On Thursday I will be giving the Swan Lecture at Nebraska Wesleyan University. It's open to the public:
Swan Lecture: "When Prophecy Became Passion: the Death of Jesus and the Birth of the Gospels"
Thursday 23 February 2006, 1 p.m., Callen Conference Center (More here).
I travel tomorrow (Wednesday). I will take the blogging machine with me, but I don't know how much opportunity I will have to use it because I will also have a bunch of mid-term papers with me to grade (= to mark).
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Review of Biblical Literature Latest
Latest from the SBL Review of Biblical Literature under the NT heading:
Blomberg, Craig L.
Contagious Holiness: Jesus' meals with sinners
Reviewed by James Crossley
Chétanian, Rose Varteni, ed.
La Version Arménienne Ancienne des Homélies sur les Actes des Apotres de Jean Chrysostome Homélies I, II, VII, VIII
Reviewed by Robert Charles Hill
Herzog, William R., II.
Prophet and Teacher: An Introduction to the Historical Jesus
Reviewed by David Miller
Theobald, Michael
Studien zum Römerbrief
Reviewed by Heike Omerzu
Blomberg, Craig L.
Contagious Holiness: Jesus' meals with sinners
Reviewed by James Crossley
Chétanian, Rose Varteni, ed.
La Version Arménienne Ancienne des Homélies sur les Actes des Apotres de Jean Chrysostome Homélies I, II, VII, VIII
Reviewed by Robert Charles Hill
Herzog, William R., II.
Prophet and Teacher: An Introduction to the Historical Jesus
Reviewed by David Miller
Theobald, Michael
Studien zum Römerbrief
Reviewed by Heike Omerzu
Friday, February 17, 2006
Forgotten Criteria in the Jesus Quest II: View Common to Friend and Foe
I blogged last week on the first Forgotten Criterion in the Quest for the Historical Jesus, accidental information. This comes from a suggestion made almost thirty years ago by Michael Goulder. The suggestion is that we are on secure ground when someone like Paul gives away material that he is taking for granted, assuming as given between himself and his audience in an argument or discussion about something else. I don't think that enough people have reflected on just how strong the Pauline evidence here is, especially the evidence from 1 Corinthians, and I would like to return to this in a future post. As far as I am aware, no one has developed Goulder's interesting suggestion about this as a criterion in the historical Jesus quest. I suspect that part of the problem there is that Goulder's article was only a sketch, and it appeared in a book (The Myth of God Incarnate) that was notorious at the time for its theological reflections on the incarnation, in which Michael Goulder's comments on the historical Jesus were quickly forgotten. Goulder himself never developed those ideas in print, except in one place, a book review of Ben Meyer's Aims of Jesus, in which he commented on the similarity between Meyer's "indices" and his criteria.
In this post, I would like to bring forward another forgotten criterion in the search for the historical Jesus, the view common to friend and foe. I have looked through several discussions of criteria in historical Jesus research and have not found, yet, a single reference to this criterion, let alone any engagement with it. More is the shame, because here we are on solid ground.
E. P. Sanders and Margaret Davies, Studying the Synoptic Gospels (London: SCM; Philadelphia: Trinity Press International, 1989):
This discussion gets ignored, I would guess, for the same reason that many others of the gems in Studying the Synoptic Gospels get missed (e.g. the best discussion of form-criticism available anywhere, brilliant discussion of the Synoptic Problem). For some reason that I have never been able to fathom, scholars do not seem to read this book. Sanders's second example of this criterion (or "test", as he calls it) is the king / kingdom material, and I am less sure of the historicity of the kingship material in Mark's Passion Narrative than Sanders is, and I don't want to take away from the discussion of a strong criterion by bringing in a less certain example. But I would want to add other elements in the tradition that this criterion helps us with, on which more anon.
Update (Sunday, 17.55): Gary Greenberg emails: "I think this criterion needs stronger controls. The example cited doesn't really show that the foes had the view attributed to them. It is a polemic written long after the event by someone who was not a witness and it may be an invention or misrepresentation of what was said. What I suggest may be more useful is where a view is attributed to a foe contemporaneous with the author, say as in the disputes mentioned in Paul's letters between Paul and the Jerusalem Church or factional disputes in the Churches founded by Paul. While not a perfect control, it seems to exert more pressure on the author to come closer to what the opponent says than if he were writing about someone who wasn't around to respond."
See also the comments. I will comment on these points when I next have a moment.
In this post, I would like to bring forward another forgotten criterion in the search for the historical Jesus, the view common to friend and foe. I have looked through several discussions of criteria in historical Jesus research and have not found, yet, a single reference to this criterion, let alone any engagement with it. More is the shame, because here we are on solid ground.
E. P. Sanders and Margaret Davies, Studying the Synoptic Gospels (London: SCM; Philadelphia: Trinity Press International, 1989):
At first it seems that all the evidence is biased towards jesus. It is, however, extremely important to note that, while we have for Jesus no equivalent to Aristophanes on Socrates, we can discern in the gospels that he offended many and that he was executed on a serious charge. That is, the gospels, though biased in his favour, give us a glimpse of the views held by those who were biased against him.
Once we can discern both favourable and unfavourable portraits of Jesus, we can ask what is common to both portraits and we may have considerable confidence that what is common is historically sound . . . (302).
. . . .The gospels are based on 'propaganda', bias (in this case, in a good cause). We would understand more about Jesus and his impact -- or lack of it -- if we knew what his enemies thought. What friend and foe agreed on is presumably reliable material. Two facets of his career and message stand out as proved on this basis.
1. Miracles. In Jesus the Magician Morton Smith pointed out that we possess the enemies' view of Jesus as a miracle-worker. He was a magician. He could, they granted, cast out demons, but he did so by invoking Beelzebul . . . . (330)
This discussion gets ignored, I would guess, for the same reason that many others of the gems in Studying the Synoptic Gospels get missed (e.g. the best discussion of form-criticism available anywhere, brilliant discussion of the Synoptic Problem). For some reason that I have never been able to fathom, scholars do not seem to read this book. Sanders's second example of this criterion (or "test", as he calls it) is the king / kingdom material, and I am less sure of the historicity of the kingship material in Mark's Passion Narrative than Sanders is, and I don't want to take away from the discussion of a strong criterion by bringing in a less certain example. But I would want to add other elements in the tradition that this criterion helps us with, on which more anon.
Update (Sunday, 17.55): Gary Greenberg emails: "I think this criterion needs stronger controls. The example cited doesn't really show that the foes had the view attributed to them. It is a polemic written long after the event by someone who was not a witness and it may be an invention or misrepresentation of what was said. What I suggest may be more useful is where a view is attributed to a foe contemporaneous with the author, say as in the disputes mentioned in Paul's letters between Paul and the Jerusalem Church or factional disputes in the Churches founded by Paul. While not a perfect control, it seems to exert more pressure on the author to come closer to what the opponent says than if he were writing about someone who wasn't around to respond."
See also the comments. I will comment on these points when I next have a moment.
Hays on da Vinci Code
This is not a topic I often (ever?) blog about, but there's some local interest here so I thought I'd mention it. It's from the Biblical Recorder and link spotted on the Duke Divinity School website:
"Da Vinci Code" roundtable highlights conference
From contributed reports
"Da Vinci Code" roundtable highlights conference
From contributed reports
WAKE FOREST - More than 1,000 people ranging from high school and college students to seminary students, faculty and curious visitors gathered at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary Feb. 3-4 to hear scholars discuss Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code and the issues it raises regarding the reliability of the New Testament . . . .Well, I suppose it shows that discussions of Brown's wretched book at least get people engaging in some useful and interesting discussions.
. . . . Featured in the panel discussion were Norman Geisler, president of Southern Evangelical Seminary; University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill professor Bart Ehrman, the chairman of the school's Department of Religious Studies; Duke University Divinity School associate professor of New Testament Richard Hays; and Southeastern professor of New Testament Andreas Kostenberger . . . .
. . . . Hays was even less complimentary of the book.
Calling The Da Vinci Code "dreadful literature," "full of egregious historical errors," "a teeth-grinding experience," and "deeply confused theologically," Hays noted that it also has a readily observable anti-Catholic bias.
"It is characterized from start to finish by a virulent anti-Catholicism, a terrible bias against the Catholic church as an institution," said Hays, who belongs to the United Methodist denomination. "I find this a deeply morally offensive view on these grounds, and I should make clear that I'm not a Roman Catholic." . . . .
. . . . Perhaps the most contested question for panelists involved the New Testament as it relates to history and reliability. While Kostenberger and Geisler contended strongly for biblical inerrancy, both Hays and Ehrman found that explanation wanting.
"While the New Testament gospels do bear witness to the historical record of Jesus, they bring a theological witness, not a historical witness, to record," Hays said, adding that the New Testament contains "factual discrepancies that cannot be swept under the rug by any honest reader."
Ehrman, an agnostic who said that he formerly held to scriptural inerrancy while a student at Moody Bible College, told listeners that he changed his position during his studies at Princeton University, realizing that "God did not want me to throw away my mind." He urged students to read the New Testament to judge for themselves whether it contains errors . . . .
Library of New Testament Studies Page update
I've made some minor changes to the Library of New Testament Studies page which I host here on the NT Gateway. It's only a very basic information page still, but at least the information is now accurate. I've adjusted my details, from Birmingham to Duke. If anyone has sent emails to my old email address at Birmingham, they will have bounced -- it was switched off a month or two ago. I've also changed the name of the page to Library of New Testament Studies to reflect the name change from Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series. There are several more major things I will add in due course: the names of the editorial board, a comprehensive back list of JSNTS / LNTS volumes and, I hope, a space where we can push out the latest news on new volumes quickly and efficiently.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Schottroff on the Parables
This is new from Fortress Press:
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Envisioning the Reign of God Through Parables
MINNEAPOLIS (February 14, 2006)— The Parables of Jesus from Fortress Press envisions the reign of God through parables—and the social structures they imply.
In this startling work, Luise Schottroff proposes an alternative reading of Jesus' parables. Her work decries the traditional allegorizing of Jesus' stories, with their easy identification of God as one of the characters in the stories.
"A far-ranging, stimulating, and provocative volume that proposes a holistic and integrated approach to the parables. A special strength of the volume can be found in Schottroff's concerted effort to set the parables in the tradition of Jewish parabolic literature."
— William R. Herzog II, Colgate Rochester Divinity School
"This book is a brilliant combination of social history, literary acumen, and feminist/liberationist perspectives. It is a 'must read' for anyone, scholar, pastor, or student alike, who has ever tried to interpret or preach from the parables."
— Mary Ann Tolbert, Pacific School of Religion and the Graduate Theological Union
Luise Schottroff is an internationally-renowned New Testament scholar who has pioneered both feminist criticism of the New Testament and bold social-justice readings of the Gospels. She currently teaches at Union Theological Seminary, New York City. She is the author of twenty-two books, including Feminist Interpretation: The Bible in Women's Perspective (1999).
The Parables of Jesus
By Luise Schottroff, translated by Linda M. Maloney
Format: Paperback, 6” x 9”, 288 pages
Item No: 0-8006-3699-6
Price: $18.00
Publisher: Fortress Press
To order The Parables of Jesus call Fortress Press at 1-800-328-4648 or visit the web site at www.fortresspress.com. To request review copies (for media) or exam copies (for potential classroom use) please call 1-800-426-0115 ext. 234 or e-mail toddb@augsburgfortress.org. For speaking engagements and interviews call Bob Todd at 612-330-3234 or e-mail toddb@augsburgfortress.org.
--
--
Envisioning the Reign of God Through Parables
MINNEAPOLIS (February 14, 2006)— The Parables of Jesus from Fortress Press envisions the reign of God through parables—and the social structures they imply.
In this startling work, Luise Schottroff proposes an alternative reading of Jesus' parables. Her work decries the traditional allegorizing of Jesus' stories, with their easy identification of God as one of the characters in the stories.
"A far-ranging, stimulating, and provocative volume that proposes a holistic and integrated approach to the parables. A special strength of the volume can be found in Schottroff's concerted effort to set the parables in the tradition of Jewish parabolic literature."
— William R. Herzog II, Colgate Rochester Divinity School
"This book is a brilliant combination of social history, literary acumen, and feminist/liberationist perspectives. It is a 'must read' for anyone, scholar, pastor, or student alike, who has ever tried to interpret or preach from the parables."
— Mary Ann Tolbert, Pacific School of Religion and the Graduate Theological Union
Luise Schottroff is an internationally-renowned New Testament scholar who has pioneered both feminist criticism of the New Testament and bold social-justice readings of the Gospels. She currently teaches at Union Theological Seminary, New York City. She is the author of twenty-two books, including Feminist Interpretation: The Bible in Women's Perspective (1999).
