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Magic and Paganism in Early Christianity: The World of the Acts of the Apostles. By HANS-JOSEF KLAUCK. Translated by BRIAN MCNEIL. Pp. xiiz132. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 2000. ISBN 0 576 08749 2. 18.95.
T H E author says this book had its origin in a lecture given at various places in South Africa in 1994 (cf. Neotestamentica 28 [1994], pp. 93108). He takes his starting point from Franz Cumont's picture in Les religions orientales dans le paganisme romain (Paris, 1906, esp. ET, pp. 1967) depicting the religious confusion which characterised the ancient world before Constantine, among which rival religious views the Christian faith had to compete and assert itself. Klauck's enterprise, unfortunately only clear in his conclusion (pp. 11921), is an investigation of Luke's treatment of the dangerous borderline territory between the followers of Jesus and `magic' and `paganism'. (Klauck is aware of the problems involved in his choice of the terms `magic' and `paganism' in the title of his book. Though it is unclear why he could not have used the single, more neutral, term `other religions'.) It is Klauck's contention that, at each stage of the expansion of Christianity, Luke portrays a dramatic confrontation between Christianity and paganism or magic. Thus Klauck follows his discussion of the foundations of the missionary programme of Acts (1:14; 2:147; pp. 312) with chapters on each of Luke's episodes which contain confrontations between the followers of Jesus and protagonists of other religions. Chapter II deals with Philip (Acts 8) in Samaria. Klauck notes the `mirrorings' in the pericope between Philip and Simon's activity so that there is a suspicious similarity between the public appearance and working of Philip and Simon, illustrating the ambiguity of the religious phenomena without interpretation (p. 18). Contrary to expectations there is no confrontation between Philip and Simon but a ready capitulation by the latter, presumably because of the superiority of Philip's activity as a miracle worker. That Luke says Simon is amazed at the signs and great miracles that took placenot mentioning Philip's proclamation (Acts 8:13)may, says Klauck, solve the puzzle of Simon's lapse. That is, `he bases his faith too exclusively on miracles, too little on the word' (p. 18). In the light of Luke's well-known sensitivity to wealth, that Simon should o^er money in exchange for the power to work miracles, means that his part will end badly. That Luke refrains from relating Simon's fate, Klauck suggests, is because Luke's polemic is directed against the remnants of popular belief in the Christian communities and

REVIEWS 226 against systemic risks incurred by Christian o"ce bearers among his readers (p. 23). Klauck notes that the place in the structure of Acts of Philip's encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch is problematic when it is held that the universal mission of the Church cannot begin until Paul. However, Klauck contends that the real signicance of the pericope lies in the Ethiopian being on the boundaries of the earth. `Thus it is in fact only hereand nowhere elsethat the nal programmatic point from Acts 1:8 _ is genuinely fullled, in an act of prophetic anticipation' (p. 29). Following the long recognized convention of seeing the conversion of the household of Cornelius as programmatic for Acts, Klauck (chapter III) says that Luke has chosen an especially noble Gentile `in order to choke at source every conceivable objection to the Gentile mission' (p. 32). In this chapter Klauck also discusses the account of the death of Herod Agrippa I (Acts 12:2023). Following the comparison by Stephen Lo sch (Dietas Jesu und Antike Apotheose, Rottenburg: Bader, 1933, pp. 1824) of the veneration of the divine voice of Nero (e.g., Dio Cassius 62.20.5) with that of Herod in Acts, Klauck concludes that Luke has used this scene as a concealed and prudent way of criticising Nero. In chapter IV, `The First Missionary Journey' (Acts 1314), attention is focussed rst on Paul and the confrontation with Elymas/Bar-Jesus. In Luke's eyes, this story shows that the greatest obstacle to the spread of Christianity is an all-devouring syncretism which at its worst even usurps Christian substance such as the name of Jesus. It is also a plea for caution in dealing with believers who lapse. While the story is an example of great and signicant beginnings being exposed to special dangers, it is hard to see the ground of Klauck's point that `each time, it is the Christian proclamation that wins the trial of strength, relying not so much on a superior miraculous power, but rather on the message of salvation which it brings' (p. 54). Along with this story, the story of the healing of the cripple at Lystra (Acts 14:820) `puts into words the tension between making contact and o^ering resistance' (p. 61). That is, the Christian message must look for points of contact while not being absorbed into already-existing patterns and categories of thought for this would lead to a fundamental distortion and falsication of the message. In the light of this, Klauck maintains, the Christian proclamation has an `educational task' to carry out in engaging in the critique of religion. The stories of Paul in Greece (chapter V) serve to illustrate Klauck's point that every new step Christianity takes entails

