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Archive for the ‘Scholarship’ Category

May 15th, 2013 by Joel

Beginning Jesus Is Lord, Caesar Is Not @ivpacademic

I confess — I’ve been labeled an Empire Critic. I am not, at least I do not think I am. However, what I see in Scripture is a diatribe against Empire. We open in Genesis 1 with a counter to the Babylonian creation myth, which is in of itself a counter to the Babylonian Empire. Isaiah is against Empire. Jeremiah too. Deuteronomy three. I see Mark (a book not treated in this current volume) as a direct challenge to Empire, although I see little of the challenge in Matthew and Luke, and barely anything, if anything, in John. Revelation, of course, has always played a role of anti-Empire.

But I am not an Empire Critic in that every time Jesus is mentioned as Lord, I see it as a challenge to Caesar. Indeed, I think the confession of Jesus is Lord would allow for later authors to use it as a challenge to Caesar, regardless if it was first uttered in such a way. Further, there were other, more direct challenges to the early /an/Christian community than Rome, such as what to do with a crucified Messiah, how to act in the Synagogue, and the continuity with Moses. So, no, I do not see every word in the New Testament as dripping with anti-imperialist rhetoric. Although, I still think Jesus was the anti-imperial bandit, or rather, crucified as such.

I’ve read the forward and the introduction thus far, finding it somewhat interesting. Andy Crouch’s introduction, until he maintains that there is no anti-empire rhetoric (13–4), serves well the reminder of Empire present even in biblical translation and commentary. Following this is the editors’ introduction, suggesting that Empire Criticism is a North American response to the Bush Presidency.

What if it is? What if we see more clearly now the imperial slander in the New Testament because of the imperial presidency? Of course, we may that much more shallow if we allow the person sitting on the throne of government to dictate biblical interpretation. I mean, if that is the case, then we are truly pro-empire, aren’t we?

As with most hermeneutics, we do tend to more far to one side the swinging pendulum. So, as an avowed non-Empire critic, I look forward to this book.

My one concern is that the leading proponents of Empire Criticism — Warren Carter, Richard Horsley — are mentioned in the book, but never given a chance to respond. This is not the style of the book, to be sure, but I would like to see such a response.

Time will tell…

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May 14th, 2013 by Joel

Review of @degruyter_TRS Lucan’s “Bellum Civile” – Between Epic Tradition and Aesthetic Innovation

The current trend in Lucanian scholarship began with Frederick Ahl’s aptly named Lucan: An Introduction. Other names are now added to the list of Lucanian scholars — and now, Nicola Hömke and Christiane Reitz, the editors of this volume are included, along with those in the volume, as a must read for any Lucanian student. Hömke and Reitz have assembled a collection of essays based on papers given at a 2007 conference. Each author presents a specific topic, without rejoinder, nor a central point of the volume. Simply, the essays are all regarding Lucan, but without a focus unifying the whole. And this is acceptable, as there are other books focused on one aspect of Lucan. Here, we are invited to attend the conference even today, where we may hear different angles on our favorite Latin epicist.

The first essay, by Frederick Ahl, examines Lucan’s reception by the first imperial chair of rhetoric in Rome, Quintilian. Lucan is mentioned by name once in the educator’s handbook, but given a prominent place — a rather puzzling incident given Quintilian’s purposed style. Ahl attempts dig deep into Quintilian’s reasoning, suggesting a rather unique goal, although some may see this as more Ahl than Lucan. I would agree with Ahl, myself, but given the length of the essay, it is not difficult to see why Ahl might face criticism for his suggestion. As always, having Ahl in the book raises the merit of such volumes. Ahl’s essay alone examines Lucan’s reception.

