{"id":10949,"date":"2018-05-19T05:46:53","date_gmt":"2018-05-19T09:46:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/?p=10949"},"modified":"2018-05-08T02:21:42","modified_gmt":"2018-05-08T06:21:42","slug":"book-notice-jerry-sumney-on-steward-of-gods-mysteries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2018\/05\/book-notice-jerry-sumney-on-steward-of-gods-mysteries\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Notice: Jerry Sumney on Steward of God’s Mysteries"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/a>Jerry L. Sumney<\/strong><\/span>
\nSteward of God\u2019s Mysteries: Paul and Early Church Tradition<\/strong><\/em><\/span>
\nGrand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2017.
\nAvailable at Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

In this book, Jerry Sumney critiques those scholars who suggest that Paul was a second founder of Christianity or even a radical innovator in creating Christianity. Sumney particularly has in his sights Hyam Maccoby, Barrie Wilson, and James Tabor. Sumney\u2019s approach is to set up some criteria for what counts as traditional material and then to look at Paul\u2019s use of tradition material pertaining to Jesus\u2019 death, the identity of Jesus, salvation, the Lord\u2019s return, and Lord\u2019s Supper.<\/p>\n

Sumney concludes that Paul offers no evidence about branches of the church that did not give a central place to interpreting Jesus\u2019 death, Paul witnesses to a complex and exalted christology among churches earlier than and independent of Pauline influence, churches outside of Paul\u2019s influence regarded Jesus as a mediator of forgiveness, redemption, and justification, Paul largely inherited traditions about Jesus\u2019 parousia and Jesus cast as the eschatological judge, and Paul was not the inventor of a cultic meal that memorialized Jesus.\u00a0 Sumney concludes:<\/p>\n

Paul is not, then, the author or originator of the early church\u2019s theology. He seldom develops new assertions about Christ\u2019s nature or work or other theological doctrines beyond what is found in the traditions he cites. He seems to have contributed little to the development of those doctrines. His influence and his genius are seen in the ways he is able to bring those beliefs into new environments. He is able to draw implications from those beliefs that further explicate a belief or show its relevance to an ethical issue. He is the person we see responding to new questions and problems that predominantly gentile churches raise. He takes what the church confesses about God, Christ, salvation, or some other topic and uses it to argue for how belie3vers in his churches should relate to the world around them, conduct their own assemblies, and understand their own fate. He is not the first to bring gentiles into the church without requiring the same kind of Torah observance that Jews keep, but he provides a theological foundation from the church\u2019s already believed confessions and liturgies. He is not the first to assert that God had raised Jesus from the dead, but he draws out the implications of that belief for the eschatological hope of believers. Neither is he the first to claim that\u00a0Christ had ascended to God\u2019s right hand, but he does draw implications for how to live as the church from that response to God to Christ\u2019s self-giving death. And while he is not the one who authored the liturgy for the Lord\u2019s Supper, he uses it to correct unacceptable behaviour at the communal meal (pp. 173-74).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

