Wednesday, October 08, 2008
The Oldest Bible
It is good to see Codex Sinaiticus still making the news and on Monday, Radio 4 (which most right thinking Brits, and many others too, love with passion) broadcast a half hour documentary:
The Oldest Bible
The Oldest Bible
Roger Bolton tells the story of the Codex Sinaiticus bible, found in 1844 in a monastery in the Sinai Desert and then split between Egypt, Russia, Switzerland and the British Library. It is soon to be digitised for world-wide viewing, and poses a significant challenge to the Bible as we know it.You can listen again from the link above, or by going straight to the iPlayer. It will be available for the next few days. Once I've listened, I will comment here. Meanwhile, an article related to the programme has drawn heavy criticism and helpful correction from Dirk Jongkind on Evangelical Textual Criticism. I would be interested to hear Dirk's and others' comments on the programme too when they have listened.
Labels: BBC, Manuscripts
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Duke Papyri Online Developments
This exciting local news was mentioned by David Meadows on rogueclassicism and is worth a mention here:
Ancient Papyrus Documents to be Available Online
Ancient Papyrus Documents to be Available Online
DURHAM, NC -- A Duke University-led research team will use an $814,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to develop collaborative online editing tools for ancient documents preserved on papyrus.
The new electronic editing environment, when completed, will enable scholars –- regardless of their location -- to research, retrieve and display ancient texts, supplementary data and digital images of papyri.
The research team is led by Duke professor Joshua Sosin and university librarian Deborah Jakubs.
Sosin, associate professor of classical studies and history, co-directs the Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri, an online repository of ancient Greek and Latin documents preserved on papyrus, pottery and wood. The collection contains more than 50,000 published texts that can be searched electronically through the Papyrological Navigator (PN), a new interface that merges data from different scholarly projects to allow simultaneous searching of texts, translations and images. The PN, whose development was also funded by Mellon, is online at http://papyri.info . . . .
Labels: Online texts
ITSEE News RSS feed
ITSEE (Institute for Textual Scholarship and Electronic Editions, University of Birmingham) has added an RSS feed: ITSEE News.
Labels: ITSEE
Monday, October 06, 2008
The Dating Game I: Preliminaries
I have been asked to present a paper at this year's SBL Annual Meeting in Boston on "Dating the Crucial Sources" for a new consultation entitled "Cross, Resurrection and Diversity in Early Christianity". Simon Gathercole is speaking in the same session; April DeConick is responding to me and Stephen Patterson is responding to Simon. John Kloppenborg will be in the chair.
It is a pleasure to be invited to give a paper, and a special pleasure to do so at one of the inaugural meetings of a new consultation. When one is invited to present, it will usually be in an area that overlaps with one's area of expertise, but which at the same time provides a fresh challenge, as here. I have written a little about dating issues but not a lot. It is something that interests me, but this is providing me with an opportunity to spend some time thinking through things in a more systematic and serious way. But where does one begin with such a broad topic? One of the pitfalls of attempting to date early Christian documents is to shoot too quickly for absolute dates, to try to pinpoint each text to a specific moment without doing the prior work on working out the relationships of documents to one another. Thus however much we might find matters like the Synoptic Problem not to our taste, it is essential to get on top of such things if we are to get some feeling for the most plausible relationship of documents to one another. It is a necessary prior step before attempting to fix documents to a specific date or range of dates.
Before that, though, several more preliminaries and important reminders:
(1) What is a document? I once wrote an article on Q called "When is a text not a text?". Although it dealt specifically with the hypothetical document Q, it got me thinking about the broader issues of what we mean when we talk about "texts" and "documents" in antiquity. Of course we all know that we do not have autographs and we know that there were no printing presses, but textual critics rightly remind the rest of us to behave like we actually know that that is the case. Too often, we lapse into treating our scholarly constructs as if they are the actual artefacts that they are only aspiring to be. At the very least, we need to keep reminding ourselves in discussions like this that we are not dealing with fixed points and known entities but with reconstructions and approximations.
