Badenas, Roberto

English

Andrews University

BOOK REVIEWS 157 Watts next prepares a set of ranked criteria for identrfying Christian churches. These, again, are divided into internal and external evidence, and twenty-six highly-possible sites are identified using these criteria. The chapter on Christian symbols and inscriptions was fascinating. Watts discusses not only commonly accepted symbols, but presents rare ones, the recognition of which increases the recognition of Christian sites. Some of this may belong only to the realm of speculation. At this point, eleven links between pagan religions and practices and Christianity are discussed, from the shape of churches to adopted and adapted symbols. Watts suggests that there are so many similarities that it is likely this had the effect of making Christianity fairly inconspicuous and therefore more acceptable to pagans. Christianity came to Brit& as a Roman religion, and it seems to have been stronger in the more romanised areas. The latent paganism in the rural areas seems to have contributed to the disappearance of Christianity there during the Saxon period which followed Rome's withdrawal from Britain. The author states that the withdrawal of Rome from Britain precluded missionary effort since that was dependent on the patronage of the emperor and the protection of the Roman army, and, without these, success would have been impossible. I am unable to agree with her in this assumption. Watts concludes her book by indicating areas for possible future research, including re-examination of material held in museums. Using her criteria for identification, she feels that many more Christian sites can be recognized. She is probably right. Lincoln, CA 95648 BETTY JO BAERG Winger, Michael. By What Law? The Meaning of nomos in the Letters of Paul. SBLDS, 128. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1992. xiv + 236 pp. $44.95. What is the meaning of "law" in Paul? of the Mosaic Law? of the Old Testament? of the whole of Israel's sacred tradition? of law in general? Since none of the classical answers apply to a l l  passages (for instance, where do you fit Rom 7:25, nomos hamartias?), Winger has explored in his doctoral thesis (Columbia University) a new way of determining the sense of this key term. His methodology (chap. 1) works on the basis of a "lexical-semantic" approach to terminology. His procedures for the analysis of meaning--dealing mainly with the differences between meaning, reference and assertion, and the problem of multiple meanings-are inspired on the models of C. K. Ogden, I. A. Richards, and particularly C. S. Pierce, departing slightly from J. Lyons' semantic distinctions, despite the fact that they would seem more useful. In chaps. 2-4, Winger examines the components of meaning in nomos as used by Paul, through quite a comprehensive survey of lexicons, dictionaries, and scholars. His own investigation is based on key patterns of usage, namely paratactic and syntagmatic patterns, the use of nomos with genitive and with the article, compared with usage elsewhere in the NT and other literature. 158 SEMINARY STUDIES On the basis of this analysis, the author infers that the meaning of "law" in Paul has seven different semantic components: 1) is verbal; 2) is a standard for judgment; 3) is a guide to conduct; 4) controls; 5) is tied to a particular people; 6) has a source; 7) people put themselves under it (35, 51-52, 197). He concludes that nomos in Paul usually refers to Jewish law, although it never loses its Greek meaning of law in general (197), as it appears in Rom 2:14d; 4:15b; 5:13b and 7:2a, 3, 21. The conclusions reached are tested in chaps. 5 and 6 through a detailed examination of two passages in which nomos is prominent: Gal 2:18-21 and Rom 7:14-25. According to Winger, the law in Galatians would refer to Jewish law seen as a human institution, directly associated with the people of Israel. It is "the way of life of the Jewish people rather than the command of God" (158). In Rom 7:14-25, where Paul discusses the condition of Christians, "law" would refer also to the Jewish law in this sense (196). Thus "nomos is what Jews do. To be a Jew is to do nomos , and to do nomos is to be a Jew" (109). Departing from those who explain Paul's abandonment of the law on the ground that its peculiar requirements (circumcision, food laws, the Sabbath, etc.) were a practical hindrance to Gentile conversion (and particularly against F. Watson, Paul, Judaism and Gentiles, Cambridge: University Press, 1976, 28-38), Winger dares his own theological conclusionS "In setting Jewish nomos against the background of the many nomoi which are to be found in the world Paul makes Jewish nomos-like every nomos, like nomos as such-one of those things tou kosmou against which, according to 1 Corinthians 1, things tou theou are to be contrasted" (20 1). Since the author does not deal with the implications of this interpretation of the law in Paul's theology-which departs very slightly from the results of other antinomian interpretation-many questions remain unanswered, among them: What is the relation of nomos to God? Therefore, despite the valuable insights of this thesis, the controversy on Paul and the law is far from being settled. Institut Adventiste Collonges-sous-Salive, France 

By What Law?: The Meaning of Nomos in the Letters of Paul [review] / Michael Winger.

https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2164&amp;context=auss

By What Law?: The Meaning of Nomos in the Letters of Paul [review] / Michael Winger.

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