Tuesday, September 30, 2003
Enthusiasm for Gospel of John
Still the Visual Bible Gospel of John gets good publicity, though often of the "Before there was Mel, there was Garth" variety you see here from the New York Times:
Appeareth St. John, Quietly, Cautiously
Visual Bible have just put out a press release too:
New Jesus Film Receives Rave Reviews from Top Media
Appeareth St. John, Quietly, Cautiously
Visual Bible have just put out a press release too:
New Jesus Film Receives Rave Reviews from Top Media
Crucifixion through the wrists
Jim Davila mentions several other films which get crucifixion right. While preparing materials for a Jesus and the Gospels course which I begin tomorrow, I noticed Jim Charlesworth's article on Jesus and Jehohanan: An Archaeological Note on Crucifixion, an ExpT article from 1973 but reproduced by PBS.
Torrey Seland adds discussion board
I know I'm not the only one who pays regular visits to Torrey Seland's pioneering Biblical Resources site. A recent addition (last week) is a discussion board; nothing on it yet except Torrey's introductory message but I'm sure that will soon change:
Resource Pages for Biblical Studies ("Discussion Board" on left).
Resource Pages for Biblical Studies ("Discussion Board" on left).
Beginning of term blues
After days of happy blogging, the beginning of term (technically yesterday but I'm still up so it doesn't feel like yesterday) absorbs every last minute spare and then more time too. Add to that that I needed to get my tax return in by today, one of the worst jobs in the world, and umpteen other things. I caught a bit of Beyond Belief, last in the series, while working earlier. It was a discussion of homosexuality and as you might imagine there was plenty about scriptural interpretation. Also this evening, the latest Review of Biblical Literature reviews were announced. Here are NT related ones:
Griffith, Terry
Keep Yourselves from Idols: A New Look at 1 John
Légasse, Simon
L' épitre de Paul aux Romains
Schnackenburg, Rudolf
The Gospel of Matthew
Vines, Michael E.
The Problem of Markan Genre: The Gospel of Mark and the Jewish Novel
Wire, Antoinette Clark
Holy Lives, Holy Deaths: A Close Hearing of Early Jewish Storytellers
Griffith, Terry
Keep Yourselves from Idols: A New Look at 1 John
Légasse, Simon
L' épitre de Paul aux Romains
Schnackenburg, Rudolf
The Gospel of Matthew
Vines, Michael E.
The Problem of Markan Genre: The Gospel of Mark and the Jewish Novel
Wire, Antoinette Clark
Holy Lives, Holy Deaths: A Close Hearing of Early Jewish Storytellers
Sunday, September 28, 2003
The Passion again
Jim Davila reports on another article on The Passion, this one in Toledoblade.com. Apparently there is now a petition web site, seethepassion.com. Small item of interest -- that Mel Gibson's hands make an appearance in the film -- in banging the nails into Jesus' hands. (You can see them in the trailer). Jim Davila comments that it is a shame that they are depicted as nailing through the palms rather than the wrists. I can think of at least two films where they do nail through the wrists, The Day Christ Died (practically the last shot in the film) and Jesus (Roger Young, 1999), both TVMs interestingly enough. Anyone know of any others?
Christ in the Crossfire
Don't you love those newspaper headlines? An excellent article summing up everything that's been happenning on The Passion news stories in the U.S. is in today's Observer (which for the non-Brit readers is the UK's oldest surviving Sunday newspaper):
Christ in the Crossfire
Christ in the Crossfire
Explorator 6.22
It's Sunday afternoon, so the latest Explorator has just arrived:
Explorator 6.22, September 28 2003
Explorator 6.22, September 28 2003
Friday, September 26, 2003
SBL site completely revamped
Jim Davila draws attention to the completely revamped SBL site:
Society of Biblical Literature
The new site design is leaps and bounds better than the old one, which was -- frankly -- a bit of a dog's dinner. Much more intuitive and easy to use. There's a new forum on the front page:
I've had a look round the rest of the site and most of it is the same material much better organised, e.g. the Biblical Fonts page is looking good. One development is that it seems that the Journal of Biblical Literature now has free back issues. You only have to log in with your SBL membership number for the current issue. This tidies up the way the old site was, with one year freely available (2000) and the rest requiring log-in. One minor complaint -- some of the old URLs appear not to forward to the new site. I always think that that is a mistake; but so many people do it.
Society of Biblical Literature
The new site design is leaps and bounds better than the old one, which was -- frankly -- a bit of a dog's dinner. Much more intuitive and easy to use. There's a new forum on the front page:
SBL Forum, the new online presence of the Society of Biblical Literature. SBL Forum features essays, interviews, and news from the world of biblical scholarship, plus digital resources, opportunities in the field, and Society activities. Our premier issue celebrates the King James Bible, which was commissioned almost 400 years ago.
I've had a look round the rest of the site and most of it is the same material much better organised, e.g. the Biblical Fonts page is looking good. One development is that it seems that the Journal of Biblical Literature now has free back issues. You only have to log in with your SBL membership number for the current issue. This tidies up the way the old site was, with one year freely available (2000) and the rest requiring log-in. One minor complaint -- some of the old URLs appear not to forward to the new site. I always think that that is a mistake; but so many people do it.
Thursday, September 25, 2003
Still more on the Passion
There are still daily stories all over the American media (still very little here in the UK) about The Passion. There's a report from a baptist pastor in Orlando, Florida called Steve Smith -- "Two Films of Tremendous Value". He was invited to one of the private screenings and he loved it; he has also seen The Gospel of John and he loved that too. You couldn't find a bigger contrast than in "Will The Passion Crucify the Jews?" by Rabbi Tovia Singer, but he hasn't seen the film. As Jim Davila reported yesterday, there is news that an Australian distributor has been found.
More from Christianity Today's Biblical Archaeology Week
More from Christianity Today's "Biblical Archaeology week"
Christian M.M. Brady, What Do the Stones Cry Out?
With the subtitle, "Beware of claims that archaeology disproves -- or proves -- the Bible is true". And
David Neff, CT Classic: "Listening to the Fifth Gospel"
Not the Gospel of Thomas, I'm afraid, but "The sun-baked ruins of the Holy Land have a story to tell", an article from 1990.
Christian M.M. Brady, What Do the Stones Cry Out?
With the subtitle, "Beware of claims that archaeology disproves -- or proves -- the Bible is true". And
David Neff, CT Classic: "Listening to the Fifth Gospel"
Not the Gospel of Thomas, I'm afraid, but "The sun-baked ruins of the Holy Land have a story to tell", an article from 1990.
Half price Synoptic Problem
I am happy to find a copy of my book The Synoptic Problem: A Way Through the Maze half price -- at the SPCK Online Bookshop, £7.50. I thought it a bit overpriced at £14.99 when it first came out, so it's good to see it's now available a bit cheaper. So if you haven't got your copy yet, here's your chance! Apologies for the self-promotion, but if I can't peddle my own wares, who can?
R. E. O. White Obituary
In today's Herald an obituary of R. E. O. White who died aged 89 on September 4.
Rev R. E. O. White, Obituary
White was author of several books on the New Testament including The Biblical Doctrine of Initiation (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1960). His Festschrift appeared in 1999, S. E. Porter and A. R. Cross (eds.), Baptism, the New Testament and the Church: Historical and Contemporary Studies in Honour of R.E.O. White (JSNTSup, 171; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999).
