Older Review of Biblical Literature alerts

I have been so far behind since Christmas that I missed the chance to add notices of SBL Review of Biblical Literature reviews, so here's a round-up of all the ones I missed. As usual, it's those under the NT heading:

Martin M. Culy
I, II, III John: A Handbook on the Greek Text
Reviewed by Jan van der Watt

Daniel J. Harrington
The Letter to the Hebrews
Reviewed by Martin Karrer

Howard Clark Kee
The Beginnings of Christianity: An Introduction to the New Testament
Reviewed by Clare K. Rothschild

Patrick Mullen
Dining with Pharisees
Reviewed by Daniel Maoz
Reviewed by Julia Fogg

Christa Müller-Kessler
Die Zauberschalentexte in der Hilprecht-Sammlung, Jena, und weitere Nippr-Texte anderer Sammlungen
Reviewed by John Engle

Alan G. Padgett and Patrick R. Keifert, eds.
But Is It All True?: The Bible and the Question of Truth
Reviewed by D. A. Carson

Michael Pietsch
"Dieser ist der Sproß Davids .": Studien zur Rezeptionsgeschichte der Nathanverheißung im alttestamentlichen, zwischentestamentlichen und neutestamentlichen Schrifttum
Reviewed by Walter Dietrich

Anthony B. Robinson and Robert W. Wall
Called to Be Church: The Book of Acts for a New Day
Reviewed by Ronald Clark

David Toshio Tsumura
Creation and Destruction: A Reappraisal of the Chaoskampf Theory in the Old Testament
Reviewed by Daniel Maoz
Reviewed by Julia Fogg

Michael Pietsch
"Dieser ist der Sproß Davids .": Studien zur Rezeptionsgeschichte der Nathanverheißung im alttestamentlichen, zwischentestamentlichen und neutestamentlichen Schrifttum
Reviewed by Walter Dietrich

Anthony B. Robinson and Robert W. Wall
Called to Be Church: The Book of Acts for a New Day
Reviewed by Ronald Clark

Gillian Beattie
Women and Marriage in Paul and His Early Interpreters
Reviewed by Judith Lieu

James D. G. Dunn
The New Perspective on Paul: Collected Essays
Reviewed by Kathy Ehrensperger

Bart D. Ehrman
Studies in the Textual Criticism of the New Testament
Reviewed by J. K. Elliott

Murray J. Harris
The Second Epistle to the Corinthians
Reviewed by H. H. Drake Williams III

Hugh M. Humphrey
From Q to "Secret" Mark: A Composition History of the Earliest Narrative Theology
Reviewed by Kari Syreeni

Christian Münch
Die Gleichnisse Jesu im Matthäusevangelium: Eine Studie zu ihrer Form und Funktion
Reviewed by Ruben Zimmermann and Georg Gäbel

George L. Parsenios
Departure and Consolation: The Johannine Farewell Discourses in Light of Greco-Roman Literature
Reviewed by Jan van der Watt

Todd Penner and Caroline Vander Stichele, eds.
Moving Beyond New Testament Theology? Essays in Conversation with Heikki Räisänen
Reviewed by Christopher Tuckett

Evan Powell
The Myth of the Lost Gospel
Reviewed by Jim West

Kiwoong Son
Zion Symbolism in Hebrews: Hebrews 12:18-24 as a Hermeneutical Key to the Epistle
Reviewed by Martin Karrer

Richard Valantasis
The New Q: A Fresh Translation with Commentary
Reviewed by Joseph Verheyden

C. K. Barrett
St. Paul: An Introduction to His Thought
Reviewed by Tobias Nicklas

Jean-Marie van Cangh and Alphonse Toumpsin
L'Evangile de Marc: Un original hebreu?
Reviewed by Sylvie Raquel

W. V. Harris, ed.
The Spread of Christianity in the First Four Centuries: Essays in Explanation
Reviewed by Hennie Stander

Richard A. Horsley, Jonathan A. Draper, John Miles Foley, eds.
Performing the Gospel: Orality, Memory, and Mark: Essays Dedicated to Werner Kelber
Reviewed by Alan Kirk

Marko Jauhiainen
The Use of Zechariah in Revelation
Reviewed by Stephen Moyise

Frank Stern
A Rabbi Looks at Jesus' Parables
Reviewed by Innocent Himbaza

Reuben Swanson
New Testament Greek Manuscripts: Variant Readings Arranged in Horizontal Lines Against Codex Vaticanus: 1 Corinthians
Reviewed by Claudio Zamagni

Fabian Udoh
To Caesar What Is Caesar's: Tribute, Taxes, and Imperial Administration in Early Roman Palestine 63 B.C.E.-70 C.E.
Reviewed by Daniel Schowalter

Roger David Aus
Imagery of Triumph and Rebellion in 2 Corinthians 2:14-17 and Elsewhere in the Epistle: An Example of the Combination of Greco-Roman and Judaic Traditions in the Apostle Paul
Reviewed by Fredrick J. Long

Matthew C. Baldwin
Whose Acts of Peter? Text and Historical Context of the Actus Vercellenses
Reviewed by Thomas J. Kraus

Paul Borgman
The Way according to Luke: Hearing the Whole Story of Luke-Acts
Reviewed by Gert J. Steyn

Jörg Frey and Jens Schröter, eds.
Deutung des Todes Jesu im Neuen Testament
Reviewed by William Loader

Erik M. Heen and Philip D. W. Krey, eds.
Hebrews
Reviewed by George H. Guthrie

Francis J. Moloney
The Gospel of John: Text and Context
Reviewed by Paul Anderson

James L. Resseguie
Narrative Criticism of the New Testament: An Introduction
Reviewed by Patrick E. Spencer

Marianne Blickenstaff
'While the Bridegroom Is with Them': Marriage, Family, Gender and Violence in the Gospel of Matthew
Reviewed by Elaine Wainwright

Thomas C. Ferguson
The Past Is Prologue: The Revolution of Nicene Historiography
Reviewed by Mark Weedman

Amy-Jill Levine, ed., with Marianne Blickenstaff
A Feminist Companion to John: Volume 1
Reviewed by Mary Rose D'Angelo

R. S. Sugirtharajah
The Bible and Empire: Postcolonial Explorations
Reviewed by Jason T. Larson

Review of Biblical Literature latest

Latest from the SBL Review of Biblical Literature under the NT heading:

Joseph F. Kelly
An Introduction to the New Testament for Catholics
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5282
Reviewed by Peter J. Judge

André Lemaire, ed.
Congress Volume: Leiden, 2004
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5308
Reviewed by William Johnstone

Rueben Swanson
New Testament Greek Manuscripts: Variant Readings Arranged in Horizontal Lines against Codex Vaticanus: 2 Corinthians
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5304
Reviewed by Michael F. Bird

W. Randolph Tate
Interpreting the Bible: A Handbook of Terms and Methods
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5291
Reviewed by Steven L. Mckenzie

Gerd Theissen
Le Mouvement de Jésus: Histoire sociale d'une révolution des valeurs
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5231
Reviewed by Odette Mainville

Rochus Zuurmond
Novum Testamentum Aethiopice: The Synoptic Gospels. Part 3: The Gospel of Matthew
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=1982
Reviewed by John Mason

Neotestamentica latest

Thanks to Holger Szesnat for the note that the latest Neotestamentica is up: abstracts, two sample articles and all the book reviews:

Neotestamentica Volume 40 [2006], Issue 2

Ossom-Batsa, George
Bread for the Broken: Pragmatic Meaning of Mark 14:22-25
[pp. 235-258; abstract online; article online (PDF)]

Snyman, Andries H.
A Rhetorical Analysis of Philippians 3:1-11
[pp. 259-283; abstract online]

Smith, Kevin and Arthur Song
Some Christological Implications in Titus 2:13
[pp. 284-294; abstract online]

Strelan, Rick
'We Hear Them Telling in Our Own Tongues the Mighty Works of God' (Acts 2:11)
[pp. 295-319; abstract online]

