Pettipiece, Timothy

English

Scholars Commons

Consensus
Volume 28
Issue 1 Waterloo Lutheran Seminary Lutheran Life
Lectures 1998-2001
Article 15
5-1-2002
The Manichaean body: in discipline and ritual
Timothy Pettipiece
Follow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus
Part of the Practical Theology Commons
This Book Reviews is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by an
authorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.
Recommended Citation
Pettipiece, Timothy (2002) "The Manichaean body: in discipline and ritual," Consensus: Vol. 28 : Iss. 1 , Article 15.
Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol28/iss1/15
148 Consensus 
In each section of the actual commentary, Marshall offers a 
supplementary bibliography and summarizes how the section fits into 
the overall flow of the text. A short list of textual variants precedes his 
detailed exegetical work of the Greek text. Marshall's word studies and 
syntax analyses are especially useful. He also incorporates and evaluates 
a substantial variety of viewpoints from other scholars' work. Marshall 
is well aware of and sensitive to controversial hermeneutical topics in 
the PE. For instance, in his discussion of women's conduct in the church 
(I Timothy 2:8-15), he effectively summarizes various positions, 
indicating that exegesis is always affected by a priori viewpoints 
(including his own). Marshall's interpretation emphasizes the 
circumstantial nature of the exhortation to particular women who were 
linked with the heterodox teaching addressed throughout I Timothy. 
Whether or not a person agrees with Marshall's hypothesis of the 
origins of the PE, this book is an extremely useful tool in terms of 
clearly articulating the difficulties that critical scholarship has raised, 
reviewing a wide range of twentieth-century interpretations of the text, 
and clearly elucidating the Greek text with careful but generally 
accessible exegetical work. Marshall's approach is balanced, positive 
and useful, particularly for those who desire a solid exegetical foundation 
to utilize the PE for application to the modern context. 
Mona Tokarek LaFosse 
University of Toronto 
The Manichaean Body: In Discipline and Ritual 
Jason David BeDuhn 
Baltimore & London: John Hopkins University Press, 2000 
354 pages, $66.50 Hardcover 
The Manichaean movement began in the middle of the third century 
CE with the teachings of the Persian prophet Mani, who intentionally 
set out to establish a universal church for all of humanity, for which he 
composed his own sacred texts. At the foundation ofMani's theological 
vision was the belief that the cosmos was the tragic product of a conflict 
between the powers of Light and the powers of Darkness, and that the 
ultimate purpose of the pious individual was to assist in the liberation 
Published by Scholars Commons @ Laurier, 2002
Book Reviews 149 
of the Light principle from its cosmic prison. This theological vision 
attracted many followers and eventually spread from North Africa to 
China. Among its more famous adherents was Augustine of Hippo, 
who spent part of his life as a Manichaean auditor, or "hearer." 
The twentieth century has brought about a veritable Manichaean 
renaissance. Archaeological expeditions have uncovered (and continue 
to uncover) substantial amounts ofManichaean texts from Central Asia 
and Egypt written in a wide variety of ancient languages such as Coptic, 
Greek, Middle-Persian, Sogdian, Old Turkish, and Chinese. As a result, 
Manichaeism has received a great deal of attention in the scholarly 
community and many of the stereotypes bequeathed by the early Christian 
heresiologists are beginning to be re-examined. 
In this fascinating study, Jason BeDuhn challenges the prevailing 
gnostic interpretation ofManichaeism by bringing to light more details 