Rev R. E. O. White, Obituary
White was author of several books on the New Testament including The Biblical Doctrine of Initiation (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1960). His Festschrift appeared in 1999, S. E. Porter and A. R. Cross (eds.), Baptism, the New Testament and the Church: Historical and Contemporary Studies in Honour of R.E.O. White (JSNTSup, 171; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999).
Labels: obituaries
Crossan and Reed's Top Ten
Jim Davila also links to his blog entry August 2 2003, which links to a Washington Post article updating Crossan & Reed's Top Ten Archaeological Discoveries. It sent me back to the book, John Dominic Crossan and Jonathan L. Reed, Excavating Jesus: Beneath the Stones, Behind the Texts (London: SPCK, 2001); their top ten archaeological discoveries for excavating Jesus are on pp. 1-6; I was curious to see which one drops out of the top ten to be replaced in the article above by the James ossuary. The one that drops out is the Apostle Peter's House (p. 3). As it happens, this is present in Witherington's list.
But in contrast with Witherington, Crossan and Reed distinguish sharply between "Archaeological Discoveries" and "Exegetical Discoveries". BeliefNet have the full excerpt from the book available here:
The Top Ten Exegetical Discoveries for Excavating Jesus
I'm not entirely comfortable, in spite of the caveats ("Not everyone will accept or believe the discoveries to be true", p. 6, etc.), with putting the Dead Sea Scrolls (no. 1) and the Nag Hammadi codices (no. 2) along with source-critical theories, even where the source theories are rightly the consensus (no. 3, Marcan Priority). I can go and look at the Dead Sea Scrolls in Jerusalem or the Nag Hammadi codices in Cairo -- these are more than "exegetical" discoveries. But I'm not confident about several others on the list -- especially dependence of Matthew and Luke on Q (no. 4), the independence of Thomas (no. 6) and the common sayings tradition in Q & Thomas (no. 7), but also probably the existence of an independent source in the Gospel of Peter (no. 9). No. 4, the existence of Q, I have given my reasons for finding unpersuasive (see the Case Against Q); no. 6 (independence of Thomas) will have to await my book and no. 7 falls with those two.
But in contrast with Witherington, Crossan and Reed distinguish sharply between "Archaeological Discoveries" and "Exegetical Discoveries". BeliefNet have the full excerpt from the book available here:
The Top Ten Exegetical Discoveries for Excavating Jesus
I'm not entirely comfortable, in spite of the caveats ("Not everyone will accept or believe the discoveries to be true", p. 6, etc.), with putting the Dead Sea Scrolls (no. 1) and the Nag Hammadi codices (no. 2) along with source-critical theories, even where the source theories are rightly the consensus (no. 3, Marcan Priority). I can go and look at the Dead Sea Scrolls in Jerusalem or the Nag Hammadi codices in Cairo -- these are more than "exegetical" discoveries. But I'm not confident about several others on the list -- especially dependence of Matthew and Luke on Q (no. 4), the independence of Thomas (no. 6) and the common sayings tradition in Q & Thomas (no. 7), but also probably the existence of an independent source in the Gospel of Peter (no. 9). No. 4, the existence of Q, I have given my reasons for finding unpersuasive (see the Case Against Q); no. 6 (independence of Thomas) will have to await my book and no. 7 falls with those two.
Wednesday, September 24, 2003
Jerusalem Shroud
Jim Davila also comments on the Ben Witherington III article and has some links to details on the shroud Shimon Gibson unearthed in 2000. There was an excellent documentary on this last year on ITV, made by CTVC. I've just taken a look at the CTVC web site and see that that documentary is now available on video (see CTVC sales). I mention it because a couple of people from the U.S. got in touch with me at the time the documentary was broadcast as someone in the UK who could video it and asked if there was any way they could get a copy. So if they are still after it, now it can be purchased.
Shroud DNA
In relation to yesterday's blog about the prolific Ben Witherington III, Wieland Willker has pointed me to an FAQ on the Turin Shroud web site:
Has DNA testing ever been performed on the Shroud?
The answer is not very promising for Witherington's hope that DNA from the shroud will correlate with DNA from the James ossuary.
Has DNA testing ever been performed on the Shroud?
The answer is not very promising for Witherington's hope that DNA from the shroud will correlate with DNA from the James ossuary.
Darrell Bock on the Passion
A New Testament scholar who has seen The Passion expresses his opinion on Beliefnet:
'You Can't Whitewash the Events of the Bible', Interview with Darrell Bock
Bock is an evangelical scholar at Dallas Theological Seminary. He's pretty sympathetic to the film. Having read Paula Fredriksen's and Amy-Jill Levine's radically differing assessments, it is difficult to know what to make of Bock's analysis.
'You Can't Whitewash the Events of the Bible', Interview with Darrell Bock
Bock is an evangelical scholar at Dallas Theological Seminary. He's pretty sympathetic to the film. Having read Paula Fredriksen's and Amy-Jill Levine's radically differing assessments, it is difficult to know what to make of Bock's analysis.
Tuesday, September 23, 2003
The Prolific Ben Witherington III
Christianity Today has now posted a second article by Ben Witherington III:
Top Ten New Testament Archaeological Finds of the Past 150 Years
Witherington concludes his list, not surprisingly in view of his other article in the current Christianity Today, to say nothing of his book on the subject, with the James Ossuary. Yet the most controversial element in his "Top Ten" will undoubtedly be the Shroud of Turin. I must admit that this one surprised me -- I didn't realise any serious NT scholars defended the authenticity of the shroud since the carbon dating; perhaps that just shows how ignorant I am. But also it's surely not an "archaeological find", is it? No-one dug this up, unlike the 2,000 year old Jerusalem shroud unearthed by Shimon Gibson in 2000.
Even more startling to a sceptic like me are Witherington's hopes for DNA testing on the bone box and the shroud:
I wonder how many share Witherington's optimism? Certainly not me, I'm afraid. I'm also a bit surprised about a major omission from Witherington's list, the Nag Hammadi codices and especially the Gospel of Thomas. Perhaps I spend too much time with Thomas, especially these days, but I can't imagine that P52, which is in Witherington's Top Ten, can be a more important discovery than the massive find of the Nag Hammadi codices, can it?
Witherington remains extraordinarily prolific -- there's an interesting little piece also just posted called Inside CT: The Article We Didn't Print, which showers praise on Witherington and reveals that apparently he wrote the above mentioned article in just one day.
Top Ten New Testament Archaeological Finds of the Past 150 Years
Witherington concludes his list, not surprisingly in view of his other article in the current Christianity Today, to say nothing of his book on the subject, with the James Ossuary. Yet the most controversial element in his "Top Ten" will undoubtedly be the Shroud of Turin. I must admit that this one surprised me -- I didn't realise any serious NT scholars defended the authenticity of the shroud since the carbon dating; perhaps that just shows how ignorant I am. But also it's surely not an "archaeological find", is it? No-one dug this up, unlike the 2,000 year old Jerusalem shroud unearthed by Shimon Gibson in 2000.
