Bruce J. Malina. Christian Origins and Cultural Anthropology: Practical Models for Biblical Interpretation. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1986. v + 230 pp (original) (raw)
Related papers
Bruce J. Malina and Models of Cultural Anthropology
"Bruce J. Malina and Models of Cultural Anthropology," in Pillars in the History of Biblical Interpretation, Volume 3: Further Essays on Prevailing Methods, edited by Stanley E. Porter and Zachary K. Dawson, 354–83. McMaster Biblical Studies Series 6. Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2021.
The People Called: The Growth of Community in the Bible
Journal of Biblical Literature, 1988
This book elaborates upon a beautiful insight of T. S. Eliot, expressed in the couplet: "There is no life that is not in community, And no community not lived in praise of God." In pursuing this rich theme throughout the story of God's grace-filled dealing with ancient Israel and with the new community of faith which proclaimed "Jesus is Lord," Hanson of Harvard has given us an attractive interpretive principle for bonding OT and NT. And the quest for a unifying structural principle has been realized without falling into the trap of stressing the uniqueness of Christianity to the point of overlooking its roots in the ancient heritage or, conversely, of emphasizing continuity to the point of obscuring the radical newness of Christianity. A delicate balance must be preserved, I believe, between the traditional and the creative; H. has done this and, perhaps more importantly, has established a trajectory from the biblical ideal of community to our contemporary concerns. To put this in his concluding words: "If we open our eyes to the community of faith that took shape in biblical times, the way in which we look on the communities of faith of which we are a part will be radically transformed" (546). From Abraham to the present as well as to the indeterminate future we are a people called. The great theological syntheses of Eichrodt and von Rad come to mind, but H. is not offering us a theology of the OT on such a grand scale. He aims at something less, and more. On a narrower gauge he selects one theme, that of community, as a unifying thread guiding his treatment of the biblical writings. This community is defined by a triad: righteousness, compassion, and worship. These three elements, of course, are not static; they undergo lively development as Israel responded to a God who was perceived as active in her history. Yahweh was a righteous God who had created order out of chaos and then bound a people to Himself in a covenant marked by a burning concern for the rights of its members. Decalogue and Holiness Code are concrete examples. But legislation is not enough. A standard of justice must be tempered by the warmth of compassion which reaches out to the weak, the poor, and the marginalized, offering them a share in God's peace. Finally, H. shows how the righteousness and compassion of God become vibrantly 735 736 THEOLOGICAL STUDIES alive in Israel's worship. In the cultic celebration of Yahweh's gracious acts the community transformed the potentially disruptive tension between the first two qualities into a generative force capable of molding a people into an agent of God's purpose in this world (74). But the vision of a people called does not stop with the OT. In chaps. 13 and 14 the classical triadic pattern is reaffirmed in the response of Jesus to what he interpreted as the new initiative of God in establishing the kingdom. A final chapter reflects upon the abiding value of recapturing a faith-inspired vision of community which worships a righteous and compassionate God. In passing let me note that anyone studying the recent pastoral letter of the U.S. bishops on the economy will find here illuminating biblical material under the headings of "righteousness," "compassion," and "peace." I regret that my praise of this remarkably rich and well-indexed synthesis cannot be unqualified. In my review copy I have marked in red over 160 typographical errors, a distressing departure from the high standards we have come to expect from Harper & Row.
The Fruits without the Roots? Postmodern Group-Identity in the Light of Biblical Anthropology
The Biblical Annals
The origins of modern western societies are indubitably rooted in Judeo-Christian values that generated a unique form of civilization over the course of almost two-thousand years. These values have as their core-belief that humans are created in the image of God. This notion deeply influenced views on human identity and on human rights. Since the rise of modernity, these religious roots of the western world-view have eroded gradually as a consequence of secularization. While society increasingly became cut off from its own roots, the fruits of the former world-view were still accepted as desirable. However, emerging post-modernity appears to be in the process of not only losing the roots, but also rejecting the fruits of Judeo-Christian values. As a consequence, human identity is evermore perceived as consisting of – often conflicting – group-identities. The aim of this study is to discover whether biblical anthropology can shed light on the functions of groups within a given soc...
'Milbank's work is a tour de force of systematic theology. It would be churlish not to acknowledge its provocation and brilliance.' Times Higher Education Supplement 'Its orchestration is stunning in scope as well as in harmonics.' Modern Theology 'John Milbank's sprawling, ambitious and intellectually demanding book is in a class of its own.' Studies in Christian Ethics 'John Milbank has written a masterful review of the development of modern social thought that at the same time offers a criticism of its dominant paradigms and suggests inherent limits on its accomplishments.' Journal of Religion 'It is of a remarkable intensity and intellectual scope, it is a book of the highest importance for the ongoing debate between Christianity and modernity.' Reinhard Hutter,