Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 33 • NUMBER 1
but weak on the overall religious worldview of biblical
books.
Marvin A. Sweeney
Claremont School of Theology and Claremont Graduate
University
BEROSSUS AND GENESIS, MANETHO AND
EXODUS. By Russell Gmirkin. New York: T & T Clark,
2006. Pp. 332, appendices. $135.00, ISBN 0-567-02592-6.
Gmirkin proposes a new theory concerning the date of
the composition of the Pentateuch that focuses upon the
parallels between the Babylonian mythological materials
preserved by the priest Berossus (ca. 278 BCE) and the
Genesis stories, and the Egyptian historical and mythologi-
cal materials preserved by the priest Manetho (ca. 285–80
BCE) and the accounts in Exodus. Because these materials
closely accord with the earliest level of the biblical
accounts, he proposes that the translation of the Pentateuch
into Greek, the Septuagint, in 273–72 BCE in Alexandria
was actually the first time that the text was written down as
a whole. In presenting this hypothesis, Gmirkin summa-
rizes archeological, epigraphic and literary evidence that
would weaken the basis for the documentary hypothesis (or
JEPD theory). He proposes that the biblical narratives
should be seen in the light of the events of the third century
BCE, primarily those of Alexander and his immediate
successors.
David Cook
Rice University
ENCOUNTERS WITH BIBLICAL THEOLOGY. By
John J. Collins. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2005.
Pp. vii + 243. Cloth, $40.00, ISBN 0-8006-3780-1; paper
$22.00, ISBN 0-8006-3769-0.
Consisting of fifteen previously published essays, Col-
lins’ landmark work unabashedly addresses the topic of
biblical theology, a topic that Collins rightly observes is in
“a state of decline.” Situating his discussion in the context
of historical criticism, which Collins defines broadly, he
offers a compelling case that biblical theology can be con-
ceived of as an academic discipline, and as such, can be in
the service of the church. Collins’ argument that the study
of biblical theology needs to be done critically, with histori-
cal and literary methods applied consistently, is not only
refreshing but also timely at this juncture in biblical inter-
pretation whereby biblical theology is becoming increas-
ingly confessionally biased and ideological, with little
engagement with the ancient contexts and beliefs that
helped to shape the biblical texts as we have them today.
This seminal work needs to be read by scholars and students
alike, as well as by communities of all faiths, and especially
by those communities who take the biblical text as a foun-
dation upon which to develop their faith.
Carol J. Dempsey
University of Portland
• JANUARY 2007
Greece, Rome, Greco-Roman
WOMEN’S LIFE IN GREECE AND ROME: A
SOURCE BOOK IN TRANSLATION, THIRD EDI-
TION. By Mary R. Lefkowitz and Maureen B. Fant.
Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005.
Pp. xxvii + 420; plates. Cloth, $59.95, ISBN 978-0-8018-
8309-5; paper, $29.95, 978-0-8018-8310-1.
This volume, now in its third edition, contains a collec-
tion of primary documents, in translation, about women in
ancient Greece and Rome. As in earlier editions, the authors
include short notes clarifying the context of various entries.
While the authors make no claim of comprehensiveness, the
entries cover a wide range of topics: from women’s voices to
the legal status of women, from women’s occupations to
medicine and anatomy, and from men’s opinions on women
to religion. The materials new to the third edition comprise
an appendix (thirty-one pages). Each entry is assigned a
number which corresponds to the organization of documents
in the main text. This numbering is helpful to readers’ inte-
gration of these new materials into the larger body of work.
The authors have added a table organizing the entries geo-
graphically and chronologically in order to accommodate
those researchers with such a specific focus. The third edi-
tion also announces a website, making available newly dis-
covered and translated materials between the publication of
print resources (http://www.maureenfant.com). This text
will continue to be of significant value to students and schol-
ars alike who wish to research women in the ancient world.
The availability of these documents in English translation is
particularly useful for those not working in the original
languages.
Marian Osborne Berky
Anderson University
Christian Origins
THE WESTMINSTER DICTIONARY OF NEW TES-
TAMENT AND EARLY CHRISTIAN LITERATURE
AND RHETORIC. By David E. Aune. Louisville, KY: West-
minster John Knox, 2003. Pp. xii + 595. $49.95, ISBN 0-664-
21917-9.
Except for twenty-one articles, this dictionary is the
product of Aune’s personal efforts. Its principal stress is on
the literary and rhetorical dimensions of early Christian lit-
erature from approximately 50 to 150 CE. For Aune, early
Christian literature cannot be understood in isolation from
its Jewish and Gentile matrix and milieu. As is to be expected,
the manner of writing and speaking in the ancient world has
greatly influenced the NT as well as other early Christian
writings. Aune emphasizes the literary and rhetorical theo-
ries and practice of the ancients, without neglecting many
aspects of modern literary criticism. Random checks of arti-
cles such as those on the individual books of the wearied
demonstrate the breadth of Aune’s research, and betoken the
bibliographical aids that a careful reader can expect. On the
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 Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 33
other hand, most readers will stumble upon many subjects
only by chance: thus, “Stobaeus, Joannes”; “Chreia”; “Quadra-
tus”; and numerous others. All in all, the Dictionary provides
a different vista from which to view familiar subjects that
may have become blurred through mundane routine.
Casimir Bernas
Holy Trinity Abbey
“HAVE MERCY ON ME”: THE STORY OF THE
CANAANITE WOMAN IN MATTHEW 15.21–28. By
Glenna S. Jackson. Journal for the Study of the New
Testament Supplement Series, 228. Sheffield, UK: Sheffield
Academic Press, 2002. Pp. xiv + 197. $140.00, ISBN 0-8264-
6148-4.
A revision of the author’s doctoral dissertation, this
volume approaches the Matthean story of the Canaanite
woman with a view to raising questions about Matthew’s
attitude toward proselytism. Employing source-, form-, and
redaction-critical methodologies, Jackson’s discussion also
crosses over into issues such as the historicity of OT narra-
tives, the historical Jesus, the identity of Matthew’s commu-
nity, and feminist-critical concerns. The book’s introduction
consists of an overview of the history of research on the
pericope and its Markan parallel (Mark 7:24–30). Chapter
one examines the presentation of Tyre and Sidon in NT, OT,
Targumic, Rabbinic, Contemporary Hellenistic, and Ugaritic
texts. This examination is followed by an analysis of the
significance of Tyre and Sidon as the Matthean setting for
this story, with the conclusion that the cities represent an
idolatrous “threat to the monotheism of Israel.” Chapter two
considers Matthew’s use of geographical titles as a designa-
tion of religious outsiders. Chapter three looks at Matthew’s
source material and cultural concerns, arguing that Matthew
expanded the Markan episode to reinforce the role of the
Law in attaining membership in the Matthean community.
The study concludes by arguing that Matthew has con-
sciously reworked the Markan story of the Syro-Phoenician
woman in order to emphasize the continuity of the inclusive
Jewish tradition reflected in various OT texts. Because of its
narrow focus this volume has a limited usefulness but will
benefit scholars working from source-, form-, and redaction-
critical backgrounds, as well as those interested in the role
of the Synoptic evangelists as theologians.
Christopher W. Skinner
St. Mary’s Seminary and University
CHRISTOLOGY AND DISCIPLESHIP IN THE
GOSPEL OF MARK. By Suzanne Watts Henderson.
Society for NT Studies Monograph Series, 135. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2006. Pp. xv + 287. $90.00,
ISBN 0-521-85906-9.
Asserting that previous interpreters have focused too
exclusively on the disciples’ mistakes in Christology,
Henderson claims the disciples fail because they do not par-
ticipate in Jesus’ kingdom of God enterprise. They trust nei-
ther the power of God unleashed in Jesus nor their own
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• NUMBER 1 • JANUARY 2007
authorization to implement this kingdom. Eschewing Mark
8:27–10:45, the classical text for discussions of Markan dis-
cipleship, she focuses on six earlier passages—1:16–20; 3:13–
15; 4:1–34; 6:7–13; 6:32–44; 6:45–52—beginning with the
first “call” of disciples and climaxing with the first mention
of the disciples’ incomprehension. In her analysis, disciple-
ship entails presence with Jesus (1:16–20) and participation
(3:13–15) in his kingdom enterprise. After kingdom training
(4:1–34), initial success (6:7–13), and a scene where Jesus
encourages the disciples, despite their doubts, to actualize
the kingdom (6:32–44), they fail in their second apostolic
mission despite Jesus’ attempts to reinvigorate their partic-
ipation in the kingdom with an epiphany (her interpretation
of the enigmatic “pass by” in 6:48). Building on her mentor
Joel Marcus’ apocalyptic understanding of Mark, she sees
the kingdom mission as a war on the forces of evil that
entails self-giving. Her interpretation nicely avoids a sharp
distinction between Jesus and his disciples and between
miracle and passion.
Richard Walsh
Methodist University
DAS MARKUS-EVANGELIUM IM RAHMEN
ANTIKER HISTORIOGRAPHIE. By Eve-Marie Becker.
Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament,
194. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2006. Pp. xvi + 516. €129,
ISBN 3-16-148913-6.
