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Title: The Theology of the Pastoral Letters by Frances Margaret Young, James D. G. Dunn ISBN: 0-521-37931-8 Publisher: Cambridge University Press Pub. Date: 26 May, 1994 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $25.00

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Average Customer Rating: 4 (1 review)

Rating: 4
Summary: Redeeming the Pastorals
Comment: The Pastoral Letters are among the most reviled and denigrated books in the NT and Frances Young reminds the reader of that often when attempting to mine the theology from these documents.

The fact that a woman was chosen to review these letters is a touch of irony that is not lost on me. And yet, Young does not ride roughshod over traditional interpretations or evaluations of the pastorals but instead makes every effort to explore the "theology in a context" within them.

Theology itself is a difficult starting point because the letters seem to have little of it. Young demonstrates, however, that with the use of the faithful sayings the author(s) is not merely reiterating a past formulation but using it to maintain ideas about the present. There is a coherency between the insistence that the law is good, creation is good and God/Christ is the Savior of mankind. She shows (without using such words) that a concern not to lose the continuity between Creation and Redemption was a high priority for the author.

More interesting still is her analysis of teaching in the ancient world and the role it played in the household and society and how the ideas of teacher and teachings is related to the issues at hand. Young never goes so far as to say that the author is doing originial theology, but does demonstrate how the use of teachings illustrates the underlying assumptions and presuppositions of those in the author's community.

Young then turns to a discussion concerning church structure. Often times the pastorals are evidence of crystallization of faith and church hierarchy but she shows how the terms episkopos, diakanoi and presbyteroi have not yet reached such a level of conrete "fixedness" as many historians assume by looking backward from the patristic era.

Best of all is the look at how the pastorals were used to salvage the good Paul legends to redeem the memory and thought of the apostle himself from bizarre and distorted fantasies such as "The Acts of Paul and Thecla." The letters were able to form a link between the more gnostic, etheral sounding Paul of Romans, 1 Corinthians and Philippians to the more rigid catholic church fathers.

Young ends her book with an attempt to mediate a discussion between those who would reject the pastorals outright as anti-feminist and those who would maintain the patriachialism of its traditional view. Her discussion fails at many points, in my opinion, but it is a worthy try and a provocative read.

I would recommend this book, but it is extremely difficult to find as it is out of print. I waited several months just to find it. Happy searching.