Jesus and Mary Reimagined in Early Christian Literature ed. by Vernon K. Robbins and Jonathan M. Potter

Abstract

Reviewed by: Jesus and Mary Reimagined in Early Christian Literature ed. by Vernon K. Robbins and Jonathan M. Potter Jo-Ann Badley vernon k. robbins and jonathan m. potter (eds.), Jesus and Mary Reimagined in Early Christian Literature (WGRWSup 6; Atlanta: SBL Press, 2015). Pp. x + 351. Paper $44.95. This book of essays developed out of a doctoral seminar led by Vernon Robbins at Emory University in 2013. The essays use Robbins's approach to textual analysis ("rhetorolect") to detect and describe motifs in discourse (pp. 1-2; R. also puts the neologism in quotation marks). He defines the approach as an analysis of "the rhetorical presentation of belief-argument," found in "themes, topics, reasonings, and argumentations" and works with six rhetorolects: wisdom, prophetic, apocalyptic, precreation, miracle, priestly (pp. 15-17). The essays "explore the diverse character of emerging Christian narratives" as a means "to move beyond traditional literary-historical criticism into comparative sociorhetorical exegesis" (pp. 9, 1). In addition to the introduction by the editors, the book includes ten essays: seven focus primarily on priestly rhetorolect (which "features beneficial exchange between God and humans"; p.19) in the Gospel of Luke, the Protevangelium of James, and the Acts of John; and three offer detailed responses from other scholars. Robbins wrote the first two essays on Luke-Acts (both previously distributed). In "Priestly Discourse in Luke and Acts," he collects examples of priestly rhetorolect from Luke-Acts. He concludes that "the basis for forgiveness of sins in Luke and Acts appears to be the 'priestly' ritual of a devout life, rather than a priestly 'blood sacrifice'" (p. 39). In the second essay, "Bodies and Politics in Luke 1–2 and Sirach 44–50: Men, Women, and Boys," Robbins presupposes that different rhetorolects use language referring to bodies in different ways (p. 44). He examines the bodily locations of divine power as found in the first chapters of the Gospel of Luke, concluding that power moves out of the temple by means of the angel Gabriel and the priest Zechariah, and returns with Jesus's visit at age twelve. In this way, power is transformed from priestly to prophetic modalities (p. 62). Christopher T. Holmes ("Who Am I to Be Blessed? Mary as Blessed Mother in the Protoevangelium of James") assumes a dependency of the Protevangelium of James on Luke and analyzes the basis for Mary's blessedness by comparing documents. He concludes that in the Protevangelium of James the depiction has a priestly character, in contrast to its prophetic tone in Luke; Mary's blessing derives from her role as mother (pp. 100-101). Meredith Elliott Hollman ("Temple Virgin and Virgin Temple: Mary's Body as Sacred Space in the Protevangelium of James") also considers the role of Mary in the Protevangelium of James (esp. 7:1–8:1), by analyzing the plot of the text and its relationship to texts in the Hebrew Bible. Hollman concludes that Mary is presented as a holy vessel in continuity with, but surpassing, other holy characters by virtue of her physical purity (virginity) (p. 128). Michael K. W. Suh and Vernon Robbins's essay, "From Prophetic Hymns to Death at the Altar: Luke 1–2 and Protevangelium of James," attends to the ways Luke's four hymns (prophetic discourse) are reconfigured in the Protevangelium of James (priestly discourse). [End Page 737] They conclude that in significant ways, "the high priest Zechariah, rather than his son John, is the forerunner of Jesus" (p. 174), and that the Protevangelium of James offers "an account alternative to the argument in the Epistle to the Hebrews about the 'heritage' of Jesus as 'high priest who gave the perfect sacrifice once for all'" (p. 175). In "Naked Divinity: The Transfiguration Transformed in the Acts of John," Jonathan M. Potter examines the reconfiguration of the transfiguration account (esp. from Luke 9:28-36) in the Acts of John. Potter concludes that each account "uses the transfiguration to develop their own distinctive presentation of the identity and nature of Jesus" (p. 221); Acts of John "removes the prophetic/apocalyptic [elements] and portrays the Lord in his true, precreation essence" (p. 222). Thomas Jared Farmer deals with accounts of Jesus...