Becker’s work, revising her Habilitationsschrift, places
Mark in the context of ancient history, arguing that Mark
both handles its sources historically and offers a historical
presentation of Jesus’ words and deeds. Mark begins the
Christian history-writing tradition and is the gospel proto-
type. In her view, the fact that Mark is a narrated story
and that it contains mythic elements simply means that it
belongs to ancient history writing, a storied presentation
of partly historical traditions. Part one reviews the history
of Markan interpretation and places her approach to Mark
as ancient historiography in context. Part two argues for
Mark’s priority and date (70 CE), offers a new look at the
polyvalent, opening words of Mark 1:1, and compares
Mark as history to that of Luke. Part three, the meat of the
work, compares Mark generally to several ancient histori-
ans’ use of sources and historical presentation. Here, she
offers detailed comparisons of pericopes in Mark (in the
parentheses following the historians to be cited) to the
histories of Polybius (8:31–33; 15:22–26), Artapansus of
Alexandria (8:1–13), Sallust (1:2–4; 6:14–29; 16:6–8), Nico-
laus of Damascus (2:23–28; 12:35–37), Josephus (13:1–2;
15:33–39), and Tacitus (10:46–52; 14:1–2). Part four pro-
vides her conclusions on Mark’s use of sources and its
genre.
Richard Walsh
Methodist University
TEXTKRITIK DES MARKUSEVANGELIUMS. By
Heinrich Greeven. Edited by Eberhard Güting. Theologie:
 Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 33
Forschung und Wissenschaft, 11. Münster, Ger.: LIT Verlag,
2005. Pp. viii + 768. €99.90, ISBN 3-8258-6878-8.
For his 1981 revision of Huck’s Synopsis, Greeven, rather
than using the “standard” Nestle text, prepared a new inde-
pendent edition of the text of the synoptic Gospels, a feature
which makes his synopsis an outstanding and important
research tool. This posthumous volume, carefully compiled
and edited by Güting, provides at last what Greeven (d. 1990)
had intended to publish from the beginning: the reasons and
justification for his textual decisions. This outstanding vol-
ume presents an important alternative perspective to that of
the editorial committee responsible for the almost univer-
sally used UBS/Nestle-Aland text and the accompanying
Textual Commentary (Second edition 1994), from which
Greeven not infrequently dissents. For each of more than
400 variation units in Mark one finds first a clear presenta-
tion of the various readings (and supporting witnesses), then
an analysis by Greeven of the various arguments in favor of
each (which often necessarily touches on the text of Matthew
and Luke), followed by a summary of textual decisions or
observations of other NT scholars (the contribution of
Güting, who often adds his own observations). Very conve-
nient is the list of results given at the beginning, which
indicates in summary form Greeven’s decisions for every
variant discussed. One major surprise: no discussion of any
variant after 16:4! Güting has earned our admiration and
gratitude for making Greeven’s work available. This is a
major contribution to textual criticism, exegesis, and the
investigation of the synoptic problem which anyone working
on the Synoptic gospels must consult.
Michael Holmes
Bethel University
THE CHRIST IS JESUS: METAMORPHOSIS,
POSSESSION, AND JOHANNINE CHRISTOLOGY.
By Pamela Kinlaw. Edited by Mark Allen Powell. Academia
Biblica, 18. Atlanta, GA: Society of Biblical Literature, 2005.
Pp. vii + 206. $32.95, ISBN 1-58983-165-9.
In this doctoral thesis Kinlaw employs a history of reli-
gions approach to compare Johannine Christology with Med-
iterranean patterns of metamorphosis and possession, two
types of divine interaction in the human realm. She con-
structs models for these two modes by surveying a broad
array of Greco-Roman and Jewish literature. Applying the
models, she theorizes that 1 John’s conceptualization of the
incarnation resonates with a type of possession character-
ized by a permanent indwelling between Christ and Jesus
and which takes place at Jesus’ baptism. Furthermore, this
model is used by the epistle’s author to combat a Docetism
distinguished by an understanding that possession is only
temporary. Kinlaw then discovers this same permanent pos-
session in the Christology of the fourth Gospel. Although the
study is innovative, Kinlaw’s methodology raises concerns.
While sensitive to the context of the Johannine corpus, she
shows no similar sympathy for her Greco-Roman sources.
For instance, in a single discussion she blithely cites
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• NUMBER 1 • JANUARY 2007
passages from Ovid and Hesoid without acknowledging the
seven centuries that separate the two authors. This practice
lends her models a sense of artificiality. She also, oddly, does
not consider other canonical Christian texts in constructing
her models. Further, her explanation of a “spatial and
existential” combination of Jesus’ two natures through pos-
session is unconvincing. Does the evangelist avoid a Nesto-
rian-like understanding of the incarnation if the indwelling
possession model does not involve “displacement of the
human mind”? Nonetheless, her study is provocative and the
subject matter is worthy of further examination.
Beth M. Sheppard
Southwestern College
LIFE IN ABUNDANCE: STUDIES OF JOHN’S
GOSPEL IN TRIBUTE TO RAYMOND E. BROWN.
Edited by John R Donahue. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical
Press, 2005. Pp. xvi + 313. $29.95, ISBN 978-0-8146-3011-2.
This volume presents the papers given at a conference
in 2003 to mark the fifth anniversary of R. E. Brown’s death.
This brief review can only note the presenters and titles of
their papers, but this will indicate the breadth of the biblical,
theological and hermeneutical considerations raised at
this conference. The first part, titled Johannine Studies:
Challenge and Prospects has chapters by F. J. Moloney and
D. M. Smith. Moloney writes on “The Gospel of John: The
Legacy of Raymond E. Brown and Beyond,” highlighting his
work on the historical development of the Johannine com-
munity. A. Culpepper’s response to Moloney is included. The
chapter by M. Smith is titled, “Future Directions of Johan-
nine Scholarship.” Part two, Historical Context of the Gospel,
includes a chapter by R. Kysar, “The Whence and Whither
of the Johannine Community,” with a response by H.-J.
Klauck, followed by a chapter by B. L. Visotzky, “Method-
ological Considerations in the Study of John’s Interaction
with First-Century Judaism,” with a response by A. Rein-
hartz. The third chapter in this section is by J. A. Fitzmyer,
“Qumran Literature and the Johannine Writings,” with D. J.
Harrington responding. Part three of this volume examines
Johannine theology. C. Koester contributes a chapter on “The
Death of Jesus and the Human Condition: Exploring the
Theology of John’s Gospel,” with a response by G. O’Day. S.
Schneiders follows with a chapter, “The Resurrection (of the
Body) in the Fourth Gospel: A Key to Johannine Spirituality,”
with a response by D. Senior. The fourth part has the head-
ing, Interpreting the Work of Raymond Brown, and two of
Brown’s confreres offer contributions. R. Leavitt writes on
“Raymond Brown and Paul Ricoeur on the Surplus of Mean-
ing,” with a response by F. S. Fiorenza, and R. Witherup has
the final chapter, “The Incarnate Word Revealed: The Pasto-
ral Writings of Raymond Brown”. The book begins with the
keynote address given at the conference by T. Prendergast,
“The Church’s Great Challenge: Proclaiming God’s Word in
the New Millennium,” and concludes with a biography and
bibliography of Brown’s publications, and two tributes given
in liturgical contexts by P. Trible and J. Donahue. As the
 Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 33
titles indicate, this book is a feast of Johannine scholarship
for pastors, scholars, and college students, as it raises all the
critical concerns in Johannine studies and presents an excel-
lent overview of last century’s major trends. A must read.
Mary L. Coloe
Australian Catholic University
THE WRITTEN GOSPEL. Edited by Markus Bockmuehl
and Donald A. Hagner. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 2005. Pp. xxvi + 360. Cloth, $75.00, ISBN 0-521-
83285-3; paper, $29.99, ISBN 0-521-54040-2.
This volume (a Festschrift in honor of Graham Stanton)
covers selected aspects of the context from which gospels
emerged, the formation of (canonical) gospel narratives,
and their subsequent reception. Part one, “Before Writing,”
includes “‘Gospel’ in Herodian Judaea” (W. Horbury), “The
gospel of Jesus” (K. Snodgrass), “Q1 as oral tradition” (J. D.
G. Dunn), and “Eye-witness memory and the writing of the
Gospels” (M. Hengel). Part two, “Writing the Four Gospels,”
covers “Who writes, why, and for whom?” (R. Burridge),
“How Matthew writes” (R. Beaton), “How Mark writes”
(C. Evans), “How Luke writes” (D. P. Moessner), “How John
writes” (J. Lieu), and “Beginnings and endings” (M. Hooker).
Part three, “After Writing,” examines “The Four among Jews”
(J. Carleton Paget), “The Four among pagans” (L. Alexander),
“Forty other gospels” (C. Tuckett), “The One, the Four and
the many” (R. A. Piper), and “The making of gospel commen-
taries” (M. Bockmuehl). An appendix gives Stanton’s biblio-
graphy, and a bibliography and two indices complete the
volume. Some of the contributors summarize conclusions or
perspectives already published elsewhere, while others offer
fresh insights or contributions. The volume would be an
admirable text for seminary or graduate-level courses, par-
ticularly in view of its broader than usual scope, and will be
a worthwhile addition to libraries at all levels.
Michael Holmes
Bethel University
THE PARABLES OF JESUS. By Luise Schottroff.
Translated by Linda M. Maloney. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress
Press, 2006. Pp. v + 288. $18.00, ISBN 0-8006-3699-6.
Schottroff begins her examination of the parables of
Jesus by lamenting the pervasive influence of these narra-
tives insofar as they have been tragically misunderstood.
Her task is to offer a new perspective, drawing upon a social-
historical methodology rooted in contextual theologies,
particularly the Christian liberation movement and Jewish-
Christian interreligious dialogue. The book is divided into
three parts: “Learning to See,” “In Search of a Non-Dualistic
Parable Theory,” and “Jesus the Parable-Teller: The Parables
in the Literary Context of the Gospels.” In Part one Schottroff
examines six parables and the so-called parable theory in
Mark 4, including in her exposition of each parable the
“ecclesiological” interpretation tradition and her alternative,
“eschatological” interpretation. After demonstrating her her-
meneutic through these examples, she turns to method in
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• NUMBER 1 • JANUARY 2007
Part two, paying particular attention to the influence of post-
biblical Jewish parable culture. She continues her examina-
tion of the parables in Part three, concluding with an
appendix addressing the fundamental question posed in this
volume, “How Should I Read a Jesus Parable?” With its
unique voice, this text offers a new and refreshing approach
to the parables for a broad audience, students, pastors, and
scholars alike.
