Joel B. Green on the Nature of Humanity

Joel B. Green, Body, Soul, and Human Life: The Nature of Humanity in the Bible, Studies in Theological Interpretation (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic/Bletchley: Paternoster, 2008), xviii + 219pp., ISBN 9781842275399.

This book forms one of the volumes in Baker’s ‘Studies in Theological Interpretation’ series, which seeks ‘to appreciate the constructive theological contribution made by Scripture when it is read in its canonical richness’, and which ‘is dedicated to the pursuit of constructive theological interpretation of the church’s inheritance of prophets and apostles in a manner that is open to reconnection with the long history of theological reading in the church’, where the ‘primary emphasis is on the constructive theological contribution of the biblical texts themselves’ (ix). [Phew!]

This particular volume has had a lengthy incubation period. Though a noted New Testament scholar, Joel Green has published numerous articles on personhood and the nature of humanity over the last ten years or so, and has undertaken graduate work in neuroscience to allow him to engage in the interdisciplinary study required for the book.

He begins by referring to an article from the New York Times declaring that neuroscientists have given up looking for the ‘soul’, suggesting that what makes us human is the wiring of the brain. Neuroscientists, he notes, are largely setting the agenda for discussions about our essential humanity, with very little being done to bring biblical perspectives to bear on the issues. His book seeks to redress that imbalance, providing, he says, ‘a progress report on where my thinking at the interface of these disciplines has led me’ (xvii).