The Parables of Jesus
By Luise Schottroff, translated by Linda M. Maloney
Format: Paperback, 6” x 9”, 288 pages
Item No: 0-8006-3699-6
Price: $18.00
Publisher: Fortress Press
To order The Parables of Jesus call Fortress Press at 1-800-328-4648 or visit the web site at www.fortresspress.com. To request review copies (for media) or exam copies (for potential classroom use) please call 1-800-426-0115 ext. 234 or e-mail toddb@augsburgfortress.org. For speaking engagements and interviews call Bob Todd at 612-330-3234 or e-mail toddb@augsburgfortress.org.
--
Wrightsaid latest
The N. T. Wright page has the latest Wrightsaid Q and A session, in which Tom Wright answers the punters' questions on matters Biblical, theological and biographical:
Bishop Tom Wright responds to Wrightsaid questions (February 2006)
Includes: is God the Father YHWH, or is the entire Trinity YHWH? And an interesting question on Wright's views on the context group, featuring this enjoyable line:
Update (12.17): Loren Rosson comments on The Busybody.
[This is the 2,000th NT Gateway blog post]
Bishop Tom Wright responds to Wrightsaid questions (February 2006)
Includes: is God the Father YHWH, or is the entire Trinity YHWH? And an interesting question on Wright's views on the context group, featuring this enjoyable line:
What they succeed in doing, and what we need to pay close attention to, is joggling us out of our comfortable assumptions that, as I think Neyrey puts it, the ancient Mediterranean world was much like ours except without electronic toys.
Update (12.17): Loren Rosson comments on The Busybody.
[This is the 2,000th NT Gateway blog post]
Monday, February 13, 2006
Busybody Book Reviews
Don't miss a couple of very interesting book reviews on Loren Rosson's blog The Busybody:
The Rolling Gospel of Thomas
Recovering the Original Gospel of Thomas, by April DeConick. T&T Clark International, Dec 2005. ISBN 0-567-04342-8.
Social Science Commentary on the Letters of Paul
Social Science Commentary on the Letters of Paul, by Bruce Malina and John Pilch. ISBN 0-8006-3640-6.
As often, Loren is up to speed on the latest stuff and has read and digested these two books and has some very helpful reflections. I am inclined to agree with Loren on DeConick, which I have read (I edit the series in which it appears) and plan to comment on myself in due course. I have read some of Malina and Pilch too, and there has been a little discussion of it on Corpus-Paulinum, particularly in relation to the claim that Paul was not apostle "to the Gentiles" but to Greek Israelites. It would take a lot to convince me of that, and so far Malina and Pilch have not done so.
Update (17 February): Stephen Carlson comments on DeConick in Hypotyposeis.
The Rolling Gospel of Thomas
Recovering the Original Gospel of Thomas, by April DeConick. T&T Clark International, Dec 2005. ISBN 0-567-04342-8.
Social Science Commentary on the Letters of Paul
Social Science Commentary on the Letters of Paul, by Bruce Malina and John Pilch. ISBN 0-8006-3640-6.
As often, Loren is up to speed on the latest stuff and has read and digested these two books and has some very helpful reflections. I am inclined to agree with Loren on DeConick, which I have read (I edit the series in which it appears) and plan to comment on myself in due course. I have read some of Malina and Pilch too, and there has been a little discussion of it on Corpus-Paulinum, particularly in relation to the claim that Paul was not apostle "to the Gentiles" but to Greek Israelites. It would take a lot to convince me of that, and so far Malina and Pilch have not done so.
Update (17 February): Stephen Carlson comments on DeConick in Hypotyposeis.
John Lyons' new blog
Another British New Testament scholar has joined the blogging community ("assimilated to the blogosphere" as Jim Davila would say):
Reception of the Bible
Reception of the Bible
So what does interest me? Real readers of the Bible interest me. I was trained to do historical critical work on ‘original meanings’ and still do it occasionally. I also teach such approaches. But what really interests me is seeing how people encounter texts and what they do with them.The author is John Lyons, Lecturer in New Testament in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Bristol. The blog begins with some enjoyable reflections on "Why blog?", from which the above quotation is taken (and you don't have to be concerned about my family, John; they all spend as long staring at computers as I do, and my wife Viola spends longer blogging than I do). John goes on with two posts on Jonathan Edwards (second here), the eighteenth century American evangelical, and not the contemporary British triple-jumper-come-TV presenter, about whom, I must admit, I know more. Anyway, a warm welcome to the blogosphere, John.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Historical Jesus Forgotten Criteria I: Accidental Information
I am doing some thinking about the notorious "criteria" for dividing authentic from inauthentic material in Historical Jesus research, brought on because I am in the middle of teaching this at the moment. Having re-read various of the scholarly discussions of criteria, I have been struck by a couple of promising and helpful criteria that are missing in recent literature. The first of these is particularly badly represented in the literature. Indeed, the only person I know who mentions it is Michael Goulder, almost thirty years ago:
Update (14 January, 09.48): thanks for all the comments on the post, several of which show that some more clarity is required in defining this criterion. Goulder's point, as I see it, is that a given author will give away information that is shared by him/herself and his/her audience in the course of constructing an argument about something else. So when Paul says "Have I not got the right to take a believer as wife . . . as do the brothers of the Lord" (1 Cor. 9.5), the information here provided en passant is "Jesus had brothers" and, what's more, "Jesus' brothers were married". His point is not to convey this information; he is not narrating this information, or making it available afresh to readers who previously knew nothing of it. Rather, it is shared information that Paul can take for granted, but which gets conveyed (to us as historians) while he is relating other information as part of an argument. To try to make the point more clearly still, Paul's point in 1 Cor. 9.5 only makes sense if it was reasonably widely known that Jesus had brothers who went on mission. The argument takes for granted that there were such people, and the assumption is necessary for the argument to work. It is not the point of the argument.
Accidental Information. “Paul is trying to tell the Corinthians that Jesus rose from the dead, and he says, ‘He appeared to Cephas’: he tells us by accident that there was a man known as Cephas, and this is therefore dependable. Detection, both criminal and historical, is largely based on this criterion.” (Michael Goulder, “Jesus: The Man of Universal Destiny” in John Hick (ed.), The Myth of God Incarnate (London: SCM, 1977): 48-63, 50).I need to think about this a little more, but I reckon that this is actually a criterion people are often working with without realizing it. The problem with Goulder's discussion is that it is only a sketch, and he gives few examples of this kind of material, where early Christian writers reveal information en passant, but he also points to "the Twelve" in 1 Cor. 15.5 as another example (Goulder, "Jesus": 54). One might add other information that Paul provides in passing, like the fact that Jesus had brothers who were married (where the point is that people have a right to take a believing wife on mission, 1 Cor. 9.5), or likewise that Cephas was married (also 1 Cor. 9.5). And I reckon the criterion could be applied to some of the Gospel material too, e.g. that Jesus had a house in Capernaum (Mark 2.15)?
Update (14 January, 09.48): thanks for all the comments on the post, several of which show that some more clarity is required in defining this criterion. Goulder's point, as I see it, is that a given author will give away information that is shared by him/herself and his/her audience in the course of constructing an argument about something else. So when Paul says "Have I not got the right to take a believer as wife . . . as do the brothers of the Lord" (1 Cor. 9.5), the information here provided en passant is "Jesus had brothers" and, what's more, "Jesus' brothers were married". His point is not to convey this information; he is not narrating this information, or making it available afresh to readers who previously knew nothing of it. Rather, it is shared information that Paul can take for granted, but which gets conveyed (to us as historians) while he is relating other information as part of an argument. To try to make the point more clearly still, Paul's point in 1 Cor. 9.5 only makes sense if it was reasonably widely known that Jesus had brothers who went on mission. The argument takes for granted that there were such people, and the assumption is necessary for the argument to work. It is not the point of the argument.
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Lots of blogs of interest
There are lots of new blogs of interest in our area. Here are the latest additions to my blogroll:
Bible and History Lists Comments
To collect various notes and comments of mine regarding list posts on various Bible and Ancient Near East related lists
Yitzak Sapir
This one was via Paleojudaica. The next is one I spotted myself while surfing:
Markus McDowell's Blog
Teaching, researching, and writing about the Second Temple period and early Christianity
Mark McDowell is Assistant Professor of New Testament at Westmont College, Santa Barbara, California, and his homepage has publications list, class materials and so on.
This one has been posted in various places (e.g. Bible Software Review Weblog) and will be of interest to Mac enthusiasts, and especially Accordance enthusiasts (and there are lots of those):
Accordance Blog
News, How-tos, and assorted Views on Accordance Bible Software.
The authors appear to be Helen Brown and David Lang.
The next one has stalled a bit after its first week of postings at the beginning of the year, but it's worth mentioning in case it returns again:
Biblia Theologica
Biblical and theological postings of varied lengths by a student of the New Testament and of Biblical Theology
A. B. Caneday
The author is professor of New Testament Studies & Biblical Theology at Northwestern College, Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA. This one was noticed by Michael Bird on Euangelion.
Next up is another recommendation of Michael Bird on Euangelion:
Pantodapos
Sundry thoughts on Biblical Studies, History, Philosophy, Greek, Textual Criticism and Literature
Eric Sowell
If the name sounds familiar, it is because Eric already has a tech blog called The Coding Humanist.
A third recommendation from Michael Bird on Euangelion is:
Gospel of Matthew
Blogging on the New Testament (especially its first book) and other things
J. B. Hood
The author explains "This blog is a forum for my thoughts and those of others with similar interests. I'm currently pursuing a PhD in New Testament from Highland Theological College, University of Aberdeen, and Matthew's Gospel (the subject of my dissertation) will be a key theme."
Back to Jim Davila's recommendations on Paleojudaica, with his characteristic "assimilated to the blogosphere" header is:
Targuman
Christian Brady
Observatório Bíblico
Blog sobre estudos acadêmicos da Bíblia. Associado à Ayrton's Biblical Page. A weblog about academic studies of the Bible
Airton José da Silva
A good one for practising your Portuguese, and nice to see a few links to this blog there too.
It also emerges that I had not linked to this before now:
Chrisendom
My research topic (under the supervision of Max Turner) concerns the christological significance of the language Paul used to decribe the relationship between risen Lord and believer
Chris Tilling
I think I was put off by the fact that the blog was originally called "Brain poo", surely one of the worst blog titles in living memory, now happily adjusted to Chrisendom (minus the "t"). It was blog of the month on Biblioblogs.com
I have also dropped one or two of the blogs that have stalled into limbo.
Bible and History Lists Comments
To collect various notes and comments of mine regarding list posts on various Bible and Ancient Near East related lists
Yitzak Sapir
This one was via Paleojudaica. The next is one I spotted myself while surfing:
Markus McDowell's Blog
Teaching, researching, and writing about the Second Temple period and early Christianity
Mark McDowell is Assistant Professor of New Testament at Westmont College, Santa Barbara, California, and his homepage has publications list, class materials and so on.
This one has been posted in various places (e.g. Bible Software Review Weblog) and will be of interest to Mac enthusiasts, and especially Accordance enthusiasts (and there are lots of those):
Accordance Blog
News, How-tos, and assorted Views on Accordance Bible Software.
The authors appear to be Helen Brown and David Lang.
The next one has stalled a bit after its first week of postings at the beginning of the year, but it's worth mentioning in case it returns again:
Biblia Theologica
Biblical and theological postings of varied lengths by a student of the New Testament and of Biblical Theology
A. B. Caneday
The author is professor of New Testament Studies & Biblical Theology at Northwestern College, Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA. This one was noticed by Michael Bird on Euangelion.
Next up is another recommendation of Michael Bird on Euangelion:
Pantodapos
Sundry thoughts on Biblical Studies, History, Philosophy, Greek, Textual Criticism and Literature
Eric Sowell
If the name sounds familiar, it is because Eric already has a tech blog called The Coding Humanist.
A third recommendation from Michael Bird on Euangelion is:
Gospel of Matthew
Blogging on the New Testament (especially its first book) and other things
J. B. Hood
The author explains "This blog is a forum for my thoughts and those of others with similar interests. I'm currently pursuing a PhD in New Testament from Highland Theological College, University of Aberdeen, and Matthew's Gospel (the subject of my dissertation) will be a key theme."
Back to Jim Davila's recommendations on Paleojudaica, with his characteristic "assimilated to the blogosphere" header is:
Targuman
Christian Brady
The Name - "Targuman" comes from my field of study (that of the targumim, the Aramaic versions of the Bible) but the full story is a little better than just that. Back when eWorld was a reality I had an email address that attempted to reflect my field, "otman" for "Old Testament." But that was only part of my field and my undergraduate supervisor suggested "meturgeman" (the one in the synagogal service who would translate the Hebrew reading into Aramaic). That seemed to lack the super hero quality I was looking for, so I settled for "Targuman." Now I just need a "T" to sew on my chest...The next is one I thought I had added to my blogroll, but it turns out I had not. It was mentioned by Jim Davila in Paleojudaica back in December:
The Purpose - I intend to follow Ralph's lead and simply post that which is of interest to me. Sometimes scholarly and theological at other times Mac related or political. Who knows? (Yab -- yet another blog)
Observatório Bíblico
Blog sobre estudos acadêmicos da Bíblia. Associado à Ayrton's Biblical Page. A weblog about academic studies of the Bible
Airton José da Silva
A good one for practising your Portuguese, and nice to see a few links to this blog there too.