Matthew R. Hauge
Azusa Pacific University
THE GNOSTICS: IDENTIFYING AN EARLY
CHRISTIAN CULT. By Alastair H. B. Logan. London, New
York: T & T Clark, 2006. Pp. xvii + 150. $27.95, ISBN 978-0-
567-04062-6.
In the preface to this book, the author proposes to “iden-
tify the Gnostic movement as a recognizable entity with a
distinctive character, united by its ‘classic’ myth and initia-
tion rite, the ‘five seals.’ ” Logan’s new book takes up for
further consideration issues arising from an earlier work,
Gnostic Truth and Christian Heresy (T & T Clark, 1996), but
in this book he follows the lead of M. Williams (Rethinking
“Gnosticism,” 1996) in applying theories developed by the
sociologists R. Stark and W. S. Bainbridge, who delineate the
marks of a “church,” a “sect,” and a “cult.” Logan argues that
the Gnostic movement arose as “an innovatory cult move-
ment originating within Christianity.” In the first chapter he
considers the evidence of the church fathers, certain pagans,
and the Nag Hammadi corpus, which he sees as an actual
Gnostic library (following Doresse). Chapter two deals with
Celsus, Plotinus, and Porphyry. In Chapter three he dis-
cusses the Gnostic and Christian views on authority and
tradition, and in Chapter four their respective views on ritual
and lifestyle. In the fifth and final chapter, “A Gnostic Burial
Site? The Hypogaeum of the Aurelii in Rome.” he revives
Jerome Carcopino’s interpretation of a hypogaeum discov-
ered on the Viale Manzoni in 1919, a view that has been
disputed by such art historians as Corby Finney. Logan’s
book is a useful study of the social life of a distinct Christian
Gnostic group (“cult”) known to Irenaeus and other church
fathers.
Birger A. Pearson
University of California, Santa Barbara
FROM JEWISH MAGIC TO GNOSTICISM. By Attilio
Mastrocinque. Studien und Texte zu Antike und
Christentum, 24. Tübingen, Ger.: Mohr Siebeck, 2005.
Pp. xv + 244. $115.00, ISBN 978-3-16-148555-8.
This book deals extensively with serpents of various
kinds as they appear in magical, astrological, and religious
contexts. A thread running through the book is that there
was a pre-Christian Jewish Gnosticism that had developed
as a result of influences from Chaldaean astrology and
magic, as well as Egyptian religious traditions. This Gnosti-
cism featured the serpent in various mythological and cultic
contexts. The book is a treasure trove of data: gemstones,
 Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 33
magical papyri, astrological texts, Gnostic texts, early
Christian testimonies, and Jewish traditions. It opens with
an account in Theodoret of Cyrrhus’ Religious History (fifth
c.) of a holy man’s vision of a fiery serpent gliding through
the air with its tail in its mouth. The next day he and his
armed followers found a bronze snake worshipped by a
group of “Marcionite” heretics and destroyed it. It is easy to
quarrel with some of Mastrocinque’s interpretations of the
massive evidence he has accumulated. For example, while it
is probably true that the depiction of Yaldabaoth as a lion-
faced serpent (Ap. John II 10,9–12) reflects the Egyptian
deity Chnoubis, it can hardly be believed that he was created
as a benign deity by the Jewish priests at the temple of
Leontopolis, and only became demonized in Gnostic tradi-
tions as a result of Christian influence. The book is full of
such dubious interpretations; even so, it is an interesting
work that can be read (critically!) with profit.
Birger A. Pearson
University of California, Santa Barbara
A TEXTUAL GUIDE TO THE GREEK NEW
TESTAMENT. AN ADAPTATION OF BRUCE M.
METZGER’S TEXTUAL C OMMENTARY FOR THE
NEEDS OF TRANSLATORS. By Roger L. Omanson.
Stuttgart, Ger.: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2006. Pp. 553.
$38.00, ISBN 3-438-06044-2.
As the subtitle indicates, this volume is a very thorough
adaptation of Metzger’s well-known work, intended to
“assist translators who have not received formal training in
textual criticism to discover more easily for themselves the
reasons that certain variant readings in the NT are more
likely to be original than others.” To that end, Metzger’s
introduction to the practice of NT textual criticism and notes
on variation units, for which an apparatus is given in the
UBS text have been expanded or simplified, all Greek words
and phrases are translated, sometimes additional informa-
tion is supplied, and in many instances considerations relat-
ing to translation issues have been added. Bibliographies of
reference works consulted for each of the NT books are
generally good (though occasionally thin; e.g., only four
entries for Hebrews, while 1 John has 12), with some entries
as recent as 2005 included (though Metzger’s Text of the New
Testament is cited according to the third edition [1992] rather
than the fourth [2005]). Overall, the discussion of individual
variants is clear and informative (though occasionally deci-
sions are less nuanced than Metzger’s). Omanson has pro-
duced a careful and thoughtful adaptation that will be widely
used, by translators and students alike.
Michael Holmes
Bethel University
EARLY PATRISTIC READINGS OF ROMANS. Edited
by Kathy L. Gaca and L. L. Welborn. New York: T & T Clark,
2005. Pp. vi + 237. $39.95, ISBN 0-567-02931-X.
Most of the essays comprising this volume originated in
the Society of Biblical Literature’s 2000–2002 “Romans
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• NUMBER 1 • JANUARY 2007
Through History and Cultures” sessions. Although Paul’s
impact on Western culture derives in large part from his
influence on Augustine, earlier writers make frequent refer-
ence to Romans, albeit typically in ad hoc fashion. Patristic
readings thus present special challenges to scholars seeking
to describe the earliest reception of this important letter. The
essays included here are by M. J. Brown, S. L. Graham, D. J.
Bingham, R. Clements, S.-K. Wan, and one each by the edi-
tors. Among the respondents are H. Moxnes, J. Bassler, C.
Cosgrove, and D. Georgi. Text and topics receiving attention
include Paul’s construal of pagan religiosity in Rom 1:18–32;
supersessionism and soteriology in Clement of Alexandria,
Strom. 2; Irenaeus’ use of Rom 8 in anti-Gnostic polemic and
his theology of history as reflected in the exegesis of Rom
9–11 in the Epideixis; and Origen’s use of Pauline proof-texts
in De Principiis and the attitudes towards Judaism reflected
in his commentary on Romans. The harvest of patristic inter-
pretation is indeed plentiful; specialists will applaud this
work and hope for more in coming years.
Patrick Gray
Rhodes College
ROMANS. By Grant R. Osborne. The IVP New Testament
Commentary Series. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press,
2004. Pp. 447. $24.00, ISBN 0-8308-1806-5.
Osborne’s commentary on Romans fulfills the criteria
set out for the InterVarsity Press Series, which aims to com-
bine “faithful exegesis and a deep concern for the church,”
and demonstrate a “commitment to the authority of Scrip-
ture for Christian faith and practice” for an audience of
“pastors, students, Bible teachers and small-group leaders.”
Osborne writes in a clear and organized manner and with a
sincere pastoral intent. He has read deeply in secondary
analysis of Romans and shares that material, occasionally
including its diversity, with readers. At times his assess-
ment of issues lands on a straightforward and conservative
Christian position rather than a more open-ended perspec-
tive. Such is the case in the discussion on sexual relations
(Rom 1:26–31) and the final salvation of Israel (Rom 11:25–
32), issues which have been debated in Christian scholar-
ship on Romans. Like all the commentaries in this series,
there is a two-tiered discussion. The bulk of the text
expounds Romans in a linear fashion, while secondary anal-
ysis is briefly provided on some background issues. A good
resource for its intended audience.
Steven Muir
Concordia University College of Alberta
THE EDUCATED ELITE IN 1 CORINTHIANS:
EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY CONFLICT IN
GRAECO-ROMAN CONTEXT. By Robert S. Dutch.
New York: T & T Clark, 2005. Pp. v + 343. $125.00, ISBN
978-0-8264-7088-1.
In this volume, Dutch extends NT scholarship that iden-
tifies social-status issues and the educated elite as contrib-
uting to the problems in the Corinthian community. Noting
 Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 33
that current scholarship has not factored in the importance
of the Greek gymnasium in ancient education, and believing
that elite believers in the Corinthian church would have
received a gymnasium education, Dutch uses social-
scientific methodology to develop a model based on the
Greek gymnasium and its relationship to family and society.
He argues that the Greek gymnasium was an exclusive edu-
cation center catering to elite Romans, Greeks, and Jews.
They would have been trained in rhetoric and philosophy,
and some of them eventually became elite members of Paul’s
community in Corinth. Successive chapters in Part Three
extensively apply the ancient education model to Paul’s
Corinthian household, ancient athletes (1 Cor 9:24–27),
nurses, nutrition and nurture (1 Cor 3:14), agriculture and
education (1 Cor 3:5–9), disciplining with a rod (1 Cor 4:21),
the Grammateus (1 Cor 1:20), ancient writing (1 Cor 4:6), and
circumcision (1 Cor 7:17–24). Dutch provides an excellent
example of how to develop and apply a cross-cultural model
of education to problematic texts in 1 Corinthians with fruit-
ful results.
