. The men saw no need to lose
sleep over her victimization, and they did not. "They were most likely fast
asleep in a drunken stupor after making their hearts merry."^^ In the light of day,
the Levite gets up (qum), and he speaks to his concubine for the first time in the
story. She is not able to answer because she is either dead (the LXX) or she is
simply too weak and exhausted to reply. But he is not in the least dissuaded
fi"om continuing the journey on which he started. The young woman's terror in
the night will not interfere with the Levite's business in the day.

When a link is created between social status and ideas of familiarity,
persons who attain to levels of social status based on positions of authority held
in a society are considered as safer and less dangerous than persons of lower
social status. The elite and persons of authority in any society or community are

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

as capable of violence against women and girls as are any other members of a
society. In our story of the concubine, the dissonance between the concubine's
and the Levite's social status are clear. Although both the Levite and his
concubine are anonymous, their social class is foregrounded. God consecrated
the Levites to serve as priests (Num 1:48-54), but concubines are sex slaves used
in the service of men and women (Gen 16; 25:6; 35:22; Ex 21:7-11). The
foregrounding of the Levite's social position within Israel in our story is
similarly achieved in the preceding story of the unnamed Levite (Judges 17-18)
and the unnamed Levite in the "Good Samaritan" story at Luke 10:32. Perhaps,
like the Levite in the story of the "Good Samaritan," the Levite in our story is
unnamed because he might represent anyone within established religious circles
and leadership. The fact that this unnamed man is identified as a Levite might
prejudice some readers in favor of the Levite so that they are willing to overlook
or mitigate any questionable behavior attributed to him. Or the Levite's status
may motivate some readers to view the concubine as the guilty party in the
marriage because she is of lower class status. The narrative and textual
ambiguity as to precisely why she left her husband might contribute to such a
reading.

Familiarity based on social position fosters the notion that persons
holding authoritative and respected positions in a community can be trusted
more so than persons of lower social position or class. According to David
Batstone, "we do not expect to find [modem-day slavery] in 'respectable'
settings. To learn that slave holders press children into forced labor in the cacao
plantations of the Ivory Coast may not surprise us. But we regard it as
unthinkable that an otherwise upstanding citizen might be a slaveholder."^*^ (We
believe we are far removed from the time when a country such as the U.S. or
South Africa deemed it legally and morally acceptable for "respectable" citizens
to own slaves.) A prime example is Kim Meston who,

wishes that she had not been so invisible to her New England
community. In a rural town near Worcester, Massachusetts,
the minister of the local church used her as his domestic sex
slave for five years without raising the slightest suspicion in
the community. At the age of sixteen, Kim began a double
life in America. Everything would have appeared normal to
the casual observer — she attended the local high school, ran
on the track team, and attended church on Sundays. The
minister even had a wife and a stepdaughter living in his
home. But behind closed doors, she became the household
servant, doing nearly all the cooking, housecleaning, ironing,
and even tending the church grounds. Moreover, the minister
sexually abused Kim fi-equently over a five-year period.^'

Reading the Story of The Levite's Concubine Through the Lens of
Modern-day Sex Trafficking

Fifth Journey. The final and fifth journey occurs when the Levite cuts
up his concubine's sexually abused body into twelve pieces and has them
transported, by messengers, throughout the land of Israel (19:29-30). Christine
was bom into sex slavery in the state of Minnesota. Her family consisted of
"pimps, pomographers, and whores," men pimping women, girls and, less often,
boys. Her pimps trafficked her across the country. She is not alone in her
testimony or in spirit. Christine writes, "I have many friends and acquaintances
who have endured the tortures, rapes, beatings, and degradations that pimps and
Johns hand out like candy. "^'^ Christine shares her fragmentation:

It is no small achievement to survive sexual slavery, Survivors
are split into pieces, fragmented, broken, filled with despair,
pain, rage, and sorrow. We have been hurt beyond belief. We
are silent; we are numb. Our eyes see, our ears hear, but we
do not tell. Our voices are nonexistent, but even if they did
exist, who would believe what we have to say? Who would
listen? Who would care? We are dirty, ruined, despised, the
whores of the earth. The men who use us throw us away. We
are their garbage to piss on, to pile up in the comer. We are
their property, they own us. The rest of you turn your backs,
avert your eyes, pretend not to see, go on your way. You
leave us to the predators. ^^

The annual number of murder victims in the U.S. is likely to be less
than the number of new sex trafficked victims, but few will be rescued. The
Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 recognizes that human
trafficking is both a domestic and an international crisis and it aims to protect
victims of human trafficking and ensure that their enslavers are prosecuted.^"*
The tiny fraction of victims who survive and "are rescued must jump through
hoops to get help, rarely have a safe place to go, and encounter confusion and
buck-passing from the authorities."^^

Accompanying the Levite's human cargo is a message - a retelling of
the concubine's story from the perspective of the Levite. It, of course, varies
from the story we have been reading; it is a metanarrative. In his metanarrative,
the Levite does not admit to being the initial object of male sexual desire. Nor
does he tell how an old Ephraimite man offered up his own virgin daughter or
how he shoved his own concubine out into the raging mob. He does not portray
himself as in any way complicit. The note addressed to the Israelites reads:
"'Has such a thing ever happened since the day that the Israelites came up from
the land of Egypt until this day? Consider it, taken counsel, and speak out'"

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

(19:30, NRSV). It is not clear whether the crime itself is considered heinous or
if the real problem is the ultimate loss of the Levite's property. In any event, the
objectification and cruel treatment of the woman as usable and disposable
property is not unambiguously condemned. Is the Levite upset because his
"brothers" brutally and repeatedly raped his concubine or because she died
depriving him of access to her body and her labor?

The Levite cannot tell the whole tale; he cannot bring himself to speak
the words that tell the tale of men wanting men; but he has no problem repeating
the brutality of the crime against his concubine. All sexual violence should be
offensive and shocking. Just because a society allows men free access to the
bodies of women, young girls, and boys does not make it humane, non-
oppressive, or less violent. Just because women are socialized to believe their
humanity and worth depends upon the degree to which they are aesthetically or
physically pleasing to men does not mean this is how God meant for women and
young girls to value (or devalue) themselves.

Just as the interrelatedness of the parties does not prevent the sexual
exploitation and violence against the young woman, neither does it prevent the
escalation of violence among brothers — the near extinction of an entire tribe
because of the gang rape and murder of a Levite's concubine wife by members
of that tribe. When Israel wages war against their brothers the Benjaminites,
they defend the men who are both kinfolk and perpetrators of sexual violence
and murder (20:13). A whole people (the Benjaminites) defend the right of a
few men to do as they please. Maybe because if a few men cannot do as they
please with one concubine, surely the rest of them will not be able to do as they
please when it comes to their women and the strangers among them (cp. Esther
1:1-21). The remnant of males who survive the massacre is presented with
virginal women to have sexually, as they please, so as to guarantee their
continued presence among the tribes. And the cycle continues as proximity and
familiarity again become the pretext and context for knowing women sexually.

Conclusion. If, for many women and men, the grace of God cannot be
found in the story, perhaps it can be found in the act of telling and retelling of
the concubine's story. The retelling of her story brings her terror into the light
of day so that her victimization can confront and challenge us. Her story
foregrounds how familiarity and/or proximity have been and are used as a
pretext and context for the oppression, silencing, trafficking, sexual abuse, and
murder of women, children, and other vulnerable members of our society and
world. The language and images of the concubine's story point to the
similarities between her story and the stories of modem-day victims of sex
trafficking. By telling her story and the stories of our contemporary sisters and
brothers, we bring them out of the darkness exposing our willfril ignorance,
culpability, complicity, and responsibility. "Targeting oppression and silence,
the modem slave narrative has emancipatory power as a linguistic weapon of the

Reading the Story of The Levite's Concubine Through the Lens of
Modem-day Sex Trafficking

violated."^^ And it is a "linguistic weapon" of the would-be violated. The
concubine's "slave narrative" can have emancipatory power. As Yani Yoo
asserts, "the story invites the reader to witness and denounce the human evil
against fellow human beings, especially women."^^

What can we do to prevent the objectification and victimization of
women and children? What can we do to help stop the terrors that lurk in the
night? We can read the concubine's story as if it were our story, our daughter or
son's story, and sister or brother's story. We can read the story through the eyes
of the guilty and complicit men in the story, asking ourselves how we are guilty
of or complicit in the objectification of women, men and children in the church,
in our homes, in our communities, in the larger society, and in the world. We
can read and preach her story in our churches and in our homes. We can educate
ourselves, our families and our churches about sex trafficking. We can stop
assuming that every woman and girl on a "street comer" wants to be there and
that every run away deserves what waits for her on the street. In order to release
the captives and set free the oppressed we have to open our eyes and shine a
light on the terrors in the night. The terror that these victims experience is
unimaginable. Yet, modern-day sex trafficking is not an imaginary tale. It may
be happening in our favorite restaurant, in the neighborhood beauty salon, in the
house next door, or in our own back yard.^^

ENDNOTES

' Phyllis Trible, Texts of Terror: Literary-Feminist Readings of Biblical Narratives

(MinneapoHs: Fortress, 1984).

' While I am aware that human trafficking includes debt, agricultural, and domestic

trafficking, etc., my emphasis in this article is on sex trafficking, although other forms of

modem-slavery often overlap. A person could be held against his/her will under threat of

violence initially for the purpose of working in a sweat shop or gold mine or as a

domestic worker or tomato picker and later be subjected to sexual abuse.

^ Kevin Bales and Ron Soodalter, eds., The Slave Next Door: Human Trafficking and

Slavery' in America Today (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press,

2009)," 78.

'^ A story that is similar to the story of Lot's daughters in Genesis 19:1-11.

^ Congressional laws enacted in the last decade of the 18'*^ century and the first decade of

the 1 9"^ century has prohibited dejure the transport of slaves into America and the supply

of ships to the slave trade. Those laws also permitted the confiscation of slave ships and

for the U.S. Navy to seize slave ships, as well. While slavery de jure ended with the

enactment of the Thirteenth Amendment; slavery de facto continued and in some ways

has never disappeared from America. Bales and Soodalter, The Slave Next Door, 150-

151.

^ J. Z. Smith ("What a difference a difference makes," in "7b See ourselves As others See

Us": Christians, Jews, "Others" in Late Antiquity, eds. Jacob Neusner and Ernest S.

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

Frerichs [Chico: Scholars, 1985], 3-48) employs this term but noting that proximity is a

basis for othering; the proximate other, the one most like us, is the one most threatening

to us.

' Penelope J. Oakes, S. Alexander Haslam, Brenda Morrison, Diana Grace, "Becoming

an In-Group: Reexamining the Impact of Familiarity on Perceptions of Group

Homogeneity," 58 Social Psychology Quarterly (1995): 52-61.

^ Bales and Soodalter, The Slave Next Door, 126.

^ The books of 1 and 2 Samuel, which narrates the selection of Israel's first and second

Kings, Saul and David, follows the book of Judges in the MT; but in the LXX the book of

Ruth intervenes. Perhaps, the stories in the book of Judges amount to religio-political

propaganda in support of a monarchy

'° All bible quotations are fi^om the New Revised Standard Version unless otherwise

noted.

" The cycle of apostasy, judgment, cry for help, and God's deliverance by a judge is

present up until Chapter 17 of judges when the pattern changes and we have the double

Levite priest stories.

'^ Trible, Texts of Terror, 66.

'^ In the Hagar story, it is Sarah who takes her concubine, as her mistress, and gives her

toAbram(Gen. 16:3).

'"* Bales and Soodalter, The Slave Next Door, 78.

'^ Kevin Bales and Zoe Trodd, eds.. To Plead Our Own Cause: Personal Stories by

Today's Slaves (Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 2008), 102.

'^ Bales and Trodd, To Plead Our Cause, 83.

'^ "Report: Human Trafficking an Ohio Issue"; available at

http://www.10tv.com/live/content/local/stories/2008/07/09/human_trafficking.html

[accessed 10/17/08]. See also R. Barri Flowers, "The Sex Trade Industry's Worldwide

Exploitation of Children," Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social

Science 515 iimi): 147-157.

'* "Teen girls' Stories of Sex Trafficking in U.S., Feb. 9, 2006; available fi"om

http://a.abcnews.com/Primetime/storv?id=1596778&page=l [ accessed 10/17/08]

•^ Ibid.

■^° Mieke Bal {Death and Dissymmetry: The Politics of Coherence in the Book of Judges

[Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988], 80-93) argues that the concubine lived in

the father's home and not with her husband and the Levite's taking of her fi-om her

father's home represents an attempt to transform the nature of their relationship.

^' Doug Nichols, "Human Trafficking Statistics"; available at

http://dougnichols.blogspot.com/2008/01/human-trafficking-statistics.html [accessed

10/17/2008]

^^ Jackie Jones, "Stafistics Say Over Half the Cases of Sex Trafficking in the U.S. Involve

Black Children" (Friday, May 25, 2007; available at http://Black AmericaWeb.com

[accessed October 17, 2008]

'' Ibid.

^^"Slavery in the 21^' Century"; available at http://www.fi"eedomcenter.org/slaverv-

todav/?gclid=CLmViObKrpYCFO0NDOodxUua... [accessed 10/17/2008]

Reading the Story of The Levite's Concubine Through the Lens of
Modem-day Sex Trafficking

■^^ See Delores S. Williams, Sisters in the Wilderness: The challenge of Womanist God-
Talk {Maryknolh Orbis, 1998).

^^ J. Cheryl Exum, Fragmented Women: Feminist (Sub)versions of Biblical Narratives
(JSOTSuE, 163; Sheffield: Sheffield, 1993), 176.

^^ Likewise, the father only exists in relation to his daughter or his son-in-law.
^^ Pamela Tamarkin Reis ("The Levite's Concubine: New Light on a Dark Story,"
Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament 20 [2006]: 127, 130) argues that the
anonymity in Judges 19-21 "reflects the increasing dehumanization and disintegration of
society." Prior to Chapter 19 a few characters are still being given names, but in Chapter
19 "decency and order have deteriorated to a nadir in which no one deserves the
humanizing elevation of a name."
^° Bales and Trodd, To Plead Our Own Cause, 103.

' David Batstone, Not for Sale: The Return of the Global Slave Trade — and How we can
fight it (New York: HarperCollins, 2007), 268.
^^ Batstone, Not for Sale, 1.

" Bales and Trodd, To Plead Our Own Cause^ 49-5 1 .

^'^ The Masoretic Text (MT) says she committed fornication {znh), but the rest of the text
implies guilt on the part of the Levite and not the woman, in my opinion. The Greek text
(LXX), on which 1 rely, says she became angry (orgisthe) (Hebrew: znch).
^^ Trible, Texts of Terror, 67.
^^ Reis, "The Levite's Concubine," 129.
■'^ Trible, Texts of Terror, 67.

^* The concubine wife's story is not unlike the story of Samson and his first wife (Judges
14:1-15:6). In fact, it may be a mirror image of our story. In his anger Samson abandons
his first wife because she betrayed his trust, and he returns to his father's home. After
some time, Samson attempts to reclaim his wife, but because his father-in-law was
certain that Samson had rejected his daughter, he gave her to another man. Both father-
in-law and (ex-) wife are murdered by foreigners, the Philistines, due to Samuel's actions.
Of course, in our story it is the concubine wife who is angry, returns to her father's home,
and is reclaimed; Like, Samson's wife, the Levite's concubine is murdered, but by
perverted "brothers" and not by foreigners.

^^ For a discussion about the issue of consent and trafficking in the context of
negotiations leading to the 80-country signing of The Trafficking Protocol in Palermo,
Italy in December 2000, see Jo Doezema, "Who Gets to Choose? Coercion, Consent and
the UN Trafficking Protocol," Gender and Development 10 (2002): 20-27. See also K.
Kempadoo and J. Doezema, eds., Global Sex Workers: Rights, Resistance and
Redefinition (New York and London: Routledge, 1998).
"^^ Bales and Soodalter, The Slave Next Door, 78.
^' Kelly, "The Wrong Debate," 142.
^^ Kelly, "The Wrong Debate," 1 43 .

'^^ Reis ("The Levite's Concubine," 136) argues that the woman's insufferable
predicament is "pitied and respected by the text."

Trible, Texts of Terror,

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

''^ Although the term father-in law is used to describe the relation between the Levite and

the young woman's father, a concubine did not have the same legal or social status as a

wife; she is a secondary wife.

'*^ Reis, "The Levite's Concubine," 134.

'*^ Erik M. MK. Eynikel, "Judges 19-21, An 'Appendix:' Rape, Murder, War and

Abduction," Communio Viatorum 41 (2005): 104.

'** Batstone, 258-259. Pimps will use one of their most trusted victims, known as

"bottoms" to entrap new recruits. "Bottoms" befriend intended victims gaining their trust

before they make their move to kidnap and/or coerce.

"^^ Koala Jones-Warsaw, "Toward a Womanist Hermeneutic: A Reading of Judges 19-

21," m A Feminist Companion to Judges, ed. A. Brenner (Sheffield: Sheffield, 1993),

175.

^^ Both Jebus and Gibeah were allotted as inheritances to the tribe of Benjamin (Jos

1 8:2 1 -28), but the Benjaminites failed to drive out the Jebusites (Judges 1:21).

^' Reis, "The Levite's Concubine," 133.

^^ Liz Kelly, "The Wrong Debate: Reflections on Why Force Is Not the key Issue with

Respect to Trafficking in Women for Sexual Exploitation," Feminist Review 73 (2003):

140.

"Ibid., 71.

^"^ Bales and Trodd, To Plead Our Cause, 153-155.

^^ Bales and Trodd, To Plead Our Cause, 147-148.

^^ Ibid., 72.

^^ Yani Yoo, "Han-Laden Women: Korean 'Comfort Women' and Women in Judges 19-

21,"5e/?7e/a78(1997):42.

^* Ibid., 76.

^^ Reis, "The Levite's Concubine," 142.

^° Batstone, Not for Sale,!.

^' Batstone, Not for Sale, 7-8. Kim was brought to the U.S. by a church minister visiting

southern India from the U.S.. Her parents were Tibetan exiles living in a reftigee camp

when the minister offered to bring Kim to America and provide a better life and

education for her, promising to treat her like his own daughter.

^^ Bales and Trodd, eds.. To Plead Our Own Cause, 99.

Ibid., 101.

Batstone, 228, 238.

Bales and Soodalter, The Slave Next Door, 106.

64
65

^^ Bales and Trodd, eds.. To Plead Our Own Cause^ 3.

^^ Yani Yoo, "Han-Laden Women," 38.

^^ See, Free the Slaves (Washington, D.C.-based NGO), "Slavery Still Exists and It Could

Be in Your Backyard: A Community Member's Guide to Fighting Human Trafficking

and Slavery," (available at www.freetheslaves.net).

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

A Review of the Scholarly Debate on the
Meaning of "Head" (K£(pa>Lti) in Paul's Writings

By Alan F. Johnson*

From at least the middle of the twentieth century there has been an ongoing,
sometimes acrimonious debate over the meaning of the metaphor "head" (Greek,
kephale) in Paul's letters, especially his use in male-female contexts such as 1
Corinthians 11:3 and Ephesians 5:23. The literature is extensive. The debate
continues.

However, few, who have tentatively embraced a position themselves, have
been able to access and to read all the significant discussions. This article is an
attempt to review the most significant scholarly literature that has emerged in
the debate and to summarize each without critique. The focus is narrow and
should not be taken as a summary of all aspects of the debate on male and
female relations in the church, home, and society.

I offer the following review as the fairest attempt that I can give of the
history and current state of the issue. At the end I give my own brief application
of the results to 1 Corinthians 11:3 and Ephesians 5:23. Only the most
significant contributions (in my estimation) from all sides can be included. I
offer my apologies to any who were overlooked.

The history of the debate '

Stephen Bedale (1954)

We begin with an early seminal article by Stephen Bedale.
' Amazingly brief for the firestorm it sparked (4 pages), the points Bedale raised
continue to be played out in the current debate. Bedale argued that since the
normal Greek metaphorical meaning of kephale would not be understood as
'ruler' or 'chief,' Paul must have been influenced by the Greek version of the
Old Testament (LXX) where kephale was used sometimes to translate the
Hebrew ro 'sh (when it meant 'ruler' or 'chief).

However, ro'sh could have a second figurative meaning as well in other
contexts, 'first' or 'beginning' (translated by the Gk. arche, 'first,' 'beginning,'
'principal'). The two words {arche and kephale) became "approximate in
meaning" in 'biblical Greek' (i.e., Greek influenced by the LXX). Thus in
Colossians 1:18, kephale in the sense of 'ruler' or 'chief would be an
"irrelevant intrusion into the context which is wholly concerned with Christ as
arche, the 'beginning' and 'first principle' alike in Creation and Redemption (cf.
Rev. iii.l4, he arche tes ktisews)" (213). Likewise in Colossians 2:19 and

*Alan F. Johnson (Th.D., Dallas Theological Seminary) is Emeritus Professor of New
Testament and Christian Ethics at Wheaton College.

A Review of the Scholarly Debate on the
Meaning of "Head" (Kscpa^r)) in Paul's Writings

Ephesians 4:15 where the body is said to derive its growth and development
from the head, it is very difficult to make any sense of it at all so long as kephale
is understood as 'overlord.' But when Christ is understood to be arche in
relation to the church, it is possible to see how Christians can grow up into him,
as the archetypal image of the Second Adam is progressively realized in them.
At the same time it is possible to think of the body as the 'fullness' or
'fulfillment' of the kephale {¥jph. 1:23).

On the other hand, and this is important, for Bedale, kephale can also
occasionally in certain contexts mean the 'overlordship' of Christ (Eph. 1:22). In
other contexts kephale stresses the relationship of one being to another in the
sense of arche ('first,' 'beginning') and that priority (causal and not merely
temporal) "unquestionably carries with it the idea of authority" (1 Cor. 11:3;
Eph. 5:23) (215). As a result, the female is socially 'subordinate' to the male as
part of the order of creation while otherwise remaining equal in spiritual status
or capacities.

Bedale used the word 'source' only once in the article as the meaning of
kephale and relates this specific sense to two passages only (Eph. 4:15; Col.
2:19). However, his practical equivalence of kephale with arche extends the idea
of source as 'origin' or 'first' much further. Commentaries quickly began
adopting some or all of Bedale's views (e.g., Leon Morris [1958]'^; C.K. Barrett
[1968]^ F.F.Bruce [1971]^). ,,

Morna D. Hooker (] 963-64)

A brief, but well known and enduring study by the honored Cambridge
scholar, Morna D. Hooker, contributed two major points in the understanding of
1 Corinthians 11:3-10.^ First, she clarified the double sense of kephale in the
passage. Paul seems to use the word to simultaneously refer to both a physical
and a metaphorical head. According to Hooker,

Every man who prays and prophesies with his head covered dishonours his
head, whereas every woman who prays or prophesies with her head
Mwcovered dishonours her head. The reason for this differentiation is given
in V. 6, and is based on social custom: in Paul's eyes an uncovered head is
as great a disgrace for a woman as one that is shorn.... In communities
where it is no longer a disgrace for a woman to be 'shorn,' the argument has
lost its point.... When he speaks of a head being covered or shorn, then it is
obvious that he is referring to the man's or the woman's own heads, but
when he says that a head is dishonoured, we must ask whether the word
'head' is to be taken literally or metaphorically.... The answer is probably
that he does both, but the primary point is that he brings shame on Christ. It
is here that we see the relevance of v. 3 to Paul's argument: the man or

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

woman who dishonours his or her own head in the literal sense brings
dishonour also on his or her metaphorical head. (410-11)

Hooker's second major contribution is to establish clearly that the word
"authority" (Greek, exousia) in 1 Corintians 11: 10 refers not to a sign of male
authority over the woman, but rather to the woman's own authority to ftilly
participate in worship that glorifies God.^ As a redeemed woman she now has
the authority to proclaim.

Far from being a symbol of the woman's subjection to man, therefore, her
head-covering is what Paul calls it — authority: in prayer and prophecy she,
like the man, is under the authority of God. Although the differences in
creation remain, and are reflected in the differences of dress, it is
nevertheless true that in relation to God 'there is neither male nor female;
for you are all one in Christ Jesus.' (416)

Unfortunately, in my view, while many commentators have followed
Hooker's interpretation, only a few modem translations have captured this sense
(some have, e.g., "...as a sign of her authority"- CEV; or "...the woman ought
to have authority over her own head"- TNIV).

Robin Scroggs (1972)

Robin Scroggs defends Paul against the allegations that the apostle was the
chief chauvinist in the Bible. ^ According to Scroggs, Paul was in fact the "only
consistent spokesman for the liberation and equality of women in the New
Testament" (283). Paul's deepest theological conviction about the relationship
between men and women is found in Galatians 3:28. Any value judgments based
on the distinctions between persons in the society, including men and women,
are nullified by their baptism.

In practical application of this fundamental Christian principle (Gal. 3:28)
to a specific problem at Corinth in their worship services, Paul appeals to the
fact that Christ has his source in God, man his source in Christ, and the woman
her source in the man (1 Cor. 1 1:3). Scroggs follows Bedale in adopting 'source'
for the meaning of kephale, but rejects Bedale's sense of 'overlordship' for its
meaning inverse 3.

Here no subordination of woman to man is intended; what is expressed is
the order of the creative events.. . .Again we have a clear distinction between
the sexes, but in this strophe no justification is given for the rule [about
head coverings] nor any value judgment made on the basis of the rule. (301)

A Review of the Scholarly Debate on the
Meaning of "Head" (K8(paA,ri) in Paul's Writings

However obscure the passage as a whole may seem (1 Cor. 1 1:2-16), Paul
strongly affirms the authority of the woman (v. 10). The apostle actually offers a
radically new vision of women's equality and freedom from which the church
quickly departed and reinterpreted the texts to teach the older vision of the
subordination of women (even in the deutero-Pauline letters).

FredD. Layman (1980)

Coming from a Weslyan perspective, Fred D. Layman^ wrote an informed
article on the question of male headship. Layman states his thesis this way:

Paul did not use the idea of male headship in a governmental nor
ontological way as establishing a hierarchical relationship between male
and female in which the one was dominant and the other submissive.
Rather, he used it (1) to designate the proper relationship between the sexes
in the context of the new order, and (2) to insist on the continuation of
sexual distinctions and the validity of marriage in the new creation in a
polemic with Gnostic claims to the contrary. (47)

After carefully explaining what he means by Gnostic-like thought, Layman
examines Ephesians 5:21-33 and 1 Corinthians 11:2-16. In the Ephesians' text
he observes that in most traditional interpretations of this passage, the kephale
metaphor is understood as a physiological metaphor, i.e., the kephale is 'prior,'
that part which 'determines' or 'governs' the body (e.g., "The man is the head of
the woman"). Yet Layman denies that Paul ever uses the head-body metaphor in
such a physiological sense. Paul does, however, use the body metaphor for the
church in a physiological sense, as analogous to Christians relating to each
other, but without the idea of headship present (Rom. 12:4-8; 1 Cor. 12:12-31).
Furthermore, Paul spoke of the kephale in isolation from any reference to a body
(1 Cor. 11:3; Eph. 1:22; Col. 2:10).

The body metaphor addressed the matter of mutuality within the believing
community; the head metaphor spoke of Christ as the source, beginning,
savior, and conserver of the church. The two metaphors do not change these
meanings when they are brought into proximity to each other, and to
interpret them in correspondence to a physiological model is to create
numerous absurdities. Ephesians 4:16 and Colossians 2:19 refer to the
church as the 'whole body,' which if a physiological model is intended,
would have two heads. Nor would the language about the body growing up
into the head make any sense (Eph. 4:15). (52)

Christ's Lordship and his headship are two different but related ideas for
Paul. As Lord he is the governing rule of all creation. His headship speaks of

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

him as the beginning, origin, and ground of all being and of the new, redeemed
creation. Only Christ's headship not his lordship is held up as a model for the
Christian husband. Christ's headship toward the church is expressed in his love,
self-sacrifice, and provision for the church. Submission to this loving headship
is voluntary and becomes transformed into a relationship of mutual reciprocity.
Finally, it should be noted that Paul never refers to the wife as the body of the
husband (only the husband's own body).

In the other main passage (1 Cor. 11:3), kephale is not female
subordination, but Paul's way of stressing that man is the source of the woman
(Eve being taken out of Adam, Gen. 2:18-25). Following Hurley (1973 — see
below), Layman considers the major problem addressed in 1 1 :2-16 to be not the
issue of some type of cloth coverings but the problem of hair on the head (either
long/short or loose/bound up on the top of the head). Layman suggests that the
most likely reason for men and women reversing the normal way the hair was
worn was related to a pagan cult that abolished the distinctions between men and
women-distinctions which were culturally indicated by hairstyles. This practice
in the Christian gatherings for worship would bring dishonor not only on the
persons involved but also upon the public moral perception of the gospel of
Christ.

James B. Hurley (1981)

In James B. Hurley's publication^ of his earlier doctoral dissertation
(Cambridge, 1973) we find a rejection o^ kephale meaning 'source' and a case
presented for kephale in 1 Corinthians 1 1:3 as meaning 'head over' in the sense
of authority over (actually quoting and following Bedale at this point!). The
passage establishes "a hierarchy of headship authority... and that it is ordered"
(167). In Ephesians 5:23, kephale has the same sense of 'head over' (authority)
in connection with the husband's relation to the wife.

On the other hand. Hurley does recognize that this 'head over' sense does
not fit kephale passages such as Ephesians 4:15 and Colossians 2:19 where
'source' is "clearly" more appropriate and the concept of authority is not
introduced. Still further, in some texts the idea of 'authority,' 'source,' and
'union' may coalesce (Col. 1:15-20).

In some respects Hurley may best represent the full thought of Bedale more
than any recent scholar on either side of the debate. This still leaves open the
question of whether Bedale is completely correct or not (see Andrew
C.Perriman, below).

Gilbert Bilezikian (1985)

Gilbert Bilezikian wrote Beyond Sex Roles^^ principally to refiite Hurley's
central thesis of male authority over women. In the sections of the work that

A Review of the Scholarly Debate on the
Meaning of "Head" (K£(pa?iri) in Paul's Writings

deal with kephale, Bilezikian first cautions us not to equate the English word
'head' with the Greek kephale, especially in the English use of 'head' to signify
'chief,' 'boss,' 'authority,' 'ruler.' In the biblical texts themselves, the idea
includes the meanings 'derivation,' 'origin,' 'starting point,' and 'nurture,' but
not 'chief,' 'boss,' or 'authority.'

In 1 Corinthians 1 1:3, Bilezikian indicates what he feels is the correct sense
of kephale in Greek. , ,. ^ ,^

The concept might be better served by the expression fountainhead or life-
source. Thus, in the perspective of creation it makes sense to say that Christ
is the 'fountainhead' of man's life, and that man is the fountainhead of
woman's life. Likewise from the perspective of the incarnation, God is the
fountainhead of Christ's life. (137)

No lexical evidence for this sense is given beyond the New Testament usage.
(Bilezikian does provide this evidence in an appendix in the 2nd edition. See
below.) He then concludes that the idea that kephale means 'ruler' or 'authority'
would change the whole meaning of the passage. The order of the couplets
(Christ-man, man-woman, God-Christ) shows that a hierarchy of authority was
not in Paul's mind.

In discussing Ephesians 5:23 ("the husband is the head of the wife"),
Bilezikian examines the other relevant texts containing the kephale wording
(Eph. 1:22; 4:15; Col. 1:18; 2:18, 19). Christ is kephale not to the universe but
only to the church that is his body in that he supplies the church with its fullness
and nurture for growth {kephale means 'source of life'). The head-body duality
stresses not 'authority over,' but reciprocity.

Berkeley &AlveraMickelsen (1979, 1981, 1986) ,

The Mickelsens published three Christianity Today articles" on the
meaning of kephale. I will concentrate on their last article, which incorporated
their earlier, more popular arguments. The Mickelsens point out that though the
standard classical lexicon for ancient Greek, Liddell-Scott-Jones (LSJ), gives
twenty-five different figurative meanings for kephale, it never mentions
'authority,' 'superior rank,' 'leader,' or 'director' as possible meanings of
kephale. This, the Mickelsens claim, is true for other lexicons of ancient Greek
except the Bauer- Amdt-Gingrich-Danker lexicon (BAGD) that gives 'superior
rank' as a possible sense citing two late examples (2nd and 6th cent. A.D.) and
two LXX references despite the fact that this meaning for kephale does not
appear in the secular Greek of New Testament times.

Their examination of the LXX metaphorical uses of kephale opened up a
new debate on whether the term is "naturally" and "frequently" used in the sense
of 'leader,' 'chief The Hebrew term ro 'sh ('head') is used in the Old Testament

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

180 times for a 'chief something' (e.g., man, city, nation). In 109 of these times,
ro'sh is translated by archon ('leader,' 'chief) rather than kephale. Kephale is
used only eight times (less than four percent) when ro 'sh means 'leader,' 'chief
The conclusion is that the use of kephale to translate ro 'sh as 'leader' is "rare"
and is not found in well-known passages, thus limiting the knowledge of this
sense to first century reader/hearers.

In the New Testament, kephale is better translated 'source of life,' 'top or
crown,' 'exalted originator,' 'completer,' and not by 'authority over.' These
meanings, however, are derived not from extra-biblical or LXX uses, but
primarily from the context of Paul's argument in passages containing the words.
Thus in 1 Corinthians 11:3, kephale means 'source,' 'base,' 'derivation.' In
Ephesians 5:23, kephale means 'the one who brings to completion,' stressing on
the one hand, the unity of Christ and the church, husband and wife, and on the
other, the mutually interdependent relation between the two in each of the pairs.

Wayne Grudem (1985)

With Wayne Grudem,'^ we have the beginning of what has come to be
called "the battle of the lexicons." His first study challenges the position of
Bedale, the Mickelsens, Bilezikian, and even the well-respected LSJ lexicon. The
charge against Bedale, the Mickelsens, and Bilezikian is that under close
examination, Grudem can find no non-biblical Greek examples (including the
LXX) where kephale means 'source.' (In two cases he allows the possibility but
argues that another sense fits better.)

He then builds a case for the meaning of kephale as 'authority over' and
concludes that this sense was a "well-established and recognizable meaning" in
the New Testament period (59). Here he faults LSJ for not including this
meaning in its range of meanings for kephale. On the other hand, BAGD is the
lexicon of preference because it correctly includes the LXX usage of kephale as
'authority over' as well as several other references with the same sense.

Grudem obtained a printout from the University of California's database of
all known Greek literature {Thesaurus Linguae Graecae — TLG) from the eighth
century B.C. onward. Some 12,000 instances were narrowed to 2,000, of which
Grudem found 323 additional word uses. From these he found 49 metaphorical
uses (including the LXX and the New Testament) of kephale where he
painstakingly argues in each of these examples that kephale means 'authority
over' as the best sense. He then shows how all the references to kephale in the
New Testament can be explained best by the meaning 'authority over' and not
'source.' Furthermore, it is a proper extension of this 'authority over' sense to
also include 'leadership,' 'guidance,' and 'direction.'

To Grudem' s credit, he attempted to focus the debate on the actual evidence
of non-biblical Greek examples and attempted to explain these references in the
context of where they were found. He also correctly acknowledged that the

A Review of the Scholarly Debate on the
Meaning of "Head" (Kscpalr)) in Paul's Writings

Mickelsens did in fact recognize that 'authority over' was a possible sense of
kephale in ancient Greek, however rare it might be. Unfortunately, Grudem. like
most others, did not define what he meant by the English word 'source.'

Gilbert Bilezikian (1986)

The first major response to Grudem's research came from Gilbert Bilezikian
in a paper presented for a plenary session of the annual meeting of the
Evangelical Theological Society.'^ He takes up and examines Grudem's fifteen
non-biblical examples of 'authority over' in ancient Greek. In each case,
Bilezekian deconstructs the argument Grudem advances for the sense of
'authority over.'

Bilezekian concludes that "the survey... did not yield a single instance in
which head is used with the meaning of 'ruler or person of superior authority or
rank'" (233). Instead, in the New Testament kephale means "a person or thing
irom which something else is derived or obtained" (235). However, and this is
important, Bilezikian admits that this sense is rare and "only occasionally is
used in this way" (235). But Paul could have well picked up this meaning and
used it with a Christian sense in his letters. Furthermore, kephale is never used
in extra-biblical ancient Greek in a male-female context.

Bilezikian proposes that in 1 Corinthians 11:3, kephale means 'source' or
'origin,' and in Ephesians 5:23, it means 'source' oi life (Saviorhood), source of
servanthood (gave himself), source of nurture (to make her holy).

Walter L. Liefeld (1986)

In his early study of 1 Corinthians 1 1:2-16,'"* Walter L. Liefeld rejected as
unlikely the popular and traditional understanding of kephale as 'ruler' with the
implication that what Paul was doing in 11:3 was setting up a "chain of
command." He warned, however, that we should beware of pressing "one
meaning fits all" for kephale and suggested that there was no single or even
dominant meaning for kephale. The sense of the metaphor might even change in
a single passage, (in this he anticipates Dawes, see below).

Liefeld, at least initially, sided in part with Grudem stating that the meaning
'source' adduced by Bedale as a clue to some of Paul's passages, lacks clear
evidence.... Those who would claim such a meaning in the New Testament have
to rely only on the context, not on any external evidence prior to the first
century. (139)

Further, Liefeld warns that there is no single more frequent metaphorical
use of kephale over the other possible senses (contra Grudem, Bilezikian,
Mickelsens). He wants to keep kephale in the mainstream of Greek and LXX
thought and see kephale as that part of the body that was ( 1 ) prominent, (2)
representative, and less frequently, (3) eminent or most honored part of the body

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

in the common perceptions of honor and dishonor with respect to the 'head' in
the first century.

Finally, Liefeld states plainly that in light of Grudem's study "it is no longer
possible to dismiss the idea of 'rulership' fi-om the discussion" of kephale (139).
Whether Paul uses this sense or whether it is the main meaning throughout Paul
is another matter. In 1 Corinthians 11:3, it makes more sense to Liefeld to see
kephale as meaning 'prominent' or 'honored' member than as 'source' or
'ruler.'

Catherine C. Kroeger (1987)

Catherine C. Kroeger'^ begins her discussion of kephale with the following
statement: "The concept of head as 'source' is well documented in both classical
and Christian antiquity and has been long accepted by scholars" (267). For
evidence of this she turns first to older Latin-Greek dictionaries that list among
definitions for kephale the Latin origo ('source' or 'origin'). Turning to church
leaders of the fourth and fifth centuries A.D., Kroeger argues that they refer to
kephale as the 'source' ( this is her translation of their word arche, 'begirming,'
'origin'). Ancient views of the function of the head physiologically lead to the
conclusion that they viewed the head as the source of sperm and hence of the
source of the generation of life or of the whole bodily condition.

Furthermore, she argues from other church leaders of the fourth and fifth
centuries A.D. that they viewed God as the 'source' (arche) of Christ and quoted
1 Corinthians 11:3, "God is the head of Christ." In all of these examples it
should be noted that Kroeger assumes that arche means the same thing as the
English word 'source.' There is no discussion of the possible difference between
'beginning' or 'first,' and 'source' or 'origin.'

Finally, and importantly, it should be noted that though Kroeger believes
that 'source' is a well-documented sense of kephale, she does admit that in the
New Testament period, kephale may rarely have had the sense of 'boss' or
'chief as it does in English and Hebrew.

Richards. Cervin (1989)

The principal challenge to Grudem's study of kephale as meaning 'authority
over' comes from Richard S. Cervin.'^ Cervin first critiques Grudem's method
and states that fourteen ancient Greek lexicons do not give 'authority over' as a
possible meaning of kephale. Only one does and it indicates that 'leader' is a
Byzantine period sense (5th cent. A.D.). He then somewhat agrees with Grudem
that kephale meaning 'source' is certainly not common, but disagrees that it
never means 'source,' citing two clear cases.

After setting aside the twelve Pauline references as evidence (since these
are contested in the debate), Cervin then examines in detail all the examples that
Grudem gives for kephale meaning 'authority over.' He finds only four

A Review of the Scholarly Debate on the
Meaning of "Head" (K8(pa^r|) in Paul's Writings

unambiguous cases where kephale could possibly mean 'ruler' or 'leader' (three
from the LXX) and one case where 'source' would be better {Shepherd of
Hermas). Otherwise in all the other examples Grudem cites of kephale meaning
'authority over,' Cervin finds that the meaning of kephale is better understood as
'preeminence.' In other words, the bulk of Grudem's examples turn out in
Cervin 's view as non-examples.

Finally, Cervin reviews the first study of Fitzmyer (1989 — see below) that
largely agrees with Grudem, and finds Fitzmyer' s evidence also lacking. He
grants, however, that 'leader' or 'authority over' could possibly be meant in
some texts, but there are no unambiguous examples.

Cervin raised the bar in the discussions to press for an even closer
examination of the wider contexts of the word's usage.

Joseph A. Fitzmyer, S.J. (1989, 1993)

Entering into the discussion of the issue of the meaning of kephale is the
prominent (no pun intended) Roman Catholic scholar. His earlier piece'''
basically argued against the kephale as 'source' view held by Scroggs and
Murphy-O'Connor.'^ Instead, Fitzmyer argued from the LXX uses of kephale,
several Philo texts, an example from Josephus' Jewish War, and a fourth century
church leader that "a Hellenistic Jewish writer such as Paul of Tarsus could well
have intended that kephale in 1 Cor 1 1.3 be understood as 'head' in the sense of
authority or supremacy over someone else" (510). He also would like to change
LSJ to include this sense of 'authority over.'

In a more recent article (1993),'^ Fitzmyer engages Grudem and Cervin and
uses the tlg source to add many more examples than appeared in his previous
study. Fitzmyer concludes (1) that kephale could indeed be used in the sense of
'source' (contra Grudem), (2) in at least a dozen examples, kephale clearly has
the sense of 'ruler' or 'leader,' and in some cases it is even so explained
(agreeing with Grudem). This latter sense did not appear in Greek literature until
the last pre-Christian centuries and at the beginning of the Chiistian era. While
conceding that four leading lexicons of ancient Greek usage omit this meaning,
Fitzmyer does cite two other German lexicons of ancient Greek that do list
'ruler' or 'leader' as a possible sense oi kephale.

Wayne Grudem (1990)

This article by Wayne Grudem^° is primarily a response to Cervin (1989)
but includes critiques also of the Mickelsens (1981; 1986), Bilezikian (1985),
Tucker (1986), Payne (1986), Liefeld (1986), Kroeger (1987), and Fee (1987).
According to Grudem, Cervin has rightly shown the weakness of the argument
for 'source' as a common meaning for kephale. Cervin wrongly dismisses the
Pauline texts as evidence for the meaning of kephale. Furthermore, he wrongly
dismisses the LXX evidence and the BAGD lexicon that includes it. Cervin also

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

jwrongly rejects the Plutarch texts because they are affected by the Latin caput.
JHe unwisely discounts the Apostolic Fathers as evidence for the meaning of
kephale even though they postdate Paul.

The references of kephale in Ephesians 4:15 and Colossians 2:19 are better
understood not as 'source,' but as 'nourishment' and the idea of 'leader' or
j 'authority' is never absent since Christ, who is the person referred to, is the
i authority and leader. However, some secondary overtones of 'preeminence'
could be possible for kephale, ifv/e include also the meaning of 'authority over'
as the reason why there is preeminence.

As for the Mickelsens' views, there is no LXX evidence for 'source' as the
[meaning of kephale. However, Grudem does admit that kephale as 'ruler' or
'leader' is not common, but is nevertheless a valid sense. The Mickelsens'
meanings of kephale for the Pauline texts have no support from actual uses in
contemporary Greek. Payne's (1986)"^ criticism of 'authority over' for the sense
of "the head of Christ is God" (1 Cor. 11:3), because it suggests a
subordinationist view of Christ that the church denied, is rejected by Grudem.
Grudem says, "From the time of the eternal generation of the Son [A.D. 325],"
the doctrine of the Trinity "has been taken to imply a relationship between the
Father and the Son that eternally existed and that will always exist — a
relationship that includes a subordination in role, but not essence or being"
(457).

Grudem admits to some corrections arising from Bilezikian's critique, but
basically disagrees with his conclusion that kephale means 'source.' The same
challenge is given to Kroeger and Fee.^^ Based on recent studies by Peter
Cottrell and Max Turner (1989)^^ which argued that 'source' is not a recognized
meaning of kephale, Grudem concludes that even if 'source' or 'prominent part'
is valid (he does not concede that this is clear), it must include also the idea of
'authority over' for persons who are designated as 'head.' Unfortunately, again,
Grudem does not define what he means by the English word 'source' or what he
means by 'metaphor.'

Andrew C. Perriman (1994)

Andrew C. Perriman^'* reexamines the lexical texts cited by both Grudem
and Fitzmyer for 'authority' and 'leadership' and in each case finds that the texts
do not refer to 'ruler' or 'leader' in using the metaphor kephale. Rather, in each
case the thought is 'representative,' 'prominent,' or 'illustrious.' While these
examples illustrate a certain association of kephale with the figure of a ruler or
leader, we cannot assume that the same association lies behind the Pauline texts.
Further, no text can be cited where kephale denotes the authority or sovereignty
of one man or of men over others.

A Review of the Scholarly Debate on the
Meaning of "Head" (K8(paX.r|) in Paul's Writings

As to kephale meaning 'source' or 'beginning' of something, Perriman
states that Bedale's argument is flawed, and 'source' and 'beginning' are not the
same or interchangeable.

Metaphor is a form of speech that is particularly sensitive to context, and
while it is the case that when the reference is to a river, the idea of 'source'
may emerge quite naturally as a secondary connotation, there is no reason to
suppose that the same connotation is relevant when the metaphor is applied
to some quite different subject... what J. Barr calls 'illegitimate totality
transfer.' (613)

The texts cited by Cervin and others are either non-cases or refer to 'beginning'
(arche), not to 'source.'

First Corinthians 1 1 :3 must be understood in its context as a unique use of
kephale as a metaphor. It has nothing to do with a man's authority over a
woman. The main theme of the passage concerns the shame or dishonor that
attaches to a woman if she prays or prophesies with her head uncovered; it is a
question of whether the woman's behavior brings glory or dishonor on the man.

Perriman concludes his study by noting (1) both current positions ('source'
or 'authority over') are weak lexicographically, (2) 'prominent' fits the texts
well, (3) we cannot use other Pauline passages to define 1 Corinthians 1 1:3, and
(4) the passage does not teach the 'authority' of a hierarchy.

Judith Gundry-Volf (1997)

In Anthony Thiselton's view (2000 — see below), Judith Gundry-Volf^^
offers a genuine breakthrough in the interpretation of 1 Corinthians 1 1 :2-16 that
he characterizes as "the most seminal study of all."^^ Gundry-Volf argues that
the lexical debate alone is insufficient to understand Paul's intent. She wants to
integrate Paul's (1) creation, (2) cultural-societal, and (3) eschatological or new
creation concerns into her exegesis. Gundry-Volf proposes that Paul's goal in
the whole section of 1 Corinthians 8: 1-11:1 is to correct behavioral problems at
Corinth that have diminished the credibility of the gospel in the wider society.

In 11:2-16, Paul addresses the problem of shame/dishonor that both men
and women are causing each other and the adverse consequences that this
shameful behavior has for the mission of the church because of the way they are
covering or uncovering their heads in worship (vv. 4-6). This is not a problem
of women free spirits who are insubordinate to male authority, or a problem of
homosexuality, or female sexual provocation, or even the problem of women
obscuring male glory to God by being uncovered. Rather, some in the church
ignored the social boundaries between men and women signified by the cultural
rules of distinguishing male from female by how they covered their heads. The

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

women dishonored the men (their 'heads') and the males shamed in turn Christ
(their 'head').

Therefore the question of what kephale means in verse 3 is not to be sought
by going elsewhere in Paul's writings or by immediately jumping to verses 7-9
and reading an authority-subordination sense back into verse 3. Instead, the
sense of kephale should come from verses 4-5 which presuppose the meaning of
kephale in verse 3. "To shame one's head is to do the opposite of what is
expected, namely, to honor the head. For the head signifies what is preeminent"
(following Cervin) (159).

Nevertheless, she continues, "the patriarchal cormotations of 11:3 do not
disappear when one opts for the translation of kephale as 'one who is
preeminent' rather than 'ruler' or 'source.' All these possible translations have
patriarchal connotations" (159). Verses 7-9 then explicitly take up this problem
by drawing out the theme of 'glory' from the creation accounts in Genesis 1 and
2 read through a gender-based, patriarchal interpretive lens. Paul argues from
this that a woman's head should be properly covered to show respect or honor to
a man in a patriarchal social-cultural situation.

However, this is not the whole story. Paul abruptly turns and shows that he
can also argue from the creation order now ("man comes through a woman,"
11:11-12) and that in the new creation ("in the Lord") woman is now prior to
man and "all things are from God" including the woman, a view that denies the
exclusive privilege of man argued for in 1 1 :7-9.

Paul is not claiming here that man needs woman as his subordinate and
woman needs man as her 'head,' nor even simply that they are essential to
each other according to God's design, but that since neither exists without
the other, neither has exclusive priority over the other and therefore gender
does not determine priority in their relationship 'in the Lord.' In 11:11,
therefore, Paul undermines gender-based hierarchy in the body of
Christ. . ..At the same time the difference between man and woman remains.
(163)

This tension must be maintained between the redeemed order where gender
distinctions remain but are socially relativized, and the way this truth is
expressed in the social-cultural situation of patriarchy.

Unfortunately, Gundry-Volf s work on this passage and Galatians 3:28 is
buried in little known scholarly publications. In my opinion her work warrants
more widespread reading and discussion.

Gregory W. Dawes (1998)

Gregory W. Dawes' important work on Ephesians 5:21-33 is not well
known in the larger discussion.'^^ The first seventy-six pages of his book deal

A Review of the Scholarly Debate on the
Meaning of "Head" (K£cpa?iri) in Paul's Writings

with the mostly neglected or misunderstood subject of metaphorl Dawes not
only distinguishes metaphor from analogy and model, but also clarifies 'dead'
metaphor from 'live' metaphor. The meaning of a 'dead' metaphor (one having
a common range of meanings) can be studied lexically and its meaning
possibilities listed. 'Live' metaphors on the other hand cannot be studied
lexically since they are the creation of the author and get their meaning from
some unexpected association with something else.

I remember a seminary professor who regularly prayed that the Holy Spirit
would 'electrify' our lives. I had heard of 'electrify' before but never or since in
connection with the Holy Spirit. This is a 'live' metaphor and will not be found
in dictionaries under the word 'electrify.' In such cases only the context of the
term can determine its sense. Further, an author may vary the metaphorical
meaning of an expression from one context to another and even change it within
the same context! This is a point that has not been sufficiently noticed in the
debate over the metaphorical meaning of 'head.'

In a chapter on kephale, as in "The husband is the head of the wife" (Eph.
5:23), Dawes concludes, presumably to the delight of patriarchal-
complementarians, that

whatever other [metaphorical] senses the word kephale may have had, the
context in which it is used in Ephesians 5:22-24 demands that the meaning
'authority over' be adopted. For in verses 22-24 the word is used... to
reinforce the case for the 'subordination' of wives. It can only fulfill this
function if it carries with it some sense of authority. (134)

However, he then goes on to criticize both the patriarchal-traditionalists for
finding only this meaning in the word regardless of the context, and the
egalitarians for refusing to see 'authority over' as the sense in at least this
context of Ephesians 5:21-33.

However, egalitarians should not despair because Dawes finally concludes
that

[A] close reading shows that what Ephesians asks is that both wives and
husbands live lives of mutual subordination and self sacrificing love, after
the example of Christ.... While married couples are joined in a particularly
intimate, bodily union (Eph 5:31), a union which demands that they care for
and take responsibility for one another, it is also because they are 'members
of... [the] body of Christ' (cf. Eph 5:30), and therefore 'members of one
another' (Eph 4:25), that they are bound to this new and distinctively
Christian ethic. (233)

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Ultimately, the same tension seems to exist here in Ephesians 5:21-33 as in 1
Corinthians 1 1 :2-16-a tension in the former, between loving mutuality based on
equality of genders and between the asymmetrical, patriarchal-submission order.
In the Corinthian passage, there is a tension between one -directional
subordination and the subversion of patriarchal order, since the apostle
concludes by saying, "Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of
man or man independent of woman. For just as woman came from man, so man
comes through woman; but all things come from God" (vv. 11-12).

Anthony C. Thiselton (2000)

In perhaps the premier and definitive interpretive commentary on 1
Corinthians to date, Anthony C. Thiselton'^^ has reviewed carefully the debate in
depth, evaluating more than eighty publications! Accordingly, three viewpoints
on the metaphorical sense of kephale have emerged: (1) 'authority over'
(Fitzmyer 1989, 1993; Grudem 1985, 1990, 2001); (2) 'source,' 'origin,'
'temporal priority' (Bedale 1954; Bruce 1971; Murphy-O'Connor 1989, 1997;
Fee 1987; Schrage 1995); and (3) 'preeminent,' 'foremost,' 'representative' (the
part representing the whole) (Cervin 1989; Perriman 1994).

After critically examining each view in detail, Thiselton leans toward the
third view and highlights Gundry-Volf s exegesis of the passage in 1
Corinthians 11:3-16 (mentioned earlier in this paper). He uses the following
English words to express the meaning of the three uses of kephale in 11:3:
'preeminent' (of Christ), 'foremeost' (of man), and 'preeminent' (of God), while
retaining the translation of kephale as 'head,' with the added qualification that
the English word 'head' does not exactly coincide with Paul's use of kephale.

Thiselton concludes that the evidence from ancient Greek literature for
kephale meaning 'authority over,' as well as the evidence for it meaning
'source' is definitely shrinking. This makes it increasingly difficult to argue for
either 'authority over' or 'source' as exclusive senses or to argue any longer that
either is the 'common' meaning of kephale in the New Testament period, much
less in Paul's writings.

Wayne Grudem (2001

Again, Wayne Grudem^' responds to several authors who had written
studies on kephale since his earlier rebuttal (1990)- scholars with whom he
mostly disagrees. The bulk of his article focuses on a critique of an entry on
"head" by Catherine Kroeger in the Dictionary of Paul and His Letters (1993).
In that article Kroeger argues that early evidence from church leaders supports
the meaning of kephale as 'source' as well as some new evidence from non-
Christian sources. Aside from some petty inaccuracies, Grudem's main
criticisms are as follows. Kroeger has falsely given the impression that
Chrysostom (A.D. 347-407) believed that kephale meant 'source' and not

A Review of the Scholarly Debate on the
Meaning of "Head" (K£cpaA,r|) in Paul's Writings

'authority over.' Grudem counters that in the full context of the Chrysostom
statements, this is not the case. Additional statements from Chrysostom clearly
show that he believed firmly in male authority over women and understood
kephale in this way.

Further theological questions are raised for Kroeger. Does "the head of
Christ is God" (1 Cor. 11:3) teach (given the sense of kephale as 'authority
over') the "eternal subordination of the Son" in the Trinitarian Godhead (which
is Grudem's view but understood by Kroeger as heretical)? Or, if kephale means
'source' (Kroeger's view), how do we avoid the Arian heresy of the Son being
created by the Father?

The last criticism comes in the form of a detailed analysis of fourteen
further examples she gives of kephale meaning 'source.' Grudem claims that all
of these examples are false and do not prove her case.

The article closes with brief attention to articles by Turner, ^° Fitzmyer, ^'
Amold,^^ Dawes,^^ Perriman,^"^ May and Joe,^^ Brown,^^ Keener,^^ and
Groothuis,^^- some agreeing and some disagreeing with Grudem. He concludes
that 'authority over' as the meaning of kephale is "firmly established" (64).

Philip B. Payne (2008)

Philip B. Payne's long awaited monograph on the gender issue ( Man and
Woman, One in Christ. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan) is in the final editing
process and soon forthcoming. However, a greatly abbreviated summary of his
exegesis of 1 Corinthians 11:3-16 was published last fall in Priscilla Papers^^
that gives some hints as to how he will handle the kephale sense in 1 1:3 in the
larger treatment.

Payne identifies the problem at Corinth with 'disgraceful' hairstyles-men's
long hair conveys effeminacy and symbolizes effeminate homosexuality, while
women's loose hanging hair signifies "undisciplined sexuality." Kephale in
verse 3 is understood as "source relationships, highlighting the respect each
person owes to his or her source" (10). Payne cites fourteen reasons for
accepting "source" as the best translation for kephale in this passage.

The following verses (4-10) emphasize social and theological reasons why
men and women ought not to wear hairstyles that repudiate heterosexual
marriage-"the archetypal relationship of Adam to Eve is the antithesis of
homosexual relationships" (13). Finally, verses 11-16 stress the non-hierarchical
unity with difference of the man and woman leading to their equal standing and
privilege. Verse 1 1 emphasizes the ftmdamental principle that in the Lord
woman and man are not separate, affirming their equal standing and privilege,
like Gal 3:28. Verse 12's "even as... so also" shows that man and woman should
both respect each other as their source. Verses 13- 16 apply this explicitly to
men's and women's hair.

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

His views on Ephesians 5:23 are summarized by Payne himself along the
following lines.

I take seriously the obvious apposition which is most naturally
understood as clarifying what Paul means by kephale in Eph 5:23. "He
savior of the body" is in apposition to "Christ head of the church" and I
believe that defines the sense in which Paul intends his readers to
interpret "head." Christ is head of the church in the sense that he is its
savior. What that means for the church and for husbands called to
follow Christ is explained in verse 25 and following, "Husbands, love
your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for
her...." The submission of both v. 22 (which is grammatically
dependent on assumption of the verb Irom v. 21) and v. 24 is one
expression of the mutual submission, "submitting to one another in
reverence for Christ," that should characterize relationships within the
bodyofChrist.^°

Concluding observations and implications for understanding 1 Corinthians
11:3 and Ephesians 5:23

Where does the above summary of the debate leave us? How can we move
forward in our understanding of the key texts that affect our Christian attitude
and practice in the home and church? Let me try to summarize what I have
concluded through this meta-study. In my judgment (not all will agree) the
following points should be taken into consideration in all future discussions of
kephale and how 1 Corinthians 11:3 and Ephesians 5:23 are interpreted and
applied.

The lexical battle

1 . The actual non-contested evidence outside the Bible for kephale meaning
'source' or kephale meaning 'authority over' in first century Greek usage is
shrinking (but not totally absent). Which option is 'weaker' remains
debatable. Either option remains rare fi"om a lexical standpoint.

2. Most all parties now agree that in certain contexts kephale may mean either
'authority over' or 'source.' Whether both senses are ever or always present
is debatable.

3. A discemable trend may be noticed to accept the general background of the
metaphorical sense of kephale as stemming from the anatomical relation of
the head to the body as its most 'prominent,' 'respected,' 'preeminent,' or
'illustrious' part.

A Review of the Scholarly Debate on the
Meaning of "Head" (K8(paA,ri) in Paul's Writings

4. There seems to be growing agreement that kephale as a metaphor can have :
different senses in different contexts and even different senses in the same
context.

5. If Paul is using kephale as a living metaphor in any place (i.e., a rare or
unique use), the precise sense of kephale may be ascertained only by the
context, not by lexical studies of 'dead' metaphors (having a standard
sense).

6. Prejudice seems evident in those studies that fail to recognize possible
multiple meanings of kephale and instead continue to force all texts in Paul
to conform to a single primary meaning, whether 'source' or 'authority
over.'

7. Several of the studies above may operate with the fallacy of reading modem
'egalitarian' models back into the biblical texts or to see more recent
'modified- patriarchal' (e.g., 'complementarian') positions as present in the
Pauline uses of kephale.

8. If there is any change in the LSJ lexicon to include 'authority over' (as
some have suggested), there should be also a corresponding change in the
BAGD lexicon to include 'source' or 'origin' as another (rare) but possible
sense oi kephale.

9. The word kephale should continue, as in most translations, to be rendered
by 'head' yet with the recognition that the English word 'head' is not an
exact equivalent of kephale.

Applying this study to two key Pauline texts

Briefly, but hopefully with profit, I would like to suggest how this study might
be applied to 1 Corinthians 1 1:3 and then to Ephesians 5:23.

1 Corinthians 11:3

"The head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and
the head of Christ is God" (1 Cor. 11:3-tniv). This passage is notoriously
difficult to interpret. First, it is my position that female msubordination to male
authority is not the primary problem addressed by Paul. Rather, as the text goes
on to tell us, it was dishonoring behavior of culturally inappropriate
head/hairstyles practiced by both men and women as they were alternating in
leading prayer and preaching in the public worship of the church (vv. 4-6; 11-
16)."^' While Paul may use kephale in the sense of "source" (see Payne), I am
more inclined here to see kephale as 'prominent' or 'honored' of the male-
female relation along with a Jewish-gendered reading of the creation accounts
(Gen. 1 interpreted by Gen. 2) as Paul's argument to root out this unacceptable
practice (vv. 7-9).

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

The use here of kephale in my opinion includes incidental overtones of
patriarchal cultural expectations regarding male honor that Paul wants to
preserve publicly for the sake of the mission of the church. We must remember
that the church met in homes that were open to the public as they met. Any
deviance from the patriarchal norms of male respect/ honor, evidenced
outwardly by the way the hair was worn on the head, would be seen as a radical
social aberration and would produce unnecessary and serious opposition to the
fledgling church at Corinth-a concern Paul has in the larger context of 8:1-
14:40.

Such a reading of 11:3-10 addresses the honor/shame problem and at the
same time preserves the biblical distinction between male and female that Paul
wants. He thus adapts (not changes) the gospel to the surrounding culture
without compromising its essential message."^^ That Paul can in another context,
that of the actual nature and functioning of the church ("in the Lord"), argue for
a completely non-gendered and egalitarian reading of creation is witnessed to in
11:11-16. Both readings of creation must be kept in tension and not reduced to
an either/or approach.

Ephesians 5:23

"The husband is the head [kephale] of the wife as Christ is the head
[kephale] of the church" (Eph. 5:23 TNIV) presents another interpretive
challenge. Hierarchical-Complementarians will argue that since kephale means
'authority over' in reference to Christ in other passages (e.g., Eph. 1 :22; Col.
2:10), his headship here is also to be understood as 'authority over.' This is
confirmed by the command for wives to submit themselves to their husbands'
'authority over' them (v. 22).

Yet, this reading, in my opinion, not only fails to take seriously other
possible linguistic senses for kephale but also ignores or relativizes the
importance of first century Mediterranean patriarchy as the social -cultural
context of Paul's injunctions. Further, this interpretation does not adequately
grapple with how this Pauline teaching might be understood and applied in
modified-patriarchal or egalitarian cultures such as in most of the West today
and increasingly also in Eastern societies.

A better approach, in my judgment, would be to retain the sense of kephale
as 'authority over' in this context, but to argue that in a changed cultural context
such as ours the best application of Paul's teaching is 'mutual submission' or
'mutual yielding' or 'deference' (Dawes)."*^ As Kevin Giles, aware of the
discussion outlined above, and adopting the sense of kephale as 'authority over'
for this passage has recently argued:

The word [kephale], however, is given new content. To be the "head" of
one's wife, Paul explains, involves not rule, but sacrificial, self-giving,

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Meaning of "Head" (K8cpaA,ri) in Paul's Writings

agape-love. Jesus exemplifies this kind of leadership in his self-giving on
the cross. It is the leadership of the servant who is willing to serve even to
the point of giving one's life for the other. Not one word is said in this
passage about who makes the final decision on important matters. In
Ephesians 5:2 Iff, Paul is seeking in his cultural setting to transform
patriarchy — male authoritative leadership — not endorse it. When first read
it would have been the men in that church who felt threatened by the
counter-cultural teaching Paul enunciates. In its original historical context,
this was a liberating text. It should be read in this way today.'^''

An approach I favor would be to understand kephale as in 1 Corinthians
11:3 as 'prominent' of 'honorable' of the husband vis-a-vis the wife in terms of
the patriarchal social structure of Paul's day. Paul then redefines this 'honored'
position not in terms of Christ's Lordship over the church, but his kephale that is
manifest in his love and servant-self-giving and other-nurturing and promoting
aspects of his relationship to the church. This same model is to be the example
that a Christian husband follows as he relates to his wife and she in turn yields
herself in 'respect' to this kind of kephale, i.e., her loving, caring, protecting
spouse.

Again, in our non-patriarchal culture (one not requiring male honor),
mutual yielding (v. 21) and mutual respect in my judgment best fulfills this
model of Christ. His example is beautifully portrayed in the foot-washing
account and commanded to all believers, including husbands and wives, in their
relation to each other (John 13:1-17).

ENDNOTES
* A term used especially in the natural and social sciences to describe a study that
reviews multiple primary studies on a topic, then synthesizes and concludes where these
studies seem to be pointing. Portions of this paper appeared in Priscilla Papers 20 (2006)
21-29.

' Stephen Bedale, "The Meaning of kephale in the Pauline Epistles," Journal of
Theological Studies ns50 (1954): 211-16.

^ Leon Morris, The First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, TNTC (Grand Rapids, Mich.:
Eerdmans, 1958).

^ C.K. Barrett, The First Epistle to the Corinthians (New York: Harper & Row, 1968).
"* P.P. Bruce, 7 and 2 Corinthians, NCBC (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1971).
^ Moma D. Hooker, "Authority on Her Head: An Examination of 1 Cor. XI. 10," New
Testament Studies 10 (1963-'64) 410-16.

^ Pee further adds to the evidence for this sense by pointing out that exousia never has the
passive sense or does the idiom "to have authority over" ever refer to an external
authority different from the subject of the sentence (Gordon D. Pee, The First Epistle to
the Corinthians, NICNT (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1987) 519.

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

^ Robin Scroggs, "Paul and the Eschatological Woman," Journal of the American

Academy of Religion 40 (1972) 283-303.

^ Fred D. Layman, "Male Headship in Paul's Thought," Wesleyan Theological Journal

15(1980)46-67.

^ James B. Hurley, Man and Woman in Biblical Perspective (Grand Rapids, Mich.:

Zondervan, 1981).

'" Gilbert Bilezikian, Beyond Sex Roles, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 1985).

" Berkeley and Alvera Mickelsen, "Does Male Dominance Tarnish Our Translations?"

Christianity Today, Oct. 5, 1979, 23-26; "The Head of the Epistles," Christianity Today

(Feb. 20, 1981) 20-23; "What Does Kephale Mean in the New Testament?" in Women,

Authority and the Bible, ed. Alvera Mickelsen (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1986)

97-132.

'^ Wayne Grudem, "Does kephale (Head) Mean 'Source' or 'Authority Over' in Greek

Literature? A Survey of 2,336 Examples," Trinity Journal 6 NS (1985) 38-59.

'^ Gilbert Bilezikian, "A Critical Examination of Wayne Grudem's Treatment of kephale

in Ancient Greek Texts" in Beyond Sex Roles, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker,

1985)215-252.

'"* Walter L. Liefeld, "Women, Submission & Ministry in 1 Corinthians," in Women,

Authority & the Bible, ed. Alvera Mickelsen (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1986)

134-153.

'^ Catherine C. Kroeger, "The Classical Concept of Head as 'Source'" in Gretchen

Gaebelein Hull, Equal to Serve (Old Tappan, N.J.: Fleming Revell, 1987) 267-283.

'^ Cervin, Richard S. "Does Kephale Mean 'Source' or 'Authority Over' in Greek

Literature? A Rebuttal," Trinity Journal 10 NS (1989) 85-1 12.

''' Joseph A. Fitzmyer, "Another Look at Kephale in 1 Corinthians 1 1:3," New Testament

Studies 1,5 {\9%9)5Ql>-5\\.

'* Jerome Murphy O'Connor, 1 Corinthians (Wilmington, De.: Michael Glazier, 1982).

'^ Joseph A. Fitzmyer, ^'Kephale in 1 Corinthians 11:3," Interpretation 47,1 (Jan. 1993)

52-59.

^^ Wayne Grudem, "The Meaning oi Kephale ('Head'): A Response to Recent Studies,"

in Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, ed. John Piper and Wayne Grudem

(Wheaton, 111.: Crossway, 1991)425^68.

^' Philip B. Payne, "Response," in Women, Authority and the Bible, ed. Michelsen, 121-

124.

^^ Gordon D. Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, NICNT (Grand Rapids, Mich.:

Eerdmans, 1987)501-505.

^^ Peter Cottrel and Max Turner, Linguistics and Biblical Interpretation (Downers Grove,

IL: InterVarsity, 1989) 144.

^"^ Andrew C. Perriman, "The Head of a Woman: The Meaning of Kephale in 1 Cor.

1 1 :3," Journal of Theological Studies 45 (1994) 602-622.

^^ Judith M. Gundry-Volf, "Gender and Creation in 1 Corinthians 11:2-16: A Study in

Paul's Theological Method," in Evangelium, Schriftauslegung, Kirche Feschrift fur Peter

Stuhlmacher, ed. Jostein Adna, Scott Hafemann, and Otfried Hofius (Gottingen,

Germany: Vandenhoeck& Ruprecht, 1997) 151-171.

^^ Anthony C. Thiselton, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, NIGTC (Grand Rapids,

Mich.: Eerdmans, 2000) 803.

A Review of the Scholarly Debate on the
Meaning of "Head" (KEcpaXri) in Paul's Writings

^' Gregory W. Dawes, The Body in Question: Metaphor and Meaning in the

Interpretation of Ephesians 5:21-33, Biblical Interpretation 30 (Leiden, Netherlands:

Brill, 1998).

^* Anthony C.Thiselton, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, NIGTC (Grand Rapids,

Mich.: Eerdmans, 2000) 812-823.

^^ Wayne Grudem, "The Meaning of Kephale ('Head'): An Evaluation of New Evidence,

Real and Alleged," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 44.1 (March 2001)

25-66.

■'*' Max Turner, "Modem Linguistics and the New Testament," Hearing the New

Testament , ed. Joel Green (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans and Carlisle: Paternoster, 1995)

165-172.

^' Joseph A. Fitzmyer, ^'Kephale in 1 Corinthians 11:3," Interpretation 47.1 (Jan. 1993)

52-59.

^^ Clinton Arnold, "Jesus Christ: 'Head' of the Church (Colossians and Ephesians), Jesus

of Nazareth: Lord and Christ, ed. Joel B. Green and Max Turner (Grand Rapids, Mich:

Eerdmans and Carlisle: Paternoster, 1994) 346-366.

^^ Gregory W. Dawes, The Body in Question: Metaphor and Meaning in the

Interpretation of Ephesians 5:21-33, Biblical Interpretation 30 (Leiden, Netherlands:

Brill, 1998).

^"^ Andrew C. Perriman, "The Head of a Woman: The Meaning of Kephale in 1 Cor.

1 1 :3," Journal of Theological Studies 45 (1994) 602-622.

^^ Grace Ying May and Hyunhye Pokrifka Joe, "Setting the Record Straight," Priscilla

Papers 11/1 (Winter 1997) 1-10.

^* Judy Brown, "I Now Pronounce You Adam and Eve," Priscilla Papers 13/4 (Fall,

1999)2-3.

^^ Craig Keener, Paul, Women, Wives (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1992) 34.

^^ Rebecca Groothuis, Good News for Women (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 1997) 151.

^^ Philip B. Payne, "Wild Hair and Gender Equality in 1 Corinthians 1 1:2-16," Priscilla

Papers Vol. 20, No. 3 ♦(Summer 2006) 8-18.

Letter to the author, November 1 , 2007, and approved for inclusion in this paper.

■*' The question of whether Paul is dealing with hair itself (long or short; loose or pinned-
up) or some cloth hood is still debated. Veiling is considerably less likely. A growing
number of scholars are now arguing that 'hair style' itself is the marker of sexual identity
(Hurley, Layman, Padgett, Gundry-Volf, Blattenberger, Johnson, Payne, John R.
Werner). It was apparently the view also of John Chrysostom (4th cent., see The Homilies
of Chrysostom on Corinthians, 152).

^'^ This understanding also avoids the potentially serious Christological problem with the
expression, "the kephale of Christ is God" that unnecessarily but unfortunately has
resulted when some interpret kephale as 'authority over' and then take this to imply, 'the
eternal subordination of the Son' (e.g., Grudem and other's, see Kevin Giles, 'Jesus and
the Father. Modem Evangelicals Reinvent the Doctrine of the Trinity (Grand Rapids,
Mich.: Zondervan, 2006) 306-312.

^^ Alan F. Johnson, "A Christian Understanding of Submission," Priscilla Papers \1,A
(Fall 2003) 1 1-20.

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

^ Kevin Giles, unpublished lecture notes. See his related comments in his essay, "An
Egalitarian-Complementarian Reading of Scripture," in The Trinity & Subordinationism:
The Doctrine of God & the Contemporary Gender Debate (Downers Grove, 111.:
InterVarsity Press, 2002) 203-08.

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

Clearing Up Misconceptions About Corporate Election

By Brian Abasciano*

I. INTRODUCTION

The nature of election has long been one of the most hotly debated
topics in evangelical theology.' The question lies at the heart of the debate
between Arminianism and Calvinism, a debate which commands so much
interest and attention because it ultimately has to do with the character of God.
But beyond the inherent appeal the disagreement between Arminianism and
Calvinism holds for those with a high view of Scripture, the debate has been
raging with a heightened intensity in recent years with no sign of abating due to
factors such as (1) the current resurgence of Calvinism in evangelicalism
(which, in its popular form, must be considered more Arminian than Calvinist
overall)," (2) the popularity of the internet, where on the one hand multitudes of
laymen now flock to gain theological information, and on the other hand
Calvinists have been quite prolific, and (3) the advent of influential outlooks
such as Open Theism and the New Perspective on Paul, the former directly
opposed to Calvinism and the latter providing various insights that can be
effectively pressed into service by Arminians (whether or not they agree with
the view in general) to support their system.

Traditionally, both Calvinism and Arminianism have conceived of
election unto salvation as individual. That is, each individual is elected
individually to belong to God. On this view, election of the body of God's
people refers to the election of the group as a consequence of the discrete
election of each individual who is chosen and their gathering into a group of
people sharing a common experience of individual election. The main difference
between the two views has been that Calvinists view election as unconditional
and Arminians view it as conditional on divine foreknowledge of human faith.
But there is another view of election which ultimately supports Arminian
theology and has come to command a great deal of scholarly support — the view
of corporate election. Indeed, in a text like Romans 9, which is a locus classicus
for the doctrine of election, corporate election of one sort or another has become
the most dominant type of election perceived by interpreters.^ Its popularity has
probably been due largely to the scholarly community's greatly increased
sensitivity to the signal importance of the Jewish matrix of early Christianity and
the profound indebtedness to the Old Testament on the part of the New
Testament authors.

*Brian Abasciano is an adjunct professor of New Testament at Gordon-Conwell
Theological Seminary (Boston) and pastors at Faith Community Church in Hampton,
NH.

Clearing Up Misconceptions About Corporate Election

But despite its growing popularity, the doctrine has been criticized by
some advocates of individual election, particularly Calvinists, whose position it
directly contradicts.'* However, these criticisms are misguided, largely founded
upon misunderstanding of the biblical concept of corporate election.^ Once these
misconceptions are cleared away, it should be seen that corporate election is
indeed the most biblical view of election, vindicating the Arminian approach to
the doctrine, even if untraditionally. Therefore, this article will first briefly
review the proper understanding of corporate election, and then address various
misconceptions and criticisms of it.

II. THE CONCEPT OF CORPORA TE ELECTION^
\\.\ . General Considerations

The discussion of corporate election has often been thrown off course
by pitting corporate and individual election against one another. To some extent,
this is unavoidable because there is obviously some difference between the
concepts, and the type of election with which one begins leads to vastly different
positions concerning the overall nature of election. But each type of election
logically entails some type of the other. So the question actually boils down to
which type of election is primary (see below). It is convenient for the purpose of
assessing the primary orientation of election to speak in terms of corporate vs.
individual. But it must be remembered that it is primary orientations that are to
be pitted against one another and not exclusion of individuals vs. exclusion of
the group. To represent the issue more accurately, I submit that it would be best
to speak of primarily corporate election vs. individualistic (as opposed to merely
individual) election, though it would be too burdensome always to qualify
corporate election in this way.

Most simply, corporate election refers to the choice of a group, which
entails the choice of its individual members by virtue of their membership in the
group. Thus, individuals are not elected as individuals directly, but secondarily
as members of the elect group. Nevertheless, corporate election necessarily
entails a type of individual election because of the inextricable connection
between any group and the individuals who belong to it. '' Individuals are elect as
a consequence of their membership in the group.

Individualistic election, on the other hand, refers to the direct choice of
individuals as autonomous entities, which entails the choice of the group (if one
is involved) by virtue of the elect status of the individuals who make up the
group. Thus, the group is not elected directly as a group, but secondarily as a
collection of individually chosen persons. In other words, the group is chosen as
a consequence of the fact that each individual in the group was individually

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

chosen. If there were to be any prominence granted to the group over individuals
in such a scheme, then the furthest this view could go would be to orient
individual election toward the group by viewing individual election as the
discrete choice of an individual to belong to the group of those who are also
individually elected to join the group. Hence, the real question regarding the
election of God's covenant people is, which election is primary, that of the
group or that of the individual? Both views are logically coherent,^ and concrete
examples can be given of each from everyday life.

II.2. Biblical Election unto Salvation

So far in this section we have been talking about the general concept of
election, and not specifically the election of God's covenant people, which in the
New Covenant entails election unto eternal salvation. When we turn to the Bible
on the matter of the election of God's people, it becomes clear that corporate
election predominates. Indeed, I would argue that it is the only type of election
of God's people to be his people in the Bible.

But the Bible's doctrine of corporate election unto salvation is even

more nuanced than simply saying that the group is elected primarily and the

individual secondarily. More precisely, it refers to the election of a group as a

consequence of the choice of an individual who represents the group, the

corporate head and representative. That is, the group is elected as a consequence

of its identification with this corporate representative. The same may be said of

individuals. They are chosen as a consequence of their identification with the

people, and more fundamentally, with the individual corporate head. Thus,

God chose the people of Israel in Abraham, Isaac, and

Jacob/Israel (Deut 4:37; 7:6-8).^ That is, by choosing

Jacob/Israel, the corporate/covenant representative, God also

chose his descendants as his covenant people. It is a matter of

Old Testament covenant theology. The covenant

representative on the one hand and the people/nation of Israel

on the other hand are the focus of the divine covenantal

election, and individuals are elect only as members of the elect

people. Moreover, in principle, foreign individuals who were

not originally members of the elect people could join the

chosen people and become part of the elect, demonstrating

again that the locus of election was the covenant community

and that individuals found their election through membership

in the elect people. '°

This notion of election is rooted in the Old Testament concept of corporate

solidarity or representation, which views the individual as representing the

community and identified with it and vice versa." "The concept is especially

Clearing Up Misconceptions About Corporate Election

evident in the case of kings and patriarchs, who are seen to represent their
people and sum them up in themselves, especially in the context of covenant."'^

We have already noted that God's Old Covenant people were chosen in
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. More specifically, God chose Abraham and his
descendants, but limited his election of Abraham's descendants to only some of
them by his choice of Isaac as the head of the covenant through whom
Abraham's covenant descendants were to be reckoned. He then limited his
election of the covenant descendants even further by his choice of Jacob as the
head of the covenant. At the same time, and as already pointed out above,
people not naturally related to Jacob and so not part of the elect people could
join the chosen people, becoming part of the elect. On the Other hand,
individual members of the elect people could be cut off from the covenant
people due to violation of the covenant, rendering them non-elect.

Finally, the Apostle Paul would argue, God limited his election even
further to Christ as the head of the New Covenant (Gal. 3-4; see especially 3:16;
cf. Rom. 3-4; 8), which is the fulfillment of the Old. Paradoxically, this also
widened the election of God's people because all who are in Christ by faith are
chosen by virtue of their identification with Christ the corporate covenantal
head, opening covenant membership to Gentiles as Gentiles. Just as God's Old
Covenant people were chosen in Jacob/Israel, the Church was chosen in Christ
(as Eph. 14 puts it). And as Ephesians 2 makes clear. Gentiles who believe in
Christ are in him made to be part of the commonwealth of Israel, fellow citizens
with the saints, members of God's household, and possessors of the covenants of
promise (2:11-22; note especially vv. 12, 19). Indeed, any Jews who did not
believe in Jesus were cut off fi-om the elect people, and any believing Gentiles
who stop believing will likewise be cut off, while anyone who comes to faith,
whether Jew or Gentile, will be incorporated into God's people (Rom. 11:17-
24).

In the New Covenant, God's people are chosen corporately as a
consequence of their union with Christ, which is effected by faith. '^ While this is
not quite the traditional Arminian position, it fully supports Arminian theology
because it is a conditional election. Most directly, such election is conditioned
on being in Christ. But then being in Christ is itself conditioned on faith,
meaning that the divine election of God's people and the election of individuals
for salvation is ultimately conditional on faith in Christ.

III. CORRECTING MISUNDERSTANDINGS AND ANSWERING CRITICISMS
OF CORPORA TE ELECTION

It was not my intention in the previous section to argue for the concept
of corporate election so much as to explain it. A positive case has been made for
the concept elsewhere by myself and others. '"* It is strongly supported by the fact
that it was the standard biblical and Jewish conception of election with no

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

evidence in the New Testament that its orientation had changed. Quite to the
contrary, it presents Christ as the true Israel in whom is fulfilled the election of
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the covenant people of God, and as the seed of
Abraham to whom the covenant promises were made and in whom those
promises are obtained for both Jews and Gentiles who believe. Moreover, the
explicit language of election unto salvation is always corporate in the New
Testament, continuing the approach of the Old. Furthermore, the socio-historical
context of the New Testament authors was corporate in outlook. But having
discussed these points elsewhere, and now having described the biblical concept
of corporate election for the present article, we may now turn to a consideration
of how the concept has been misunderstood and/or criticized with a view toward
defending it. The misconceptions identified below apply either to misconception
of corporate election or to what we regard as mistaken points or arguments
against it.^^

III. 1 . Misconception # 1 : Corporate Election Excludes Individuals

Many scholars have assumed that the notion of corporate election
excludes individuals from election, and therefore, in order to counter the view,
go on to show how individuals are obviously elect and beneficiaries of election's
blessings if the group they belong to is elect. '^ We have already invalidated this
approach implicitly by the description of corporate election provided in the
previous section. It is simply not true that the view excludes individuals; it
includes individuals, but only insofar as they are part of the group. That is, it
includes individuals based on their participation in the group/identification with
the corporate representative.''' Another way of saying this would be that the
group is elected primarily and individuals secondarily. Corporate election begins
with the individual corporate head and the group, and then moves to the
individual. But it does arrive at the individual and allots a full and vigorous role
to him in the context of community.

It is true that corporate election does not refer to the election of each
individual separately from Christ or the group, but this does not in any way
nullify the election of each individual member of the group as a result of the
group's election. It is also true that corporate election does not refer to the
choice of anyone to join the elect people. The concept of covenantal election or
election unto eternal salvation simply does not apply to entrance into the elect
people. It actually refers to a people being chosen to belong to God, to receive
the benefits of his covenant promises (ideally),'^ and to live according to his
covenant commands (Gen. 18:19; Deut. 4:20; 7:6-9; 14:2; Ps. 135:4; Eph. l:4ff.;
1 Pet. 2:9-10). All of this applies to each individual in the New Covenant as a
consequence of membership in the elect people, and more profoundly, of being
in Christ by faith, which is what makes someone a part of God's people.

Clearing Up Misconceptions About Corporate Election

This misconception seems to lie behind John Piper's influential
argument for individual election from Romans 9 based on the observation that
Paul is concerned about the damnation of many individual Israelites within the
chosen people, i.e., that despite being part of the physical chosen people, they
are not truly elect, but excluded from God's true people and the salvation that
belongs to them.'^ Now there are several serious problems with Piper's attempt
to press this observation into service for establishing individualistic election in
the passage.^° But the one that concerns us now, and is itself fatal to his
argument, is that the biblical concept of corporate election always encompassed
the inclusion and exclusion of individuals with respect to the elect people
without extending the concept of election itself to people joining or leaving the
corporate body and without shifting the locus of election to the individual. To
speak of individuals joining the elect people or being excluded from that people
does not even suggest, much less establish, that election refers to God choosing
individuals to become part of his people when it was a natural part of the
concept to grant elect status to individuals as a consequence of membership in
the group. In other words. Piper draws attention to language that was already a
part of the corporate perspective to try and establish what amounts to a major
shift in the concept to an individualistic perspective, leaving no credible basis
for his argument.^'

III.2. Misconception # 2: Corporate Election Is Not the Election of People, but
Merely the Election of an Empty Set

This misconception follows naturally from the first and is simply not
true for several reasons.
III. 2. a. The Corporate Head is the Group and Is Chosen First

Above all, God first chooses the corporate head/representative so that
there is never an empty set. Indeed, the corporate head is the foundation of the
group and embodies the group in himself To put it bluntly and in a way that
undoubtedly rubs against individualistic sensibilities, the corporate head is the
group, in accordance with the biblical principle of corporate solidarity. As 1
Cor. 12:12 puts it in relation to Christ, "For just as the body is one and has many
members, and all the members of the body, though being many, are one body, so
also is Christ."^^ Christ is both an individual and corporate figure. The group is
chosen because of its association with him and because it shares in his election.
His election extends to all those who are associated with him because they are in
him. With the corporate head as the locus of election, there is never a time that
the elect people is an empty set.^"^

The corporate election of the Old Testament disproves the charge that
the concept amounts to the election of merely an empty set, or at least it takes all
bite out of the charge. For God's Old Testament people were chosen in
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob/Israel. Jacob was chosen in the womb, and at the

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

very same time his descendants were chosen; they were chosen in him. "And the
Lord said to her, 'Two nations are in your womb. And two peoples from your
belly will be divided. And one people will be stronger than the other people.
And the older will serve the younger' (Gen. 25:23). Notice how Jacob is wholly
identified with his people before they exist. His election is their election; his
destiny is their destiny. Indeed, they will be called by his personal name,
whether Jacob or Israel. Both are designations for the nation of Israel in the Old
Testament.

Was Israel an empty set when Jacob was chosen? One might argue so.
But then that would prove too much. It would constitute an argument against the
concept of the election of God's people found in the Old Testament as somehow
not really the election of people. For Israel was chosen in Jacob. That is, the
people Israel was chosen as a consequence of the man Israel's election. When he
was chosen, they were chosen. As Gen. 25:23 indicates, it could be said that the
nation was in Rebekah's womb because Jacob was. And as Mai. 1:2-3 affirms,
God loved/chose the people Israel by loving/choosing Jacob. The author of
Hebrews could even depict Levi as having paid tithes on some level before he
was bom because Abraham paid tithes; i.e., he paid tithes in Abraham (Heb. 7:9-
10).

Thus, while it might be the tendency of an individualistic viewpoint to
look at the people of God as a nullity when only the corporate representative of
the people is actually in the covenant, it is not the biblical view. Nor is it the
view likely to be taken in a collectivist culture such as the ones in which the Old
and New Testaments were written, which viewed the group as primary and the
individual as secondary.^^ The individualistic viewpoint does not account for the
principle of corporate solidarity that is so at home in the Bible and collectivist
thought. In biblical thought, the corporate representative would be seen as
embodying the people he represents from the beginning of his representative
role, which is to say from the beginning of his election.

As we have shown, there is never an empty set with corporate election.
This would be true even of the church's election before the foundation of the
world because that election was in Christ, consequent on his election, which is
foundational to the election of his people in his capacity as their corporate
representative (Eph. 1:4). We will turn to Eph. 1:4 shortly; but before doing so,
it is worth noting that the church's election is the frilfillment of Israel's election.
More specifically, in the New Testament Christ is viewed as the true Israel, and
therefore the Church is also considered to be the true Israel because it is in
Christ (see Section II above).

This renders the claim that a primarily corporate election is merely
abstract even more hollow than it has already been shown to be by the concrete
election of the corporate head, because the Church's election is already rooted in
the concrete corporate election of Old Testament Israel. After all, as we have

Clearing Up Misconceptions About Corporate Election

already mentioned, those who believe in Christ are grafted into the people of
God, which is rooted in the election of the Old Testament patriarchs (Rom.
11:17-24), and Gentile believers get incorporated into the commonwealth of
Israel, becoming fellow citizens in Israel and fellow members of the household
of God (Eph. 2:1 1-22; note esp. w. 12 and 19). This is actually the significance
of the concept of foreknowledge that occasionally pops up around the concept of
election (Rom. 8:29; 1 1:2; 1 Pet. 1:2). When God's people are its object, it is not
that foreknowledge refers to foreseen faith, but prior acknowledgement of a
people as God's covenant partner.^^ When the Church is said to be foreknown,
the reason for mentioning it is to emphasize the Church's continuity with the
historic and legitimate covenant people of God so as to legitimize it and affirm
its genuine status as the present covenant people and heir to the covenant
promises of God.

III.2.b. The Significance of Ephesians 1:4

The misconception that a primarily corporate election does not involve
the actual election of people figures into criticisms leveled against the use of
Eph. 1 :4 by advocates of corporate election ("insofar as he [God] chose us in
him [Christ] before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before
him in love"). It is urged that the text states that God chose people ("us") rather
than a category or a class. ^^ However, as we have seen, a proper view of
corporate election does not exclude the election of individuals. It simply insists
that the election of individuals comes to them as part of the elect people. Each
individual member of the elect people is personally elect, but only as a
consequence of his membership in the elect people, and ultimately, only as a
consequence of his identification with the corporate head. This eliminates the
objection that corporate election is somehow not the election of people or that it
does not allow election to apply personally to individuals.

Peter O'Brien lodges this sort of objection to a primarily corporate
election, pointing out that some of the divine blessings mentioned in Ephesians
1 "must be understood as coming to believers personally and individually."^^
From what has been said, it should be more than evident that such objections are
mistaken. In O'Brien's case, it even leads him to contradict what he recognizes
to be the significance of the "in Chrisf phrase in 1:3 — that the blessings of the
heavenly realm which believers receive "come not only through the agency of
Christ but also because the recipients are incorporated in him who is himself in
the heavenly realm."^^ The logic of this view of the "in Christ" phrase flows
simply and straightforwardly into the very next verse's affirmation of election in
him, one of the many blessings enumerated in Eph. 1:4-13, all of which surely
fall under the rubric of 1:3 's summary phrase, "every spiritual blessing." If
every spiritual blessing comes to believers because they are in Christ, and
election is one of those blessings, then it follows necessarily that believers are

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

elect because they are in Christ. Election is conditional upon being in Christ by
faith. It is only theological and individualistic presupposition that would insist
that the same "in Christ" phrase that indicated that every spiritual blessing
comes to believers as a consequence of union with Christ somehow does not
mean that the spiritual blessing of election comes to believers as a consequence
of union with Christ.

