Recherche – Detailansicht
Ausgabe: | Januar/2022 |
Spalte: | 73–74 |
Kategorie: | Neues Testament |
Autor/Hrsg.: | Skinner, Christopher W., Gupta, Nijay K., Johnson, Andy, and Drew J. Strait[Eds.] |
Titel/Untertitel: | Cruciform Scripture. Cross, Participation, and Mission. |
Verlag: | Grand Rapids u. a.: Wm. B. Eerdmans 2021. 286 S. Kart. US$ 35,00. ISBN 9780802876379. |
Rezensent: | Stefan Paas |
In the (re)discovery of the »narrative« and »dramatic« nature of soteriology, the American New Testament scholar Michael J. Gorman (born 1955) has played an important role. In a series of monographs, from Cruciformity (2001) to Participating in Christ (2019), Gorman has made a major contribution to the theology of Paul, exploring key concepts like »participation« (koinonia), suffering, theosis, being in Christ, etcetera. Taking his point of departure in crucial narrative passages such as Philippians 2 and Romans 6, Gorman has consistently shown how Paul’s view of salvation was essentially »dramatic«, inviting us to »participate« in Christ’s sufferings by serving others, thus becoming transformed into Christ’s nature. In this way his work is an ongoing exposition of Irenaeus’s adage that God became human so that we can become God, that is, partakers of the divine nature. Clearly, this perspective sits well with the 20 th-century »Copernican turn« (David J. Bosch) in missiology towards mission as participation in the missio Dei.
While Gorman may currently be the most important Anglophone voice in this development of biblical theology, he is certainly not an isolated voice. The narrative and dramatic trend can be traced back to scholars like Adolf Deissmann, Albert Schweitzer, Robert Tannehill and E. P. Sanders, while it is nowadays advocated by a wide range of biblical scholars such as Richard Hays, Sylvia Keesmaat, Bruce Clark, Michael Wolter and Udo Schnelle.
The book under review makes it amply clear that this lens on Pauline theology is fruitful for New Testament exegesis and for practical theology and missiology. It is a series of generally well-written and carefully argued essays dedicated to Michael Gorman, edited by some of his students and colleagues. All contributors are from the Anglophone world. As Gorman has turned 65 in 2020, I speculate that the volume was composed on the occasion of his retirement, but this is not explained by the editors.
The volume is divided in three parts. The first part contains four essays arguing that the typical Pauline key concepts Gorman has explored so well are also present (in various degrees) in the four Gospels. A (somewhat idiosyncratic) essay by Nijay Gupta on the possibly ambiguous meaning of hegeomai in Philippians concludes this section. The second section explores key concepts of Paul’s theology in three essays. The fourth essay is a very stimulating analysis of participation themes in 1 Peter by Dennis Edwards. The third and final section is devoted to »mission« topics. Besides a somewhat isolated (and, frankly, unrelated) contribution by N. T. Wright on Psalm 87 as a »missing link« in Galatians 4, we find five exegetical essays on what it means to participate in the mission of God, according to John, Paul and the author of Revelation. At the risk of caricature, all the essays end up with emphasizing the crucial role of a community that »performs« the narrative of Christ who suffers for the world, while expecting the redemption of creation. This is essentially a social view of soteriology, focusing on peace-making (see the challenging contribution by Drew Strait) and bridge-building.
As Sylvia Keesmaat explains in her very readable essay (which may suffer from some political correctness, though), such a soteriological view is highly relevant in our deeply polarized societies. As a missiologist I believe that this concentration on peace-making and reconciliation has the potential of bringing crucial dimensions of Christian soteriology into focus again. In a post-Christendom world it has become increasingly difficult for the vast majority to accept or even understand a traditional Protestant message of individual sin and justification. Relocating this message in its original Pauline context of participating in Christ through reconciliation, peace-making and community-building may lead to a renewed understanding of sin, powers, grace, forgiveness and suffering as dimensions of the cosmic drama of God’s mission. God’s mission takes place in the tension between the kingdom vision of a reconciled humanity on the one hand and our impossibility to build genuine community in a world so full of conflict. The word of the cross does not make much sense unless we enter the realm of genuine community building, that is, the realm of human impotence. Embarking on community building is to enter a cruciform yet hopeful space. It is to Michael Gorman’s credit that he has explored this perspective so persistently.