tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9440595520633809632024-03-05T21:19:16.094-05:00Identity Formation in the New TestamentThis blog provides a forum for discussion of the emergence of Christ-movement social identity with an emphasis on Paul's writings.J. Brian Tuckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17188059695822367055noreply@blogger.comBlogger138125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944059552063380963.post-21200020579157459032015-06-22T10:56:00.002-04:002015-06-22T10:57:23.789-04:00Review of Paul within Judaism<br />
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<span style="line-height: 200%;">Nanos, Mark D. and Magnus Zetterholm, editors. </span><i style="line-height: 200%;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Paul-within-Judaism-Restoring-First-Century/dp/1451470037">Paul within Judaism: Restoring the First-Century Context of the Apostle</a></i><span style="line-height: 200%;">.
Minneapolis: Fortress, 2015. x + 350 pp. £25.99 (paperback), ISBN 978-1451470031.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">What happens if interpreters do not assume that Paul left Judaism for
Christianity? In the wake of the last thirty years of NT scholarship that focused
on a more historically accurate understanding of Jewish patterns of life in the
first century, Pauline scholars specifically have made steps forward in
recovering a more contextually appropriate apostle Paul. However, many scholars
do not think that these new insights have been taken far enough, and several of
these are included in this crucial collection on Paul’s context. Mark D. Nanos
and <a href="http://www.teol.lu.se/en/institutionen/personal/MagnusZetterholm/">Magnus Zetterholm</a> have brought together several leading voices challenging
interpreters to move beyond the well-worn terrain of both the ‘Old’ and ‘New’ Perspective
on Paul. There is no one clear label for the views represented here. Sometimes called
the Radical Perspective on Paul, Beyond the New Perspective on Paul, or the Re-newed
Perspective on Paul, scholars read Paul within second Temple Judaism in such
diverse ways that some have simply given up on a label that could encompass
them all. Nanos suggests ‘Paul within Judaism perspective’ as a workable title
for this group (2).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">The collection of essays, each structured
around a different crucial research question, opens with an introduction
written by <a href="http://marknanos.com/">Mark D. Nanos</a>. In it, he describes the goal of these essays, many of
which originated in the ‘Paul and Judaism’ section of the Society of Biblical
Literature: ‘to interpret Paul within his most probable first-century context’
(2). He highlights the way this interpretative paradigm differs from existing
perspectives and then provides a detailed summary of each of the chapters in
the book. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Chapter 1, written by Magnus Zetterholm,
provides an apt survey of the state of the question with regard to Paul within
Judaism. He first highlights the all-too-close relationship between NT studies
and theological normativity. This connection reinforces the binary relationship
between Judaism and Christianity, the traditional Paul-against-Judaism
framework. Zetterholm’s purpose in this chapter is to explain why this binary
relationship is mistaken and what has caused NT scholars to be influenced by
it. He traces an incipient anti-Judaism from the original intra-Jewish polemic
in 1 Thessalonians 2:14-15, to Ignatius and Justin, then to Augustine and
Luther, and through to the Tübingen school whose discourse mixed with contemporaneous
geo-political discourses that resulted in a Western orientation of opposition
to Jews and Judaism. E.P. Sanders brought about a change in the traditional
reception of Paul by going back to the Jewish sources. This was followed up by
James D.G. Dunn and extended by several other contemporary scholars, one of the
most important being William S. Campbell (2013). Zetterholm concludes the
chapter with a discussion of Christianity as a third race. This view is one of
the foundational elements of the traditional understanding of Paul as against
Judaism, and Zetterholm offers several ideas in this section as ways forward
for rediscovering a more historically-situated Paul, one who thought ‘he
represented the perfection of <i>Judaism</i>’
such that ‘Jewish identity’ was not problematic for the movement (51, emphasis
original). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Anders Runesson, in chapter 2, contends that
existing scholarship has not attended closely enough to the terminology used to
describe the earliest Christ-movement. His concerns relate primarily to the
terms ‘Christians’, ‘Christianity’, and ‘church’. He sees these as
anachronistic and too ideologically laden to be of much heuristic value.
Furthermore, they reinforce a binary relationship with ‘Jews’, ‘Judaism’, and
the ‘synagogue’ (54-55). This is not merely an esoteric, methodological
discussion but one that, according to Runesson, influences the scholar’s
ability to conceive of different categories or schemas: ‘the words we use tend
to control the way we think’ (57). Runesson, along with Nanos, suggests ‘Apostolic
Judaism’ as a more proper term to describe this alternative vision of Judaism
followed by those for whom Jesus is ‘a central figure in their symbolic
universe’ and ‘a key for the interpretation of what it meant for them to adhere
to Judaism’ (67-68). In a similar fashion, ‘church’ is deemed problematic.
Runesson, rightly I think, points out that <i>ekklēsia</i>
could refer to various ‘synagogue institutions’, and to translate it as
‘church’ implicitly argues for an early parting of the ways between
Christianity and Judaism. <i>Ekklēsia </i>was,
rather, Jewish sacred (and institutional) space (69 n. 32). Runesson, in many
ways, sees problems similar to those brought to the fore in Zetterholm’s
chapter, those related to the contemporary context. The terms he critiques
reinforce separate identities and non-overlapping institutional settings;
however, these same terms did not have such implications in the first century.
If interpreters follow Runesson’s suggestion they open the possibility ‘to
understand Paul as practicing and proclaiming a minority form of Judaism that
existed in the first century’ (77). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Chapter 3, written by Karin Hedner Zetterholm,
addresses the all-too-often misunderstood category of Torah observance in the
first century. Hedner Zetterholm rightly notes that the idea that Paul
continued to be Torah observant is a hallmark of the Paul-within-Judaism
paradigm and rejected by the traditional perspective on Paul. However, she
points out that what is needed on both sides of this debate is ‘a more nuanced’
understanding of ‘what it meant to be a Torah observant Jew in the first
century’ (80). Halakic debates were an integral part of first century Jewish
life since the general nature of biblical commandments required situationally
specific interpretations and applications (cf. debates concerning work on the
Sabbath, Exod. 20:8-11; <i>m. Shabb. </i>7:2).
Hedner Zetterholm further points out that we actually know very little about
the nature of ‘halakic observance in the first century’ (91). Thus, it is
rather difficult to determine what was considered a violation and what was
acceptable. She highlights Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 8-10 and brings it
into dialogue with <i>Avodah Zarah</i> in
order to determine if this is a good example of ‘Jewish Diaspora halakah for
Jesus-oriented gentiles’ rather than a violation of Jewish law (92). By highlighting attitude and intention,
Hedner Zetterholm places Paul well within the ongoing debates among Jews
dealing with how to balance living among the nations whilst seeking to follow
Jewish law in the context of ‘theological and ethical general principles’
(103). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Mark D. Nanos wrestles with the difficult
question of Paul and circumcision. He provides interpretive insights through
his understanding of Josephus’s portrayal of King Izates and his advisors’
direction concerning his situationally-specific non-circumcision (see Jos. <i>Ant. </i>20). Nanos contends that Paul’s
rhetoric concerning circumcision, faith, and works should likewise be treated as
situationally-specific and not extrapolated out for Jewish Christ-followers or
even other non-Jewish Christ-followers in different circumstances. Nanos,
further, addresses the longstanding debate concerning the ‘works of the law’.
He offers a new way forward suggesting the phrase refers to the works
associated with proselyte conversion. In many ways, he narrows the focus to
circumcision. Also, this chapter provides further terminological nuances
crucial for those seeking to understand Paul within Judaism, especially as related
to these very Jewish-acting non-Jews (135). Nanos’s voice has been influential
in much of these debates, and that is evident throughout this collection of
essays. His nuanced arguments warrant extensive engagement by traditional
Pauline scholars.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Chapter 5, written by Caroline Johnson Hodge,
discusses the crucial issue of the transformation of gentile identity within
the Pauline communities and the way these ‘gentiles-in-Christ’ relate to Israel
without becoming Jews (153). She begins by discussing the liminal existence of
these in-Christ non-Jews and makes some connections with previous Jewish
authors who describe a group of non-Jewish sympathizers, those who lived among
Jews but did not convert. Whether these are best described as righteous gentiles
or god-fearers, Johnson Hodge has already alerted us to the way a group could
be described and uniquely identified within the broader Jewish community. However,
the traditional way of understanding <i>ethnē
</i>is problematic for Johnson Hodge. These atypical gentiles are in-between in
terms of their identity, a sort of hybrid that Paul seems to negotiate through
his writings, including them as the seed of Abraham. The imposition of
hybridity has been rightly challenged by Kathy </span>Ehrensperger <span lang="EN-GB">(2013), but Johnson Hodge has
alerted interpreters to the problems associated with Paul’s formation of
gentiles-in-Christ, though her argument crucially keeps his identity work well
within the bounds of Judaism as part of Israel’s continuing story (167). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Chapter 6, written by Paula Fredriksen, takes
on the critical question of worship and the conceptions of ritual life that
differed between Jews and non-Jews. Paul calls gentiles to cease engaging in
the cultic expressions of provincial civic life. Since this was not a
requirement for gentile sympathizers to Judaism prior to this time, why the
change? For Fredriksen, it was because of Paul’s eschatology and the role the
nations played in the redemption of Israel (187). Thus, Jewish restoration
theology </span>was constitutive in the formation <span lang="EN-GB">of <i>ethnē </i>identity
in Christ. They enter the kingdom as <i>ethnē</i>
and not as Jews; thus the culturally accepted connection between ‘<i>ethnicity and cult</i>’ was ‘<i>severed</i>’ (188, emphasis original). For
the social crisis thus created, Paul offers a very Jewish understanding of <i>dikaiosynē ek pisteōs </i>(RSV:
justification by faith) that Fredriksen, building on the Law’s Second Table, describes
as ‘right behavior according to the Law on account of steadfast attachment to
the gospel’ (194). This provides these <i>ethnē</i>
who have believed the gospel with a way to express their newfound <i>pistis</i>/<i>fides </i>(steadfastness, conviction, or loyalty; 193). She concludes
the chapter with a reading of ‘all Israel’ in </span>Romans 11:25-26<span lang="EN-GB"> and contends that existing
identities continue to be salient in what Fredriksen describes as ‘God’s
universalism’ which ‘is a very Jewish universalism’. The details of her reading
aside, she has provided a strong set of arguments for the eschatological
continuation of existing identities in God’s ‘particular universalism’ (198). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Neil Elliott, in chapter 7, addresses the question
of politics and situates Paul as a Diaspora Jew under the Roman empire. For
Elliott, the traditional readings of Paul are labelled ‘Christianizing’
interpretations in which Judaism may serve as a background for Paul but his
revelation of Jesus serves as his foreground (204). These are evident in the
work of Malina and Pilch, Frey, and Barclay who all receive significant
critique (his engagement with Barclay is particularly noteworthy). One of the keen
insights from Elliott is that ultimately Christianizing interpreters resist
political readings of Paul because they align him too closely with his Jewish
identity (242). At a more fundamental level, Elliott thinks that a prior
commitment to essentialism has led interpreters astray when it comes to understanding
Paul within Judaism. When this misguided framework is set aside and a more
complex, embodied Diaspora Jewish identity under the Roman empire is allowed to
emerge, Paul is no longer seen as an anomalous Jew but as one among other Jews
negotiating local expressions of Roman culture and ideology through his
writings to his anxious in-Christ non-Jews (236). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Kathy Ehrensperger addresses the question of
gender and relocates Paul in relation to Judaism in chapter 8. She argues that
Paul’s instructions concerning women in 1 Corinthians 11 and 14 presuppose an
institutional setting similar to the mixed gender synagogues. Further, Paul’s
teaching coheres closely with what some think may be discerned concerning
Pharisaic halakah in <i>t. Demai </i>2:16-17.
In this way, Ehrensperger and Hedner Zetterholm’s reading of 1 Corinthians
reveals a halakically oriented teacher of non-Jews. With regard to a
gender-sensitive reading of Paul, Ehrensperger contends that feminist scholars
have not paid enough attention to the implications of seeing Paul within
Judaism. Rather, these scholars tend to uncritically follow male-stream
interpreters relying on problematic notions such as Hellenistic Judaism and
universalism. She brings out the idea that if Paul thought existing ethnic identities
were erased in Christ, then the same logic would apply to gender identities.
This conclusion would be untenable for feminist scholars, and thus Ehrensperger
contends that those approaching the text within this hermeneutical frame could
benefit from relocating Paul as one who envisions the continuation of
difference in the midst of the unity of Israel and the nations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Chapter 9 provides a substantial response by
Terence Donaldson who has identified quite closely with the New Perspective on
Paul. He offers two primary critiques of the authors. First, Donaldson thinks
there is an over-reliance on Jewish restoration theology with regard to the
inclusion of non-Jews within Judaism. Second, he is not convinced by the
various proposals that have been put forth concerning the liminal or anomalous
nature of non-Jewish identity, the ‘<i>ethnē</i>-in-Christ’,
especially as it relates to the social implications of describing them as ‘the
seed of Abraham’</span>, since, Donaldson notes, Paul in other places actually
blurs the distinction between Jews and the <i>ethnē
</i>in his argument (298; cf. Rom. 3:21; 10:12; Gal. 3:28; but see Campbell
2014: 74, 99). <span lang="EN-GB">Donaldson’s
concerns, though somewhat overgeneralized, are well taken.</span> The real
question here, as noted by Campbell, is why does Paul feel the need to make
in-Christ gentiles the seed of Abraham<span lang="EN-GB">? Donaldson’s thoughtful response provides several areas for further
research for those engaged in this area of study and several cautions for those
reading Paul within Judaism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Nanos and Zetterholm are to be commended for
bringing together such a collection. This highly recommended work represents an
important step forward in repositioning Paul within Judaism. It is not the last
word</span>, especially as it relates to the role of Jewish restoration
theology and the implications of the seed of Abraham, but it raises questions <span lang="EN-GB">that will require engagement
from traditional interpreters of Paul. A number of these essays came into the
collection as conference papers, a format that does not allow for the extended
exegetical engagement needed to dislodge some of the existing perspectives, so
further clarification is still needed. For identity and ethnicity issues, the <i>T&T Clark Handbook to Social Identity in
the New Testament</i> provides more resources. Several of the Pauline letter
entries there are written from a non-supersessionist point of view and thus
align quite nicely with the volume under review. Further discussion on these
important issues will go forward from here, but these debates remind us that
foundational difficulties often arise because our questions and Paul’s
questions are not the same.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-GB">References:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Campbell, William S.
2014. <i>Unity and Diversity in Christ:
Interpreting Paul in Context. </i>Eugene, OR: Cascade.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Ehrensperger, Kathy.
2013. <i>Paul at the Crossroads of Cultures: Theologizing in the Space-Between</i>.
London: T & T Clark.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Tucker, J. Brian, and
Coleman A. Baker, editors. 2014. <i>T &
T Clark Handbook to Social Identity in the New Testament</i>. London: T & T
Clark/Bloomsbury. </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
J. Brian Tuckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17188059695822367055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944059552063380963.post-61944494863585486692014-12-17T18:12:00.001-05:002014-12-17T18:12:32.815-05:002015 IBR Identity Formation in the Pauline Letters Call for Papers<div class="MsoNormal">
Call for Papers for our Friday November 20, 2015 research
group meeting in Atlanta meeting in conjunction with the 2015 SBLAAR Annual Meeting. Our session is entitled: “Cultural Anthropology and Identity in
Paul’s Letters.” Our Research Group welcomes proposals dealing with the way the
use of cultural anthropological theories have been used in order to research
Paul’s identity-forming work. Papers may address specific reading strategies
such as limited good or broader evaluations of movements such as the Context
Group. Alternatively, new applications of contemporary cultural anthropological
theories to the Pauline discourse are welcome. Those interested in
participating in that should contact the co-conveners for further information:
J. Brian Tucker <a href="mailto:brian.tucker@moody.edu">brian.tucker@moody.edu</a>
and Jim Miller <a href="mailto:james.miller@asburyseminary.edu">james.miller@asburyseminary.edu</a>.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
J. Brian Tuckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17188059695822367055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944059552063380963.post-28550837737892493222014-11-18T10:55:00.000-05:002014-11-18T10:55:25.527-05:00IBR and SBL Sessions Reviewing The T&T Clark Handbook to Social Identity in the New Testament<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Clark-Handbook-Social-Identity-Testament/dp/056737954X">T&T Clark Handbook to Social Identity in the New Testament </a>will be reviewed in two different sessions this week. Here is the list and the presenters.</div>
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<br />J. Brian Tuckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17188059695822367055noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944059552063380963.post-56208856326876471472014-11-18T10:46:00.000-05:002014-11-18T10:49:03.826-05:00Review of Trebilco's Self-Designations and Group Identity in the New Testament<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Trebilco,
Paul R. <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Self-designations-Group-Identity-New-Testament/dp/1107012996/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=">Self-Designations and Group Identity in the New Testament</a></i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012.
xii + 375 pp. £60.00 (hardback), ISBN 978-1107012998.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"> <a href="http://www.otago.ac.nz/theology/staff/otago013675.html">Paul Trebilco</a>, Professor of New
Testament at the University of Otago in New Zealand, explores the source, use,
and purpose of seven self-designations found in the NT: brothers and sisters,
believers, saints, the assembly, disciples, the Way, and Christians. This
densely argued monograph brings together classical lexical methods and
sociolinguistics in order to determine the way these terms were used to form
group identity in their recipients. Trebilco allows each section of the NT to
speak on its own terms and does not downplay the diversity of the authors;
rather, distinct theological emphases are acknowledged. Furthermore, the
asymmetrical influence of Israel’s scriptures and, in other cases, the Greek
and/or Roman context, are drawn upon by Trebilco for their heuristic values.
This results in a study that provides ample textual evidence for addressing the
way naming and labelling in the NT contributed to the formation of group
identity among the earliest Christ-followers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">The introduction situates Trebilco’s study by noting his interest in two
questions: What would Christians have called each other? And how did the
various NT authors refer to these individuals in their writings? Thus,
throughout the study, Trebilco focuses on both self-designations and labels as
a way to distinguish answers to these two questions. He notes that,
surprisingly, no full-length monograph has been written on the topic of
self-designations in the NT; thus, his work commendably fills this gap. From a
methodological standpoint, Trebilco draws on social-scientific insights about
the way naming forms identity and about the role that social dialects play in
the maintenance of this identity. Here he recognizes the performative nature of
identity and the particular significance of insider and outsider discourse in
its construction. Trebilco’s contribution to the study of labelling and
identity formation is his helpful three-fold distinction between: (1) ‘insider
language for self-designation’, (2) ‘outward-facing self-designations’, and (3)
‘outsider-used designations’ (10). These categorizations provide much needed
precision in the discussion of group labels in early Christian origins, though
the way one determines which category is being used remains an open question. Challenges
to Trebilco’s approach that might have been addressed in the introduction
include the following two: (1) several scholars doubt that language can form
identity to the extent that Trebilco contends (e.g. Holmberg 2008); and (2) a
number of scholars doubt if one could claim extensive use of any label by the
Christ-movement(s) at this early stage (e.g. Campbell 2008). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Chapter 2 provides a study of ‘brothers and sisters’ (<i>adelphoi</i>). Trebilco begins by surveying
the use of this term in the Hebrew Bible and other Jewish literature and
concludes that it referred to fellow Israelites. In these contexts as well as
in the ‘Greco-Roman’ context, when members of a voluntary association referred
to each other, this term could be used metaphorically to cover all ingroup
members. Paul, in close continuity with its use in Israel’s scriptures, uses
this term as insider language, central to his construction of group boundaries.