of Manichaean ritual and the practical ways in which Manichaeans 
attempted to attain salvation. It is an attempt to understand Manichaeism 
"on its own terms" (234). According to BeDuhn, the Manichaean 
movement was based not merely on its theological discourse, but on 
specific "disciplinary regimens" that characterized the Manichaean way 
of life and distinguished Manichaeans from their social environment. 
After looking at a wide variety of Manichaean sources from all of the 
principal regions in which the movement flourished, BeDuhn argues 
that at the centre of Manichaean ritual practice was the human body, 
which was viewed as a microcosm in which the macrocosmic struggle 
between Light and Darkness occurred ( 117). This struggle was ritually 
played out through the daily consumption of a sacred meal by the 
Manichaean elect, who ingested vegetarian foods provided by the 
auditors in order to facilitate the liberation of the "Living Self' from its 
entanglement in the cosmos (87). 
BeDuhn rejects the scholarly preoccupation with harmonizing the 
various accounts ofManichaean theology and suggests that any attempt 
to reconcile their cultural, linguistic, and temporal variations 
compromises the individual integrity of each account and oversimplifies 
the movement as a whole. Rather, BeDuhn sees the unifying element of 
Manichaeism as the ways in which "practice and doctrine are intrinsically 
interconnected" ( 121-122). He also acknowledges the methodological 
problems that result from viewing Manichaean sources simply as literary 
texts. Instead, BeDuhn makes the important suggestion that, due to the 
central importance of ritual in Manichaeism, Manichaean texts ought 
http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol28/iss1/15
150 Consensus 
to be examined within their ritual and liturgical context. 
With this book, BeDuhn makes a very significant contribution to 
the field of Manichaean Studies by attempting to shift the focus of 
scholarly attention away from the abstract elements of Manichaean 
discourse to the concrete rituals and practices that defined the 
Manichaean identity. In doing so, BeDuhn has helped to clarify a 
movement that has tended to shock and to perplex so many early 
Christian and modern commentators. 
Timothy Pettipiece 
Wilfrid Laurier University 
The Making of the Magdalen: Preaching and Popular 
Devotion in the Later Middle Ages 
Katherine Ludwig Jansen 
Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001 
408 pages, $30.95 Softcover 
Katherine Ludwig Jansen is Assistant Professor of History at the 
Catholic University of America, and this book is a revision of her doctoral 
dissertation. It endeavours to explain why, by the late medieval period, 
Mary Magdalen had transformed from a shadowy gospel figure to the 
most popular female saint after the Virgin Mary. Key to this 
transformation, it argues, is the development of the Magdalen cult both 
through the lens of medieval preaching, and the responses of those who 
heard the friars' sermons. 
The framework of this analysis begins with the opening of the Fourth 
Lateran Council in 1215, and concludes with the emergence of the 
Reformation in 1517 when preachers were confronted by the Protestant 
challenges to the cult of the saints. Jansen's study is geographically 
focussed in the Mediten·anean regions of Provence and Italy. She claims 
that this is the setting where devotion to the Magdalen reached its pinnacle 
in Christendom. 
Jansen's argument in this book is cumulative and is divided into 
four sections. The first section, "The Mendicant Magdalen" ( 49-142), 
outlines the development of the figure of Mary Magdalen fashioned by 
the late medieval mendicant preachers. Jansen suggests that through 
Published by Scholars Commons @ Laurier, 2002


