Recherche – Detailansicht
Ausgabe: | Juli/August/2017 |
Spalte: | 741–742 |
Kategorie: | Bibelwissenschaft |
Autor/Hrsg.: | Norelli, Enrico, u. Averil Cameron |
Titel/Untertitel: | Markion und der biblische Kanon. Christian Literature and Christian History. |
Verlag: | Berlin u. a.: De Gruyter 2016. IV, 53 S. = Hans-Lietzmann-Vorlesungen, 11/15. Kart. EUR 19,95. ISBN 978-3-11-037405-6. |
Rezensent: | Judith M. Lieu |
This slim volume comprises the Hans Lietzmann Vorlesungen given in 2009 by Enrico Norelli, and in 2013 by Averil Cameron. Whereas previous Vorlesungen were often expanded for publica-tion as single volumes, these (27 and 25 pages with a 14 page introduction to the series and authors by Christoph Markschies) are presumably closer to the lectures as given: the necessities of length and financial realism rather than any inherent interconnectedness be-tween them have determined their combination.
Enrico Norelli, well-known for his work on early, especially the so-called »apocryphal«, Christian literature, is author of a range of important articles on aspects of the thought of and the use of scripture by Marcion, although unfortunately not all of these have been adequately utilized in the recent vigorous interest in him. There-fore »Markion und der biblische Kanon« is particularly welcome for providing a succinct account of how N. understands the logical development of Marcion’s thought and its expression in his promotion of a Gospel and Pauline letter corpus. N. locates Marcion within the early transformation of the questions of whether one can be both »Jew« and »Christian«, and of what place »Judaism« has once »Christianity« is established. N.’s Marcion is driven by the central »radical message of love« to be directed to friend and stranger; humankind’s inability to achieve this turns the spotlight on the one who so created them, and thence on the character of the creator God as displayed in the scriptures (the »Old Testament«) that Marcion had received. This God could not be the originator of the Gospel, who sent his Son to offer those who believed the love of God, liberating them from the Creator’s thrall. Marcion, according to N., was convinced that this truth was to be found in the collection of Pauline letters with which he was already familiar, and that Paul’s appeals to »my Gospel« referred to one of the current Gospels, namely Luke. Yet both corpus and Gospel had been subject to falsification, originating in the apostolic age (Gal 2), obscuring the utter antithesis between »grace and law« or between »faith in Jesus and the hebraic-Jewish religion« (14), and so they required correction. Alongside this fundamental conviction was Marcion’s emphasis on written text as opposed to oral tradition as alone authoritative — a position whose novelty N. underscores by comparison with Papias. In a careful discussion, N. rejects the view that Marcion was a (the) founder of the canon of the New Testament, both as deploying an anachronistic notion of »canon« and as ignoring the continuing textual activity by his followers. A more productive question for N. is the function of a collection of normative texts for the system of Marcion or of the »orthodox« church. As appropriate for a public lecture N. avoids confrontation with alternative understandings of Marcion or detailed citation of primary sources; but this is a ju- dicious and coherent account, accessible to students as well as scholars, while those wishing to delve more deeply will find in the, sometimes lengthy, footnotes a fruitful entrée.
Averil Cameron takes a different approach to »Christian Literature and Christian History«. How do we understand or where do we locate the writings which are our main focus whether as church historians, patristic scholars, doctrinal or dogmatic historians, historians of religion, scholars of Late Antiquity (perhaps more common in anglophone universities) …? C. traces some of these vari-ables in the history of the discipline, and asks in particular what it might mean to consider »early Christian literature as literature« (36). In brief compass she reviews critically three approaches: a functional reading of its rhetorical strategies to support particular doctrinal positions or to construct a distinct identity; a cultural emphasis on its aesthetic qualities in an age of literary experimentation; and its use as a theological conversation partner. She illustrates the issue with reference to the long tradition of self-styled Christian »dialogues«, asking how they should be categorized in terms of genre, context, and intention; in so far as they adopt a phil-osophical guise, what contribution can they make to the intellectual history of Late Antiquity; are they harshly univocal or trans-parent of genuine plurality and interchange? For C. these approaches mark a significant shift in the intellectual, confessional, and disciplinary arena, even compared with Hans Lietzmann’s wideranging interests and expertise, but it is one with exciting potential.
As these essays illustrate, the Hans Lietzmann Vorlesungen represent the mature insights of significant scholars, bringing together for an interested audience the results of their more technical scholarship, or laying out a programme for future explora-tion. It is to be hoped that their publication can continue.