Thiselton, Anthony C.
The Significance of Recent Research on 1 Corinthians for Hermeneutical Appropriation of This Epistle Today
[pp. 320-352; abstract online; article online (PDF)]

van Aarde, Andries
Ebionite Tendencies in the Jesus Tradition: The Infancy Gospel of Thomas Interpreted from the Perspective of Ethnic Identity
[pp. 353-382; abstract online]

Vos, Johan C.
The Destructive Power of Atonement Theology.
[pp. 383-401; abstract online]

Various Authors
Book Reviews
[pp. 185-226; all online (PDF)]

JSNT Latest

The latest JSNT is available on-line to subscribers (abstracts free for all):

Journal for the Study of the New Testament -- Table of Contents Alert

A new issue of Journal for the Study of the New Testament
has been made available:

1 March 2007; Vol. 29, No. 3

URL: http://jnt.sagepub.com/content/vol29/issue3/?etoc

Structure versus Agency in Studies of the Biblical Social World: Engaging with Louise Lawrence
Zeba A. Crook
Journal for the Study of the New Testament 2007;29 251-275
http://jnt.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/29/3/251?etoc

Structure, Agency and Ideology: A Response to Zeba Crook
Louise J. Lawrence
Journal for the Study of the New Testament 2007;29 277-286
http://jnt.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/29/3/277?etoc

The 'Ghost' of Jesus: Luke 24 in Light of Ancient Narratives of Post-Mortem Apparitions
Deborah Thompson Prince
Journal for the Study of the New Testament 2007;29 287-301
http://jnt.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/29/3/287?etoc

What Should a Commentator Aim to Do, for Whom, and Why? Introduction to a Discussion Focused on Andrew Lincoln's Commentary on the Gospel of John
David G. Horrell
Journal for the Study of the New Testament 2007;29 303-304
http://jnt.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/29/3/303?etoc

The Purpose and Value of Commentaries
John Nolland
Journal for the Study of the New Testament 2007;29 305-311
http://jnt.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/29/3/305?etoc

The Art of Commentary Writing: Reflections from Experience
Margaret Y. MacDonald
Journal for the Study of the New Testament 2007;29 313-321
http://jnt.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/29/3/313?etoc

Why Write a Reception-Historical Commentary?
John Riches
Journal for the Study of the New Testament 2007;29 323-332
http://jnt.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/29/3/323?etoc

Why Comment? Reflections on Bible Commentaries in General and Andrew Lincoln's The Gospel According to Saint John in Particular
Adele Reinhartz
Journal for the Study of the New Testament 2007;29 333-342
http://jnt.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/29/3/333?etoc

A Christology too Far? Some Thoughts on Andrew Lincoln's Commentary on John
Wendy E.S. North
Journal for the Study of the New Testament 2007;29 343-351
http://jnt.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/29/3/343?etoc

From Writing to Reception: Reflections on Commentating on the Fourth Gospel
Andrew T. Lincoln
Journal for the Study of the New Testament 2007;29 353-372
http://jnt.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/29/3/353?etoc

Book Review: Locating Paul: Places of Custody as Narrative Settings in Acts 21-28
Steve Walton
Journal for the Study of the New Testament 2007;29 373-375
http://jnt.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/29/3/373?etoc

April DeConick's Forbidden Gospels Blog

I'd like to join others who have welcomed April DeConick to the blogosphere:

The Forbidden Gospels Blog

Prof. DeConick begins with a kind of prospectus focusing on canonical bias in the academy, Beyond the New Testament Canon, and continues with an interesting post on What does the Gospel of Judas REALLY say? in which she joins with those who are voicing their concerns about the National Geographic team's translation and interpretation of the Gospel:

. . . My examination of the Coptic transcription has led me to think that certain translational errors and one mistaken reconstruction of a Coptic line led the team to the erroneous conclusion that Judas is a saint destined to join the holy generation of the Gnostics. The result is that certain claims have been made by National Geographic that the Gospel of Judas says things it just does NOT say: Judas is the perfect enlightened Gnostic; Judas ascends to the holy generation; Jesus wants Judas to betray him; Jesus wants to escape the material world; Judas performs a righteous act, serving Jesus by “betraying” him; Judas will be able to enter the divine realm as symbolized by his vision of the great house; as the thirteenth, Judas surpasses the twelve disciple, and is lucky and blessed by this number.

I have been speaking to audiences about this situation in a public lecture series I started this semester, The Forbidden Gospels, and I am writing a book for general audiences (What Does the Gospel of Judas REALLY Say?) as quickly as I can. It will include a corrected translation and interpretation, one in which Judas is as evil as ever.

Well, I am looking forward to both the blog and the book. I have April DeConick's recent books on the Gospel of Thomas in front of me (it was published in the series I edit) and they are important contributions to Thomas studies.

Scottish Journal of Theology latest

The latest issue of the Scottish Journal of Theology is now available on-line to subscribers (abstracts free for all):

Scottish Journal of Theology
Volume 60 - Issue 01 - February 2007

Of interest on the NT front is the following:

Peter's death in Rome? Back to front and upside down
Markus Bockmuehl
Published Online: 25-JAN-07
[ abstract ] pp 1 - 23

Harvard Theological Review latest

The latest Harvard Theological Review (100/1, January 2007) is now available to subscribers. One article of interest is:

“Half God, half man”: Kazantzakis, Scorsese, and The Last Temptation
Graham Holderness
Published Online: 22-JAN-07
[ abstract ] pp 65 - 96

Jew and Greek in Christ

On The Busybody, Loren Rosson has an interesting post headed In Christ There Is Jew and Greek, developing from his earlier post Controversial Studies and the Question of Motive: The Apostle Paul; this is a quotation:

Paul was no more an egalitarian than Jesus, and by the time of Romans he had even given up on the apocalyptic formula of Gal 3:27-28 (cf. I Cor 12:13). The reason is simple: Gal 3:27-28 was offensive, impractical, and doomed to fail in the ancient Mediterranean, where different ethnic groups, genders, and social classes could get along only by preserving their identities. Attempts to eliminate distinctions in honor-shame societies only encouraged groups to re-assert their identities in aggressive ways. That's why there is Jew and Greek in Christ, after all.

I am inclined to agree with Loren here, but with the qualification that Paul's thought becomes most clear when it is interpreted in its eschatological context. For "egalitarian" in scholarship on the New Testament, we should substitute "eschatological". The reason that Paul can say, in Gal. 3.28, that there is no Jew nor Greek "in Christ" is that we should remember that "in Christ" is itself an eschatological concept. Those who have been baptized into Christ, those who have "put on" Christ are those who share his destiny, those who belong to the one who will return to establish his reign. It is in that future that there will be no Jew nor Greek, male nor female, slave nor free. What being "in Christ" means is having the hope of salvation, a future in which such distinctions will have no meaning. It stands to reason for Paul and his contemporaries that there is still male and female in the present. There is no attempt to abolish gender differences. Likewise there is still slave and free in the present. He is not trying to change the social order. It will be God who does that thing which is promised to those currently "in Christ".

Inaccurate Greek Electronic Texts

Over on b-greek, Alan Bunning has an interesting and troubling post about the multitude of inaccuracies in the on-line Greek NT texts many use so regularly:

I got tired of the myriad of inaccuracies, sloppy scholarship, and proprietary nature associated with the New Testament Greek texts and decided to start collecting my own accurate electronic versions. I have gone through hundreds of websites and several Bible programs collecting copies of the various Greek texts . . .

. . . . Common sources such as the Online Bible, Broman, Unbound Bible, and CCAT all had various errors. Not one single text for any version I examined was entirely correct, although a few were really close . . . .

. . . . I have since begun looking at the morphological parsings and links to root words, and am even more appalled at the magnitude of errors. It is far, far worse than I ever imagined . . .

The whole post is worth reading.

Update (23.52): James Tauber's comment is worth adding here as an update: "As I've just noted in an email reply, people continue to distribute very old versions of the morphologically tagged texts that have continued to be corrected and made available at MorphGNT.org.

It is a wasted effort to try to correct these older versions when much newer versions are available. They are still not perfect, but are a much better starting point."