It also emerges that I had not linked to this before now:
Chrisendom
My research topic (under the supervision of Max Turner) concerns the christological significance of the language Paul used to decribe the relationship between risen Lord and believer
Chris Tilling
I think I was put off by the fact that the blog was originally called "Brain poo", surely one of the worst blog titles in living memory, now happily adjusted to Chrisendom (minus the "t"). It was blog of the month on Biblioblogs.com
I have also dropped one or two of the blogs that have stalled into limbo.
Friday, February 10, 2006
Hearing Mark's Endings
Another book I was delighted to hear about was this one:
Hearing Mark's Endings: Listening to Ancient Popular Texts through Speech Act Theory
by Bridget Gilfillan Upton
2006
ISBN 90 04 14791 8
Hardback (xviii, 246 pp.)
EUR 95.- / US$ 128.-
Biblical Interpretation Series, 79
This is one I've not read yet, but I am looking forward to doing so, and I would like to offer my congratulations to Bridget on the publication (which has some cracking endorsements on the Brill website). (Spotted on Evangelical Textual Criticism).
Hearing Mark's Endings: Listening to Ancient Popular Texts through Speech Act Theoryby Bridget Gilfillan Upton
2006
ISBN 90 04 14791 8
Hardback (xviii, 246 pp.)
EUR 95.- / US$ 128.-
Biblical Interpretation Series, 79
This is one I've not read yet, but I am looking forward to doing so, and I would like to offer my congratulations to Bridget on the publication (which has some cracking endorsements on the Brill website). (Spotted on Evangelical Textual Criticism).
Ancient Compositional Practices and the Synoptic Problem
Allow me to echo Stephen Carlson's notice on Hypotyposeis of the good news that the following is out:
Ancient Compositional Practices and the Synoptic Problem
R. A. Derrenbacker, Jr.
It's published by Peeters (BETL, 186) and mentioned in Bob's Blog. I read (own) a copy of the dissertation on which the book is based, and I am looking forward to reading this (even if Bob does underestimate the strength of the Farrer theory).
Ancient Compositional Practices and the Synoptic Problem
R. A. Derrenbacker, Jr.
It's published by Peeters (BETL, 186) and mentioned in Bob's Blog. I read (own) a copy of the dissertation on which the book is based, and I am looking forward to reading this (even if Bob does underestimate the strength of the Farrer theory).
Biblical Studies Carnival
I missed the boat on this one and didn't submit anything to Tyler Williams on time; and I have almost missed the boat even in mentioning it in time, but not quite. So here, belatedly, is notice of Biblical Studies Carnival II. The carnival idea is new to me, and intriguing. The idea is that bloggers submit their favourite posts in a given month to a host who makes his or her own selection and posts annotated links to them. I don't know where the term "carnival" comes from in this context, but it's rather a nice one and evokes images of smiling faces, crowds and waving flags that is a fun way to celebrate what are sometimes quite serious academic blog entries. Anyway, it looks like Tyler has got a whole bunch of hosts lined up for future Biblical Studies Carnivals, and it is to be a monthly phenomenon. So a big thanks to Tyler and to all those who have contributed, and I promise to try to contibute myself in the future.
Scholars: H
I have refreshed the NT Gateway Scholars: H page -- a new URL for Charles Hedrick, changed details for KC Hanson and deletions of Peter Hofrichter and Bernard Heininger, neither of whom can I find.
Roy Ciampa's Resources for New Testament Exegesis
Latest update to the NT Gateway page of Biblical Resource Index Pages is the following:
Resources for New Testament Exegesis
By Roy E. Ciampa: very useful series of links to materials on New Testament exegesis originally prepared for students at Gordon-Conwell Seminary, but this is not just an index page. Special features include a set of reference charts for NT textual criticism, tutorials for using several software and web resources, and some creative links to resources available at Amazon.com (including translations of early Jewish literature, scripture indices, Aland's chart of synoptic parallels.
Roy Ciampa is at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.
While updating the page, I noticed that Jerry Truex and Loren Stuckenbruck's Webnexus has finally bitten the dust. It had not been updated for several years, but now the link has gone too, a shame because it was a great resource, and once upon a time a Featured Link (February 2000).
Resources for New Testament Exegesis
By Roy E. Ciampa: very useful series of links to materials on New Testament exegesis originally prepared for students at Gordon-Conwell Seminary, but this is not just an index page. Special features include a set of reference charts for NT textual criticism, tutorials for using several software and web resources, and some creative links to resources available at Amazon.com (including translations of early Jewish literature, scripture indices, Aland's chart of synoptic parallels.
Roy Ciampa is at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.
While updating the page, I noticed that Jerry Truex and Loren Stuckenbruck's Webnexus has finally bitten the dust. It had not been updated for several years, but now the link has gone too, a shame because it was a great resource, and once upon a time a Featured Link (February 2000).
Apostolic Fathers links update
Speaking of the apostolic fathers, thanks to Jamie Phelps for pointing out that the UPenn link to Lightfoot's translation of the Apostolic Fathers is no longer functional. I've now removed that from the NT Gateway Early Church and Patristics Page and have replaced it with a link to Rick Brannan's Apostolic Fathers Look Up Tool.
The New Testament and the Apostolic Fathers
Thanks to Katharine Hellier of Oxford University Press for sending these over:
The Reception of the New Testament in the Apostolic Fathers
Edited by Andrew Gregory and Christopher Tuckett
* Detailed, clearly focused, up-to-date and comprehensive surveys of the books of the New Testament that may have been used by each of the Apostolic Fathers
1 December 2005 | £55.00 | Hardback | 389 pages
For more details, visit: http://www.oup.co.uk/isbn/0-19-926782-0
Trajectories through the New Testament and the Apostolic Fathers
Edited by Andrew Gregory and Christopher Tuckett
* Wide-ranging essays looking at the development of Christianity as seen in sources both within the New Testament and in other early Christian literature
1 December 2005 | £65.00 | Hardback | 524 pages
For more details, visit: http://www.oup.co.uk/isbn/0-19-926783-9
The New Testament and the Apostolic Fathers
Edited by Andrew Gregory and Christopher Tuckett
1 December 2005 | £100.00 | Hardback | 928 pages
For more details, visit: http://www.oup.co.uk/isbn/0-19-926784-7
The Reception of the New Testament in the Apostolic Fathers
Edited by Andrew Gregory and Christopher Tuckett
* Detailed, clearly focused, up-to-date and comprehensive surveys of the books of the New Testament that may have been used by each of the Apostolic Fathers
1 December 2005 | £55.00 | Hardback | 389 pages
For more details, visit: http://www.oup.co.uk/isbn/0-19-926782-0
Trajectories through the New Testament and the Apostolic Fathers
Edited by Andrew Gregory and Christopher Tuckett
* Wide-ranging essays looking at the development of Christianity as seen in sources both within the New Testament and in other early Christian literature
1 December 2005 | £65.00 | Hardback | 524 pages
For more details, visit: http://www.oup.co.uk/isbn/0-19-926783-9
The New Testament and the Apostolic Fathers
Edited by Andrew Gregory and Christopher Tuckett
1 December 2005 | £100.00 | Hardback | 928 pages
For more details, visit: http://www.oup.co.uk/isbn/0-19-926784-7
N. T. Wright podcast
It's not every day that you can get a podcast featuring a prominent N. T. scholar, but the N. T. Wright Page alerts us to this:
N. T. Wright and New Insights on Paul
What did the phrase 'Son of God' mean to a first century Jew? What did it mean to a first century Roman? Bishop N.T. Wright, the most inflential New Testament scholar in the English-speaking world, talks with Jerry about his new book, "Paul."
To recieve [sic] this Podcast, click here.
It is an interview with a certain Jerry Bowyer. I've not listened to it myself yet, not having caught up with more leisurely, non NT podcasts that remind me of England, but I'm sure this will be of interest to many.
So who will be the next NT scholar to podcast, or be interviewed on a podcast? Ehrman? Pagels? Crossan?
N. T. Wright and New Insights on Paul
What did the phrase 'Son of God' mean to a first century Jew? What did it mean to a first century Roman? Bishop N.T. Wright, the most inflential New Testament scholar in the English-speaking world, talks with Jerry about his new book, "Paul."
To recieve [sic] this Podcast, click here.
It is an interview with a certain Jerry Bowyer. I've not listened to it myself yet, not having caught up with more leisurely, non NT podcasts that remind me of England, but I'm sure this will be of interest to many.
So who will be the next NT scholar to podcast, or be interviewed on a podcast? Ehrman? Pagels? Crossan?
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Jesus the Craftsman and the Evidence from Paul
I was thinking this morning about Jesus as a τέκτων, a craftsman, and it occurred to me that the fact that Jesus was known (at least by Mark, 6.3) to have worked with his hands could have provided Paul with a useful argument in 1 Cor. 9. The background of that chapter appears to be that Paul has been criticized for earning a living and so not sponging off the Corinthians when he was on mission there. It seems that his apostolic credentials have been called into question, that apostles would be expected to earn their living by preaching the gospel, and that Paul and Barnabas are exceptions to this rule. I have always felt a bit sorry for Paul here, working hard with his hands in between his missionary activity, and then getting criticized for it. But what I began to wonder today was about one of the arguments that Paul did not use.
Paul could have said in this context, "Did not the Lord himself work with his hands? Was he not a craftsman?" Or something like that. This might have been quite a useful point for Paul in a context where he is up against the practice of the apostles, Cephas, even Jesus' own brothers (cf. 1 Cor. 9.5), and where there is apparently a command of the Lord (9.14) that these people are under, to the effect that evangelists should earn their living by evangelizing. So why does he not appeal to that precedent? What are the possibilities? Here are a few options:
(1) Paul did not know that Jesus was a craftsman. He had never thought to ask Peter, James or anyone else, and they had not volunteered the information.
(2) Jesus was not a craftsman; Mark 6.3 is not a reliable tradition.
(3) Paul knew the tradition but did not think to use it in this context, especially as he is up against the practice of those who actually knew Jesus, and who were quoting his words.
(4) Jesus was not (thought to have been) a craftsman during his active, itinerant mission. He began his mission in Capernaum, but he had only been a craftsman in Nazareth and its surrounds. If this was (thought to have been) the case, it would have been counter-productive for Paul to have brought up Jesus' job, because the natural answer would be: "Yes, and the Lord did not work with his hands when he was preaching the gospel, for he said 'Let the one who preaches the gospel get his living by the gospel.'"
I think (3) is perhaps the most likely, but option (4) ought to be entertained too. The Mark 6.1-6 story, in which the reference occurs, assumes that Jesus' job was known to his audience in Nazareth. Was it perhaps associated with Jesus in Nazareth, and does Jesus' move to and activity in Capernaum coincide with his gospel-preaching activity, according to which he now lives off others? The tradition in Mark 3.21 and 31-5, where Jesus' family come to restrain him might then reflect a time when Jesus was no longer a craftsman at home in Nazareth, but now a charismatic on a mission, and they think he is mad, having left the family home and business.
Or perhaps not. Just a thought.
Incidentally, one of the things that got me thinking about this area was a post from a while ago by Michael Bird of Euangelion on Jesus the Stonemason, which discusses translations of Mark 6.3 and refers to an interesting recent article by Ken Campbell in a journal I don't think I've read before, I'm ashamed to say, called Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, "What was Jesus' Occupation?", JETS 48.3 (2005): 501-20. The second half of the article is a rather uncritical lumping together of Synoptic data en masse in the search for the imagery used in Jesus' teaching (with no reference to the carefully sifted itinerary of imagery in Goulder's sadly underrated and underused Midrash and Lection in Matthew), but the first half was a clear and very useful working through the lexical evidence on the meaning of τέκτων in Greek literature, making it pretty clear that the term on its own without qualification should be translated something like "craftsman". "Carpenter" or "stone-mason" or "metal worker" would all be too specific.
Paul could have said in this context, "Did not the Lord himself work with his hands? Was he not a craftsman?" Or something like that. This might have been quite a useful point for Paul in a context where he is up against the practice of the apostles, Cephas, even Jesus' own brothers (cf. 1 Cor. 9.5), and where there is apparently a command of the Lord (9.14) that these people are under, to the effect that evangelists should earn their living by evangelizing. So why does he not appeal to that precedent? What are the possibilities? Here are a few options:
(1) Paul did not know that Jesus was a craftsman. He had never thought to ask Peter, James or anyone else, and they had not volunteered the information.