I have feebly attempted to divide the rest of the essays into three rough categories, with such division accompanied by a recognizable violence. Ambühl, Fantham, De Moura and Hömke respectively examine Lucan’s rhetorical aesthetics. While Ambühl explores the use of Greek tragedy (via Iliupersis) in Lucan, a form of imtatio, Fantham explores the rhetoric of Caesar’s engagement via speeches throughout the poem. Hömke focuses on Scaeva’s aristeia. Death, speech, and preserved texts figure heavily in Lucan, as exemplified by scholars and scholarship not mentioned in these articles (such as Shadi Bartsch who is mentioned once — p122). This is not to say the essays are too lacking in engagement to find worth, indeed, the opposite, but an engagement with other scholars would have helped, especially in Hömke’s case.

Lowe and Wiener fit forcefully into a category of outside impulses. Lowe has Lucan replace Caesar with Libya via personification of the Caesarian attributes. The role Africa plays in Lucan is a wonderful discussion taking place among Lucanian scholars, but Lowe condenses it rather succinctly to suggest various different Libyas and what they might mean for the Poet. Here, we see the separation between the poem and history and given the essayists hypothesis of the “why.” Wiener, instead of Africa or other geographical oddities, examines Stoicism in Bellum Civili. She sees more stoicism in Lucan than most — than I — and attempts to defend her position. Here again, engagement with other viewpoints may have helped the essay along. Wiener does not engage with Behr who I feel offers more of a realistic viewpoint on Lucan’s Stoicism. This is not to say Wiener is amiss, but I feel her emphasis is misplaced and thus does not allow the full rhetorical flair Lucan flexes to shine forth.

Finally, Sannicandro, Bexley and Dinter leave us with the essays under the nearly impossible category of image. Sannicandro explores the role Caesar’s daughter plays in the poem. Like Ambühl, Sannicandro utilizes Euripides’ tragedy as a comparison, focusing on Jocasta. After Ahl, this essay is perhaps the most rewarding of the volume. Bexley compares Medusa and Cato, following Narducci. The final essay recounts in graphic detail the role the unlimbered body parts play in the poem and the powerful image these represent.

This volume represents a well-done collection of scholars and their work on the present study of Lucan, the classicist’s most underrated epicist. Each essay contains valuable insight and research into the reception of the poem that is not be missed.

 

For a review by Paul Roche, see here.

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May 13th, 2013 by Joel

Review of @BakerAcademic’s Liturgy as a Way of Life: Embodying the Arts in Christian Worship

Benson, Bruce Ellis, and James Smith. Liturgy as a Way of Life: Embodying the Arts in Christian Worship. Baker Academic, 2013.

Bruce Ellis Benson has not improvised this book, which may or may not be an ironic way to introduce a volume dedicated to improvising our liturgical response to the divine. Instead, he is meticulously designed a pattern to plead the soul of the reader with his message of a freeing-type of liturgical responses.

The chapters are rich in modern concepts of art, philosophy, and deconstruction but presented to the reader who needs the barest of introductions to these issues. His introit covers the Call and Response hermeneutic of life, wherein the author envisions all of life (and thus worship) set to a familiar pattern, giving us a foundation for later exploration. Chapter two discusses the deconstruction of the philosophies of art (or discourse) pushing us away from understanding, appreciating, and participating in liturgy. Kant plays a role here. But, so does the effort of society at large to feel better about it self more than it should. His discussion on the elevation of Shakespeare, Opera, and even Bob Dylan from popular culture to a perceived refinement only for use, properly, by the elite is perhaps one of the more important aspects of the book, taking up only two pages of it (66-7). Here, we learn about the hostile takeover of art, and thus improvisation, as if art is something only enjoyed as it is presented, rather than enjoyed by participation. And of course, who can really enjoy art anyway? These chapters lay the groundwork for the author’s premise, that “art is central to who we are as human beings (69).” Once he has deconstructed the viewpoints hiding this from us, the author is now ready to move to reconstructing a proper paradigm.