(2) A Document's Evolution: there is a related issue here, that the more we become text-critically sensitive, the more we are inclined to reflect on the evolution of the documents we think we know. When we try to date Mark's Gospel, what are we dating? Something that approximates to our scholarly reconstructions of Mark 1.1-16.8 or something akin to what the vast majority of witnesses have, a Mark that goes on beyond 16.8? When we try to date John, are we imagining a version with or without the pericopae adulterae, with or without Chapter 21? When we date Thomas, are we dating textual antecedents to the Oxyrhynchus fragments, where where Coptic Thomas's Saying 77 is found with Saying 30, or constructs more akin to the Coptic, or both or neither? Even in our print culture, a document's history is often about a date range rather than a fixed point in time. When I refer to John Knox's Chapters in a Life of Paul, do I date it to its original influential edition in 1950 or the revised version of 1987, in which he reacts to his own critics of his earlier work? (And to make it still more complicated, we could insist too that even the 1950 edition featured revised versions of articles written in the 1930s). The point here is that sometimes our attempts to date documents precisely ignore what we know to be the case, that documents are not static entities even today, let alone in antiquity.
(3) Text and Tradition: There is a further related issue that often causes confusion. We sometimes speak as if a document is as early as the traditions it contains. Or, to put it in another way, we confuse tradition history with a document's dating. Thus a document first penned in the year 80CE might contain good traditions from the early 30s. One first penned in the 60s might be full of historically dubious legends. We should be careful to make sure that in attempting to date a document we are not simply dating the traditions contained in that document.
It is not my intention, though, just to talk about the difficulty of the task at hand, but rather to make sure that certain warnings are in place before embarking on the journey ahead. I want to make clear that where I do talk about dating documents, I am doing so in full knowledge that there are difficulties here, and that we speak in a shorthand that sometimes has to bypass complex issues to which we will have to return.
It is a pleasure to be invited to give a paper, and a special pleasure to do so at one of the inaugural meetings of a new consultation. When one is invited to present, it will usually be in an area that overlaps with one's area of expertise, but which at the same time provides a fresh challenge, as here. I have written a little about dating issues but not a lot. It is something that interests me, but this is providing me with an opportunity to spend some time thinking through things in a more systematic and serious way. But where does one begin with such a broad topic? One of the pitfalls of attempting to date early Christian documents is to shoot too quickly for absolute dates, to try to pinpoint each text to a specific moment without doing the prior work on working out the relationships of documents to one another. Thus however much we might find matters like the Synoptic Problem not to our taste, it is essential to get on top of such things if we are to get some feeling for the most plausible relationship of documents to one another. It is a necessary prior step before attempting to fix documents to a specific date or range of dates.
Before that, though, several more preliminaries and important reminders:
(1) What is a document? I once wrote an article on Q called "When is a text not a text?". Although it dealt specifically with the hypothetical document Q, it got me thinking about the broader issues of what we mean when we talk about "texts" and "documents" in antiquity. Of course we all know that we do not have autographs and we know that there were no printing presses, but textual critics rightly remind the rest of us to behave like we actually know that that is the case. Too often, we lapse into treating our scholarly constructs as if they are the actual artefacts that they are only aspiring to be. At the very least, we need to keep reminding ourselves in discussions like this that we are not dealing with fixed points and known entities but with reconstructions and approximations.
(2) A Document's Evolution: there is a related issue here, that the more we become text-critically sensitive, the more we are inclined to reflect on the evolution of the documents we think we know. When we try to date Mark's Gospel, what are we dating? Something that approximates to our scholarly reconstructions of Mark 1.1-16.8 or something akin to what the vast majority of witnesses have, a Mark that goes on beyond 16.8? When we try to date John, are we imagining a version with or without the pericopae adulterae, with or without Chapter 21? When we date Thomas, are we dating textual antecedents to the Oxyrhynchus fragments, where where Coptic Thomas's Saying 77 is found with Saying 30, or constructs more akin to the Coptic, or both or neither? Even in our print culture, a document's history is often about a date range rather than a fixed point in time. When I refer to John Knox's Chapters in a Life of Paul, do I date it to its original influential edition in 1950 or the revised version of 1987, in which he reacts to his own critics of his earlier work? (And to make it still more complicated, we could insist too that even the 1950 edition featured revised versions of articles written in the 1930s). The point here is that sometimes our attempts to date documents precisely ignore what we know to be the case, that documents are not static entities even today, let alone in antiquity.