Advocates of corporate election observe that the election of the Church,
viewed corporately in Eph. 1:4 in the plural reference to "us" (r) fxS c;),''^ is
qualified as being in Christ. The election of Christ is here assumed, and he is
envisioned as the sphere of election. It is much the same as the use of the "in x"
language found in Paul's quotation of Gen. 21:12 in Rom. 9.7, where the context
also concerns election: "in Isaac your seed will be named." In Gen. 21:12, God
tells Abraham how his descendants will be identified — by relationship to Isaac.
Those who are connected to Isaac will be named as Abraham's seed, and
therefore as covenant heirs. In other words, they will be named as God's
covenant people as a consequence of their relationship with Isaac. ^' Paul
interprets this to mean, "it is not the children of the flesh who are children of
God, but the children of the promise are regarded as seed" (Rom. 9:7), which is
a way of saying that believers are regarded as Abraham's seed, heirs of God's
promises to him, the very thing Paul argued in Romans 4.

As Paul put it in Gal. 3:26, "For you are all sons of God through faith
in Christ Jesus." The following verses are illuminating for this topic as well:
"For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with
Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor fi^eeman; there
when we were dead in our trespasses, [God] made us alive together with
Christ — by grace you have been saved — and raised us up with him and seated us
with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (ESV; cf. Col. 2:11-14; Rom
6:1-14). When believers come to be in Christ by faith, they come to share in his
history, identity, and destiny. Therefore it can be said that they died and rose
with him is not male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you
belong to Christ,^^ then you are Abraham's seed, heirs according to promise"
(Gal. 3:27-29). Notice how the thoughts coalesce. Being sons of God is by faith,
and this is elaborated on as being clothed with Christ in baptism, the typical time
of the formal expression of faith. Further elaboration draws out the consequence
of faith — "you are all one in Christ Jesus." Believing in Jesus brings one to be
clothed with Christ, which is a way of speaking of being united with him or
being in him. As a result of union with him by faith, one becomes God's child,
leading to oneness with Christian brothers and sisters. Both sonship and union
with Christ could be said to provide for oneness with fellow Christians, sonship
because of membership in the same family, and union because of incorporation
into the same person, the corporate head (cf e.g., Eph. 2:11-22, where unity
among believers and incorporation into the household of God the Father is

Clearing Up Misconceptions About Corporate Election

predicated on being in Christ, in whom Jewish and Gentile believers have been
made into one new man). This leaves sonship and membership in Christ as
roughly synonymous, two sides of the same coin, though it is best to take the
latter as the basis of the former. Then, the notion of belonging to Christ appears
as another roughly equivalent concept. It seems to be tied most closely to being
in Christ, which immediately precedes it in the text. Indeed, it would seem to be
a corollary of being in Christ. Becoming united to Christ also brings one to
belong to him (i.e., to be elect) just as it makes one a part of Christ and a son of
God, all of which is by faith. Finally, this is all tied to heirship as well. Most
specifically, belonging to Christ brings about heirship according to promise, a
concept that cannot be separated from sonship, which also brings about heirship.
In any case, the statement of Gen. 21:12/Rom. 9:7 clearly presupposes
Isaac's election/calling as the covenant head, and asserts his descendants' calling
as a consequence of their relationship to him. The very structure of the
"chosen/called in Isaac/Christ" phraseology indicates a choice of people
conditioned on relationship to the covenant head, who was chosen first and
whose election provides the basis of the election of his people. Hence, God's
election of the Church in Eph. 1 :4 is presented as a consequence of their union
with Christ, the Chosen One. Their election is intrinsic to his just as the election
of Israel (the people) was intrinsic to the election of Israel (the covenant head)
before the nation ever existed. As Andrew Lincoln observes, the early Church,
in continuity with the Old Testament, had a

consciousness of being chosen to be the people of God. . .
Their sense of God's gracious choice of them was inextricably
interwoven with their sense of belonging to Christ. They saw
him as God's Chosen One . . . Indeed, Paul in Gal 3 treats
Christ as in a sense fulfilling Israel's election. Christ is the
offspring of Abraham par excellence (3:16), and in Christ the
blessing of Abraham has come to the Gentiles (3:14) so that
they too, because they are Christ's, are Abraham's offspring
(3:29).^^

And as F.F. Bruce succinctly states in relation to the "in Christ" phrase of 1:4,
Christ "is the Chosen One of God par excellence. "^'^ The point is confirmed in
Eph. 1:6, which refers to Christ as the Beloved (tCO f) ya7rr||i£ vCp) in whom
God's grace has been lavished on us (the Church/believers), a term that signifies
Christ as the Chosen One, most likely grounded in the title's use as a
designation of God's chosen people in the Old Testament (LXX Deut. 32:15;
33:5, 12, 26; Isa. 5:1, 7; 44:2; Jer. 11:15; 12:7) and in the elective significance of
love terminology in the Old Testament (e.g., Mai. 1 :2), terminology that carries
over into the New Testament in application to Christ (Col. 1:13; Mark 1:11; 9:7

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

and parallels; Mark 12:6; Luke 20:13) and the Church (1 Thes. 1:4; 2 Thes.
2:13; Rom. 9:25; Col. 3:12) in various texts.^^

In the case of Eph. 1:4, Christ is presented as existing before the
foundation of the world and chosen by God as the head of his people and the
heir to all of his blessings. All those who come to be in Christ then necessarily
come to share in his election, identity, and inheritance. What is true of Christ the
covenant head also becomes true of those who are in him. He is the Son of God,
so they are sons of God (Gal. 3:26). He is holy, so they become holy (Col. 3:12;
1 Cor 3:17; Eph 2:19-22), indeed holy ones (a yioi, e.g. Eph. 1:1; cf references
to Jesus as the Holy One, 1 Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34; John 6:69; Acts 2:27; 13:35;
1 John 2:20). He is beloved, so they are beloved (Eph. 1:6; 5:1). He is righteous,
so they are righteous (Rom. 3:22); indeed they are the righteousness of God in
Christ (2 Cor. 5:21) and have been justified in him (Gal. 2:17). He is heir to all
the promises of God, and they are heirs with him (Rom. 4:13-17; 8:16-17; Gal.
3:29). He has died, risen, and been seated in the heavenlies, and they have died,
risen, and been seated with him and in him (Eph. 2:4-7; Rom. 6:1-11; Col. 2:11-
13). He has been given the Spirit, and so therefore they have been given the
Spirit as well, who is the bestower and marker of election (Eph 1:13-14; Acts
2:33; Gal. 3:2-5; Rom 8:1 [note how this glorious chapter begins as a depiction
of what is true for those in Christ], 9-11, 14-17).^^ His death is their death. His
resurrection is their resurrection. His life is their life. All of this is contingent on
being in Christ, which is itself contingent on faith in Christ, a point underscored
by the fact that some of the key blessings just mentioned are explicitly said to be
by faith, namely sonship (and therefore heirship), righteousness/justification, the
giving of the Spirit, and life/resurrection.

Even though personal possession of these benefits actually applies to
people only when they become united with Christ by faith, in principle it can be
said that they were given to "us" (believers/Christians/God's people) when they
were given to Christ, because he, as the corporate head of his people, embodies
the people as a corporate entity from the very moment of his election as the
corporate head, just as we saw that it could be said that the nation of Israel was
in the womb of Rebekah because Jacob was (Gen. 25:23) and that God
loved/chose Israel by loving/choosing Jacob (Mai. 1:2-3) and that Levi paid
tithes to Melchizedek through Abraham (Heb. 7:9-10). This is somewhat similar
to how I, as an American, can say that we (America) won the Revolutionary
War before I or any American alive today was ever bom.

We find such a conceptualization in, for example, Eph. 2:5-6 in
conjunction with the language of being "in Chrisf : "even even though they did
not die or rise with him literally when he did. It may be even more striking that
Paul says that we were seated with Christ in the heavenlies in Christ, for neither
Paul nor his audience was literally in the heavenlies when Paul wrote, not to
mention when Christ was first seated there. But Christ is the corporate head and

Clearing Up Misconceptions About Corporate Election

representative of his people, a corporate entity that transcends the mere
collection of its individual members and their individual identities, as is also
evident in the case of nations and many other significant corporate entities. ^^
Therefore, it can be said that we (the Church, Christians) are seated in the
heavenlies because Christ is in the heavenlies and we are in him, which
identifies us with him and he with us.^^ By the same principle of corporate
solidarity it can be said that we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of
the world. The expression does not mean that we were somehow literally pre-
existent before the foundation of the world, nor that we were merely pre-existent
in the mind or plan of God, nor that God foreknew our faith and chose us on that
basis, but that, "The election of Christ, the pre-existent corporate head of the
Church, before the foundation of the world entails the election of the Church
because he is the corporate head and representative of the Church, and what is
true of him as their representative is also true of them, his body."^^

Some interpreters have attempted to deny the incorporative sense of the
"in him [Christ]" phrase in Eph. 1:4, but the evidence and the weight of
scholarship is against them.'*^ In fact, Schreiner appeared to argue against the
incorporative meaning in his influential article in favor of individualistic
election unto salvation, advocating an instrumental sense, but then conceded the
point in a later article when challenged with the actual evidence of Ephesians in
the obviously incorporative significance of the same language
elsewhere in Ephesians, such as the identification of Christ as
the head of the Church/his body (1:20-23), the raising up/new
creation of the Church in Christ (2:6-10; cf the similarity of
2:6 and 1:3 with their language of "the heavenlies"!), and the
incorporation of Jews and Gentiles into Christ as one new
man/body/temple (2: 1 1-22) to name just a few examples."^'

Harold Hoehner, whom we earlier noted to acknowledge the incorporative sense
of the phrase in Eph. 1:1 and 1:3, serves as another example of an interpreter
who attempts to deny the incorporative sense of the "in Chrisf phrase in Eph.
1:4. After mentioning a few options for the phrase's meaning that have been
suggested but he deems implausible on questionable grounds, Hoehner identifies
two more that he thinks are really possible: (1) an incorporative sense, which he
labels a dative of sphere, relating to Christ's identity as the head and
representative of God's people, or (2) an instrumental sense, specifically
referring to Christ's work of redemption as the means through which believers
are chosen."*^ "This latter interpretation," says Hoehner, "is preferable because it
expresses that God chose the believer for his glory and that it had to be done in
connection with the redemption accomplished in Christ. God cannot bring sinfiil
humans into his presence forever without Christ having paid for sin.""*^

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Hoehner's reasoning does not provide good support for his position.
First, It is not clear why indicating a purpose of God's glory should be thought
necessary in Eph. 1:4 specifically. But second, it is not at all clear how an
instrumental sense related to Christ's work of redemption is any more glorifying
to God than an incorporative sense related to Christ's headship and
representation of God's people, which after all actually includes his work of
redemption as well. Third, while it may be true that sin must be paid for to make
it possible for sinfiil humans to enter God's presence, there is no reason to
assume that this specific idea must be alluded to in Eph. 1 :4. But if it must be so,
then the incorporative sense accomplishes this too since it would make plain that
sinful humans need a representative to bring them into God's presence.

Fourth, there is no real contextual reason to think that Christ's work of
redemption is specifically in view in the passage. The idea is not mentioned to
this point. In Hoehner's own words against the suggestion that God's
foreknowledge of human faith is the significance of the phrase, "This suggests
more than the passage claims."'*'* It is true that redemption is mentioned in 1:7,
but it is presented as just another of the blessings given in Christ to believers,
just as election itself is. There is no hint that redemption is itself more intimately
connected to being in Christ than any of the other blessings granted in him."*^
Fifth, Hoehner accepts the incorporative sense of the "in Christ" phrase in 1 : 1
and 1:3."*^ Yet if one accepts an incorporative significance for the "in Christ"
phrase in 1:3, it is almost impossible to deny reasonably the same basic sense in
1:4, as discussed earlier in relation to O'Brien's position. Indeed, Hoehner
himself acknowledges that the "in him" of 1 :4 "refers back to 'in Christ' in verse
2[sic]."^^

It is surprising that Hoehner separates the incorporative view fi^om the
view that the "in Christ" phrase involves the election of Christ as the basis of the
election of believers,'*^ for they are in fact intertwined as can be seen in our
discussion so far. It is because of Christ's election that incorporation into him
entails the extension of his election to those who are so united to him. Being in
Christ entails sharing in his history, identity, inheritance, and destiny. But
Hoehner insists that Christ's election as the basis of the election of believers is
not in view "because the object of the verb 'chose' is 'us' and not 'Christ'.""*^
However, this type of response does not rightly grapple with what is being
claimed by the incorporative view. The idea is not that Eph. 1:4 represents
Christ as elect rather than believers, but that it refers directly to the election of
believers with the "in Christ" phrase qualifying this election as being
conditioned on believers' union with Christ, the Chosen One.

Similarly to Hoehner, Schreiner has argued not only for the
instrumental sense of the "in Christ" phrase (noted above), but also that the
election of Christ is not of any real significance in the verse, pointing out that,
"the text does not specifically say that Christ was elected. The object of the verb

Clearing Up Misconceptions About Corporate Election

'chose' is 'us' in Eph 1:4."^*^ But when faced with the obviously incorporative
sense of the "in Christ" phrase in Eph 1 :4, he has conceded that the election of
Christ is part of the meaning and background of the verse.^' But he maintains
that the emphasis "is not on the election of Christ, but the election of human
beings," since "in Eph 1:4 human beings are the direct object of God's election,
not Jesus Christ."^^

However, Schreiner's position is problematic. It is not that he is
incorrect to say that "in Eph 1:4 human beings are the direct object of God's
election, not Jesus Christ."^^ But the significance Schreiner wants to assign to
this — unconditional individualistic election — is contradicted by the fact that the
election of human beings is directly qualified in the verse by the phrase "in
him," which indicates the sphere and manner of the election of the human beings
mentioned. The meaning of the "in him [Christ]" phrase is exactly that the
Church is chosen as a consequence of being in Christ. It is a matter of unpacking
the meaning of the phrase, which tells how God chose believers. Part of its
meaning in this context is that God chose Christ as the corporate head, and then
the election of the Church results from his election, because the Church is in
him, and therefore what is true of him is true of them. As already mentioned,
Schreiner now admits that the election of Christ is part of the background and
meaning of the verse. It would violate standard exegetical procedure, therefore,
to close our eyes to its import for the meaning of the text. So proponents of
corporate election do not emphasize an unstated matter as Schreiner charges.^'* It
is stated in the "in Christ" phrase, which is heavily emphasized in the context. ^^

But it is even inaccurate to say that Arminian interpreters emphasize
the election of Christ over the election of human beings in Eph. 1:4. They
merely point out the meaning of the words that actually stand in the text. The
question is not, "what does it mean to say that God chose us?", but, "what does
it means to say that God chose us in Christ?" A critical part of the answer to that
is provided by the incorporative, qualifying phrase, "in Christ." It means that
God chose us as a consequence of being in Christ. There is no denial here of the
election of human beings, just that the election of human beings is
individualistic and unconditional. To sum it up succinctly, Calvinists tend to
interpret Eph. 1 :4 as saying that God chose us separately and individually to be
put into Christ, to which Arminians quickly respond that what the text actually
says is that God chose us in Christ.

III. 3. Misconception # 3: The Concept of a Primarily Corporate Election Is
Illogical

Schreiner has led the charge for this misconception in modem
scholarship.^^ Indeed, it is a crucial basis of his position. But it is untenable.
Happily, Schreiner acknowledges that I understand his position. But I must say
that he does not seem to understand mine (corporate election). I suspect that this

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is largely due to his individualistic and Calvinistic presuppositions. Assuming
his own view, he cannot see that being elected as part of a group that is chosen
to receive some benefit is still being chosen for that benefit, but he essentially
insists that one is chosen for a benefit only if that same choice also elects one to
join the group. I.e., one can be chosen for a benefit only if that election applies
to entrance into the group that is chosen for that benefit. But this is an egregious
non sequitur that can be easily refuted by logic and any number of examples
from the Bible and everyday life. Surely a group, and hence its members, can be
elected for some purpose or benefit without necessitating that the same choice
also elects each individual member to become part of the group.

We have akeady outlined how the election of the people of God in the
Old Testament was a matter of primarily corporate rather than individualistic
election. And we have noted a very practical example of primarily corporate
election from the modem world in the case of choosing/buying a professional
baseball team (see note 36 above). We could multiply examples, but will content
ourselves with just two more. Consider the case of the salvation of Rahab and
her household from the destruction of Jericho (Joshua 2 and 6) mentioned earlier
(note 23 above). ^'' Because she helped the Israelite spies, Rahab elicited the
promise from them to spare her and anyone in her house at the time of the
attack. Anyone found with her in the house would be spared. The Israelites'
selection of who would be spared was corporate in that it was focused on an
individual whose election was primary and extended to anyone attached to her.
She was chosen for salvation, and then the group with her in the house was also
chosen. If someone were to ask one of her brothers' children, for example, why
the child was chosen to be spared, then the child could respond legitimately in
any number of ways that affirm that the child was chosen for salvation (e.g.,
"my aunt Rahab helped some Israelite spies, and so your people decided to spare
her family"). But the important thing to be grasped for the present discussion is
that the child was not chosen for salvation individualistically, but he was chosen
nonetheless. He was not chosen separately from Rahab or his family by the
Israelites to become part of Rahab 's family or the group gathered in Rahab 's
house on the day of Israel's attack. But he was chosen for salvation from death
as a consequence of association with Rahab and being in Rahab's house on that
fatefril day. But Schreiner would have us believe that this is logically
impossible.

Or we can consider the case of the determination of who had sinned
and brought trouble upon Israel by taking things from Ai that had been banned
(Josh. 7:10-18). The procedure for identifying the culprit involved several
instances of corporate election: "You [Israel] will be brought near by your tribes
in the morning; and it will be that the tribe which YHWH selects by lot will
come near by clans, and the clan which YHWH selects by lot will come near by
households, and the household which YHWH selects by lot will come near by

Clearing Up Misconceptions About Corporate Election

man" (Josh. 7:14). Finally, one man would be selected by lot, and the culprit
would be made known. That final step would indeed be a case of individual
election. But first, there would be cases of corporate election — tribes, clans, and
households.

When the tribe of Judah was chosen to come near to the Lord, it was
not that each individual member of the tribe was chosen separately on his own to
come near to the Lord, and then this made up the tribe coming near after each
member had individually been chosen. That would have taken quite a long time!
Nor did the choice of Judah by lot mean that at the time it was selected by lot
each member of the tribe was separately and individually selected to be part of
the tribe. That would not only also take an incredible amount of time, but the
idea of the choice of any one member to become part of the tribe is a totally
separate matter fi^om the tribe's being chosen to draw near to the Lord.^^ But
these are the very types of implications Schreiner ironically argues that logic
demands when a group is said to be chosen, while maintaining that it is logically
impossible for an individual to experience election as a consequence of
membership in a group as we have seen so clearly in the procedure recorded in
Joshua 7.

This is why I am forced to conclude that Schreiner' s individualistic
presuppositions are blinding him to the possibility of the corporate view, and
that his position is therefore assumed and read into the text rather than drawn
from it. It is not that he acknowledges the possibility of both the corporate and
individual views. But one of his main arguments for individualistic election and
against a primarily corporate election is that the latter is logically impossible. As
I have shown here by concrete examples, which could be multiplied, it is
nothing of the kind. Rather, it appears that it is the basis of Schreiner' s position
that is impossible.

Indeed, not only is Schreiner's claim of the logical impossibility of a
primarily corporate election flatly denied by its existence in the Bible and
everyday life, but it is also contradicted by the failure of his own individualistic
view to account for corporate language that admits of some distinction between
the group and its individual members. Schreiner assumes that logic demands "a
one-to-one correlation between the group and the individual so that what is true
of the group is true of the individual in the exact same way. Therefore, for
Schreiner, if the group has been selected, then this implies that each individual
member of the group was selected on his own to become a member of the
group."^^ But he acknowledges that, in Rom 9:30-10:21, "corporate Israel is not
coextensive with those in Israel who believed,"^° contradicting his foundational
assumption. He tries to escape this contradiction by pointing to the nature of the
Old Testament covenant community as both a political/theocratic entity and as a
faith community, with not all members of the former participating in the latter.^'
But this does not adequately address the problem. For if we focus on the

74.

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negative side of it, Rom. 9:30-10:21 still speaks of Israel as not believing. Yet
believing Israelites were still part of ethnic Israel. Therefore, Paul speaks of
corporate ethnic Israel as not believing even though some of corporate ethnic
Israel did believe, demonstrating that there can be a difference between the
group and individual in corporate thought, contradicting Schreiner's prime
argument that such a difference is logically impossible.

The idea of a primarily corporate election is indeed logical, and the
only way to explain certain instances of election. On the level of sheer logic,
both individualistic and corporate election are possible. But when we examine
the evidence for which type of election is found in the Bible with respect to the
election of God's people unto eternal salvation, it is a primarily corporate
election that is found. It will not do to try and bar consideration of the corporate
view from the start by claiming it is logically impossible. Such a claim is
indefensible, and its acceptance will only serve to blind us from valid potential
options for interpreting the language of election and to foster the reading of
individualistic assumptions into the text of Scripture, which was penned in a
collectivist milieu.

III.4. Misconception # 4: Corporate Election Empties Divine Election of
Meaning and Makes Human Choice Decisive

Schreiner has captured this line of argument as follows: "If the
individual dimension of corporate election simply means that human beings
believe in order to be saved, then there is no 'election' in corporate election. Or,
to put it another way, there is no election by God. All the electing is done by the
individual when he or she chooses to be saved."^^ But these comments are
riddled with misconception. First and definitively, the premise that its reasoning
is based on is false. The individual dimension of corporate election does not
simply mean "that human beings believe in order to be saved." The individual
dimension of election refers to the elect status of the individual and possession
of the blessings of election by the individual as a result of God's choice of the
group, just as it clearly did in the Old Testament for Israel, the people of God. It
is another matter to ask what the basis of the individual's membership in the
group is. That does not change God's act of choosing the group, which serves as
a second point of rebuttal to this misconception since God does indeed choose
the group in corporate election, directly contradicting Schreiner's assertion.

Third, Schreiner's reasoning foists a predetermined hermeneutical
conviction on the idea of election and what it has to be or involve, and then
judges the corporate view by it rather than a more objective approach of trying
to determine the biblical view and then assessing its implications. Indeed, this
approach appears to keep its adherents from even understanding the corporate
perspective properly.^^ In Schreiner's case, it appears to lead to the conclusion
that in the corporate perspective, "at the end of the day God's choice of a

Clearing Up Misconceptions About Corporate Election

corporate group saves no one,"^"^ which shows a complete misunderstanding.
The whole point is that in the corporate perspective, God's election of the group
for salvation saves the members of the group.

What Schreiner really seems to be getting at here is that since corporate
election makes individual election conditional upon being a member of the
people of God, which is itself conditional upon being in Christ, which in turn is
conditional on faith in Christ, then the individual's choice to believe becomes
more important than God's choice of the individual for whether the person
actually obtains salvation. This conclusion is unwarranted. But before exploring
its merit, we should mark the theological presupposition at work in Schreiner' s
comments. He believes that human choice cannot play a decisive role in
salvation, and then denies validity to a view that he perceives as giving such a
role to human choice. But this is more of an argument from theological
presupposition than from the text of Scripture.

My plea would be for us to draw our view of election from Scripture
rather than deciding what its implications must be and then using our assessm^ent
of a view's implications to decide if Scripture can teach such a view. Perhaps we
are wrong in our presuppositions.^^ Or perhaps we are incorrect about what a
certain view really implies. If we discover that Scripture teaches a primarily
corporate election unto salvation, then perhaps that will show either our
presuppositions or our perception of the implications of corporate election to be
wrong.

In this case, I believe that at least Schreiner's perception of the
implications of corporate election is incorrect. I would argue that as far as
election is concerned, it is the Savior and corporate elector who is decisive for
the act of saving. For he is the one who has sovereignly planned, initiated, and
executed the whole plan of salvation. He is the one who has sovereignly laid
down the conditions for salvation, provided for salvation, and the one who
actually saves. Without him, there absolutely can be no people or salvation. That
he gives us a genuine choice in whether we will receive the salvation that he
offers in the gospel is entirely in his control and at his discretion.

The overarching point can be illustrated by any number of contexts in
which a group, or even an individual, is chosen to receive some benefit
conceived and initiated by another. Who is really to be seen as decisive in the
benefit provided, the one who provides the benefit or the one who receives it?
The one who chose the group to receive the benefit or the individual members of
the group who chose to join the group? The most natural answer is that it is the
provider of the benefit and the one who chose the group (or the individual) to
receive the blessing. Yet there is also responsibility on each person for whether
he enjoys the blessing by joining the group. It is the perfect scenario that
upholds both God's sovereignty and human responsibility. It is the old point that
a beggar can take no glory for receiving the blessing offered to him by the king.

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

It provides for both God's primacy as the decisive party, yet man's
responsibihty as the one who must respond to the provision.

Schreiner's position is tantamount to saying that someone who has
received an incredibly generous free gift can rightfully claim that he gave the
gift to himself merely because he accepted it. The logic simply does not follow.
There is no ground for saying that someone who chooses to accept a free gift
actually gave the gift to himself rather than the giver having given it to him. The
argument is false by definition (giver, receiver).

Consider this example from a modem instance of individual election. If
a sports player (say football or baseball) is chosen in the draft, this is equivalent
to individual election. Now the player has the choice to accept that team's offer
for being part of the team and playing for them or not. But no one ever speaks of
that player as choosing the team or choosing himself We always speak of it as
the team drafting the player. The only thing that is typically thought to matter in
the situation is the team's choice of the player, even though the player has to
agree. Why? Because the player is receiving a great benefit. His ability to play
in the league at that time is wholly dependent on the team's offer. He is utterly at
their mercy if he wants to play in the league at that time.

Or consider another example, this time of corporate election. If a
certain club is chosen by some exceedingly rich philanthropist to receive a
continual supply of money for distribution among its members and to anyone
who ever joins the group, would this mean that those who join the group give
themselves the money by joining rather than the group's benefactor giving the
group the money? Not at all. Indisputably, the giver of the money remains the
one who gives the benefit. Nevertheless, those who refiise to join the group have
only themselves to blame for not receiving the benefit offered by this generous
benefactor.

One of the wonderful theological advantages of corporate election is
that it comports with the Bible's teaching that God loves all, calls all to believe
and be saved, and genuinely desires all to be saved (e.g., John 3:16; Acts 17:30-
31; 1 Tim. 2:4). It reveals to us that God has made his loving intentions toward
us clear. It magnifies his shockingly immense love and amazing grace. But that
cannot determine the meaning of election for us. Its meaning must be drawn
from what Scripture actually says about it rather than from the implications we
would like it to have. Thankfully, on that score, the corporate view is the most
strongly supported view.

III. 5. Misconception # 5: Election Unto Spiritual Salvation in the Old Testament
Was Individualistic

As one might expect from the last two misconceptions that we have
addressed, some advocates of individualistic election unto salvation hold that the
Old Testament also contains the idea. In Schreiner's case, his assumption that a

Clearing Up Misconceptions About Corporate Election

primarily corporate election is logically impossible implicitly demands that the
Old Testament contains a full-blown concept of individualistic election, taking
election to refer to each member of the covenant having been chosen
individually and separately to belong to God and enter into the covenant as his
covenant partner, and taking corporate election to refer to each member of the
covenant being chosen individually and separately to become part of the
covenant people. But such a view is contrary to scholarly consensus, even
among Calvinists.^^ Indeed,

The corporate nature of the election of God's people in the
Old Testament is so well recognized that Moo, an advocate of
: individual election in Paul's thought and Romans 9, concedes

. that Paul would have found only corporate election in the
Scriptures and his Jewish tradition. And John Piper, one of the
most forceful and outspoken modem advocates of individual
election, is forced to acknowledge that "the eternal salvation
of the individual as Paul teaches it is almost never the subject
of discussion in the OT."^^
Yet Schreiner does attempt to justify his stance with more than an untenable
claim about logic; he offers biblical data in support of the thesis that election in
the Old Testament was primarily individual. ^^ He points to the individual
election of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But ironically, these very examples are
corporate in nature and support the concept of a primarily corporate election vis-
a-vis the covenant people of God. Each of these individuals was chosen as the
corporate head and representative of the covenant and his covenant descendants.
The significance of this individual election for the covenant people was not that
each of them would be chosen individually in the same way as Abraham, Isaac,
or Jacob, but that they would be chosen as a consequence of their identification
with Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob (see sections I, II, and III. 2 -3 above). ^^

All agree that the Old Testament contains instances of individual divine
election unto service. But the question we are dealing with is election unto
salvation, the election of the covenant people of God, which establishes people
as belonging to God and, at least ideally, as beneficiaries of his salvation. ^'^ Yet
most advocates of individualistic election would agree that the Old Testament
concept is not individualistic and that its corporate concept is not merely the
election of individuals on their own who are then gathered into a group. They
typically take a more moderate approach to try and establish individualistic
election.

Some maintain that while the election of God's people is only corporate
in the Old Testament, it becomes individualized in the New. ''' Others attempt to
preserve some sort of individualistic election unto salvation in the Old
Testament by asserting that there is a movement toward individual election in
the Old Testament itself, even if it never reaches a fully individualistic level.

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

This latter, progressive view, points to the Old Testament concept of the
remnant and prophetic announcements of God's acceptance of the faithful and
rejection of the faithless within Israel as individualizing the concept of election.
But both of these approaches run aground on a fact that we have already
observed, that the Old Testament concept of corporate election always
encompassed the inclusion and exclusion of individuals into/from the elect
people without extending the concept of election itself to exit from or entrance
into the corporate body and without shifting the locus of election to the
individual (see sections II and III.l above). From the beginning of the covenant,
faithful members of the community were to enjoy the full blessings it promised
and the unfaithful were to be cut off from it and its promises (e.g., Exod. 20:5-6;
32:31-35; Deut. 27-30). As Gary Burnett has observed of the Old Testament and
Jewish perspective,

[SJalvation was both a matter for the individual and the
community of the people of God. One would participate in the
salvation which God had prepared for his people by living as
part of the covenant people . . . Only by deliberately sinning
and refusing to repent could one become apostate and put
oneself outside the covenant and therefore outside of
salvation. The personal piety, we have noted, then, must be
seen in the context of individuals seeking to live within the
covenant, and in such a context, salvation was typically seen
as concerning the nation (or the sectarian group within the
nation), something in which an individual would participate,
assuming he kept within covenantal boundaries. ^^

With this in mind as well as (a) Jesus' identity as the ultimate seed of Abraham
and the head of the New Covenant, and (b) the fact that originally non-elect
individuals could join the chosen people, J.I. Packer's (a Calvinist and advocate
of individualistic election) own description of the development in the doctrine of
election from the Old Testament to the New is telling:

The NT announces the extension of God's covenant -promises to the Gentile
world and the transference of covenant privileges from the lineal seed of
Abraham to a predominantly Gentile body (cf Mt. 21:43) consisting of all who
had become Abraham's true seed and God's true Israel through faith in Christ
(Rom. 4:4-9; 6:6f; Gal. 3:14ff, 29; 6:16; Eph 2:1 Iff; 3:6-8). The unbelieving
natural branches were broken off from God's olive-tree (the elect community,
sprung from the patriarchs), and wild olive branches (believing Gentiles) were
ingrafted in their place (Rom. 11:16-24). Faithless Israel was rejected and
judged, and the international Christian church took Israel's place as God's

Clearing Up Misconceptions About Corporate Election

chosen nation, living in the world as his people and worshipping and
proclaiming him as their God.^"*

There may be some problems in this description, but its picture of
election is largely on target and, perhaps unwittingly, quite in line with the Old
Testament corporate view in its wording. The community is elect, rooted in the
election of the patriarchs (the covenant heads). With the advent of Christ and the
New Covenant of which he is the head as the seed of Abraham, Jews who
embraced Jesus remain part of God's chosen people, Jews who refused to
believe in Christ were cut off from the elect people, and Gentiles who believe
get grafted into God's chosen people as would any formerly unbelieving Jews
who come to faith. On both the individual and corporate level, election is
contingent on faith in Christ, who is the difference between the Old and New
Covenants in terms of election. With respect to the corporate vs. individual
orientation of election, there is nothing that would suggest a change from the
former to the latter. Indeed, there is every indication that election remains
corporate since Christ takes the patriarchs' place as the head of the covenant and
the corporate representative of God's people, and people become part of God's
people by covenantal union with Christ.

IV. CONCLUSION

A proper conception of corporate election unto salvation withstands the
criticisms that have been leveled against it. Most of these arise from
misunderstanding of the concept. The core of such criticism is the mistaken
notion that corporate election does not involve the election of individuals, a
notion that tends to be fed by individualistic presuppositions.^^ These
presuppositions can be so deeply ingrained that some advocates of
individualistic election believe that the very concept of a primarily corporate
election is logically impossible. But we have seen that such a position is
untenable, doing more to betray the unquestioned presuppositions of certain
scholars that prevent them from understanding corporate election than to impugn
the concept itself It is not that either the corporate or individualistic view is
logically impossible, but a question of which kind of election is in view when
the Bible speaks of the election of God's people unto salvation. We have
concluded that it is corporate election that is the biblical view.

Corporate election does involve the election of individuals. But it
recognizes that one individual is first chosen uniquely as the foundation of the
people of God, serving as their corporate head and representative. They are thus
chosen in him, which is to say, by virtue of their identification with him.
Individuals are elect secondarily, viz. as a consequence of identification with the
corporate head and membership in his people. In the New Covenant, Jesus
Christ is the corporate head and representative of the Church, the eschatological

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

people of God. Individuals become united to Christ by faith, making election
unto salvation ultimately conditional on faith in Christ.

ENDNOTES

' I would like to thank a number of people for reading this article and offering helpful
comments: Paul Ellingworth, Bill Klein, Tom McCall, Ron Fay, Ben Henshaw, Martin
Glynn, and Luke Gowdy.

^ On this resurgence, see Collin Hansen, "Young, Restless, Reformed," Christianity
Today, September 2006, the by-line of which claims, "Calvinism is making a
comeback — and shaking up the church." Hansen has since published a book on the
subject: Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist's Journey with the New Calvinists
(Wheaton: Crossway, 2008).

^ Cf Brian J. Abasciano, Paul's Use of the Old Testament in Romans 9.1-9: An
Intertextual and Theological Exegesis (JSNTSup/LNTS, 301; London: T & T Clark,
2005) 185. The issue is complicated in the case of Rom 9 because interpreters posit
various conceptions of corporate election there, some that take it to be unto service,
others as unto salvation, others as merely national/temporal vis-a-vis ethnic Israel, and
others that seem to exclude any reference to individuals in the concept. What's more,
some of these conceptions can be mixed with one another to form still other forms of the
view. In any case, this article is concerned with Christian election, articulating and
defending a concept of corporate election unto salvation that includes individuals within
its scope.

See e.g., John Piper, The Justification of God: An Exegetical and Theological Study of
Romans 9:1-23 (2nd ed.; Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993); Thomas R. Schreiner, "Does
Romans 9 Teach Individual Election unto Salvation? Some Exegetical and Theological
Reflections" JETS 36 (1993) 25-40; idem, "Corporate and Individual Election in Romans
9: A Response to Brian Abasciano" JETS 49/2 (June 2006) 373-386; Douglas J. Moo,
The Epistle to the Romans (NICNT; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996) 571, 585-86; idem,
"The Theology of Romans 9-11: A Response to E. Elizabeth Johnson" in David M. Hay
and Elizabeth E. Johnson (eds.), Pauline Theology III: Romans (Minneapolis: Fortress,
1995, 240-58) 254-58; Peter T. O'Brien, The Letter to the Ephesians (Pillar; Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999) 99; and the response to Clark Pinnock by Bruce A. Ware in
Chad Owen Brand (ed.). Perspectives on Election: Five Views (Nashville: Broadman &
Holman, 2006) 315-18. Arminian scholars holding to individual election have also
objected to corporate election (see e.g., Robert E. Picirilli, Grace, Faith, and Free Will:
Contrasting Views of Salvation: Calvinism and Arminianism [Nashville: Randall House,
2002], 50-52; Jack Cottrell, "Conditional Election" in Clark H. Pinnock (ed.), Grace
Unlimited [Minneapolis: Bethany Fellowship, 1975, 51-73] 56-60), but they are not as
zealous in their opposition.

But to be fair, some objections to corporate election have been in response to
inadequate views of the concept such as those that restrict election to service
and/or that exclude individuals from its purview; for such a view, see e.g. (in
relation to Rom 9), Leon Morris, The Epistle to the Romans (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1988) 356-57. For fiirther examples and a critique of such views, see

Clearing Up Misconceptions About Corporate Election

Schreiner, "Reflections." But again, to be fair, most advocates of corporate
election probably give a place to individuals, understanding individuals to be
encompassed in the group to which they belong, even if their language gives the
impression that individuals are excluded (which could be true of Morris).
Indeed, Schreiner's critique ("Reflections," 33-40) of the corporate view argues
against a conception of corporate election that denies any place to the individual, even
though the representative of corporate election with whom he interacts most does afford a
place to individuals in his scheme; see e.g., William W. Klein, The New Chosen People:
A Corporate View of Election (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1990) 264-65. (Klein has now
clarified his position in response to Schreiner in an unpublished paper entitled, "Is
Corporate Election Merely Virtual Election? A Case Study in Contextualization,"
available online at http://evangelicalarminians.org/Klein-%22Is-Corporate-Election-
Merely-Virtual-Election%3F%22.) This leaves Schreiner's case empty, leveled at what
amounts to a straw man version of corporate election; see Brian J. Abasciano, "Corporate
Election in Romans 9: A Reply to Thomas Schreiner," JETS 49/2 (June 2006) 351-71.
^ I have discussed the concept of corporate election and attempted to articulate the
distinction between it and individual election in a prior article ("Election"). Rather than
constantly referencing that article for ftirther discussion and explication of many of the
issues discussed throughout the present article, I here direct readers' attention to it
generally, and will reserve citation of it for material that is especially important to place
before readers of the present essay.

'' Still, a corporate focus means that not everything that is true of the group is necessarily
true of the individual.

^ Schreiner actually claims that the corporate election 1 have described is logically
incoherent ("Response," 375-78), but without question, this is demonstrably false and
will be taken up below; see esp. III. 3.

^ Many references could be added, such as Gen. 15:18; 17:7-10, 19; 21:12; 24:7; 25:23;
26:3-5; 28:13-15; Deut. 10:15.
'^ Abasciano, "Election," 353.
'' See ibid, 355, and the literature cited there.
'^ Ibid.

'^ For faith as uniting us with Christ, which is the historic Reformed view, see Eph. 1:13-
14; 2; 3:17; John 14:23; Gal. 3:26-28; Rom 6; 1 Cor 1:30; 2 Cor 5:21; Richard B. Gaffm,
Jr., By Faith, Not By Sight: Paul and the Order of Salvation (Waynesboro: Paternoster
Press, 2006); John Piper, The Future of Justification: A Response to N. T Wright
(Wheaton: Crossway, 2007), 163-80, passim (see e.g. esp. 171 n. 14); Michael F. Bird,
"Incorporated Righteousness: A Response to Recent Evangelical Discussion Concerning
the Imputation of Christ's Righteousness in Justification," JETS 47/2 (June 2004) 253-75,
passim; John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 3.1.1; idem. Commentary on the
Gospel According to John (trans. William Pringle; Grand Rapids: Christian Classics
Ethereal Library), 16:27; The Westminster Confession of Faith, 26 A.
^'^ See Abasciano, 'Election', and the appropriate literature cited there (including esp.,
Klein, Election); Abasciano, Romans 9.1-9; idem, Paul's Use of the Old Testament in
Romans 9.10-18: An Intertextual and Theological Exegesis (forthcoming in T & T
Clark's two series. Library of New Testament Studies and Studies in Early Judaism and

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

Christianity); B.J. Oropeza, Paul and Apostasy: Eschatology, Perseverance, and Falling
Away in the Corinthian Congregation (WUNT 2.115. Tubingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2000),
204-10; Ben Witherington, III, Paul's Narrative Thought World: The Tapestry of
Tragedy and Triumph. (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1994), 230-33, 246-
49; William G. MacDonald, "The Biblical Doctrine of Election" in Clark H. Pinnock
(ed.). The Grace of God and the Will of Man (Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1989), 207-
29; Herman Ridderbos, Paul: An Outline of His Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
1975), 341-54; Robert Shank, Elect in the Son (Springfield, MO: Westcott, 1970); cf. I.
H. Marshall, "Universal Grace and Atonement in the Pastoral Epistles" in Pinnock (ed.),
Grace of God, 51-69 (64-69); C. Miiller, Gottes Gerechtigkeit und Gottes Volk: Fine
Untersuchung zu Romer 9-11 (FRLANT, 86; Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht,
1964), 75-78.

'^ 1 will be interacting especially with Thomas Schreiner in this section because he is the
advocate of individual election who has most ftilly addressed the concept of corporate
election 1 am advancing. Cf Klein's unpublished response to Schreiner in "Virtual
Election?"

'^ Thomas Schreiner' s influential article is a prime example of this misconception,
invalidating most of its arguments ("Reflections"); see note 4 above, and my response to
Schreiner (Abasciano, "Election"). In his rejoinder, Schreiner continued to
mischaracterize the position I have articulated, repeatedly claiming that individuals are
not elected in it ("Response," 376-78, 382-84). See fiirther under misconception # 3
below.

'^ Cf William W. Klein, "Ephesians" in T. Longman III and D.E. Garland (eds.), FBC
Rev., Vol. 12 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006) 19-173 (48).

'* In the Old Covenant, the covenant promises were conditional in that they could only be
possessed by faith while the covenant generally included all Israelites, including the
unbelieving. (Nevertheless, members of the covenant who demonstrated persistent
unbelief by violating the covenant law without repentance were to be cut off.) But in the
New Covenant, all in the covenant truly possess the promises because all in the New
Covenant have faith since it is entered into by faith and believers only continue in the
covenant by faith; if they forsake faith in Christ then they are cut off from the covenant.
'^ See Piper, Justification, esp. 64-67.

^^ See my critical assessment of Piper's argument (Abasciano, Romans 9.1-9, 183-89).
Besides the problem discussed below, note that: (1) Piper relies on an unlikely translation
of Rom. 9:6b to establish individualism in the passage; (2) even if his unlikely translation
is correct, it tells against his case because the verse would be phrased even more
corporately; (3) Piper begs the question of whether the individuals Paul is concerned
about are viewed individualistically or corporately; (4) Piper begs the question of how the
individual and corporate aspects of election relate, but appears to assume a non
sequitur — ^that if the elect status of individuals is in view, then individualistic election
must be too (see below).

^' Therefore, Schreiner's reliance on Piper for establishing an individual referent for the
singular language in Rom. 9 leaves his argument similarly baseless at this point
("Response," 382). It weakens it all the more that he doubly mischaracterizes my
argument on singular language (Abasciano, "Election"): First he claims that I insist that
all the singulars in Romans 9 must be interpreted corporately, when I in fact said almost

Clearing Up Misconceptions About Corporate Election

the opposite, that reference to individuals fits comfortably into the corporate perspective,

but that some of the individual language is best taken corporately (Abasciano, "Election,"

358-59). Second, he claims that my view means no individuals are elected by God, and

then attempts to knock down this straw man by referencing the election of the individual

patriarchs (Schreiner, "Response," 383). On the individual election of the patriarchs, see

below.

^^ For examples of this misconception, see Schreiner, "Response," 378, 386; Bruce A.

Ware, "Divine Election to Salvation: Unconditional, Individual, and Infi-alapsarian" in

Brand (ed.). Perspectives on Election, 43-44, 46; idem, "Response to Pinnock," 316. In

addition to the treatment provided here, see also Klein's refutation of this misconception

("Virtual Election?" 7-9).

^^ All translations of Scripture in this article are mine unless otherwise noted; emphasis

mine.

^"^ In conjunction with this misconception, Schreiner mischaracterizes my position again

by describing it thus: "God chooses that there would be the Church of Jesus Christ. Then

individuals choose to be part of this corporate group, i.e., the Church" ("Response", 378).

But corporate election does not mean merely that God chooses that there will be a group.

Rather, he chooses the corporate representative, and thereby any that will be found in

him. Schreiner also argues that corporate election is only the election of an empty set

based on the hypothetical possibility that no one chooses to believe in Christ, for if no

one believed, then there would be no group to be saved (ibid). But this extension of the

argument falls on the same point of election being founded and focused on the corporate

head. It can also be shown to falter by practical example. In the case of the corporate

election of Rahab's household (see under misconception # 3 below) e.g., even if no one

in Rahab's family agreed to join her in her house when Israel attacked Jericho, that would

not change the fact that the family was indeed elected for salvation, and that corporately

and not individualistically; the election of the family for salvation did not entail the

choice of each member separately to become a member of the family or to be related to

Rahab. Beyond that, it is artificial to appeal to a hypothetical here. That is not how it in

fact is, and God knew how it would be.

^^ On the coUectivist worldview that served as the milieu for the biblical authors and its

significance for election, see Abasciano, "Election", esp. 356-358; idem, Romans 9.1-9,

41-44, 187; and the literature cited in these works.

^^ For elective knowledge as acknowledgment of covenant partnership, see Abasciano,

Romans 9.1 -9, ei-ei).

^^ See e.g.. Ware, "Election," 44-45; cf Schreiner, "Reflections," 36-38.

^^ O'Brien, Ephesians, 99. Contrast Klein in speaking of the corporate view of election in

Eph. 1:4: "This is not to deny that election is personal: certainly every member of the

church shares its election" ("Ephesians," 48).

^^ Ibid, 97; Andrew T. Lincoln uses almost the same language of the meaning of the

phrase {Ephesians [WBC 42; Dallas: Word, 1990], 22). This same sort of contradiction

can be seen in other Calvinist commentators who recognize the obvious meaning of the

"in Christ" phrase in 1 :1 and 1 :3, but then ignore or unsuccessfially try to escape its force

in 1:4; see e.g., Harold Hoehner Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary (Grand Rapids:

Baker, 2002), 143, 171-72, 176-77; William Hendriksen, Galatians and Ephesians (NTC;

Grand Rapids: Baker, 1967), 70-71, 75-76.

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^° It is typical for commentators to take this reference to be of the Christian Church
generally as the people of God; for several representative references, see Hoehner
Ephesians, 176 n. 1. Hoehner himself, however, argues that the reference is not collective
since "Paul would not have used the singular pronoun, for he was not writing to an
individual but to the church as a whole" (176). But that is part of the point — Paul was
addressing the church as a whole (I would say churches as wholes); he was addressing
the church corporately. Therefore, his plural reference is best taken of the church as a
whole, especially as it was uttered in a collectivist cultural milieu in which the group was
seen as primary and the individual as secondary, embedded in the group to which he
belonged and referred to as a result of his membership in the group. Curiously, Hoehner
thinks the reference refers only to Paul and the Ephesian church. But this is highly
unlikely. As O'Brien observes, "the flow of the paragraph and the nature of the divine
gifts being described show that the apostle has all of God's people in mind" {Ephesians,
96, on 1:3, though O'Brien thinks that God's people are in view both corporately and
individually; cf p. 99 on 1:4;). This finds support in the fact that the blessings Paul
enumerates in Eph. 1 apply to all Christians. Indeed, Ephesians tends to discussion of
general Christian realities applicable to all Christians in which the readers participate. See
e.g., O'Brien's discussion of the recipients of the letter, who notes that "a number of the
images and metaphors used of these Christian readers are corporate and describe them in
terms of their belonging to a wider community of men and women in Christ" (ibid, 49-
51; quotation from p. 50). This is fijrther supported by the likelihood that Ephesians was
a circular letter intended for various churches in Asia Minor; see again e.g. O'Brien, ibid,
47-49. That Paul is thinking of all Christians, and that his use of "us" does not merely
reflect inclusion of himself alone with his addressees, is shown by his distinction between
"we . . . who were the first to hope in Christ"(l:12), most likely referring to early Jewish
Christians, and "you also," most likely referring to Paul's predominantly Gentile
Christian audience; on the distinction, see again O'Brien, ibid, 116-17 (though I would
take the "we" of v. 11 of all Christians, with v. 12 highlighting the result [taking si q t6
si vai to indicate result] of v. 11 for early Jewish Christians).

^' Schreiner severely mischaracterizes this point as I made it in a previous article when he
retorts that "Paul argues against this view in Romans 9, when he states that mere
biological descent from Abraham does not mean that one is part of the covenant people
(Rom 9:6-13)" ("Response," 382). Paul interprets this fact of calling based on
relationship to Isaac spiritually in Rom. 9 and I state this explicitly in the very next
sentence of the original context fi"om which Schreiner quoted me. Strikingly, in the
context of Romans and the Pauline corpus, to be a child of promise is to have faith (see
Abasciano, Romans 9.1-9, 196-98). While there is even more to the phrase's meaning,
Paul's statement means that those who believe are regarded as the seed of Abraham, as
Paul argues in Romans and elsewhere. Schreiner is completely correct that Paul states
that "mere biological descent from Abraham does not mean that one is part of the
covenant people (Rom 9:6-13)." But what Paul is stressing, in conformity to the whole
tenor of his argument in Romans, is that faith does mean that one is part of the covenant
people. Schreiner has grossly misread my argument here and so failed to see that the case
of Isaac he cites fully supports my view and militates against his own.
^^ Lit. "And if you are of Christ"

Clearing Up Misconceptions About Corporate Election

^^ Lincoln, Ephesians, 23. Cf. Markus Barth, Ephesians (Vol. 1; AB; Garden City:
Doubleday, 1974), 107-09; F.F. Bruce, The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and
to the Ephesians (NICNT; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984), 254.
^'* Bruce, ibid.

^^ On the term as indicating Christ as the Chosen One, see esp. Lincoln, Ephesians, 26-
27; cf. O'Brien, Ephesians, 104-05; Bruce, Ephesians, 258; most of the cited Scripture
references were culled from these sources. On the elective significance of OT love
terminology, see the treatment of Rom. 9:13 in my forthcoming monograph in T & T
Clark's LNTS series (tentatively titled Paul's Use of the Old Testament in Romans 9.10-
I 18: An Intertextual and Theological Exegesis).

^^ On the Spirit as the bestower and marker of election, see Abasciano, Romans 9.1-9,
124-26.

^^ See Abasciano for this point and some exploration of it in the case of a professional
baseball team ("Election," 364-66). My consideration of the purchase of a baseball team
was in response to Schreiner's misguided attempt to use the analogy to argue for
individualistic election ("Reflections," 37). Closer attention to the choice of a baseball
team for purchase (a corporate election) reveals it to illustrate the concept of a primarily
corporate election quite nicely. If one buys a baseball team, one does not individually
choose each player one wants to put on the team and individually "buy" each player, thus
making up the team. Rather, each individual player on the team is bought/chosen as a
consequence of his membership on the team. And in fact, members of the team can come
and go from one day to another, yet the team continues to exist and its identity remains
the same. Surprisingly, Schreiner faults me for assuming that the group (the "baseball
team") already exists when God chooses it ("Response," 378-79). But I was responding
to his illustration, which clearly assumed that the team already existed, for he offered the
idea of someone purchasing a professional baseball team. But in response to a change in
the illustration to the formation of a new baseball team, it may be pointed out that his
analogy still fails, because in the case of biblical election unto salvation, the "team" did
exist first in that God first chose Christ, and the Church in him. As the corporate head,
Christ's election is the election of a people, of whoever will come to be identified with
him. He represents and embodies the team in himself, and anyone who comes to be in
him comes to share in his election; see more above in the present section. Incidentally, in
the corporate context of professional baseball, a team can actually exist before it has any
members, a fact I pointed out but that Schreiner ignored (see Abasciano, "Election," 365
n. 49). Klein relates the fact that the Colorado Rockies existed as a baseball team before it
ever had a manager or any players ("Virtual Election?" 7-9). The team had a name,
season tickets were sold, and players were solicited to join the team.
^^ This is similar to saying that we (America) are seated at the negotiation table with other
countries discussing terms of peace because the President or our ambassador is, or that
we (unionized workers) are seated at the negotiation table with our employer for the
purpose of obtaining a raise because our union representative is, though these modem
analogies set in an individualistic culture cannot do justice to the even more profound
connection between the group and its head in the perception of the coUectivist culture of
Paul and early Christianity. Cf e.g., the corporate perspective of Deut., which according
to J.G. McConville, has as one of its main contentions that Israel in all its generations
stood in principle at Horeb {Deuteronomy [AOTC 5; Leicester: Apollos; Downer's

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

Grove: IVP, 2002], 124). Indeed, all Israel is referred to as having experienced the Lord
and the events surrounding the exodus even though most of the nation presented as alive
at the time of Moses' address to them were not alive to experience those events. In a
particularly striking example, we are told, "YHWH our God cut a covenant with us at
Horeb. Not with our fathers did YHWH cut this covenant, but with we ourselves here
today, all of us alive" (Deut. 5:2-3). How can it be said that the covenant was made with
"all of us" at Horeb if most of "us" were not alive to enter into that covenant at Horeb?
By the principle of corporate solidarity and identity, which bring individuals to share in
the corporate reality, history, and destiny of the people as a consequence of identification
with the group.

^^ Abasciano, "Election," 367. It is of course true in the biblical view that God knew of us
and our future existence before we came into existence and that he knew who would
exercise faith before their existence, but neither of these is likely the specific meaning of
Eph. l:4's statement that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, for
the choosing is specifically qualified as being in Christ, the meaning of which we have
been laboring to unpack. It should go without saying that the text does not consider the
Church or individual believers to have literally existed before the foundation of the
world.

'^^ See Klein and the references he provides to those who support a corporate view of
election here that rests on an incorporative sense ("Ephesians," 48, 56); O'Brien,
Ephesians, 97-100; Lincoln, Ephesians, 21-24.

'^^ Abasciano ("Election," 367), responding to Schreiner's original position
("Reflections," 38); cf Schreiner's revised position ("Response," 380). It should be noted
that the incorporative sense of the phrase also implies an instrumental sense, though the
reverse is not necessarily true.

"^^ Hoehner, Ephesians, 176-77. The other options Hoehner identifies are election (1)
through faith in Christ; (2) as a consequence of being in Christ the Elect One; or (3)
according to divine foreknowledge of human faith. His reasoning against each of these
options is rather weak. Concerning (1), his reasoning is theological and presuppositional,
and faulty on even these non-exegetical points. It verges on nonsensical to say that God
electing on a basis that he himself chooses somehow destroys his freedom of choice. Nor
is it apparent that God freely choosing to elect based on faith would give believers a legal
claim on God, and if it did so, how it would do so in any way unconditional election
would not. Concerning (3), Hoehner is right to observe that it claims more than the
passage says, but this weighs against his own view (see below). Moreover, it is hard to
see how election according to God's good pleasure (Eph. 1:5) necessarily conflicts with
certain other potential bases of election. Specifically, if God fi-eely chose faith as the
criterion of his selection, then how can it be said that his choice would not also be
according to his good pleasure? On (2), see below.
^Mbid, 177.
'^ Ibid.

"^^ If one were to argue that redemption makes it possible to be in Christ, then that would
invite the observation that faith is the means by which that redemption is applied and by
which one comes to be in Christ, and that believing is specifically mentioned in 1:13,
which is part of the same long sentence in which 1:4 lies, with the incorporation of Paul's
Gentile readers into Christ and their being marked as belonging to God coming

Clearing Up Misconceptions About Corporate Election

specifically into view at the very place that faith is mentioned and indicated as the means

by which believers are sealed in Christ. This would make faith as the means by which

believers are elected or divine foreknowledge of human faith both more likely

connotations of the "in Christ" phrase (in relation to election) than redemption. But none

of these are as likely as the incorporative sense widely recognized in 1 :3.

^^Ibid, 143, 171-72.

"^^ Ibid, 176. Hoehner's reference to v. 2 must be a mistake, and refer to v. 3, since "in

Christ" does not appear in 1 :2.

^^ Ibid, 176-77.

^^ Ibid, 177, 192; cf O'Brien, Ephesians, 99 n. 53.

^^ Schreiner, "Reflections," 37.

^' Schreiner, "Response," 380, responding to Abasciano, "Election," 366-67.

^^ Schreiner, "Response," 380.

^^ Ibid. But I take this to mean that Eph. 1 :4 explicitly speaks of the election of human

beings, and not of Jesus Christ. If, as Schreiner concedes, the verse has Jesus' election in

the background, then it certainly is his direct election by the Father that is implied. The

point is that Eph. 1 :4 implies this direct election of Jesus Christ and does not state it

explicitly.

^'^ Ibid. Schreiner also cites Eph. 1:5 as opposing the corporate view based on its

affirmation "that God 'predestined us according to the purpose of his wiW " (translation

and emphasis his). But it is not clear how predestination being in accordance with the

kind intention/purpose (a better translation of eU 5oKi a, though it makes little difference

for my point) of God's will contradicts God conditioning the benefit intended by that will

on being in Christ; see note 41 above. Indeed, predestination itself is said to be through

Christ in 1:5, which in the context of the incorporative idea in 1:3 and 1:4, most likely

means that predestination to adoption is through Christ precisely because believers are in

him. In other words, because election in Christ necessarily entails election through Christ

as the sphere, and so the means, through which believers are chosen, then predestination

through Christ in this context is roughly equivalent to predestination in Christ in an

incorporative sense. This is confirmed again by 1:3, which speaks incorporatively of God

having blessed the Church with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Surely predestination is

one of the spiritual blessings comprehended in every spiritual blessing of 1:3, which 1:4-

14 enumerates.

^^ "In Christ" or its equivalents that is. As MacDonald says, "In a unit of twelve verses

(1:3-14) there are as m^ny foci on Christ as there are verses. He is the one in whom and

through whom 'every spiritual blessing' proceeds. His diagrammatic centrality is evident

and necessary to the doctrine. One must not talk about election without mentioning Christ

in every breath" ("Election," 222). The "in Christ" phrase itself or its equivalent occurs

some eleven times in 1:3-14. Or as O'Brien mentions, there is a "constant repetition of

the phrase" {Ephesians, 90). As Lincoln's puts it, the phrase and its equivalents

"predominate" in the passage {Ephesians, 19).

^^ See Schreiner, "Reflections"; idem, "Response." Cf Klein's response ("Virtual

Election?" 7-12) and esp. my criticism of Schreiner's position as that position appears in

"Reflections" (Abasciano, "Election").

" This is not a case of election unto spiritual salvation, but we are countering the claim

that primarily corporate election is illogical; any example of the phenomenon will do to

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

falsify denial of its existence. If the example holds, then election unto spiritual salvation
is possible on the level of logic mutatis mutandis. The same goes for any examples of
corporate election that are not salvific.

^^ Again, if a stranger were to ask a man from Judah why he (the individual) had been
chosen to draw near to the Lord on this occasion, he could answer, "because my tribe was
chosen by lot." Any individual man of Judah could be considered to have been chosen by
lot to come forward, but he would only have been elected as part of the tribe that was
elected corporately (and not individualistically).
^^ Abasciano, "Election," 370.

^^ Schreiner, "Response," 383 n. 19; see also idem, "Reflections," 34-35, and my
criticismof the latter (Abasciano, "Election," 361-62). ■ -

^' Schreiner, "Response," 383 n. 19.
^Mbid, 376.

^^ Hence the need for clearing up misconceptions.
^Mbid,377.

^^ Cf William W. Klein, "Exegetical Rigor with Hermeneutical Humility: The Calvinist-
Arminian Debate and the New Testament" in A.M. Donaldson and T.B. Sailors (eds.),
New Testament Greek and Exegesis: Essays in Honor of Gerald F. Hawthorne (Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003) 23-36.

^^ It is probably fair to say that G. Quell 's comments are representative of the scholarly
consensus: "It is thus fairly evident that the spiritual context which has fashioned these
occasional turns of phrase [i.e., references to individual election in the OT] is to be found
in the belief in the election of the community of Yahweh . . . under the title of elect we
find both the nameless righteous and the holders of great names. All are personal symbols
of the people which has experienced election, and all the statements about individuals
exemplify the one concept which derives from the community's heritage of faith" (G.
Quell and G. Schrenk, "£ kXe youm," TDNT, 4.144-76 [155]). It should be added that this
quotation does not explicitly differentiate between election to service and election unto
salvation. Apart from the patriarchs (and possibly Moses), whose election is unique due
to its corporate significance, there is no reference to the election of a specific individual
unto spiritual salvation in the OT. The vast majority of the few references there are to
individual election is of election to service within the elect people, such as kings and
leaders.

^' Abasciano, "Election," 353-54; see Moo, "Romans 9-11," 254-58 (cf Moo, Romans,
586, esp. n. 73); Piper, Justification of God, 64.

^* See Schreiner, "Response," 381-82. Schreiner admits "that the emphasis in the OT is
on corporate election" (381), but it must be remembered that he considers it logically
impossible that this could mean a group being chosen with the election of individuals
consequent on membership in the group. For him, corporate election simply means the
election of a group as the consequence of the separate individual election of a number of
individuals who are then gathered together into a group.

^^ It is also worth mentioning that the texts Schreiner cites of Abraham's election (Neh.
9:7; Josh. 24:3; Gen. 24:7) would not lend support to a Calvinistic concept of election
anyway because they do not involve election directly unto salvation and they do not
bespeak unconditionality. Neh. 9:7 appears to speak of God's choice of Abram for
speaking to him and to bring him out of Ur, followed in 9:8 by reference to a later

Clearing Up Misconceptions About Corporate Election

covenantal election of Abraham based on faith. Gen. 24:7 and Josh. 24:3 imply God's
choice in his taking Abraham from his homeland, the same sort of election found in Neh.
9:7. But the text says nothing of God's choice being unconditional. It would beg the
question to argue or assume that Abraham trusted God and followed his call because he
was elected to do so irresistibly. That would be to read Calvinistic theology into the text.
It certainly cannot be drawn from it. If anything, it would be more natural to see this
election as conditional. God chose Abram to address, and so called him to follow him.
Abraham then had a choice. If he had rejected God's call, then he would not have
obtained salvation. Interestingly, the Hebrew word Schreiner seizes upon for indicating
election in Gen. 24:7 and Josh. 24:3 — npb ("to take") — can be used with respect to
conditional election, and is clearly so used in one of the very contexts Schreiner cites,
Gen. 24:4, where np"? involves the idea of choosing a wife and bringing her to her fiiture
husband. But the chosen woman must be willing to go for the choice to be fiiUy made; the
completion of the choice is conditional on her consent (24:5-8). So it is with the texts
Schreiner cites concerning God "taking" Abraham, which look back on the completion of
God's choice in actually leading Abraham out of the house and land of idolatry.
^° On the ideal possession of the promises in the Old Covenant, see note 17 above.
^' See again Moo, "Romans 9-1 1," 254-58; cf Moo, Romans, 586, esp. n. 73.
^^ See e.g., Gary S. Shogren, "Election in the New Testament," ABD, 2.441-44; J.I.
Packer, "Election," A^5D^, 314-17.

''^ Gary W. Burnett, Paul and the Salvation of the Individual (Biblical Interpretation
Series 57; Leiden/Boston/Koki: Brill, 2001), 80. Bewilderingly, Schreiner charges that
the theological concept of the remnant undercuts a corporate view of election by
unnecessarily making for two groups in which election is validated by faith — Israel and
the remnant ("Response," 381). But even if his own questionable definition of the
remnant is granted for the sake of argument, his point lacks cogency, for the remnant
would simply be those who truly share in Israel's corporate election by faith, leaving only
one group in which corporate election is validated by faith — the remnant.
^>acker, "Election," 316.

'^ There are two related presuppositions at work: (1) that the individual is primary and the
group secondary in the sense that the identity and benefits of the group derive from the
discrete identity and status of the individuals gathered together as a group, yielding (2)
that there is a one-to-one correlation between the group and the individual so that what is
true of the group is true of the individual in the exact same way.

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

Waterfalls Can Flow Backwards
An Evangelical Theology of Hope

By Eugene Heacock*
Abstract

This paper addresses the topic of hope and the need to develop an
evangelical theology of hope. It includes the author's personal journey, pastoral
perspective, and evangelical lament. It explains the connection between the
intangible element called hope and historical revival also known as awakening.
It addresses the following questions:

1 . What is an "intangible" and why are intangibles important?

2. Why is hope considered an intangible?

3. What is Biblical hope?

4. What is a theology of hope?

5. What is the connection between hope and revival, a massive
spiritual awakening?

The Kingdom's Presence: Moving Toward an Evangelical Theology of
Hope

The speaker looked unsteady on his feet. He was a man well along in
his seventies. His gray beard showed signs of wisdom as well as wear. He
seemed a bit tired to begin his lecture. This writer was not sure what to think.
Would this be a long hour? Did he invite the right guest speaker? This writer
would soon be delighted and convicted as well. The man began his talk with a
simple question: "How many people here believe that waterfalls can run
backwards?" It sounded simple. It is either a stupid question or a trick question.
He "knew" waterfalls did not run backwards. The answer of course is "no."
Waterfalls do not run backwards.

He knew his lecturer well. He had taken several of his seminary courses,
and read his books. He knew the speaker would not ask such a blatantly simple
question and expect a simple answer, so he blurted out (more loudly than he
wanted to), "Yes, the answer is yes," but he wondered how? How does a
waterfall run backwards? Where is that waterfall? Why hadn't he been exposed
to backwards waterfalls before?

The speaker that day was Richard Lovelace, speaking on the subject,
"When God Colors Outside of the Lines."' Lovelace explained that on one of his
trips to the Bay of Fundy he saw a waterfall run backwards. It is a phenomenon

*Eugene Heacock (D. Div., Gordon-Con well Theological Seminary) is Executive
Director of the Sandberg Leadership Center and Associate Professor of Christian
Leadership at ATS.

Waterfalls Can Flow Backwards

that occurs in a region whose topography and extreme tidal fluctuations actually
cause a waterfall to run backwards. The tide changes and the ocean overwhelm a
freshwater stream. The waterfall is actually pushed backwards.

Lovelace asks the question, "Do waterfalls run backwards?", to probe
our thinking. Is it possible to see nature reversed in such a profound way that
normal laws of gravity are reversed? Is it possible that exceptions from the
"norm" actually happen? Is there a natural reality that points to a greater
supernatural reality? Lovelace asked the gathering of over 100 pastors: "Do you
believe that God can overrule what is seen, to create something entirely
unexpected?" The ocean is greater than the strongest stream. God is greater than
cultural decay and moral collapse. Lovelace spent the remainder of the day
explaining how God reversed "waterfalls" throughout history in the First and
Second Great Awakenings.^ He makes a direct connection between revival and
cultural transformation, and documents specific details of this transformation.^
Others share this same connection, including Alvin J. Schmidt,"* Timothy L.
Smith,^ and Thomas Askew and Richard Pierard.^

The question Lovelace asks has profound implications for the
evangelical church, and it was a pivotal one for this writer. The question is
crucial for several reasons. First, it determines if one has a true Christian
worldview. Second, it determines if the seen realities (waterfalls) are greater
than the unseen dimensions of reality (God himself). Third, the question is a
barometer of the intangible element of hope that resides within one's heart.

Lovelace's question forced this writer to further explore revival and
awakening as God's reversal within culture. Through revival and awakening
God overrules the force of a river running in the wrong direction.

Carl F. Henry has identified one of the great failures of the
Evangelicalism as a retreat from social involvement, which he described as the
great reversal.^ Lovelace argues that historical revival like that expressed in the
First and Second Great Awakenings would be termed the "grand reversal."
God's presence pushes back the waterfall of moral decay within a culture so that
every strata of society is saturated with God's glory. This writer's conviction is
that "waterfalls can run backwards" and transform an entire culture. It is what
historian William McLaughlin describes as a massive cultural paradigm shift
that not only results in the salvation of particular individuals but in a societal
transformation. He says revival or "awakenings alter the worldview of a whole
people or culture."^

Revival is God's grand reversal. It is a massive paradigm shift of an
entire culture. God's presence brings divine force upon all the destinies,
intricacies, and complexities of an entire society. God sovereignly salts His
saints so their savor transforms an entire culture. This is what God has done

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

historically, and what He can do at any time. It was the great hope of the
Puritans^ and has the power to generate hope for today. '°

How one answers the question, "Can waterfalls run backwards?", can
have earth- shaking consequences. It will also determine whether our Christian
faith will adopt a posture of engagement or retreat toward our culture. It can also
move one toward cynicism. There are reasons to be cynical, but there are better
reasons to hope. This writer is convinced that how one answers the question
regarding the waterfall will determine if one has hope or not. It was so, for this
writer on his journey.

Lamenting, but not Losing Hope - A Call to Evangelicals

This author frames an even larger question, "Do evangelicals believe
that God can make waterfalls run backward?" The waterfalls for this writer are
the predominant threats to the contemporary church, and the moral and cultural
issues of American and Western culture."

The second part of this deeper question is this: "Do we as evangelicals

know our God?" The issue of hope is directly related to our knowledge of God's

character, and his power to overrule present circumstances regardless of how

bleak they may become. It is an exhortation to return to Biblical fidelity and to

practical reality. We must know what God has done in the past and we must not

deny this present darkness. Both are real. Both were part of this author's story

and journey. He needed a deeper awareness of both realities. He is concerned

that evangelicals have forgotten their God, have become pessimistic, and lost

hope. They say that waterfalls cannot be reversed. And, in some comers of

Evangelicalism, there is denial of the darkness. There are no waterfalls flowing

down to the sea. Both are opposite of Biblical hope. Roberto Miranda explains:'^

There is so much pessimism that can be observed within the

Evangelical world today. So many Christian churches and individuals

have succumbed to the idea that the paganistic, secular trend of our

culture is irreversible and that we might as well just dedicate ourselves

to strictly spiritual concerns such as prayer and soul winning, and

fervently await Christ's second coming without raising too many waves

in the secular realm.

Many sincere Christians have adopted a fatalistic attitude based on a
defective eschatology that does not allow them to consider the thought
that God may want us out there in the cultural and political arena, being
a prophetic presence undertaking ambitious initiatives, being proactive
and systemic in our efforts.

Waterfalls Can Flow Backwards

We have been struggling so long with the forces of rationalism and
humanism that we have acquired an embattled defensive mentality. It is
hard for evangelicals to act out of any other mental model

There needs to be a Biblical corrective and scriptural balance.

Miranda describes the struggle that evangelicals have with fatalism
because of the external realities we face. We may have faith for spiritual efforts
within the realm of our congregational missions, but we may have lost hope that
our culture can be changed. He suggests that Evangelicalism may not be entirely
swept away by the river flowing to the sea, but may be quietly circulating in a
backwater eddy, just maintaining itself.

In dark times it is easy to forget God, withdraw, and become hopeless.
Evangelicals cannot deny the darkness of the present hour in history. There are
many who have identified the spiritual darkness, moral morass, and cultural
decay that America is now experiencing. '^'''^''^ We cannot gloss over the
predominant threats to the church, the lack of cultural impact for the Gospel, the
growing darkness on the outside,'^ and the sickness of cynicism from within.'^

We must acknowledge this present darkness as a baseline for the
begiiming of Biblical hope. If we do not, then evangelicals will continue to
pursue methodology rather than theology. We must courageously confront the
spiritual gray within our own household of Evangelicalism. We must do this in
order to see that God is the only answer. According to Nouwen, "No one has a
hopeful future if the present carmot be affirmed." '^ Evangelicals must not
attempt to rationalize and dilute our cultural crisis.

The first step toward gaining hope is to call darkness dark. It has been
during seasons of darkness in the past that light has been discovered. This has
been the precedent for historical awakening.'^

There are certain phenomena which precede and which follow Revivals
of Religion. The symptoms proceeding of a Revival are the phenomena
of death, corruption, and decay. It is ever the darkest hour before the
dawn. The nation always seems to be given over to the Evil One before
the coming of the Son of Man. The decay of religious faith, the
deadness of the Churches, the atheism of the well-to-do, the brutality of
the masses, all these, when at their worst, herald the approach of the
Revival. Things seem to get too bad to last. The reign of evil becomes
intolerable. Then the soul of the nation awakes.

This writer's discovery was that his own soul had become increasingly
dark. The discovery of the darkness within was not in some moral demise in its
more popular forms such as hedonism or materialism, but rather in sinning
against hope. His soul had become dark because of futility, despair, and
hopelessness. Despair almost snuffed out any ray of light within his soul. His

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

soul became moldy without hope, like a wet basement without light. He had lost
hope that God could change him, so he no longer believed God could change the
world. He had become a practical agnostic. He was someone who believed that
all the promises of God were true, for somebody other than himself He was in
deep despair, emotionally and psychologically. Despair was his greatest spiritual
disease. He survived in a state of despair. "For without hope, we live in despair.
Living in despair creates a life of defeat. Constant failure paralyzes the heart and
a paralyzed heart has no hope and is purposeless. "^°

He remembers writing this journal entry during a time he describes as a
black hole within the soul.

If ever I needed a Father I need one now. If ever I needed a
friend I need one now. If ever I needed a high priest who is
able to sympathize with my weakness, frustration, loneliness
and isolation I need one now. I don't know what to say '
anymore. I don't know what to pray anymore. It hurts too
much to hope again. I know I deserve condemnation, every
day documents my fallenness. I cry out for you to change me,
but change never comes. I am hopeless and bound and often
alone with no one to change me, so I ask you. Why do you
resist the thing that you have promised? When change does
not come I camp out at despair. I don't try anymore. Have you
not heard me nor do you not care enough to help Me.? Father
condescend to me. If not for me, then for you. If you leave me
to myself I will forever be, hopeless. I am a desperate man
(1988). ^

The writer's discovery during this season was the Biblical paradox of
lamenting without losing hope. Lamenting is important. If one does not lament,
they are not in touch with reality. Being ruthlessly honest is important. If one
loses hope, one is not in touch with God. Staying close to God is critical. This
writer found he could only navigate the journey by acknowledging these two
polarities. Reality is very dark. God is very powerftil. To deny the darkness is to
live in denial. To stay in the darkness is to live in despair. To live in God's
presence is hope. To long for eternity is the soul's quest. To live in eternity, to
the degree that one denies reality, is escapism. Hope is stewarded by investing in
daily prepayments, regardless of how dark it may become.

Souls are to be fitted for eternity but are shaped in reality. Jesus prayed,
"Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven." He did not ask his Father to
take us to heaven and leave the Earth behind. We are to be "Releasing Heaven
on Earth."^'
In the words of C. S. Lewis:^^

Waterfalls Can Flow Backwards

Hope is one of the theological virtues ... a continual looking
forward to the eternal world is not a form of escapism but one
of the things Christians are meant to do. It does not mean that
we are to leave this present world. If you read history you will
find that the Christians who did the most for the present world
were those who thought the most of the next. It is since
Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that
they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at heaven and
you will get earth "thrown in"; aim at earth and you will get
neither.

Jesus called for prophetic dreamers to imagine a new reality within his
Kingdom. Jesus instilled the vision of heaven's presence and power coming to
Earth. His disciples were heaven's representatives on assignment on the Earth.
They were prophets of a new order offering energy through the power of the
Kingdom. Walter Brueggemann explains Jesus' role as prophet. "Prophetic
ministry seeks to penetrate the numbness, to face the body of death in which we
are caught ... it seeks to penetrate despair so that new futures can be believed
and embraced by us. There is a yearning for energy in a world grown weary. "^'^

Hope is the foundation for prophetic imagination and for spiritual
formation in the Kingdom of God. According to Willard, "Christian spiritual
formation must start with a vision for life in God's Kingdom."^"^ This author's
confession is that spiritual formation is not easily accomplished when faced with
an ideology of hopelessness. The waterfall may theoretically be reversed, but
when deep within the inner space of the soul, voices of rage and cynicism
bellow loudly, and tears of despair are dried with an iron towel, hope seems
impossible. Not only does a journeyman face the black hole of one's own soul
of hopelessness, they face a barrage of overwhelming needs within the local
parish. It is what Paul describes as the pressure of the concern of the church (2
Corinthians 1 1 :28). The pressure of the church can become a sink-hole that
sucks hope's savor out of the soul.

It was during this season, within this seedbed of hopelessness, that
spiritual formation did occur. This writer knew that only something outside of
himself could accomplish the change he needed. He needed a theology of
amazement and he concluded that only God could renew and redeem. Only God
could take care of all of the dark places. Only God can change people, culture,
and nations. Only God can make waterfalls run backwards. It is His specialty.

This writer was lamenting the darkness, but not losing hope. He needed
to acknowledge reality. He had a hopeful fiiture. Nouwen says, "No one has a
hopeful future if the present can not be affirmed. And those who dream of better
things are not those who hate what is now, but who love the present enough to

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

seek its transformation."^^ He was slowly moving on a journey, and daring to
become a prophetic dreamer. He needed to grow in intangibles.
Growing in Intangibles

The journey continued in discovery. Intangibles are as important as
tangibles. This writer uses the common terms "tangible" and "intangible" in
their common understanding. He will expand upon their meaning to describe
attributes of the Christian life. A tangible, according to common definition,
includes the following range of meanings:

1. Capable of being perceived by the sense of touch.

2. Substantially real.

3. Capable of being precisely identified by the mind.

4. Capable of being appraised at actual value.

An intangible refers to: '

1 . Something that is not tangible.

2. An asset, such as goodwill, that is not corporeal.

3. An abstract quality or attribute, such as loyalty or creativity.

Commonly understood tangibles describe the seen dimensions of
reality. Tangibles describe things that can be quantified by the scientific method.
They are concrete and measured through various standardized means. Scales,
odometers, graphs, and charts measure tangibles.

However, intangibles cannot be measured by such means. A company's
goodwill can be estimated, but not measured. A person's attitude can be
observed, but not easily reduced to a graph or chart. Intangibles are real but
invisible. They are crucial for life to function as we know it. Intangibles are a
common part of daily life. A businessman accepts a contract and tells his
colleague, "We will pay in 30 days." The deal is struck with a handshake, yet no
tangible means of payment has been made. That represents an intangible. A
family doctor bids his patient farewell. He says, "I am confident you will get
better - we hope the body will heal itself quickly." Although medical measures
have been applied, his hope is in an intangible element. A couple stands before
their pastor and vows faithfulness to each other. They exchange rings. They vow
fidelity and mutual charity. From where do these virtues arise? The couple
exchanged intangibles in their making a commitment for the rest of their lives.

A baseball manager answers questions at a press conference. He
assures everyone that next season will be better. The fans and the owners
breathe a sigh of relief Things will get better, but how do they know? They take
the word of the manager. He is believable. He has done what he has said in the
past. They have been given an intangible promise for a better tomorrow,
although no tangible change has taken place. They have experienced the
intangible element of hope.

Waterfalls Can Flow Backwards

A pastor is interviewed by a search committee. He shares his
background, convictions, and dreams. They believe he is the right person. Why?
He is believable. They are confident their congregational future will be better
than the past. They have experienced a corporate intangible element of
believability. They have belief in tomorrow. A young African-American man
speaks to America that he has a dream of a better future, a future that includes
all Americans. It encompasses the ideals of the U.S. Constitution, the justice of
the prophets of the Old Testament, and the heroes of American history. This
dreamer offers no plan of how it will happen. He offers the ideal. He contrasts
what is now to what can be. He is a prophetic dreamer. He does not market
tangible products, but rather instills intangibles within people's hearts. This
intangible dream results in the changing of tangibles, in politics, law,
government, education, and the financial redistribution of wealth. It began with
an intangible. The reader will realize the last example is not hyperbole, but
reality in the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

An intangible bridges people to work on a common venture. An
intangible creates believability to cooperate for the future. An intangible gives
one a belief in a tomorrow. Intangibles inspire hope. An intangible is the
highway that hopes travels upon. Intangibles are the DNA of an entire culture,
hung on the word of idealist dreamer.

Essentially intangibles are the unseen factors that make tangible things
work. Business, medicine, baseball, marriage, and ministry, all are founded upon
unseen dynamics called intangibles. There are many reasons why intangibles are
not emphasized. Some of them are empiricism, the scientific method, a bottom
line mentality, and an anti-supernatural mindset. American culture has moved
away from a traditional understanding of values and has moved to an external,
immediate response for individual success. Robert Bellah explains. "The
manager and the therapist largely define the outlines of 20th century American
culture ... it does not speak in the language of traditional moralities ... it is an
understanding of life generally hostile to older ideas of moral order. Its center is
the autonomous individual, presumed able to choose the roles he will play and
the commitments he will make, not on the basis of higher truths but according to
the criterion of life-effectiveness as the individual judges it."^^ Bellah says the
"old order" is passing away. Intangibles are out, the new order has arrived.

Intangibles are critical for the life of a culture. They are the invisible
glue that binds people together into corporate society. They hold things together.
They offer a belief in tomorrow. They create corporate energy that helps groups
of people cooperate. Without intangibles working properly, energy wanes -
according to Proverbs, soul sickness develops. Hope deferred makes the heart
grow sick (Proverbs 13:12). Without intangibles present, imagination and
dreams languish. Intangibles are real though measuring them is illusive.

Ashland Theological Journal 2009

One of this writer's parishioners was a professional football coach, who
sometimes offered tours of his workplace, an NFL stadium. The team had
accomplished great, historic achievements and victories. It was thrilling to see
the field close up, and to navigate the labyrinth of levels of the sports complex.
This writer toured the weight room, the physical therapy center, and the offices
that provided all the back-up services. He met the training staff and talked to the
team's nutritionist. He saw the film room where every NFL game film was
available. He examined the strategy room, where each player on defense and
offense was evaluated with a specific grid that measured past performance. He
said to his friend, "With all of this, you should win every game." His parishioner
shook his head and smiled and said, "You don't understand, games are not won
by the tangibles alone but rather the intangibles."

He then listed things like: believability, unity, trust, camaraderie,
sacrifice, and teamwork. He said great teams expected the unexpected and were
spurred on when one player would throw his body into a tough situation to help
the team move ahead.

This journeyman learned a lot about intangibles from that NFL coach.
Christians are called to understand intangibles to a much greater degree than a
sports team. The concepts of believability, trust, sacrifice, and unity are
hallmark characteristics of Christians. The willingness to throw their life down
for another creates hope (1 John 3:16). Hope is an intangible element many have
recognized before. Hope is essential for a people to survive.

Augustine of Hippo said, "Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their
names are anger and courage; anger at the way things are, and courage to see
that they do not remain the way they are."^^

Hope is the pillar that holds up the world (Pliny the Elder). Hope is
essential to stay on the journey. Hope is essential for forward motion, for
individuals, groups of people, and nations. It is important to have hope, but false
hope can demoralize a people. Winston Churchill said, "There is no worse
mistake in public leadership than to hold out false hopes soon to be swept
away."^^

Jim Collins insists thaf great leaders must face the brutal facts of
reality but not lose a vision for the future. "^^ Hope is the intangible element that
is needed for a pilgrim to journey to a new place. Hope is the fuel that allows
people to believe in a tomorrow. Hope is the energy that allows people to
persevere against impossible circumstances.

Martin Luther King, Jr., said, "We must accept finite disappointment,
but never lose infinite hope."^° Hope is a waking dream (Aristotle). To hope
means to be ready at every moment for that which is not yet bom, and yet not to
become desperate if there is no birth in our lifetime (Erich Fromm). Hope is not
the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something
makes sense regardless of how it turns out (Vaclav Havel). ^'

Waterfalls Can Flow Backwards

This writer would add that hope is an intangible. It is not visible. It has
no immediate result. It is assumed but not celebrated. By assumed but not
celebrated this writer means that hope is the unseen dynamic that governs the
outcome but is often not acknowledged.

Hope to a person is like fiiel to a car. When the car crosses the finish
line, the trophy is given to the driver, the fiiel goes unnoticed. However, without
the ftiel the car would never have reached its destination. The fiiel is assumed,
unnoticed but absolutely necessary. So it is with hope. Hope is invisible fuel that
propels people to future goals. It is the invisible energy that empowers people to
believe in tomorrow, and to persevere against difficult circumstances. Hope is
essential to the health and well-being of an individual, a group, or a nation.
Without the intangible element hope, people collapse internally. It is this
intangible that evangelical leaders must rediscover. It is fuel for new leaders to
grow into Kingdom leadership. "A leader - a dealer in hope" (Napoleon).

Biblical Hope - Paradox of Promise and Patience

Hope is intensely realistic and yet eternally optimistic. Hope is ruthless
in accessing reality. Hope is regular in remembering promises. It never denies
the seen dimension of reality yet it never allows ultimate reality to be confined
by the seen dimension alone. This author will address the question of Biblical
hope in three ways. He will examine the basis of hope, the vocabulary of hope,
and the description of hope in the lives of several Biblical characters.

Biblical hope stands in stark contrast to the Greek poets of old. The
majority of secular thinkers in the ancient world did not regard hope as a virtue,
but merely as a temporary illusion. The popular notion is that hope is something
you believe in even when you know it's not true. A common phrase is "all they
have is a hope and a prayer." Hope is a psychological necessity. It is not the
creation of the need of man, but in Biblical terms is God's revelation of himself
to humanity. He gives hope through his promises. Biblical hope is Theocentric.
God is the objective source of hope. ^^

Hope is always Theocentric. E. J. Bicknell explains:^^
Where there is a belief in the living God, who acts and
intervenes in human life, and who can be trusted to implement
His promises, hope in the specifically Biblical sense becomes
possible. Such hope is not a matter of temperament, nor is it
conditioned by prevailing circumstances or any human
possibilities. It does not depend upon what a man possesses,
upon what he may be able to do for himself, nor upon what
any other human being may do for him. There was, for
example, nothing in the situation in which Abraham found
himself to justify his hope that Sarah would give birth to a son,
but because he believed in God, he could 'against hope believe

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in hope' (Romans iv.l8). Biblical hope is inseparable
therefore from faith in God. Because of what God has done in
the past, particularly in preparing for the coming of Christ, and
because of what God has done and is now doing through
Christ, the Christian dares to expect future blessings at present
invisible (2 Cor. i.lO). The goodness of God is for him never
exhausted. The best is still to be. His hope is increased as he
reflects on the activities of God in the Scriptures (Rom. xii.l2,
XV.4). Christ in him is the hope of future glory (Col. i.27). His
final salvation rests on such hope (Rom. viii.24).

Biblical hope is best understood as a Theocentric reality. Hope is God.
Where God's is forgotten, hope ends, hell begins. The description at the
entrance of Dante's hell says, "Abandon hope, all you who enter here."^"*

Hope always rests in the character of God. Hope is revealed throughout
Biblical history and the promises God makes in his word.

Faith is almost always included in the concept of hope in the Scriptures
and often includes the relational quality of love. "This threefold combination of
faith, hope and love is found in 1 Thess. 1, 3, 5, 8, Galatians 5:5, 6, 1 Cor. 13:13,
Heb. 6:10-13, 1 Peter 1:21-22."^^

Love provides security for hope. Hope provides confidence for faith.
Faith provides trust in order for love to grow. Hope says, "God can." Faith says,
"God will." Love says, "God is good." Hope is oxygen for the soul. It is
invisible, yet it brings unseen things to life. The absence of hope is hell. When
hope fades, God's goodness is questioned and faith's force is diminished.

Hope is the invisible force that assures people of Biblical faith that
waterfalls can run backwards. People can be changed. Cultures can be
transformed. Society can become more humane and just. The name of Christ
will be honored in the next generation. The ftiture of the church can be brighter
than the past. The Kingdom will be expanded. God's name will be glorified.

Hope is the intangible element that allows people the belief that there is
a tomorrow, that there is something beyond what is seen. For this author, hope is
confident assurance in the character of someone to provide what they have
promised. Hope rests in the character of the One who has made the promise and
who has the power to provide (Ephesians 1:1 1-14; Romans 4:18-25).
Hope DeHned - Hope Described

Language reveals the depth and the diversity of meaning. The Greek
language holds great possibility for describing meaning. The Greek noun for
hope elpis has each of these elements. ^^ This noun and its related verb, elpizo,
occur in the New Testament fifty-four and thirty-one times respectively.^^

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word translated as "hope" appears 97
times. There is often a contrast between the wicked, who trust in themselves or

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in idols, and those who trust in God. The prophets often warned God's people
not to put their trust in man, horses, false alliances, or in their own plans. Kings
and spiritual leaders were often tempted to depart fi"om full-hearted trust and
hope in God alone.

There is a larger word-group within Scripture linked to the idea of hope.
Words like trust, faith, and dependence also discuss elements of hope. God is
described as the source of strength, protection, and refuge to his people. Hope is
often associated with God's love and mercy. People hope in God because of his
unchanging faithftilness, regardless of experiences that appear paradoxical to his
promises. "Biblical hope is defined this way: hope is a favorable and confident
expectation. It is unseen and has a fixture orientation (Romans 8:24-25). It is
good, blessed and living (1 Peter 1:3, 2 Thess. 2:16, 2 Tim. 2:13). God is spoken
of as the object of hope (Romans 15:13). God is hope."^^

Scripture does not have a singular definition of hope. Biblical hope can
be understood by the description of people within a specific context, and defined
more by description than simple definition. Hope is understood as a
contextualized promise in the life of a Biblical character, or in a fixture prayer
with an anticipated outcome. Often the concept of contextualized paradox is
seen alongside this Biblical character within a narrative setting. In Biblical
narratives, we gain interpretive clues of Godly patterns of hope, in juxtaposition
with difficult circumstances.

Scripture teaches that hope is an intangible element based on God's
promises. Hope and trust are complimentary components for Biblical obedience
and testing, as revealed in the life of Abraham in Genesis 12 and 22. God often
tests man when circumstances seem impossible. The danger is that man may fail
the test. Hope's result can occur quickly or may not happen for generations.

This author will highlight several narratives of Scripture. He will draw
general principles from these Scriptures. These will include the life of Abraham
(Genesis 12-25), Joseph (Genesis 37-50), Hannah (1 Samuel 1-3), Moses
(Exodus 1-19), Gideon (Judges 6-8), the early church (Acts 2-15), and heroes of
the faith (Hebrews 1 1 ). These texts were selected because of their familiarity.
The following are generalized statements regarding the intangible element called
hope.