Dietmar Neufeld
University of British Columbia
BAPTISM ON ACCOUNT OF THE DEAD (1 COR
15:29): AN ACT OF FAITH IN THE RESURREC-
TION. By Michael F. Hull. Academia Biblica, 22. Atlanta,
GA: Society of Biblical Literature, 2005. Pp. xv + 327.
$42.95, ISBN 1-58983-177-2.
This revised version of Hull’s dissertation at the Pontif-
ical Gregorian University offers a new reading of this per-
plexing verse. After criticizing previous interpretations of
the verse as referring to vicarious or ordinary baptism, Hull
focuses on the pivotal role of v. 29–34 within 1 Cor 15 and
gives a new translation of 15:29: “Otherwise what are they
to do, who have themselves baptized on account of the dead?
If the dead are not really raised, why are they baptized on
account of them?” Finding no hint of a practice of vicarious
baptism in the historical context, Hull concludes that the
vicarious baptism reading of the verse is not viable. Hull’s
thesis is that the verse lifts up the example of some believers
who receive ordinary baptism as a sign of their faith in the
resurrection of the dead. Although Hull’s causal reading of
the preposition is possible, his argument that “on account
of the dead” should be paraphrased as “on account of faith
in the resurrection of the dead,” is not fully convincing.
Nevertheless, this book is not to be overlooked in the study
of 1 Cor 15.
David W. Kuck
United Theological College of the West Indies
ANCIENT RHETORIC AND PAUL’S APOLOGY:
THE COMPOSITIONAL UNITY OF 2 Thomas Witulski
CORINTHIANS. By Frederick J. Long. Society for New
Testament Studies Monograph Series, 131. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2004. Pp. xix + 291. $80.00,
ISBN 978-0-521-84233-4.
69
• NUMBER 1 • JANUARY 2007
A long-standing assessment of 2 Corinthians is that it is
a not a complete letter, written on a single occasion, reflect-
ing one set of circumstances. Various theories suggest how
such a composite letter came to be assembled, and how its
portions may reflect stages in the ongoing relationship
between Paul and the believers in Corinth. Such positions
assume that there is no overarching theme or cohesive unity
in the letter as it stands. Long takes the opposite position,
arguing that “Paul composed 2 Corinthians as a rhetorically
unified apology drawing on the well-known Greco-Roman
forensic tradition.” This unity exists on two levels. First,
Long demonstrates that the text has substantial structural,
technical, and idiomatic parallels to unitary texts in Greco-
Roman oratory. Second, he finds that when closely con-
sidered, the text reveals a “coherent core of related rhetorical
aims.” The intent of the letter is to defend Paul’s decision to
write rather than visit the Corinthians and to prepare a
favorable reception for his imminent return. The book is
closely argued, well presented, and evidences a substantial
knowledge of Greco-Roman rhetoric and the contextual
issues faced by Paul at Corinth.
Steven Muir
Concordia University College of Alberta
ETHIK ALS ANGEWANDTE EKKLESIOLOGIE:
DER BRIEF AN DIE EPHESER. Edited by Michael
Wolter. Monographische Reihe von “Benedictina,” Biblisch-
Ökumenische Abteilung, 17. Rome: Benedictina Publishing,
2005. Pp. 227. Paper, €30.00, ISBN n/a.
This volume collects eight essays presented in the XVIII
Colloquium Oecumenicum Paulinum 2004 in Rome that deal
with the letter to the Ephesians. Reimund Bieringer exam-
ines the semantic implications of the term anakephalaiosas-
thai in Eph 1:10. In analysing Eph 2, Michel Quesnel traces
back the author and the addressees of Ephesians. Christos
Krakolis compares the two “prayer-reports” in Eph 3:14–21
and 1:15–23, Samuel Byrskog treats the relevance of the
paraenetical passage Eph 4:1–16 to the development of a
Christian identity of the addressees, and in interpreting Eph
4:17–5:20, Rudolf Hoppe discusses the relationship between
paraenesis and ecclesiology in Ephesians. Morna D. Hooker
analyses Eph 5:21–6:9 with regard to the aspect of the
“transformation of relationships in Christ,” Yann Redalié
investigates the importance of Ephesians pertaining to faith
and theology in the twenty-first century. According to
Wolter’s summary of the essays, the author of Ephesians
attempts to induce his addressees to transform their spiri-
tual unity into an ethical way and to present it demonstra-
tively. The Christian ethical life, defined as a practical
ecclesiology, has the function to make the ecclesia recognis-
able and sensible for being the body of Christ.
University of Münster
COLOSSIANS AND PHILEMON. By Marianne Meye
Thompson. The Two Horizon New Testament Commentary.
 Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 33
Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2005. Pp. x + 297. $20.00,
ISBN 0-8028-2715-2.
The commentary of Thompson, professor of NT Inter-
pretation at Fuller Theological Seminary, is one of the earli-
est in the Two Horizon series that features “theological
exegesis and theological reflection.” The volume is ade-
quately balanced with 191 pages devoted to Colossians and
seventy-three pages to Philemon. The theological observa-
tions on Colossians (theology, in the context of Paul’s theol-
ogy, constructive theology) comprise eighty pages, and on
Philemon (in the context of Biblical theology, constructive
theology) thirty-seven pages. Thompson is masterly at theo-
logical reflection, and acceptable in respect to exegesis.
Thompson discusses the standard exegetical disputes in
Colossians regarding the principalities and powers, the sto-
icheia, worship of angels, and slavery in Philemon. She
incorporates recent studies but makes few advances. She is
much more concerned with Paul’s apostolic authority than
with his rhetorical strategies. According to Thompson, the
crucial point in Colossians for constructive theology is that
“the creative and redemptive purposes of God for the entire
cosmos are expressed in and through the person and work
of Christ.” In Philemon uniquely, reconciliation “comes to
expression in part in the language of mutuality, love, and
kingship.”
Thomas H. Olbricht
Pepperdine University
WOMEN IN THE CHURCH: AN ANALYSIS AND
APPLICATION OF 1 TIMOTHY 2:9–15. Second
Edition. Edited by Andreas J. Köstenberger and Thomas R.
Schreiner. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2005. Pp. 287. $21.99,
ISBN 0-8010-2904-X.
Ten years later and some fifty pages shorter than the
original version, this second edition contains updated for-
mats of the retained essays, while omitting two contributors
and adding one—the personal reflections of Dorothy Kelley
Patterson, “What Should a Woman Do in the Church?” (there
were no women contributors in the first edition). Strictly
speaking, there were no notes in the first edition; now they
occupy sixty pages. The editors admit that political correct-
ness and a changing worldview demand their reexamination
of the place of women in the church. The basic conclusions
of the treatise have not changed—scripture precludes women
from becoming teaching pastors, but this does not prevent
them from fulfilling a multitude of other services in the
church. Patterson as a woman is willing to humble herself
to the Word of God that mandates such an attitude; for her,
it is not a question of oppression, but of freedom. All in all,
the expository arguments found in this treatise will hardly
satisfy those who hold a contrary position. On the other
hand, the official doctrinal positions of Catholic and Ortho-
dox churches will find herein much in common with their
evangelical brothers (and sisters!).
Casimir Bernas
Holy Trinity Abbey
70
• NUMBER 1 • JANUARY 2007
THE HISTORICAL JESUS AND THE FINAL JUDG-
MENT SAYINGS IN Q. By Brian Han Gregg.
Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament,
2. Reihe, 207. Tübingen, Ger.: Mohr Siebeck, 2006.
Pp. xiv + 346. €64.00, ISBN 978-3-16-148750-7.
This modified version of a Notre Dame dissertation
directed by David Aune argues for the authenticity of the
final judgment sayings in Q. Gregg identifies twelve such
sayings, all of which come from what is often considered Q’s
second stratum. In a very helpful context chapter, Gregg
surveys the spectrum of beliefs about the final judgment in
late Second Temple Judaism: judgment is foreseen as immi-
nent and about to fall on Gentile nations as well as the
wicked within Israel, which is envisioned as mired in apos-
tasy and lawbreaking. For each of the twelve final judgment
sayings in Q, Gregg provides a special bibliography, exege-
ses of the Matthean and Lukan sayings, a reconstruction and
exegesis of the Q text, a determination of the most primitive
version of the saying, scholarly arguments for and against
its authenticity, and Gregg’s conclusions. Gregg finds ten of
the twelve sayings to be authentic; the two remaining are
uncertain, but are probably authentic because of their coher-
ence with the other ten. These authentic sayings show that
the historical Jesus “conceived of himself as the uniquely
authoritative messenger of God” and warned that rejecting
him “would result in condemnation at the final judgment.”
Interestingly, Jesus (according to Q) did not state or imply
that the final judgment was imminent. Those convinced that
Q contains a mostly historically accurate portrait of Jesus as
a sectarian eschatological preacher who put himself at the
center of his message will find much to confirm their con-
viction. Those not inclined to see Jesus as apocalyptically
oriented will have to take Gregg’s work seriously.
Robert J. Miller
Juniata College
HOW ON EARTH DID JESUS BECOME A GOD?:
HISTORICAL QUESTIONS ABOUT EARLIEST
DEVOTION TO JESUS. By Larry W. Hurtado. Grand
Rapids, MI/Cambridge, UK: Eerdmans, 2005. Pp. xii + 234.
$20.00, ISBN 978-0-8028-2861-3.
