Inculturation of the Jesus tradition: the impact of Jesus on Jewish and Roman cultures

Abstract

Inculturation of Jesus Tradition: Impact of Jesus on Jewish and Roman Cultures, by Graydon F. Snyder. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 1999. Pp. x + 247. $26.00. In this book, Snyder is investigating how Christians chose to express their message forms their cultures could understand, and ways which Christianity impacted dominant culture. scope of author's investigation is quite broad, taking only cultural elements revealed NT documents but also aspects of material culture of Greeks, Romans, Jews, and Christians first three centuries of common era. is provocative, filled with very detailed facts and data, filled also with generalizations that differ significantly from what one is likely to read commentaries. may be helpful for reader to begin with final chapter, to get a feel for where arguments are headed. Snyder proposes that kerygmatic materials were united with culture three broad streams-the Jesus, Paul, and John traditions. Jesus tradition (by which Snyder means Synoptic Jesus) attempted to rearrange Jewish and Roman values, substituting an alternate cultural matrix. Pauline tradition relativizes cultural values and practices... take your place society, but do take it seriously (p. 203). tradition of John is to strip Jesus of any cultural references, so that he could be assimilated by any culture (pp. 2050. As generalizations, these characterizations are an interesting way to see differences between Synoptics, Paul, and John. His description of Pauline tradition is best of three: though not argument of 1 Cor 7:29-31, things to -all people passage of 1 Cor 9:19-23, and devaluation of status markers in Christ all support Snyder's reading. deculturizing interpretation of John is simply another way of stating Dodd's point Interpretation of Fourth Gospel (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970), that author of Fourth Gospel deliberately chose multivalent symbols and titles for Jesus. But with respect to what he calls Jesus tradition, his rubric is very helpful. He states that Jesus tradition attacked Jewish dietary laws, restored those separated from their communities by Jewish purity codes, and abandoned Jewish calendar (pp. 202-3). For example, he argues that the Jesus tradition does hold to Jewish sense of female uncleanness. woman with flow of blood was rebuked for touching Jesus, nor did Jesus refrain from touching and healing a young woman presumed (p. 181). I think that this, like other treatments of Gospel healings, misreads purity codes and Gospel stories. woman with issue touched many throng, just Jesus-nobody rebuked her. If Jairus's daughter were dead and Jesus touched her, he would be putting himself same position as her parents-hardly reception of an outcaste, and hardly a radical act of overcoming barriers. Snyder has misrepresented both purity codes and Gospel narratives by this interpretation. In addition, he has, like Tatian, made one collage from several distinct points of view. He states, The Jesus tradition rejected Jewish menu, giving Mark 7:14-23 and Matt 23:25-26 as evidence. Certainly Mark's Gospel presents Jesus as declaring all foods clean, but Matthew's Jesus does not. Matthew's Jesus excoriates Pharisees for neglecting justice, but clearly does set aside any part of Torah. He also states It does seem likely that Jews and Gentiles ate at same table (p. 155). Actually, we know that Paul, Barnabas and Peter did (Gal 2:11-13), and examples of Jews who served as civic leaders first-century Greek towns almost demands that there were some Jews who ate with Gentiles. With respect to Paul, it is case that he never confronts dominant culture. In Romans 1, Paul makes his judgment of its corruption part of his argument that salvation Jesus is necessary. …