Conditions that precede the appearance of hope appear impossible.

All hope is based on promise and fixture expectation.

People of hope are always deeply in touch with reality.

Promise is based on the character of God.

Human need and God's command work synergistically to form hope.

Impossible circumstances reveal the nature of hope and purify human

motivation.

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• Hope's promise allows people of faith to persevere over long periods of
time.

• Hope requires the paradoxical qualities of persistence and patience.

• Hope always has a future orientation.

• Hope can be expressed by human action but is always rooted in the
unseen.

• Hope is contextualized promise and contextualized paradox.

• Hope's goal is always the glory of God and to bless many.

These realities emerge from these assertions. First, God's people
always possess some degree of hope. Second, hope is sometimes evident and the
results immediate, but at other times hope is invisible and delayed, with results
that take generations to be fully realized. Third, God uses circumstances that are
humanly impossible to glorify himself Human beings are agents of his glory,
and God can be compared to the jeweler who unrolls his jeweler's cloth and
reveals the dazzling diamond for display. The times preceding God's glory are
often the time of greatest darkness. William Carey explains,^^

In answer to a Brahmin who said that God should repent for not
sending the gospel sooner Carey replied: Suppose a kingdom had been
long overrun by the enemies of its true king, and he though possessed
of sufficient power to conquer them, should yet suffer them to prevail
and establish themselves as much as they could desire, would not the
valor and wisdom of that king be far more conspicuous in
exterminating them, than it would have been if he had opposed them at
first, and prevented their entering the country? Thus by the diffusion of
Gospel light, the wisdom, power, and grace of God will be more
conspicuous in overcoming such deep-rooted idolatries, and in
destroying all that darkness and vice which have so universally
prevailed in this country.

In Carey's view, God is most glorified when he overcomes an enemy that seems
well established and fortified. Hope is seen most clearly when circumstances are
at their worst. God's glory will be revealed, however long periods of darkness
and opposition often precede it.

Hope dwells in the prophetic dream of heaven's presence coming to
earth. Hope does not deny but embraces earthly reality without letting go of
heaven's vitality. Hope is the intangible spiritual bridge between God and
humanity. Hope acknowledges human despair and God's resources
simultaneously. Hope is heaven's gift to man, yet paradoxical to humanity.
Hope is a necessary intangible for an individual and for groups of people.

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Moving Toward a Theology of Hope

There is the need for an evangelical theology of hope. Steps toward that
development begin with an examination of two German authors, Jurgen
Moltmann and Wolfhart Pannenberg, and their articulation of what has been
termed "a theology of hope." The author will then examine other understandings
of hope, including the classical Puritan view of Iain H. Murray, the more
postmodern understanding of Jimmy Long, and the more scholarly perspective
from Walter Brueggemann. He will then suggest components needed to
construct an evangelical theology of hope, and the vital role of prophetic
ministry. He will share his journey and movement toward becoming a hopeful
revivalist.

This author's journey has been a process of movement from
evangelical bum-out toward a more hopeftil position. The term "hopeftil
revivalist" is a broad term, designed to refer to revival in its broadest scale. The
First and Second Great Awakenings would be representative of how he uses the
term. He does not mean revivalism as an event, or revival in the sense of
specific evangelistic meetings. Revival terminology has suffered from
psychological harbingers of the past. Revivals often conjure up images of Elmer
Gantry, an over-emphasis upon emotionalism, and manifestations of the
"sawdust trail" of days gone by. Unfortunately, extremism and abuse are the
things that people remember about revivals. The term that this writer thinks is
more accurate and descriptive is "awakening," a massive spiritual paradigm shift
of an entire nation. '^'^''*' This is what Lovelace means when he describes
waterfalls running backwards. A theology of hope is built upon the
presupposition that an entire culture can be changed. Waterfalls can run
backwards.

As an evangelical, this author needed to rediscover hope on his
personal journey. As an evangelical there was the need to recognize the absence
of hope within his own soul. As an evangelical pastor dealing with moral issues
in the church he served, human brokenness, and the needs of the surrounding
culture, he needed to rediscover hope.

As an evangelical, he needed to return to an understanding of Biblical
hope and the importance of intangibles of unseen spiritual dynamics. "^^ He had to
rediscover hope. As an evangelical who honored the Scriptures and his
Reformation heritage, he needed a theology of hope.

The reasons why evangelicals need a theology of hope are as follows:

• Our commitment to Biblical authority and importance.

• The existence of predominant threats to the church in America.

• An overemphasis upon methodology over theology - "how" rather than
"who."

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• The lack of a scriptural framework when dealing with common themes
in pastoral ministry.

• Evangelical pessimism and the ideology of hopelessness.

• Evangelical identity crisis.

• The lack of forward movement.

• A status-quo mentality that can prevent creative and prophetic ministry.

• The cultural and moral issues in society.

• The aging of Evangelicalism, the loss of childlike hope.

• Lack of systems-thinking.

• The avoidance of complexity.

• A Westernized worldview that resists supernatural intervention.

• The unique challenges of the developing world of diversity, complexity
and poverty.

• The God given resources and intellectual gifts that now exist within
Evangelicalism.

• Our heritage of revival and awakening that demonstrates how
waterfalls can run backwards.

• Most importantly, our knowledge of the God of the Bible, the God of
all hope (Romans 15:13).

This author needed a roadmap of hope. The history of awakening, the
need for a fiiture orientation and a comprehensive vision, led him to this
conclusion: evangelicals need a theology of hope. Where are the evangelical
theologians and prophetic dreamers of hope? Has the aging of Evangelicalism
created what C.S. Lewis described as a simultaneous loss of childlike
imagination and sense of wonder? According to Lewis, "the process of growing
up is to be valued for what we gain, not for what we lose.""*^ Have we lost the
earlier vigor of Evangelicalism? Have we gotten old? Lewis writes, "Not to
acquire a taste for the realistic is childish in a bad sense; to have lost the taste for
marvels and adventures is no more a matter for congratulations than losing our
teeth, our hair, our palate, and finally our hopes. "'^''

This author has come to the conclusion that most people in America
(including individual Christians) look to their pastors for comfort in times of
need or crisis, but no longer look to the church (or their pastors) to challenge
them to a cause beyond themselves. We have become caretakers rather than
prophetic dreamers. One evangelical asks, "Where have all the dreamers
gone?""*^ Christian faith no longer calls many in America to a greater cause.
When hope is lost, fuel continues to evaporate. Dreams have ended. The
framework to fashion a new tomorrow is lost. Without hope we remain confined.

An ideology of confinement results in what this writer calls the
"chaplain syndrome." The pastoral role becomes one for care but not for

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challenge. This leaves the pastor little time or freedom to consider prophetic

imagination. Brueggemann clarifies/^

The ideology to imagine or even tolerate a new intrusion is predictable
given the characteristic royal capacity to manage all the pieces. It is so
even in our personal lives .To imagine a new gift given from outside
violates our reason ... We are largely confined by our reason, our
language, and our epistemology . . . We know fiill well the makings of
ji| genuine newness are not included among these present pieces. And

short of genuine newness life becomes a dissatisfied coping, a grudging
trust, and a managing that never dares too much ... such a state of
affairs ... is characteristic of most situations of ministry. When we try
to face the holding action that defines the sickness, the aging, the
marriages, and the jobs of very many people, we find that we have been
nurtured away fi^om hope, for it is too scary... The question facing
ministry is whether there is anything that can be said, done or acted in
the face of this ideology of hopelessness.

This author proposes that the alternative to the ideology of hopelessness is found
in a theology of hope.

A Theology of Hope

It is unfortunate that American evangelicals were not leading the way
in formation of a theology of hope. Neither Moltmann nor Pannenberg identifies
himself as an evangelical, and Pannenberg writes, "If there is one thing I am not,
that is a pietist."'*'' This theology formed by these German theologians in the
1960s is, according to Walter Elwell, "in some ways ... orthodox, yet politically
it can be quite radical. Third World churches have been deeply influenced by a
theology of hope. ""^^

According to Grentz and Olson, "In part the Theology of Hope was the
outworking of several developments in 20th century thought. One important
precursor was a discovery that had been surfacing in New Testament studies
since the turn of the century. Scholars had come to realize that eschatology had
been a central feature of Jesus' proclamation and of the New Testament as a
whole. Yet these discussions had not yet moved Irom exegesis to application.""*^

Pannenberg shares the common conviction with Moltmann that
eschatology and hope represent the major focus of theology. "They conferred
that the time has come to rethink theology in light of teleos and that the role of
the church is to be a hope bearer."^° Parmenberg agrees with Moltmann and with
classical theology in many ways. He moves away from classical theology in one
major point, according to Grentz and Olson: "He declares that truth is not found
in the unchanging essences lying behind the flow of time, but is essentially
historical and ultimately eschatological."^'

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Pannenberg had a deep concern for the visible unity of the church in a
secularized world, as a visible witness to hope in a troubled world.^^ According
to Grentz and Olson, Pannenberg sees "the role of the church to be [an]
eschatological sign to the world. The church is to represent the Kingdom's hope
to the world." They continue with the following description. "His [Pannenberg's]
concern however does not end with church unity but moves beyond to include
the future of humanity. Pannenberg sees the function of the church in the world
to be a witness to the temporality of all human institutions prior to the coming of
the kingdom of God. As it gives expression to fellowship among humans and
God, especially in the Eucharist, the church becomes the sign of God's
eschatological Kingdom which is the hope of the world. Theology is in part a
servant to this task." "

The contributions gleaned from the development of a theology of hope
are as follows:

• Movement from exegesis to application.

• The need to rethink theology -the Kingdom of God as the model.

• Visible unity is essential as a witness to Christology.

• The church is to have a prophetic voice to all other institutions.

• The role of the Christian church is to be a hope-birther.

• Orthodoxy in the objective reality of God- God is the hope-giver.

• Orthopraxy - hope as a dynamic force - Christians are hope-bearers.

• Eschatological hope has power which brings transformation to present
reality.

This author lists these contributions to exhort evangelicals to rethink
theology. That theology includes a systemic framework and the centrality of the
Kingdom of God. It is multidimensional, complex, includes the intangible
element hope, and is cognizant of the power of visible unity.

Stephen M. Smith summarizes Moltmann and Pannenberg's theology
of hope as the objective reality of God as hope-giver, with a transforming vision
for the coming of Christ's Kingdom as central to the vision and mission of the
church. According to Smith, "The theology of hope speaks to an understanding
of God as being ahead of us and the one who will make all new. He is known
now in his promises. It speaks to a world vividly aware of the 'not yet'
dimensions of human and social existence, and of the fact that hope at its human
level is of the stuff of meaningful existence. Within this sort of situation,
sustained by a renewed confidence in the eschatological or apocalyptic vision of
Scripture, and reacting to the individualistic exaggerations of theological
existentialism (Bultmann), Moltmann has sought to rethink theology."^'*

Smith writes, "The church is to be seen as the people of hope,
experiencing hope in the God who is present in his promises. The coming
kingdom gives the church a much broader vision of reality than a 'merely'

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private vision of personal salvation. The church is to contest all the barriers that
have been constructed by man for security; it challenges all structures that
absolutize themselves, and all barriers erected between peoples in the name of
the reality that is to done in Jesus Christ. The coming kingdom creates
confronting and transforming vision for the mission of the people of God. "^^

According to Iain Murray, revival, eschatological hope, and Biblical
promise are to continually renew the church. He contends that it has been
eschatological hope that has revived, purified, and empowered the mission of
the church. According to Murray, "The Puritan attitude toward history was a
perspective of faith in the promises of Scripture respecting Christ's Kingdom
and how theology which proclaims the controlling plan of God behind all

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events.

History, according to Murray, is under God's control and scriptural
revivals are part of his plan. He laments that the loss of hope, and the belief that
history has no plan, may lessen a nation's will to survive: "The loss of natural
purpose, the loss of a will to advance, the indiscipline and fiitility of
permissiveness, all of these are symptoms of an age in which the dominating
mood is one of cynicism and pessimism - to the modem mind history is not
under control. "^^

Reformers and Christian leaders such as John Knox, George Whitefield,
Jonathan Edwards, and Charles Spurgeon, believed in the reality, necessity, and
possibility of a global outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The result would be the
proclamation of the Gospel of Christ, and extension of Christ's Kingdom.
Puritans in particular, according to Murray, "did not suppose that all Scriptural
preaching immediately results in revival. They knew that timing and seasons
were ordained by God and observed that every era of great advancement has
generally been preceded by the establishment of firm foundations through years
of patient sowing, accompanied not infrequently by suffering." Puritans, in
Murray's view, had a "long-term view" and were able to endure long seasons of
persecution and "appalling darkness." He says, "For men of this noble school
neither promising circumstances nor immediate success were necessary to
uphold their morale in the day of battle."^^

Murray summarizes his thoughts by citing Charles Spurgeon, considered by
some to be the last Puritan: ^^

The ftillness of Jesus is not changed, then why are our works
so feebly done? Pentecost, is that to be a tradition? The
reforming days, are these to be memories only? I see no
reason why we should not have a greater Pentecost than Peter
saw, and a Reformation deeper in its foundations, and truer in
its upbuildings than all the reforms which Luther or Calvin
achieved. We have the same Christ, remember that. The times
are altered, but Jesus is the Eternal, and time touches him

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not... Our laziness puts off the work of conquest, our self-
indulgence procrastinates, our cowardice and want of faith
make us dote upon the millennium instead of hearing the
Spirit's voice today. Happy days would begin from this hour if
the Church would but awake and put on her strength, for in her
Lord all fullness dwells. 'Oh! Spirit of God, bring back thy
Church to a belief in the gospel! Bring back her ministers to
preach it once again with the Holy Ghost, and not striving
after wit and learning. Then shall we see thine arm made bare,
O God, in the eyes of all the people, and the myriads shall be
brought to rally round the throne of God and the Lamb. The
Gospel must succeed; it shall succeed; it cannot be prevented
from succeeding; a multitude that no man can number must be
saved.

This author includes Murray's writings because they are familiar to
evangelicals and include the themes of revival, eschatological hope, and the link
between Scripture and the advancement of Christ's Kingdom. Cultural change
and transformation come as the result of the preaching of the Gospel. ^°

Long's contribution to the subject of hope is his concern that
Evangelicalism refreated during the first fifty years of the 20th century: "It has
required over fifty years reversing that refreat. At the turn of the 21st century the
church finds itself in the midst of another hurricane, trying to decide how it will
respond to the challenges, opportunities, associated with Generation X and post
modernism."^'

Long documents that Xers are "conftised," isolated, suspicious, and
lack intimacy from their home of origin. Long's focus is missional. The Gospel
is "an invitation to hope," and the church is to be a community of hope.^^
According to Long, God's challenge to the church is as follows:^^

God is calling us to be a people of hope who offer this gospel
of hope to a generation without hope. We begin by caring for
this postmodern generation as real people with real hurts. We
need to meet Xers where they are and listen to their stories.
Next we must be praying that God will give us wisdom to
know how to demonstrate God's love by word and deed and
that God will draw this generation to himself. Finally, we must
be sharing ourselves and the hope of the gospel with them so
that they will begin to understand that God loves them and
desires to give them a home that they have never had, a place :

to belong. They also need to understand that it is only God
who can provide this hope for discovering life's meaning,
purpose and direction.

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Many Christians see this postmodern generation as a hopeless
cause. But I think that the opportunity for revival is greater
today than it has been in the last forty years. In the recent past,
people have looked to the stable family of the 1950s, societal
changes in the 1 960s, the me generation of the 1 970s and the
good life of the 1 980s for hope. In the 1 990s and beyond, this
postmodern generation is struggling to survive the confiising
changes that surround them. They feel hopeless. Are we ready
to offer them God's hope?"

Another important perspective on hope comes from Biblical scholar
Walter Brueggemann. He points to the necessity of hope, and proposes the idea
of a "theology of amazement"^"* to describe prophetic imagination. Prophetic
imagination allows for new hope and new possibilities. This writer wants to pay
particular attention to Brueggemann 's pastoral perspective, which he terms "the
ideology of hopelessness." According to Brueggemann, "The question facing
ministry is whether there is anything that can be said, done, or acted in the face
of the ideology of hopelessness."^^

He answers that question from a Biblical perspective and argues that our
faith tradition has provided a solution in the prophets. People who are connected
to God have a unique task, in Brueggemann's view. That task is to energize
God's people: "The task of prophetic imagination and ministry is to bring people
to engage the promise of newness that is at work in our history with God."^^
Moreover, "the task of prophetic ministry is to nurture, nourish and evoke a
consciousness and perception alternative to the consciousness and perception of
the dominant culture around us."^^

The prophets serve a multidimensional role. The prophet must
"criticize" before they can "energize." He must "penetrate the numbness of
history." The challenge the prophet faces is penetrating the current framework
that attempts to define all of reality. Brueggemann insists that God's Word, not
human perception, ultimately defines reality: "A present understanding of reality
is based on the notion that all social reality does spring fresh from the Word."^^

New possibilities, for Brueggemann, exist in the unseen dimension in
the power of God's Word. This is the source of hope and dramatic change.
Speaking of the incarnation of Christ and his ministry, he says "that ultimate
energizing gave people a future when they believed that the grim present was
the end and the only state of existence. This imagination and action stood
against all the discerned data and in the face of the doubt and resistance of those
to whom he came." He explains that, "the present ordering . . . claims to be the
fijll and final ordering. That claim means there can be no fiiture that either calls
the present into question or promises a way out of it. Thus the fiilsome claim of

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the present arrangement is premised on hopelessness. This insidious form of
reaHzed eschatology requires persons to live without hope."^^

Prophetic ministry must bring the claims of the tradition and the
situation of enculturation into an effective interface. Therefore confrontation
between tradition and enculturation is part of the prophetic task. The prophet
does not deny the faith tradition but rather uses that tradition to speak to the
present context. "The weariness and serenity of the churches just now make it a
good time to study the prophets and get rid of misconceptions. "^°

Brueggemann utilizes Biblical history and scholarly insight to define the
role of prophetic ministry in these ways:^'

• The prophet is to "present an alternative consciousness as a model
for energizing."

• "The prophet is to bring new realities against the more visible ones
of the old order."

• "The prophet is engaged in a battle for language, in an effort to
create a different epistemology out of which another community
might emerge."

• The prophet "has the only hope that the ache of God could
penetrate the numbness of history."

• The prophet and his "task of prophetic imagination and ministry is
to bring people to engage the promises of newness that is at work
in our history with God."

• "The prophet must offer symbols of hope, bring to public
expression hope and yearnings that have been denied, and must
speak metaphorically about hope but concretely about the real
newness . . . that redefines our situation."

He concludes that "the hope-filled language of prophecy, in cutting through . . .
despair and hopelessness, is the language of amazement."^^

Brueggemann introduces prophetic imagination as a Biblical alternative
to the ideology of hopelessness. He challenges evangelicals (who he terms as
"Biblicists") to reengage within their own faith tradition. He suggests that the re-
introduction of the prophetic role within Evangelicalism would incite holy
revolution. This would counter present evangelical numbness, enculturation, and
energize a new fiiture. He speaks to the present state of tiredness of the
evangelical identity crisis. He spoke to this journeyman as well. His message of
prophetic imagination is needed to energize an evangelical theology of hope. It
is a necessary corrective that must be recaptured.

Brueggemann challenges the ideology of hopelessness with the call to
"imagine a new gift from the outside" and to see that this gift "violates reason. ...
This gift is not to be confined by reason, language of epistemology."^^ It is
beyond categories of confinement or descriptions of the mind. It is wild but

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progressively redemptive. It is invisible yet powerful. It is hope. It is like the
ocean overtaking a river. It is like a waterfall flowing backwards. Brueggemann
writes a prophetic indictment of the enculturation of Christian faith, and appeals
not only for restoration of prophetic imagination but also a recovery of faith
tradition. He calls evangelicals to remember the God of history who turns back
waterfalls. He calls for new evangelical dreamers. Part of evangelical faith
tradition is the history of revivals. Their power is able to awaken an entire
culture and initiate a massive paradigm shift within that culture, a waterfall
running backwards. Brueggemann writes:^''

The contemporary American church is so largely enculturated
to the American ethos of consumerism that is has little power
to believe or act ... The internal cause of such enculturation is
our loss of identity through the abandonment of the faith
tradition. Our consumer culture is organized against history.
There is a depreciation of memory and a ridicule of hope,
which means everything, must be held in the now, either an
urgent now or an eternal now. Either way, a community rooted
in energizing memories and summoned by radical hopes is a
curiosity and a threat in such a culture. When we suffer from
amnesia every form of serious authority for faith is in question
and we live unauthorized lives of faith and practice
unauthorized ministries. The church will not have power to act
or believe until it recovers its tradition of faith and permits that
tradition to be the primal way out of enculturation.

He points to prophetic Kingdom leaders who know how to appropriate the old
treasures of the Kingdom (past revivals that changed history), and know how to
bring out new treasures as well (the new prophets who prepare the way for
revivals of tomorrow). God has not changed. People of hope are God's means as
the primal way out of enculturation.

Waterfalls Can Run Backwards

What is the connection between hope, revival, and massive spiritual
awakening? The connection between hope and massive spiritual awakening is in
knowing God. God has not changed. The intangible element called hope is the
bridge between the eternal character of God and our present context. The
connection is simple and straightforward. Hope is God's invisible fuel that links
heaven's promise with the Earth's realties. Can waterfalls run backwards? Has
the enculturation of the Christian church, Evangelicalism's identity crisis, the
moral decay in culture, the lack of social concern and action, and the division
and strife that dominate church life, made us feel hopeless?

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As evangelicals, we must come face to face with the dark forces. Their
existence is indisputable. They are so strong they appear to wash away all hope.
George Bama laments :^^

There are many vestiges of authentic Christianity still to be found in
our nation. But it would be a disaster for Christians and other God-
fearers not to recognize that we've reached a turning point in our
cultural history, and to go on dreaming that we can gradually change
this formerly more or less Christian country for the better.
Those of us who are Christian and take our commitment seriously are
slow to recognize it, but ultimately it will be easier for Christians to
live in a country that we know is pagan than to live in one that we think
is still sufficiently Christian to listen to us and to change in accordance
with Christian values.

According to Bama, the tide is out. The strength of the waterfalls is too great,
and in his view, the waterfalls cannot run backwards. Give up the dream. Do not
even try to imagine another reality. We are not nor can we ever be a culture
informed by the values of the Kingdom of God. This writer agrees with Bama's
lament, but not his conclusion. This writer's hope is that waterfalls can run
backwards.

The connection between revival and hope rests in the knowledge and
love of God. It is in knowing the God of all hope (Romans 15:13). Revival's
hope is built upon the character of God. Hope leads to faith. Faith says God is
good, has a good purpose, and is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him
(Hebrewsll:l,6).

Our only hope is in God. We are beyond human repair. Hope is the
highway between heaven and earth. Hope is an honest reality check that admits
that darkness is dark. The waterfall is flowing forward, and we are being swept
away by the river. Hope is the conviction that waterfalls can run backwards.
Hope is "Spirit respiration" in prayer. Hope is the settled conviction that nothing
is impossible for God. Hope is the pulse of God and the power to persevere.
Hope laments the Earth's present condition but does not lose heart with the
promise of God's Kingdom's presence coming to Earth (Matthew 6:10).

Hope is the confidence that a God of perfect love will not forget his
people, regardless of how difficult their surroundings have become or how far
his people have wandered away. He is the God of all hope. He is the God of
perfect love. God's patterns do not change. This God calls evangelicals to hope
again. This God calls evangelicals to turn away fi"om shallow alliances and false
hopes. This God calls evangelicals to repent of their ideology of hopelessness. If
the culture is to be transformed, it will begin within the household of faith. This
writer's call is for an "evangelical theology of hope." God has not abandoned his
call to American Evangelicalism. We still have a special calling and a role to

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Waterfalls Can Flow Backwards

fulfill. "There is an obligation upon a New World, a new land, a new people, as
we call ourselves here in America. We are called the 'last hope of humankind'
and we feel bound to carry out the task of building civilization as close to the
Kingdom as we can, until we're released from the obligation. We can't give up
in despair, because there is still so much hope for this country."^^ Hope becomes
the fiiel for future transformation. This writer concludes with the word of a
prophetic dreamer who is deeply in touch with the evangelical context - a
portion of a sermon by Roberto Miranda to an evangelical gathering. Miranda
summarizes Biblical hope and God's faithfulness in the context of American
Evangelicalism. It is a prophetic challenge that offers hope in the God of the
Bible:^^

American evangelicals are feeling more besieged and less certain
about their ftiture than ever. In light of these conditions, talk of a
post-Christian world doesn't seem to be pessimistic at all, but
rather an inevitable conclusion that results from a realistic
appraisal of the present culture and spiritual climate.

While I acknowledge the seriousness of our situation, I am firmly
convinced that the most glorious era for the Christian Church in
America, or in the entire world for that matter, is still ahead of us.
Someone has said that the darkest moment of the night is right
before dawn, and in the case of our present condition vis-a-vis the
prevailing culture, I believe this is true.

First of all, we need to be reminded that God loves to intervene on
behalf of His people at the moment of their most intense need.
There is ample Biblical precedent for this view. Think of Moses
and the Israelites suffering for many years under the yoke of
Pharaoh, until their cry ascended to heaven and God finally sent a
deliverer. Then, after finally being allowed to leave Egypt they
find themselves before the Red Sea, with the Egyptian army at
their back. Only when Moses cries out in despair does God
intervene and provide clear instructions on how to proceed. We
also have the image of the disciples, rowing desperately the entire
night in the midst of the storm, until Jesus finally appears near
dawn, walking on the water to save them. We see him postponing
his visit to see his friend Lazarus, in order that he might die and be
resurrected.

All these delays are designed for dramatic effect, to make God's
power more evident, and to force God's people to become utterly
reliant on him. God reduced Gideon's army to a fraction of its

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original size in order to make it totally clear that it wasn't the
Israelites' military prowess that won the day, but rather God's
gracious intervention. The apostle Paul makes is clear that Jesus
entered the world in humanity's darkest hour, when 'we were dead
in trespasses.

God's intention is to crush man's pride, and to emphasize the need
for His grace. I believe that God is waiting for the precise, strategic
moment to intervene on behalf of the Church in America where
secularism and humanism seem to have taken over. The severity of
our situation places us squarely within the Biblical paradigm of
God's intervention at the moment of greatest need.

God is seeking to crush the pride of the Church in America. He
wants to thoroughly discredit our dependency on money, programs,
human strategies and scholarly credentials, and to force us to fall
on our knees and cry out to Him like the Israelites in Egypt He
wants to bring us to a point of personal and institutional crisis to
remind us of our utter dependence upon Him alone.

Many churches in America are desperately fighting to get out of
the rut that they find themselves in. All kinds of clever strategies
and programs are being tried by individual congregations as well
as entire denominations. Despite the sincerity of these efforts they
seem designed to avoid the inevitable crucifixion and death that
needs to take place within the American protestant psyche, before
God can truly resurrect us into a new life of spiritual power. Like
the rich young ruler, we want the life but we do not want to
abandon the religious and intellectual crutches that we love so
much.

North American Christians should be encouraged and energized by
what God is accomplishing through His Church in areas of the
world that until relatively recently were engulfed in the darkness of
paganism, witchcraft and nominal Christianity. If Third World
Christians could overcome such formidable forces in so
spectacular a manner, then surely there is great hope for North
American Christianity.

Orthodox Christianity in America, despite its profoundly counter-
cultural components, is far from becoming extinct. Fears about its
waning or demise are totally unjustified and premature. They are

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Waterfalls Can Flow Backwards

supported neither by historical analysis nor by Biblical principles.
The temptation of certain sectors of the evangelical world to water
down the proclamation of faith, and to de-emphasize some of the
distinctive elements of our worship and theology are misguided.

American evangelicalism needs to experience deep inner healing at
the level of the spirit. It needs a renewed understanding of itself
and of the nature of God and His dealings in history before it can
again engage the culture and carry out effective ministry.

The placid, orderly nature of many evangelical services
desperately needs to be contaminated and upset by the moving of
God's powerful wind. The one scant hour that many evangelicals
dedicate to their services on Sunday needs to be expanded and
made more flexible and unpredictable so that God might have
some room in which to move as He wants. God will not bring
revival in evangelical, middle-class terms. He will do things His
own way, and He will not limit Himself in order to fit into our neat,
rational paradigms. God has always operated by offending the
mind, by turning our neat mental models upside down. The love
for order and predictability that pervades the typical middle-class,
evangelical service will not be able to contain the new wine that
God wants to pour down upon His people in the 21^' century. As
always, God will offend the mind in order to affect the heart. He
will not give us what we want, but what we need. American
evangelicalism desperately needs is a confrontation with God's
power and the sovereign unpredictable moving of His Spirit. We
already have enough aesthetics and theological nuance to last us
for several generations. What we need now is for God's rain to fall
upon our religious altars and bring spiritual healing and emotional
health to our parched evangelical souls."

Miranda believes in the God of the Bible. He has Biblical hope. He believes
that waterfalls run backwards. This writer has come to believe that as well, and
that has moved him fi^om evangelical bum-out toward becoming a more hopeful
revivalist.

. ■•.. ... ■ ■■ ■ .f::.\i,'' [

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Kaiser, Walter, Jr., Revival on Gods Terms: Lecture on Revival: Awakenings In

Scripture. South Hamilton, MA: Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

Prayer Conference, 1997.
Kantzer, Kenneth S., "The Doctrine Wars," Christianity Today, Vol. 36, No. 1 1

(1992), 32-34.
Kraft, Charles, H., Confronting Powerless Christianity: Evangelicals and the

Missing Dimension. Grand Rapids: Chosen Books, 2002.
Lewis, C. S., Mere Christianity. New York: The MacMillan Company, 1976.
Lewis, C. S., Surprised by Joy. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1955.
Lewis, C.S., The Weight of Glory. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1949.
Lewis, C. S., Experiment in Criticism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,

1965.
Long, Jimmy, Generating Hope: A Strategy for Reaching the Post Modern

Generation. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1997.
Loveland, Richard H., Dynamics of Spiritual Life. Downers Grove: InterVarsity,

1979
Lovelace, Richard H., Renewal as a Way of Life - A Guidebook for Spiritual

Growth. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985.
Lovelace, Richard H., "When God Colors Outside the Lines," Becoming an

Empowered Evangelical Conference. Hopkinton, MA: The First

Congregational Church, 1998.
McGrath, Alister, Evangelicalism and the Future of Christianity. Downers

Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1995.
Miranda, Robert, A Call to the Church in New England. Presented at the Vision

New England 2004 Annual Meeting. Acton, MA: Vision New England,

2004.
Mostrom, Don, Christian Spiritual Dynamics, 3/18/2000 Prayer teaching #70.

Rexford, NY: Revival Prayer Network, 2002. 1

Murray, Iain H., The Puritan Hope: Revival and the Interpretation of Prophecy.

Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth Trust, 1998.
Peterson, Eugene H., "The Subversive Pastor; Our Mission to Undermine the

Kingdom of Self and Establish the Kingdom of God," Leadership

Magazine, Vol. 10 (Spring 1989): 48-53.
Petrie, Alistaire, Releasing Heaven on Earth - God's Principles for Restoring

the Land. Grand Rapids: Chosen Books, 2000.
Piper, John, Let the Nations Be Glad: The Supremacy of God in Missions. Grand Rapids:

Baker Book House, 1993.
Ringma, Charles, Dare to Journey with Henri Nouwen. Colorado Springs: Pinon Press,

2000.
Roberts, Richard Owen, Repentance: The First Word of the Gospel. Wheaton, IL:

Crossway Books, 2002.

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Salah, Joe, "Christianity's Biggest Need May be a Rotor Tiller" Purpose of CFFPC.

Topsfield, MA: Christian Foundation for Public Communication, 1988.
Schmidt, Alvin J., Under the Influence: How Christianity Transformed Civilization.

Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001.
Smith, Timothy L., Revivalism and Social Reform in Mid-Nineteenth-Century America.

New York: Abingdon Press, 1957.
Snyder, Howard A., Models of the Kingdom: Gospel Culture and Mission in Biblical and

Historical Perspective. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2001.
Stackhouse, John G., "Revival and Renewal - Everybody Wants It. Don't We?" Faith

Today, Vol. 1 1, No. 3 (March/April 1993), 18-21.
Stead, W. T., "The National Significance of Revivals," 77?^ Revival in the West: A

Narrative of Facts. London, 1905
Stott, John, "A Vision for Holiness: Exposition of Galatians 5:22-24," Preaching Today,

Vol. 94, 1992.
Willard, Dallas, Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ. Colorado

Springs: NavPress, 2002.
Willard, Dallas, The Divine Conspiracy. New York: Harper Collins, 1998.
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Doubleday, 2001.
Young, Brad H, Paul, the Jewish Theologian. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publications,

1997.

Online Resources

Hope Quotes, http://www.indianchild.com/quotations_on_hope.htm (accessed 1/28/2005).

King, Martin Luther, Jr., "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," Why We Can't Wait, 1963

(edited)., http://almaz.com/nobel/peace/mlk-jail.html.
The National Revival Network, Americas National Prayer Committee, Harvest Prayer

Ministries, http://www.urgentappeal.net.

ENDNOTES

' Richard H. Lovelace, "When God Colors Outside the Lines," Becoming An Empowered

Evangelical Conference (Hopkinton, MA: The First Congregational Church, 1998).

^ Ibid.

^ R. F. Lovelace, Dynamics of Spiritual Life (Downers Grove: Inter Varsity, 1979), 358-

396.

^ A. J. Schmidt, Under the Influence: How Christianity Transformed Civilization (Grand

Rapids: Zondervan, 2001).

T. L. Smith, Revivalism and Social Reform in Mid-Nineteenth-Century America (New
York: Abingdon Press, 1957).

^ T. A. Askew and R. V. Pierard, The American Church Experience (Grand Rapids:
Baker Book House, 2004).

Carl Henry, The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism (Grand Rapids:
Eerdman's Publishing Company, 1947), 36-40.
^ Stackhouse, Revival and Renewal, 14.

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Waterfalls Can Flow Backwards

^ Murray, The Puritan Hope, 14.

'^ J. Long, Generating Hope: A Strategy for Reaching the Post Modern Generation

(Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1 997).

" Joe Salah, "Christianity's Biggest Need May be a Rotor Tiller," Purpose ofC.F.F.P.C.

(Topsfield, MA: Christian Foundation for Public Communication, 1988).

'^ R. Miranda, A Call to the Church in New England (paper presented at the annual

meeting of Vision New England, Acton, MA, 2004), 2.

'^ Henry T. Blackaby, What the Spirit Is Saying to the Church (Alpharetta, GA.: North

American Mission Board, 1999).

^^ Richard Owen Roberts, Repentance: The First Word of the Gospel (Wheaton, IL:

Crossway Books, 2002).

'^ C. Colson, Against the Night: Living in the New Dark Ages (Ann Arbor: Servant Books,

1989).

'^ Ibid.

^' P. Yancey, Soul Survivor: How My Faith Survived the Church (New York: Doubleday,

2001).

'^ C. Ringma, Dare to Journey with Henri Nouwen (Colorado Springs: Pinon Press,

2000), 29.

'^ W. T. Stead, "The National Significance of Revivals," The Revival in the West: A

Narrative of Facts.

^^ D. Chadwick, Moments of Hope (Charlotte: Forest Hill Resources, 2002), 6.

'^ A. Petrie, Releasing Heaven on Earth (Grand Rapids: Chosen Books, 2000).

^^ C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York: The MacMillan Company, 1976), 104.

^^ W. Brueggemarm, The Prophetic Imagination (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1982), 111.

^'^ D. Willard, Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ (Colorado

Springs: NavPress, 2002), 86.

^^ Ringma, Dare to Journey, 29.

^^ R. N. Bellah, Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life

(New York: Harper and Row Publishers, 1985), 47.

"^^ Hope Quotes (http://www.indianchild.com/quotations_on_hope.htm).

^^ J. Collins, Good to Great (New York: Harper Collins, 200 1 ), 65 .

^^ Ibid, 65-66.

^° Martin Luther King, Jr., Letters from a Birmingham Jail.

^' Hope Quotes (http://www.indianchild.com/quotations_on_hope.htm).

^^ J. D. Douglas, and M. C. Tenney, The New International Dictionary of the Bible

(Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing Company, 1987), 535.

^^ Ibid.

^'^ Brad H. Young, Paul, the Jewish Theologian (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publications,

1997), 203.

^^ Douglas, The New International Dictionary, 535.

F. F. Bruce, Vines Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Old
Tappan: Fleming Revell Company, 1981), 232.

Douglas, The New International Dictionary, 448.

Bruce, Vines Expository Dictionary, I'il-l'i'i.

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^^ John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad: The Supremacy of God in Missions (Grand

Rapids: Baker Book House, 1993), 139.

^^ J. G. Stackhouse, "Revival and Renewal: Everybody Wants It - Don't We?" Faith

rot/(3>; (March/April, 1993).

^' Ibid, 14.

'^^ Don Mostrom, Christian Spiritual Dynamics, 3/18/2000 prayer teaching #70 (Rexford,

NY: Revival Prayer Network, 2002).

'*^ C.S. Lewis, Experiment in Criticism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965).

'' Ibid, 72.

'^^ W. E. Brown, Where Have All the Dreamers Gone? (Cedarville: Cedarville University

Press, 2003).

'^^ Brueggemann, The Prophetic Imagination, 65.

^'^ S. J. Grentz, and R. E. Olson, Twentieth Century Theology - God and World in a

Transitional Age (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1992), 188.

'^^ W. A. Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House,

1984), 532.

"*' Grentz and Olson, Twentieth Century Theology, 171.

Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary, 533.

Grentz and Olson, Twentieth Century Theology, 1 89.

"ibid, 188.

" Ibid, 188.

^'^ EIv/qW, Evangelical Dictionary, 533.

" Ibid.

^^ I. H. Murray, The Puritan Hope: Revival and he Interpretation of Prophecy (Carlisle,

PA: Banner of Truth, 1998), 223.

"ibid, 225.

^^ Ibid, 235.

^^ Ibid, 237-238.

^^ Ibid, 40, 223-225,

^' Long, Generating Hope, 15.

^Mbid, 30,43,45.47, 191, 186.

"ibid, 210-211.

^'^ Brueggemann, The Prophetic Imagination, 69.

" Ibid, 65.

^^ Ibid, 62-63.

^^ Ibid, 13.

^^Ibid, 13,59,9.

^^ Ibid, 97, 63.

™ Ibid, 12.

'' Ibid, 23, 59, 63, 66, 67, 69.

'^ Ibid, 69.

^^ Ibid, 69.

^^ Ibid, 11-12.

^^ George Bama, Boiling Point (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2001), 42.

^^ H. Butt, E. Wright, At The Edge of Hope (New York: Seabury Press, 1978), 69.

" Miranda, A Call to the Church, 5-6.

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The Worldview of the Ashland Brethren and its Missiological Implications

By Roy A. Andrews*

Abstract

The worldview of the Ashland Brethren has been greatly impacted in
its 300-year history by one predominant determinant: dialectical tension.
Dealing with this tension has led to the positive of a strong commitment to
theological purity; however, three concurrent negatives (denominational
division, reduction of resources, and limited leadership) have resulted in a
profound restriction for the denomination. The missiological implications that
have arisen from these hindrances are the development of a "thermostatic"
nature with regard to programming quality and polar extreme perspectives as
explanations for diminishing church size among the Brethren.

Author Biography ; ';:

Roy Andrews pastored in the Brethren Church from 1993-2007 prior to
becoming the Educational Ministries department chair at Multnomah Bible
College located in Portland Oregon.

INTRODUCTION

As the Brethren Church (Ashland, OH) has just celebrated its 300*
Anniversary it seems fitting to critically consider its current worldview. This
examination will seek to reveal the inherent denominational strengths and
weaknesses of the Brethren. The assessment will come from the perspective of
one who is Brethren, but has not always been so. This work will be composed of
three major divisions: 1) worldview determinant, 2) evidences of said
worldview, and 3) missiological implications of such worldview.

Worldview is a more recent term that anthropologists have used to
describe a group or individual's "fundamental assumptions about the nature of
reality."' It is composed of "the ways in which different peoples think about
themselves, about their environments, space, time, and so forth."^

Worldview determinants, on the other hand, are the underlying
presuppositions of a group or individual's worldview. Determinants are
foundational to the worldview itself These are often in existence without the
knowledge of the person(s) who hold the worldview. Thus, the determinants or
internal attitudes are revealed through observation of and contact with the
external actions of the people.

*Roy Andrews (M.Div., ATS; Ph.D., Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is Educational
Ministries Department Chair at Multnomah Bible College in Portland, Oregon.

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The Worldview of the Ashland Brethren and its Missiological Implications

Trained researchers can identify worldview determinants by
observation, interview, and examination of cultural artifacts. Data collection and
analysis present the evidence that will support worldview determinant
conclusions. Researcher bias that taints the data is always a concern, but this is
an especially tenuous proposition when the researcher is not only reporting the
what but also drawing conclusions about the why. Thus, great care will be taken
here to humbly qualify all conclusions.

The first two areas described above are important steps to reveal the
potential implications of such a worldview. With regard to the church, the
ultimate implication is one of a missiological nature. The church must be able to
see how it sees in order to know how it is seen. Worldview and its determinants
are essential studies for a healthy missiological approach with a watching world!
Part 1 : Theoretical Foundations
Worldview Determinant - Dialectic Tension : ; i .. ; ; ; :; ": ^

Though there are many aspects of the Brethren Church that could be
pursued in the area of worldview, one dominant theme stands out - dialectical
tension. The ramifications of this philosophical concept are many and varied.
Later the evidences of such will be discussed, but for now the focus will be on
identification and clarification of the theoretical foundation of dialectics.

The concept of the "dialectic" is rooted in early Greek aristocratic
education. Such familiar historical scholars as Protagoras, Socrates, and Plato
were proponents of dialectical teaching.^ The premise behind dialectical
thinking was that by discussing all sides of an issue a higher level of
understanding could be attained. This was a counter style to the popular diatribe
(discourse) that touted the benefits of one side of an issue while degrading the
opposite side of the issue.

The next significant advancement in dialectics occurred over two
millennia later when a German philosopher named Hegel applied such terms to
the process as "thesis," "antithesis," and "synthesis." Hegel sought to find a
higher truth by pitting opposite extremes of an issue (thesis and antithesis)
against each other in an effort to reveal a merging of the best of both in the
synthesis. This process was to be repeated again and again with each resulting,
synthesis becoming the new thesis of the next iteration.'*

Today, "dialectical thinking is viewed as a particular form of critical
thinking that focuses on the understanding and resolution of contradictions".^ It
is at this point that the Brethren have been operating since their inception in the
early 1700's. The Brethren have dealt with the apparent contradictions of human
existence as seen in the world and God's nature as described in Scripture by
embracing a "both and" philosophy rather than the more popular "either or"
stance adopted by others within Christianity.^

Current Brethren historian Dale Stoffer begins his work Background and
Development of Brethren Doctrines with the words, "Three basic elements were

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alloyed in shaping the mind of the early Brethren: Reformed thought, Pietism,
and Anabaptism. Of these. Pietism and Anabaptism were the most significant."^
Thus, was bom a movement that combined the unlikely bedfellows of private,
personal holiness with public, community expression. The "tension" of such a
foundational combination has been felt among the Brethren ever since.

Stoffer writes in his concluding observations on the life and thought of
Brethren founder Alexander Mack that:

In the course of this study, it has been seen how the tension
between inward and outward expressions of faith was maintained
in several important areas: the Holy Spirit (the inner Word) and
the Scriptures (the outer Word), inward faith and outward
obedience (firuit bearing), the indwelling 'Christ of faith' and the
exemplar, the 'Jesus of history,' personal piety and corporate
responsibility, subjective testing and corporate discipline.^

Stoffer then cites a Church of the Brethren scholar's perspective of "the beauty

of this dialectic when it is operating properly":

The two emphases check and balance each other. When the
Radical Pietist tendency would slide off into subjectivism, private
inspiration, mysticism, enthusiasm, or vaporous spiritualism, it is
pulled up short by the demand for concrete, outward obedience to
an objective Scriptural norm. Conversely, when the Anabaptist
tendency would slide off into formalism, legalism, biblical
literalism, or works-righteousness, it is checked by the reminder
that faith is essentially a work of God within the heart of the
individual believer, an intensely personal relationship rather than
a legal one. Thus, within Brethrenism, Anabaptist influences
discipline Pietism at the same time that Pietist influences inspire
Anabaptism.^

Part 2: The Data Evidences of the Worldview in the Life of the Church

This discussion of the worldview determinant "dialectic tension" in the

life of the Brethren Church has four parts - only one of which is positive.

Thankfully, for the Brethren if these four issues were ranked according to

importance, they are strong where strength is most needed - theological purity.

The other three so-called "negatives"; however, have had a profound effect for

minimizing the efforts of the Brethren in living out such truths in the church and

in their world.

Theological Purity

The Brethren have always had a high regard for the Bible. In fact, they

are considered a non-credal church because they have no other standard for

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The Worldview of the Ashland Brethren and its Missiological Implications

living a right life than "the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible."'"
This strict adherence to Scripture has kept the Brethren from being lured into
theological error when, over the years numerous social agendas have pressured
timeless truth for contextual change. The pitfalls of moral relativism that have
ensnared many denominations within Christendom have had little effect on the
Brethren.

It is also important to note that the Brethren have not solely relied upon
their ordained clergy for the strength of their theological resolve. The Brethren
have long held that it is the right and responsibility of all believers within the
community of faith to study the Bible and seek "new light" for their daily living.
Avoidance of error in seeking such new insights is accomplished by checking
these "new" or "inner" understandings against the standard of the "old" and
"outer" light of the Scriptures. This community hermeneutic is a wonderful
strength of the Brethren that assures continual growth for all in the pursuit of
theological understanding in God's Word."

The Brethren have remained culturally relevant through their three
centuries of existence by delineating the much talked about differences between
forms (the how of ministry) and functions (the what of ministry). The forms of
the Brethren have changed throughout its history while the functions have
remained virtually unchanged. Though there is historically much agreement
among the Brethren regarding the essence of theology, debate over changing
forms has had a negative impact on Brethrenism. The passion
of such debates has led to numerous divisions and will be discussed next.
Denominational Division

The first issue of a negative nature in dealing with dialect tension
among the Brethren is a propensity toward denominational division. The
movement that began in Schwarzenau Germany in 1708 today "exists in five
main groups with a total membership of about a quarter-million persons in the
United States."'^ Certainly denominations of all types and sizes have
experienced a proliferation of division ever since the door of schism was opened
by the Protestant Reformation. However, the devastating effects relationally and
organizationally are most keenly felt by denominations that are small to begin
with. This is the story of the Brethren.

After a century and a half of relative unity within the fellowship, the
period of the 1850's-1870's was one of tremendous strain on the Brethren. A
survey of the larger socio-political landscape in America would reveal that this
was a time of uncommon difficulty for all denominations as the United States
was torn by the issue of slavery. Unlike many denominations, however, the
Brethren were not divided by passions in politics. Instead, it was the ever-
increasing tension among those who were more

conservative and those who were more progressive when it came to issues of
enculturation. How to dress, what language to speak in worship services,

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whether to embrace modem education practices, and a multitude of other similar
questions arose among the Brethren. Uhimately, the question was debated as to
how much the Brethren could be "in the world, but not of it."

The result of this tumultuous period was a 3 -way split among the
Brethren in the early 1880's. Those that wished to remain in the future, as they
had been in the past were known as the Old Order Brethren. Those that were
most in favor of change were known as the Progressive Brethren. Those that fell
in the middle of these two extremes were the largest contingency called the
Conservatives.'^ One historian observed sadly of this period, "Thus it was the
case that whereas external strains and pressures had not succeeded in causing
major division among the Brethren, internal tensions resulted in sad
fragmentation in the early 1880's."''* Remembering that dialectic tension causes
greater strains within than anything that can exert pressure from the outside, it is
no wonder that though the Brethren experienced denominational division during
a time when many denominations did likewise, for the Brethren the reasons
were as unique as the movement itself

One final chapter in the story of division within Brethrenism occurred
in the late 1930's. The group that emerged from the 1880's split as the
Progressives struggled to define adequately to the satisfaction of their members
exactly what they were "progressing" toward. The result was a divergence of
thinking among the leaders of certain denominational districts and those who
were leaders in the higher education institutions. The 2-way split resulted in the
formation of the Grace Brethren denomination and the Brethren Church
(Ashland, Ohio). Once again the Ashland Brethren consisted of the smaller of
the groups.'^ This reducing of an already reduced number of persons/churches
led to the next perceived negative in Brethrenism.
Reduction of Resources

The second area of negative evidence regarding the Brethren response
to dialectic tension could be termed "reduction of resources." This author's
pastoral experience has shown that confiised givers are often less generous
givers. During the times of denominational division mentioned above there was
understandably a level of confiision and concern over the conflicts within
Brethrenism. However, once the Ashland Brethren emerged as a legitimately
identifiable denomination it was not divisiveness denominationally that caused
reduced resources. Instead, that old nemesis "dialectic tension" began to exert its
pressures on the availability and usage of resources in the Brethren
denomination.

The post World War II era saw a level of prosperity in America that
resulted in many denominations experiencing tremendous growth in
membership and programming. True to their desire to offer a balanced program
that honored all passions within Brethrenism, denominational leaders organized

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accordingly.'^ Unfortunately, the scale and scope of such an organization was
unable to be supported by a depleted donor base. This lack of focus in resource
allocation led to doing "many things fairly well rather than a fev/ things very
well." In the current age of specialization and excellence this has diminished the
effectiveness of the Brethren in accomplishing its mission. The past several
decades have resulted in the Brethren denomination being in a seemingly
perpetual state of reorganization.

In 1993 the General Conference of the Brethren Church commissioned
a special committee on financial and

organizational planning. This committee secured the services of a nationally
known consultant, Norman Edwards, who could provide an unbiased expert
appraisal of the Brethren denomination. After conducting a telephone survey of
approximately 100 persons (50 pastors and 50 lay persons) and personally
interviewing all denominational leaders, Edwards summarized the data and
made his concluding recommendations. Though this study is over a decade old,
it is the most recent data available and seems to still be representative of the
Brethren condition today.

Some of Edwards' findings will be referenced later in this work, but for
now his stewardship data are especially pertinent.

In 1991 the 13,132 members of the Brethren Church gave a total
of $7,774,980 for all purposes in the church. The giving per
member totaled $592, or a tithe fi-om the income of $5,920. If all
of the members were living only on the minimum income fi"om
social security, and tithed that income, gifts to the church at the
local level would increase 40%. The church is receiving only a
small portion of the actual tithe. '^

While it may be argued that per member giving in all denominations is
below the tithing standards of Scripture, comparatively speaking the Brethren
are far below. In fact, Edwards makes his point that the Brethren denomination
is working with considerably reduced resources when he compares the Brethren
giving to the giving of other smaller denominations:

Mennonite Brethren with a denominational membership of 16,843
give $29,526,000 ($l,753/member); United Brethren in Christ
with a denominational membership of 25,563 give $68,607,883
($2,683/member); Missionary Church with a denominational
membership of 29,285 give $34,170,000 ($l,167/member); and
Brethren in Christ with a denominational membership of 20,819
give $22,791,926 ($l,095/member).'^

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Obviously, the Brethren denomination is limited in its ability to carry out its
mission due to the reduced resources provided by the Brethren people. A final
area of negation is a related limitation in its leadership.
Limited Leadership

The third and perhaps biggest hindrance for the Brethren that results
from negative reactions to dialectic tension is characterized as limited
leadership. This terminology should in no way be considered an attack on the
ability of those in leadership positions within the Brethren Church. Rather, it is
the systems and structures of church polity as well as the history of the Brethren
response to authority that limit Brethren leaders today.

The predominant usage of the word "limited" among the Brethren is as
it is linked with the word "Congregationalism" to define the form of church
government to which the Brethren subscribe. A Church of the Brethren writer
summarizes it thus: "Brethren Church polity has been described as a limited or
federated Congregationalism; that is, local affairs may be administered in a
variety of ways, but a spiritual consensus in doctrinal matters is to be sought and
expected."'^

In his 1981 Moderator's address at the 91st General Conference of the
Brethren Church, Brian Moore described the benefits and detriments of such an
organizational climate:

An aspect of the genius of Brethrenism is its limited
Congregationalism, allowing each congregation to express its
uniqueness in its own social, economic, and spiritual context. ...
There is a freedom to decide, to refrain, to change, to become. I
don't believe that any of us would want it any other way. But my
question ... is whether we have evidenced the maturity on the
local level to handle all this freedom that our form of
Congregationalism allows? If the genius of Brethrenism is its
congregational liberty, the idiocy of Brethrenism is for each local
church to do only what seems right in its own eyes, to extend the
freedom of Congregationalism to a practical independence and a
disdain for interdependence. ^°

Another limiting factor within Brethren leadership is based not upon
structure, but rather upon role, respect, and relationship in the pastorate. The role
of pastor in the local church is a multi-faceted proposition. The list of
competencies expected by parishioners from their pastors is lengthy and varied
among not only the Brethren but also most denominations. The difficulty for the
Brethren pastor, though, is one of inequity between responsibility and authority.
The responsibilities are fiill-orbed while the authority is akin to mere
chaplaincy.^'

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The respect given to many within the Brethren ministerial profession is
limited at best. With its early roots of vehemently avoiding paid clergy, the
Brethren have struggled to overcome inherent tendencies toward disrespect for i
local church pastors. One writer cites that, "The Brethren Movement has been
on record - historically - as having an indifferent attitude and a disinclination to
help their own ministers."^^ When "indifference" and "disinclination" are words
associated with the concern of the Brethren for their pastoral leaders then
limitations in leadership effectiveness are bound to follow.

Pastoral leaders are not exempt from responsibility in the unhealthy
department, however, when it comes to relationships. Oftentimes, local church
pastors are on the giving end of unrealistic role expectations and low respect
when it comes to their dealings with

denominational officials. Consultant Edwards observed, "Inbred in the
'corporate culture' of The Brethren Church is resistance to centralized
authority."^^ In essence, the very behaviors that do harm at the local level are
passed on to district and national levels by pastors.

An unfortunate result of this limited leadership phenomenon is felt in the
area of consistent pastoral shortages. Although it is natural to have periodic and
small-scale shortages in local church pastorates, the regular and widespread
nature within the Brethren denomination is of a significant nature. The causes
are many and varied. The desire for local congregations to maintain the status
quo and a certain level of size and comfort will be chronicled in detail below.
Lay people who feel the call of God to occupational ministry and yet see the
difficulties of pastoral leadership in their local church often re-evaluate and
reject their call. Finally, lay and/or pastoral leaders who are gifted and
passionate leaders are less likely to remain in the Brethren Church where, due to
dialect tensions, there is less a chance of being an effective leader for Christ.
Consultant Edwards surrmiarizes:

The lingering suspicion of national leadership, possibly a carry
over from the 1939 split, is stifling growth in The Brethren
Church. In some ways, the church has allowed this attitude to
become a part of its 'culture.' Not only does it hurt church
growth, it also results in good pastors going outside the
denomination to serve successfiilly, even though their first
allegiance is to the Brethren.^"*

Part 3: Missiological Implications Effects of the Worldview on Church Growth

The official seal of the Brethren Church was adopted in 1957. It is an
adaptation of the personal seal of Alexander Mack, Jr. (son of the Brethren
Church founder). There are four main components to this graphic: the Cross, an
open Bible, vines of Fruit, and a Heart with the words "go ye" written upon it
(see Figure below). The inclusion of the Cross of Christ and the Holy Scriptures

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are predictable. The other two items of the seal though may catch one off guard
until the significance of them is revealed.

Fruit bearing is symbolic of outward obedience to the teachings and
commands of Christ. The heart emblazoned with the theme words from Matthew
28:18-20 is superimposed upon the cross, which is draped by the vines of fruit.
The evangelistic command is symbolic of the two-fold task of baptism and
teaching - both of which are important to the Brethren. The subtlety, however,
of the centrality of the heart and the significance of the missions emphasis in the
text displayed on the heart must not be lost upon the student of the seal. The
very real missiological implication of this aspect of the seal is that a heart
dedicated to the finding of the lost is the essence of the cross, and only by such
an emphasis will the church bear finit.^^

The above having been stated as the ideal, it is time to deal with the
effects of the data upon reality. The tedious nature of a healthy balance is that it
is hard to attain and even harder to maintain. The addition of new persons to any
issue in the dialectic oftentimes creates more tension than the church may feel it
can bear. Thus, a subtle suspicion of new
people to the church develops through no
fault of their own. The very presence of
anything or anyone new has the potential to
upset the delicate equilibrium by bringing
new ideas that may cause ambiguity.

Though this phenomenon has ,^_^ .,

obvious and serious consequences for the lost ■'^CJH **

people in the communities where local

Brethren Churches are found, there is a more ThO Officifll S6Sl

obscure, yet, just as real detriment for the ^ i^^ Brethren Church

existing members of the body of Christ

within Brethrenism. A lack of zeal for evangelism not only hurts the ability of

the church to grow quantitatively, it has an adverse effect on the qualitative

growth as well. The notion of deeper discipleship without evangelistic efforts is

a false one. These two ministry emphases naturally complement one another just

as the Head of the body intended.

Another less obvious missiological implication of the Brethren
Church's worldview determinant can be termed the "quality thermostat." The
desire for the existing church to be of a certain size gives it a thermostatic
nature. Many Brethren congregations are of the mindset that there is an ideal
church size. It goes something like this. The church should be large enough to:
offer programs for all ages; have a paid minister; be able to meet all financial
obligations; and comfortably fill the structure during its worship services. The
church should not be so large as to: become impersonal - beyond the family feel

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The Worldview of the Ashland Brethren and its Missiological Implications

of everyone knowing everyone else; need to build new structures or relocate its
facilities; and generally move at a pace that is unsettling to its longest standing
members. There may be other desires that occasionally arise and there are
obviously exceptions to these generalizations, but for the purposes here these
represent the lion's share of Brethren Churches.

The "quality" part comes in when the church approaches either extreme
of becoming too small or too large. Naturally, the church desires to have a high
level of quality in its programming for its existent members; however, this
quality level will from time to time attract outsiders. In response, the church will
adjust according to its perception of where they are relative to "just right."^^

If the church is already nearing its capacity for "bodies within the
bricks" and it is comfortably meeting its budget, and there is no need to offer
new programming there is a tendency among many Brethren Churches to turn
the quality down. Though this will sometimes disappoint the existent members,
the pain of trying to assimilate new, unknown persons, and the potential for
church expansion is usually averted. The newer, less-connected persons will
usually either fall back into habits of lostness or migrate to other churches in the
community that have a greater capacity for change.

If, on the other hand, the church is small and concerned about not
having enough money to meet its financial obligations (including the support of
a professional minister); Or if it has ample space for new persons within its
current facility; Or if it sees new people as opportunities to fill relational voids
and ministry programming needs then the quality can continue to increase.
Because issues of survival drive these types of churches there is little resistance
to new people even from the staunchest defenders of the status quo.

It should be mentioned here that though the concept of the quality
thermostat is a verifiable truth in many local Brethren churches, it is not unique
to the Brethren. Rather, it is a sociological phenomenon that is pervasive among
many denominations with predominantly smaller, more rural congregations.
Again the reader is reminded of the uniqueness of the quality thermostat for the
Brethren as it relates to their inherent need to maintain balance due to the
"tense" nature of the dialectic within their fellowships."'

One final consideration of a missiological nature concerns how the
Brethren view their smallness as a denomination. In an effort to seek a balanced
perspective, there is a tendency to vacillate between two extremes. One end of
the spectrum can be described as rather pessimistic.

The discussion in many public settings of the Brethren belies a type of
an "Eeyore mentality."^^ It is common to hear newer ideas of expansion
possibilities such as church planting initiatives be shot down with such phrases
as: "We're too small a denomination to do that." "We don't have enough money
to keep things going as they are let alone add more to our plates." "Why can't
we just be satisfied with the way things are instead of always trying to change

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things." Certainly, size does limit in some situations; however, the subtle
connections between the above-mentioned quality thermostat/dialectic tension
issues and a hopeful outlook are often missed. Who the Brethren are, what the
Brethren can do, and where the Brethren can go are at times clouded by the view
according to Eeyore.

The opposite of pessimism with regard to the Brethren denominational
size is a type of pride. The popular military ad campaign for one of the branches
of the service comes to mind: "The Few, The Proud, The Marines." The idea, of
course, is that small is good because it denotes purity and strength. Only the best
can be Marines, or in this case Brethren. This type of pride is not spoken of
often, rather it is a subconscious mechanism employed by the Brethren to deal
with potential feelings of inferiority. In effect, that which could be seen as a
detrimental weakness of Brethrenism becomes their greatest strength.
Consultant Edwards warned of the unhealthy implications of this extremist
thinking in the following:

As the church is looking more inward than outward, an attitude of
'remnant theology' is emerging in some areas. This mind set
changes the focus of ministry from outreach to an emphasis on
denominational church doctrine, and from reaching the lost, to an
emphasis on polity and procedures, and where to allow authority
and power."^

CONCLUSION

The above is a sober-minded attempt at describing a difficult to discern
phenomenon. Theological understandings placed within sociological settings
that reveal psychological considerations will undoubtedly be complex.
Theologically speaking, the Brethren are committed to seeking God and
studying His ways for their life in the community of faith. Sociologically
speaking, the Brethren are committed to the concepts of church "in the world,
but not of it" and being "salt and light" where tasteless, rotting darkness
persistently pervades. Psychologically speaking, the Brethren are well-versed in
the ideas of humanity's limitations without the Spirit's leading. Thus, it is not
for a lack of theological, sociological, or psychological understanding that the
Brethren worldview has been distorted. Rather, it seems holding these three
areas in balance that oftentimes proves burdensome beyond Brethren ability.

Seeking a "Brethren worldview" has been a journey into the literature
moderated by personal experience, which again adds complicating nuances.
How the Brethren see their world would be a difficult enough study by itself;
however, add the fact that this author is Brethren and sees with his own
limitations and the results are sure to evoke a myriad of responses. Some will

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The Worldview of the Ashland Brethren and its Missiological Implications

say, "Finally, an honest appraisal!" while others will cry, "Foul, bias, axe-
grinding!"

Regardless, hopefully there will be others. Brethren and non-Brethren
who will undertake such a study and share their conclusions for future
discussion. Only through such can there be an overcoming of the sometimes
spiritual schizophrenia that emerges among the Brethren when the dialectic
tensions become too hard to hold. Vacillating from one extreme to the other will
only result in the hoped for "genius and beauty of Brethrenism" becoming
instead foolishness and ugliness. May it never be so of the Brethren!

ENDNOTES

'Paul G. Hiebert, Anthropological Reflections on Missiological Issues. (Grand Rapids,

MI: Baker Books, 1994), 10-11.

^Michael Kearney, World View. (Novato, CA: Chandler & Sharp Publishers, Inc., 1984),

^Glenn L. Smith and Joan K. Smith, Lives in Education. (2"'' ed. New York: St. Martin's

Press, 1994), 20-27.

"^Robert F. Hessong and Thomas H. Weeks, Introduction to the Foundations of

Education. (2"'* ed. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1991), 240-241.

^Stephen D. Brookfield, Developing Critical Thinkers. (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

Pubhshers, 1987), 12-13.

Dale R. Stoffer, Background and Development of Brethren Doctrines 1 650- 1 987.
(Philadelphia: Brethren Encyclopedia, Inc., 1989), 246.
'ibid., 5.
^Ibid., 83.
^Ibid., 83-84.

'"jerry R. Flora, The Message of Faith. (Ashland, OH: The Brethren Church Inc., 1996),
4.

"Brenda B. Colijn, "The Hermeneutical Community," The Brethren Evangelist, January
1995:9-10.

'^Jerry R. Flora, The Message of Faith. (Ashland, OH: The Brethren Church Inc., 1996),
1.

'^Albert T. Ronk, History of the Brethren Church. (Ashland, OH: Brethren Publishing
Company, 1968), 125-149.

'"'Donald F. Dumbaugh, Meet the Brethren. (Elgin, IL: The Brethren Press for the
Brethren Encyclopedia, Inc., 1984), 27.

' Dale R. Stoffer, Background and Development of Brethren Doctrines 1650-1987.
(Philadelphia: Brethren Encyclopedia, Inc., 1989), 232.

'^Albert T. Ronk, History of the Brethren Church. (Ashland, OH: Brethren Publishing
Company, 1968), 454-459.

Norman L. Edwards, The Brethren Church: Financial and Organizational Study.
(Seattle, WA: Counsel in Resource Development, 1994), 36.
'^Ibid., 10.

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'^Donald F. Dumbaugh, Meet the Brethren. (Elgin, IL: The Brethren Press for the

Brethren Encyclopedia, Inc., 1984), 50.

^^Brian H. Moore, "A Threefold Appraisal of the Brethren Church," The Brethren

Evangelist, September 1981: 14.

^'Larry R. Baker, "Power Struggles and the Pastor's Role in the Church," The Brethren

Evangelist, February 1993: 10.

^^Bob Kinsley, Alexander Mack: His Greatest Legacy. (Nappanee, IN: Evangel Press,

1996), 30.

^^Norman L. Edwards, The Brethren Church: Financial and Organizational Study.

(Seattle, WA: Counsel in Resource Development, 1994), 14.

2%id.,31.

'^^A Centennial Statement. (Ashland, OH: Brethren Publishing Company, 1984), 12.

^^This is something akin to the fairy tale story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. The

desire for "just right" over "not too hard" or "not too soft" is compelling for the church to

not settle for just any old bed.

^^The above discussion on church size and the quality thermostat has been gleaned from

many sources that are difficult to cite in this standard format; however, they are listed

here as a general informal endnote. They are: "Annual Statistical Reports of the Brethren

Church Ministries;" discussions held at General Conference meetings both among the

overall delegate body and in the National Association of Brethren Church Elders;

informal discussions held at District meetings of pastors; informal interaction with laity

from numerous Brethren Churches over the course of the past decade and a half

^^Eeyore is a fictional character in British author A. A. Milne's Winnie The Pooh

children's stories. Eeyore is a droopy eared, head low, downcast-eyed donkey that brings

the voice of despair into whatever situation he and the rest of the story's characters find

themselves. He can be counted on for such expressions as: "Nothing good is ever going

to come out of this." "We might as well quit now and just go home." "If I've said it once,

I've said it a hundred times, T told you so'." Juxtaposed with a tiger (Tigger) that is

constantly bouncing around in a state of euphoric, naive optimism, Eeyore is the epitome

of pessimism.

^^orman L. Edwards, The Brethren Church: Financial and Organizational Study.

(Seattle, WA: Counsel in Resource Development, 1994), 31.

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James D.G. Dunn and the New Perspective on Paul: A Review Article

By Nijay K. Gupta*

The discussion arises out of one small, but certainly complex, question:
"What was it that Paul was reacting against in his letters with regard to the
law?" This is the question that launched a thousand articles, as it were. The so-
called "New Perspective on Paul" (NPP) is a "new" response to this very old
question. Or, at least it was "new" in 1982 when James D.G. Dunn coined the
phrase "New Perspective on Paul" in the Manson Memorial Lecture at the
University of Manchester. Almost a quarter of a century later we have a
reflection on the discussion and a collection of the work of Professor Dunn in
this New Perspective on Paul volume, though he is still publishing new research
prolifically. This review essay endeavors to summarize the book, as most book
reviews do, but also to reflect on how the NPP has progressed, what the
reactions of others have been, and to get a sense for the persistent impact it will
have on scholarship. Of course the work of James Dunn on this topic, almost all
of which usefully appears in this book, will be at the center of the discussion.

In order to understand and appreciate why the NPP has been so
revolutionary in scholarship, one must get a sense for how Pauline research has
developed throughout history. From one point of view, the NPP is a direct
reaction against what some consider a misunderstanding of Paul by Martin
Luther. What scholars like Dunn have attempted to do is to correct and
complicate the prevailing presumption that Paul was "the great exponent of the
central Reformation doctrine of justification by faith'''' (p. 101). Those who
challenge this traditional reading of Paul have issued a caution to readers of Paul
not to perceive his theology wholly through "Reformation spectacles" (p. 203).
Dunn is especially concerned with how Luther looked at the problems and issues
in his own time and appeared to read them into the background of Paul's letters.
This appeared to generate a reading of Paul that saw law in tension with faith
and that the crux of salvation was largely an individualistic concern.

What Dunn had sought out to do, following the lead of E.P. Sanders'
and Krister Stendahl^ was to audit this default Lutheran reading by looking more
closely at the Jewish influences on Paul, the specific context of his law-
discourses, and the nature of Judaism at Paul's time. What emerged from this

*Nijay Gupta (M.Div., Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) is a recent Ph.D.
graduate from the University of Diirham, Durham, England

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James D.G. Dunn and the New Perspective on Paul: A Review Article

investigation is a set of discussions, not just on Paul and his theology, but also
on early Judaism and the ftinction and purpose of the law (Torah) within the
context of the covenant and concerning Jewish conceptions of salvation. Dunn
was particularly insistent that Paul was not referring to the "law" as if it meant
works or deeds of any kind; in his context, he had a specific law in mind (the
Mosaic law) and specific works in mind (the "works of the law"; see below). In
Dunn's collection of essays, he has summarized his own definition of the New
Perspective on Paul using 5 key points (see p. 16).

Firstly, influenced by Sanders' work on the patterns of religion in
Palestinian Judaism, the NPP recognizes that Jews related to God through
"covenantal nomism" which affirmed that one entered the covenant through
God's gracious election, but maintained that relationship through obedience.
Secondly, the Mosaic law was not simply a means of telling Israel how to be
obedient, but also carried a social function, "where separateness to God
(holiness) was understood to require separateness from the (other) nations" (p.
16). Though this was a form of protection, it became the root of Israel's sin of
cultural superiority. Thirdly, the NPP recognizes that a major component of
Paul's gospel message was an affirmation of the unity of Jew and Gentile, the
elimination of the wall which the law was seen to have erected. Fourthly, the
NPP, especially as Dunn has articulated it, treats "works of the law" as a
technical phrase referring to particular works which were considered by many
Jewish believers to be "indispensable to their own (and others?) standing within
the covenant, and therefore indispensable to salvation" (p. 16). In light of the
revelation of Christ, Paul considered "works of the law" to be unnecessary as an
identity badge for God's people. Finally, Dunn argues that "failure to recognize
this major [social] dimension of Paul's doctrine of justificafion by faith may
have ignored or excluded a vital factor in combating the nationalism and
racialism which has so distorted and diminished Christianity past and present"
(p. 16).

For Dunn, this revolutionary re-reading of Paul must also reckon with
major issues in biblical theology. Within a Lutheran model, the major failure of
many Jews was that they tried to earn God's favor instead of understanding that
it was about grace. If Dunn is correct, then Paul was not really concerned with
this at all since (most) Jews would have already held such a view (within a
covenantal-nomistic framework). According to the NPP, Paul was criticizing
the (Mosaic) law^ insofar as it encouraged "a sense of national superiority" (p.
131), or "ethnic privilege" (p. 167). If God's original purpose in separating
Israel was for her moral and physical safety, it became a ground for boasting in
being God's favored people. Paul, then, found the need to combat some Jewish
believers who still held to this national imperialism even as Gentiles began to
flood into the new people of God. Paul was faulting these Jewish believers, who

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did not want to accept Gentiles qua Gentiles, for their "failure to grasp the
character and 'to all-ness' of faith" (p. 1 1).

This viewpoint led Dunn to argue that Paul's concern over "works of
the law" was something very specific. He argues that there were particular
"works" that could be seen as identity badges for Jews, boundary markers; "they
are simply what membership of the covenantal people involves, what mark out
the Jews as God's people" (p. 111). Circumcision and the observance of food
laws seemed to be prominent examples of such markers as they depicted Jewish
distinctiveness. If some Jewish believers felt it necessary to impose such
"badge" works on Gentile Christians, Paul saw this move as too ethnocentric
and inconsistent with the new-creation vision of the unifying of all peoples.

Dunn's The New Perspective on Paul collection of essays is an
excellent resource because it charts his own journey in this field from 1983 to
2007. The first chapter (which we will return to later) is an extended reflection
(97 pp.) on the development of this viewpoint and a chance to respond to the
critics of his work. Following from that are twenty-one chapters on various
aspects of his published research on this topic (except the final chapter which
contains new material). Chapter two is a transcript from the Manson lecture
where he first discussed the subject in a major public forum. Summaries of the
NPP also appear in chapter twelve and his test-case of Philippians 3:2-14 (ch.
22). Several chapters are devoted to the subject of the law and, especially,
"works of the law" (chs. 3, 4, 8, 13, 17, 19, 21). Paul's opponents are dealt with
in chapter five. Galatians, which is a book that has received the most discussion
concerning the NPP, is the focus of chapters six, nine, and fourteen. A number
of chapters, perhaps the most interesting ones for those who are already familiar
with the technical discussions mentioned above, relate to theological
implications that arise from this hermeneutical dialogue. Thus, chapter seven
involves an exploration of the concept of justice as it relates to Dunn's
understanding of "justification by faith" (see also ch. 16). Chapter ten handles
the important pan-biblical question of the relationship between the Old
Testament and the New Testament (and matters of continuity and discontinuity).
Perspectives on Paul's so-called "conversion" are developed in chapter fifteen.
Christology is the subject of chapter eighteen. And chapter twenty looks at
covenantal theology.

There is no doubt that many scholars have greatly benefited from
Dunn's articles and essays in the NPP, as well as his commentaries on Romans,
Galatians, and Colossians, and The Theology of Paul the Apostle.'^ However,
over the last two decades or so, detractors have also emerged. Space permits
only a brief mentioning. One concern that some have had with Dunn's position
is that it seems to trivialize Paul's justification language such that it is primarily

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James D.G. Dunn and the New Perspective on Paul: A Review Article

about ethnic reconciliation.^ Dunn firmly responds that his intent all along has
not been to minimize the meaning of justification, but to fill it out to its fullest
extent, especially with reference to the social dimensions that would have been
so apparent to the original readers.

Pertaining to the nature of Judaism in Paul's time, some critics have
queried Sanders' notion that Jews understood grace and election to be the
operative categories of entrance into the people of God. Dunn does admit that
Sanders may have overstated his case and generalized too much. Ultimately,
Dunn favors a view of early Judaism where "[e] lection and righteousness go
together... symbiotically" (p. 67). He recognizes that some groups within
Judaism would have certainly been more stringent regarding ''factional
shibboleths" and other litmus tests of in-group standards, but he asks: "should a
fundamentalist expression of a religion be seen as characteristically expressive
of that religion?" (p. 69-70). A related matter is the meaning of final judgment.
It is the contention of some, including a former doctoral student of Dunn's,
Simon Gathercole,^ that Jews in the second temple period understood final
judgment to be a time of reckoning the works of obedience. Again, Dunn has
responded by saying that the NT itself also affirms the view that "Salvation
(eternal life) is in some degree conditional on faithfulness" (p. 76). That does
not mean that the pattern of religion in Judaism was exactly the same as it was
for Paul as a Christian. Dunn proposes that the presence of the eschatological
Spirit is crucial to understanding how obedience works in new creation. The
Holy Spirit, Dunn argues, allows "a more effective doing of God's will" (p. 86).
Dunn also observes that the pattern of religion of early Pauline Christianity,
unlike Judaism, was centered on the person of Jesus. Life in the new covenant,
then, is not just a status, but a process of transformation and conformity to the
likeness of Christ (p. 93).

At the end of his initial chapter entitled "The New Perspective:
Whence, What, and Whither?," Dunn offers five points concerning the state of
the issue. Firstly, Pauline scholarship has been forever changed and cannot
simply go back to the "old perspective" on Judaism (as a legalistic works-
righteousness religion). Secondly, the move of NPP proponents to focus on the
Gentile mission is methodologically significant and serves as an important
reminder to read Paul within the confines of his own historical and social
context first. Dunn's third point is that "Justification by faith alone needs to be
reasserted" in that it "speaks against all attempts to add anything to the gospel as
essential to salvation" (p. 96). Fourthly, scholars should not feel so comfortable
in blunting the tension between justification by faith through grace and
judgment according to deeds. Finally, Dunn underscores the point that Paul's
theology was driven by his thoroughgoing Christology which signaled and
initiated the dawning of the new age of fulfillment that opened doors for all to
join God's people through faith.

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In 2007, Francis B. Watson published a revised and expanded version
of his doctoral thesis where he wishes to take the discussion, as his subtitle
claims, "Beyond the New Perspective."'' Watson takes issue with Dunn on
several matters, but one particular concern is with the idea "covenantal nomism"
and how Dunn applies it both to early Judaism and to Paul insofar as they
involve aspects of gift (covenantal grace) and demand (covenantal obedience).
Watson introduces the question of agency and argues that the relationship of
divine and human agency appears to be quite different. In the antithesis between
the "faith of Jesus Christ" and the "works of the law," Watson observes that the
fact that the latter can be abbreviated as "works" seems to place a greater
emphasis on human agency. The fact that Paul repeatedly used "faith" and
"grace" as circumlocution for Christian life and salvation seems to place greater
weight on divine agency. A more nuanced discussion of the divine-human
relationship, such as developed by Watson, offers a helpful advancement of the
issue of covenantal life.

Personally, I have benefited greatly irom the work of Dunn and the
important social, historical, methodological, and theological contributions he has
made. I wish only to voice one aspect which I think needs more attention - the
epistemological failure of the law. If the law was one that cursed and
condemned Christ, then it demonstrated its own inability to guide and judge
properly (though it certainly would not be seen to be wholly invaluable). One
could use the analogy of a computer (the covenant people) that needed
protecting fi^om all sorts of invasive spamming programs (like sin and various
external enemies). The owner of the computer (God) installed a virus-protection
program (the law) that was designed to detect and eliminate threats. In order the
offer maximum protection, this program would need to be vigilant in excluding
anything that could even resemble a threat - even those programs that could be
useful but have ostensibly suspicious file names. As time went on, and attacks
on the computer by viruses grew more powerful and more fi'equent, the virus-
protection program had to become even more restrictive.

Finally, the owner of the computer recognized that, despite the work of
the virus-protection program, the computer still was affected by viruses that
managed to get through and corrupt the hard drive, causing important programs
to crash and run sluggishly. The owner, then, saw the need to upgrade the
computer to a more powerfiil operating system which would require wiping out
everything, but with the hopes of fixing all of the processing and computing
problems. The virus-protection program, though, saw the upgrade disk as a
threat and attacked what the owner saw to be necessary solution to the problems
that plagued the computer. Though the owner realized that a computer still

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James D.G. Dunn and the New Perspective on Paul: A Review Article

needed a virus-protection program, this particular one had failed to understand
and judge appropriately a safe and "friendly" program.

If this analogy is appropriate, it suggests that the law was certainly put
to good use and was an important protective measure, but when Christ came,
one who himself was the fulfillment of the law, it failed to understand how he
was contributing to the progress of covenantal obedience. In that sense, Paul is
critiquing the Jewish confidence in the law as an infallible guide to truth,
wisdom, and divine revelation. This appears to be the shape of his argument in
Romans 2:18-23:

But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast
of your relation to God and know his will and determine
what is best because you are instructed in the law, and if you
are sure that you are a guide to the blind, a light to those
who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of
children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge
and truth, you, then, that teach others, will you not teach
yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal?
You that forbid adultery, do you commit adultery? You that
abhor idols, do you rob temples? You that boast in the law,
do you dishonor God by breaking the law?

Those who follow the law here are described as light, instructors,
bearers of truth, etc. . . Yet, Paul points out that they fail to obey the law and, as
he goes on to argue, they misunderstand the nature of the Gospel of God's
righteousness that has been revealed apart from the law (see Rom 3:21). This
concern with the law is primarily hermeneutical in that the law carmot be
ultimately understood as a perfectly clear lens through which to perceive
"reality." Indeed, in that the law condemned Christ (Gal 3:13), it is somehow
opposed to the cross. Dunn does, in fact, develop this antithesis (especially
between circumcision and the cross, see pp. 313-37), but not quite along the
lines as I have described above.

In the end, we are in James Dunn's debt for offering this useful
collection of essays, articles, and new research on the New Perspective on Paul.
He is certainly correct that Pauline studies, and Biblical research in general, has
been irreversibly affected by this movement in scholarship. Though many hail
this current era as one that is post-New Perspective, Dunn has left an indelible
mark that deserves to be recognized and appreciated, even if some will demur on
one point or another. This book should be a standard volume in the library of all
Pauline researchers who can benefit from many of Dunn's most insightful
articles and essays on this topic all in one place, as well as learning from the
original pieces found here.

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ENDNOTES

' Ed Parish Sanders, Paul and Palestinian Judaism: A Comparison of Patterns of

Religion (London: SCM, 1977).

^ Krister Stendahl, "The Apostle Paul and the Introspective Conscience of the West,"

Harvard Theological Review 56 (1963): 199-215.

^ There is disagreement among NPP proponents as to whether Paul's concern was with

the \dm per se or with those who distorted or abused what was written in the law.

^ Romans (WBC; 2 vols.; Dallas: Word, 1988); The Epistle to the Galatians (BNTC;

Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1993); The Epistles to the Colossians and Philemon

(NIGTC; Grand Rapids, Ml: Eerdmans, 1996); The Theology of Paul the Apostle (Grand

Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1998).

^ See D.A. Carson et al., eds.. Justification and Variegated Nomism: The Paradoxes of

Paul (Vol. II; Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2004).

^ Where is Boasting? Early Jewish Soteriology and Paul's Response in Romans 1-5

(Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2002).

^ Paul, Judaism, and the Gentiles: Beyond the New Perspective (Grand Rapids, MI:

Eerdmans, 2007).

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Book Reviews

Hermann Gunkel, Creation and Chaos in the Primeval Era and the Eschaton: A Religo-
Historical Study of Genesis 1 and Revelation 12. With contributions by Heinrich
Zimmerman. Translated by K. William Whitney, Jr. Grand Rapids: Eerdmeins, 2006 Pp.
xlii, 442. Paper. $36.00

Originally published in 1895 and reprinted in 1921, Gunkel's Schopfung und
Chaos in Urzeit und Endzeit has now finally been translated into English. Thus, one of
the great classics of biblical criticism is now available to a wider audience. Since
Gunkel's method and conclusions are well known, a legitimate question is what need is
there for a review of a work so foundational and well known? Very little discussed has
not been covered elsewhere, Even the appendix (pp. 253-83) which provides translations
of selected Babylonian myths does not provide readers access to material not available
elsewhere, such as Pritchard's Ancient Near Eastern Texts, or Hallo's Context of
Scripture.

Nevertheless, a review of this translation is warranted for several reasons. First,
the preface by Peter Machinist provides the reader with a brief analysis of both the
significance and shortfalls of Creation and Chaos (xv-xx). In particular, the reader is
informed that Gunkel focused too exclusively upon Mesopotamian mythology for
cultural parallels with the Hebrew Bible. Gunkel could not be blamed for not anticipating
later discoveries, particularly of Canaanite and West Semitic literature, whose impact on
the biblical tradition is undoubtedly more profound than the Mesopotamian or
Babylonian parallels (xix). Nevertheless, twenty-first century readers are well advised
that the discussion has advanced.

Second, the translator provides several useful notes throughout the text,
updating and clarifying Gunkel's work. Particularly helpful are the transliteration and
translation of Hebrew and Greek words and phrases. This feature, lacking in the German
original, provides helpfial assistance for the reader not fluent in the original biblical
languages. The notes also include occasional updates of Gunkel's arguments, as well as
explanations for the translation. All of these features make the book both more accessible
and more coherent to those not up familiar with Gunkel's hypotheses.

Third, since Creation and Chaos has been foundational for so much of later
scholarship, including A. Yarbro CoUins's Combat Myth in the Book of Revelation, it is
most beneficial for English language students, with no access to the German original, to
be able to analyze the details of Gunkel's discussion for themselves. In the process,
readers recognize not only where Gunkel was most prescient, especially in his
understanding of mythic influence on the creation story of Genesis 1-3, as well as
allusions to creation myth in Job and Isaiah, but also where he failed to be convincing.
With regard to the latter, while Gunkel's mythological interpretation of Rev. 12 has stood
the test of time, his employment of now discredited source criticism (217-219) does not
instill current readers with confidence. Furthermore, Gunkel's thoroughgoing
mythological interpretation of Rev. 12, 13, 17, has now been superseded. Rather, scholars
today do find that John addressed specific objections to the Rome and the emperor cult,
not only in Rev. 12, 13, and 17, but in Rev. 18 as well. Finally, the Gunkel's assertion
that Rev. 12-13 does not echo the imagery of Dan. 7-8 but that the Seer drew

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Book Reviews

independently from ancient sources similar to those used in Dan. 7 (128-29; 239-40) is, in
light of the work of G. K. Beale and others, no longer credible.

Yet, while scholarship has progressed from the time of Gunkel, Creation and
Chaos, for all its shortcomings, remains a remarkable work. It set the methodological
agenda for later studies. That we can still debate Gunkel's missteps in no way diminishes
from his remarkable accomplishment. The book should be read not only as a monument
to the history of scholarship, but also as a continuing contribution to the discussion of
how the biblical writers interacted with their culture. This dialogue was reflected not only
in the way they employed mythological themes, but also how they transformed these
images. Whitney has provided a significant service in making this classic available now
to English readers.

Russell Morton

Scott J. Hafemann and P.R. House, eds. Central Themes in Biblical Theology: Mapping
Unity in Diversity. GrsinA Rapids: Baker, 2007. 336 pp., paper, $30.00.

The seven essays chosen for this book all share a common interest in exploring
themes significantly attested to and developed in the Bible. As made clear in the
introduction of the book, the contributors all share three core convictions: the unity of the
Bible as God's word, the ability to synthesize theological concepts to produce a holistic
understanding of theology, and the benefit of scholarly collaboration and dialogue in an
attempt to do "whole-Bible biblical theology" (see pp. 15-19).

The seven chapters of the book cover six "themes" or "structural ideas" in the
Bible. The last chapter is a nuanced contribution to how one perceives a salvation-
historical approach to biblical theology. In the first essay, Scott Hafemann discusses the
"covenantal relationship" that "provides the structure that serves to integrate the
interrelated themes developed throughout the history of redemption delineated in the
Scriptures" (p. 22). A helpful contribution to theology that Hafemann makes regards
how one understands the commands of God in light of his grace. Hafemann, drawing
from the covenantal structure of the divine-human relationship, explains that "Although
all the promises of God are conditional, the provisions of God that make inheriting those
promises possible are given unconditionally" (p. 39). In many ways, Hafemann's first
essay sets the foundation for the others and the subsequent discussions both presuppose
and affirm a covenantal understanding of biblical theology.

In the second essay, Thomas Schreiner treats the subject of law, but specifically
in the context of covenant and thus focuses on "the commands of God." Law, then, is not
just what humans are ethically supposed to do, but specifically law-obedience is a
covenantal expectation. Even in the new covenant, the law is not something to be freed
from, but God ultimately empowers his people to put it into practice (see pp. 77-8).
Frank Thielman's treatment of "atonemenf comes next with a discussion of the logic of
sacrifice and a brief defense of the conceptual framework of substitutionary atonement.
Thielman, though, does not argue that substitutionary atonement is the only way to
understand NT soteriology, but is nevertheless an important element (p. 123). Next,
Stephen Dempster traces the development of the theme of "the servant of the Lord"
which he characterizes as "a human being [who] is entrusted with a special task to do
God's will" (p. 131). Looking at such servant-figures as Adam, Abraham, Moses, Israel

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Ashland Theological Journal 2009

(as servant-nation), and David, Dempster observes that these servants largely fail in their
duties. Christ, however, "is the fulfillment of the anticipated servant-king of the Old
Testament" (p. 173). Dempster does not end his essay with the idea that Christ does for
his people what they could not and did not do. There is a teleology to this theme in that
Christ's "work, his role, is ultimately to produce servants of his likeness" (p. 173).

In the fifth chapter Paul House pursues the theme of judgment in the Bible with
a view towards the idea of "the Day of the Lord." Interestingly, House argues that there
is a multiplicity of temporal aspects to the Day of the Lord as it can be understood to
have occurred when God's people have been judged and punished in the past, and also is
yet to occur in a more climactic way (see pp. 219, 223). The penultimate chapter, by
Elmer Martens, on "the people of God" is sort of an inclusio which returns to the
centrality of the covenantal framework of the Bible and its purpose in forming the
church. Though Martens offers a number of very rewarding insights, I was intrigued by
his statement that, in the Ancient Near East, "gods were usually associated not first with
people, but with a given territory," thus making the Israelite covenant quite unique (p.
232). Also, Martens' intertextual approach to the theme of the "people of God" is
executed with great verve and skill. The final chapter by Roy Ciampa on the "history of
redemption" is an attempt to develop a more sophisticated narratological framework for
understanding the Bible.

The only limitation I found in this very excellent study is that it was lacking in
a chapter focused on "God" as a subject (or meta-agent) in the Bible. Nevertheless,
students and scholars will learn much from the essays provided in this most useful
exploration of themes in biblical theology.

Nijay K. Gupta, Durham University

John H. Walton, Mark L. Strauss, and Ted Cooper Jr., The Essential Bible Companion:
Key Insights for Reading God's Word. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005. 150 pp., paper,
$14.99.

Every teacher of God's Word needs a quick glance at a book that can give them
some basics about the books of the Bible, maps of biblical lands, key people of the Bible,
themes, timelines, and definitions of terms. Walton, Strauss, and Cooper have arranged
this book to give a glimpse of the Old and New Testament, covering all books of the
Bible.

The goal "is to go beyond basic Bible content" (7). There are many Bible helps
and references that a pastor, teacher, or leader can choose from for their studies. In this
book one "will gain not only an appreciation for the central importance of this sacred
text, but in doing so will come to appreciate the literature, theology, and history for the
contribution they make and the role that they play in the greater story of God's plan for
reconciling his creation to himself, restoring his presence in his creation, and forging a
relationship with his people" (8).

The book opens with an overview which covers: What is the Bible All About?;
The Garden of Eden; The Covenant; The Burning Bush and Mount Sinai; The Tabernacle
and Temple; the Incarnation; Pentecost; and New Creation. The authors emphasize that
"the Bible is all about connecting with God" (9). A relationship with God is of utmost

147

Book Reviews

importance and the authors created this tool to assist the person to a greater relationship
with God.

