Public Retraction Concerning Luther's Anti-Judaism - Le Donne

Almost every Paul course I've taught has included a class devoted to Luther's anti-Judaism. Today I must apologize for a statement about Luther that turns out to be misleading. I have, in these contexts, spoken of the "early Luther" and the "later Luther" concerning his anti-Judaism. The early Luther (or so I thought) seems to have more respect for the kinsmen of Jesus. Although, I suggest in this work that it was Luther's intention to proselytize that fueled his superficial respect.

Allison's ICC James Commentary - Le Donne

Got my hands on this today:



Sixteen years in the making and well worth the wait.

My gratitude to T&T Clark for the review copy.

-anthony

Evangelical Faith and the Challenge of Historical Criticism—Chris Keith

I’ve recently received from SPCK a copy of Christopher M. Hays and Christopher B. Ansberry’s Evangelical Faith and the Challenge of Historical Criticism.  I haven’t gotten to read it yet but will post some thoughts here as I do, as I hope Anthony will also.  I’m excited as it seems to be an important book on a topic that has received much attention of late due to something of a renewal of anti-intellectualism in American (evangelical) Christianity.  The authors discuss topics such as the fall, the exodus, prophecy, pseudepigraphy, and the historical Jesus, among others.  At first glance, what seems to set this book apart from some other studies is that it takes seriously and accepts many of the conclusions of historical criticism rather than seeking some apologetic knee-jerk reaction to them.  That’s the initial impression at least, and I hope it holds true.  I’m looking forward to the chapter on the historical Jesus, but also the editors’ contributions:  Hays’s “Towards a faithful criticism” (Chapter One) and both of their “Faithful criticism and a critical faith” (Chapter Nine).  More to come....

The Rise of the Quest of an Authentic Jesus - Le Donne

Last week, I published an excerpt of my introductory chapter in Jesus, Criteria, and the Demise of Authenticity.  Thereafter, I received a request to make the whole chapter available. Rather, than reproducing it here, I have provided a pdf of it on my personal webpage.

-anthony

Constructing Jesus Paperback Giveaway!—Chris Keith

On several occasions, we have discussed the significance of Dale Allison’s tome Constructing Jesus.  We’re happy to announce that it’s out in paperback, but more importantly that we’re giving a copy away courtesy of the fine folks at Baker Academic.  You know the rules. 

You can comment here, tweet this (and comment to let us know),

post it on facebook (and comment to let us know),

and/or sign up to follow the blog (and comment to let us know). 


In case I wasn’t clear, whatever you do, comment to let us know.  We determine the winner by entering the number of comments into the random number generator.

Dale Allison to Princeton Theological Seminary - Le Donne

The other shoe drops:

http://www.ptsem.edu/index.aspx?id=25769805953

-anthony

Who Started the Conflict in Mark's Gospel? - Le Donne

Over at Mark Goodacre's blog, he asks for a bit of input about online resources for teaching Mark. After commenting there, I thought I'd expand my suggestions here.


One of the points that I try to make in Jesus among Friends and Enemies (eds. Hurtado and Keith) is that as the plot of Mark unfolds, the Jewish leadership is revealed as adversaries of Jesus. This much is old hat. But if one looks more closely, these supposed "enemies" are narrated as asking questions about Jesus' peculiarities. I.e. it is not necessary to read these early exchanges as charged with animosity. As these "controversies" escalate, it is Jesus who provokes the conflict.

Here is an excerpt from my chapter, titled "The Jewish Leaders":

The Improper Temple Offering of Ananias and Sapphira - Le Donne

As promised, I have posted the pdf of my New Testament Studies essay on my personal webpage:

http://www.anthonyledonne.com/Essays.html

I first started thinking about this text (or at least seriously so) about four years ago. I was living in the Sacramento area at the time when I got a call from Dr. Chris Keith. Chris and I had met once before but I didn't like him very much. You really can't trust an American who doesn't follow baseball. After all, besides baseball, there is really no good reason to be an American.

Chris asked me if I could take his place at the annual Pepperdine Bible Lectures. His paper "Sinners in the Hands of a Deadly God" had been accepted for that conference, but he couldn't attend.  Chris had recently been invited to Heidelberg to accept the Templeton Award for Theological Promise for his monograph: The Pericope Adulterae, the Gospel of John, and the Literacy of Jesus. When 10K of award money is on the line with another 10K in travel and honoraria cash, one tends to be motivated to change one's schedule (or so I am told).  Now that knew that Chris didn't follow baseball and that he was rich, I really didn't like him at all.

But I am generous beyond measure - really, a pushover. So I agreed to take on his paper topic, complete with his proposed title. It might have helped if he had started writing the thing so I didn't have to start from scratch. Fortuitously, I found my own reading of the text.

-anthony

My NTS Essay on Ananias and Sapphira - Le Donne

I am pleased to announce that my essay "The Improper Temple Offering of Ananias and Sapphira" is now in print with New Testament Studies.  At the risk of too much self-disclosure, I feel as proud of this essay as any other project I've completed.

In this business, nothing is quite as satisfying as taking an age-old puzzle and solving it to one's own satisfaction.  I'll try to remember to post a pdf of the essay on my personal webpage ( www.anthonyledonne.com ) later this week. For now, here is the abstract:

In Acts 1–7, the Holy Spirit functions as the restored temple presence of the Lord that will restore the kingdom to Israel via the Ekklesia. The Holy Spirit acts through the Ekklesia as one would expect the Lord's temple presence to act. When Barnabas, Ananias, and Sapphira bring their offerings to the temple, they place them at the feet of the leadership of the new religio-fiscal center of restored Israel. As proof that the Lord's presence has indwelled this eschatological temple community, an improper act can, and does in this case, result in immediate death.

-anthony

Congrats to Manfred Lautenschläger Award Winners—Chris Keith

Congratulations to New Testament colleagues who won a 2013 Manfred Lautenschläger Award:  David Lincicum; David Moffitt; Michael Peppard; and Ruth Sheridan!  See an announcement of the award here.  The Manfred Lautenschläger Award is given to ten scholars across the theological and religious studies disciplines and involves a cash prize of $10,000 to each of the winners.  It’s given by the Forschungszentrum Internationale und Interdisziplinäre Theologie at the University of Heidelberg and replaces the previous John Templeton Award for Theological Promise.  Congrats to the winners!

The Two Authenticities - Le Donne

Below is an excerpt from my introductory chapter in Jesus, Criteria, and the Demise of Authenticity. This particular section was written during a time a social conflict in my life. In researching for this, I was hoping to understand better evangelical aversion to and general misunderstanding of historical Jesus research.  While many evangelicals whom I've known have voiced an interest in the topic and voice their support of historiographical rigor, there is an equally disturbing hostility to the discipline. Sometimes these two faces of evangelicalism can manifest simultaneously. These are dangerous waters to navigate I have found. What the below excerpt demonstrates is that sometimes scholars and churchmen use the same words and do not realize that they define these words much differently.  Shenanigans ensue.

Here it is:

Selectivity in Jesus Research and Memory (JSHJ) - Le Donne

Further to my previous post, here is my abstract:

Zeba  Crook  argues  that  there  is  an  emerging  consensus  that  the  Gospels  are reliable historical narratives by those to have applied ‘memory’ theories to historical Jesus research. Crook argues that this emerging consensus betrays a selective reading of research done on ‘memory distortion’ in interdisciplinary study. This essay demonstrates that Crook misunderstands and misrepresents social memory theory both in and outside Jesus studies. A better understanding would have properly represented the spectrum from theoretical ‘presentism’ to ‘continuitism’ in memory applications/adaptations.