Philippians (Two Horizons New Testament Commentary

by Stephen E. Fowl

In this fine new commentary on Paul's letter to the Philippians, Stephen Fowl notes that for the great premodern commentators of the Christian tradition, the literal sense of Scripture is always regulated by theological concerns. Thus, unlike commentaries that simply append theology to historical criticism, Fowl's volume displays disciplined attention to the text of Philippians in ways that enhance rather than frustrate theological inquiry.

While Fowl engages the great scholars of the past, John Chrysostom and Thomas Aquinas among them, he also draws a novel theology of friendship from Paul's letter and unpacks how the teachings of Philippians might be embodied today by Christians in the West.

254 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2005

About the author

Dr. Stephen E. Nowl is the chair of the Department of Theology at Loyola University Maryland.

Reviews

[Matthias · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephen Fowl legt mit seinem Werk über den Philipperbrief in der Reihe Two Horizons New Testament Commentaries seinen ersten Kommentar vor. Es ist einer der besten, die ich bisher über den Philipperbrief gelesen habe. Im Unterschied zu gängigen Kommentaren interessiert sich Fowl weniger für rein historische und sprachliche Phänomene. Sein Fokus liegt stattdessen auf relationalen theologischen Themen, wobei er konsequent andere Bibelstellen miteinbezieht. Das Ziel der Kommentarreihe ist es, eine Brücke zwischen Exegese und Systematischer Theologie zu schlagen – ein Vorhaben, das Fowl nach meinem Empfinden hervorragend gelingt. Dies lässt sich bereits an seiner kurzen Einleitung (nur 7 Seiten) festmachen, in der er die „klassischen“ Einleitungsfragen nur streift. Besonders beeindruckend ist sein extensiver Gebrauch der Patristik; vor allem Johannes Chrysostomus und Thomas von Aquin finden häufig Erwähnung. Nach dem eigentlichen Kommentar folgt ein Abschlusskapitel, das die theologischen Hauptthemen des Philipperbriefs in konzentrierter Form weiter vertieft.

Hier sind einige Passagen, die ich besonders hervorhebenswert finde:
• "If one sees the aim of the life of discipleship as growing into ever deeper community with the triune God and with others, then one of the things that contemporary Christians can learn from Paul is this habit of being able to narrate the story both of one's past and one's present circumstances from the perspective of their place in Christ's ongoing story." (p. 41)
• "Of church division represents a series of wounds to the one Body of Christ, then we must stop anesthetizing ourselves to this wound. Until large numbers of Christians feel the pain of this wound, we will not seek healing. Out of that pain, our response is to be repentance." (p. 77)
• "For people thoroughly schooled in the habits of individualism in all aspects of our lives, it is difficult to imagine being held accountable for our participation in the life of a local Christian community. For most American Christians, it is inconceivable that they might be held accountable before God for the lives of their fellow believers." (p. 128)
• "Through various practices, lack of proper attention to the ways in which seemingly good decisions misdirected their [Christians' who were seeking to live faithful lives] lives, through a failure to have their thoughts, feelings and actions appropriately directed by Christ, they slowly and imperceptibly become enemies of the cross." (p. 172)

[Matteo · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first I just wanted to dip in and read the lemmata on the so-called /carmen Christi/ (2:5-11) but the author's style was such that I devoured the whole.

[Jared · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephen Fowl is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers. He is constantly thoughtful and provocative. His work on Philippians is a stellar example of the current revival of "theological commentary." His command of New Testament exegesis is matched by his command of theological tradition , and both are masterfully blended here. I consider this a model for my own hoped-for ventures into the world of commentary writing.

I must say, though, that this is not a book for novices in the field of biblical/theological studies. This was my first sustained study of this particular letter, but I have over 10 years experience in the larger field (my specialty is Old Testament prophets). Beginners may find the work overly daunting, intermediates will find plenty of insightful "nuggets," while experts will find Fowl making informed contributions to some of the key debates in the book.

[Nick Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very strong commentary, drawing on a wide range of the Christian tradition, both in Biblical studies and theology. The concluding section of Christian Friendship and Community is fantastic.