Christian Figural Reading and the Fashioning of Identity

Anglican Theological Review, Spring 2004 by Beeley, Christopher A

Christian Figurai Reading and the Fashioning of Identity. By John David Dawson. Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press, 2002. ? 302 pp. $50.00 (cloth).

In this broad comparative study, John David Dawson seeks to defend Origen of Alexandria against the longstanding charge that his allegorical exegesis subverts the literal meaning of the Old Testament and threatens to invalidate the ongoing history of the Jewish people. One by one, the book places Origen in conversation with three modern detractors: Jewish biblical critic Daniel Boyarin (chaps. 1-3), philologist and literary historian Erich Auerbach (chaps. 4-6), and the formerly Jewish, Christian theologian Hans Frei (chaps. 7-9). Dawson argues persuasively that for Origen (though by no means for all Christian allegorists) allegorical or figurai reading extends, but does not replace, the literal sense of the text by realizing the original divine performance in the present and future spiritual transformation of the interpreter.

In the debate with the modern critics, Dawson's Origen succeeds admirably. When Boyarin accuses Origen (and Paul) of erasing the concrete textuality of the Hebrew Bible and the embodied identity of Jews, Origen responds by upholding the centrality of the "body" of Scripture and the "spiritual body" of the interpreter (see 1 Cor. 15). Whereas Auerbach aims to preserve the concrete historicity of past events and people, Origen exhibits a larger, theological understanding of history in which divine actions in the past find their fullest meaning in the present and the future. And to Frei's Barthian defense of the literal, narrative sense of Scripture, Christ's unique identity, and the Christians limited access only to the dying Christ, Origen replies that Christ directly conveys to his disciples the glory he received from the Father (see John 13:31-32), so that they can be "transformed into the same image" (2 Cor. 3:18) as they follow the Word in his post-resurrection glorification through spiritual exegesis (chap. 9).

Despite its strengths, the book strangely betrays itself in several ways. The interested reader is left to cull disparate sections of the book in order to piece together a coherent picture of Origen's exegetical method. More significantly, major theological ideas are left underdeveloped. Instead, Dawson interjects grand statements that beg for further comment: for example, in a single breath, he asserts that Trinitarian doctrine maintains sequence and commonality in the Godhead and prevents supercessionism, followed by a quick contrast with Hegel's prioritization of the Spirit over the Father and the Son (pp. 133-134)! And there are theological errors as well, such as the characterization of Origen's Christology and soteriology as more Arian than Athanasian-which reflects a misunderstanding of all three (p. 14).

Despite its impressive command of a diverse set of authors, and several very strong sections (for example, pp. 74-80 on the spiritual body), the book risks leaving the reader with the sense that she is now familiar with Origen's exegetical method. I'm afraid the more accurate response would be a lingering hunger for a more thorough and better organized treatment of the one who, as Dawson recognizes, continues to teach us much about Christian interpretation of the Old Testament and a positive Christian regard for rabbinic Judaism.

CHRISTOPHER A. BEELEY

Berkeley Divinity School at Yale

New Haven, Connecticut