Update (Wednesday, 7.36): See too the helpful comments from Rick Brannan, beginning "Wherever possible, Logos/Libronix uses texts and databases from known, reputable sources. Thus our editions of UBS4 and NA27 -- different editions, with paragraphing, casing, accent and punctuation representative of their printed edition -- have solid pedigrees; they're not simply downloads from some anonymous web site . . . ." But read the whole.

Amy-Jill Levine Interview

The Sun Herald features a little interview with Amy-Jill Levine:

Author tackles Jewish-Christian relations, views
By ANSLEY ROAN
RELIGION NEWS SERVICE

In her new book, "The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus" (HarperSanFrancisco; $24.95), Levine, an Orthodox Jew, tackles 2,000 years of Jewish-Christian relations.

She talked about Jesus' parables, the challenges of interfaith dialogue, her childhood experience of anti-Semitism, and whether she's still interested in being pope.

It's an enjoyable read, but too short.

New Testament Studies latest

The January issue of New Testament Studies is now available on-line to subscribers:

---
New Testament Studies
Volume 53 - Issue 01 - January 2007

The Messenger, the Lord, and the Coming Judgement in the Reception History of Malachi 3
DAVID M. MILLER
Published Online: 22-JAN-07
[ abstract ] pp 1 - 16

Historiographical Characteristics of the Gospel of John
RICHARD BAUCKHAM
Published Online: 22-JAN-07
[ abstract ] pp 17 - 36

Acts 2.36 and the Continuity of Lukan Christology
C. KAVIN ROWE
Published Online: 22-JAN-07
[ abstract ] pp 37 - 56

Paul and Theodicy: Intertextual Thoughts on God's Justice and Faithfulness to Israel in Romans 9–11
B. J. OROPEZA
Published Online: 22-JAN-07
[ abstract ] pp 57 - 80

The ‘Transgressor’ and the ‘Curse of the Law’: The Logic of Paul's Argument in Galatians 2–3
TIMOTHY G. GOMBIS
Published Online: 22-JAN-07
[ abstract ] pp 81 - 93

Slavery, Sexuality and House Churches: A Reassessment of Colossians 3.18–4.1 in Light of New Research on the Roman Family
MARGARET Y. MACDONALD
Published Online: 22-JAN-07
[ abstract ] pp 94 - 113

Confession of the Son of God in Hebrews
SCOTT D. MACKIE
Published Online: 22-JAN-07
[ abstract ] pp 114 - 129

Die betörenden Worte des fremden Mannes: Zur Funktion der Paulusbeschreibung in den Theklaakten
MONIKA BETZ
Published Online: 22-JAN-07
[ abstract ] pp 130 - 145

To access this issue visit: www.journals.cambridge.org/jid_NTS Tables of contents and article abstracts are free to all on Cambridge Journals Online. Access to the full text is available to users whose institutions subscribe. If your institution does not subscribe why not recommend New Testament Studies to your librarian today and gain access 24-hours a day. Visit: www.journals.cambridge.org/recommend_NTS
---

Where has Peter Kirby gone?

You know when your contributions on the net are valued when you become really conspicuous by your absence. Several of Peter Kirby's websites seem to have gone down over the last week or so, including his Gospel of Thomas commentary, formally at http://www.gospelthomas.com/, which now has a "This website is for sale" notice. His Christian Origins blog has a "This account has been suspended notice", likewise his own peterkirby.com site. Early Christian Writings is still available, though.

Dunn and Wright in conversation

Over on The Paul Page, there is now a transcript of the following:

An Evening Conversation on Paul with James D. G. Dunn and N. T. Wright
This article is an edited transcription of the second of a two-part conversation recorded on October 25, 2004. The original audio file can be downloaded from New Testament Seminar: Audio Archives

Wright: Jimmy began the last session by quizzing me about the phrase “the third quest for the historical Jesus,” which I coined, and so I’m going to begin this session by quizzing him about the phrase “the new perspective on Paul,” which he coined.

Jimmy and I go back a long way when it comes to the new perspective, but the phrase “new perspective” comes from a lecture in 1982 which was published in 1983. So, Jimmy, where is the new perspective now? And in a nutshell, because obviously we could talk about it all night, how do you see the debate sitting now?

Dunn: Let me go back and set the scene a little . . .

Jack Bauer = Jesus?

This Dallas Morning News article celebrates the return of 24 tonight (in the US; UK viewers will have to wait a little longer) by drawing some parallels between Jack and Jesus. It's penetrating stuff, e.g. both have long hair and a beard:

[Spoiler alert: don't read on if you haven't seen the conclusion of the fifth season]

What would Jack do? Tune in to '24'
TV: Watch for a miracle as Christ-like parallels continue in premiere
By MARK McGUIRE

As a shackled and guarded Jack Bauer shuffles off a transport plane eight minutes into tonight's season premiere of 24, one word comes to mind: Jesus. That's an observation, not an exclamation.

The counter-terrorist agent, his hair long and beard scraggly, is being released from the custody of Chinese authorities. He is bowed, his back crisscrossed with scars from torture. Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) has not spoken in the nearly two years since he was snatched by Chinese agents (in last season's finale).

Two years: His 40 days in the desert, so to speak.

You get the picture.

Latest Tyndale Tech: Web Bible Tools

The latest Tyndale Tech (November 2006) is now available on-line. If you are unfamiliar with the Tyndale Tech phenomenon, this is an occasional email from David Instone-Brewer of Tyndale House, Cambridge, UK, which is always full of interesting helps for the those looking to expand their knowledge of and expertise in technical helps for Biblical study. After a month or two, the emails appear on the web site, as now with the latest:

Finding the Right Web Tool for the Job

I endorse what David says here, especially the enthusiasm for Zhubert.

One minor whinge about the Tyndale Tech emails -- the right click is disabled on links, so it's not as straightforward to copy links and bookmark them as it would otherwise be.

Jim Caviezel to reprise Jesus role

Courier News has the interesting story that Jim Caviezel, who starred as Jesus in The Passion of the Christ, is now to reprise the role in an all-star cast in an audio Bible:

'Passion' star reprises Christ role in audio bible
By BOB MAKI

Thomas Nelson Inc., one of the world’s largest seller [sic] of bibles, announced today that it will be releasing a 25-hour, 20-CD, star-studded audio bible production of The New Testament.

"The Word of Promise: New Testament Audio Bible" is scheduled to be released in October in association with Falcon Picture Group.

The dramatic bible was the brainchild of Carl Amari, CEO of Falcon Picture Group, who is also a producer and distributor of audio dramas and founder of Radio Spirits.

Amari approached actor Jim Caviezel (“The Passion of the Christ,” “Déjà vu”) to play the lead role of Jesus Christ, after working with him on the 2004 family-friendly film “Madison.”

Caviezel said he relished the chance to explore the character in a new medium. He also is co-producing the project with with Amari and best-selling author and broadcast journalist Raymond Arroyo.

Michael York is another old Jesus film actor to be involved. He is narrator in this production, and was John the Baptist in Jesus of Nazareth (dir. Franco Zeffirelli, 1977).

Biblical Studies Carnival Best of 2006

I want to join with the many other bibliobloggers who have given the thumbs-up to Tyler Williams's excellent round-up of the year:

Biblical Studies Carnival: Best of 2006

Why is the Historical Jesus Quest so difficult?

I begin a course on the Historical Jesus at Duke tomorrow and I am putting together the teaching materials at the moment. As I introduce the topic, my mind turned to why it is that we have to spend such a lot of time trying to get our heads round this topic. Here are my summary reasons as to why the Historical Jesus Quest is such a massive task:

(1) So much data is missing, e.g. there is so little on Jesus’ life before 30.

(2) The data we do have is highly prejudiced, mainly pro-Christian propaganda.

(3) The sources we have are disputed -- different scholars value the sources differently

(4) The sources are sometimes contradictory and difficult to interpret.

(5) Our distance from the data is so great – we read our own prejudices into the texts.

(6) And now there is so much secondary literature available that it is difficult to navigate our way through it all.

(7) Jesus is a figure in whom so many have a stake, and the quest is often controversial.

I will go on to tell the students, though, that the news is not all bad. We are actually surprisingly well informed about Jesus compared to many other figures from the ancient world.

