Athanasius' Use of the Gospel of John: A Rhetorical Analysis of Athanasius' by Wijnand Adrianus Boezelman (review)

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• Athanasius' Use of the Gospel of John: A Rhetorical Analysis of Athanasius' by Wijnand Adrianus Boezelman
• Chibugo Lebechi

Wijnand Adrianus Boezelman Athanasius' Use of the Gospel of John: A Rhetorical Analysis of Athanasius' Orations Against the Arians Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2021 Pp. xxi + 395. $144.95.

Wijnand Boezelman blends his portrayal of Athanasius of Alexandria with a critical examination of his renowned work, Orationes contra Arianos, focusing in particular on how the Gospel of John was incorporated into the discourse.

There are seven chapters in the book. Chapter One, which also serves as the general introduction, discusses the life of Athanasius, his episcopacy, and the beginning of his connection with the Arian controversy. The author notes that Athanasius's personality inspires different shades of opinions among modern scholars, including the portrayal of the bishop as a political gladiator (2). Ecclesiastical politics, however, were influential in fourth-century debates, and Athanasius was "a skilled dialectician" who made use of the various rhetorical devices at his disposal (33). It is little wonder that he could draw upon his opponents' original teachings and use extracts from them to advance implications that suited his ideas.

Chapter Two discusses the major concepts in the study, namely, the means of persuasion, which include ethos, pathos, and logos, corresponding to the three major elements of speech, namely, orator, text and audience (43). The reception of the Christology of John in the Orationes contra Arianos is also clearly presented, as well as the methodology of the study, which focuses on terminology, edition, and translation.

Chapter Three examines the general concerns that provide more in-depth knowledge about the Orationes contra Arianos, which include its date of composition (ca. 339–45 c.e.) and genre, which is consistent with epideictic and invective styles (79–84). He also explains in this section the addressees of the Orations, which comprise three distinct audiences (85). Biblical hermeneutics also dominate the author's argumentation here. He submits that Athanasius believes that his hermeneutics of scripture is consistent with the tradition of his predecessors, which is built on the regula fidei (100–103). Boezelman also emphasizes Athanasius's own interpretive strategy, known as the "Tripartite Rule" (Ar. 1.54). This rule advocates that, in order to understand a biblical text correctly, one must take into account the "time" (καιρὸς), the "person" (πρόσωπόν), and the "subject matter" (πρᾶγμα) of the text (105–6). In Ar. 3.28–29, the "scope" (σκοπὸς) of scripture is another important interpretive tool for Athanasius (107). This method signifies the intent of scripture, which Athanasius believes must guide the interpretation of all scriptural paradigms so that they fit into the overall plot of the eternal Word made flesh.

Boezelman examines Oratio contra Arianos 1 in Chapter Four. The focus here is on the key elements of Arianism. The author shows here how the Gospel of John, especially the ἐγώ εἰμι ("I am") passages were used by Athanasius to counter Arian proof texts in order to affirm the divinity of the Son (127–29). The major contentious biblical passage, Proverbs 8.22, which is extensively discussed in Oratio contra Arianos 2, is the main focus of Chapter Five. Proverbs [End Page 581] 8.22 constitutes the core of the discussion because it is the hinge on which all the other biblical passages Athanasius claimed the Arians used turn. Boezelman demonstrates how Athanasius tried to prove that ἔκτισέ ("created") in Proverbs 8.22 does not suggest κτίσμα (creature), which would imply that the Son was created (199). Chapter Six deals with Oratio contra Arianos 3, which reveals Athanasius's heavy dependence on the Gospel of John in the attack against his opponents. The author describes, correctly so, how Athanasius's several allusions to high Christological Johannine texts serve as a safe haven for his defense of the divinity of the Son (242). In other words, Athanasius used the texts to confirm "the unity between Father and Son" (246).

Boezelman focuses equally on the reception and assessment of Athanasius's use of the Gospel of John, while examining how the Gospel strengthens the persuasiveness of Athanasius's theology in Chapter Seven, which also constitutes the book's conclusion. He indicates that Athanasius's appropriation of Johannine texts may...