Paul's Critique of Theocracy: A/Theocracy in Corinthians and Galatians

Paul's Critique of Theocracy: A/Theocracy in Corinthians and Galatians. By David W. Odell-Scott. London: T & T Clark, 2003. 187 pages.

This book presents a fresh reading of texts from the Corinthian correspondence and Galatians. David Odell-Scott of Kent State University is a philosopher with competence in biblical criticism and exegesis. He argues that Paul launches a radical criticism of theocracy, or an understanding of the church that is dominated by hierarchy and an assumption of spiritual purity and superiority. According to Paul's intention, "Hierarchy is deconstructed" (29).

In method, Odell-Scott (reminiscent of Heidegger) is fond of etymological analysis. For example, "text" is that which is woven; traditional exegetes often unweave, extract threads, and destroy the text. A better method, which Odell-Scott employs, is to "re-ply" to the text, since to "ply" is to weave, and to re-ply is to "re-weave." Also, Odell-Scott, as in his earlier work on 1 Corinthians 14:34-35, believes that understanding the Pauline letters is facilitated by identifying sections where Paul is quoting letters or sources to which he replies. In the course of the book, Odell-Scott considers 1 Corinthians 2:6-15 and 3:16-17 (among other passages) to represent quotations that Paul attacks. Odell-Scott gives special attention to 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1-a text which has puzzled scholars for years. He argues persuasively that the usual solutions-that these verses represent either a Pauline or a non-Pauline interpolation-are inadequate. Instead, Odell-Scott argues that Paul is quoting his opposition.

For Odell-Scott, those under attack from Paul are people who declare, "I belong to Christ" (1 Cor. 1:12). Indeed, Odell-Scott supposes that such an assertion together with the boast of "noble birth" (1 Cor. 1:26) represents the claim of superiority of members of Jesus's family, notably James, along with the pillars mentioned in Galatians 2:9. Odell-Scott concludes, "Paul traced out the means by which theocratic authority was composed, exposing the construction of theocratic value as a mundane quest for power and authority that was always and already empty of theocratic signification" (179).

This is a thoughtful and stimulating book. Regarding method, data for identifying quotations might have been more clearly delineated. Traditional critics may want more development of the issues in terms of historical questions. For example, how does James, who (as Odell-Scott notes) is not mentioned in 1 Corinthians 1:12, relate to the situation in Corinth? Does the strange vocabulary of 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1 suggest some connection with the ideas of the Dead Sea Scrolls, as some scholars have observed? But Odell-Scott is not concerned with this sort of detail. For him, Paul is engaged in a larger battle-a struggle against a Christian pride and imperialism that threatens the essence of the gospel of the crucified Christ. Odell-Scott avoids overt application, but the relevance of his message is apparent.

William Baird

Brite Divinity School

Copyright Christian Theological Seminary Summer 2006
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