The first four chapters of this study are revised versions
of lectures given in 2004 at Ben-Gurion University. The
remaining four essays, all of them relevant to the subject at
issue, originally appeared as articles in various publications:
first-century Jewish monotheism; homage and devotion
toward Jesus; Jewish opposition; NT religious experience
and innovation. For Hurtado, who has written extensively
over a long period on the subject, the “devotion” of the sub-
title is “the worship of Jesus as divine.” This should be kept
in mind, because “devotion” in English can have a much
more attenuated sense than the one intended by Hurtado. To
answer the question posed in the title of his essay, Hurtado
replies: some early Christians had “revelatory” experiences
or visions that they understood to be encounters with the
glorified Jesus. Other Christians had visions in which the
 Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 33
glorified Christ was “reverenced” by angelic beings in the
same way that God was described as reverenced in the OT.
All of this led to a “mutation” in standard Jewish liturgical
and devotional practice, so that Jesus began to be included
in the sphere of divinity. There is much to agree with in this,
and other Hurtado works, but the solution, in my opinion,
lies less in “visions” or “experiences” (whatever their
nature) than in the simple fact that for early Christians (who
after all were very ordinary Jews), everything happened
“according to the Scriptures.” All the precedents were there
and still are. Divinity is closer than one is accustomed to
believe.
Casimir Bernas
Holy Trinity Abbey
HERODIAN JUDAISM AND NEW TESTAMENT
STUDY. By William Horbury. Wissenschaftliche
Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament, 193. Tübingen,
Ger.: Mohr Siebeck, 2006. Pp. xii + 268. $159.50, ISBN 978-
3-16-148877-1.
This volume contains seven recently published essays
(2003–5; one was published in 1999), as well as one previ-
ously unpublished. The collection is divided into two sec-
tions. In the first section, Horbury maps out several features
of Jewish piety during the Herodian age (40 BCE to mid-
second century CE) and their importance for understanding
the world of early Christianity. Six essays treat aspects of
Jewish monotheism, mysticism, notions of Moses and the
temple, as well as the Jewish background of the idea of
“gospel” and the “Lord’s Supper.” These studies frame
Horbury’s larger understanding of the way that Judaism in
the Herodian age developed in dialogue with its larger Greco-
Roman world and its foundational character for emerging
Christianity. Part two contains two essays, the first of which
is a thorough overview of British NT scholarship in the last
century. Horbury pays careful attention to attempts to locate
the NT in its Jewish and Hellenistic literary and theological
setting. The final chapter, published here for the first time,
considers several methodological issues involving the use of
rabbinic material in NT studies. In particular, Horbury chal-
lenges the notion that the late dating of rabbinic sources
renders them of lesser significance than earlier Second Tem-
ple period material. As a collection, these eight articles fit
together nicely as a sustained analysis of the Jewish and
Hellenistic background of the NT and early Christian
thought.
Alex Jassen
University of Minnesota
EXPLORING JEWISH LITERATURE OF THE
SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD: A GUIDE FOR NEW
TESTAMENT STUDENTS. By Larry R. Helyer. Downers
Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002. Pp. 528. $30.00, ISBN
0-8308-2678-5.
This volume is intended as a comprehensive introduc-
tion to Jewish literature of the Second Temple period written
71
• NUMBER 1 • JANUARY 2007
specifically from an evangelical perspective. Second Temple
period Jewish literature is surveyed and placed in the wider
context of its historical, literary, and religious importance
for understanding the NT and early Christian thought. All of
the major works of Second Temple Judaism (including Philo
and Josephus) are discussed in chronological order. Literary
works are grouped together in chapters based on presumed
time of composition, provenance, and genre. Unlike similar
books, this work contains a chapter on the Mishnah and
early rabbinic Judaism. For each text, Helyer begins with a
general overview of the text and its provenance and then
moves to a survey of its salient features. The bulk of each
section is devoted to discussing the literary features and
theological perspectives that this literature shares with the
NT. There is very little that is groundbreaking in the presen-
tation of the Second Temple period texts. This book’s signif-
icant contribution is in the analysis of the shared world of
the NT and Jewish literature of the Second Temple period
and the ability to locate the NT in its larger Jewish literary
and theological context.
Alex Jassen
University of Minnesota
CHRISTIAN BEGINNINGS AND THE DEAD SEA
SCROLLS. Edited by John J. Collins and Craig A. Evans.
Acadia Studies in Bible and Theology. Grand Rapids, MI:
Baker Academic, 2006. Pp. v + 144. $16.99, ISBN 0-8010-
2837-X.
This compact volume is part of the Acadia Studies in
Bible and Theology, a series dedicated to providing the stu-
dent and nonspecialist with the latest in critical scholar-
ship. In this particular study, each of the six contributors
assesses the value of the Dead Sea Scrolls for understand-
ing the development of primitive Christianity. In the first
two essays, Collins evaluates two new publications, The
First Messiah by M. Wise and The Messiah before Jesus by I.
Knohl, investigating the idea of a pre-Christian suffering
messiah. Evans turns to typology, addressing the role of the
wilderness, baptism, and the number twelve in Jewish res-
toration movements in late antiquity. M. G. Abegg, Jr.
explores Paul’s understanding of the “works of the law” in
light of the scrolls, while B. D. Smith surveys the use of the
“spirit of holiness” in Second Temple Jewish texts. R. G.
Wooden assesses the notion of divinely aided interpretation
in both the scrolls and the NT. And finally, J. R. Wilson
considers the topic of apocalyptic theology followed with a
concluding response by Collins. While these essays are cer-
tainly rewarding for academicians, they are ultimately
beyond the introductory level of most students, laity, and
pastors.
Matthew R. Hauge
Azusa Pacific University
ANCIENT FICTION: THE MATRIX OF EARLY
CHRISTIAN AND JEWISH NARRATIVE. Edited by
Jo-Ann Brant, Charles W. Hedrick, and Chris Shea. SBL
 Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 33
Symposium Series, 32. Atlanta, GA: Society of Biblical
Literature, 2005; Leiden: Brill, 2006. Pp. vii + 372. Paper,
$39.95, ISBN 1-58983-166-7 (SBL); cloth, $170.00, ISBN
90-04-13768-8 (Brill).
This rich collection of essays is the by-product of the
Society of Biblical Literature, Ancient Fiction and Early
Christian and Jewish Narrative Section, which began in
1992. From the beginning, the underlying purpose of this
group was to bridge the divide between classics and religion,
and given the diversity of authors and texts surveyed in this
volume, this purpose has been achieved. In the introduction,
R. I. Pervo provides a brief summary of each essay and
identifies the overarching themes addressed in the volume
as a whole, most notably, the power of mimesis, the distinc-
tion between history and fiction, and the use of history to
express identity. These essays are divided into three sec-
tions, “Ancient Greco-Roman Narrative,” “Jewish Narrative,”
and “Early Christian Narrative,” including contributions
from R. F. Hock, C. Shea, R. I. Pervo, G. van den Heever,
C. Milikowsky, J. A. Brant, T. L. Holm, N. Hacham, S. R.
Johnson, J. W. Ludlow, J. B. Perkins, D. R. MacDonald, J. R.
C. Cousland, R. R. Dupertuis, and A. Reimer. This volume
provides an invaluable, erudite guide to the ongoing dia-
logue between biblical scholarship and the Greco-Roman
world through the lens of ancient fiction.
Matthew R. Hauge
Azusa Pacific University
JEWISH LAW IN GENTILE CHURCHES: HALA-
KHAH AND THE BEGINNING OF CHRISTIAN
PUBLIC ETHICS. By Markus Bockmuehl. Grand Rapids,
MI: Baker, 2000. Pp. xvii + 314. Paper, $29.99, ISBN 0-8010-
2758-6.
The main divisions of Bockmuehl’s treatise detail
questions concerning Christian moral teaching in the land
of Israel, the role of Jewish and Christian ethics for Gen-
tiles, and the evolution of Christian morality from Luke–
Acts to Aristides and the Letter to Diognetus. Bockmuehl
points out that Jesus’ message was directed toward Jews
alone, but the Church’s preaching was targeted at both
Jews and Gentiles; hence the grounds for moral decisions
of both groups must be taken into account when dealing
with the Church’s own attempts at moral preaching and
teaching. Jesus had no family of his own and no place to
lay his head; he was consistent therefore in putting the
demands of the Kingdom of God before his own needs and
in promulgating a similar program for others. His moral
demands were often no different from that of other Jewish
contemporary groups. There was no “natural law” in the
Judaism of the time, i.e., no moral injunctions in nature
separate from the demands of God himself. Jewish wisdom
teaching and Stoic moral instruction found their echo in
much of the ethical teaching of the early Church. In this
book, Bockmuehl has provided an excellent discussion and
summary of important questions concerning early Chris-
tian moral practice. His well-balanced conclusions and
72
• NUMBER 1 • JANUARY 2007
unobstructed prose should prove helpful to novices and
experts alike.
Casimir Bernas
Holy Trinity Abbey
IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH AND THE SECOND
SOPHISTIC: A STUDY OF AN EARLY CHRISTIAN
TRANSFORMATION OF PAGAN CULTURE. By Allen
Brent. Studien und Texte zu Antike und Christentum/
Studies and Texts in Antiquity and Christianity, 36.
Tübingen, Ger.: Mohr Siebeck, 2006. Pp. xvi + 377; 26 plates.
€84.00, ISBN 3-16-148794-X.