Each section is titled with the name of the Bible book along with key concepts,
terms, teachings about God, verses and people to know. These are colorful and a timeline
is included. The purpose of the Bible book is discussed on one page along with a display
of a map and picture to correlate with the book. It has a very artistic design for each book
that is pleasing to the eye. Each book of the Bible is briefly shared in a two page spread.
This book is well written and designed for a user-friendly approach.

It begins with the Old Testament and includes a midsection of "How the Old
Testament Related to the New" (74). These subjects are covered in the midsection of the
book: Creation, Fall, and Reconciliation: the Restoration of God's Reign; Old and New
Covenants; The Fulfillment of the Law; Jesus Christ: God's Agent of Salvation; and The
Final Restoration. The New Testament follows the midsection.

One interesting fact about the book is that all of the books are covered in the
two page spread except for Revelation. This Bible book has an extra two page spread
entitled, "More about Revelation" (130). These two pages include Genre (Literary Form);
Interpreting Revelation; Interesting Facts about Revelation; Author; and Recipients.
There is a names glossary and a terms glossary along with an index that concludes the
book.

No doubt, the book is true to its name. The Essential Bible Companion. It is a
practical ministry tool for a layperson to use in preparation for Bible study or for a
Sunday School teacher to have a better grasp on the Bible. It was created for use as a
companion to The Bible in 90 Days curriculum written by Ted Cooper, one of the
authors.

Its content is intended for anyone wanting a quick glimpse into the essentials of
God's Word. "Familiarity with the Bible has been largely lost to the church. For the most
part, we believe that this is true because people don't have time to read it, and when they
do, they simply don't know what to do with it. Many people desire to know God's Word,
but feel that they are groping blindly as they seek to figure out how to make Scripture
relevant to their lives" (7). For this reason, the book has achieved its goal of presenting
the background of the Bible in a simple manner for anyone who picks up this book. It is a
great Christian education tool for any teacher, whether skilled or just beginning to teach
God's Word.

Dawn Morton

David Darom, Animals of the Bible. Herzlia, Israel: Palphot, n.d. 47 pp., paper, $9.99.
Uri Paz, Birds in the Land of the Bible. Herzlia, Israel: Palphot, n.d. 48 pp., paper, $9.99.
The Dead Sea: Jericho, Qumran, En Gedi, Masada, Sodom. Jerusalem: Israel Museum,
n.d. 72 pp, paper, $7.99.

Jericho: Old Jericho, Mt. of Temptation, Hisham 's Palace, Wadi Kelt. [Jerusalem: Israel
Museum, n.d.]. 32 pp., paper, [$7.99].

All of these volumes are collections of color photographs of their respective
topics and places. They are of the genre of booklets available to tourists in order to give
them some background of things seen and to supplement their own picture collections.

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Ashland Theological Journal 2009

They also provide insight into the land for those who have as yet not had opportunity to
visit it in person.

The volume on animals includes numerous biblical quotes (both Old and New
Testament) in which various fauna are mentioned, with a picture, English and Latin
identification, and at times a brief comment on what is purported to be each species
mentioned. Birds are much more difficult to identify exactly with the various terms used
in Scripture, and so that volume pictures and discusses birds currently found in Israel,
with no attempt at biblical identification.

The two geographically related volumes include maps and plans as well as
photos showing both archaeological and contemporary scenes. Brief comments explain
each photo, placing them in their biblical and historical context.

The volumes are light on textual content, but can enliven personal and group
Bible study by allowing one to see things and places mentioned in Scripture, and so
would find a place in church libraries. They are available fi-om Concordia Publishing
House (www.cph.org).

David W. Baker

John Day, ed. In Search ofPre-Exilic Israel JSOTSup 406. T&T Clark, 2004. 432 pp.

This volume brings together essays that respond to a radical "revisionist" view
of the composition of biblical texts and the history to which they refer. This view holds
that most, if not the entirety, of the Hebrew Bible was composed during the post-exilic
era at the very earliest (and likely during the Hellenistic period) and that the "historical
books" are nothing of the kind, but rather fabrications of scribes who composed a
national narrative for ideological purposes. The writers in this volume test and refute
these claims and the arguments that support them. The opening essay by E. Nicholson
provides an orientation for the reader via a succinct and cogent summary of how 20*
Century scholarship attained and then lost a consensus, yielding a fi-agmented discussion
that is marked, in the extreme, by the arguments of scholars such as T. L. Thompson and
P. R. Davies. The subsequent essays advance the mainstream perspective that there
remain strong and persuasive reasons to discern authentic historical remembrances in
biblical texts (which is a different thing than holding that the texts themselves are
accurate factual accounts of "what happened"). Two essays (by G. Davis and A. Frendo)
deal with the Bible's remembrance of Israel's origins as a nation by discussing what can
and cannot be gleaned by bringing biblical texts into conversation with archaeology and
sociology on the topics of the exodus and Israel's emergence in the land of Canaan. The
next set of essays then moves to issues related to the monarchical period, namely, the
existence of united monarchy under David and Solomon (W. G. Dever), the composition
of the so-called "Succession Narrative" (J. Barton) and the Yahwist epic (J. A. Emerton),
the "social crisis" that gave rise to prophetic activity in the 8* Century B.C.E. (W.
Houston), and the aftermath of the fall of Samaria (G. N. Knoppers). Following these are
essays that take up a textual focus, with authors assessing how much pre-exilic material
can be discerned in the books of Isaiah (H. G. M. Williamson), Jeremiah (D. J. Reiner),
Psalms (J. Day), and wisdom literature (K. J. Dell), rounding off with a substantial essay
(B. M. Levinson) on the pre-exilic origin of the Covenant Code. The final essays place
the emergence of monotheism prior to the exile (B. A. Mastin), examine the relevance of

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Book Reviews

Mesopotamian texts and their incorrect interpretation and application by revisionists (W.
G. Lambert), explain the role of inscriptional material in illumining the prevalence of
writing in pre-exilic Israel (A. Lemaire), and establish the antiquity of Hebrew poetic
forms by comparison with Canaanite poetry (T. Fenton). All the essays provide excellent
snapshots of the state the discussion between mainstream scholarship and the revisionists
and, more broadly, to the larger issues that continue to fuel the attempts to reconstruct the
history of Israel and the texts that constitute our primary sources for that history.

L. Daniel Hawk

David A. Leiter, Neglected Voices: Peace in the Old Testament. Scottdale, Pa.: Herald
Press, 2007. Pp. 187, paper, $16.99.

Anyone interested in exploring the concept of peace in the Old Testament will
find David Leiter's book a helpful resource. Inspired, in part, by Susan Niditch's
development of war ideologies in her book. War in the Hebrew Bible, Leiter discusses
five peace ideologies that he detects in the Old Testament: "peace and nonviolence, peace
after conflict or war, visions of peace, mandates for peace, and peace within the realm of
piety" (p. 17). Leiter devotes a chapter to each type of peace, and this comprises the
heart of the book. These five chapters are preceded by an introduction and a chapter
exploring various uses of shalom in the Old Testament; they are followed by a brief
conclusion and a bibliographic essay.

One of the book's strengths is its ability to demonstrate that the Old Testament
contains many texts related to peace that span various genres and appear throughout the
Old Testament. Though one might dispute Leiter's claim "that peace is central to the Old
Testament" (p. 154), he demonstrates that it is certainly more prominent than many
people realize.

I thought it would have been helpful to include a description of what constitutes
a "peace ideology" near the beginning of the book since this is key to Leiter's study.
Additionally, I wished Leiter had explained more precisely what he means by the term
"peace," since this ostensibly governed what texts were-and were not-discussed. In my
estimation, this would have been more useful than devoting Chapter 1 to a study of how
the word shalom is used in the Old Testament.

In terms of the ideologies he develops, some are especially compelling-such as
peace and nonviolence (Chapter 2), while others are less helpfiil and somewhat
ambiguous-such as his discussion of post-violence peace (Chapter 3). As one might
expect, a significant portion of each of the five main chapters is devoted to a discussion
of key biblical passages that Leiter finds illustrative. Leiter proceeds very methodically
in these sections. He quotes the passage under consideration-even when quite lengthy-
discusses it, then moves on to the next passage. While this results in a very predictable
format, some readers may find it tedious.

Since Leiter is not trying to be exhaustive, it is probably unfair to fault him for
not addressing this or that particular text. Still, his argument could have been even
stronger at points by appealing to additional passages. For example, Leiter could have
included the story of Joseph's dramatic forgiveness (Gen 37-50) and Abigail's massacre-
stopping intervention (1 Sam 25) in his discussion of peace and nonviolence (Chapter 2).
Leiter might have also reflected on the nonviolent story of creation in Gen 1-2, an

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especially impressive example when set against the backdrop of other ancient Near
Eastern creation accounts.

I appreciated Leiter's attempt to make contemporary connections at the end of
each of the five chapters describing various peace ideologies. The material in these
sections provide some usefiil starting points for considering how the peace related
concerns in the Old Testament connect to today's world.

In the concluding chapter, Leiter draws out some important implications of his
study, and readers would do well to pay attention to these. One of these concerns the
issue of how to "come to terms with the fact that the Old Testament contains passages of
extreme violence and passages that are pro-peace" (p. 155). This is a very significant
issue that needs more carefial attention than it customarily receives.

Overall, Leiter's book is helpful tool for broadening our view of peace in the
Old Testament by demonstrating that the Old Testament's interest in peace is not limited
to just a few well known prophetic passages. It enlarges our appreciation of the diverse
array of passages that are, in one way or another, concerned with issues of peace and
justice. Readers interested in these issues will find Leiter's book a convenient guide and
a welcome addition to studies that explore peace in the Old Testament.

Eric A. Seibert, Messiah College

Tremper Longman III and Peter Enns, eds. Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom,
Poetry & Writings. Downers Grove, 111: InterVarsity, 2008. 967 pp.

It is a pleasure to commend this latest publication in IVP's acclaimed series of
dictionaries. In both the breadth and depth of its entries, this is a magnificent volume.
The editors have enlisted an impressive list of contributors who, particularly in the major
articles, draw Irom a perspective enriched by a career of reflection and conversation on
the topics they address. The books that constitute the focus of the dictionary comprise an
array of biblical texts: Psalms, the wisdom books (Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, and the
apocryphal books of Sirach and the Wisdom of Solomon), Lamentations, the Song of
Songs, Ruth, and Esther. In spite of these diverse biblical materials, the dictionary
displays an overall coherence that suggests many significant connections between the
books and the issues associated with them. The articles themselves cover all relevant
areas of study, including extensive introductions to scholarship on the books and
treatments of pertinent topics and themes (e.g. "Fear of the Lord," "Theodicy," "Wisdom
and Biblical Theology"), background and context (e.g. "Cult, Worship: Psalms,"
"Megillot and Festivals," "Sages, Schools, Education"), methods of interpretation (e.g.
"Editorial Criticism," "Feminist Interpretation," Social-Scientific Approaches"), poetic
devices and characteristics (e.g. "Ambiguity," "Chiasm," "Meter," "Word Play"), and
persons (e.g. "Boaz," "David," "Woman Wisdom and Woman Folly"). A particular
strength is the inclusion of articles that give specific attention to aspects of study
addressed in summary articles. The reader, for example, may move fi-om a programmatic
essay on "Imagery" to more narrowly focused articles on different kinds of imagery
(animal, architectural, creation, floral, life, mountain, protection, salvation and
deliverance, and warfare). Along similar lines, each of the books in the Masoretic canon
is covered by at least three articles which include an introduction to the book and
scholarship, the book's ancient Near Eastern or extra-biblical background, and the history

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of its interpretation. This dictionary, in short, will surely constitute a valuable and
frequently-consulted source for anyone seeking an introduction to the books, an update
on the issues and debates that configure contemporary scholarship, or information on
their content and interpretation.

L. Daniel Hawk

M. Christine Tetley, The Reconstructed Chronology of the Divided Kingdom. Winona
Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2005. Xiv + 194 pp., hardcover, $39.50

The author, who has been involved in missionary, educational, and pastoral
ministry, revised her 2000 doctoral thesis from the Australian College of Theology to
produce this work. It concerns the vexing and longstanding problem of the chronology of
the kings of Israel and Judah, as well as their relationship with extra-biblical resources. It
consists of nine chapters (introduction, transmission history of the book of Kings,
chronological data [with a special discussion of the information supplied by the Dead Sea
manuscript C2], regnal formulae, a methodology for reconstructing chronology, a relative
chronology of the Early and Late Divided Kingdom, and an absolute chronology of the
Divided Kingdom) supplemented by no less than sixty supporting tables, and indexes of
authors. Scripture, and royal names. It is an important work which will need to be taken
into consideration in all future chronological research.

A number of points are controversial, going against current wisdom, which, it
must be remembered, has yet to provide a completely adequate answer to the problems,
so should not be seen as sacrosanct. Tetley proposes: regnal years are reckoned from the
death of the preceding king, with no indication of partial years, interregnums, or
coregencies; the dating systems are the same for both Israel and Judah; reigns are
calculated in fUll years, with rounding evident in the text; special account must be taken
in reckoning the length of a king's final year of rule. In the area of wider Near Eastern
history, Teltey questions the reliability of the Assyrian eponym lists which have been
used to establish an absolute chronology for the biblical reigns. These lists are records of
different cultic officials who have consecutive, year long responsibilities over the last
three centuries of Assyrian history. Mention is made in the lists of an eclipse which we
know occurred in 763 BC, enabling an absolute chronology to be established. Bibhcal
records can then be tied to this list by synchronisms, mentions of an event in the reign of
king X of Judah happening in the year Y of Assyrian king Z. If the eponym lists are
wrong or incomplete, the whole synchronized system comes unmoored.

Through her calculations, Samaria fell to the Assyrians in 718 BC instead of
the generally accepted 722 BC, but more drastically, it alters standard Assyrian
chronology by 43 years. Historians will particularly question the basis for reconstruction
being the bibhcal text rather than the ancient Near Eastern evidence. While her system
seems to hold together based on biblical texts, fitting into its wider context will be a
challenge. If nothing else, the volume should make historians aware of the traditional
albatrosses with which they are encumbered, and which might need to be jettisoned in
order to take a fresh look at an old problem. Due to the technical nature of the topic and
the evidence, the volume will find its best home in serious theological libraries.

David W. Baker

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Bruce K. Waltke with Charles Yu, An Old Testament Theology: An Exegetical,
Canonical, and Thematic Approach. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2007. 1,040 pp.,
cloth, $44.99.

For many, Bruce Waltke needs no introduction. He is a well-respected biblical
scholar who has given us excellent commentaries on Genesis, Proverbs and Micah, as
well as other solid works. An Old Testament Theology is the product of decades of
careful exegetical and theological study critically tested in schools such as Dallas
Theological Seminary, Regent College (Vancouver), and Reformed Theological
Seminary.

As indicated by its title, this book adopts exegetical, canonical and thematic
approaches to the development of a theology of the Old Testament (OT). Waltke
describes his book as "a profession of faith - a reasoning faith, I hope, and reasonable,"
(10) and expresses its objectives as to know God personally, to understand the nature of
God's revelation, to know self, to understand the OT and the NT, and to contribute to
spiritual formation. From the beginning the reader anticipates hearing not only the mind
of a scholar, but also the heart of a shepherd.

Waltke's theological perspective is biblical and evangelical. He has a high
view of Scripture; he accepts biblical inerrancy and infallibility (77). This work is a
biblical theology, rather than a systematic theology; Covenantal, not Dispensationalist
(although he acknowledges the usefulness of dispensations); Evangelical, not Liberal,
Neoorthodox, Traditionalist or Fundamentalist. Clear distinctions are made between this
work and other recent OT theologies, notably those of Walter Brueggemann and James
Barr (68-73). Those who begin from a different reference point will likely find much
with which they may not agree.

Waltke argues that the kingdom of God is the dynamic, unifying center of the
Bible: "the irruption of the holy God's merciful kingship" (147).

The book is organized in three parts. In Part 1 (Introduction), Waltke sets forth
and defends his basis, task and method of biblical theology. He states clearly that the
task "is to articulate the distinctive theologies of individual blocks of writings in the Old
Testament and to trace the trajectory of their major themes and concepts to their
fulfillment in Jesus Christ and his church to their consummation in Christ's second
coming, the Parousia ... that introduces the final eschaton" (20). This part includes
valuable summaries of hermeneutics (chap. 3), narrative theology (chap. 4), and poetics
and intertextuality (chap. 5) - all necessary components of his method of biblical
theology. The concluding chapter of Part 1 (chap. 6) is an insightful overview of the
proposed "center" - the irruption, or in-breaking, of the kingdom of God.

In Part 2 (22 chapters), Waltke traces numerous themes through blocks of
writing from the "Primary History" being Genesis through to 2 Kings (excluding Ruth),
to which he adds Ezra, Nehemiah, 1 and 2 Chronicles, and Esther. Each of these blocks
of writing is examined exegetically and then theologically with an eye to demonstrating
the centrality of the kingdom of God. Later, I will briefly critique one of these themes.

Part 3, takes up those blocks of writing not addressed in Part 2. These include
the books of the prophets, Ruth, Psalms and Wisdom. As in Part 2, the reader is treated
to a discerning but brief exploration of these Scriptures, particularly as they contribute to
the theme of the kingdom of God.

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Thorough indices (71 pages) are provided for works cited, Scripture and
ancient hterature, subjects, and authors. In addition, numerous helpful charts and several
excursuses are provided throughout the text. A table of these charts and excursuses
would have been a usefiil addition to this book.

As indicated, I return to critique one of the themes examined in Part 2 which,
hopefully, will give insight into the method and perspective of the book as a whole. The
"Gift of Land" is an integral component of the kingdom of God and is considered in three
successive chapters. The first of these chapters (chap. 18) is subtitled "Joshua" and is an
excellent 22 page mini-commentary of the book of Joshua, but there is no biblical
theology as such. As with other themes, exegesis is the initial step for two reasons. First,
Waltke argues that exegesis is a necessary prerequisite to biblical theology. Second,
many readers are biblically illiterate (21).

Chapter 19 (subtitled "The Old Testament") is a brief, yet masterful, survey of
the "Land" in OT and Second Temple literature. Some might question the inclusion
within an Old Testament Theology of Chapter 20 (subtitled "The New Testament"),
however, this is consistent with Waltke's canonical approach. This chapter provides a
stage upon which to explore various issues as well as demonstrate the OT trajectory in
the NT. It is here that most of the theology appears to be unpacked in the NT's definition
(or, re-definition) of "Land" (viz., spiritually, transcendentally, and eschatologically). In
short, Waltke contends that "Land in the Old Testament is a type of the Christian life in
Christ" (560).

Although I noted some minor flaws such as the odd missing or inaccurate
citation, misspelling, or detracting language (e.g., "twit"), these are mere quibbles.
Despite Waltke's explanation for using I AM for the tetragrammaton {YHWH - 11), my
sense is that this translation reduces more than it illumines. My preference would have
been to use YHWH and provide an explanation of its richness and significance.

I would suggest this is a work which is somewhat larger than its title - it is
more a biblical theology with an OT focus than an OT theology. This book is accessible
and has much to inform and reward the scholar, student, pastor and diligent Christian. In
keeping with my high regard for Dr. Waltke's scholarship and spirit, I recommend this
book as a valuable and enduring addition to any serious biblical collection.

John B. MacDonald, Bumaby, BC, Canada

Debra Reid, Esther. Tyndale Old Testament Commentary. Downers Grove: IVP
Academic, 2008. Pp. 168, paper, $16.00.

This is the first in a series of reformatted replacement volumes for the long-
standing Tyndale Old Testament Commentary series. A feature of these new volumes is
that the commentary on each section of text is structured under three headings: Context,
Comment and Meaning. The author is Director of Open Learning at Spurgeon's College,
London, UK.

The Introduction gives a concise but adequate discussion of such issues as the
date and historical setting of the book, its canonical status, literary and textual issues, and
its theology and purpose. Against the general current consensus Reid dates the book to
the late fifth or first half of the fourth century BC, though admitting that this is a
possibility rather than anything more certain. The discussion of the genre of Esther leads

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to the conclusion that it is unique within biblical literature and that there is no definitive
answer to the question of its genre. Reid comments that, 'A historical reading of the
Esther story seems coherent with the writer's own intentions' (p. 31). Her comments in
the commentary indicate that she sees the author as writing about historical events in a
creative way with a degree of poetic licence.

In the section-by-section commentary, the Context places each section to its
location in the literary structure of the book and the Meaning places it in the flow of the
plot and the message of the book. The Comment provides exegetical comments on
individual verses or small groups of verses. There are some helpful 'Additional notes'.
Most are on historical points, but there is also a helpfiil one on 'Feminist interpretations
of Esther 1'.

There is an Appendix on 'The Greek Additions' to Esther and the text of the
Additions is included in the Jerusalem Bible translation. These additions are interesting
as evidence of the early interpretation of the story. Reid comments that as a result of
them, 'the God so hidden in the Hebrew text is unambiguously present in the story' (p.
159).

This is a helpfiil, readable commentary. It is based on good, but not obtrusive,
scholarship. In her 'Preface' Reid says that in writing the commentary she was 'surprised
again by the present relevance of this ancient story' (p. 9). It is therefore a little
disappointing that this relevance is not brought out more strongly in the Meaning sections
of the commentary. There is, however, a helpftil section on the 'Theology and purpose'
of the book in the 'Introduction', though this leaves the reader to do the application to the
modem world. Despite this weakness, this is a good start to the new series of Tyndale
Old Testament Commentaries.

Ernest C. Lucas, Bristol Baptist College, UK

Kent E. Bower and Andy Johnson, eds. Holiness and Ecclesiology in the New Testament.
Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007. Xxiv + 409 pp., paper, $35.00.

One of the most famous quotations attributed to John Wesley is, "All holiness
is social holiness." These words are usually understood as a reference to the need for
social action and concern for the poor. While representing one aspect of Wesley's
thought, this summary is somewhat misleading, for in his "Discourse Upon Our Lord's
Sermon on the Mount. Discourse the Fourth," 1.1. Wesley states

By Christianity I mean that method of worshipping God which is here
revealed to man [sic] by Jesus Christ. When I say this is essentially a
social religion, I mean not only that it cannot subsist so well, but that it
cannot subsist at all without society, without living and conversing with
other men [sic]. But if this be shown, then doubtless to turn this religion
into a solitary one is to destroy it {The Works of John Wesley, vol. 1. ed.
Albert C. Outler [Nashville: Abingdon, 1984], 534).

Likewise, in his sermon "On the Wedding Garment" (15) Wesley warns that legalism
destroys true holiness, for when things not mentioned in scripture are considered essential
for salvation humans will overlook or excuse those things scripture specifically

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condemns (77?^ Works of John Wesley, vol. 4, ed. Albert C. Outler [Nashville: Abingdon,
1987], 146). Thus, it is truly ironic that in the holiness movement, which claims its
inspiration from Wesley, ecclesiology has traditionally been neglected and a legalism of
"solitary religion" has been embraced. The essays, edited by Brower and Johnson and
constituting a Festchrift in honor of Alex Deasley, a longtime professor of New
Testament at Nazarene Theological Seminary, address this lacuna and provide a
corrective voice.

The introductory chapter outlines the scope of the book and its understanding
of holiness. It starts by noting that ecclesiology is understood in both Second Temple
Judaism and New Testament Christianity as the communal and public focus of religious
life (pp. xvi-xxix). Next, individual chapters fill out the outline, pointing out how
holiness and ecclesiology are complimentary foci. The first two chapters, by George J.
Brooke and Dwight Swanson provide a brief summary of how in the Qumran literature
holiness is actualized in community (pp. 1-39). Swanson notes that Christians and the
sectarians of Qumran shared a common understanding that holiness is an expression of
communal obedience. Early Christians, however, inverted the Essene understanding of
holiness. The former differed from the Qumran community in that they conceived of
holiness not as withdrawal from the world, but, rather, as outreach to it. That is, holiness
is not defiled by touching the unclean. Instead, it transforms the unclean (pp. 38-39).

The following chapters (pp. 40-362) provide a discussion of holiness in the
New Testament documents. Interestingly enough, while Richard Bauckham has written
an excellent chapter on the holiness of Jesus and his disciples in John's Gospel (pp. 95-
113), no chapter is provided on holiness and ecclesiology in the Johannine epistles. In
light of both the Johannine letters' focus on community and the central role these NT
documents played in Wesley's theology and ecclesiology, this editorial decision is
surprising.

Other fine articles include Michael Gorman on 1 Corinthians (pp. 148-166),
Joel Green on 1 Peter (pp. 311-25), and Dean Flemming on Revelation (pp. 343-62).
Indeed, Flemming's conclusions (pp. 358-62) could serve as a summary for the essays as
a whole. In particular, Flemming notes that, "holiness has a strong communal emphasis
... a needed corrective to traditions in which sanctification is primarily limited to the
inward experience of the individual believer" (p. 359). Gordon Thomas's essay on
Hebrews, on the other hand, is disappointing.

In conclusion. Holiness and Ecclesiology in the New Testament provides some
stimulating essays on the New Testament's focus on the communal dimensions of the
holy life. For the New Testament authors, the holy life was always lived in God's
eschatological community: the church. This dynamic has, unfortunately, been too long
neglected by the "holiness" tradition in favor of an ethic of individualism, sometimes
degenerating into legalism. Through their exegesis of the New Testament documents, the
authors of this book issue nothing short of a prophetic call to the holiness movement to
recognize, along with Wesley, that ultimately, "holiness is social holiness.

Russell Morton

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Ashland Theological Journal 2009

Paul Bamett. Paul, Missionary of Jesus: After Jesus (Volume 2; Grand Rapids, MI:
Eerdmans, 2008). 240 pp., paper, $14.91.

In this introduction to the life and ministry of the apostle Paul, Bamett sets out
to dispute the notion that Paul was the "second founder" of Christianity, as some scholars
have purported. Rather, argues Bamett, Paul's mission derives from the ministry and
mission of Jesus himself This text is unique in that it surveys the life and background of
Paul whereas others tend to focus on the message and background of his letters. The
twelve chapters progress in chronological order beginning with Paul's pre-Christian life.
Subsequent chapters, respectively, discuss 'The Damascus Event', 'Paul's Levantine
Years', and 'Mission and Countermission'; the latter chapters give more focused
attention to his ministry in Corinth and his message in Romans.

Bamett, in defense of his thesis that Paul followed the mission of Jesus closely,
necessarily engages in what can be known about Jesus from the apostle's letters. While
he offers a helpful list of nineteen items, some of them are highly conjectural. For
example, Bamett takes Paul's language of Jesus being "rich" previously and becoming
"poor" to mean that he actually lived in poverty. Also, he suggests that Paul's use of the
language of transformation (e.g. Rom 12:2) is probably an allusion to the transfiguration
(see pp. 18-19). Both of these items are speculative.

Another methodological concem is Bamett' s appeal to the passages in Acts that
illuminate aspects of Paul's life, conversion and ministry. While I do not consider it to be
a mistake to integrate information in Acts with the letters of Paul, Bamett seems to ignore
the history of scholarship that has raised concems about taking the episodes in Acts at
face value. Bamett simply presumes it is "fair game," so to speak, and proceeds without
defending this move sufficiently.

Though there are certainly elements of this book that concem me, I did find a
number of very insightfial suggestions. For instance, in an attempt to discem why Paul so
vehemently persecuted Christians (all the while sharing the "moderate" views of his
teacher Gamiliel), Bamett posits that certain events and happenings escalated problems
for the Pharisee. For instance, Bamett argues that the conversion of a large number of
priests (Acts 6:7) would have raised concem among Jews about the threat of this new
sect. This would have been worsened by Stephen's critique of the temple institution
(Acts 7:48). The argument that even more open-minded Jews would have been seriously
disturbed by these developments is an attractive one.

On the main issue of defending Paul's faithfiilness to the mission of Jesus,
Bamett has offered some excellent points. Though there are methodological concems
with how the book is set up and how his thesis is developed, he has, in the end, provided
a sound critique against scholars like Wrede who tried to drive a wedge between the
historical Jesus and Paul the apostle. While I would not use Bamett' s book as a textbook
or a full-treatment on this issue, I certainly gleaned insights from various sections.

Nijay K. Gupta, Durham University

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Book Reviews

Rekha M. Chennattu, Johanine Discipleship as a Covenant Relationship. Peabody:
Hendrickson, 2006. Pp. 304, paper, $29.95.

Chennattu 's study on the prevalence and significance of Old Testament
covenant motifs in the Gospel of John may at first glance seem to be nothing terribly
new. Chennattu however proposes far more than the simple existence of Jewish themes
and influences in the Gospel. Chennattu sees Old Testament covenant themes as being
central to John's Gospel — the axis around which it was composed, and central to its
vision of what it means to follow Christ.

Chennattu begins her study with a succinct, gracious but critical survey of the
state of Johanine scholarship to date in relation to the covenant motifs in the gospel.
Chennattu sees a development and progression of scholarship in this field and gratefully
acknowledges the various scholars who have made contributions, but concludes
scholarship on this topic to be fundamentally inadequate. She then turns to her study,
focusing on three distinct units of John's Gospel as representative of the whole: the call
narratives in 1 :35-51, chapters 13-17, and chapters 20-21. Of particular importance to the
study is Chennattu's treatment of 13-17. Chennattu sees this entire segment as being
intenfionally modeled after a covenant renewal ceremony. After identifying the covenant
language and themes in the call narratives, Chennattu sees the chapters 2-12 as the
developing struggle toward identificafion and decision on the part of the disciples. In
Chapter 13 then, the ceremony begins, concluding with Jesus' prayer of consecration in
17. Chennattu then asserts that Jesus reaffirms the covenant with the disciples after his
resurrection in chapters 20 and 21, empowering them to move forward and effectively
constituting a new covenant community.

The fifth and final chapter of Chennattu's study then engages the relationship
between the Gospel of John and the Johanine community specifically in regard to this
aspect, showing how the this community (building on general scholarly consensus that it
was comprised of a large contingent of Diaspora Jews) produced the gospel in such a way
as to reaffirm its identity as the true covenant people in the face of being rejected by the
broader Jewish community, which was itself undergoing upheaval in the wake of the
Jewish war and destruction of the temple. This socio-rhetorical component of
Chennattu's study is an important lynchpin to her argument. The textual based
arguments of the previous four chapters are buttressed by a look into the social milieu in
which the gospel was produced, adding plausibility to the notion that the gospel dos not
merely incorporate OT covenant themes, but is in fact consciously built around them.
Chennattu then concludes her work with an extensive and well-organized bibliography,
as well as three indices, making the study very usefiil as an aid for fiirther research in the
field.

Chennattu's study, while a somewhat dense read and likely not accessible to
the average layperson or busy pastor, is very valuable in that it reminds us of the deeply
Jewish character and foundation of John's Gospel. In a climate where the average
layperson, and many pastors as well, focus on the New Testament almost exclusively,
often using the Old Testament only to proof-text teaching primarily based on the New,
any study that encourages a more holistic understanding of both Testaments is much
needed by the Church. The implications of New Testament discipleship principles being
intentionally articulated using Old Testament covenant renewal forms (and understood as
such by the ancient audience) are profound. Such exploration has potential to radically

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correct the Church's understanding of the nature of the divine-human relationship under
the new covenant, both corporate and individual. Studies like Chennattu's are therefore
much needed. Douglas S. Abel

Andrew D. Clarke. Serve the Community of the Church: Christians as Leaders and
Ministers. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000. 305 pp., paper, $34.00.

Andrew D. Clarke, senior lecturer in New Testament at the University of
Aberdeen, has dedicated his research to understanding better how the earliest Christians
were shaped by the Greco-Roman world in which they lived. In this work, Clarke takes a
particular interest in the question of how patterns of leadership already accepted in
various organizations of "secular" society would have affected the structure of
burgeoning Christian communities.

Clarke begins by examining leadership patterns in five contexts: the Greco-
Roman city, the Roman colony and city, voluntary associations, the family and
household, and the Jewish synagogue. In each chapter he discusses the background and
nature of the ancient institution (or group) before turning directly to the role, fiinction,
and privileges of the leaders. A central conclusion that emerges from these adumbrations
of leadership in society and social life in the ancient Greco-Roman world is that "the
overlap between the political and the religious was prominent" (p. 32). A second critical
consistency in all of these organizations is a persistent preference to favor the socially
elite and wealthy as leaders. One may be surprised by Clarke's conclusion that even in
the Jewish synagogues "leading figures were recognized and accorded positions of
leadership on the basis of their status, wealth and ability to act as patrons" (p. 136).

In the second part of the book, which focuses on leadership in the Christian
community, Clarke demonstrates that the early believers in Christ were attempting to
discover their own identity within the Roman world and in distinction to the Jewish
synagogues. Though many Christian communities undoubtedly defaulted to the patterns
in the wider society (as Clarke has argued in an earlier monograph), the apostle Paul
desired to adjust such presumptions and tendencies. One specific problem that needed
addressing was the common secular criteria of honor-status which was a test for whether
or not someone was worthy of being a leader. This, as Clarke notes, can easily be
recognized in the "preoccupation" with conferring "honorific titles associated with
positions of leadership" (p. 249). The chapters in this second part of Clarke's work
concentrate on Paul's conception of leadership and ministry. One important result of this
study is the conclusion that Paul did not just reject the common secular patterns. In his
conclusion, Clarke suggests that the role of fatherhood was particularly useflil as a model
for Christian communities. Though the father had authority, the relationship was largely
one of love and concern (see p. 251).

Clarke's research not only allows the modem interpreter of the New Testament
to gain a better sense of the ancient social environment in which the early church began
and grew, but also has serious implications for common scholarly assumptions about the
nature of the early church. For instance, it has long been argued that the "Church" began
as a grassroots, charismatic, loosely-organized group that gradually became
"institutionalized." Many churches today see this "institutionalization" as burdensome
and beatify the ostensibly looser model of the earliest church. One implication of

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Clarke's analysis is that the early churches were not necessarily void of hierarchical
leadership because they had numerous secular models from which to draw. The
traditional evolutionary hypothesis seems to neglect this important social situation.

Clarke offers a well-written and stimulating discussion of how leadership
worked in the Greco-Roman world and, in his comparison with Paul's letters, directs
attention to the important differences between the apostle's concept of it and those of his
churches (especially in Corinth). The first half of the book, with its concise discussion of
ancient literature, is a remarkable distillation of a large amount of material and many
readers will find this the most usefiil part of the book. Church leaders today will, of
course, benefit much from this work.

Nijay K. Gupta, Durham University

James D. G. Dunn and Scot McKnight, eds. The Historical Jesus in Recent Research.
Sources for Biblical and Theological Study 10. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2005. Xvi
+ 618pp., cloth. $49.95.

As the so-called "Third Quest" of the historical Jesus progresses, students and
pastors may wish to gain some insight into Historical Jesus studies. While there are
excellent works summarizing academic research into the life and person of Jesus,
beginning with Schweitzer's classic. The Quest of the Historical Jesus, no truly informed
conclusions can be reached about the validity of scholars' conclusions without reading
their own writings. Yet, these works are not always easy to find. Furthermore, most
individuals have neither the time nor the resources to acquaint themselves with the vast
bibliography on the Historical Jesus. It is, therefore, very fortunate that Dunn and
McKnight have made Jesus studies more accessible to a wider public.

This book is an anthology (p. xii). It is divided into seven parts. These sections
are entitled: (1) "Classic Voices"; (2) "Methodology"; (3) Teachings of Jesus: God,
Kingdom, Ethics, Parables, and Old Testament"; (4) "Jesus: Who Was He?"; (5) "Jesus:
Major Events"; (6) "Jesus and Others'" and (7) "Conclusion." Each of the seven parts is
provided with a short and informative introduction, which contextualizes the ensuing
essays for the reader. The introductions are then followed by extracts of the works of
scholars who have made significant contributions to the study of the Historical Jesus.
Thus, the reader encounters writings by such luminaries as Albert Schweitzer, Rudolf
Bultmann, Martin Kahler, Joachim Jeremias, John P. Meier, James D. G. Dunn, P. M.
Casey, G. B. Caird, Marcus Borg, Peter Stuhlmacher, Gerd Theissen, E. P. Sanders,
Amy-Jill Levine, and Robert Morgan, to name only a few. The sampling of
methodologies is eclectic, ranging from standard historical-critical analysis to more
modem methodologies, such as feminist critique.

In any ambitious project of this scope, however, certain lacunae are inevitable.
For example, the book contains no contributions by either John Dominic Crossan or Geza
Vermes. The editors have also restricted their selection to works readily available in
English. Thus, the only "original" contribufions are two essays by Peter Stuhlmacher
("The Messianic Son of Man: Jesus' Claim to Deity," pp. 325-44; and "Jesus' Readiness
to Suffer and His Understanding of His Death," pp. 392-412.). Both of these were
extracted from Stuhlmacher's then forthcoming. Biblical Theology of the New Testament.
The decision to restrict the selection of essays for anthology to works accessible in
English, however, may be somewhat unfortunate. For example, Dunn and McKnight

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could have provided a truly significant contribution if a translation of a chapter of K. L.
Schmidt's classic 1919 work, Der Rahmen der Geschichte Jesu {The Structure of the
History of Jesus) had been included in their selections. Had they done so they would have
provided English readers access to one of the seminal discussions about the composition
and outline of the Gospel of Mark.

Yet, while it may be easy to fault the editors on some of their specific choices,
one must commend them for daring to accept the daunting task of providing non-
specialists with an accessible and helpful anthology. The bibliography of research on the
Historical Jesus is exceedingly vast. The attempt to provide readers with some
representations of major voices is overwhelming. That Dunn and McKnight have done so
with sensitivity is to their credit.

Russell Morton

Susan Eastman, Recovering Paul's Mother Tongue: Language and Theology in
Galatians. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007. Pp. 220, paperback. $25.00.

While sociological approaches to biblical interpretation have yielded some
provocative results, Susan Eastman's Recovering Paul's Mother Tongue is a work which
brings together the best of sociological insights alongside sober exegetical rigor. She
finds Paul's letter to the Galatians replete with "mother tongue"-a concept which uses the
language of conversation and relationship (8). The crux of her argument centers on the
role of Gal 4:12-5:1 in Paul's larger letter which communicates "the staying power of the
gospel" by expressing relational concerns for his audience. Likewise, Paul
communicates to his converts the motivation and power necessary to move them from
their wavering faith to a faith that "stands fasf (5:1) in its allegiance to Christ alone as
the source of their unity and life together (6). The substantive chapters may be
summarized as follows.

Chapter two argues that the close affinities between Gal 4:12-20 and other
Pauline mimesis texts (e.g., 1 Thess 1:6; 2:14; 1 Cor 4:16; 11:1; Phil 3:17)-motifs of
suffering for gospel, concerns for maturity and unity, friendship, and familial language-
demonstrate that this verse belongs among the list of imitation texts. As such, Galatians
generates a new way of describing Paul's own history, disrupting old continuities and
identity markers, but also creating a new continuity that embraces both the past and the
future as "in Christ" (56). It is to this way of living that Paul says to his readers, "become
like me," (Gal 4:12).

Chapter three explores the linguistic and conceptual parallels between Paul's
calling and Old Testament prophetic tradition. The depiction of Paul's calling (Gal 1:15-
16) echoes the call of Jeremiah (Jer 1:1-10) and shares the characteristics of being called
to communicate a specific message and being sent in God's name (69). Thus, Paul's self-
conscious placing of himself within the prophetic tradition is related to his relationship
with the Galatians (cf 4:14) and yields fiirther understanding of his particular mode of
proclamation (63).

Chapter four explores the role of maternal metaphors in Paul's "mother
tongue." In order to better understand Paul's metaphor in Gal 4:17-20, Eastman
investigates the background of "labor pains" imagery in prophetic and apocalyptic texts.
She argues that Paul's statement that he is "again" in labor refers to his initial preaching

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of the gospel at Galatia which is in danger of being aborted by false teachers (97). Paul's
labor pains are also connected to suffering in Paul's own life and lend color to his call to
imitation "until Christ is formed in you" (4:19b).

Chapter five examines the contribution of Isa 54:1 to Paul's interpretation of
the Sarah/Hagar allegory (4:21-5:1). Eastman argues that the Isaianic text encapsulates
the united stories of barren woman and the city Jerusalem which both demonstrate God's
transforming power and the promise of a lasting community and habitation for the people
of God. Like many others, Eastman sees the allegory as a pivotal moment of the letter,
pulling together strings from each previous section and pointing readers toward new life
in the Spirit (129).

Chapter six seeks to understand the role of the flesh and the Spirit in Paul's
unfolding family tree. Eastman argues that the lineage developed in the Sarah/Hagar
allegory has flirther connections to Paul's contrasts between Spirit and flesh (5:13-6:18).
Characteristics of the first family tree are listed in the divisive "works of the flesh," and
represent human activity which is part of the "present evil age" (1:4). Characteristics of
the second family tree-that of the barren woman-rely on the promises of God for their
fecundity and represent the new creation.

While Eastman's book is a welcome addition to biblical studies on Galatians,
given the nature of her thesis-listening for Paul's mother tongue-this author would have
liked to see more interaction with rhetorical analysis. If Eastman's contention is that
Paul's "mother tongue" is employed to make a relational appeal, how might this affect
recent discussions of rhetorical structure and analysis of Galafians? While left wanting in
this regard, Eastman's proposal brings fresh insights into Paul's letter to the Galatians
that should not be ignored.

Seth M. Ehom, Wheaton College Graduate School

J.R. Daniel Kirk, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God. Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008. Pp. 259, paperback. $32.00.

Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God is a revision of
Daniel Kirk's doctoral dissertation which advances two basic claims: (1) resurrection is
the hermeneutical key to understanding Paul's letter to the Romans; (2) resurrection
shapes and gives content to the themes and concerns of the letter. Kirk suggests that God
must be understood through the particulars (i.e., the God of Romans is the God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) and not in theological abstractions. If this is the case, then
Romans is a theodicy, because the letter bemoans that the Christian gospel is being
rejected among those who are descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (10).

In chapter two. Kirk summarizes texts of Second Temple Judaism pertinent to
resurrection. He examines a few OT texts (Dan 11:31-34; Ezek 37) and numerous texts
fi-om the Apocrypha (e.g., 2 Mace 7:9) and Pseudepigrapha (e.g., 2 Bar 32:1-7). Crucial
to Kirk's approach, however, is that he is not concerned to ask what resurrection is, but
rather how does resurrection function in these texts? Four fiancfions are identified and
outlined: (1) vindicating people; vindicating God (15-24); (2) undergirding parenesis (24-
28); (3) restoradon of the cosmos (28-30); and (4) restorafion of Israel (30-31). Thus,
Kirk argues that Paul was well supplied with functional ideas when it came to evoking
resurrection in Romans.

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In Kirk's exegetical chapters which deal with Romans, he first argues that
resurrection bookends the letter (33). Paul begins by describing his gospel and exalting
Jesus who had been "set apart... by resurrection from the dead" (Rom 1:4). Likewise, so
argues Kirk, Paul's citation of Isa 11:10 in Rom 15:12 draws out the theme of
resurrection. Kirk acknowledges the difficulty of interpreting "resurrection" in this
context, but ultimately finds it convincing because of the proposed rhetorical structure of
the letter (50). The peroratio (c.f , Rom 15:7-12) is often thought to correspond to the
exordium (c.f, Rom 1:1-7). So, we might expect to find the corroborating theme of
resurrection in both passages. Seven other chapters draw out the fimction of resurrection
diachronically throughout the letter.

The final chapter, entitled "Reading with the Apostle," explores some of the
implications for the proposed fixnction of resurrection within the letter to the Romans.
Kirk suggests three possible ways: theodicy (216-220), justification (220-227), and unity
(227-234). Although many generations of interpreters have seen Rom 9-11 as an
extended theodicy. Kirk's proposal has suggested that the entire letter of Romans
"functions as a defense of the faithfulness of the God of Israel to the promises contained
in Scripture" (216).

With regard to justification. Kirk began by defining the issue as "God's
vindication of his faithftil people which shows God himself to be faithful" (10). God's
vindication comes through the resurrection of Jesus as a just action which leads to life (cf
Rom 5:18) (222). Kirk expresses his agreement with N.T. Wright that justification is an
ecclesiological category, although perhaps not more than a soteriological one (223).
Additionally, Kirk's discussion on the theme of restoration in Second Temple Judaism
has provided the opportunity to explore the eschatological contours of justification in
Romans with regard to new creation (Rom 8:29) and the future judgment (Rom 8:32; cf
8:17).

Finally, in reference to the unity of God's people, Kirk appeals to Rom 14:1-9
as purporting a new basis for Christian unity. Whereas appeals to the Mosaic law and so-
called boundary markers may have provided the basis for delineating group identity in
the people of God, now Paul appeals to the lordship of resurrected Christ as the basis for
Christian unity (199-203). Indeed, as Kirk suggests, there is one risen Lord presiding over
one people (233).

In sum, this book offers a provocative look at Paul's letter to the Romans
positing that using resurrection as a hermeneutical key will unlock the meaning and
purpose of the letter. Whether or not Kirk has been successftil in doing that is, of course,
open to debate. Because Unlocking Romans does not argue for, but simply assumes much
of the discussion on Paul relevant to the New Perspective, some readers may wish to
whet their appetite elsewhere first.

Seth M. Ehom

Paul W. Meyer, The Word in This World: Essays in New Testament Exegesis and
Theology. John T. Caroll, ed. New Testament Library. Louisville: Westminster/John
Knox Press, 2004. Pp. xxx + 338, paper, $39.95

This volume is a collection of the published work of Paul W. Meyer, who
served as a professor of New Testament at Yale Divinity School, Colgate Rochester

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Divinity School, Vanderbilt University, and, finally, Princeton Theological Seminary.
The book is introduced with a reminiscence by J. Louis Martyn, who had been one of
Meyer's graduate students at Yale. Martyn's survey of Meyer's career demonstrates the
esteem Meyer has received from his colleagues.

The essays reflect the development of Meyer's thought from 1960 to 1996. The
book is divided into five parts. The first is entitled "Essays in Theological and Historical
Interpretation" (pp. 5-53). These chapters include such topics as the "This-Worldliness of
the New Testament," (pp. 5-18, originally a lecture delivered in 1979), and the problem
of Jesus' Messianic self consciousness (pp. 27-40). The latter chapter provides a
discussion of the one of the issues deriving from Life of Jesus research up to 1960,
namely: Did Jesus have a messianic self consciousness, and if so, what was it? Meyer's
insights are interesting, but will certainly need to be updated in light of the "Third Quest"
of the Historical Jesus.

Part 2 (pp. 57-148) is a collection of essays on Paul. This section is, perhaps,
the most interesting part of the book. The first chapter, "The Worm at the Core of the
Apple: Exegetical Reflections on Romans 7" (pp. 57-77) was originally published in
1 990. Meyer notes, correctly, that the problem of the Law in Rom 7 is not that it is bad
and used by bad people, but that it is good, but its use by good people leads to bad ends,
corruption and alienation from God. Another useful article is "Romans 10:4 and the 'End
of the Law'" (pp. 78-94, originally published in 1980), where it is noted that the term
"end" does not mean fulfillment, but termination, for "Christ and the Torah of Moses
stand in same kind of contrary relationship as Christ and Adam in 5:12-21, the one
belonging to the new aeon and the other to the old" (p. 93). Finally, the reprint of
Meyer's 1995 essay "Pauline Theology: A Proposal for a Pause in its Pursuit" states that
the effort to find the coherent core behind the condngency of expression in Paul's
theology may be fundamentally wrong headed, for it is the latter which causes the
refinement of Paul's thought..

Part 3 (pp. 149-218) is a reprint of Meyer's commentary on Romans, originally
published in the Harper's Bible Commentary (1988). The reader is left to wonder why
the editor felt a need to reproduce this material, since it is has already been reprinted in
the 2000 release of the HarperCollins Bible Commentaiy.

Part 4 (pp. 219- 274) is entitled "Exegetical and Theological Essays on the
Gospel of John." While the first essay "'The Father': The Presentation of God in the
Fourth Gospel" (pp. 221-239) was published in 1996, the other essays in this section
originally saw the light of day in the 1960's. As a result, the chapter on "The Father" is
the most interesting to current readers, as it demonstrates a feature often neglected by
interpreters, the theocentric character of John's gospel.

The final section, (pp. 275-302) is entitled "Shorter Exegetical Studies and
Sermons on the Gospels." These essays are reprints of exegetical essays from
Interpretation, as well as a selection of published sermons.

While this collection of essays is a noble assembly of the work of a beloved
colleague and teacher, one wonders why this book was published in a series such as the
New Testament Library. There is little that is new. With the exception of two sermons
everything in the book has been published earlier and is accessible via databases such as
ATLA and ATLA Serials. The minor updating of the essays, such as notations in the
footnotes of English translations of German works, does not in itself justify their
republicafion. Perhaps the main reason for issuing the book is the love and respect Meyer

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has received from his colleagues over the years, and their desire to make his thought
more accessible to a new generation of scholars.

Russell Morton

Mikeal C. Parsons, Body and Character in Luke and Acts: The Subversion of
Physiognomy in Early Christianity. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2003. 191 pp., paper, $22.00.

Parsons' project on physiognomy — the psuedo-science of judging inner
qualities by outer appearance — is both an interesting study and much needed word. He
begins the study by surveying and unpacking various writings in antiquity that encourage
the judging of others by physical traits, and which outline the specifics of how to do so.
This alone is incredibly fascinating and the detail sometimes amusing, sometimes
humbling.

Parsons' survey begins with ancient Greek and Roman sages, who taught
principles of physiognomy and even selected students solely based on them. The reader
learns that there were actually "handbooks" written by ancient sages that detailed exactly
what various physical features meant, for good or ill, to be used by the discerning teacher
or leader in choosing disciples and associates well. Parsons also shows how many early
church fathers practiced physiognomy. For instance, Ambrose chose his students and
friends based on physiognomic principles just as Pythagoras did centuries before, and
advised others to do the same. And in The Acts of Paul and Thecla we find a description
of Paul that in modem times we have often assumed to be unflattering (and therefore safe
to accept as fairly accurate) because he is presented as short and bald, but which by
Parsons is revealed to be deeply colored by physiognomic principles of the day, designed
to present Paul as a strong, shrewd and upright person over and against his two
companions, before a word is even quoted from him.

Parsons' point to this discussion is not to merely survey significant thinkers and
their opinions on physiognomy, but to demonstrate how deeply entrenched physiognomy
was in ancient culture in preparation for the next phase of his study. It is a long standing,
largely unquestioned, pervasive cultural phenomenon in the ancient world, such that the
average person in such a context would be making judgments of others based on their
physical features intuitively and assumptively on a daily basis. It was not only a well
established "science" of the time in elite circles, but a part of the very "cultural air" the
every-day person breathed. It is in this environment that scripture is being written and
passed down, and in which Luke writes.

Parsons devotes the remainder of his book to 4 pericopae in the Lucan material:
the story of the Bent Woman, the story of Zacchaeus, the healing of the man lame from
birth in Acts 3, and the story of the Ethiopian Eunuch. In each case Parsons explores a
familiar Lucan theme — advocacy for the oppressed and marginalized — from an
unfamiliar perspective: the subversion of physiognomic principles. In each case Parsons
observes Luke "setting up" the audience by the use of the physical descriptions of these
characters, then subverting those assumed judgments by showing how the inner condition
of the person does not match what their physical traits would suggest. In these 4 stories,
Luke presents Jesus, and later Jesus' followers, as ones who see through and subvert
prevailing physiognomic cultural wisdom and reveal the true character of the person.

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Parsons' study suggests to us that the principle in 1 Sam 16:7 is not lost to Luke, who is
actively working to subvert prevailing preconceptions in his ancient context.

While Parsons' book can be a dense read at times, it contains valuable
historical information and analysis that has direct relevance to present day study and
preaching. While the book is focused specifically on the Lucan writings, it invites the
reader to consider the impact of physiognomy in writings throughout the Old and New
Testaments and extra canonical contexts, and to consider how principles of physiognomy
still operate in our culture today. Parsons invites us to observe and follow the example of
the Lucan Jesus and his followers in becoming more aware of and subverting these
forces. He invites us to connect with this aspect of the Gospel — to look past the physical
traits by which we so quickly judge others, and see each other through God's eyes.

Douglas Stephen Abel

Brian S. Rosner, Greed as Idolatry: The Origin and Meaning of a Pauline Letter. Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007. Pp. 214, paper, $22.00.

Rosner' s exhuastive exploration of the interpretive history of this phrase
yielded six distinct meanings of the association between greed and idolatry in Col 3:5:
"greed is as bad as idolatry, leads to idolatry, entails the worship of the demon or god of
mammon, like idolatry involves forbidden service and obedience, like idolatry involves
inordinate love and devotion, or like idolatry involves misplaced trust and confidence"
(pp. 46-7). Provisionally dismissing the "nonmetaphorical" options as viable
interpretations, Rosner finds the latter three options to be most probable. Thus, in terms
of method, he devotes a major section to how and why analyzing the phrase in question
as a metaphor is profitable.

As a large portion of the book involves a survey of the concepts of "greed" and
"idolatry" throughout the Old and New Testaments (and early Judaism), Rosner nearly
develops a biblical theology of wealth. No textual stone is left unturned as he explores
key biblical texts (e.g. the Ten Commandments, the incident of the worship of the golden
calf, etc.), comparative Jewish texts such as Philo's writings and the Dead Sea Scrolls,
and the New Testament milieu (including portions of the gospels. Revelation, Romans
and Philippians). In terms of origins, Rosner draws the broad conclusion that Jewish
traditions such as the first commandment are foundational.

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acquire and keep for themselves more and more money and possessions, because they
love, trust, and obey wealth rather than God"' (p. 129). In Colossians and Ephesians, the
linking of greed to idolatry is meant, then, to expose the greedy as those who refuse to
offer God the exclusive right of love and trust (see p. 148). In the concluding chapter
Rosner offers some theological reflections on how the modem church can profit from a
focused concern with greed and the relationship between attitudes toward material
possessions and religious worship.

This book is a very welcome contribution to New Testament ethics and a
masterfiil example for students especially regarding how to do biblical exegesis. His
mastery of hermeneutical tools, his detailed knowledge of both ancient biblical and non-
biblical text, his comprehensive analysis of early and modem interpretations, and his
pastoral and theological sensitivity are admirable. Perhaps a couple of small quibbles are
worthy of notice, though. Rosner' s dismissal of the option that the phrase is meant to
view money as a god may have been a bit too hasty. The line between speaking
metaphorically of a god and literally may be more hazy than we presume (see Acts
17:18). Secondly, Rosner seems to treat the phrase "greed is idolatry" in Colossians as
an idiomatic phrase and, thus, not too directly tied to the argument of the letter altogether
(though he is interested in the sitz im leben of the phrase in the early church). He does
not offer, then, a verse-by- verse analysis of the phrase in its literary context (as one might
see in a commentary). However, the inclusion of this sort of section in his book may
have enabled him to ground his argument more closely in its immediate context.

Nijay K. Gupta, University of Durham

Ben Witherington III. The Letters to Philemon, the Colossians, and the Ephesians: A
Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on the Captivity Epistles. Grand Rapids/Cambridge:
Eerdmans, 2007. Xii + 382 pp., paperback, $38.

This book is another in the series of New Testament commentaries written
nearly single-handedly by Ben Witherington (the exception being David DeSilva's
Perseverance in Gratitude, on Hebrews). As with the previous works in this series,
Witherington calls what he does "socio-rhetorical commentary," where he uses parallels
in ancient rhetorical sources and understandings learned from the social sciences and
social history to assist and guide his interpretation. This approach is different than the
"Socio-Rhetorical Interpretation" that has been emerging in the writings of Vemon
Robbins and others in recent years. The book has a lengthy Introduction and a
comprehensive Annotated Bibliography followed by commentary in the historical order
of the letters, first with Philemon, then Colossians, then Ephesians.

The Introduction explains what is the primary distinctive of the entire
commentary, the view that Philemon, Colossians and Ephesians, as letters for recipients
who lived in the Asian provinces, employ "Asiatic Rhetoric" characterized by vivid
expression and terminology, long, rhythmic sentences, repetitions and redundancies,
polysyllabic words, and a high level of emotion and ornamentation. Witherington tracks
the complex Asiatic style of the three letters, making a persuasive case for its intentional

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use, thereby explaining the expansive rhetorical style of Colossians and Ephesians in
particular. Witherington takes the view that both Colossians and Ephesians are genuinely
Pauline, vwritten during the early 60s C.E. He argues that the Asiatic character of
Colossians and the epideictic nature of Ephesians make it likely that Paul is responsible
for both letters. The Introduction draws attention to social features relevant to
interpretation, focusing particularly on slavery and and the concern about an opposing
"philosophy" in Colossae. Interestingly, while the main commentary considers the letters
in their presumed chronological ordering, the Introduction works in the opposite
direction, from Ephesians, to Colossians, to Philemon. Additional introductory material
is included at the beginning of each of the commentary sections on Colossians and
Ephesians. The Annotated Bibliography is a particularly helpful feature — not often
found in commentaries — that guides readers to the most useful secondary materials.

The commentary for each of the letters is impressive in its fullness, drawing on
a massive secondary literature and covering much technical detail. It clearly shows the
importance and power of the rhetoric of the letters and indicates that the social sciences
and social history are critical for interpretation. Witherington analyzes Philemon,
Colossians and Ephesians according to the categories and structures set out in the ancient
rhetorical handbooks. Philemon and Colossians are thus seen to be deliberative
discourses and Ephesians epideictic discourse. Emerging Christian rhetoric did not
always match the classical usage, and alternative rhetorical structures could be proposed.
For each of the letters, Witherington begins and ends with epistolary rather than
rhetorical analysis. He describes epistolary prescripts before the exordia (e.g.. Col 1:1-2)
and epistolary postscripts following the perorations (e.g.. Col 4:7-18), the effect of which
is to analyze oral/rhetorical material as embedded within epistolary structures, leaving out
the rhetoric of pre- and postscripts.

There are a number of helpful "Closer Look" sections where focused
discussions of the social contexts are particularly useful. On the other hand,
Witherington does not always deal as fiilly with the nature of the argumentation of the
rhetorical sections he considers. The style occasionally seems a bit wooden and the
sections of commentary sometimes show signs of having been written separately, with
some of the joints still showing (e.g., variations in referencing styles). While the book is
explicitly concerned with providing rhetorical and social interpretation, it continues the
tradition of historical critical commentary and surveys of scholarship that can be traced
back to the nineteenth century work of Lightfoot and others.

This is a fine commentary that is characterized by clarity and depth. The
emphasis on Asiatic rhetoric sheds much light on why Philemon, Colossians and
Ephesians look like they do and how they are meant to function. The insights that
readers gain from this commentary will enhance their understanding and move them to
deepened appreciation of the three letters.

Roy R. Jeal, Booth College

Stephen E. Fowl, Philippians. The Two Horizons New Testament Commentary. Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008. Pp. 254, paperback. $20.00.

Philippians, by Stephen Fowl, represents the fourth commentary published in
the Two Horizons New Testament Commentary series (the others being: 1 Peter, 2 Peter
& Jude, Colossians & Philemon). From first page to last, the work is unlike many other

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commentaries. Introductory issues such as authorship, dating, provenance are addressed
only in passing. Secondary literature is (admittedly) given only cursory treatment (p. 7).
The text is treated in its canonical form as is. Apart from these lacunae and beyond the
comments on specific chapter and verse. Fowl includes a final section which summarizes
the payoff of theological reflection with respect to one aspect of Pauline theology in
Philippians: fiiendship.

Fowl contends that a theological reading of Philippians can help generate a rich
theology of friendship by: (1) demonstrating that fiiendship must be based upon the
character of the triune God as displayed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus (p.
209); (2) showing that seeking the benefit of others is a decisive way in which Christ
displays the form and glory of God to us (p. 215); (3) helping each other understand and
narrate their lives in the context of God's economy of salvation (p. 218); and, (4) offering
an account of the striking emphasis on joy in Philippians (p. 233).

What is evident throughout the entire work is the paradigmatic role for which
Fowl understands Phil 2:5-11. These verses account for roughly fifteen percent of the
commentary proper and serve as the theological grounding for Fowl's theology of
friendship. Problematic to Fowl's theological reading, however, is the extremely
binitarian nature of this (alleged) pre-Pauline hymn. That is, Fowl's reading of this text
attempts to place it within a Trinitarian understanding and yet Phil 2:5-1 1 concerns only
the identity of Jesus in relation to God. The Spirit, although mentioned in Phil 2:1, is not
readily apparent in this marked section. To be sure, Fowl's development of the nature of
the friune God as expressed through Jesus still stands. However, the connection to
fiiendship becomes cloudy if the character of the Triune God is to be understood on the
basis of this passage alone.

Fowl's development of how Paul works to help the Philippians understand and
narrate their lives in relation to God's economy of salvation provides a basis for
understanding one's own suffering in the world. In fact, within the context of suffering
for the sake of Christ, Paul finds grounds for rejoicing (cf Phil 2:18-19). For just as God
is seen to be God in both the exaltation and humiliation of Christ, it is at this conjunction
that believers also ground their relationship with each other.

The proliferation of the writing of commentaries in the modem era has,
perhaps, yielded a situation where readers are "embarrassed by riches." Yet, in the sea of
commentaries being written, only a select few endeavor to blend exegetical work with the
task of theological reflection. The former being marked by technical discussions of
grammatical-historical exegesis; the latter being concerned with how texts are to be
interpreted theologically. Fowl's Philippians blends both tasks in one helpful volume,
offering fresh insights and a constructive model for future commentators in this new
series.

Seth M. Ehom, Wheaton College Graduate School

Rebecca Skaggs. The Pentecostal Commentary on 1 Peter, 2 Peter, and Jude. New York/
London: T & T Clark/ Cleveland: Pilgrim, 2004. Xiv + 175 pp, paper, $24.00.

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Christianity is vital, and I appreciate anyone who helps develop a greater awareness of
His work in Christ's Church. Depending on what translation is used, Peter refers to the
Holy Spirit six times at 1 Peter 1:2, 1:11, 1:12, 1:22, 3:18, 4:14, and 2 Peter 1:21. Jude
refers to the Spirit twice at verses 19 and 20. Dr. Skaggs comments on these verses in
particular will be very relevant as well as her three sections devoted to the Holy Spirit
(see pp. 14-15 "The Holy Spirit in 1 Peter"; 90-91 "The Holy Spirit in 2 Peter"; and 154-
155 "The Holy Spirit in Jude").

"To the exiles... chosen and destined by God the Father and sanctified by the
Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood" (1 Peter 1:1, 2,
RSV). This is the Apostle Peter's first mention of the Holy Spirit in his first letter to those
under his care. Peter is telling Christ's sheep that they are "chosen," "destined" and
"sanctified" so that they may be obedient to Christ and be "sprinkled with his blood," a
critical Old Testament reference to holiness. These are important themes for the Apostle
and a wonderful opportunity for us to better understand the Spirit's role in our Christian
life. The phrase "sanctified by the Spirit" is an important theme to Pentecostals because
of their deep roots in the Holiness Movement of the 1 800s. Skaggs, however, offers us
only one sentence regarding this theme: "Satisfaction means a setting apart, and however
the theological concept is viewed by scholars, it is quite clear that the author is saying
that the readers have been set apart by the Holy Spirit according to God's plan" (16). I
refer to commentaries because of the "theological concept" that is elaborated upon.
Skagg gives us no such help. She merely restates here what the Apostle has said.

The next reference to the Holy Spirit occurs in 1 Peter 1:11, "they [the OT
prophets] inquired what person or time was indicated by the Spirit of Christ within
them. . ." Skaggs gives us a little more insight here. She reports that this title for the Holy
Spirit is unique in the New Testament and serves as an experiential bridge between
Peter's suffering believers and the suffering OT prophets. "Indeed, it is by means of the
work of the Spirit that Peter's suffering readers are participating in the sufferings and
future glory of Christ which were prophesied by the prophets" (21). This spiritual
relationship is not spoken of fiirther than this. This is a missed opportunity to really
advance Pentecostal understanding of the relationship between the Old and New
testaments.

1 Peter 1:12 ("...those who preached the good news to you through the Holy
Spirit sent from heaven...") is not even menfioned in Skaggs' commentary! As we
remember, Peter was the one who stood up fi-om among the eleven and preached on the
day of Pentecost about the good news of Christ having ascended and who was pouring
out His Spirit upon His Church (Acts 2:14ff.). No mention is made of this obvious
connection. And no scholarly comment upon this verse means a possible vital fiirtherance
of our understanding of Pentecostal homiletics is missed.

There are two usages of the phrase "in the spirif in 1 Peter 3:18 and 4:6. It
could be argued that these verses are not talking about the Holy Spirit, but the human

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spirit as opposed to the carnality of human "flesh." Nevertheless, when a Pentecostal
reads the phrase "in the spirit," the Word of God has effectively grabbed their attention
and rightfiilly so. (Skaggs does not have a section in her commentary on 1 Peter 3:18-22,
but is actually included in her section on 13-17.) Skaggs does, however, capitalize
"Spirit" in 3:18, so in her mind it is a reference to the Holy Spirit. Here our commentator
does give us somewhat to sink our teeth into. She refers to "in the Spirit" as "the area in
which the Holy Spirit works without human limitations, whereas the sphere of the flesh
is characterized by suffering and death.... Hence, the phrase 'in the Spirit' must refer to
the existence in and to which Jesus was raised when the power of God was able to work
without the limitation of human existence" (51). She then relates the believer's being
"made alive in the new existence in Christ" to Christ's own being "made alive again in
the Spirit" (51). Skaggs' gives us something to ponder here. How does the Holy Spirit
work in spite of our human limitations to bring us into this newness?

If 1 Peter 3:18 is a reference to the Holy Spirit, we can assume that the very
same phrase, "in the spirit," in 4:6 is also a reference to the Spirit of God. Skaggs does
admit that the terms "flesh" and "spirif are used here in the same sense as they are in
3:18, but she does not comment on what the phrase signifies here in 4:6, save that "in the
final time of judgment, God will reverse the negative judgment of humans and these ["the
dead" to which "the gospel was preached"] will live in the new resurrection life" (57).
But the phrase Peter gives us in 4:6, "they might live in the Spirit like God," is rich with
joyful and hopeful meaning.

Chapter four, verse fourteen is the last reference to the Holy Spirit in Peter's
first epistle; it tells us that the "Spirit of glory and of God" rests upon those who suffer
reproach for Christ's sake. How believers respond to suffering has been the main theme
of Skaggs' commentary and will continue to be the theme she uses to unite all of Peter's
sayings together into one cohesive message. She rightfully comments that "when you are
abused, you are blessed, since then the spirit comes as support to help you and gives you
a share in God's glory" (65, italics hers). Skaggs further comments of God's glory, "one
of the main characteristics of God is glory... which is revealed in Jesus.... Glory is also a
significant theme for Peter" (65). She mentions three times when the Apostle Peter uses
the idea of "glory" (1 :7, 5:4, and 5:10). Glory, or the Shekinah Glory, is very important to
many Pentecostals. It barkens back to the glory of God in the Holy of Holies. It barkens
back to the Mount of Transfiguration. It is a wonderftil expression Peter gives us: "the
Spirit of Glory." Further comment by Skaggs about the relationship between the Holy
Spirit and the Glory of God would be most welcome.

The Holy Spirit is only mentioned in 2 Peter once: 1:21. It speaks of OT
prophets being "moved by the Holy Spirit." This reminds the reader of 1 Peter 1:1 1-12.
Because Pentecostals believe that the Spirit still moves people to prophesy, whether
interpreting a message of tongues, outright prophesy, or a message of knowledge or
wisdom, this verse is very important. Skaggs admits that the Holy Spirit is the source and
origin of prophecy, and she makes a clear distinction between human and Holy Spirit
(111-112). There are certain keywords that knowledgeable Pentecostals gravitate toward,
and prophecy is one of them, and further comment about the relationship of OT prophecy
and NT prophets, in the Pentecostal sense (see also Acts 11:27, 13:1, and 15:32; 1 Cor.
12:4-11), would be well received. Further comment about exactly how the OT prophets
were "moved by the Holy Spirit" would be most useful as well.

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In commentaries, I do not think that mere restatement of the biblical text is very
helpful. One generally looks for deeper connections and insights when referring to a
commentary. Skaggs has continually fallen short of this type of help concerning obvious
Pentecostal themes in 1 and 2 Peter. To her credit, she does include a section entitled
"The Holy Spirit in 1 Peter" (14) and "...in 2 Peter" (90) where she summarizes her
understanding of the Spirit's role in the believer's life according to what Peter has said.
She tells us that "the Holy Spirit for 1 Peter is the means by which the relationship
between the believer and God is made possible" (14-15), and "the Holy Spirit (divine
power) is the means by which the godly life is developed and maintained" (91). These are
obvious doctrinal understandings that can be derived from most of the NT writers. But I
looked for the actual "meat" in the text of the commentary, and I was disappointed. Too
many wonderfiil opportunities for a "Pentecostal Commentary" were not taken advantage
of or were missed completely.

"Pray in the Holy Spirif is a phrase that jumps off the page to most
Pentecostals because it speaks directly to their experience of praying in tongues. Skaggs
merely says, "It is very likely that this phrase refers to the special prayer in the Hoy Spirit
knows as glossolalia. In any case, the readers' prayer in the Holy Spirit contrasts vividly
with the claims of the false teachers that they are led by the Spirit" (171). There is a
world of distinctly Pentecostal experience. Scripture reference, and opportunity that
Skaggs chooses not to include in her comments. It is obvious to most Pentecostals that
Jude is talking about glossolalia, it is of no use to merely state this.

In conclusion, I am not sure what makes Skaggs' commentary "Pentecostal." I
do not believe she has advanced Pentecostal scholarship. This is regrettable.

Bryan Miller

Ben Witherington III. 7 and 2 Thessalonians: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary. Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006. 286 pp., paper, $30.00.

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"Paul as letter-writer" (i.e. epistolary analysis), Witherington makes the argument that in
the first century the sending of letters was still seen as "oral textuality." Thus, Paul's
epistles were "surrogates for oral speech, surrogates for what Paul would have said if he
were with the recipients" (p. xiii). How does this affect the interpretation of the letter?
Witherington brings this to bear on a number of levels, not least of which in appealing to
early rhetoricians (like Quintilian) and demonstrating that Paul acknowledged and
employed many formal rhetorical tools. A central concern of ancient rhetoric was in the
type of speech (i.e., deliberative, forensic, and epideictic). Witherington is so insistent
that this greatly affects how one reads Paul's letters such that "failure to recognize the
species of rhetoric Paul is using and such crucial matters as where the thesis statement or
final summary of the speech is leads to all sorts of misinterpretation of these documents"
(xiv). The "social" aspect of the methodology of commentary is meant to bring out the
context of the letter and how Paul's rhetoric is meant to address directly the problems,
questions, or happenings in the churches.

The commentary is always exegetically rich and written in a smooth style that
is not bogged down with overly technical comments. Any appeal to the Greek text is
transliterated and footnotes, for the most part, are brief The reading level of the
commentary suggests that it is geared towards pastors and students with a view towards
theological issues and the enrichment of personal devotion. A number of helpful features
are certainly noteworthy. In the introduction, Witherington includes an annotated
bibliography that comments on the most useful commentaries, monographs, and
theological studies. Secondly, on several occasions, the reader encounters helpful
excurses (called "A CLOSER LOOK") on various theological problems such as the
language of election, the supposed problem of anti-semitism in 1 Thess 2:14-16, the
Paroiisia, and the "Restrainer" in 2 Thessalonians, among others. Thirdly, Witherington
includes, on occasion, a section called "Bridging Horizons" which looks to bring the
ancient message of the text into the modem world and explore the theological and
pastoral applications of the passages in view.

In terms of the overall orientation of the commentary, Witherington shows a
fine balance of appeal to the Old Testament backgrounds, the contemporary Jewish and
Greco-Roman contexts, and modem interaction with other commentators (especially I.H.
Marshall, A. Malherbe, C. Wanamaker, and to a lesser degree, F.F. Bmce, E. Best, and
J.B. Lightfoot). Witherington defends the Pauline authorship of both epistles and the
canonical orders as the correct historical ordering as well (with 1 Thessalonians written
before 2 Thessalonians; contra Wanamaker). He labels 1 Thessalonians as "epideictic"
and 2 Thessalonians as "deliberative," with the latter addressing social and eschatological
problems.

Witherington writes in such a pleasing style that this commentary is enjoyable
to read (unlike many very workmanlike, reference commentaries). His approach covers a
range of issues and opens the reader's eyes to the ancient world as well as the intertextual
fields of discourse happening in the text. If I have one concem with the commentary, it is
that Witherington has pressed his rhetorical approach too far. Though he has established
that a rhetorical approach is needed, it is not clear that Paul would be quite so familiar
with the detailed techniques demonstrated by Cicero or Quintilian. Where did Paul learn
such techniques? Also, the reliance on determining the type of rhetoric seems too rigid
for Paul, though one could see how a more tentative hypothesis can be insightful.

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Book Reviews

Nijay K. Gupta

Richard Briggs, Reading the Bible Wisely. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2003. 118
pp., paper, $14.95.

All Christians struggle with reading the Bible, regardless of their church or
denomination. Typically Christians read the Bible for two reasons: "it will tell them about
God, and it will help them understand how to live" (2). Briggs suggests there are two
other questions that should be asked: "how should we read the Bible, and what should we
think about the Bible" (2)? The three sections of this power packed book discuss
interpreting the biblical text, thinking theologically about scripture, and Revelation.

Briggs shares his thoughts about hermeneutical applications in the first section
of the book. What is the context? Is it historical, literary, or theological? In Chapter one
he uses Luke 24:13-35 (The Road to Emmaus) to discuss reading the Bible as Christian
scripture. In Chapter two, Briggs shares Luke 18:9-14 (The Pharisee and the Tax
Collector) and how to read the Bible as a historical book. Chapter three concludes section
one with Luke 9:51 (Luke's Orderly Account) and how to read the Bible as a literary
work.

The second section of the book considers specific doctrines about the Bible and
how to think theologically about scripture. The author looks at "its clarity, its inspiration,
and its authority" (6). Chapter four considers problems in Romans which demonstrates
the difficulty and clarity of scripture. Chapter five discusses 2 Timothy 3:16 which
considers inspiration and canon of scripture. Chapter six bears in mind the authority and
application of scripture.

The last section of the book includes the final chapter, along with a
hermeneutical postscript, notes, references, and a further reading list. Chapter seven
considers the book of Revelation, which according to Briggs "is the place where it all
comes together: theologically, historically, literarily, imaginatively and hermeneutically"
(99).

The point of the book is that the Bible should be read with eyes open,
considering all sides of context, theological foundations, and studying scripture with
wisdom. Wisdom is needed to read God's Word. Haphazardly reading the Bible with a
light surface style of reading will only end in an incorrect understanding of God's Word.
One must consider the underpinnings of scripture and the importance of studying the
Bible.

In a day and age of devotional reading, many are neglecting the deeper reading
of the Bible. As Christian educators we need to help people move beyond just knowing
about God through the reading of scripture. Knowing about God is not the same as
knowing God in a personal manner. While it is good that people are reading the Bible to
understand how to live their lives for Him, the average person does not read the Bible on
a daily basis nor do they study theology and critically think about scripture. This leaves
the person with the difficulty of interpreting the biblical text. If interpretation is difficult,

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then it is complex to understand how to live our lives for God, thus missing the deep
beauty of God's Word.

Although the book is easy to read for those that understand theology, scripture,
and other concerns of reading the Bible; this is not necessarily a book for a new believer,
which is disappointing. The introduction gave such a wonderful beginning for the book,
but then the chapters are more difficult for a new believer to understand. It would be a
deep study of the Bible for those that are new to the faith. However, for a Christian
educator, this would be an excellent tool to consider adult curriculum, reading of God's
Word, theological principles that enhance scripture, and application of the Bible. A
Christian educator considers such questions and assists the students to understand how to
read the Bible. Using the principles in this book could mean a change from immature to
mature Christians.

The ending of the book is the essence of the book. "Wisdom is not a cheap
option, and according to Proverbs 4:7 it will cost all we have. 'Whatever else you get, get
it,' says Proverbs. The wisdom to be Christ-like.... The wisdom to read the Bible as God
would have us read it, with open eyes, or better: with eyes opened, just like the disciples
on the road to Emmaus" (114).

Dawn Morton

John J. Collins, The Bible after Babel: Historical Criticism in a Postmodern Age. Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005. 201 pp., paper, $22.00.

This book is a result of the Gunning lectures delivered at the School of Divinity
of the University of Edinburgh in 2004. As the subtitle indicates Collins seeks to address
the challenges faced by Historical Criticism in the Postmodern age.

In chapter 1 he does a great job outlining both the essence of the Historical
Criticism and the nature of its engagement with the "mixed blessing" of postmodern
approaches to biblical studies. Collins succinctly summarizes the character of Historical
Criticism under three principles. These are the autonomy of the historian, principle of
analogy, and principle of criticism. The autonomy appeals to the freedom to do research
without any sort of ecclesiastical imposition. The analogy implies continuity between the
past and the present, as the texts are seen as human products. Thus Collins can state, "we
can assess what is plausible in an ancient situation because we know what human beings
are capable of [6]. Finally, the principle of criticism highlights the heuristic nature of
scholarship. According to Collins, "the historian tries to establish the most probable
account of the past, but absolute certainty is never available" [6]. Thus the provisional
nature of research that could be overturned as new data comes into play. Having outlined
the character of Historical Criticism, Collins goes on to describe the postmodern
challenges that it faces. They are discussed under the headings of Postmodernism,
Deconstructive Reading, and Ideological Criticism. Collins' analysis of postmodernism
is carefril and fair. Those familiar with the modernism/postmodernism debate will find
typical arguments against postmodern mode of doing Biblical studies like the critique of
Lyotard and Fish engaging in "irreconcilable language games" [17]. In the end Collins
finds that historical critics and postmodern thinkers have much to learn from each other
and in some ways need the other, even if Collins is not ready to go all the way with
Derrida's deconstructive reading or Cline's skepticism.

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Four chapters that deal with various topics in biblical studies follow the
introductory chapter. Collins himself admits that these four issues are neither specifically
precipitated by the postmodern turn nor do they exhaust the pool of possible discussion
topics [vii]. Yet one would have to agree that the topics of the nature of biblical
historiography, exodus and liberation, gender studies, and the role of a goddess in
Israelite religion do give a good account of the major trends and changing ways of
thinking in Old Testament scholarship. One might strongly disagree with Collins'
conclusions, but he is an informed and erudite guide to the modem scholarly consensus,
however narrowly and heuristically that might be defined.

The last chapter wrestles with the question of whether biblical theology is
possible in the postmodern context. Collins' answer cannot be boiled down to a simple
"yes" or "no". He is both aware of the accomplishments of the postmodernism and its
dangers. He sees the main gain of postmodern criticism as making room at the table for
new voices from the margins. Yet he wonders about the dinner table conversation
degenerating into a "cacophony of voices, each asserting that their convictions are by
definifion preferred, because they are their convictions" [161]. Collins thinks that this
danger could be avoided. He thinks that biblical theology and ethics need to be "more
skepfical and self-critical in the wake of postmodernism", but in the end still remain vital
for those willing to enter into conversation in pursuit of consensus.

Reading this book one is reminded of William Spohn's plea for hermeneutic of
appreciation. He insists that we are better known by our fi-iends than by a prosecuting
attorney. Well, Collins strikes one as a well-informed, witty, and engaging prosecuting
attorney of the Scriptures. It seems that fi-om the onset he sets up his case in such a way
that limits what data would be admitted to the court. On pages 10 he delights in the fact
that Historical Criticism "has created an arena where people with different faith
commitments can work together and have meaningful conversations." Yet one wonders
if the principles of autonomy and analogy could lead to a lone scholar with earplugs
separating herself from the rest of the world in the privacy of an academic library sorting
through interpretive potions and discarding everything that does not have a point of
reference in her limited experience. Then she emerges out of this solitary existence
looking for others who can validate and share her point of view. What starts out as a
celebration on page 10 becomes alarming by the time one reaches page 129 where a
chilling realization hits that not everyone is allowed to share fi'eely at the table. Some
like Francis Watson are hastily gagged for advocating a "peculiarly narrow and dogmatic
view of Christianity" [134]. In essence Christian scholars and theologians are invited to
come to the table only if they leave their narrow, dogmatic, Christological formulations at
home. But would it be a stretch to say that Eichrodt's pejorative comment about Judaism
having only a torso-like appearance in separation fi-om Christianity could be now applied
to Chrisfianity? Does the RSVP to the biblical soiree call for only torso-like Chrisfian
scholars?

While the notion of God being acfive in the world being bracketed out for the
sake of academic historicism has its value one is aware of dangers connected with it. It
seems that as a result of this bracketing the only explanations that could count are those
that have the obvious modem reference points. In our chaotic and violent world the
language of power and oppression appears to be the only ready-made explanation for
how things happen. So, for example, in Collins' analysis one observes the typical casting
of the adherents of orthodox monotheism as historical winners, who "suppressed" other

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expressions of faith [129]. The notion of God working in the midst of the polytheistic
context to bring about focused worship does not have any plausibility structures in
Historical Criticism by which to process it.

Another example of the prosecuting attomey at work is the fact that the weight
of history is brought in when it fits Collins' arguments, but left out when it points to other
realities. He can see the Bible as a dangerous tool for doing ethics partly because it has
been used as a means of oppression in the past. But is that a fair argument? This
disregards all of the moral and social achievements brought about by faithful Jews and
Christians. Does the news of wild forest fires in Los Angeles necessitate a removal of all
fireplaces in Ohio because the same substance of "fire" being involved? These sorts of
conclusions that have derived with a priori exclusion of their voices would horrify
millions of faithful Jews and Christians. In the end, Collins is wise in calling us to
exercise caution and careful reading of the Old Testament texts that encourage ethical
stances that would be deplorable by any moral standards. Yet he seems to offer no help
for the believing communities in how to go about reading these texts theologically and
faithfially today. But in the end it is not a job of the prosecudng attomey to do that. That
is what the fi-iends are for.

Bacho Bordjadze

Kenton L. Sparks, God's Word in Human Words: An Evangelical Appropriation of
Critical Biblical Scholarship. Grand Rapids:Baker Academic, 2008. 415 pp., paper,
$26.99.

This work is an attempt of a member of the new generation of evangelical
scholars to wrestle seriously with the issues of faith and critical thinking about the Bible.
Referring to Mark Noll's work. Sparks' chief concern is that "we avoid a grave
theological error, which uses the legitimate scandal of faith as basis for our illegitimate
intellectual scandals" [13]. In the end the book seeks to point a way for evangelicals in
the scholarly guild as well as in the church to read the Bible faithfijUy while gleaning the
findings of the critical scholarship.

How does he go about his task? Chapter 1 discusses the issue of epistemology
and hermeneutics. Sparks argues that true human knowledge is possible. Following
scholars like Newbigin he argues that the Cartesian demand for perfect knowledge
betrays its god-like aspirations. He writes, "Our mediated interpretations of reality
contrast sharply with our Creator's immediate knowledge of things." [54]. Sparks states
that any human knowledge is limited and imperfect due to our fallen capacities. For him
this is not a point of despair. He insists that while the entirely perfect divine knowledge
is not available to us we do have the entirely adequate human knowledge. The next few
chapters seek to show the ebbs and flows of this sort of human knowledge as it relates to
biblical studies.

Chapter 2 seeks to demonstrate that historical criticism is not some sort of
isolated prejudice against the Bible, but rather belongs to the larger world of critical
scholarship that emerged since the Enlightenment. Sparks demonstrates that by
considering the discipline of Assyriology. Chapter 3 outlines key issues raised by critical
scholarship that present problems to the traditional evangelical reading of the Bible.
Sparks carefially documents most of the issues familiar to those in the academic guild

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ranging from the authorship of the Pentateuch to the authorship of the Pastoral epistles.
Chapters 4 and 5 outline ways that evangelicals have responded to the issues raised by
critical scholarship. From this point on Sparks moves to outlining his own project.
Chapters 6 and 7 deal with human and divine dimensions of the biblical text. Sparks
demonstrates how the understanding of various human genres brought about by the
critical scholarship helps one better understand the text. Yet the genre analysis still
leaves the question of why the one true God who does not err would speak through
human authors who do so? Here Sparks appeals to the concept of Divine
Accommodation that according to him goes back to early Church Fathers like Justin and
the Reformers like Calvin.

Chapters 8, 9, and 10 get to the heart of Sparks' work. Here he lays out his
own methodological agenda that focuses on "the context of the whole" and its dialectical
relationship with the Bible. According to Sparks, "the best interpretations of Scripture
are those that read Scripture in relationship to its context, and that context is not merely
Scripture's immediate context- the worlds of David, Solomon, Jesus, and Paul- but the
context of the whole, which comprises both the created order and any special revelation
that God has provided to humanity" [326]. The process of negotiating this larger context
via reliance on tradition, creation, and reason enables the readers to hear God's univocal
Word in the midst of disparate and sometimes contradictory words.

The impressive aspects of this work can be summed up by two words, breadth
and courage. His work reflects a reasonable mastery of a field very diverse and complex
for any one person. He moves freely from ancient Near Eastern historiography to
systematic theology to philosophical hermeneutics. The likes of Jerome, Derrida and
Zimmerli are picked up as conversation partners. Here is a true scholar at work in a
multidisciplinary fashion. Yet Sparks is also a courageous follower of Jesus inviting his
readers into a dialog. For evangelicals today to wrestle with issues of critical scholarship
is analogous to learning to play the violin in public. Sparks' work raises the issue of
what exactly makes one evangelical. How broad is that umbrella really, and who gets to
rest under it? He is courageous enough to enter the public square and practice his scores
in full view of the watching evangelical world. May the response to him be generous and
gentle, for his is a courageous yet necessary step.

On the critical side. Sparks' analysis is at times uneven and his judgments
unjustified. For example von Rad and Brueggemann are dismissed in three paragraphs
while Barr gets three frill pages. Even more striking is the absence of some of the
contemporary scholars wrestling with the issue of reading the Bible as Christian scripture
like Watson, Hayes, and Moberly. N.T. Wright provides a quotable garnish for Sparks'
own position, but is never picked up as a conversation partner. At least some readers
familiar with Provan's work might wonder if it is really Provan that is being critiqued or
a proverbial straw man. Finally, one wishes for Sparks' tone towards other evangelicals
to be more generous. To hypothesize that evangelical scholars have often chosen Jewish
institutions and British universities to avoid facing critical issues borders on speculation
and does not encourage a congenial dialog. If he plans to play his violin in evangelical
circles. Sparks will need to find ways to navigate the context of the whole of the
evangelical world and not just some of its segments.

Bacho Bordjadze

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Tony Campolo and Mary Albert Darling, The God of Intimacy and Action: Reconnecting
Ancient Spiritual Practices, Evangelism, and Justice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2007.
Pp. 256, paper, $14.95.

In a technological age in which people often locate solutions to problems in the
latest gadget, devise, or technique, it is refreshing to encounter an exploration of
authentic Christianity that seeks to ground discipleship in a powerfiil, personal
relationship with the living God. This foundation of authentic Christianity, discussed by
Tony Campolo and Mary Albert Darling in The God of Intimacy and Action, not only
connects the believer with other faithfial followers of Jesus in community, but insists
upon the integral nature of ancient spiritual practices, evangelism, and justice. Campolo
and Darling present a holistic vision of Christian spirituality and life that embraces
coimections — vertical and horizontal connections — and remind the reader of perennial
connections across the spectrum of time that are life-giving and character-shaping.

Campolo opens this examination of intimacy and action with three chapters that
articulate the mystical way of knowing God intimately. He defines the Christian mystic
as "one who experiences God in transrational and nonempirical ways" (4). For the
mystic, the Spirit breaks into the consciousness with new insights, establishes a growing
awareness of the wondrous nature of life, fosters a desire for intimacy, and nurtures
humility, tender love, and commitment to justice, hi his development of a holistic vision
of life in Christ, Campolo connects mysticism with personal evangelism. The mystical
cultivation of a "spiritual first love" must precede and ground evangelistic practice or it
will become "nothing more than a legalistic lifestyle to uphold or a duty to be performed"
(26). Likewise, commitment to the reign of God and working for justice in the world
must accompany saving faith and spiritual transformation or the gospel remains truncated
and denuded of its power and purpose. Campolo uses John Wesley's model for Christian
renewal to illustrate a holistic gospel that refused to separate personal salvation and social
action.

In the second part of the volume, after delineating the connections between this
holistic gospel and the mystical way. Darling discusses the importance of cultivating holy
habits — intentional, regularized practices that form disciples in Christ-likeness and
nurture love of God and others. She describes three spiritual disciplines, in particular, the
prayer of examin, lectio divina, and centering prayer, all of which are ancient practices
that enable the Christian believer to live in and for God's vision of shalom with great
intensity and devotion. The founder of the Society of Jesus (or Jesuits), Ignatius Loyola,
figures prominently in these discussions and his Spiritual Exercises provide important
keys to a reawakened understanding of the Christian life as devotion. She provides step
by step guidance in terms of habituating these practices in daily life. The prayer of
examin, rooted in Psalm 139:23-24, focuses recollection on the events and encounters of
a specific and limited span of time. It involves sifting through joys and sorrows, struggles
and delights in an effort toward great self-understanding and intimacy with God. The
practice of lectio divina, divine or sacred reading, refers to a particular way of reading the
Word of God. It entails a meditative process through which the Word sinks deeply into
the consciousness and resolve of the believer, moving contemplation of scripture into
action in life. In the 1970s, Trappist monks rediscovered the ancient practice of centering
prayer, the third spiritual discipline that Darling examines, the purpose of which is
reducing obstacles in times of contemplation. "Centering prayer can create an intimacy

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with Christ," claims Darling, "that many who practice it say they rarely find elsewhere"
(142).

In the final section of the book, Campolo and Darling instruct the reader on
how to take intimacy with God into the world. Christian spirituality, they argue, involves
balance; one must always safeguard oneself against the temptation to separate intimacy
and action. Intimacy without action leads to a narcissistic spirituality, while action
without intimacy leads to spiritless service. The spirituality of Martin Luther King, Jr.
demonstrates the centrality of a community in the maintenance of this balance, and
contemporary movements such as lona, Renovare, emergent and new monastic
communities provide models in which evangelism and commitments to social justice are
interwoven faithfully and effecdvely. Campolo and Darling provide a compelling vision
of a holistic gospel that refuses to separate prayer and mission, intimacy with God and
gospel-bearing in a broken world.

