Review of The Jewish Jesus: Revelation, Reflection, Reclamation

Amy-Jill Levine reviews Zev Garber, ed. The Jewish Jesus: Revelation, Reflection, Reclamation. Shofar Supplements in Jewish Studies Series. West Lafayette Purdue: University Press, 2011.

https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=33060
This review is not short of one-liners for which Prof. Levine has become famous.

-anthony

p.s. my thanks to Ovidiu Creanga for bringing this to my attention.

Why I Thank God for Bart Ehrman - Le Donne

Academia is a business of argumentation. We are trained to falsify our own assumptions to varying degrees of success.  We are also trained to appraise the strengths and weaknesses of our colleagues' arguments with varying degrees of honesty.  The byproduct of such a state of affairs is that almost no professional scholar can agree with a colleague 100% of the time.  This is a happy byproduct.

It just so happens that we spend most of our time focusing on the 5 to 10% that makes for good debate.  (By the way, keep this in mind the next time that someone laments that there is a different "historical Jesus" for every historical Jesus scholar.  In my view, most of us agree much more than we disagree.)  This is why Tom Wright and Marcus Borg could tour the world for a decade with their Siegfried and Roy act.

So I am quite happy to say that I agree with about 80% of what Bart Ehrman writes.  This statement will scandalize some demographics and seem par for the course to others (no surprise there).  Some folks are going to think that 80% is too high a percentage as I am a professing believer and Prof. Ehrman is a dreaded heretic.

Hurtado on Jacobovici

A brief but spot-on critique of Simcha Jacobovici's spin of the so-called Gospel of Jesus' Wife.

http://larryhurtado.wordpress.com/2012/10/16/the-jesus-wife-fragment-self-promoting-personal-attacks/

-anthony

Marginalia Tributes Geza Vermes

My thanks to T. Michael Law for passing this along.

http://themarginaliareview.com/archives/2440

-anthony

Goodacre Questions Nag Hammadi Discovery

In his JSNT article, Mark Goodacre asks:

How Reliable is the Story of the Nag Hammadi Discovery?

Here is the abstract:

James Robinson’s narrative of how the Nag Hammadi codices were discovered is popular and compelling, a piece of fine investigative journalism that includes intrigue and blood vengeance. But there are several different, conflicting versions of the story, including two-person (1977), seven-person (1979) and eight-person (1981) versions. Disagreements include the name of the person who first found the jar. Martin Krause and Rodolphe Kasser both questioned these stories in 1984, and their scepticism is corroborated by the Channel 4 (UK) series, The Gnostics (1987), which features Muhammad ‘Ali himself, in his only known appearance in front of camera, offering his account of the discovery. Several major points of divergence from the earlier reports raise questions about the reliability of ‘Ali’s testimony. It may be safest to conclude that the earlier account of the discovery offered by Jean Doresse in 1958 is more reliable than the later, more detailed, more vivid versions that are so frequently retold.

Congrats to Chris Keith!

Great news here about the British Academy/Leverhulme grant won by Chris Keith and company. The proposed three-volume project sounds fantastic.  Wish it were already published.

-anthony

What is the Shelf Life of Social Memory Theory - Le Donne

Some trends last longer than others.  I was aware of this banal reality when I was writing my The Historiographical Jesus: Memory, Typology, and the Son of David.  At the time that I wrote, I had no reason to believe that "memory" would become a trend in biblical studies.  I did, however, observe a memory trend in other fields of the humanities.  Not wanting my book to have a short shelf life, I began, not with "memory" but with philosophical hermeneutics and "typology".  I then juxtaposed a few conceptually analogous categories. It seemed to me that the "hermeneutical spiral" had a great deal in common with the trajectory of human memory (both autobiographical and collective).  My motive was to build from a foundation that has had a tried and true place in biblical studies and then to bring in a relatively novel idea.

To my surprise, the time was ripe for the topic of memory in Jesus research.

