Biblical Theology: Past, Present, and Future (I)
Southwestern Journal of Theology
Volume 55, No. 2 – Spring 2013
Managing Editor: Terry L. Wilder
By James W. Thompson. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic 2011. 272 pages. Paperback, $25.
A number of books are currently being written on Biblical issues which spend considerable energy in investigating if the Biblical documents were really all that original or to what degree they reflect the thought world of the times in which the authors lived. This text is one of those types of investigations. The primary concern is to determine the impact of contextualization in the presentation of the concepts addressed. The focus seems to be that the author of this kind of text wants to prove, or disprove, the reliability of the Biblical text in question. The sense in this volume is that James Thompson wants to prove the reliability of the Biblical text. That is, although he spends the majority of his time exploring the contemporary literature of the Biblical writer, his conclusions generally indicate that Paul’s uses of concepts and word choices generally reflected a uniqueness that underscore that his writings were essentially faithful to the concepts of the Law and the Prophets of the Old Testament. Thompson’s perspective indicates that Paul’s ideas also were used dynamically to express concepts that made those who lived in his times, and who knew the kind of literature and teachings of that epoch, able to recognize the uniqueness of his insights. Paul’s concepts and word choices would make his first readers stop and reflect on the newness or freshness of his thought. Nevertheless, at times this kind of investigation proves to test the reader’s faith in Thompson’s quest to verify Paul’s unique contribution in his inspired writings. The most interesting of this kind of exercise is chapter 8, in which he deals with Ephesians and Colossians, which are “disputed letters of Paul.”
Thompson’s conclusion is that Paul’s letters were aimed at forming communities of Christian faith and challenged Christians to reject the culture of their time, while adapting their moral lives to create churches of righteous living people. His assessment is that Paul’s ethic only is functional in a cohesive moral community of believers, who live together in harmony, holding one another accountable and supporting each other. Thompson sustains that Paul’s “ethic of community cohesion is irreconcilable with the focus of individual autonomy in our culture and relevant only for those who live in a corporate identity of the believing community” (212). He asserts that Paul did not provide a comprehensive moral code, but he did set forth an important model for ethical reflection through interpreting the Old Testament in the light of the Christ event.
One of the most interesting contributions of Thompson’s text is that he analyzes the different kinds of moral constructions that Paul utilized for his writings. His introduction focuses on one of Paul’s key moral phrases: “Living worthily of the Gospel.” He then develops chapters that explore Hellenistic Judaism, moral instruction and formation of moral communities, the theology and ethics of the catechesis in 1 Thessalonians, and the role of lists of vices and virtues in the development of moral formation teaching (catechesis). He devotes two chapters to studies on Paul’s use of the Law, in the senses of moral formation of the churches and instruction on the proper use of human passion. He also includes a chapter on the classical issue of love and its proper practices in the formation of Christian communities. This text provides considerable opportunity to explore the thematic concepts in Paul’s writings, even if the underlying methodology is that of a literature comparison with those of his contemporaries.