(3) Text and Tradition: There is a further related issue that often causes confusion. We sometimes speak as if a document is as early as the traditions it contains. Or, to put it in another way, we confuse tradition history with a document's dating. Thus a document first penned in the year 80CE might contain good traditions from the early 30s. One first penned in the 60s might be full of historically dubious legends. We should be careful to make sure that in attempting to date a document we are not simply dating the traditions contained in that document.
It is not my intention, though, just to talk about the difficulty of the task at hand, but rather to make sure that certain warnings are in place before embarking on the journey ahead. I want to make clear that where I do talk about dating documents, I am doing so in full knowledge that there are difficulties here, and that we speak in a shorthand that sometimes has to bypass complex issues to which we will have to return.
Labels: Dating, SBL Boston
Biblical Studies Carnivals XXXII to XXXIV
On Metacatholic, my friend and former graduate student Doug Chaplin has done a superb job with the latest Biblical Studies Carnival:
Biblical Studies Carnival XXXIV
It is thorough, well-judged, well written -- a fantastic job. As I often seem to comment now, the burgeoning blogging world, and the impossibility of keeping up with everything, is making the carnival ever more useful and important. I must apologize, therefore, for failing to mention the two previous carnivals:
Biblical Studies Carnival XXII (Ancient Hebrew Poetry, John Hobbins; in three parts -- Part Two; Part Three)
Biblical Studies Carnival XXIII (Pisteuomen, Michael Halcomb)
The latter is a new blog to me, but difficult to read in my browser, with a kind of black text on dark grey background.
Biblical Studies Carnival XXXIV
It is thorough, well-judged, well written -- a fantastic job. As I often seem to comment now, the burgeoning blogging world, and the impossibility of keeping up with everything, is making the carnival ever more useful and important. I must apologize, therefore, for failing to mention the two previous carnivals:
Biblical Studies Carnival XXII (Ancient Hebrew Poetry, John Hobbins; in three parts -- Part Two; Part Three)
Biblical Studies Carnival XXIII (Pisteuomen, Michael Halcomb)
The latter is a new blog to me, but difficult to read in my browser, with a kind of black text on dark grey background.
Labels: Biblical Studies Carnivals
Journal for Greco-Roman Christianity and Judaism latest
Another new article has been added to the Journal for Greco-Roman Christianity and Judaism, Volume 5:
5.6: Hans Foerster, "The Celebration of the Baptism of Christ by the Basilideans and the Origin of Epiphany: Is the Seemingly Obvious Correct?" (PDF)
5.6: Hans Foerster, "The Celebration of the Baptism of Christ by the Basilideans and the Origin of Epiphany: Is the Seemingly Obvious Correct?" (PDF)
Labels: Journal of Greco-Roman Christianity and Judaism
Monday, September 22, 2008
The Passion Resource Pack now available
The Bible Society's resource pack for The Passion (2008) is now available to buy. It is the first time the DVD has been available to buy, and it comes with a range of educational resources. Here is their press release:Bible Society’s Passion resource pack is now available to buy online!The standard release DVD will be out in October.
Be one of the first to own the DVDs and schools and church resources. Visit www.biblesociety.org.uk/thepassion to order your copy now.
Priced just £19.99, the two-DVD set featuring all four episodes of The Passion will be an invaluable resource for RE teachers across the country.
For teachers – teach The Passion, and encourage investigation.
The resource includes materials on CD-ROM for Key Stage 3, GCSE and 16+ RE. It will save on preparation time and give you a raft of new and creative ideas to engage students.
The CD-ROM is also available as a teacher’s book, priced £7.99.
For church leaders – bring The Passion to life in your church and community.
