This Is My Flesh
John’s Eucharist and the Dionysus Cult
- Biblical Studies & Commentaries
- Publisher: Pickwick Publications (Wipf and Stock)
- Published: 2022
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Publisher's Description
In John 6:51-59, John describes the Eucharist of Jesus by modeling Dionysus. In particular, John 6:53, "unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you" is one of the most difficult verses found anywhere in the Bible. To explain this, a new approach is needed when one consistently contemplates why John uses flesh (σάρξ) instead of body (σῶμα), and "This is my flesh", instead of "This is my body." The Dionysiac ritual of eating and tearing raw flesh shows cannibalistic elements. Unlike other negative descriptions of cannibalism in ancient literature, Dionysus is described as both an eater and a giver of raw flesh. By reevaluating the negative term of cannibalism, John positively applies this Dionysiac cannibalism to the Eucharistic words in 6:51-59. Because emphatically and slightly ironically, scholars' arguments show that John 6 is still a "hard teaching" of Jesus, Jesus' hard saying (6:60) is a consequence of this cannibalistic language and the ambiguous features of Dionysus.
Endorsements (2)
“This exhaustively researched book not only is unique in the field, it makes a significant contribution both to Johannine scholarship and to ancient Dionysian religion. . . . Dr. Cho already is an important voice in New Testament scholarship in South Korea and deserves this hearing more broadly, which Wipf & Stock has made possible.”
“This Is My Flesh integrates Johannine exegesis, Greco-Roman ideas, Dionysus cultic aspects, and a discussion on sacramentalism within the framework of a single monograph. Cho conceives of the Johannine Eucharist from the perspective of the sacred meal traditions and the Dionysus cult in the Greco-Roman religions. As it is a thoroughly researched and carefully written book, it will be a helpful resource to anyone who reads it.”
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