Scholar Reviews
A Death of Splendid Daring by Jerry Camery Hoggatt is a breakthrough combination of novel and commentary. As a novel, the story is a fascinating account of a household in Rome and its reception of the gospel of Mark as it is being written section by section. The group includes: - a Roman Senator - who follows a Stoic philosophy to live in harmony with what life brings you, - a ‘disabled’ veteran of the Roman military who saved the Senator’s life on the battlefield - a member of a mystery religion cult, - his wife, the Senator’s daughter, through a marriage arranged by the Senator in gratitude to the soldier who saved his life. She is a follower of Plato’s philosophy who becomes a Christian. - an African Jewish Christian slave, - and the teenaged son of the married couple under the tutelage of the slave rounds out the core characters. Other significant characters come into play as well, but the plot tension develops with these folks as Nero’s persecutions of Jews and Christians in Rome and his dispatch of Vespasian to put down a Jewish revolt in Jerusalem place the household in danger as they encounter the message of Jesus in Mark’s gospel. The characters will stay with you long after you finish reading the book. The ‘commentary’ is spliced into the thick of life in Rome with the challenges each of these characters face. In a typical commentary there is an ‘introduction’ that gives background information on historical, socio-economic, and political settings before moving on to a literary analysis. The genius here is that the characters are living the ‘background.’ Background becomes foreground and the power of Mark’s gospel is astounding as each character grapples with the words and deeds of Jesus from their different life experiences. Each character wrestles with how the Kingdom of God confronts their life and worldview and its power changes each of them in different ways. What does it mean to be a Jewish Christian compared to a Gentile Christian? How does one reconcile the tension of life as a citizen of the Roman empire and the opposing claims of the Kingdom of God? How does a wife who was grievously harmed by her husband reconcile her hatred of him with Jesus’ call for forgiveness? How does one’s fear of the demonic powers in the mystery religions respond to Jesus’ casting out demons and announcing the presence of the Kingdom? These as well as other issues in the lives of these characters arise as the commentary and novel intertwine, New Testament scholar Gordon Fee argues that we must read the gospels both horizontally and vertically. Horizontal reading means comparing Mark with Matthew, Luke and to some extent John, to see how each of their individual witnesses to Jesus is unique. Most commentaries since the middle of last century take this approach. Jerry has given us a ‘vertical’ reading that explains Mark from first verse to last, and how each story is carefully written to develop important themes and contributes to the overall message of Jesus in Mark’s gospel. This analysis is rooted in decades of research on Jerry’s part, but it is written in a style that can be easily grasped by readers without a background in New Testament scholarship. And finally, I need to say that the prose in the book contains some of the most affecting scenes I have ever experienced. I expect each reader will gravitate to certain characters and their experiences. For me, the final scene of the Senator’s character is the most evocative and powerful expression of the gospel message I have ever read. I want to be a better disciple of Jesus because of this book.
Although a lifelong student in biblical studies, this is my first encounter of a biblical commentary written in the form of a novel. What a novel idea! And just as the Gospel of Mark is “marked” by a sense of immediacy, through the author’s artful storytelling, we are brought into the immediate context of Mark’s first audience, the residents of Rome. Because the human mind is more capable of retaining information in the form of narrative, through the power of story, the reader is enabled to develop a much more thorough-going sense of the early Christian experience.
SPLENDID DARING illuminates much: the dynamics at play in the gospel itself, the narrative strategies of the author of Mark, the questions raised by the Roman listeners to the gospel account and its emotional impact, the development of early Christian communities—and much more. Other commentaries “tell about”, SPLENDID DARING “shows how” the power of the gospel could grasp hold of the hearts of its listeners.
In this novel, as well as in his other books, Dr. Camery-Hoggatt demonstrates his unique gift for writing with verve and clarity. He’s the professor I wish I had had back in the day!
Not since the publication of Keener's IVP Bible Background Commentary has there appeared a more helpful (and welcome!) innovative jolt to the business-as-usual fare of New Testament commentaries than A Death of Splendid Daring! This truly revolutionary approach may well prove to have as stunning an impact on the future of New Testament commentaries as that famous Romans commentary that dropped "like a bombshell on the theologians' playground" had on all subsequent theological reflection.
Like Keener's groundbreaking work, A Death of Splendid Daring aims not to arm its readers with the definitive interpretation of given biblical texts, but rather to assist readers in processing the text--the former, focusing more on the cognitive dimensions of biblical interpretation, and the latter, focusing on the transformative experience that readers derive from interaction with the text.
A Death of Splendid Daring is clearly the brainchild of a prodigiously gifted narratologist and storytelling artist. Even the title of this magnificent work reveals the author's literary acumen (the commentary is a "novel commentary" in two valid senses: "innovation" and "literary genre").
Equally impressive, and important for this remarkable novel-commentary, are the author's academic chops in both literary and Biblical studies. With the same level of tenacity that molecular biologists probe anatomy, Dr. Camery-Hoggatt has not only engaged competently with the concerns and insights of biblical scholarship, he also has scrutinized the nature of language itself and how receivers process it, and he deftly uses that knowledge to construct this novel commentary in ways that have a powerful impact on the reader.
I know of none other so thoroughly acquainted with the primary characteristics and corresponding rhetorical functions of language who so meticulously puts this knowledge to use in his or her own writing. While, as an academician, I realize the political expediency of refraining from over-the-top accolades when analyzing the work of scholars, I have to admit that withholding my assessment of this work as nothing less than genius stretches this policy to its absolute limits. Hier stehe ich!
Expressing theological truths in propositionally-stated proverbs arranged in well-organized outlines has its rightful place in church catechism because its appeal to the cognitive dimension enables one to distinguish truth from error. But truth is much more and much deeper than a set of facts, and faith is far more than mental assent to a series of propositions about God that can be demonstrated and defended. A Death of Splendid Daring is deeply engaging both cognitively and emotionally. It is a breath of fresh theological air that rightly deserves a wide hearing.