It has become standard in modern interpretation to say that Jesus performed miracles, and even mainline scholarly interpreters classify Jesus's healings and exorcisms as miracles. Some highly regarded scholars have argued, more provocatively, that the healings and exorcisms were magic, and that Jesus was a magician. As Richard Horsley points out, if we make a critical comparison between modern interpretation of Jesus's healing and exorcism, on the one hand, and the Gospel stories and other ancient texts, on the other hand, it becomes clear that the miracle and magic are modern concepts, products of Enlightenment thinking. 'Jesus and Magic' asserts that Gospel stories do not have the concepts of miracle and magic. What scholars constructed as magic turns out to have been ritual practices such as songs (incantations), medicines (potions), and appeals to higher powers for protection. Horsley offers a critical reading of the healing and exorcism episodes in the Gospel stories. This reading reveals a dynamic relationship between Jesus the healer, the trust of those coming for healing, and their support networks in local communities. Horsley's reading of the Gospel stories gives little or no indication of divine intervention. Rather, the healing and exorcism stories portray healings and exorcisms.

In Jesus and the Politics of Roman Palestine, Richard A. Horsley offers one of the most comprehensive critical analyses of Jesus of Nazareth's mission and how he became a significant historical figure. In his study Horsley brings a fuller historical knowledge of the context and implications of recent research to bear on the investigation of the historical Jesus. Breaking with the standard focus on isolated individual sayings of Jesus, Horsley argues that the sources for Jesus in historical interaction are the Gospels and the speeches of Jesus that they include, read critically in their historical context.
This work addresses the standard assumptions that the historical Jesus has been presented primarily as a sage or apocalyptic visionary. In contrast, based on a critical reconsideration of the Gospels and contemporary sources for Roman imperial rule in Judea and Galilee, Horsley argues that Jesus was fully involved in the conflicted politics of ancient Palestine. Learning from anthropological studies of the more subtle forms of peasant politics, Horsley discerns from these sources how Jesus, as a Moses- and Elijah-like prophet, generated a movement of renewal in Israel that was focused on village communities.
Following the traditional prophetic pattern, Jesus pronounced God's judgment against the rulers in Jerusalem and their Roman patrons. This confrontation with the Jerusalem rulers and his martyrdom at the hands of the Roman governor, however, became the breakthrough that empowered the rapid expansion of his movement in the immediately ensuing decades. In the broader context of this comprehensive historical construction of Jesus's mission, Horsley also presents a fresh new analysis of Jesus's healings and exorcisms and his conflict with the Pharisees, topics that have been generally neglected in the last several decades.

About the Contributor(s): Richard A. Horsley is Distinguished Professor of Liberal Arts and the Study of Religion at the University of Massachusetts. Among his many books are The Prophet Jesus and the Renewal of Israel (2012) and After Apocalypticism and Wisdom (with Patrick Tiller; Cascade Books, 2012).