The Verhoeven Jesus film

Over on FilmChat, Peter Chattaway mentions this New York Times piece:

Paul Verhoeven Goes to War One More Time
By DENNIS LIM

the second half of which turns to Verhoeven's oft talked-about desire to make a Jesus film (remember his involvement with the Jesus seminar, for example):

It is a firm belief of Mr. Verhoeven’s that nothing is sacred, and his next project will probably serve as ample demonstration. He is finishing a book on Jesus, to be published later this year. A self-described “non-Christian,” he has been involved since the mid-’80s with the Jesus Seminar, an association of Bible scholars devoted to investigating the historical authenticity of the words and deeds of Jesus.

Summarizing the contents of his monograph, Mr. Verhoeven said: “Thesis No. 1 is that Jesus was a man. That’s already a big thing, as opposed to what Christianity says, that he was the son of God.” The book will be based on a close reading of ancient texts, he said, “eliminating everything that’s not possible, in my opinion.” He added: “It’s impossible that Jesus would have multiplied all this bread, isn’t it? And the resurrection. All these things that are not possible are not possible.” . . .

. . . . Mr. Verhoeven said he hopes his Jesus book is the first step toward his dream project, a Jesus movie, one that he said would be like no other: “My hubris tells me it would be more normal and more real.” Dismissing “The Passion of the Christ” (“It’s just about torture”) and “The Last Temptation of Christ” (“Basically fictional”), he said the only such film he admired was Pier Paolo Pasolini’s “Gospel According to St. Matthew”: “He gives it a Marxist spin, which made the Jesus more belligerent, much stronger, more like he really was, I think.”

He hastened to add that despite this confrontational stance, his Bible studies were motivated by an intellectual ardor. “I’m a big fan of Jesus,” he said. “I think Jesus was an extremely interesting, innovative, talented person, a theological genius, and as a poet, his parables are absolutely magnificent. He’s like Mozart.”

Mr. Verhoeven knows his approach is risky. “To do this movie in the U.S. might not be without personal danger,” he said. “The power of the screen is so enormous. That’s why I’m writing the book first. It gives me time to think if I want to get into hotter water than that.”

Well, if the film ever comes off, it should be fascinating.

Should we blog our pre-publication ideas?

In James Crossley's interesting recent blogger of the month interview, he makes the following comment:

I think it is pretty clear to anyone who might read the blog that I am reluctant to put anything particularly new on the blog unless it is published or being published. I didn’t consciously make this decision but I just can’t bring myself to put too many pre-publication ideas.

On Reception of the Bible, John Lyons echoes this "reluctance to put pre-publication work on a blog" and contrasts this with people like me who are more willing to discuss ideas pre-publication. I suppose my way of thinking about this would be to ask why not discuss your research on your blog? To me the advantages are fairly obvious -- one is experimenting, thinking out loud, attempting to articulate one's views, getting feedback, getting pointers to useful bibliography and so on. All of these things help one to hone one's writing and to come up with a stronger final product at the full publication stage. I'd be more worried about going to final publication without having aired the ideas and a good deal of the writing in a public setting beforehand.

So what are the disadvantages of airing one's research at the pre-publication stage in one's academic blog? John's take is as follows:

Without a great deal of thought, I am beginning to wonder if this has something to do with how you approach blogging as an outlet for your work. You might, of course, not care about publishing your work in academic outlets, but I doubt that is the case with Mark and Jim (or with the others mentioned above). I am sure they are confident that their work is still publishable despite their blog offerings (after all, Mark has now published a 'substantially revised version' of his previously offered review of The Nativity Story in the--admittedly not very prestigious-- SBL forum). From his comments Mark appears to value the feedback he has received, apparently seeing it as akin to that which he might receive at a conference. Yet to me there is something public about the internet that makes me doubt anyone will want to take it for a journal. I have no evidence for this, but it seems very real to me.

I am highly sceptical of the latter, and I would be surprised if a serious journal were to reject something because the ideas were worked out in part in an academic's blog. After all, it has long been the case that journal articles take over material previously circulated in conference proceedings or collections of seminar papers, and likewise papers temporarily posted in full on the net. I doubt that piecemeal, incomplete research that is under development on a blog would fair worse. And if the journal were to question the academic's pre-publication blog musings, the more fool them. Who would reject a paper for a journal because it had previously been read in academic settings like a conference? If one were very nervous about such things, one could always remove an offending post at a later date. To be honest, I have been tempted to do the latter for other reasons, that I would prefer to direct people to the more fully formed and mature expressions of my ideas, but on balance I quite like the idea of the raw, under-development piecemeal blog research ideas to be there for future consultation too.

In short, I don't think that blogging pre-publication ideas is at all a bar to full publication. Indeed in my experience, it works the opposite way. For me, blogging sometimes encourages publication. A simple example is the one mentioned by John, my underdeveloped musings on The Nativity Story, which subsequently evolved into a fuller, more polished review for the SBL Forum. I wouldn't have written the SBL Forum piece if I had not begun reflecting out loud on the film in the blog. I can illustrate a more complex version of the same kind of thing. Back in 2004, about one in every three entries in this blog focused on the latest news on The Passion of the Christ. When I finally got to see the film, I offered My Thoughts in a rolling post, with no intention of developing for publication. But Bible and Interpretation picked up the post and asked if I would develop it for their site and the result was a new piece called The Passion, Pornography an Polemic. In turn, Robert Webb saw my interest in the film and asked me to contribute to the book he was co-editing with Kathleen Corley called Jesus and Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. The article I wrote for that book, on "The Power of The Passion: Reacting and Overreacting to Gibson's Artistic Vision", bore only a distant relationship to that original blog post, but it was from that that it was ultimately derived. And without it, I might never have been encouraged to write the fuller piece.

I suppose that is my justification for airing pre-publication ideas, but it is also an encouragement to others to do the same. There is an element of risk or adventure about trying out ideas on one's blog, but the risks sometimes pay off and lead one in unexpected directions. I might add, though, that in spite of all that I have said, I only occasionally engage in this kind of thing. The majority of my research ideas don't get developed here in the blog but rather through reading, teaching, thinking, reflection, sharing with friends and so on. I am currently working on the Gospel of Thomas but how often have I blogged on that here? Next year I am hoping to begin writing my book provisionally entitled ________, _________ and _____ but I don't feel comfortable even mentioning that here yet. It seems, then, that there are some research ideas that one feels more comfortable about sharing than others, and I am not sure that I can articulate why that is the case, or what the criteria are. Like John, I want to give this some more thought.

Update (17 January, 08:52): On Reception of the Bible, John Lyons gathers together all the links on the biblioblogs to subsequent discussion of this issue, and weighs in again himself on this interesting topic.

Gospel of Judas books galore

In On Not Being a Sausage Deirdre Good has a useful round-up on the New Books on the Gospel of Judas and it is a surprising number. She mentions the extraodinary news that broke at the weekend in The Sunday Times that Jeffrey Archer has a book due out on Judas, co-written with Frank Moloney, this March (Archer writes Gospel of Judas), already mentioned by Jim Davila on Paleojudaica. I first heard of the story on Andrew Marr's Sunday AM on BBC1. What interested me was the general surprise with which Marr and Ann Leslie greeted the idea of rehabilitating Judas, a useful reminder that however much we might think that the media has been saturated with stories about Judas over the last year or so, that is a pretty jaundiced, religion students' perspective. It had clearly completely passed by educated and intelligent readers like Marr, and required a recognisable tag like "Jeffrey Archer" to deem it noticeable.

Biblical Studies Carnival XIII and January's biblioblogger

Tyler Williams has published the latest Biblical Studies Carnival and it's another fantastic round-up. One of these days someone will come up with a dud in this genre, but it's not happened yet:

Biblical Studies Carnival XIII

And another regular feature on the biblioblogging scene is up too:

Biblioblogs: Blogger of the Month: James Crossley

It's an interesting read and there is a lot of good sense spoken.