A dense, well-argued, provocative, and ultimately per-
suasive monograph about a truly enigmatic figure in early
Christianity. Adopting a Wittgensteinian-influenced method,
Brent seeks to recover Ignatius’ “discourse and its logic—his
‘language game’ ”—in a way not possible with either tra-
ditional historico-critical methods or a postmodern her-
meneutic. He argues that Ignatius’ “construction of ecclesial
order”—namely, his characterization of Christian ministers
as image bearers participating in a cult procession, and of
those accompanying him to his martyrdom as divine ambas-
sadors communicating concord ( òµ
νοια) between commu-
nities on the basis of his “sacrifice” (  ντ  ψυχον)—reveals
the use of a theology of mystery cult and its ritual whose
roots were ultimately pagan and sacramental, involving “a
typology of deity, priesthood, and enacted mystery” in which
bishops are not successors of the apostles but rather “icons
of divine persons and events.” In short, Ignatius’s letters
reflect the “cultural and historical backcloth” of the social
discourse of the pagan Hellenistic world of Asia Minor dur-
ing the Second Sophistic, a culture that Ignatius deeply
imbibed and which proved so enigmatic to Polycarp and
Ignatius’s other “orthodox” successors that “only by distort-
ing Ignatius’ original quite radical theological rapproche-
ment” with his cultural context were later Christian writers,
such as Irenaeus and Origen, able to co-opt Ignatius as an
“orthodox” predecessor. Thus Brent concludes that the
Ignatian letters are not interpolated or forged documents
reflective of a late second-century theological perspective,
but genuine artifacts from an earlier time and social location.
Must reading for anyone dealing with Ignatius.
Michael Holmes
Bethel University
NEITHER JEW NOR GREEK? CONSTRUCTING
EARLY CHRISTIANITY. By Judith Lieu. New York: T &
T Clark, 2002. Pp. xiii + 263. $79.95, ISBN 0-567-08909-6.
Ten of the twelve essays in this collection were previ-
ously published (from 1992) in various scholarly journals.
The other two were given originally as lectures. They evince
Lieu’s preoccupation with the continuities and discontinui-
ties of early Christianity in its relations with both the Jewish
and the Greco-Roman worlds. Christians lived in a world of
contending cults and in a world that they constructed for
themselves through their sacred texts; the interaction
 Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 33
between the two goes far in explaining their success. Chris-
tianity and Judaism did not necessarily communicate to
women an announcement of liberation, but women sought a
social framework for the independence that was theirs as a
matter of right. Rituals in religion are not merely tokens of
theological realities but must be seen in the circumstances
of their overall social environment; circumcision, for exam-
ple, can be seen as both symbolizing and maintaining male
dominance. Hence the repudiation of circumcision by the
early church had important consequences for the place of
woman in Christian society. To conclude, the aforemen-
tioned remarks are only a fragment of the many insights to
be found in these closely reasoned and well-researched
essays. NT scholars should find them helpful for the ongoing
process of answering the question: what accounts for the
rise of early Christianity?
Casimir Bernas
Holy Trinity Abbey
THE FORMATION OF THE EARLY CHURCH. Edited
by Jostein Ådna. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum
Neuen Testament, 183. Tübingen, Ger.: Mohr Siebeck, 2005.
Pp. xii + 451. €99.00, ISBN 3-16-148561-0.
The fourteen essays in this collection stem from a 2003
Scandinavian conference. The essays are divided fairly
evenly among four different sections: “The Relationship
between Christians and Jews, ‘Parting of the Ways’ and
Development of New Identities,” “Developments of and Con-
tacts between Early Communities and Authority and Power
Structures within them as Reflected in the New Testament,”
“Issues relating to New Testament Canon,” and “Early Chris-
tian Developments Beyond the New Testament.” Ådna sup-
plies an excellent introductory essay that gives a thorough
overview of each of the fourteen essays, recognizing the
individual contributions that each makes to ongoing schol-
arly discourse. Indeed, the essays are, in and of themselves,
interesting and important. The volume does not, however,
hang together as a whole in providing a clear and concise
picture of the formation of the early church. The essays are
too disparate and too focused to fulfill such a task, and some
essays push the boundaries of what is meant by “early.”
Ådna himself recognizes this “wide scope” but hopes there
are “sufficient links between the essays to make this selec-
tion appear as a united whole.” He seems, however, unable,
or unwilling, to make these links for the reader.
Richard S. Ascough
Queen’s University
SOCIAL-SCIENCE COMMENTARY ON THE
LETTERS OF PAUL. By Bruce J. Malina and John J. Pilch.
Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2006. Pp. x + 419. $27.00,
ISBN 0-8006-3640-6.
This book marks a third installment in the popular
“Social Science Commentaries,” a long-awaited treatment
of the undisputed letters of Paul. Like the other volumes,
this one is rich in useful and enlightening explanations,
73
• NUMBER 1 • JANUARY 2007
photographs, and the authors’ distinctive reading scenarios.
The introduction attempts, importantly, to set the study of
Paul and his career into a social scientific context, but it is
highly nuanced and full of very idiosyncratic terminology: it
will prove baffling to many readers, even those familiar with
the method. Within the commentary itself, the contribution
is characteristically strong, though at times the commentary
is not sufficiently “social scientific.” For instance, the com-
mentary on 1 Cor 6:9, particularly on the terms malakos and
arsenokoit6s, could have appeared in any other commentary;
it would have benefited from J. H. Elliott’s “No Kingdom of
God for Softies?” in Biblical Theology Bulletin 34 (2004): 17–
40. Also, a word might have been said on the order of the
letters presented in the book. Malina and Pilch treat Philip-
pians and Philemon last, but accept an Ephesian provenance
and therefore a pre–Romans date of composition.
Zeba Crook
Carleton University
PAUL AND THE RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE OF
RECONCILIATION: DIASPORIC COMMUNITY
AND CREOLE CONSCIOUSNESS. By Gilbert I. Bond.
Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2005. Pp. vii + 179.
$39.95, ISBN 0-664-22271-4.
Augustinian and Lutheran readings of Paul have domi-
nated studies that seek to understand the struggle of Paul,
his so-called conversion, and subsequent mission to the
Gentiles. Bond sets himself apart from both the Augustinian
tradition that sees in Paul the anguish of a divided soul torn
by competing wills subsequently transformed by the grace
of God, and the Lutheran one that sees in Paul a guilt-racked
consciousness incapable of rescuing itself until it is sub-
sequently transformed/justified by faith. These traditions do
not take into account the complex intermixture of Hebraic
and Greek social and religious elements—what Bond labels
as “diaspora cultural convergence”—that framed Paul’s
religious experience. Drawing on the phenomenological tra-
dition of Husserl and the understanding of religious experi-
ence described by W. James, Bond concludes that Paul’s
experience of mystical transformation through his encoun-
ter with the risen Christ was mediated via language, the
body, and other cultural creations and constructions. It cre-
ated in him a “creole consciousness” that reconfigured his
identity from the exclusive otherness of the Pharisees to the
inclusive otherness of the apostle of Christ. This, in turn, led
him to create interethnic communities of reconciliation in
which Greek Gentiles were included in covenantal relation-
ship with Jews.
Dietmar Neufeld
University of British Columbia
PASTORAL MINISTRY ACCCORDING TO PAUL: A
BIBLICAL VISION. By James W. Thompson. Grand Rap-
ids, MI: Baker, 2006. Pp. 174. $17.99, ISBN 0-08010-3109-5.
The author, who works both in the area of NT studies
and practical ministry seeks to revive interaction between
 Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 33
the two fields. It is presumed that somewhere along the line
the two disciplines became disconnected. In the first chapter
the dissolution is illustrated by the way the biblical text is
treated superficially in major works on pastoral ministry.
Thompson seeks to elevate the interchange between the two
disciplines. The bulk of the book (Chapters two to five)
focuses on the major Pauline letters. Fundamentally, it is
claimed, Paul’s letters are exercises in pastoral theology.
They capture Paul engaging early Christian communities
intensely in a process of fostering their ethical transforma-
tion. Paul’s burning desire is to prepare these communities
to be “blameless” at the coming of Christ. Based on this
model, one can conceivably move from Paul directly to the
work of the modern pastor. Although this book is directed
toward those in pastoral ministry, NT scholars will profit
from the concentration on the theme of communal transfor-
mation in Paul. Thompson makes a strong case that the
rhetoric of Paul’s letters supports this underlying goal. Nota-
bly, his concentration on the rhetorical features of Paul’s
writings leads him to give short shrift to partition theories
and various diachronic analyses of the text. This book will
provide balance through taking seriously Paul’s writings as
a viable model in courses on pastoral ministry in seminaries.
It will find more frequent usage in places where the biblical
vision is regarded as foundational for Christian communities
today.
Allan J. McNicol
Austin Graduate School of Theology
THE CRUX OF ELECTION. By Sigurd Grindheim.
Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2
Reihe, 202. Tübingen, Ger.: Mohr Siebeck, 2005. Pp. 280.
€49.00, ISBN 3-16-148690-0.
Having identified a lacuna among the many works stim-
ulated by the New Perspective on Paul with respect to how
the theme of election fits into the configuration of Paul’s
“pattern of religion,” Grindheim proposes that Paul’s doctrine
of election is consistent with the scriptures of Israel, is
grounded in creation and redemption, and involves a reversal
of values. Israel has status because the Creator elected to
take her from slavery and make her a nation. Conversely,
when Israel became proud and complacent, while still elect,
her status is reversed by life under judgment. Similarly, in
Paul’s thinking, election is manifest through conformity to
the abased way of life under the cross. Status emerges in the
paradoxical reversal of discovering that this is the key to
appropriating the power of the resurrection. For Paul, Israel
has temporarily missed the principle of election manifested
in the reversal of values symbolized by the cross of Christ.
Despite Grindheim’s emphasis on 2 Cor. 11:16 to 12:10 and
Phil 3:1–10 rather than Rom 9–11, the competent exegesis
and strong engagement with the secondary literature on
these texts make this well-constructed monograph a welcome
and original contribution to a key area of Pauline studies.
Allan J. McNicol
Austin Graduate School of Theology
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• NUMBER 1 • JANUARY 2007
COVENANT OF PEACE: THE MISSING PEACE IN
NEW TESTAMENT THEOLOGY AND ETHICS. By
Willard M. Swartley. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2006.