Description: CONTENTS Introduction PART ONE: The Social-Political Context of Apocalyptic and Wisdom Texts 1. Ben Sira and the Sociology of the Second Temple 2. The Politics of Cultural Production 3. The Social Settings of the Components of 1 Enoch PART TWO: Reconsiderations of Texts in Historical Contexts 4. Israel at the Mercy of Demonic Powers: An Enochic Interpretation of Imperialism 5. Social Relations and Social Conflict in the Epistle of Enoch 6. Fourth Ezra: Anti-Apocalyptic Apocalypse 7. Late Twentieth-Century Scribes' Study of Late Second Temple Scribes PART THREE: Questioning the Categories as Applied to the Gospels and James 8. Questions about Wisdom and Apocalypticism 9. Sayings of the Sages or Speeches of the Prophets? Reflections on the Genre of Q 10. Apocalypticism and Wisdom: Missing in Mark 11. Apocalypticism in the Gospels? The Kingdom of God and the Renewal of Israel 12. The Rich and Poor in James: An Apocalyptic Ethic Endorsements: "These essays achieve a much needed demolition of two ill-defined concepts that have dominated the study of early Judaism and the New Testament. Turning from questions of worldview and genre to the historical and social realities confronting the authors of Sirach, 1 Enoch, the Epistle of James, and 4 Ezra, Horsley and Tiller demonstrate how these texts engage with the political realities of their time, especially imperial rule. This is an eloquent demonstration of the value of the social-scientific approach to the exegesis of biblical and parabiblical texts." -- Professor Philip Davies University of Sheffield "The terms wisdom and apocalyptic, the authors argue correctly, have been used in such a vague or simplistic way by many scholars that a series of corrections are necessary. Horsley and Tiller have worked separately and together on these issues for many years. Here they address the problems of genre definition, the social and political context of the texts, and the twentieth-century theological assumptions that lie behind the previous studies. They forge new conclusions about the interpretations of many important texts. The clarity with which they define the issues is admirable, and the debate will be illuminated for all parties. Now both the scholar and the student can in one volume reap the benefits of their results." -- Lawrence M. Wills Episcopal Divinity School About the Contributor(s): Richard Horsley isDistinguished Professor of Liberal Arts and the Study of ReligionEmeritus at the University of Massachusetts Boston and the author of numerous volumes, including Jesus and the Powers, Revolt of the Scribes, and Wisdom and Spiritual Transcendence at Corinth (Cascade Books, 2008). Patrick A. Tiller is a member of the Enoch Seminar and is the author of A Commentary on the Animal Apocalypse of 1 Enoch.

Description: Examining each of the major sections of 1 Corinthians, Horsley probes the disagreement Paul had with those claiming special spiritual status. The conflicts over what constitute wisdom, knowledge, and spirituality cut to the core of what Paul was trying to accomplish in his communities. Horsley moves the debate from the history of religions background to the Hellenistic Jewish religiosity of the Wisdom of Solomon and Philo of Alexandria. Endorsements: ""In these landmark essays, gathered together here for the first time, Richard Horsley combines a close reading of the language against which Paul argued in 1 Corinthians with a careful study of the way similar language was used in Philo and the Wisdom of Solomon.For new converts in the Corinthian mission situation, a Hellenistic Jewish gnosis had become the criterion for spiritual status and a rationale for valuing individual freedom above all; against it, Paul contends for an apocalyptic faith that emphasizes the good of the community. These essays offer important insights for everyone engaged in current discussions of gender, power, and patronage in Corinth."" --Neil Elliott, Metropolitan State University; author of Liberating Paul (1994) and The Arrogance of Nations (2008) ""Those who work with 1 Corinthians have long valued the sequence of essays by Richard Horsley on the conflicts and disagreements of which the letter gives plenty of evidence. However, the essays, written in the late '70s, have too often been overlooked as discussion of 1 Corinthians has become dominated by sociological and rhetorical perspectives. So it is very good news to know that the essayshave been gathered together in this volume, which I warmly recommend to present-day students of 1 Corinthians."" --James D. G. Dunn, Durham University, Emeritus About the Contributor(s): Richard A. Horsley is Distinguished Professor of Liberal Arts and the Study of Religion at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. He is the author and coauthor of numerous books, including Jesus and Empire, The Message and the Kingdom, Jesus and the Spiral of Violence, Galilee, and Whoever Hears You Hears Me.

The Bible might seem like the last place one would look for information and guidance on economics, but in fact the Bible deals with all aspects of life. Richard Horsley's "Covenant Economics" explores economic issues in the Bible, offering pastors, students, and laity a clearer understanding of the Bible's clarion call for economic justice for all--an issue that is sure to resonate during today's trying economic times.

Questions for discussion and suggestions for further reading are included in this volume--a work that will spark lively conversation.

The Bible tells the stories of many empires, and many are still considered some of the largest of the ancient and classical world: the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, and finally the Romans. In this provocative book, nine experts bring a critical analysis of these world empires in the background of the Old and New Testaments. As they explain, the Bible developed "against"the context of these empires, providing concrete meaning to the countercultural claims of Jews and Christians that their God was the true King, the real Emperor. Each chapter describes how to read the Bible as a reaction to empire and points to how to respond to the biblical message to resist imperial powers in every age.