Christmas Bible TV

Before going away, I blogged briefly on upcoming Christmas TV of interest to the topic of this blog (Christmas TV on Bible Films and The Secret Family of Jesus). The real highlights of Christmas TV viewing were largely non-biblical, Doctor Who, Vicar of Dibley and Torchwood, though the latter came in with some great Biblical language and themes in its superb conclusion the other night, mentioned already by Jim Davila on Paleojudaica and discussed by Pete Phillips on postmodernbible (Torchwood . . . and Torchwood's Abaddon). I didn't catch much of The Secret Family of Jesus, though some who did have commented on my blog post. I saw enough of it, though, to catch both James Tabor and Richard Bauckham. I was particularly pleased to see that Bauckham was involved since he has been somewhat media-shy in the past and the programme can't have been all bad if scholars like Bauckham and Tabor were involved. On New Year's day I caught some of The Secret Life of Brian and was pleased to see a little more of the famous Muggeridge / Bishop / Cleese / Palin exchange. Speaking as both a Christian and a Pythonist myself, I am almost as baffled now as I was when I sneaked in to see it aged 13 that many Christians found it so objectionable. Michael Palin made the excellent point in the previously mentioned exchange that Jesus is represented reverentially in the film on the one occasion we see him, played by Ken Colley (whom Palin mentions by name). Perhaps this would be a suitable occasion for me to mention something I sometimes say when teaching Jesus films, that Ken Colley must have been cast because of his resemblance to Robert Powell, whose Jesus in Jesus of Nazareth (1977) was still very fresh in viewers' minds in 1979. (The picture above shows Colley as Jesus in the dim distance, from the opening scene of the film).

Happy new year

Happy new year to everyone. I am just back from a great Christmas and new year and look forward to getting back to blogging soon. (The link is to Viola's blog on our break, from which the picture to the left is taken, at about 00.05 on New Year's Day).

The Nativity Story: The Review's Up

My review of The Nativity Story is now up on the SBL Forum. If you read my earlier, initial thoughts here, you will recognise some of it, but it's substantially revised and I have added a lot:

The Nativity Story: A Review
Mark Goodacre
SBL Forum, December 2006

Christmas TV on Bible Films

Matt Page has usefully gathered together details of Christmas Bible Related Films and Programmes on UK TV. I have already commented on The Secret Family of Jesus and the Daily Mayo podcast connected with it. The one I am particularly looking forward to is the following:

The Secret Life of Brian
1st Jan 8:00 pm

Channel 4 are devoting an entire evening to the Pythons. The evening kicks off with this documentary looking at the controversy surrounding the film. I hope they show the complete footage of the TV debate between two of the Python's and a bishop and another religious representative. I don't think it will, but hopefully there will be some interesting footage that I've not seen before.

I agree on that -- we tend to get the same tantalizing clip each time. Malcolm Muggeridge is the other chap Matt is talking about here; I don't recall which bishop it was. The Not the Nine O'Clock News Parody of the exchange, though, was genius (General Synod's "Life of Christ").

Update (13.44): David Mackinder informs me that the bishop in question was Mervyn Stockwood.

Bill Peterson

I was sorry to hear this morning of the death of Bill Peterson (via Evangelical Textual Criticism, via Hugoye). I was lucky to meet Bill on a couple of occasions through the textual-criticism folks at Birmingham, and I once had a happy meal with him at the SNTS in Birmingham in 1997. A nice man as well as a fine scholar; he will be greatly missed.

Christmas break

It's almost time for the NTGateway blog to take its traditional Christmas break. This may be my last post for a little. My blogging machine won't be travelling with us to England, so I look forward to seeing you in the new year. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

The Secret Family of Jesus: Channel 4 Documentary

It turns out that this year's religious documentary offering from Channel 4 on Christmas day is a piece exploring Jesus' family. From Channel 4's website:

The Secret Family of Jesus
25 December at 8pm

Did Jesus have a real human family? If so, why were they airbrushed from history and excised from the bible? Robert Beckford tells the story of the people who shared his bloodline.

Robert is a former colleague of mine at the University of Birmingham and his profile as a film-maker has risen hugely in the last few years. In fact, this is one of two documentaries he is involved with this Christmas. He discussed them both on today's Simon Mayo on FiveLive and was his usual, lively self. Listen again to the interview (streamed), or download it as a podcast -- it is today's Daily Mayo item. I'll be interested to see who is involved with The Secret Family of Jesus. Not me. I once enjoyed taking part in one of these experiences, Who Wrote the Bible?, on Christmas Day 2004, having filmed my section in Rome a couple of months earlier. This year, at least I won't have to inflict earnest religious content on my family on Christmas day, though I suppose we have the option of going for a smorgasbord of Some Like it Hot on Channel 4 at 4.35pm, followed by the new Doctor Who on BBC1 at 7pm, followed by Beckford at 8pm. Actually, we'll probably stick with Marilyn Monroe and David Tennant and video Dr Beckford. Sorry, Robert.

E. P. Sanders on the Uniqueness of Jesus' Teaching

Rob Bradshaw continues his fantastic work on BiblicalStudies.org.uk of making available a huge range of on-line articles and lectures. The latest is my favourite so far:

E. P. Sanders, "The Question of Uniqueness in the Teaching of Jesus" (London: University of London, 1990)
The Ethel M. Wood Lecture 15 February 1990

Just to whet your appetite, here is one excerpt:

Selective reading combines with confessional interest to produce claims of uniqueness.

People who read more widely than others, such as Davies, make fewer claims of uniqueness and put them more appropriately: this would have struck the hearers as fresh. Occasionally, however, he too claims uniqueness (for example, by ignoring Lev. 19.34), and it will always turn out that he should have read one more passage.

If we removed confessional interest entirely, we would find people making no stronger claims than ‘unparalleled as far as I know’. After all, what percentage of the total wisdom of the world is available to even the most diligent reader? The pronouncement that something is ‘unique’, as I said at the outset, is among other things a claim to omniscience: I know everything, and there are no parallels. This is an extremely unscholarly attitude. The more one studies, the less one should hold it.

Sanders was (and is) something of a hero of mine, and this article is Sanders at his best.

Third annual Ralphies

Over on Ralph the Sacred River, Ed Cook has announced the Third Annual Ralphies, the little bit of annual indulgence among bibliobloggers to go outside of Biblical Studies and blog their "best ofs" of the year. (See mine for 2004 and 2005). This year Ed is doing this as a series. I am keeping mine under one post title so as not to increase the self-indulgence, but I'll blog them in the order in which Ed presents the series, so will update this post at the appropriate times. My campaign of the last couple of years to expand the categories to include best gig, best TV programme, best radio programme and best sporting event seem to be bearing fruit -- best TV programme has been added already. But enough of the preliminaries. Here are my initial entries, following Ed's lead:

Song of the year: Murray Gold's Song for Ten, performed by Neil Hannon. This is a geeky choice, I know, but it made an instant impact on me in last year's Doctor Who Christmas episode, "Christmas Invasion", as David Tennant looks out his (10th doctor)'s outfit. It qualifies as 2006 because the track was only recently released, on Murray Gold, Doctor Who, December 2006.

Honourable mention: The Killers, Read My Mind.

Album of the year: The Killers, Sam's Town. (There was no album by The Fall this year, sadly).

Honourable mention: Arctic Monkeys, Whatever People Say I am, That's What I'm Not

Gig of the year: Franz Ferdinand at Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke University, 7 April. It was a particular thrill to be able to get to see one of my favourite British bands out here in North Carolina. (See Viola's blog post on).

Honourable mention: The Wedding Present, Cat's Cradle, Carrboro, March. Same comment as previous. (See Viola's blog post on).

Film of the year: Casino Royale is the only one that made a real impact on me this year, successfully rebooting the Bond franchise, even if it's not quite as great as some people think. Too much of Daniel Craig pouting for my liking. I probably didn't watch enough films this year, so my choice here is uninformed. Honourable mention: Inside Man.

TV programme of the year: Doctor Who, of course! Last year saw a brilliant return for the series after an absence of many years, and it came back transformed, superbly conceived by Russell T. Davies, one of the great contemporary British screen-writers. The second season, starring David Tennant as the tenth doctor, and Billie Piper again as his assistant, fully met our expectations. It was wonderful. Now we await the Christmas day episode co-starring Catherine Tate and the third series in the Spring.

