Journal: Conspectus
Volume: CONSPECTUS 35:2 (Sep 2023)
Article: Book Review: "Favor And Gratitude: Reading Galatians In Its Greco- Roman Context."
Author: Anonymous

Conspectus 35:2 (September 2023) p. 36

Book Review: Favor And Gratitude: Reading Galatians In Its Greco- Roman Context.

Okorie, Ferdinand. 2021. Favor and Gratitude: Reading Galatians in Its Greco-Roman Context. Lanham: Lexington Books. xii, 143 pp. ISBN: 978–1- 9787–0702–3. Approx. 1593 ZAR (87.03 USD). Hardcover.

Ferdinand Okorie is a member of the Claretian Missionaries. He is Vice President, Academic Dean, and Assistant Professor of New Testament Studies at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. He received an M.Div. and an M.A. in Theology with a concentration in Biblical Languages and Literature from Catholic Theological Union, Chicago. He also obtained a Ph.D. in New Testament and Early Christianity at Loyola University, Chicago. In Favorand Gratitude: Reading Galatians in Its Greco-Roman Context, Okorie presents an updated version of his Ph.D. thesis. The book examines the Greco-Roman setting of Paul’s message to his gentile audience in the regions of Galatia. Okorie argues that Paul intentionally uses Greco-Roman cultural values associated with benefaction to appeal to the Christian community in Galatia. According to Okorie, Paul does this to dissuade his readers from accepting Jewish Law observance as a necessary condition for Gentile Christ-believers to fulfill.

Okorie presents Galatians as Paul’s intentional appeal to Greco-Roman benefaction conventions in order to elucidate how he wants the Galatians to understand their faith and express it toward God and fellow believers. In his letter, Paul thus advocates his message about God’s relationship with humanity through faith in Christ which is contrasted with the message of his rivals. Paul’s opponents advocate circumcision and the observance of Mosaic Law for Gentile Christ-believers in Galatia. Okorie demonstrates that Paul’s appeal follows the contours of divine benefaction and the motif of reciprocity in response to divine favor since “the believer’s life of faith in action honors God’s gift in Christ” (p. 54).

Favor and Gratitude contains six chapters. In his introductory chapter, Okorie provides an overview of Galatians and defines πίστις terminology within the context of the patron-client relationship of benefaction. He notes that πίστις denotes loyalty in the Greco-Roman world while χάρις suggests favor. The term χάρις is defined as the goodwill or favor the benefactor freely bestows on the beneficiary. It also identifies whatever the gift recipient does in gratitude to the giver.

In chapter 1, Okorie investigates the benefaction conventions of the Greco-Roman world. He explores the possibility of understanding these...