Even more startling to a sceptic like me are Witherington's hopes for DNA testing on the bone box and the shroud:
So, I like to say, James is in the box, and Jesus is on the box, because of the resurrection. And perhaps, if we are able to test the bone fragments of the box soon, and compare the DNA evidence to the evidence produced in the '80s about the gene string and DNA derived from the blood samples on the Shroud, we may just have a double confirmation of the artifacts I have discussed at the beginning and end of this essay. Stay tuned.
I wonder how many share Witherington's optimism? Certainly not me, I'm afraid. I'm also a bit surprised about a major omission from Witherington's list, the Nag Hammadi codices and especially the Gospel of Thomas. Perhaps I spend too much time with Thomas, especially these days, but I can't imagine that P52, which is in Witherington's Top Ten, can be a more important discovery than the massive find of the Nag Hammadi codices, can it?
Witherington remains extraordinarily prolific -- there's an interesting little piece also just posted called Inside CT: The Article We Didn't Print, which showers praise on Witherington and reveals that apparently he wrote the above mentioned article in just one day.
OT in NT Conference, April 2004
I've just added a Notice on the Annual Conference on the Use of the Old Testament in the New Testament, organised by Steve Moyise. See the Notices page or go to:
Annual Seminar on the Use of the Old Testament in the New Testament
Annual Seminar on the Use of the Old Testament in the New Testament
Biblica Fascicle 84/3 (2003)
Just announced, the latest Biblica on-line:
Biblica Fascicle 84/3 (2003) (scroll down).
Includes:
Jean-Noël ALETTI, "Romains 4 et Genèse 17. Quelle énigme et quelle solution?" , Vol. 84 (2003) 305-325
Hanna ROOSE, "Joh 20,30f.: Ein (un)passender Schluss? Joh 9 und 11 als primäre Verweisstellen der Schlussnotiz des Johannesevangeliums", Vol. 84 (2003) 326-343
Floyd PARKER, "The Terms "Angel" and "Spirit" in Acts 23,8", Vol. 84 (2003) 344-365
Tobias Nicklas, "‘153 große Fische’ (Joh 21,11) Erzählerische Ökonomie und ‘johanneischer Überstieg’" , Vol. 84 (2003) 366-387
John TOPEL, "What Kind of a Sign are Vultures? Luke 17,37b" , Vol. 84 (2003) 403-411
Biblica Fascicle 84/3 (2003) (scroll down).
Includes:
Jean-Noël ALETTI, "Romains 4 et Genèse 17. Quelle énigme et quelle solution?" , Vol. 84 (2003) 305-325
Hanna ROOSE, "Joh 20,30f.: Ein (un)passender Schluss? Joh 9 und 11 als primäre Verweisstellen der Schlussnotiz des Johannesevangeliums", Vol. 84 (2003) 326-343
Floyd PARKER, "The Terms "Angel" and "Spirit" in Acts 23,8", Vol. 84 (2003) 344-365
Tobias Nicklas, "‘153 große Fische’ (Joh 21,11) Erzählerische Ökonomie und ‘johanneischer Überstieg’" , Vol. 84 (2003) 366-387
John TOPEL, "What Kind of a Sign are Vultures? Luke 17,37b" , Vol. 84 (2003) 403-411
Witherington on the James Ossuary
Jim Davila reports on an article in Christianity Today -- Ben Witherington III's defends its authenticity:
Bones of Contention
I wonder how long it took the editors to think up that headline?
Bones of Contention
I wonder how long it took the editors to think up that headline?
Greek Helps is back
No sooner had I announced its demise than Michael Luper's Greek Helps returns with a new URL (click link or go to Learning New Testament Greek).
Parables that didn't make the grade
If you fancy a good laugh, have a look at a new thread on a bulletin board at the Ship of Fools web site:
Parables that didn't make the grade
Features the parable of the two hamsters, the parable of the shepherd who found his lost sheep but then the other 99 went missing and more. Some of them amused me, anyway.
Parables that didn't make the grade
Features the parable of the two hamsters, the parable of the shepherd who found his lost sheep but then the other 99 went missing and more. Some of them amused me, anyway.
Learning New Testament Greek page
With a new term approaching, I've been checking my Learning New Testament Greek page and am sorry to see that several good sites have gone missing. No sign of Michael Luper's Greek Helps or of Bruce Robertson's Accent Quiz Applet, the latter great fun. Clyde Wilton's complete on-line course has gone too. If anyone knows of the whereabouts of these, I'd be grateful to hear, but Google has not managed to dig them out if they are still around somewhere.
Holy Land Photos latest
If you haven't visited Holy Land Photos before, let me recommend it -- packed full of hundreds of quality photographs of the Holy Land. Version 3 of the site has just been announced. The site is especially worth visiting for the current featured collection -- the Galilee (Jesus) Boat
Monday, September 22, 2003
Gerd Lüdemann, The Life of Jesus
Bible and Interpretation have just published an essay by Gerd Lüdemann in which he summarises the concluding section of his book Jesus After Two Thousand Years: What He Really Said and Did (London: SCM, 2000 and Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus, 2001):
The Life of Jesus: A Brief Assessment
It's a challenge that all Historical Jesus scholars should try -- to produce a brief sketch like this. It is reminiscent of E. P. Sanders's attempt to do something similar at the beginning of Jesus and Judaism. With Lüdemann's, I can't help thinking that he pauses just a bit too long on certain of his own idiosyncracies, e.g. he labours the point on Jesus' having been "fathered in dubious circumstances". Have a look at Lüdemann's characteristically outspoken assessment of Jesus at the end of the piece too.
One nerdy point I can't resist making: Bible and Interpretation do not seem to have mastered the art of representing umlauts on the web, but it's quite a simple bit of code,ü in which "u" is the letter to receive the umlaut (etc.).
The Life of Jesus: A Brief Assessment
It's a challenge that all Historical Jesus scholars should try -- to produce a brief sketch like this. It is reminiscent of E. P. Sanders's attempt to do something similar at the beginning of Jesus and Judaism. With Lüdemann's, I can't help thinking that he pauses just a bit too long on certain of his own idiosyncracies, e.g. he labours the point on Jesus' having been "fathered in dubious circumstances". Have a look at Lüdemann's characteristically outspoken assessment of Jesus at the end of the piece too.
One nerdy point I can't resist making: Bible and Interpretation do not seem to have mastered the art of representing umlauts on the web, but it's quite a simple bit of code,
Beyond Belief today
Today's Beyond Belief on Radio 4 is apparently about "Religion and Cyberspace" so I'll be listening. Don't know who will be on the programme -- it's not me.
If you're not in the UK, listen live on the internet at 4.30 p.m. BST (BBC Radio 4 web site here) or the programme is archived not long afterwards for you to listen to.
Religion has embraced the internet as enthusiastically as any big business, and you can read up on the weird and wonderful as well as the mainstream faiths through your computer.
But has the world wide web changed the way we worship? Does it lessen the significance of the body and the importance of meeting others face to face? And could we ever have a spiritual experience in cyberspace?
If you're not in the UK, listen live on the internet at 4.30 p.m. BST (BBC Radio 4 web site here) or the programme is archived not long afterwards for you to listen to.
Price of International Shipping on !Hero
I finally got round to ordering my copy of the CD of the new Jesus rock opera !Hero yesterday (see blog entry on !Hero) and had one of those very annoying on-line ordering experiences where I went through screen after screen filling in details and then finally, right at the end, found out that the cheapest international shipping rate for the $13 CD was going to be $41! What a racket! So my advice -- if you're outside the US, don't buy it from the !Hero web site. Surf around and you should be able to find a better deal (as I eventually did). Why don't these people put the shipping costs upfront?
