Here’s a short review of Boyarin’s 2004 book. The review notes the two powers theology and Boyarin’s use of it in this work.
Archive for the ‘Book Reviews’
Review of Important Book Relevant for Two Powers in Heaven Study
The book is that of Simon Gathercole: The Preexistent Son: Recovering the Christologies of Matthew, Mark, And Luke
Obviously, the focus of the work is the New Testament’s Christology, but there is a good deal of interaction with Second Temple material. Not much on tracing the two powers idea into the Old Testament and Israelite religion, but no one does that (which is why I had a good dissertation topic). I really need to get those articles out this year!
New Book by Susan Garrett
I just purchased this book:
After flipping through the Scripture and Author indexes (a habit of mine with anything related to Two Powers in heaven or the divine council), I have mixed feelings. On one hand, Dr. Garrett interacts with Alan Segal, Charles Gieschen, and Darrell Hannah, all of whom have written important books related to the relationship between “exalted mediators” in Judaism and high Christology. That’s the good news. But there’s an amazing oversight that mars this “plus factor.” Incredibly, the work of Larry Hurtado is cited ONCE in the entire book. I can’t understand how anyone can write a book like this and leave Hurtado off the radar. Good grief.
The (additional) bad news is that Dr. Garrett (and she’s not alone here) seems to never have entertained the notion that Jewish binitarianism / the Two Powers in Heaven / exalted mediator figures might have something to do with Israelite religion and it’s binitarian divine council structure. I can’t really say I’m surprised here, since that was my dissertation focus, and up to that point (2004) I’d never seen anyone address this. But the oversights here are (again) glaring:
- Psalm 82 is reference ONE time in the running text
- Other standard divine council scenes are not mentioned
- Well known scholars who have written much on the divine council (Mark Smith, Simon Parker) aren’t even in the index at all.
This book proves once again how insular scholarship in this area is. Dr. Garrett is a NT specialist, and so I can’t expect her to know anything about the divine council. What I DO expect is that she would have surmised that the exalted angel motif MIGHT have an antecedent in Israelite religion, and then to go looking. Doesn’t seem like she did that at all.
I know these remarks are critical, but I still recommend the book (and will read it with interest) because it is evident that she does address the NT side of the coin. Half a treatment is better than none. I just have to wonder if her work really adds anything to Gieschen, Segal, and Hannah. For their books (in case you are unfamiliar with them) are:
Two Powers in Heaven: Early Rabbinic Reports About Christianity and Gnosticism
Recent Review of Margaret Barker’s Work
Margaret Barker, as many of you know, has contributed to the discussion of the divine council and the two powers in heaven theology. Her contributions have come from various articles, but also several books, namely the two below:
The Great Angel: A Study of Israel’s Second God
You probably also know that I’m a fan of Barker, but a critical one at that. A review of her recent book Temple Themes in Christian Worship
“I have only briefly described the chapters in this book because, while there are many rich insights into temple worship in Israel, overall I found myself quite dissatisfied with this work. Barker’s process lacks solid argumentation, evidence, and a clear methodology. The work progresses by inference and an accumulation of text references without establishing the necessity that these texts be read intertextually. Statements are simply made without providing sufficient, and sometimes any, evidence in support. The accumulation of texts certainly suggests what Barker is proposing, but suggestion is not the same as evidence.”
“While I find Barker’s conclusions questionable due to lack of methodological argument and evidence, nonetheless this work would provide a fascinating starting point for any potential doctoral student in Old or New Testament studies or early Christian writings. In particular, her chapter entitled “Cup and Covenant” is worthy of more critical study. Barker’s suggestions about temple themes open up possible lines of further research to test the validity of her claims. It may be that her insights are well-founded, but this book leads me to describe these as intuitions rather than solid conclusions.”
Enjoy!