Paul W. Chilcote

Dennis Okholm, Monk Habits for Everyday People: Benedictine Spirituality for
Protestants. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2007. 144 pp., paper, $13.99.
Peter E. Roussakis, United in Prayer: Understanding and Praying the Lord's Prayer.
Burlington, IN: Meetinghouse Press, 2007. 206 pp., paper.

These two books, appearing in the same year, treat important complementary
aspects of spiritual formation.

Dennis Okholm (Ph. D., Princeton Seminary) is a Presbyterian pastor and
professor in California who is also a Benedictine oblate (associate). He begins by
describing his Protestant journey in monastic spirituality and the importance of the
Benedictine tradition. The body of the book expounds such "monk habits" as listening,
poverty, obedience, humility, hospitality, stability, and balance. These do not exist for
personal gratification, but to change the world. In a historical afterword Okholm sets out
why the Reformers (some of them former monks) opposed the monasticism of their day
while praising early leaders of monastic orders. The author writes in a clear, engaging
style with endnotes to document sources and explicate details. He offers suggestions for
further reading and for developing a personal rule of life along Benedictine lines. If one
wishes to understand the current interest in monastic practice among Protestants, this
book could be a good place to start.

Peter Roussakis (Ph.D., Graduate Theological Foundation), is a Brethren pastor
and professor in Indiana. He opens his treatment of the Lord's Prayer with an overview
of it and description of its Jewish setting. He devotes substantial attention to God's name
and what it means to enter and increase in God's kingdom. Two chapters are given to
imagining the kingdom of glory and how a Christian's death means passing fi-om the
kingdom of grace to the kingdom of glory. Exposition follows on depending on God for
provision, seeking forgiveness and forgiving others, praying for leniency and deliverance,
and praising God. Concluding chapters offer helps on teaching the prayer to children and
the value of using it in corporate and individual worship. There are questions for
reflection and discussion, while an extensive bibliography shows the breadth of the
author's reading. Roussakis draws heavily from older, classic writers (Luther, Watson,

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Calvin, and Wesley), but he does not ignore contemporary authors. The broad research
and orderly pastoral presentation of United in Prayer give it a solid, workmanlike feel.

Both books offer growing disciples another look at aspects of Christian
spirituality that should become, in the best sense, habitual ("customary, steady").

Jerry Flora

Frances M. Young, Brokenness and Blessing: Towards a Biblical Spirituality. Grand
Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007. 140 pp., paper, $18.99.

Frances Young is eminently qualified to write this book. An internationally
known scholar of the early Christian movement (now retired from the University of
Birmingham), she is also a British Methodist minister and the mother of a severely
disabled adult son who lives at home. While working on the lectures which comprise
Brokenness and Blessing, she also dealt with major health issues suffered by her husband
and her aged mother. The result is a small volume that combines academic acumen,
personal disclosure, and pastoral sensitivity.

Using classic Methodist technique. Young employs scripture, tradition,
experience, and reason to examine and elucidate some features of a biblical spirituality.
The book's subtitle is important, for the treatment is aspectival rather than intending to be
the last word on the subject. Her expertise in New Testament and patristics is to the fore,
as she attempts to move beyond some contemporary scholarship. "My idea," she writes,
"was that exploring the ways in which the earliest theologians and preachers read the
Bible would enable us to follow their approach, . . . reopening the question whether the
'spiritual' meaning of the text may not be more important than the 'literal' or 'historical'
meaning" (p. 7).

With that aim in mind, chapter one, "Desert Spirituality," sets out a typological
or "figural" reading of scripture, focusing on persons and patterns that have functioned in
liturgy, hymnography, and private devotion. Viewing life in the world as a journey
through unknown territory, the author urges readers to "move beyond an easy spirituality
of personal well-being, comfort and happiness to rediscover the wilderness way that lies
at the heart of the Bible" (p. 34). The desert is where we face our fears, confi-ont
temptation, and also encounter God.

Chapter two, "Wrestling Jacob," opens with Charles Wesley's classic poem of
that title. Young summarizes the patristic approach to Genesis 32, then asks, "Are there
parallels, 'types' or possibilities that enable this story to speak to our condition in the
(post) modem world?" (p. 49). She addresses the possibility of spiritual growth through
being disabled - a reality for all believers fi^om Jacob onward. And yet, for her as for
Wesley, "the name of the one with whom I struggle is indeed LOVE" (p. 59).

"The Way of Jesus" is the third chapter's topic. As previously, the author
begins with writers of the early church, finding in them a variety of approaches to the
Jesus of history. Young suggests that today, instead of emulating popular icons of
prowess or success, followers of Jesus might better imitate his life of self-emptying. It is
"the way of kenosis rather than self-aggrandizement" (p. 79) which truly reflects the
divine self-emptying in creation and redemption. Only God's grace can make this
happen in us, but it often appears disguised in the persons we meet every day.

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"Strangers and Exiles" with "Desires Frustrated and Fulfilled" constitute the
remaining two chapters. To be an alien or exile or disabled can be embarrassing,
isolating, and painful, but the author is never sentimental or maudlin. Instead she writes,
"A biblical spirituality requires the discovery of the soul of the ger - the stranger within
ourselves" (p. 100). Human longing (as exemplified, for instance, in the Song of Songs)
may tease the heart into love of God, but the Holy One is always elusive, leaving our
desires finstrated as well as fulfilled. "Disability is the condition of blessing" (p. 121),
and satisfied or not, we will always be in need of grace.

This is a meaty little book - lean steak which requires some chewing. Dr.
Young seasons it with a glossary, bibliography, endnotes, and an index. That still allows
for 100 pages of text. She can't say all that might be said, but she offers much wisdom
that needs to be heeded in our time. "A biblical spirituality is never achieved, never self-
satisfied, never comfortable, always longing . . . \sic\ yet in the Christian tradition, it is
also always grace received, the fulfillment of promises, the acceptance of Christ" (p.
110).

Brokenness and Blessing is a valuable corrective to ideas that biblical
spirituality is all about praise or feeling good. Among recent books this one deserves a
niche of honor (to pick up an earlier statement) for its academic acumen, personal
disclosure, and pastoral sensitivity. It is wisdom for the long joumey distilled from
decades of study, suffering, and service — and perseverance in it all.

Jerry Flora

Justo L. Gonzalez and Catherine Gunsalus Gonzalez, Heretics for Armchair Theologians.
Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008. 166 p.p., paper, $16.95.
Ben Quash and Michael Ward, eds.. Heresies and How to Avoid Them: Why it Matters
What Christians Believe. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 2007. 148 p.p.,
paper, $16.95

Given the multicultural perspective of the Western world and its high view of
tolerance, books on heresy are not anticipated as literary products that can sell well
enough to meet publishing costs. And yet, a surprising number of books on heresy have
appeared in the last decade and include prestigious authors like G. R. Evans (Cambridge
University) and Justo and Catherine Gonzalez. How is one to account for this? Maybe
the writings of G. K. Chesterton at the dawn of the twentieth century and of Dorothy L.
Sayers at its mid-point provides us a clue. They seem to suggest that times of relativity,
when all claims receive equal value— and corresponding equal indifference - are
precisely the moments of history when truth needs to be articulated if a community, and
especially the church, is to survive. These recent releases thus fit a need of the times.

Both books focus upon the heresies that emerged in the church in the first five
centuries of its existence. The books differ, however, in their intended audience. Justo
and Catherine Gonzalez, as the title of their book suggests, write for ordinary Christians
who have little or no academic training in church history or theology. Part of the book's
humorous appeal comes fi-om the cartoon illustrations drawn by Ron Hill. The book
edited by Quash and Ward resulted from a series of sermons preached at Peterhouse
Chapel at Cambridge University in England in the fall of 2006. Various ministers and
professors associated with the university, all but four being Anglicans, presented

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messages in this series. Their sermons were directed toward students and reflect a more
challenging academic level of treatment. The surprisingly positive response of students
and professors was the stimulus for publishing the book.

Both books provide a helpfiil context for understanding heresy as an issue that
demands the attention of thoughtfiil Christians. Violence against heretics is rejected and
bigotry is scorned. Heresy, both books assert, reflects how difficult it is for the church to
formulate and propagate its beliefs. Proper faith is seen as that which results dynamically
over time, having been tested by competing versions of the mystery of godliness. Heresy
is more isolated: less able to hold complimentary truths in tension, more tied to a
particular time or location, and represented by spokespersons that cannot generate
majority approval for their point of view.

Both books merit a careful reading. Either would serve well for a small group
study for those who want a better grasp of Christianity through the centuries. The
Gonzalez book will appeal to high schoolers and new Christians. The book by Quash and
Ward would work for mature Christians, collegians, and ministers.

Luke L. Keefer, Jr.

Gordon T. Smith, ed.. The Lord's Supper.Five Views Downers Grove: InterVarsity,
2008. 180 pp., paper, $18.00.

This book is an exercise in ecumenism. Representatives fi-om five major
Christian traditions present their differing understandings of the Lord's Supper, then
respond to each other's views. In the process these theologians learn fi-om each other.
The outcome is a lucid portrayal of this central observance of the Christian faith—
variously known as the Lord's Supper, the Eucharist, Holy Communion, a sacrament, an
ordinance — certain to enlighten every reader. The five interpretations and their
presenters are Roman Catholic (Jeffi"ey Gros), Lutheran (John R. Stephenson), Reformed
(Leanne Van Dyk), Baptist (Roger E. Olson), and Pentecostal (Veli-Matti Karkkainen).

The first two are clearly sacramental. Despite the fundamental differences
supposedly imposed by the Protestant Reformation, one is struck by the liturgical and
ontological similarities between the Catholic and Lutheran approaches to sacramental
theology. The case is quite different with the Reformed tradition which presents a span
of options around Zwingli who proposed a symbolic interpretation, BuUinger who
focused on communion as a testimony to divine grace, and Calvin who viewed the
elements as instruments of grace. Baptist diversity precludes any absolute agreement, but
all seem to affirm the Lord's Supper as symbolic and memorial. Baptists, like
Mennonites and other Anabaptists, tend to stress the service of the Lord's Table as "an
event in which Christ is present and active in strengthening participants' faith" (p. 95).
Pentecostals are said to have devoted little attention to sacraments in general or to the
Lord's Supper in particular, but appear similar to Zwingli and the Baptists in what they
prefer to speak of as "ordinances." A distinct Pentecostal insight is "the idea of
connection between healing and the celebration of the Lord's Supper" (p. 127) through
the agency of the Holy Spirit.

The Pentecostal contribution, in my estimation, is the most dynamic chapter in
the book, and also the most ecumenical. The Pentecostal perception is appropriate and

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Book Reviews

appreciated, not least in light of significant global expansion of Pentecostal religion in the
twenty-first century.

Gordon T. Smith encourages excellence in theological education in the
developing world. He was formerly academic dean and associate professor of spiritual
theology at Regent College, Vancouver, Canada, where he taught "The Meaning of the
Sacraments."

This book is an easy read for college students, lay persons, and scholars
wanting to know about possible meanings of the Lord's Supper. It is highly
recommended for small groups, and is certain to evoke lively discussion.

Roger E. Hedlund, Director of the Dictionary of South Asian Christianity
project at the Mylapore Institute for Indigenous Studies, India.

Erwin Fahlbusch, et. al., eds., The Encyclopedia of Christianity, vols. 3 and 4, Translated
by Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Erdmann's Publishing Company,
2005 and 2008. Hardback. $100.00.

Since volumes 1-3 were reviewed in earlier volumes of the Ashland
Theological Journal (vol. XXXII, 2000, pp. 157-158 and XXXV, 2003, pp. 180-182), this
review is in the order of a book note. These volumes represent the completion of the
English translation of the Evangelisches Kirkenlexikon, which was published in Germany
from 1986 to 1997.

Special recognition is due Geoffrey W. Bromiley, whose translation work on
this encyclopedia runs to approximately 5,000 pages. So, at the end of his distinguished
career, he has again earned the acclaim of English speaking academics as he did at the
beginning of his career, when he gave us the Theological Dictionary of the New
Testament in nine volumes as a translafion of the German work Theologisches
Worterbuch zum Neuen Testament.

He has also made The Encvclopedia of Christianitv of greater interest to
American scholars by including articles written by English speaking writers that were not
a part of the Evangelisches Kirkenlexikon. Thus, people, events, and perspectives of
relevance to America get a greater hearing under Bomiley's supervision (and the team
who assisted him). His inclusion of statistical data by David B. Barrett makes the set
more valuable for those who wish to assess the contemporary church throughout the
world.

The greatest useftilness of this set of encyclopedias will be as a reference
source in librarians. It will also prove valuable for professors and students. Most general
readers will lose interest when they note the price of the volumes.

Luke Keefer, Jr.

Samuel Hugh Moffett, A History of Christianity in Asia, vol. 2. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis
Press, Hardcover, 2005. $65.00.

Volume two covers Asian Christianity during the years 1500 to 1900,
completing the story begun in volume one that set forth the beginnings of Christianity in
Asia up to the year 1500. Already the completed history has received academic acclaim;

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Ashland Theological Journal 2009

it will update and replace the relevant sections of Kenneth Scott Latourette's massive
studies: A History of the Expansion of Christianity (7 vols.) and Christianity in a
Revolutionary Age: A History of Christianity in the 19' and 20' Centuries (5 vols.).

Contrasting Moffett's history to those of Latourette is instructive in several
ways. Both authors engaged in immense research. But, while Latourette's writings
became something of an epic, Moffett aims to tell a story in more compact form. For
modem students and readers Moffett's work will therefore be more appealing. He keeps
the reader interested in the story.

In both volumes Moffett follows a chronological approach over significant
periods of time. He then looks at particular countries and cultures within that broad
period and traces out particular developments. He notes in passing similarities and
differences between the countries that are studied. He keeps alert to the chief concerns of
the faith and how the church lived it out in its witness. What results is a work that could
well be used as a text in Church History or for classes on missions. It will be an essential
book for libraries, with appeal to both students and general readers. Its price will mean
that students will be reluctant to purchase it unless forced to do so by course
requirements.

Orbis Press is to be commended for the high quality of its publishing work. It
is a book virtually free of errors. The geographical misplacement of Siam as between
"Burma on the east and Vietnam to the west" (p. 49) stands out as an exception to the
rule for the book as a whole.

This book (along with volume 1 ) was eagerly anticipated by those who teach
and study Christianity in Asia. The finished product has satisfied well these expectations.

Luke Keefer, Jr.

Hershel Shanks, 77?^ Copper Scroll and the Search for the Temple Treasure. Washington,
D.C.: Biblical Archaeology Society, 2007. xii + 1 12pp., cloth, $24.95.

What does one make of two heavily oxidized copper rolls, two millennia old,
written in sloppy Hebrew letters (and some Greek!) that describe buried treasure? Hershel
Shanks, founder of the Biblical Archaeology Society and dean of all things archeological
related to biblical studies, has provided another fine and fascinating study of this
intriguing topic addressed to the general reader. This book, like his Mystery and Meaning
of the Dead Sea Scrolls (Washington, D.C.: BAS, 1998), is not a comprehensive
scholarly resource but an entry point for the general reader to join the author as he relates
the tales of intrigue and suspense frequently surrounding the DSS. Of course. Shanks
himself was personally involved with many of the personalities and events surrounding
the disclosure of the Scrolls and is uniquely qualified and gifted to tell the stories which,
as he acknowledges, are often stranger than fiction.

The style of this book is vintage Shanks: filled with anecdotes of various facets
of the enigmatic "Copper Scroll" (CS). With no less than 5 1 illustrations, this book is
replete with descriptions of everything from personality conflicts among scholars to
deciphering the text (which may have been created by an illiterate "scribe"), providing
readers with a sweeping summary of most issues pertaining to the CS.

After a forward by David Noel Freedman, Shanks begins by introducing the
book as a story of both the enigmatic scroll and the search for its hidden treasures. The

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Book Reviews

first chapter, "The Scholars Win One," summarizes the discovery of the scroll. Chapter 2,
"From Rolls to Scrolls" recounts the transport and "unrolling" of the CS for reading.
Chapter 3, "Squabbling Scholars," addresses the problem of what the CS said — and did
not say — and some of the fantastic tales spun about them in popular media. Who had the
right to release the contents, what was released and when are addressed in Chapter 4,
"Publication Rights — and Wrongs." Shanks discusses whether the treasures reported in
the CS are "Folklore or [genuine] Temple Treasure?" (Chapter 5). He summarizes a
number of excavations to find the various locations reported in the CS (Chapter 6,
"Locating the Treasure") and focuses on one particular excavation of a mysterious tunnel
thought by excavators to be the locus of one cache of treasure (Chapter 7, "Tunnel
Mystery"). Included at the end is an appendix where an English translation of the text of
the Copper Scroll is produced in flill.

Admittedly, scholars will find some of Shanks' treatment of various subjects
rather simplistic and will disagree at key points. Yet the book is not intended to be a
scholarly tour de force, and Shanks' carefully cited endnotes with complete bibliographic
material will give the dissatisfied scholar much to excavate on his/her own. As usual,
Shanks has done a great service in making an enigmatic relic fi^om antiquity come alive
with lucidity in a way that makes reading this small book a delightfiil use of an afternoon.

Daniel M. Gurtner, Bethel Seminary, St. Paul, MN

Robert J. Morgan, Evidence and Truth: Foundations for Christian Truth. Wheaton:
Crossway Books, 2003. 126 pp., paper, $12.99.

This book is part of a series entitled. Biblical Essentials. What could be more
essential than opening with a thought provoking question, "Can Christianity be proven
(7)?" After a time of uncertainty and questioning in his own ministry, Morgan discovered
the facts and uncovered the evidence of his faith. Morgan shares, "The body of evidence
for the truth of Christianity is staggering" (7). He summarizes the evidence in his book.

Chapters one and two discuss the resurrection of Christ and the empty tomb,
along with the eye witnesses to the resurrection. Evidence comes from the reliability of
historians, the diversity of accounts, the empty tomb, and the presence of the guard. Luke
is respected by scholars as a legitimate historian of the life of Christ. "To reject the
Resurrection, you have to disregard the demonstrated reliability of one of the foremost
historians of the first century" (13).

Eyewitness accounts are indisputable as one could not argue with those who
had seen the risen Savior. Christ appeared to His disciples, but He also appeared to those
who were skeptic of his resurrection. The account of Thomas is a clear indication that not
all believed unless they could see it with their own eyes (John 20:25). "In addition to the
secular historians, we have the writings of the Apostolic Fathers ... all of them living in
the first century and attesting to the historicity of the risen Christ" (23).

Chapters three and four look at the existence and the complexity of creation,
showing there is a master creator. "The universe is billions and billions of times more
complex than a wristwatch; hence, the complexity of the universe is itself powerful and
indisputable evidence for the existence of a creator" (31).

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Ashland Theological Journal 2009

Chapters five and six consider the fulfillment of prophecy through historical
and Messianic prophecy. Time after time prophecies were declared and fiilfiUed
regarding the coming Messiah. It is a unique aspect of the Bible.

Chapters seven and eight deliberate the unequaled Christ and the solidarity of
scripture. Morgan considers His magnetism, teaching, claims, resurrection, and His
impact on history. His teaching reveals that no one compares with how He taught. He
spoke with authority and people were amazed at His teaching and wisdom. He captured
the crowd's attention and drew angry leaders because of the truthful words spoken. A
review of scripture considers that the Bible was "written over 1,600 years by forty
authors in three languages on three continents, covering hundreds of controversial
subjects" (77).

Chapters nine and ten review the historical reliability of the Bible through
biblical documents and the evidence of archaeology. Morgan makes a compelling
argument with the census taken at the time of the birth of Christ. The value of
archaeology is shared with ten examples revealing the historical evidence of scripture
being truth. The Silver Scrolls and Hezekiah's Tunnel are two of the ten archaeological
discoveries that are debated.

Chapters eleven and twelve discuss the witness of changed lives and the
absence of alternatives as a part of our Christian experience. Morgan gives example of
several lives changed by God. "These people are but representatives of millions and
millions, many of whom have freely laid down their lives for Christ and His kingdom"
(105). Ravi Zacharias wrote a book called, Can Man Live Without God? "There is
nothing in history to match the dire ends to which humanity can be led by following a
political and social philosophy that consciously and absolutely excludes God" (111). A
world without God leads to a world of no hope, fiiU of despair and misery.

A final part of the book is entitled, "The Step of Faith" along with notes and
bibliography. It is a challenge to the reader to accept Christ by faith. A perfect ending to a
well researched book. Yet, it is not the ending if one believes, it is merely the beginning
of discovering the evidence and truth of scripture, faith, and Christ. Morgan concludes,
questions and reinforce faith. But the decision to follow Christ is personal, spiritual, and a
matter of both mind and heart" (1 16).

Dawn Morton

John F. Haught, Christianity and Science: Toward a Theology of Nature. Theology in a
Global Perspective. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2007. Pp. xv + 208, paper, $25.00.

John Haught explains the sub-title of his book by distinguishing between
'natural theology' as an attempt to show what nature can tell us about the existence of
God, and a 'theology of nature' as an attempt 'to express what the natural world means
when we take it to be grounded in the reality of the God who in Christ and through the
Spirit makes all things new' (p. 12). This quotation indicates the two closely related
'motifs of Christian faith' on which Haught concentrates, what he calls 'the descent and
futurity of God' (p. xiv, his italics). His starting point is that science, especially geology,
biology and cosmology, has shown that the universe is an unfolding story. Moreover, the
scientific picture of the universe presents us with three 'infinites', those of the immense,
the infmitesimal and the complex. What are we to make of the Christian faith in the light

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Book Reviews

of this picture? Haught rejects two general ways of responding to the question: either to
ignore the findings of science or to discard faith and theology in the face of them. His
approach is to see in the scientific picture an invitation 'to an unprecedented
magnification of the sense of God, creation, Christ and redemption' (p. xiv).

Of the two Christian 'motifs' he mentions Haught concentrates much more on
futurity than on descent. This is primarily an 'eschatological' theology of nature,
although there is an 'incamational' dimension to it. Haught recognises that there is a
potential problem in that for Christian faith futurity means hope in a God who is 'the
inexhaustible font of renewal' (p. 5) and who does what is genuinely new. However, in
science 'every future occurrence, no matter how strange, will be an exemplification of
timeless laws and previous physical circumstances, so by itself science simply cannot see
clearly the perpetual newness of creation' (p. 5). As a result science tries to explain such
dramatic new phases as the appearance of life and of consciousness in terms of nonliving
and unconscious physical processes. His proposal for overcoming this problem, is that
science needs to be supplemented by a 'wider empiricism', which he defines as 'a way of
seeing or experiencing that is sensitive to the insideness of things as well as to the
genuine novelty that emerges, sometimes explosively, in natural history' (p. 57). This
'wider empiricism' is not opposed to science but seeks to take into account dimensions of
reality that the scientific method ignores.

As Haught seeks to work out his proposal in the context of discussions of
modem cosmology and evolutionary biology he has much to say that is interesting and
thought-provoking. In particular, for this reviewer, there are his discussions of: 'limit
questions' (pp. 26-29), 'lawfiilness and indeterminacy' (pp. 57-59), 'layered
explanations' (pp. 141-146) and the use of 'the analogy of information' (pp. 147-149).
More speculative are his attempt to theologise about the evolutionary process in term of
the humble, self-emptying God revealed in Jesus (pp. 91-95) and his proposal of an
'eschatological panvitalism' (pp. 172-175).

Haught makes clear that his thinking is influenced considerably by the work of
the Jesuit palaeontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, most of whose writings were
censored by his superiors and not published until after his death in 1955. This reviewer
found some of Teilhard's key ideas (e.g. the 'insideness of things', his Christoldgy and
soteriology) rather incoherent when first read in the 1960s. They are not greatly improved
by Haught's re -presentation of them. Despite this caveat this is a book that is well worth
reading because it is a thought-provoking discussion of some of the important issues
which modem science raises for thoughtfiil Christians, and which Christian faith raises
for thoughtful scientists.

The Revd Dr Emest C. Lucas, a former biochemist, is Vice-Principal and Tutor in

Biblical Studies, Bristol Baptist College, England.

Albert Borgmann, Power Failure: Christianity in the Culture of Technology. Grand
Rapids: Brazos Press, 2003. 144 pp., paper, $14.99.

Borgmann, a professor of philosophy discusses theology, sociology, and
philosophy in the midst of contemporary culture. His definition of technology is "not just
an ensemble of machines and procedures, but a type of culture" (7). It is the culture in
which we live as Christians. The heart of the book is clearly stated, "Making room for

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Ashland Theological Journal 2009

Christianity is in fact the most promising response to technology. We should neither try
to demolish technology nor run away from it. We can restrain it and must redeem it (8)."

The book is in two parts: Part 1: The Circumstances of the Culture of
Technology; and, Part 2: The Place of Christianity in the Culture of Technology. The first
part of the book discusses subjects such as invisibility of contemporary culture, moral
significance of material culture, and communities of celebration are discussed. Words
such as: contingency, grace, power, care, liberty, festivity, poverty, courage, and fortitude
are shared with the reader in the latter part of the book. The final chapter considers the
culture of the word and the culture of the table. The book ends with notes and an index
that are helpfial to the reader.

Power Failure is an intriguing title. Has Christianity, a powerful influence
upon society failed in the midst of contemporary culture? Borgmann defines
contemporary culture as "the technologically advanced style of life (11)." Chapter one
discusses the invisibility of contemporary culture. Consideration of progress, patterns,
and precision of technology are explored.

Moral significance of material culture is investigated in chapter two.
Philosophy is at the heart of this chapter. There are moral consequences in a materialistic
culture. So who is responsible? Citizens of the culture are responsible. All of us should
"take responsibility for the large design of our culture" (34).

Communities of celebration are a part of our culture, according to chapter three.
But they are hindered by the culture and can become passive, therefore, dying. Borgmann
shares his thoughts on communal celebration in a variety of settings, giving examples
throughout the chapter.

What is the place of Christianity in the culture of technology? That is the
question for the remaining part of the book. Chapters four through seven disclose words
that describe the culture of Christianity and how it should be integrated into the culture.

Chapter eight closes the book with a look at the practices of "conversation and
reading" (119). This is called the culture of the word. There is a need for more attention
to the language and to God's Word in our society. "The culture of the table, the careful
preparation and the daily or festive celebration of meals, has been invaded by the
commodious flexibility and variety of foods that are bought ready-made, stored safely
and easily, and prepared in an instanf (121). No doubt there is a loss of family time,
especially table conversation.

Is technology evil? No. There is a place for technology, although Borgmann
states, "the benefits of technology have become thinner" (122). Then we must ask, as the
author did. What place does Christianity have in the culture of technology? Christianity
must not lose its power in the culture. Unfortunately, Borgmann is correct that family has
been affected by technology and culture.

In Christian education, families are important. We want to minister to families:
Parents, children, grandparents, and grandchildren. However, what we fail to realize is
that families are struggling with just having time to cook a meal and eat together. Why?
The culture is pulling them in a variety of directions with sports, extracurricular
activities, and technology. Children as young as 10 years old are getting their first cell
phone. Not only do they want to call their friends but texting is popular. Technology has
become the new language of the next generation.

Has technology reshaped our family and church values, or communal
celebrations? Yes, technology and the culture have reshaped our values. As Christians,

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we must consider are we still having an influence upon our culture? Or is the culture of
technology influencing us? The question can only be answered after carefiil examination
of our own lives.

Dawn Morton

Joseph R. Myers, Organic Community: Creating a Place Where People Naturally
Connect. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2007. 190 pp., paper, $13.99.

Community is a word discussed at great lengths, yet many churches struggle
with providing or finding natural community, and not forced through programs. How
does a church create a natural environment of community? The church wants a fool proof
plan of action, yet Myers states a "master plan tries to manufacture life, whereas organic
order is an invitation to live" (28). In chapter one, organic order is the solution according
to Myers for true community to take place among people. The master plan is "a specific
kind of plan" (28). Many churches want specific plans in order to produce life, yet the
author wants to invite people to live their lives, which creates community.

Recognition of patterns assists leaders to find natural community. Myers
suggests that "forcing connections among people is awkward and uncomfortable" (39).
While that may be true, churches are providing a different model in which community is
prescribed for the person. Chapter two presents the idea of creating "environments and
spaces that encourage the patterns of belonging and allow people to connect naturally in
all kinds of ways" (48).

Chapter three suggests that "many church leaders have spent too much time on
the art of getting people to participate and too little time trying to understand how people
participate" (53). Myers gives five elements of how people participate in community
(55).

Measurement is reflected upon in chapter four. Myers suggests that churches
concentrate on numbers more than other measurements such as what is happening among
people. He states that "reducing living organisms to a census count demeans the way we
were created" (77).

Growth is not a new aspect to the church. In fact the church is very much
concerned about growth. In chapter five, Myers gives two types of growth labeled as
"large-lump models" and "piecemeal models" (84). He wants the reader to understand
that the "piecemeal model is considerate of the environments into which it plans to
introduce growth" (93).

Chapter 6 discusses power and authority. Typically in churches, we have a
hierarchy of power and it trickles down from the top of the power chart. The author
discusses a "revolving power" that "brings the security of knowing that you are not the
only one the project is relying on" (106). Revolving power considers the value of people
and each part of the project.

Chapter seven is entitled Coordination which brings some confusion as it
seems that Collaboration should be the title. He states that "the spirit of cooperation is a
rigid spirit, one that stifles creativity and discovery" (117). Collaboration considers the
process of belonging, which is vital in creating community.

Accountability is a discussion held at most churches. In chapter eight, Myers
suggests that "edit-ability" is needed instead of accountability (138). Partnerships are

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Ashland Theological Journal 2009

needed in community. Partnership means there is a spirit of "grace, not law" (138).
Finding health is needed in community.

The church must contemplate language in our culture. "Almost all Internet
language describes relational activity" (149). Myers discusses the "noun-centric" to the
"verb-centric" concept and how churches need to from one to the other (154).

Chapter ten states that resources depend on the mindset of "scarcity" or
"abundancy" (161). Myers lays out the tools of organic order for review and reflection.

The purpose of the book is "to help you shift your thinking from a mindset of
programming community to one of using organic order to develop an environment where
community can emerge" (169). Notes and selected bibliography concludes the book.

Myers is writing for the Emergent church. It is difficult to say this is for all who
read it, since everyone does not embrace emergent church concepts. It does have valid
points of concern when discussing the word community and it is a challenge to churches
who are caught in a traditional mode of church. The practicality of the book may sound
good in theory, but living it out could be a bit more difficult for churches. While
challenged in thought and theory, it is left up to the church as to the model it will follow.

Dawn Morton

Pete Ward, Liquid Church. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2002. 112 pp., paper,
$14.95.

Pete Ward is an influential author for the church, challenging in methodology
and theology, so that the church will become effective within its culture. It is not
surprising that Ward challenges the church with a bold vision of how to be God's people
in worship and mission. His phrase to describe a solid church is "a shift towards
structures, institutions, and meetings" (2). Although the historical church exists because
of such formations, Ward suggests that church is much more than an organized
institution. The author sees a spiritual hunger in the US and UK that the solid church is
not able or equipped to handle. "Existing patterns of the church fail to connect" with
culture and its search for spiritual truth (3).

A new definition of the church focuses upon communication and building
relationships. Liquid Church will challenge most churches in theology and methodology.
It is defined as an organism that is not dependent upon buildings, meetings, and structure;
but takes the approach of building relationships, communication, and living out the
gospel in everyday life.

Ward is not concerned with those inside the church doors, but those that have
never stepped inside these doors. The culture in which we live is a liquid, flexible
organism that is not tied to the solid church. The religious institution is not liquid.
Frustration exists for those on the outside because people desire informal relationships,
thus it is no surprise that internet communities are so widely used in our culture; such as
My Space and Face Book.

Chapter one provides a detailed description of the solid and liquid modernity. Is
the church "part of the problem or part of the solution" (13)? Relevancy is critical for the
church. "To be a liquid church means that we are able to combine with water to become
fluid, changeable, flexible... We need to embrace and internalize the liquid nature of the

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Book Reviews

culture... Only by locating church within culture can we find ways to develop a
distinctive Christian expression within that culture" (15-16).

Chapter two discusses the mutations of the solid church: heritage, refuge, and
nostalgia. Heritage is based upon holding onto our traditions, our historical culture, thus
preserving what we have been given for future generations. Refuge is concerned with
people finding a place of safety, togetherness, emphasizing a Christian atmosphere in all
parts of life. Nostalgia deals with the conception of the church; looking at the past and
what the church believed about itself

Chapters three, five, and seven build the theological foundation for the Liquid
Church, while chapters four, six, and eight are concerned with the sociological
underpiimings of the new church.

Chapters nine and ten conclude the book along with notes and a bibliography.
The final chapters share concerns of understanding the work of the Holy Spirit and what
the liquid church would look like. Examples are given which clearly paint a picture of a
new church.

Ward provides a good foundation to understanding the solid and liquid church.
Some may view this book as a negative view of the solid church, but it is clear that our
culture is desiring much more than the institution of religion. It desires involvement in
practical ways through worship and expression. Our culture is liquid. Unfortunately many
churches are not willing to make changes in order to effectively reach their culture. These
churches will continue to thrive in mutated stages, yet, not effective in reaching those that
are spiritually hungry for truth. A new way of evangelism is needed.

The challenge of this book is not just for the churches, but for the leaders,
pastors, youth pastors, and Christian educators of churches. Christian education is
concerned with the teaching of God's Word so that others may growth in their walk with
Christ. As Christian educators we must be creative and flexible with methodology, yet,
not compromising the message of Christ. Let us all be persons of influence in our culture.
Let us become liquid, flowing with Christ and flexible to His call so that others may be
fed and filled with His Word.

Dawn Morton

David S. Young. Springs of Living Water: Christ-Centered Church Renewal. Foreword
by Richard J. Foster. Scottdale: Herald Press, 2008. 389 pp., paper, $16.99.

How to bring renewal to stalled congregations is an ongoing challenge. Some
leaders opt for revival fires, which often bum out quickly. David Young prefers bubbling
springs which refresh and renew for long-term growth. He finds a model in the story of
Jesus and the Samaritan woman (John 4). Four movements emerge from his reading of
that account: thirst, encounter, transformation, and mission. Using these, he has
developed an approach to church renewal which has many strong elements. Thorough
exposition plus nearly 70 pages of appendices, notes, and index make this a chunky book,
but one rich in detail of both perspective and planning.

What is fresh, and possibly unique, in Dr. Young's approach is that he puts
spiritual formation — often considered a private matter — at the heart of corporate
renewal. He is intent on "Christ-centered church renewal," and he stresses this from first
to last. More than a program, he offers a process that will take at least four years.

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Ashland Theological Journal 2009

"Renewal is never a quick fix," he writes, "and never follows a straight line" (p. 40f.). It
is "not linear but multifaceted ... an art rather than a science" (p. 46). Using Richard
Foster's threefold model of personal spiritual growth. Young sees congregational renewal
as a movement that must be upward and inward before it can proceed outward.

This means putting spiritual formation first with much attention to prayer and
discernment of where God is leading. It is reireshing to find the author challenging
churches to concentrate on their strengths, not their weaknesses. He encourages them to
create occasions to celebrate the good that is happening within them. Leaders are
servants in the outlined process who do not dictate, but engage in extensive ongoing
dialogue and discernment. The goal of such Christ-centered renewal is quality before
quantity, depth first and then breadth. To that end, Part 3 (Transformation) ends with
"Experiencing Deep Transformation" while Part 4 (Mission) finishes with "Claiming the
Deeper Journey." The book concludes with "Postlude: The Deeper Joy."

In all of this. Dr. Young draws heavily fi^om his own ministry as a seasoned
pastor who has taught renewal in several seminaries and worked with dozens of churches
in various denominations. This is not his first foray into writing, but with Springs of
Living Water he shows himself to be "the master of a household who brings out of his
treasure what is new and what is old." Each chapter is informed by wide reading in both
theoretical and practical literature, as the extensive notes demonstrate. Numerous
references and quotations represent the best of spiritual formation literature as well. In
fact, by reading selectively one could almost use this as a manual for personal growth
developed out of the author's decades of dedication to his own growth.

From my acquaintance with him, I can testify to the attention this pastor-
teacher gives to his own spiritual life, and his book shows the fi-uit of that. Richard
Foster has affirmed this in his warm endorsement of David Young's work. Church
leaders looking for an approach to renewal that is spiritual at the core, discerning in
process, and geared to long-term growth can profit fi-om this meaty, personal, clearly
written manual.

Jerry Flora

David E. Garland and Diana R. Garland, Flawed Families of the Bible: How God's
Grace Works through Imperfect Relationships. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2007. 235
pp., paper, $14.99.

Families are looking for guidance of how to model themselves after those
found in the Bible. Unfortunately, the families in the Bible are not perfect and "the family
tree of the Messiah reveals a family whose closets seem to be bursting with skeletons"
(II). So where does the family look for an example of the family loved and redeemed by
God? The Bible is the answer. Many have not grown up with the basic Bible stories and
therefore have missed the richness of God's Word. The Bible has stories of families, their
positive and negative experiences. "Once we begin to understand them, their stories and
experiences may seem to mirror our own lives. We can see reflections of ourselves in
their messy and troubled escapades" (13). Understanding the families of the Bible will
bring understanding to our own family life.

The stories covered in this book are: Sarah's and Hagar's Stories: Hope versus
Hopelessness; Leah's Story: When Your Spouse Loves Another and You Feel Unloved

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Book Reviews

and Left Out; Dinah's Story: The Horror of Rape and Living through Family Shame;
Tamar's Story: Commitment to Family against All Odds; Michal's Story: With a Family
Like This, Who Needs Enemies?; Bathsheba's Story: Surviving Abuse and Devastating
Loss; The Stories of Jephthah's Daughter and David's Daughter Tamar; When Parents
Fail; and The Ethiopian Eunuch: God's Message of Good News. The book ends with
references cited which provides a solid group of resources for the subject of the book.

David Garland has a theological and scriptural educational background while
Diana Garland brings an understanding of social work and dynamics of family ministries.
The uniqueness of the book is outstanding. It mixes theology and sociology in a practical
way, reaching out to families in today's society. Many books written with theology and
sociology as a blended thought tend to be in theory only. This particular book merges the
two subjects in a beautiftil way and extends God's grace to the family.

The theological subject of God's grace is discussed throughout each Bible
story. "Grace allows us to receive what comes in life with gratitude. God helps us to
accept that the 'Okay' in life embraces it all, the good and the bad, the joyful and the
painful, the holy and the not-so-holy. Grace fi-om God gives us the strength to get through
it all and survive, and lets us leave the fiiture in God's hands" (35). Many families are
wounded and broken in our society, yet a glimpse of the Bible characters with their
families, gives us the same picture of the family. Wounds, hurt, bitterness, hatred,
murder, rape, incest, jealousy and the list continues on. The point of the book is that
"through the grace of God, the working of the Spirit in the imperfect places, change
happens. Families can be places of redemption rather than places of wounding, places of
reconciliation rather than places of betrayal" (68).

The telling of the story of the family can bring hope to others who are listening
in on the story. "It is in the telling of our stories that the wounded find healing and that
we encourage others to know that their own voice can be heard, too" (101). Expressing
and sharing our family stories brings a reality to situations today. It allows the family to
understand that God loves the family and has a plan for the family, even with all of its
flaws and imperfections. "God takes broken families of all kinds of shapes and sizes and
works processes of perfection through them" (230). Yes, grace is for the individual, but it
is also for the family which God has designed to reveal His perfect grace at work.

Christian educators work with families in churches. Families are distraught and
broken from many different aspects of life. Reading this book gives hope that if God has
worked His grace through the families of the Bible, then He can and He will work His
grace through the families in our churches.

Dawn Morton

Nancy Jean Vyhmeister, Your Guide to Writing Quality Research Papers: For Students
of Religion and Theology. 2"*^ ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008. xii+ 264 pp., paper,
$16.99.

Students entering into the world of theological or religious studies are often
overwhelmed by their writing assignments. They often wonder where they can begin to
find instruction on writing their papers. This problem is magnified by the breadth of
subjects covered in the course of theological education. The requirements for an
exegetical paper will be different from those of a theological research assignment, which
in tum is quite different from the expectations in courses on practical theology. Where

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Ashland Theological Journal 2009

may the conflised neophyte turn for advice on how to engage in research and format its
results? The second edition of Your Guide to Writing Quality Research Papers provides a
good starting place for such bewildered students.

Vyhmeiester, who has been instructing students in the United States and abroad
for forty-five years on the intricacies of research, is well equipped to write this guide.
Chapter 1 is an introduction to the question of what research is. Vyhmeister begins with a
definition of research "as a method of study that, through careful investigation of all
evidence bearing on a definable problem arrives at a solution" (p.l). She also warns
students that "[rjesearch is not simply a compilation of quotations" (p. 5). Nor is it a
rewriting of previous work. Neither is it a sermon or the defense of one's own opinions.
Rather, it is the systematic analysis of materials, presented in an effective presentation.

To accomplish research, one needs to utilize the major resources. These include
the library (chapter 2). Vyhmeister introduces the student to the wide array of materials,
both electronic and print. Keeping up to date on electronic resources is especially
difficult, for this chapter includes a section on CD-ROM indexes (pp. 15-16), a
technology quickly becoming obsolete. Fortunately, online indexes are also mentioned
(p. 16-17). Students, however, should be carefial not to limit their review of literature to
electronic searches, since numerous subject specific print bibliographies are also
available, as mentioned briefly on p. 17. In addition to the resources found in the library,
this new edition includes an expanded discussion on electronic resources, as seen in
chapter 3, entitled "Taming the Internet" (pp. 21-28). Students are advised both on how
to evaluate internet material and how to cite it (pp. 25-28).

Chapters 4-13 describe the research process. Students are advised on how to
choose a topic, how to prepare their bibliographies, how to read and take notes in an
appropriate manner, how to prepare footnotes and bibliographies and how to write and
format their papers. These chapters are among the books most usefial. Chapters 8
(research reading), 9 (footnotes), 10 (reference notes and bibliographies), and 12(writing
the paper) provide information helpfiil to any student of theology and religion.

Chapters 14-21 discuss specific types of research. Chapter 14 on biblical
exegesis provides a brief overview of the steps of exegesis and the presentation of its
results. While not a substitute for such standard works written by Michael Gorman,
Gordon Fee or Douglas K. Stuart, the chapter provides a quick reminder to students of
the steps in the exegetical process. Other topics discussed include program development,
case studies, statistics and the writing of theses and D. Min. projects. Chapter 19 on
statistics is very brief, and is perhaps the least helpful in the book and Vyhmeiester
seemed somewhat uncomfortable in discussing computer applications for statistical
research. Students employing statistical method would be well advised to read one of the
standard works on statistical analysis, as well as become very familiar with their
computers' statistical programs. The discussions of masters theses and doctoral
dissertations and D. Min. projects were, likewise, somewhat superficial. Nevertheless,
students are provided with a quick overview of the intricacies of this type of research.
Again, they cannot use Vyhmeister in lieu of the thesis manuals of their respective
institudons. The book concludes with appendices, include notes on citation style. This
section is also usefial, although no substitute for the most current Turabian or APA
manuals.

In conclusion. Your Guide to Writing Quality Research Papers provides a
useful overview for students beginning to engage in theological research. It is not able to

195

Book Reviews

cover every topic in detail. On the other hand, as an introductory text for seminary or
theological students, it is an invaluable introductory aid.

Russell Morton

Elaine A. Heath, The Mystic Way of Evangelism: A Comtemplative Vision for Christian
Outreach. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008. Pp. 207, paper, $19.99.

Three particular areas in the academic study of evangelism dominate the
publishing landscape today: concern for the interface of evangelism and postmodemity,
holistic concepts of the practice that avoid unhelpful bifiircations of the biblical vision,
and the rediscovery of ancient practices that have immediate and future application. The
Mystic Way of Evangelism, by McCreless Assistant Professor of Evangelism and Director
of the Center for the Advanced Study and Practice of Evangelism at Perkins School of
Theology, Elaine A. Heath, touches on each of these areas. It connects contemporary
Christianity with an ancient aspect of the Christian heritage often neglected with regard
to the practice of making Christian disciples, offers an expansive vision of evangelistic
ministry more faithful to the biblical witness, and provides a substantive response to the
decline of Christendom in the West in the context of an emerging postmodern worldview.

Heath reclaims the wisdom of great Christian mystics who can function as
mentors by the way they shape our understanding of the theory and practice of
evangelism today. The threefold contemplative or mystic way of purgation, illumination,
and union constitutes the basic framework for her discussion of serious issues that the
church faces today as it struggles with its own "dark night of the soul." Heath views the
current malaise in the Western church as a time of refinement and an opportunity for
Christian communities to rethink church, rediscover their true vocation in the world, and
transition from a moribund Christendom model to a more fiiUy contextualized, biblical
model of life in Christ based upon contemplation or abiding in Christ. This purgative
movement paves the way for a new breakthrough of the Spirit.

In the more fiiUy developed Parts Two and Three, Heath provides the
contemplative prescription for the diagnosis of Part One. Under the overarching theme of
illumination, she examines five sub-themes of the contemplative life: the experience of
God's love, life shaped by eucharistic practice, identity formation in coming home to
God, the church's need of confession and forgiveness, and the healing of the earth. Two
spiritual mentors illustrate each of these themes in the respective chapters; Julian of
Norwich and Hans Ur von Balthasar, Phoebe Palmer and Father Arseny, Thomas R.
Kelly and Henri Nouwen, Julia Foote and Mechthild of Magdeburg, and St. Bonaventure
and John Woolman. In her imaginative discussion of union. Heath narrates the fictional
account of a divorced parent of a teenage daughter who comes in contact with a church
embodying the contemplative life that Heath envisages. Each of the five chapters in this
part describe how Sam learns about the nature of God's love, the Christian life of self-
emptying service, the safety and intimacy of prayer, the presence of the Holy Spirit, and
the care and redemption of our earthly home. Somewhat reminiscent of the
conversational style of Brian McLaren's A New Kind of Christian, Heath's narrative
methodology in Part Three not only articulates her contemplative vision for Christian
outreach, but invites the reader into the larger story of God's grace and love.

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Ashland Theological Journal 2009

Several features of this book contribute in unique ways to a fuller
understanding of evangelism as a missional practice of the whole church. First, Heath
draws not only upon the insight of significant men, but introduces the reader to female
mentors who are of equal value and importance in the rediscovery of vital Christian
discipleship. She provides a more highly textured portrait, therefore, that mitigates
against the stereotypical, male-dominated, soul-conquering face of evangelism from the
Second Great Awakening. Heath also transcends the individualistic ambiance with regard
to the presentation of the gospel and properly locates the task of evangelism squarely in
the church; she calls the church to become holy, believing that the very life of the
community has the power to draw and witness to the truth of the gospel. Without direct
reference to the Second Vatican Council, her vision certainly reflects its concern for the
integrity of the church, particularly the winsome character of genuine holiness and purity
of character. While based upon careful and incisive scholarship. Heath makes the vision
of contemplative evangelism accessible to anyone serious about Christian discipleship in
a postmodern context. In a culture that has tended to stress the importance of action, she
offers a vision of evangelism in which "doing" is thoroughly grounded in God's call to
"be" purified, illumined, and united to the Triune God in whom we dwell.

Paul W. Chilcote

Elizabeth MacKinlay. Mental Health and Spirituality in Later Life. New
York/London/Oxford: Haworth Pastoral Press, 2002. 154 pp., paper, $24.95.

I found this collection of articles by Reverend MacKinley informative,
instructional, and stretching. The book is divided into two parts. The first contains three
papers discuss theology, culture, and mental health in the later years. The second part has
several papers written by "carers" as described in the book and their methods of reaching
both patients and staff serving the patients in old- age facilities. The subjects and
facilities referred to in the text are all Australian. It is my opinion the findings and
conclusions reached can be generalized to other western cultures including the United
States.

The articles gather information from theorists like Victor Frankl and Eric
Erikson as well as current data from private and governmental studies. They also blend in
anecdotal accounts of trial methodology.

Much has already been written about the underdiagnosis and misdiagnosis of
depression of the elderly, but this collection paints a portrait of what this depression can
look like in the communal setting of a nursing home. Part of this painting includes the
underpaid staff who provide direct care for the elderly. The authors' abilities to bring the
value of focusing in on added training, increased responsibility, and value of these staff
were both encouraging and surprising. Their data suggested as much improvement in the
patients' symptom reduction and overall wellness with the added attention given to the
direct staff as additional attention to the patients.

Several articles touched on the spiritual condition of the patients. Most
effective was the article by Christine Bryden. She suffers from fronto-temporal dementia
and speaks about her loss of self and her fears of loss of relationship with God. Others in
the book use the passage Luke 22:19, "Do this in remembrance of me," as an example of
those suffering from Alzheimer's or dementia losing relationship with God as they lose

197

Book Reviews

their ability to remember about God and His Word. Bryden separates the frail body from
the eternal spirit and says the verse implies the action of doing more than remembering.
She and others strongly suggest that patients continue to take the sacraments and
participate in liturgy even when their memory may fail to make the connection as to the
purpose of such actions. She states further that just as the Holy Spirit intercedes "with
groans that words cannot express" (Romans 8:26) He will also replace the memory loss
"in all acts of remembrance" (73).

The last article speaks to the importance of pastoral care given to this
population. Many times their only visitors are clergy. The paper gives an outline for
helpers to guide their members to find meaning in their lives when it is most difficult to
identify any positive aspects of life. Finding this meaning can prove to be lifesaving by
reducing suicide in a population with some of the highest rates of self-harm.

This book sheds light on the subjects of depression and suicide in the elderly
that will continue to increase as the population ages if we do not address these issues. It
offers possible solutions as well as ideas on how to proceed in discovering new solutions.

Raymond K Pate

198

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ISSN: 1044-6494

Ashland

Theological

Journal

Ashland Theological Seminary

Ashland, Ohio 2010

ISSN: 1044-6494
Ashland Theological Seminary
Ashland, Ohio

ASHLAND THEOLOGICAL JOURNAL, 2010

CONTENTS

Avatar in Three Dimensions 1

L. Daniel Hawk

The "not. . . but" (ou. . .alia) New Testament Rhetorical Pattern:

Its Features and Purposes and the Dangers of Misinterpretation 13

Nijay Gupta

The Problem of the Grazing Herd of Pigs in Mark 5:1-20 25

Russell Morton

Applying a New Perspective Understanding to Romans 2:12-16 31

Gregory V. Hall

"Free Choice" in Calvin's Concepts of Regeneration and Moral

Agency: How Free Are We? 41

Jonathan S. Marko

A Bibliographic Guide to the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha 61

David A. deSilva

Book Reviews Ill

Journal articles are indexed in Elenchus ofBiblica, New Testament Abstracts, Old Testament
Abstracts, Religions and Theological Abstracts, and Religion Index One; reviews are indexed in
Index to Book Reviews in Religion. The latter two indices, published by ATLA, 300 S Wacker
Dr, Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60606, are also available online through BRS Information
Technologies, DIALOG Information Services and Wilsonline. Views of contributors are their
own and do not necessarily express those endorsed by Ashland Theological Seminary.

VOLUME XLII

Published and copyright held by Ashland Theological Seminary, Ashland, Ohio, 44805. Printed

in the USA.

Editorial Preface

Habakkuk 3:17-18 reminds us: "Though the fig tree does not blossom,
and no fruit is on the vines; though the produce of the olive fails, and the fields
yield no food; though the flock is cut off from the fold, and there is no herd in
the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will exult in the God of my salvation"
(NRSV). God is God, Creator and Provider, King of the Universe and worthy of
all honor and praise because of who he is, not because of what he has done for
us. The fact that he does for us is frosting on the cake, increasing existing praise
to an even higher level.

These words are easy to hear when we suffer from plenty, but become
more difficult, and necessary, when we benefit from lack: loss of work and
income, failing health and relationships, falling enrollments and donations. At
these times, individual Christians and institutions like Ashland Theological
Seminary are forced to remember who we are and whom we serve, our perpetual
necessity for God's grace through which we live and move and have our being -
not through any work or merit of our own. It drives us to prayer, for God's
assistance as well as for how we might be of assistance to others in God's name.
Please keep the Seminary and its needs in your prayers, as we seek to remember
you in ours.

In this issue, we hope again to have a smorgasbord in which you will
find material both nourishing and challenging. We present a wide array of items,
fi"om popular culture to pigs, fi-om Romans to Reformed theology, with a touch
of rhetoric and annotated bibliography thrown in for good measure. There are
also numerous reviews to round off the meal. We wish you bon appetit or, in the

language of heaven, pn^nn.

October 14, 2010
David W. Baker

Ashland Theological Journal 2010

Avatar in Three Dimensions

By L. Daniel Hawk*

The stories we tell, and the stories we embrace, reveal much about how
we look at ourselves, our world, and our place in the world. Narratives encode
our convictions, validate our beliefs, voice our anxieties, and assemble the
events of our lives and memories into a meaningful coherence. They define us
more clearly than textbooks or mission statements. This is particularly true of
the grand narratives that configure the identities and perspectives of groups and
peoples. And it is certainly true of the biblical narrative, which Christians
appropriate to define faith and practice and to comprehend the world and God's
work within it.'

One of the narratives at the center of today's cultural radar is the one
told by James Cameron's Avatar." The cinematic epic tells the story of Jake
Sully, a veteran who has lost the use of his legs in an unspecified future war.
Jake is recruited to participate in the Avatar Program, a venture overseen by the
Resources Development Administration. The RJDA has established a colony on
Pandora, a heavily-forested planet located more than four light years from Earth.
The military and economic interests that drive the organization seek
Unobtanium, a mineral considered essential for alleviation of an energy crisis on
Earth. The atmosphere on Pandora, however, is toxic to earthlings. In order to
survive on Pandora, the Avatar Program has developed a way of linking human
minds with bodies that genetically resemble the Na'vi, the humanoid inhabitants
of the planet. Jake's twin brother Tom, a scientist, was to link to one of the
bodies but died, prompting the invitation to Jake, who is Tom's genetic match.

Humans live and breathe on Pandora only by linking their
consciousness to an avatar, while their bodies remain asleep inside a climate-
controlled facility. The events that occur on Pandora change Jake's perspectives
and identity, as encounters with the Na'vi transform him from a mercenary in
the service of the RJDA to a Na'vi who fights for the survival of the people who
have adopted him. As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that the earthlings will
stop at nothing to drive out the Na'vi and acquire Unobtanium, and the latter
part of the movie exposes their greed and savagery as they destroy Hometree, a
Na'vi village, and attempt to destroy Eywa, the sacred tree that ties all life on
the planet together.

L. Daniel Hawk (Ph.D., Emory University) is Professor of Old
Testament and Semitic Languages at ATS.

Avatar in Three Dimensions •

The story of conquest that Avatar tells is a familiar one. In the
background lie narratives of colonial conquest, and particularly the conquest of
the Americas. Avatar is a variation on the America's national narrative of
westward expansion and empire -building, whereby invaders with advanced
technology drive out indigenous peoples and occupy their lands. Cameron,
however, prompts viewers to see the story through the experiences and
perspectives of the indigenous people, and he gives it a twist. In his version, the
invaders are repelled.

It is not surprising to see the American story in the background of
Avatar. Narratives are not created ex nihilo. They construct infrastructures and
assemble building blocks quarried from the stories that constitute the bedrock of
the cultures in which they are told. Narratives retell other stories, selecting and
rearranging stock elements, assembling them into recognizable patterns, and
playing off the expectations of their readers and viewers.

In Avatar we see character types that also inhabit America's conquest
narratives. On the one side, there is Miles Quaritch, the military leader in the
employ of the economic power (RDA), who wants only to drive out "the
savages." On the other, there is Tsu'Tey, the indigenous warrior who dies
defending his people and home. In between is the protagonist, Jake Sully, the
conflicted invader turned renegade, who embodies the invader's ambivalence
about conquest. There is Neytiri, the indigenous woman who helps the invader
and becomes the bridge to her people. And there is her invader-counterpart. Dr.
Grace Augustine, the gruff and gritty heroine with a compassionate heart.

The corresponding American narrative takes many of its building blocks
from the biblical book of Joshua. The idea of America as a Promised Land and
the American people as uniquely blessed, with a divine destiny to bring liberty
to all humankind, draws directly from motifs prominent in Israel's story of the
conquest of Canaan. The central plot of that story - the annihilation of the
indigenous peoples and ethnic cleansing of the land for the purpose of
establishing a new nation - also stands as the central thread of America's
narrative of nation-building.

Avatar is therefore a three-dimensional cinematic narrative that retells an
American story that retells a biblical one. How does Avatar retell the story, and
what does it tell us about what is happening in our culture? How might a biblical
lens help Christians discern the cultural currents, traditions, and convictions that -
configure and find expression in it? As the biblical counterpart of the
contemporary movie, how might the book of Joshua assist us in seeing the
narrative thread that links our national story with this new cinematic iteration? '

Ashland Theological Journal 2010

As a narrative, the book of Joshua presents a complex account of ancient Israel's
reflection on its invasion and settlement of the land of Canaan. As Christian
scripture, it extends the story into modem contexts and the ongoing negotiation
of national memory and identity. Extending Joshua in the direction of Avatar
makes connections that enable contemporary Christians to discern and respond
to the contesting values, perspectives, and convictions that infuse contemporary
America's thinking about itself "

Indigenous Women and the Invaders Who Love Them

One of the characters that figures prominently in biblical Joshua, the
American master narrative, and Avatar is the indigenous woman who helps the
invader. In Joshua, Israelites no sooner enter the land than they encounter a
Canaanite prostitute named Rahab, who protects them when the local authorities
come looking for them, and then helps them make their getaway (Josh 2:1-24).
At the beginning of America's story, Captain John Smith, a leader of England's
first colony at Jamestown, is saved from death by Pocahontas, who subsequently
becomes a bridge between the colony and the Powhatan Confederacy. Two
centuries later, when the young United States embarks on a "voyage of
discovery" into the land it purchased from the French, Lewis and Clark meet
Sacagawea, who guides and helps the explorers on their mission. Along similar
lines Jake Sully, in the person of his avatar, meets Neytiri, a Na'vi woman who
rescues him from viperwolves in the Pandora wilderness. Neytiri takes Jake to
her village and, like her counterparts, Rahab and Pocahontas, becomes the
invader's advocate before her people.

Why do conquest narratives include stories about indigenous women
who help the invaders? That the invader is male and the indigene is female can
be viewed as a reflection of the patriarchal societies that tell the stories; as in the
societies, men occupy center stage and women take the role of helpers. Yet why
is it important to the invader to include a story-line about indigenous helpers -
and in the case of America, to memorialize them in movies {Pocahontas, The
New World) and tokens of economic exchange (Sacagawea, on the U.S. one-
dollar coin)?

The stories can be read as expressions of the invader's sense of
superiority and a claim that destiny was on their side; the indigenous women's
welcome implicitly recognizes the invader's power and the inevitability of their
people's demise. Or the stories can be read as attempts to assuage the invaders'
guilt about the conquest; the women's assistance signals that the peoples of the
land really welcomed the invasion.

Avatar in Three Dimensions

Avatar, however, does something that the American narrative does not
do. Neytiri ennobles the indigenous peoples and by contrast, unmasks the
violence of the invaders and their supposed superiority. Viewers thus come to
the realization that the real savages are the invaders, not the indigenous people.

This is precisely the reversal of perspective that the biblical story of
Rahab elicits. Biblical readers know who the good guys and the bad girl are in
this story. Yet as it unfolds, Rahab displays qualities that Israelites admired (e.g.
resourcefulness, cunning, faithfulness). She, not the spies, praises Yhwh and
acclaims God's mighty acts of salvation. By the end of the story, readers find
themselves identifying with the indigenous woman rather than the invaders, just
as earthbound viewers find themselves identifying with Neytiri and the peoples
of Pandora.

The biblical account uses the device of reversal to humanize the
indigenous peoples of Canaan, dismantle percepfions of superiority, and
destabilize the rhetoric that viewed them as deserving of annihilation. The
attitudes evidently remained prevalent when the story was written down, for the
narrator later remarks that Rahab 's descendents remained "to this day" at the
margins of Israelite society (Josh 6:23, 25). The rendering and placement of the
Rahab story nonetheless reveals that Israel was rethinking and reworking its
memories of conquest as a way of coming to terms with the residue of its violent
treatment of the indigenous people of the land. Avatar's dignifying portrayal of
indigenous people through Neytiri suggests that American society is in the midst
of a similar rethinking.

Double Vision

Conquest narratives work by establishing and maintaining a stark
distinction between the invader "us" and the indigenous "them." Shaping the
indigenous them into the opposite of the invader us enables the invader to soothe
moral qualms about conquest. Casting the invaders as civilized and the
indigenous peoples as savages, opposing advanced to primitive, pious to pagan,
peaceful to warlike, or even human to animal, implicitly justifies the violence
meted out to indigenous peoples, who in some way can be viewed as opposing
progress or destiny. Principled invaders expend considerable energy maintaining
these distincfions, because if they break down, the indigenous peoples begin to
look as fully human as the invaders - which makes dispossessing, exploiting,
and killing indigenous peoples look uncomfortably like theft, oppression, and
murder.

Ashland Theological Journal 2010

These are some of the oppositions that Anglo-America employed to
construct its identity and that of the indigenous peoples of the continent. Popular
literature during the 19th and early 20th Century, such as Robert Bird's Nick of
the Woods, popularized the image of the bloodthirsty redskin."* Political
discourse explained indigenous resistance to Western civilization and
Christianity in terms of inferior intelligence or a primitive moral sensibility.
Francis Parkman, arguably the foremost American historian of the 1 9th Century,
summed up the spirit of the age with remarkable simplicity when he described
the Indian as "man, wolf, and devil all in one."^

One problem with the invader's projections is that experience exposes
them for the fabrications they are. The early colonists in America would not
have survived had not indigenous peoples imparted to them their rich
agricultural wisdom. The eloquence and acuity of indigenous orators
consistently impressed colonial listeners. Indigenous cultures were so strong and
sophisticated that many scholars have conjectured that were it not for the
epidemics that ravaged Native peoples (at mortality rates that in some cases
approached ninety percent), the whole colonial enterprise might have turned out
very differently.

Another problem is that even the invader recognizes the falsity of the
constructions. Guilt and misgiving seep through in various ways, and especially
through stories that portray the nobility of the indigenous peoples and depict
invaders "going Native." The result is an ambivalent, schizoid invader identity.

This bifurcated identity is expressed in Avatar by the earthlings'
psychic distance but bodily closeness to the peoples of Pandora. The earth
people involved in the Avatar Program are in Pandora but not of Pandora; they
interact with the Na'vi through their avatars. They physically remain in an
earthlike environment and among their own people but become indigenous
through their avatar bodies. They are earth minds and identities clothed in
Pandora bodies - not all that different from Americans who put on Native dress
and mimic Native practices at summer camps, youth organizations, and sporting
events.^

Dr. Grace Augustine and Jake Sully comprise a complementary
ambivalence: woman and man, brains and brawn, controlled and impulsive. Life
among the Na'vi exposes the evil they are a part of and when they realize the
aims and actions of their people, they can no longer reconcile the identity-
polarity within themselves. They become renegades. Like the renegades in
American stories, their decision to go native exposes the invader's identity
constructions, which cannot be allowed.^ As renegades, Grace and Jake

Avatar in Three Dimensions

represent a threat so dangerous that they must be ehminated. In the movie,
Quaritch mortally wounds Grace and attempts to kill Jake in the climactic final
battle.

In the biblical conquest narrative, the polarity works in the opposite
direction. The Gibeonite story (Joshua 9) dismantles the "godly us" vs. "ungodly
them" polarity of Israel's conquest rhetoric and humanizes the indigenous
peoples. In Joshua, the Canaanite kings become the manifestation of the
indigenous forces that threaten Israel. The Gibeonites, however, have no king.
Like Rahab, their indigenous counterpart, they are cunning and opportunistic.
During their parlay with Israel, they alone praise Yhwh and acclaim God's
mighty acts of salvation. They trick Israel's leaders into making a treaty and
ultimately are assigned as laborers to service at the altar - the holiest location in
Israel and the center of invaders' community.

Avatar and Joshua take invader ambivalence in different directions;
invaders are incorporated into the indigenous community in the former,
indigenous into the invader in the latter. Both, however, illumine the ways that
conquest narratives construct identities in order to justify conquest. Both,
however, also destabilize the invader's sense of difference by portraying
indigenous peoples who embody the positive qualities the invaders attribute to
themselves. The extent to which this has happened in America's identity and
narrative remains open to question.

Scorched Earth

One of the pivotal scenes in Avatar takes place when Secops, the
security force under the command of Col. Miles Quaritch, attacks the Na'vi
heartland, slaughters Na'vi villagers, and bums Hometree, their dwelling place.
Quaritch personifies imperialist militarism. He hates the Na'vi, whom he regards
as savages and obstacles in the way of a resource deemed necessary to earth's
viability. In an early scene he warns newly arrived soldiers about the Na'vi's
vicious aggressiveness, projecting the invader's violence onto the indigenous
inhabitants and implying that invader excursions are justifiable defensive
operations. At Hometree, and in the climactic scene at the sacred tree Eywa,
Quaritch leads a campaign of indiscriminate killing and devastation, revealing
the invader's moral imperative: the end justifies the means.

Mass killing and wanton destruction were common elements of warfare
among the civilized societies of the ancient Near East. Israel was a part of that
world, and so it is no surprise that its conquest narrative exults in reports that
Joshua "killed everything that breathed." A tone of militant triumphalism is

Ashland Theological Journal 2010

particularly pervasive in Joshua 11-12, which draws on rhetoric well-known in
the military literature of other nations of the period. Although a few references
to the sin of the indigenous peoples appear in preceding books of the Bible, no
such reference appears in Joshua. The book itself does not present the
annihilation of the indigenous population as an act of judgment but rather as a
program of dispossession necessary to achieve a Utopian vision of a land
inhabited only by Israelites.

Wars of annihilation and devastation do not appear to have been an
aspect of war in pre-contact America. Early colonial narratives, supported by
indigenous traditions, indicate that warfare among the indigenous peoples was
ritualized and limited. Accounts of early conflicts reveal settler frustration with
Indian allies, who left the field after shooting all their arrows or after the deaths
of a few combatants. It did not take long, however, for the English colonists to
replicate the violence of the horrendous religious wars that devastated Europe in
the 17th Century. The watershed occurred when rising tensions, caused in part
by the expansion of New England colonies, prompted the colonists to make a
pre-emptive strike on a Pequot Village near Mystic River in 1637. Surrounding
the village when the warriors were away, the colonial force burned the village
and slaughtered almost all of its 400-500 inhabitants, mostly women, children,
and elderly. "Total war," in other words, was a European import.^

The practice inaugurated at Mystic Fort would be replicated at
Gnadenhutten, Sand Creek, Wounded Knee, and countless lesser-known sites -
and when the Native populations had been subdued, would continue westward
across the Pacific Ocean to places like Balangiga, Hiroshima, and My Lai.
Scorched earth policies, which subjected indigenous populations to exposure
and starvation, also became stock elements of American warfare. Campaigns to
bum villages and fields were initiated during the Revolution, perfected in the
conquest of the Old Northwest, and adapted to the subjugation of Plains peoples
through the mass slaughter of bison.

In Joshua, the narrator attempts to mask the scope and brutality of the
conquest by rendering the wars against the indigenous peoples as defensive
operations. The kings of Canaan, who embody the hostile powers of the land,
are presented as increasingly aggressive as the story goes along, beginning with
the attempt of Jericho's king to find the spies and culminating in attacks by
coalitions of kings at Gibeon and the waters of Merom. The battles at Ai (8:10-
29), Gibeon (9:1-2; 10:1-15), and the waters of Merom (11:1-9) all begin when
Canaanite kings attack the Israelites, thereby casting the invading Israelites as
defenders rather than aggressors.'

Avatar in Three Dimensions

A corresponding move configured America's expansion into
indigenous lands. When settlers encroached on these lands, colonial
governments generally depicted the Native peoples, rather than the settlers, as
aggressive and brutal. The colonists, for example, blamed the British crown for
fomenting Indian savagery against settlers in the Ohio Country, leading to the
last of the accusations against George III listed in the Declaration of
Independence: "He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has
endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian
Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all
ages, sexes and conditions." The accusation conveniently omits the fact that
"undistinguished destruction" characterized settler practice to an even greater
extent and that, rather than being beleaguered victims, the inhabitants
constituted a settler tsunami that was deluging lands the Crown had promised to
reserve for Native peoples.

The scope of the violence experienced by the indigenous peoples of the
Americas is virtually beyond comprehension and for the most part has been
successfiiUy repressed in America's corporate memory. Avatar takes a step
toward bringing these repressed national memories to the surface by projecting
the conquest of indigenous peoples into a fantasy world, creating distance and
enabling viewers to experience conquest from their perspective. Joshua takes a
different tack by portraying the humanity of indigenous people early in the
narrative (Rahab, the Gibeonites), before reporting the full extent of Israel's
conquests (Josh 10:28-12:24). Both the film and the biblical text, in their own
ways, challenge American Christians to expose the nation's stories of conquest
and the perspectives that shape them.

Alien Invasion

Renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking recently cautioned against
trying to contact extra-terrestrial life, warning that aliens advanced enough to
reach the earth might be looking for a world to conquer and colonize. "We only
have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into
something we wouldn't want to meet," he says. "If aliens ever visit us, I think
the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in
America, which didn't turn out very well for the Native Americans."'"

Hawking is speaking to a theme that has acquired increasing cultural
prominence in the last twenty years. Avatar is the latest in a flurry of alien
invasion narratives that have proliferated in the movies (e.g. Independence Day,
War of the Worlds, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Signs, among many others),

Ashland Theological Journal 2010

television {V, X-Files, Alien Nation, Invasion, etc.), and popular culture (e.g.
UFO sightings, alien abductions). The current interest is matched only by its
original manifestation in the sci-fi films of the late 50's and early '60's, when
the United States emerged into a position of unparalleled global influence and
cultural dominance. What does America's present preoccupation with alien
invasion motifs, now exemplified by Avatar, the highest-grossing film of all
time, say about what might be going on in the American national psyche?

It is not uncommon to encounter the claim that the United States used
the biblical book of Joshua as a template to legitimize the conquest of the
continent. On the face of it, the claim seems self-evident. The earliest Puritans
saw themselves as a New Israel birthed by deliverance from oppression, a
passage through the sea, and entrance into a Promised Land, which they called
the New Canaan. The early Republic then took up the Puritans' Exodus imagery
as a means of uniting the fractious colonies and identifying America as a new
people, delivered fi"om tyranny and destined to be a beacon of freedom for all
nations.

Taking up the Exodus motif as a template, however, also entails taking
up the Conquest; the two motifs are inseparable in scripture. Even a cursory
acquaintance with American history reveals that the nation that conceived of
itself as a New Israel replicated the mass killing, ethnic cleansing, and
exclusivist attitudes that tell the tale of Israel's conquest of Canaan. It seems
only logical to assume, then, that America drew inspiration for its program of
westward expansion from the book of Joshua.

The truth of the matter, however, is that references to Joshua are
virtually absent from America's religious and civic discourse from the colonial
period to the present. Whereas expansionist America readily identified with the
Israel of the Exodus, it could not seem to face the fact that, in practice, it
behaved more like the Israel of the Conquest. In other words, the United States
explicitly and consistently defined itself as an Exodus people, a people destined
to bear salvation and liberty to all, but it repressed actions and perspectives that
suggested it behaved like a Conquest people.

While we may easily recognize how repressed memories and impulses
influence individual attitudes and behavior, we may not so easily realize how
this can also be true of corporate entities. Memories repressed by a people, like
those repressed by individuals, don't fade away. Left to themselves, they simmer
within the corporate unconsciousness, warping perspectives and practices, until
they bubble to the surface in a time of crisis.

Avatar in Three Dimensions

Is it a coincidence that invasion motifs have surfaced in America during
a period of economic instability, decline in global influence, and a war on
terror? Was it a coincidence that they arose when the Cold War and the prospect
of nuclear annihilation confronted the U.S? What does the American
preoccupation with alien invasion manifest? Repressed guilt and remorse?
Anxiety that in a just universe, "what goes around comes around"? A realization
that the God who gives is also the God who may take away?

As Israel reflected on memories of its origins as a nation, it could not
get around the violent stories and events that shaped its national identity. But at
a later time, in light of its own experiences of suffering and salvation, the nation
realized that the dehumanizing and violent impulses associated with those
traditions were not consistent with the nation God had called Israel to be. The
book in its canonical form bears the traces of this rethinking-over-time, resulting
in a narrative that offers varying perspectives on what happened and why.^' If
the American Church is inclined to follow Israel's example, it might enter this
moment with the prophet's challenge to name America's original sins, turn from
the perspectives and practices they have generated, and bring a justice long
denied. In doing so, the body of Christ might more fully reveal the Prince of
Peace to a watching world.

For Further Reading

Berkhofer, Jr., Robert F. The White Man 's Indian. New York: Vintage, 1979.

Griffm, Patrick. American Leviathan: Empire, Nation, and Revohitionary

Frontier. New York: Hill and Wang, 2007.
Hawk, L. Daniel. Joshua in 3-D: A Commentary^ on Biblical Conquest and

Manifest Destiny. Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2010.
— . Joshua. Berit 01am. CoUegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2000.
Horsman, Reginald. Race and Manifest Destiny: The Origins of American

Racial Anglo-Saxonism. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University, 1981.
Richter, Daniel K. Facing East from Indian Coimtry: A Native History of Early

America. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University, 2001.
Stannard, David E. American Holocaust: The Conquest of the New World.

Oxford: Oxford University, 1992.
Wallace, Anthony F. C. Jefferson and the Indians: The Tragic Fate of the First
Americans. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University, 1999.

Ashland Theological Journal 2010

Warrior, Robert Allen. "Canaanites, Cowboys, and Indians." Union Seminary
Quarterly Review 59 (2005): 1-8. See also the other articles in this
volume, which is devoted to articles on Christianity and narratives of
conquest.

ENDNOTES

Portions of this article appeared previously in a series of posts to the weblog of Allan R.
Bevere, http://arbevere.blogspot.com. I owe thanks to Dr. Severe for the invitation to
post the series to his blog and for his permission to use the posts for this article, and to
David Baker for the invitation to write the essay.

" James Cameron, director and producer. Avatar. Twentieth Century Fox, 2009.
^ There is not a canonical version of the American master narrative. I assume, however,
that the motifs, key events, and major characters that configure it are well-known to
American readers.

'^ Robert M. Bird, Nick of the Woods: Adventures of Prairie Life, 1837. Reprint,
Charleston, SC: BiblioBazaar, 2007.

" Quoted in David E. Stannard, American Holocaust: The Conquest of the New World.
Oxford: Oxford University, 1992, 244.

^ Philip J. Deloria {Playing Indian. New Haven: Yale University, 1998) offers a detailed
and fascinating study of American society's mimicry of Indian customs in various social
contexts. He argues that the American impulse to "play Indian" derives from the need of
white culture to separate fi-om the Old World but at the same time to preserve European
culture.

^ By choosing to live among indigenous peoples, renegades threaten the invaders'
dichotomous identity construction and expose the fiction that their culture is superior.
They are therefore often doubly-demonized. In Ohio lore, the Girty brothers, who lived
and fought with the indigenous peoples of the area, were consistently rendered as even
more brutal than the "savages" with whom they lived. Conversely Tom Quick and the
Wetzels, who killed scores of indigenous men, women, and children in cold blood, were
memorialized as heroic Indian fighters.

^ The History Channel, in an episode titled "Massacre at Mystic," presented an account of
the event as the first in its series, "10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America." The
presentation notes that the colonists' slaughter of Pequots set the precedent for
subsequent conflicts with Native peoples. See the print version, Steven M. Gillion, 10
Days That Unexpectedly Changed America (New York: Three Rivers, 2006).
^ For a detailed study of this narrative strategy, see L. Daniel Hawk, "Conquest
Reconfigured: Recasting Warfare in the Redaction of Joshua," Reading and Writing War:
Rhetoric, Gender, and Ethics in Biblical and Modern Contexts (ed. Brad E. Kelle and
Frank Ritchel Ames; SBLSS 42; Aflanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2008), 145-160.

Avatar in Three Dimensions

'" Jonathan Leake, "Don't Talk to Aliens, Warns Stephen Hawking," The Times, April

25, 2010. Online:

http://vvww.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/space/article7107207.ece.

' ' Joshua has befiiddled many interpreters by its presentation of perspectives that cannot

seemingly be reconciled. Compare, for example, the claim that "Joshua took the whole

land" (11:23) with the later assertion that vast tracts of land remain outside Israel's

possession (13:1-7).

Ashland Theological Journal 2010

The "not... but" (ou...alla) New Testament Rhetorical Pattern: Its Features
and Purposes and the Dangers of Misinterpretation

By Nijay Gupta*

Introduction

The New Testament books are theological texts. Indeed, one may take
Romans as a model example of a book that has shaped Christian theology in an
incalculable way. Thus, Melanchthon's famous labeling of Romans as "the
compendium of Christian religion." However, in recent decades, Romans has
been read, not only as a coherent piece of theological reasoning, but also as a
specimen of rhetoric - that is, a letter written with a particular audience in mind
and with specific rhetorical purposes. The going assumption of most Paulinists
today is that, if Pauline theology is to be appropriately defined, it must be
examined historically, sociologically, and also rhetorically. The same can easily
be said for the Gospels - they are certainly resources for looking at the hero of
the story - Jesus of Nazareth. However, they are also pieces of rhetoric; it is
commonplace to examine how each evangelist works with and through received
Jesus traditions and also offers a unique angle on the life and death of Jesus in
order to teach the intended readers something specific about him, his God, his
community of followers, the world and its ways, the times, and/or salvation. '

When encountering the New Testament texts, modem, western,
English-speaking interpreters make many presumptions about what these
ancient, Greek texts are talking about and what points they are trying to
communicate. This can sometimes initiate a butterfly effect, as a small
grammatical or cultural misunderstanding can lead to a wrong reading of the
purpose or trajectory of a rhetorical discourse, and the net result is a skewed
theological conclusion in some cases." One could point to, for example, the
pistis Christou debate^ which is a relatively recent controversy, as the subjective
reading ("the faithfulness of Christ [himself]") did not receive a fair and
widespread hearing until Richard Hays' appeal in the late 20* century."* In this

*Dr. Nijay Gupta (Ph.D., University of Durham) is Instructor of Biblical
Studies at Seattle Pacific University

The "not. . .but" (on. ..alia) New Testament Rhetorical Pattern: Its Features and
Purposes and the Dangers of Misinterpretation

stakes are high, and passionate proponents on each side claim that the other
group leaves something missing or enervated in Paul's theology.^

Our concern in this study (what we will call the "ow...fl//a" or
"not... but" pattern) is similar, in that it deals with a rhetorical pattern that is
very common in the New Testament and, yet, its meaning is presumed rather
than rhetorically examined. When this pattern appears in places where an author
is dealing with theological matters, a misreading of the purpose of the pattern
can lead to misguided conclusions. My thesis will be that this pattern, due to its
contrastive and symmetrical construction as well as its frequency,^ is significant
in the study of the New Testament, and that due circumspection is necessary in
order to occlude the generation, defense, and perpetuation of simplistic
theological viewpoints.

Description of the Pattern

The pattern itself I refer to as the ''on. ..alia'' or "not...buf' rhetorical
pattern for the reason that its focus is on contrasting two items by way of the
Greek words ou and aXXd.^ The syntax, meaning, and purpose of the
juxtaposition depends primarily on the aXXd.^ On the most basic level, dXXd
functions as an adversative, but S.E. Porter notes that sometimes its use
approximates an emphatic conjunction.^ Below we will demonstrate and expand
upon these two basic syntactical uses of dAAd, but further the discussion with
regard to the syntactical choices meant to drive the author's argument.

Note the following example:

6 Se arpacpeic; eitiev ico nsTpco- UTiays otiioo) pou, aarava' OKavSaAov ei £|i0u,

OTi oi cppoveic; rd tou Beou dAAcc rd twv dvBpcoTicov (Matt 16:23).

But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling

block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human

things" (Matt 16:23).

The first and most obvious feature of this pattern is the appearance of ou and
dAAd. More importantly, though, is the symmetry on either side of the dAAd -
both concepts in contrast are "things," whether "of God" or "of humans." The
rhetorical nature of this pattern is quite obvious - it would have been enough for
the Matthean Jesus to have said, "You are setting your mind on the things of

Ashland Theological Journal 2010

humans" ((ppovEic; m toov dvOpooTucov). The purpose of the addition of "ou...Td
Tou Geou" is to set the (logically) affirmative declaration in view of the
(logically) negative one.

The interpretation of this statement, at least in this case, is rather obvious - not
recognizing the trajectory of Jesus 'path towards suffering and contempt for the
potential shame of the cross unveils Peter's worldly or fleshly perspective rather
than that of God and his wise and true people. However, let us examine another
example of the pattern:

'Irjoouc; Se SKpa^Ev Kal eitiev 6 tiioteuoov eic; e\\£ oi TiiaTSUEi sic; e^e dAAa zio,
Tov T[£|i4)avTd ji£ (John 12:44).

Then Jesus cried aloud: "Whoever believes in me believes not in me but in him
who sent me" (John 12:44).

Again, we have the same appearance of ou and dAAd in close proximity. Again,
there are some affinities with the two items in contrast - both make use of siq
and a form of jie. But in the former case the relationship between the two
contrasted items was clearly antithetical - God and humans. In the latter
example, John 12:44, however, the level of contrast is not the same. The
ostensible purpose of the statement is not to set Jesus (£|i£) at odds with his
sender. If the statement was taken as exclusive, it would be nonsensical - "The
one who believes in me does not believe in me. . ." It is for this reason that some
translators have chosen to add "only" to the clause: "not only in me, but in the
one who sent me" (NIV). Clearly there is a sense in which the contrast is not
meant to be absolute or contradictory. It is of another kind - one oi emphasis.
It is on the basis of such very different kinds of interpretations of these two
types of occurrences of the ''ou...alla" rhetorical pattern that I suggest two
syntactical labels: the former can be called exclusive negation, and the latter,
contrast of significance.^^ When encountering the former, the interpreter can,
more often than not, perceive when one thing excludes the other by definition or
by logic. Examples of exclusive negation include:
|iri yivou aTiiaroc; dAAd nioTOC, ["Do not doubt but believe"] (John 20:27).

Ti(I)(; ouv eXoyiaQx]; ev Ti£piT0{ifj ovti r\ ev dKpo(3uaTia; ouk ev itEpiToiifj dAA' £v
dKpo(3uaTig [How then was it reckoned to him? Was it before or after he had
been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised] (Rom 4: 10).

The "not. . .but" {on... alia) New Testament Rhetorical Pattern: Its Features and
Purposes and the Dangers of Misinterpretation

ou YCtp £OTiv dKaraaTaoiac; 6 Qzbc, aXka £ipr|vriq [For God is not of disorder but
of peace] (ICor 14:33).

The above cases can easily be categorized as exclusive negation because the
presence of the one naturally excludes the other. The negated category is often
given to draw the dividing line between two sides belief and disbelief,
circumcision and uncircumcision, confusion and peace.

Just as one can recognize exclusive negation in some cases quite easily,
so also with contrast of significance. Again, note the following example. In
Acts 5:4, in the story of Ananias and Sapphira, Peter questions the couple in this
way: "How is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You did not lie
to humans but to God (ouk ei|;£uaa) dvGpcoTioK; dAA,d to) Beco)!" Here, of course,
"humans" and "God" are contrasted, but that it cannot be an example of
exclusive negation should be obvious - they actually did lie to humans. It is an
example of a contrast of significance because the point of Peter's statement is
that, though they did lie to humans, it is more important that they recognize their
false testimony before God. One simple way, then, of determining an example
of contrast of significance is to ascertain whether the negated concept is really
contrary to fact or incompatible (by definition) with the paralleled item.

In Matthew's Gospel when Jesus explains that his disciples will be
forceftilly escorted before "governors and kings," he tells them not to worry
about what they will say because

"it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you"
(10:20)."

Clearly the disciples are, in fact, speaking. The idea, again, is one of
significance - the disciples are to be assured that, though they will indeed need
to speak, they will be inspired and should not worry ahead of time about the
specific content of their apology.'"

In some cases, deciding between the two uses of the pattern is not
difficult. However, the problem with this rhetorical pattern is that, while many
cases fit clearly into one category or the other, there are some cases that require
more thought and reflection. Moreover, the evidence from most translations and
commentaries reveals that we naturally presume exclusive negation because the
other option is not usually readily in mind. Indeed, sometimes, when the pattern

Ashland Theological Journal 2010

is misread and the theological stakes are high, the damage can be tremendous
and wide-ranging. Two case studies will reveal the theological and rhetorical
significance of this pattern and the complexity of its interpretation.
Philippians 2:4

In this letter, Paul is at least partially interested in addressing the relationships of
his converts in Philippi. We can infer that they were dealing with some amount
of suffering at the hands of others (1:29).'^ One element of Paul's exhortation is
to maintain solidarity with fellow believers (1:27). Some scholars have
wondered if disunity was a serious and central problem in the church.''*
Whether or not such arguments will prove convincing, it is clear that
cooperation is a leitmotif of the letter and that strife and quarrelling are treated as
petty and self-centered vices. Just before the introduction of the so-called
"Christ-hymn," Paul gives this advice:

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard
others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own
interests, but to the interests of others (Phil 2:3-4).
Here we have an excellent example of the '''ou...alla" pattern (2:4). How,
though, does one arbitrate between the two possible interpretations of this idea?
If it is taken as exclusive negation, then other-regard is virtuous and preferred,
while self-interest is shameful. If it is understood as an example of a contrast of
significance, the point is not that self-interest is problematic, but that other-
regard is to be prioritized. A key consideration is determining, according to the
flow of the argumentation and an acquaintance with Paul's thought in general,
whether self-interest is acceptable. Additionally, there is a text-critical
dimension. Some manuscripts include a Kai after the aXXd.
\xr\ TO. sauToov cKaoTOc; oKOTioOvrEc; dAAa Kod rd Exepodv EKaatoi (^ K A B C
D' 0278 33 1739 1881 m)

yix] TO. eauToov EKaozoo, okotiouvtec; dAAd rd Erepoov ExaoTOi (D*"'^ F G K it)
While the Western witnesses omit this Kai, there is a tendency to view the
inclusion of it as most likely part of the original.'^ M. Silva interprets its
omission in some manuscripts as probably accidental. However, he entertains
the possibility that it was added later on by scribes who were fearftil that Paul's
statement was too ascetic.'^ Nevertheless, even though most interpreters accept
the longer reading, the theological/rhetorical line is divided over how to interpret
it. Markus Bockmuehl reads Paul's words as exclusive negation: "In the

The "not. . .but" (on. ..alia) New Testament Rhetorical Pattern: Its Features and
Purposes and the Dangers of Misinterpretation

absence of monon, alia kai properly... [means] 'but actually' or 'but rather' — not
'but also'."'^ This position appears to be strengthened by Troels Engberg-
Pedersen's research on this construction,'^ however it is obviously quite difficult
to decide when it means "but also" and "but rather." '^ Again, it becomes a
rhetorical and theological matter.

On the other end of the spectrum, Gordon Fee seems to advocate that
this is what we are calling a contrast of significance - self-interest is natural, but
the focus here is on "the basic orientation of one's life" being self-sacrificial as
evident in the example of Christ.^° Or, as Walter Hansen puts it, "Paul does not
advocate total self-neglect, but a reprioritizing of life so that each of you gives
the largest share of attention to others.'"'^^ Theologically, there is evidence for
both readings offered here. Clearly it is acceptable to take heed of one's own
matters from a Hebraic standpoint as in the Jewish maxim: "You shall love your
neighbor as yourself (Lev 19:18; Matt 19:19; 23:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27;
Rom 13:9).^^ On the other hand, Paul is insistent in 1 Corinthians 13:5 that love
"does not pursue its own interests" (ou ^rim xa sautfic;). We may conclude,
then, that Paul does not treat self-interests and other-interests equally, but clearly
prioritizes the latter. Given the presence of Kai, it is almost certain that this is a
case of contrast of significance, but the contrast may be so stark and pointed that
it comes as close to exclusive negation as possible without supporting complete
exclusion.

Ephesians 6:12

Directly after the Ephesians household code (5:21-6:9), this magisterial Tetter
transitions to a sober exhortation for the readers to "be strong in the Lord and in
the strength of his power" (6:10). They are encouraged to endow themselves
with the "full armor of God" to fight the devil (6:11). What comes next is a
description of the nature of the evil combatants: "For our struggle is not against
enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against
the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in
the heavenly places."

This verse has been traditionally read to mean that humans are not the
enemies, but spiritual forces are."^^ That is, historically this has been read as an
example of exclusive negation - there is only one type of enemy. It is not
human or fleshly, but spiritual. Neil Elliott has interpreted this as proof that

Ashland Theological Journal 2010

Paul could not have written Ephesians because such a statement would
demonstrate to the Roman Empire that there would be no Christian resistance."'^
However, what if this is a contrast of significance! Thus, the intention is more
in terms of the relative value of the options - the enemies are not merely flesh
and blood, but more importantly the rulers and powers of the heavenly realms.
H. Schlier explains it this way: "Naturally, blood and flesh can be found on the
front lines. But the conflict runs much deeper. The struggle is finally against a
myriad of tirelessly attacking opponents, too slippery to grasp, with no specific
names, only collective designations.""" This leads believers to stand firm in
light of the magnitude of the struggle."^ If Ephesians 6:12 is interpreted in this
way, the author is arguing, don't act as if you are fighting merely a skin and
bones enemy; step back and look at what you are up against and prepare
accordingly.

One of the critical factors in deciding between an exclusive negation
and a contrast of significance is the purpose of Paul's statement. In particular,
what is the nature of the "For" (on) at the beginning of the sentence? If it looks
back to "devil," one could certainly infer that Paul's point is that spiritual
powers are the only enemy. However, the whole tone of this passage involves
encouraging the Ephesians to wake up and take their situation seriously. Again,
it is an attempt to establish the gravity of the situation. Their sobriety and
attentiveness needs to be all-the-more sharp because, despite what they might
think, their enemies are not merely the human faces of opposition with which
they currently contend.