(2) Jesus was not a craftsman; Mark 6.3 is not a reliable tradition.
(3) Paul knew the tradition but did not think to use it in this context, especially as he is up against the practice of those who actually knew Jesus, and who were quoting his words.
(4) Jesus was not (thought to have been) a craftsman during his active, itinerant mission. He began his mission in Capernaum, but he had only been a craftsman in Nazareth and its surrounds. If this was (thought to have been) the case, it would have been counter-productive for Paul to have brought up Jesus' job, because the natural answer would be: "Yes, and the Lord did not work with his hands when he was preaching the gospel, for he said 'Let the one who preaches the gospel get his living by the gospel.'"
I think (3) is perhaps the most likely, but option (4) ought to be entertained too. The Mark 6.1-6 story, in which the reference occurs, assumes that Jesus' job was known to his audience in Nazareth. Was it perhaps associated with Jesus in Nazareth, and does Jesus' move to and activity in Capernaum coincide with his gospel-preaching activity, according to which he now lives off others? The tradition in Mark 3.21 and 31-5, where Jesus' family come to restrain him might then reflect a time when Jesus was no longer a craftsman at home in Nazareth, but now a charismatic on a mission, and they think he is mad, having left the family home and business.
Or perhaps not. Just a thought.
Incidentally, one of the things that got me thinking about this area was a post from a while ago by Michael Bird of Euangelion on Jesus the Stonemason, which discusses translations of Mark 6.3 and refers to an interesting recent article by Ken Campbell in a journal I don't think I've read before, I'm ashamed to say, called Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, "What was Jesus' Occupation?", JETS 48.3 (2005): 501-20. The second half of the article is a rather uncritical lumping together of Synoptic data en masse in the search for the imagery used in Jesus' teaching (with no reference to the carefully sifted itinerary of imagery in Goulder's sadly underrated and underused Midrash and Lection in Matthew), but the first half was a clear and very useful working through the lexical evidence on the meaning of τέκτων in Greek literature, making it pretty clear that the term on its own without qualification should be translated something like "craftsman". "Carpenter" or "stone-mason" or "metal worker" would all be too specific.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Bible Films Blog
One of the latest additions to my Blogroll is:
Bible Films Blog
Looking at film interpretations of the stories in the bible - past, present and future as well as current film releases with spiritual significance, and odd bits and pieces on the bible
The author is Matt Page and we have corresponded for some years now on Jesus films; I don't think we have ever met (though Matt lives in my birth county of Leicestershire). Matt has lots of interesting things to say about the Bible in film, and his knowledge on the subject is second to none. There is already a ton of interesting stuff on the Bible Films Blog and I am looking forward to digesting it when I get a moment (one of these days I will be able to find a spare moment) and, I hope, adding some comments.
Welcome to the blogosphere, Matt.
Bible Films Blog
Looking at film interpretations of the stories in the bible - past, present and future as well as current film releases with spiritual significance, and odd bits and pieces on the bible
The author is Matt Page and we have corresponded for some years now on Jesus films; I don't think we have ever met (though Matt lives in my birth county of Leicestershire). Matt has lots of interesting things to say about the Bible in film, and his knowledge on the subject is second to none. There is already a ton of interesting stuff on the Bible Films Blog and I am looking forward to digesting it when I get a moment (one of these days I will be able to find a spare moment) and, I hope, adding some comments.
Welcome to the blogosphere, Matt.
Review of Biblical Literature latest
Latest from the SBL Review of Biblical Literature under the NT heading:
Becker, Eva-Marie, ed.
Die antike Historiographie und die Anfange der christlichen Geschichtesschreibung
Reviewed by Tobias Nicklas
Khiok-khng (K. k.), Yeo, ed.
Navigating Romans through Cultures: Challenging Readings by Charting a New Course
Reviewed by Johannes Loubser
Penner, Todd
In Praise of Christian Origins: Stephen and the Hellenists in Lukan Apologetic Historiography
Reviewed by Shelly Matthews
Seland, Torrey
Strangers in the Light: Philonic Perspectives on Christian Identity in 1 Peter
Reviewed by Fika Van Rensburg
Stare, Mira
Durch ihn leben: Die Lebensthematik in Joh 6
Reviewed by Michael Labahn
Court, John M., ed.
Biblical Interpretation: The Meanings of Scripture-- Past and Present
Reviewed by Stephen Moyise
Becker, Eva-Marie, ed.
Die antike Historiographie und die Anfange der christlichen Geschichtesschreibung
Reviewed by Tobias Nicklas
Khiok-khng (K. k.), Yeo, ed.
Navigating Romans through Cultures: Challenging Readings by Charting a New Course
Reviewed by Johannes Loubser
Penner, Todd
In Praise of Christian Origins: Stephen and the Hellenists in Lukan Apologetic Historiography
Reviewed by Shelly Matthews
Seland, Torrey
Strangers in the Light: Philonic Perspectives on Christian Identity in 1 Peter
Reviewed by Fika Van Rensburg
Stare, Mira
Durch ihn leben: Die Lebensthematik in Joh 6
Reviewed by Michael Labahn
Court, John M., ed.
Biblical Interpretation: The Meanings of Scripture-- Past and Present
Reviewed by Stephen Moyise
Friday, February 03, 2006
"You say so" continued
This time last week I managed to find a little time to post on Jesus' answer to Pilate in Mark 15.2, "You say so", in response to Phil Harland on the Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean blog. There are some useful responses now from Loren Rosson on The Busybody, "You Say So" and "You Say So" II: The Question of Messiahs, from Wayne Leman on Better Bibles, Translating συ λεγεις of Mark 15:2, and Stephen Carlson on Hypotyposeis, Morton Smith on Mark 15:2 ("So you say"). There are some particularly interesting and useful points made here, and I'd like to comment on some of them and to expand my own thoughts.
Stephen draws attention to a fascinating article by Morton Smith, “Notes on Goodspeed’s ‘Problems of New Testament Translation’,” JBL 64 (1945): 501-514 (which, incidentally, gives me the opportunity to mention for the first time, and belatedly, the fantastic new service to SBL members of the complete JBL back-catalogue at JSTOR). It's a cracking article, and on the case in point recommends the translation "So you say" "to preserve in English the ambiguity of the Greek, for it is only fair to the unlearned reader that the English text should present the same opportunities for misunderstanding as does the Greek". Stephen quotes the following segment from 308:
In other words, Mark is careful to distinguish between terms like "Messiah" and "King", one of which Jesus is willing to own if he can qualify it, and one of which he is not. The term "Messiah" is always and inevitably eschatological -- it points forward to a time in the future when Jesus will be acknowledged as king. He is anointed to rule, but he is not ruling yet; the kingdom is still in the future. I think that one of the reasons that we tend to miss this nuance is that we tend to make "Messiah" and "King" synonyms when they are not. David was an anointed one before he was a king, and Jesus is his son. This is where I find elements in Loren Rosson's post helpful, especially the reminder of the importance of distinguising between messiahs and kings, even if I am not sure how we would work out such issues in relation to the historical Jesus.
One of the remarkable things about Mark's Passion Narrative is that he does have repeated royal imagery, and the term "king" repeatedly occurs on the lips of his opponents. Is the crucifixion a kind of darkly ironic coronation -- is this when Jesus the Messiah becomes King, when his kingdom comes? I suspect that this is the right way to read Mark. Jesus is anointed to suffer and die and be raised, and only through that destiny does he finally become King -- but the full consummation comes when he returns as King.
But there is another element in the exchange with Pilate that is too easily missed if we focus just on "Messiah" and "King" terminology. Pilate asks Jesus if he is King of the Jews. But Mark's Jesus does not want to own that term since he is anointed not just to become a king of the Jews but also a king of all nations. Only consider the incident in the Temple, where in Mark the complaint is that the temple should be a house of prayer for all the nations (11.17).
Stephen draws attention to a fascinating article by Morton Smith, “Notes on Goodspeed’s ‘Problems of New Testament Translation’,” JBL 64 (1945): 501-514 (which, incidentally, gives me the opportunity to mention for the first time, and belatedly, the fantastic new service to SBL members of the complete JBL back-catalogue at JSTOR). It's a cracking article, and on the case in point recommends the translation "So you say" "to preserve in English the ambiguity of the Greek, for it is only fair to the unlearned reader that the English text should present the same opportunities for misunderstanding as does the Greek". Stephen quotes the following segment from 308:
. . . The case of the answer to Pilate is exactly similar. For the Evangelists, of course, Jesus was a king. But when Pilate asks him if he is, they make him reply Σὺ λέγεις. And here their motive is clear, for, as John goes out of his way to explain, “Everyone that maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.” If, then, Jesus had openly claimed to be a king, in Pilate’s hearing, he would have been guilty of, and accordingly executed for, lèse-majesté. But all the Gospels are at pains to make clear that Pilate found Jesus innocent and had him executed only as a favor to the Jews. With the historical truth of this account we are not here concerned. The historical motive, which concerns us, is perfectly clear, for it was one of the principal fulfillments of prophecy, one of the main points of the apostolic preaching, that the Messiah, should be cast out and effectively killed by his own people. Σὺ λέγεις, therefore, in these passages, must be an ambiguous statement capable at least of being misunderstood by Pilate. . . .I think that there is another element to what is going on, though, and I am not sure about the statement that "For the Evangelists, of course, Jesus was a king." Well, yes and no. For Mark, Jesus was the Messiah, the one anointed, but what was he anointed to do or to be? Mark's answer is that he was anointed to suffer, to die, to be raised and to be exalted as Son of Man. I don't think he conceives of Jesus as a "king" during his life-time -- that would be a nonsense. His kingdom is in the future. Some of those present with him would not taste death before they had tasted it, but it was not here yet.
In other words, Mark is careful to distinguish between terms like "Messiah" and "King", one of which Jesus is willing to own if he can qualify it, and one of which he is not. The term "Messiah" is always and inevitably eschatological -- it points forward to a time in the future when Jesus will be acknowledged as king. He is anointed to rule, but he is not ruling yet; the kingdom is still in the future. I think that one of the reasons that we tend to miss this nuance is that we tend to make "Messiah" and "King" synonyms when they are not. David was an anointed one before he was a king, and Jesus is his son. This is where I find elements in Loren Rosson's post helpful, especially the reminder of the importance of distinguising between messiahs and kings, even if I am not sure how we would work out such issues in relation to the historical Jesus.
One of the remarkable things about Mark's Passion Narrative is that he does have repeated royal imagery, and the term "king" repeatedly occurs on the lips of his opponents. Is the crucifixion a kind of darkly ironic coronation -- is this when Jesus the Messiah becomes King, when his kingdom comes? I suspect that this is the right way to read Mark. Jesus is anointed to suffer and die and be raised, and only through that destiny does he finally become King -- but the full consummation comes when he returns as King.
But there is another element in the exchange with Pilate that is too easily missed if we focus just on "Messiah" and "King" terminology. Pilate asks Jesus if he is King of the Jews. But Mark's Jesus does not want to own that term since he is anointed not just to become a king of the Jews but also a king of all nations. Only consider the incident in the Temple, where in Mark the complaint is that the temple should be a house of prayer for all the nations (11.17).
Victor Paul Furnish at Duke: Kenneth W. Clark Lectures
Dr. Victor Paul Furnish, University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of New Testament at Southern Methodist University, will be presenting the 2006 Kenneth W. Clark Lectures on February 15 & 16. The lectures below are public, though word is that you'll need to get there early to secure a seat:
Wednesday, February 15, 2006 12:30 p.m Room 0014, Duke Divinity School
Lecture: No Fugitive Word: The Gospel According to Paul; Gospel and Theology in Paul's Letters
Thursday, February 16, 2006 9:00 a.m. Room 0016, Duke Divinity School
Lecture: No Fugitive Word: The Gospel According to Paul; Faith, Love, Hope
Wednesday, February 15, 2006 12:30 p.m Room 0014, Duke Divinity School
Lecture: No Fugitive Word: The Gospel According to Paul; Gospel and Theology in Paul's Letters
Thursday, February 16, 2006 9:00 a.m. Room 0016, Duke Divinity School
Lecture: No Fugitive Word: The Gospel According to Paul; Faith, Love, Hope
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Crossan and Wright on the Resurrection of Jesus
This press release just received from Fortress. I saw this book at the SBL, but it has just been officially released:
Crossan and Wright on the Resurrection of Jesus
MINNEAPOLIS (February 1, 2006)— Two of today's most important and popular New Testament scholars, John Dominic Crossan and N. T. Wright, air their very different understandings of the historical reality and theological meaning of Jesus' resurrection in The Resurrection of Jesus from Fortress Press.