Galilee Font
Rodney Decker has developed further his "Galilee" Greek font (new release version 1.02). It includes bold and italic faces for the font.
Galilee Greek Font
That links to a page about the font -- useful stuff. One of the drawbacks of some of the other free fonts available on the web is that they don't have information pages like this, particularly useful for those starting out with it for the first time.
Decker is currently working on developing a Unicode version of the font, which will be a welcome development. If you don't know much about Unicode yet, it happens that Rod Decker has one of the best pages available for explaining it to the newcomer:
Biblical Language Fonts and Unicode
Galilee Greek Font
That links to a page about the font -- useful stuff. One of the drawbacks of some of the other free fonts available on the web is that they don't have information pages like this, particularly useful for those starting out with it for the first time.
Decker is currently working on developing a Unicode version of the font, which will be a welcome development. If you don't know much about Unicode yet, it happens that Rod Decker has one of the best pages available for explaining it to the newcomer:
Biblical Language Fonts and Unicode
Labels: Unicode
This day in ancient history
One of the features of the RogueClassicism blog that I enjoy is "This day in ancient history". I've no plans to do the same thing here, but might from time to time mention the regular feature "Today in History" on the Ship of Fools Web Site. Among the offerings for today, this day in 1792 became Day 1 Year 1 in revolutionary France's de-Christianized calendar; it's St Mary Magdalene's day; today in 1823, Joseph Smith found the Book of Mormon on gold plates in a stone box buried on top of a hill in Ontario County, New York; and in 1984, in the heart of the miner's strike, the then bishop of Durham, David Jenkins, in the words of the web site, "made himself more notorious than ever by - in his own enthronement sermon - accusing Ian MacGregor, the boss of the mining industry, of being an 'imported elderly American'". Yes, I remember that. I wonder if the new bishop of Durham (with one intervening between him and Jenkins), Tom Wright, will be as controversial? Unlike Jenkins, he certainly won't be announcing his scepticism about the virgin birth or the bodily resurrection -- we can be sure of that. As it happens, I did hear a brief mention of him yesterday morning on BBC Radio 4's Sunday programme. Apparently he is one of those supporting a group called "Fulcrum", from the sound of it a kind of progressive evangelical group within the Anglican Church.
Latest on the Passion
It seems to be getting nastier all the time; here is one of the latest offerings:
Frank Rich, The Greatest Story Ever Told
Jim Davila comments on this in Paleojudaica.com, with updates.
There's a report about Rich's article here on NewsMax.com:
Phil Brennan, NY Times' Rich Lashes Out at Mel Gibson, O'Reilly
Then read Frank Brennan's response:
A Response to Frank Rich & the Times
Extraordinary to watch all this from the UK, where the story has hardly caused a ripple. I haven't met a single person yet who has even heard of the film, let alone the controversy surrounding it.
Meanwhile, a sentence from Russell Crowe is getting widely reported,
Frank Rich, The Greatest Story Ever Told
Jim Davila comments on this in Paleojudaica.com, with updates.
There's a report about Rich's article here on NewsMax.com:
Phil Brennan, NY Times' Rich Lashes Out at Mel Gibson, O'Reilly
Then read Frank Brennan's response:
A Response to Frank Rich & the Times
Extraordinary to watch all this from the UK, where the story has hardly caused a ripple. I haven't met a single person yet who has even heard of the film, let alone the controversy surrounding it.
Meanwhile, a sentence from Russell Crowe is getting widely reported,
The Gladiator star was asked on radio what he thought of the film, which was shot entirely in Aramaic, Hebrew and Latin. Crowe slammed the project. "I think he's got to get off the glue," Crowe said. (e.g., see here).
Sunday, September 21, 2003
Vernon Robbins article on-line and Kirby's new web site
Peter Kirby announced today that he has uploaded, with permission, a version of Vernon Robbins's classic article on he "we" passages in Acts:
Vernon K. Robbins, "By Land and By Sea: The We-Passages and Ancient Sea Voyages", originally in: C. H. Talbert (ed.), Perspectives on Luke-Acts, (Perspectives in Religious Studies, Special Studies Series, No. 5; Macon, Ga: Mercer Univ. Press and Edinburgh: T.& T. Clark, 1978), pp. 215-242
Peter Kirby has also written his own survey of the passages mentioned in Robbins's article and has uploaded it to the same site:
Peter Kirby, "First Person Perspective in Ancient Sea Travel"
I haven't had a chance to read this carefully, but it seems that Kirby ends up with a negative response to Robbins's thesis. The site on which these articles appears is a new one, run by Kirby himself, and rather unpromisingly entitled "Did Jesus Exist?". He explains:
It's good to hear about the "detailed and reasonable approach" but a great shame about the title. Let me appeal to Peter to rethink it: you've got a good mind, you think critically, you write well, you've been a great service to the academic community in the production of Early Christian Writings, The Gospel of Thomas Commentary and more, but scholars simply will not visit or take seriously a web site entitled "Did Jesus Exist?". You've lost a large part of your readership before starting. Besides, if there are essay reproductions like the one from Vernon Robbins, this is surely not directly relevant to the theme of whether or not Jesus existed, is it? The site looks promising -- please reconsider the title.
Vernon K. Robbins, "By Land and By Sea: The We-Passages and Ancient Sea Voyages", originally in: C. H. Talbert (ed.), Perspectives on Luke-Acts, (Perspectives in Religious Studies, Special Studies Series, No. 5; Macon, Ga: Mercer Univ. Press and Edinburgh: T.& T. Clark, 1978), pp. 215-242
Peter Kirby has also written his own survey of the passages mentioned in Robbins's article and has uploaded it to the same site:
Peter Kirby, "First Person Perspective in Ancient Sea Travel"
I haven't had a chance to read this carefully, but it seems that Kirby ends up with a negative response to Robbins's thesis. The site on which these articles appears is a new one, run by Kirby himself, and rather unpromisingly entitled "Did Jesus Exist?". He explains:
Many web pages present a point of view on the existence of Jesus, but they usually contain apologetics or polemic, not critical scholarship. DidJesusExist.com is dedicated to publishing articles distinguished by their attention to detail and reasoned approach.
It's good to hear about the "detailed and reasonable approach" but a great shame about the title. Let me appeal to Peter to rethink it: you've got a good mind, you think critically, you write well, you've been a great service to the academic community in the production of Early Christian Writings, The Gospel of Thomas Commentary and more, but scholars simply will not visit or take seriously a web site entitled "Did Jesus Exist?". You've lost a large part of your readership before starting. Besides, if there are essay reproductions like the one from Vernon Robbins, this is surely not directly relevant to the theme of whether or not Jesus existed, is it? The site looks promising -- please reconsider the title.
Latest Explorator
Latest Explorator has just arrived, so I know it must be Sunday. Web version is at:
The Explorator Newsletter: 21 September 2003
The Explorator Newsletter: 21 September 2003
Saturday, September 20, 2003
Mary Coloe
It was good to meet Mary Coloe recently at the British New Testament Conference in Birmingham -- she travelled all the way from Australia to speak in the Johannine Literature seminar. Mary has a homepage at Australian Catholic University and it includes -- as I like to see on scholar's homepages -- some reproductions of articles:
"Raising the Johannine Temple (Jn 19:19-37)," Australian Biblical Review (2000) 47-58.