Another element of the interpretation of this form of the ou...alla
pattern is cultural - regarding how people viewed spiritual and human matters.
Post-Enlightenment, we have a tendency to see this as black and white - there
are physical things and spiritual things and the two realms are separate.
However, according to ancient understandings of the intersection of the human
and divine, "Nothing in heaven can happen without profound repercussions on
earth; indeed, that is the way true change on earth is brought about.""^ Thus, the
spiritual is not strictly what is "up there" while the physical is what is "down
here" - for the author of Ephesians, the church is an earthly physical reality, the
body of Christ (1:23), but also that entity which has been raised up and seated
with Christ "in the heavenly places" (2:6)."^

In a way, as well, arguing that conflict is never with "blood and flesh"
is a bit naive - if the author of Ephesians was not Paul, he would certainly not

The "not. . .but" {ou...alld) New Testament Rhetorical Pattern: Its Features and
Purposes and the Dangers of Misinterpretation

have understood the apostle well if he did not acknowledge the great contest he
had with many "blood and flesh" foes - indeed, Paul knew what it was to even
fight wild animals in Ephesus (1 Cor 15:32)!

The point in Ephesians 6:12, it would seem, is that from a human
perspective, inter-human conflict is there and a response is needed. The author
of Ephesians is preparing his readers for the reality that puny human weapons
are not enough to finally win the battle. He draws back the curtain to show the
puppet masters."

What the Paul of Ephesians tries to communicate in plain words can be
accomplished in other ways. John Collins, in a discussion of the symbolic
significance of the four "beasts" of Daniel 7, explains: "The vision of the terrible
beasts rising out of the sea does not merely give factual information that four
kinds or kingdoms will arise. It paints a picture of these kingdoms as monstrous
eruptions of chaos, in order to convey a sense of terror far beyond anything
suggested by the flat statement of interpretation. The kings are not merely
human but are manifestations of the primordial force of chaos. As St. Paul
might say: "our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against principalities
and powers."^*' Again, the wider cultural perspective of the time accepted that
human opposition was real and problematic, but casting the problem on a larger
canvas of spiritual domination was a way of acknowledging the urgency and
gravity of the matter. The modem tendency to turn away from one possibility
("blood and flesh") and only fixate on the spiritual powers is to choose exclusive
negation largely on a theological and cultural presumption. This is almost
certainly a case oi contrast of significance and translations would probably do
well to reflect this by adding "merely" or "only" after "not."

Reflection and Conclusion

There are numerous interesting examples that could be explored and a host of
interrelated rhetorical and theological matters involved in interpretation. Suffice
it to say that, as the above two cases have shown, ostensibly very simple
interpretive and translational decisions can have a significant bearing upon
perspectives as important as the nature of self-interest and the interaction of the
human and divine. In the cases above, a host of exegetical methods, fi-om
textual criticism to literary critical issues to cultural-religious perspectives,
needed to be considered to make a final judgment. However, the purpose of this

Ashland Theological Journal 2010

paper is to make one major point: translators and scholars too often presume
exclusive negation. However, there are enough examples of an obvious kind of
contrast of significance that serious consideration must be given to each instance
of the pattern.

We may say, then, in terms of principles, this: First, one must consider
whether the two items on either side of the adversative aXkd are, in fact,
exclusive. If I said, it is not 2009, but it is 2010 - only one of these is actually
possible. There are many examples of this in the NT and in everyday speech.
However, so very often the purpose and nature of the rhetorical pattern makes a
point other than one of "reality" - let me tell you what is true and what is not
true. It is a matter of focus, or emphasis. If I said, "I want you not to talk, but to
listen!" (in an angry tone), it is probably the case that I am most interested in
you listening. If you can find a way to talk and listen, so be it. But the
statement is contrastive to show the seriousness of the concern, not to make an
equal statement both about talking and about listening. Of course there are
examples where exclusivity is the point, but, again, this pattern is so highly
stylized that we must be careful to read the rhetoric rightly!

In the end, the reader and translator of the New Testament need to
recognize the flexibility of this pattern and the complexity of its interpretation.
We must take this pattern seriously and struggle through the various options,
while reflecting on the importance of context and presuppositions - that of the
text, author, and original readers, and also our own.

ENDNOTES

' Consider the important debate about the audience(s) of the Gospels; see the recent

collection of essays in E. Klink III, The Audience of the Gospels (London: T & T Clark,

2010).

■^ Indeed, D.A. Campbell offers just such a concern, in an intensified discussion, in his

recent Deliverance of God (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2009).

^ This debate involves the matter of how to best translate and interpret the Greek phrase

pistis Christou - as "faith in Christ" or the "faith of [i.e. demonstrated by] Christ."

^ R.B. Hays, The Faith of Jesus Christ (Chico, CA: Scholars Press, 1983).

' See, most recently, the state of the debate and arguments from both sides in M.F. Bird

and P. Sprinkle, The Faith of Jesus Christ: Exegetical, Biblical, and Theological Studies

(Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2009).

^ I have detected almost a hundred occurrences of this pattern in the New Testament.

The "not... but" (ou...alla) New Testament Rhetorical Pattern: Its Features and
Purposes and the Dangers of Misinterpretation

^ In a small percentage of the occurrences of this pattern, \xr\ appears instead of ou due to
the grammatical mood of the verb to which the negative particle is being applied.
^ Blass and Thackeray helpfully address the importance of paying attention to
conjunctions in translation and interpretation as they serve the purpose of "express[ing]
the mutual relations existing between the sentences and the clauses which compose them:
membership of a single series, antithesis, relation between cause and effect, or between
condition and result"; see F. Blass and H. St I Thackeray, Grammar of the New
Testament Greek (London: Macmillan, 1898), p 259.

^ The example he offers is John 8:26; see Idioms of the Green New Testament (Sheffield:
Sheffield Academic Press, 1999), 205-6. Richard Young works out the use of dAAd in
more detail, referring to four options: contrast, emphasis, exclusion, and transition.
While this taxonomy is helpful, we will continue to work with two main options from a
rhetorical perspective. See further R. Young, Intermediate New Testament Greek: A
Linguistic and Exegetical Approach (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 1994),
particularly 180.

'° Grammarians have differentiated between these two kinds of negations, but do not
address the rhetorical and/or theological implications of the use of such particles. BDF
does offer a short treatment under "Particles and Conjunctions" in §448. Vis-a-vis what I
will refer to as a contrast of significance BDF explains in this way: "ou...dAAd also
means 'not so much... as' in which the first element is not enfirely negated, but only
toned down." Note also that BDF points to an article by A. Kuschke who makes mention
of "relative negadon" {ZNW 43 [1950/1] 262). John Denniston, in his The Greek
Particles, differentiates grammatically between two uses of dAAd. The first use he terms
"eliminative," where something true is substituted for something false. Alternatively, "In
a great number of passages... dAAd simply expresses opposition, and it is left
undetermined whether the opposite ideas are, or are not, incompatible." See The Greek
Particles (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1934), 1-31, especially 1-7. While Denniston and
others have observed the different syntactical uses of dAAd, our intention is to take the
discussion further with a rhetorical analysis of the pairing of ou and dAAd as well as a
consideration of how modem interpreters of the NT draw out theological inferences
based on their reading of this pattern.

" In Greek: ou ydp uiaeTc; sore oi Xakovvxzc, akXa to Kveujaa rou Tiarpoc; ujioov ro
AaAouv ev u}aTv (Matt 10:20).

'^ One may say that here, despite the rhetorical quality of the text, Matthew may intend to
mean that the Spirit will miraculously speak for them without the use of their own body
parts. However, in the preceding verse, it is clear that they will be doing the speaking,
though the content of the speech will be "given" to them (Matt 10:19). - •

Ashland Theological Journal 2010

'^ See L. Ann Jervis, At the Heart of the Gospel (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2007).
'"^ See D. Peterlin, Paul's Letter to the Philippians in the Light of Disunity in the Church
(Leiden: Brill, 1995).

'"'' See translations that reflect the inclusion of this conjunction: ASV, KJV, NIV, ESV,
RSV, NASB; alternatively the NRSV appears to reject this reading.
'^ See M. Silva, Philippians (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1992), 104.
''' M.N. A. Bockmuehl, Paul's Letter to the Philippians (BNTC; Peabody, MA:
Hendrickson, ), 113. This position also appears to be endorsed by Moma Hooker in
Philippians (NIB; Minneapolis, MN: Abingdon, 2000), 500.

'^ Troels Engberg-Pedersen, "Radical Altruism in Philippians 2:4," in J. Fitzgerald et al.
(ed.), Early Christianity and Classical Culture: Comparative Studies in Honor of
Abraham Malherbe (Leiden: Brill, 2003), 197-204.

'^ Engberg-Pedersen lists many examples from Sophocles and Plato. Whether or not this
might be the case, if we follow Paul's own use of this "alia kai" construction, we find
that the overwhelming majority of instances refer to "and also" (Rom 1:32; 4:12, 16, 24;
5:3; 6:5; 8:23; 9:24; 16:4; 2 Cor 7:7; 8:21; 9:21; 1 Thess 1:5; 2:8; and in Philippians itself
in 1:18, 29; 2:27). Certainly one must argue from each individual context, but I would
suggest that there is little evidence (outside of Engberg-Pedersen's peculiar reading of
Philippians) to promote this nuance of xai in his own usage. Pedersen's position, though,
is not too far from the tentative conclusion to this section where, even though we endorse
2:4 as an example o^ contrast of significance, it is such a stark contrast that it comes quite
close to exclusive negation. This would suggest a strong altruism, but perhaps not
"radical."

^^ Gordon Fee, Paul's Letter to the Philippians (NICNT; Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans,
1995).

"' G.W. Hansen, The Letter to the Philippians (PNTC; Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans,
2009), 117.

"^ J.D.G. Dunn makes the important cautionary point that, though Paul is focused on the
needs of others, he probably does accept the "importance of self-respect"; see Romans 9-
16 (WBC; Dallas, TX: Nelson, 1989), 779.

^^ See E. Best, Ephesians: A Shorter Commentary (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 2003), 318.
^"^ See N. Eliott, "The Apostle Paul and Empire," in R. Horsley (ed.). In the Shadow of
Empire (Louisville, KY: WJK, 2008). 97-1 16.

'^^ Der Brief an die Epheser (Dusseldorf: Patmos, 1958), 291; translated by T.Y. Neufeld,
in Put on the Armor of God (]SNTS 140; Sheffield: Academic Press, 1997), 123.
^^ See G.K. Beale, Revelation (NIGTC; Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1999), 623.
^' Walter Wink, Engaging the Powers (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992).
This point is emphatically punctuated in Neufeld, Armor of God, 124.

The "not... but" {ou...alld) New Testament Rhetorical Pattern: Its Features and
Purposes and the Dangers of Misinterpretation

"^ Christopher Wright proposes that exactly such a view would have been commonly held
by Jews who perceived that "spiritual powers and forces" have invaded and have
influence "over human economic relationships, structures and ideologies" and "can wield
an oppressive tyranny over humankind in this sphere, just as they hold people in the
slavery of mental and spiritual darkness"; see Old Testament Ethics for the People of God
(Downer's Grove, IL: IVP, 2004), 153.

^° J.J. Collins, The Apocalyptic Imagination: An Introduction to Jewish Apocalyptic
Z/tera/i/re (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1998), 101.

Ashland Theological Journal 2010

The Problem of the Grazing Herd of Pigs in Mark 5:1-20.

By Russell Morton*

Almost thirty years ago, I was a doctoral student in a class on miracle
stories in the Gospels at the University of Chicago where we were examining
the story of the Gerasene Demoniac in Mark 5. While sharing our translations, I
was asked to read 5:11, "And there was along the mountain a great herd of pigs
grazing" [my translation]. It suddenly struck me as a bizarre statement, so I
asked, "Do pigs graze? The reaction of the class was a moment of confusion,
and someone mentioned, "It does look like they are being treated like a herd of
sheep." Could this story have arisen only in a Jewish source, unfamiliar with the
husbandry of pigs? There are two basic problems with the account of the pigs.
First, is the description of the pigs' feeding habits. Are they, in fact, grazing?
Second, why were they described, contrary to all that is known about swine, as a
"herd," that stampeded down the mountain to be drowned in the sea (Mark
5:13)?

The Grazing of the Pigs (Mark 5:11)

Most modem translations of Mark 5:1 1 read that the pigs are "feeding"
(NRSV, NASB, NIV, NCV). While technically correct, the Greek, (36aK£iv,
when referring to animals, most often means "to feed on herbage, graze, feed."
It is used this way in Isaiah 5:17; 1 1:7 and Josephus, Jewish Wars 6.153 and in
Sybilline Oracle 3.789.' The term bears similar meaning in classical texts. In the
passive it means either to graze like cattle or to feed." Thus, while possibly
referring to the feeding behavior of animals in general, it is more specifically a
reference to herbivores grazing.

This observation leads to the further question, is this an appropriate
way to describe pigs? Pigs are not strictly herbivores but omnivores, and while
they do eat various plant material, such as roots, berries, etc., their behavior is
not normally described as "grazing." It is, rather, "rooting." This behavior was
noted in the ancient world.

The homed animals,^ both tame and wild, and all that are not saw-
toothed, are all eaters of grain and herbage, unless overcome by hunger, apart

*Dr. Russell Morton (Th.D., The Lutheran School of Theology at
Chicago) is Research Librarian at ATS.

The Problem of the Grazing Herd of Pigs in Mark 5:1-20.

from the pig. The latter is the least inclined to eat herbage'* and grain^; but the
pig is most inclined to eat roots'' because of the fact that its snout is naturally
well constituted for this activity; and it is the animal that takes most easily to
every food.

At no time does Aristotle describe pigs' activity as Pookeiv, to "graze."
Rather, he uses more technical terms such "living on fruit" (KapTiocpdya), "eating
grass or herbs" (7ior|(pdya), and "eating roots" (pi^ocpdyov). This difference
between Aristotle and the Markan account may, however, be of less significance
than it appears at first, for the gospel writer may be simply employing popular
language. Thus, Mark, or his source, may have utilized a more common and
popular term particularly if they lived in a Jewish environment. It would be
natural for individuals most familiar with the raising of sheep, goats and cattle to
employ a general word for how these animals feed (p6aK8iv "to graze," or, "to
feed") rather than using Aristotle's more precise vocabulary. More problematic,
however, is the description of the pigs' ensuing behavior in Mark 5:12-13.

The Stampede of the Pigs (Mark 5:12).

While the author of Mark may have described the feeding habits of the
pigs with imprecise, popular language, the description of the stampede of the
pigs is not so easily explained. Two modem commentaries take very different
approaches. Adela Yarbro Collins,** for example cites the essay by Roy D.
Kotansky. Kotansky argues that the story of the Gerasene demoniac had its
origins in Phoenician Heracles tales, which were originally told in the region of
Gadeira in Spain, and later applied to the region of Gadara east of Galilee.

Despite the presence of swine in Iberia, there is some indication that
Mark's herd {dyeXr\) of pigs originally stood for a herd of cattle or oxen and that
for important theological reasons the storyline has been reworked to create a
group of grazing pigs, an animal considered to be unclean.. One of the
reasons for this is that the Geryon myth, to which we will shortly compare the
pre-Markan "Gadarene" account deals with a herd of cattle, but there are
several other causes. Pigs do not occur in large herds; in fact, ajEky] the term
twice used in Mark (5:11, 13) to describe pigs, is always used of oxen or kine in
Homer.'*'

Kotansky's conclusion that the healing of the Gerasene Demonic
derived from a Spanish Phoenician Heracles myth strains credulity. There is
some initial attraction, however, to the hypothesis that the original animals in the

Ashland Theological Journal 2010

Story were either sheep, cattle, or goats. This reference was altered in the pre-
gospel stage to pigs. On the other hand, Yarbro Collins dismisses Kotansky's
conclusions.

Two arguments may be made against this view. First, whether pigs
occur in large herds or not, some ancient people apparently thought they did.''
Second, various kinds of illness were believed to be transferred to various
kinds of animals in antiquity and the Middle Ages.'"

Robert H. Stein, on the other hand, in his otherwise extensive
commentary on Mark 5:1-20 simply ignores the issue entirely.'^ Rather, he
notes the spiritual battle that takes place between Jesus and the legion of
demons, which "ends with the demons drowned in the 'sea.'''^

Yet, the pigs' stampede may be a very vital part of the story, not
because it is characteristic of porcine behavior, but because it is so contrary to it.
From what we have seen above, the Greco-Roman world understood basics of
animal husbandry, and how pigs ate and behaved. Pigs, for example, are not
herd animals. Instead, they form family groups. Pigs, while easily panicked, do
not stampede. They scatter.'^ Many of the gentiles in Mark's original audience
would have known these facts. What is remarkable is that the pigs act in a
manner that is "utterly unpiglike ... If such a thing happened any onlooker would
say they were bewitched."'^

This motif is totally consistent with exorcism stories. Exorcisms often
conclude with a demonstration that the demon has been expelled. The
destruction of the herd of swine precisely fulfills such a function, demonstrating
that the demoniac has been freed from his oppressors.'^ A well known example
outside the New Testament is found in Josephus.

I have seen a certain Eleazar, a countryman of mine in the presence of
Vespasian, his sons, tribunes and a number of other soldiers, fee men possessed
by demons, and this was the manner of his cure: he put to the nose of the
possessed man a ring ... drew out the demon through his nostrils, when the man
at once fell down, adjured the demon never to come back into him ... Then
wishing to convince the bystanders and prove to them that he had this power,
Eleazar placed a cup or footbasin hall of water a little way off and commanded
the demon, as it went out of the man to overturn it and make known to the
spectators that he had left the man.'^

Likewise, the stampede of the swine emphasized that the evil spirits
had left the man. Furthermore, the dramatic nature of the pigs' destruction
accentuates the extent of the exorcism and the power of Jesus. Rather than
merely upsetting a basin of water, the demons cause the swine to act in a manner

The Problem of the Grazing Herd of Pigs in Mark 5:1 -20.

totally contrary to nature. They, furthermore, are destroyed in the process. The
unclean spirits are too unclean to be contained by the unclean animals, and are
ultimately destroyed in water, often associated with the abode of the demonic
(Rev. 13:1).'*'

Conclusion.

In conclusion, while our analysis of the description of the feeding
habits of the pigs is somewhat inconclusive, the discussion of the stampede of
the pigs demonstrates nothing less than that when the swine became possessed
by demonic spirits they were caused to act in a manner utterly contrary to
normal porcine behavior. In the former case, either Mark or the pre-Markan
tradition employed common language, possibly being unfamiliar with the more
precise language of animal husbandry as it applied to the eating habits of pigs.
The latter incident accentuates the magnitude of the exorcism. In both cases, the
wording is at home in the literary setting of the story. While it is not possible to
"prove" that the incident took place, the language is consistent and powerful. It
is precisely because the fact that the pigs stampede, totally contrary to their
expected behavior, that the reader/hearer of the first century encounters in the
narrative the power of Jesus. He expels the demons with a word, which is
evidenced by a mighty accompanying sign. The readers can do nothing else but
wonder in awe and amazement at the power of this one whom Mark presents as
"The Son of God" (Mark 1 : 1 ; 1 5 :39).

ENDNOTES

'BDAG181.

-LSJ323.

^ Due to their tusks, pigs, particularly boars, would be included among the "homed"

animals.

xap7ro4)dya, literally, "living on fruit." LSJ, 870.

7rov]4>aya, literally, "eating grass or herbs, LSJ, 1427.

pi^oc|3dyov , literally, to eat roots, LSJ, 1571.
^Aristotle, Historia Animaliiim 7^595a 13-19 (LCL).

Mark: A Commentary (Hermeneia; Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007), 270, note 81.
^ "Jesus and Heracles in Cadiz (rd FdJeipa): Death, Myth and Monsters at the 'Straits of
Gibraltar' (Mark 4:35-5:43)." in Ancient and Modern Perspectives on the Bible and
Ct4ltiire: Essays in Honor of Hans Dieter Betz (Atlanta: Scholar's Press, 1998), 160-229.

Ashland Theological Journal 2010

"^Ibid., 199-200.

"Yarbro Collins notes the shield of Heracles, described in Hesiod Sc. 168, Mark. 270,
note 82.

'Mbid., 270. .;

'^ Mark (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker
Academic, 2008), 253-57.
^^ Ibid., 256.

'^ J. Duncan M. Derrett, "Contributions the Study of the Gerasene Demoniac." Journal
for the Study of the New Testament 3(1979), 5.
•^Ibid.

'^See Gerd Theissen, Miracle Stories of the Early Christian Tradition, tr. by Francis
McDonagh, ed. by John Riches (Studies of the New Testament and Its World;
Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1983), 89-90.
""^ Antiquities of the Jews 8.46-48 (LCL).
'^ Stein, Mark, 257.

Abbreviations

BDAG. Bauer, Walter and William Amdt. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New
Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. Revised and edited by Frederick
William Danker. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.

LSJ . Liddell, Henry George and Robert Scott. A Greek English Lexicon. 9' edition
revised and augmented by Henry Stuart Jones and Roderick McKenzie. New York:
Oxford University Press, 1996.

Select Bibliography

Aristotle. Historia Animalium. Translated by A. L. Peck. 3 vol. Loeb Classical Library.

Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1965-

Derrett, J. Duncan M. "Contributions to the Study of the Gerasene Demoniac." Journal

for the Study of the New Testament 3 (1979) 2-17.

Josephus, Flavius. Josephus. Translated by Henry St. James Thackeray ... [et al.]. Loeb

Classical Library. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1966-1969.

Kotansky. Roy D. "Jesus and Heracles in Cadiz (xa TdJeipa): Death, Myth and Monsters

at the 'Straits of Gibraltar' (Mark 4:35-5:43)," in Ancient and Modern Perspectives on

the Bible and Culture: Essays in Honor of Hans Dieter Betz, edited by Adela Yarbro

Collins, 160-229. Atlanta, Ga.: Scholars Press, 1998.

The Problem of the Grazing Herd of Pigs in Mark 5:1-20.

Stein, Robert H. Mark. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand

Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008.

Theissen, Gerd. Miracle Stories of the Early Christian Tradition. Translated by Francis

McDonagh, edited by John Riches. Studies of the New Testament and its World.

Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1983.

Yarbro Collins, Adela. Mark: A Commentary. Hermeneia. Minneapolis: Fortress

Press, 2008.

Ashland Theological Journal 2010

Applying a New Perspective Understanding to Romans 2:12-16

By Gregory V. Hall*

When considering the purpose behind Romans 2:12-16, many
questions and factors that need to be considered. Paul's occasion for writing the
epistle was to express his desire, after his ministry efforts in the east, to visit the
church in Rome on his planned missionary journey to Spain.' However, in
moving past his greeting and explaining his desire to visit the church in Rome,
what was Paul trying to accomplish in this letter? Was Paul, according to the
traditional understanding, setting out a systematic theology of Christianity? Did
Paul feel a need to defend himself and his ministry? Was Paul addressing
divisions within the church in Rome?' More specifically in regard to this
pericope, what is Paul referring to as he repeatedly mentions law? When Paul
refers to nature, what does he mean? Is Paul making a Stoic argument,
condemning the Jews, or something else? And when Paul refers to the Gentiles
who do what the law requires, to whom is he referencing? How one chooses to
answer these questions will greatly impact how to read this pericope and the rest
of Romans. While researching what scholars have said about this passage, one
can quickly observe that there seems to be as many interpretations as are there
are interpreters, with only a handful of factors generally agreed upon by the
majority of the scholars. However, one position that effectively addresses issues
that arise in this pericope comes from the New Perspective on Paul movement.
While addressing issues over Paul's emphasis on the law in this pericope, the
New Perspective's interpretation also notes how Paul addresses, "the tensions
caused by a Jewish gospel being offered to Gentiles."" On account of the
benefits that are offered by employing the New Perspective's approach to Paul
and Romans, it should serve as one of the primary lenses through which to read
Paul's epistle to the church in Rome.

Before looking in detail at what Paul is saying in this portion of his
letter, it is important to look back to what has preceded in the epistle in order to

*Gregory Hall (M.Div., ATS) is involved in Exile City, a church plant
in Lakewood, Ohio.

Applying a New Perspective Understanding to Romans 2:12-16

begins the letter to the church in Rome by expressing his desire to visit them and
stresses that he is eager to preach the gospel in Rome before moving on to a
discussion of the immoral behavior of mankind. Not only is mankind acting

Having worked to understand the context of which Paul positions
Romans 2:12-16, one is now almost prepared to engage the text to discern Paul's
argument in this pericope. However, before moving ahead with this pursuit, one
must first address three issues that are critical to understanding this passage. In
order to understand Paul's argument, one must first decide for himself or herself
what Paul means when he uses the words v6\xoc„ cpijoiq, and sGvr] in this
pericope. This process can be long and trying, and should be attempted with
thoughtful and prayerful patience. Each of these three words will be considered
before moving forward with the argument of the pericope, as the conclusions
that are reached in this discussion will be of essential importance.

How should one understand v6[ioq? As variations of this word appear
eleven times in these five verses, defining this term is critical. As has been
noted by Kleinknecht, the word comes from the verb vefico, '"to allot,' and thus
has the sense of 'what is proper,' 'what is assigned to someone.'"'* For this
reason, v6[ioq is often translated as "law," often understood in a religious
context."^ In Greek culture, v6\ioc, was highly regarded, as it was believed to
proceed from the spirit^. Based upon this belief, mere observance of vo^oq was
not the goal. "Hence genuine law is no mere imperative. It is that wherein a
being or something of intrinsic validity is discovered and apprehended."^ For
Paul, however, v6|iO(; as law was viewed as the Old Testament Law.^ On
account of this understanding, vojioq, when used by Paul, goes far beyond
observance. "[It] is supremely that which demands action irom man, a specific
will. Hence, one 'does' the Law."^ Moreover, Paul viewed the Law as, "the
living will of God,"'° and applied this understanding to v6|iO(;, regardless of
whether or not a definite article was used in conjunction; "a" law should not be
understood as distinct from "the" Law." This understanding of v6|ioq is
especially important to Romans 2:12-16. As Gutbrod has argued, in this
passage, Gentiles are viewed as doing what is required of the Law, and not only
that, but becoming the Law to themselves.'" Further discussion on the Law in
this passage will be addressed later.

Moving forward, what does Paul mean when he uses the word cpijoii;?
As has been noted by Koster, (^voiq was originally a term applied to plants,
meaning "form" or "nature," with the word later being applied to humans and
animals. In the Greek mindset, when applying (p\)a\q to humanity, it is
generally used to discuss, "the nature and qualities of man,"''' and can be used to

Ashland Theological Journal 2010

draw special contrast between a person's "true nature" and actions.'^ In
attempting to summarize the Greek understanding of cpuaiq, Koster asserted,
"The aim is not to comprehend nature as a whole... but to see the true
constitution of individual things."'^

The difficulty that (pviciq causes in Romans 2:12-16 is its presence in
verse 14. An ongoing debate has taken place on whether to attach the (pijoic;
variant here with the Gentiles not having the law or fulfilling what the law
requires. A more traditional understanding of this verse connects the (pvciq with
the proceeding statement of fulfilling what the law requires. Those who hold
this perspective assert that Paul is arguing that there are Gentiles who fulfill
parts of the Law in their lives out of a moral sensitivity, and that on the Day of
Judgment, it will be better for these Gentiles than the Jews who had the Law but
did not follow it. ' However, there are scholars who argue that the cpuoK; variant
should be attached with the preceding statement of the Gentiles not having the
law.'^ Given these two perspecfives, the latter seems to be the more probable
for a couple of reasons. First, (pvoK; appears in the dative tense in this verse,
often being translated as "by nature." However, another translation for (puoK; in
the dative is "by birth." ''^ Some scholars have noted that this translation would
be appropriate; Gentiles did not receive the Law "by birth" or "by birthright"
like the Jews."^ Second, following what was said above on (pvmq being used to
understand the nature of its subject, some scholars have argued that Paul would
have been using (puoK; here to describe the Gentiles' identity rather than their
behavior."' Finally, it has been noted that if (pvaic, were to be applied to the
Gentile's doing of the Law, Paul would state twice in this verse that the Gentiles
do not have the Law."^ While this argument may not seem as strong as the
previous two, it still raises the question as to why Paul would simply state the
Gentiles' lack of the Law twice in the same verse.

It has been noted that (pvaiq plays an important role in the development
of the Stoic natural theology,'^ and there are those who argue that Paul is
employing a Stoic argument in Romans. The argument follows the idea that
Paul uses (^xtaiq in Romans 2 as a call back to Paul's apparent condemnation of
the Gentiles in the preceding chapter for evil practices that were against nature."'^
Such language was often employed in Stoic circles, as all actions were seen as
either in accordance to nature or going against nature.'^ After making this
appeal to a Stoic argument in Romans 1 , scholars who argue for this position say

Applying a New Perspective Understanding to Romans 2:12-16

that in Romans 2:14, Paul is saying that there are some Gentiles who are led by
cpuoK;, understood here as nature, to fulfillment of a law, bringing forth the Stoic
image of the sage."*^ However, this perspective of Paul employing a Stoic
argument does not seem probable. For one reason, it has been noted that the
language of relationships that are "against nature," especially in regard to sexual
relationships, is more common, and not just limited to Stoic philosophy.^^
Moreover, one has to remember to which law Paul is discussing here.
Following in the line of Gutbrod's perspective that was discussed above, Dunn
argues that, "Paul is not asserting the existence of a natural law as such; the law
in question is still the Jewish law."'^^

Further, understanding (pxxjic, helps one to get a better picture of who
Paul is referring to with the variation of sGvr] in verse 14. For certain, one may
read eGvr] as Gentiles; the issue is how one interprets Paul's use of Gentiles here.
Some scholars argue that Gentiles in this instance should be understood as non-
believing Gentiles." From this perspective, as was discussed above, there are
Gentiles who, out of a sense of moral sensitivity, will naturally fulfill elements
of the Law. However, another perspective argued by scholars is that Paul, when
mentioning Gentiles here, is referring to Christian believers. ^° If one does view
(pvaiq as being connected to its preceding content of not having the Law, the
door is left open for this interpretation, as Gentile Chrisfians would not have had
the Law by birthright.'^'

Kasemann, disagreeing with the Gentile Christian hypothesis, argued
that Paul could not have had believers in mind, as they were not "without the
Law."^'^ However, Kasemann's argument seems to be flawed, as Paul does not
say that the Gentiles in verse 14 are without the Law. Rather, Paul uses
different language, saying that the Gentiles were ones who did not have the Law
(by nature, if one connects (puoic; with this phrase). This is a small, but very
important distinction, which will be significant when Paul's message of the text
is described below, as one of his main arguments seems to be that mere
possession of the Law is not sufficient.

Moreover, some scholars see Paul quoting Jeremiah 38 in verse 15,
when he says that the Gentiles show that the work of the Law is written on their
hearts. ^^ As Jewett asserts, "Paul is implying that the Jeremiah prophecy has
been fulfilled in an unexpected manner as the gospel recruits Gentiles to become
the heirs of the divine promise who perform the 'work of the law' in their love
feasts."^'* In other words, Jewett, among others, is arguing that the Gentiles in
verse 1 5 should be viewed as Christians as Paul is describing them as living out
the divine promise of Jeremiah 38. That God chose to write His Law on their

Ashland Theological Journal 2010

hearts is proof of their relationship with Him. Kasemann argues against this
perspective, as "no eschatological facts are made known."^^ However, while no
eschatological ends are expressly made known, eschatological themes play an
essential part in this pericope, as Paul discusses who shall perish, who will be
judged, and who will be declared righteous in verses 12 and 13. Furthermore,
Gathercole sees the Gentile Christians obedience as an eschatological event in
itself

The new covenant, on the other hand, will be characterized by a new
obedience. Not performed naturally, of course: rather, it is the result of
God himself writing the Law on hearts (LXX Jer. 38.33), and
circumcising his people by the Spirit (Rom. 2.29)...[N]ew covenant
obedience is God's eschatological gift.^^

From these arguments, it seems very probable that Paul could be implying that
the Gentiles in verse 15 are Christian believers. Further, while not all members
of the New Perspective movement agree that these Gentiles were believers, the
hypothesis seems to fit very well into the New Perspective's interpretation of
this pericope.

Having looked at the background issues surrounding this pericope, one
can now begin to explore the message of the passage. Before examining what
the New Perspective brings to the interpretation of this pericope, however, it
would first be beneficial to look at what scholars can agree upon is present
within the text. If one were to be looking for a thrust statement to summarize
this pericope, the answer can be found within verses 12 and 13: Possession of
the Law is not sufficient for justification before God, but rather the doing of the
Law. Moreover, Paul begins to demonstrate the equality of Jews and Gentiles
in their need for justification before God. "[H]e begins to develop the argument
that even the law does not mark a clear distinction between Jew and Greek, that
Jew is not better than Gentile for having the law."^^ However, the New
Perspective's interpretation adds more to the understanding of what Paul is
possibly saying, especially in light of the background issues that have been
discussed above.

Incorporating a New Perspective approach to the text brings out
possible nuances of Paul's argument that tradifional approaches miss. Whereas
traditional approaches view Paul's argument in Romans as a condemnation of

Applying a New Perspective Understanding to Romans 2:12-16

the Jewish faith as a, "religion understood in terms of human achievement,"^^

the New Perspective argues that,

Paul's critique of Judaism rests entirely on his Christian experience and
thus has nothing to do with the actual contours of Jewish practice in his
time. To understand Paul's counterpoising of gospel against law as a
polemic against an alleged legalism in contemporary Judaism,
following the mainstream of Pauline interpretation, is thus perceived to
be a dangerous distortion. Starting from the premise of faith in Jesus as
Christ, Paul's only criticism of Judaism was that it did not accept this

premise.

In other words, the New Perspective argues that Paul is not condemning his
Jewish brothers and sisters for holding on to the Law, but rather that their focus
in following the Law was not Christ, and therefore incomplete. In support of
this position, one can observe that Paul says that those who do the law shall be
justified (Rom 2:13). If Paul were arguing against the Law in general, why
would he include this statement?

So what does the New Perspective add to the interpretation of Romans?
According to the New Perspective, it seems as though Paul is appealing to the
Jews to put aside the works of the Law that divided the Jew and Gentile. "It is
the Jewish boast in this privileged status as marked out by their obedience to the
Law which Paul seeks to counter by his focus on faith. . .It is the Law typified by
Jewish works and a focus of Jewish zeal... which Paul sees to have been ended
by Christ."'*' Paul is arguing that the Jews need to stop dividing themselves
from their Gentile brothers and sisters. If one understands Gentiles in this
passage as referring to Gentile Christians, this becomes even more apparent.
Paul is pointing to the Gentile Christians as having the work of the Law written
on their hearts as proof for their inclusion as God's people. Further, where the
traditional interpretation is correct in identifying the equal need of Jews and
Christians for justification before God, the New Perspective illustrates their
equal privilege as being God's people.

As more and more work is being done by scholars who both agree and
disagree with the New Perspective, passages like this one give credence to the
need for further research. While it would be foolish to argue that the
interpretation expressed above is the only interpretation worth giving
consideration, it certainly opens the door for fiirther discussion on how the New
Perspective should inform our contemporary Christian identity and faith. If the

Ashland Theological Journal 2010

New Perspective is correct, how should Christians therefore live their lives, if
their understanding of Paul has been too polemical?

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cranfield, C. E. B. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the

Romans. Vol. 1. The International Critical Commentary. Edinburgh:

T.&T. Clark Limited, 1975.
Dunn, James D. G. Romans 1-8. Word Biblical Commentary. Dallas: Word

Books, 1988.
"Romans, Letter to the." In Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, edited

by Gerald F. Hawthorne and Ralph P. Martin, 838-850. Downers

Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993.
Fitzmyer, Joseph A. Romans: A New Translation with Introduction and

Commentary. The Anchor Bible. New York: Doubleday, 1993.
Gathercole, Simon J. "A Law unto Themselves: The Gentiles in Romans 2.14-

15 Revisited." Journal for the Study of the New Testament 85 (2002):

27-49.
Gutbrod. "v6|i0(; D." In Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Vol. IV,

edited by Gerhard Kittel, 1059-1091. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1967.
Jewett, Robert. Romans: A Commentary. Hermeneia. Minneapolis: Fortress

Press, 2007.
"The Law and the Coexistence of Jews and Gentiles in Romans."

Interpretation 39 (1985): 341-356.
Kasemann, Ernst. Commentary on Romans. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980.
Kleinknecht. "voiioq A." In Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Vol.

IV, edited by Gerhard Kittel. 1022-1035. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,

1967.
Koster. "cpuaiq." In Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Vol. IX,

edited by Gerhard Friedrich. 251-277. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974.
Martens, John W. "Romans 2:14-16: A Stoic Reading." New Testament Studies

40 (1994): 55-67.

Applying a New Perspective Understanding to Romans 2:12-16

ENDNOTES

' C. E. B. Cranfield, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the

Romans, vol. 1, The International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: T. & T.

Clark, 1975), 22.

" These questions, and others, are raised by Cranfield, Epistle, 23; James D.G.

Dunn, "Romans, Letter to the," in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, ed. Gerald

F. Hawthorne and Ralph P. Martin (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993),

840, 842.

^ Dunn, "Romans," 843.

^ H. Kleinknecht, "v6|^0(; A," in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament,

Vol. IV, ed. Gerhard Kittel (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1967), 1023.

^ Ibid., 1029.

Mbid., 1035.

^ Ibid., 1035.

^W. Gutbrod, "vojioq D," in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Vol.

IV, ed. Gerhard Kittel (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1967), 1069. Although,

Gutbrod does note that Paul sometimes employs vofioq when not speaking about

the Old Testament Law. However, of Paul's usages, understanding v6|iO(; as the

Old Testament Law seems to be the standard in most cases.

''ibid., 1070.

'^ Ibid., 1070.

" Ibid., 1070.

'-Ibid., 1070.

' H. Koster, "(pijaii;," in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Vol. IX,

ed. Gerhard Friedrich (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974), 252.

'^ Ibid., 253.

'^ Ibid., 254.

' "^ Scholars that argue for this perspective include James D. G. Dunn, Romans 1-

8, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word Books, 1988), 105; Joseph A.

Fitzmyer, Romans: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, The

Anchor Bible (New York: Doubleday, 1993), 305.

Scholars that argue for this perspective include Robert Jewett, Romans: A
Commentary, Hermeneia (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007), 214; Cranfield,
Epistle, 156.
'^ Koster, "cpuoK;," 252.

Ashland Theological Journal 2010

"° Scholars included in this discussion are Jewett, Romans, 214; Cranfield,
Epistle, 156-157; Simon J. Gathercole, "A Law unto Themselves: The Gentiles
in Romans 2.14-15 Revisited," Journal for the Study of the New Testament 85
(2002): 37.

"' Scholars included in this discussion are Jewett, Romans, 214; Gathercole,
"Law unto Themselves," 36.
^^ Gathercole, "Law unto Themselves," 37.
'^ Koster, "(pumq," 263.

^'^ John W. Martens, "Romans 2:14-16: A Stoic Reading," New Testament
Studies Ai) {\99A): 51 .
^^ Koster, "(puaK;," 264-265.
^^ Martens, "Stoic," 60.
^^ Koster, "(pnoii;," 262.
^^ Dunn, Romans, 105.

^^ Included in this discussion are Fitzmyer, Romans, 305; Dunn, Romans, 105.
■'^ Included in this discussion are Gathercole, "Law unto Themselves," 29;
Cranfield, Epistle, 157; Jewett, Romans, 213.
^' Cranfield, ^pz^/Ze, 157.

^^ Ernst Kasemann, Commentaiy on Romans (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980),
65.

^^ Included in this discussion are Jewett, Romans, 215; Gathercole, "Law unto
Themselves," 41; Cranfield, Epistle, 159.
^'^ Jewett, Romans, 215.
^ Kasemann, Romans, 64.

^^ Gathercole, "Law unto Themselves," 42. Emphasis his.
■''' Scholars who have noted this include Fitzmyer, Romans, 305; Kasemann,
Romans, 61; Jewett, Romans, 210, Dunn, Romans, 104; Cranfield, Epistle, 153.
^^ Dunn, Romans, 104.
^^ Dunn, "Romans," 842.

'^^ Robert Jewett, "The Law and the Coexistence of Jews and Gentiles in
Romans," Interpretation 39 (1985): 347.
'^^ Dunn, "Romans," 844.

Ashland Theological Journal 2010

"Free Choice" in Calvin's Concepts of Regeneration and Moral Agency:

How Free Are We?

By Jonathan S. Marko*

I. INTRODUCTION

This essay will demonstrate that John Calvin (1509-1564), although
denying free choice regarding regeneration, teaches that human beings,
Christian and non-Christian, have freedom to act morally.' Similar to many
ethicists and philosophers today, Calvin presupposes that, unless there is actual
contingency in our choices and we have moral beliefs in our deliberation, we
cannot be considered responsible agents and therefore cannot be considered to
have freedom to act morally." Whenever contingency is used in this paper it will
be used, like the early Reformed, to refer to:

an absence of necessity, not to be equated with chance, but rather to be
understood as the result of free operation of secondary causes. In a
contingent circumstance, an effect results from clearly definable
causes, though the effect could be different, given an entirely possible
and different interrelation of causes. In short, a contingent event or
thing is a nonnecessary event or thing that either might not exist or
could be other than it is.^

Likewise, in this essay /ree choice will be defined as choice "free from external
constraint and from an imposed necessity.'"* Acting morally will be understood
as externally conforming to the second table of the Reformed recension of the
Decalogue.^

This essay encompasses three different issues that have not been treated
together explicitly in a published essay on Calvin.^ The first issue, salvation and
free choice as taught by Calvin, is generally agreed upon, but misunderstandings
in the finer details lead to disagreement. The second issue, concerning Calvin's
beliefs regarding free choice in earthly matters and contingency in general, is
well tread, but is often spoken with inconsistent verbiage. Terms such as

*Jonathan Marko (M.Div., ATS) is a Ph.D. student in Systematic
Theology at Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids.

"Free Choice" in Calvin's Concepts of Regeneration and Moral Agency:
How Free Are We?

"determinism" and "free will" are encumbered with nuances unique to each
writer. The third and final issue, free choice regarding personal morality in
Christians and non-Christians as conceived by Calvin, is one that has been
hardly touched by scholarship.

Regarding the second issue, insufficiently precise terms often muddle
the conversation. For instance, recent scholarship from Paul Helm and Terrance
Tiessen understand Calvin to be a "compatibilisf with regard to causal
determinism.^ Not surprising, malleable terms such as this still offer
considerable movement within the boundaries. Another imprecise term too
cavalierly used in discussing Calvin is "determinism." Georgia Harkness,
although not commenting on whether or not Calvin admits contingency and free
choice into his system, nevertheless claims that he is a determinist (which
necessarily removes human responsibility in her mind) by virtue of his doctrines
of perseverance, predestination, election, foreknowledge, and pre-
detennination.*^ Vincent Briimmer, with a more balanced reading of Calvin
readily acknowledges that he teaches free choice and deliberation in mundane
matters, but nonetheless believes Calvin's doctrine of perseverance renders his
system objectively incoherent or utterly deterministic. Willem Balke, Richard A.
MuUer, A.N.S. Lane, and Allen Verhey admit that Calvin conceives of divine
determinism (which rules out chance) as the basis for, and not contrary to, actual
contingency, free choice, and responsibility. Muller, however, claims that "it is
certainly true that Calvin's doctrine represents one of the strictest formulations
of the divine decree and perhaps the formulation [among those of his Reformed
contemporaries] that is least sensitive to traditional discussions of divine
permission and secondary causality."^ Balke appears more comfortable than his
like-minded colleagues in allowing Calvin to be labeled a determinist, as long as
certain qualifications are understood. In short, although most will acknowledge
that Calvin conceives of free choice in his writings, some will deny this is
coherent with the rest of his theology.

Regarding the third issue, scholarship is rather mute. When moral free
choice is discussed, the conversation also becomes murky over imprecise
terminology. Typically Calvin scholarship equates acting morally with doing a
spiritual good: ''^ doing something in faith, in conformance with God's law, and
for God's glory." Calvin most often identifies spiritual good with moral good.
However, he speaks of the capabilities of non-Christians to exhibit external
virtue, even allowing it to be called "moral" in the common manner of speaking
for the sake of expediency. Later, I will demonstrate from Calvin's writings that

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using the term moral in this latter sense (external confonnance) in ethical
discussions is preferable.

Although there is not ample room to even scratch the surface regarding
the contemporary discussion (or even a historical survey) of providence, free
will, moral agency, and moral ontology, it is my conviction that unless there is
actual contingency in our choices, and unless we have moral beliefs, we cannot
be considered responsible agents and therefore cannot be considered to have
freedom to act morally. Calvin agrees. In Part II of this essay, I will first bring to
the fore how free Calvin believes the human will to be. This requires further
investigation into the two other aforementioned areas. Therefore in Part III, I
will demonstrate that Calvin believes actual free choice and contingency are
predicated on divine determinism. Part IV will follow with an investigation of
our faculties and abilities that Calvin affirms enable Christians and non-
Christians to morally deliberate in a responsible manner, which will bring our
discussion back to the will, among other concerns. I will not concentrate heavily
on the related issues of prelapsarian spiritual, moral, and sinful free choice. This
is not intended to be a theodicy proper. This can only serve as a brief sketch that
paves the way for further investigation into Calvin that brings this preeminent
thinker to life in the present. My goal is to exhibit and explain what Calvin
affirms and denies regarding free choice in spiritual, mundane, and moral
matters, without resorting to verbiage that he would not recognize. I will
however assess Calvin's thoughts in each part of the essay based on my
rationale and understanding of Scripture from a Reformed background.

II. FREEDOM OF THE WILL?

There is no question that Calvin would gladly rid the Church of the
term liberum arbitrium ("free choice"). A term that offers an inch in one
direction is taken for miles in another direction when not appropriated correctly
into a Reformed biblical framework. It normally conjures up the typical human
illusions of having the option of performing a spiritual good and even having the
final say with regard to one's regeneration.'" The options from which
unregenerate humans actually have the ability to choose, rendering their wills
"free," are in Calvin's mind insignificant.''

Originally, human beings' souls were created in the image of God,
which "denoted the integrity with which Adam was endued when his intellect
was clear, his affections subordinated to reason, all his senses duly regulated . .
."''^ At this time of purity, the will was subordinated to the intellect: "the office

"Free Choice" in Calvin's Concepts of Regeneration and Moral Agency:
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of the intellect being to distinguish between objects, according as they seem
deserving of being approved or disapproved; and the office of the will, to choose
and follow what the intellect declares to be good, to reject and to shun what it
declares bad." Calvin asserts that ideally the will waited on the intellect in
matters of desire and all decisions. But this subordination was not a necessity.'"''
Calvin is clearer regarding the prelapsarian and postlapsarian state of human
beings than he is of the state of the humans at the fall. He concedes that God did
not bless Adam and Eve with constancy, but nonetheless, the power of the will
they did have was "sufficient to take away every excuse."'^ The will and the
intellect were badly harmed in the fall. Calvin, following Aquinas, now ascribes
choice as an act that includes both the corrupt will and intellect, but that
"inclines" to the will (or "appetite").'^

Calvin delineates between four descriptors associated with the human
will: free, bound, self-determined, and coerced. A will can be self-determined as
long as it is not coerced. That is, an action cannot be voluntary if it is "forcibly
driven by an external impulse." However, a self-determined, or voluntary will,
can be of two types according to Calvin: free or bound. Condescending to the
common understanding of the general public, Calvin allows "free will" then to
mean the power to choose between spiritual good or evil. Unregenerate humans
do not have this. They have bound wills. These, however, must not be confused
with coerced wills. '^ Calvin explains:

For we do not say that man is dragged unwillingly into sinning, but that
because his will is corrupt he is held captive under the yoke of sin and
therefore of necessity wills in an evil way. For where there is bondage,
there is necessity. But it makes a great difference whether the bondage
is voluntary or coerced. We locate the necessity to sin precisely in the
corruption from the will, from which it follows that it is self-
determined. '^

There is no question in Calvin's mind that each human being is affixed with a
will, nor is it his intention to not concede some kind of choice. On the contrary,
we have wills, but they are bad. And bad wills — which are still choosing wills —
by necessity can and will only choose to sin in spiritual matters. Yet, they
voluntarily choose the bad in every spiritual circumstance. "° Their choices in
how to sin are contingent, as are their choices in mundane matters. Simply put,
no good spiritual works can be performed by the unregenerate will: "All this

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being admitted, it will be beyond dispute, that free will does not enable a man to
perform good works, unless he is assisted by grace; indeed, the special grace
which the elect alone receive through regeneration."^'

God is in fact the only one to whom we can rightly ascribe all types of
spiritual good: regeneration, good works in general, and perseverance. God
alone by his grace converts us. We have absolutely no assistance in this event.
Our wills are converted from evil to good. This is not to say, as did Pighius, that
God destroys the will of the human itself" Rather one must distinguish
between: 1) the faculty or substance of the will; 2) the habit of the will {habitus);
and 3) the acts that the will performs. The faculty or substance of the will is a
permanent fixture that remains as it was originally. The habitus is the
disposition (spiritual capacity) of the will that is good in the regenerate person
and bad in the unregenerate. The acts are those things that the will chooses to
do. The will with the good habitus, or good will, can do spiritually good acts.
The will with the bad habitus, or bad will, can do only spiritually bad acts."^
Calvin affirms that God does not destroy the faculty of the will, "for in
conversion everything essential to our original nature remains,'" but rather he
changes the disposition of the will from evil to good, thereby rendering the good
will capable of choosing to perform spiritually good acts, a power not had prior.
However, Calvin is adamant in not allowing Christians to go so far as to claim
good works for themselves. All good works are God's works. Granted these
good works are performed by our good wills, but the good habiti or dispositions
are given by God in order that the good be done. It is not as if we chose to have
good wills with our bad ones. That is not within our power. In fact, the
corruption of humanity, which is not completely cured in Christians, continues
to battle against their good wills, requiring God to continually assist us."" He
sums this up nicely in the following passage:

In this way, the Lord both begins and perfects the good work in us, so
that it is due to Him, first, that the will conceives a love of rectitude, is
inclined to desire, is moved and stimulated to pursue it; secondly, that
this choice, desire, and endeavour fail not, but are carried forward to
effect; and lastly, that we go on without interruption, and persevere to
the end.^^

It is on this last count of perseverance that Briimmer, who admits that
Calvin conceives logically of actual free choice and contingency,"^^ claims
Calvin steps too far, and becomes a post-conversion determinist. This can be

"Free Choice" in Calvin's Concepts of Regeneration and Moral Agency:
How Free Are We?

refuted on two counts. First, Briimmer, like Pighius, does not differentiate
between the substance or faculty of the will and the habitus. Whereas Brummer
ascribes free choice to a will with a bad habitus that can choose freely in its
sinning, he surprisingly denies free choice in a regenerate will, in Calvin's view,
because it cannot reject God's saving grace. Brummer writes, "However, if the
exercise of free choice on our part is necessary, it follows that we retain the
ability to do the unthinkable, namely to as yet say no to God and to reject his
offer of grace. It is this implication that Calvin rejects.""^ In short, Brummer
conflates the substance of the will and the habitus, misbelieving that the faculty
can choose its own disposition. Calvin is not saying that the will with a good
habitus cannot chose to sin (it is not yet perfect) but that it cannot chose to reject
God's saving grace. ^^ Second, Calvin understands a good will to be significantly
free and an inconuptible will to offer the most liberty. Freedom from sinning is
the true freedom, a biblical concept from Romans 6:20-22, which Brummer
misses. ^*^ That grace alone is responsible for regeneration of the will and
subsequent perseverance is why Willem Balke rightly will allow Calvin to be
called a (soteriological) "determinist," and why Vincent Brummer wrongly
ascribes Calvin as a (soteriological and providential) "determinist."^'

To my mind, Calvin's arguments are rather convincing. Romans 6:20-
22 appears to be well ingrained into Calvin's mind: when we were slaves, we
were free from righteousness, and true freedom entails being enslaved to God.
Regarding the saved, who of them would want the possibility of losing their
salvation? Why would anyone desire to be sick, insane, or in sin? How is that
true freedom? It is only our remaining corruption within us that likes the
prospect of being able to sin. Furthermore, one of the main themes throughout
Scripture is dependence on God. Likewise, true freedom in Calvin's mind is this
absolute dependence. Moreover, as many philosophers have argued, if a desire
to sin or an ability to sin is requisite of freedom, then God cannot be free.

In sum, then, we find from Calvin's works that everyone has a faculty
of the will by which we can choose our actions, regardless of the corresponding
habitus or disposition of that faculty. Those who God does not regenerate have
free choice in matters mundane and in options of doing spiritual bad, but they do
not have the choice of doing a spiritual good. They sin necessarily, yet
voluntarily. Those who God decides to regenerate still sin but do not have the
ability to reject his saving grace. Their wills can actually choose to perform
spiritual good, but God the giver gets the real credit, for He has given Christians
habiti or dispositions of the will that they could not choose to have. It is similar

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to a caring father holding his very young child up in the water. He will allow
him to splash and turn, even try to swim, but will never allow him to drown. In
short, Calvin does not believe we have any hand or power to choose in regards
to our own regeneration.

III. FREE CHOICE AND DETERMINISM

John Calvin is accused of being a philosophical determinist that rules
out human responsibility for reasons other than his views on our incapacities
that preclude us from assisting with regeneration. Some, however, unwittingly
equate "predestination" with "providential decree." The providential decree is
the eternal decree in its entirety pertaining to the ordination of all things that
come to pass. Predestination is part of this providential decree by which God
chooses who He will regenerate. ^~ Providence upholds free choice and
contingency, as will be demonstrated, and predestination upholds only God's
choice in reference to regeneration, as already discussed. But even scholars who
understand the distinction in these terms continue to misinterpret Calvin usually
due to an insufficient close and extended reading of what he says. Calvin,
indeed, had to battle these misunderstandings in his own day.^^ The pastoral
tenor of his writings on providence in the Institutes, employed to build assurance
in God's control and special care for his people, are easily taken out of context
to mean what Calvin does not.

Calvin ascribes to God both a general and special providence (not to be
equated to predestination), corresponding to His role as Creator and His role as
Governor and Preserver, respectively. Not only did God design the universe, its
laws, and create everything (general providence), but by his special providence
He is continuously "sustaining, cherishing, superintending, all the things which
he has made, to the very minutest detail."^"* Due to the latter, randomness,
chance, fortune, and the like do not actually exist as causes. ^^ According to
Calvin, "God is deemed omnipotent, not because he can act though he may
cease or be idle, or because by a general instinct, he continues the order of
nature previously appointed; but because, governing heaven and earth by his
providence, he so overrules all things that nothing happens without his [secret]
counsel."^^ This is not said in the spirit of a thoroughgoing determinism that
rules out contingency, but in pastoral comfort. A few sentences later he asserts,
"This rather is the solace of the faithful, in their adversity, that everything which
they endure is by the ordination and command of God, that they are under his
hand." ^^ Contrary to the "Epicureans" of Calvin's day who maintained that

"Free Choice" in Calvin's Concepts of Regeneration and Moral Agency:
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human powers govern themselves, he claims that the "world" and "the affairs of
men, and men themselves" are governed by God's decrees. ^^ Calvin's biblical
and pastoral bent keeps him emphasizing God's comprehensive control in all
things that come to pass against chance and the possibility of someone doing
something against God's secret counsel. He does this throughout chapters
sixteen and seventeen of book one of the Institutes. However, he does not intend
to convey a Stoic impression of universal ineluctability. In the same chapters he
writes:

For we do not with the Stoics imagine a necessity consisting of a
perpetual chain of causes, and a kind of involved series contained in
nature, but we hold that God is the disposer and ruler of all things,~that
from the remotest eternity, according to his own wisdom, he decreed
what he was to do, and now by his power executes what he decreed. ^^

Nowhere in his discourse on divine special providence in the Institutes
does he throw out the concept of free choice. In fact, although not his primary
concern, he affirms it. He writes:

The Christian, then, being most fiilly persuaded that all things come to
pass by the dispensation of God, and that nothing happens fortuitously,
will always direct his eye to him as the principle cause of all events, at
the same time paying due regard to inferior causes in their own place.
Next, he will have not doubt that a special providence is awake for his
preservation, and will not suffer anything to happen that will not turn to
his good and safety. But as its business is first with men and then with
the other creatures, he will feel assured that the providence of God
reigns over both."^*^

We definitely have a role to play in our existence. Calvin may call himself, other
men, and creatures inferior as causes, as above, but he does not call their
causation non-existent, or even unimportant. It is inferior regarding humans only
in that our choices do not escape the decrees of God. God is not surprised or
ever put at a disadvantage in helping his people because he ordained all that
comes to pass.

When Calvin writes, "since the will of God is said to be the cause of all
things, all the counsels and actions of men must be held to be governed by his
providence; so that he not only exerts his power in the elect, who are guided by
the Holy Spirit, but also forces the reprobate to do him service," it must be taken

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within its larger context."*' Again he does not deny free choice. Calvin is also
rather clear in affirming the powers of deliberation in the Christian who is
"guided"'*'^ and even in the heathen who is "forced.""*^ When he speaks of the
heathen as being forced, he simply means that God, with a good will, governs
and directs the unregenerate agent's actions for His good purposes, even though
the unregenerate agent uses his/her bad will for his/her purposes, which are
never of any spiritual good. Calvin writes, "[W]hen God makes his scrutiny, he
looks not to what men could do, or to what they did, but to what they wished to
do, thus taking into account their will and purpose." "*"*

Scholars, like Harkness, who conclude that Calvin was a determinist,
do so based not on his writings but rather an existential presupposition. The
"irreconcilable conflict between his [Calvin's] doctrine of God's absolute
sovereignty and man's responsibility" is only irreconcilable when one cannot
conceive of existence and the universe without chance and the unknown.''^
Calvin writes: "God . . . never permits a separation of His prescience from His
power!" Subsequently, he writes: " 'If . . . God foresaw that which He did not
will to be done, God holds not the supreme rule over all things. God, therefore,
ordained that which should come to pass, because nothing could have been done
had He not willed it to be done.' "''^ Muller rightly interprets this passage thus:
"In other words, freedom and contingency not only are compatible with an
eternal decree that ordains all things, but also depends on it.""*' As further
support to this interpretation, Calvin writes:

First of all, there is a universal operation by which He guides all
creatures according to the condition and propriety which He had given
each when He made them. This guidance is

nothing other than what we call "the order of nature." For whereas
unbelievers only recognize in the arrangement of the world what their
eyes see and thus view nature as a design or essence that rules over all,
we are compelled to give this praise to the will of God, as it alone
governs and moderates all things.''^

This again affirms that Calvin believes that God's freedom is the basis of our
freedom, deliberation, choice, and our responsibility as agents."*^

Calvin's version of decretal determinism that actually establishes the
aspects of existence that make us responsible is, I believe, correct. For one, I
cannot conceive of God not having control over all things. This comprehensive
control accords with Job, the Prophets, and the creation story in Genesis. How
else could Job have looked past Satan and the forces of nature and conceived of

"Free Choice" in Calvin's Concepts of Regeneration and Moral Agency:
How Free Are We?

God as taking away his children and property (Job 1:21)? Yet at the same time I
cannot conceive of merely consenting to a universal ineluctability where my
freedom must be defined as vaguely as "doing what I want to do," without
actual free choice, as in Jonathan Edwards' understanding.^*^ In ruling out
chance, Edwards ruled out contingency as well. Discipline passages such as 1
Corinthians 5 and Matthew 18:15-20 do not appear to comport in reality with
compatibilists of the Jonathan Edwards variety. Church disciplinary steps
without actual choice involved seem to be merely conditioning. That is, the
disciplinary steps are simply blocks or impediments that help correct the
trajectory of a will moving through space-time. Overall, Calvin's conception is
definitely a different view of existence than that with which most of us are
familiar, but it accords with difficult books like Job that bring up hard questions
of agency and providence. Our free choice being predicated upon God's decrees
is difficult to conceive because it is a relationship between Creator and creature
that is unparalleled in our experience. Father and children are as close as we can
get, but we tend to quickly push the metaphor too far in a way to elevate humans
to have the same creative freedom that God has.

What we find, then, is that Calvin's conception of general and special
providence is such that nothing comes to pass that God has not decreed.
However, Calvin does not conceive of this powerful view of providence
destroying the power of deliberation, contingency, and free choice. On the
contrary, according to Calvin's understanding of providence, it is that upon
which these aspects of existence are predicated. God wills our choice and wills it
to be free and contingent.

IV. SOURCES OF OUR MORAL BELIEFS AND DELIBERATIONS

John Calvin is quite adamant that fallen human beings have no
capability of doing "good.""' From the fall, the gifts naturally endowed to
humans were corrupted — soundness of the intellect and integrity of the will. Our
supernatural gifts were withdrawn: faith, love to God, charity towards neighbor,
righteousness, etc.^^ As a result, the unregenerate have no ability to follow the
moral law. They have no power to obey the first table of the Decalogue, which
means at best the second table can be obeyed externally.''^ They can will nothing
God deems good because they can never will rightly and never for a purpose to

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glorify God."^'* Thus Calvin makes a strong and clear case for not ascribing to
any unregenerate person a "moral" or "good" action.

The Reformed tradition is posed with an issue of verbiage. Should we
continue to use Calvin's verbiage above and as a result claim that no
unregenerate person can do anything moral or good? Should we accept the
further result of lumping altogether the actions of the unregenerate, some of
which are obviously more or less orderly than others and some that are
absolutely destructive? Or instead, should "doing good" or "acting morally" be
descriptive of external obedience to the second table or natural law, regardless
of intentions. This would mean that "spiritual good" could still be applied to
actions that accord with God's preceptive will internally and externally.

There are numerous reasons, some from Calvin himself, which lead me
to think we should not adopt Calvin's typical verbiage that he uses in the
Institutes, but rather use the language just proposed. I will briefly cover a few of
the most important. First, it is rather difficuh to discern a person's intentions, let
alone whether a certain person is a Christian or not. However, Christians and
non-Christians alike are more apt at perceiving external conformance than they
are perceiving intentions and motivations of others. Second, discussions of
ethics and law would become impractical if we made no distinction between the
acts of the unregenerate. Thus, we would classify both the unregenerate law-
abiding citizen and the unregenerate serial killer as bad or immoral, when one
clearly conducts him/herself in better accordance with the natural law. Contrary
to his typical manner of speaking, even Calvin is quite clear that he is fine with
the "common language" that ascribes good to the unregenerate, as long as all are
clear that the good does not refer to a spiritual good:

For we must either put Cataline on the same footing with Camillus, or
hold Camillus to be an example of that nature, when carefully
cultivated, is not wholly void of goodness. I admit that the specious
qualities which Camillus possessed were divine gifts, and appear
entitled to commendation in themselves . . . Still, the surest and easiest
answer to the objection is, that those are not common endowments of
nature, but special gifts of God, which he distributes in divers forms,
and in a definite measure, to men otherwise profane. For which reason,
we hesitate not, in common language, to say, that one of a good,
another of a vicious nature; though we cease not to hold that both are
placed under the universal condition of human depravity. ^^

"Free Choice" in Calvin's Concepts of Regeneration and Moral Agency:
How Free Are We?

He offers a similar sentiment when commenting positively on the moral conduct
of those who are non-Christian, yet display virtue. Third, Calvin is quite clear
that the regenerate and unregenerate have the power of holding moral beliefs
that can be obeyed, regardless of the intentions lying behind the actions that
result. This final point will occupy us for the rest of this section.

Although the image of God (which pertains to the soul only) that Adam
and Eve once held with purity is badly corrupted, it is still present in all humans,
regenerate or unregenerate. God kept it from being utterly corrupted in us.^''
Thus the two parts of the soul, the intellect and will, were corrupted. Much has
been said about the will already, but not as much regarding the intellect. It is
into this faculty that Calvin places what many philosophers preceding Calvin
would have kept as separate "powers and faculties": imagination, memory,
reason, conscience, ideas, etc. However, all of this is not to say that Calvin
cleanly separates the will and the intellect or that he denies an interpenetration
of the powers of these two faculties. Otherwise the will could not be informed
by the powers of the intellect.^^ All of these sub-faculties, capacities, or roles of
the intellect are intertwined and some are of a higher order than others in that
they are evaluating, governing, and judging, namely the conscience and reason.
Reason and conscience are so closely associated with the intellect in Calvin's
discourse that all three are nearly identifiable.

The judgment of the reason is the judgment of the intellect.^^ Moreover,
reason has a few different sources from which to pull in spiritual and earthly
matters. The reason originally had three sources of spiritual knowledge: "the
knowledge of God, the knowledge of his paternal favour toward us, which
constitutes our salvation, and the method of regulating of our conduct in
accordance with the Divine Law."^° However, regarding the unregenerate, the
first, the knowledge of God, or sensus divinitatis, is only enough to leave them
without excuse for their impiety. The second, the knowledge of his paternal
favor, is completely obliterated in the unregenerate. The third, the Divine Law,
is harmed but rather lively in all humans.''' This Divine Law is in fact identified
with the natural law and the moral law of the Decalogue. Although our abilities
to perceive the natural law in its entirety are defiinct, the written law was given
to bolster our understanding.*'" However, reason uses ideas and the natural law in
its search and apprehension of truth in mundane (non-spiritual) matters as well.
This is what enables humans to cooperate and interact in a civil and ethical
manner. Calvin writes that there are two types of intelligence, one in earthly
matters, and one in heavenly matters. The former consists of "matters of policy

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and economy, all mechanical arts and liberal studies." He also says that man is
by nature a social creature endowed with a natural instinct for the preservation
of society. That is, we all have "impressions of civil order and honesty" whereby
we easily understand the need for laws and the reasoning for the laws
themselves. In summary, he writes: "Hence the universal agreement in regard to
such subjects [laws and their principles], both among nations and individuals,
the seeds of them being implanted in the breasts of all without a teacher or
lawgiver."^^

Calvin also demonstrates the ways in which the consciences of all
humans use the natural law and the sensus divinitatis. The conscience constantly
feels a pull or obligation from the natural law with which it is fairly well
apprized, as he states in the Institutes:

We are certainly under the same obligation as they [the Israelites] were;

for they cannot doubt that the claim of absolute perfection which God

made for his Law is perpetually in force. ^"^

And again, he writes:

Moreover, the very things contained in the two tables, are in a manner,
dictated to us by that internal law, which, as has been already said, is in
a manner written and stamped on every heart. For conscience, instead
of allowing us to stifle our perceptions, and sleep on without
interruption, acts as an inward witness and monitor, reminds us of what
we owe to God, points out the distinction between good and evil, and
therbey [thereby] convicts us of departure from duty. But man, being
immured in the darkness of error, is scarcely able, by means of the
natural law, to form any tolerable idea of the worship which is
acceptable to God . . . Therefore, as a necessary remedy, both for our
dulness and our contumacy, the Lord has given us his written Law,
which, by its sure attestations, removes the obscurity of the law of
nature, and also, by shaking off our lethargy, makes a more lively and
permanent impression on our minds. ^^

Thus, the natural law enables us to know what obedience to the second table is,
but not to the first table, the proper worship of God, due to the harmed
receptivity of our corrupted natures. Moreover, the sensus divinitatis is marred
such that the unregenerate are without excuse, but it is still not able to lead them
to right worship.^^ Whatever the case, the consciences of all humans, and hence

"Free Choice" in Calvin's Concepts of Regeneration and Moral Agency:
How Free Are We?

their intellects, are well informed as to what is required of them according to the
natural law.

Although he does not go into much detail, Calvin uses Romans 2:14 to
demonstrate that the will (or heart) is informed by the powers of the intellect, by
the fact that the unregenerate often do what their consciences suggests to them.^^
There is an inseparability regarding the will and the intellect that none can ftiUy
comprehend. However this is done, the souls of all human beings have not only
innate beliefs of moral acts, but they even have the constant conviction of their
consciences from its apprehension of the natural law.

I am frilly convinced that Calvin leaves the unregenerate and regenerate
person without excuse in acting morally. We are all endowed with faculties that
are sufficient in telling us what is permissible, what is obligatory, and what is
impermissible according to the natural law. Furthermore, Calvin's conceptions
of the will and intellect accord well with Romans 2:12-16, regarding the moral
beliefs and convictions of non-Christians, as well as Romans 7, assuming it
discusses Christians. ^^ I also find it accurate because of its deft incorporation of
the natural law, which I feel is the most sensible option in meta-ethics. While
this is not the time or the place to go into a full blown defense of natural law,
there is one quote given by one of the great defenders of natural law upon which
we can all agree. C.S. Lewis writes: "Whenever you find a man who says he
does not believe in a real Right and Wrong, you will find the same man going
back on this a moment later. He may break his promise to you, but if you try
breaking one to him he will be complaining 'It's not fair' before you can say
Jack Robinson." That is why Lewis calls the natural law, at times, the law of
human nature. ^^

In sum, from Calvin, we find that he allows a qualified use of the terms
"good" and "moral" to be ascribed to the unregenerate. Calvin himself realizes
people generally speak in this manner. We find, from a frirther investigation into
the faculties of all humans, compelling reasons to use the term moral to describe
external obedience to the natural law in discussing ethics. All humans. Christian
or non-Christian, are responsible agents endowed with moral beliefs, faculties,
and convictions. We are without excuse for our disobedience to the natural law.

V. CONCLUSION

In this essay I demonstrated that John Calvin, although denying free
choice regarding regeneration, teaches that human beings, Christian and non-
54

Ashland Theological Journal 2010

Christian, have freedom to act morally. This is important in establishing moral
responsibility. Unless there is actual contingency in our choices and we have
moral beliefs in our deliberation we cannot be considered responsible agents and
therefore cannot be considered to have freedom to act morally. In Part II, I
showed that postlapsarian humans are bom with bad dispositions or habiti where
their wills necessarily and voluntarily chooses only the bad in spiritual matters.
These are bound wills. However, God gives to some. Christians, good
dispositions or habiti while not destroying the substance or faculty of their wills.
These good wills can sin but will never reject God's saving grace. This is not to
be viewed as having a bound will. On the contrary, Calvin rightly follows the
Bible in holding that sin is true bondage and freedom is bondage to God and
righteousness. In Part III, I demonstrated that Calvin's strong view of
providence is not contradictory to our free choice, yet essential to it. This is hard
to conceive because it is a different existential view than that with which we are
familiar and a relationship that is unique to God and his human creations. Yet it
holds in proper tension that which accords with the natural sensibilities of the
Reformed Christian, namely the existence of free choice and the comprehensive
providence of God. ^° In Part IV, I gave reasons why we should not equate moral
good and spiritual good. Calvin himself offers compelling reasons for this. His
teachings on the intellect are a clear indication that all humans, Christian or non-
Christian, have (sub) faculties that have innate moral beliefs and convictions.
This accords again with certain Biblical passages from Romans, as well as our
own experiences with Christians and non-Christians in moral situations.

Calvin's understanding of our capacities and our existence teach
Christians some valuable lessons in the ethical and pastoral realms. Although
God ordains all things, we were not designed to sit back passively and enjoy the
ride. As humans, God endowed us with moral capacities to uphold the natural
law and treat one another well. As Christians, we are to proclaim the gospel,
even though God is the only one that can regenerate an individual. Furthermore,
discipline in civil and ecclesiastical situations are aimed at taking God's law
seriously but also reforming the individual for the good of the person and the
good of the community. Holding each other accountable says that God's law
matters. Finally, dependence on God is vital for the Christian life. It is easier to
act morally and graciously when we constantly remind ourselves that nothing is
outside of God's plan or control.

"Free Choice" in Calvin's Concepts of Regeneration and Moral Agency:
How Free Are We?

Bibliography

Aquinas, Thomas. Summa Theologica. Translated by Fathers of the English Dominican

Province. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, 1955.
Balke, Willem. "Calvin's Concept of Freedom." Freedom: Studies in Reformed Theology

I. Ed. A. van Egmond. Baam: Callenbach, 1996, 25-54.
Beilby, James K. and Paul R. Eddy. "Introduction" and "Glossary." Divine

Foreknowledge: Four Views. Edited by James K. Bielby & Paul R. Eddy.

Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2001, 9-12, 207-214.
Brummer, Vincent. "Calvin, Bernard and the Freedom of the Will." Religious Studies 30

(1994): 437-455.
Calvin, John. 77?^ Bondage and Liberation of the Will. Ed. A.N.S. Lane. Translated by

G.I. Davies. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1996.

. Calvin's Calvinism. Translated by Henry Cole. Grand Rapids: William B.

Eerdmans, 1950.

. Calvin's Commentaries. Ed. David W. Torrance and Thomas F. Torrance.

Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1948-1960.

. Calvin: Theological Treatises. Translated by J.K.S. Reid. Philadelphia: The

Westminster Press, 1954.

. Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God. Translated by J.K.S. Reid.

Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1997.

. Institutes of the Christian Religion. Translated by Henry Beveridge. Grand

Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989.

. Sermons on Galatians. Audubon: Old Paths Publications, 1995.

. Treatises Against the Anabaptists and Against the Libertines. Translated by

Benjamin Wirt Farley. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1982.

D'Arcy, Eric. Human Acts: An Essay in their Moral Evaluation. Oxford: Clarendon

Press, 1963.

Gootjes, Nicholas H. "Calvin on Epicurus and Epicureans." Calvin Theological Journal

40 (2005): 33-48.

Harkness, Georgia. John Calvin: The Man and His Ethics. New York: Henry Holt and

Company, 1931.

77ze //e/(ie/^erg Ca?ec/2/5m. New York: Charles Scribner, 1863.

Helm, Paul. "The Augustinian-Calvinist View." In Divine Foreknowledge: Four Views.

Ed. James K. Bielby & Paul R. Eddy. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press,

2001, 161-189.
Lane, A.N.S. "Did Calvin Believe in Freewill?." Vox Evangelica 12 (1981): 72-90.
MuUer, Richard A. Dictionary of Latin and Greek Theological Terms. Grand Rapids:

Baker Book House, 1985.

Ashland Theological Journal 2010

. "Grace, Election, and Contingent Choice: Arminius's Gambit and the

Reformed Response." Grace of God, the Bondage of the Will, vol. 2. Ed.

Thomas R. Schreiner and Bruce A. Ware. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1995,

252-278.
Swinburne, Richard. Atonement and Responsibility . Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989.
Tiessen, Terrance. Providence and Prayer. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2000.
Verhey, Allen. "Introduction to Calvin's Treatise 'Against the Libertines.'" Calvin
TheologicalJournal 15 (1980): 190-219.

The Westminster Confession. Glasgow: Free Presbyterian Press, 2001.
The Westminster Larger Catechism in The Westminster Confession of Faith. Glasgow:

Free Presbyterian Publications, 2001.
Wolterstorff, Nicholas. Until Justice and Peace Embrace. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
1983.
Zachman, Randal. The Testimony of the Conscience in the Theology of Martin Luther and

John Calvin: A Comparative Study. UMI: Ann Arbor, 1997.

ENDNOTES

' The following translations are used throughout: John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian
Religion (translated by Henry Beveridge; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989); John Calvin,
Treatises Against the Anabaptists and Against the Libertines (translated by Benjamin
Wirt Farley; Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1982); John Calvin, The Bondage and
Liberation of the Will, ed. A.N.S. Lane (translated by G.I. Davies; Grand Rapids: Baker
Books, 1996); John Calvin, Calvin: Theological Treatises (translated by J.K.S. Reid;
Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1954); John Calvin, Calvin's Commentaries, ed.
David W. Torrance and Thomas F. Torrance (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1948-
1960); John Calvin, Sermons on Galatians (Audubon: Old Paths Publications, 1995);
John Calvin, Calvin 's Calvinism (translated by Henry Cole; Grand Rapids: William B.
Eerdmans, 1950).

^ There is not room in this paper to present a full blown inquiry into all of these nuanced
philosophical issues. This definition of freedom is a presupposition of the paper. It is
adapted from the works of Eric D'Arcy and Richard Swinburne. Eric D'Arcy, Human
Acts: An Essay in their Moral Evaluation (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1963), 87-88; Cf
Allen Verhey, "Introduction to Calvin's Treatise 'Against the Libertines.'" Calvin
Theological Journal 15 (1980), 203; Richard Swinbume, Atonement and Responsibility
(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989), 51.

^ Richard A. Muller, Dictionary of Latin and Greek Theological Terms (Grand Rapids:
Baker Book House, 1985), 81.
"* Muller, Dictionary, 176-177.

"Free Choice" in Calvin's Concepts of Regeneration and Moral Agency:
How Free Are We?

^ The Westminster Larger Catechism in The Westminster Confession of Faith (Glasgow:
Free Presbyterian Publications, 2001), Q's 101-150 [pp. 184-238]; Cf. The Heidelberg
Catechism (New York: Charles Scribner, 1863), Q's 92-94 [pp. 231-239].
^ The following works are the current scholarship that interprets Calvin in one or more of
the three areas investigated in this essay: Paul Helm, "The Augustinian-Calvinist View,"
in Divine Foreknowledge: Four Views, ed. James K. Bielby & Paul R. Eddy (Downers
Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2001), 161-189; Terrance Tiessen, Providence and Prayer
(Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2000); Vincent Briimmer, "Calvin, Bernard and the
Freedom of the Will." Religious Studies 30 (1994), 437-455; A.N.S. Lane, "Did Calvin
BeHeve in Freewill?," Vox Evangelica 12 (1981), 72-90; Willem Balke, "Calvin's
Concept of Freedom" in Freedom: Studies in Reformed Theology 1 ., ed. A. van Egmond
(Baam: Callenbach, 1996), 25-54; Allen Verhey, "Introduction to Calvin's Treatise
'Against the Libertines,'" Calvin Theological Journal 15 (1980), 190-219; Georgia
Harkness, John Calvin: The Man and His Ethics (New York: Henry Holt and Company,
1931); Randal Zachman, The Testimony of the Conscience in the Theology of Martin
Luther and John Calvin: A Comparative Study (Ann Arbor : UMI, 1997); Richard A.
Muller, "Grace, Election, and Contingent Choice: Arminius's Gambit and the Reformed
Response," in Grace of God, the Bondage of the Will, vol. 2, ed. Thomas R. Schreiner
and Bruce A. Ware (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1995), 252-278; Nicholas Wolterstorff
Until Justice and Peace Embrace (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1983); Nicholas H. Gootjes,
"Calvin on Epicurus and Epicureans," Calvin Theological Journal 40 (2005), 33-48.
' Helm, "The Augustinian-Calvinist View," 161-164; Tiessen, Providence and Prayer,
365. The reader is to note that most philosophical terms applied to Calvin such as
compatibilist, libertarian, etc. are anachronistic. Other notable "compatibilistic
Calvinists" are John Feinberg and Jonathan Edwards ("compatibilism" used with him is
anachronistic as well). Jonathan Edwards, The Freedom of the Will (Lafayette: Sovereign
Grace Publishers, 2001); John Feinberg, "God Ordains All Things," in Predestination
and Free Will, ed. David Basinger and Randall Basinger (Downers Grove: InterVarsity
Press, 1986), 17-44.
** Harkness, John Calvin, 73 ff
^ Muller, "Grace, Election," 252.

'° E.g. Verhey, "Against the Libertines," 198; Balke, "Calvin's Concept of Freedom," 46.
They follow Calvin in ascribing "moral" to actions that adhere to both tables of the
Decalogue.

" This formula is in agreement with The Heidelberg Catechism's Q91: "But what are
good works? Answer: Those only which are done from true faith, according to the Law of
God, for His glory; and not such as rest on our own opinion, or the commandments of
men" [p. 231].

' Calvin, The Bondage and Liberation, § 279 [p. 67-68].
'-'' Calvin, Institutes, I.xv.8 [pp. 169-170].

Ashland Theological Journal 2010

'"^ Calvin, Institutes, I.xv.3 [p. 164].

'" Calvin, Institutes, I.xv.7 [pp. 168-169]; Cf. Lane, "Did Calvin Believe," 73.

'" Calvin, Institutes, I.xv.8 [pp. 169-170].

'^ Calvin, Institutes, II.ii.4, 26 [pp. 227, 245]; Cf. Aquinas, Summa Theologica, First Part,

Q. 83, Art. 3, as referenced by Calvin.

'** Calvin, Bondage and Liberation, § 280 [p. 68].

'^ Calvin, Bondage and Liberation, § 280 [p. 68-69].

^° Calvin, Institutes, II.iii.5 [pp. 253-255].

'' Calvin, Institutes, II.ii.6 [p. 228]; Cf II.ii.25 [pp.243-245].

^~ Calvin, Bondage and Liberation. Calvin demonstrates Pighius's misunderstandings of

Calvin's writings in many places throughout this work.

"^ Lane, "Did Calvin Believe," 82; MuUer, Dictionary, 134.

"'^ Calvin, Institutes, II.iii.6 [pp. 255-256]; Calvin, Bondage and Liberation, § 375 [pp.

205-206].

"■ Calvin, Institutes, n.iii.6-10 [pp. 255-261].

-^ Calvin, Institutes, ILiii.9 [p. 260].

'^'' Briimmer clearly understands contingency according to the way the Reformers would

have understood it.

^^ Briimmer, "Calvin and Bernard," 451-2; Cf pp. 440-441. There he is comfortable with

moral responsibility without the ability not to sin.

^^ What Calvin says in regards to the saved sinning and the inner conceptual workings of

that event is a further question that we do not have time to entertain here.

^° Calvin, Institutes, I xv.8 [pp. 169-170]; Cf ILv.H [pp. 286-287]; m.iii.12-13 [pp. 518-

519]; Calvin, Commentary on . . . Philippians, 2:13 [pp. 253-257]; Balke, "Calvin's

Concept of Freedom," A6-A1 .

^' Balke, "Calvin's Concept of Freedom," 30-31.

^" Muller, Dictionaiy, 88.

^^ Cf Calvin, Bondage and Liberation; Calvin, Treatises Against; A contemporary

example is: Harkness, John Calvin.

^'^ CdiWm, Institutes, l.xw\.\ [p. 172].

"^^ Calvin, Institutes, Lxvi.2 [pp. 172-173].

^^ Calvin, Institutes, I.xvi.3 [p. 174].

" Calvin, Institutes, Lxvi.3 [p. 174].

^^ Calvin, Institutes, Lxvi.4 [p. 175]; Cf Lxvi.5-7 [pp. 176-179]; Cf Gootjes, "Calvin on

Epicurus," 36-39.

^^ Calvin, Institutes, I.xvi.8 [p. 179].

'*" Calvin, /«.s/zYw?e5, Lxvii.6 [p. 188-189]; Cf Lxvii. 8 [p. 180].

'" Calvin, Institutes, Lxviii.2 [p. 201].

'^'^ Calvin, Institutes, Lxvii.4 [p. 187].

^^ Calvin, Institutes, Lxviii.l [p. 198-200].

Calvin, Institutes, Lxviii.4 [pp. 203-205].

"Free Choice" in Calvin's Concepts of Regeneration and Moral Agency:
How Free Are We?

'^~ Harkness, John Calvin, 74.

""^ Calvin, Calvin's Calvinism, 281. Calvin is citing Augustine in the second quote from

an unknown writing.

''^ MuUer, "Grace, Election," 267.

"^^ Calvin, Treatises Against, 242-243; Cf. Verhey, "Calvin's Treatise," 208; MuUer,

"Grace, Election," 252.

^'^ Verhey, "Calvin's Treatise," 203; Cf. Muller, "Grace, Election," 252, 267-270.

^^ Varieties of compatibilism that deny actual contingency are those such as Jonathan

Edwards in Freedom of the Will, 21, and John Feinberg in Predestination & Free Will,

34-35. "Compatibilism" definitions offered by Paul Helm in Divine Foreknowledge:

Four Views, 161-164, and Terrance Tiessen in Providence and Prayer, 365, are broad

enough so as to encompass Edwards' and Feinberg's compatibilism, Calvin's

providential view, and surely others.

^' This is one of the constantly reiterated themes of the Institutes. Cf ILii-iii [pp. 221-

264]; especially Il.ii.l [pp. 222-224].

^^ Calvin, Institutes, Il.ii.l 2 [p. 233]; Cf Lii.25 [pp. 243-245] regarding the harm of the

intellect.

^^ Calvin, Institutes, II.viii.6, 1 1, 52 [pp. 320-321, 324-326, 357].

^^ Calvin, Institutes, Il.ii.l, 6, 8, 27 [pp. 222-224, 228-229, 229-230, and 245-247];
II.iii.2 [pp. 250-251].

^^ Calvin, Institutes, II.iii.4 [p. 252]; Cf II.viii.6 [pp. 320-321].
^^ Calvin, Institutes, II.iii.3 [p. 251].

" Calvin, Institutes, I.xv.4 [pp.164-165]; II.ii.l7 [pp. 237-238]; II.iii.3 [pp. 251-252];
Calvin, Sermons on Galatians, 871-872; Cf Wolterstorff UntilJustice, 78.
^^ Calvin, Institutes, I.xv.6-7 [pp. 166-169].
-^ Calvin, Institutes, II.ii.2, 13, 18 [pp. 224, 235, 238].
^•^ Calvin, Institutes, Il.ii.l 8 [p. 238].
^' Calvin, Institutes, Il.ii.l 8 [p. 238].
^' Calvin, Institutes, IV.xx.l6 [p. 664]; Il.viii.l [p. 317].
" Ca[Vm, Institutes, II.ii.l3 [pp.234-235]; Cf II.ii.l5 [p. 236].

^'* Calvin, Institutes, II.viii.5 [p. 320]; Cf Zachman, Testimony of the Conscience,
Chapter VII (on matters of the consciences of Christians).
^^ Calvin, Institutes, Il.viii.l [p. 317].

^^ Calvin, Institutes, I.ii.l [pp. 40-41]; l.v.13, 15 [pp. 61-63]; Cf Zachman, Testimony of
the Conscience, 277-280.
^^ Calvin, Treatises Against, 251-252.

Cf Calvin, Commentary . . . on Romans, 7:25 [p. 155].
^^ C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (London, Geoffrey Bles, 1953), 5.
™ Cf The Westminster Confession, 3. 1 [p. 28], 5.2 [p.34].

Ashland Theological Seminary 2010

A Bibliographic Guide to the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha

By David A. deSilva

"Apocrypha" and "Pseudepigrapha" are terms used to label a large
body of early Jewish and early Christian literature written between the third
century BCE and the first centuries of the common era. The Apocrypha (or
Deuterocanonical Books) exists as a collection because of the reading practices
of early Christians, who placed an especially high value on these texts and often
included them in codices of their Scriptures (the Septuagint), and by ongoing
canonical debates about the extent of the Old Testament within the Christian
Church. Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches include these books as part of
the Old Testament; Protestant Christians, following the Jewish canon, do not.
Hence, the "Apocrypha" is the overlap.

The Pseudepigrapha is a much broader collection of extra-biblical
literature. "Pseudepigrapha" refers technically to texts with a false attribution of
authorship, though the collection has come to include several anonymous texts as
well. The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha are of immense value as windows into
the development of biblical interpretation, theology, ethics, and liturgy in Early
Judaism and Christianity, as well as into the socio-cultural and historical
contexts within which these developments occurred.

This article is intended to present a bibliographic guide primarily
(though not exclusively) to English-language scholarship on the individual texts
within these collections as well as the historical and social context within which
they were written, as well as direct readers to major critical editions for original-
language study.

1. Historical Context

The texts collected in the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha come from a
wide historical and geographical span. Many of them are important sources for
historical reconstruction of Jewish history during the period. Grabbe (1992) and
Davies and Finkelstein (1989) provide comprehensive overviews, with
Smallwood (1981) being limited to the Roman Period. Hayes and Mandell

David A. deSilva (Ph.D., Emory University) is Trustee's Distinguished
professor of New Testament and Greek at ATS.

A Bibliographic Guide to the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha

(1998) cover the general history of Judea, while Barclay (1996) and
Modrzejewski (1995) treat historical issues related to major centers of Diaspora
Judaism.

The attempts at Hellenistic Reform in Jerusalem and the backlash of the
Maccabean Revolt mark a particularly determinative series of episodes within
Second Temple Period history, one to which many of the Apocrypha and
Pseudepigrapha are directly or indirectly related. Harrington (1988) provides a
concise overview of the sources and reconstruction. Bickerman (1979),
Tcherikover (1959), and Hengel (1977) offer more detailed studies with
sometimes conflicting conclusions.

Barclay, J. M. G. 1996. Jews in the Mediterranean Diaspora from Alexander to
Trajan (323 BCE - 117 CE). Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark.

An advanced study of the socio-political and cultural issues besetting
Jews in Egypt and other Mediterranean centers of diaspora Jews, with special
attention to the levels of assimilation, acculturation, accommodation, and
antagonism evidenced in particular texts and authors from the period. Concludes
with a synthetic analysis of Jewish identity formation and identity markers in the
Diaspora setting.

Bickerman, E. J. 1979. The God of the Maccabees. Studies on the Meaning
and Origin of the Maccabean Revolt. Leiden: Brill.

A classic, scholarly study of the Maccabean Revolution. Translation of
Der Gott der Makkabder (1937).

Davies, W. D. and Louis Finkelstein (eds.). 1989. The Cambridge History of
Judaism. Volume 2: The Hellenistic Period. Cambridge: Cambridge University.
A standard reference work by established scholars. Individual entries
cover the archeology and the political and social history of Palestine, linguistic
developments, the Diaspora, the interpenetration of Judaism and Hellenism,
governance in the Jewish community, surveys of Jewish literature,
apocalypticism, the Septuagint, and anti-Judaism.

Ashland Theological Seminary 2010

Grabbe, L. L. 1992. Judaism from Cyrus to Hadrian. Volume One: The
Persian and Greek Periods and Volume Two: The Roman Period. Minneapolis:
Fortress.

A detailed, scholarly survey of the primary sources for historical
inquiry, the historical problems associated with each period, and a painstaking
reconstruction of the history of each period.

Harrington, D. J. 1988. 77?^ Maccabean Revolt: Anatomy of a Biblical
Revolution. Wilmington, DE: Michael Glazier.

A careful, detailed, yet accessible examination of the principal sources
for the period (Daniel, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Polybius) and cogent reconstruction
of the history.

Hayes, J. H. and S. R. Mandell. 1998. The Jewish People in Classical Antiquity:
From Alexander to Bar Kochba. Louisville: Westminster John Knox.

A general introduction to the history of Judea from 323 BCE to 70 CE.

Hengel, M. 1974. Judaism and Hellenism. 2 vols. Philadelphia: Fortress.