Shortly after I finished the book, I sought out Dick Horsley for advice.  Prof. Horsley is always on the cutting  edge of interdisciplinary study and rides trends like a top-notch surfer boy.  I was worried that if I hitched my wagon to "memory" I would crash and burn as soon as the shelf life for the trend had expired.  (I've been reading St. Paul, so I'm trying to mix as many metaphors as I can.)  Prof. Horsley's advice was that I shouldn't distance myself from the trend—that I might as well see it through.  So far, it has been good advice.  Memory has indeed become a trend and we are only scratching the surface.

Still, I continue to be cautious.  Is this memory thing going to be like "critical realism"?  I.e. will only a couple people really swim in the theory while a generation of others dog paddle?  Or will social memory theory be like literary/narratological studies?  I.e. will it continue to evolve, adapting exciting developments from other fields of study?  I guess the key distinction here is that the latter remains (at its better moments) attentive to how parallel conversations are developing.  I'm cautiously optimistic.

This week's poll is meant to gauge how cautious and/or optimistic I should be.
Something is screwy with our google blogger poll gadget. I have removed said poll. -acld

What Would Jesus Do on Mother's Day? - Le Donne

A short excerpt from my Historical Jesus: What Can We Know and How Can We Know It? pp.45-46:

I'll be Speaking in Fort Smith, Arkansas, May 18-20

If you happen to be in the Fort Smith area next week, feel free to drop in on a presentation series I'm giving at First Presbyterian Church. The titles of my presentations are:

1. The Architecture of Creation and Community
2. Becoming a Temple in Three Impossible Steps
3. Creating Family between Chaos and Function
4. Paul’s Vision of Righteous Relationships

The second of these is a short sermon (around 10 mins) so that one is just an appetizer.  

As I'm flying into OKC, you can be certain that I'll be visiting this fine establishment.

-anthony

John Barclay Lecture Online—Chris Keith

If you follow this link it will take you to the video of Prof. John Barclay’s lecture, “Paul and the Gift: Gift-Theory, Grace and Critical Issues in the Interpretation of Paul,” here at St Mary’s University College on May 3.  The video includes a short introduction from me, as this was the official launch of the Centre for the Social-Scientific Study of the Bible.  

Positive Examples of Collectivism? - Le Donne

One barrier that stands between our culture and that of Jesus is the difference between individualism and collectivism. In service to a recent writing project, I've been searching for examples of collectivism in ancient narratives. My hope is to illustrate the difference.

One might think of individualism as a typically western default position. In general, the countries of Western Europe and those colonized by the British have tended to privilege the rights and well-being of the individual. These cultures also tend to emphasize personal achievement even at the expense of family or group identities (+ printing press + fenced land + Magna Carta etc.). It is often argued that individualist cultures nurture a greater sense of competition. Collectivist cultures, on the other hand, emphasize family identity and group ideals, often at the expense of individual needs, desires, and achievements.* Jesus’ culture was closer to what we would call collectivism as compared to modern, western individualism.

In trying to provide examples of collectivism, I asked several friends for help. Invariably, all of the examples that came back were seemingly negative examples of collectivism.  E.g. Achan's execution, Ezra's demand for collective divorce, and the like. Not all of my advisers were American nor conservatives. They were, however, all modern westerners.  So I pose two questions: 

1) Are modern westerners simply too entrenched in individualistic ideals to understand the virtues of collectivism?

2) If the answer to number one is 'no', what are some positive examples of collectivism from ancient narratives?

-anthony

*Cultures of individualism can also value collective identity and well-being. Conversely, cultures of collectivism can also value individual desire, need, and achievement. The difference here is which concept of well-being is primary. I should also clarify that I have no intention to promote one cultural system as intrinsically better.

Jesus’ Literacy Paperback Winner—Chris Keith

As you can see below, the True Random Number Generator has determined that the owner of comment seven is the winner. So would “Josueraul” from the comment below please email me at chris.keith@smuc.ac.uk so that we can arrange for T&T Clark to send you your copy of the book?

JosueraulApril 23, 2013 at 8:14 AM

I've signed up to follow. :-)

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