"Households of Faith (Jn 4:46-54; 11:1-44)," Pacifica (October 2000) 326-333.
"Like Father Like Son. The Function of Abraham in Jn 8," Pacifica (1999) 1-11.
"The Structure of the Johannine Prologue and Genesis 1," Australian Biblical Review, 45 (1997) 40-55.
Particularly useful when it's journals like Australian Biblical Review! No disrespect intended, but not many UK libraries subscribe to it. I remember calling up an issue from the Bodleian in Oxford a while ago and the box arrived with the one I wanted missing -- very annoying.
"Raising the Johannine Temple (Jn 19:19-37)," Australian Biblical Review (2000) 47-58.
"Households of Faith (Jn 4:46-54; 11:1-44)," Pacifica (October 2000) 326-333.
"Like Father Like Son. The Function of Abraham in Jn 8," Pacifica (1999) 1-11.
"The Structure of the Johannine Prologue and Genesis 1," Australian Biblical Review, 45 (1997) 40-55.
Particularly useful when it's journals like Australian Biblical Review! No disrespect intended, but not many UK libraries subscribe to it. I remember calling up an issue from the Bodleian in Oxford a while ago and the box arrived with the one I wanted missing -- very annoying.
Brethren of the Lord
In last week's Review of Biblical Literature announcements, I was interested to read my friend Matti Myllykoski's review of Bruce Chilton and Jacob Neusner (eds.), The Brother of Jesus: James the Just and His Mission. He linked, in that review, to something I'd missed before on the net:
J. B. Lightfoot, The Brethren of the Lord
It's an interesting article from 1865, excerpted from his Commentary on the Epistles of St. Paul, and reproduced on the Philologos Religious On-line Books web site.
J. B. Lightfoot, The Brethren of the Lord
It's an interesting article from 1865, excerpted from his Commentary on the Epistles of St. Paul, and reproduced on the Philologos Religious On-line Books web site.
Friday, September 19, 2003
Biblical Archaeology's Dusty Little Secret
Interesting article in Christianity Today, just posted, by Gordon Govier and subtitled "The James bone box controversy reveals the politics beneath the science", but it reflects on the broader stakes in biblical archaeology more generally, so it's not just a rehash of the James ossuary news:
Biblical Archaeology's Dusty Little Secret
Biblical Archaeology's Dusty Little Secret
Backlash against Akenson
A vociferous response to Akenson's outspoken article appears today from Bruce Waltke, professor emeritus of biblical studies at Regent College, UBC, professor of Old Testament studies at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Fla., and a member of the advisory committee for The Gospel of John:
The Gospel of John: Let he who is without sin . . .
Excerpt:
The Gospel of John: Let he who is without sin . . .
Excerpt:
In sum, Prof. Akenson's scholarship is poor, his tone is grating and his arguments bogus. Ironically, he piously asks us to redeem the text "by informed, discriminating and gentle scholarship," when his own diatribe amounts to hate literature against Mr. Drabinsky and Christians. I say "hate literature," because among many other charges, he maligns true believers as "lunatics" for believing "that Jesus's blood be shed to complete God's plan for the[ir] salvation."
Donald Akenson's effort to discredit the greatest story ever told has, in fact, discredited the author and Canadian culture.
Peter Chattaway on Gospel of John and The Passion
Nice article by Peter Chattaway (author of a good article linked on the NTGateway Celluloid Jesus pages called Jesus at the Movies):
Passion 'softened,' John comes to screen
He suggests that there are signs that Mel Gibson is "softening" The Passion's alleged anti-semitism in reaction to criticism. Chattaway is the first to pick up on something that has concerned me, though, and rather makes me dread seeing the film, the violence and gore:
Nice suggestion on The Gospel of John: "Oh, and a note to the producers: If you're really serious about filming the entire Bible, perhaps you could include John's epistles on the DVD as bonus features. They're a little too short to be released on their own."
Passion 'softened,' John comes to screen
He suggests that there are signs that Mel Gibson is "softening" The Passion's alleged anti-semitism in reaction to criticism. Chattaway is the first to pick up on something that has concerned me, though, and rather makes me dread seeing the film, the violence and gore:
What does concern me, though, is the thing that Gibson keeps pitching as the film's main selling point: its graphic violence.
As evangelical broadcaster Michael Coren noted in the National Post (see editorial, page 12), the medieval Roman Catholic church was "obsessed with gore," and even had "a virtual blood cult within it" -- and elements of that persist today.
The depiction of violence for its own sake has become all too common in modern cinema, even in films that purport to take it more seriously, and I would say this is especially evident throughout Gibson's career. I hope he will be able to take his audience beyond the physical torment to some deeper spiritual place. But we'll just have to wait and see.
Nice suggestion on The Gospel of John: "Oh, and a note to the producers: If you're really serious about filming the entire Bible, perhaps you could include John's epistles on the DVD as bonus features. They're a little too short to be released on their own."
!Hero Web Site
The web site for the new Rock Opera is at:
!Hero On-line
It includes audio samples, news, the chance to buy the music etc. and you can get an idea of the feel of the piece quite quickly. Click on "Media" for a trailer. The tour apparently began this month in New York and continues in other places in the U.S.A. in November.
!Hero On-line
It includes audio samples, news, the chance to buy the music etc. and you can get an idea of the feel of the piece quite quickly. Click on "Media" for a trailer. The tour apparently began this month in New York and continues in other places in the U.S.A. in November.
New Rock Opera on Jesus
Well, it's all happening at the moment. I can remember a time when people were bemoaning the end of the attempts to produce Jesus films, and looking back to the golden age that even included the extraordinary musicals Jesus Christ Superstar and Godspell. Now this isn't on the cards as a film yet, but there is apparently a new Rock/Hip Hop opera based on Jesus life. Have a look at the details again on Crosswalk:
"!Hero" - Christ's Life Inspires New Rock/Hip-Hop Opera, David Schrader
From the article:
Sounds a bit Godspell to me. I look forward to hearing more.
"!Hero" - Christ's Life Inspires New Rock/Hip-Hop Opera, David Schrader
From the article:
Poetic license firmly in hand, they chronicle the modern day title character (played by Tait), who was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, flees with his family from a hostile government to the Jewish section of Brooklyn, New York, and begins to speak out against the systems of the world. Along the way, Hero selects his disciples from the docks of the East River, delivers the Beatitudes in Central Park, and shines in glory from the observation deck atop the Empire State Building. Odd as these twists may seem with their liberties, the plot remains reverent in message and should be duly intriguing to newcomers and seasoned believers alike.
Sounds a bit Godspell to me. I look forward to hearing more.
Thursday, September 18, 2003
Crosswalk review of Gospel of John
Jeffery Hodges on the Johannine-Literature list points out a review on the Crosswalk site:
"The Gospel of John" - Movie Review, Holly McClure.