The DVDs and CD-Rom include a 4-part home group guide and creative resources. These can be used in services, Lent groups or home groups to understand, digest and explore the issues thrown up by the events that took place between Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
Be one of the first to own the DVDs and resources. Visit www.biblesociety.org.uk/thepassion to order your copy now.
Labels: BBC Passion
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Secrets of the Cross, Episode 2: Who Really Killed Jesus?
The first episode of this series of four documentaries, Secrets of the Cross, was called Secrets of the Jesus Tomb and was broadcast on the UK network channel Five on 2 September (and reviewed here). The second documentary went out last Tuesday, so I am a little late with my review here.
Matt Page has provided an excellent review on Bible Films Blog and also on rejesus. Matt gets this one exactly right. There were some real strengths here -- the team of experts selected (Helen Bond, Ann Wroe, James Tabor, Shimon Gibson and one or two others) were excellent, the use of location shooting was well done, and on the whole the documentary approached its subject matter in a historically responsible way, albeit with an occasional unnecessary black-and-white history vs. theology contrast.
This documentary, which like the previous one is made by CTVC, avoided the extremes of fundamentalism on the one hand and sensationalism on the other, and it packed a decent amount of historical detail into the narration and the expert interviews without becoming convoluted. We heard about the Pilate inscription in some detail, and there was an enjoyable scene where Helen Bond, who was on screen more than anyone else, drew the key part of the inscription in the sand by the sea. As well as the experts, there was some newly filmed silent drama, in the modern documentary style, featuring a black Jesus, lots of blood, some Roman soldiers and several scenes with Pilate. It was quite well done, though it is difficult not to find it a bit distracting, especially if one is familiar with the inevitably superior film portrayals of the same events, which are of course too expensive to use in documentaries like this.
On the whole, the programme avoided cliché, though at one stage Jesus' actions "set him on a collision course" with Rome. The history was in the main responsibly done, and it avoided condescending to the audience. Among other virtues, the programme makers did not shy away from addressing the difficulty of the evangelists' portrayal of the Passion, especially Pilate's hand-washing and the crowd's blood guilt line in Matthew. The only minor criticism I would want to make would be that it presented a rather hard-and-fast line, explaining to the audience how things were without allowing for the inevitable difficulties of doing ancient history, with room for contrasting views among different scholars. Documentary makers sometimes underestimate the extent of the audience's interest in the process of doing history, and of weighing contrasting opinions.
After this greatly superior second entry in the series, I am looking forward to the third documentary, Mary Magdalene: Saint or Sinner, which aired tonight and is repeated on Sunday at 11am, and which is also available free to UK users on Demand Five.
Matt Page has provided an excellent review on Bible Films Blog and also on rejesus. Matt gets this one exactly right. There were some real strengths here -- the team of experts selected (Helen Bond, Ann Wroe, James Tabor, Shimon Gibson and one or two others) were excellent, the use of location shooting was well done, and on the whole the documentary approached its subject matter in a historically responsible way, albeit with an occasional unnecessary black-and-white history vs. theology contrast.
This documentary, which like the previous one is made by CTVC, avoided the extremes of fundamentalism on the one hand and sensationalism on the other, and it packed a decent amount of historical detail into the narration and the expert interviews without becoming convoluted. We heard about the Pilate inscription in some detail, and there was an enjoyable scene where Helen Bond, who was on screen more than anyone else, drew the key part of the inscription in the sand by the sea. As well as the experts, there was some newly filmed silent drama, in the modern documentary style, featuring a black Jesus, lots of blood, some Roman soldiers and several scenes with Pilate. It was quite well done, though it is difficult not to find it a bit distracting, especially if one is familiar with the inevitably superior film portrayals of the same events, which are of course too expensive to use in documentaries like this.
On the whole, the programme avoided cliché, though at one stage Jesus' actions "set him on a collision course" with Rome. The history was in the main responsibly done, and it avoided condescending to the audience. Among other virtues, the programme makers did not shy away from addressing the difficulty of the evangelists' portrayal of the Passion, especially Pilate's hand-washing and the crowd's blood guilt line in Matthew. The only minor criticism I would want to make would be that it presented a rather hard-and-fast line, explaining to the audience how things were without allowing for the inevitable difficulties of doing ancient history, with room for contrasting views among different scholars. Documentary makers sometimes underestimate the extent of the audience's interest in the process of doing history, and of weighing contrasting opinions.
