Saturday Afternoon Book Review: Bruce Longenecker

Last updated on: February 5, 2011 at 11:02 am by Scot McKnight

Saturday Afternoon Book Review: Bruce Longenecker 2011-01-29T11:09:24-06:00 Scot McKnight

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Bruce W. Longenecker, Remember the Poor: Paul, Poverty, and the Greco-Roman World.

Reviewed by Wes Vander Lugt

PhD candidate, University of St Andrews

Caring for the poor is a prominent theme throughout the Bible, but some argue that the apostle Paul is an exception to the rule. According to this perspective, Paul’s main concern was the Gospel of Jesus Christ to which the plight of the poor was a peripheral issue. Is this perspective accurate, or does it misread and misunderstand Paul’s concern for the poor? If this is a question that you have wrestled with, then Remember the Poor is a great book for you. Through careful reasoning on a range of exegetical and historical issues, Longenecker seeks to dispel this myth and to demonstrate that concern for the poor was central to Paul’s message and ministry.

Longenecker begins by describing the socio-economic dynamics in first-century Palestine: an advanced agrarianism with power resting in the landowning elite and a large segment of manual laborers existing at subsistence levels. It was a culture of “elite acquisitiveness,” the elite becoming more elite by gaining more power. The Hebrew prophets condemned unrestrained acquisition, and Jesus took it to a radical new level, condemning honor gained through unjust means that trampled the poor. Longenecker resists simplistic, binary models of the first-century socio-economic spectrum, however, preferring more nuanced models based on careful research rather than rhetorical preferences. He proposes a detailed scale of economic distribution, modifying earlier proposals by Scheidel and Friesen, while warning that generalizations of this nature still lack appropriate nuance.

Despite economic bifurcation, charity was not altogether absent in the Greco-Roman world, but was mostly limited to almsgiving on the basis of various motivations. Longenecker insists that those who present a stark, charity-less portrait of the Greco-Roman world are seduced by sensationalist, black-and-white historiographies with no attention to gradations and shades of gray: a good reminder for any historian.

In the second half of the book, Longenecker addresses texts and paradigms directly related to Paul’s concern for the poor. If both the Old Testament and the Gospels include a plethora of passages regarding the poor, is there a shift in the letters of Paul? Did Jesus and Paul really have different perspectives on this? Several particular passages suggest otherwise: 2 Cor 9:13, Gal 6:20, 1 Thess 5:14, Rom 12:13, 1 Tim 5:3, 6:18. But no passage is more contested than Galatians 2:10, where Paul recounts the elders’ admonition to “remember the poor.” One common interpretation is to identify a particular group of Ebionites in Jerusalem as “the poor.” Longenecker opposes this interpretation, partly because it only appeared after the 5th century contra Tertullian, Origen and Athanasius, but also because it does not fit with the literary-historical and rhetorical context of Galatians. In sum, Paul certainly made a special collection for the poor (not just the Ebionites) in Jerusalem (Cf. Acts 24:17), but this was something Paul was already doing in other places, for both Jews and Gentiles.

Longenecker convincingly argues that Paul’s overall care for the poor was not dismissive, but intrinsically connected to “Spirit-inspired, cruciform morality.” Whereas circumcision was non-essential, care for the poor was an essential element of faith for early Christian communities. In the latter chapters of the book, Longenecker applies his economic models developed earlier to Christian communities, and provides the historical background for understanding the communal generosity permeating the New Testament. This generosity was neither an expression of communism nor mere charity, but care for each other as members of a new community, the rich having an opportunity to give and the poor an opportunity to receive. Whereas this generosity was primarily directed to those within Christian communities because of the vast needs, Longenecker maintains that care for the poor outside the Christian community is not excluded (Cf. 1 Thess 5:15).

In the last chapter, Longenecker attempts to tie up some loose ends, including Paul’s personal economic status, which can be identified as moderately secure, although Paul intentionally adopted a lower status for the purpose of gospel ministry. Indeed, Paul’s personal generosity extended far beyond giving to the poor, and included his willingness to suffer and even die for his Christian family. Perhaps the most beneficial part of this last chapter is the summary of Longenecker’s arguments (298-99), which emerge throughout the book but are not always articulated succinctly.

Readers without an interest in the academic debates regarding the socio-economic spectrums in the Greco-Roman world or particular exegetical decisions may find this book hard to digest. Some parts of the book will appeal to a more popular audience, but in general this is an academic volume aimed at a scholarly audience. Since biblical studies is not my field of expertise, I am not in a position to evaluate several more technical arguments in the book, but I know enough to appreciate Longenecker’s logical clarity, historical nuance, and exegetical skill.

In addition, there is no doubt that Longenecker’s academic work is relevant to the practical question posed at the beginning of this review. Caring for the poor was important for Paul. In fact, common assumptions regarding Paul’s disregard for the poor are often based on a shallow reading of texts and unexamined assumptions, which are precisely what Longenecker dismantles with his careful study. Consequently, I would be excited to see this material condensed and presented in a palatable way to a wider audience. If the church is going to become fully committed to the urgent task of caring for the poor and needy, deep-rooted assumptions such as Paul’s disregard for the poor need to be put to rest. I am thankful for Longenecker’s work, which has the power to impact important academic discussions as well as the life and mission of Christian communities.

Books

Bruce Longenecker

Previous Post

February 5, 2011

No one has a conference like this...

Next Post

February 5, 2011 For Steelers Fans

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Acts of the Apostles Adam Advent Anabaptism Angels Anglican Apologetics Atonement Baptism BCP Prayers Bible Biblical Studies Birds Blogging Bloglossary Bonhoeffer Books Calvinism Christianity Church Church History Coffee Colossians Commentary Recs Conversion Creation Creeds Culture Death Ecclesiastes Economics Education Embracing Grace Emergent Emerging Movement Eschatology Essays Ethics Eucharist Evangelicalism Family Fasting Fathers Fellowship of Differents Footsteps Tour Fun and Whimsical Gospel Grace Happiness Heaven Hell Holy Spirit Irenaeus James Jesus Jesus Creed Job Justification Kingdom of God Law Lectures Lent Liberalism Love and Marriage Mabanteneni Manhood Mary Miracles Missio Alliance MissioLife Missional Missional Jesus Movies and Film New Perspective Northern Seminary OneLife Origins Project Orthodox Parables Pastor's Spouse Pastoring and Leading Pastoring and Preaching Patristics Paul Paul-John Tour Pharisees Pietism Political Theology Prayer and Formation Preaching Problems for Faith Psalm 119 Psalms Public Issues Purgatory Religions Resurrection Revelation Romans Rule of JCreed Science and Faith Sermon on the Mount Sports Ten Commandments Theology Third Way Top Ten Lists Translations Uncategorized Universalism University Ministry Way Out Weekly Meanderings Wisdom Women and Ministry Work Worship Writing & Blogging Youth Ministry

Select a Month July 2021 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 0000

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who had Samson's hair cut?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Micah Jezebel Medad Delilah