Chapter three opens with one of the most richly rewarding, ornately worded, discourses on Creation and the various Creation theologies I’ve seen in recent books. Creation theology is not unrelated to our views on art; do not read this section too hastily. While Benson only seeks to use this as a theological foundation for the argument of improvisation, these five pages (71-6) are the philosophical premise of the entire book. What is creation? What does it mean to create? The answers given later began to become clear here. This chapter is followed by two more, moving the reader through the courses of understanding our proper responses in moving past theories of art, and the usefulness of art, and seeing liturgy as something more than just for itself, and indeed, some more than just for God or others, but to a theology of becoming, wherein we become the liturgical art.

Coming from a fundamentalist background, where liturgy was discarded, where the hint of a high church was derided, and then moving to a church that included liturgical dancing, I had some transition issues. Even now, I do not always fully value such maneuvers — maybe because I(‘m) Kant(ian). Sorry for the pun. Benson provides value for the liturgical dances, the stances, and the lances of words, prayers, and incense. He takes post-modern culture, values, and philosophy, and sets forth easily enough something new, but not from nothing — because something cannot come from nothing. Indeed, he bases liturgy on Jazz, something he is intimately familiar with, and moves it into an artful discourse, or perhaps a discourse on art. Regardless, this book tackles the (lack of) philosophy of liturgy with issues of appreciation and copyrights and argues convincingly for a more complete view, and view moving us past simply utilitarian uses to a more holistic approach.

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May 13th, 2013 by Joel

So, if we take Revelation 17.9 “futurist-literal” doesn’t this disqualify the Catholic Church

emblem of the Papacy: Triple tiara and keys Fr...

emblem of the Papacy: Triple tiara and keys Français : emblème pontifical Italiano: emblema del Papato Português: Emblema papal. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Again, following with the theme from the last post.

Got me to thunkin’. Revelation 17.9 says the city on seven hills is the bad city. The new Babylon. Who cares that Scripture already defines who/what the new Babylon is? I mean, clearly Scripture wasn’t written for them, but for us. Dullards.

So, as I search for the city on seven hills, we must first consider the Roman Catholic Church.

Rome itself had reached seven hills by the time John was writing, but since this book wasn’t meant for John’s Christians, but really for us, we can’t allow that the city of Rome is what John meant.

So, the likely example many Protestants since Luther throw out is the Roman Catholic Church.

But, I was disappointed.

See, the Roman Catholic Church, ruled from Vatican City, doesn’t sit on seven hills. It sits on one. Namely, Vatican Hill.

One hill.

Gosh dang it all to heckfire and back and then back to heckfire.

Oh well, back to Richmond.

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May 13th, 2013 by Joel

Will the South Rise Again as the Beast? (Rev. 17.9)

Official seal of City of Richmond

Official seal of City of Richmond – That’s the great whore right there

“Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits” – Rev. 17.9

This comes from two sources. First, we are reading through Revelation in Sunday School class; the other, this verse was mentioned via my Facebook wall on Saturday night.

Is Rome, i.e., the Roman Catholic Church, the only the city sitting on seven hills? Well, no.

Richmond, Virginia is as well. Further, there was a time called itself the New Rome. So, there you go.

Richmond, Virginia is clearly the city John envisions when he writes 17.9.

Clearly.

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May 9th, 2013 by Joel

Both of my books are on now on Amazon

I am very happy about both of these:

Yes, now we have an ISBN for the second book. The first one is heading to Kindle soon!

Thanks to all of you who have made this possible.

And please, buy the books. I need to buy more books.

Seriously, tho… You can pretty well find all you need to know about these books by following the category, Publications.

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May 7th, 2013 by Joel

Science Proves the Tower of Babel

If by prove you mean theory and by Tower of Babel you don’t really mean the Tower of Babel, then sure:

The ancestral language, spoken at least 15,000 years ago, gave rise to seven more that formed an ancient Eurasiatic “superfamily”, the researchers say. These in turn split into languages now spoken all over Eurasia, from Portugal to Siberia.

European and Asian languages traced back to single mother tongue | Science | The Guardian.