All in all, a very helpful book about Paul as a receptor and interpreter of traditions, rather than a radical innovator. If you like this book, I would also recommend Benjamin A. Edsall, Paul\u2019s Witness to Formative Early Christian Instruction\u00a0<\/em>(WUNT 2.365; Tubingen: Mohr\/Siebeck, 2014).<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jerry L. Sumney Steward of God\u2019s Mysteries: Paul and Early Church Tradition Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2017. Available at Amazon.com In this book, Jerry Sumney critiques those scholars who suggest that Paul was a second founder of Christianity or even a radical innovator in creating Christianity. Sumney particularly has in his sights Hyam Maccoby, Barrie […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":196,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nBook Notice: Jerry Sumney on Steward of God's Mysteries<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Jerry L. Sumney Steward of God's Mysteries: Paul and Early Church Tradition Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2017. Available at Amazon.com In this book, Jerry\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2018\/05\/book-notice-jerry-sumney-on-steward-of-gods-mysteries\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Book Notice: Jerry Sumney on Steward of God's Mysteries\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Jerry L. Sumney Steward of God's Mysteries: Paul and Early Church Tradition Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2017. Available at Amazon.com In this book, Jerry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2018\/05\/book-notice-jerry-sumney-on-steward-of-gods-mysteries\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Euangelion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/michael.bird.33\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-05-19T09:46:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-05-08T06:21:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/41utnYwrcZL._AC_US218_.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michael F. Bird\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@mbird12\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Michael F. Bird\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2018\/05\/book-notice-jerry-sumney-on-steward-of-gods-mysteries\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2018\/05\/book-notice-jerry-sumney-on-steward-of-gods-mysteries\/\",\"name\":\"Book Notice: Jerry Sumney on Steward of God's Mysteries\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-05-19T09:46:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-05-08T06:21:42+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/#\/schema\/person\/db6f6af97b8c96ade6856573d1e67fb3\"},\"description\":\"Jerry L. Sumney Steward of God's Mysteries: Paul and Early Church Tradition Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2017. Available at Amazon.com In this book, Jerry\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2018\/05\/book-notice-jerry-sumney-on-steward-of-gods-mysteries\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2018\/05\/book-notice-jerry-sumney-on-steward-of-gods-mysteries\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2018\/05\/book-notice-jerry-sumney-on-steward-of-gods-mysteries\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Book Notice: Jerry Sumney on Steward of God’s Mysteries\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/\",\"name\":\"Euangelion\",\"description\":\"A Post-Post-Modern Blog On Scripture, Faith and Following Jesus\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/#\/schema\/person\/db6f6af97b8c96ade6856573d1e67fb3\",\"name\":\"Michael F. Bird\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/33985cd4f41e365813d809405f3d6acf?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/33985cd4f41e365813d809405f3d6acf?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Michael F. Bird\"},\"description\":\"Mike Bird is Academic Dean and Lecturer in Theology at Ridley College in Melbourne, Australia.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/michael.bird.33\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/@mbird12\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UC21I7qYVHPsOzL9ujxiRWZA\",\"brandygrenier\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/author\/mbird\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Book Notice: Jerry Sumney on Steward of God's Mysteries","description":"Jerry L. Sumney Steward of God's Mysteries: Paul and Early Church Tradition Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2017. Available at Amazon.com In this book, Jerry","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2018\/05\/book-notice-jerry-sumney-on-steward-of-gods-mysteries\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Book Notice: Jerry Sumney on Steward of God's Mysteries","og_description":"Jerry L. Sumney Steward of God's Mysteries: Paul and Early Church Tradition Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2017. Available at Amazon.com In this book, Jerry","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2018\/05\/book-notice-jerry-sumney-on-steward-of-gods-mysteries\/","og_site_name":"Euangelion","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/michael.bird.33","article_published_time":"2018-05-19T09:46:53+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-05-08T06:21:42+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/41utnYwrcZL._AC_US218_.jpg"}],"author":"Michael F. Bird","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@mbird12","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Michael F. Bird","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2018\/05\/book-notice-jerry-sumney-on-steward-of-gods-mysteries\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2018\/05\/book-notice-jerry-sumney-on-steward-of-gods-mysteries\/","name":"Book Notice: Jerry Sumney on Steward of God's Mysteries","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-05-19T09:46:53+00:00","dateModified":"2018-05-08T06:21:42+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/#\/schema\/person\/db6f6af97b8c96ade6856573d1e67fb3"},"description":"Jerry L. Sumney Steward of God's Mysteries: Paul and Early Church Tradition Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2017. Available at Amazon.com In this book, Jerry","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2018\/05\/book-notice-jerry-sumney-on-steward-of-gods-mysteries\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2018\/05\/book-notice-jerry-sumney-on-steward-of-gods-mysteries\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2018\/05\/book-notice-jerry-sumney-on-steward-of-gods-mysteries\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Book Notice: Jerry Sumney on Steward of God’s Mysteries"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/","name":"Euangelion","description":"A Post-Post-Modern Blog On Scripture, Faith and Following Jesus","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/#\/schema\/person\/db6f6af97b8c96ade6856573d1e67fb3","name":"Michael F. Bird","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/33985cd4f41e365813d809405f3d6acf?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/33985cd4f41e365813d809405f3d6acf?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Michael F. Bird"},"description":"Mike Bird is Academic Dean and Lecturer in Theology at Ridley College in Melbourne, Australia.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/michael.bird.33","https:\/\/twitter.com\/@mbird12","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UC21I7qYVHPsOzL9ujxiRWZA","brandygrenier"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/author\/mbird\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/196"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10949"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10949\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}