506 - Paul, in Other Words: A Cultural Reading of His Letters

Paul, in Other Words: A Cultural Reading of His Letters

By Jerome H. Neyrey

Louisville, Westminster/John Knox Press, 1990. 263 Pp. $19.95.

Neyrey, a friend and colleague in applying social scientific insights to the New Testament, has cast Paul in a fresh light by describing his eastern Mediterranean cultural context. Deftly filtering Paul's letters through a model constructed by Mary Douglas and further refined by himself and other scholars, Neyrey explains in cultural terms Paul's views on order and purity, ritual and boundary making, the symbolic significance of the human body, sin and deviance; suffering and misfortune, and a special aspect of name-calling technically identified in anthropology as " witchcraft."

507 - Paul, in Other Words: A Cultural Reading of His Letters

From this perspective, Paul is culturally far removed from us. To make Paul relevant for the present it is necessary to bridge credibly the gap that separates his culture from ours. Thus, cultural anthropology supplements and controls historical criticism and does not replace or ignore it. "In other words," that is, in cultural perspective, Galatians 3:28 describes the liminal stage of believers while Corinthians describes the stage of reaggregation. Henceforth, other interpretations must take liminality seriously. Readers will enjoy Neyrey's clear and challenging expositions and especially the suggestions for further applications.

John J. Pilch, Biblical Theology Bulletin, Catonsville, Md.