The “Quests” Paradigm Needs to Go Away (Historical Jesus and Wikipedia Part II) - Le Donne

In the first part of this series, I talked about my rationale for taking this on. Paragraph two of the Wikipedia entry for “Historical Jesus” reads:

Since the 18th century, three separate scholarly quests for the historical Jesus have taken place, each with distinct characteristics and based on different research criteria, which were often developed during that phase. The second quest which started in 1953 reached a plateau in the 1970s and by 1992 the term third quest had been coined to characterize the new research approaches.

The common paradigm that outlines historical Jesus research in terms of First (Old) Quest, No Quest, New Quest, Third Quest needs to be cast into the abyss for a time, another time, and a half of a time. Those who continue to teach it should have millstones tied to their necks and… okay that might be a bit extreme. The point is that the “quests” paradigm is wrong.

Quarterly Quote of the Month about Jesus for this Week

The presence of Christ creates the new world;
He brings order and beauty among us;
Death recedes.

                             ~The Gospel of Philip

Welcome Dave!

I had the great pleasure of meeting Dave Lincicum this summer while I was visiting Oxford. He was kind enough to show me around a bit and treat me to lunch. He is an up-and-comer in all things Paul and (I just learned today) that he now has a home online.

Welcome Dave!

-anthony

At What Point is Caution Misleading Concerning the "Mrs. Christ" Fragment? - Le Donne

This blog post over at CNN by Eric Marrapodi is incomplete. Of course, by their nature, blog posts are never comprehensive or definitive statements.  One might say the same about "news reporting" in general.  But sometimes (not always) truncation can mislead.  I think that this is the case with Marrapodi's post concerning the so-called "Gospel of Jesus' Wife" fragment put forth by Harvard's Karen King. Marrapodi gives the impression that we are holding our collective breath, waiting to see how the ink tests will come out.

The scholars quoted in this post demonstrate caution about the fragment's possible fraudulence.  Who can blame them?  It is lack of caution that caused this story to unfold the way it has.  In my posts on this topic, I did my best to be cautious.  But, with just a bit of journalistic rigor, Marrapodi could have found a few well-respected scholars who might have given a more informed answer about the fragment.  Indeed, we have a few preliminary arguments; for example, and for example.

Moreover, it should be made clear that ink can be mixed for the purpose of cheating the standard tests.  It will not surprise anyone familiar with this process to learn that the ink tests for this fragment come back inconclusive.  If so, where are we left?  I would argue that we are not "left where we started", but we are left with the compelling arguments in support of fraud.  So this CNN post does not report "the latest", it suggests that most scholars don't really have an opinion. Not the case.

Please don't misunderstand me, I am not threatened in the least by the possible marriage of Jesus.  (1) We already have the Gospel of Philip which is similarly provocative - and no one doubts that this text is ancient, perhaps dating to the second or third century. (2) We know almost nothing about Jesus' life before he began his public ministry.  Moreover, I do not think it is sinful or scandalous to be married.  Jesus scholars should remain open to this possibility (I discuss this topic further in this book).  I am not concerned with what this fragment says about Jesus and Mary.  My concern here is with the document itself, and I'm not sure that "further testing" will provide an definitive proof.  It could be that the best arguments in support of fraud have already been leveled.

-anthony

Jesus’ Literacy in Paperback—Chris Keith

I recently heard from T&T Clark that my book on the literacy of the historical Jesus, Jesus’ Literacy: Scribal Culture and the Teacher from Galilee, will be out in paperback in March 2013.  Based on some of the research in this book, I was named a 2012 Society of Biblical Literature Regional Scholar.  The book itself is, to my knowledge, the first book-length study of the issue and one of the most systematic implementations of the “memory approach” in historical Jesus studies (in contrast to the “criteria approach”).  It’s also the first study to forward the argument that, although Jesus likely was not scribal-literate, many of his contemporaries likely thought he was.  As the paperback release draws near, I’ll post some more on the argument I forward in the book.  We’ll also see if T&T Clark will let us have some copies to give away on the blog as well.

Question: What is the Best Film about the Life of Jesus?