Honourable mention (and a close second): Torchwood, the superb adult-oriented gritty spin-off from Doctor Who, currently airing in the UK on BBC3 and BBC2, created by Russell T. Davies. Some are even saying that they prefer it to Doctor Who.

TV comedy of the year: Extras, the second season of Ricky Gervais's brilliant sitcom. Honourable mentions: Lead Balloon, Catherine Tate.

Other honourable mentions: although nothing is quite up to the standard of the best British TV over here, Heroes is good so far and well worth watching. Battlestar Galactica is still worth watching too.

Radio programme of the year: The Making of Memory -- superb Radio 4 documentary series, part of their Memory Experience series of programmes.

Honourable mentions: I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue: funny as ever. There has been so much fantastic radio this year and the perennials keep the world turning around for me, Today, Test Match Special, Simon Mayo, Start the Week. I catch most of these via the BBC Download and Podcast Trial, one of the major changes to my life in 2006. The availability of so much good Radio 4 and Five Live radio via download has been a godsend. Speaking of which, how about a new category?

Podcast of the year: To concentrate on podcasts available outside of the BBC radio programmes above, the top was Baddiel and Skinner's World Cup Podcast -- made me laugh out loud all the way through the World Cup, and cheered me up when we lost to Portugal. Honourable mention: Ricky Gervais on The Guardian in February -- pretty enjoyable.

Sporting event of the year: well it's certainly not the Ashes this year! (American readers: The Ashes is the name for the most famous cricketing rivalry of all, England and Australian. After winning the Ashes back in the summer of 2005, we have just lost them again in Australia). The Sporting event has to be the World Cup, in spite of England's less than brilliant performance. Viola and I wrote a lot about our first experience of The World Cup in America in The Americanization of Emily.

The Inquiry

Over on Filmchat, Petter Chattaway has news about an interesting new film called The Inquiry:

The new film, which premieres December 28 at the Capri Hollywood Film Festival in Italy, is a remake of a 1986 film about a Roman agent who is sent to Palestine to investigate rumours concerning a Jewish prophet who came back from the dead.

The film is directed by Giulio Base. Of particular interest is that Hristo Shopov will reprise his role as Pontius Pilate, after playing the part in The Passion of the Christ (dir. Mel Gibson, 2004). Another very interesting bit of casting is Max Von Sydow, Jesus in The Greatest Story Ever Told, as Tiberius. There is a trailer available. There is also an IMDb page on The Inquiry.

Bernard Orchard: Obituaries

The death of Dom. Bernard Orchard was reported in Hypotyposeis last week, following on from a note on Synoptic-L from Peter Head pointing to The Times Obituary of 5 December. I met Dom Orchard once, at the SNTS Meeting in Birmingham in 1997. Sadly, I didn't get a chance to attend his short paper at that meeting because I was run off my feet with organizing things, and our second daughter had just been born.

There is also a full obituary in The Independent from 6 December, written by Hugh O'Shaughnessy:

Dom Bernard Orchard
Monk and twice headmaster who transformed Ealing Priory School into the modern St Benedict's

Orchard, by nature a conservative and uncomfortable with some of the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, devoted the rest of his life at the abbey to scriptural scholarship which allowed him to continue expressing forthright views with passion, even combativeness. For instance, defending the traditional teaching that St Matthew's gospel antedated St Mark's, in the US Catholic magazine This Rock in 1996 he commented with characteristic tartness,

It has been unfortunate that the combination of an exhilarating freedom to pursue historical criticism with church approval and the reassuring support of the prestigious faculties of the German and American universities has convinced the Markan Priorists that they cannot be wrong.

The Old Priorian Association has a PDF obituary here:

R.I.P. John Bernard Orchard

The Telegraph obituary of 8 December is here:

Dom Bernard Orchard

. . . . His scholarly work was not deeply original, and his judgment was sometimes questioned. But he had a gift for organising, stimulating and coordinating scholars to produce research of lasting value. As chairman of the Catholic Biblical Association of Great Britain he ruled with headmasterly severity for decades.

Orchard edited A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture (1953), the first one-volume Catholic commentary since the opening out of biblical studies after Pope Pius XII's encyclical Divino Afflante Spiritu. With Fr Reginald Fuller, he set about providing Catholics with an accurate modern translation of the Bible. They obtained the copyright holders' permission to adapt and amend the American Revised Standard Version, and produced an edition that Catholics could use in the liturgy and biblical studies, though it took 10 years before the RSV-Catholic Edition was published with an imprimatur . . . .

. . . . During six years in Rome he became the founder and chairman of the World Catholic Federation for the Biblical Apostolate, and acted as spiritual director of the Beda College. He published his Synopsis of the Four Gospels, in English and Greek editions. With Professor William Farmer of Dallas and Professor TRW Longstaff he wrote papers and inspired international conferences aimed at reviving the 18th-century theory that the first synoptic gospel to be written was Matthew, followed by Luke and finally Mark.

At one stage no biblical conference in the British Isles seemed complete without this tall, strong, silver-haired figure, who also lectured on his theory so widely abroad that some wondered if he did not like being in his monastery. But he remained true to his community, and from 1981 was the titular cathedral prior of Canterbury . . . .

Blogs various

Today seems to be a bit of a catching-up day on the blog, so here are a few things I've wanted to mention for a while. I didn't get time to mention Loren Rosson's interview as Biblioblogger of the Month a couple of weeks ago. I've added a couple of new blogs to my blogroll (and sent others to limbo), including Deirdre Good's On not being a sausage, Neil Godfrey's Vridar and Doug Chaplin's Fool's Footsteps.

The Nativity Story: Chattaway's take

Peter Chattaway's articles and reviews are always well worth reading, especially when it comes to Bible films. I wanted to wait to read his review of The Nativity Story until I had written my own and with mine finished yesterday (a new one, based on my earlier blog post, to be published soon), I took the opportunity to read his today. It is on Christianity Today Movies:

The Nativity Story
Peter T. Chattaway

For me, he gets it about right, and he articulates something very well that had been worrying me:

There is also a tension of sorts in Mike Rich's screenplay, which oscillates between the need to be faithful to the biblical text, on the one hand, and the freedom to create dramatically compelling characters and scenes, on the other. While Rich trims out some of the dialogue that appears in the Bible, the parts that he keeps are presented almost exactly as written, yet these sections of the film—especially the Annunciation and the restoration of speech to Zechariah—feel rushed and anticlimactic, and are never quite woven into the rest of the drama. Compare the first scene between Mary and Elizabeth, which is straight out of the Gospel of Luke (minus the Magnificat), with their later conversations; it's a little like watching Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, in which the heroes use modern English until they wander into a scene from Hamlet and start talking all Shakespearean.

This is exactly right. I thought the worst parts of the film were when they were quoting scripture -- each time they went straight into reading-in-church mode, a shame given the film's strengths, e.g. in allowing us to listen in to Mary's thoughts.

Neotestamentica 40.1 (2006)

Thanks to Holger Szesnat for the note that abstracts, book reviews, and two sample articles (D. E. Aune and F. P. Viljoen) of the latest Neotestamentica are now available on-line:

Neotestamentica 40.1 (2006)

The on-line full text pieces are:

David E.Aune, "The Apocalypse of John and Palestinian Jewish Apocalyptic"

Francois P. Viljoen, "Jesus’ Teaching on the Torah in the Sermon on the Mount"

Pick of the day: A Guide to Grading Exams

If I had a "pick of the day" feature on the NTGateway blog, this would be today's, from the Concurring Opinions blog by Daniel Solove (with thanks to Feeble Mindings for the tip)

A Guide to Grading Exams

There is some particularly helpful advice on that vexed issue of how to decide on those borderline A-/B+ decisions.

Tens of thousands of spam

Spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam. Eventually I got fed up of it. 20,000 spam messages in the last 48 hours, and this is getting pretty common. I use gmail, which has an excellent spam filter, so I only get to see a fraction of these that bleed through to my inbox, but a fraction of 10,000 a day is still too much. I decided to take some action. The vast majority of my spam comes from the NTGateway.com address. Spam robots simply affix any automated name to NTGateway.com, and my ISP sends it all to me. So I have discontinued the use of blog@ntgateway.com as my blog email address, and have diverted all ntgateway.com mail to another address which I will only occasionally check. Please send any future blog-related emails to my Duke address (goodacre at duke dot edu).

