Barnabas

While we're here reading Apostolics / Patristics, let's check out "the Epistle of Barnabas". Clare Rothschild has a few essays here and there about that. Lately I've been reading "Soteriology and the Allegorical Construction of Opponents in the Epistle of Barnabas" - at least, what I can pick out of the excerpts which Google Books let me read.

I went through all of these Apostolic Father texts in the second half of the 1990s. Some of them, I could figure out. 2 Clement is some kind of homily. 1 Clement is a (lengthy) call for Church unity. The Didache is a manual for the church; Hermas' "Shepherd" is a composite containing "paraenetic" material.

Lately I've seen the word "paraenetic" used quite a bit for the "Shepherd" and 2 Clement. It translates to English as "Be Better".

And then there were the texts I couldn't figure out at the time - like Ignatius, which I've been reading this year. "Barnabas" was another.

Barnabas hasn't enjoyed much respect in Patristics. First of all it obviously isn't the apostle Barnabas speaking. Nor is it an epistle, really; it's more like a lecture, like the "epistle" of the Hebrews. The epistle tends to get introduced as an anti-Jewish tract, and that annoys those of us with some Jewish connexions. The text itself takes a metaphorical / allegorical approach to Scripture which annoys not just those who might have another approach, and not just Biblical literalists, but anyone who thinks a text should be allowed to say what it says, first.

Rothschild points out that a lot of literature which purports to oppose "Jews" is really opposing co-religionists, who have acted too much like [the gospel parody of] Jews. [I think this has happened in early Islam as well.] "Barnabas" doesn't even use the word "Jews" much, so much as distinguish between his group and a "them".

If "them" is read as a group of Biblical fundamentalists ("Judaisers") within Egyptian Christendom, the tractate's author can be comprehended at least as not a moron. Also comprehensible is why other Christians bothered to copy the tract - because biblical literalism continued to irritate Christians, culminating in Marcion. A new-testament collection with "Barnabas" could be touted as the Christian way to interpret the old-testament without hacking it all off.

I do hope that Rothschild isn't the first to notice this... but I have a sinking feeling that she is, at least in English. Maybe now Barnabas will regain some respect.