Abstract
With this volume, Darian Lockett, Professor of New Testament at Biola University, has provided a beginner’s guide to the Catholic Epistles. While introducing each of these letters individually, Lockett argues that the letters of James, 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John, and Jude should be read as a cohesive collection. Lockett therefore goes to great lengths to demonstrate the connections between these New Testament letters.
In the introduction, Lockett explains that these seven letters should be considered the Catholic Epistles, based on the evidence of Eusebius and others within the early church. Lockett notes that “catholic” does not refer to a particular genre; rather, the term refers to a particular collection of letters for general audiences, a collection that, according to Lockett, is especially concerned with the connection between “orthodox teaching and moral living” (p. 1). Lockett justifies a focused analysis of these letters on the basis that: they are a part of Christian scripture; they combat heresy within the church; and they combine faith in Christ with the practice of that faith. Lockett’s purpose is to survey each of these documents, but also to identify the “canonical connections” shared by all of them.
Each chapter following the introduction covers one of the letters, with the exception of chapter 5, in which Lockett analyzes both 2 and 3 John. Each chapter is structured in the same way, including sub-sections titled “Occasion and Setting” (which includes authorship and audience), “Structure,” “Outline,” “Commentary,” and a brief bibliography. The commentary section is of course the longest, walking through the text of the letter in units as described in the outline. Lockett also inserts several excursus, which have the heading “Going Deeper” and expound on a topic or theme in more detail. Examples include “Two Ways in James,” “2 Peter as Testamentary Literature,” and “Water and Blood” in the chapter on 1 John. Finally, Lockett has incorporated textboxes into the commentary sections, which he employs to highlight thematic connections between the letters.
In a short concluding chapter, Lockett explores some of the more prominent themes found throughout these letters. The themes on which Lockett provides further details include the command to love (Lev 19:18), suffering, obedience to God in the “world,” the relationship between faith and works, and false teaching in the church. Lockett goes to extremes to find some of these themes in multiple letters. To find a reference to the love command in Jude, Lockett must argue that one should consider the command to have mercy in Jude 22–23 as “an implicit command to love” (p. 216). Regarding the theme of trials and persecution in Jude, Lockett considers the church’s stand against false teaching “a trial the church must overcome” (p. 219).
The book offers an adequate introduction to these letters. It is clearly intended for those with little knowledge of the New Testament. For example, Lockett explains the term “chiasm” in his discussion of 1 Peter 2:13–3:12. He points out that the event to which the author of 2 Peter refers in 2:17 is the transfiguration, which, he notes, is found in the Synoptic Gospels. Lockett tells his readers that midrashim is the plural of midrash. Lockett’s reading of these letters follows mostly traditional trajectories; he states that the author of James is the brother of Jesus, and John the son of Zebedee wrote 1 John and the Gospel of John. Lockett does, however, admit that there is good reason to believe that Peter was not the author of 2 Peter.
Although several of the connections between the letters were forced, the book does serve as a reminder that these letters share perspectives on common themes and that a canonical reading can be fruitful. I can recommend this book for students unfamiliar with the New Testament in general and with these documents in particular, with the caveat that in a classroom setting one would have to be prepared to present more critical and nuanced arguments in some cases.