What Is Man? A Journey through Biblical Anthropology by Fearghus Ó Fearghail and Adrian Graffy

Abstract

Reviewed by: What Is Man? A Journey through Biblical Anthropologyby Fearghus Ó Fearghail and Adrian Graffy Donald Senior the pontifical biblical commission What Is Man? A Journey through Biblical Anthropology(trans. Fearghus Ó Fearghail and Adrian Graffy; London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 2021). Pp. 366. £19.99. This is the latest document of the Pontifical Biblical Commission (PBC) and may be its longest to date. For those less acquainted with the role of the PBC, it is a commission of some twenty biblical scholars from all over the world intended to serve as a resource on biblical matters for the Vatican Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith and, through the Congregation, for the pope himself. First established under Pope Leo XIII, it evolved under Pius X as a monitor for Catholic biblical scholarship at a time when the church was highly suspicious of the reductionist spirit associated with historical biblical criticism. Over time, particularly under Pius XII, the monitoring role gave way to a more constructive approach. After the Second Vatican Council, Paul VI placed the PBC under the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith and confirmed its purpose as a Vatican resource on biblical interpretation. In recent years, the PBC has produced a series of expansive statements on such topics as various methods of biblical interpretation, on the key role of the Jewish Scriptures in the Christian Bible, on the moral horizons of the Bible, and on biblical inspiration. Several of these topics were expressly requested by the reigning pope (e.g., on the Jewish Scriptures by John Paul II, on inspiration by Benedict XVI); this latest presentation on biblical anthropology was requested by Pope Francis. These documents derive from the intertwined contributions of the PBC's members. Typically, the work of producing the document takes two or three years, beginning with an agreement on the overall format, and then various members producing papers on specific aspects of the topic, and finally the weaving together of this disparate material into a coherent text. The end result is that the PBC's statements are thorough, more like a state of the question than innovative, and, at times, their style reflects the somewhat patchwork nature of the production. [End Page 506] In this instance, however, the PBC's study of biblical anthropology has a unique and rich format. As stated at the outset, the document takes its cue from the account of human origins in Genesis, particularly chaps. 2–3, but with substantial reference to Genesis 1–11. The focus is, therefore, primarily on OT texts. Basic motifs from the Genesis account that reflect fundamental descriptions of what it means to be human, and the essential relationships that define the human, are described across the major components of the Bible: the Torah, the prophetic literature, and the wisdom traditions (often with particular attention to Psalms). Each segment, however, ends with the exemplification of the motif in the Gospels and in the letters attributed to Paul. The document states that its overriding methodology is that of "narrative theology"; however, this term should be taken in a very broad sense—distinguishing the document's thematic approach from a more systematic or philosophical analysis. The contents of the document are rich and accessible to the broad audience it has in mind: "members of theological faculties, catechists, students of the sacred sciences." Broad expositions of biblical motifs are bolstered (in smaller type) by incisive technical analyses of key texts (e.g., a thorough discussion of the nuance of the term "image" of God in Gen 1:26). The document is arranged in four "chapters" or major sections: (1) The Human Being as Created by God (both frail and of the earth but also in the image of God); (2) The Human Being in the Garden (taking up topics of food, work, and relationship with animals); (3) The Human Family (love between husband and wife, between parents and children, and between "brothers and sisters" understood broadly); (4) The Human Being in History (God's commands; human obedience and transgression; God's intervention in history and ultimate salvation in Christ). The opening "chapter," taking its cue from Genesis 1–11, sets the tone for the entire document and...