64.3.Reviews-Notices.Pdf
Theological Studies 64 (2003) BOOK REVIEWS FEAR,ANOMALY, AND UNCERTAINTY IN THE GOSPEL OF MARK. By Douglas W. Geyer. ATLA Monograph Series, No. 47. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow, 2002. Pp. xi + 340. $58. Contemporary Markan scholarship has frequently noted the indications of fear, anomaly, and uncertainty in the Gospel. Geyer’s book, however, does not so much take part in this ongoing conversation as provide, in great detail, the biblical and especially Greco-Roman historical and cultural con- texts of these and related terms in Mark 4:35–6:53. In this regard, a sen- tence from the Preface better indicates the book’s contents than does its title: “I hope that this book saves time for future students of the Gospel of Mark, especially those who are interested in what can be ascertained of the historical and cultural context of the Gospel. It is truly worthwhile to learn how to use a well-stocked theological library and the primary sources buried therein, and to marshal these various resources into a coherent argument” (xi). G.’s opening chapter, “Mark and Violent Death: Crucifixion as Horror and Riddle,” argues that the nature of the crucifixion is foreshadowed especially in “Mark 4:35–6:56, a literary cycle that focuses on anomaly, uncertainty, indeterminacy, impurity, violence, revenge, the demonic, fear, and loss of place and community” (4). G. calls this aspect of Mark “the anomalous frightful,” and his goal is to portray comparable references to the anomalous frightful in ancient historical and literary works. To indicate the scale of G.’s work, I note that there are 165 entries in his “Ancient Author and Title Index.” As a Markan scholar, I was intrigued by G.’s early comment that “Mark 4:35–6:56 is notable for the absence of expla- nations of what Jesus does or asks others to do in the stories” (6), but G.
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