That’s pretty darn cool if you ask me and you did, which is why you are hear.

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May 7th, 2013 by Joel

The Complete List of Endorsements for ‘From Fear to Faith’ @Energion

The book is soon to print… but I wanted to share the endorsements, all of which make me immensely humble.

From Fear to Faith is a memoir of a spiritual and intellectual journey from fear and shame to a renewed embrace of Scripture and the God behind it. Watts and Milam have collected compelling stories from a number of fellow travelers who model this journey. They give voice to a growing phenomenon in conservative Christian culture of disenchantment with conventional and apologetically driven answers to difficult and pressing questions posed by Scripture, modern culture, and the intersection of the two. The stories in this volume will be an encouragement to those struggling with their own transition from familiar yet dissonant surroundings to unexplored but inviting spiritual and intellectual territory. The broader vision of the volume is a call to build cultures of trust, where Christians can feel that they will be honored and valued for taking the risk to ask honest questions rather than being dismissed, marginalized, or ostracized. Too many are growing dissatisfied with the status quo, and are looking for language to move on. This volume will help them on their way.

– Peter Enns, Ph.D, Biblical Studies, Eastern University

This book offers many variant forms of the story of discovering the force of the Gospel that lies behind the illusions and distortions of fundamentalism. The authors witness to an emancipation when the old, phony “protections” are abandoned. Coming to such an awareness cannot be hurried or coerced, but it is an urgent enterprise. As one author concludes, “I needed to grow up.”

– Dr. Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary

Many strange things are said and done in the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Many of them are alien to the Christian gospel, even though they are done in the gospel’s name. Many of them are toxic, destructive both of persons and societies. They march under the banner of Christian fundamentalism.

This interesting and important book is the chronicle of spiritual journeys that persons have taken from the prisons of fundamentalism [characterized by biblical literalism, anti- science, fear rather than love as the basis of our relationship with God] to the world of catholic (small c), ecumenical churches. For these persons, it has been a journey from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land.

The persons whose stories this book tells, are now living in what they believe to be mature communities of faith, where they are growing spiritually and finding the vocations to which they believe God is calling them. Several of them have been called to the formal ministries of their churches and have been ordained. Others have found joy and peace living out their discipleship as lay persons. This important book is their story.

– William Boyd Grove, Bishop (retired), The United Methodist Church

Every once in a while, you are gifted with a growing realization that the book you are reading has needed to be written for a very long time. From Fear to Faith is a book like that. In the vulnerable, sometimes excruciating details of a journey into post-fundamentalist faith, we the readers are invited to feel the depth, integrity, and passions given to some of us whose paths began in places we could never have imagined, if they hadn’t been willing to offer them for us, without judgment, blame, or condemnation. Whether beginning in inherited, sectarian beliefs or an avowed atheism of humane reaction, these authors demonstrate the depth of their own inner work so that all who are willing can hold the fears together, in peace. Authors and readers alike may see the way to move through fear into faith with clarity and compassion, toward a better world for us all. We have needed this book for a very long time.

– Lisa M. Hess, PhD, Associate Professor of Practical Theology and Contextual Ministries, United Theological Seminary, Dayton, OH

These essays revive the ancient tradition of testimony – but in a surprising and compelling direction. The authors recount their journeys from intellectually and spiritually restrictive expressions of Christianity to a vibrant and satisfying faith. Readers will grieve the authors’ painful moments and celebrate their joy. The stories testify that we need not fear doubt, for doubt often opens the path to joy and fulfillment.