REVIEWS 227 dangers which `must be overcome if the purity and clarity of the Christian message are not to be imperilled in the long run' (p. 72). In Paul's exorcism of the slave girl (Acts 16:1624) Klauck takes his starting point in the fundamental ambiguity of the girl's profession: `These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation' (16:17). While the Greek Bible has no hesitation in using the divine predicate `the highest', it is found less frequently in the intertestamental literature and, most signicantly, Luke only otherwise has the precise term tou heou tou yi u stou on the lips of a demoniac (Luke 8:28). This, coupled with the exceptional absence of the article with o do z (in Acts 2:28 the article is absent in the quote from Ps 15:11, LXX)implying that the Christian way is only one among many possibilitiesand Paul's delay in reacting to the girl's statement, show not only Luke dealing with the unclear contours between Christianity and the practice of oracles, but also why Luke has Paul react to the girl's statement. In using the name of Jesus in charging the demon to come out of the girl (16:18) Paul makes `unambiguous the reference to the highest God and the way of salvation' (p. 69). In the story of Paul's visit to Athens (Acts 17:1621, 3234) Klauck argues that for Luke it is the city that is the protagonist which o^ers the resistance with which Paul must deal (p. 81). Most of the a"rmations that Paul makes in his address on the Areopagus (17:2231) can be attested both in hellenistic (especially Stoic) thinking and in the Old Testament so that Luke can be seen to be taking `diaspora Judaism as his model in his attempt to create a bridge between these two spheres, and his virtuosity partly succeeds in doing so' (p. 83). Klauck notes that Paul did not succeed in establishing communication with the philosophers of Athens. However, this will be realized by the Christian community. In Luke's programme this speech functions to help `Believers recognize that their faith can nd a point of contact with a naturally existing religious dimension of human existence, though the faith is not simply identical with this dimension. Luke indicates to such readers that belief in God is no o^ence against reason and every philosophical insight. This stabilises their identity in the face of potential mockery from without, and even more so against the quiet inward uneasiness they themselves might feel about this topic' (p. 95, cf. 120). Chapter VI, `Paul in Ephesus (Acts 19)', deals with the stories of the sons of Sceva (Acts 19:1120) and the revolt of the silversmiths (19:2340). Klauck says that the understanding of miracles involved when healing takes place through touching pieces of clothing (19:12)a story introducing the episode of the seven sons

REVIEWS 228 of Sceva`is located in dangerous border territory, and Luke intends to direct it into correct theological channels by means of his reference to God's working (v. 11), which presents the human messenger as only an instrument' (p. 98). For Klauck, the story of the sons of Sceva shows that the miraculous phenomena of the Christians and others is externally very similar, and therefore ambiguous (p. 98). Apart from the refusal to accept payment, which is not put into words in this story, the distinction between Christian and other miracles is a matter of interpretation: `what are the relational coordinates of the specic action, and what system of conviction is involved?' (p. 98). Nevertheless, Klauck hints at a di^erence that Luke may see between the Pauline and pagan miracles in saying that seven exorcists were unsuccessful, whereas Paul on his own is able to perform exorcisms. This suggests Luke saw the miraculous power of the Christians as being signicantly superior. According to Klauck, in the story of the revolt of the silversmiths (Acts 19:2340) Luke is unmasking Gentile religiosity which, in Demetrius' case, is scarcely able to conceal economic interests (p. 110). Nevertheless, in that some Asiarchs support Paul, his message is shown to have reached members of the highest circles and was supported by the philosophically educated and enlightened Gentiles (p. 106). The treatment of some nal scenes from Acts in chapter VII, `The Journey to Rome (Acts 2728)' add little to the thesis of this book and highlight its blurred focus as well as, even in such a small volume, the excessive extraneous themes treated and details included. It has been thought that Luke did not see any need to demonstrate the distinctiveness of the power active in early Christianity to work miracles, simply that the early Church was more powerful than its competitors. Klauck shows that this is not entirely the case. According to Klauck, Luke develops a variety of strategies to demarcate Christianity from other religions: he subordinates the miracles of the Christian messengers to the proclamation of the word; he excludes any confusion of boundaries between the divine and human spheres; his heroes always point to the power working in them; they reject the cult of persons; his Christian preachers refuse payment; and he partly goes along with the pagan critique of religion in agreeing that temples, statues and the usual cultic practices are unworthy of a faith that has been the object of philosophical reection (p. 120). In doing this Luke's book is not missionary in intent. Rather, he is helping `to form and stabilize the identity of the Christian readers' (p. 121), a long held and now

REVIEWS 229 increasingly popular view. Klauck concludes: `Luke's correct intuition here is that only a community that enjoys internal stability will be able to manage the di"cult balancing act which is continually demanded between seeking contact and o^ering contradiction, between the search for common elements and the endeavour to identify boundaries, i.e. between inculturation and evangelisation' (p. 121). Also, what Klauck has demonstrated regarding Acts is that `Despite all the criticism of some defective forms, we do not nd any heavily aggressive polemic. Instead, there is a subtle irony which occasionally takes the form of brilliant parodies _ . In keeping with this refusal to launch direct attacks, he continuously strives to portray the Christian proclamation as politically harmless: where it is tolerated, it is aware of its obligation to be loyal to the state' (pp. 119120). Klauck recognizes that Luke had no easy task in distancing his protagonists from others with activities outwardly very similar. Although not acknowledged, the coverage and conclusions of this book signicantly overlap Bruno Wildhaber's Paganisme populaire et pre diction apostolique (Geneva: Labour et Fides, 1987). This highlights a major weakness of Klauck's book: there is little declared interaction with others (particularly English scholars) in what is intended as a contribution to scholarship. Concomitantly, there are too many statements which outstrip the evidence available, or at least as it is presented. Nevertheless, Klauck is to be applauded for dealing with a topic rarely treated at length which is critical for understanding an aspect of early Christianity which has important contemporary ramications. GRAHAM H. TWELFTREE

The Jerusalem Compromise as a Conict-Resolution Model. A Rhetoric-Communicative Analysis of Acts 15 in the Light of Modern Linguistics. By MICHAEL ENYINWA OKORONKWO. Pp. xiiiz302. (Arbeiten zur Interkulturalita t, 1.) Bonn: Borenga sser, 2001. ISBN 3 923946 52 X. Paper n.p.
T H IS study is part of a doctoral dissertation prepared under the direction of the late Prof. Helmut Merklein in the Catholic Faculty of the University of Bonn. It ranges inter alia through textual criticism; an analysis of the vocabulary, grammar, and discourse structure of Acts 15; its structural and logical semantics; and its pragmatics and (classical and modern) rhetoric. The work is generally fully documented, though reference to the second