Okay, the ground rules are:

1. Jesus has to be main character; if not The Life of Brian will win every time.

2. You must give a rationale for your vote.

3. If you cannot think of a film, you are allowed to simply quote your favorite line from Life of Brian.

-anthony

Community - Le Donne

I've been immersed, of late, in a project that considers early Christian solidarity. What does spiritual intimacy look like?  What was at stake with all of those exhortations for unity in the New Testament?  And what does this mean for the perceived outsiders - the folks who were alienated by Christian intimacy?  I must say that I have been deeply troubled (at times) by the polemical tones taken by the early Church.  It seems that the same intensity that engendered intimacy also created intense hostility for the broken relationships in the aftermath of Christian formation.  "Not peace, but a sword" it seems.  I've also been quite interested in how this intimacy evolved in several directions in the second and third centuries.  Gnostic Christianity took this intimacy/exclusivity to one extreme while "orthodox" Christianity took it to different sort of extreme.  But in both cases - and it may seem cliche to say it - the attempt to love one another comes with tremendous risks.

So when I read something like this, I am reminded how open we are to ruin when we fully invest in another person.  I haven't been able to stop thinking about the Brady family since Jim posted about the loss of their son a few days ago.  I can't even imagine... I recently lost someone close to me - a family member and mentor of mine - but nothing like this.

This leads me to wonder whether I will ever really appreciate tragic events like the Babylonian exile, the crucifixion, the destruction of the Temple, or the parting of the ways between Jewish and Christians.  Our collective identities, memories, sacraments, and spiritual foundations emerge from ruin.  Sometimes nothing short of total ruin creates space for true intimacy.  And of course this is small consolation, but it is all that we have.

Interview with Chris Keith - Le Donne

I don't know why I never knew about this before, but I just found this by accident. This will probably be one of those things where I find out that Chris told me about it and I wasn't listening. Readers should be aware that Prof. Dr. Keith's institutional affiliation has changed since he gave this interview. See here and here.

-anthony

Thirteen New Year’s Resolutions for 2013

1. Bury the family pet.  I just did this today; figured I’d put it as number one so I’d feel better about how I spent my morning. Fare thee well, Jo Jo the rat!  See you in the Tom Wright version of the New Earth (basically Narnia, by my reading).

2. Finish my series review of Jesus in an Age of Neoliberalism. Now that I’ve completed my interview with James Crossley, I can really hammer him.

3. Finish my book.

4. Finish my essay for JSHJ.

5. Try to use The Jesus Blog for more self-promotion. There have been complaints by our readers that Chris and I don’t talk about our own projects enough.

6. Considerably more David Bowie in my life.

7. Floss more.

8. Re-read Rafael Rodríguez’s book. When I first read it, I was trying to avoid words of Latin origin, so the experience was heavily redacted.

9. Write George R.R. Martin ten more letters demanding that his next book be published yesterday.

10. Read Dunn’s Beginning from Jerusalem. I’m embarrassed to say that I don’t even own it.

11. Tell Chris what I really think of his taste in cigars.  If I have to smoke one more Swisher Sweet…

12. Lead a tour of Turkey and Israel.

13. Invite Jesus Blog readers to participate in a tour of Turkey and Israel.

Happy Birthday to Peter Enns - Le Donne

Very warm birthday wishes to Pete.  Pete was very good to me in 2012, advising me through a difficult time.  I would also like to take a moment to acknowledge his very unique ministry.  In addition to several publications that have advanced the conversations of Christian intelligentsia, Pete has become an informal mentor to many folks who are otherwise mentorless.  I am deeply grateful for his friendship and for his generosity.

Do yourself a favor and subscribe to his blog:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/peterenns/

-anthony

Jesus’ Literacy reviewed in RSR—Chris Keith

The most recent volume of Religious Studies Review includes a review of my Jesus’ Literacy: Scribal Cultureand the Teacher from Galilee by C. Thomas Fraatz.  It’s very positive and I’m grateful.  He does say several times that I seem to be following Dale Allison’s approach with social memory, and my ego compels me to clarify that, although I slotted Allison into the discussion once his book came out, I wrote all of it before it came out, and was working with social memory as a grad student almost ten years ago (following Tom Thatcher as it were, not Allison).  But, being accused of following Allison puts me in great company!  Thanks C. Thomas!

I’ll have some more posts on Jesus’ Literacy coming soon.

Roundtable Discussion about Jesus

This link shows a roundtable discussion about Jesus with Serene Jones, Stephen Phelps, and Larry Schiffman. I should thank James McGrath for bringing this to my attention... but I won't.

-anthony

Did Christianity Get Jesus Wrong?

This is an overtly Christian point of view - so one should know that going in - but Gathercole is always worth a listen. My thanks to John Byron for posting this a while back.

Full youtube here.

-anthony