De Jerusalén a Roma: La marginalidad del cristianismo de los orígenes ed. by Rafael Aguirre

Abstract

Reviewed by: De Jerusalén a Roma: La marginalidad del cristianismo de los orígenes ed. by Rafael Aguirre Robert F. O'Toole rafael aguirre (ed.), De Jerusalén a Roma: La marginalidad del cristianismo de los orígenes (Estella: EVD, 2021). Pp. 264. Paper €23. The contributors to this collection belong to the Grupo de Investigación sobre los Orígenes del Cristiano, which uses an interdisciplinary literary and theological approach to [End Page 532] the text, with support from the social sciences, history, cultural anthropology, sociology, and social psychology. They contend that "marginality" proves insightful and corresponds with the interdisciplinary nature of the study; the idea refers to a group that lives in a society without becoming isolated within it. Such a group, however, does not share that society's chief and established values. Rather, it willingly embraces a marginal position in which other values and social transformation can be promoted. Carmen Bernabé Ubieta ("El reino de Dios y su propuesta desde la marginidad creative"), opening the volume with a presentation of the figure of Jesus, carefully addresses the idea of "marginality" and strives to determine what is at the heart of Jesus's experience and thinking. The kingdom of God is not an empty discourse but a real and productive activity and renovation that formed around Jesus, the marginal Jew. Carlos Gil Arbiol ("La ciudadanía del cielo: Una propuesta marginal in Filipenses") contends that, for Paul, "the citizenship of heaven" was a kind of translation of the phrase "the kingdom of God," a marginal space that offered an alternative to the empire and an invitation to proclaim and to be citizens of a new world. Estela Aldave Medrano ("'Mi Reino no es de este mundo' (Jn 18,36): Marginalidad en el cuarto evangelio") concludes that the Fourth Gospel understands reality and human behavior differently from the imperial status quo. The Gospel calls for peace, the rejection of physical violence and military oppression (14:27; 18:11, 36), and views mistreatment and public mockery as honorable and claims that the weak Jesus is the one who has conquered the world. According to Rafael Aguirre Monasterio ("La piedra rechazada"), after the resurrection the marginality of Jesus and his followers was in a context that looked to a new and surprising horizon; they dreamed that another world was possible, one that created social alternatives for a better human existence. The rejected stone became the cornerstone of a new building with totally transformed human relationships. Sergio Rosell Nebreda ("El Apocalipsis: Visión de un mundo nuevo") holds that the prophecy of the Book of Revelation demands the active participation of those who hear it. To rise above the false ideals that the world has embraced is never easy. John does not tell us how to do it, but therein lies the force of his challenge. Each generation must discern its time, patiently resist the threats that confront it, and turn to the true center who is, was, and will be. David Álvarez Cineira ("El cristianismo romano según 1 Clemente") points out that the community of 1 Clement did not present itself as a sect claiming to possess the truth and separating itself from the rest of society. Rather this community showed a certain elitism and a positive attitude toward the empire, justified by scriptural arguments. In the history of Christianity, this pragmatic strategy of 1 Clement allowed Christianity to adapt and transform the empire. Fernando Rivas Rebaque ("Marginación en Ignacio de Antioquía") shows how St. Ignatius of Antioch opposed marginality within the Christian communities. Ignatius identified those groups that opposed the truth and the plan of God; he advocated unity; and he defended Christian communities from every internal danger, which he saw as extremely serious. He thereby established a new type of leadership in the churches, a protective leadership incarnated in the bishop. For Elisa Estévez López ("El trabajo y el dinero en las comunidades marginales de los orígenes"), the evidence from 70 to 190 c.e. offers a general view of the location and [End Page 533] identity of the Christian communities in the various parts of the empire. During this time, Christians...