Trebilco finds no evidence that this term was used for outsiders, though he
does conclude that it ‘goes back to the earliest periods’ of the movement and
was ‘the most common…designation for Christians in the NT’ (45, 65). Two
further comments are in order. First, Trebilco correctly recognizes, I think,
that this term cannot be used to support the idea of a radically egalitarian
community. Second, because of the use of kinship discourse in Roman imperial
contexts, a discussion of cultural translation might have provided further
insights into Paul’s use of this group label (see Ehrensperger 2013). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Chapter 3 outlines the use and significance of the ingroup label ‘the
believers’ (<i>hoi pistoi </i>and <i>hoi pisteuontes</i>) and contends that it
was a term of self-reference that emphasizes faith as a key marker of early
‘Christian’ identity. Especially in Romans, Trebilco sees this label creating,
for gentiles, a new boundary between insiders and outsiders, replacing
circumcision (81-82). This last nuance is rather helpful since this label does
not distinguish these early Christ-followers from non-Christ-believing Jews. In
fact, Trebilco contends that this term originated as one of self-designation
among Jewish Christ-followers under the influence of the stone discourse found
in Isa 28.16. Two further observations should be noted. First, Trebilco is
undoubtedly correct in his argument that believing is both something that
occurs at conversion and is a component of new life in Christ. Second, it may
be too stark to claim that Acts 22.19 supports the idea that believing
functions as a cipher for distinguishing Christ-followers from synagogue
attendees (105).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Chapter 4 highlights the fascinating phrase ‘the saints’ or ‘the holy
ones’ (<i>hoi hagioi</i>) and contends that
this self-designation likely began among Jewish Christ-followers in Jerusalem
as they sought to maintain their group identity within two communities.
Building on Daniel 7, they aligned themselves with the eschatological covenant
people Israel as well as with a more narrowly defined subgroup within Israel
following the Jerusalem apostles. Trebilco understands Paul to be doing something
similar with regard to this first use, but then he expands the referent to
include both Jewish and gentile Christ-followers, a significant development
(129, 141). This group label brings to the fore a contentious issue among
scholars with regard to the way group descriptors originally applied to Israel
are used in the NT to describe both in Christ Jews and gentiles (146). The use
of this term with an expanded referent may still be understood as <i>intra-muros</i> discourse and need not imply
supersessionism. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Chapter 5 covers ‘the assembly’ (<i>hē
ekklēsia</i>), oftentimes anachronistically translated with the English gloss
‘the church’ (164). Trebilco thinks this term goes back to the Hellenistic
Jewish Christ-followers in Jerusalem and was chosen because ‘synagogue’ (<i>synagōgē</i>) was already widely used to
describe non-Christ-believing synagogues (185, 190). In this way, <i>ekklēsia </i>functions as a social dialect
within the movement and suggests a broad relational network, one beyond the
local level (181). Two comments are particularly relevant here. First, Trebilco
insightfully notes that the earliest members of the Christ-movement saw
themselves simultaneously as members of an <i>ekklēsia
</i>and a <i>synagōgē</i> (193). Those who
argue that the use of <i>ekklēsia</i>
indicates an early parting of the ways have overstated their case. Second, though
Trebilco does sense the tension (207), a slight corrective may be in order
regarding the lack of widespread dispersion of this term since it has recently
been persuasively argued that Paul may use <i>hē
ekklēsia</i> to refer specifically to the Pauline Christ-movement and not to
Christ-followers in general (see Korner 2013).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Chapter 6 discusses the use of ‘disciples’ (<i>mathētai</i>) as a group identifier, one that is prevalent in the
Gospels and then all but disappears in the rest of the NT. Building on the
criteria for authenticity from historical Jesus studies, Trebilco contends that
Jesus did use this term (i.e. the underlying Aramaic <i>talmîdayyā</i>), thus accounting for its presence in the Gospels. However,
he also recognizes that this term was not used as a self-designator (226)
because it was too closely associated with the historical Jesus and his
itinerant ministry and did not translate into the diverse contexts of the
emerging Christ-movement (230). However, the use of the term disciple does re-emerge
at the time of Ignatius, who provides a model for the way a label from a
previous era may be re-contextualized and re-used (mis-used?) by Christians of
a later time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Chapter 7 overviews the use of the phrase ‘the Way’ (<i>hē hodos</i>) as a self-designation that
emerged in a Jewish context through reflection on Isa 40.3. It was an early way
for members of the movement to describe themselves and other members. This term
had broader use and is actually one of the few that covers all three of
Trebilco’s categories (Acts 18.25-26; 24.14; 22.4). It was too imprecise,
however, and thus quickly fell out of use as a continuing identifier of group
identity (268). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Chapter 8 discusses the group label ‘Christian’ (<i>christianos</i>), one that Trebilco considers to have been an
outsider-developed term imposed on the Christ-followers in Antioch (Acts
11.25-26). His case for this is based on a passive reading of ‘to be called’ (<i>chrēmatisai</i>). Thus the verse would be
rendered, ‘the “disciples” were called “Christians” by others’ (276). The use
of this term is often seen as an early indication that believers in Christ
could be identified as distinct from other forms of Judaism, but Trebilco,
rightly I think, rejects this assertion. There is nothing in the use of the
term ‘Christian’ to indicate a correlative and not Jewish (279). First Peter
4.16 may be an indication of a development with regard to this term and may
suggest that some were starting to socially identify with this originally
derisive term. However, Trebilco appears on target when he points out that
Christ-followers ‘would have been reluctant to use it internally’ because it
did not sufficiently describe (or say enough about) their transformed identity
(more on this below) (292). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB">The concluding chapter discusses the implications of Trebilco’s argument
and provides several keen insights with regard to the social implications for the
discoveries of the previous chapters. For example, he suggests that there never
was simply one overarching self-designator within the Christ-movement; rather,
a variety of these emerged for different contextual reasons. Thus, Trebilco and
Campbell are not that far apart in their rejection of the presence of a
dominant label among the earliest adherents (302). Second, the pervasive
presence of social dialects was crucial to the formation of early
Christ-movement identity. However, this also raises the issue of the
transformation of identity in Christ, and here I would like to have seen
Trebilco go a bit further. In this work, identity seemed to be a textual
creation almost to the exclusion of ethnicity and social context. Jew and
gentile discourse is ubiquitous and used by the NT writers in ways that cohere
with all three of Trebilco’s categories. Thus, it would seem that one area of
self-designation and group identity that should have received further attention
is the way these writers negotiated broader ethnic and social discourses in the
use of these theological indices. Hence Campbell’s reminder to NT scholars:
‘identity precedes theology and … in fact theological constructions emerge to
solve the problem of identity rather than create it’ (2008: 52).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Trebilco has written an insightful and helpful monograph on one aspect
of the development of Christ-movement identity, i.e. the way naming forms
identity. This book deserves wide readership and engagement from NT and early
Christian origins scholars. While his attention to lexicography will
undoubtedly be seen as methodologically dated by some, he does provide
substantial evidence upon which subsequent scholarship can build. This work is
highly recommended and provides several insights into the diverse ways
Christ-movement identity was formed throughout the Mediterranean basin. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">References:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Campbell, W. S. 2008. <i>Paul and the Creation of Christian Identity</i>. London: T & T
Clark.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Ehrensperger, K. 2013. <i>Paul at the Crossroads
of Cultures: Theologizing in the Space-Between</i>. London: T & T Clark.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Holmberg, B. 2008. ‘Understanding the First
Hundred Years of Christian Identity’. In <i>Exploring
Early Christian Identity</i>, edited by B. Holmberg, 1-32. WUNT 226. Tübingen:
Mohr Siebeck.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Korner, R. J. 2013. ‘Before ‘Church’: Political,
Ethno-Religious, and Theological Implications of the Collective Designation of
Pauline Christ-Followers as <i>Ekklēsiai</i>’.
PhD diss., McMaster University.</span></div>
J. Brian Tuckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17188059695822367055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944059552063380963.post-12735886641365226482014-11-14T09:30:00.004-05:002014-11-14T09:30:59.988-05:00Remain in Your Calling - Now on Kindle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PJOHXAW" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt=" Kindle version" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiHtK_q8DJ_vn-Ysk__ovjBOQLMvgeHbc4iqrf06xtCqeZqU9GWcjlKo1SKB-cD_nwN2Dh6dXpZWEZ5w3Biqq4Tfus16F4yxnw5kU2cHgGXKV8F1QPwZ23XGedGPnfyMJIXL9dWIWVD6gW/s1600/remain+in+your+calling+kindle.jpg" /></a></div>
My second book, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PJOHXAW">Remain in Your Calling</a></i>, is now available as a Kindle edition. It is currently $9.99.J. Brian Tuckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17188059695822367055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944059552063380963.post-89140487115497115962014-09-17T21:41:00.001-04:002014-09-17T21:41:54.919-04:00Schedule for The NT and Economics Colloquium<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 3.3pt 78.35pt 0.0001pt 93.35pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">Ne</span>w<span style="letter-spacing: .2pt;"> </span>T<span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">e</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">s</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">t</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">a</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">m</span>ent and E<span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">c</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">o</span>n<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">o</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">m</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">c</span>s<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">C</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">o</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">ll</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">o</span>qu<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">i</span>um,<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">20</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">1</span>4</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.6pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 184.6pt; margin-right: 169.6pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: center;">
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23<span style="letter-spacing: .1pt;">7</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">-</span>39<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in -1pt 0.0001pt 5pt;">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">8<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>00<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">-</span>8<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>30: <span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">B</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span>ea<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">k</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">f</span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">s</span>t<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">f</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">r</span>om<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;"> </span>Jesu<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">s</span>’<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> </span>P<span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">a</span>rab<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">l</span>e of<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">h</span>e
<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">T</span>a<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">l</span>e<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">n</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span>s
<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">(</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">M</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">a</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span>t<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;"> </span>25<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">1</span><span style="letter-spacing: .25pt;">4</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">-</span>30<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">)</span>.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">9<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>50<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">-</span>10<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>05: <span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">B</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span>eak<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">10<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>05<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">-</span>11<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>10: Ses<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">s</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>on
<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">I</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">I</span>: J<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>m<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">H</span>e<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span>nando, A<span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">s</span>s<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">e</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">m</span>b<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">li</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">e</span>s<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">G</span>od<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: .1pt;">T</span>h<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">e</span>o<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">l</span>o<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">g</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">c</span>al<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">S</span>e<span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">m</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>na<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span>y<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Econo<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">m</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>c S<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">u</span>bs<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">t</span>ru<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">c</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span>u<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">r</span>e<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>n <span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">t</span>he
Pa<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">r</span>ab<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">l</span>es<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">o</span>f<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> </span>J<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">e</span>su<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">s</span>:<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">I</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">m</span>p<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">li</span>c<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">a</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">t</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>ons <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">a</span>nd
<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">I</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">n</span>s<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">i</span>gh<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">t</span>s.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">11<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>10<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">-</span>11<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>25: <span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">B</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span>eak<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">11<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>25<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">-</span>12<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>30: Ses<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">s</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>on <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">II</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">I</span>: <span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">C</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">rai</span>g<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">B</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">l</span>o<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">m</span>be<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">g</span>,
<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">D</span>en<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">v</span>er<span style="letter-spacing: .1pt;"> </span>S<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">e</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">m</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>na<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">y</span>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Red<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">s</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">r</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>b<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">u</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">ti</span>on<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">W</span>ea<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">l</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">t</span>h:<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> </span>A<span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: .1pt;">S</span>oc<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">a</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">l</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">i</span>st<span style="letter-spacing: .1pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">A</span>na<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">h</span>ema
or<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span>a B<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">i</span>b<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">l</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">i</span>cal<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> </span>F<span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">u</span>nda<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">m</span>e<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">n</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">l</span>?</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">12<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>30<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">-</span>1<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>30: Lunch<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>30<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">-</span>2<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>35: Ses<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">s</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>on <span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">I</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">V</span>: Ed
<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">N</span>oe<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">l</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">l</span>, <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">W</span>e<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">st</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">m</span>ont<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">C</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">o</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">ll</span>e<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">g</span>e.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -.2pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">W</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>ea</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.05pt;">lt</span><i>h,
Exch</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">a</span><i>nge, </i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">a</span><i>nd </i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.05pt;">t</span><i>he</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.05pt;">‘</span><i>Rig</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">h</span><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.05pt;">t</span><i>s
</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">o</span><i>f</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.05pt;">
</span><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.05pt;">t</span><i>he Po</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">o</span><i>r</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.05pt;">’</span><i>:</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.05pt;">N</span><i>ew
</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">T</span><i>e</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.05pt;">st</span><i>a</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.05pt;">m</span><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">e</span><i>nt</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">T</span><i>eac</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">h</span><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.05pt;">i</span><i>ng</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.05pt;">i</span><i>n
L</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">i</span><i>ght</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.05pt;"> </span><i>of</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.05pt;">O</span><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.05pt;">l</span><i>d</i> </span><i style="line-height: 12.6pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Tes<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">m</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">e</span>nt<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">C</span>o<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">n</span>ce<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">p</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">ti</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">o</span>ns
and<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">I</span>n<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">s</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">i</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span>u<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">t</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>o<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">n</span>s.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>35<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">-</span>2<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>50: <span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">B</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span>eak<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>50<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">-</span>4<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>05: Ses<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">s</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>on<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">V</span>: <span style="letter-spacing: .1pt;">T</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">e</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span>e<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">n</span>ce<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">M</span>ou<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">n</span>e<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span>, <span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">A</span>sh<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">l</span>and<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">U</span>n<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">v</span>e<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span>s<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">i</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">y</span>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -.2pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">W</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">ea<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">lt</span>h
<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>n L<span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">u</span>k<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">e</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">/</span>Ac<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">t</span>s <span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>n<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">G</span>r<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">e</span>c<span style="letter-spacing: .1pt;">o</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">-</span>Ro<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">m</span>an
<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">C</span>o<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">n</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">e</span>x<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span>.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>05<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">-</span>4<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>20: <span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">B</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span>eak<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.6pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 5.0pt; margin-right: -1.0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; tab-stops: 77.0pt 149.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>20<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">-</span>5<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>25: Ses<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">s</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>on<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">V</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">I</span>: J<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">a</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">m</span>es<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">R</span>.<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> </span>W<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>c<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">k</span>e<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span>,<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span>Sou<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">t</span>h<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">w</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">e</span>s<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">e</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span>n
<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">B</span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">p</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">i</span>st<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: .1pt;">T</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">h</span>eo<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">l</span>o<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">g</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>cal<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">S</span>e<span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">m</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>na<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span>y<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">An
Assar<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>on<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> </span>for<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: .15pt;">Y</span>our <span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">T</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">h</span>oughts: The<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;"> </span>Chal<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">l</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">e</span>ng<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">e</span>s
of <span style="letter-spacing: .15pt;">T</span>rans<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">l</span>at<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>ng<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span>NT<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> </span>Numi<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">s</span>matic Ter<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">m</span><span style="letter-spacing: .1pt;">s</span></span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">5<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>25<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">-</span>6<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>45: <span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">D</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>nner<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">6<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>45<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">-</span>7<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>50: Ses<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">s</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>on<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">V</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">I</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">I</span>: <span style="letter-spacing: .15pt;">J</span>.<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">B</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">i</span>an<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: .1pt;">T</span>uc<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">k</span>e<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span>,<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span>Mo<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">o</span>dy<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span>Theo<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">l</span>o<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">g</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">c</span>al<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">S</span>e<span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">m</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>na<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span>y<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>The J</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">e</span><i>ru</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.05pt;">s</span><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">a</span><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.05pt;">l</span><i>em
</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">C</span><i>o</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.05pt;">l</span><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.05pt;">l</span><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">e</span><i>c</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.05pt;">t</span><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.05pt;">i</span><i>on,</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"> </span><i>Econo</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.05pt;">m</span><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.05pt;">i</span><i>c</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.05pt;">I</span><i>n</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">e</span><i>qua</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.05pt;">li</span><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.05pt;">t</span><i>y,
a</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">n</span><i>d</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">
</span><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.05pt;">H</span><i>u</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.05pt;">m</span><i>an Flou</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.05pt;">r</span><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.05pt;">i</span><i>s</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">h</span><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.05pt;">i</span><i>n</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">g</span><i>:</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> </span><i>Re</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">d</span><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.05pt;">i</span><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">s</span><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.05pt;">t</span><i>r</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.05pt;">i</span><i>b</i><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">u</span><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.05pt;">ti</span><span style="font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">o</span><i>n of</i> </span><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: .05pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">M</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">on<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">e</span>y
or<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">R</span>e<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">l</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">a</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">ti</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">o</span>ns<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">h</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>ps
<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">o</span>f<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">
</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">M</span>u<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">u</span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">l</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">t</span>y or<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> </span>B<span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">o</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span>h?</span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: .1pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">F</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -.1pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">r</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: .05pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">i</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">day <span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">S</span>ep<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span>. <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">1</span>9</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">8<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>00<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">-</span>8<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>30: <span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">B</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span>ea<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">k</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">f</span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">s</span>t<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">8<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>30<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">-</span>8<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>45: <span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">I</span>n<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">tr</span>oduc<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">i</span>ons<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span>and