The Resurrection of Jesus: John Dominic Crossan and N.T. Wright in Dialogue brings two leading lights in Jesus studies together for a long-overdue conversation with one another and with significant scholars from other disciplines, highlighting points of agreement and disagreement between them and explores the many attendant issues.
The Resurrection of Jesus is edited Robert B. Stewart, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Theology at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Greer-Heard Chair of Faith and Culture.
Contributors include:
* John Dominic Crossan
* N. T. Wright
* Robert Stewart
* William Lane Craig
* Craig Evans
* R. Douglas Geivett
* Gary Habermas
* Ted Peters
* Charles Quarles
* Alan Segal
Format: Paperback, 6” x 9”, 224 pages
Item No: 0-8006-3785-2
Price: $18.00
Publisher: Fortress Press
To order The Resurrection of Jesus: John Dominic Crossan and N.T. Wright in Dialogue call Fortress Press at 1-800-328-4648 or visit the web site at www.fortresspress.com. To request review copies (for media) or exam copies (for potential classroom use) please call 1-800-426-0115 ext. 234 or e-mail toddb@augsburgfortress.org. For speaking engagements and interviews call Bob Todd at 612-330-3234 or e-mail toddb@augsburgfortress.org.
Crossan and Wright on the Resurrection of Jesus
MINNEAPOLIS (February 1, 2006)— Two of today's most important and popular New Testament scholars, John Dominic Crossan and N. T. Wright, air their very different understandings of the historical reality and theological meaning of Jesus' resurrection in The Resurrection of Jesus from Fortress Press.
The Resurrection of Jesus: John Dominic Crossan and N.T. Wright in Dialogue brings two leading lights in Jesus studies together for a long-overdue conversation with one another and with significant scholars from other disciplines, highlighting points of agreement and disagreement between them and explores the many attendant issues.
The Resurrection of Jesus is edited Robert B. Stewart, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Theology at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Greer-Heard Chair of Faith and Culture.
Contributors include:
* John Dominic Crossan
* N. T. Wright
* Robert Stewart
* William Lane Craig
* Craig Evans
* R. Douglas Geivett
* Gary Habermas
* Ted Peters
* Charles Quarles
* Alan Segal
Format: Paperback, 6” x 9”, 224 pages
Item No: 0-8006-3785-2
Price: $18.00
Publisher: Fortress Press
To order The Resurrection of Jesus: John Dominic Crossan and N.T. Wright in Dialogue call Fortress Press at 1-800-328-4648 or visit the web site at www.fortresspress.com. To request review copies (for media) or exam copies (for potential classroom use) please call 1-800-426-0115 ext. 234 or e-mail toddb@augsburgfortress.org. For speaking engagements and interviews call Bob Todd at 612-330-3234 or e-mail toddb@augsburgfortress.org.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
How long did it take to walk from Nazareth to Sepphoris?
James D. G. Dunn, Jesus Remembered (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003): 298, ". . . the youthful Jesus would have (regularly?) visited Sepphoris, only two hours distant (5 km) from Nazareth by foot, perhaps even as a young carpenter assisting in the construction of its theatre." 5 km is apparently just over 3 miles, which you can walk in an hour at a stroll. Two hours would be a mile and a half an hour. Is Jimmy a slow walker?
Monday, January 30, 2006
Review of Biblical Literature latest
Latest from the SBL Review of Biblical Literature under the NT heading:
Burridge, Richard A.
What Are the Gospels?: A Comparison with Greco-Roman Biography
Reviewed by Uta Poplutz
Burridge, Richard A.
What Are the Gospels?: A Comparison with Greco-Roman Biography
Reviewed by Mitchell Reddish
Buscemi, Alfio Marcello
Lettera ai Galati: Commentario Esegetico
Reviewed by James West
Davis, James F.
Lex Talionis in Early Judaism and the Exhortation of Jesus in Matthew 5.38-42
Reviewed by Steven Bryan
Burridge, Richard A.
What Are the Gospels?: A Comparison with Greco-Roman Biography
Reviewed by Uta Poplutz
Burridge, Richard A.
What Are the Gospels?: A Comparison with Greco-Roman Biography
Reviewed by Mitchell Reddish
Buscemi, Alfio Marcello
Lettera ai Galati: Commentario Esegetico
Reviewed by James West
Davis, James F.
Lex Talionis in Early Judaism and the Exhortation of Jesus in Matthew 5.38-42
Reviewed by Steven Bryan
Friday, January 27, 2006
"You say so"
On the ever-interesting Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean, Phil Harland has a post on Mark, "Who is this guy? The Gospel of Mark on the Identity of Jesus" in which, towards the end, he makes the following comment:
Perhaps one clue lies in the different questions asked by the high priest and by Pilate. The high priest's question is "Are you the Christ, the son of the blessed?" Now, we know that these are titles Mark approves of -- 1.1 announces the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ; the baptism and the transfiguration have God announcing that Jesus is his son; and Peter (Chapter 8) and the nameless woman (Chapter 14) recognise that Jesus is the Christ. The only thing that needs adding is some qualification -- he is anointed to suffer (8.31), or for burial (14.3-10), and now the confession that he is the Christ leads directly to his death.
But Pilate's question is different, "Are you the king of the Jews?" (15.2). Nowhere does Jesus own the title "king" in the Gospel, though it is the one that everyone imposes on Jesus throughout the Passion Narrative, king of the Jews, crown of thorns and so on. This is one of those places, I think, where John is a fine exegete of Mark and he teases out the meaning of the terse, ambiguous "You are saying so" in this way:
Jesus is publicly asked “Are you the Messiah (Christ)?” and, in an unprecedented manner (for Mark’s narrative), he openly proclaims “I am”. The secret is out. Then, when he is brought for another hearing before Pilate, the Roman governor, the issue of identity is at the fore: “Pilate asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ He answered him, ‘You say so’” (15:2 [NRSV]) — which amounts to a “yes” here.But does the latter amount to a yes? Given that Jesus does say such an ambiguous yes in front of the high priest in 14.62, why not here in front of Pilate? What does σὺ λέγεις mean?
Perhaps one clue lies in the different questions asked by the high priest and by Pilate. The high priest's question is "Are you the Christ, the son of the blessed?" Now, we know that these are titles Mark approves of -- 1.1 announces the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ; the baptism and the transfiguration have God announcing that Jesus is his son; and Peter (Chapter 8) and the nameless woman (Chapter 14) recognise that Jesus is the Christ. The only thing that needs adding is some qualification -- he is anointed to suffer (8.31), or for burial (14.3-10), and now the confession that he is the Christ leads directly to his death.
But Pilate's question is different, "Are you the king of the Jews?" (15.2). Nowhere does Jesus own the title "king" in the Gospel, though it is the one that everyone imposes on Jesus throughout the Passion Narrative, king of the Jews, crown of thorns and so on. This is one of those places, I think, where John is a fine exegete of Mark and he teases out the meaning of the terse, ambiguous "You are saying so" in this way:
Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" "Is that your own idea," Jesus asked, "or did others talk to you about me?" "Am I a Jew?" Pilate replied. "It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?" Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place." (John 18.33-36)
PDF Problems
Several have commented on my post from this morning on Paula Fredriksen's PDFs. As predicted, when I got to class today, almost everyone had struggled with reading the article I had set (and in case you are thinking, "Excuses, excuses", that is not normal for Duke students, at least not in my limited experience so far).
But to comment on the post's comments, Eric Rowe notes that there are plenty of programmes available for converting originals to PDFs, and for free too. I use these myself, but I suppose that what holds others back are (1) the desire to have the document exactly as it appeared in print, with page numbers et al, rather than in the flawed original from their own PC; (2) the fact that research assistants and support staff are often those who prepare materials for scholars' homepages, and they work with what they are given, in this case printed originals. Some (not all) scholars who have homepages do not look carefully at the content on the page.
Crystal asks about why people use PDFs at all. I think the answer there is sheer convenience -- instant results. I know that that is why I've used them in the past, and with some regret because it takes away one of the glories of publishing on the web, which is hypertext. I know that in theory you can add hyperlinks (and so on) to your PDF, but in practice few do. One of the things I particularly dislike about PDFs of articles is the reading of footnotes and endnotes. The web offers the potential of a new way of reading academic papers, with nice, hyperlinked notes, but how often do we have that pleasure now that so many just upload a PDF?
A further relevant point: one of the advantages of the PDF adapted from the scholar's own e-original is that it can still be searchable, whereas the photo-scans of printed versions are usually not.
John Lyons asks about how publishers regard the uploading of scholars' work to the web. My own experience would be to suggest that they remain wary about the wholesale uploading of book manuscripts to the web, but appreciate that the reproduction of journal and FS articles can increase a scholar's profile and so increase book sales. But that's just my own perspective, and it may be inaccurate.
But to comment on the post's comments, Eric Rowe notes that there are plenty of programmes available for converting originals to PDFs, and for free too. I use these myself, but I suppose that what holds others back are (1) the desire to have the document exactly as it appeared in print, with page numbers et al, rather than in the flawed original from their own PC; (2) the fact that research assistants and support staff are often those who prepare materials for scholars' homepages, and they work with what they are given, in this case printed originals. Some (not all) scholars who have homepages do not look carefully at the content on the page.
Crystal asks about why people use PDFs at all. I think the answer there is sheer convenience -- instant results. I know that that is why I've used them in the past, and with some regret because it takes away one of the glories of publishing on the web, which is hypertext. I know that in theory you can add hyperlinks (and so on) to your PDF, but in practice few do. One of the things I particularly dislike about PDFs of articles is the reading of footnotes and endnotes. The web offers the potential of a new way of reading academic papers, with nice, hyperlinked notes, but how often do we have that pleasure now that so many just upload a PDF?
A further relevant point: one of the advantages of the PDF adapted from the scholar's own e-original is that it can still be searchable, whereas the photo-scans of printed versions are usually not.
John Lyons asks about how publishers regard the uploading of scholars' work to the web. My own experience would be to suggest that they remain wary about the wholesale uploading of book manuscripts to the web, but appreciate that the reproduction of journal and FS articles can increase a scholar's profile and so increase book sales. But that's just my own perspective, and it may be inaccurate.
Did Jesus "declare all foods clean"?
There's an interesting blog thread at the moment surrounding James G. Crossley's The Date of Mark's Gospel: Insight from the Law in Earliest Christianity (JSNTSS 266; London: T & T Clark, 2004), the catalyst for which was the most recent edition of the SBL's Review of Biblical Literature, which featured reviews of James's book by John Painter and David du Toit. James Crossley responds on his Earliest Christian History blog (one of the joys of academic blogging is that you can respond publicly to reviews of your work; our forefathers just had to grumble in the senior common room) and Stephen Carlson follows up with a characteristically thoughtful post on Hypotyposeis. One element in the discussion is what the apparently editorial comment in Mark 7.19c, "Thus he declared all foods clean" implies about Mark's view of the law and Jesus' attitude to it. I don't have James's book to hand, having lent it to someone (see how popular it is?), but what I want to add is at a slight tangent and relates to the translation of Mark 7.19c.
I have long been bothered by the unnecessarily robust verb "declare" here, and the unduly forthright "Thus he declared all foods clean." This very common translation gives the impression that Mark is flagging up his comments here far more blatantly than he is. The translation is based on a reading of Mark 7.18-19 that construes καθαρίζων πάντα τὰ βρώματα at the end of Jesus' speech of 7.19 with καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς at the beginning of 7.18, thus "Jesus says to them . . . cleansing all foods," or "Jesus says, cleansing all foods, 'Are you too without understanding . . .'" The reason that "Thus he declared . . . " comes in is that translators are anxious about bringing forward the end of one verse (19) to the beginning of another (18) -- it breaks the verse-by-verse rule of Bible translation, without which people would not be able to look up the verses they wanted in the right place. And given the necessity to keep words in sequence, the decision is made to translate this participle phrase by adapting the force of λέγει and turning the whole into a fresh, interpretative clause. But that move, from a clarificatory parenthesis to a stand-alone statement, and the use of the word "declare", alters the force of the original.
Now it may be that the standard translation picks up the sense of this interpretative clause, even if it overstates it, but even there I am not sure. Could the person orally delivering Mark 7.18-19 have made this intelligible?:
I have long been bothered by the unnecessarily robust verb "declare" here, and the unduly forthright "Thus he declared all foods clean." This very common translation gives the impression that Mark is flagging up his comments here far more blatantly than he is. The translation is based on a reading of Mark 7.18-19 that construes καθαρίζων πάντα τὰ βρώματα at the end of Jesus' speech of 7.19 with καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς at the beginning of 7.18, thus "Jesus says to them . . . cleansing all foods," or "Jesus says, cleansing all foods, 'Are you too without understanding . . .'" The reason that "Thus he declared . . . " comes in is that translators are anxious about bringing forward the end of one verse (19) to the beginning of another (18) -- it breaks the verse-by-verse rule of Bible translation, without which people would not be able to look up the verses they wanted in the right place. And given the necessity to keep words in sequence, the decision is made to translate this participle phrase by adapting the force of λέγει and turning the whole into a fresh, interpretative clause. But that move, from a clarificatory parenthesis to a stand-alone statement, and the use of the word "declare", alters the force of the original.