Pp. xviii + 542. $34.00, ISBN 978-0-8028-2937-5.
Swartley proposes that the NT is the fulfillment of the
“covenant of peace” envisioned in Ezek 34. The fifteen chap-
ters of the volume are therefore centered around the theme
of peace in the Gospels and various other NT writings, as
well as in the social world of the time. Swartley emphasizes
the image of Jesus as the prototype of the peacemaker,
shown by his birth, his pattern of acting during the public
ministry as the peaceful Messiah, and his self-emptying to
the point of death on a cross. The four Gospels, each in its
own way, make explicit this general notion of Jesus as peace-
maker and lover of peace: the forsaking of rivalry among the
disciples; the refusal to offend one another; healing and exor-
cisms as a means of introducing the future Kingdom of God
into the present world of hatred and violence. The book of
Acts shows that this prototypical image of Jesus the peace-
maker has imbued the earliest disciples with the courage to
act in a similar manner in their dealings with others. Paul,
in turn, used the example of Jesus’ nonviolence to exhort his
communities to respect the institutions of the Roman state,
as long as it was not in conflict with Christian moral values.
In an appendix, Swartley furnishes a valuable summary and
critique of important scholarly contributions to NT theology
and ethics. All in all, this lengthy volume, though hardly
original, should prove valuable by reason of its source mate-
rial to NT scholars—and to preachers and homilists as well.
Casimir Bernas
Holy Trinity Abbey
FRACTURE: THE CROSS AS IRRECONCILABLE
IN THE LANGUAGE AND THOUGHT OF THE
BIBLICAL WRITERS. By Roy A. Harrisville. Grand
Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2006. Pp. xi + 298. $20.00, ISBN
0-8028-3308-X.
The “fracture” of the title refers to the break that occurs
in the thought of NT writers when they deal with the death
of Jesus: they are forced to interrupt the manner of thinking
and speaking inherited from their past in order to make
sense of the new reality that has been brought about by the
cross of Christ (itself shorthand for the event and con-
sequences of his suffering and death). After an introduction
that places the reader squarely in the Jewish and Gentile
world of the time, references to the death of Jesus are exam-
ined in each of the Gospels, as well as in Paul, Hebrews, and
1 Peter. The death of Jesus for each author was an anomaly.
These writers hark back to the OT in order to find a model
which will explain the necessity for the death of Jesus. The
Christ-event comes first, then the scriptures are searched.
Jesus himself conceived of his person and mission in apoc-
alyptic terms, which were the stock-in-trade of the Jewish
milieu in which he moved. Gnosticism, despite the threat
that it posed for nascent Christianity, ultimately proved to
be incommensurable with the message of the cross. Though
 Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 33
there is nothing startlingly new in this treatise, it provides
readers with a workmanlike picture of the theology of the
cross from what may appear to some as a novel point of view.
Casimir Bernas
Holy Trinity Abbey
FAIR PLAY: DIVERSITY AND CONFLICTS IN
EARLY CHRISTIANITY. ESSAYS IN HONOUR OF
HEIKKI RÄISÄNEN. Edited by Ismo Dunderberg,
Christopher Tuckett, and Kari Syreeni. Supplements to
Novum Testamentum, 103. Leiden, Neth.: Brill, 2002.
Pp. xii + 592. $163.00, ISBN 90-04-12359-8.
The title and subtitle of this Festschrift are flexible
enough to bear the weight of twenty-two variegated essays
treating of conflicts regarding Jesus, the Gospels, Paul, other
NT writings, and hermeneutical issues in general. A few
examples illustrate the importance of the questions treated.
J. D. G. Dunn reexamines the relationship between faith and
works in Paul. M. D. Hooker concludes that Philippians is
not only a pastoral letter in the spirit of Paul’s final testi-
mony, but is also a defense of his apostolic mission and an
encouragement to his fellow Christians to share in it through
their own sufferings. Gerd Theissen analyses Rom 9–11 for
signs of a psychological explanation of the controversy
between Paul and Israel. Hanna Stenström avers that even
feminist hermeneutics lie open to the charge of elitism in
the face of genuinely deprived portions of society. For E. P.
Sanders, the Gospels give a reasonably accurate picture of
Galilee—its society, population, and governmental struc-
tures. In conclusion, the stature of the scholars whose essays
are contained in this volume is prima facie evidence for the
seriousness of their conclusions. Data-based bibliographies
hopefully should list these articles for easy library access by
interested scholars.
Casimir Bernas
Holy Trinity Abbey
RHETORICS AND HERMENEUTICS: WILHELM
WUELLNER AND HIS INFLUENCE. Edited by James
D. Hester and J. David Hester. Emory Studies in Early
Christianity. New York: T & T Clark, 2004. Pp. xiii + 247.
$59.95, ISBN 0-5670-2580-2.
This Festschrift in honor of Professor Wuellner contains
nine essays centered on his fields of scholarly interdiscipli-
nary specialization that are clearly indicated by the title.
Professor Wuellner himself provides an apt introduction to
the subject in his essay on rhetoric as the power of the
sublime; the mystery in religious texts must not be
neglected; rhetorical critics are custodians of divine myster-
ies. For J. W. McCant, 2 Corinthians is a long rhetorical
parody on the part of Paul in the service of an apologia for
his life and ministry. V. K. Robbins interprets Wuellner to
mean that early Christian discourse, regardless of the milieu
in which it developed, is neither Greco-Roman nor Jewish,
but sui generis. W. Shiner accentuates the communal nature
of rhetoric, depending as it does for its efficacy upon speaker
75
• NUMBER 1 • JANUARY 2007
and hearers, upon provider and receptors; “applause lines”
(as in Mark’s Gospel) mark out the emotional response of
the audience. These few examples provide only a taste of the
many insights to be discovered by a careful reading of these
essays whose subject matter is often arcane but whose impli-
cations, both theoretical as well as practical, can have impor-
tant repercussions for the study of the Bible.
Casimir Bernas
Holy Trinity Abbey
CHRISTUSBEKENNTNIS UND JESUSÜBERLIEF-
ERUNG BEI PAULUS. By Detlef Häußer. Wissenschaftli-
che Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament, 2. Reihe, 210.
Tübingen, Ger.: Mohr Siebeck, 2006. Pp. 416. €74.00, ISBN
3-16-148962-4.
In this revised dissertation, Häußer seeks for the
tradition-historical and theological relation of Jesus and
Paul. According to him, Paul knew “much of the Jesus-
tradition, which is concerned with Christology.” Paul could
have acquired this knowledge very early in Damascus and
Jerusalem. This result leads Häußer to the hypothesis that
there is “a tradition-historical continuity and a real confor-
mity” between Paul and Jesus concerning their Christologi-
cal concepts as well as their concepts of paraenesis.
According to Häußer, the development of the basic aspects
of Christology were finished in the fourth decade of the first
century CE, and “substantial elements of Pauline Christol-
ogy can be traced back to Jesus himself respective to the
tradition about him”. This means, in turn, that the different
concepts of Christology, which were developed later in early
Christianity, are reducible to a common basis of traditions
and do not trace back to contradictory formulas and confes-
sions or “in a deep, unbridgeable cleft between different
groups led by (different) apostles”. It is questionable, how-
ever, whether this monocausal explanation can sufficiently
illuminate the development of differently accentuated Chris-
tological concepts in early Christianity.
Thomas Witulski
University of Münster
THE CONVERSION OF THE IMAGINATION: PAUL
AS INTERPRETER OF ISRAEL’S SCRIPTURE.
By Richard B. Hays. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005.
Pp. xx + 213. $20.00, ISBN 0-8028-1262-7.
Hays follows up his influential Echoes of Scripture in the
Letters of Paul (1989) with this collection of ten essays. Pre-
viously published in a variety of sources, they have been
revised and bibliographically updated. Hays argues that
Paul’s interpretation of scripture is at the heart of his theol-
ogy, and that modern readers whose imaginations have been
converted, as was Paul’s, will be more faithful readers of
Israel’s scripture. Some essays are thematic (“Scripture and
Eschatology in 1 Corinthians,” “The Law in Romans 3–4”);
some survey a corpus (“ ‘Who Has Believed Our Message?’
Paul’s Reading of Isaiah,” “Christ Prays the Psalms: Israel’s
Psalter as Matrix of Early Christology”); others focus on a
 Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 33
single text (“Psalm 143 as Testimony to the Righteousness
of God”). Hays identifies five key elements in Paul’s inter-
pretative practice: Paul reads Scripture pastorally,
poetically, narratively, eschatologically, and trustingly.
Highly recommended for seminary libraries and research
collections.
Robert F. Hull, Jr.
Emmanuel School of Religion
WOMEN AND MARRIAGE IN PAUL AND HIS
EARLY INTERPRETERS. By Gillian Beattie. Journal for
the Study of the NT Supplement Series, 296. New York: T &
T Clark, 2005. Pp. xii + 181. $120, ISBN 0-567-03050-4.
The title of this revised Manchester dissertation is more
or less self-explanatory, but the range of texts examined is
fairly narrow. Consideration of Paul’s teachings on women
and marriage is confined to 1 Corinthians. Three Deutero-
pauline documents (Colossians, Ephesians, 1 Timothy) and
four Nag Hammadi texts (Gospel of Philip, Exegesis on the
Soul, Hypostasis of the Archons, Gospel of Thomas) con-
stitute the basis for Beattie’s study—heavily influenced by
R. Rorty’s pragmatist approach to interpretation—of Paul’s
reception among his “early interpreters.” In asserting con-
trol over the Corinthians by gauging the authenticity of their
faith in terms of their responses to his commands, according
to Beattie, Paul unwittingly provides inspiration for the
views of the “orthodox” and the “heretics” that come later.
