Ioannis Karavidopoulos, Biblical Studies B’, P. Pournaras Publ., Thessaloniki, 2000, pp. 319.
This collection of biblical articles by Ioannis Karavidopoulos is set out in four parts. The first part contains articles and essays on matters of interpretation of the New Testament particular to the Orthodox Church, as well as historical evidence about the development of Greek bibliography and new directions in biblical hermeneutics, as they appeared in the second half of the 20th century in biblical theological science.
The content of the texts of the second part is centred around the actual New Testament text itself, and includes critiques published in the 20th century and also modern Greek translations of the last quarter of the period. The other two parts consists of special biblical issues, the first being about the location of pauline theology and the second about the context of johnanine literature.
In more detail, the author stresses the position and the importance of the New Testament in the Orthodox Church, referring to statistical data and characteristics of post-war bibliography in Greece. Also, he describes new academic trends in biblical hermeneutics (rhetorical analysis, narrative analysis, response by the reader, deconstruction).
There is an analysis of the importance of Paul’s preaching in the context of 1st century AD Greek-Roman society and in particular his missionary work together with apostle Barnabas in Cyprus, which the author views as the incipience of evangelism in the oecumene. He compares the religious pluralism of Paul’s era with the modern one, and develops the pauline response to it.
He also examines the Athonite tradition manuscripts of the texts of the two epistles to Thessalonians and draws conclusions as to their utility, while in reference to line 4,9 of the epistle to Thessalonians he offers a comparative examination with correspondent practices of the Hellenic-Roman environment.
There is a special study on ch. 2 of the Epistle to Galatians, and in particular to problems noted within the Christian community (the “reputed” and the “agitators”). The Apostle’s response to them is presented comprehensively. The author also analyses the Epistle to Philippians from a specific point of view, that of the psychology of the incarcerated, as the Apostle wrote this particular epistle while being in captivity.
In the beginning of the fourth part, which refers to Johanine studies, the author focuses on the issue of Johanine catholicity; more precisely he hermeneutically reflects on the “153” fish of the village Jon. 21,11 as correspondent to the emphasis of the Synoptic Gospel but also the Acts of the Apostles in the ecumenical mission of the Church for the evangelisation of the whole world.
The next paper looks at the basic axes on which the book of Revelation is structured, evil in the world, invitation to repentance and eschatological hope. He stresses hermeneutics notions that the Revelation is not a “back-dated diary of destruction”, and was not written to provoke panic but to call for repentance. The Antichrist is not the central person but Christ himself, and in contrast to destruction scenaria of our time, does not aim to induce panic but to offer a narrative of hope for the eschatological advent of the “new Jerusalem”.
In the final study of the Johanine part but also in the whole of the book, the “silence” of line Rev. 8,1 is approached hermeneutically in comparison to cryptic references, as foreboder of the new world of God on Earth.