BOOK REVIEWS
John Hughes
BOOK REVIEWS
69
the differences between this and his other letters, nor the close parallels with
Ephesians. The conversational narrative form in which the contents of
Colossians is direcdy related to contemporary issues has the merit of bringing two widely distanced worlds into immediate conversation, thereby
removing some of the strangeness of the first century whilst setting out the
challenges of the gospel. I applaud the authors' imaginative attempt in this
difficult enterprise.
One of the problems of setting the gospel message within the narrative
of the story of Israel (not unique to this publication) is that this brief
retelling of the story of Israel can easily be distorted so that we are left
simply with a takeover of the identity and heritage of Israel by the Church.
I could see no signs of such an outcome in this volume. I did question,
however, whether the myth that Israel was in exile until New Testament
times was not suggested by the statement 'Under that shadow Israel longed
for a true return from exile . . .' ( the shadow referred to was the experience
of empire) (p.69). I am always suspicious when scholars supposedly writing
about historical events have to enlist the aid of adjectives such as 'true'.
'Post-exilic' is still a valid term in Old Testament study in the works of leading scholars such as Rolf Rendtorf or Walter Bruggeman (who is listed as
having read some of the early drafts of parts of this book).
Although I recognise the merits of this creative writing and its conscious
attempt to promote the Christian message, I am still somewhat uneasy
about the rapid transition from exegesis to contemporary ethics that the
adopted format entails. As to readership, I hope it will reach the muddled
and those not yet committed to faith, but I suspect it will serve more towards
confirming in faith those already on the way. Personally, I wonder how such
an approach would apply to a longer letter such as, for example, I Corinthians.
University of Wales, Lampeter
William S. Campbell
Thomas P. Rausch, Towards a Truly Catholic Church: An Eccksiology for the Third
Millennium.
Collegeville, Minnesota: Michael Glazier/Liturgical Press, 2005. Pp. xii, 235.
$24.95.
In this book, Rausch offers the reader an ecclesiology developed from
his own perspective (an American Jesuit and Professor of Catholic Theology) heavily influenced by the voices of other academics, from Orthodox,
Protestant and Evangelical traditions.
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