Beattie’s analysis of the Nag Hammadi texts suggests that
the view of Gnosticism as a protofeminist, antimarriage
movement is unsustainable. The strength of this study lies
not so much in any original reading of Paul or in its survey
of his influence—indeed, the section covering extracanonical
literature identifies only a few citations of Pauline texts in
this corpus—but in the case it makes for dismantling the
category of “Gnosticism.”
Patrick Gray
Rhodes College
A WOMAN’S PLACE: HOUSE CHURCHES IN
EARLIEST CHRISTIANITY. By Carolyn Osiek and
Margaret Y. MacDonald with Janet Tulloch. Minneapolis,
MN: Fortress Press, 2005. Pp. vi + 345. Cloth, $35.00, ISBN
0-8006-3690-2; paper, $20.00, ISBN 0-8006-3777-1.
The past twenty years of scholarship has produced a
tremendous number of studies on women in early Christian-
ity. To some extent, and given the androcentric, elite, and
rhetorical nature of the majority of literary sources, a certain
pessimism regarding what we can know about these ancient
women has developed. Osiek, MacDonald and Tulloch com-
bat this pessimism by engaging studies on the Roman family
(especially B. Rawson’s work), material evidence as well as
the literary sources (with clear attentiveness to the risks
involved in moving from text to social history) that recon-
structs an ancient house church in which domestic women
played very important roles. The book also tackles some of
the “polarities” that have arisen in the study of women and
76
• NUMBER 1 • JANUARY 2007
Christian origins. For example, rather than taking the posi-
tion that early Christianity was either patriarchal or con-
sisted of a “discipleship of equals,” the authors join others
who think that Christianity participated in a “movement
toward greater social freedom for women” but that it was not
the source of such freedom. The polarity of “ascetic versus
domestic lifestyle” also comes under scrutiny as the authors
show that married or widowed women likely had significant
roles in the early Christian movement, but that this reality
has been obscured by an emphasis upon virginity and
female celibacy. The independently authored chapter by
Janet Tulloch is a wonderful exploration of some banquet
frescoes in the catacombs of Marcellino and Pietro. In sum,
this is an excellent book, recommended for a wide audience
including undergraduates and scholars of the ancient world
in general.
Alicia Batten
Pacific Lutheran University
JUNIA: THE FIRST WOMAN APOSTLE. By Eldon Jay
Epp. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2005. Pp. vii + 138.
$16.00, ISBN 0-8006-3771-2.
The central thesis of this short book is that textual criti-
cism and exegesis affect one another. Epp persuasively
demonstrates this through his focus on Rom 16:7 (the refer-
ence to Junia/Junias) and its history of interpretation from
the early church to modern times. He works through a vari-
ety of debates, including the accentuation of the name, the
contracted name theory, the presentation of the name in
Greek NT and English Translations as well as the reference
to the figure as “outstanding among the Apostles.” Epp
shows clearly that the name Junia is female, and that she is
an apostle, who is indeed “outstanding among the apostles.”
It is only in relatively recent history that some interpreters
have either turned Junia into a man or demoted her to being
“known to the apostles.” Epp scrutinizes these latter conclu-
sions politely, but not without a poke here and there. The
book might work with upper-level undergraduates. How-
ever, this little gem should be required reading for semi-
nary and graduate students as it provides evidence for
women’s significant roles in the early church and for the
crucial importance of both textual criticism and the history
of interpretation/translation for any serious study of the
Bible.
Alicia Batten
Pacific Lutheran University
RESURRECTING JESUS: THE EARLIEST CHRIS-
TIAN TRADITION AND ITS INTERPRETERS. By
Dale C. Allison, Jr. London: T & T Clark, 2005. Pp. xi + 404.
$100.00, ISBN 978-0-567-02900-3.
The six essays in the present volume have a varied
history. “The Problem of Audience” has not been previously
published. The others, “Secularizing Jesus,” “The Problem of
Gehenna,” “Apocalyptic, Polemic, Apologetics,” and “Resur-
recting Jesus,” have appeared in print in one form or another.
 Religious Studies Review • VOLUME 33
The last mentioned, on the resurrection, is by far the longest
(177 pages) and could easily have formed a treatise by itself.
In it, Allison provides a masterful overview and critique of
recent studies on the resurrection. Included are massive
bibliographical references to a vast amount of the relevant
secondary literature. Numerous are Allison’s insights and
well-fashioned phraseology: comments on folklore, objective
and subjective visions, comparable visions of deceased per-
sons, the mixture of the historical and the legendary in the
resurrection accounts, the use of social psychology to ascer-
tain the state of mind of the disciples, and so forth. Allison’s
nuanced conclusions will not satisfy everyone, but no one
who seriously studies the resurrection of Jesus can ignore
this treatise by reason of its scope, its methodology, and its
fairness to all sides in the debate.
Casimir Bernas
Holy Trinity Abbey
LOOKING FOR LIFE: THE ROLE OF “THEO-
ETHICAL REASONING” IN PAUL’S RELIGION. By
John G. Lewis. New York: T & T Clark, 2005. Pp. x + 297.
$130.00, ISBN 978-0-567-04272-9.
In this revised edition of his Oxford PhD dissertation,
supervised by R. Morgan, Lewis attempts to demonstrate
Paul’s consolidation of Christian belief and practice, doc-
trine, and morality. Hence his coinage of the phrase “theo-
ethical reasoning.” Lewis works with the usually accepted
seven authentic Pauline epistles. In them, Paul uses uniform
reasoning to consolidate his moral strictures. The basis for
this process is the experience that he has had of the risen
Christ. In order to experience the life of Christ, the Christian
must follow in Christ’s footsteps. To prove his points, Lewis
discusses theology and ethics in Paul, identifies the theo-
ethical reasoning exemplified in 1 Cor 1:1-4:21, shows how
experience and conduct interact in 1 Cor 5:1-16:24, and dem-
onstrates Paul’s search for life in Christ and not in the Law
(Galatians). Lewis concludes that Paul should be seen as a
pastoral theologian who uses apocalyptic perspectives to
bring about the upbuilding of Christian communities
through the power of God in conformance with the example
of Christ. It is a question of conduct being the outcome of
belief. Agap6, the self-giving love for others, is the touch-
stone; all is to be done in the imitation of Christ. Although
the results of this treatise may appear banal, they do provide
detailed exegetical foundations for truths that are taken for
granted by anyone with a modicum of knowledge about
Christianity and the NT.
Casimir Bernas
Holy Trinity Abbey
THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS: JOHN DOMINIC
CROSSAN AND N. T. WRIGHT IN DIALOGUE.
Edited by Robert B. Stewart. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress
Press, 2006. Pp. xix + 220. $18.00, ISBN 978-0-8006-3785-9.
The volume begins with the transcripts of a face-to-face
encounter between the traditionalist Wright and the liberal
77
• NUMBER 1 • JANUARY 2007
Crossan that took place on March 2005 at a forum held at
the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Although the
positions of each protagonist concerning the resurrection of
Jesus are already well-known from their voluminous writ-
ings on the subject, the forum provided them an opportunity
for further clarification and at the same time permitted eight
other scholars to make their own salient contributions to the
debate: C. A. Evans, R.t B. Stewart, G. R. Habermas, R. D.
Geivett, C. L. Quarles, A. F. Segal, W. L. Craig, and T. Peters.
Crossan himself brings up the rear with an appendix. The
finely drawn distinctions that have accompanied recent dis-
cussions of the resurrection are amply evident: historicity of
the empty tomb; the nature of the appearances; the necessity
of resurrection for Christian faith. It is hardly a surprise that
none of the essayists agree completely with either Wright or
Crossan, but their sympathies, as I read them, for the most
part veer toward the position of Wright. In any case, this is
a marvelous contribution to the subject. The oft-contentious
scholarly study of the resurrection of Jesus continues on its
merry way, while the life of the church and of ordinary
believers is (fortunately) nourished by other realities
besides that of academe.
Casimir Bernas
Holy Trinity Abbey
History of Christianity (Early)
THE CAMBRIDGE COMPANION TO THE AGE OF
JUSTINIAN. Edited by Michael Maas. Cambridge, MA:
Cambridge University Press, 2005. Pp. xxxvi + 626. Cloth,
$80.00, ISBN 978-0-521-81746-2; paper, $34.99, ISBN 978-0-
521-52071-3.
A very useful collection of essays on some difficult or
little synthesized subjects, such as Chalcedon and its leg-
acy, Constantinople, administration and economy, law (with
a welcome section on the rising importance of canon law),
philosophy, gender and society, relations with the Papacy,
and literary culture. Here, topics that have traditionally
received more attention, such as art and architecture, Jus-
tinian’s wars, or piety, are approached in new ways. It will
thus be useful to students and scholars in neighboring dis-
ciplines (probably the series’ primary targets), and it defi-
nitely fills a gap in the bibliography. Written by some of the
most innovative scholars in the field, this Companion has
nevertheless missed the opportunity to present an innova-
tive vision of the “Age of Justinian.” The focus is resolutely
Byzantine in the narrowest sense. The last section, “Peoples
and Communities,” groups chapters on Eastern Christians,
Jews, Barbarians, Arabs (“The Background to Islam.”). “Gen-
der,”—neither a “community,” nor exactly a “people”—is
included here. Conversely, Greeks are absent—evidently
deemed neither a “people” nor a “community,” these terms
being in fact used to describe “outsiders.” Rapp’s excellent
chapter on literary culture includes new questions such as
literacy, libraries, the book trade, patronage and authorial
status, making the topic of “literature” much more