Very enthusiasitic; and interesting to see the effect that a John-only film has on the reviewer, who is clearly a keen Christian, "Because this is a literal translation of the Gospel of John, there are a few scenarios and characters missing that are familiar to many people who have read the other Gospels . . . I feel it’s important to recognize that there may be a few people who see this movie who don’t know the story of Jesus, who aren’t familiar with the Scriptures and therefore have no idea of what happened in the other Gospels. So you may want to fill in the blanks with answers to some of those questions if you happen to attend the movie with an unbeliever." This film is going to be great for us NT scholar-types who are always struggling so hard to get our students not to "fill in the blanks" from other Gospels!
"The Gospel of John" - Movie Review, Holly McClure.
Very enthusiasitic; and interesting to see the effect that a John-only film has on the reviewer, who is clearly a keen Christian, "Because this is a literal translation of the Gospel of John, there are a few scenarios and characters missing that are familiar to many people who have read the other Gospels . . . I feel it’s important to recognize that there may be a few people who see this movie who don’t know the story of Jesus, who aren’t familiar with the Scriptures and therefore have no idea of what happened in the other Gospels. So you may want to fill in the blanks with answers to some of those questions if you happen to attend the movie with an unbeliever." This film is going to be great for us NT scholar-types who are always struggling so hard to get our students not to "fill in the blanks" from other Gospels!
Johnny Cash's Spoken Word New Testament
I've been looking for an excuse to mention the sad news of the passing of Johnny Cash on September 12 and now I have one. (I've been a fan since seeing Johnny Cash on an old episode of Columbo featuring his version of the old Hank Williams classic "I saw the light"). My excuse for mentioning Johnny Cash:
Cash's spoken word New Testament" to be re-released
Cash's spoken word New Testament" to be re-released
The original 19-hour recording of the entire New Testament by "one of the most distinctive voices of the twentieth century" as noted by The Washington Times, was produced by Dyann Rivkin and published by Thomas Nelson in 1989. It won the prestigious Angel Award presented by Excellence in Media.Funnily enough, it's the same publisher (Thomas Nelson) as the teen bible previously mentioned.
The recording was inspired by Cash's mother, Mrs. Carrie Rivers Cash, who encouraged her son for more than twenty years to record the - Bible. Cash said that he approached the recording with "fear, respect, awe, and reverence for the subject matter."
"John carefully reviewed 27 different Bible translations before approaching us about the recording of the New King James Version," noted Sam Moore, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
[. . .]
Vatican cardinal praises 'Passion'
Courtesy of Jim West, a reference to a CNN article on a Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos's praise for the film:
Vatican Cardinal Praises 'Passion'
"A triumph of art and faith" apparently.
Vatican Cardinal Praises 'Passion'
"A triumph of art and faith" apparently.
A Bible that looks like a magazine
Loads more about Revolve on its publisher's website:
Revolve, NCV: The Complete New Testament
Includes a thee and a half minute advertisement full of teenagers saying how old and "freaky" normal bibles look, but how accessible this one is.
Albert Mohler doesn't like it much -- "This product just might take trivialization to a whole new level" -- see:
"Not Your Grandmother's New Testament: A Look at 'Revolve'"
The publisher's web site (above) links to more friendly assessments.
Revolve, NCV: The Complete New Testament
Includes a thee and a half minute advertisement full of teenagers saying how old and "freaky" normal bibles look, but how accessible this one is.
Albert Mohler doesn't like it much -- "This product just might take trivialization to a whole new level" -- see:
"Not Your Grandmother's New Testament: A Look at 'Revolve'"
The publisher's web site (above) links to more friendly assessments.
"Teen Girls Going Ga-ga for Jesus"
That's a quotation from God's Word Goes Glossy, an article on Fox News about Revolve, "a magazine that’s slicked up the New Testament for girls aged 12 to 17":
I must admit that to me it looks horribly like the kind of thing that The Onion parodies so well, especially the enthusiastic quotations from those who have used it. I notice the word "factoid" rears its head too. This is an Americanism, I think? I was listening to BBC Radio FiveLive recently and an American correspondent mentioned a "factoid"; Simon Mayo asked him what a factoid was and the correspondent replied, "It's a kind of fact, but with -oid added on the end."
“We wanted to make sure that it was something that teen girls liked and could identify with, but we wanted to make sure it was theologically in line with what pastors are teaching," Laurie Whaley, editor of Revolve, told Fox News.
[. . . ]
While some may consider Revolve "dorky" rather than "way cool," the glossy version of the good word appears to be a hit. One teenager enthusiastically told the Twin City's Pioneer Press that her peers were all impressed with the magazine.
[ . . . ]
“We came to realize we need an avenue, a venue to be able to tell teen girls ‘You're special, you're worthwhile, you're valuable,’” said Susie Shellenberger, author of "Girl Talk With God."
But not everyone agrees that having questions and answers like the ones in the "Blab" section of the magazine are helpful. Among the Q&As: "Was Jesus a vegetarian? No: Plenty of fish, some lamb. What's wrong with following horoscopes? It's condemned in Scripture."
[. . .]
Revolve's text is also sprinkled with statistical factoids, like this one nestled next to Jesus' talk with the Samaritan woman who had many men (John 4): "Didya Know: 63 percent of teens who have had sex say they wish they had waited."
I must admit that to me it looks horribly like the kind of thing that The Onion parodies so well, especially the enthusiastic quotations from those who have used it. I notice the word "factoid" rears its head too. This is an Americanism, I think? I was listening to BBC Radio FiveLive recently and an American correspondent mentioned a "factoid"; Simon Mayo asked him what a factoid was and the correspondent replied, "It's a kind of fact, but with -oid added on the end."
14C Titulus Crucis Dating: Medieval
Stephen Goranson reports on the Xtalk list on the following article: Francesco Bella and Carlo Azzi, "14C Dating of the 'Titulus Crucis,'" Radiocarbon [journal] v.44 n.3 (2002 [received 2003]) 685-9. Apparently they report on radiocarbon dating of the walnut wood relic in Rome, thought by some to be the tablet from the cross of Jesus Christ: it has a 2-sigma date range of 980 to 1146 AD.
Also according to Goranson, they refer to another publication which discusses the possibility that this tablet is a copy of the original: Rigato, ML. 2002. Il Titolo della Croce di Gesu. Confronto tra i Vangeli e la Tavoletta--Reliquia della Basilica Eleniana a Rome. Dottorato nella Facolta di Teologia. Pontificia Universita Gregoriana. Roma.
Also according to Goranson, they refer to another publication which discusses the possibility that this tablet is a copy of the original: Rigato, ML. 2002. Il Titolo della Croce di Gesu. Confronto tra i Vangeli e la Tavoletta--Reliquia della Basilica Eleniana a Rome. Dottorato nella Facolta di Teologia. Pontificia Universita Gregoriana. Roma.
Akenson on the new Jesus films
Donald Akenson, author of Saint Saul: A Skeleton Key to the Historical Jesus has written an article on the two new Jesus films,
Garth, Mel: Of all the sacred texts to bring to the screen, why did you pick the most adversarial Gospel?
The "Garth" of the tile is Garth Drabinsky, the man behind the revamping of the Visual Bible and one of the producers of the new film. This is the first really anti-Gospel of John piece I've seen, though Akenson brings the Gibson film in too. For an example of the flavour of the piece:
So Akenson overstates things rather. His remark that "Drabinsky's literalist version of the Gospel of John, financed by the far-right, evangelical Visual Bible International Corporation", even if it were accurate, does not pay attention to the fact that Drabinsky took care to get an advisory board of scholars together, none of whom -- as far as I could see -- are marked by far right, evangelical credentials. I'd have thought that they'd have good reason to be a bit annoyed with the piece.