After this greatly superior second entry in the series, I am looking forward to the third documentary, Mary Magdalene: Saint or Sinner, which aired tonight and is repeated on Sunday at 11am, and which is also available free to UK users on Demand Five.
Labels: ctvc, secrets of the cross, TV documentaries
Expository Times latest
The latest issue of Expository Times is now available to subscribers. Here are details of the articles of interest on the NT:
Expository Times
1 October 2008; Vol. 120, No. 1
Matthew and the History of its Interpretation
Dale C. Allison, JR
The Expository Times 2008;120 1-7
http://ext.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/120/1/1?etoc
Expository Times
1 October 2008; Vol. 120, No. 1
Matthew and the History of its Interpretation
Dale C. Allison, JR
The Expository Times 2008;120 1-7
http://ext.sagepub.com/cgi/
`For those Outside, Everything Comes in Parables': Recent Readings of the Parables from the Inside
Alison Jack
The Expository Times 2008;120 8-15
http://ext.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/120/1/8?etoc
The Historical Jesus for Beginners:
James H. Charlesworth, The Historical Jesus: An Essential Guide (Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 2008)
Paul Foster
The Expository Times 2008;120 33
http://ext.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/120/1/33?etoc
Earliest Christianity in a Roman Context:
E. A. Judge. The First Christians in the Roman World (WUNT 229; Tubingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2008)
Paul Foster
The Expository Times 2008;120 40
http://ext.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/120/1/40?etoc
Book Review: A COMPENDIUM OF NEW TESTAMENT ETHICS
J. G. van der Watt (ed.), Identity, Ethics, and Ethos in the New Testament (BZNW 141; Berlin/New York: de Gruyter, 2006)
Tobias Nicklas
The Expository Times 2008;120 45-46
http://ext.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/120/1/45-a?etoc
Book Review: JUSTIN MARTYR IN CURRENT PERSPECTIVE
Sara Parvis and Paul Foster (eds), Justin Martyr and His Worlds (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2007)
Michael Holmes
The Expository Times 2008;120 46-47
http://ext.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/120/1/46?etoc
Book Review: LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS OF A CRITICAL READING OF THE BIBLE.
John Holdsworth, Getting Started with the Bible (London: Canterbury Press, 2007)
A. Leslie Milton
The Expository Times 2008;120 47
http://ext.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/120/1/47?etoc
Book Review: IMPROVE THE TEXT OF THE NEW TESTAMENT: ERASMUS AND BEZA
Jan Krans, Beyond What Is Written: Erasmus and Beza as Conjectural Critics of the New Testament (Leiden: Brill, 2006)
Dirk Jongkind
The Expository Times 2008;120 49
http://ext.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/120/1/49?etoc
Alison Jack
The Expository Times 2008;120 8-15
http://ext.sagepub.com/cgi/
The Historical Jesus for Beginners:
James H. Charlesworth, The Historical Jesus: An Essential Guide (Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 2008)
Paul Foster
The Expository Times 2008;120 33
http://ext.sagepub.com/cgi/
Earliest Christianity in a Roman Context:
E. A. Judge. The First Christians in the Roman World (WUNT 229; Tubingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2008)
Paul Foster
The Expository Times 2008;120 40
http://ext.sagepub.com/cgi/
Book Review: A COMPENDIUM OF NEW TESTAMENT ETHICS
J. G. van der Watt (ed.), Identity, Ethics, and Ethos in the New Testament (BZNW 141; Berlin/New York: de Gruyter, 2006)
Tobias Nicklas
The Expository Times 2008;120 45-46
http://ext.sagepub.com/cgi/
Book Review: JUSTIN MARTYR IN CURRENT PERSPECTIVE
Sara Parvis and Paul Foster (eds), Justin Martyr and His Worlds (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2007)
Michael Holmes
The Expository Times 2008;120 46-47
http://ext.sagepub.com/cgi/
Book Review: LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS OF A CRITICAL READING OF THE BIBLE.