Now it may be that the standard translation picks up the sense of this interpretative clause, even if it overstates it, but even there I am not sure. Could the person orally delivering Mark 7.18-19 have made this intelligible?:
He says to them, "Then do you also fail to understand? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile, since it enters, not the heart but the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?", cleansing all foods.I am not convinced that we are reading Mark right here.
Paula Fredriksen PDFs
I've often praised the way that Paula Fredriksen has PDFs of lots of her key articles on her homepage and I sometimes set them as reading for my classes. I set one for my class later today "From Jesus to Christ: The Contribution of the Apostle Paul" but when I sat down to re-read it I was struck by how bad the quality of the scan was, at times almost unreadable. The same is true of several others on the page. It's a shame since it's a great contribution to on-line scholarship for those to be present; but people need to be able to read them if they are to take advantage of such a great contribution.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
A good introduction to Textual Criticism?
In comments, Sean du Toit asks if I could recommend a good introduction to Textual Criticism. Indeed I can:
David Parker, The Living Text of the Gospels (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997)
Amazon have it on "Search Inside" so you can get a good taster before buying. And it's on Google Books too, like a lot of CUP's stuff.
Incidentally, the fact that it was available for searching allowed me to try out the terms discussed in that previous blog post and comments and it seems that David is, on the whole pretty consistent in his usage: "textual criticism" x 50; "textual critic" x 7; "text critic" x 0; "text criticism" x 0; but "text-critical" x 7 and "textual critical" x 0.
Updates (Friday, 9.33): thanks to Matt Page for the corrected Amazon link for David Parker's book, now adjusted above. Thanks too to Holger and to Steve Walton for the endorsement of another useful introduction to NT Textual Criticism, which I had completely forgotten about:
J. K. Elliott and I Moir, Manuscripts and the Text of the New Testament: An Introduction for English Readers (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1995)
Alas, it is a bit expensive on-line, like several of the Continuum back-catalogue (including one of my own books, to my frustration); e.g. see Amazon. It is reviewed by Tim Finney on TC.
David Parker, The Living Text of the Gospels (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997)
Amazon have it on "Search Inside" so you can get a good taster before buying. And it's on Google Books too, like a lot of CUP's stuff.
Incidentally, the fact that it was available for searching allowed me to try out the terms discussed in that previous blog post and comments and it seems that David is, on the whole pretty consistent in his usage: "textual criticism" x 50; "textual critic" x 7; "text critic" x 0; "text criticism" x 0; but "text-critical" x 7 and "textual critical" x 0.
Updates (Friday, 9.33): thanks to Matt Page for the corrected Amazon link for David Parker's book, now adjusted above. Thanks too to Holger and to Steve Walton for the endorsement of another useful introduction to NT Textual Criticism, which I had completely forgotten about:
J. K. Elliott and I Moir, Manuscripts and the Text of the New Testament: An Introduction for English Readers (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1995)
Alas, it is a bit expensive on-line, like several of the Continuum back-catalogue (including one of my own books, to my frustration); e.g. see Amazon. It is reviewed by Tim Finney on TC.
Lüdemann on The Intolerant Gospel
Thanks to Gerd Lüdemann for drawing my attention to a new article on-line:
The Intolerant Gospel
Gerd Luedemann
It is from the February-March 2006 issue of Free Inquiry and located on the Council for Secular Humanism Website.
Just one minor comment:
The Intolerant Gospel
Gerd Luedemann
It is from the February-March 2006 issue of Free Inquiry and located on the Council for Secular Humanism Website.
Just one minor comment:
The salvation or eternal damnation of individual human beings depends on whether they believe or do not believe in him. "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. But whoever does not believe will be condemned"-this is the clear message of the risen Jesus at the end of Mark's Gospel, the first of the four canonical accounts to be written.The verse in question is Mark 16.16, part of the longer ending of Mark, in which case the mention of Mark as "the first of the four . . . to be written" is irrelevant, no?
Monday, January 23, 2006
Review of Biblical Literature latest
Latest from the SBL Review of Biblical Literature under the NT heading:
Brooke, George J.
The Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament
Reviewed by Michael Moore
Crossley, James G.
The Date of Mark's Gospel: Insight from the Law in Earliest Christianity
Reviewed by John Painter
Crossley, James G.
The Date of Mark's Gospel: Insight from the Law in Earliest Christianity
Reviewed by David du Toit
Litwak, Kenneth Duncan
Echoes of Scripture in Luke-Acts: Telling the History of God's People Intertextually
Reviewed by Bart Koet
Mrázek, Jirí and Jan Roskovec, eds.
Testimony and Interpretation: Early Christology in Its Judeo-Hellenistic Milieu: Studies in Honour of Petr Pokorný
Reviewed by Leo Percer
Brooke, George J.
The Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament
Reviewed by Michael Moore
Crossley, James G.
The Date of Mark's Gospel: Insight from the Law in Earliest Christianity
Reviewed by John Painter
Crossley, James G.
The Date of Mark's Gospel: Insight from the Law in Earliest Christianity
Reviewed by David du Toit
Litwak, Kenneth Duncan
Echoes of Scripture in Luke-Acts: Telling the History of God's People Intertextually
Reviewed by Bart Koet
Mrázek, Jirí and Jan Roskovec, eds.
Testimony and Interpretation: Early Christology in Its Judeo-Hellenistic Milieu: Studies in Honour of Petr Pokorný
Reviewed by Leo Percer
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Crum available at Wipf and Stock
I was pleased to hear on the Gospel of Thomas e-list recently, from Simon Gathercole, that Walter Crum's Coptic Dictionary is now available from Wipf and Stock -- yet another very useful reprint:
Walter E. Crum, A Coptic Dictionary
At $108, it is not cheap, but it has always been expensive on the second-hand book market and this is a welcome re-issue.
On the Gospel of Thomas list, Judy Redman also posted on forthcoming electronic editions of Crum.
Walter E. Crum, A Coptic Dictionary
At $108, it is not cheap, but it has always been expensive on the second-hand book market and this is a welcome re-issue.
On the Gospel of Thomas list, Judy Redman also posted on forthcoming electronic editions of Crum.
American Jesus scholarship coming of age?
I am preparing a lecture at the moment on the contemporary scene in Historical Jesus scholarship (having taking a lecture on Schweitzer, then a lecture on Bultmann, Käsemann and the new quest, then a lecture on Geza Vermes and Ed Sanders) and as I re-read some materials on the Jesus Seminar, I am struck by this comment from the late Robert Funk, just a little over twenty years ago:
I'm wondering about geographical affiliations of Jesus questers in recent times. I suppose that a surprising number of so-called third questers have an association with the U.K., Geza Vermes, Anthony Harvey, Tom Wright. Ed Sanders had written Jesus and Judaism prior to coming to Oxford in 1984, but it was published in 1985. Then there's Gerd Theissen in Germany. There are of course many prominent Americans too, Ben Meyer, John P. Meier, Paula Fredriksen, Dale Allison and more. Jesus Seminar folk, on the other hand, tend to be almost exclusively based in the US, and perhaps that is no coincidence in the light of Funk's remarks above.
An aside on the same topic, I have struggled with attempts to categorize recent Jesus scholarship and I am inclined to agree with Dale Allison in "The Secularizing of the Historical Jesus"* that the now standard division into three quests is misleading and unhelpful. Nevertheless, I was struck today to see that Lane McGaughy consciously aligns the Jesus Seminar's work with the work of the New Quest (The Search for the Historical Jesus: Why start with the sayings?). I was struck because I had thought that Tom Wright's category "renewed new quest" in his inventory in Jesus and the Victory of God was a kind of marginalizing of the work of Crossan et al. I had not realized that it was in the Jesus Seminar's own self-description. Notice, in particular, the following:
* This was on-line on Dale Allison's homepage for ages, but it seems that it is no longer there, nor are any of his other articles (and there's a new pic.). Google locates a version here but I don't know if it's legitimate or not. Anyway, if you have a copy of Resurrecting Jesus (and if you haven't, why not?), it's the first essay in there, and a cracking read, as is the whole book.
Perhaps most important of all, these developments have taken place predominantly, though not exclusively, in American scholarship. We need not promote chauvinism; we need only recognize that American biblical scholarship threatens to come of age, and that in itself is a startling new stage in our academic history. We may even be approaching the time when Europeans, if they know what they are about, will come to North America on sabbaticals to catch up, rather than the other way around. It is already clear that Europeans who do not read American scholarship are falling steadily behind. (Opening Remarks of Jesus Seminar Founder, Robert Funk, 21-24 March 1985)It's interesting to read that prophecy of not so long ago, and in many ways Funk has been proved right. In Historical Jesus studies at least, one's mind naturally turns to Germans, and a handful of Brits prior to 1970. But the last thirty years or so have been quite different.
I'm wondering about geographical affiliations of Jesus questers in recent times. I suppose that a surprising number of so-called third questers have an association with the U.K., Geza Vermes, Anthony Harvey, Tom Wright. Ed Sanders had written Jesus and Judaism prior to coming to Oxford in 1984, but it was published in 1985. Then there's Gerd Theissen in Germany. There are of course many prominent Americans too, Ben Meyer, John P. Meier, Paula Fredriksen, Dale Allison and more. Jesus Seminar folk, on the other hand, tend to be almost exclusively based in the US, and perhaps that is no coincidence in the light of Funk's remarks above.
An aside on the same topic, I have struggled with attempts to categorize recent Jesus scholarship and I am inclined to agree with Dale Allison in "The Secularizing of the Historical Jesus"* that the now standard division into three quests is misleading and unhelpful. Nevertheless, I was struck today to see that Lane McGaughy consciously aligns the Jesus Seminar's work with the work of the New Quest (The Search for the Historical Jesus: Why start with the sayings?). I was struck because I had thought that Tom Wright's category "renewed new quest" in his inventory in Jesus and the Victory of God was a kind of marginalizing of the work of Crossan et al. I had not realized that it was in the Jesus Seminar's own self-description. Notice, in particular, the following:
The agenda of the Jesus Seminar thus evolved from the New Quest and its attempt to reconstruct the teaching of the historical Jesus. In distinction from the so-called Third Quest which is attempting to locate Jesus within the religious and social world of first-century Judaism, the work of the Jesus Seminar may be seen as a renewal and extension of the New Quest (though some members of the Jesus Seminar may see their own work as part of the Third Quest). In chapter four of his recent book Honest to Jesus, Robert Funk refers to the work of the Jesus Seminar not as part of the Third Quest, but as the Renewed Quest for Jesus . . . . The work of the Jesus Seminar can thus be seen as the continuation of the New Quest for the historical Jesus.I'm really surprised by the explicit acknowledgement that there are others who are engaged in a different enterprise, and the apparent distancing from the task of "attempting to locate jesus within hte religious and social world of first-century Judaism". I thought that everyone took for granted that one of the very reasons for the collapse of the new quest was its negative evaluation of what it so shockingly called "late Judaism".
* This was on-line on Dale Allison's homepage for ages, but it seems that it is no longer there, nor are any of his other articles (and there's a new pic.). Google locates a version here but I don't know if it's legitimate or not. Anyway, if you have a copy of Resurrecting Jesus (and if you haven't, why not?), it's the first essay in there, and a cracking read, as is the whole book.
Textual criticism and text critics
I am just preparing an introductory lecture on Textual Criticism for my New Testament class and I fell to wondering why it is that everyone tends to talk about textual criticism and text critics. Why is it that when we start talking about the individuals who practise textual criticism, we call them text critics? Why not textual critics or text criticism? Or is it just my perception that those are the conventions?
Friday, January 20, 2006
SBL Forum latest and Graphic Novels
It's always interesting to read the latest in the SBL Forum, which continues to go from strength to strength (though, as I have often said before, I am looking forward to the day when they introduce a proper, browsable archive), and I particularly enjoyed the article this month on graphic novels and the Bible:
The Bible and Graphic Novels: A Review and Interview with the Authors of "Marked" and "Megillat Esther"
Dan W. Clanton, Jr.
One of the two comic books reviewed is Steve Ross's Marked, which I mentioned here last November (Graphic Novel based on Mark's Gospel).
Since we are talking about graphic novels and the NT, let me also mention that !Hero: The Rock Opera, often mentioned on this blog, also has its own comic book, but I must admit that I have not seen this yet.
The Bible and Graphic Novels: A Review and Interview with the Authors of "Marked" and "Megillat Esther"
Dan W. Clanton, Jr.
