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The term "resurrection" has come to stand for what Christianity is
all about. But a close look reveals that it should not be
understood monolithically, but rather as a pluralistic and diverse
phenomenon. Early Christian communities were convinced that Rome
had not defeated Jesus when they crucified him. They employed a
whole host of metaphors to express that conviction. The use of the
single term "resurrection" to cover the phenomenon is a mistake,
one that has tyrannized Christianity. Furthermore, most Christians
believe in a physical resurrection, although Paul clearly calls
this into question. Once that tradition became fixed, it provided
the lens through which everything else was viewed-and distorted. By
examining the so-called resurrection stories in chronological
order, this book aspires to prompt readers to consider questions
such as, What does the New Testament really say about the
resurrection? What is the influence of Judaism on Christian belief
in the resurrection? How did the resurrection become the central
belief in Christianity? Why did early Christians choose to believe
in the resurrection? And why is resurrection not the right word?
In the Hellenistic world, writings were read aloud, heard and
remembered. But modern exegesis assumes a silent text. According to
Margaret Lee & Brandon Scott, the disjuncture between ancient
and modern approaches to literature obscures the beauty and meaning
in writings such as the New Testament. Further, the structure of a
Hellenistic Greek composition derives from its sounds and not from
the meaning of its words. Analysis of the sound dimension, they
argue, is therefore foundational to interpreting the composition.
""Sound Mapping the New Testament"" opens with an exploration of
writing technology in the Greco-Roman world. It then turns to
Hellenistic literary criticism for descriptions of grammar as a
science of sound and literary composition as a woven fabric of
speech. Based on these perspectives and a close analysis of
writings from the four gospels, Paul, and Q it advances a theory of
sound analysis that will enable modern readers to hear the New
Testament afresh.
Who was the apostle Paul? That question has provided grist for the
scholarly mill for millennia. This fifth volume of the Jesus
Seminar Guides opens with summaries of the traditional
understanding of Paul that examine its inconsistencies and
contradictions and reveal its bankruptcy. The authors then move
beyond that traditional framework provided by Augustine and Luther
to more radical approaches as they struggle with questions such as:
who was the historical Paul, how is Paul's message related to
Jesus', what problem was Paul trying to solve, and what was his
concept of God?
The event of Jesus' resurrection is like the event of creation:
There were no eye-witnesses. So how does one make sense of the
story of the resurrection - or rather stories, for not one but many
diverse reports survive from early Christianity? Brandon Scott
suggests that we must begin by erasing all Christian art about the
resurrection from our memory. And then forget all the sermons we
heard at Easter. The best way to understand the resurrection, he
argues, is to arrange the texts chronologically and observe how the
story itself developed. ""The Resurrection of Jesus: A Sourcebook""
begins with just such a list, compiled with commentaries by Robert
W. Funk.It proceeds to a report of the Jesus Seminar's votes on the
resurrection, followed by a collection and discussion by Robert
Price of resurrection stories found in the Greek culture of Jesus'
day, and an in-depth study by Arthur Dewey of a little-known
resurrection story in the ""Gospel of Peter"". Philosopher Thomas
Sheehan concludes the volume with two essays that help put the
pieces back together again, in ways that make sense in the modern
world.
"What if the purpose or function of a parable is not to instruct
but to haunt?" So begins Listening to the Parables of Jesus, edited
by Edward F. Beutner, who suggests that, from time to time, even
scholars scratch their heads in puzzlement over the yin and yang of
Jesus' parables. This concise, well-edited book brings together
insights from world-renowned scholars into the interpretation of
parables. Lane McGaughy's opening essay provides high fidelity
earphones that let readers hear the vivid and distinctive nature of
the language of parable. Robert Miller offers an original treatment
of two parables from the gospels of Matthew and Thomas, parables
that he renames, "The Overpriced Pearl" and "The Treasure of
Immorality." With his eye for narrative structure, film director
Paul Verhoeven identifies fault lines in Matthew's version of the
Vineyard Laborers and proposes an alternative version in which the
?first will be first.? In his essay on the Leased Vineyard, Brandon
Scott demonstrates how rabbinic parables can illuminate the
otherwise shadowy nooks and crannies of a dark parable of violence
found in Mark's gospel. The final three essays describe the
parables globally as artful language events?as fulcrums, so to
speak, upon which our understanding of the world gets overturned
and undermined. According to Robert Funk, Jesus? parables are
knotholes in the cosmic fence through which we glimpse the world as
Jesus saw it. In Listening to the Parables of Jesus, leading
scholars of the parables help readers find the knotholes. The rest
is up to them.