Why aren't there more good plays about Jesus?

Today's Guardian has an interesting article by a playwright who wants to know why there are so few good plays about Jesus:

The greatest story never told
A virgin birth, great parts for everyone and a happy ending ... so why aren't there more good plays about Jesus? Mark Ravenhill reports

. . . .Given that most of our leading playwrights, directors and actors have at some point appeared in a Nativity play during their formative years, it's surprising more of them haven't been drawn to tell the story of the Nativity, or other aspects of the life of Christ, in their adult work . . .

. . . . The absence of the story of Christ from the stage is not a new phenomenon. In medieval England we had the Mystery Plays, most famously in York and Coventry - epic Biblical cycles performed by amateurs on wagons passing through the city. But with the dissolution of the monasteries and the split from Rome, stagings of Biblical events became heretical. It wasn't until the 20th century that these plays were restaged, first by amateur groups, and then in a celebrated production by Bill Bryden at the National Theatre. The success of Bryden's production was in part due to his setting of the plays in a Northern working-class culture, just as it was under attack from the Thatcher government.

It's a good article, though some alarm bells begin ringing here:

Dennis Potter called his play about the crucifixion, written for television and later staged by the RSC with Joseph Fiennes as Christ, "Son of Man" - instantly loading it by denying Jesus his semi-divinity.

Semi-divinity? Could this be another example of that occasional media heresy that Jesus was a half-man, half-god? Apparently it is:

Perhaps the representation of Jesus on stage is always going to be problematic. If you are a believer, he is the son of God and therefore half human and half divine. How does an actor represent the divine?

That aside, though, well worth a read.

Pick of the day: Sigma

If I had a "pick of the day" feature, this would be today's, on Laudator Temporis Acti:

Sigma

Read about sigma, final sigma, lunate sigma and the lipogram.

Paul Quiz

Beliefnet has a quiz on Paul out today:

Christianity Quiz: All About Paul

My Paul class handed in their final assignments today, but you don't need to have spent much time studying Paul to get ten out of ten on this one.

Microsoft Book Search

Thanks to Jim West for news of this new resources:

Live Search Books

Like Google Books, it has plenty of public domain books in full view downloads available. I've not had a lot of time to play with it yet, but time enough to find the following, which is not available on Google Books:

J. C. Hawkins, Horae Synopticae (Oxford: Clarendon, 1899)

The quality of the scans seems very good, and the site seems pretty easy to use. So thumbs up so far, and I am looking forward to searching for more.

Update (Tuesday, 10.05): Thanks to Ken Olson for pointing out that this is in fact the first edition of 1899 (see comments), so I've adjusted above.

Poirier vs. Tabor

Jack Poirier has a review of James Tabor's Jesus Dynasty online at the Jerusalem Perspective website:

Book Review: James Tabor’s The Jesus Dynasty
by Jack Poirier

And James Tabor has a response on his blog:

The James Ossuary and Pantera (Again!)

Update (Thursday, 15.36): Thanks to Jack Poirier (in comments to this post) for pointing out that he now has a response to Tabor published in the same context above, after a reproduction of Tabor's blog post.

St Paul's sarcophagus

Back in February 2005, stories about the discovery of Paul's tomb began to circulate in the media (see Archaeologists discover Paul's tomb) and they resurfaced recently, e.g. in USA Today (via Paleojudaica). The newer reports point to a press conference at the Vatican today, and reports of this are now becoming available, for example here in IOL:

Vatican may open Saint's tomb
By Philip Pullella

Vatican City - The Vatican said on Monday it was studying the possibility of opening a thick marble sarcophagus believed to contain the remains of the 1st century apostle St Paul to study its contents.

The prospect was raised at a news conference at which Vatican officials unveiled the results of an archaeological dig which has made part of the sarcophagus in Rome's Basilica of St Paul's Outside the Walls visible to pilgrims.

"We tried to X-ray it to see what was inside but the stone was too thick," said Cardinal Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, archpriest of the basilica on Rome's outskirts . . . .

. . . . Montezemolo belittled some media reports that the apostle's tomb had only now been discovered.

"There has been no doubt for the past 20 centuries that the tomb is there. It was variously visible and not visible in times past and then it was covered up. We made an opening (in the basilica floor) to make it visible at least in part," he said . . . .

The Vatican news service has a full report in Italian here:

CONFERENZA STAMPA DI PRESENTAZIONE DEI LAVORI CHE HANNO RIPORTATO ALLA LUCE IL SARCOFAGO DI SAN PAOLO, NELLA BASILICA DI SAN PAOLO FUORI LE MURA , 11.12.2006

The Nativity Story: What the Scholars Say

I have seen only a handful of reviews from New Testament scholars on The Nativity Story. Given the plethora of reviews they put out on The Passion of the Christ, this is a disappointment if not a surprise. It seems that these days, however much we might like to think that we are not influenced by the media frenzy on such things, it was the public thirst for comment on The Passion that was driving all that scholarly interest and which in part explains the vituperative tone of so many of the reviews.

The scholarly interest is not completely lacking, though, and so far, these are the reviews I have found from New Testament scholars:

Waiting for the Magnificat
Scot McKnight, Relevant Magazine

McKnight enjoys the film, sometimes feels he was there in the first century, falls in love with Joseph but not Mary and wishes for more of the Magnificat.

The Nativity-- The Birth of a Classic?
Ben Witherington (blog)

He thinks it's "not only not bad . . . actually pretty good". Unlike McKnight, he likes the portrait of Mary. He is not so keen on the CGI Jerusalem, or shepherds and magi at the manger at the same time, but otherwise it is thumbs up.

Witherington's review reveals that Darrell Bock was one of those consulted for the film and Bock himself has some brief reflections. (We'd love to see more!).

Three million visits today

At some point today, the NT Gateway should receive its three millionth visitor. As I write it is standing at 2,999,482 visits in 8,046,448 page views (statistics). Bear in mind that these figures include The New Testament Gateway as a whole (but not other sites like Case Against Q or Aseneth).

Update: the three million mark was reached earlier this afternoon, I'm not sure precisely when. Since my stats software is not as sophisticated as some people have, I am afraid I am not able to offer a free Mars Bar for the three millionth visitor, but thanks for the support anyway.

Nativity Story Quiz

Beliefnet asks:

How Well Do You Know the Nativity Story?

Some of the questions are a bit dubious, but it's worth doing so that you can enjoy some of the wacky multiple choice answers. If you give them the answers you think they want, it's quite easy to get fourteen out of fourteen. The quiz is up there as part of its Nativity Story movie coverage:

The Nativity Story 2006

The site includes clips, review, interviews and multimedia feature.

The Nativity Story: My Review (continued)

The Nativity Story was released in the US last Friday, 1 December, and my first viewing of the film was on Saturday 2nd. Here follows my review.

One of the pleasures for me was that this was the first Bible film I have seen at the cinema with the whole family. My wife would not go to see The Passion of the Christ and I wouldn't dream, of course, of taking the children to that. And it was great to be sitting with the kids either side of me while we watched The Nativity Story, a film that is pitched about right to the family "PG" audience. The violence of the Slaughter of the Innocents is not gory, and is relatively short-lived. The two birth scenes (Elizabeth's and Mary's) are not graphic and again are relatively short-lived. At times I wondered whether it might be sufficiently compelling for the younger audience, but apparently it was. My nine year old had to ask a couple of times "What's going on?" but only a couple of times, and towards the beginning. For the kids, as well as for the faithful, there are enough of the traditional, familiar story markers to reassure everyone that the important bases are covered, Herod, wise men, star, shepherds, no room at the inn, but there are enough imaginative fresh elements weaved into the traditional narrative to keep the interest up.

I am very easily pleased when it comes to Bible films, especially seeing them in the cinema. So much of my access to Jesus films has been via television, video and DVD, that it is always a thrill to catch one on release in the cinema. No doubt my views on this one will change and mature in time, especially with future viewings, and my initial viewing is strongly influenced by the thrill of seeing it in the cinema, where I will return shortly for my next viewing. So when I say that I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of watching this film, bear in mind that context.

