The idea isn't to date each verse, or passage. The idea is to reconstruct a sequence of events which occurred in actual history, during Jesus' public phase - a sequence which can then be viewed as [a part of] the broader context of all Jesus' actions and sayings, first as a whole, and then perhaps somewhat developmentally.
In how many ways was his final year of traveling & preaching at all different from his first? In how many ways did his strategy change after John's arrest, and after John's death? What, if anything, does that say about Jesus' mission *before* his Passion took place? Does a brief (1 or 2 year) ministry support those who want Stephen and Paul to get on stage as quickly as possible? Does a longer (3 or 4 year) ministry require us to consider more carefully that God may have wanted something from Galilee and Judea, also?
The idea isn't to reconstruct a context for reinterpreting particular sayings and actions of Jesus. The idea is to care about the fact that Jesus' enormous impact on his own day didn't take place in a chronological or developmental vacuum. The idea is that some event-based context is better than none. The idea is that sequenced events tend to influence one another. If Jesus' actions stay in the Gospels, they remain that much more insulated from the book of Acts.
Why don't Christian believers put more effort toward reconstructing a History - an historical synopsis of Gospel events?
To date, I still can't think of any good reasons not to.
Bill Heroman, Amateur Academic
October 27, 2010
October 26, 2010
Did Priscilla write Hebrews?
That could explain a lot more than just the anonymity. Priscilla was a Hellenized (Italian*) woman with a Jewish husband, Aquila. She'd lived in Rome, Corinth and Ephesus. She'd become soaked in Paul's thought in all three of those cities, and probably became acquainted with Johannine thought before Nero exiled the writer to Patmos. She'd either lived through the horrors of Nero's persecution or lived to hear about friends dying in horrible ways.
Luke says Priscilla knew how to lay out the way of God - not 'teach', not 'proclaim', but to expound. Luke says 'laid out', like the baby moses was laid out. It's the same word Luke uses when Peter recounts his experience at Caesarea, and when Paul expounded his way through the scriptures with Rome's Jews. That kind of instructive exposition fits the style of the Hebrews writer, who laid out her/his arguments more like relating a saga than imitating a sage.
And who among early Christian leaders, more than Priscilla, had known the wandering life of an exile? When the Emperor Claudius kicked her husband out of Rome, they moved to Corinth. P&A left Corinth to help prepare Ephesus for Paul, they left Ephesus for Rome after Claudius died, and they left Rome for Ephesus again some time before Paul's execution - most likely soon after Nero's persecutions began. That's a lot of personal transition for the ancient world, and it must have brought some personal sensitivity towards the themes found in Hebrews.
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I now+ see this suggestion - that Priscilla wrote Hebrews - has been made before, and I'm not surprised. By whom, and for what reasons, I've not yet ascertained. Intriguing, though. Don't you think?
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*Most Greeks were never Romanized, but all Italians had become somewhat hellenized after the 2nd century BC.
+Post originally written for 9/17/10
Luke says Priscilla knew how to lay out the way of God - not 'teach', not 'proclaim', but to expound. Luke says 'laid out', like the baby moses was laid out. It's the same word Luke uses when Peter recounts his experience at Caesarea, and when Paul expounded his way through the scriptures with Rome's Jews. That kind of instructive exposition fits the style of the Hebrews writer, who laid out her/his arguments more like relating a saga than imitating a sage.
And who among early Christian leaders, more than Priscilla, had known the wandering life of an exile? When the Emperor Claudius kicked her husband out of Rome, they moved to Corinth. P&A left Corinth to help prepare Ephesus for Paul, they left Ephesus for Rome after Claudius died, and they left Rome for Ephesus again some time before Paul's execution - most likely soon after Nero's persecutions began. That's a lot of personal transition for the ancient world, and it must have brought some personal sensitivity towards the themes found in Hebrews.
-----------------------------------------
I now+ see this suggestion - that Priscilla wrote Hebrews - has been made before, and I'm not surprised. By whom, and for what reasons, I've not yet ascertained. Intriguing, though. Don't you think?
-----------------------------------------
*Most Greeks were never Romanized, but all Italians had become somewhat hellenized after the 2nd century BC.
+Post originally written for 9/17/10
October 24, 2010
Reverend Augustus & his PR Machine
Barbara Levick's latest book is out. Augustus: image and substance
attempts to show that "Augustus’ overriding purpose was always to keep himself and his dynasty in power". Well, of course it was, but that's mainly because Revered Caesar (the 'August One') genuinely believed his own person and legacy was the only way to keep Rome at peace. Honestly.
By the way, I can't help thinking I've known other men with and without that same title who believed similar things of themselves. Anyway...
Whether the Empire's Revered One was justified in his belief is debatable. What should be undisputed, however, is that once Augustus had justified that self-centric decision to himself, from that point onwards Reverend Caesar had to pull out all the stops to make sure everyone else believed it (and kept on believing it, even while things were crumbling around him) as well. And that's what Levick's book promises to be about - the difference between what Augustus was (or at least, what he became) and what he portrayed himself as.
From the cover, again: "This fascinating story of the realities of power in ancient Rome has inescapable contemporary resonance..." Indeed. The realities of power. Control begets wickedness. But I digress again.
One reason I wish seminaries focused more on First Century Events is because I often wish ministerial trainees would study more in the area of Imperial Politics. Dear reader, if YOU harbor such noble ambitions as to caretake for God's people, I daresay you could probably do a lot worse than to get a copy of Levick's Augustus, and keep it right next to your Bible... at least for a while. It might show you all the things you do not want to do. It might show you how power corrupts.
Godspeed, all you wanna be Reverends. Godspeed to learn History... and then, hopefully, to fall on your face before God once again.
attempts to show that "Augustus’ overriding purpose was always to keep himself and his dynasty in power". Well, of course it was, but that's mainly because Revered Caesar (the 'August One') genuinely believed his own person and legacy was the only way to keep Rome at peace. Honestly.By the way, I can't help thinking I've known other men with and without that same title who believed similar things of themselves. Anyway...
Whether the Empire's Revered One was justified in his belief is debatable. What should be undisputed, however, is that once Augustus had justified that self-centric decision to himself, from that point onwards Reverend Caesar had to pull out all the stops to make sure everyone else believed it (and kept on believing it, even while things were crumbling around him) as well. And that's what Levick's book
promises to be about - the difference between what Augustus was (or at least, what he became) and what he portrayed himself as.From the cover, again: "This fascinating story of the realities of power in ancient Rome has inescapable contemporary resonance..." Indeed. The realities of power. Control begets wickedness. But I digress again.
One reason I wish seminaries focused more on First Century Events is because I often wish ministerial trainees would study more in the area of Imperial Politics. Dear reader, if YOU harbor such noble ambitions as to caretake for God's people, I daresay you could probably do a lot worse than to get a copy of Levick's Augustus
, and keep it right next to your Bible... at least for a while. It might show you all the things you do not want to do. It might show you how power corrupts.Godspeed, all you wanna be Reverends. Godspeed to learn History... and then, hopefully, to fall on your face before God once again.
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