P<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">r</span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">y</span>e<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span>:<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">J</span>ohn<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: .1pt;">T</span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">y</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">l</span>or<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">8<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>45<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">-</span>9<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>50: Ses<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">s</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>on<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">V</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">II</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">I</span>: <span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">D</span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">v</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>d
<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">K</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">o</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">tt</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">e</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span>, <span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">C</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">o</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">l</span>o<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">r</span>ado C<span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">h</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">ri</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">s</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">i</span>an
Uni<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">v</span>e<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">r</span>s<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">i</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span>y<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The <span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">D</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">s</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">ti</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">n</span>c<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">t</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>on <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">b</span>e<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">w</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">e</span>en G<span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">r</span>eed
and<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span>Se<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">l</span>f<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">I</span>n<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">t</span>e<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span>e<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">s</span>t<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>n
<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">t</span>he<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">
</span>Li<span style="letter-spacing: .1pt;">f</span>e<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span>and L<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">e</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">t</span>e<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span>s<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span>he
A<span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">p</span>o<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">s</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">tl</span>e <span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">P</span>au<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">l</span>.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">9<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>50<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">-</span>10<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>05: <span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">B</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span>eak<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">10<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>05<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">-</span>11<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>10: Ses<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">s</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>on <span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">I</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">X</span>: <span style="letter-spacing: .15pt;">J</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">o</span>hn
W.<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: .1pt;">T</span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">y</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">l</span>o<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span>, <span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">S</span>ou<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span>h<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">w</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">e</span>s<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">t</span>e<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span>n <span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">B</span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">p</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">i</span>st<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;"> </span>The<span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">o</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">l</span>o<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">g</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>c<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">a</span>l<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> </span>S<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">e</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">m</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>na<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span>y<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Labour <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">o</span>f<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> </span>Lo<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">v</span>e:<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> </span>T<span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">h</span>e The<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">o</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">l</span>ogy
of<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">W</span>ork<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> i</span>n F<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">i</span>r<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">s</span>t<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> </span>and <span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">S</span>econd
T<span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">h</span>e<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">s</span>s<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">a</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">l</span>o<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">n</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">n</span>s.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">11<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>10<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">-</span>11<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>25: <span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">B</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span>eak<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">11<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>25<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">-</span>12<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>30: Ses<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">s</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>on<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">X</span>: <span style="letter-spacing: .1pt;">T</span>om<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">D</span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">v</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>s, Sou<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span>h<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">w</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">e</span>s<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">t</span>e<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span>n<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">B</span>ap<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">i</span>st<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: .1pt;">T</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">h</span>eo<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">l</span>o<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">g</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>c<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">a</span>l<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> </span>Se<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">m</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>n<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">a</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span>y<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bus<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>n<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">e</span>ss<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">S</span>ec<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">r</span>e<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span>s<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">P</span>aul<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">o</span>f<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;"> </span>Tarsu<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">s</span>.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">12<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>30<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">-</span>1<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>30: Lunch<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>30<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">-</span>2<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>35: Ses<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">s</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>on<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">X</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">I</span>: <span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">K</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">e</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">it</span>h <span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">R</span>ee<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">v</span>e<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">s</span>,
<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">A</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">z</span>usa<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> </span>P<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">a</span>c<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">i</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">f</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>c Uni<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">v</span>e<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">r</span>s<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">i</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span>y<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Show<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">M</span>e<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span>he<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">M</span>o<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">n</span>e<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">y</span>:<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> </span>Ro<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">ma</span>ns
as<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> </span>a <span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">F</span>un<span style="letter-spacing: .1pt;">d</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">-</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">R</span>a<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">s</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>ng <span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">L</span>e<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">t</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">e</span>r.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>35<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">-</span>2<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>50: <span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">B</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span>eak<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>50<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">-</span>4<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>05: Ses<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">s</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>on<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">X</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">I</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">I</span>: <span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">A</span>a<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span>on<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">K</span>u<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">e</span>c<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">k</span>e<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span>,
L<span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">e</span><span style="letter-spacing: .1pt;">T</span>o<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">u</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span>n<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">ea</span>u <span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">U</span>n<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">v</span>e<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">s</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">it</span>y<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Li<span style="letter-spacing: .1pt;">t</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">u</span>rg<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">i</span>cal<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">E</span>conom<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">i</span>cs<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>n P<span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">h</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">l</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>pp<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">i</span>:<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> </span>Ec<span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">o</span>no<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">m</span><span style="letter-spacing: .15pt;">i</span>c<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span>Pra<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">c</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">i</span>ce<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">i</span>n
<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">U</span>n<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>on
<span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">w</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">it</span>h
<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">C</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">h</span>r<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">s</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span>.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>05<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">-</span>4<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>20: <span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">B</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">r</span>eak<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>20<span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">-</span>5<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>25: Ses<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">s</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>on<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">X</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">II</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.2pt;">I</span>: <span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">R</span>ound<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: .1pt;">T</span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">b</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">le</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">/</span>Mu<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">s</span>eum<span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">Vi</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">s</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">i</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">t</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">/</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">(</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">D</span>ead S<span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">e</span>a Sc<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">r</span>o<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">l</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">l</span>s<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">).</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">6<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">:</span>30 <span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;">D</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">i</span>nner<span style="letter-spacing: -.05pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">(</span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">o</span><span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;">f</span>f<span style="letter-spacing: .05pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -.1pt;">c</span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -.15pt;">m</span>pus)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
J. Brian Tuckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17188059695822367055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944059552063380963.post-72564695705645175362014-06-02T13:19:00.000-04:002014-06-02T13:19:23.034-04:00Review of Dunson's Individual and Community in Paul's Letter to the Romans<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2i8-QgZ3nOqNBoCwLjbHgEG9j29-arp2r7-kjlefbSSWrGrpCm25HtICMAxMIsBk6Edl8gskjuJZXtgJ6P4w0XpsOc5myZajY3iE3IUC_bb0-DJjZNIIc-U37rhV-nSpseudj7GuvKFyv/s1600/dun.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2i8-QgZ3nOqNBoCwLjbHgEG9j29-arp2r7-kjlefbSSWrGrpCm25HtICMAxMIsBk6Edl8gskjuJZXtgJ6P4w0XpsOc5myZajY3iE3IUC_bb0-DJjZNIIc-U37rhV-nSpseudj7GuvKFyv/s1600/dun.png" /></a></div>
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<i>I<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Individual-Community-Wissenschaftliche-Untersuchungen-Testament/dp/3161520572/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401729369&sr=8-1&keywords=dunson+individual+and+community">ndividual and Community in Paul’s Letter to the Romans</a></i>. <span lang="DE">By Ben C. Dunson. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2. </span>Reihe
332<i>.</i> Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, 2012,
xii+217 pp., $117.50.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://reformationbiblecollege.org/academics/">Ben C. Dunson</a>, Professor of New Testament at Reformation
Bible College in Sanford, Florida, in this revised thesis written under the
supervision of Francis Watson at the University of Durham, argues that “the
individual and the community belong together in Paul’s theology; there is no
Pauline individual outside of community, just as there is no community without
individuals at the heart of its ongoing life” (p. 1 emphasis removed). This
goes against much of the recent work on Paul that sees the relationship between
the individual and the communal in Paul generally, and in Romans specifically,
as most precisely aligned with the communal. Dunson, on the other hand, is
convinced that the individual and the community are closely intertwined
concepts for Paul, since he views individuals in Christ as simultaneously
members of Christ’s body. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The introduction highlights several reasons why the
individual focus in Paul has fallen out of favor. First, Dunson points to the
rise of social-scientific criticism and its anti-individual perspective. Here
the work of several members of the Context Group is seen as problematic.
Second, the rise of the New Perspective on Paul, with its lack of conviction
with regard to Paul’s interests in an individual’s private relationship with
God, polarizes communal and individual readings. Third, the rise of apocalyptic
as an interpretive framework, with its focus on the cosmic and social
dimensions of Paul’s discourse, leads to a further rejection of the importance
of the individual in his writings. Though Dunson recognizes the recent work of
Gary Burnett with regard to the individual and salvation in Paul, he finds his
attempt unpersuasive and offers his monograph, with its close attention to several
portions of Romans, as a way to explicate the idea that, “There simply is no
individual in Pauline teaching on the believing life that is not at the same
time embedded into the ongoing life of the believing community” (p. 16). Thus,
Dunson is convinced that if scholars downplay or over-emphasize one of these
approaches over the other, foundational aspects of Paul’s theology will be
missed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Dunson, in chapter 2, traces the separation of the
individual and the community in Paul to the vigorous debate on this topic
between Rudolph Bultmann and Ernst Käsemann. He seeks to bring to the fore the
oftentimes overlooked communal aspect in Bultmann’s existential approach. At
the same time, Dunson seeks to nuance Käsemann’s non-individualistic and
apocalyptic understanding of Paul. After a thorough analysis of both scholars,
he notes the way Käsemann’s legacy has been particularly felt, i.e., in the way
scholars have adopted his apocalyptic understanding of the righteousness of
God. For Dunson, Bultmann’s approach to God’s righteousness as “God’s saving
action” is less problematic (p. 61). However, he sees both scholars as
selective in their use of textual data and hopes to point out several gaps so
that what emerges is not a simple synthesis of the two but the way that, for
Paul, the individual and the communal imply one another (see p. 17).<o:p></o:p></div>
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One of the main lines of critique is that people in
antiquity did not have a conception of the individual in the same way people do
today. Thus, anyone researching from within a contemporary individualistic
framework is open to the charge of anachronism. To counter this charge, in
chapter 3, Dunson draws on the writings (i.e., the lectures transcribed by
Arrian) of the Stoic philosopher Epictetus. While resisting the parallel or
influence approach often practiced among history of religions scholars, Dunson
attempts to place another first century writer in the middle of an ongoing
debate between the individual and society. He does not downplay the clear
ideological differences between Epictetus and Paul; rather, he allows him to
speak to his own concerns, which are primarily centered on moral progress. He
offers a fairly persuasive set of data suggesting that Epictetus’s focus on the
development of personal virtue has a vital and concomitant communal component
to it (cf., <i>Diatribai </i>1.4; 3.2; with
2.5; 2.10; and 2.22). Epictetus can, at the same time, focus on
self-preservation and faithful communal living (<i>Diatribai</i> 4.10.12-13). This allows scholars such as Troels
Engberg-Pedersen to set aside “the false assumption that the individual and the
community are antithetical concepts” (p. 107). <o:p></o:p></div>
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Chapter 5 unpacks the first four kinds of individuals found
in Romans. Within the larger scholarly debate surrounding the nature of these
characters, Dunson’s view clearly sympathizes with a Lutheran approach. The
characteristic individual, found in Rom 2:1-5, 17-25; 3:1-9, helps to abolish
any “Jewish soteriological privilege” (pp. 114, 127). The generic individual,
seen as the most pervasive type in Romans, emerges as Paul addresses humanity’s
plight without regard to individual ethnic identity, revealing his
anthropological universalism. The binary individual, found most predominantly
in the Jew-gentile distinction, is employed by Paul, according to Dunson, in a
way that radically relativizes existing identities, especially “the covenantal
boundaries of Israel” (p. 128). The exemplary individual, i.e., Abraham in Romans
4, is seen as one that other individuals are expected to emulate. This section
provides substantial textual argumentation as Dunson seeks to cast doubt on the
covenantal definition approach to Romans 4.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In chapter 6, Dunson continues developing his typology by
bringing to the fore the communal aspect of the individual. The representative person,
differentiated from the exemplary one by the vicarious nature of the
description, is found in the Adam-Christ parallel in Romans 5. Dunson argues
that the individual has been brought into a communal relationship by the
actions of Adam and Christ (p. 154). The negative exemplary individual is found
in Romans 7, understood by Dunson both as describing Paul’s own past experience
and indicating his role as a representative Israelite (p. 164). The somatic
individual is a member of the body of Christ and develops Paul’s “principle of
unity-within-diversity” and “individual-within-community” (p. 169; Rom 12:3-8).
The final category in Dunson’s typology is the particular individual; this
describes real persons in the context of their existing social identities and
in relation to other community group members (Romans 16). The conclusion
details differences between Paul and Epictetus with regard to the individual
and summarizes Dunson’s findings concerning the inseparability of the
individual and the community in Romans. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Overall, Dunson has made his case, and scholars should not
overlook the significance of the individual for Paul in Romans. There is
considerable improvement here on Burnett’s earlier work on the individual in Paul.
However, a few questions still remain. First, the generic individual is a
crucial part of Dunson’s thesis, but can Paul really conceive of abstracted,
non-historicized individuals to the exclusion of their existing identities in
such a substantial way? Second, has the move from rhetoric to anthropology been
made too quickly? A literary trope may not be that useful for discerning Paul’s
concept of the individual. Third, while Dunson readily acknowledges that he is
being selective in his choice of sections in Romans to discuss (pp. 110, 147),
one wonders if the almost complete avoidance of Romans 9-11 limits the significance
of his conclusions. With these questions in mind, Dunson’s work is recommended
for scholars working on identity formation in Paul. </div>
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J. Brian Tuckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17188059695822367055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944059552063380963.post-83567891192632971062014-05-29T13:08:00.001-04:002014-05-29T13:11:28.379-04:00Review of Kobel's Dining with John<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Oz1XjLq-TNALEX2ehBAahLlG636AhH4X8QbPCYQ2DUdqEiRoDROcFf4a1DKEXeT5o0K6yiSsX7yryqh7d4R7lKT5XHzLs7j7XnvOlMPzTPr5MJMWG27OiFEFUgAFW91PffI_wFZFpGbT/s1600/dwj.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Oz1XjLq-TNALEX2ehBAahLlG636AhH4X8QbPCYQ2DUdqEiRoDROcFf4a1DKEXeT5o0K6yiSsX7yryqh7d4R7lKT5XHzLs7j7XnvOlMPzTPr5MJMWG27OiFEFUgAFW91PffI_wFZFpGbT/s1600/dwj.jpg" /></a></div>
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<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dining-With-John-Historical-Interpretation/dp/9004217789">Dining with John</a>:
Communal Meals and Identity Formation in the Fourth Gospel and its Historical
and Cultural Context. </i> By <a href="http://theolrel.unibas.ch/en/header/personnel/profile/profile/person/kobel/">Esther Kobel</a>. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2011. Pp. xx + 370. Cloth, $176.00.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In <i>Dining with John</i>,
Esther Kobel, at the University of Basel, is interested in the role communal
meals played in the experience of the earliest Christ-followers and the
‘historical’ Johannine community. To uncover this role, she pays particular
attention to the rhetorical function of food, drink, and meals in the Gospel of
John and offers an imaginative context, informed by the concept of hybridity,
by allowing the text to function as an indicator of a plausible <i>Sitz im Leben</i> that arises from key discursive
pointers in John’s Gospel. Koebel’s socio-rhetorical approach, as practiced by
Vernon Robbins, recognizes the way these discourses mutually inform one another
and, more importantly, draws from both the Jewish and non-Jewish context and
cultural codes. After an introduction and a state of the question, the study is
broken into two parts: the first pays close attention to metaphorical use of
food and drink in the Fourth Gospel, while the second brings to the fore
selected themes from the narrative world of the Gospel that were likely important
to the negotiation of the group’s identity. <o:p></o:p></div>
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A central premise for Koebel is that the Johannine community’s
regular meals had a deeper significance than just bodily sustenance. Chapter 1
provides the reader with her understanding of the foundational issues. Her
assumption concerning the Gospel is that it “was written for and directed to a
specific section of the Christ-movement, a ‘textual community’ which I will
call the ‘Johannine community,’” though this should not be construed to provide
“a direct window into a historical Johannine community.” Rather it describes a
“context” a “living environment” and “practices of the Gospel’s addressees
and/or authors” (33). She follows what has come to be the dominant
social-scientific approach to understanding identity (Tajfel, Turner, Jenkins,
and Hall). Chapter 2 surveys the existing scholarship dealing with the
sociological perspective on meals within the broader field of biblical studies
and the Fourth Gospel specifically. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Chapter 3 overviews the narrative structure of the Fourth
Gospel and the way meal scenes, food, and drink emerge throughout. She makes a
strong case for the centrality of meal settings and their associated discourses
as an interpretive key for the Gospel of John (especially in comparison to the
Synoptic tradition). The primary and oft repeated point is that Jesus provides
food for his believers, and those who accept this food and partake of him/it
show themselves to be his followers and make concrete their Christian identity
(at least in its embryonic form). The meal scenes in John 6 and 13–17 provide
the pivot points for the entire Gospel, the first with regard to the significant
reduction in participants as the story continues, and the second (with the
removal of the betrayer) as the occasion for the formation of the ingroup, “the
true community that is marked by mutual indwelling of the disciples with Jesus
even after his death” (107).<o:p></o:p></div>
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The strength of this study emerges in the socio-rhetorical
intertextures evident in part 2. Chapter 4 sets a clear context for the way
meals form identity; this chapter alone makes a significant contribution to NT studies.
Chapter 5 studies the eucharistic discourse in John 6 and the way footwashing
decenters it. Chapter 6 surveys the way non-Jewish (and non-Christian) discourses
influenced meal practices. Kobel is particularly interested in the framework mystery
cults may provide for understanding John 6:51-58, described as a
“Jesusphagy/Christophagy” (247). If some of the members of the Johannine community
were former participants in the Dionysian tradition, then eating Jesus’ flesh
and drinking his blood would have been particularly allusive. Chapter 7 reads
the same pericope in the context of accusations of cannibalism. She sees this
practice in the light of Greek and Roman groups who bound themselves together
by eating flesh and drinking blood. This is not meant to imply this was
actually occurring but that those who might have come from this background
needed to be reassured that “chew[ing] on the flesh of Jesus” was an acceptable
way to “continue bonding around their leader” (270). Chapter 8 addresses the
betrayal meal scene and places the context in the reoccurring Roman persecutions
of voluntary associations. The Christ-believers might have been afraid that
some of the Jews would betray them to the Romans. If the earliest
Christ-movement was seen as a type of voluntary association, this could provide
a plausible context for fearing the Jews, since the Romans relied on betrayal
by an insider for their prosecution of group members (292).</div>
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Chapter 9 provides a summary and is followed by an appendix
on Jesus’ avoidance of food in the Gospel of John. Kobel notes that the interpretive
pluralism that her study reinforces should not deflate contemporary
interpreters but should be an encouragement that this Gospel is a fine example
of cross-cultural communication and one that could be understood by both those
from a Jewish and a non-Jewish background. Kobel is quite convincing with
regard to her claim that the meal accounts are central to the Gospel’s
rhetorical purpose to create belief in Jesus and to form a distinct social
identity within his followers. While one could quibble with some of the
exegetical choices made in this work or whether meals have this type of identity-forming
power, it stands out as an excellent example of the way social scientific
criticism (here in its socio-rhetorical guise) provides fresh insights into several
long-standing debates within NT studies.<o:p></o:p></div>
J. Brian Tuckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17188059695822367055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944059552063380963.post-51660489838129724272014-05-26T12:43:00.000-04:002014-05-26T12:43:11.211-04:00Review of Celebrating Paul<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqHWvBLsdrML-kNCgpPvlfU6i6eI2YRZVHE-DKFVwJAA37PWKjoHbfDR0dWH9UAZ-iqVJhJ1JGLCK3qVj19BA-90LHWWdP1fQQLkqR5ql97tc4sqzYrtZqNv4sPHwRdxsAPVfIK6U0OM5x/s1600/cele+paul.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqHWvBLsdrML-kNCgpPvlfU6i6eI2YRZVHE-DKFVwJAA37PWKjoHbfDR0dWH9UAZ-iqVJhJ1JGLCK3qVj19BA-90LHWWdP1fQQLkqR5ql97tc4sqzYrtZqNv4sPHwRdxsAPVfIK6U0OM5x/s1600/cele+paul.jpg" height="320" width="211" /></a></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://catholicbiblical.org/publications/cbqms/cbqms-volumes">Celebrating Paul: Festschrift in Honor ofJerome Murphy-O'Connor, O.P., and Joseph A. Fitzmyer, S.J</a>.</span></i><span lang="EN-GB"> Edited by Peter Spitaler. The
Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series 48. Washington, D.C.: The Catholic
Biblical Association of America, 2011. Pp. xxviii + 439. $25.00.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Celebrating Paul</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> brings together a number of papers
presented at Villanova University (and several additional essays) from the 2008
celebration of the Jubilee Year for the Apostle Paul, where Professors
Murphy-O’Connor and Fitzmyer received honorary degrees. The honorees open the
volume with studies addressing recent themes in Pauline studies generally and
the “eucharist” in Corinth specifically. The rest of the work moves from
broad-ranging studies on Paul to those focused on individual texts, with a
major focus on Romans. Suggesting new trajectories in Pauline studies, W. S.