Often referred to by the press and critics alike as a single voice,
the Jesus Seminar ?is not, in fact, monolithic," writes Bernard
Brandon Scott. "Biblical scholars are notoriously independent and
contrary." The scholars of the Jesus Seminar are no different. In
Jesus Reconsidered, readers will hear the diverse voices of
pioneering scholars, some of whom put their reputations and careers
on the line when, in 1985, they chose to go public with scholarship
that had been common knowledge in scholarly circles for more than a
hundred years. Witty, timely and full of provocative issues,
articles by Robert Funk, Marcus Borg, Roy Hoover and others invite
readers to step inside scholarly debates and discussions previously
obscured by jargon and obfuscation. Jesus Reconsidered is the first
in a series titled Jesus Seminar Guides. Over the next few years,
the series will gather the best writings of Westar Fellows from the
pages of its membership magazine, The Fourth R, its academic
journal Forum, and occasionally from previously unpublished
material. Arranged topically, the Guides will focus on topics such
as the the historical Jesus, parables, Easter, and canon and
inspiration that have formed the core of the Seminar's work for
more than twenty years. Jesus Reconsidered begins with the opening
remarks of Jesus Seminar Founder Robert Funk at its first meeting
in March 1985. There he laid the groundwork upon which the Seminar
would be built. Robert Funk concludes his remarks by saying, "Our
stories are eroding under the acids of historical criticism. We
must retell our stories. And there is one epic story that has Jesus
in it." For those curious about the quest and the questions that
drive theJesus Seminar, this book is a must read.
Robert Funk was the major seminal influence on parable scholarship
in the second part of the twentieth century. His work on parable as
metaphor led to the understanding of Jesus' parables as
world-shattering. But it went beyond the question of metaphor: Funk
redefined the form of the parable, made a substantial contribution
to the argument that Jesus' parables originated in Greek, worked
out a scale for evaluating parables as compositions, and proposed a
model for how parables gave birth to resurrection faith. The essays
in this volume, brought together for the first time, afford the
reader a synoptic view of Funk's contribution?a contribution with
which scholarship is only now beginning to deal.
In this book the author sets his interpretation of the key parables
of Jesus in the context of other things Jesus said and did. The
result is a startling and provocative picture of the historical
figure and the challenge he presents to contemporary life.
A concise and readable introduction to the parables for all
readers, this first report of the Jesus Seminar reviews the
authenticity of all gospel versions of the thirty-three parables
attributed to Jesus. Individual versions of each parable are
grouped together and arranged for easy reference and comparison.
This much-needed volume provides a comprehensive study of wisdom
in the Hebrew Bible, in selected intertestamental and Rabbinic
texts, and in the New Testament. An introductory essay summarizes
the various meanings of wisdom in current research and offers an
accurate understanding of the term. With seventeen essays by
leading scholars, this helpful book allows students to identify and
understand the presence of wisdom in the Bible and related
literatures.
A slow rumbling, that has been building up among New Testament scholars for the past twenty years, is only now beginning to make its effects felt on a more general public. A new Paul is beginning to emerge, one who differs from the Paul of Augustine and Luther, who is no friend to the traditional orthodoxy that has co-opted him for almost two thousand years.
To help us see Paul in this new way, Scott arrives at three conclusions argued step-by-step throughout the book: Paul was called; His concern was with the nations; Paul addresses particular situations, not a universal human condition.
The new Paul threatened Roman authorities with anti-imperial rhetoric, much of which is still operative today. Thus, the new Paul may prove an even more radical challenge to church and society than did the historical Jesus.
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Once and Future Faith (Paperback)
Robert W Funk, Karen Armstrong, Don Cupitt, Arthur J Dewey, Lloyd Geering, …
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R638
Discovery Miles 6 380
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Ships in 12 - 17 working days
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Many ideas once thought to be foundational to Christianity are now
known to be false due to scientific discoveries regarding the
nature of the universe and historical findings about how
Christianity began. Is Christianity doomed to irrelevance or even
extinction? How might Christianity reinvent itself so that it can
address the real concerns of people in today's world? This
collection of essays from such leading thinkers as Karen Armstrong
and John Shelby Spong addresses questions such as life after death,
the meaning of God, apocalypticism, and the significance of Jesus'
death. Contributors: Karen Armstrong, Don Cupitt, Arthur J. Dewey,
Robert W. Funk, Lloyd Geering, Roy W. Hoover, Robert J. Miller,
Stephen J. Patterson, Bernard Brandon Scott, John Shelby Spong
An accomplished biblical scholar here juxtaposes movies and New
Testament themes to uncover the mythic dimensions of each and to
explore the primary conflicts in American society.
Hear Then the Parable is an innovative literary-social reading of
all the parables of Jesus.
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