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An Apostle in Battle: Paul and Spiritual Warfare in 2 Corinthians 12:1–10

2018; Eisenbrauns; Volume: 28; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.5325/bullbiblrese.28.1.0137

2576-0998

Wesley Thomas Davey,

Pentecostalism and Christianity Studies

Lisa Bowens diagnoses contemporary analyses of 2 Cor 12:1–10 with myopia. In her estimation, scholars too often interpret Paul’s ascent narrative restrictively as a response to his opponents and thereby ignore his stated interest in cosmic conflict that threads throughout 2 Cor 10–13. 2 Corinthians 10:3–5 declares the community of believers to be at war, and it is this concern rather than an apostolic power struggle that holds Paul’s attention through the end of the letter. Bowens’s Apostle in Battle, a revised edition of her doctoral dissertation submitted at Princeton Theological Seminary in 2014, attends not only to the literary context of Paul’s Himmelsreise but also to its historical context by comparing it with other ancient texts that depict cosmic warfare and detail various heavenly ascents. Pushing back against the dominant stream of interpretation, Bowens challenges her readers to understand Paul’s vignette as an example of the way in which Satan seeks to thwart proper knowledge of God.Bowens’s monograph consists of three major chapters followed by a five-page conclusion that summarizes her findings. Chapter 1, a 44-page introduction, begins with a lengthy survey of scholarship on 2 Cor 12:1–10. The complexities of the pericope have given rise to a profusion of nuanced explanations, but Bowens identifies a common default assumption among commentators, namely, that Paul recounts his heavenly journey as a rhetorical device to counter the superapostles who had gained a foothold in the Corinthian community. Situating herself within a small band of interpreters who understand the ascent as more than simply a stylized putdown, Bowens then delineates the two methodologies she employs to defend her thesis: “historical-critical exegesis” and “comparative analysis of contemporaneous texts” (p. 38). Chapter 2 calls attention to the warfare language with which Paul begins in 2 Cor 10 and highlights the human mind as the site of cosmic battle. Moreover, the recurrence of epistemological terms such as λογίζομαι, λογισμός, γνῶσις, and νόημα throughout 2 Cor 10–13 indicates that Paul’s focus on the supranatural contest for the human mind never averts. While the portrait Paul paints of evil forces conniving to subvert proper knowledge of God jars modern sensibilities, Bowens shows its congruence with extant witnesses such as 1QHa, the Aramaic Levi Document, and the War Scroll. She concludes that we have good reason to think that Paul’s “ascent experience exemplifies [the] clash” between God and Satan (p. 122).Chapter 3 offers detailed analysis of the target text. While the exegesis is finely argued, two conclusions Bowens reaches with regard to 2 Cor 12:7 distinguish her reading. First, she interprets Paul’s σκόλοψ τῇ σαρκί as an angelic emissary sent by Satan to “impede his ascent” (p. 158). On her reading, Paul’s role as apostle entailed receiving and delivering divine revelations, and Satan’s minion was commissioned with the express intent of hindering acquisition of rightly ordered knowledge. Second, Bowens proposes a unique gloss of the verb ὑπεραίρομαι. While many interpret the term as a reference to pride or self-exaltation (“a thorn was given that I might not be exalted”), she advises that it be taken with reference to God’s action in lifting Paul up to heaven in order that he might receive revelation (that is, “that I might not be raised up [to heaven]”). She corroborates this conclusion through appeal to other narrative accounts such as Apocalypse of Abraham and Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah in which demonic forces obstruct knowledge of God. Although Paul is caught in the cosmic crossfire, however, Paul delights that his weakness provides a stage for Christ’s power to be made known, and he reflects confidence that God’s grace will empower him in the midst of suffering.Bowens’s monograph exhibits all the earmarks of a competent scholar: conversant with the relevant material, judicious in weighing interpretive options, and unafraid to challenge the status quo. Nevertheless, there are grounds to question several of her conclusions. First, her overall argument builds on an interpretive binary: Paul’s ascent can be understood either with reference to his debate with the superapostles or with reference to the cosmic war for the minds of believers. In fact, a close reading of 2 Corinthians suggests that Paul views his controversy with the superapostles as a battle participating in that larger cosmic war—a conclusion for which a simple either/or schema does not allow. Second, Bowens relies on another binary in her explanation of Paul’s “thorn” (2 Cor 12:7). According to her, we must choose between reducing Paul’s thorn to a “metaphor” by categorizing it as some sort of physical ailment and acknowledging that the thorn is indeed a “messenger from Satan.” However, given that Paul’s cosmology allows for regular interaction between natural and supranatural forces (as she herself argues), an either/or approach becomes difficult and unnecessary to sustain. Third, I note briefly that her rejection of “exalted” as an appropriate gloss of ὑπεραίρομαι has the feel of a self-fulfilling prophecy. She rightly avers that “this word does not automatically have the definition of pride or conceit unless the context suggests such an interpretation” (p. 176), but because she already concluded that the Himmelsreise does not relate to the “boasting” of 2 Cor 12:1, it is only natural that she reaches the verdict that no such contextual material exists. These criticisms notwithstanding, Apostle in Battle is an excellent contribution to the field as it forces its readers to consider the prominence of cosmic warfare in 2 Cor 10–13, a feature in Paul’s argument that we cannot afford to neglect.