Campbell in “‘I Rate All Things as Loss’” convincingly shows that Paul does not
disparage his Jewish identity now that he is in Christ, and M. D. Nanos in
“Paul and the Jewish Tradition” supports the contention that Paul remains
within the bounds of Judaism. J. D. G. Dunn, in an essay likely requiring
further scholarly engagement, argues that Paul was a “convert” from Judaism.
This volume is a major contribution to NT studies and admirably reflects the
influence of its honorees.</span></div>
J. Brian Tuckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17188059695822367055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944059552063380963.post-55465725460248281432014-02-10T10:54:00.000-05:002014-02-10T12:55:53.113-05:00IBR Call for Paper 2014: Identity Formation in the Pauline Letters<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
Identity Formation in
the Pauline Letters: <span style="text-align: center;">Call for Papers 2014
<a href="https://www.ibr-bbr.org/">IBR</a> Meeting</span></div>
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">We will be holding
two halves to our session at the IBR Annual Meeting on Nov. 21, 2014 in San Diego. The first half, for which
we would like to receive paper proposals, will concentrate on the theme of Identity
Formation and Paul’s Jewish Context. We welcome papers examining the Pauline
letters in their contingent and coherent Jewish contexts, or analyzing them by
means of relevant Jewish literature, or incorporating relevant Jewish archaeological,
historical, or literary evidence in order to construct more precisely Paul’s
identity-forming work. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The second half will be a book review session. We are
delighted to be able to concentrate on the Pauline letters and methodological
sections of <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Clark-Handbook-Social-Identity-Testament/dp/056737954X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392047774&sr=8-1&keywords=The+T%26T+Clark+Handbook+to+Social+Identity+and+the+New+Testament">The T and T Clark Handbook to Social Identity and the New Testament</a></i>, edited by J. Brian Tucker and
Coleman A. Baker (Bloomsbury T and T Clark, 2014). We will be inviting
respondents to ensure a dynamic and multi-faceted discussion ranging across social
theory, social history, and Paul’s approach to identity formation. Please
contact J. Brian Tucker <a href="mailto:brian.tucker@moody.edu">brian.tucker@moody.edu</a>
and/or James Miller <a href="mailto:james.miller@asburyseminary.edu">james.miller@asburyseminary.edu</a>
for more information.</span>J. Brian Tuckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17188059695822367055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944059552063380963.post-4020466225364927472013-12-20T11:49:00.000-05:002013-12-20T11:49:15.317-05:00Review of Ehrensperger's Paul at the Crossroads of Cultures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWkQyKdUzLoxmONpBPopdNzUBPApOVMLXt66_niFD4kpYRsnnovkBZQ-rKfLt6hBPqxtyO0IXf1qqIw_EI3yDEPt7aIxlg3ze0xg3wz7W7rjVdRJivCQiQCwyc3cTKpZO-aLJsNnXSZS-8/s1600/paul+at+the+crossroads.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWkQyKdUzLoxmONpBPopdNzUBPApOVMLXt66_niFD4kpYRsnnovkBZQ-rKfLt6hBPqxtyO0IXf1qqIw_EI3yDEPt7aIxlg3ze0xg3wz7W7rjVdRJivCQiQCwyc3cTKpZO-aLJsNnXSZS-8/s320/paul+at+the+crossroads.jpg" width="202" /></a></div>
Ehrensperger,
Kathy. <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Paul-Crossroads-Cultures-Theologizing-Testament/dp/0567046362/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387557862&sr=8-1&keywords=Paul+at+the+Crossroads+of+Cultures%3A+Theologizing+in+the+Space-Between">Paul at the Crossroads of Cultures: Theologizing in the Space-Between</a></i>. London: Bloomsbury, 2013. xiv
+ 224 pp. £65.00 (hardback), ISBN 978-0567046369.<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.trinitysaintdavid.ac.uk/en/schooloftheologyreligiousstudiesandislamicstudies/staff/drkathyehrensperger/">Kathy Ehrensperger</a>, Reader in New Testament Studies at the University of
Wales Trinity Saint David, provides a new paradigm for understanding Paul’s
theologizing, one that builds on the emerging fields of bilingualism and
biculturalism. She concludes that these frameworks provide a better
understanding for the way Paul engages the diverse contexts evident in his
mission among the nations. Thus, she calls into question key aspects of
standard scholarly constructs and provides a more convincing way forward, one that
sees Paul as a cultural negotiator in the space between Roman, Greek, and
Jewish cultural discourses. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB">The introduction (chapter 1) highlights the focus of the study, which is
to look at Paul’s role as an intercultural communicator, one who is a mediator between
Jewish, Greek, and Roman cultural and ethnic traditions. However, Ehrensperger
rejects any claim of fusion or assimilation with regard to these processes.
This last point is a crucial and most convincing insight from her work as she
builds on the findings of bilingualism and biculturalism to understand more
clearly Paul’s approach to communication (e.g. as one embedded in Judaism but
conversant in multiple universes of discourse). Chapter 2 interrogates the
concepts of Hellenism and hybridity. The former is rejected as a useful way of
describing the interaction between Greek and Jewish culture. The source of the
problem relates to Johann Gustav Droysen’s original development of the concept
and Martin Hengel’s later appropriation of Droysen’s work. The aspect of
Hellenism that is most problematic for Ehrensperger is the idea of cultural
fusion. Her rejection of that naturally leads her to critique the use of the
postcolonial concept of hybridity. Within Pauline studies, Ehrensperger notes
two tendencies: (1) a lack of clarity with regard to what is being implied and
(2) an expectation of blending in the intercultural encounter. Both concepts
are found to be less than useful for Pauline studies specifically. Hybridity
contributes to an assumption that the Christ-movement resulted in a third race
while Hellenism, with its problematic ideological roots, often posits
Hellenistic Judaism as that which paved the way for the universal and higher
religious ideals of Christianity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Having questioned the continuing validity of two crucial concepts in NT
studies, chapter 3 outlines Ehrensperger’s suggested way forward, namely the
use of bilingualism and biculturalism in an alternative paradigm for
understanding Paul’s intercultural interaction. This chapter convincingly connects language,
culture, and identity via the resources of sociolinguistics. The contribution
of Pierre Bourdieu is clearly evident, especially his concept of habitus.
Ehrensperger navigates the challenges associated with defining culture and
ethnicity and concludes that Farzad Sharifian’s idea of cultural
conceptualizations connects well with Bourdieu’s work while Floya Anthias’
distinction between ethnic and cultural groups is probative. Of particular
interest with regard to Paul is the idea of relational ethnicity; this properly
recontextualizes Jewish particularity within wider on-going cultural discourse
during the first century CE. The chapter continues by outlining the research
into bilingualism and biculturalism especially as it relates to ethnic
diversity. It is evident in this section just how pervasively the
monolinguistic context of NT scholars has contributed to the premature closing off
of certain interpretive options. The chapter concludes with a nuanced discussion
of the way a lingua franca does not necessarily lead to cultural blending;
rather, localized diversity is more often evident in such a cultural context.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Chapter 4 highlights linguistic, ethnic, and cultural diversity within
the Roman Empire. This wide-ranging survey further substantiates Ehrensperger’s
claim that blending and fusion of collective identities was not the norm. The
preponderance of literary and inscriptional artifacts in Greek and the
comparative lack of vernacular languages for these is a challenge to the thesis
put forth in this monograph. Thus, this chapter seeks to deconstruct the
standard view for the significance of this evidence. Particularly problematic
for the standard view are the elite fallacy and the power dynamics associated
with provincial collaborators and Rome. Here Ehrensperger’s feminist
hermeneutic proves quite useful in discerning problematic interpretive
trajectories. A few highlights from this chapter include: (1) a reminder that
the use of Greek language does not necessarily imply the acceptance of Greek
culture; (2) Jewish literature of the period, identified as barbaric
literature, provides an important interpretive lens for understanding ways to
respond to Roman and Greek hegemony; (3) since there was no blended ‘Graeco-Roman’
cultural construct during the Early Principate this term should only be use
cautiously and with ‘definitional clarity’ (p. 77 n. 72); and (4) </span>bicultural
mediators (e.g. <span lang="EN-GB">Manetho,
Lucian, Josephus, and Philo</span>) perform vital functions in any situation of
cultural contact and the Early Principate was no exception. <span lang="EN-GB">These combine to support
Ehrensperger’s developing thesis, that ‘Paul and his co-workers…embarked on a
mission which included the mediation/translation of an alternative to the
dominating imperial discourse rooted in the Jewish alternative tradition that
had developed over centuries of interaction with others’ (p. 101).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Chapter 5 places Paul on the first century map with regard to cultural,
ethnic, and linguistic diversity. Ehrensperger cleverly weaves in and out of
existing debates within Pauline studies as they impinge on Paul’s identity and
practices as an intercultural meditator. She begins by discussing the way Paul
would have been viewed from the perspective of Roman imperial discourse. She
then moves into an important review of <i>ethnē
</i>from a Roman perspective and provides an overview of the important work
done on this topic from the research of Davina Lopez and Brigitte Kahl.
Ehrensperger concludes that Paul would have been viewed as a member of a
subjugated <i>ethnē</i>; however, he does
not describe himself or his own people with the same term –for that he uses the
term <i>genos</i>. Thus, Paul’s ‘us and
them’ categorization is different than that practiced by the Romans. In the
discussion of <i>genos</i>, Ehrensperger see
Paul as one who continues to identify with his ‘descent group’, values his
Jewishness, and maintains full Torah observance (p. 130). Next Ehrensperger
discusses the Jewish perspective on <i>ta
ethnē</i> and rejects the idea that such universalizing discourse suggests that
Paul thought existing identities were obliterated. The collective identity of
members of the nations is not problematic for Paul in the main but only when it
results in idolatrous practices. One of the fascinating interpretive moves that
Ehrensperger makes is that Paul’s view of Jews and the people from the nations
may have not developed in a significant way. Thus for Paul, there was no ‘third
kind’ within the Christ-movement; there were ‘those of the <i>peritomē </i>and those of the <i>akrobustia</i>
in Christ, but no mixture between them’ (p. 131). This chapter concludes with a
profile of Paul’s Jewish identity: he was at least bilingual, received a Greek
Jewish education, and would have continued to be identified as one of the <i>peritomē</i>, one embedded ‘in the
alternative Greek discourse of his people (<i>genos</i>)’
(p. 137). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Chapter 6 focuses on the role of Israel’s scriptural tradition and its
interpretation as it moves between cultural contexts. The development of the
LXX serves as an exemplar of the way ideas written within the Hebrew symbolic
universe are transformed when translated into Greek. This model serves as a
helpful comparison for the challenges Paul, as part of the polyglot Jewish
interpretive tradition, dealt with when communicating his gospel since it is sourced
in a similar symbolic universe. The influence of Israel’s apocalyptic tradition
is also seen in Paul’s writings, especially as it interacts with Roman threats
of violence and totalitarianism. Thus, Ehrensperger rightly places the
Christ-movement as part of an ‘existing Jewish resistance tradition’ (p. 151).
However, this resistance did not lead Paul to conclude that all aspects of
one’s former life had been obliterated in Christ. One of the important
contributions of Ehrensperger’s work is the recognition of aspects of life
among the nations that continue in Christ. The chapter concludes with two
examples of the way paying attention to various cultural scripts results in
interpretive clarity; these include the unity of Israel and the nations, and
the understanding of the social implications of <i>pist-</i> related words. The former reveals Paul as one seeking to
achieve unity among the nations in ways that challenged the approach of the
Romans, while the latter, emphasizing faithfulness, trust, and loyalty, reveals
a stark difference between <i>pist-</i>
discourse and Roman <i>fides</i> discourse.
Taken together, these two examples show the interpretive value of
Ehrensperger’s new paradigm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Chapter 7 provides an analysis of the challenges associated with
everyday ritual life within the Roman Empire. Ehrensperger offers a convincing
reading of 1 Corinthians 8-10, one that reveals the difficulty of negotiating
the existing ritual experiences of those from the nations. This chapter brings
to the fore the significance of the bicultural paradigm and shows Paul to be
open to aspects of the cultural life of the nations, as long as these align
with God’s glory (1 Cor. 10.31). Also, in her discussion of the table of the
Lord, she makes a compelling argument that Paul was not critiquing the
Jerusalem Temple but still viewed it as the centre of the cult for the God of
Israel, with differing implications for Christ-followers from the nations and from
Israel both of whom Christ links in ‘peace’ and ‘mutual empowerment’ (pp. 211,
213). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Chapter 8 highlights the key components of bilingualism and biculturalism
that were relevant to Ehrensperger’s study and synthesizes many of the arguments
developed in the preceding chapters. She reminds her readers that, in light of
her new paradigm, ‘any attempt to emphasize one dimension involved in this
translation process, Jewish, “Greek or barbarian”, at the expense of the other,
is inadequate’. Ehrensperger is calling for clear attention to all the
narratives of belonging and cultural encyclopedias in existence in the first
century CE as a way to better understand the ‘loss and gain’ evident in Paul’s
mission as an intercultural mediator (p. 219). For Paul, his gospel discourse
remains ‘to the Jew first and also to the Greek’ (Rom. 1.16b) and this
paradigmatic statement takes on seminal significance in Ehrensperger’s
approach. This is not merely a salvation historical statement but one of
embeddedness and belonging. Paul’s message required cross-cultural communication
which necessitated some familiarity with non-Jewish cult practices, though
there is also a distinct lack of integration of existing philosophical or
mythic traditions because his ‘narrative framework is entirely Jewish’ (p.