One of the two comic books reviewed is Steve Ross's Marked, which I mentioned here last November (Graphic Novel based on Mark's Gospel).
Since we are talking about graphic novels and the NT, let me also mention that !Hero: The Rock Opera, often mentioned on this blog, also has its own comic book, but I must admit that I have not seen this yet.
New Jesus film: Son of Man
Regular readers will not be surprised to hear of my excitement at the news of a new Jesus film, Son of Man, already mentioned in November by Peter Chattaway on Filmchat, Jesus comes to Johannesburg, and now with more information in a fresh post announcing the arrival of the film in the USA, at a festival in Utah:
Son of Man comes to Sundance -- an update
So what do we know so far? IMDb have pretty scant information: Son of Man (2006) but there is more on the Sundance Film Festival website, linked to by Peter Chattaway:
World Dramatic Competition: Son of Man
Black Jesus film preaches politics over religion
Update (Saturday, 01.24): there is more here:
dimpho di kopane :: film :: Son of Man
The page includes a PDF press kit, stills from the film and more.
Son of Man comes to Sundance -- an update
So what do we know so far? IMDb have pretty scant information: Son of Man (2006) but there is more on the Sundance Film Festival website, linked to by Peter Chattaway:
World Dramatic Competition: Son of Man
South Africa, 2005, 86 Minutes, colorPeter also links to a Reuters article:
Director:
Mark Dornford-May
Screenwriter:
Mark Dornford-May, Andiswa Kedama, Pauline Malefane
The story of Jesus reclaimed as an African fable: a simple concept becomes a remarkable cinematic experience in Son of Man. This is the second installment from the collaboration of director Mark Dornford-May and the South African theatre company, Dimpho Di Kopane. The moniker means "combined talents," and it aptly describes the incredible creative energy on both sides of the camera. Shot against the backdrop of a violence-riddled township and with text updated to modern time, Son of Man delivers one indelible impression after another. Mary conceives the Christ child during a militia attack on a grade school, Jesus asks for the surrender of handguns from his apostles, and the angel Gabriel is a precocious child marked with simple white feathers. Equally intriguing is the melding of the crucifixion and resurrection–alluding to the fact that in today's Africa, political dissidents, as Jesus was, are conveniently made to disappear. In song and originality, the spirit of Son of Man is contagious, a life-enriching elixir for Christians and non-Christians alike who feel mired in the unyielding bigotry of fundamentalism. By modernizing one of the world's most famous stories, Son of Man creates lasting resonance and imparts a significance that is truly glorious.— John Cooper
Black Jesus film preaches politics over religion
Billed as the world's first black Jesus movie, "Son of Man" portrays Christ as a modern African revolutionary and aims to shatter the Western image of a placid savior with fair hair and blue eyes.I suppose spoil-sport Historical Jesus scholars will want to point out that Israel was not "an occupied state" (e.g. see E. P. Sanders's excellent article, Jesus in Historical Context), or that it is an oversimplification to think of Jesus "preaching equality" (e.g. see John H. Elliott's Jesus was not an egalitarian), but hey, it's a new Jesus film and there's plenty to be excited about. It's an interesting comment that this is "the world's first black Jesus movie". I can't think of another off-hand, though one that comes close is !Hero, a rock opera that is available on DVD (filmed stage show) and record, and -- as I've commented before -- it's well worth the purchase if you don't have it yet.
The South African film, which premieres on Sunday at the U.S. Sundance festival in Utah, transports the life and death of Christ from first century Palestine to a contemporary African state racked by war and poverty.
Jesus is born in a shanty-town shed, a far cry from a manger in a Bethlehem stable. His mother Mary is a virgin, though feisty enough to argue with the angels. Gun-wielding authorities fear his message of equality and he ends up hanging on a cross.
"We wanted to look at the gospels as if they were written by spindoctors and to strip that away and look at the truth," director Mark Dornford-May told Reuters in an interview.
"The truth is that Christ was born in an occupied state and preached equality at a time when that wasn't very acceptable."
Update (Saturday, 01.24): there is more here:
dimpho di kopane :: film :: Son of Man
The page includes a PDF press kit, stills from the film and more.
End of Biblical Theology blog
I don't seem to have so much time to hang around on-line these days, alas, and I was quite surprised on my return to the land of the blogging to see the demise of Jim West's Biblical Theology. In his own inimitable way, Jim had carved out a niche with that blog, making it the place people went to hear a lot of the latest news on Biblical Studies related issues. I don't think anyone was ever quicker to the mark than Jim and even if some of the material covered there was not to everyone's taste, he was performing a useful service. So this is something of a lament, all the more so in that the entire archive appears to have been deleted, presumably a year or two's worth? It may be that others have commented on this on-line, but I've not had the chance to catch up with the blogs yet. Anyway, I am sorry to see this blog go. Jim has a new blog called First Baptist Church of Petros, centred on the church he pastors in Tennessee, and of course I wish him all the best with that.
The Email Mountain
My apologies if you are awaiting a reply from me; the email mountain is enormous this week, and without losing more sleep I don't have time to keep up with it as efficiently as I would like. And I've had even less time to blog this week, as you may have noticed. But I am hopeful of being able to find some more spare moments today.
Review of Biblical Literature latest
Latest from the SBL Review of Biblical Literature under the NT heading:
Bolt, Peter G.
Jesus' Defeat of Death: Persuading Mark's Early Readers
Reviewed by William Campbell
Dibelius, Martin
Edited by K. Hanson
The Book of Acts: Form, Style, and Theology
Reviewed by Renate Hood
Donahue, John R., ed.
Life in Abundance: Studies of John's Gospel in Tribute to Raymond E. Brown
Reviewed by Paul Anderson
Gil Arbiol, Carlos J.
Los Valores Negados: Ensayo de exégesis socio-científica sobre la autoestigmatización en el movimiento de Jesús
Reviewed by Alejandro Botta
Jung, Chang-Wook
The Original Language of the Lukan Infancy Narrative
Reviewed by Gert Steyn
Kaminouchi, Alberto de Mingo
But It Is Not So among You: Echoes of Power in Mark 10:32-45
Reviewed by William Campbell
Kirk, Alan and Tom Thatcher, eds.
Memory, Tradition, and Text: Uses of the Past in Early Christianity
Reviewed by Thomas Kraus
Matthews, Shelly and E. Leigh Gibson, eds.
Violence in the New Testament
Reviewed by Mark Bredin
Bolt, Peter G.
Jesus' Defeat of Death: Persuading Mark's Early Readers
Reviewed by William Campbell
Dibelius, Martin
Edited by K. Hanson
The Book of Acts: Form, Style, and Theology
Reviewed by Renate Hood
Donahue, John R., ed.
Life in Abundance: Studies of John's Gospel in Tribute to Raymond E. Brown
Reviewed by Paul Anderson
Gil Arbiol, Carlos J.
Los Valores Negados: Ensayo de exégesis socio-científica sobre la autoestigmatización en el movimiento de Jesús
Reviewed by Alejandro Botta
Jung, Chang-Wook
The Original Language of the Lukan Infancy Narrative
Reviewed by Gert Steyn
Kaminouchi, Alberto de Mingo
But It Is Not So among You: Echoes of Power in Mark 10:32-45
Reviewed by William Campbell
Kirk, Alan and Tom Thatcher, eds.
Memory, Tradition, and Text: Uses of the Past in Early Christianity
Reviewed by Thomas Kraus
Matthews, Shelly and E. Leigh Gibson, eds.
Violence in the New Testament
Reviewed by Mark Bredin
Monday, January 09, 2006
Crossan on the web
I finished getting together my syllabus for a course on the Historical Jesus tonight, and in the process of hunting down sources and references, I came across a site I don't recall having seen before:
John Dominic Crossan
It's at johndcrossan.com (a little odd since he's known by Dominic rather than John) and appears to be run by HarperSanFrancisco and is vehicle to advertise his books. There are excerpts from each of Crossan's recent books, though it is not quite as promising as it first looks -- where it says "Read Chapter 1", it is usually just three or four pages. But still a nice site.
I also came across this on Beliefnet, which I'd missed before, or forgotten about:
In Search of Paul Presentation
It's a nice virtual tour around some of the sites discussed in the book of the same name co-authored with Jonathan Reed. You hear a commentary from Crossan (sounding uncharacteristically stilted) and watch a slide show; it takes 10 minutes or so to go through.
John Dominic Crossan
It's at johndcrossan.com (a little odd since he's known by Dominic rather than John) and appears to be run by HarperSanFrancisco and is vehicle to advertise his books. There are excerpts from each of Crossan's recent books, though it is not quite as promising as it first looks -- where it says "Read Chapter 1", it is usually just three or four pages. But still a nice site.
I also came across this on Beliefnet, which I'd missed before, or forgotten about:
In Search of Paul Presentation
It's a nice virtual tour around some of the sites discussed in the book of the same name co-authored with Jonathan Reed. You hear a commentary from Crossan (sounding uncharacteristically stilted) and watch a slide show; it takes 10 minutes or so to go through.
David Starkey on Paul
A few minutes ago, just before the beginning of the Today programme, there was a little trailer for the following:
Who Killed Christianity?
Dr David Starkey argues that five major Christian figures distorted, even betrayed, the Christian faith as envisaged by Jesus. Defenders argue back. 1/5. St Paul.
I have to admit that Starkey is one of my least favourite people, and it's not a programme I am looking forward to. It's on at 9.30 am GMT, by which time I'll probably be in bed, though unfortunately it is likely to be archived so that I'll be able to listen to it later.
Who Killed Christianity?
Dr David Starkey argues that five major Christian figures distorted, even betrayed, the Christian faith as envisaged by Jesus. Defenders argue back. 1/5. St Paul.
I have to admit that Starkey is one of my least favourite people, and it's not a programme I am looking forward to. It's on at 9.30 am GMT, by which time I'll probably be in bed, though unfortunately it is likely to be archived so that I'll be able to listen to it later.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Review of Biblical Literature latest
The latest from the SBL Review of Biblical Literature under the NT heading:
Bovon, François
Studies in Early Christianity
Reviewed by H. H. Williams
Delville, Jean-Pierre
L'Europe de l'Exégeses au XVIe Siecle: Interprétations de la Parabole des Ouvriers a la Vigne (Matthieu 20, 1-16)
Reviewed by Tobias Nicklas
Luz, Ulrich
Translated by Rosemary Selle
Studies in Matthew
Reviewed by Robert McIver
Luz, Ulrich
Translated by Rosemary Selle
Studies in Matthew
Reviewed by Clare Rothschild
Riches, John and David C. Sim, eds.
The Gospel of Matthew in Its Roman Imperial Context
Reviewed by Robert McIver
Stegman, Thomas
The Character of Jesus: The Linchpin to Paul's Argument in 2 Corinthians
Reviewed by Verlyn Verbrugge
Bovon, François
Studies in Early Christianity
Reviewed by H. H. Williams
Delville, Jean-Pierre
L'Europe de l'Exégeses au XVIe Siecle: Interprétations de la Parabole des Ouvriers a la Vigne (Matthieu 20, 1-16)
Reviewed by Tobias Nicklas
Luz, Ulrich
Translated by Rosemary Selle
Studies in Matthew
Reviewed by Robert McIver
Luz, Ulrich
Translated by Rosemary Selle
Studies in Matthew
Reviewed by Clare Rothschild
Riches, John and David C. Sim, eds.
The Gospel of Matthew in Its Roman Imperial Context
Reviewed by Robert McIver
Stegman, Thomas
The Character of Jesus: The Linchpin to Paul's Argument in 2 Corinthians
Reviewed by Verlyn Verbrugge
Friday, January 06, 2006
Fortress Press Presents Teaching Awards
This Press Release is from Fortress:
Fortress Press Presents Teaching Awards
MINNEAPOLIS (December 20, 2005)-Fortress Press presented two teaching awards at this year's annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion and Society of Biblical Literature conference in Philadelphia, PA on November 19, 2005.
The awards-one for teaching undergraduates, the other for teaching graduates or seminarians-are given in recognition of innovative teaching, unique approaches to subject areas, or superb communication with today's students in biblical studies, religious studies, theology, ethics, or ministry. Candidates were nominated by peers and chosen by independent judges.
Dr. Daniel L. Smith-Christopher is Professor of Theological Studies and Director of Peace Studies at Loyola Marymount University. Among his innovative techniques cited in the nominations are his engagement of students directly with physical remains of the material culture of the Bible as a way of connecting archaeology and the development of the biblical texts. Likewise, he has encouraged students to get "out the classroom and into the real world" to see how various ethnic and cultural groups interpret and respond to the historic sacred texts today. Smith-Christopher's teaching, said one nominator, "captures the imagination of the students by approaching the worlds of the biblical text in non-traditional ways, especially ways that put students directly in touch with intra-cultural approaches to the Bible. (His own roots as a Quaker teaching in a Roman Catholic university context only add to this!)" Among Professor Smith-Christopher's several books is A Biblical Theology of Exile (Fortress Press, 2002).
