be a good papalist, one might accept the teaching of Vatican I concerning infallibility and still find much to criticise in the CDF. In fact this chapter shows the danger of such a body undermining both the teaching and the pastoral offices of the pope. Tis is not the most atracive chapter


of a delightful book but I think that it is one that will be very welcome to the ears of Roman Catholic theologians and pastors. I commend On the Leſt Bank of the Tiber as a very good read. John Gribben CR


THE TAMING OF CANAANITE


WOMAN Constructions of Christian Identity in the Afterlife of Matthew 15. 21–28 Nancy Klancher De Gruyter, 320pp, hbk 978 3110321067, €99.95


Reception criticism is too oſten a deception, being litle more than a collection


of excerpts from


commentaries upon a particular text from the earliest Christian centuries to our own. All credit to Klancher: this is much more interesting; she is fully engaged with the analysis and critique of the changing approaches. Te Syro-Phoenician woman (as she


is more oſten called) was she who came to Jesus asking him to heal her daughter possessed of a demon; who when seemingly ignored and then rebuffed with the cruel, ‘It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs,’ replies with the great cry of faith, ‘Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table,’ which wins her what she sought. A brief note – and this


is the fault of the publisher – Klancher opens her text by merely summarizing


the


dynamic of this striking encounter. Despite the fact that she shows herself to be a good translator of both Latin and Greek, she nowhere gives us the text itself, short as it is. I know this


24 ■ newdirections ■ June 2014


We are invited to ‘flourish within the Church of England’s life and structures’


To maximize our participation in the General Synod, Forward in Faith and the Catholic Group seek to employ


Three Elections Officers for twelve months from October 2014


The time-commitment for these part-time salaried roles will vary over the period.


For further details, or to suggest candidates, email: colin.podmore@forwardinfaith.com


Closing date for applications: 30 June 2014


studied contempt of the actual biblical word is common among academics, but I still find it inexcusably offensive, and in this instance esecially so. Describing her, memorably, as ‘the


only person in the entire New Testament who could be described as winning an argument with Jesus’, Klancher plots the range of responses to her combative dialogue. She is universally seen as a model of Christian faith and behaviour; nevertheless the explanations vary considerably. For some, she stands as the model Gentile against the unworthy Jews, and far too many commentators show themselves unpleasantly anti-semitic. Bishop Qudvultdeus, fiſth century


bishop of Carthage, has this wonderful picture, ‘From her atachment to wild dogs, the Canaanite woman was purified by means of her faith, and her humble and pious barking was worth her obtaining grace for herself, health for her daughter, both without any prior merit.’ She wins the argument,


and gains what she prayed for. Tat we all accept. But how do we explain what Jesus was thinking? On the one


hand a certain John Huton DD, in a Glasgow University lecture of 1919, takes what she calls ‘a gallant and chivalrous pose’ refusing even to accept that Jesus was testing the woman when he refused to answer, let alone being actually prepared to refuse her deserate request entirely. He is rather testing and implicitly accusing his other hearers (fellow Jews). ‘Huton even suggests that when Jesus finally praises her faith, he in actuality saying, “Woman, forgive me”.’ At the other end of the sectrum, she


cites Clay Nelson, a priest from a ‘progressive Anglican church’ in New Zealand, who sees Jesus as suffering from culturally conditioned racism and sexism. ‘He doesn’t welcome her, she just makes herself at home… She is declaring the reality of her presence not unlike women seeking their rightful place in the church today or cheeky gays who point out, “I’m here, I’m queer, get used to it”.’ Did I come away from this book with


far greater appreciation of this biblical narrative? Absolutely. It is not only a conflict between two cultures, it is also a tale of spiritual transformation, it is about the soul’s ‘conversion, repentance, faith, tenacity, humiliation, correction, discipline, and healing’. It is a narrative of the soul encountering Christ, and moving from outside the fold into the life and salvation of his flock. Anthony Savile


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