221). The book concludes with an important call to contemporary
Jewish-Christian dialogue as a direct implication of Paul’s theologizing at the
crossroads of cultures.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB">I found very little to disagree with in this monograph, though one
wonders if we can discern with any level of specificity the presence of former
God-fearers within Paul’s addressees or the extent to which
non-Christ-following Jews are part of Paul’s theologizing. These each deserve
further investigation, especially since the latter is crucial for this approach
to Paul. What Ehrensperger has presented in <i>Paul
at the Crossroads of Cultures</i> is nothing short of a paradigm shift. Her approach,
which I see as completely on target, will – in due time – change the way
Pauline scholars engage Paul and his diverse contexts. The lenses of
bilingualism and biculturalism genuinely move the interpretive discussion
forward – a rare achievement in an era of ever-increasing monographs dealing
with the apostle Paul. This work is highly recommended and one that Pauline
scholars will have to respond to since the implications of her work touch almost
every current debate within the field. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
J. Brian Tuckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17188059695822367055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944059552063380963.post-70295636300807432002013-11-11T14:06:00.003-05:002013-11-11T14:06:39.241-05:00Identity Formation in the Pauline LettersThe four main papers for our 2013 IBR research group Identity Formation in the Pauline Letters are now available <a href="http://www.ibr-bbr.org/identity-formation-pauline-letters-0">online</a>.J. Brian Tuckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17188059695822367055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944059552063380963.post-77376794342995199842013-10-21T19:21:00.002-04:002013-10-21T19:21:44.544-04:00Review of Atkinson's Baptism in the Spirit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV1OHEEJgpofetdPM0eKaXovsQAkUHT1qrc3O6VPNrLTxkPIR1O1wlYBKRo5hC1O3Ebi0L0BB9MOyGpNcF-L8yrzbi05iC-AAdmTGhpV4Dw4sMFRf89JmNDFwS-AHFJ20FapGJu0Itdg18/s1600/Bap+in+the+Spirit.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV1OHEEJgpofetdPM0eKaXovsQAkUHT1qrc3O6VPNrLTxkPIR1O1wlYBKRo5hC1O3Ebi0L0BB9MOyGpNcF-L8yrzbi05iC-AAdmTGhpV4Dw4sMFRf89JmNDFwS-AHFJ20FapGJu0Itdg18/s320/Bap+in+the+Spirit.JPG" width="222" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Atkinson, William P. <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Baptism-Spirit-Luke-Acts-Dunn-Debate/dp/1608999718/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382397342&sr=8-1&keywords=Baptism+in+the+Spirit%3A+Luke-Acts+and+the+Dunn+Debate">Baptism in the Spirit: Luke-Acts and the Dunn Debate</a></i>. Eugene, OR:
Pickwick Publications, 2011. Pp. x + 154. ISBN 978-1-60899-971-2. $19.00 paper.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.lst.ac.uk/faculty/faculty-member/51">William P.Atkinson</a>, Vice-Principal Academic, Director of Research, and Senior Lecturer in
Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies at the London School of Theology, reviews
critiques of James D. G. Dunn’s <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Baptism-Holy-Spirit-Re-examination-Testament/dp/0664241409/ref=tmm_pap_title_0">Baptismin the Holy Spirit</a></i> by various Pentecostal scholars and concludes that the
Pentecostal understanding of the doctrine is correct. The reception of the
Spirit is not related to the inception of new covenant life; rather, it is an
empowerment for service in the life of the church. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Chapter one surveys
Dunn’s work and outlines the six key scholars who have engaged his arguments. Here
Atkinson defines baptism in the Holy Spirit as “a charismatic empowering for
Christian service distinct from and thus, potentially, chronologically
subsequent to initial regenerating faith in Christ” (p. 3). Dunn clearly
rejects this definition, following instead a conversion-initiation
understanding of Spirit baptism. Thus, Pentecostal scholars (or ex-Pentecostal
in the case of <a href="http://www.lst.ac.uk/faculty/faculty-member/20">Max Turner</a>) have responded, since they see the doctrine of
subsequence as central to Pentecostal identity. Their critiques are outlined in
chapter two: Dunn reads Luke-Acts through the lens of Paul and assumes an identical
pneumatology. Furthermore, the terminology was much more fluid at this early
stage than Dunn is willing to admit. Dunn brings together what Luke kept
separate, i.e., salvation and the gift of the Spirit. Finally, it is clear that
different understandings of salvation history, especially the three pneumatological
epoch distinction, result in diverse readings between Dunn and his debaters. Taken
cumulatively, Atkinson concludes that Dunn’s debaters have cast doubt on his
claim that to become a Christian is to receive the Spirit (p. 65). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Chapter three then
provides an assessment of the various intra-Pentecostal alternatives. Atkinson’s
most significant disagreement is with Max Turner’s view, one closely aligned
with Dunn. He thinks Turner has missed the subtlety of Luke’s idea that “the
Spirit may be directly at work in the process of people’s coming to faith; that
these new converts, despite such prior ‘soteriological’ work of the Spirit,
still need to <i>receive</i> the Pentecostal
gift of the Spirit” (90). At this point, Atkinson’s approach may neither be
convincing among Pentecostals (his primary audience) nor non-Pentecostals (though
he is not trying to convince this group). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Chapter four addresses
the canonical context of the debate by looking specifically at the writings of
Paul and John (1 Cor 12:13; John 20:22). While Atkinson’s reason for choosing
these two verses based on his engagement with Turner is clear, it seems that a
test case from Romans 8:9, the putative “‘killer blow’ to Pentecostal doctrine”
would have been in order and that more than a restating of various Pentecostal
interpreters would have strengthened Atkinson’s argument. However, his claim
that Dunn has misread Pentecostal doctrine is well placed since the majority of
Pentecostal Pauline interpreters maintain some sort of soteriological
pneumatology. Atkinson contends that John 20:22 provides the strongest evidence
for “two distinct experiences” of receiving the Spirit (p. 118).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Chapter five summarizes and offers several practical suggestions for
contemporary expressions of the present-day work of the Holy Spirit. Atkinson suggests
using the term “Baptism in the Spirit” to describe an equipping for service
that is experienced by modern-day Pentecostals. This book is quite useful for
those seeking to understand this distinctly Pentecostal doctrine. It is not
designed to convince non-Pentecostals; rather, it is a fine survey of
intra-Pentecostal discussions using Dunn’s work as a dialogue partner. In this
way it meets its stated goal (p. 1).</span></div>
J. Brian Tuckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17188059695822367055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944059552063380963.post-39352349107009045532013-07-02T11:37:00.000-04:002013-07-02T18:51:54.317-04:00Review of Rudolph's and Willitts' Introduction to Messianic Judaism<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJjfkCUwP0gBSklOVyT_Arq_wKWcSlyXaevnmkQqnVm1GEdboUC51-1XzAOXKY_dsEn4y1e_1i2G2l9b6XXxgJEuTzcs6JMiyrN5bPQ9jGc_5h5GuUW_KRLShooIK0HIi7Bu0eXYWusI-3/s480/ItMJ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJjfkCUwP0gBSklOVyT_Arq_wKWcSlyXaevnmkQqnVm1GEdboUC51-1XzAOXKY_dsEn4y1e_1i2G2l9b6XXxgJEuTzcs6JMiyrN5bPQ9jGc_5h5GuUW_KRLShooIK0HIi7Bu0eXYWusI-3/s320/ItMJ.jpg" width="215" /></a></div>
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<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0310330637/ref=s9_psimh_gw_p14_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=18WRJ9ZKDQVYR08ZPPEF&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1389517282&pf_rd_i=507846" target="_blank">Introduction to Messianic Judaism: Its Ecclesial Contextand Biblical Foundations</a></i>. Edited by David J. Rudolph and Joel Willitts. Grand
Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2013, 335 pp., $26.99.<o:p> </o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.rabbidavid.net/bio/" target="_blank">David Rudolph</a> and <a href="http://www.northpark.edu/Academics/Undergraduate-Studies/Majors/Biblical-and-Theological-Studies/Meet-the-Faculty/Joel-Willitts" target="_blank">Joel Willitts</a> have put together an
important collection of essays addressing a contemporary religious movement (Messianic
Judaism) that many are unaware of and a contemporary hermeneutical shift
(<a href="http://www.mjstudies.com/storage/Soulen%20Post-supersessionism%20definition.pdf" target="_blank">post-supersessionism</a>) that is beginning to take hold in some quarters of the
biblical studies world. The book begins, after an important introduction by
Rudolph, with 13 essays written by self-identified Messianic Jews and then 14
essays written by several leading NT scholars and theologians. It concludes
with an extensive summary of each essay written by Willitts and an integrative
conclusion pointing out the contemporary significance with regard to the book’s
topic. This volume brings together authors who share a general outlook with
regard to the continuing covenantal identity for Jews and represents an
excellent model of cross-communal dialogue. The highly recommended book would
be useful as a supplemental text in New Testament and theology courses,
especially graduate seminars focused on ecclesiology and hermeneutics. It is
written at a scholarly but accessible level and the short chapters keep the
arguments moving forward while directing the reader to locations for more
extensive coverage of the topic being discussed. <o:p> </o:p></div>
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It would be unwise to cover all 28 chapters in this brief
review and Willitts’ chapter already does this. So, I will focus my comments on
four chapters from each part, those that highlight several issues I found
particularly probative, especially since I write and research from a similar
post-supersessionist perspective. In chapter 1, Rudolph defines what he means
by Messianic Judaism, “we are referring to a religious tradition in which Jews
have claimed to follow Yeshua (Jesus) as the Messiah of Israel while continuing
to live within the orbit of Judaism” (p. 21). This distinguishes the approach
put forth in Part 1 from those who align more closely with Messianic Judaism as
a sub-group identity within Protestant Evangelicalism. Rudolph notes that
Jewish followers of Jesus continued for the first four centuries of our era and
only disappeared under the threat of Constantine's sword and canon law (p. 25). It emerged again during the 18<sup>th</sup> century and
continues today in rather diverse expressions. The diversity evident among
Messianic Jews is expressed in several important ways, e.g., <a href="http://www.messianicjudaism.me/agenda/author/sdauermann/" target="_blank">Stuart Dauermann’s</a>
essay on “Messianic Jewish Outreach” is indicative of a critical debate over
evangelism or, as Dauermann prefers, the not-synonymous-term “outreach” (p.
94). Outreach does proclaim that Jesus is the Messiah but the social
implications of this message go beyond the individualistic discourse often
associated with evangelism. It finds itself more closely aligned with the wider
Jewish community in the way discipleship is expressed. The most intriguing
aspect of Dauermann’s essay is the idea that gentile and Jewish repentance
differs (p. 95). This insight is very important and sets a framework for a
Torah-informed repentance that is oftentimes overlooked (see Rom 2:12; p. 96). <o:p> </o:p></div>
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Another area in which diversity is expressed is found in
<a href="http://cza-annarbor.org/staff.htm" target="_blank">Mark Kinzer’s</a> essay, one whose influence is found throughout the first part of
this book. Kinzer’s concern is the liminal state Messianic Jews find themselves
with regard to Evangelical Protestantism on the one hand and the wider Jewish
community on the other. His essay describes the way <a href="http://www.hashivenu.org/" target="_blank">Hashivenu</a> and <a href="http://umjc.org/" target="_blank">the UMJC</a> have
sought to carve out a place for Messianic Judaism within the contemporary
expressions of Judaism. This is clearly a hotly debated but intriguing
development. Most of the debates relate to “the evangelical theological tenets
of biblical and soteriological exclusivism” (p. 128). Kinzer’s broader
influence has been felt in the publication of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Postmissionary-Messianic-Judaism-Redefining-Engagement/dp/1587431521/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372778477&sr=8-1&keywords=Postmissionary+Messianic+Judaism" target="_blank">Postmissionary Messianic Judaism</a></i>, the term “postmissionary” was
chosen to make an ecclesial point: “Messianic Jews are not called to be
representatives of the Christian community operating within another religious
community (i.e., the Jewish people) but to be fully part of the Jewish world in
both religious and national terms. In fact, they are to represent the Jewish
community in relation to the Church, rather than the reverse” (p. 132). What
Kinzer’s work does is to allow the church to think through the social
implications of what it means to be part of the commonwealth of Israel (Eph
2:12). While the debates over a more inclusivist soteriology will undoubtedly continue,
Kinzer’s “bilateral ecclesiology” should not be lost in the discussion for the
way the church could relate to the Jewish people (p. 137). One final area of
diversity should be noted, <a href="http://www.tikkunministries.org/" target="_blank">Daniel Juster’s</a> essay brings to the fore the debates
over the way Messianic Jews relate to the broader gentile Christian world. Here
the debates over <a href="http://www.mjstudies.com/storage/Soulen%20Supersessionism%20Definition.pdf" target="_blank">supersessionism</a> and the sordid history of anti-Judaism create
significant communal tensions. The idea of one body of Messiah that
is expressed in two different ways is crucial for the continuation of “unity
with distinction? (pp. 137, 142). This is seen as Jews are encouraged to
continue to relate to God as Jews and, with the exception of the “One Law”
movement, gentiles are encouraged to relate to God as gentiles, all in a
relationship of “interdependence” and “mutual blessing” (p. 142; see further on
this Tucker, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.bookreviews.org/pdf/8406_9208.pdf" target="_blank">Remain in Your Calling</a></i>,
pp. 115-35). <o:p> </o:p></div>
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In Part 2 the essays focus on the church and Messianic
Judaism. I will highlight four of these essays, all of which are crucial for
the development of a post-supersessionist approach to the NT. <a href="http://www.trinitysaintdavid.ac.uk/en/schooloftheologyreligiousstudiesandislamicstudies/staff/drbillcampbell/" target="_blank">William S.Campbell’s</a> essay “The Relationship between Israel and the Church” provides a
post-supersessionist reading of Romans 9-11. This programmatic essay provides
several interpretive trajectories for future scholars thinking about issues of
supersessionism. For example, Campbell in reflecting on the purpose of Romans and
the interdependence between gentiles and Jews in Christ concludes that “Israel
is not merely a historical antecedent to the church, and the church has not
replaced, and cannot displace, her in the divine purpose. Israel belongs to the
present and future of the church and not merely to her inception” (p. 204). <a href="http://www.religiousstudies.mcmaster.ca/faculty/runess" target="_blank">Anders Runesson’s</a> essay “Paul’s Rule in All the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ekklēsiai</i>”
discusses 1 Cor 7:17-24 and argues that this passage provides scholars with a
potential center for Paul’s theologizing. Runesson understands Paul’s rule to
include the view that “socioethnic differences between the two groups [Jews and
gentiles] ‘in Christ’” was expected by Paul and that the way each obeyed God’s
commandments will look different based on this pattern of thought (p. 218).
Also, Runesson is undoubtedly correct in noting that the use of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ekklēsia</i> by Paul should be understand as
pointing to the idea that the Pauline movement was still within the broader
synagogue community at this point (rather than disconnected from it) (p. 220).<o:p> </o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.theology.ox.ac.uk/people/staff-list/dr-justin-k.-hardin.html" target="_blank">Justin Hardin’s</a> essay addresses whether Gal 3:28 and
Ephesians 2:14-18 should be understood to indicate that Paul sought to collapse
ethnicity. He concludes, with regard to Gal 3:28 that Paul does not seek to
obliterate ethnic identities: “On the contrary in this verse Paul announced the
glorious universal reality that through faith in the Messiah, there is equality
as children of Abraham across ethnic (as well as gender and social) boundaries”
(pp. 228-29). In a similar way, Eph 2:14-18 does not erase ethnicity in the
creation of the “one new humanity”; rather, it is a metaphor of “oneness” used
by Paul to address the nature of the peace given in Christ (p. 231). Thus,
those who claim that Paul develops a “race-less people” have overstated their
position (p. 232). The idea that existing identities continue in Christ is a
theme that is developed in Campbell, Runesson, and Hardin; however, Joel
Willitts’ essay develops this further and in a way that provides an
eschatological rationale for the continuation of ethnicity in Christ. Willitts
researches Revelation 19-22 from a Jewish context (e.g., the bride imagery and
Isaiah) and concludes that the New Heavens and New Earth are patterned on a
Davidic city. Thus, Israel’s identity is never superseded and that “John
teaches that Israel’s distinctive role in God’s administration of creation continues
eternally” (p. 253). This interpretive approach provides a challenge to aspects
of both amillennialism and premillenialism. Israel’s distinctive purposes are
never supplanted (p. 246).<o:p> </o:p></div>
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Rudolph and Willitts are to be commended for putting
together such a substantial volume. This book deserves wide attention from
scholars, pastors, seminary students, and obviously those within the Messianic
Jewish movement. It provides insights into the religious diversity evident in
our contemporary context as well as alerting the reader to the emergence of a
new paradigm for New Testament interpretation, i.e., post-supersessionism. </div>
J. Brian Tuckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17188059695822367055noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944059552063380963.post-9048323456963260672013-06-30T08:44:00.000-04:002013-06-30T17:55:17.067-04:00Review of R. Alan Streett's Heaven on Earth<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKlJ78VFlKXL0N_suIDNLLPHIL4INHdTlS8jOvrGzAjifPtl5yGeUdvNZ0FqDLa64Sd7dQp0XiItiPG3uar_ReAsgvwVzDYqoQAOFGdwNHnQg-Xwd8AWiWyBDV2iv5R5vHbXQapNKjn_3w/s437/streett.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKlJ78VFlKXL0N_suIDNLLPHIL4INHdTlS8jOvrGzAjifPtl5yGeUdvNZ0FqDLa64Sd7dQp0XiItiPG3uar_ReAsgvwVzDYqoQAOFGdwNHnQg-Xwd8AWiWyBDV2iv5R5vHbXQapNKjn_3w/s320/streett.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.criswell.edu/current_students/academics/faculty/r_alan_streett/" target="_blank">R. Alan Streett</a>, the Senior Research Professor of Biblical
Exegesis and the W.A. Criswell Endowed Chair of Expositor Preaching at <a href="http://www.criswell.edu/" target="_blank">CriswellCollege</a>, contends in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0736949143" target="_blank">Heaven on Earth: Experiencing the Kingdom of God in the Here and Now</a></i> that pastors have
missed the core content of the gospel when they focus solely on believing in
Jesus and then when you die you’ll go to heaven. Streett contends, rather, that
the content of today’s preaching should be focused on the kingdom of God and
its relevance for contemporary life. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Heaven
on Earth </i>challenges several notions evident nowadays in America’s pulpits
by introducing the findings of several streams of contemporary New Testament
scholarship, especially historic empire studies. This book, written at a
popular level and designed to introduce the meta-narrative of scripture with
regard to God’s kingdom, surveys the canonical material while highlighting the
social implications of several of these key texts. In discussing the social
implications of the gospel with regard to kingdom discourse, Streett enters an
ongoing debate evident in Scot McKnight’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/King-Jesus-Gospel-Original-Revisited/dp/031049298X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1372595581&sr=1-1&keywords=The+King+Jesus+Gospel" target="_blank">The King Jesus Gospel</a></i> and Tim Keller’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kings-Cross-Story-World-Jesus/dp/0525952101/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1372595633&sr=1-1&keywords=The+King%E2%80%99s+Cross+Tim+Keller" target="_blank">King’s Cross</a></i>. Streett builds on the already and not yet approach to the kingdom of
God but focuses the majority of his argument on the already aspect of God’s
kingdom. This allows him to address several current issues related to church
life including the centrality of the miraculous ongoing work of the Holy Spirit,
an over-identification with political involvements, and the nature of a
kingdom-focused approach to ministry. He concludes with an insightful
discussion on the earth as the ultimate destination of the kingdom, a
discussion that addresses some of the eschatological themes anticipated in the
earlier canonical materials. For those interested in the hermeneutical debates
concerning covenantal and dispensational approaches to scripture’s
meta-narrative, they will find in Streett one who emphasizes the continuity of
the canonical context and one in which the influence of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/New-Testament-Biblical-Theology-Unfolding/dp/0801026970/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1372595714&sr=1-1&keywords=Gregory+Beale" target="_blank">Gregory Beale</a> is felt.
While the nature of the book does not allow for extended critical engagement, a
reader could turn to Streett’s forthcoming <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Subversive-Meals-Analysis-Domination-Century/dp/1620320185/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1372595754&sr=1-1&keywords=Subversive+Meals" target="_blank">Subversive Meals</a></i> for that, it does offer a survey for those
interested in living out the social implications of scripture’s focus on God’s
kingdom. For those individuals, Streett’s book offers a window into the
subversive nature of the canonical material with regard to its original empire
context and what it means for Christ-followers today to leave in alternative
ways in the context of various contemporary empires.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
J. Brian Tuckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17188059695822367055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944059552063380963.post-20946530742355717442013-05-02T13:39:00.002-04:002013-05-02T13:39:31.683-04:00Review of Dean Deppe's All Roads Lead to the Text: Eight Methods of Inquiry into the Bible
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgneE_ZgaFil4gppaSrr9r01G8GIbYPOOsWXoPmDEq-VwGQoQDh5gARi1IwA054KcdC0jwqbia5GLb59GotWUrdKUEWvL2wiAxIhnOWQMduF1HkYpie0UJiiUQpZTEUwwoXpE_MSJFl-6lu/s1600/deppe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgneE_ZgaFil4gppaSrr9r01G8GIbYPOOsWXoPmDEq-VwGQoQDh5gARi1IwA054KcdC0jwqbia5GLb59GotWUrdKUEWvL2wiAxIhnOWQMduF1HkYpie0UJiiUQpZTEUwwoXpE_MSJFl-6lu/s320/deppe.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Dean B. Deppe. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/All-Roads-Lead-Text-Methods/dp/0802865941/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367516108&sr=8-1&keywords=All+Roads+Lead+to+the+Text%3A+Eight+Methods+of+Inquiry+into+the+Bible" target="_blank">AllRoads Lead to the Text: Eight Methods of Inquiry into the Bible</a></i>. Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 2011. Pp. xvi + 411. ISBN 978-0-8028-6594-6. $25.00 paper.<o:p> </o:p></div>
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<a href="https://internal.calvinseminary.edu/aboutUs/facultyStaff/ddeppe.php" target="_blank">Dean Deppe</a>, professor of NT at
Calvin Theological Seminary, contends that the eight different routes proposed
in this book will lead to the same place, “a clearer and more profitable
understanding of the meaning of the biblical text” (p xii). While he provides
the reader with a full complement of examples for the way this might happen
(especially with the use of Logos Bible Software), one is sometimes left
wanting further justification for some of his conclusions, which follow a
“conservative Reformed perspective” (p. 247). <o:p></o:p><br />
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Chapter one wrestles with issues
associated with passage delimitations, genre, and literary techniques that
influence textual meaning (e.g., chiasm and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">inclusio</i>).
Chapter two provides guidelines and instructions for using tools from Logos
that allow the interpreter to analyze words, phrases, and clauses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Deppe also looks into the importance of
sentence structure and word order when recognizing emphasis. He concludes by
pointing out the importance of comparing translations of the biblical text.
Chapter three offers a discussion of structural analysis. He begins by focusing
on entire biblical books and then moves to their constituent paragraphs, and then
finally to the clausal level. The centrality of discourse analysis, as
practiced by <a href="http://www.logos.com/academic/bio/runge" target="_blank">Steven Runge</a>, is evident here.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Chapter four focuses on the literary
context. Deppe argues that the material that comes before and after the passage
under study is crucial. The force of this claim is supported with examples in
which biblical writers put similar content in different literary contexts. He concludes
that redaction criticism may be a more helpful interpretive strategy than simple
harmonization. Chapter five surveys the field of historical and cultural
background. Deppe suggests that interpreters should draw on the findings from
the material culture. He recognizes the centrality of the OT for understanding
the NT, and he provides a discussion of intertextuality. Finally, he discusses
the need to come to reasoned conclusions concerning issues of authorship, date,
provenance, and addressees. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Chapter six argues for reading
current commentators as well as listening to interpreters from Church history.