Judaism and Christianity both arose in times of empire, with roots in Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman periods. In order to understand these religious movements, we must first understand the history and society of these imperial cultures. In these formative years, wisdom and apocalyptic traditions flourished as two significant religious forms. In "Scribes, Visionaries, and the Politics of Second Temple Judea," distinguished New Testament scholar Richard A. Horsley analyzes the function and meaning of these religious movements within their social context, providing essential background for the development of early Judaism and early Christianity. It is an ideal textbook for classes on the rise of Judaism or the Second Temple period, as well as the Dead Sea Scrolls and Apocrypha.

Scott is a political scientist who insists that politics cannot be understood apart from culture and religion. He has done fieldwork in Malaysian villages and observed people subject to domination and exploitative political and economic relations. Here scholars of religion and the Bible apply his findings to the understanding of Jesus and Paul. Amo

It is as predictable as the sunrise or sunset. Early on Friday morning, the day after Thanksgiving, shoppers flock to the stores unleashing a month of consumerism unparalleled during any other time of year. Yet it was not always thus. How did Christmas become a consumer event, and what does that say about America today? Christmas Unwrapped, edited by Richard Horsley and James Tracy, offers a fascinating critique of the American Christmas from the perspectives of cultural studies, theology, and biblical studies. Their central argument is that Christmas with its attendant mythology (Christmas carols, It's A Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street), icons (Santa Claus), and rituals (gift-giving, holiday concerts, Christmas shopping) has become a new religion in America, the religion of consumer capitalism. Looking at Christmas from a wide range of perspectives, some of the essays examine the social history of the American Christmas and show the ways in which it differs from the European celebration. Others explore the holiday in celluloid by examining "classic" Christmas movies. Additional essays focus on the infancy narratives in the Gospels, comparing the clash of cultures between early Christianity and the Hellenistic world and reexamining the stories in their Roman/Jewish political-economic-religious context. As the contributors to this lucid and accessible critique of American culture demonstrate Jesus is definitely not the reason for the season. Contributors include: Kathleen M. Sands (University of Massachusetts Boston); Paula Cooey (Macalester College); Richard Horsley (University of Massachusetts Boston); Max A. Myers (St. Paul's Cathedral, Buffalo, New York); Arthur P. Simonds (University of Massachusetts Boston); and Elizabeth Fleck (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign). Richard Horsley is Distinguished Professor of Liberal Arts and the Study of Religion at the University of Massachusetts Boston and the author of Bandits, Prophets, and Messiahs. James Tracy is Headmaster of Boston University Academy.

Richard Horsley provides a sure guide for first time readers of Mark's Gospel and, at the very same time, induces those more familiar with Mark to take a fresh look at this Gospel. From tracing the plot and sub-plot in Mark to exploring how the Gospel was first heard (as oral performance), Horsely tackles old questions from new angles. Horsely consistently and judiciously uses sociological categories and method to help readers see how Mark's Jesus challenged the dominant order of his day.

Here is a challenge to New Testament scholars to engage in a fresh analysis of Q. The authors argue that recent American study of Q has been dominated by those trained in form-criticism and oriented to Hellenistic rather than Judean culture, resulting in the extreme atomization of the Q sayings and reconstructions of Jesus and his first followers as Cynics, and in the de-politicization and de-judaization of the Q materials and Jesus. Also determinative of the current situation has been the assumption in New Testament studies of textuality, of an ethos of written communication and of textual models for analysis. However, as is recently becoming clear from studies of oral and written communication, the communication situation of Jesus and his first followers was almost certainly oral. Horsley and Draper therefore contend that it is time the interpretation of Q took seriously the oral communication environment in which this material developed and continued before Matthew and Luke incorporated it into their Gospels. This book, then, applies approaches to oral-derived literature from oral theorists, socio-linguistics, ethnopoetics, and the ethnography of speaking to the Q materials. The result is a developing theory of oral performance that generates meaning as symbols articulated in the appropriate performance situation resonate with the cultural tradition in which the hearers are grounded. Richard A. Horsley is Professor of Classics and Religion at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Jonathan A. Draper teaches at the University of Natal, South Africa.