John Holdsworth, Getting Started with the Bible (London: Canterbury Press, 2007)
A. Leslie Milton
The Expository Times 2008;120 47
http://ext.sagepub.com/cgi/
Book Review: IMPROVE THE TEXT OF THE NEW TESTAMENT: ERASMUS AND BEZA
Jan Krans, Beyond What Is Written: Erasmus and Beza as Conjectural Critics of the New Testament (Leiden: Brill, 2006)
Dirk Jongkind
The Expository Times 2008;120 49
http://ext.sagepub.com/cgi/
Labels: Expository Times
Monday, September 15, 2008
Review of Biblical Literature Latest
It's time to catch up on the Review of Biblical Literature. These are those from the last two emails and as usual, I am listing those on the New Testament and related topics:
Frederick E. Brenk
With Unperfumed Voice: Studies in Plutarch, in Greek Literature, Religion and Philosophy, and in the New Testament Background
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6275
Reviewed by Thomas J. Kraus
James H. Charlesworth, ed.
The Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls: The Second Princeton Symposium on Judaism and Christian Origins
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5896
Reviewed by Matthew Goff
Zeba A. Crook and Philip A. Harland, eds.
Identity and Interaction in the Ancient Mediterranean: Jews, Christians and Others: Essays in Honour of Stephen G. Wilson
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6363
Reviewed by Thomas W. Gillespie
Rodney J. Decker
Koine Greek Reader: Selections from the New Testament, Septuagint, and Early Christian Writers
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6213
Reviewed by Pierre Johan Jordaan
Mark W. Hamilton, Thomas H. Olbricht, and Jeffrey Peterson, eds.
Renewing Tradition: Studies in Texts and Contexts in Honor of James W. Thompson
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5715
Reviewed by Nathan Guy
Larry J. Kreitzer
Hierapolis in the Heavens: Studies in the Letter to the Ephesians
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6426
Reviewed by Daniel Darko
Reviewed by Stephan Witetschek
Daniel L. Smith-Christopher
Jonah, Jesus, and Other Good Coyotes: Speaking Peace to Power in the Bible
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6081
Reviewed by Hector Avalos
B. F. Westcott and F. J. A. Hort
The Greek New Testament with Dictionary
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6182
Reviewed by Allan J. McNicol
Stephen C. Barton, ed.
Idolatry: False Worship in the Bible, Early Judaism and Christianity
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6399
Reviewed by Thomas J. Kraus
Kent E. Brower and Andy Johnson, eds.
Holiness and Ecclesiology in the New Testament
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6347
Reviewed by James M. Howard
David B. Capes, Rodney Reeves, and E. Randolph Richards
Rediscovering Paul: An Introduction to His World, Letters, and Theology
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6287
Reviewed by Rodrigo J. Morales
Paul M. Fullmer
Resurrection in Mark's Literary-Historical Perspective
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6450
Reviewed by Pheme Perkins
Edith M. Humphrey, ed.
And I Turned to See the Voice: The Rhetoric of Vision in the New Testament
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6286
Reviewed by Bart J. Koet
David J. Lull
1 Corinthians
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6208
Reviewed by Anthony C. Thiselton
Steve Moyise and Maarten J. J. Menken, eds.
Deuteronomy in the New Testament: The New Testament and the Scriptures of Israel
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6343
Reviewed by Michael A. Lyons
Reviewed by David Lincicum
Stanley E. Porter, ed.
Paul and His Opponents
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5158
Reviewed by Justin K. Hardin
Frederick E. Brenk
With Unperfumed Voice: Studies in Plutarch, in Greek Literature, Religion and Philosophy, and in the New Testament Background
http://www.bookreviews.org/
Reviewed by Thomas J. Kraus
James H. Charlesworth, ed.
The Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls: The Second Princeton Symposium on Judaism and Christian Origins
http://www.bookreviews.org/
Reviewed by Matthew Goff
Zeba A. Crook and Philip A. Harland, eds.