The primary reason for studying the history of interpretation is to become
aware of interpretative options that were not considered in the original
engagement with the text. Chapter seven discusses theological exegesis, an
approach that brings to the fore theological themes and concepts. Deppe begins
with examples of the way theological presuppositions may overly influence one’s
interpretation. Because of this, he argues for the interrogation of one’s
presuppositions in order to reduce the likelihood of textual prejudgment. He
suggests that readers make their theological assumptions explicit and reflect
on their cultural and psychological profile. This chapter concludes with a
discussion of biblical theology and a call to organize the canonical meaning
along the lines of creation, fall, redemption, and consummation. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Chapter eight introduces spiritual
exegesis and opens with a survey of precritical, critical, and postmodern
exegetical assumptions. This gives rise to an argument for the insufficiency of
the historical-critical approach. Before offering several skills needed when
doing spiritual exegesis, Deppe addresses several dangers likely to occur when
practicing it. He concludes the chapter with the way his eight routes work when
interpreting Mark 6:45-51. Deppe has written a useful guide to biblical
exegesis and those looking for ways to integrate <a href="http://www.logos.com/" target="_blank">Logos Bible Software</a> into
their biblical language research will benefit from the step-by-step
instructions he provides, while others will find his numerous biblical examples
thought-provoking.</div>
J. Brian Tuckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17188059695822367055noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944059552063380963.post-28248088362558829932013-04-15T11:12:00.000-04:002013-04-15T11:12:44.340-04:00Review of Larry L. Welborn's An End to Enmity: Paul and the 'Wrongdoer' of Second Corinthians<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1n3BIH9NPapv0jIYiZZrS_Al0jDMpUk6JtFkD_HuNnDSK3mPwbK-y6Sb1qjKEAzOI_depF5E6svwzy4xhSRmAQ8aSyCmcAyyM-uHvNr2N_70d7Q9MZxcynjB34-sEguhlvYASobaQWzDx/s1600/end+to+enmity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1n3BIH9NPapv0jIYiZZrS_Al0jDMpUk6JtFkD_HuNnDSK3mPwbK-y6Sb1qjKEAzOI_depF5E6svwzy4xhSRmAQ8aSyCmcAyyM-uHvNr2N_70d7Q9MZxcynjB34-sEguhlvYASobaQWzDx/s320/end+to+enmity.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HE;">Welborn, L. L. <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/End-Enmity-%2522Wrongdoer%2522-Neutestamentliche-Wissenschaft/dp/3110%3Ci%3E%3C/i%3E263270/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366038291&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=An+End+to+Enmity%3A+Paul+and+the+%E2%80%98Wrongdoer%E2%80%99+of+Second+Corinthians" target="_blank">An End to Enmity: Paul and the‘Wrongdoer’ of Second Corinthians</a></i>. (Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die
neutestamentliche Wissenschaft und die Kunde der älteren Kirche Band 185)
Berlin: De Gruyter, 2011. xxviii + 570 pp. </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">£</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HE;">129.95 (hardback), ISBN
978-3-11-026327-5.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HE;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://www.fordham.edu/academics/programs_at_fordham_/theology/faculty/larry_l_welborn_26200.asp" target="_blank">Larry L. Welborn</a>, Professor of New Testament and Early Christian
Literature at Fordham University in New York, explores Paul’s Corinthian
correspondence in its Greco-Roman context and uncovers the identity of the
shadowy figure known as the wrongdoer. This fascinating monograph brings
together key aspects of Welborn’s approach to Paul that draws on ancient
politics, friendship discourse, and the material remains of Roman Corinth. With
these, he provides a social and rhetorical analysis of the Corinthian
correspondence that brings to the fore the relational dynamics between Paul and
the Corinthians in a densely argued <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tour
de force.</i><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The preface starts out with a survey of the textual features that led New
Testament scholars to hold to some form of partition theory for 2 Corinthians
(and to a lesser degree 1 Corinthians). It then goes on to cover the compositional
history of Paul’s Corinthian correspondence. After a brief chapter that
introduces the key aspects of the book, chapter 2 provides a history of
scholarship with regard to the identity of the wrongdoer mentioned in 2 Cor 2:5
and 7:12. Welborn rejects the hypothesis that it is the same person as the
immoral brother mentioned in 1 Cor 5. He does, however, provide a profile of this
individual that also summarizes the findings of scholars who have likewise
argued against the connection with 1 Cor 5: ‘The wrongdoer was a member of the
Corinthian church; he was influenced by Jewish-Christian opponents of Paul; his
offence took place on the occasion of Paul’s second visit to Corinth; the wrong
was an injury in which money was somehow involved; the context of the injurious
action was the collection for the poor saints in Jerusalem; the Corinthians
were somehow complicit in the wrong done to Paul’ (22). This profile is still
not sufficiently determined, so Welborn proceeds. Recognizing that a control is
needed to provide parameters for determining more closely and concretely the
wrongdoers’ identity, Welborn suggests that the following have been missing in
previous attempts to answer this question: first, ‘the social and rhetorical
conventions in which Paul and the Corinthians participated, and by which their
relationships were governed’; and second, key textual data possibly overlooked
from 2 Corinthians (22).</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HE;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HE;">Chapter 3 provides an
exegetical basis for Welborn’s understanding. He demonstrates the nature of the
offence, i.e. Paul has been publically accused of embezzlement in relation to
the collection for the saints in Jerusalem. He elucidates the identity of the
wrongdoer: He was an individual of high status and significant social distance
from Paul, though possibly a former friend, dignified, committed to reason,
appreciative of aristocratic values and of cultured tastes. Third, in regard to
the wrongdoer’s relationship to Paul and others within the Corinthian
congregation, he was a Christ-follower who had a deep sense of belonging to
Christ. He was one whose Christological understanding differed from Paul’s but
aligned closely with expressions of Hellenistic Judaism (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Psalms of Solomon </i>17-18; 2 Cor 10:7). He had strong theological
convictions and was likely responsible for the comparison of Paul with his
rivals. He made these comparisons, however, not for invidious reasons but out
of a sincere desire to understand the differences in theological orientation. He
likely functioned as a/the patron for the Corinthian congregation and had an
overbearing influence within the broader group. He was able to articulate his
theological convictions clearly, and his powers of persuasion likely
contributed to the Corinthians’ complicity in the communal problems described
in these letters.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HE;">In chapter 4, Welborn
builds on Marshall’s (1987) work recognizing that, in the undisputed Paulines,
Paul never names his enemies. The example of Augustus’ <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Res Gestae</i> is mentioned as an instance of the social convention in
which enemies remained unnamed. Welborn extends this by drawing on literary
parallels that are closer in terms of genre to Paul’s letters (Cicero and Dio
Chrysostom). He furthers Marshall’s work by addressing the convention,
especially in conciliatory letters, of not naming one’s friends. The reason?
Today’s friends may be tomorrow’s enemies (219). At this point, Welborn
foreshadows what is to come—the wrongdoer was previously Paul’s friend. In a
search for this person’s identity, Welborn limits his focus to nine individuals
who are named in 1 Corinthians and Romans. Several are quickly set aside, with
four receiving significant attention: Crispus, Gaius, Stephanas, and Erastus.
Stephanas is precluded based on his secondary social status, and Erastus is
dismissed since he is likely a recent convert. Crispus and Gaius are both
possible candidates, but one emerges as slightly more plausible based on the
social convention of hospitality that governed the successful conclusion of
reconciliation. Welborn sees Paul following this social ritual in Rom 16:23,
where he sends greetings from ‘Gaius, my host, and the host of the whole church’.
Thus, Gaius is to be identified as the wrongdoer in 2 Corinthians.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Chapter 5 sets out to create a social profile of Gaius’ personality.
This is based on prosopographic data and a close reading of 1 Cor 1:14; Rom
16:23; 2 Cor 10-13; 1:1-2:13; and 7:5-16. Welborn draws on the resources of
onomastics, epigraphy, and the archaeology of Roman Corinth to round out the
picture of Gaius, his role within the Christ-movement, and his relationship to
Crispus and Erastus. After discussing Paul’s onomastics and setting aside the
idea that Gaius is to be associated with Titus Justus, Welborn, while not
claiming that the epigraphic and numismatic data from Roman Corinth relates directly
to the Gaius who hosted the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ekklesia</i>
in Corinth, draws on this material to uncover the social profile of a mid-first
century person with this <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">praenomen</i>.
He provides extensive excursuses on Corinthian persons and houses that provide
key and often difficult to locate information on the archaeology of Corinth.
After setting aside numerous Gaii, he surveys four that can be plausibly
situated in the mid-first century: Gaius Julius Syrus, Gaius Novius Felix,
Gaius Julius Polyaenus, and most importantly Gaius Julius Spartiaticus who
provides an intriguing image of the kind of person Paul’s Gaius might have
been. Next, Welborn sets out to uncover a domestic structure large enough to
include the approximately 100 people he thinks were part of the Christ-movement
in Corinth. He acknowledges that the villa at Anaploga would not have been
large enough to include the group, but he does point to the Casa del Menandro
in Pompeii as an example of a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">domus</i>
that would have been more than spacious enough for this purpose. Not content
with “archaeology-hindered interpretation” (334), Welborn provides an
intriguing survey of Corinthian houses: the one adjacent to Temple E, the
mosaic house, the Anaploga villa, the Shear villa, and the house of the Opus
Sectile Panel. This final example is the house that Welborn suggests for the
type of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">domus</i>, located in the kind of
neighborhood, in which someone like Gaius could plausibly host ‘the whole <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ekklesia</i>’ (355). This also provides a
more concrete context for Welborn’s reconstruction of the problems associated
with the Lord’s supper, including differing expectations of patronage. The
chapter concludes with a summary of Gaius’ portrait and a brief discussion of
the relationships between Gaius, Crispus, and Erastus (who was likely Gaius’
client). Gaius is described as a former God-fearer, and this accounts for his
relationship with Crispus. Importantly for Welborn’s argument, these two were
also likely responsible for the Apollos faction (371-72).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Gaius of Corinth was a man worthy of Paul’s friendship (in the ancient
sense of the word); he was also one capable of enmity, but open to
reconciliation. That is Welborn’s argument in chapter 6, which provides a
retelling of the asymmetrical relationship between Paul and the wrongdoer.
Paul, however, did not leave the accepted Roman practice of friendship
untouched; he sought to transform it from within, and his interaction with the
wrongdoer reveals the various ways he accomplished that (391). Welborn’s expansive
reconstruction of the friendship between Paul and Gaius builds on the canonical
narrative, supported by the archaeological, numismatic, exegetical, and
literary-critical findings of the earlier parts of this monograph and summarized
here in a single account. Welborn details the three ways in which Paul sought
to transform the paradigm of Greco-Roman friendship: (1) He took the initiative
in reconciliation, even though he was the one injured (449). (2) By writing a
therapeutic letter (2 Cor 1:1-2:13; 7:5-16) he sought to rearrange the power
structures and social relations (466). (3) He insisted on extending forgiveness
to the wrongdoer (476). Welborn concludes his story by pointing out that in the
winter of 56 Paul arrived at the house of Gaius (Rom 16:23) and publically
reconciled with his formerly alienated friend. There in his residence he penned
Romans: ‘Paul’s reconciliation with the wrongdoer Gaius created the
psychological conditions for the last and most productive period in Paul’s life
as an apostle of Christ’ (481). With that, the story of Paul and the wrongdoer
comes to a close with an end to their enmity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HE;">A few brief critiques are
in order. The primary weaknesses in Welborn’s argument, ones of which he is
well aware, include: (1) The identification of 2 Corinthians 10-13 as the ‘letter
of tears’ mentioned in 2 Cor 2:3-4—if one rejects this identification, then
much of Welborn’s exegesis is weakened. (2) The heavy reliance on the presence
of singular pronouns and third-person singular verbs in 2 Corinthians 10-13 as
a way to argue for an individual wrongdoer—this can also be construed as a
general reference to a group of wrongdoers. Cranfield (1982) warned about basing
crucial exegetical decisions on these since Paul is rather inconsistent in his use
of person and number. (3) The complex partition theory developed by Welborn in
support of his reconstruction and rhetorical exigency—though densely argued and
quite plausible, if rejected, it casts doubts over his broader argument. However,
he is right to point out that those who wish to counter his claim are obliged
to put forth their own accounting of the literary history of 2 Corinthians and
Paul’s relationship with the Corinthians (xxvii). </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">This </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HE;">landmark monograph in 2
Corinthians scholarship deserves in-depth engagement and will not likely soon
be surpassed as a resource for the social history of Corinth. It is an
important contribution to Pauline scholarship and provides a thorough
accounting for the identity of the wrongdoer along with the complex, difficult,
and strained relationship that is evident between Paul and the Corinthians.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HE;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HE;">References:</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HE;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Cranfield,
C. E. B. 1982. “Changes of Person and Number in Paul’s Epistles.” In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Paul and Paulinism: Essays in Honour of C.
K. Barrett</i>, edited by M. D. Hooker and S. G. Wilson, 280-89. London: SPCK.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Marshall,
P. 1987. <i>Enmity in Corinth: Social Conventions in Paul's Relations with the
Corinthians. </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">WUNT, 23.</span>
Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HE;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: HE;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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J. Brian Tuckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17188059695822367055noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944059552063380963.post-47512883618103873522013-02-28T10:13:00.000-05:002013-02-28T10:13:16.935-05:00News Story for Honorary Research FellowshipHere is a <a href="http://www.moodyministries.net/crp_NewsDetail.aspx?id=105130" target="_blank">link</a> to a news story that was recently published describing my appointment as an <a href="http://www.tsd.ac.uk/en/schooloftheologyreligiousstudiesandislamicstudies/visitingandhonorarystaff/" target="_blank">Honorary Research Fellow</a> at the <a href="http://www.trinitysaintdavid.ac.uk/en/" target="_blank">University of Wales Trinity Saint David</a>.J. Brian Tuckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17188059695822367055noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944059552063380963.post-77902606710862238952012-11-30T18:46:00.002-05:002012-11-30T18:48:08.930-05:00RBL review of Remain in Your Calling<a href="http://www.tyndale-europe.edu/index.php?subsubpage=26&mainpage=3" target="_blank">H. H. Drake Williams III</a> has just published a review of my book, <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Remain-Your-Calling-Continuation-Corinthians/dp/1610973933/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354319126&sr=8-1&keywords=remain+in+your+calling" target="_blank">Remain in Your Calling</a></em>. You can read it on the <a href="http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8406" target="_blank">RBL</a> website <a href="http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=8406" target="_blank">here</a>.J. Brian Tuckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17188059695822367055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944059552063380963.post-76303004753874974012012-11-08T12:46:00.002-05:002012-11-08T12:46:20.932-05:00Review of Jack Barentsen's Emerging Leadership in the Pauline Mission<br />
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<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Emerging-Leadership-Pauline-Mission-Perspective/dp/1610972449/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1352396495&sr=8-1&keywords=Emerging+Leadership+in+the+Pauline+Mission%3A+A+Social+Identity+Perspective+on+Local+Leadership+Development+in+Corinth+and+Ephesus" target="_blank">Emerging Leadership in the Pauline Mission: A SocialIdentity Perspective on Local Leadership Development in Corinth and Ephesus</a></i>.
By Jack Barentsen. Princeton Theological Monograph Series 168. Eugene, Or:
Pickwick, 2011, xviii + 378 pp., $44.00 paper. </div>
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<a href="http://www.etf.edu/onderwijs/docenten/dr-jack-barentsen" target="_blank">Jack Barentsen</a>, Assistant Professor of Practical Theology
and New Testament at Evangelische Theologische Faculteit in Leuven, Belgium,
concludes that “Paul instituted uniform patterns of leadership for those levels
of leadership, which sustained the consistent communication of Paul’s gospel in
each community in alignment with other churches in the Pauline network” (p.
15). In this revised Ph.D. dissertation, researched under Martin Weber at
ETF-Leuven, Barentsen studies 1-2 Corinthians, Ephesians, and 1-2 Timothy
through the lens of social identity theory and discerns patterns of leadership
in Paul’s mission among those in Corinth and Ephesus. <br />
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Chapter 1 covers key definitions,
surveys the plan of the book, and provides an explanatory rationale for his
choice of texts and the social identity model of leadership. Barentsen’s
research question serves as a helpful introduction: “what were the leadership
patterns in these early Christ-following communities, and how did the
communities as well as Paul influence the development of these patterns?” (p.
6). Chapter 2 provides a history of research on early church leadership.
Barentsen rightly notes that denominational commitment heavily influenced these
studies. The Holtzmann-Sohm hypothesis represented the consensus until the
middle of the 20<sup>th</sup> century, when Post-Weberian social scientific
studies, disconnected from denominational ties, brought more diversity into the
discussion (p. 20). However, this new approach simply replaced denomination
ideology with sociological models. Thus, more integrative work still needed to
be done. Barentsen situates his study at the intersection of the denominational
approaches that were driven by prior institutional commitments and the social
approaches with their focus on group dynamics evident in the Mediterranean
cultural context. In many ways, Barentsen’s work builds on and seeks to further
the work of Andrew Clarke by integrating rather than juxtaposing the social and
ideological components of leadership. He also brings further refinement to the
model-based approach to social identity theory evident in the work of Philip
Esler. <br />
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Chapter 3 delineates Barentsen’s
“three-stage” social identity model of leadership (SIMOL) that guides the
exegetical discussions that follow (p. 32). This chapter analyses the way
social identity approaches (SIA) conceive of issues related to leadership. It
begins with a brief history of SIA and then covers the basic concepts important
to this study, i.e., social identity hierarchies, social identity definitions,
and group prototypes and stereotypes. Barentsen points to Esler’s influence in
the use of social identity theory within biblical studies, discusses some of
the criticisms leveled against scholars using these tools, and introduces his
case study approach (p. 42). His model begins with a description of the
processes of social identification within groups, processes that will be
applied to the situations in Corinth and Ephesus (p. 52). The second stage
focuses on the way leaders manage these processes, relating the way Paul
engaged leaders and the way the communities negotiate their social identity.
The final stage looks at the way a leader’s identity-based management leads to
the “emergence, maintenance, and succession of leaders,” providing a
substantial discussion of the latter aspect since it has been somewhat under
theorized in the literature (pp. 58, 62). <br />
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Chapter 4 discusses the impact that
cross-cutting social identities (and comparative fit) had within the Corinthian
Christ-movement. Barentsen rightly notes that Paul’s rule that members should
maintain, where possible, existing social identifications (1 Cor 7:17-24) brought
a certain added level of complexity in these identity negotiations (p. 82). One
of the significant contributions from this chapter is that it brings to the
fore the role of local leaders in the (mis)management of Christian social
identity. Thus, paying attention to the way social identity is formed
emphasizes details in the text that traditional approaches have overlooked (p.