The groundbreaking study on the political, economic, and cultural
penetration of Hellenism into Judea, together with a judicious recreation of the
history of the Hellenistic "Reform" of 175-166 BCE. Translation of the German
original, Judentum und Hellenismus .

Modrzejewski, J. M. 1995. The Jews of Egypt From Ramses II to Emperor
Hadrian. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society.

An accessible study of the political, social, and cultural history of Jews
in Egypt, chiefly during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods.

Small wood, M. 1981. The Jews Under Roman Ride . Leiden: Brill.

An advanced, careful study of the political history of the period from
the beginning of Roman domination in 63 BCE through the third century CE.
The focus moves fairly evenly between Jews in Palestine and the Diaspora.

A Bibliographic Guide to the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha

Tcherikover, V. 1959. Hellenistic Civilization and the Jews. Philadelphia:
Jewish Publication Society.

An advanced but very readable history of Judea under Ptolemaic and
Seleucid domination, with a shorter treatment of the political and social
structures and cultural climate of Diaspora Judaism during this period.

2. Socio-cultural and Theological Context

The often creative, sometimes conflictive, interaction between cultures during
the Hellenistic Period made this a time of significant cultural and religious
ferment. Hengel (1974) provides the classic study on these developments, while
Barclay (1996) attempts to refine the analysis of Jewish responses to Hellenism.
Newsome (1992) and Cohen (1987) write broader overviews of trends and
movements. Collins (1987) focuses on the emergence of apocalypticism, a
particularly important development of the period. Nickelsburg (2006) focuses
on the development of expectations concerning post-mortem existence as a
response to the challenges of the period.

Barclay, J. M. G. 1996. Jews in the Mediterranean Diaspora from Alexander to
Trajan (323 BCE -117 CE). Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark.

Boccaccini, G. 1991. Middle Judaism: Jewish Thought 300 B.C.E. to 200 C. E.
Minneapolis: Fortress.

Boccacini proposes a new historiographic term ("Middle Judaism") to
name the period of variegated Judaisms one encounters prior to the emergence of
Rabbinic Judaism. He includes an extensive annotated bibliography and in-
depth treatments of Ben Sira, Daniel, the Dream Visions of 1 Enoch, and the
Letter of Aristeas (pp. 77-188).

Ashland Theological Seminary 2010

Cohen, S. J. D. 1987. From the Maccabees to the Mishnah. Philadelphia:
Westminster.

An accessible introduction to Jewish-Gentile relations, Jewish religion
and its diversity, and social and religious institutions in the Second Temple
Period. - ' • ..

Collins, J. J. 1987. The Apocalyptic Imagination: An Introduction to the Jewish
Matrix of Christianity. New York: Crossroad.

A definitive treatment of apocalypticism and Jewish literature
expressive of apocalypticism. Includes significant treatments of 7 Enoch, Daniel,
the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, 4 Ezra, 2 Baruch, the Sibylline
Oracles, and the Apocalypse of Abraham.

Hengel, M. 1974. Judaism and Hellenism. 2 vols. Philadelphia: Fortress.

The groundbreaking study on the political, economic, and cultural
penetration of Hellenism into Judea, together with a judicious recreation of the
history of the Hellenistic "Reform" of 175-166 BCE.

Newsome, James D. 1992. Greeks, Romans, Jews: Currents of Culture and
Belief in the New Testament World. Philadelphia: Trinity Press International.

A general introduction to the history, culture, theological trends,
movements, and literature of the late Second Temple Period.

Nickelsburg, G. W. E. 2006. Resurrection, Immortality, and Eternal Life in
Intertestamental Judaism. Expanded edition. Harvard Theological Studies 56.
Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

A scholarly investigation of the development of ideas of post-mortem
existence during the later Second Temple Period, rooted in the exegesis of
specific texts. This expansion of the original 1972 edition includes three
additional chapters carrying the original investigation forward into early
Christian literature.

A Bibliographic Guide to the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha

3. General Surveys of the Literature

Brief introductions to the content and context of each book included in
the Apocrypha or Pseudepigrapha can be found in Evans (2005), the individual
entries in Evans (2000), Nickelsburg (2005), and Stone (1984). Collins (2000),
Delcor (1989), Helyer (2002), and Russell (1987) provide more substantial
introductions to a less comprehensive range of texts. Kugel (1998) is distinctive
in its arrangement of excerpts from these and other texts groups around
particular biblical figures or episodes.

Collins, J. J. 2000. Between Athens and Jerusalem: Jewish Identity in the
Hellenistic Diaspora. 2"^* edition. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

An accessible introduction to Jewish Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha
emanating from the Diaspora, carefully set in historical and cultural context.

Delcor, M. 1989. "The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Hellenistic
Period." Pp. 409-503 in vol. 2 of The Cambridge History of Judaism. Edited
by W. D. Davies and L. Finkelstein. 4 vols. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.

An accessible, scholarly overview of the major texts.

Evans, C. A. 2005. Ancient Texts for New Testament Studies: A Guide to the
Background Literature. Peabody: Hendrickson.

Evans provides brief introductions and valuable bibliographical guides
for each text. The Apocrypha are treated on pp. 9-25, the Pseudepigrapha on pp.

26-75.

Evans, C. A. and S. E. Porter (eds.). 2000. Dictionary of New Testament
Background. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity.

Contains entries on each book of the Apocrypha and the major
Pseudepigrapha. Of value to the beginning student and as a starting point for
further research.

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Helyer, Larry R. 2002. Exploring Jewish Literature of the Second Temple
Period: A Guide for New Testament Students. Downers Grove: InterVarsity
Press.

An accessible guide to many of the books of the Apocrypha and
Pseudepigrapha (and other Second Temple Jewish literature) with particular
attention to historical context, theological ideas, and influence upon early
Christian literature.

Kraft, R. A. and G. W. E. Nickelsburg (eds.). 1986. Early Judaism and Its
Modern Interpreters. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, and Atlanta: Scholars Press.

A survey of scholarship (1945-1986) and snapshot of the "state of the
question" in regard to the political, religious, and social history of the period and
the impact of recent discoveries. Part III (pp. 221-477) provides a survey of
scholarship on particular texts grouped by genre.

Kugel, James L. 1998. Traditions of the Bible. A Guide to the Bible As It Was
at the Start of the Common Era. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Presents excerpts from the Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, Dead Sea
Scrolls, Philo, Josephus, early Christian literature, and rabbinic texts organized
around particular biblical figures and stories. The volume shows how, and
analyzes why, earlier canonical stories are retold and expanded through the
Second Temple period and beyond. General.

Nicklelsburg, George W. E. 2005. Jewish Literature Between the Bible and the
Mishnah. Minneapolis: Fortress Press.

A general survey of Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, and other Jewish
literature carefully set in historical context (and presented in chronological
order). A revision and expansion of the 1981 edition.

Russell, D. S. 1987. The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: Patriarchs &
Prophets in Early Judaism. Philadelphia: Fortress Press.

An accessible introduction to the Pseudepigrapha arranged according to
the biblical characters about whom these texts tell additional, extrabiblical
stories.

A Bibliographic Guide to the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha

Stone, M. E. (ed). 1984. Jewish Writings of the Second Temple Period. Assen:
Van Gorcum, and Philadelphia: Fortress.

A general introduction to the writings of the Apocrypha and
Pseudepigrapha (grouped and discussed according to genre: tales, rewritten
Bible, historiography, wisdom literature, testaments, apocalyptic literature, and
liturgical texts), and the writings of the Qumran community, Philo, and Josephus.
Given the scope of the volume, treatments of individual texts are very brief

4. Introductions to the Apocrypha

Because of their special importance in the Christian churches from the beginning
to the present day, the Apocryphal books are often given more focused attention.
Introductions to the Apocrypha are often the best place to begin one's study of
any particular book in the collection. The boundaries of the Apocrypha are
somewhat fluid, with some works covering only those books regarded as
canonical by the Catholic Church, and other works covering some additional
texts (3 & 4 Maccabees, Prayer of Manasseh, Psalm 151, and 2 Esdras).
DeSilva (2002) provides the fullest general introduction to each book and the
landscape of scholarship on each book, covering the broader collection of
Apocrypha. Harrington (1999) offers a strong but substantially briefer
introduction to the same. Dunn and Rogerson (2003) contains introductions and
brief commentaries on each of the texts in the broader collection. Pfeiffer
(1949) and Charles (1913) write fulsome, though now dated, introductions to the
shorter collection, with Metzger (1957) offering a brief introduction to the same.

Charles, R. H. (ed.). 1913. The Apociypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old
Testament. Vohime I: Apocrypha. Oxford: Oxford University.

A translation of the shorter collection of the Apocrypha with critical
introductions and extensive annotations for each book. Despite the age of the
volume and the bias of some writers, this remains a valuable resource.

deSilva, D. A. 2002. Introducing the Apociypha: Message, Context, &
Significance. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.

An in-depth introduction to each of the books of the Apocrypha
(including 2 Esdras, 3 & 4 Maccabees, Prayer of Manasseh, and Psalm 151).
Each chapter surveys the structure and contexts, issues in textual transmission,

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the historical setting and purpose, formative resources, theology, and influence,
as well as issues particular to the contents of each book. Contains a fairly up-to-
date bibliography.

Dunn, James D. G., and John W. Rogerson (eds.). 2003. Eerdmans
Commentary on the Bible. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans.

A one-volume commentary on the Bible for general users. This volume
is significant for its inclusion of the Apociypha (including 2 Esdras and 3 & 4
Maccabees) and 1 Enoch. The commentary follows a paragraph -by-paragraph
format rather than verse-by-verse, making it very readable.

Harrington, D. J. 1999. Invitation to the Apocrypha. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

A brief introduction to each of the books of the Apocrypha (including 2
Esdras, 3 & 4 Maccabees, Prayer of Manasseh, and Psalm 151). Alongside
matters of historical context and general overview, Harrington considers how
each of the texts responds to the problem of suffering.

Metzger, B. M. 1957. An Introduction to the Apociypha. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.

A brief introduction to each of the books of the Apocrypha (not
including 2 Esdras, 3 & 4 Maccabees). The second half of the book provides a
valuable introduction to the history of the Apocrypha in the Christian Church
and the influence of these texts on literature, art, music, and society.

Pfeiffer, R. H. 1949. History of New Testament Times. With an Introduction to
the Apocrypha. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1949.

Part I contains an overview of Jewish political, religious, and literary
history, though under the now anachronistic headings of "Palestinian" versus
"Hellenistic" Judaism (see Hengel 1977). Part II (pp. 233-522) presents a
general introduction to the shorter collection of the Apocrypha.

5. Texts and Translations of the Apocrypha

The Old Testament Apocrypha is readily accessible is many Bible
translations. Catholic Bibles (e.g., the Jerusalem Bible, New Jerusalem Bible,
and New American Bible) include them interspersed throughout the Old

A Bibliographic Guide to the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha

Testament. Protestant and ecumenical Bibles group them generally between the
testaments (e.g., the New Revised Standard Version) or, in rare cases, at the end
(as in the English Standard Version with the Apocrypha). The latter collections
include a broader sampling of Apocrypha than the Catholic canon, adding 1 & 2
Esdras, 3 & 4 Maccabees, Prayer of Manasseh, and Psalm 151. Kohlenberger
(1997) provides a useful synopsis of multiple texts and translations. Metzger
and Murphy (1991) offer a helpful study edition. Pietersma and Wright (2007)
gives English readers reliable access to the complete Septuagint, including the
broader collection of the Apocrypha (minus 2 Esdras). Rahlfs (2006) gives
convenient access to the Greek text and major variants, though the individual
volumes in the Gottingen Septuagint (see entries under individual books below)
are the preferred resources for text-critical work.

Kohlenberger III, J. (ed.). 1997. The Parallel Apocrypha. New York: Oxford
University Press.

This Synoptic Apocrypha presents the Greek text from Rahlfs 's
Septuaginta (Latin Vulgate for 2 Esdras) alongside the translations of
Apocryphal books found in the King James Version, Douay Old Testament,
Holy Bible by Ronald Knox, Today's English Version, New Revised Standard
Version, New American Bible, and New Jerusalem Bible.

Metzger, B. M. and Roland Murphy (eds.). 1991. The New Oxford Annotated
Apocrypha. New York: Oxford University Press.

The New Revised Standard translation of the
Apocrypha/Deuterocanonicals with annotations by established scholars.

Pietersma, Albert, and Benjamin G. Wright (eds.). 2007. A New English
Translation of the Septuagint and the Other Greek Translations Traditionally
Included Under That Title. New York: Oxford University Press.

A first-rate English translation of the Septuagint undertaken by a team
of Septuagint specialists. Read-only files for each book may also be downloaded
from the official website: http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/nets/edition.

Rahlfs, Alfred, and Robert Hanhart (eds.). 2006. Septuaginta. Stuttgart:
Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft.

A critical edition of the Greek translation of the Jewish Scriptures,
together with the Apocrypha, based largely on the major 4'*^- and 5*-century

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codices Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, and Sinaiticus, with some notice of Lucianic
and Origenic readings. Corrected edition of Rahlfs' 1931 original. Advanced
text-critical study is better undertaken using extant volumes from the Gottingen
Septuagint.

6. Pseudepigrapha: Texts, Translations, and Tools

Delimitation of the Pseudepigrapha varies considerably more than delimitation
of the Apocrypha. Charlesworth (1983, 1985) gives access to the broadest
collection in translation, while Charles (1913) and Sparks (1984) offer more
selective collections of the earlier and more important texts. There is still
nothing comparable to Charles (1913) in terms of offering introductions and
commentary on the most important pseudepigrapha. Many texts are available
online in Greek and in translation. DiThommaso (2001) has compiled a
comprehensive bibliography through 1999. Charlesworth (1981) and the online
bibliographies by Davila remain very helpful.

Charles, R. H. (ed.). 1913. The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old
Testament. Volume H: Pseudepigrapha. Oxford: Oxford University.

A translation of the major Pseudepigrapha with critical introductions
and extensive annotations. Despite the age of the volume and the bias of some
writers, this remains a valuable resource.

Charlesworth, James H. (ed.). 1983, 1985. The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha.
2 vols. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.

The broadest collection of Pseudepigrapha in fresh translations, with
critical introductions and extensive annotations.

Charlesworth, James H. 1981. The Pseudepigrapha and Modern Research,
with a Supplement. Septuagint and Cognate Studies 7. Chico, CA: Scholars
Press.

Brief introductions and substantial bibliographies for each
pseudepigraphon.

Denis, Albert-Marie. 1987. Concordance Grecque des Pseudepigraphes
d' Ancient Textament. Louovain-la-Neuve: Universite Catholique de Louvain.

A Bibliographic Guide to the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha

A concordance to the (Greek) Pseudepigrapha, with an appendix
containing the complete Greek text of Pseudepigrapha extant in that language.
The concordance offers a full print line of context for each occurrence of a word.

DiTommaso, Lorenzo. 2001. Bibliography of Pseudepigrapha Research 1850-
1999. JSPS 39. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press.

A non-annotated, comprehensive listing of texts, translations,
commentaries, entries in reference works, and specialized studies, arranged
alphabetically by title of text/primary figure in title of text. This is an
indispensable starting point for advanced study of any pseudepigraphon.

Old Testament Pseudepigrapha Classified Bibliographies

[http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/divinity/rt/otp/bibliog/]

Dr. James Davila has compiled extensive bibliographies pertinent to the
Pseudepigrapha, including a bibliography on texts in languages other than Greek
(through 2007), texts allegedly composed in Hebrew or Aramaic (through 2002),
texts composed and transmitted in Greek (through 1999), and a general
bibliography (through 1997). There is also an index of Pseudepigrapha
available in translation online.

On-Line Texts Related to Biblical Study: Old Testament Pseudepigrapha
[http://jewishchristianlit.com/Resources/Texts/otPseud.html]

An index to online original-language texts and translations for each
pseudepigraphon.

The Online Critical Pseudepigrapha [http://ocp.acadiau.ca/]

An ambitious project still in its early stages. The full Greek texts of
many Pseudepigrapha are now available, along with a critical apparatus
providing access to variants in the multiple versions (e.g., Ethiopic and Aramaic)
for several Pseudepigrapha.

Sparks, H. F. D. (ed.) 1984. The Apociyphal Old Testament. Oxford:
Clarendon.

A collection of major Pseudepigrapha in (largely) fresh translations,
more inclusive than Charles 1913, significantly less inclusive than Charlesworth
1983; 1985. The translations are sometimes more reliable, as in Michael

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Knibb's translation of 1 Enoch. Each text is preceded with a critical
introduction; annotations tend only to note text-critical issues.

7. The Pseudepigrapha and the Early Church

An area of perennial interest is the influence of the Pseudepigrapha on
the thought and writings of the early church. This focus runs throughout the
accessible introduction to Jewish literature by Helyer (2002). It was the topic of
an important monograph by Charlesworth (1985), and recently of a collection of
essays edited by Oegema and Charlesworth (2008).

Charlesworth, James H. 1985. The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha and the
New Testament: Prolegomena for the Study of Christian Origins. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.

Charlesworth demonstrates the importance of, and possibilities for, the
study of the Pseudepigrapha to our understanding of early Judaisms and
Christian origins, as well as the question of literary influence of particular
pseudepigrapha upon the New Testament. The volume concludes with minutes
of the proceedings of the Pseudepigrapha Seminars of the Studiorum Novi
Testamenti Societas from 1976-\9S4.

Helyer, Larry R. 2002. Exploring Jewish Literature of the Second Temple
Period: A Guide for New Testament Students. Downers Grove: InterVarsity
Press.

Oegema, Gerbem, and James H. Charlesworth (eds.). 2008. The
Pseudepigrapha and Christian Origins. New York and London: T. & T. Clark.

A collection of scholarly essays from the Pseudepigrapha and Christian
Origins Seminar of the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas (2000-2007).
Fourteen essays focus on how study of the Pseudepigrapha can illumine
questions relating to the historical Jesus, Paul's Letters, Luke -Acts, and the
Apocalypse of John.

A Bibliographic Guide to the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha

8. Resources on Individual Texts

8.1 1 Enoch — -

1 Enoch is a composite apocalypse that exercised significant influence
in early Judaism and early Christianity. Black (1985), Nickelsburg (2001),
Stuckenbruck (2007), and Tiller (1993) provide scholarly commentaries on all or
parts of the text. Argall (1995) offers a comparative study of particular topics in
1 Enoch and Ben Sira. Knibb (1978) provides a critical edition and translation
of the Ethiopic version of / Enoch. The volumes edited by Boccacini (2005;
2007) contain a broad range of scholarly essays on the relationship of 1 Enoch to
Qumran and related literature and on the most recent stratum of 1 Enoch, the
"Parables."

Argall, Randal A. 1995. 1 Enoch and Sirach. Atlanta: Scholars Press.

A detailed, scholarly study comparing the development of the topics of
revelation, creation, and judgment in 1 Enoch and the Wisdom of Ben Sira as
windows into the complex of agreements and debates within early Judaism.

Black, Matthew. 1985. 77?^ Book of Enoch or 1 Enoch: A New English Edition.
Leiden: E. J. Brill.

Critical introduction, fresh English translation, and detailed
commentary on the entire text of 1 Enoch.

Boccacini, Gabriele (ed.). 2007. Enoch and the Messiah Son of Man:
Revisiting the Book of Parables. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans.

A collection of scholarly essays from the Third Enoch Seminar
convened by Boccacini. Essays treat textual and structural issues, the place of
the Parables within the Enoch tradition, the figure of the Son of Man in the
Parables, the relationship of the Parables to various early Jewish and Christian
groups and texts, the social setting of the Parables, and the vexed question of the
date of composition.

Ashland Theological Seminary 2010

Boccacini, Gabriele (ed.)- 2005. Enoch and Qiimran Origins. Grand Rapids:
Wm. B. Eerdmans.

A collection of scholarly essays from the Second Enoch Seminar
convened by Boccacini. Essays focus on the relationship of 1 Enoch to Daniel
and Jubilees, topics particular to the Apocalypse of Weeks (7 Enoch 93:1-10;
91:11-17), a re-examination of the Groningen Hypothesis (identifying several
Hasmonean "Wicked Priests"as the targets of the Pesher Habakkuk), and a re-
examination of the relationship of 7 Enoch, Qumran, and the Essene group.

Knibb, Michael A. 1978. The Ethiopic Book of Enoch: A New Edition in Light
of the Aramaic Dead Sea Fragments. 2 vols. Oxford: Clarendon.

Critical edition and fresh translation of the Ethiopic version of 7 Enoch,
compared against the Dead Sea Scrolls manuscripts and Greek text.

Nickelsburg, George W. 2001. 7 Enoch 1: A Commentary on the Book of 1
Enoch Chapters 1-36, 81-108. Hermeneia. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress.

A scholarly introduction, translation (with textual notes), and
commentary on 7 Enoch 1-36 and 81-108. The introduction treats text-critical
issues, literary questions, theology, influence, and surveys recent research.

Stuckenbruck, Loren T. 2007. 7 Enoch 91-108. Commentaries on Early Jewish
Literature. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.

An exhaustive, advanced commentary on the "Epistle of Enoch," with
detailed discussion of the complex textual history and variants throughout. The
sections of commentary proper provide lucid insights into these chapters, and are
suitable for all students of the text.

Tiller, Patrick A. 1993. A Commentary on the Animal Apocalypse of 1 Enoch.
Early Judaism and Its Literature 4. Atlanta: Scholars Press.

Introduction (date, provenance, relationship to Enochic corpus, the
allegory), Critical text reconstructed from the Greek, Aramaic, and Ethiopic
witnesses; commentary.

A Bibliographic Guide to the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha

8.2 1 Esdras -

1 Esdras is an early, Greek retelling of 2 Chronicles 35-36, Ezra, and Nehemiah.
Hanhart (1974) provides a critical edition of the Greek text, and Talshir (1999) a
major study of the composition and translation techniques of the author. Myers
(1974) and Pohlmann (1980) provide usefial commentaries.

Hanhart, R. 1974. Esdrae liber I. Septuaginta 8.1. Gottingen: Vandenhoeck &
Ruprecht.

The preferred critical edition of the Greek text, with text-critical
apparatus.

Myers, J. M. 1974. / and II Esdras. Anchor Bible 42. Garden City, NY:
Doubleday.

Scholarly introduction and commentary, particularly strong in
comparisons of 1 Esdras with the source material in the Hebrew Bible.

Pohlmann, K. F. 1980. 3. Esra-Buch. Jiidische Schriften aus
hellenistisch-romischer Zeit 1.5. Giitersloh: Gerd Mohn.

Scholarly, German introduction, translation, and extensive annotations
for 1 Esdras.

Talshir, Z. 1999. I Esdras: From Origin to Translation. Atlanta, GA: Society
of Biblical Literature.

A meticulous, scholarly investigation of the original scope of 1 Esdras,
its literary structure and seams, and the translation techniques employed by the
author. Excellent comparisons of 1 Esdras with the relevant parallel material
from the Hebrew Bible and the Septuagint translation of Ezra and Nehemiah.

8.3 I Maccabees

1 Maccabees relates the history of the Maccabean Revolt and early Hasmonean
dynasty. The historical sources and value of the text, and the literary unity of the
same (see Schunck 1954 and Williams 1999), are matters of perennial interest.
Bartlett (1998) is a reliable introductory guide. Tedesche and Zeitling (1950) is

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a briefer, more accessible commentary, Goldstein (1976) is more advanced.
Abel (1949) and Schunck (1980) are valuable commentaries for those with
reading knowledge of French and German. Kappler (1967) is the preferred
critical edition of the text.

Abel, F.-M. 1949. Les livres des Maccabees. Paris: Gabalda.

A classic, scholarly introduction and commentary in French. The Greek
text is given alongside a French translation, with a critical apparatus. Special
attention is given throughout the the question of the historicity and relative
historical value of 1 and 2 Maccabees.

Bartlett, J. R. 1998. / Maccabees. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press.

An accessible guide to scholarly investigation of 1 Maccabees. Bartlett
explores the author's use of sources, the literary structure of the work, and the
historical value of its presentation of events.

Goldstein, J. A. 1976. / Maccabees. Anchor Bible 41. Garden City, NY:
Doubleday.

Scholarly introduction, new translation, and extensive annotations. The
introduction treats 1 and 2 Maccabees comparatively in regard to content and
character, sources, date and setting, and the purpose of each within the polemics
of the period. It also presents Goldstein's own reconstruction of the Hellenistic
Reform, which lays more stress on Antiochus's initiative than most.

Kappler, W. 1967. Maccabaeonim liber I. Septuaginta 9.1. Gottingen:
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.

The preferred edition of the Greek text, with extensive text-critical
apparatus.

Schunck, Klaus-Dietrich. 1980. 1 Makkabderbiich. Judische Schriften aus
hellenistisch-romischer Zeit 1 .4. Gutersloh: Gerd Mohn.

Scholarly German resource providing a detailed introduction, new
translation, and extensive annotations.

A Bibliographic Guide to the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha

Schunck, Klaus-Dietrich. 1954. Die Quellen des I und 11 Makkabderbuches.
Halle: Niemeyer.

This scholarly, German monograph defends the literary unity of 1
Maccabees, discusses the problems of chronology (explained on the basis of
different systems of dating the start of the Seleucid kingdom), and attempts to
discern the sources used in the composition of 1 Maccabees and the history of
Jason of Gyrene (abridged as 2 Maccabees).

Tedesche, S. and S. Zeitlin. 1950. The First Book of Maccabees. New York:
Harper and Brothers.

Scholarly, yet accessible, introduction focusing on issues of literary
integrity (chapters 1-13 are regarded as original, chapters 14-16 a secondary
addition) and historical and chronological questions. The Greek text as found in
Rahlfs's Septuagint is the basis for a new English translation and annotations.

Williams, David S. 1999. The Structure of 1 Maccabees. Washington, DC:
Catholic Biblical Association.

A scholarly study of the macro-structure and internal structuring
devices of 1 Maccabees. Williams holds the first two sections (1:1-6:17 and
6:18-14:14), which evidence parallel internal and chiastic structures, to comprise
the original work, with the third section (14:16-16:24) being added later to
discredit the reign of Simon.

8.5 2Baruch

2 Baruch is an apocalypse written in the aftermath of the destruction of
the Second Temple. Bogaert (1969) provides scholarly commentary for readers
of French. Murphy (1985) pursues a literary study of the book's structure and
major themes. Comparative studies with 4 Ezra, a near-contemporary
apocalypse, are facilitated by Berger (1992) and exemplified by Willett (1989),
who focuses on the role of eschatology in answering questions about divine
justice. Sayler (1984) also approaches the question of theodicy in relation to the
fall of Jerusalem, though from a broader comparative perspective. Nir (2003)
swims against the stream by proposing a Christian origin for this text.

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Berger, Klaus. 1992. Synopse des Vierten Buches Ezra und der syrischen
Baruch-Apokalypse. Tubingen: Franke.

German translations of 4 Ezra and 2 Bariich in parallel columns. In one
section, 4 Ezra is presented in regular order with parallel paragraphs from 2
Baruch in the second column; in the other, 2 Bariich is presented in regular
order with parallel paragraphs from 4 Ezra. Helpftil resource for comparative
study of these near-contemporary apocalypses.

Bogaert, Pierre-Maurice. 1969. Apocalypse de Baruch. 2 vols. Paris: Cerf
Scholarly introduction, translation, and commentary, in French.

Murphy, Frederick J. 1985. The Structure and Meaning of Second Baruch.
Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series 78. Atlanta: Scholars Press.

A study of the structure of 2 Baruch, as well as the importance of
several dominant themes, including the "Two Ages" construct, Zion, and the
Covenant.

Nir, Rivka. 2003. The Destruction of Jerusalem and the Idea of Redemption in
the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch. Leiden: E. J. Brill.

Against the scholarly consensus, this study proposes a Christian context
for 2 Baruch based on the traditions it uses to describe Jerusalem's destruction
and to portray the Messiah's coming and eschatological redemption.

Sayler, Gwendolyn B. 1984. Have the Promises Failed? A Literary Analysis of
2 Baruch. Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series 72. Atlanta:
Scholars Press.

Structure, the issue of theodicy (the "covenant in crisis"), historical
situation reflected in the text, comparison with 4 Ezra, Apocalypse of Abraham,
Paraleipomena of Jeremiah, Pseudo-Philo, and Gospel of Matthew (re: response
to events of 70 CE).

Willett, Tom W. 1989. Eschatology in the Theodicies of 2 Baruch and 4 Ezra.
Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press.

This scholarly monograph pursues a comparative analysis of the
theodicies expressed in 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch in the context of the literary
structure of each, the theological context of biblical and post-biblical literature,
and the context of apocalypticism. It emphasizes the importance of post-mortem

A Bibliographic Guide to the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha

or otherworldly reward and punishment for the sustenance of the world view of
each author.

8. 6 2 Esdras (4, 5, & 6 Ezra)

2 Esdras is a composite apocalypse. 4 Ezra (2 Esdras 3-14) is a Jewish
apocalyptic response to the aftermath of the destruction of the Second Temple. 5
& 6 Ezra (2 Esdras 1-2; 15-16) are Christian additions from the second and third
century CE. Longenecker (1995) gives an accessible overview. Stone (1990) is
the premier scholarly commentary, particularly important for its text-critical
comments, though Myers (1974) remains valuable. Thompson (1977) and
Willett (1989) examine the author's attempt at theodicy. Bensley (1895)
provides a critical edition of the Latin text. Bergren ( 1 990) reconstructs the two
major recensions of 5 Ezra, and he and Stanton (1997) both argue for its
dependence upon Matthew's Gospel.

Bensly, R. L. 1895. The Fourth Book of Ezra. Texts and Studies 3.2.
Cambridge: Cambridge University.

The critical edition of the Latin text of 4 Ezra, with Latin texts of 5 & 6
Ezra in an appendix.

Bergren, Theodore A. 1990. Fifth Ezra: The Text, Origin and Early History.
Septuagint and Cognate Studies 25. Atlanta: Scholars Press.

An advanced, scholarly exploration of the manuscript witnesses to 5
Ezra, reconstruction of the two recensions, and analysis of the relationship
between the two recensions. The study concludes with an argument for the
Christian origin of this text based on probable dependence upon traditions also
found in Matthew.

Longenecker, B. W. 1995. 2 Esdras. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press.

An accessible guide to 4 Ezra, beginning with an overview of the
book's historical setting, genre, and structure and the author's theological
interests, then moving through an episode-by-episode analysis of the work. A
final chapter introduces the Christian developments, 5 and 6 Ezra. Each
chapters includes annotated bibliography.

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Myers, J. M. 1974. / and II Esdras. Anchor Bible 42. Garden City, NY:
Doubleday.

A detailed, scholarly commentary on both texts, including critical
introductions (covering setting, date, purpose, structure, and import) a fresh
translation, detailed notes (primarily indicating textual issues, suggesting
sources, and pointing comparative literature, and analysis of the meaning of each
major block of text.

Stanton, G.N. 1997. "5 Ezra and Matthean Christianity in the Second Century."
Journal of Theological Studies 28:67-83.

A study of the use of the Gospel of Matthew by the author of 5 Ezra (2
Esdras 1-2), particularly to advance the idea of the replacement of the historic
people of God with a new people, the Church.

Stone, M. E. 1990. Fourth Ezra. Hermeneia. Minneapolis: Fortress Press.

The definitive, scholarly commentary on 4 Ezra, including a fresh
translation, extensive text-critical notes, and detailed commentary with ample
discussion of comparative texts and secondary literature.

Thompson, A. L. 1977. Responsibility for Evil in the Theodicy of IV Ezra.
Missoula: Scholars Press.

This dissertation explores the question at the heart of 4 Ezra, which
combines explanations that lay responsibility for evil upon the individual, upon
Adam, and upon God (for implanting the "evil inclination" in human beings), but
ultimately resolves the problem of evil experientially rather than rationally.

Willett, Tom W. 1989. Eschatology in the Theodicies of 2 Baruch and 4 Ezra.
Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press.

A Bibliographic Guide to the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha

8.7 2 Maccabees

An ahemative history of the Hellenizing Crisis and Maccabean Revoh, 2
Maccabees gives more attention to inner-Jewish partisanship and collusion with
the Greco-Syrian rulers of Palestine and more attention to theological
interpretations and interventions. Schwartz (2008) is an up-to-date point of entry
into advanced study of the book. Abel (1949), Goldstein (1983), Habicht
(1976a), and Tedesche and Zeitlin (1954) remains important commentaries.
Doran (1981) is also a valuable resource on historical setting and composition,
and especially on the theological purpose of the book. Hanhart (1959) provides
the preferred critical edition.

Abel, F.-M. 1949. Les Uvres des Maccabees. Paris: Gabalda.

Doran, R. 1981. Temple Propaganda: The Purpose and Character of 2
Maccabees. CBQMS 12. Washington, DC: Catholic Biblical Association.

Scholarly investigation of the unity, style, structure, and literary
character of 2 Maccabees, marshaling evidence for understanding it as a
theological interpretation of the events it relates, reaffirming the basic theodicy
of Deuteronomy 28-32.

Goldstein, J. A. 1983. // Maccabees. Anchor Bible 41 A. Garden City, NY:
Doubleday.

Scholarly introduction, new translation, and extensive annotations. The
introduction treats content and character, sources, the historical method of Jason
of Cyrene, date and setting, and purpose. It also presents Goldstein's own
reconstruction of the Hellenistic Reform, which lays more stress on Antiochus's
initiative than most.

Ashland Theological Seminary 2010

Habicht, C. 1976a. 2 Makkabderbuch . Jiidische Schriften aus

hellenistisch-romischer Zeit 1.3. Giitersloh: Gerd Mohn.

Scholarly German resource providing a detailed introduction, new
translation, and extensive annotations.

Habicht, C. 1976b. "Royal Documents in II Maccabees." Han'ard Studies in
Classical Philology 80: 1 - 1 8.

Scholarly assessment of the official decrees and documents recited in 2
Maccabees.

Hanhart, R. 1959. Maccabaeoriim Liber II. Septuaginta 9.2. Gottingen:
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.

The preferred edition of the Greek text, with extensive text-critical
apparatus.

Schunck, Klaus-Dietrich. 1954. Die Quellen des I und II Makkabderbuches.
Halle: Niemeyer.

Schwartz, Daniel R. 2008. 2 Maccabees. Commentaries on Early Jewish
Literature. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.

The starting point for all serious study of this text. The introduction
treats the date and purpose, literary sources and development, historical issues,
themes, language, and style. There follows a new translation, commentary, and
detailed notes, especially strong in treating philological, tradition-critical, and
historical issues, and thoroughly conversant in secondary literature.

Tedesche, S. and S. Zeitlin. 1954. The Second Book of Maccabees. New York:
Harper and Brothers.

Scholarly, yet accessible, introduction focusing on literary and
historical issues. The Greek text as found in Rahlfs's Septuagint is the basis for
a new English translation and annotations.

A Bibliographic Guide to the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha

8.8 3 Maccabees

3 Maccabees tells a largely fictive story of the deliverance of Jews in
Alexandria under Ptolemy Philopator. Croy (2006) is the most up-to-date
commentary. Hadas (1953) remains a valuable and accessible resource.
Hanhart (1980) provides the critical edition of the Greek text.

Croy, N. Clayton. 2006. 3 Maccabees. Septuagint Commentary Series.
Leiden: E. J. Brill.

The most up-to-date and detailed commentary on 3 Maccabees
available. The commentary is based on the text as found in Codex Alexandrinus,
though the relationship of this witness to the standard eclectic text is also
discussed. Thorough attention is given to linguistic, grammatical, historical, and
theological issues.

Hadas, M. 1953. The Third and Fourth Books of Maccabees. New York:
Harper.

An accessible, earlier English commentary on these books. The

annotations on 4 Maccabees are largely a translation and digest of the

annotations found in Dupont-Sommer. The annotations offer valuable

philological notes, traditional-historical insights, and comparisons with other
Jewish and Greco-Roman literature.

Hanhart, Robert. 1980. Maccabaeorum Liber IIL Septuaginta 9/3. Gottingen:
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.

The standard critical text of 3 Maccabees, with complete textual
apparatus.

8.9 4 Maccabees

4 Maccabees uses Greek philosophical ethics and rhetorical forms to
promote continued adherence to the Torah as the path to fulfill even the Greek
ideal of the virtuous sage. DeSilva (1998) is a general overview of the
rhetorical, philosophical, and theological features of the work. DeSilva (2006)
provides an in-depth and up-to-date scholarly introduction and commentary.
Dupont-Sommer (1939), Hadas (1953), and especially Klauck (1989) are also

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important scholarly commentaries, the last particularly for important text-critical
information not found elsewhere. Renehan (1972) put to rest the notion that the
author was not adept in Greek philosophy. Van Henten (1997) is an excellent
study of the relation of 2 and 4 Maccabees to the Greek tradition of the noble
death.

deSilva, D. A. 2006. 4 Maccabees: Introduction and Commentary on the
Greek Text in Codex Sinaiticiis. Septuagint Commentary Series. Leiden: E. J.
Brill.

While this advanced-level commentary on 4 Maccabees is based on the
text as found in a particular witness (Codex Sinaiticus), it also fully discusses the
eclectic text of 4 Maccabees. The commentary is particularly attentive to the
rhetorical criticism of 4 Maccabees, Jewish and Greco-Roman intertexture, and
the book's contribution to fonning and maintaining Jewish identity in the Greek
diaspora.

deSilva, D. A. 1998. 4 Maccabees. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press.

An accessible guide to 4 Maccabees. The opening chapter discusses
historical and literary issues; successive chapters discuss 4 Maccabees in terms
of deliberative, epideictic, and protreptic discourse. Concluding chapters
analyze the theological contributions and influence of the work.

Dupont-Sommer, A. 1939. Le Quatrieme Livre des Machabees. Paris:
Librairie Ancienne Honore Champion.

A French translation with substantial annotations which still have much
to offer, particularly in their suggestions regarding philology and Jewish and
non-Jewish comparative literature.

Hadas, M. 1953. The Third and Fourth Books of Maccabees. New York:
Harper.

An accessible, earlier English commentary on these books. The

annotations on 4 Maccabees are largely a translation and digest of the

annotations found in Dupont-Sommer. The annotations offer valuable

philological notes, traditional-historical insights, and comparisons with other
Jewish and Greco-Roman literature.

A Bibliographic Guide to the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha

Klauck, H.-J. 1989. 4 Makkabderbuch . Jiidische Schriften aus
hellenistisch-romischer Zeit 3.6. Giitersloh: Gerd Mohn.

A German translation with a critical introduction and extensive
annotations. In the absence of a volume devoted to 4 Maccabees in the
Gottingen Septuagint, Klauck' s account of the textual history and his attention to
variant readings are especially important aspects of this volume. Klauck also
provides ample and reliable guidance regarding philology, rhetoric, and the
location of 4 Maccabees in the philosophical and religious conversations of its
day.

Renehan, R. 1972. "The Greek Philosophic Background of Fourth Maccabees."
Rheinisches Museum fur Philologie 115:223-38.

This brief article is especially important for putting to rest a
longstanding criticism of the author of 4 Maccabees, namely that he was a
philosophical dilettante. Renehan shows the author to be, instead, an eclectic
philosopher whose positions are in keeping with Middle Stoicism and the
eclecticism of the Roman period.

van Henten, J. W. 1997. 77?^ Maccabean Martyrs as Saviours of the Jewish
People: A Study of 2 & 4 Maccabees. Leiden: Brill.

This monograph offers excellent introductions to the historical setting
and literaiy relationships of 2 Maccabees and 4 Maccabees. These texts are
examined alongside Greco-Roman traditions of the noble death of the hero who
gives his or her life for the political liberation of his or her people.

van Henten, J. W. 1994. "A Jewish Epitaph in a Literary Text: 4 Mace 17:8-
10." Pp. 44-69 in Studies in Early Jewish Epigraphy. Edited by J. W. van
Henten and P. W. van der Horst. Leiden: Brill.

Van Henten offers what is perhaps to date the most convincing
evidence for the provenance of 4 Maccabees, which is usually assumed to come
from Alexandria in lieu of better suggestions. Van Henten shows the affinities of
a literary epitaph in 4 Maccabees with actual Jewish epitaphs from Cilicia,
locating the work more securely in the northeastern Mediterranean.

Ashland Theological Seminaiy 2010

8.10 Baruch and Letter of Jeremiah

Originally combined as a single book, it is now recognized that the Letter of
Jeremiah, a polemic against the validity of idolatrous religions, was an
independent composition. Moore (1977) provides an accessible introduction
and commentary on both text, and Ziegler (1957) the critical edition of the
Greek. A major focus of scholarship concerns the relationship of the extant
Greek text to putative Hebrew Vorlage (see Burke 1982; Tov 1975; 1976).

Burke, D. G. 1982. The Poetry? of Baruch: A Reconstruction and Analysis of
the Original Hebrew Text of Baruch 3:9-5:9. Chico, CA: Scholars Press.

A proposed reconstruction of the Hebrew Urtext of the second half of
Baruch, with analysis of poetic features based on the reconstruction.

Moore, C. A. 1977. Daniel, Esther, and Jeremiah: The Additions. Anchor
Bible 44. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.

Scholarly introduction and commentary, treating the origin, literary
character, theology, purpose, canonicity, and textual history of Baruch and the
Letter of Jeremiah.

Tov, E. 1975. The Book of Baruch, Also Called 1 Baruch (Greek and Hebrew):
Edited, Reconstructed, and Translated. Missoula, MN: Scholars Press, 1975.

Critical Greek text with fresh translation; Tov reconstructs a proposed
Hebrew Urtext for Baruch 1:1-3:8.

Tov, E. 1976. 77?^ Septuagint Translation of Jeremiah and Baruch: A
Discussion of an Early Revision of the LXX of Jeremiah 29-52 and Baruch 1:1-
3:18. Missoula, MN: Scholars Press.

Specialized study on translation technique in the early history of the
transmission of Septuagint Jeremiah and Baruch.

Ziegler, J. 1957. leremias, Baruch, Threni, Epistula leremiae. Septuaginta 15.
Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.

The preferred critical edition of the Greek text, with text-critical
apparatus.

A Bibliographic Guide to the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha

8.11 BertSira

The Wisdom of Ben Sira represents the curriculum of a Jewish sage and scribe,
the head of a school in Jerusalem near the beginning of the second century BCE.
Coggins (1998) and Collins (1997) both provide excellent introductions to Ben
Sira's teachings, the historical context, and currents in scholarly investigation.
Skehan and DiLella (1987) sets the standard for English commentary on Ben
Sira. Important topics in the study of Ben Sira have included his attitude toward
women (Camp 1991; Trenchard 1982), his relationship to Hellenism and non-
Jewish wisdom traditions (Middendoip 1973; Sanders 1983), and the influence
of Hellenistic rhetoric on the literary forms of Ben Sira (Lee 1986; Mack 1985).
Camp (1991) and deSilva (1996) independently pursue analyses of Ben Sira
from the cultural-anthropological lens of honor and shame.

The Wisdom of Ben Sira is known primarily from an early translation
into Greek by the sage's grandson. The relationship of this translation to the
Hebrew original is a major focus of scholarly investigation (see Wright 1989 for
a benchmark study). Beentjes (1997) provides ready access to the extant
Hebrew manuscripts; Yadin (1965) offers a transcription and translation of the
Masada manuscript; Di Leila (1966) a study of the text-critical value of the Cairo
Geniza manuscripts. Ziegler (1980) provides the critical edition of the Greek
text.

Beentjes, P. C. 1997. The Book of Ben Sira in Hebrew. Leiden: Brill.

Transcription of the extant Hebrew manuscripts of Ben Sira, with a
synopsis of overlapping manuscripts. An important aid for text-critical work and
for comparing the Septuagint and Hebrew versions.

Camp, C.V. 1991. "Understanding a Patriarchy: Women in Second Century
Jerusalem through the Eyes of Ben-Sira." Pages 1-39 in 'Women like this":
New Perspectives on Jewish Women. Edited by A. -J. Levine. Atlanta: Scholars
Press.

A cultural-anthropological study particularly of Ben Sira's teaching
concerning women through the lens of honor and shame. Male honor is
established, in part, through control over the modesty and sexuality of the
women attached to the particular male, whether as wives or daughters.

Ashland Theological Seminary 2010

Coggins, R. J. 1998. Sirach. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press.

An accessible introduction to scholarship on Ben Sira, treating
historical and socio-religious setting, literary structure, textual transmission,
biblical interpretation in Ben Sira, Ben Sira's development of the Jewish wisdom
tradition, attitude toward women, and principal theological themes. Includes
bibliographies.

Collins, J. J. 1997. Jewish Wisdom in the Hellenistic Age. Louisville:
Westminster John Knox Press.

Pages 23-11 offer an exceptional introduction to Ben Sira in its
historical context. Collins examines Ben Sira's reconfiguration of "Wisdom" as
Torah-observance, the ethical topics and social situations treated throughout the
collection, Ben Sira's engagement with theodicy, and Ben Sira's theology of
history and eschatology.

deSilva, D. A. 1996. "The Wisdom of Ben Sira: Honor, Shame, and the
Maintenance of the Values of a Minority Culture." Catholic Biblical Quarterly
58:433-455.

Investigation of Ben Sira's use of the sanctions of honor and disgrace,
and of praiseworthy and blameworthy examples, to promote Torah observance in
a socio-cultural situation where accommodation to Gentile expectations is the
path to political advancement.

Di Leila, A. A. 1996. "The Wisdom of Ben Sira: Resources and Recent
Research," Currents and Trends in Research 4:161-81.

Survey of research with ample bibliographic aids.

Di Leila, A. A. 1966. The Hebrew Text of Sirach: A Text-Critical and
Historical Study. The Hague: Mouton.

A scholarly, detailed study of the value of the Cairo Genizeh
manuscripts of Ben Sira for the recovery of the original Hebrew text.

Lee, T. R. 1986. Studies in the Form of Sirach 44-50. Society of Biblical
Literature Dissertation Series 75. Atlanta: Scholars Press.

A scholarly, detailed study of the literary form of the hymn in praise of
the ancestors in Sirach 44-50. Lee concludes that the passage is modeled more

A Bibliographic Guide to the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha

closely after the Greek encomium (with its emphasis on descent and deeds) than
other Hebrew or Greek forms. , .

Mack, B. L. 1985. Wisdom and the Hebrew Epic: Ben Sira's Hymn in Praise of
the Fathers. Chicago: University of Chicago.

A scholarly study of Ben Sira's hymn in praise of the ancestors in
regard to characterization, structure, and themes. Mack emphasizes the
importance of the Greek encomium for Ben Sira's own poetic reconstruction of
the Hebrew epic.

Middendorp, T. 1973. Die Stellung Jesu ben Siras zwischen Judentum und
Hellenismiis. Leiden: Brill.

A scholarly, German monograph on Ben Sira's acculturation in regard
to Hellenism in the midst of his attempts to promote observance of the Jewish
ancestral Law.

Sanders, J. T. 1983. Ben Sira and Demotic Wisdom. Society of Biblical
Literature Monograph Series 28. Chico, CA: Scholars Press.

A scholarly investigation of the relationship of Ben Sira's wisdom to
Jewish, Greek, and Egyptian/Demotic wisdom traditions. Sanders convincingly
shows the extent to which Ben Sira adopted and adapted foreign wisdom,
particularly in regard to social relationships and the ethic of caution.

Skehan. P. W. and A. A. Di Leila. 1987. The Wisdom of Ben Sira. Anchor
Bible 39. New York: Doubleday.

Scholarly introduction, new translation, annotations, and extensive
commentary, with particular attention given to the relationship of, and
differences between, the Greek version to the Hebrew original. Includes a
substantial bibliography.

Trenchard, W.C. 1982. Ben Sira's View of Women: A Literary Analysis.
Chico, CA: Scholars Press.

A detailed, scholarly comparison of Ben Sira's statements about women
with ben Sira's source material (especially Proverbs), showing how Ben Sira
creates a markedly more negative picture of women both in his omissions from
and sharpening of his source material.

Ashland Theological Seminary 2010

Wright III, B. G. 1989. No Small Difference: Sirach's Relationship to its
Hebrew Parent Text. Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press.

An advanced, scholarly study of the translation techniques evidenced in
Ben Sira's grandson's translation into Greek of the Hebrew original, with a view
to suggesting the prospects of recovering the lost portions of the Hebrew original
through retroversion.

Yadin, Y. 1965. The Ben Sira Scroll from Masada. Jerusalem: The Israel
Exploration Society.

An introduction, transcription, and translation of an important
manuscript witness to the original Hebrew version of Ben Sira.

Ziegler, J. 1980. Sapientia lesu Filii Sirach. Septuaginta 12/2. Gottingen:
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.

The preferred edition of the Greek text, with extensive text-critical
apparatus.

8.12 Daniel, Additions to

The Greek version of Daniel contains stories and hymns not found in
the Hebrew/ Aramaic version. The critical edition of the Greek text is Ziegler
(1954). Moore (1977) provides a reliable introduction and commentary.
Steussy (1993) offers a literary-critical study on the religious ideas in the
additional tales. Both Steussy and Moore are attentive to the differences
between the two major Greek textual traditions. Spolsky (1996) collects studies
on the history of the reception of Susanna. Feminist perspectives on Susanna
can be found in Brenner (1995).

Brenner, Athalya (ed.). 1995. A Feminist Companion to Esther, Judith and
Susanna. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press.

This collection of essays provides a portal into feminist criticism of
these texts. Jennifer Glancy and Amy-Jill Levine contribute two essays on
Susanna (pp. 288-323).

Moore, C. A. 1977. Daniel, Esther, and Jeremiah: The Additions. Anchor
Bible 44. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.

A Bibliographic Guide to the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha

Scholarly introduction and commentary on the Additions to Daniel (pp.
23-151), discussing their origin, theology, purpose, literary merit, and
canonicity. Attention is given to the differences between the versions found in
Theodotion and the Old Greek, and their significance.

Spolsky, E. 1996. The Judgment of Susanna: Authority and Witness. Early
Judaism and Its Literature 1 1 . Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press.

A collection of essays, including studies on the reception of Susanna in
the early and medieval church, the portrayal of Susanna in literature and in art,
and an anthropological study on sexuality and social control in Susanna.

Steussy, M. J. 1993. Gardens in Babylon: Narrative and Faith in the Greek
Legends of Daniel. Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series 141.
Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press.

A scholarly, literary-critical investigation of the faith and world view
encoded in the stories of Susanna and Bel and the Dragon, giving attention to the
differences between the versions in the Old Greek and Theodotion.

Ziegler, J. 1954. Susanna, Daniel, Bel et Draco. Septuginta 16.2. Gottingen:
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.

The preferred critical edition of the Greek text, with text-critical
apparatus.

8.13 Esther

The Greek version of Esther, like Daniel, contains substantially more
material than the Hebrew original. Hanhart (1966) provides the critical edition
of the Greek text, and Moore (1977) a full introduction and commentary. A
substantial collection of essays written from feminist perspectives is offered in
Brenner 1995.

Ashland Theological Seminary 2010

Brenner, Athalya (ed.). 1995. A Feminist Companion to Esther, Judith and
Susanna. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press.

This collection of essays provides a portal into feminist criticism of
these texts. Ten essays on various aspects of Esther can be found on pp. 26-
207.

Hanhart, R. 1966. Esther. Septuaginta 3. Gottingen: Vandenhoeck &
Ruprecht.

The preferred critical edition of the Greek text, with text-critical
apparatus.

Moore, C. A. 1977. Daniel, Esther, and Jeremiah: The Additions. Anchor
Bible 44. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.

Scholarly introduction and commentary, treating questions of the origin,
theology, purpose, and textual transmission of the Additions to Esther. While
most attention is focused on the Greek additions, the translation and annotations
also cover the entirety of the Greek version of Esther.

8.14 Fragmentary Texts

Many important texts exist only in fragmentary form. Holladay (1983;
1989; 1995) has collected and provided extensive commentary on these
fragments in three volumes: historians; poets; fragments from Aristobulus.

Holladay, Carl R. 1983. Fragments from Hellenistic Jewish Authors. Volume
1: Historians. Atlanta: Scholars Press.

Critical introductions, the Greek (or Latin) texts, translations, and
extensive annotations for the extant fragments of Demetrius the Chronographer,
Eupolemus, Pseudo-Eupolemus, Artapanus, Cleodemus Malchus, Aristeas "the
exegete," Pseudo-Hecataeus, Theophilus, Thallus, and Justus of Tiberias.

Holladay, Carl R. 1989. Fragments from Hellenistic Jewish Authors. Volume
II: Poets. Atlanta: Scholars Press.

A Bibliographic Guide to the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha

Critical texts, translations, and extensive annotations and commentary
on the extant fragments of Theodotus, Philo the Epic Poet, and Ezekiel the
Tragedian.

Holladay, Carl R. 1995. Fragments from Hellenistic Jewish Authors. Volume
III: Aristobulus. Atlanta: Scholars Press.

An introduction to the historical issues surrounding Aristobulus and the
authenticity of these fragments, followed by the critical texts of, translations of,
and extensive annotations on the fragments of Aristobulus preserved in Eusebius,
Ecclesiastical History, and Clement, Protrepticus and Stromateis. Includes an
exhaustive, partially annotated bibliography.

8.15 Joseph and Aseneth

J-

Joseph and Aseneth supplements the biblical story of Joseph's marriage
by recounting Aseneth's converstion to the monotheistic faith of the Hebrews.
Humphrey (2000) is an excellent overview to the major issues in scholarship and
interpretation. Bohak ( 1 996) seeks to read the text as a story written to support
the rival Jewish Temple in Heliopolis, Egypt, while Kraemer (1998) offers her
own poignant challenges to scholarly consensus on the text. Burchard (2003)
provides a critical edition of the longer recension.

Bohak, Gideon. 1996. Joseph and Aseneth and the Jewish Temple in
Heliopolis. Atlanta: Scholars Press.

Bohak' s dissertation seeks to establish a second-century BCE date for
the work, reading the story as a piece written in support of the Jewish Temple
built in Heliopolis as an alternative worship site to Jerusalem after the expulsion
of Onias III from Judea.

Burchard, Christoph, e/ a/. 2003. Joseph und Aseneth. Leiden: E. J. Brill.

Critical text of the longer recension, with introduction, textual
apparatus, and bibliography.

Ashland Theological Seminary 2010

Humphrey, Edith M. 2000. Joseph and Aseneth. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic
Press.

This brief guide introduces readers to the complex text history (whether
to adopt the longer or shorter recension as original), issues of provenance, date,
and genre, and sociological aspects of the work. It provides a rhetorical and
literary analysis of the whole, as well as an analysis of feminist perspectives on
this work.

Kraemer, Ross S. 1998. When Joseph Met Aseneth: A Late Antique Tale of the
Biblical Patriarch and His Egyptian Wife, Reconsidered. New York: Oxford
University Press.

This scholarly monograph challenges current scholarly consensus on
several points, including provenance (advocating for Syria rather than Egypt,
and arguing that a Christian author is as likely as a Jewish one), textual
transmission (arguing that the shorter recension in the more original), and date
(reversing the tendency to date the text in the early second century CE, favoring
a date in the third or fourth century CE).

8.16 Jubilees

Jubilees is an expansive retelling of Genesis 1 through Exodus 14 that
appears to have exercised considerable authority in some Jewish circles.
VanderKam (2001) provides a first-rate introduction to the work and significant
issues. VanderKam (1989) is the standard critical edition (with translation), the
culmination of decades of careful investigation (see VanderKam 1977). The
essays in Boccacini (2009) give very up-to-date windows into scholarship on the
text, literary relationships, theological and ethical application, and historic
importance of Jubilees. Endres (1987) is a detailed study of biblical
interpretation in Jubilees. Davenport (1971) provides a detailed investigation of
the book's eschatology. Halpem-Amaru (1999) explores the characterization of
women.

Boccacini, Gabriele, and Giovanni Ibba. 2009. Enoch and the Mosaic Torah:
The Evidence of Jubilees. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans.

A Bibliographic Guide to the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha

A collection of essays from the Fourth Enoch Seminar convened by
Boccacini. Essays focus on text-critical questions, the literary relationship of
Jubilees to contemporary works, theological questions in Jubilees, Jubilees as a
basis for sectarian halakhah, and the role of Jubilees in Enochic Judaism and
Qumran. The collection includes an up-to-date bibliographic essay.

Davenport, Gene L. 1971. The Eschatology of the Book of Jubilees. Leiden: E.
J. Brill.

A thorough exegetical study of the passages in Jubilees relevant to the
reconstruction of the eschatology of the text in its various strata, with a
concluding synthesis of results.

Endres, John C. 1987. Biblical Interpretation in the Book of Jubilees.
Washington, D.C.: Catholic Biblical Association.

A careful study of the manner in which the author of Jubilees has
interepreted and expanded the Jacob story as known from Genesis and pre-
Second Temple Period compositions. The study provides an important window
into early Jewish exegesis, and concludes with an hypothesis regarding Jubilees'
life setting.

Halpem- Amaru, Betsy. 1999. The Empowerment of Women in the Book of
Jubilees. Leiden: Brill.

A close examination of the characterization of women in Jubilees.
Halpem-Amaru argues that the author stresses matrilineal descent as the
essential element in defining true Israelites. Matriarchs are exemplary figures
alongside patriarchs, and play an active role in implementing the covenant
promises.

VanderKam, James C. 2001. The Book of Jubilees. Sheffield: Sheffield
Academic Press.

A general guide to the text. VanderKam introduces readers to issues in
the development and transmission of the text, determination of date, the
relationship of Jubilees to Genesis and Exodus, the profile of author, and the
work's influence, theology, genre, and purpose.

Ashland Theological Seminary 2010

VanderKam, James C. 1989. The Book of Jubilees. 2 vols. Leuven: Peeters.

Critical edition and fresh translation of Jubilees based on Ethiopic,
Greek, Latin, and Syriac versions.

VanderKam, James C. 1977. Textual and Historical Studies in the Book of
Jubilees. Harvard Semitic Monographs 14. Missoula: Scholars Press.

The first half offers detailed, scholarly studies on the relationship of the
various versions oi Jubilees and on the text type of the Jewish Scriptures used by
the author. The second half engages the issue of date of composition, advancing
arguments in favor of sometime between 1 6 1 - 1 40 BCE.

8.17 Judith

Judith is a work of historical fiction from the Hasmonean period. Otzen
(2002) gives a general orientation to the work and scholarly investigation
thereof Moore (1985) provides a substantial introduction and commentary,
surpassing Enslin and Zeitlin (1972). Craven (1983) is an advanced
investigation of the literary features of Judith. Hanhart (1979a) gives the critical
edition, with Hanhart (1979b) offering scholarly discussion of the decisions
made in that edition. Dubarle (1966) introduces (French) readers to the many
versions of Judith. Purdie (1927) studies the reception of Judith in literature.
VanderKam (1992) and Brermer (1995) are important collections of essays on
Judith, covering a wide range of topics and perspectives.

Brenner, Athalya (ed.). 1995. A Feminist Companion to Esther, Judith and
Susanna. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press.

This collection of essays provides a portal into feminist criticism of
these texts. Three essays on various aspects of Judith can be found on pp. 208-
87. ^

Craven, T. 1983. Artistry and Faith in the Book of Judith. Chico, CA: Scholars
Press.

A study of literary and rhetorical aspects of Judith, including irony and
comedy, literary structure and symmetry, literary devices such as chiasm and

A Bibliographic Guide to the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha

other conventional patterns. Craven goes on to discuss issues pertinent to Judith
and gender roles in Second Temple Judaism.

Dubarle, A. M. 1966. Judith: Formes et Sens des Diverses Traditions. Tome I:
Etudes. Tome II: Textes. Rome: Institut Biblique Pontifical.

Scholarly, French monograph containing studies on the various versions
of Judith (Hebrew, Greek, Latin), its retelling in midrash, its influence on later
Jewish and Christian literature, religious ideas, and canonicity. Volume II
provides the original language texts.

Enslin, M., and S. Zeitlin. 1972. The Book of Judith. Leiden: Brill.

Scholarly but accessible introduction, Greek text and English
translation on facing pages, and extensive annotations. The introduction
includes a substantial comparison of Judith and Esther.

Hanhart, R. 1979a. ludith. Septuaginta 8.4. Gottingen: Vandenhoeck &
Ruprecht.

The preferred critical edition of the Greek text, with text-critical
apparatus.

Hanhart, R. 1979b. Text und Textgeschichte des Buches Judith. Gottingen:
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.

A scholarly companion volume to Hanhart 1979a, discussing the
characteristics of individual manuscripts and text-types, justifying the groupings
of particular manuscripts into families, and discussing specific decisions
regarding the original reading.

Moore, C. A. 1985. Judith. Anchor Bible 40. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.

A new translation, with extensive scholarly introduction and annotation.
The introduction provides substantial treatment of Judith as historical fiction,
genre, purpose, historical setting of composition, canonicity, original language
and Septuagint translation, textual transmission, and canonicity.

Otzen, Benedikt. 2002. Tobit and Judith. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press.
A guide for the beginning student, discussing the date and provenance,
genre, canonical and non-canonical sources, literary elements, theology, and
text-critical issues of each book.

Ashland Theological Seminary 2010

Purdie, Edna. 1927. The Story of Judith in German and English Literature.
Paris: Libraire Ancienne Honore Champion.

A study of the influence of the book of Judith on German and EngHsh
hterature.

VanderKam, J. C. (ed.) 1992. 'Wo One Spoke III of Her": Essays on Judith.
Atlanta: Scholars Press.

A collection of essays, including studies on Judith's relationship to the
pattern of Jael and Deborah, the "domestication" of Judith, the role of Achior as
model convert, the relationship of the story of Judith to models in Herodotus, the
failure of Judith to acquire canonical status, and representations of the story in
later art.

8.18 Psalms of Solomon

The Psalms of Solomon are liturgical/poetic texts from the early Roman
period. Kaiser (2004) and Holm-Nielsen (1977) are good introductions for
readers of German, the latter also including extensive annotations to the text.
Atkinson (2004) provides a more fulsome introduction and approaches providing
commentary for each of the Psalms. Embry (2002) gives a nuanced account of
the messianism of Psalms 17-18, while Trafton (1994) gives a review of research
from 1977-1993. Hann (1982) treats issues in textual transmission, and Wright
(2007) provides the critical edition of the Greek text.

Atkinson, Kenneth. 2004. / Cried to the Lord: A Study of the Psalms of
Solomon 's Historical Background and Social Setting. Leiden: E. J. Brill.

A recent, scholarly investigation of the date, setting, and religious
alignment of the Psalms, including a fresh translation of each psalm and
treatment of text-critical issues. Of particular interest is the historical
intertexture of the Psalms.

A Bibliographic Guide to the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha

Embry, Brad. 2002. "The Psalms of Solomon and the New Testament:
IntertextuaUty and the Need for a Re-Evaluation." Journal for the Study of the
Pseudepigrapha 13: 99-136.

This article particularly addresses the use of Psalms of Solomon 17-18
as a witness to Second Temple Jewish messianism and as a comparative text for
understanding early Christian messianism. Embry argues that scholars have not
yet sufficiently heard this theme in the context of the Psalms ' interest in Temple,
purity, and the law of Moses, that is, in the context of the entire collection.

Hann, Robert R. 1982. The Manuscript History of the Psalms of Solomon.
Septuagint and Cognate Studies 13. Chico, CA: Scholars Press.

An advanced, scholarly discussion of the characteristics of the various
textual witnesses to, and text types of, the Psalms of Solomon, with an attempt to
reconstruct the development of the text.

Holm-Nielsen, Svend. 1977. Die Psalmen Salomos. Jiidische Schriften aus
hellenistisch-romischer Zeit 4.2. Giitersloh: Gerd Mohn.

German, scholarly, critical introduction, fresh translation, and extensive
annotations.

Kaiser, Otto. 2004. "Tradition und Gegenwart in den Psalmen Salomos."
Pages 315-357 in Renate Egger-Wenzel and Jeremy Corley (eds.). Prayer from
Tobit and Qumran. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.

This German article supports a mid-first century BCE date for the
collection, argues that the Psalms were written to promote assurance that God
was in the process of vindicating God's people against foreign and indigenous
enemies. Kaiser supplies a brief introduction to each Psalm, analyzing them as a
call to righteous conduct in the hope of national deliverance.

Trafton, Joseph L. 1994. "The Psalms of Solomon in Recent Research."
Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha 12: 3-19.

Surveys scholarship on the Psalms from 1977-1993, covering
discussions of text-critical questions, structure, and the theology and ethics of the
collection.

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Wright, Robert B. 2007. The Psalms of Solomon: A Critical Edition of the
Greek Text. London: T. & T. Clark.

A critical edition compiled from the eleven Greek manuscripts of the
Psalms with critical apparatus and fresh English translation.

8.19 Testament of A bra ham

The Testament of Abraham is an imaginative tale about revelations
made to Abraham when the angel of the Lord was sent to prepare him for his
death. Allison (2003) provides an up-to-date scholarly commentary, though
Delcor (1973) is still valuable for readers of French. Nickelsburg (1976)
collects a variety of essays on text-critical, literary, and theological topics.

Allison, Dale C. 2003. Testament of Abraham. Commentaries on Early Jewish
Literature. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.

An advanced resource. The introduction orients the reader to the text-
critical issues concerning the longer and shorter recensions of the Greek text, the
question of origin (Jewish or Christian), date, provenance, and structure,
followed by detailed, critical commentary.

Delcor, M. 1973. Le Testament dAbraham: Introduction, traduction du texte
grec et commentaire. Leiden: E. J. Brill.

Prior to Allison, the most substantial introduction and commentary on
the Testament, based on the longer recension. The volume includes a French
translation of the Testaments of the Three Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob) from the eastern tradition.

Nickelsburg, George W. (ed.). 1976. Studies on the Testament of Abraham.
Septuagint and Cognate Studies 6. Chico, CA: Scholars Press.

The collection of essays focuses on the recensional problem, questions
of structure and genre, theological issues, and the relationship of the traditions of
the death of Abraham in the Testament to other traditions of the same in other
Second Temple period literature.

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8.20 Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs

The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs uses the fiction of deathbed
speeches made by each of the sons of Jacob to their children as the vehicles for
the ethical and theological content the authors wish to convey. Kugler (2001)
provides a cogent overview to scholarly debates about the origins of the
Testaments as well as to the contents. Slingerland (1977) remains a valuable
history of investigation through 1973. For a critical edition of the Greek text,
see De Jonge (1978). De Jonge and Hollander (1985) provide a detailed,
advanced commentary.

De Jonge, Marinus, et al. (eds.). 1978. The Testaments of the Twelve
Patriarchs. Leiden: E. J. Brill.

The critical edition of the Greek text of the Testaments.

De Jonge, Marinus, and Harm W. Hollander. 1985. 77?^ Testaments of the
Twelve Patriarchs: A Commentary. Leiden: E. J. Brill.

A detailed commentary for the advanced student, particularly strong in
directing the reader to comparative texts and traditions.

Kugler, Robert A. 2001. The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs. Sheffield:
Sheffield Academic Press.

The first part of this brief volume provides an excellent guide to the
different positions advanced in scholarly conversion concerning the Testaments
and especially their relationship to the early Jewish and Christian communities.
A second part provides a guide to significant features of each Testament, and a
final section explores the particular issue of the Testaments ' interaction with the
canonical Scriptures.

Slingerland, H. Dixon. 1977. The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs: A
Critical History of Research. Society of Biblical Literature Monograph Series
21. Atlanta: Scholars Press.

Slingerland provides a comprehensive survey of research and a critical
analysis of the issues that have occupied scholarship of the Testaments from the
Medieval period through 1973. The work includes a substantial bibliography.

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8.21 Tobit

Tobit is a work of historical fiction from the eastern Diaspora, valued
for the windows it gives into domestic life in the Jewish Diaspora and into the
development of ethics, angelology, and eschatology. Otzen (2002) offers a solid
overview of the work and scholarly issues. Scholarly introductions and
commentaries are provided by Littmann (2008), Fitzmyer (2002), and Moore
(1996). Deselaers (1982) is an advanced study on layers of redaction in Greek
Tobit for German readers. A feminist perspective on Tobit is offered in Bow
and Nickelsburg (1993).

Criticism of Tobit is complicated by the fact that it exists in two major
Greek versions, and was itself originally written in either Aramaic or Hebrew.
Hanhart (1983; 1984) provides access to, and scholarly discussion of, the
principal Greek versions. Fitzmyer (1995) provides critical editions of the
Aramaic and Hebrew fragments of Tobit discovered near Qumran. Weeks, et al,
(2004) provide a complete synopsis of twenty-four Greek, Latin, Hebrew,
Aramaic, and Syriac manuscripts of Tobit.

Bow, B. and G. W. E. Nickelsburg. 1993. "Patriarchy with a Twist: Men and
Women in Tobit." Pp. 127-143 in 'Women Like This': New Perspectives on
Jewish Women in the Greco-Roman World. Edited by A.-J. Levine. Atlanta:
Scholars Press.

Deselaers, Paul. 1982. Das Buch Tobit: Stuiden zu seiner Entstehimg,
Komposition, und Theologie. Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.

A scholarly attempt to demonstrate the originality of the Greek version
of Tobit, to discern layers of redaction, and to reconstruct the theology and
historical setting of each layer.

Fitzmyer, Joseph A. 2002. Tobit. Commentaries on Early Jewish Literature.
Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.

The starting point for all serious study of this text. The introduction
treats the issues of text-criticism, original language, genre, literary sources,
literary integrity, date and provenance, principal themes, canonicity, and
structure. There follows a new translation of both principal recensions,
commentary, and detailed notes, especially strong in treating text-critical,

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philological, and tradition-critical issues, and thoroughly conversant in
secondary literature.

Fitzmyer, J. A. 1995. Tobit. Discoveries in the Judean Desert 19. Oxford:
Oxford University.

Text and translation of the Aramaic and Hebrew fragments of Tobit
found in the caves near Qumran.

Hanhart, R. 1983. Tobit. Septuginta 8/5. Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
The standard edition of the Greek text in both forms (G' and G"), with
extensive text-critical apparatus.

Hanhart, R. 1984. Text und Textgeschichte des Buches Tobitz. Gottingen:
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.

A scholarly companion volume to Hanhart 1983, explaining the
relationship between the text-types and the character of individual textual
witness to G'.

Littman, Robert J. 2008. The Book of Tobit in Codex Sinaiticus. Septuagint
Commentary Series. Leiden: E. J. Brill.

Scholarly introduction, Greek text, translation, and commentary, which
is particularly strong in grammatical information about the Greek text. Although
based on the text of Tobit in a particular manuscript, the commentary provides
extensive information about the relationship of the Greek text of Sinaiticus to the
Hebrew/ Aramaic manuscripts and other Greek manuscripts.

Moore, C. A. 1996. Tobit. Anchor Bible 40A. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.

Scholarly yet accessible commentary, with fresh translation, extensive
textual notes and annotations, and analysis of each passage. The introduction
discusses sources in folk tales, genre, literary integrity, purpose, historical
setting, theology, canonicity, influence, and issues of textual transmission.
Includes a substantial bibliography.

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Weeks, Stuart, Simon Gathercole, and Loren Stuckenbruck (eds.). 2004. The
Book ofTobit: Texts from the Principal Ancient and Medieval Traditions. With
Synopsis, Concordances, and Annotated Texts in Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek,
Latin, and Syriac. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.

A synopsis of twenty-four Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Syriac
manuscripts of Tobit, giving quick access to the actual wording of these
manuscripts for individual or comparative study. Includes an introduction to the
witnesses and the major text-critical issues, as well as verse-by- verse critical
notes on textual problems and proposed solutions.

Zimmermann, Frank. 1958. The Book of Tobit. New York: Harper and
Brothers.

A general introduction to the historical setting and textual transmission
of Tobit, followed by the Greek text (mainly following Sinaiticus, the principal
witness to G"), new English translation, and substantial annotations. The Greek
text of Vaticanus (an important witness to G^) is given in an appendix.

8.22 Wisdom of Solomon

Wisdom of Solomon is an Egyptian Jewish text written in Greek,
offering sustained reflections on post-mortem vindication, the persona of
wisdom, and the Exodus traditions. Collins (1997) and Grabbe (1997) provide
first-rate introductions to the text and scholarly investigation of the text. For
commentaries, readers should consult Winston (1979) and Georgi (1980). For
the critical edition of the Greek, see Ziegler (1980). Larcher (1969) and Reese
(1970) both provide detailed studies of Hellenistic influence on the form and
teaching of Wisdom of Solomon. Gilbert (1973) is especially interested on the
author's critique of Gentile religion. Enns (1997) studies the author's manner of
biblical interpretation.

Collins, J. J. 1997. Jewish Wisdom in the Hellenistic Age. Louisville:
Westminster John Knox Press.

Pages 135-157, 178-231 offer a strong introduction to Wisdom of
Solomon in the context of the challenges facing Diaspora Jews, tracing out the
author's conversations with Greco-Roman philosophy, critique of Gentile

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religion, theology of Israelite history, and engagement with the issues of
universalism and particularism.

Enns, P. 1997. Exodus Retold. Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press.

A scholarly, detailed study of the retelling and interpretation of the
Exodus story and other Pentateuchal traditions in Wisdom of Solomon 10:1-21
and 19:1-9.

Georgi, Dieter. 1980. Weisheit Salomos. Jiidische Schriften aus
hellenistisch-romischer Zeit 3.4. Giitersloh: Gerd Mohn.

A scholarly, German critical introduction with fresh German translation
and extensive annotations.

Gilbert, M. 1973. La critique des dieux dans le Livre de la Sagesse (Sg 13-15).
Rome: Biblical Institute.

A detailed, scholarly study of the critique of idolatry in Wisdom of
Solomon, particularly its roots in earlier Jewish anti-idolatry polemic and Greek
philosophical criticism of the same. In French.

Grabbe, L. L. 1997. Wisdom of Solomon. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press.
An accessible guide to scholarly investigation of Wisdom of Solomon,
with annotated bibliographies. Included are discussions of literary structure,
unity, and canonicity; biblical exegesis and Greek rhetoric in Wisdom; the
message of the book; the figure of "Wisdom"; and the book's socio-historical
context.

Larcher, C. 1969. Etudes sur la Livre de la Sagesse. Paris: Gabalda.

Studies of the principal themes of Wisdom of Solomon, particularly
strong in discussing comparative literature from both Jewish and Greco-Roman
backgrounds, and the influence of Wisdom on emerging Christian theology.

Reese, J. M. 1970. Hellenistic Influence on the Book of Wisdom and Its
Consequences. Rome: Biblical Institute Press.

A scholarly monograph on the pervasive influence of Greek
philosophical, religious, psychological, and ethical concepts on the author of
Wisdom of Solomon, with chapters also focusing on the work's genre, literary
unity, addressees, and setting.

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Winston, David. 1979. The Wisdom of Solomon. Anchor Bible 43. Garden City:
Doubleday.

Scholarly introductory discussion of structure, authorship and historical
setting, religious ideas, cultural context, purpose, textual transmission and
canonicity, with a substantial bibliography, followed by a new translation with
extensive annotations.

Ziegler, J. 1980. Sapientia Salomonis. Septuaginta 12.1, 2"*^ edition.
Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.

The preferred edition of the Greek text, with extensive text-critical
apparatus.

8.23 Other Pseudepigrapha

Scholarship on the Pseudepigrapha is as extensive as the collection
itself. This section collects some seminal works on some other important texts:
Hadas (1951) on the Letter of Aristeas, Anderson and Stone (1994) and De
Jonge and Tromp (1997) on The Life of Adam and Eve, Knibb and van der Horst
(2005) and Kraft (1974) on Testament of Job, Knight (1995) on Ascension of
Isaiah, Wilson (2005) on Sentences of Pseudo-Phocylides, and van der Horst
and Nevraian (2008) on individual Jewish prayers in Greek. See DiThommaso
(2001) for further bibliographic aid.

Anderson, Gary A., and Michael E. Stone. 1994. A Synopsis of the Books of
Adam and Eve. Atlanta: Scholars Press.

The Greek, Latin, Armenian, Georgian, and Slavonic recensions of the
Life of Adam and Eve are set out in five parallel columns as a tool for study and
text-critical work. The Greek and Latin recensions are presented in their own
languages, the Armenian in English Translation, the Georgian in French
translation, and the Slavonic in German translation.

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Hadas, Moses. 1951. Aristeas to Philocrates. Jewish American Library. New
York: Harper.

A flillsome introduction, followed by Greek text, translation, and ample
annotations guiding readers to biblical and extra-biblical sources and
comparative material. -

van der Horst, Pieter W., and Judith H. Newman. 2008. Early Jewish Prayers
in Greek. Commentaries on Early Jewish Literature. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.
Texts, translation, and extensive philological and historical commentary
on the Hellenistic Synagogal prayers (presei^ved in the Apostolic Constitions),
Prayer of Manasseh, Prayer of Azariah, Prayer of Joseph, Prayer of Jacob, and
three other prayers.

De Jonge, Marinus, and Johannes Tromp. 1997. The Life of Adam and Eve and
Related Literature. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press.

The first half of this brief guide discusses the exceptionally difficult
textual history of the several recensions of the Life of Adam and Eve, analyzing
the relationships between them. The second half analyzes the constituent
elements and main themes of the Life and argues for an origin in Christian circles
between 100 and 600 CE.

Knibb, Michael A., and Pieter W. Van Der Horst (eds.). 2005. Studies on the
Testament of Job. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005.

Collection of essays from 1986 and 1987 Studiorum Novi Testamenti
Societas Pseudepigrapha Seminar

Knight, Jonathan. 1995. The Ascension of Isaiah. Sheffield: Sheffield
Academic Press.

Knight argues for a second-century. Christian origin for the Ascension,
which was written to provide encouragement to Christians both in the face of
Jewish rejection of their claims and increasing Roman hostility and persecution.

Kraft, Robert A. 1974. The Testament of Job. Missoula, MT: Scholars Press.

A scholarly introduction to the relevant text-critical issues, followed by
a critical Greek text with apparatus and English translation on facing pages.

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Wilson, Walter T. 2005. The Sentences of Pseiido-Phocylides. Commentaries
on Early Jewish Literature. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.

An advanced commentary, including an introductory discussion of the
sources, structure, and purpose of the wisdom collection, and a translation and
detailed analysis of each saying. The commentary is especially strong in its use
of comparative literature to demonstrate the more universal, non-parochial
nature of the Sentences. The complete Greek text is included as an appendix.

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Book Reviews

Corrine L. Carvalho. Primer on Biblical Methods. Winona, MN: Anselm
Academic, xiii + 93 pp., paper, $15.95.

Dr. Carvalho, professor of theology at the University of Saint Thomas in
Saint Paul, presents an amazing amount of material in a brief span. The primer
seeks to introduce the novice to methods of biblical interpretation, drawing
examples from both the Old and New Testaments. She divides her material into
four chapters, with an introduction which includes forewords for teacher and
student, a definition of exegesis, and the question vexing many beginners as to
whether approaching sacred Scripture in a questioning way might be detrimental
to one's theological health.

The first chapter, the world behind the text, introduces source criticism,
form criticism, tradition criticism, redaction criticism, historical criticism
(including 'new historicism' with its awareness of ideology of text and
interpreter), and sociological analysis. For each, she concludes with sample
questions of the type practitioners might ask, as well as a set of exercises for the
student.

In 'The World of the Text,' the author explores elements of literary
criticism, namely textual criticism, narrative criticism, rhetorical criticism,
reader-response criticism, and ideological criticism, with the same types of
questions and exercises already noted. The third chapter, looks at 'The World
the Text Creates,' exploring the bridge between original and current reader. It
has sections on reading communities, postmodernism and deconstructionism
with specific menfion of several approaches - canonical, liberation theology and
postcolonialism, a section on contextual approaches such as feminist and
materialist readings, and finally a brief discussion of cultural criticism.

Chapter four, 'The History of Biblical Interpretation,' provides several
diverse views taken on biblical texts, including the exploitation by theology
(Catholic theology in particular) of visions from Ezekiel, Isaiah's suffering
servant in the New Testament, Jewish-Christian approaches to Isaiah 7:14, and
artists' renditions of the sign of Jonah's in Matthew 12 and Luke 11. The
volume concludes with suggestions for further reading, a list of cited works, and
a topical index.

Ill

Book Reviews - -

All told, the volume succeeds very well in the task which it sets for itself.
One hopes that those just developing an interest in reading and understanding
Scripture will be led further in that exploration, moving even beyond this slim
volume.

David W. Baker

R.A. Horsley, ed. In the Shadow of Empire: Reclaiming the Bible as a History of
Faithful Resistance. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2008. 199 pp., paper,
$24.95.

In biblical scholarship, it is common now to see a scholarly awareness
of politics in the background of the various theological and rhetorical
discussions, especially thanks to the work of people like Richard Horsley, N.T.
Wright, and Neil Elliott. This new political focus has arisen because of a
number of considerations in scholarship. We have seen a rise in interest in post-
colonial interpretation, which looks at power and domination. Also, many
scholars have been inspired to study these issues due to concerns over politics
and power in the modem world, particular American politics. Horsley,
particularly, points to a concern over those who view the United States as an
empire with an "imperial power aggressively in pursuit of its own interests and
ideals" (3). Some have compared the American attitude of Manifest Destiny
with the imagery of a "New Rome" (3). This empowering of the American
empire, Horsley argues, supposedly hangs on a view of God's blessing on this
country and its progress. The purpose of this book, though, is to observe that
there is a strong biblical tradition of God's people fighting imperial oppression
(7). The thread that runs throughout the essays in this book is the idea that the
"empire" is never the hero of the story according to the Bible. It is from this
perspective that Horsley and the other contributors analyze the Bible, offering "a
basic survey of key issues and passages focused on the political-religious rule of
empires and the people's accommodation or resistance to imperial rule" (7).

Three chapters focus on the Old Testament and the life of Israel in
various times and places: "Early Israel as an Anti-Imperial Community"
(Norman K. Gottwald), "Faith in the Empire" (Walter Brueggemann), and
"Resistance and Accommodation in the Persian Empire" (Jon L. Berquist).
Before turning to the New Testament, John Dominic Crossan offers a

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background study of "Roman Imperial Theology." Chapters 5-9 concentrate on
various New Testament texts: "Jesus and Empire" (Horsley), "The Apostle Paul
and Empire" (Neil Elliott), "Matthew Negotiates the Roman Empire" (Warren
Carter), "Acts of the Apostles: Pro(to)-Imperial Script and Hidden Transcript"
(Brigitte Kahl), and "The Book of Revelation as Counter-Imperial Script" (Greg
Carey).

One can always appreciate when a group of scholars makes cutting-
edge research available to students and laypeople in such a work as this. As you
enter this discussion, it opens up the world of the Bible. For too many years, it
was assumed that non-believing Jews were the main opponents of the early
Christians. We can see now that people like Jesus and Paul were engaged in
other issues as well, such as challenging or critiquing imperial propaganda and
ideology. One welcome insight is the shift from translating the Greek word
basileia as "kingdom" to "empire" in some contexts (see 125, 150). There are
also, though, some drawbacks to the approach in this book. Firstly, given the
orienting statements made by Horsley in the introduction, the essays seem
(whether legitimately or not) agenda driven, that is, towards a critique of
American political pride. While it is appropriate to re-read the biblical texts to
challenge inappropriate views of the Bible, some of the essays can come across
as dogmatic. Also, there is a tendency for some of the contributors to present
only one possible interpretation of the evidence and this can lead the reader
(who is not always up to speed on the state of the debate) to believe that the
political reading is universally accepted by scholars.

To take one example of what I consider to be a significantly flawed
essay, Elliott's perspective is that the Paul of the undisputed letters is anti-
imperial. He views the Pastoral Epistles as well as Colossians and Ephesians as
part of a "canonical betrayal of Paul" - an attempt to accommodate to imperial
values and ideals (see, e.g., the household codes). However, Elliott represents
only a small portion of scholars that would take such a view. Granted the
household codes are a matter of concern to many, but there are a number of
scholars that see subversion to Roman order in the Pauline versions of the
household codes.

Finally, while I understand that it would not have been possible to
include all the books of the NT in the volume, I was surprised not to see a
treatment of 1 Peter - a text that shows signs of both accommodation and

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Book Reviews . r

resistance. In fact, there is a long history of debate about this issue in 1 Peter
and I think it would have made a very instructive test-case.

While I appreciate that Horsley has brought this important discussion to
a wider audience, I would caution readers that some of the contributors have
neglected to supply alternative interpretive options. But that is probably part of
the politics of this scholarly debate!

Nijay K. Gupta

Lee M. Fields Hebrew for the Rest of Us. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008. Pp.
xvi + 281, PAPER, $29.99.

Hebrew for the Rest of Us is the companion text to Greek for the Rest
of Us by Bill Mounce. Every student who studies through this text should expect
to know the Hebrew alphabet and vowels, understand the basics of grammar and
syntax, use basic exegetical techniques (e.g., word studies, sentence
diagramming), and interact with exegetical tools (e.g., commentaries and
software) in order to responsibly study the biblical text. Fields does caution that
students will neither "know" biblical Hebrew nor will have the competence to
dispute biblical scholars. The author understands that not everyone is able to
learn biblical Hebrew comprehensively; therefore, this text is designed "'to
enable English Bible students to maximize the benefit gained from using the
many tools that exist to help bridge the language gap" (ix).

The text is intended to be covered in one half of a three -hour semester
course and is composed of six major units — each intended to be covered in a
week, each week composed of several chapters. The text progresses
systematically and combines detailed explanation with charts and tables, making
the text pedagogically effective. Most chapters conclude with an exercise to
practice the skills learned and/or a brief section ("Advanced Information and
Curious Facts") which either introduces the student to a topic related to the
study of Hebrew or discusses a particular exegetical issue. These features help to
broaden the student's understanding and show the applicability of learning
Hebrew.

Week 1 teaches Hebrew consonants (ch. I) and dagesh, explains
transliteration, and gives a brief history of the Hebrew language (ch. 2). The
discussion of Hebrew language history is a valuable asset to this text since few

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comprehensive grammars even include such an introduction. Week 2 introduces
students to vowels (ch. 3) and the basics of biblical studies (ch. 4). Included in
the lesson on vowels are discussions of the development of the matres lectionis
and vowel points as well as accent marks. Introducing students to accent marks
is another topic which many comprehensive grammars lack. Chapter 4 begins by
discussing canonization and the formation of the Old Testament canon (both the
Jewish and Christian arrangement). In this chapter, Fields also introduces
students to concepts of transmission, textual criticism, and translation. By this
point students should be able to work on pronouncing Hebrew words.

Week 3 (chs. 5-8) moves beyond word pronunciation and begins to
focus on grammar. Chapter 5 covers roots, parts of speech, and explains how to
use tools such as a concordance, interlinear Bible, and software (i.e., Libronix).
Fields' explanation of these tools is important since the goal of this course is to
help students get the most out of using exegetical resources. Clauses, the
conjunction vav, and prepositions are discussed in chapters 6, 7, and 8,
respectively.

Weeks 4 (chs. 9-12) and 5 (chs. 13-17) teach students about nominals
and verbals. Overall, these lessons cover all the basics of grammar and syntax.
The text does teach Hebrew nominals in terms of cases, but clearly identifies
that case refers to function, as biblical Hebrew only exhibits remnants of actual
case endings. Very helpful to the beginning student is the chart and discussion in
chapter 13, which introduces the student to the varied vocabulary regarding
Hebrew verbs. The diverse terminology regarding biblical Hebrew
aspects/tenses can be confusing for many beginning students, which Fields
acknowledges to the student's benefit. While Fields does not identify all of the
different terms used (e.g., affix, as used in Kittel's grammar; or perfective and
imperfective, as used in Waltke and O'Connor's Syntax) he introduces enough
terms to limit confusion for beginning students.

Week 6 (chs. 18-21) provides the student with more practical guidance
to assist in Hebrew exegesis. Chapter 18 focuses on word studies and briefly
addresses the concern for context, provides a basic step-by-step guide, and
identifies some common pitfalls. Chapter 19 provides a useful guide for
choosing exegetical tools and even proposes a buying strategy. The last two
chapters of the text introduce the student to the basics of Hebrew prose (ch. 20)
and poetry (ch. 21). Concluding the text are three appendices which include a
song, a blank word study guide, and an index of the text's figures. Missing is an

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actual index or glossary of terms used. This is unfortunate and would be most
helpful for the beginning student.

This is certainly not a grammar of any sort, but will help students get
more out of their studies without a comprehensive knowledge of Hebrew. I
recommend this text for any student wishing to increase their exegetical
capabilities or to build a basic knowledge base before studying Hebrew in-depth.

Jason Riley

A. Philip Brown II and Bryan W. Smith, eds., A Reader's Hebrew Bible. Grand
Rapids: Zondervan, 2008. Pp. xxviii + 1652, paper, $49.99.

A Reader's Hebrew Bible (RHB) is the Hebrew companion to A
Reader 's Greek New Testament. RHB is not a critical edition, contains no text-
critical notes, and is not intended to replace the need for a critical edition. The
editors' stated purpose is "to facilitate the regular reading of Scriptures in
Hebrew and Aramaic" (xii). This volume attempts to accomplish that goal by
providing glosses for all Hebrew words occurring less than 100 times (over 3000
words) and all Aramaic words occurring less than 25 times, excluding Hebrew
and Aramaic proper nouns. Proper nouns which occur less than one hundred
times are distinguished by a grey font. In addition, the editors also include a
glossary at the end of the Hebrew text (Appendix A) which provides glosses for
all Hebrew words occurring 100 times or more. There is no Aramaic glossary;
however this should not be a problem since this only leaves approximately
twenty nine Aramaic words, which consist mostly of Hebrew cognates. Every
word for which there is a gloss is marked in the Hebrew text by a superscripted
footnote. The superscription numbering restarts with each new chapter.

The Hebrew text is the Westminster Leningrad Codex version 4.4,
which varies slightly from BHS or BHQ. In this case, the editors have included a
list of known differences at the end of the volume in Appendix B. Another
stated goal of RHB is to facilitate a reader's shift to or from BHS or BHQ fairly
easily; therefore, the textual format, e.g., paragraph breaks and prose and poetry
formatting, is identical to BHS, with few exceptions. The text also includes both
the Kethib and Qere readings in the text, both marked by the superscriptions ^
and ^ respectively.

