390 - Commentary On Galatians

Commentary On Galatians
By Ragnar Bring
Translated by Eric Wahlstrom
296 pp. Philadelphia, Muhlenberg Press, 1961. $4.50.

The output of commentaries on the epistle addressed to the Churches of Galatia is perennial. When the layman is told that since the days of the Reformation over one hundred and twenty-five commentaries have been written on this one epistle be is tempted to say, "What chance has the common man to understand a writing like this if a whole library of books is required to explain it?" The reply is obvious. It is not obscurity of meaning that requires all this scholarly attention. The magnetism of this letter is like a star of first magnitude. Its timeless treatment of persistent human questions draws the attention of great minds: Does God veritably speak to men? On what grounds does God accept

391 - Commentary On Galatians

men? What really makes men free? These are the questions with which the Reformers of the sixteenth century wrestled. Not content merely to accept the testimony of Luther or of Calvin, scores of great souls have beaten their own paths to the same waters where the Reformers slaked their thirst. This, it would appear, is why Ragnar Bring, Professor of Systematic Theology at the University of Lund, and one of Sweden's foremost theologians, has written this commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians. His work is published as one of a series of Swedish expository writings for which Anders Nygren has written on Romans and H. Odeberg on the Epistles to the Corinthians.

Like the Reformers, Ragnar Bring is interested primarily in the theological aspects of this epistle. He does not engage directly in linguistic or critical exegesis but he does not ignore these disciplines. He subordinates the discussion of textual or historical matters to the exposition of ideas and teachings, yet the reader is kept informed as the study proceeds. As to the location of the Churches of Galatia, Bring is open minded although he leans toward the south. He prefers to identify the visit to Jerusalem described in Galatians 2: 1-10 with the Acts chapter 15. As for the shipwreck of Paul's grammar on the hidden rock of the Judaisers' counsels (Lightfoot), he follows the approved canon of textual criticism that the more difficult reading must be accepted as the authentic one, even if it involves an anacoluthon. He refuses to characterize Paul's argument in Galatians 3: 20 as artificial or rabbinic, spurious, or incorrect. Rather he seeks to explain Scripture by Scripture. He cites the Shema of Deuteronomy 6: 4-6 as the most appropriate Old Testament parallel to "God is one" here, thus giving a realistic touch to the exposition of Paul's thought.

The paragraph by paragraph commentary is introduced by three important essays: The significance of the letter in the history of theology; Freedom from the law; and the law and the Scriptures. The general principles expounded here lay a splendid foundation for the exegetical studies which follow since they bring into sharp relief the opposing points of view between the Pauline Gospel and the teachings of Paul's opponents in Galatia which the letter is designed to correct. The repetitious character of Ragnar Bring's style of writing tends to become monotonous but his treatment of the most distinctive aspects of Christian faith and Christian ethics as taught by Paul in the epistle to the Galatians is both incisive and convincing.

Howard Tillman Kuist
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton, New Jersey