The Manichaean body: in discipline and ritual

Wilfrid Laurier University

ConsensusVolume 28Issue 1 Waterloo Lutheran Seminary Lutheran LifeLectures 1998-2001Article 155-1-2002The Manichaean body: in discipline and ritualTimothy PettipieceFollow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensusPart of the Practical Theology CommonsThis Book Reviews is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by anauthorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.Recommended CitationPettipiece, Timothy (2002) "The Manichaean body: in discipline and ritual," Consensus: Vol. 28 : Iss. 1 , Article 15.Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol28/iss1/15148 Consensus In each section of the actual commentary, Marshall offers a supplementary bibliography and summarizes how the section fits into the overall flow of the text. A short list of textual variants precedes his detailed exegetical work of the Greek text. Marshall's word studies and syntax analyses are especially useful. He also incorporates and evaluates a substantial variety of viewpoints from other scholars' work. Marshall is well aware of and sensitive to controversial hermeneutical topics in the PE. For instance, in his discussion of women's conduct in the church (I Timothy 2:8-15), he effectively summarizes various positions, indicating that exegesis is always affected by a priori viewpoints (including his own). Marshall's interpretation emphasizes the circumstantial nature of the exhortation to particular women who were linked with the heterodox teaching addressed throughout I Timothy. Whether or not a person agrees with Marshall's hypothesis of the origins of the PE, this book is an extremely useful tool in terms of clearly articulating the difficulties that critical scholarship has raised, reviewing a wide range of twentieth-century interpretations of the text, and clearly elucidating the Greek text with careful but generally accessible exegetical work. Marshall's approach is balanced, positive and useful, particularly for those who desire a solid exegetical foundation to utilize the PE for application to the modern context. Mona Tokarek LaFosse University of Toronto The Manichaean Body: In Discipline and Ritual Jason David BeDuhn Baltimore & London: John Hopkins University Press, 2000 354 pages, $66.50 Hardcover The Manichaean movement began in the middle of the third century CE with the teachings of the Persian prophet Mani, who intentionally set out to establish a universal church for all of humanity, for which he composed his own sacred texts. At the foundation ofMani's theological vision was the belief that the cosmos was the tragic product of a conflict between the powers of Light and the powers of Darkness, and that the ultimate purpose of the pious individual was to assist in the liberation Published by Scholars Commons @ Laurier, 2002Book Reviews 149 of the Light principle from its cosmic prison. This theological vision attracted many followers and eventually spread from North Africa to China. Among its more famous adherents was Augustine of Hippo, who spent part of his life as a Manichaean auditor, or "hearer." The twentieth century has brought about a veritable Manichaean renaissance. Archaeological expeditions have uncovered (and continue to uncover) substantial amounts ofManichaean texts from Central Asia and Egypt written in a wide variety of ancient languages such as Coptic, Greek, Middle-Persian, Sogdian, Old Turkish, and Chinese. As a result, Manichaeism has received a great deal of attention in the scholarly community and many of the stereotypes bequeathed by the early Christian heresiologists are beginning to be re-examined. In this fascinating study, Jason BeDuhn challenges the prevailing gnostic interpretation ofManichaeism by bringing to light more details of Manichaean ritual and the practical ways in which Manichaeans attempted to attain salvation. It is an attempt to understand Manichaeism "on its own terms" (234). According to BeDuhn, the Manichaean movement was based not merely on its theological discourse, but on specific "disciplinary regimens" that characterized the Manichaean way of life and distinguished Manichaeans from their social environment. After looking at a wide variety of Manichaean sources from all of the principal regions in which the movement flourished, BeDuhn argues that at the centre of Manichaean ritual practice was the human body, which was viewed as a microcosm in which the macrocosmic struggle between Light and Darkness occurred ( 117). This struggle was ritually played out through the daily consumption of a sacred meal by the Manichaean elect, who ingested vegetarian foods provided by the auditors in order to facilitate the liberation of the "Living Self' from its entanglement in the cosmos (87). BeDuhn rejects the scholarly preoccupation with harmonizing the various accounts ofManichaean theology and suggests that any attempt to reconcile their cultural, linguistic, and temporal variations compromises the individual integrity of each account and oversimplifies the movement as a whole. Rather, BeDuhn sees the unifying element of Manichaeism as the ways in which "practice and doctrine are intrinsically interconnected" ( 121-122). He also acknowledges the methodological problems that result from viewing Manichaean sources simply as literary texts. Instead, BeDuhn makes the important suggestion that, due to the central importance of ritual in Manichaeism, Manichaean texts ought http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol28/iss1/15150 Consensus to be examined within their ritual and liturgical context. With this book, BeDuhn makes a very significant contribution to the field of Manichaean Studies by attempting to shift the focus of scholarly attention away from the abstract elements of Manichaean discourse to the concrete rituals and practices that defined the Manichaean identity. In doing so, BeDuhn has helped to clarify a movement that has tended to shock and to perplex so many early Christian and modern commentators. Timothy Pettipiece Wilfrid Laurier University The Making of the Magdalen: Preaching and Popular Devotion in the Later Middle Ages Katherine Ludwig Jansen Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001 408 pages, $30.95 Softcover Katherine Ludwig Jansen is Assistant Professor of History at the Catholic University of America, and this book is a revision of her doctoral dissertation. It endeavours to explain why, by the late medieval period, Mary Magdalen had transformed from a shadowy gospel figure to the most popular female saint after the Virgin Mary. Key to this transformation, it argues, is the development of the Magdalen cult both through the lens of medieval preaching, and the responses of those who heard the friars' sermons. The framework of this analysis begins with the opening of the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215, and concludes with the emergence of the Reformation in 1517 when preachers were confronted by the Protestant challenges to the cult of the saints. Jansen's study is geographically focussed in the Mediten·anean regions of Provence and Italy. She claims that this is the setting where devotion to the Magdalen reached its pinnacle in Christendom. Jansen's argument in this book is cumulative and is divided into four sections. The first section, "The Mendicant Magdalen" ( 49-142), outlines the development of the figure of Mary Magdalen fashioned by the late medieval mendicant preachers. Jansen suggests that through Published by Scholars Commons @ Laurier, 2002

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The Manichaean body: in discipline and ritual

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