86 n. 43). Next, Barentsen discusses Paul’s agency with regard to the formation
of social identity in Corinth. He provides an excellent overview of the way
Paul relies on processes that are also found in SIA; what results is a leader
who empowers the Corinthians “to strong identity performance” (p. 100). The
final part of the chapter outlines the patterns of leadership that emerged from
his SIMOL analysis of 1 Corinthians. <br />
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With regard to 2 Corinthians, which
is the focus of chapter 5, Barentsen defines the problem as Jewish Christian
leaders who have come to Corinth with a different vision for the way Jewish
social identities continue to be relevant within the church. These intruding Jewish
teachers were able to influence the community because Paul’s social engineering
in 1 Corinthians had been ineffective. This group also relied on more
culturally acceptable leadership discourses (patronage and recommendation
letters). Paul’s initial approach to this problem included a painful visit, a
tearful letter, and the agency of Titus, who functioned as a temporary delegate
(p. 137). He ultimately was reconciled to the Corinthians, and 2 Corinthians
records the way in which the negotiation of identity occurred. In reasserting
his position, Paul focused on his position as the ingroup prototype and
emphasized the centrality of suffering in mission (p. 138). However, this
resolution had not yet taken place so there is no discussion of a leadership
successor, and based on the evidence from 1 Clement, initial success in
appointing local leaders fossilized and “further succession faltered” (p. 139).
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Chapter 6 surveys Ephesians, which
Barentsen understands as Paul’s attempt to manage the identity of a stable
leadership group by focusing on a universalistic Christian social identity, in
contrast to his focus on nested, cross-cutting identities in 1-2 Corinthians.
Ephesians is a legitimating document designed to provide necessary
organizational structures for a “city-wide church that had outgrown the small
network of house churches” (p. 183). Barentsen navigates many of the
traditional arguments raised against Paul’s authorship of this letter. For
example, Barentsen accounts for the exalted persona of Paul in this letter,
which scholars often note is not congruent with the way he presents himself in
the undisputed Paulines, as a function of “the normal processes of charismatic
leadership attribution” (p. 180). Thus, attention paid to SIA provides
plausible solutions for scholarly debates. Barentsen contends that the apostles
and prophets were foundational leaders who embodied the ingroup prototype and
are joined by local leaders in the formation of Christian social identity,
though this latter group “has not yet been shaped into the full-fledged form of
church office” (p. 179).<br />
</div>
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Chapter 7 analyzes 1 Timothy as a
communal structuring document. Barentsen provides a series of arguments for an
orthonymous understanding of the Pastoral epistles, an important point in his
approach. Although he recognizes the problem in approaching a personal letter
with a hermeneutic of social identity, he suggests that the community was
reading over the shoulder of Timothy. Issues of deviance are brought to the
fore in this form of a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">mandata principis </i>letter,
and Paul writes to Timothy in order to instruct him on the way to maintain
local leadership (p. 249). He does this through the use of stereotypes,
gendered prototypes, succession chains, and the construction of an identity
narrative that reinforces beliefs and values (p. 226). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chapter 8 then examines 2 Timothy as a
leadership succession letter. Paul defends Timothy’s ecclesial position in the
letter by reshaping key attributional processes. He is presented as a leader
similar to Paul, which should in turn encourage the community to accept him as
they had earlier accepted Paul (p. 274). Chapter 9 provides key implications
from this study, especially as they relate to contemporary leadership practices
in the church. Barentsen makes the similarities of Paul’s processes in each of
the letters clear; the differences that are present are to be explained by the
divergent local contexts and stages of leadership development within each
community (p. 302).<br />
</div>
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Barentsen set out to provide a more
comprehensive interpretation of the leadership patterns evident in the Pauline
communities in Corinth and Ephesus than has been possible using traditional
interpretive methods; in this he has succeeded. For those who find themselves
in religious contexts that identify closely with Pauline Christianity,
Barentsen offers new and fresh insights for leaders seeking to fulfill their
missional calling in a way that coheres closely to the scriptural witness. This
recommended study provides groundbreaking insight into the way social identity
theory can inform contemporary ecclesiology rooted in the consistent leadership
practices of the Apostle Paul.</div>
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<o:p></o:p> </div>
J. Brian Tuckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17188059695822367055noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944059552063380963.post-71169193204879036512012-10-25T12:45:00.000-04:002012-10-25T12:45:03.314-04:00Review of Charles A. Anderson's Philo of Alexandria's Views of the Physical World<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLxnLpiuRJGyV9dMjRawX7V-J_TvbfresE42CARxJ9_x6w9oX9m0sA-mDnUm5Sil-ItnnPvwMHiKO4wrctRXTYZv6c2kcKhQvipajGwbn42Sz7NlGTkJYk5GQhxR65B2VCWJ-p0sXPlYZ4/s1600/philo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLxnLpiuRJGyV9dMjRawX7V-J_TvbfresE42CARxJ9_x6w9oX9m0sA-mDnUm5Sil-ItnnPvwMHiKO4wrctRXTYZv6c2kcKhQvipajGwbn42Sz7NlGTkJYk5GQhxR65B2VCWJ-p0sXPlYZ4/s320/philo.jpg" width="217" /></a></div>
Charles A. Anderson, <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Alexandrias-Physical-Wissenschaftliche-Untersuchungen-Testament/dp/3161506405/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1351183044&sr=8-1&keywords=Philo+of+Alexandria%C2%92s+Views+of+the+Physical+World" target="_blank">Philo of Alexandria’s Views of the Physical World</a></em>. WUNT 2 309. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2011. Pp. xii + 299. 978-3-16-15640-6. $147.50 paper.
<br />
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<a href="http://thegospelcoalition.org/about/staff/" target="_blank">Charles A. Anderson</a>, Lecturer in New Testament and Biblical Languages at Oak Hill College in London, examines “Philo of Alexandria’s ambivalent, seemingly contradictory claims about the ethical status of the sensible world” (p. 1). This revision of his Cambridge University Ph.D. thesis, written under the supervision of Markus Bockmuehl, contends that the solution is to see his views multiperspectivally. This approach positions Philo’s views of the physical world in-between those evident in Israel’s scriptures and those of the ancient philosophers, ultimately seeing them as negative. This lexical-semantic reading of the Philonic corpus is quite convincing with regard to the way it establishes the presence of both positive and negative discourses concerning the physical word. Furthermore, Anderson’s exhaustive treatment of φύσις represents a key contribution from this densely and convincingly argued monograph.
<br />
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Chapter 1 notes the deficiencies in previous attempts to address this question and concludes with brief discussions concerning the socially-conditioned nature of cosmological reflection and the contextualized methodological approach used in this study. Chapter 2 sets the context by surveying the genre and organization of Philo’s writings in which Judaism and Hellenism interpenetrate. Anderson contends that the “Allegory of the Law” and the “Exposition of the Law” had two different audiences (p. 18). The former was for advanced readers, while the latter was for beginners. These disparate audiences account for the different perspectives on the sensible world (p. 22). With regard to Hellenism and Judaism, Philo sees them as compatible with ideological precedence given to Judaism, though with regard to the physical world, Philo diverts from both in significant ways. Chapter 3 lays out the study of Philo’s negative terminology for the physical world by analyzing οὐσία, ὕλη, γένεσις, and γενητός; here the world is hostile and alienated from God. However, in chapters 4-6, Anderson’s study of κόσμος and φύσις indicate that when Philo used these terms he linked the sensible world closely to God. <br />
<br />
Chapter 7 addresses the implications of such seemingly contradictory views. Philo’s understanding of the differing ways humanity seeks God accounts for this divergence. For those seeking God in the higher way, the world is an obstacle and no longer serves a positive purpose; however, for those seeking God through the lower approach, “the sensible world has genuine value—it is the means by which they come to know God” (p. 167). Chapter 8 organizes Philo’s multiperspectival view of the ethical status of the physical world and coheres closely to the lexical findings of the earlier chapters: οὐσία, ὕλη, γένεσις, and γενητός, with their focus on the material world present a pessimistic view, while κόσμος and φύσις point to God as creator and ruler over the same domain. Anderson ultimately concludes, however, that Philo’s view prioritizes “the pessimistic outlook” (p. 185). Chapter 9 provides a conclusion to the study by highlighting its findings and noting the ways Philo’s negative views compare with the views of other ancient writers. Particularly helpful here is the discussion of Paul’s cosmological discourse. As noted by Anderson, this was one of his original interests (p. 2). One hopes that he will soon revisit this topic, since his work has profound relevance for understanding the context of Paul’s cosmological discourse. Anderson has provided a thoroughly convincing argument, though some may be unconvinced by his reliance on Alan Mendelson’s multiperspectivalism. That minor point aside, Anderson offers a plausible solution to the problem of Philo’s apparent contradictory perspectives on the physical world.J. Brian Tuckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17188059695822367055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944059552063380963.post-87082954936391182082012-07-20T09:53:00.000-04:002012-07-20T09:53:33.187-04:00Running Heads: A Blog from the Editors of Wipf and Stock Publishers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The editors at Wipf and Stock have launched a new blog entitled, <a href="http://www.runningheads.net/2012/06/29/will-blog-for-books-an-introduction/" target="_blank">Running Heads</a>. It looks like it is going to be an interesting introduction to what goes on behind-the-scenes in a publishing house. The editorial team consists of Charlie Collier, Chris Spinks, K. C. Hanson, Robin Parry, and Rodney Clapp. My guess is they'll talk about the ins and outs of the publishing process and at some point one of them might mention the unacceptability of two spaces between a period and the first letter of the next sentence! I think <a href="http://www.runningheads.net/">www.runningheads.net</a> will be an entertaining and informative blog for those interesting in what's involved in the publishing process.J. Brian Tuckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17188059695822367055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944059552063380963.post-26702804019075759512012-07-16T12:27:00.000-04:002012-07-16T12:28:19.764-04:00Review of David J. Rudolph's A Jew to the Jews<br />
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<span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.mjstudies.com/" target="_blank">David J. Rudolph</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Jew-Jews-Contours-Flexibility-Corinthians/dp/3161492935" target="_blank"><i>A Jew to the Jews</i></a>. </span><span lang="DE">(Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum
Neuen Testament 2. </span><span lang="EN-GB">Reihe
304) Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2011). xii
+ 290 pp., £69 (sewn paper), ISBN
978-3-16-149293-8.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span lang="EN-GB">The chameleon is the quintessential image for a
constantly changing individual. Proteus was an early sea-god who would change
his shape in order to avoid capture. These images resonate with aspects of the
scholarly consensus with regard to Paul’s claim that he became ‘all things to
all people’. He remained Torah-observant among Jews but not among the non-Jews.
Since the New Testament does not explicitly describe Paul engaging in such diverse
practices, scholars fill in the gaps in the textual record with claims that
Paul was just such a protean figure, one whose behaviors would change
depending on his context. This raises an important interpretive question: is
this a valid understanding of Paul and his mission practice among non-Jews? Was
Paul a chameleon? </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span lang="EN-GB">In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Jew
to the Jews</i>, <a href="http://www.tikvatisrael.com/" target="_blank">David J. Rudolph</a> sets out to problematize the consensus view
with regard to Paul’s lack of continued Torah-observance in his gentile
mission. He sets out two parallel research paths for himself: (1) to show that 1
Cor 9.19-23 may not be irrefutable evidence for Paul’s lack of continued
Torah-observance; and (2) to provide a constructive reading of this passage
that results in understanding Paul as one who continued to be Torah-observant
in his mission. This monograph is a revision of Rudolph’s 2007 Cambridge
University Ph.D. thesis, which was supervised by Markus Bockmuehl. Revised
theses often only account for subsequent scholarship at a minimal level;
however, Rudolph’s revisions, when compared to the 2007 thesis version, are
substantial and result in a thoroughly up-to-date work that engages scholarship
as late as 2010, making this work that much more significant, and a good model
for recent Ph.D. graduates who might be tempted not to make important revisions
to their work before publication.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Chapter 1 introduces Rudolph’s argument by
providing an overview of the case for the traditional reading of 1 Cor 9.19-23.
He surveys contemporary scholarship with regard to the intertextual,
contextual, and textual arguments that are marshalled in defence of the
consensus interpretation. He then points out four areas in which the
traditional view reflects interpretive inadequacies with regard to Paul’s
context: (1) the practical impossibility of being ‘all things to all people’;
(2) the presentation of Jews as ‘simpletons’; (3) the lack of evidence that
Paul employed this strategy; and (4) the dismissal of both the Pauline and
Lukan texts that present Paul as one who continues to be Torah observant
(12-13). This final factor is central to Rudolph’s argument. Next, he briefly
notes three other scholars who have read Paul in ways similar to himself: Peter
Tomson, Mark Nanos, and Mark Kinzer. Rudolph establishes differences between
his approach and theirs and suggests there is sufficient warrant for a
reassessment of the scholarly framework with regard to whether 1 Cor 9.19-23 ‘precludes
a Torah-observant Paul’ (17). This last phrase is an important qualifier in
that Rudolph is not trying to prove that Paul remained Torah-observant; rather,
his goal is to point out that scholars overstate their claim when they read 1
Cor 9.19-23 as indisputable evidence that Paul ceased to be Torah observant.
The rest of the monograph addresses the intertextual, contextual, and textual
arguments alluded to earlier in the introduction, and then it concludes with a
proposed interpretation of 1 Cor 9.19-23 that fulfils Rudolph’s secondary goal
of providing a reading of this passage that could allow for it to be understood
‘as the discourse of a Torah-observant Jew’ (18).</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Chapter 2 surveys the key scriptural texts that
are alluded to in the broader debate over the salience of Paul’s Jewish
identity. The first part of the chapter addresses whether Paul’s Jewishness is
inconsequential now that he is in Christ. Rudolph argues that Timothy’s
circumcision, referenced in Acts 16.3, and the controverted phrase <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dia tous Ioudaious</i> addresses timing
issues and not circumcision itself. Next he addresses the putative erasure
discourse in Paul’s writings and provides a series of convincing non-erasure
readings for the following: (1) ‘circumcision is nothing’ (1 Cor 7.19; Gal 5.6;
6.15); (2) ‘no longer Jew or Greek’ (Gal 3.28); (3) third entity language (1
Cor 10.32); (4) ‘weak in faith’ discourse (Rom 14); (5) ‘former way of life’
and ‘rubbish’ language (Gal 1.13; Phil 3.8); and (6) ‘live like a gentile and
not like a Jew’ discourse (Gal 2.14). Rudolph concludes that these verses do
not indicate that Paul no longer considered himself a Jew; rather, he
understood his Jewish identity as an ongoing calling in Christ. The second half
of this chapter provides a constructive reading of Acts 21.17-26; Gal 5.3; Rom
2.25, 4.11-12, 16, 11.29, and 1 Cor 7.17-24 to suggest that Paul remained a
Torah-observant Jew (89). Based on chapter 2, though the dominant segment of
New Testament scholars would suggest otherwise, the label ‘Paul the Chameleon’
would be entirely inappropriate for the apostle, and Rudolph’s arguments are
quite persuasive in this regard, especially his reading of Romans 14, 1 Cor 7.17-24.
Those who seek to continue to view Paul as one whose Jewishness ceases to be
significant will have to engage Rudolph’s arguments for those two passages.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Chapter 3 focuses more properly on the text of
1 Corinthians. Rudolph provides a contextual analysis of 1 Cor 8.1-11.1 that
establishes Paul’s instruction concerning food offered to idols and the way
these chapters may be understood as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i>
being the teaching of one who has broken the boundaries of pluriform Second Temple
Judaism. Rudolph addresses four issues that New Testament scholars have focused
on with regard to this section: (1) the compositional unity of the passage; (2)
the presence of the strong and the weak in the passage; (3) the situational
permission with regard to eating idol food; and (4) the relationship of Paul’s
teaching here with the apostolic decree in Acts 15. The most important findings
are that, although Christ-followers were not permitted to eat idol food in
cultic contexts, indeterminate food <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">was</i>
permitted outside those contexts. However, idol food was still not permitted
once it was known to be such, even outside the cultic context. So, Paul’s
localized, contextualized teaching here is quite in line with the
non-situational apostolic decree (101). This teaching, argues Rudolph, was
quite Jewish in its orientation. He provides several reasons for his claim, the
most substantial being the use of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">skandalizō</i>
two times in 1 Cor 8.13, a term that connects Paul’s teaching with Lev 19.14,
thus placing Paul’s discourse within proper ‘Jewish ethical categories of
thought and legal traditions surrounding Leviticus 19’ (104). So, rather than
seeing Paul in 1 Cor 8.1-11.1 as one arguing in a non-Jewish fashion, he may be
seen as one applying the principles of Jewish teaching and learning discourse
in a flexible manner for gentiles in Christ. Rudolph concludes his contextual
discussion by briefly noting the function of 1 Cor 9 within the literary unit
of 1 Cor 8.1-11.1. He rightly sets aside the idea that Paul was defending his
apostleship here; rather, ‘the central point of 1 Cor 9 is Paul’s renunciation
of all rights (even those rights provided by Mosaic law and the Lord Jesus’
command) for the sake of the gospel’ (107-8).</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Chapter 4 focuses in on the textual issues in 1
Cor 9.19-23. Rudolph begins by addressing possible contextual frameworks for
Paul’s accommodation discourse. He concludes that there are no explicit
references to Greco-Roman philosophical traditions nor any allusions convincing
enough to accept the claim that Paul is working within an accepted
accommodation <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">topoi. </i>Rudolph then
surveys Second Temple texts to see if they provide insight into the adaptation
language evident in Paul’s teaching. He concludes that there is evidence for
similarities with regard ‘to the mindset of a first-century Jewish guest who
seeks to please his host in everything’ (147). Next Rudolph considers whether
the gospel traditions provide a proper framework for understanding Paul’s
adaptation principle. He affirms Kim’s (2003) overall approach to the presence
of an <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">imitatio Christi</i> discourse in 1
Cor 9.19-23, though he rightly sets aside Kim’s rather explicit supersessionist
understanding of Mark 7.19b. This will be an important part of Rudolph positive
reading in chapter 5, a reading that places Rudolph firmly in the
post-supersessionist approach to New Testament interpretation. Finally, he
concludes chapter 4 with detailed discussions of the semantic variations of the
language in 1 Cor 9.19-23. Rudolph’s conclusions here form the basis of his
reading that Paul may be understood in these verses to be a Torah-observant
Jew. As Part I of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Jew to the Jews</i>
comes to a close, it is now clear that Rudolph does not think that Paul was a
chameleon in any sense of the word. He was one who, it could be argued,
maintained Torah observance <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i> as
missional adaptation, rather as a valid expression of covenant fidelity to the
God of Israel.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Chapter 5 provides Rudolph’s understanding of
Paul as a Jew who continued to faithfully observe Torah throughout his mission
among the nations by ‘imitating Christ’s accommodation and open
table-fellowship’ (173). He views the flexibility evident in 1 Cor 9.19-23 as
an expression of Paul’s belief that his Jewishness is a calling that continues
in Christ, and that this passage can be understood ‘as the discourse of a Jew
who remained within the bounds of pluriform Second Temple Judaism’ (173). He
reads 1 Cor 9.19-23 as an expression of Paul’s imitation of Jesus’ interchange
and accommodation-oriented table-fellowship with all. Rudolph argues that Paul
was aware of Jesus’ rule of adaptation evident in the words ‘eat what is set
before you’ (Luke 10.7-8). This rule originally focused primarily on ‘clean
food of doubtful or defiled status’, but Paul expands it to apply to the
questions relating to idol-food in Corinth (190).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Rudolph frames Paul’s statement ‘all things to
all people’, not as a claim that Paul ceased to be Torah-observant, rather as
an example of the way he applied Jesus’ adaptability rule, Jesus who likewise
remained Torah-observant (Mark 5.17-20). Rudolph summarizes his view: ‘As Jesus
became all things to all people through eating with ordinary Jews, Pharisees
and sinners, Paul became “all things to all people” through eating with
ordinary Jews, strict Jews (those “under the law”) and Gentile sinners’ (190).