Michael J. Gorman, Professor of Sacred Scripture at St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore, is also Dean of the Ecumenical Institute of Theology there. Dean Gorman was particularly praised for his attempts to address the problems of so many biblical students with little prior background in the critical scientific approach to the biblical texts and of how they may be applied pastorally. Particularly, he has developed a resource, published as Elements of Biblical Exegesis (Hendrickson, 2001), to introduce students to interpretive methods. And he has worked with the faculty of St. Mary's to develop Scripture: An Ecumenical Introduction to the Bible (Hendrickson, 2005) to bring exegetical and historical insights to a broad, ecumenical audience.
In presenting these awards proclaimed Fortress Press publisher, Scott Tunseth, "Fortress Press joins professors from around the country in acknowledging the talents of these educators and presents them as models for the academic community. We hope also in this process to identify teaching strategies to inform development of future classroom resources."
---
I once shared a cab/bus ride with Michael Gorman to the airport after one of the SBLs, I forget which, and we talked all the way about teaching. Many congratulations to both on their achievement.
Fortress Press Presents Teaching Awards
MINNEAPOLIS (December 20, 2005)-Fortress Press presented two teaching awards at this year's annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion and Society of Biblical Literature conference in Philadelphia, PA on November 19, 2005.
The awards-one for teaching undergraduates, the other for teaching graduates or seminarians-are given in recognition of innovative teaching, unique approaches to subject areas, or superb communication with today's students in biblical studies, religious studies, theology, ethics, or ministry. Candidates were nominated by peers and chosen by independent judges.
Dr. Daniel L. Smith-Christopher is Professor of Theological Studies and Director of Peace Studies at Loyola Marymount University. Among his innovative techniques cited in the nominations are his engagement of students directly with physical remains of the material culture of the Bible as a way of connecting archaeology and the development of the biblical texts. Likewise, he has encouraged students to get "out the classroom and into the real world" to see how various ethnic and cultural groups interpret and respond to the historic sacred texts today. Smith-Christopher's teaching, said one nominator, "captures the imagination of the students by approaching the worlds of the biblical text in non-traditional ways, especially ways that put students directly in touch with intra-cultural approaches to the Bible. (His own roots as a Quaker teaching in a Roman Catholic university context only add to this!)" Among Professor Smith-Christopher's several books is A Biblical Theology of Exile (Fortress Press, 2002).
Michael J. Gorman, Professor of Sacred Scripture at St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore, is also Dean of the Ecumenical Institute of Theology there. Dean Gorman was particularly praised for his attempts to address the problems of so many biblical students with little prior background in the critical scientific approach to the biblical texts and of how they may be applied pastorally. Particularly, he has developed a resource, published as Elements of Biblical Exegesis (Hendrickson, 2001), to introduce students to interpretive methods. And he has worked with the faculty of St. Mary's to develop Scripture: An Ecumenical Introduction to the Bible (Hendrickson, 2005) to bring exegetical and historical insights to a broad, ecumenical audience.
In presenting these awards proclaimed Fortress Press publisher, Scott Tunseth, "Fortress Press joins professors from around the country in acknowledging the talents of these educators and presents them as models for the academic community. We hope also in this process to identify teaching strategies to inform development of future classroom resources."
---
I once shared a cab/bus ride with Michael Gorman to the airport after one of the SBLs, I forget which, and we talked all the way about teaching. Many congratulations to both on their achievement.
Response to Lüdemann on Lüdemann's homepage
Just before Christmas, some readers will remember that I engaged in a discussion of Gerd Lüdemann's press release The Christmas Stories are Pious Fairy Tales. I responded in Lüdemann on Christmas; then Prof. Lüdemann responded to my blog post in Response to Mark Goodacre and Stephen Carlson and I added a further Response to Lüdemann. The dialogue is also now reproduced on Gerd Lüdedmann's Homepage, and I am grateful to Prof. Lüdemann for giving me this gracious "right to reply".
Review of Biblical Literature latest (belated)
Among the many emails in my pending tray is one I've missed that I try always to blog, the latest from the SBL Review of Biblical Literature under the NT heading:
Barclay, John M. G., ed.
Negotiating Diaspora: Jewish Strategies in the Roman Empire
Reviewed by Pablo Torijano Morales
Barclay, John M. G., ed.
Negotiating Diaspora: Jewish Strategies in the Roman Empire
Reviewed by Allen Kerkeslager
Asano, Atsuhiro
Community-Identity Construction in Galatians: Exegetical, Social-Anthropological and Socio-Historical Studies
Reviewed by Francois Vouga
Bakke, O. M.
Translated by Brian McNeil
When Children Became People: The Birth of Childhood in Early Christianity
Reviewed by Carolyn Osiek
Köstenberger, Andreas J.
John
Reviewed by Jan Van Der Watt
Økland, Jorunn
Women in Their Place: Paul and the Corinthian Discourse of Gender and Sanctuary Space
Reviewed by Antoinette Wire
Thurston, Bonnie B. and Judith Ryan
Philippians & Philemon
Reviewed by Tobias Nicklas
Barclay, John M. G., ed.
Negotiating Diaspora: Jewish Strategies in the Roman Empire
Reviewed by Pablo Torijano Morales
Barclay, John M. G., ed.
Negotiating Diaspora: Jewish Strategies in the Roman Empire
Reviewed by Allen Kerkeslager
Asano, Atsuhiro
Community-Identity Construction in Galatians: Exegetical, Social-Anthropological and Socio-Historical Studies
Reviewed by Francois Vouga
Bakke, O. M.
Translated by Brian McNeil
When Children Became People: The Birth of Childhood in Early Christianity
Reviewed by Carolyn Osiek
Köstenberger, Andreas J.
John
Reviewed by Jan Van Der Watt
Økland, Jorunn
Women in Their Place: Paul and the Corinthian Discourse of Gender and Sanctuary Space
Reviewed by Antoinette Wire
Thurston, Bonnie B. and Judith Ryan
Philippians & Philemon
Reviewed by Tobias Nicklas
Biblical Studies Bulletin latest
The latest edition of the Biblical Studies Bulletin from Grove Books and edited by Michael Thompson is now availbale on-line. It's always worth a look:
Biblical Studies Bulletin 38
I particularly enjoyed the report of the British New Testament Conference 2005, but it's all worth reading.
Biblical Studies Bulletin 38
I particularly enjoyed the report of the British New Testament Conference 2005, but it's all worth reading.
Fredriksen On the Passion of the Christ
I was just looking at Paula Fredriksen's web page -- I am putting together teaching materials for a course on the Historical Jesus and she has so much useful on-line material. She has a new book advertised there, On The Passion of the Christ : Exploring the Issues Raised by the Controversial Movie. It turns out that the book is in fact a re-issue with a much more interesting front cover (a picture from the film, see left) of the book previously published by Miramax and entitled Perspectives on the Passion of the Christ (see Another Passion of the Christ Book and A Short Review of Perspectives on the Passion of the Christ). It seems that Paula Fredriksen has added a new preface too. My guess is (with no disrespect) that if you already have the Miramax edition, there is not enough new in this re-issue to make it worth buying. But if you don't have it, now would obviously be a good time to buy it. I found the book pretty frustrating myself, and the overwhelmingly polemical tone of the vast majority of essays made it depressing reading. I once meant to write a review of it, but instead I have written notes with a view to writing a paper on what scholars' perceptions of the film tell us about contemporary NT scholarship. More on that anon, I hope.
There are three scholarly collections, to my knowledge, on The Passion of the Christ:
(1) The first out was the Miramax collection Perspectives on the Passion of the Christ just mentioned, and now re-issued by the University of California Press under the title On The Passion of the Christ.
(2) Next out was Kathleen Corley and Robert L. Webb (eds.), Jesus and Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, in my opinion a stronger volume, not least because it was more strongly edited, with specific essays commmissioned on specific topics. Did I mention that I have an essay in this one?
(3) Most recently S. Brent Plate (ed.), Re-viewing the Passion: Mel Gibson's Film and Its Critics, one of the highlights of which is Peter Chattaway's essay.
Just one author, I think I am right in saying, found his/her way into two out of the three books. Quiz question: who is it?
Thursday, January 05, 2006
NT Gateway updates (or the lack of them)
I am getting a lot of emails at the moment asking me to add things to the New Testament Gateway, new resources, URLs to change and so on. I am afraid that I have not had a moment to add anything to the site since moving to the USA in September, and I don't foresee a chance to update it any time soon. I seem to have been able to snatch the odd moment to blog, even though not at the rate I was once blogging, and I hope that that will continue. In the mean time, though, there is the ever present mountain of correspondence to work through. Even putting all the NT Gateway materials to one side, I am having to answer dozens and dozens of emails a day to try to get back on track. I think I can do it, and still prepare classes for next week, but for the time being the New Testament Gateway proper will have to continue to take a back seat. Sorry about that, and I'll keep you up to date on the (lack of) progress.
Happy New Year
Happy New Year to all readers of the NT Gateway blog. We have returned to the USA after an excellent break in the UK (details on The Americanization of Emily, It's Chriiiiistmaaassss! and Happy New Year) and I am looking forward to getting back to bloggng at some point soon.
Monday, January 02, 2006
Second Annual Ralphies
I am beginning to work through my bloglines backlog of posts and still with hundreds to go, I realize to my horror that some go back weeks. One item of particular pleasure is the annual indulgence of bibliobloggers giving their "best ofs" in the Second Annual Ralphies. As regular readers will know, this is an academic New Testament studies based blog in which personal posts are only very rarely allowed a place, but the Ralphies are a pleasure I did partake of in 2004 (first annual Ralphies) and very much later than everyone else, I thought I'd add mine for 2005 too. I suppose there really ought to be a cut-off point for best-ofs, perhaps 2 January or something like that, and in recognition of that I am going to fictionalise the date of this posting back to 2 January.
Best nonfiction book: John Peel: Margrave of the Marshes: this is the unfinished auto-biography of the greatly missed John Peel, completed by his wife Sheila. He is still so greatly missed. I still can't quite believe he's gone.
Best fiction book: I didn't read any from 2005.
Best film: King Kong, I think. Honourable mention: Pride and Prejudice. Most overrated: either Crash or Batman Begins.
Best CD of the year: The Fall, Heads Roll
Song of the year: Kaiser Chiefs, I Predict a Riot; Madonna, Hung Up; The Fall, What about us?
As in 2004, I add a couple of extra categories and campaign for these to be added in 2006 too. I didn't go to any gigs in 2005, so drop that category here, but my move to America made me more conscious of the joys of BBC radio, and of British sport, so I add some extra categories:
Best TV programme: Dr Who wins hands down -- I thought I'd died and gone to television heaven. If you haven't seen this series yet, with Christopher Eccleston as the ninth doctor, and penned by Russell T. Davies, you are in for a real treat (it premieres in the US a year late, on Sci Fi in March). It wasn't just the best of 2005, but one of the best TV series ever -- I am serious! And as if it could get any better, it went and got better with the Christmas Invasion starring tenth doctor David Tennant, with a new series to look forward to in the spring.
Best radio programme: I'm sorry I haven't a clue -- still going strong after 34 years, and hilarious as ever -- makes driving home listening to the radio dangerous.
Best sporting event: England winning the Ashes, of course.
Best nonfiction book: John Peel: Margrave of the Marshes: this is the unfinished auto-biography of the greatly missed John Peel, completed by his wife Sheila. He is still so greatly missed. I still can't quite believe he's gone.
Best fiction book: I didn't read any from 2005.
Best film: King Kong, I think. Honourable mention: Pride and Prejudice. Most overrated: either Crash or Batman Begins.
Best CD of the year: The Fall, Heads Roll
Song of the year: Kaiser Chiefs, I Predict a Riot; Madonna, Hung Up; The Fall, What about us?
As in 2004, I add a couple of extra categories and campaign for these to be added in 2006 too. I didn't go to any gigs in 2005, so drop that category here, but my move to America made me more conscious of the joys of BBC radio, and of British sport, so I add some extra categories:
Best TV programme: Dr Who wins hands down -- I thought I'd died and gone to television heaven. If you haven't seen this series yet, with Christopher Eccleston as the ninth doctor, and penned by Russell T. Davies, you are in for a real treat (it premieres in the US a year late, on Sci Fi in March). It wasn't just the best of 2005, but one of the best TV series ever -- I am serious! And as if it could get any better, it went and got better with the Christmas Invasion starring tenth doctor David Tennant, with a new series to look forward to in the spring.
Best radio programme: I'm sorry I haven't a clue -- still going strong after 34 years, and hilarious as ever -- makes driving home listening to the radio dangerous.
Best sporting event: England winning the Ashes, of course.
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