Die Christologie Der Pastoralbriefe (Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen Zum Neuen Testament, 2) (German Edition)

Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2/105 Tübingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 1998. Pp. xiv + 397, Paperback, DM 118,00, ISBN 3161470567. Arland J. Hultgren Luther Seminary St. Paul, MN 55108 This volume is a slightly revised version of a doctoral dissertation presented in 1997 at the University of Tübingen and written under the supervision of Peter Stuhlmacher. Within it the author gives critical attention to all the texts having relevance for the study of the Christology of the Pastoral Epistles. The discussion is arranged under three main headings–an overview of twentieth-century scholarship, exegesis of christologically relevant texts, and a summation of the findings–under which there are sub-sections. In the first section the author reviews five different perspectives on the Christology of the Pastorals, drawing on the work of their major proponents. These perspectives are that the Christology of the Pastorals represents that of Paul late in his career (C. Spicq), that it represents a pre-Pauline stage (H. Windisch, N. Brox), that it is a post-Pauline Hellenistic departure from Paul (M. Dibelius-H. Conzelmann, V. Hasler, H. Hubner), that it is a deutero-Pauline synthesis of church teaching (P. Trummer, J. Roloff, J. D. Quinn, H. Merkel), and that it is distinctive and non-Pauline (L. Oberlinner, I. H. Marshall, A. Y. Lau, K. Lager). As the discussion unfolds, it becomes clear that Stettler does not align herself exactly with any of these previous perspectives, although she stands closest to the last of them. The second and longest portion of the book contains analyses of over a dozen passages in the Pastorals that are particularly relevant for a discussion of the Christology of these three books. Included in this section are several excurses as well. They are on such topics as "Savior," "epiphany," the "faithful saying" phrase, the question of the pre-existence of Christ, the absence of the title "Son of God," and (surprisingly) the "Son of Man" concept. These excurses are for the most part done very well, and they are building blocks for the overall thesis of the book. [Full Review]