Book review

Social-Science Commentary on the Letters of Paul

Authors: Bruce J. Malina, John J. Pilch
Publisher: Augsburg Fortress, 2006
Paperback: x + 417 pps.

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Augsburg

Thanks to the great folks at Augsburg Fortress for this review copy! I'm quite interested in the 'world' in which the NT authors lived in (i.e., their socio-economic background, customs, worldview, attitude, etc.) and so this seemed to be a good book to look at to see how they understand Paul from that perspective. First, a quick caveat: they are adamant that only seven letters are Paul-authored and the rest are possibly second, third, or even fourth-generation "Jesus-group documents"! I'm not sure how I feel about that, but since this review is not dealing with that issue, I won't stir that hornets' nest. Therefore, this commentary only looks at those seven letters. Second, the writers are equally convinced that a phrase such as Ἰουδαῖος οὐδὲ Ἕλλην in Gal. 3:28 are not referring to racial distinctions between Jews or Gentiles, but refers instead to "Judeans," ones practicing Judean traditions, and "Hellenists," those civilized folk characterized by the use of the common Greek language.

As the title suggests, this is a commentary, so each chapter is devoted to each of the seven letters of Paul. The big plus for me in this book was the chapter that followed these sections, what they titled 'Reading Scenarios for the (Authentic) Letters of Paul' (Seemed like they really wanted to drive home this point...) This section focuses on anthropological themes that help to interpret the letters. Some of the topics mentioned are: challenge-riposte, purity-pollution, collectivistic personality, demons-demon possession, encomium, and patronage system. There's much more, but you get the idea. Again, this is a commentary, not a book meant to be read cover to cover, so I think it is a good supplement to understand some of the things that are going on the NT world. I'm sure I'll look at this book from time to time to see what social conventions might have been detected in the Pauline letters.

Recommended!

Zeitgeist

Nine eleven. Is there any other date in the 21st century that has been so world-changing as that day in 2001? Everyone that knows me knows that my memory is terrible, and yet I distinctly remember where I was, what I was doing, and can recall to this day watching all of it on TV in disbelief.

We just started talking about Zeitgeist in my class, which is a fancy German word for the 'Spirit of the age.' An example of Zeitgeist in the US would be the 'Sexual Revolution' of the 60s, the 'Red Scare' of the 40-50s, etc. There's been some other blogging about 9.11 by Nick Norelli and Brian LePort here, and I guess my attempt to add to that discussion is: how has that day altered the Zeitgeist of our world? Your country? Your life?

We will never forget.

New season begins with a pop... sort of.

College football season is back! Hoping my alma mater UCLA can do a little better this year and not be completely overshadowed by our crosstown rival. I know every year has its highlights and drama, but I've never seen a season begin with such a bang:



After Boise State romped Univ of Oregon 19-8, running back LeGarrette Blount, who in August claimed that his team "owe[d] that team an ___ whuppin'" gave in to his emotions, punching Byron Hout right in the jaw. Just about a day later, Oregon suspended Blount for the remainder of the season (bowl games included) which effectively ends his college football career.


If this is any indication of the level of intensity this year is going to bring, count me in! (minus the unsportsmanlike conduct.)

California dreamin'

When I talk to people outside of Southern California, they think sunny skies, palm trees, amazing weather, and the beaches. My friends from LA who move elsewhere always get the, "Why did you ever move out of there? It's so nice!" Oh, and they especially think earthquakes. Be that as it may, I think they forget, SoCal is basically a urbanized desert with a whole bunch of trees/shrubs that are ready to burn.

While the Florida Panhandle has the hurricane season, the Midwest has the tornado season, we got the fire season:

Not so dreamy now is it?

HT: Boston.com

Book review:

Honor, Patronage, Kinship & Purity: Unlocking New Testament Culture

David A. deSilva, 336 pages
IVP Academic
ISBN: 978-0-8308-1572-2
~$20.
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IVP Press
Half.com

David A. deSilva is Trustees' Professor of New Testament and Greek at Ashland Theological Seminary in Ashland, Ohio. He has published numerous books already, and in this book he attempts to "provide a concise guide to some of the more prominent and prevalent aspects of the culture that gave birth to the early church", that is honor, patronage, kinship, and purity. The book is divided into eight chapters, in which deSilva investigates one particular aspect in the world at large in one chapter, then follows up that chapter with a look at how that is then applied throughout the New Testament.

Chapters 1 and 2: Honor & Shame
deSilva does a good job here to help the readers encounter the honor and shame culture that was the 1st century world. He also looks into the language of honor and dishonor in the first-century Greco-Roman world (in which the first century Jewish world would be a subset). He also brings to light the fact that honor was also tied to group values; that individuals tried to display virtues that found approval from the group and simultaneously avoided vices that brought dishonor and shame from the group. The second part of this section is deSilva's look into how honor and shame was formulated by the early Christians.

Chapters 3 and 4: Patronage & Reciprocity
Personally, I think these chapters were the most intriguing part of the book, as patronage is a concept that is very foreign to our world today, and yet, it is a concept that continues to draw my interest. Here deSilva overviews some relevant material in the Greco-Roman world that well portrays this institution that so dominated the first century world. deSilva focuses most of his attention in the NT chapter (ch. 4) on how God is our benefactor and the proper response Christians are to display to that beneficience.

Chapters 5 and 6: Kinship
If chapters 3 and 4 were the most interesting, chapters 5 and 6 were the most fulfilling to read. I just recently wrote a paper that talked about elements of kinship language found in the Thessalonian correspondence, so these chapters were a good review again of this great aspect of NT culture. deSilva looks into how kinship is reconstituted in the Christian community and in his conclusion he states,

"Our churches will be better equipped to serve as vessels of God's love and favor as we adopt and help one another in the church keep before their eyes the "ethos of kin" that Jesus, Paul and the other New Testament voices instruct Christians to take up toward one another. Many Christians are less than kin and less than kind to one another. Violations of the spirit of unity and of the command to put the interests of the other ahead of a person's own interests need to be addressed gently but forthrightly in the context of the vision the New Testament gives us of what the church could be..."

Chapters 7 and 8: Purity
In these sections, deSilva looks into the concept of "pollution" and how the concept of "holy" and "pure" has been skewed in our post-Reformation, post-Enlightenment era. He does an excellent but brief survey of Jewish material that helps to understand how early Christians understood the concept of "sacred space" and how some lines regarding purity and holiness have been redrawn in the Christian community.


Final thoughts:
All in all, this is an excellent survey of four important aspects of NT culture that may be overlooked often in our readings of the NT. My only wish was that he included more primary sources in his book, but my guess is that he aimed this book to be semi-academic; so as not to be so esoteric that it is beyond the grasp of serious readers of the Bible, but not so elementary that it would be overlooked as a serious work of a scholar. Highly recommended!

Out of Africa

After getting on 10 planes on 4 different airlines, 3 continents, and unending security checks, I've returned from Kenya!

Some pictures:









I have so much more, but I guess this is it for now! I am very exhausted/jetlagged, so goodbye for now.

Off to Africa.

For a few weeks, I will be gone to: Kenya/Zanzibar! For those of you that are unfamiliar with where in the world that is:

















Very excited to spend some time in the Maasai Mara reserve:




So in the meanwhile, please read my other posts and talk to you all when I get back!