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The primary source for the glosses which occur was The Hebrew and
Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (HALOT), supplemented by the Brown-
Driver-Briggs Hebrew-English Lexicon of the Old Testament (BDB). In
addition, other sources were consulted including Holladay's A Concise Hebrew
and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, The Dictionary of Classical
Hebrew, vol. 1-5, and various commentaries. Footnoted glosses for verbs are
arranged as footnote, homonym number, lemma stem, HALOT; BDB; alternate.
Therefore, the word ^^'II^^ in Genesis 1:1 is footnoted as follows: "^^nn QAL:
create; shape, fashion. Footnote entries for non-verb lemmas are formatted as
footnote, homonym number, lemma HALOT; BDB; alternate. Each gloss is
context specific; however, idioms are left for the reader to decipher. Readers
will have no trouble using the footnotes as they read the text.

The reader should be aware of a few difficulties with the text. First, the
footnotes which occur in the text often create significant space between each
word. This makes it somewhat more difficult to quickly and smoothly read the
text. Second, the grey font for proper nouns is often difficult to read. Third, the
addition of both the Kethib and Qere readings in the text itself, while useful for
keeping the margins empty, will often surprise the reader and slow the reader's
progress through the text. Fourth, the brightness of the paper creates a
significant contrast with the black text which does make reading difficult on the
eyes. I have found the RHB text more difficult to vocalize than BHS. As a
recommendation, it would be helpful if the editors could produce a smaller
edition.

Overall, RHB is an exquisite resource for anyone who does not have a
large Hebrew vocabulary and who desires to gain in Hebrew reading
proficiency. RHB possesses all things necessary for students to read through the
Hebrew Bible. A. Philip Brown II and Bryan W. Smith have done a tremendous
service to Hebrew Bible students.

Jason Riley

Steven L. Bridge. Getting the Old Testament: What it Meant to Them, What it
Means for Us. Peabody: Hendrickson, 2009. Pp. xx + 227, paper, $14.95.

Steven L. Bridge, Professor of Theology at St. Joseph's College in
Standish, Maine, provides us with a thoughtful, creative, and resourceful volume

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in Getting the Old Testament. Bridge bases this monograph on the principle that
when reading the Bible, we are eavesdropping on the conversations of others
and that "...when third parties ... overhear a conversation, they glean only its
content, devoid of its context... This requires the eavesdroppers to supply the
missing contexts for themselves" (4). Therefore, Bridge attempts to help
modern readers fill in some of the missing context for these ancient biblical
conversations. The intended audience of Bridge's book is ambitiously large as
he tries to provide a work that "might satisfy both institutions of learning and
communities of faith; one simultaneously sensitive to Jewish, Catholic,
Protestant, and Muslim perspectives" (xiii).

The approach of this work is to provide a case study of a different
portion of Scripture in each chapter of his book, with chapters organized by the
Hebrew divisions of the Bible (Torah, Prophets, and Writings). His chapters
cover individual passages, such as Genesis 1 and the flood, and entire books,
such as Jonah, Daniel, Ecclesiastes, and Job. Using everything from the Enuma
Elish and Gilgamesh to Bart Simpson and modern political cartoons. Bridge
draws comparisons to help students think more creatively about interpreting the
Bible. He helps them bridge the communication gap by comparing the biblical
text or a biblical principle to something with which a modem reader can
identify, including stories, unusual laws still in American law books, and even
the Bible code. Bridge also includes several helpful appendices (timelines,
comparative canons, further information on specific topics) and an annotated list
of suggested reading.

The strength of this work lies in its creative and effective pedagogy,
using modem and post-modem culture to bridge contexts and make the Bible
understandable and relevant. While other works make the same attempt, Bridge
uses a think-outside-the-box approach that meets young readers where they are.
Getting the Old Testament would be particularly useful as a supplemental text in
an undergraduate introductory Bible class. Any teacher of Old Testament,
especially one who needs a few ideas for class lectures or discussions, would
also find this book helpful.

However, Getting the Old Testament is not without weakness. Possibly
due to the introductory nature of the book. Bridge tends to oversimplify certain
issues unnecessarily and without explanation. For example. Bridge presents the
Documentary Hypothesis as the only option regarding the authorship of the
Pentateuch, even though the theory is now considered outdated (see, for

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example, R.N. Whybray, The Making of the Pentateuch [Sheffield: JSOT Press,
1987]). While a detailed discussion of the issues surrounding the authorship of
the Pentateuch is beyond the scope of Bridge's work, an appendix or even a
footnote would be helpful in alerting the reader to the fact that other theories
exist on the matter. The same is true for the assumptions Bridge makes
regarding the authorship of the book of Daniel. Because of the selective nature
of the work. Bridge also leaves out of his analysis large portions of the Old
Testament, making this an unlikely candidate for a general introductory
textbook for the Old Testament.

In spite of these drawbacks. Bridge's work makes a valuable
contribution to the teaching and learning of the Old Testament.

Jennifer E. Noonan

Sandra L. Richter, The Epic of Eden: A Christian Entry into the Old Testament.
Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2008. 263 pp., paper, $24.00.

Sandra L. Richter, professor of Old Testament at Wesley Biblical
Seminary, provides a compelling and refreshing look at the Old Testament (OT)
in her work. The Epic of Eden. Intended for Christian lay readers (with plenty
of endnotes for those who want to delve deeper), Richter sets out to overcome
three issues that keep New Testament believers from the OT (16): First, Richter
believes that many Christians ". . .have not been taught that the story of the OT is
their story." Second, Richter identifies a "great barrier" that must be overcome
in order to frilly understand and appreciate the OT. This barrier includes history,
language, culture, and geography. The final issue is what Richter calls "the
dysfunctional closet syndrome," the tendency among Christians to remember a
random assortment of facts, people, and events in the OT, with little order or
organization, making the information less than meaningful and often unusable.

In order to remedy these three issues, Richter sets about the
monumental task of bringing order and meaning to the OT for Christians,
providing a structure within which one may organize the facts he or she knows
about the OT. In the first two chapters of The Epic of Eden, Richter introduces
the reader to her primary organizing principle for the OT (and the Bible as
whole), redemption, and helps the audience to overcome the great barriers of
culture, history, and geography. Richter provides a review of OT history,

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Book Reviews

centered around five major eras (which she identifies with five major characters:
Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David), followed by a review of geography,
centered around three major areas: Mesopotamia, Canaan/Israel/Palestine, and
Egypt. Chapter three introduces the concept of covenant and identifies five
major OT covenants, corresponding to the five major characters fi-om the
previous chapter. In the next two chapters, Richter delves into God's original
intent for humanity in Eden and his corresponding final intent found in
Revelation. Chapters seven through nine detail the history, geography, and
culture of each of the OT covenants as they build on one another and ultimately
fulfill God's plan of redemption, stretching from Eden to the New Covenant and
the New Jerusalem. Each of these primary chapters also includes a one- to two-
page excursus, providing more detail on a particular issue, often written in a
tone of personal reflection or application, which helps her audience understand
how the OT story is also the Christian story. The final chapter of the book,
entitled "Frequently Asked Questions," serves as an appendix and addresses the
relevance of the Mosaic Law for Christians and how believers might approach
the issues surrounding modem-day Israel. This is followed by 20 pages of
endnotes, a short glossary (with references to pages and figures in the text), and
a Scripture index.

The strength of Richter' s work lies in her ability to grasp the big
picture, including the overall structure of the OT and its significance for
Christians, and effectively bring it to the lay reader without sacrificing biblical
scholarship in the process. While the task of overcoming the issues that keep
Christians from the OT are indeed monumental, Richter accomplishes the goal
with insight, academic integrity, and humor. However, in her attempt to be
accessible to lay audiences, Richter' s style occasionally enters unnecessarily
into the realm of pop culture, taking away from the timeless appeal of the book.
Additionally, the structure of Richter's arguments could be strengthened by an
overall conclusion to the book that parallels her introduction, one that reminds
her readers of the original intent of the book and reinforces the clarity and focus
of her insights. These detractions are, however, minor compared with the
overall value of Richter's contribution. Undoubtedly, this book will have wide
appeal within the Christian community, serving well in both adult Sunday
school classes and in college OT courses.

Jennifer E. Noonan

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Jerome T. Walsh. Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation.
Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2009. 266pp., paper, $29.95.

Many fine studies of Hebrew narrative have appeared since biblical
scholars began applying the insights of narrative criticism to the Hebrew Bible
more than thirty years ago. Those wanting to learn about its distinctive features,
tropes, and techniques now have a considerable array of works from which to
choose. None, however, excels the present work in guiding the reader from
description to practice. Those familiar with Walsh's fine reading of 1 Kings in
Berit 01am (CoUegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1996) know him as a masterful
reader of the biblical text. In this volume, we discover that he is a master teacher
as well. This is a book written for those who want to become better readers of
Hebrew narrative, and it succeeds impressively in that task.

Walsh begins with a brief introduction and a first chapter that provide
cogent explanations of the theoretical issues that orient the study of narrative:
the text's different worlds of meaning; the relationship between author, text and
reader; and ideas of the narrator, narratee, implied author, and implied reader;
the relationship between story and narrative. He follows up with two chapters
that elaborate the two main elements of story: the plot and the characters.

Chapters 4 through 8 constitute the core of the book and describe the
various devices that configure the story and its telling. Chapters 4 through 6
offer succinct but thorough explanations of the three aspects that constitute the
focus of narrative analysis: that is, characterization, which examines the way the
narrator shapes and presents characters; point of view, which deals with what
the narrator shows and what characters see and perceive; and the manipulation
of time, which discerns the way events are situated in time and the tempo by
which they unfold. In chapters 7 and 8 Walsh turns to elements two of the
distinctive features of Hebrew narrative: its exploitation of gapping and
ambiguity and the occurrence of repetition.

In chapter 9 Walsh takes up the role and identity of the narrator, a topic
that has generated considerable discussion among scholars, sorting through the
relationship of "narrator" to "author" and "narratee" and addressing the slippery
topics of the narrator's reliability and multiple narrative voices. In the following
chapter, he elaborates another distinctive element of Hebrew narrative, that is,
its use of symmetrical structures. He concludes with a chapter that addresses the

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role of the reader in the production of meaning and the roles of particular readers
(that is the critic, believer, and preacher).

The book displays the fruit of years of thinking and teaching about
biblical Hebrew narrative. As skillful and lucid as his explanations are, however,
what really makes this book exceptional is the way Walsh guides, models, and
encourages a close and careful analysis of the text. He does this in a number of
ways. First, he directs his reader to 1 Kings 1-11 and draws most of his
illustrations from that narrative complex, allowing the reader to become familiar
with narrative devices while at the same time becoming familiar with a textual
block. Second, he directs his reader to fiirther study in one of three stories in 1
Kings: Jeroboam (11:26-14:20); Elijah (17:1-19:21); and Ahab (20:1-22:40).
Chapters 2 through 10 conclude with blocks of questions and directions on these
stories, often preceded by suggestions for helping the student discern the devices
in question. Then, after the final chapter, he offers an extensive appendix that
works point by point through each story - from plot to symmetry - through an
extensive catalogue of his own observations. The student thus has the advantage
of reading a clearly-presented explanation of specific aspects of narrative,
followed by questions and suggestions to guide personal study, and finally a set
of observations for review.

Theorists may quibble about the ways Walsh situates and categorizes
the elements of narrative, but there is no doubt that his organization is effective
as a teaching approach. Two areas that could be expanded are: 1) the role of
genres (kinds of narratives, like spy movies or farces) and type scenes
(particular kinds of stories that share common elements) and the manipulation of
their conventions, and 2) the influence of ideology and location on the ways
readers read. To the discussion of symmetrical structures, I would add parataxis,
an ancient device that alternates between story lines, not present (as far as I
know) in 1 Kings 1-11 but illustrated, for example, in the narrator's alternation
between Hannah and her sons and Eli and his sons in 1 Samuel 1-4. These are
not so much omissions as enhancements to what is an excellent study of
narrative. While the phrase "essential reading" has now become hackneyed, it
nonetheless fits this book for those aspiring to faithful and carefiil reading of the
narrative literature of the Old Testament.

L. Daniel Hawk

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John Goldingay. Genesis for Everyone: Part One: Chapters 1-6: Part Two: 17-
50. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press/ London: SPCK, 2010. ix + 197
and ix + 186 pp., paper, $14.95 each.

Donald L. Griggs and W. Eugene Marsh. Genesis from Scratch: The Old
Testament for Beginners. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010. v +
133 pp., paper, $12.95.

Westminster John Knox has released two works on the same Bible
portion simultaneously. Both are directed toward the lay audience, though the
approach of each is markedly different.

Goldingay's two volumes are the first of a projected seventeen which
he is producing for a new series paralleling a similar series on the New
Testament. The division between these two is relatively pragmatic, preserving
volumes of approximately equal length, rather than being based on some
textually explicit division of the unified book of Genesis. The introduction to
both volumes begins volume one, providing maps of the ancient Near East and
Canaan/Israel, what the 'Old' testament is, an outline of it, and an introduction
to Genesis and its authorship (all in six pages). Then follow brief, 3-4 page,
expositions of the entire book of Genesis divided into one -half to twenty-four
verse sections, each beginning with the author's own fairly literal translation.

The exposition is invariably readable and engaging, constantly
establishing ties between the biblical text and elements as intimate as events
affecting Goldingay's own family and friends or as sweeping as contemporary
international events. When he mentions a term which is likely unfamiliar to the
lay reader, it is bolded and briefly explained in a glossary, with which each
volume ends. Goldingay keeps an eye on the ancient Near eastern background of
the text, but also on its New Testament development and the Christian
perspective of most readers of this series. The goal of the volumes fit well its
description from the back cover: "for daily devotions, Sunday school
preparation, or brief personal visits with the Bible."

The volume by Griggs and Marsh follows two earlier works by Griggs,
The Bible from Scratch: The Old Testament for Beginners and The Bible from
Scratch: The New Testament for Beginners, looking in more detail at a single
Old Testament book. The series is well-suited for lay readers (the 'beginners' of

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the subtitle), and is self-consciously directed toward a teaching/learning
environment.

The book is divided into two main portions, guides for participants and
leaders, with a brief appendix containing a bibliography for further study:
commentaries, Bible study aids, and study Bibles. The two major sections are
divided into seven chapters each, covering much, but not all, of Genesis:
beginnings (1:1-2:25, creation; 6:1-22, the start of the flood; 9:1-17, covenant
with Noah), promise (12:1-20, promises to Abram and descent to Egypt; 17:1-
27, covenant and circumcision; 22:1-19; testing Abraham's faith), Isaac and
Rebekah (24:1-67); Isaac (25:1-28:9); Jacob's marriages and children (28:10-
32:32); Jacob, Esau, and Dinah (33:1-36:43); Joseph (37:1-50:26). The
participant's guide runs 57 pages, about the same as the text of Genesis itself,
and is mainly a summary of the textual material. March makes brief note of
useful ancient Near Eastern material, as well as helpful literary elements.
Theology is mainly noted in the conclusion of each chapter.

The leader's guide by Griggs fulfills its description well. The first
session, as a sample, has three elements: 'Before the Session' (session focus,
advance preparation, physical arrangement, teaching alternatives); 'During the
Session' (welcoming, introducing the course, opening prayer, building
community, introducing Genesis, comparing the two creation accounts,
exploring the Noah story, closing)' 'After the Session'. The content and layout
shows careful consideration for teacher and student, but one wonders about the
intended venue. Most Sunday school classes run 10-13 weeks, to which
schedule 7 sessions is hard to fit. As they stand, each session seems too long for
a 50-60 minute time slot, so the teacher will need to do some careful planning.

Both series have a place in the church library as well as that of its lay
members. The latter will most likely pique the reader's hunger for more, which
the former can provide, moving readers along the spectrum toward the use of
more fully developed commentaries.

David W. Baker

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Ashland Theological Journal 2010

Thomas B. Dozeman, Exodus. Eerdmans Critical Commentary. Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 2009. Pp. 887, paper, $55.00 /£35.99

The appearance of Thomas Dozeman 's extensive commentary on the
book of Exodus may prove to be an important landmark in the study of the
Pentateuch. Dismissing major aspects of the long-standing Documentary
Hypothesis of Graf and Wellhausen, Dozeman contends that the book of Exodus
is best interpreted on the understanding that it was composed of two sources, the
'Non-P History and the P History', both of which were composed during the
exile or later (48). While respectful of prior scholarship, Dozeman consigns both
the Yahwist and the Elohist to the grave, a significant departure from the
Documentary Hypothesis.

Yet, having boldly dismissed the Yahwist and Elohist as imaginary
creations of 19* century scholarship, Dozeman adopts a very different position
as regards the Priestly Writer (P). Although, in line with much recent
Pentateuchal scholarship, he distances himself from the Documentary
Hypothesis, he tenaciously retains the P source, viewing it as consisting of both
an independent P source and supplemental material produced by a P author
when reworking the Non-P History (see 41-42). At this point a major
inconsistency arises. Having acknowledged the difficulty of attributing material
to J and E, Dozeman fails to be rigorously consistent in questioning the
allocation of material to P.

This shortcoming is most apparent in his discussion of the opening
chapters of Exodus. Two problems arise here. Firstly, there is the paucity of
supposedly P material in chapters 1-5. In all, ten and a half verses are attributed
to P (1:1-5, 7, 13-14; 2:23b-25), five of these coming at the start of chapter 1.
Not only is the attribution of this material to P open to debate, but the presence
of so little material hardly provides sufficient evidence to support the existence
of an independent P narrative, a point partially conceded by Dozeman.
Secondly, and more tellingly, the contents of 6:2-8 do not support the thesis that
this passage parallels the Non-P version of the commission of Moses in 3:1-15
(see 162). Although Dozeman frequently affirms that 6:2-8 is the P version of
the commission of Moses, a careful reading of the text reveals that Yahweh
gives Moses only one instruction: 'Say to the Israelites' (6:6), a common

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command in Exodus to Numbers. Every other statement in 6:2-8 is about what
Yahweh has done and will do, highlighted by the abundant use of the 1 ^' person
singular. Even Dozeman acknowledges that 6:2-8 lacks 'the essential
characteristics' of a commission genre (162). Rather than being P's commission
account of Moses, the contents of 6:2-8 address very appropriately Moses'
complaint to Yahweh in 5:22-23. To classify 6:2-8 as a commission account
reveals a profound failure to comprehend the text as it comes to us. This is a
prime example of how a unified passage is unnecessarily torn apart to create
duplicate accounts in order to support the existence of parallel sources, one of
the hallmarks of the Documentary Hypothesis.

In a short review it is not possible to interact with all that Dozeman has
to say about the supposedly parallel histories Non-P and P. Having been
sufficiently courageous to abandon two of the major 'parallel' sources of the
Documentary Hypothesis, Dozeman ought, for the sake of methodological
consistency, to have abandoned the remaining 'parallel' source P, especially
when the evidence for its existence is exceptionally weak. What might otherwise
have been an opportunity to set a new direction in the study of Exodus falls
short because it remains shackled to the concept of duplicate sources. More than
anything else, the modem critical study of Exodus needs to be freed from the
compositional model of the Documentary Hypothesis and its offspring.

As Dozeman often underlines, his discussion of Exodus is largely
dependent on the identification of two bodies of literature, the Non-P and P
Histories. Since the existence of these sources has not been demonstrated
beyond doubt, many of his conclusions must be treated with caution. While
there are edifying insights to be gained, the uninitiated may not be able to
discern easily the wheat from the chaff.

T.D. Alexander, Union Theological College, Belfast, N. Ireland

C.L. Seow, Daniel. Westminster Bible Companion. Louisville: Westminster
John Knox Press, 2003. Xiii + 198 pp., paper, $29.95.

The Westminster Bible Companion series aims to 'assist pastors and
students in their study of the Bible as a guide to Christian faith and practice.' C.
L. Seow is Professor of Old Testament Language and Literature, Princeton
Seminary. On the usual 'introduction' issues of the authorship, date and

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historicity of the book of Daniel he adopts the mainstream 'Hberal' positions.
However, he is open to more conservation positions. For example, in his
'Introduction' he says it is a problem that the book speaks of Belshazzar as the
successor and son of Nebuchadnezzar and of Darius the Mede as the person who
captured Babylon (5). Yet in his discussion of Daniel chapter five he points out
'that in the Semitic languages, "father" is not limited to that of a biological
parent or even adoptive parent' and that in cuneiform inscriptions Jehu is called
'the son of Omri' although he was not of the Omride dynasty (p. 77). He also
notes that in the case of 'Darius the Mede' the name could be a throne name (p.
77), though he does not go on to mention Prof Wiseman's argument that Dan.
6:28 should be read as identifying Darius the Mede with Cyrus the Persian.

In Seow's view 'the value of the book of Daniel as scripture does not
depend on the historical accuracy of the props on its literary stage, but on the
power of its theological message. The authority of the book as scripture lies in
its power to inspire and shape the community of faith' (6). In accord with this,
his commentary is primarily concerned with the book's theological message,
which he sees as centring on the theme of the sovereignty of God. This does
indeed make it a very useful commentary for students and pastors. There are
valuable theological insights in every chapter. A characteristic of the
commentary are helpful cross-references to other parts of the Old Testament. In
the discussion of the 'court tales' in Daniel 1-6 there are references to similar
stories elsewhere in the Old Testament, especially to the Joseph story. Seow
also notes the use of language and imagery from the Old Testament prophets in
the visions in Dan. 7-12. He sees the seventy weeks in Daniel chapter nine as a
symbolic periodization of history rooted in the theology of jubilee found in Lev.
25&26. There are indications of how the theological message of the book takes
on fresh significance in the light of Christ. There could have been more of this
is a book intended as a guide to Christian faith and practice. Having said that,
because of its theological insights, this is a very helpful commentary on the
message of the book of Daniel.

Ernest C. Lucas, Bristol Baptist College, England.

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Constantine R. Campbell. Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek. Grand
Rapids: Zondervan, 2008. 160 pp., paper, $16.99.

Koine Greek grammars, at least the most recent ones, treat the issue of
verbal aspect and highlight its unique significance within the Greek verbal
system. Constantine Campbell argues that, according to NT linguists and
philologists, 'Aspect holds the key to understanding the Greek verbal system'
(32). But grammarians disagree as to what it is and what to do with it. So where
do we go from here? Campbell does an excellent job of introducing the
development in scholarly thought on how aspect works and also outlines his
own approach to understanding its exegetical significance.

What is verbal aspect (VA)? Cambell defines it simply as 'viewpoint'
where 'An author or speaker views as action, event, or state either from the
outside or from the inside' (19). When viewed from the outside, this is called
perfective; the inside, then, is imperfective. How does this relate to Aktionsartl
Campbell differentiates this because Aktionsart is more about 'how an action
actually takes place-what sort of action it is' (22). On the other hand, VA 'refers
to viewpoint-how the action is viewed' (22).

This is not too controversial. The real issue is what we do with tense
and time. Some people think the present tense, for instance, is inherently linked
to present time (e.g., aorist and imperfect to past). How else do you know when
an action occurred? Campbell disagrees. He argues that one can find clues in the
text (i.e. deictic markers) that indicate time ('now', 'already', 'then'). But, then,
if tense does not mark time, why are there so many tenses? Campbell explains:
'[time] is not regarded as a semantic value [^always true, generic] of verbs in
the indicative mood, even though each tense-form has a characteristic temporal
reference on the pragmatic [=in context] level' (32). The tendency for a tense to
be found in a particular time can be explained another way through the tendency
of the semantic value of the tense.

For example, aorist has the quality of 'remoteness'. Sometimes that
remoteness is a temporal one (past time, remote from present). But 'Remoteness
also offers explanation for those fifteen percent of aorists that do not refer to the
past' (36). They still convey remoteness, but it may be 'logical', for example.
The example he gives comes from Mark 1.11 where eudokesa is aorist. Here the
remoteness involves viewing Jesus' life from 'afar'.

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If the aorist perfective aspect has the value of remoteness, the present
imperfective is proximate. This may be temporal (the near-time=now=p resent).
From an aspectual angle, 'we watch as the action unfolds' (40). In narrative we
get information that is 'beyond the narratival mainline'; information that
'describes, explains, and provides background; it puts flesh on the skeleton'
(44). This can explain the 'historic present' where proximity does not involve
'time'. Similarly, Campbell also labels the Perfect tense as proximate, but with
intensity. It is 'heightened proximity' (51); or 'super-present' (54).

Campbell's language of proximity and remoteness does offer a cogent
explanation of the basic idea behind the Greek tenses. However, to disassociate
tense and time does not seem to do justice to the fact that the present tense is
often in the present time and the aorist in the past. Pedagogically, it is sensible
to link tense with time and allow for flexibility. On another issue, though I think
Campbell has done much to raise red flags when exegetes base arguments on
tense, his interpretation of 'remoteness' or 'proximity' opens its own bag of
troubles. I am concerned when we speak of 'logical' remoteness (when it is not
temporal) that people will make some wild guesses as to what the logic is.
Should we get from Mark 1.11 that the use of the aorist for 'I am well pleased'
means that God is looking at Jesus' whole life? Isn't that just as dangerous
exegetically as using outdated categories for understanding VA in Greek? We
need more tips for how to interpret remoteness and proximity, if Campbell's
model is going to be more useful and clear.

These criticisms aside, Campbell does help to untangle many confusing
issues and questions related to VA. This text, though entitled 'Basics', would
best serve an intermediate course in Greek grammar.

Nijay K. Gupta

J. Harold Greenlee. The Text of the New Testament: From Manuscript to
Modern Edition. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2008. Pp. 130, paper, $12.95.

Although the New Testament is the most well-attested document from
antiquity, much of its modem readership are sadly uninformed concerning its
history. There are several scholarly volumes available treating the subject -
Metzger and Ehrman, Aland, etc. -, but the offerings for the average Christian
reader are scant and typically less than desirable. Enter J. Harold Greenlee's The

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Text of the New Testament. The present work is a slight revision of his earher
work titled. Scribes, Scrolls, and Scripture (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1985).
Greenlee describes his task as answering the significant questions regarding the
New Testament history in "layman's language but with scholarly accuracy" (x).

In the initial chapters, Greenlee describes the "look and feel" of ancient
documents. While the scroll was the medium of choice for the Jewish biblical
texts, one interesting phenomenon of early copying of Christian texts was the
early preference for the codex (15). In addition to describing and showing the
materials involved in making a codex, Greenlee suggests that Christians
preferred the codex because it allowed for easy reference use which facilitated
looking up passages quickly (14). Other scholars are less certain of why
Christians used the codex, but simply observe the phenomenon of its increasing
use by Christians.

In the fourth chapter, Greenlee discusses the problems of New
Testament textual criticism. Although scholars has observed nearly 400,000
variants among the New Testament manuscripts now available, Greenlee rightly
points out that "what is at stake is not the number of difference, but their nature""
(38). The reader is introduced to various kinds of changes introduced into copies
of the New Testament and briefly introduced into the manner in which scholars
go about making informed decisions about what the text originally said.

Greenlee clearly has the KJV - the so-called Authorized Version - on
his radar throughout the course of the book. His aim is not to slander the text,
but to question the kind of translational dogmatism that is found in some circles
who advocate only this text. He notes that "some voices are proclaiming that
many or all of the recent English translations of the New Testament are
corrupted" (x). In a discussion of the earliest printed editions of the Greek New
Testament, Greenlee briefly surveys the eclipsing of the Textus Receptus by the
Eclectic Text in biblical scholarship (52-57). Greenlee advocates for "reasoned
ecclectism" in his approach to textual variants, meaning that both internal and
external evidences are given a fair hearing (56, 58, 69). This would also fall into
the category of responding to dogmatic claims for KJV, because the KJV is
based upon the majority text and a textual methodology which prefers external
evidence.

A significant section of the book is the discussion on intentional errors
introduced by copyists. Greenlee argues that most of the errors introduced were
not done to intentionally corrupt the text, but by pious scribes who thought they

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were improving the text. The dubious ending of Mark's gospel is examined,
where the author concludes (in conjunction with the majority of other scholars)
that both the internal and external evidence strongly suggest that Mark 16:9-20
was not part of the original gospel (103). Greenlee, however, does not speculate
either that the original ending was lost or that it actually ended at Mark 16:8.
While one appreciates the humility of not overinterpreting the data, given the
intended audience of Greenlee's book, it would have been beneficial for
Greenlee to explain the implications of the options.

Although those who have read more sizable volumes on this subject
will be left wanting, Greenlee's The Text of the New Testament is a helpful
primer for the uninitiated reader. The concise format and low cost make it both
readable and affordable for the average parishoner. The presentation will help
readers appreciate the NT text with greater depth and nuance. And ultimately,
the idol of false certainly will be challenged as readers are called to appreciate
the robust history and tradition of the NT text.

Seth Ehom, Wheaton College

K. Berding, J. Lunde, and S. Gundry, eds. Three Views on the New Testament
Use of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2007. 256 pp., paper,
$16.99.

The subject of the relationship between the Old Testament and the New
Testament, and particularly how to understand the method by which NT authors
"use" Old Testam.ent texts, has been much discussed for centuries. One could
argue that it is one of the most significant problems in New Testament studies
today. Though many studies have been written on this topic, scholars continue
to disagree on numerous aspects of this subject. Zondervan has done us a great
service by presenting three evangelical views on this topic from three eminent
biblical scholars.

The "Counterpoints" series in Bible and Theology is known for taking
an issue, finding a few representative perspectives, and allowing readers to
overhear a debate. Thus, you will find not just chapters representing these
scholarly views, but space is given for responses - each contributor presenting
his thoughts, reflections, compliments, and especially criticisms. Indeed, some
of the most insightfial thoughts come fi"om the responses. Another attractive

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feature of this book is the inclusion of a very well-written introduction (by
Jonathan Lunde) that catches the uninitiated reader up on the state of the
discussion in a simple manner.

The formal debate begins with Walter Kaiser Jr.'s viewpoint entitled:
'Single Meaning, Unified Referents' and his subtitle is 'accurate and
authoritative citations of the Old Testament by the New Testament'. For the use
of the Old Testament by New Testament authors, Kaiser is insistent that the
intentions and interests of the original OT author are significant. In the kind of
sensus plenior reading, that goes on in many interpretive traditions, Kaiser fears
that the New Testament is seen as cancelling out the meaning of the OT passage
in its context. When it comes to prophecy and fulfillment, Kaiser attributes to
the OT author special insight as they were 'more attuned to the continuing,
unifying plan of God throughout history than many contemporary scholars or
believers allow' (65). Overall, Kaiser is also very critical of letting second
temple Jewish interpretive methods inform our understanding of how the NT
authors used Scripture.

The second contributor, Darrell Bock, offers the title: 'Single Meaning,
Multiple Contexts and Referents' discussing 'The New Testament's legitimate,
accurate, and multifaceted use of the Old\ In his model, he observes that in NT
citations 'the sense of a passage is fixed, but referents shift in surprising (but
scripturally anticipated) directions as a result of the progress of divine events'
(113). Bock relies on a two-levels-of-meaning approach: 'historical-exegetical'
and 'theological-canonical'. For Bock it is not an either-or: 'the text can yield
meaning at either level and the meaning of the two readings are interrelated'
(117-118).

Finally, Peter Enns' approach is 'Fuller Meaning, Single Goal' which
involves 'A Christotelic approach to the New Testament use of the Old and its
first-century interpretive environment'. Enns stands, largely, on the opposite
end as Kaiser. He argues that the NT must be read alongside second temple
Jewish texts and was influenced by the same hermeneutical traditions and
strategies. He also argues that it is simply too difficult and anachronistic to
assume that the NT authors' use of the OT does and should conform to our
modern standards of legitimacy. He accepts that, though sometimes the NT
author was interested in the original context of the OT passage, it is not
necessary. What was important was that the OT passage was read in light of
Christ as telos to which the OT story is moving. In terms of whether or not it is

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expected that modem interpreters should rephcate the NT authors'
hermeneutics, Enns argues that we are probably best off imitating their
'Christotelic goal' and eschatological focus, and not as much their specific
hermeneutical methods.

The book ends with a very nice summary (along with a chart) of the
viewpoints expressed and where each contributor falls on key issues in the
discussion. It is not easy to declare one of the participants a clear 'winner' in
this debate, as readers will naturally appreciate different arguments, viewpoints,
and rebuttals. However, I suppose that many like myself will lean more towards
Bock's tempered approach which neither goes as far as Kaiser in seeing the OT
author as so forward-looking, nor as far as Enns in keeping the hermeneutic so
distant and ambiguous. In any case, the exercise of simply reading these views,
without feeling the need to make a decision on who was most convincing, is
profitable and I commend this book to anyone interested in the New Testament's
relationship to the Old Testament.

Nijay K Gupta, Seattle Pacific University

John P. Meier. A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus. Volume 4, Law
and Love. Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library. New Haven: Yale University
Press, 2009. Xiii + 735 pp., cloth, $55.00.

The fourth volume of John P. Meier's A Marginal Jew is, possibly, the
most exciting in this excellent series. Meier breaks new ground for
understanding, and Jesus' role within, first century Palestinian Judaism as a
teacher of halakah, or how to live, for, as Meier concludes: "No halakic Jesus,
no historical Jesus" (648).

This simple conclusion does not, however, make the historian's task
easier. To grasp the significance of Jesus' halakic teaching, one must consider
"how Jesus can at one and the same time affirm the Law as given, as the
normative expression of God's will for Israel, and yet in a few individual cases
of legal areas ... teach ... what is contrary to the law simply on his own
authority." To answer this question, Meier discusses the following topics: "Jesus
and the Law - But What is the Law?" (26-73); "Jesus' Teaching on Divorce"
(74-181); "The Prohibition on Oaths" (182-234); "Jesus and the Sabbath (235-
341); "Jesus and Purity Laws" (342-477); "Widening the Focus: The Love
Commandment of Jesus" (478-646); and "Conclusion" (647-663).

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As with any other first century Jewish teacher, the historical Jesus musi
have been concerned deeply with the legal discussions of halakah Yet, Jesus
stands alone in his prohibition of divorce and oaths. In these two instances, Jesus
took positions that actually refute provisions in the Mosaic Law. "By completel}
forbidding divorce, Jesus dares to forbid what the law allows — and not only ir
some minor, obscure halakic observance but in one of the most important lega
institutions in society" (113). In contrast to Deuteronomy 24:1 and the Mishnat
tract Gittin (see especially mGit.9:\), Jesus prohibited divorce in Mark 10:2-1^
on the grounds of God's intention at creation. Meier concludes that this
prohibition derives from the historical Jesus. Likewise, prohibition of oaths
found in Matthew 5:34-37 (see also Jas. 5:12), likely goes back to the historica
Jesus. In both cases, Jesus prohibited something not only allowed, bu
sometimes even required by the Mosaic Law.

Meier expresses less certainty that the gospel teachings on the purit}
laws and the love command derive from the historical Jesus. Mark 7:1-23 is
deemed especially problematic. Meier concludes that, with the possible
exception of 7:10-12, the condemnation of qorban, that Mark 7 is an earl)
Christian dispute over the validity of Mosaic dietary laws read back into the life
of Jesus.

Likewise, Jesus' teaching on the love command is not as simple as i
appears. Meier is confident that the unique combination of Deuteronomy 6:A-t
and Leviticus 19:18b (Mk. 12:28-34), which prioritizes love of God anc
neighbor as the greatest and second commandments, stems from the historica
Jesus. On the other hand, the "golden rule" of Matthew 7:12 lacks theologica
justification and reflects common Jewish and Greco-Roman wisdom found ir
various sources. Therefore, Meier concludes the "golden rule" "cannot wit!
confidence be ascribed to the historical Jesus" (557). On the other hand, the
terse, "love your enemies" (Mt.5:44b//6:27b) is so unlike anything found ir
Judaism or Christianity that Meier concludes it derives from Jesus.

The Jesus that emerges will be disturbing to some readers. Far frorr
being a philosopher expounding on the virtues of universal love, Jesus was i
teacher deeply concerned with the legal debates of his time. He did not preact
love for love's sake. Instead, as a prophetic authority Jesus made stringeni
demands on the life of any would be disciple, "one that already is made possible
by and responds to the power of God's rule, present in Jesus' preaching anc
actions" (658). This observation alone is important for anyone who wishes tc

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understand Jesus' teaching on the Law, and gives more than adequate
justification for a careful reading and pondering of volume 4 of ^ MarginalJew.

Russell Morton

John Ashton. Understanding the Fourth Gospel. Rev. ed. Oxford/ New York:
Oxford University Press, 2007. Xx + 585 pp., cloth, $49.95.

This book is a thorough revision of Ashton 's early 1991 monograph.
The result is that the reader is treated to the mature thought of a leading
Johannine scholar. The book is well written and stimulating. Following an
introduction (1-56), Understanding the Fourth Gospel is divided into two
sections. The first, "Genesis" (57-302) examines the history of the Johannine
community and the gospel's place in the development of Christian thought. The
second, "Revelation" (303-529) is devoted to exegesis, considering the gospel's
"dominating motif (305).

Ashton accepts one of Bultmann's principle theories, that John's
Gospel was composed over a period of years (47). This conclusion places his
work in the mainstream of much of Johannine scholarship, represented by such
writers as R. E. Brown, J. L Martyn and B. Lindars. Ashton agrees with Martyn
that John reflects the history of the theological development of the Johannine
community in its controversy with the synagogue (100-35). For example,
Ashton concludes that the "I am" sayings "sum up and express insights which
can only have been reached through a profound reflection on the essence of
Jesus' message" (128).

Yet, although the Gospel of John was composed over a period of time,
well demonstrated by the literary seams and anomalies within the book, Ashton
also notes major themes of the gospel, particularly its account of Jesus' words.
Among the concepts to which Ashton devotes particular attention are "Messiah"
(141-94); "Son of God" (195-239) and "Son of man" (240-80). These terms
have their root in Jewish thought, but have been transformed in the course of the
Johannine community's dialogue with the synagogue. The terms have very
distinctive nuances. For example, "Messiah" is related to Jesus' actions,
particularly his signs (183). "Son of God" while possibly Jesus' self designation,
referring to his deep relationship with God, does not necessarily imply
incarnation or explain John's high Christology. In the term "Son of man", on

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the other hand, the Johannine writer(s) utiHze Daniel 7's designation of a
heavenly figure and apply it to Jesus. Through the equation of the earthly Jesus
with the heavenly Son of man, already prefigured in the Synoptic Gospels,
impetus is given for further Christological development within the Fourth
Gospel.

In part two, the implications of the Johannine community's theological
developments are applied to the interpretation of the gospel. It is noted, for
example, that John's gospel is not merely "realized eschatology," but also
"apocalyptic" in the true sense of the term, an unveiling. In Jesus, God is not
only revealed in history, but intervenes in the demonstration of divine glory (p.
329). But, this glory is not manifested in the usual way. It is revealed in Jesus'
departure from this world. This theme is especially prominent in the farewell
discourse of John 14-17, which Ashton views as a composite composition.
Perhaps, in Ashton's view, the best way to view this material, particularly the
promise of the Paraclete, is as an example of Jewish testamentary literature, such
as found in the Testament of Moses, which is reproduced on pp. 454-59. The
final discourse prepares the reader for the last narrative, the passion and
resurrection. Ashton reads the resurrection symbolically, indicating that the
community fulfills in its experience Jesus' role. Because the "Crucified One is
rightly recognized as the Risen Lord; in pursuing its mission the community re-
enacts the experience of Jesus himself (486).

Ashton's book is thought provoking. Certainly a casual reader of
John's gospel would fail to note the nuances that differentiate the titles Son of
man, Messiah and Son of God. At the same time, there is something a bit dated
in the presentation. Although a reworking of the earlier edition, the main
conversation is still with Bultmann, Dodd, Martyn and Brown. Other writers,
such as Moloney, while cited, are not engaged with same vigor. Thus, while
Ashton's book is certainly worth reading, it needs to be a beginning point in the
study of John's theology and message.

Russell Morton

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Jerry Sumney, Colossians: A Commentary. New Testament Library. Louisville:
Westminster John Knox, 2008. Pp. 344, cloth, $49.95.

The scholarly study of Colossians, especially in the form of
commentaries, is currently blossoming. Students of this epistle benefit from
excellent detailed commentary work from such eminent scholars as James D.G.
Dunn, P.T. O'Brien, Markus Barth, and F.F. Bruce. In recent years,
commentaries have also come from Marianne Meye Thompson, Ben
Witherington III, and Charles Talbert. Can another commentary on Colossians
be justified? In my estimation, Sumney's commentaries fits a niche that has not
yet been filled, even with the challenge of working in a series known for its
short page length.

Sumney's commentary does not offer verse-by-verse exegetical
discussion with close attention to Greek words, grammatical details, and
relevant parallel ancient texts. Given the style and constraints of the series, he
offers, essentially, a 'forest' (without microscopic attention to the 'trees')
perspective. In terms of method, it is more properly a social, rhetorical, and
theological approach to Colossians. He accomplishes this with great aplomb. In
terms of social context, he is particularly attentive to the Roman Empire and
matters of politics (and especially the politics of identity and resistance to the
status quo). As for rhetoric, he appeals to classical rhetorical categories and
tools that the Colossian author appears to employ to persuade his readers. He is
also sensitive to the overall theology of Colossians regularly discussing matters
pertaining to Christology, theology (the study of God), ecclesiology,
eschatology, and ethics.

Sumney stops once in a while to discuss a particular interpretive
problem or important 'background' matter with an extended excursus. His
discussion of the Colossian household code is especially excellent, as he draws
from the latest research in political theory, sociology, and postcolonial criticism.
One small concern kept coming to mind as I progressed through this
commentary. Sumney leans towards viewing Colossians as pseudonymous, as
many scholars do. In and of itself, this is not a surprise. However, it tends to
color his comments, especially as Sumney can come across as depicting the
author as using rhetorical tools to manipulate his readers into feeling, thinking,
and doing the kinds of things the false writer desires.

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Nevertheless, Sumney does not limit or suppress the theological weight
of this epistle, but capably raises important themes and motifs throughout the
book. In the end, it is probably too brief and cursory to be consulted for general
exegetical discussion, but especially when considering how Colossians is
understood in the context of the Roman Empire, there is great wisdom in the
pages of this commentary.

Nijay K. Gupta

Craig L. Blomberg & Mariam J. Kamell. James. Exegetical Commentary on the
New Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008. 280 pp., hardback, $24.99.

Although once dubbed the 'strawy epistle' by Martin Luther, the epistle
of James has enjoyed a resurgence of scholarly attention in the last several
decades. From Dibelius' form critical analysis to liberationist readings such as
Poverty and Wealth by Maynard-Reid, the letter continues to both allude and
fascinate all types of readers. Blomberg and Kamell' s work is a welcomed
addition to the growing research on James.

The format for the commentary is reader-friendly and easily navigated.
The introductory section covers both structure and authorship. The arguments
for and against James (the brother of Jesus) as the author are presented in a clear
and concise manner. The footnotes offer the reader additional discussion and an
abundance of resources for further study.

Chapters 1 through 1 1 provide the exegetical analysis of the epistle of
James. For each section of text, the authors first provide the literary context, a
one to two-sentence main idea, a structure, and an exegetical outline.
Additionally, a graphic layout of the English translation is presented in which
the reader is able to see the main ideas of the passage (put in bold font) as well
as how clauses and phrases are grouped together. This layout captures the Greek
sentence structure and makes it accessible to readers who are not proficient in
Greek. Each chapter also contains a verse by verse explanation based on the
Greek text of James. The emphasis of the analysis is to convey meaning through
an examination of "words and images, grammatical details, relevant OT and
Jewish background to a particular concept, historical and cultural context,
important text-critical issues, and various interpretational issues that surface"
(1 1-12). Readers are invited to further reflect on issues that emerge out of the

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text by means of an "In Depth" section. Finally, each chapter concludes with a
segment on "Theology in Application" in which the authors summarize the
theological message of the text under consideration and offer suggestions on
how the message can speak to the church today.

The final chapter of the commentary presents the theology of James.
The authors indicate that they use headings that emerge from an "inductive
study of the text" and deal with the theological topics in an order that proceeds
fi"om "the most central to the most peripheral" (254). In this chapter, the themes
presented are: wealth and poverty, trials and temptations, wisdom and speech,
prayer, faith and works, law and word, God, Christology, eschatology, and a
short section on other themes. These themes are presented in concise fashion
and are not exhaustive treatments. The authors allow the text to speak rather
than imposing their particular theological suppositions upon the reader.

The commentary also includes a helpful Scripture index, subject index,
and author index as an aid to the reader.

The strength of this commentary series is its accessibility for all types
of readers. For those with knowledge of Greek, this commentary would be a
great resource for an advanced Greek course or Greek-based book study of
James. For those without Greek proficiency, the benefits of the commentary can
still be reaped through its clear presentation and analysis of the text and
theology of James.

Melissa L. Archer, Pentecostal Theological Seminary

David A. deSilva. Seeing Things John 's Way: The Rhetoric of the Book of
Revelation. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009. ix + 349 pp. $39.95

In brief, deSilva's study aims to understand Revelation in its original
setting. Distinctive to his study is his use of ancient Greco-Roman classical
rhetoric. Within this exegetical framework, he examines the overall literary
structure of Revelation, its social and literary settings, authorship, date of
writing, as well as providing a critical discussion of popular interpretative
approaches to Revelation. In a final provocative chapter, deSilva applies the
fi-uits of his exegesis to modem readers through challenging them to see
Revelation as protest literature against an Empire committed to domination.

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deSilva demonstrates how studying Revelation from the perspective of
classical orators' use of ethos, pathos and logos is exegetically valuable. In
terms of ethos, deSilva examines how the author of Revelation (John)
establishes his credentials to present his views about the world through his
understanding of Jesus' life, death and resurrection (chapters 5-6). In chapters 7-
8, deSilva shows how John appeals to the emotions (pathos) of his hearers to
encourage those who set themselves at odds with Rome and its policies. In
chapters 9, 10 and 1 1, deSilva considers John's concern for logos showing how
Revelation exhibits rational argumentation.

deSilva also discusses John's concern for ethos, pathos and logos
within the framework of three central rhetorical genres: epideictic, deliberative,
and forensic. He shows how they assist John in addressing his listeners in their
various situations. He concludes that epideictic and deliberative genres are the
most prominent. This might seem a surprising conclusion to reach given John's
predilection for forensic language. However, deSilva argues that John uses
forensic topics for deliberative purposes calling Christians to withdraw from
Rome.

In a final chapter, deSilva responds to criticism that Revelation is
violent and anti-Christian. In particular he tackles criticism against John being
too authoritarian in regards to the churches he writes to (315). He also takes
issue with those who attack John's use of feminine imagery believing that it
contributes to the alienation of women readers. Without denying the valid
concerns of commentators regarding how such language can be used for
purposes of domination, deSilva is concerned to avoid reading Revelation
outside of its own literary context. Therefore, deSilva's careful application of
classical rhetoric places him in a good position to respond to these issues in a
way that places John in his first-century context rather than imposing
anachronistic ideas or questions on Revelation which John would never have
imagined or asked.

Although this book is technical, it is lucid and can, therefore, act as
introductory to Revelation students but also stimulate and challenge graduates
and established scholars. An example of this lucidity can be found on pages 25-
26 where an overview of each chapter of the book is provided. Better still, it is
accompanied with questions that deSilva himself has in mind. Students, as part
of developing good reading strategies, may choose to return to these pages to be
reminded of central questions deSilva tackles.

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An obvious critical question we might ask of deSilva is whether he errs
in understanding Revelation as addressing only Christian communities living in
Asia Minor? It is a common view that John has in mind the whole of world
history and not only the seven churches in Asia Minor. However, Revelation, for
deSilva, arises from the late first-century context empowered by its own meta-
narrative, i.e. the Hebrew Bible and Jesus. For deSilva, John does not envisage
the dark ages, Sadam Hussein, 9/11, or the present Middle East crisis. He draws
upon the Hebrew Bible to demonstrate how the seven churches in Asia-Minor
are mirrored in Israel's exile in Egypt, Assyria or Babylon.

Some scholars might question deSilva's use of ancient classic rhetoric
for exegesis. It would, however, be unfair to accuse deSilva of imposing foreign
classical text books of rhetoric. To this extent deSilva application of classical
rhetoric is as an exegetical tool to enable modem readers to cross from their own
setting to that of first-century Asia Minor. To this extent deSilva is exegetically
sound in his use of classical rhetoric framework.

The only downside I see of deSilva's application of classical rhetoric is
that other heuristic tools are neglected. This is demonstrated in deSilva's index
of ancient texts where the Dead Sea Scrolls hardly get a mention. The lack of
attention to the War Scroll, for example, which in view of Bauckham's work on
Revelation as a Christian War Scroll {Climax of Prophecy Edinburgh: T&T
Clark, 1993: 210-237) is surprising. Surely the well-known Jewish notion of
God's justice being established through holy war would be of key significance
in understanding Revelation's literary conventions. I would like to know why
classical rhetoric is of more importance than the more socially and culturally
related writings from Qumran.

Overall, I highly recommend this book as a major contribution to our
understanding of Revelation in its own context. This book is the product of a
senior scholar who has invested much of his time on Revelation and must be
taken seriously.

Mark Bredin, Tutor for Extension Studies, St John's Theological College,
Nottingham, and associate lecturer Cambridge University

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Diogenes Allen and Eric O. Springsted. Philosophy for Understanding
Theology, 2"'* ed. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2007. 252 pp.,
paper, $29.95.

Philosophy for Understanding Theology is a most impressive
pedagogical product from Diogenes Allen and Eric O. Springsted. The aim of
the book matches well with the title. They concentrate on philosophical concepts
that lead the theological student into the ideas, logic, and arguments that are
helpful in explaining Christian doctrines and have been catalysts for
differentiation and distinction within the entire Christian tradition.

The preface states clearly the motivation behind the book. Allen and
Springsted acknowledge the problems that have arisen in seminaries and divinity
schools due to the lack of philosophical education. The question of faith and
reason has been translated by some into the exclamation theology versus
philosophy. As for others the question has lingered inconspicuously in the
background, never making its way to the fore. Still, other theology students
recognize the importance of philosophy, but have not had the advantage of
adequate philosophical studies, not to mention any that are immediately relevant
to their theological concerns.

Allen begins the introduction by defining and demonstrating what
ontology and epistemology are. He smartly weaves these concepts as enduring
threads throughout the work. The first three chapters deal with Plato and the
Platonic tradition. Allen segues seamlessly into a treatment of Aristotle and
likewise from there into Medieval Scholasticism. He then focuses the book onto
Aquinas' natural theology and the Barthian and process critiques of it. Chapter
seven backtracks to the advent of nominalism and treats conceptual trajectories,
or perhaps commonalities, that take place in the Renaissance and the Scientific
Revolution. The next chapter succinctly treats Rationalism, Empiricism, and the
Enlightenment. Having ended that chapter with Hume's perplexing problems, he
spends chapter nine on Kant. The subsequent chapter moves to Hegel's turn to
history: his attempt to circumvent the severe limitations that Kant put on
knowledge. Chapter eleven treats an array of issues in contemporary philosophy
including existentialism, phenomenology, and hermeneutics. The last two
chapters, not found in the first edition, and written by Springsted, deal with
postmodern philosophy on a significant array of issues, such as hermeneutics,
social issues, and physical science.

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The authors do not stray from the original impetus of the book in all
that they include and the figures covered. Although, their interlocutors go
unnamed, they do overturn some common misperceptions in theological
literature circulating today such as the claims that ancient Greek thought is
purely cognitive and the unfortunate identification by some of Ockham's
nominalism with contemporary thought structures of the same name.

The flow of the book is smooth. The authors repeat important points
frequently that serve as markers that remind the reader where he or she has been
and is headed. Also, they will occasionally articulate important questions that
bear on a Christian assessment of a particular philosophy or figure, even when
they do not have the pages to respond. The quasi-chronological treatment of
philosophy — as opposed to a purely chronological or purely topical approach —
is effective in drawing out the impacts of the various trajectories or
undercurrents whose full force is not felt until after a significant lapse in history.
In short, they do not unnecessarily interrupt the flow, eschewing prolixity and
the dizzying effects that detailed histories of scholarship would have on the
philosophical theology neophyte.

A few specific highlights of the book are in order. Chapter four is a
concise explanation of the use of philosophy within the mysteries of the Trinity
and, albeit briefly, the incarnation. Allen masterfully demonstrates in a few
pages the appropriation of Aristotelian language and concepts by the
Cappadocians in the formulation of the doctrine of the Trinity. The book's last
chapters, twelve and thirteen, on postmodernism, will be found invaluable by the
student trying to get her bearings in philosophical discussions today. Here
Springsted demonstrates the effects of postmodemistic thought resonating
through various fields of learning. The addition of these last two chapters into
the second edition round out the book and bring it up to date.

There are a few minor points where the book could be improved. First,
although there are good reasons to treat Barth and process thought in the context
of Aquinas' natural theology, there are more reasons to treat them after or
alongside Hegel, a scarcely mentioned Schleiermacher, and other post-
enlightenment philosophers. Secondly, Barth and process thought should have
been treated in more detail due to their respective impacts on 20*-century
theology. Points like these are minor however when taking into account the
authors' obvious erudition and what they have accomplished in a mere 250
pages.

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Finally, there is the aspect of how best to use this book. It is definitely
not for the seminary student with virtually no background in philosophy to pick
up and read straight through. Rather it lends itself to being used in a couple
different scenarios. It serves as a primer for certain figures, epochs, connections,
and debates. The index may prove adequate in some instances for tracing out the
views throughout the history of philosophical theology on a particular topic.
Also, it could be used as a fine seminary coursework text for those informed
students that have had the sufficient theological background such that they are
already asking the questions Allen and Springsted are treating and who can fill
in the gaps for themselves in what the authors do not cover. These two manners
of using the book just described will help the student glean the most since the
authors draw out important clues and connections in philosophical development
whose import on theology they do not always state. Theology students would do
themselves a great service in making it their goal to eventually make it through
this book and grasp each chapter's salient points.

Jonathan S. Marko, Calvin Theological Seminary

James K. Mead, Biblical Theology: Issues, Methods, and Themes. Louisville:
Westminster John Knox, 2007. Pp. 328, paper, $29.95.

One could say that in recent years 'biblical theology' (BT) as a
discipline and topic has made a comeback. This is due, in part, to postmodemity
and its challenge to the reign of historical criticism which, in many of its
manifestations, found the pursuits of biblical theologians naive and
methodologically suspicious. Another reason why BT has been leased a new
life is the recent interest in the theological interpretation of Scripture, inspired
in part by the neo-orthodoxy of Karl Barth who passionately promoted a God-
centered view of theology (versus an anthropocentric perspective) and also
Brevard Childs who fostered an appreciation for studying the Bible in its
canonical form. Thus, the time is ripe to take the discussion of this topic further.

In this very usefiil introductory book, James Mead offers a way into the
discussion for the uninitiated. As the subtitle explains, he presents the major
issues, methods, and themes discussed within the circle of those who have
contributed to the topic of BT. The real beauty of this book is that Mead covers
nearly everything one might need to know about BT in its history of

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interpretation while also presenting the information in a very simple and
straightforward way. In six chapters he covers these topics, respectively: the
definition of BT, the history of its study, issues raised in BT, the methods used,
themes that are developed through BT, and where the subject may go in the
future.

In the first chapter Mead defines BT simply as a discipline that 'seeks
to identify and understand the Bible's theological message, that is, what the
Bible says about God and God's relation to all creation, especially to
humankind' (2). He deals also with the matter of the canon, its authors and
framers, the overall unity of the Bible (or lack thereof) and some preliminary
hermeneutical matters. Not much here is surprising.

I found the second chapter, on the history of interpretation, to be very
stimulating, for Mead begins, not with modem scholarship, but by going back to
how Scripture interprets itself ('intrabiblical theological reflection'), moving on
to the 'growth of the canon', into medieval BT hermeneutics, through the
Reformation, ending with Post-Reformation scholarship and those beyond. He
aptly concludes that pre-critical scholarship raised many of the same issues,
even if only in a cursory fashion, that occupied the Enlightenment era in the
study of BT.

The third and fourth chapters, on issues and methods related to BT, are
quite wide-ranging and deal with matters such as scope, contextual issues for the
modem interpreter, the problem of organizing a BT, and certain hermeneutical
and epistemological challenges to undertaking the task of BT. In these sections
it is evident that Mead has distilled a massive amount of research, frequently
summarizing the work of James Barr, Walter Bmeggemann, Rudolf Bultmann,
Brevard Childs, Walter Eichrodt, Johann Gabler, Gerhard Hasel, Gerhard von
Rad, and Charles Scobie (to offer only a sampling). Such a synthesis is an
impressive resource with great insight regarding common ground and
divergences between these scholars.

Mead offers his own brief overview of 'themes' in BT in the fifth
chapter arranged under three main categories: 'The God attested in BT', 'Living
in Reladonship with God', and 'Living in Relationship with other Human
Being'. The final chapter offers 'prospects' for BT and treats, again, the areas
of definition, history of BT, issues, methods, and themes.

I detected only two very minor shortcomings of the book. First, given
the constant interaction with numerous significant BT scholars, I was surprised

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at and frustrated with the use of endnotes versus footnotes. I personally can
never see justification for using endnotes in an academic book unless the notes
are entirely personal anecdotes and points of clarification (rather than citations
of sources). In fact, there are many times when Mead quotes a scholar, but does
not name him or her in the main text. One is left to flip to the back of the book
to even discover the author being cited. Secondly, because Mead is interacting
with so many scholars, he has a tendency to lump many people together in
categories that only loosely unify a group of scholars. This labeling, though, is
almost practically impossible to avoid, but it can come across as inaccurate at
times.

The above concerns notwithstanding, I learned a lot from this book and
I will turn to it time and time again as a reference for the viewpoints of various
scholars of BT. It is an excellent text and would make a very useftil textbook
for a course on biblical theology.

Nijay K. Gupta

Everett Ferguson. Baptism in the Early Church: History, Theology, and Liturgy
in the First Five Centuries. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009. 975 pp., hardcover,
$60.00.

It would be difficult to commend highly enough the work that Everett
Ferguson's Baptism in the Early Church represents. Here we have a
comprehensive examination of the texts, history, and developments of baptism
in the Christian tradition during the first five centuries. Just like Ferguson's
earlier volume. Backgrounds of Early Christianity, readers will find the
immense benefit of this book to be in the synthesis of ideas, not innovation.

After surveying the scholarly landscape with regard to studies on
baptism (pp. 1-22), Ferguson begins his own undertaking by exploring
antecedents to Christian baptism. Included in this section are explorations of
Greco-Roman washings for purification and Jewish ritual washings. Because the
use of water as a means for purification is "widespread in the religions of the
world" (p. 25), it should come as no surprise that many have drawn parallels
between Christian baptism and pagan religious ceremonies which pre-date
baptism. Addressing this common correlation, Ferguson notes that such
comparisons rest on blending the "preliminary baths with effects of the initiation

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itself. ..or... on late Christian writers who Christianized the significance of the
ceremonies" (p.29). In his detailed chapter on the use of the Bapt- root in
Classical and Hellenistic Greek, Ferguson concludes that the primary meaning
of baptizo is "to dip" implying submersion or a thorough overwhelming of the
object by an element (p. 59). This section concludes with a study of the meaning
and manner of John's baptism in the New Testament and Josephus.
Interestingly, Ferguson asserts two functions of John's baptism which are
(admittedly) provocative and contested: initiation into "true Israel" and
protestation of the current temple establishment (p. 93).

Part two explores Christian baptism throughout the New Testament by
examining each of the relevant texts within their canonical framework. The
treatment begins with the baptism of Jesus, which he sees as a transition
between John's baptism and Christian baptism (p. 99) and continues to examine
early textual interpretations (pp. 113-123) and artistic representations (pp. 123-
131) of that baptism. Ferguson's analysis of the Pauline baptism texts concludes
by emphasizing the role of the association established in baptism with the death
and resurrection of Christ which draw out the themes of forgiveness of sins and
new life in the Spirit (p. 164). The book of Acts provides numerous texts to
survey which aid in discussing the manner of baptism in the early church.
Ferguson concludes that baptism was performed "in Jesus' name" and was
always accompanied by gospel proclamation (p. 185). Further, human response
was typically required and a confessed faith was called upon. Thus, Ferguson
asserts that paedobaptism should not be inferred from any New Testament text
(p. 198).

In Ferguson's exploration of baptismal practices in the late second and
third centuries, he explores the roots of paedobaptism and offers an explanation
of its' origin by appealing to various cases of emergency baptisms of sick
children (p. 378-79, 856-57). The primary evidence he cites in favor of this
conclusion are Christian inscriptions (typically gravestones) which often have a
close correlation between a date of baptism and a date of death (p. 372).
Although infant baptism is not well-attested as a normal practice in the first
centuries, by the fourth century it appears to have emerged as a more routine
practice (p. 379, 627).

Although a book of this size and leamedness does not make for light
reading, the depth and breadth of detail make it an incredibly useful reference
tool for understanding the nature and development of baptism at various stages

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in early Christian tradition. The book is logically laid out-section divisions by
century-with chapters on specific corpora of literature. Most sections conclude
with summary remarks, drawing together all the information gleaned in a helpful
format. This text will surely find its place as the "go to" volume on Christian
baptism in earliest Christianity.

Seth M. Ehom, Wheaton College Graduate School

Jerome H. Neyrey, Give God the Gloiy: Ancient Prayer and Worship in
Cultural Perspective. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007. Pp. 273, paper, $20.00.

It is a sad fact that the topic of prayer is very rarely ever studied by
Biblical scholars. Therefore, I was eager to read Neyrey's treatment of prayer
from a social-scientific perspective and his research does not disappoint.
Neyrey has often argued that full recognition should be given to the fact that
ancient Mediterranean culture is 'radically "other" in regards to ours' and, thus,
insights can and should be gained from applying models and concepts from the
social sciences (and especially cultural anthropology) to the biblical texts (see 1-
2 in introduction). In this particular book he focuses exclusively on prayer with
a view towards its shape, meaning, and social dimensions as discussed in the
New Testament and in early Christianity in general.

The first chapter seeks to appropriately define prayer with the use of
'social and cultural lenses' (7). He appropriates Bruce Malina's model of
analyzing prayer as an 'act of communication' that involves a (I) sender, (2)
message, (3) medium, (4) receiver, and (5) purpose (8-10). He also discusses
types of prayer: petitionary, regulatory, interactional, self-focused, heuristic,
imaginative/contemplative, and acknowledgement. In this chapter he also
engages with the question of how the giving of honor (ascribed and/or achieved)
figures into ancient conceptions of prayer.

In the second chapter, Neyrey explores 'the cultural world of the pray-
er'. Stepping away from the topic of prayer in particular, he introduces the
modern reader to the important cultural models that would have defined their
world at the time. Therefore, he discusses value systems, honor and shame,
types of exchanges, forms of reciprocity, patron-client relationships, and rituals.
Under media of exchange, I found most interesting Neyrey's description of
Talcott Parsons four-fold categories: power (by authority), commitment (by

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close relationship [i.e. friend, brother, lover), inducement (by payment/tangible
benefit), and influence (by logic/transfer of information). Neyrey points out
that, when it comes to prayer, the one praying can hardly use any of these to
impact a deity except 'commitment'. He notes that, when biblical pray-ers refer
to the God who chose his people or God the Father, this is an appeal based on
commitment (see 45-46).

Chapters 3 and 4 attempt to demonstrate and apply these cultural
models to particular prayers in the NT and early Christian literature. Chapter 3
gives special attention to the Lord's Prayer. In the fourth chapter, Neyrey
focuses on doxological prayers and the way that they enhance the glory and
honor of God by labeling him 'first' (or 'only'). The fifth chapter reflects more
widely on the topic of 'worship' from a cultural perspective. Neyrey highlights,
not only how pray-ers communicate with the deity, but how their god
communicates with them. In the case of 'God speaking to the Jesus group',
Neyrey outlines these forms: hearing the Scriptures, hearing the words of Jesus,
hearing the deeds of Jesus, hearing Jesus honored, homilies to the Holy Ones,
exhortations, and prophecy. The sixth and seventh chapters zoom in on three
case studies in prayer and worship: John 14-17, the Didache and Justin's First
Apology.

In my opinion, Neyrey has succeeded in doing what he intended to do,
that is: 'to use appropriate models from the social sciences to interpret a wide
variety of materials that are generally lumped together as "petition" and
"worship"' (245). In studies of this kind, it is not uncommon to see religious
language and behavior de-theologized and dissected in such a way as to explain
away the social dimensions of the literature, setting aside its metaphysical
orientation. Neyrey does a fine job shedding light on these texts using social-
scientific models without immediately making conclusions about the question of
God. One of the most attractive features about Neyrey' s writing style is its
accessibility. I would be happy to recommend this to both a research scholar
and a theology student. If I have one small quibble with the book, it is only that
I had wished the chapters were more streamlined, such that they flow easily
from one to the next. Nevertheless, this is a much-needed treatment of a very
important topic of Christian theology and biblical studies and I whole-heartedly
recommend it to all.

Nijay K. Gupta

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Book Reviews

Peter Vardy. An Introduction to Kierkegaard. Peabody: Hendrickson, 2009. 109
pp., paper, $14.95.

In my mind, there are two kinds of people: those that understand
philosophers and those that do not. I am one of the latter. Yet I recognize that
so many philosophers, especially several Christian philosophers, have made a
huge impact on western thought. Thus, I have always been interested in
philosophy, but this area has yet remained largely inaccessible to me. When I
saw this book, therefore, I had hope that someone could invite me to join the
conversation without too much intimidation. Peter Vardy has not let me down!

Vardy's An Introduction to Kierkegaard is basic, but he is full of
passion and excitement about Kierkegaard that his world and thoughts come
alive for the reader. And, at just over one hundred pages, it is a modest length
that enables one to finish the book rather quickly. He begins with some
biographical notes regarding Soren Kierkegaard's upbringing, education, and
key experiences before spending several chapters on his writings. The
biographical elements are so critical to understanding his philosophy as he was a
tortured and troubled soul with many skeletons in his closet and events that
affected his view of God, humanity, and the world around him.

When it comes to Kierkegaard's actual philosophy, Vardy starts
broadly with his view of faith and reason and the nature of truth. Then he goes
into the three life stages of aesthetic, ethical, and religious (the first two leading
into despair). Finally, he handles miscellaneous subjects such as works of love,
inter-religious dialogue, and Kierkegaard's relationship with the church.

Vardy's writing style is very attractive, as he regularly draws modem
illustrations (Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, The Truman Show, etc..) to
demonstrate some aspect of Kierkegaard's thought or argumentation. Also, his
work is not only descriptive, but he sometimes corrects false notions of this
philosopher. For example, Vardy argues that Kierkegaard's existentialism is
largely misunderstood as his view of subjectivity and personal belief is not as
universal categorically as others have been led to believe.

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If you are like me, finding philosophers dense and difficult to
comprehend, I commend this book to you. Vardy has brought this great thinker
to my level without too much reduction, a feat not accomplished by many
theologians.

Nijay K. Gupta

Elizabeth Conde-Frazier, S. Steve Kang, and Gary A. Parrett. A Many Colored
Kingdom: Multicultural Dynamics for Spiritual Formation. Grand Rapids:
Baker Academic, 1994. 224 pp., paper, $24.00.

The book engages three professors who want to bridge the gap in
spiritual formation and building relationships across cultures. Conde-Frazier is a
Puerto Rican-American religious education professor; Kang is a Korean-
American Christian formation and ministry professor; and Parrett is a white
American educational ministry professor. All three have a passion for spiritual
formation, yet come from different cultural backgrounds that shape their view of
the subject. "This book is both an exploration and an experimenf (7). With
three diverse professors discussing spiritual formation, it creates an experiment
in which one can explore spiritual formation from different angles, yet bringing
all to the importance of reconciliation with one another.

With such diversity, it is important to clarify terms such as "culture,"
"race," "ethnicity," "class," and "gender;" which is accomplished in the
introduction of the book" (17-21).

Chapter one reveals three stories that portray the differences in the
authors' lives which account for their perspective and passion on spiritual
formation and multiculturalism.

Written by Kang and Parrett, chapter two explains, "Personal
experience may play a key part in forming conviction commitments regarding
issues of culture and ethnicity. Far more significant, however must be the
reading of Scripture" (51). Thus, Scripture reveals that Christ is "Lord of the
Nations" which is an inclusion statement (51).

Chapter three is about the cross and reconciliation with "neighbor,"
"stranger," and "to the ends of the earth" (65-70). Parrett ends this chapter with
"unity" giving a compelling argument for reconciliation (75-78).

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Chapter four considers three "theological frameworks for kingdom
citizens" (79). Kang presents the faith community and how it develops people.
Exploration of "theologies for kingdom-building Christian formation" is
considered (88). He ends with "critical pedagogies" that will contend for "social
reconstruction" (104).

Chapter five embarks on two subjects; "prejudice and conversion"
(105). Conde-Frazier writes, "Christian education in a context that is diverse in
terms of gender, class, culture, and ethnicity requires a multicultural sensitive
pedagogy, or pedagogy of reconciliation" (105). Professors need to teach
students to "recognize the image of God reflected in each culture" (107).
Prejudice must be eradicated. Conversion must be embraced, which is "turning
to new patterns and habits" (119).

Chapter six considers the need for culturally sensitive ministers. Parrett
states one must be "secure in the love of God" (125). Freedom to love others
comes easily once one is secure in God's love.

In chapter seven, Kang imparts, "the more self-discloser and embracing
of one another there is - in terms of sharing the values, assumptions, and life
views that are being sanctified through the work of the Triune God - the more
potential there is for formation to take place among citizens of the kingdom
community" (153). In a learning community, the teacher and the student are
learning together. It is a "mutual formation process" in which the teacher is a
"model and friend," an "enabler," an "innovator," and a "questioner" (155-166).
Although learning should be mutual, it is not always lived out in the classroom;
thus hindering true kingdom community.

Chapter eight, written by Conde-Frazier, brings a "spiritual journey as
the framework" for the previous chapters (167). It is contended that "hospitality"
is the beginning work of multiculturalism (171). "Encounters" with those of
other cultures involves being open to others, listening to their stories, and even
the chance to ask questions (176). Shalom is the ultimate response. "It is the
biblical vision in which all of creation is one..." (206).

This book concludes with all three authors giving their final thoughts
on how to live out the biblical vision of living in A Many Colored Kingdom.
Although it is a well written, thought provoking book with a strong multicultural
value, it would only improve by having an Afi^ican-American voice.

Overall there are solid teaching principles throughout the book with
underpinnings of theological and bibhcal values. Strong support is given with a

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dynamic approach from three perspectives, yet tying it all together for the
advancement of the kingdom of God. This is a must read for every professor as
it will allow readers to consider their own teaching and approach to students of
varied backgrounds, as v/ell as how to bring community in a greater sense to the
classroom.

Dawn Morton

Stephen Bourke, et al. The Middle East: The Cradle of Civilization Revealed
(Ancient Civilizations). London: Thames & Hudson/ Lane Cove, NSW,
Australia: Global Book Publishing, 2008. 368 pp., cloth, $24.99.

This lavishly illustrated, coffee-table type volume is ideal for browsing and
exploration for all ages. The organizers drew on the expertise of fourteen
scholars from Australia, Canada, Israel, Great Britain, and the United States.
The contents are divided into seven sections, given here with subsections:
Introducing the Middle East (what is the Middle East?; peoples and cultures;
economy and agriculture; water's importance, archaeological finds). The Fertile
Crescent: Birthplace of Agriculture (early humans, advent of agriculture,
Neolithic cultures), Mesopotamia: The Cradle of Civilization (urban expansion,
emerging city-states, Ur), Power Struggles: Kingdoms at War (growing city-
states, western states, Assyria's rise). Masters of the Known World: The Age of
Empires (Assyrian and its rivals, Medes and Babylonians, Persians), Under
Occupation: Hellenistic and Roman Conquerors (Hellenistic conquerors,
Romans and Parthians, Byzantines and Sasanians), Search for Origins: The
Rediscovery of the Middle East (travelers to and antique land, first discoveries,
developing a discipline). The book concludes with a three-page chronology
spanning from the Paleolithic period to the spread of Islam and the collapse of
the Umayyad dynasty, a two-page bibliography for fiarther reading, a subject
index, and acknowledgements.

The volume is aimed at the popular rather than a scholarly audience, with
clear, succinct writing and no footnote references. Every page has at least one
frill color photograph or map, and there are numerous sidebars to delve further
into particular topics of interest. As is clear from the contents, the Bible is not
the main focus, but biblical characters and events receive mention, and the
volume serves well to place them in their historical and geographical context.

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No matter how literate we are, we all like pictures to accompany words, and this
work does an admirable job providing both. It will be a welcome addition to
church as well as personal libraries, and will make teaching and learning come
alive.

David W. Baker

Mordechai Cogan, The Raging Torrent: Historical Inscriptions from Assyria
and Babylonia Relating to Ancient Israel. A Carta Handbook. Jerusalem: Carta
[distributed by Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake, IN], 2008. Xiii+250 pp., hard,
$64.00.

The author, Professor of Biblical History at The Hebrew University in
Jerusalem, is very well qualified to produce this work. Among his many works
are commentaries on I and II Kings in the Anchor Bible series, and this volume
continues his interest in the historical background of the Hebrew Bible.

The volume consists of translation and comment on 47 texts. They are
organized into 12 chapters covering the period fi"om the 9* to 6* centuries BC,
namely the reigns of Shalmaneser III, Adad-nerari III, Shalmaneser IV, Tiglath-
pileser III, Sargon II, Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, Ashurbanipal, Nebuchadnezzar
II, and Cyrus, as well as the Assyrian Eponym and Neo-Babylonian Chronicles.

Each chapter begins with a brief introduction to the ruler and his
period. Each text also has its own introduction, pointing out ties to the Hebrew
Bible (among other things), a translation by the author from the most recent
scholarly text edition, an explanatory commentary, and a reference section
which includes bibliographic information for the official text edition, pervious
translations, and secondary studies of the piece. Interspersed are useful black-
and-white figures of the rulers and material relevant to the texts, as well as
appropriate maps. The book concludes with a brief appendix concerning the few
cuneiform royal inscriptions found in Israel, a glossary, chronological tables
from the 9"^-6"^ centuries of kings of Assyria, the Chaldean dynasty of
Babylonia, Egypt, and Israel and Judah, and indices of biblical, classical and
Mishnaic sources, divine names, persons, and geographic and ethnic names.

This volume cannot replace the standard sources such as J. B.
Pritchard's Ancient Near Eastern Texts relating to the Old Testament of William
Hallo and K. Lawson Younger' s 3 -volume Context of Scripture, nor does it set
out to do so. It is an excellent, more limited collection of historical texts which

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shed light on the important monarchical period in Israel. While of use to
scholars, it is also accessible for non-specialists who have an interest in either
history or the Bible.

David W. Baker

G. M. Grena. Lmlk — A Mystery Belonging to the King, vol. 1 . Redondo Beach,
CA: 4000 Years of Writing History, 2004, corrected 2010. 425 pp., hardback,
$199.99.

This interesting volume is a labor of love by its author, a professional
engineer with an interest in the topic of seal impressions from around Jerusalem
reading lmlk- 'belonging to / for the king'. It is a self-published work by one
who seems self-taught in the field. Grena draws material of many kinds from
numerous sources, and the book is supplemented by a web-site (www.lmlk.com)
where much of the material is available. In contrast to most published research,
the copyright page states "This document... is public domain that may be copied
& distributed without restrictions."

The chapters (which he calls 'layers', based on archaeological excavations)
include a discussion of the author's own background; a very brief discussion of
archaeology, written artifacts, and biblical places, including a map and list of
sites from which lmlk impressions have been recovered; relevant iconography;
an analysis of the paleography (letter forms) of the inscriptions and a discussion
of the biblical and extrabiblical uses of the words which they contain; various
seal types; the jars upon which the seals were impressed; the history of
discussion of the impressions; bibliography of discussions including numerous
excerpts (left untranslated if not in English) from most of the pieces, arranged by
period: 1870-1899 (11 works), 1899-1925 (38 works), 1925-1960 (44 works),
1960-1975 (56 works), 1976-1994 (71 works), and 1995- 2003 (36 works), plus
5 pages of supplemental bibliography; stratigraphy of the seal impressions' find
sites; suggestions concerning their meaning and use; a record of current
locations of the impressions. The book closes with a subject index, and has an
accompanying CD which contains the entire book in PDF and Microsoft Word
format (so making it searchable and able to be copied), high-resolution copies of
the figures used in the book, and some sample music tracks to provide
background for what the author describes as "not going to be your ordinary
scholarly reference work."

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Book Reviews

The volume provides a fascinating introduction to the topic, and shows
what amateurs in the field can do to make scholarship more accessible. The cost
of the volume works against this access for most, but the web-site can be used
by everyone.

David W. Baker

Victor H. Matthews, Studying the Ancient Israelites: A Guide to Sources and
Methods. Grand Rapids, Mich. /Nottingham, England: Baker Academic/ Apollos,
2007. Pp. 232, paper, $24.99.

As Victor H. Matthews, professor of religious studies at Missouri State
University, remarks in the introduction of this book, there is a lack of works
concerning the Israelites in their ancient Near Eastern environment (7). In a
form intended for students and educated laypeople, this volume seeks to fill this
gap by examining the ancient Israelites in their historical, literary, and social
context.

The first chapter of this book, "Historical Geography," deals with a
topic often neglected by biblical scholars. Yet, as Matthews notes, it is
foundational for understanding the ancient Israelites, especially for those of us
unfamiliar with an agrarian society (19-21). Scientific investigation of
topography and climate, archaeological surveys and excavations, and analysis of
ancient maps and historical records all contribute to understanding the
geographical layout of ancient Palestine (21-25). Within this framework, one is
able to more fully appreciate, for example, the meaning of the expression "from
Dan to Beersheba" in the Old Testament (Judg 20:1; 1 Sam 3:20; 2 Sam 3:10;
17:1 1; 24:2, 15) or the significance of the locations to which David brought his
army when Absalom revolted (2 Sam 15-17).

The next chapter, "Archaeology," begins with a discussion of the
limitations of archaeology. Matthews stresses that, because of these limitations,
archaeology cannot be used to prove the Bible (60). After describing a typical
excavation in Palestine (65-67), the author summarizes the types of artifacts that
can be discovered in an excavation: pottery and ceramic typology, architecture
(both domestic and monumental), tombs, and ancient Near Eastern texts such as
Shalmaneser's Black Obelisk inscription or the Arad Letters. According to
Matthews, each of these archaeological data "is one of the pieces of the puzzle"

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Ashland Theological Journal 2010

that "adds a dimension to what can be learned through close study and careful
attention to details" (89).

Matthews subsequently turns to the literature of the ancient Near East,
including the Old Testament. He emphasizes the need to read these ancient texts
from an etic perspective (92-93). Because as interpreters we are removed from
the society and culture of the ancient Near East, a variety of methods must be
employed to understand the biblical text, including textual criticism, form
criticism, structural criticism, and social-scientific criticism. This analytical
approach "does not dismiss the Bible but rather gives a better sense of the real
value that the Bible holds for a reconstruction of the world of ancient Israel"
(99).

The fourth chapter focuses on the application of social-scientific
criticism to studying the ancient Israelites. This approach entails identifying the
different layers of cultural meaning in the biblical text, best discerned by
determining the various perspectives of the Old Testament's authors and editors
(126-27). Matthews next provides a list of sociological questions that should be
asked of the biblical text (132-58) that includes a summary of ancient Israelite
social institutions, including marriage, inheritance, and patron-client
relationships.

The last chapter deals with historiography and the Hebrew Bible. To
demonstrate the "continuous, dynamic process" of the historian in interpreting
ancient records (163), several examples of the recording and interpreting process
(royal record keeping at Mari, Israelite administration and hnlk seals, and
Sennacherib's campaign against Judah in 701 BCE) are provided. Asking "what
do we really know about the history of ancient Israel?" Matthews contends that
the biblical text, ancient Near Eastern inscriptions, and archaeological data
support the possibility of writing a history of Israel (181-83). Lastly, in an
analysis of 1 Kings 16, the author concludes with a useful example of how
dialogue should proceed between the biblical text, archaeology, and
extrabiblical literary sources (191-95).

This volume provides a concise introduction to students of the Hebrew
Bible and ancient Near East. It is written clearly with many examples that give
the reader a better idea of how to apply the discussed concepts to the biblical
text. The numerous sidebars interspersed throughout the book are also quite
helpful. Advanced scholars may find this book's contents too elementary, but

157

Book Reviews

beginning students and their professors will welcome this work as a useful
educational resource for studying the ancient Israelites.

Benjamin J. Noonan, Hebrew Union College

Ronald J. Sider, / am noi a Social Activist: Making Jesus the Agenda. Scottdale,
PA: Herald Press, 2008. Pp. 214, paper, 16.99.

To anyone fartiiliar with Ron Sider' s work with Evangelicals for Social
Action (which he helped to found in 1973) or his array of more than thirty books
- most of which address social issues - the book's title is intriguing. Has he
changed his mind? Or is he correcting a stereotype that does not reveal his true
theological passion? The subtitle, "Making Jesus the Agenda," suggests the
second option gets nearer to the purpose of the book.

The book is a collection of forty-four editorials that Dr. Sider wrote for
Prism magazine (published by Evangelicals for Social Action) between
November 1993 and February 2004. The articles are arrayed under eight subject
headings: Jesus, Be the Center; Family and Marriage; Theological Fragments;
Combining Evangelism and Social Action; Evangelicalism; Wealth, Poverty,
Materialism ad Sabbath; Peace and Nonviolence; and Thinking Politically. The
diversity of the topics indicates the breadth of his concerns. That is why he
cannot be identified as a "one issue person."

He begins his selections with four articles which set forth clearly what
are his deepest theological convictions. Jesus is the center of the Bible's
authoritative revelation. His life, death, resurrection, Pentecostal gifting, and
second coming make him the mediator of redemption and establish his Lordship
in the Kingdom of God, which he both inaugurated and will ultimately
consummate. Christians are the people who have experienced the liberating
power of Christ's resurrection and the enabling power of the Holy Spirit. Apart
from this there is no effective witness and no liberating social action. Christians
are those who already begin the practices of the Kingdom of God. That is why
their lifestyles are so different than those still held captive by the kingdom of
darkness. Jesus is the center.

1 have personally known Ron from his first academic position as
Director of Messiah College's Philadelphia campus in cooperation with Temple
University. We were colleagues at Messiah and team-taught courses on

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Ashland Theological Journal 2010

contemporary Christianity and Christian social responsibility. He has grown
through his vast experiences and constant writings over the last four decades,
but he has not wavered on his core Christian convictions and commitments.

From the beginning of his career he has worked to right what has been
the disastrous division of Christianity for more than a century - the divorce of
evangelism and social justice. Ron has always believed the gospel of Jesus
mandates both and that to slight either is a perversion of the truth. This present
book is meant to demonstrate his life-long effort to combine both concerns.
Those who know Ron personally testify that this quest is more than an academic
flag. He, his wife, Arbutus, their grown children, and the Christians who work
with them in inner-city Philadelphia live their lives by these principles.

I heartily recommend this book to all readers as one Christian's earnest,
and candid, reflections on what it means to make Jesus the center.

Luke Keefer, Jr.

Ephraim Stern, ed. The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the
Holy Land, vol. 5, Supplementary Volume. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration
Society/ Washington, DC: Biblical Archaeological Society, 2008. xxiii + 600
pp. + 32 plates, cloth, $150.00. ■

Originally published in 1993, The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological
Excavations in the Holy Land immediately became the gold standard for those
interested in learning of the archaeological work in Israel (and to a much lesser
degree, Jordan) from the biblical period. Archaeology has not slowed down in
the almost two decades since its completion, so this new, supplementary volume
is most welcome.

One hundred sixty-three archaeologists, mainly from Israel but also from
Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Gaza, Japan, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the
United States, and the West Bank, contributed to the volume, which consists of
updates of articles found in the first edition, as well as new articles. Each new
article has an extensive bibliography, supplemented articles have a
supplemented bibliography, and articles from the first edition which are not
reworked here also have an updated bibliography in a special 'Bibliographic
Appendix'. These all have been updated to 2005. Separate articles describe each
site, except for those in Jordan, where the numerous sites are collected under

159

Book Reviews

that title into an extensive (fifty-page), multi-authored article. Generally, where
they were available to do so, the lead archaeologist, or someone else actively
involved in the most recent excavations, was asked to write each article.

The end-pages of the volume provide maps with the main excavation sites
marked. There is also an introductory users' guide to the volume, numerous
black and white photographs, maps, plans, and tables scattered throughout, as
well as full color plates at the end of the volume. There is an alphabetical table
indicating the map reference points for the sites discussed as well as an
indication of their occupation periods. There are chronological tables of
archaeological periods, Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Israelite, Roman, and
Byzantine rulers, a glossary, an index of people, and places.

While the volume is useful in its own right, it best serves according to its
stated purpose, as a supplement to the previously published four-volume set. All
serious biblical studies libraries should have this volume, and, if they do not
have them already, should take the opportunity to get the previous four as well.

David W. Baker

Stephen Chapin Garner. Getting into Character: The Art of First-Person
Narrative Preaching. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2008. 142 pp., paper, $15.99.

Getting into Character is an intriguing title, which captured the
reader's attention. Bible stories are the heart of Christian education, but also the
heart of the Word of God. "The first-person biblical narrative" style of
preaching is a powerful way to bring the scriptures alive and into this century
(17). This unique style of preaching "literally shows people the gospel story"
(19). By employing first person narratives the preacher introduces biblical
characters to the audience. At the same time, this method also brings these
ancient persons to life for twenty-first century listeners. "Anyone who is
committed to sound exegetical sermon preparation, and who is willing to spend
some time examining the keys to effective development of dramatic monologue,
can preach powerfully effective first-person narrafive sermons" (19).

With an overview and history of dramatic monologue, chapters 1 and 2
set the tone for the book. Concerns are mentioned such as the congregation
being reluctant to receive the presentadon. How does one accomplish this
avenue of preaching? Understanding "dramatic monologue" is necessary (23). It

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Ashland Theological Journal 2010

is a phrase used by "professional storytellers to describe that moment when an
individual begins to tell a story without the help of other actors or performers"
(23). There are no actors other than the narrator. Narrative preaching involves
one of the primary methods of Christian education: storytelling. We tend to
think of storytelling exclusively for children. Adults, however; also like to hear
stories. Storytelling becomes a visual way of bringing the written word to the
adult and embraces sight, sound, and emotion of the story.

Chapter 3 addresses the concept of how to use dramatic monologue and
dialogue. Considerations of "taking on the voice of another" and choosing a
character are of importance as it creates the illusion of the character (39-42). In
the next part of the process, one must "study" the character at great lengths (49).
Joseph is an example of a character study which is shared in chapter 4.

Chapter 5 describes how to "tell" the story (63). How will you
introduce the character? What is the plot? How will you set the stage so that all
will be able to follow the story line? There are "obstacles" within a story which
"frustrate resolution" (70). What will be the obstacle to solve in the story? How
will the resolution come to the surface within the story of the biblical character?

"Writing the character" in chapter 6, instructs how will you speak as
the character so that you can set up the main point of the message (79). Not only
is the written word important but the "getting into character" is extremely vital
to the presentation (91). Chapter 7 takes into account that one must "get into
character" so that the narrator's identity is lost in the presentation and the
character's identity is revealed (91-92). What movements will you make? What
costumes or props are needed? All of these will play into the bringing the
character to life in front of the listener.

The point of chapter 8 is that "if pastors had some instruction in crafts
like playwriting and screenwriting, their characters and the stories they tell
would be far richer and much more engaging" (103). Examples of such ideas are
presented within the chapter such as: "The Playwright," "The Pastor," and "The
Citizen Employer" (105-119). Three biblical examples of first-person narrative
are shared in chapter 9. The narratives of Hagar, Joshua, and The Scribe are
shared along with a critique of the narratives (121-136). Chapter 10 concludes
the book with resources and ideas for presenting first-person monologues.
Gamer concludes that one does not need to be an expert at the process to employ
it.

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Book Reviews

This style of preaching may not be for every person. This book appeals
to those who have a dramatic or creative flair. No doubt, much work is involved,
but the results are worth it. For those who embrace this style of preaching, it can
have long lasting positive results for the congregation.

Dawn Morton

Craig Brian Larson and Andrew Zahn. Movie-Based Illustrations for Preaching
& Teaching: 101 Clips to Show or Tell (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003). 240
pp., paper, $14.99.

Craig Brian Larson and Lori Quicke. More Movie-Based Illustrations for
Preaching & Teaching: 101 Clips to Show or Tell (Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
2004). 240 pp., paper, $14.99.

These two volumes begin a series which one hopes will continue and
even expand. Undoubtedly, more people today develop biblical and theological
understanding through the media of contemporary culture than through
systematic reading, study, and church attendance. Film, television, and now
YouTube and other online media are powerful tools for forming and shaping
one's worldview, often subconsciously, and partakers should be critical in their
consumption, but that is the topic for other works.

In this series, the authors well fulfill the promise made by the title-
providing useful illustrations which can be used to drive home points relevant to
life. They base these on a range of films. Many of these were relatively current
when the books were written (but this belated review renders them ftirther in the
past), as well as some older classics (e.g., 'It's a Wonderful Life'). Some have
explicitly Christian themes (e.g., 'The Inn of the Sixth Happiness', 'Veggie
Tales: Madame Blueberry'), while most are decidedly secular ('A Beautiful
Mind', 'The Piano') or even providing worldviews which blatantly contrast with
orthodox Christianity (e.g., 'Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace', 'The
Matrix'). The films also range from G through R, so those who use them need to
exercise caution, but each entry provides guidance for their judicious use.

Each two-page entry is organized alphabetically around the theme
being illustrated, e.g., calling or reconciliation. This is headed by the movie title,
a statement of a topic found in the film, a list of Scripture verses and keywords
relevant to it, a brief description of the pertinent scene, and a concluding box

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Ashland Theological Journal 2010

which indicates the elapsed time of the scene within the film, the content rating,
and a citation of the exact title, distributor, writer and director. Submissions
were prepared by numerous authors, who are also identified.

The same film is at times identified with more than one point, and one
could argue for even more appropriate points, with 'The Green Mile' illustrating
not only injustice, but also providing a powerful example of substitutionary
atonement. This series should provide not only useful material for preachers and
teachers, but a helpful catalyst to everyone, spurring us to analyze whatever we
view for such important elements, whether positive or negative, and to become
more critical consumers. The series should be in every church library.

David W. Baker

163

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