Garth, Mel: Of all the sacred texts to bring to the screen, why did you pick the most adversarial Gospel?
The "Garth" of the tile is Garth Drabinsky, the man behind the revamping of the Visual Bible and one of the producers of the new film. This is the first really anti-Gospel of John piece I've seen, though Akenson brings the Gibson film in too. For an example of the flavour of the piece:
"Why would anyone want to be faithful to such a text? It can be redeemed by informed, discriminating and gentle scholarship. But, to film a literal version of the Gospel of John is like filming a faithful version of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion."
So Akenson overstates things rather. His remark that "Drabinsky's literalist version of the Gospel of John, financed by the far-right, evangelical Visual Bible International Corporation", even if it were accurate, does not pay attention to the fact that Drabinsky took care to get an advisory board of scholars together, none of whom -- as far as I could see -- are marked by far right, evangelical credentials. I'd have thought that they'd have good reason to be a bit annoyed with the piece.
Wednesday, September 17, 2003
Anthony J. Saldarini Memorial Page
Many of us were very sorry to hear of the death of Anthony Saldarini in September 2001. There's now a memorial page devoted to him at:
In memory of Anthony J. Saldarini
The page includes the full text of one of his last lectures on Christian-Jewish relations, "CHRISTIAN ANTI-JUDAISM:The First Century Speaks to the Twenty-First Century" (The Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Jerusalem Lecture, April 14 1999, Chicago). The page also links to:
Daniel J. Harrington, S. J., Homily for the Funeral of Professor Anthony J. Saldarini.
What brought all this to my attention was Dove Booksellers have just announced that they are selling Anthony Saldarini's Library.
In memory of Anthony J. Saldarini
The page includes the full text of one of his last lectures on Christian-Jewish relations, "CHRISTIAN ANTI-JUDAISM:The First Century Speaks to the Twenty-First Century" (The Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Jerusalem Lecture, April 14 1999, Chicago). The page also links to:
Daniel J. Harrington, S. J., Homily for the Funeral of Professor Anthony J. Saldarini.
What brought all this to my attention was Dove Booksellers have just announced that they are selling Anthony Saldarini's Library.
More actors in more than one Jesus film
It's great to know that I am not the only one to find such trivia interesting. Matthew Page sends the following, not all from "proper" Jesus films, but interesting nonetheless:
Charlto Heston - Greatest Story & Ben Hur
Robert Wilson (only actor to play Jesus twice) - Day of Triumph & I Beheld his Glory
Joseph Schildkraut - The King of Kings (Judas) & Greatest Story Ever Told(Nicodemus)
Frank Thring - Ben Hur (Pilate) & Herod (King of Kings)
Peter Ustinov - Nero (Quo Vadis) & Herod (Jesus of Nazareth)
Finlay Currie - Quo Vadis, Ben Hur
Edward Hardwicke - Son of Man (Judas) and Mary the Mother of Jesus
Charlto Heston - Greatest Story & Ben Hur
Robert Wilson (only actor to play Jesus twice) - Day of Triumph & I Beheld his Glory
Joseph Schildkraut - The King of Kings (Judas) & Greatest Story Ever Told(Nicodemus)
Frank Thring - Ben Hur (Pilate) & Herod (King of Kings)
Peter Ustinov - Nero (Quo Vadis) & Herod (Jesus of Nazareth)
Finlay Currie - Quo Vadis, Ben Hur
Edward Hardwicke - Son of Man (Judas) and Mary the Mother of Jesus
Tuesday, September 16, 2003
Gospel of John to show at SBL/AAR meeting in Atlanta
Thanks to Jeff Staley on the Johannine-Literature list for pointing out that The Gospel of John will be showing at the SBL/AAR Annual Meeting in Atlanta. It is the Sunday evening of the meeting; couldn't find it in the SBL programme details, but it is there on the AAR site:
Annual Meeting 2003: Programme Highlights: Films
In the likely event that it won't have been released in the U.K. before November, this is good news indeed for people like me!
Annual Meeting 2003: Programme Highlights: Films
In the likely event that it won't have been released in the U.K. before November, this is good news indeed for people like me!
Sexy Subtitles
Jim Davila comments that the likely reason for the Secret Gospel of Thomas subtitle for Elaine Pagels' book is marketing: "It's a sexy subtitle: secret Gospels sell well. But then, I'm a cynic". I'm sure Jim's right. Someone mentioned to me recently that it's a great idea to try to get "Jesus" into the title of your book if at all possible -- it'll double your sales. Since hearing that, I can't help noticing how many books inappropriately have Jesus in the title.
At least my book on Thomas will be about Thomas. Speaking of Thomas, I'm reading an excellent book at the moment by Risto Uro, Thomas: The Gospel of Thomas in Historical Context (London & New York: T & T Clark International, 2003). It's just out. Unfortunately very expensive -- £50 or $85 for 200 odd pages; I hope that's not the way that Continuum's prices are going to go. I picked it up cheap at the BNTC. I'll report on it when I've finished reading.
At least my book on Thomas will be about Thomas. Speaking of Thomas, I'm reading an excellent book at the moment by Risto Uro, Thomas: The Gospel of Thomas in Historical Context (London & New York: T & T Clark International, 2003). It's just out. Unfortunately very expensive -- £50 or $85 for 200 odd pages; I hope that's not the way that Continuum's prices are going to go. I picked it up cheap at the BNTC. I'll report on it when I've finished reading.
Labels: Elaine Pagels
Latest Review of Biblical Literature reviews
Review of Biblical Literature latest reviews:
Bryan, Steven M.
Jesus and Israel's Traditions of Judgement and Restoration
Chilton, Bruce and Jacob Neusner, eds.
The Brother of Jesus: James the Just and His Mission
Fortna, Robert T., and Tom Thatcher, eds.
Jesus in Johannine Tradition
Marshall, John W.
Parables of War: Reading John's Jewish Apocalypse
Oakes, Peter, ed.
Rome in the Bible and the Early Church
Riley, Gregory J.
The River of God: A New History of Christian Origins
Bryan, Steven M.
Jesus and Israel's Traditions of Judgement and Restoration
Chilton, Bruce and Jacob Neusner, eds.
The Brother of Jesus: James the Just and His Mission
Fortna, Robert T., and Tom Thatcher, eds.
Jesus in Johannine Tradition
Marshall, John W.
Parables of War: Reading John's Jewish Apocalypse
Oakes, Peter, ed.
Rome in the Bible and the Early Church
Riley, Gregory J.
The River of God: A New History of Christian Origins
Labels: Review of Biblical Literature
Here's a few more
Another I've thought of: Ian Holm is Pontius Pilate (voice of) in The Miracle Maker and was Zerah (a vocal member of the Sanhedrin) in Jesus of Nazareth. And Antony Quinn was Barabbas in the film of the same name and Caiaphas in Jesus of Nazareth. Another link between those two films: Ernest Borgnine is the centurion in Jesus of Nazareth and Lucius in Barabbas. I'm on a roll!