Not surprisingly, the basis for the story is Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2, and the sources are harmonized pretty successfully, with Luke perhaps just getting the edge. Zechariah and Elizabeth, from Luke, are major minor characters, and Herod and the magi, from Matthew, are ever-present. As expected, the plot focuses on Luke's Nazareth to Bethlehem journey, but it is framed by the Slaughter of the Innocents from Matthew, opening with this, and then presenting the remainder of the film as a flash-back beginning "One year earlier". Very little is omitted from Luke 1.5--2.19, but nothing is utilized from Luke 2.20-51, so there is nothing after the shepherds -- no temple, circumcision, Simeon or Anna. This is necessitated by the turn to Matthew after the birth, with the flight to Egypt and slaughter of the innocents, stories that make it difficult to incorporate a trip to Jerusalem, towards Herod, from whom they are fleeing in Matthew. Little is omitted from Matthew's shorter account, but there is no concession to Mary and Joseph's Bethlehem "house" in Matthew 2.11. It's Luke's (implied) stable / cave and then the flight to Egypt at the end of the film.

I didn't spot any influence from non-canonical gospels at all. Mary's parents were not named in the body of the film, for example, though they were credited as Joaquim and Anna (as in Protevangelium of James). And Joseph was a young man with no children, again in contrast to the Protevangelium, where he is a widow with sons.

Structurally, the one major non-Biblical addition to the narrative was a visit to Jerusalem en route from Nazareth to Jerusalem. Luke 2.4 has Mary and Joseph travelling from Nazareth to Bethlehem whereas Matthew has them already located in Bethlehem. But the addition of Jerusalem here makes good narrative sense. Not only is it historically plausible that those who travelled from Galilee, to Bethlehem, would go via Jerusalem (e.g. take a look at a map of first century Palestine with Roman Road System), but also it allows the film to depict Joseph and Mary coming across Herod's path without quite meeting him, seeing the Temple and thinking about the future. It also provides the opportunity for one of the best shots of the entire film, as Joseph and Mary are on the road from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, with the city beautifully standing proud in the background, with all the glories of CGI at its best.

The locations used are pretty familiar in Bible and ancient world films. Matera in Italy was the location for The Gospel According to St Matthew (dir. Pasolini, 1964) and The Passion of the Christ (dir. Gibson, 2004). And Ouarzazate has been used for many films and TV specials (see previous comments here), including the BBC's St Paul (2003), when I travelled to Ouarzazate with Philip Esler. It's actually pretty recognizable, and there were a few moments during The Nativity Story where I found myself saying, "I've been there!". The Moroccan company used for extras in these scenes, Dune Films, is the same.

Another BBC Documentary, called The Virgin Mary (dir. David McNab, 2002), also filmed in Ouarzazate, may have influenced The Nativity Story at odd points. When Elizabeth gives birth to John in The Nativity Story, the scene bears an uncanny resemblance to Mary's giving birth to Jesus in The Virgin Mary, especially the use of the rope dangling from the ceiling. I could not help seeing an echo of the dramatization of Mary's relationship with a Roman soldier from the same documentary too. There is a moment when Roman soldiers gallop through Nazareth and one of them stops and looks at Mary, who stares back. Perhaps there is nothing in it. It's just a moment, just a look, but it evoked for me that other, scandalous story that has only ever been dramatized, to my knowledge, in The Virgin Mary.

There were a few inevitable historical oddities and anachronisms of the kind that could have been avoided if they had talked to more scholars (I only spotted William Fulco, S.J., also used in The Passion of the Christ, in the credits). Zechariah, for example, is pictured sitting writing at a rather mediaeval looking desk. As far as we can tell, the ancients did not use desks; the anachronism here is like depicting Robin Hood using a laptop computer. Nor is it plausible that Roman troops would have been spotted galloping through Nazareth in 6-4 BCE bearing a standard in order to enforce taxation. There was a standard Jesus film cliché too, as Joseph makes a disparaging comment on the commercialism of the Jerusalem temple, so prefiguring an old-fashioned reading of Jesus' so-called Temple cleansing. I would have preferred to have seen Joseph and Mary awed and inspired by the Temple.

The low points of the film, though, were the botched attempts to depict the angelic appearances to key characters. Films have always struggled with this. How can one depict in film a angelic appearance, a divine vision, and make it plausible? The Miracle Maker (dir. Hayes and Sokolov, 2000) used traditional animation for "supernatural" events over against its claymation for the rest, and it works. Jesus of Nazareth (dir. Zeffirelli, 1977), less successfully, has Mary responding and speaking to a window during the annunciation. But The Nativity Story is worse. Little imagination has gone into the major angelic scenes. Mary meets Gabriel in Nazareth while going about her business outdoors, his angelic identity coded by his fuzzy-around-the edges focus. He reappears later in the film, standing on a hill-side and speaking to the old shepherd, his costume white but not gleaming. It's horrible. And no heavenly choir either. One gets the feeling that Catherine Hardwicke had a loss of nerve, a failure of imagination, or both. At other points, she is more than happy to go down a traditional, iconic, picture-book route. Here, given that there is no attempt to go for an every-day style human encounter, it might have been better if she'd gone for the full, gleaming robed glory of a picture-book angel. The attempt to take a middle path does not work.

On the other hand, Joseph's dream is handled very well, with the kind of imagination that one longs for in those other heavenly encounters. His dream, in which he sees people gathering to stone Mary for committing adultery, comes straight out of Jesus of Nazareth, which has the identical motif, filmed similarly. But it improves on Zeffirelli in a couple of ways. The viewer does not immediately realize that Joseph is dreaming because we see him out at work as the people gather to stone Mary. And whereas Jesus of Nazareth has the disembodied angel's voice interrupting the action, The Nativity Story has the angel appearing within the dream itself, emerging from the crowd to speak to Joseph. Joseph wakes up while the angel is still speaking (he's got about as far as "You will call his name Jesus").

On the whole, The Nativity Story is predictable; it is faithful to tradition; it ticks all the relevant boxes; but it has some real charm, a lot of warmth, some imagination, and it is just about pacey enough to keep the viewer's interest. I don't think it is destined to be a classic, but it is certainly not a clinker. There are moments when the film just goes through the motions, but these are compensated by many more moments when it has an interesting new angle on the old, old story. In the end, The Nativity Story makes an excellent account of itself because it does not try to be too ambitious. It knows what it is doing, presenting a warm-hearted retelling of the Nativity story without trying to re-invent the tradition. Don't expect too much, but don't be too cynical. Don't expect to be blown away, but don't prepare for disappointment.

Nativity Story reviews

On Bible Films, Matt Page has his review of The Nativity Story up; here's an excerpt:

Yet despite its uniqueness, it can't quite decide what kind of bible film it wants to be. The title suggests a mythic retelling, perhaps aimed at the family, yet the early scenes have a gritty, realistic feel to them. Later on though the film morphs into a sort of road movie as Mary and Joseph get acquainted and start to appreciate one another. Then it changes gear yet again once the holy couple reaches Bethlehem. The last remaining vestiges of realism are swiftly ditched and out comes a touch of the Christmas magic. The light from the star shines through a hole in the roof and makes the coldest and dampest of caves seem warm and lovely. Finally, the film ends with the new family fleeing from Herod, ending the film as if it's the close of part 1 of an action trilogy.

The whole review is here:

The Nativity Story Review

I am looking forward to going to see the film tomorrow. Meanwhile, it has a stinking 26% rating at Rotten Tomatoes, "a dull retelling of a well-worn tale". IMDb has it at 6.3 out of 10 so far.

For lots more, Pete Chattaway has gathered together his posts on The Nativity Story on FilmChat:

The Nativity Story Article Archive

The latest of these is on Canadian Christianity:

Nativity Story producers, writer look beyond the Christian "niche"
By Peter T. Chattaway

I don't think his review is out yet, nor is The Guardian's, where I always go for film, but it does have the following feature today:

The greatest teen drama ever told
Hannah Patterson

The film comes out today in the USA. In the UK, you have to wait until next Friday. (See release dates on IDMb).