Paul’s halakhah with regard to commensality was flexible, and he adjusted it,
as a bi-cultural mediator, based on his context (1 Cor 10.25-30).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Concerning the continued relevance of Paul’s
Jewish identity, Rudolph understands Paul to be one who argued for the
continuation of Jewish identity within the Christ-movement. He builds his case
on 1 Cor 7.17-24, which teaches that Jews ‘in Christ’ should continue Torah
observance as a vital expression of their calling from God. With regard to the
claim that Jewish identity and Torah observance were inconsequential to Paul
since the coming of Christ, Rudolph thinks that Paul kept his ‘rule in all the
churches’ as one who ‘was “not without the law of God” (1 Cor 9.21)’ (212).
Rudolph’s study is masterful, an argumentative <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tour de force</i> that requires serious engagement by those contending that
Jewish identity is no longer relevant for Jews ‘in Christ’. It will most likely
be looked at as </span>a seminal work among New Testament scholars engaged in
post-supersessionist interpretation.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span lang="EN-GB"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span lang="EN-GB">While it is clear that Paul should not be
labelled a chameleon, and in this Rudolph’s study remains quite convincing, it
is still hard to determine if it is possible to avoid the charges of hypocrisy
that would be levelled against Paul for even these adaptable practices.
Rudolph’s study rightly focuses on the behaviours evident in the text, but Paul
may also be continuing his discussion of the way previous identities are
transformed ‘in Christ’. Thus, I would suggest that 1 Cor 9.20-21 may evidence
Paul’s principle of social identity adaptation. This is only a slight
adjustment to Rudolph, taking into consideration the claims of duplicity
mentioned by Nanos (2009) but still follows Rudolph and Tomson (1990) in seeing
1 Cor 9.20-21 as evidence of a relaxed halakhah with regard to the idolatrous
intentions of the gentiles. Thus, this passage connects with Paul’s mission
among the gentiles and his teaching concerning mission as social identification
for those in Corinth (see Tucker 2011).</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span lang="EN-GB">If we extend the metaphor we began with, Paul
is not a chameleon who changes his color, i.e., one who picks up and sets down
his Jewish identity (even if that would have been possible) in order to take
the gospel to the nations. However, we might describe him as the ‘Chameleon Paul’
if by that we mean one who was comfortable in diverse cultural environments,
able to socially identify (but not integrate) with non-Jews as an expression of
his theologizing. His focus on the negotiation of the practicalities of life
within the Christ-movement would have been familiar to the Jews but new to
gentiles in Christ (Ehrensperger 2011: 18). This metaphor is especially <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">apropos</i> since chameleons really cannot
change their color in the first place; rather, they react to changing
environmental situations and thus only appear to change. Maybe it is time to
revisit scholarly misconceptions with regard to Paul’s so-called lifestyle
adaptability. Rudolph’s monograph, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Jew
to the Jews</i>,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>provides a helpful
starting point for addressing a number of these long-held and deeply-engrained
views on Paul, his identity, and his mission.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB">References:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Ehrensperger, K. 2011. ‘All Things
are Lawful but Not All Things are Helpful—All Things are Lawful but not All
Things Build Up (1 Cor 10.23)—Identity Formation in the Space Between.’ Paper
presented at the SNTS General Meeting, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Kim, S. 2003. ‘<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Imitatio Christi</i> (1 Corinthians 11:1): How Paul Imitates Jesus
Christ in Dealing with Idol Food (1 Corinthians 8-10).’ <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bulletin for Biblical Research </i>13.2: 193-206.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Nanos, M.
2009. ‘Paul’s Relationship to Torah in Light of His Strategy “to Become
Everything to Everyone” (1 Corinthians 9:19–23).’ Paper presented at New
Perspectives on Paul and the Jews: Interdisciplinary Academic Seminary,
Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven, Belgium.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Tomson, P.
J. 1990. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Paul and the Jewish Law: Halakha
in the Letters of the Apostle to the Gentiles</i>. Minneapolis: Fortress.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Tucker, J.
B. 2011. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Remain in Your Calling: Paul and
the Continuation of Social Identities in 1 Corinthians</i>. Eugene, OR:
Pickwick.</span></div>J. Brian Tuckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17188059695822367055noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944059552063380963.post-49694482599378923082012-05-29T10:14:00.001-04:002012-05-29T10:16:47.405-04:00Review of Paul as Missionary<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0mT7Z-TfaZQ37FjQQupNEV3C06WqizBvkxR0JmosDAb2g1eHCf-Ri9Cm12rqpLMgXYRBYSuXpPhHP27yQoCpuupOGYsMux1rufG177Q6cK00g_TXOvcB8Kxk-TPk7QHyIjUCC8QdQnXH3/s1600/trevor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0mT7Z-TfaZQ37FjQQupNEV3C06WqizBvkxR0JmosDAb2g1eHCf-Ri9Cm12rqpLMgXYRBYSuXpPhHP27yQoCpuupOGYsMux1rufG177Q6cK00g_TXOvcB8Kxk-TPk7QHyIjUCC8QdQnXH3/s1600/trevor.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Paul-Missionary-Identity-Activity-Testament/dp/0567604756" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Paul as Missionary: Identity,Activity, Theology, and Practice</i></a>. Edited by Trevor J. Burke and Brian S.
Rosner. Library of New Testament Studies 420.
London: T&T Clark, 2011, xi+276 pp., $130.00, hardcover.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<a href="http://www.moody.edu/edu_FacultyProfile.aspx?id=4568" target="_blank">Trevor J. Burke</a>, Professor of Bible at Moody Bible
Institute, and <a href="http://moore.edu.au/teaching-learning/staff/brian-rosner/" target="_blank">Brian S. Rosner</a>, Senior Lecturer in New Testament and Ethics at
Moore Theological College, contend that while Paul’s missionary activity has
been the focus of scholarly attention, this focus is normally directed towards
Acts. This collection of essays looks at what Paul thought about his own
missionary activity and identity. Part 1, which focuses on Paul’s identity,
begins with <a href="http://www.fuller.edu/academics/faculty/seyoon-kim.aspx" target="_blank">Seyoon Kim</a>’s essay on Paul as an eschatological herald. Kim argues
that Paul sees himself as one who fulfills the eschatological pilgrimage texts
in his gentile mission; the Jerusalem collection is the most explicit
expression of this identity. <a href="http://www.acu.edu/campusoffices/acupress/books/authors/james_thompson.html" target="_blank">James Thompson</a> lays out points of contact between
Acts and Paul’s letters with regard to Paul’s missionary identity. However, he
concludes that focusing primarily on the letters brings out Paul’s distinct
pastoral concern with the spiritual growth and development of his
congregations. James Thompson’s essay argues that Paul’s mission involves
continual pastoral care. Though the term pastor is not used to describe Paul’s
identity, his activities and his concern for the transformation of the
Christ-followers suggest that Paul could be described as a missionary pastor.
<a href="http://www.asburyseminary.edu/faculty/dr-jim-miller" target="_blank">James Miller</a>’s essay on Paul and ethnicity contends that the binary categories of
continuity and discontinuity do not fully account for Paul’s complex and
situationally-specific approach to ethnicity. He claims that Paul did not leave
his Jewish ethnic identity in the past once he was in Christ; rather, the
various comments about his Jewish identity reflect the normal negotiation and
contextualization that contemporary ethnicity studies indicate are part of the
identity-forming process. Richard Gibson contends that Paul, in Rom 15:16,
presents himself as a Levitical priest as described in Isa 61:6. This
understanding clarifies Paul’s role as subordinate to the Servant-Christ, even
as he seeks to extend the Servant’s mission through the agency of the same
Spirit (cf. Isa 49:6; 61:6; Rom 15:8-21). </div>
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Part 2 covers Paul’s missionary activity. It begins
with <a href="http://www.ptsem.edu/index.aspx?id=1928" target="_blank">Beverly Roberts Gaventa</a> resituating Paul’s missionary activity within
God’s mission. She brings to the fore the agency of others within the
Christ-movement and concludes that God’s own mission of rescuing the new humanity
from the power of Sin and Death must be accounted for. <a href="http://www.obu.edu/christianstudies/daniel-hays/" target="_blank">Daniel Hays</a> provides a
third ethnicity reading of Paul’s activity. He argues that Paul sought to form
a new ethnicity for those in Christ, an identity that replaces existing ethnic
identities. This, Hays contends, allows for unity within the Christ-movement.
<a href="http://ayoadewuya.com/" target="_blank">Ayodeji Adewuya</a>’s contribution looks at the centrality of suffering in Paul’s
theology and mission. Building on the rhetoric of 2 Corinthians, Adewuya sees
Paul’s sufferings re-deployed in the text for the benefit the Corinthians. Paul
Barnett argues that Paul’s use of the phrase “righteousness of God” coheres
quite closely with Jesus’ teaching on the “kingdom of God.” This provides a
conceptual bridge between Paul and Jesus, in that both of these phrases were
“grace-based and ritual-free” (p. 111).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
Part 3 discusses Paul’s mission theology, beginning
with <a href="http://www2.luthersem.edu/ahultgre/" target="_blank">Arland Hultgren</a>’s contention that Paul’s Christophany at his commissioning
accounts for much of Paul’s gentile mission. The content of this revelation
includes the following elements: (1) Jesus is the universal messiah who moves
beyond the law of Moses; (2) Jesus of Nazareth is the same as the risen Christ,
the one who was known to minister to those not Torah-observant. While some of
latter could have come from his pre-apostolic past, Hultgren concludes that the
eschatological pilgrimage texts did come from that experience and serve as a key
to Paul’s vocation as an apostle to the gentiles. <a href="http://web.mf.no/kompetansekatalog/?modus=print&idnr=45" target="_blank">Karl Olav Sandnes</a> argues that
1 Cor 9:19-23 is an example of Paul’s asymmetrical approach to accommodation in
the context of seeking to win Jews and gentiles. His adaptability applies,
however, only to sub-identities (e.g., gender, ethnicity, culture) and not to
what he viewed as one’s primary identity—being in Christ. Trevor Burke contends
that the work of the Spirit is central to Paul’s mission and that the Spirit’s
agency is often overlooked by scholars. Burke surveys 1 Thessalonians to show
the way the Spirit functioned by empowering, converting, energizing,
sanctifying, instructing, and directing the worship life of the community.
Burke concludes that Paul’s mission activity cannot be fully understood without
an appropriate appreciation for the work of the Spirit within his communities.
Brian Rosner maintains that the glory of God is central to Paul’s mission
theology. This is often a discounted subject among scholars, but building on
Romans 15 and its use of Isaiah 66, Rosner views the glory of God as the final
aim in Paul’s missionary endeavors. <a href="http://www.macdiv.ca/faculty/stanleyporter.html" target="_blank">Stanley Porter</a> outlines a key aspect of
Paul’s highly contextualized missionary theology—the message of reconciliation.
It serves as the basis for Christian proclamation in 2 Cor 5:18-21 and provides
its essential component in Rom 5:8-11. <a href="http://www.gordonconwell.edu/academics/view-faculty-member.cfm?faculty_id=15874&grp_id=8946" target="_blank">Roy Ciampa</a> navigates the difficulties of
distilling Paul’s theology of the gospel and describes it thus: “God has acted
and is acting through Christ’s life, death, resurrection/exaltation and present
reign as Lord over all creation to set all things right to the glory of his
name” (p. 190). This message is central to Paul’s missionary identity and
allows for contextualization among diverse gentile audiences. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
Part 4 discusses Paul’s missionary practice. It begins
with <a href="http://www.tsd.ac.uk/en/schooloftheologyreligiousstudiesandislamicstudies/staff/drbillcampbell/" target="_blank">William S. Campbell</a>’s essay that argues that universalism and
particularism are both present in Paul’s missionary practice. In fact, the
coordination of the two is central to his vision and activity. Thus, Paul is
not seen as one who seeks to obliterate Jewish identity. In Christ, Jews relate
to God as Jews, and gentiles relate to God as gentiles, although they are not
included in God’s covenant, which remains with Israel (p. 202 n. 25). <a href="http://religion.evansville.edu/faculty.htm" target="_blank">James Ware</a> contends that Paul’s gospel was one of resurrection, and that he expected
the Philippians to be involved in an active mission of holding forth the word
of life (Phil 2:15-16). Steven Walton argues that Paul’s differing financial
dealings with the Philippians and the Corinthians are examples of the way he
sought to revise existing patronage structures. <a href="http://www.stmarys-ca.edu/theology-religious-studies/trs-faculty?fac=23&pg=home" target="_blank">Michael Barram</a> asks whether
Paul expected the Corinthians to be involved in mission. He suggests that
Paul’s missonal goal for the Corinthians was to live with a “salvific
intentionality” (p. 243). <a href="http://www.pba.edu/index.cfm?fuseaction=faculty.detail&contactID=746" target="_blank">Randolph Richards</a> discusses the misunderstandings of cultural
translation in Paul’s original mission (1 Cor 5:9-13) and suggests that many contemporary
western readings of Paul have likewise misread him because of their frames of
reference.</div>
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Burke and Rosner have done both Pauline and
missiological studies a great service in gathering these essays. Additional
instructive essay(s) might have considered in a more overt manner the material remains
as a context for Paul’s mission. This is only a slight criticism; Burke and
Rosner themselves note the need to include more (p. 6); however, these would
have provided a more concrete context for Paul and his mission. Nevertheless, Burke and Rosner provide a
nuanced and even-handed reading of Paul, with the essays by Miller, Sandnes,
and Campbell deserving special attention for moving forward the traditional
understanding of Paul’s approach to missional formation. This collection is
recommended for missions, intercultural, and Pauline theology courses and is
accessible to upper-level undergraduates and seminary students </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>J. Brian Tuckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17188059695822367055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944059552063380963.post-32443409043965787582012-05-26T14:48:00.001-04:002012-05-26T14:48:26.913-04:00Review of Bibleworks 9<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG63-RiUHO22czfj7VQJB9Kt_W6jVe-EasMTRJzETqUsbyjUDiDWZdAl3_KRDE9_-yu0TnVFB-rUTTrjN2JSq4ySr0FxFznHc-VNnkKge2eo9aWNMyCbQU1EQIT3YG2u-W06OM_Yn2i47H/s1600/bibleworks9-lg.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG63-RiUHO22czfj7VQJB9Kt_W6jVe-EasMTRJzETqUsbyjUDiDWZdAl3_KRDE9_-yu0TnVFB-rUTTrjN2JSq4ySr0FxFznHc-VNnkKge2eo9aWNMyCbQU1EQIT3YG2u-W06OM_Yn2i47H/s320/bibleworks9-lg.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.bibleworks.com/" target="_blank"><i>BibleWorks 9: Software for Biblical Exegesis and Research</i></a>.
Norfolk, VA: BibleWorks LLC, 2011. $359.00.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
BibleWorks has been the leading exegetical software package
for those seeking to engage the biblical text in a detailed fashion, at least
for Microsoft Windows-based users. BibleWorks 9, an upgrade from BibleWorks 8,
still only runs in that environment, but can also do this through virtualization
on Mac OS X. The BibleWorks 9 user interface contains the search window with
command line that allows searches and navigating verses. In the command line,
one enters a verse, or a word prefaced by a period. The requested verses show
up in the results list, from which the user can select a verse to study. The
chosen verse appears in the browse window, which allows more in-depth study. Further
extensive research can be seen in the analysis window with tabs that provide a
wealth of information on the verse or word in question. One addition in version
9 is that the analysis window can be subdivided to add a fourth column and the
user can reorganize its tabs. This provides access to two resources at the same
time, which increases efficiency. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All
three of the user interface windows offer right click context menus that
provide short cuts for working with various options appropriate to the part of
the program with which one is working.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The majority of the options for the program are accessed through the
main menu; particularly useful here are the tools, resources, and help menus
(the ubiquitous F1 key still provides ever-present help throughout the
program). The button bar, one of the most obvious improvements from version 8,
gives one access to significant BibleWorks tools. The status bar at the bottom
of the screen provides further program information and access. The labels can
be double clicked in order to have quick access to several repeated tasks
(e.g., changing versions and setting search limits). Those familiar with
BibleWorks will feel right at home with version 9; however, even those who have
worked with this program for years will find the how-to videos required
viewing. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The strength of BibleWorks has been its ability to analyze
the biblical text and version 9 continues with that commitment. The inclusion
of the BibleWorks Manuscript Project allows the user to compare original
manuscripts, with high quality digital images of the texts that are fully
searchable. This allows for a new level of contextual analysis of variants and
will contribute to the current methodological revaluation with regard to
textual criticism. BibleWorks 9 includes, among others, Sinaiticus, Vaticanus,
Alexandrinus, and Bezae. These have full transcriptions (and notes), digital
images, verse tags, comparison tools, and, though incomplete, some
morphological tags (with more to come). Furthermore, the New Testament Critical
Apparatus from the Center for New Testament Textual Studies is also included,
securing for BibleWorks a place as the preeminent electronic resource for
detailed manuscript analysis and textual criticism. The NT Greek texts that are
included in the program have been updated, corrected, and revised; one major
improvement is that the user is able to have differences in the Greek texts
highlighted in the main window (this improvement also applies to translations).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
BibleWorks continues to stay committed to what it does well,
but the programmers have also listened to its customers by beginning to provide
other tools that are integral to the exegetical process. While key biblical
language grammars are included, BDAG and HALOT will need to be purchased
separately, and the <i>ESV Study Bible</i>, Bavink’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Reformed Dogmatics</i>, and Grudem’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Systematic Theology</i> are examples of non-language specific tools
that are now available for purchase (to be unlocked) by the user. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
BibleWorks’s strength continues to be evident at the
syntactical and grammatical level; however, analysis above the sentence level
still remains a challenge for the program, and those committed to discourse
analysis, while having some useful tools at their disposal, will be left
longing for further development of BibleWorks in that area. With this one
shortcoming noted, BibleWorks still remains an indispensable and recommended
resource for pastors, seminary students, researchers, and teachers; and for
those who have BibleWorks 8, is well worth the $159 upgrade. The search
capability and the ease of morphological analysis make this a program that
seldom frustrates it user, and often brings to the fore insights that may not
have been gained otherwise. </div>J. Brian Tuckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17188059695822367055noreply@blogger.com0