More actors who crop up in more than one Jesus film
Thanks to Helen-Ann Hartley of Worcester College, Oxford for the following: "Not sure these count, but Howard Gaye was Jesus in two films 'Intolerance' (1916) and 'Restitution' (1918). John Drew Barrymore played Judas AND Jesus in the film 'Pontius Pilate' (1964) - not sure how he managed that!"
I hadn't heard of the film Pontius Pilate before. I looked it up in the IMDB, which lists it under Ponzio Pilato (1962). It looks extraordinary; cast includes Basil Rathbone as Caiaphas! Another film that has one actor playing two parts is Godspell which has David Haskell as John and Judas (and likewise one actor plays the two parts in the theatrical version).
I hadn't heard of the film Pontius Pilate before. I looked it up in the IMDB, which lists it under Ponzio Pilato (1962). It looks extraordinary; cast includes Basil Rathbone as Caiaphas! Another film that has one actor playing two parts is Godspell which has David Haskell as John and Judas (and likewise one actor plays the two parts in the theatrical version).
Actors who crop up in more than one Jesus film
Interesting to see that Christopher Plummer is the narrator in The Gospel of John. Q.: Which other Jesus film has he cropped up in? A.: Jesus of Nazareth in which he was Herod Antipas. For the Jesus film addicts / nerds among you (or am I the only one?), I can think of at least one other who crops up twice in Jesus films. Donald Pleasence (the one who goes blind in The Great Escape) is the Satan figure in the temptation sequence in The Greatest Story Ever Told and Melchior (one of the wise men) in Jesus of Nazareth. Can anyone think of any more?
Gibson vs. Drabinsky
The release of The Visual Bible: Gospel of John has clearly introduced a new element into the negative reporting about Gibson's The Passion. If you're not heartily sick of reading about it -- and I must admit that I'm not yet -- this article from The Globe and Mail contrasts the two films, with The Gospel of John coming out pretty favourably, though the author clearly hasn't viewed either yet!
Scholars Back Charges Against Gibson
Scholars Back Charges Against Gibson
Rev. Prof. Norman Porteous dies age 104
Old Testament scholar Norman Porteous died on September 3 aged 104. The Times published an obituary earlier today:
The Rev Professor Norman Porteous: Obituary
The Rev Professor Norman Porteous: Obituary
Labels: obituaries
Monday, September 15, 2003
Search added
I've added a search facility on the left. It's the same Pico search engine that indexes the whole of the NT Gateway (basically it just crawls everything on the NT Gateway except things I tell it not to). I could add a separate one for the blog if there's sufficient demand for that, but I doubt there would be, and I can't think that that would be particularly more useful than the combined one.
Like a red rag to a bigot
Curious Observer article yesterday on the problems of "mixing religion and art", combining discussion of the Mel Gibson film with David Blaine and Damien Hirst and suggesting differences between British and American perceptions:
Like a Red Rag to a Bigot, Mary Riddell
"Seen from here, the Gibson row seems peculiar to God-obsessed America, whose constitution separates state and church but whose President treats the two as conjoined twins. This is a country where 94 per cent of adults believe in the Almighty and where New Yorkers cheer with reverence when Blaine stands still for a very long time, pretending to be a statue."
Like a Red Rag to a Bigot, Mary Riddell
MovieGuide.org review of Gospel of John
From the Johannine Lit. e-list (post by Arne Halbakken), a MovieGuide.org review of The Gospel of John:
Visual Bible: The Gospel of John: Review by Ted Baehr
Strong conservative Christian bias, but he clearly loved the film.
Visual Bible: The Gospel of John: Review by Ted Baehr
Strong conservative Christian bias, but he clearly loved the film.
AKMA's blog
And he has a blog too, called AKMA's Random Thoughts, pretty regularly updated and looks lively. From what I've read through so far there's not a lot of NT related stuff given that he's an NT prof., but there are bits and bobs, e.g. see his:
Review of Elaine Pagels, Beyond Belief.
I was actually really disappointed with that book; I read it a couple of months ago. I think my problem with it was that its subtitle (The Secret Gospel of Thomas) led me to expect an entire book about Thomas, on which I'm writing a book myself at the moment. But what there was on Thomas -- and there's not a lot -- I was already familiar with from Pagels' academic articles. How odd that the book went through with that subtitle -- doesn't make much sense to me.
Review of Elaine Pagels, Beyond Belief.
I was actually really disappointed with that book; I read it a couple of months ago. I think my problem with it was that its subtitle (The Secret Gospel of Thomas) led me to expect an entire book about Thomas, on which I'm writing a book myself at the moment. But what there was on Thomas -- and there's not a lot -- I was already familiar with from Pagels' academic articles. How odd that the book went through with that subtitle -- doesn't make much sense to me.
Labels: Elaine Pagels
A. K. M. Adam's Webpage and a disseminary
A. K. M. Adam's webpage just added to the Scholars: A page. Some interesting information there, e.g. an article entitled "The Disseminary: What Theological Educators Need to Learn from Napster". So what on earth is "The Disseminary"? It's defined as "a site that uses electronic technology to spread as much theological nourishment as possible, without devoting energy to policing the results of that distribution. No degrees. No requirements. No restrictions. Put it out where users can grab it" and it has its own web site at http://www.disseminary.org. I've known AKMA for a few years; we usually bump in to each other at the SBL Annual Meetings; I'm surprised I hadn't realised until now that he had such a strong web presence.
Other Jesus Film Gets Less Play
There's an associated press story by Richard Ostling just out and doing the rounds. It has some interesting comments on the Visual Bible Gospel of John:
Other Jesus Film Gets Less Play
Excerpts:
"One of the Jewish scholars, Alan Segal of Barnard College, told a Toronto media preview that "it's a stunning and illuminating film." But Segal also acknowledged that, of the four Gospels, John is "the most Jewish in its subject matter, and the most anti-Jewish in its perception."
John emphasizes Jesus' own claims to be the Messiah and the Son of God, which sets up a sharp conflict among Jews. By John's account, the Temple authorities plotted early on to kill Jesus and pressed a hesitant Pilate to give the Roman go-ahead for crucifixion.
The scholars provide words of explanation that scroll down the screen before the action begins, noting that crucifixion was a Roman punishment not sanctioned by Jewish law and that Jesus and all his early followers were Jewish.
The scholars' words also tell viewers that John was written "two generations after the Crucifixion" and reflects a period of growing friction between early Christians -- who were living within Jewish communities -- and Jewish leaders."
Other Jesus Film Gets Less Play
Excerpts:
"One of the Jewish scholars, Alan Segal of Barnard College, told a Toronto media preview that "it's a stunning and illuminating film." But Segal also acknowledged that, of the four Gospels, John is "the most Jewish in its subject matter, and the most anti-Jewish in its perception."
John emphasizes Jesus' own claims to be the Messiah and the Son of God, which sets up a sharp conflict among Jews. By John's account, the Temple authorities plotted early on to kill Jesus and pressed a hesitant Pilate to give the Roman go-ahead for crucifixion.
The scholars provide words of explanation that scroll down the screen before the action begins, noting that crucifixion was a Roman punishment not sanctioned by Jewish law and that Jesus and all his early followers were Jewish.
The scholars' words also tell viewers that John was written "two generations after the Crucifixion" and reflects a period of growing friction between early Christians -- who were living within Jewish communities -- and Jewish leaders."