Identity and Interaction in the Ancient Mediterranean: Jews, Christians and Others: Essays in Honour of Stephen G. Wilson
http://www.bookreviews.org/
Reviewed by Thomas W. Gillespie
Rodney J. Decker
Koine Greek Reader: Selections from the New Testament, Septuagint, and Early Christian Writers
http://www.bookreviews.org/
Reviewed by Pierre Johan Jordaan
Mark W. Hamilton, Thomas H. Olbricht, and Jeffrey Peterson, eds.
Renewing Tradition: Studies in Texts and Contexts in Honor of James W. Thompson
http://www.bookreviews.org/
Reviewed by Nathan Guy
Larry J. Kreitzer
Hierapolis in the Heavens: Studies in the Letter to the Ephesians
http://www.bookreviews.org/
Reviewed by Daniel Darko
Reviewed by Stephan Witetschek
Daniel L. Smith-Christopher
Jonah, Jesus, and Other Good Coyotes: Speaking Peace to Power in the Bible
http://www.bookreviews.org/
Reviewed by Hector Avalos
B. F. Westcott and F. J. A. Hort
The Greek New Testament with Dictionary
http://www.bookreviews.org/
Reviewed by Allan J. McNicol
Stephen C. Barton, ed.
Idolatry: False Worship in the Bible, Early Judaism and Christianity
http://www.bookreviews.org/
Reviewed by Thomas J. Kraus
Kent E. Brower and Andy Johnson, eds.
Holiness and Ecclesiology in the New Testament
http://www.bookreviews.org/
Reviewed by James M. Howard
David B. Capes, Rodney Reeves, and E. Randolph Richards
Rediscovering Paul: An Introduction to His World, Letters, and Theology
http://www.bookreviews.org/
Reviewed by Rodrigo J. Morales
Paul M. Fullmer
Resurrection in Mark's Literary-Historical Perspective
http://www.bookreviews.org/
Reviewed by Pheme Perkins
Edith M. Humphrey, ed.
And I Turned to See the Voice: The Rhetoric of Vision in the New Testament
http://www.bookreviews.org/
Reviewed by Bart J. Koet
David J. Lull
1 Corinthians
http://www.bookreviews.org/
Reviewed by Anthony C. Thiselton
Steve Moyise and Maarten J. J. Menken, eds.
Deuteronomy in the New Testament: The New Testament and the Scriptures of Israel
http://www.bookreviews.org/
Reviewed by Michael A. Lyons
Reviewed by David Lincicum
Stanley E. Porter, ed.
Paul and His Opponents
http://www.bookreviews.org/
Reviewed by Justin K. Hardin
Labels: Review of Biblical Literature
Journal for Greco-Roman Christianity and Judaism latest
Another article has been added to the Journal of Greco-Roman Christianity and Judaism Volume 5:
5.5 Michael Wojciechowski, "Aesopic Tradition in the New Testament" (PDF)
5.5 Michael Wojciechowski, "Aesopic Tradition in the New Testament" (PDF)
Labels: Journal of Greco-Roman Christianity and Judaism
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Travel Diary: Minneapolis, Sunday
I had another job to do before heading back home. I talked for an hour to the Adult Education group at Westminster Presbyterian Church on what we can really know about the Historical Jesus, and how we can know it. Again, it was a good, large audience, with lots of excellent questions and comments, and I made a really conscious effort to speak more slowly so that those present could understand my foreign accent, apparently with some success. I walked them through some of the key issues in Jesus research, looking at the question of sources, explaining the Synoptic Problem and introducing them to non-canonical sources like the Gospel of Thomas, explaining historical context and introducing them to people like Josephus. And I talked about the value if beginning one's historical journey with the crucifixion and working backwards from there.
I flew back to Raleigh-Durham at lunch time and arrived at 5, catching up on a couple of articles, a couple of Russell Brand podcasts, and some sleep, on the way.
I flew back to Raleigh-Durham at lunch time and arrived at 5, catching up on a couple of articles, a couple of Russell Brand podcasts, and some sleep, on the way.
Labels: my talks, Travel diaries
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