Jonathan T. Pennington and Sean M. McDonough, Cosmology and New Testament Theology (New York: T & T Clark, 2008), x +213 Pps., $130.00.
Jonathan T. Pennington is Assistant Professor of New Testament Interpretation, Southern Seminary, Louisville, KY. Sean M. McDonough is Assistant Professor of New Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, USA. Recent years have witnessed the publication of a vast amount of material on New Testament theology. It is ironic, however, that there has not been much emphasis placed upon the topic of cosmology in recent years, much less so the cosmology of the NT. This title seeks to fill, at least in part, this lacuna. The goal of this project is to systematically examine the NT documents to inquire as to how cosmological language and concepts inform, interact with, and contribute to the specific theological emphases of the various books found therein. The editors have adopted a survey format, ranging through the canon book by book (or at least by author) in the hope that this volume will facilitate this type of detailed investigation in the future (4). Following the introductory overview by Adams, there are ten essays that address the various component books of the NT corpus that all seek to answer the same essential question: what cosmological language and concepts does the author employ, and how does this cosmology affect and impact their theological points? In what follows, salient points from the individual chapters will be highlighted, and then a summation as to the volume’s usage, audience, and worth shall be provided.
Edward Adams begins the volume with an overview of Graeco-roman and ancient Jewish cosmological positions. He notes that cosmology seeks to explain the origin, structure, and end of the physical universe, and therefore should be of interest to NT studies. Of importance, he correctly draws attention to the fact that it is errant to assert that Greek thinkers from Plato onwards denigrated and despised the material world (18). In chapter two, ‘Heaven, Earth, and A New Genesis: Theological Cosmology in Matthew’, Pennington contends that Matthew somewhat mimics Genesis in that it served to construct a world-creating, foundational story of reality, understood anew through the person of Jesus (44). He notes that for Matthew, the entirety of creation is consummated in the God-man, Jesus of Nazareth. Michael F. Bird, in ‘Tearing the Heavens and Shaking the Heavenlies: Mark’s Cosmology in Its Apocalyptic Context’, shows that according to Mark, God has both a Son and a Kingdom that have broken into the demon-haunted world, and they are thereby effecting its transformation, its redemption, and ultimately instigating its re-creation (58). As such, Bird notes that Mark’s cosmology is at once social, religious, and political.
Luke-Acts is explored by Steve Walton in chapter four, who contends that Luke’s overall story is that both heaven and earth are transformed through Jesus and by the Spirit. Walton focuses upon the shift of perspective that Jesus’ ascension brings, and how that is developed by Luke. In the course of his essay, Walton highlights where Luke explicitly dialogues with rival accounts of cosmology, particularly those that center on the Jerusalem Temple, paganism, and the role of Caesar. Edward W. Klink elucidates the cosmology of the Johannine literature, highlighting the cosmic drama found therein. He acknowledges that the enigma of john is not where he ends, but where he begins: that Jesus is the Light of the World and the Word of Life (89). A most enlightening essay (dare I say the most beneficial in the volume!) regarding select letters of Paul follows, entitled ‘Paul’s Cosmology: The Witness of Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, and Galatians’, is written by Joel White. Paul offers us little in the way of direct descriptive language about the world, and thus White avers that we cannot claim with any precision how Paul understood the structure of the universe. However, he does list some broad generalizations regarding Paul’s cosmology that are illuminating to mention: 1) God created the cosmos in their entirety; 2) Christ is the agent of creation in the cosmos; 3) The cosmos was created to bring glory to God; 4) Human know enough about the cosmos to be obliged to worship its creator; 5) there is a hierarchy of order between God, humanity, and the cosmos; 6) sin, in some manner, has disrupted this hierarchy; 7) God will restore the present cosmos at the eschaton; 8) this restoration is already effected, but yet to be consummated; and 9) the restoration will be complete at the return of Jesus (94–106).
Robert L. Foster’s essay, ‘Reoriented to the Cosmos: Cosmology & Theology in Ephesians Through Philemon’, investigates the language used by the authors of Ephesians through Philemon to structure a vision of the universe as it relates to God. Fosters concludes that God works in the cosmos in the past, present, and future on behalf of his people, and the immediate sign of their future hope is the manifestation of the Spirit within their lives (124). Jon Laansma undertakes a study of ‘The Cosmology of Hebrews’ in chapter eight. A key conclusion of Laansma is that the author of Hebrews is convinced that the end has already begun in and through the resurrection of Jesus (142). In the study of the most pragmatic letter within the NT, James, James Darian argues that James sees the universe as competing between two dipolar worldviews: the ‘world’ and the one associated with ‘God’. James’ cosmological language is ‘line-drawing’ language that renders a map of theological reality; a perfect relationship with God requires separation from the ‘world’s’ defilement (156).
John Dennis provides an introductory account of cosmology in the Petrine Literature and Jude within the tenth chapter of this volume. He concludes that the cosmological language in these letters serve theology, ethical formation, and social transformational purposes (177). Noting that Revelation is the ‘Climax of Cosmology’ within the NT, McDonough highlights the presence of cosmological thought behind every phase and transition of the book. He concludes that despite obvious discontinuities, there are a number of continuities with the present creation and the new creation that awaits us who believe (188). Interestingly, he asserts that Revelation supports an amillenial interpretation of the eschaton, and that the reprobate are ‘eternally irrelevant’ (184).
All of the various essays support the notion that cosmology was regularly employed by the biblical authors, implicitly or explicitly, for the purpose of making important theological, polemical, and exhortational points. Several themes emerge from the individual studies, including the way that cosmological language forms Christian identity, the duality of heaven and earth, and the hope of the eschaton. In sum, this volume is to be highly recommended for readers in NT theology, as it serves to fill a void in present research, though I wished the authors would have addressed the presence and function of (possibly) mythic language in the letters of the NT