– Greg Carey, PhD, Professor of New Testament Lancaster Theological Seminary, Lancaster, PA

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May 6th, 2013 by Joel

Endorsement #3 – @Energion, From Fear to Faith

I am immensely proud to have received this from Dr. Lisa Hess, United Theological Seminary:

Every once in a while, you are gifted with a growing realization that the book you are reading has needed to be written for a very long time. From Fear to Faith is a book like that. In the vulnerable, sometimes excruciating details of a journey into post-fundamentalist faith, we the readers are invited to feel the depth, integrity, and passions given to some of us whose paths began in places we could never have imagined, if they hadn’t been willing to offer them for us, without judgment, blame, or condemnation. Whether beginning in inherited, sectarian beliefs or an avowed atheism of humane reaction, these authors demonstrate the depth of their own inner work so that all who are willing can hold the fears together, in peace. Authors and readers alike may see the way to move through fear into faith with clarity and compassion, toward a better world for us all. We have needed this book for a very long time.

You can order the book here. (and yes, I almost have an ISBN number!)

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May 3rd, 2013 by Joel

Two Generations or Five years?

13: Natural History

This is not Jesus, James McGrath, or me.

James McGrath has a post up detailing some interesting posts on mythicism. He points to an article by Kris Komarnitsky. Komarnitsky stands against the Sherwin-White hypothesis used in defending the historical narratives of Gospels. Sherwin-White gives it more than two generations for myths to develop. Komarnitsky suggests otherwise, but he is not the first.

As I covered earlier, S.V. McCasland writing in 1932, suggests it would have taken something like five years for legends to develop.

Regardless, one must insist (if we are to take the development of myth into consideration) that the authors intended to write a historical narrative akin to what we have today before we ask about the natural development of myth. I do not believe they did, of course.

However, if they didn’t, they would still need acceptance of their stories by their audience — so they must have something of a recognized history in them.

Natural myth v. Created Myth?

Anyway, check out McGrath’s post.

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May 2nd, 2013 by Joel

Palam, Aperte, Silentium – Something Hidden in Plain Sight? (The Gospel of Mark)

I briefly made use of this in my book, but it bears more examination and given the question I was asked yesterday (see below), I wanted to write a short post on it. James P. Scott, the great writer of resistance, has three transcripts available for writers and audiences alike. They are the public, the hidden, and the double-meaning transcript. The double-meaning transcript allows for the “subordinate group politics” to act itself out in plain sight (Scott, Domination, 18–9). This acting-out involves using folk ways, words, and other things only the group would recognize to tell a story of resistance, but the difference between this and the hidden is the public performance of the former.

There is something along those lines in Latin rhetoric as well, at least according to Quintilian. Palam involves language used by orators and poets meant to be plain or forthright.1 Aperte is that language which is “open,” or rather, open to those who understand it.2 Finally, silentium is used only when there is a need, when the outside and hegemonic group is prancing around with its power, and is done in such a way as to allow the orator/poet to speak freely but to have the audience apply their meaning to it.3 Like the doubling-meaning transcript to the hidden, silentium exists as a subordinate to aperte. It takes place only at the must crucial of times, but in plain view.

Yesterday, I was asked privately (so, no names) about the possibility of understanding the final production if one doesn’t understand or know of the source material. The Gospel of Mark, I contend, contains this aperte–silentium rhetoric, where the author is using a known story (namely that of Jesus) to present a hidden transcript in pubic (the double-meaning; i.e., the mirrored-reflection of the Jewish War and the messiahs who followed). My convoluted answer is that yes, on some level every audience will understand something of the final production even without knowing the source material or intention of the author. This doesn’t remove the original intent, nor does it suggest reception is the dominant aspect of the production. On another level, an audience may pick up on that something is being said but not clearly heard, even without the source material. This, I believe, drives our examination for the sources of these works today. But, there will always be an audience who understands the production as the author intended, namely the first audience (hence the importance of Matthew and Luke in reading Mark).4

Unfortunately, we today find it difficult to hear the silentium because the story is now so invested in our culture we see ourselves as the source material, hearing no cues as to the hidden meaning(s). Are we wrong, then, in reading Mark as a simplistic historical narrative of the life of Jesus? Hardly, but we aren’t fully reading it with the ears of the first audience. We have replaced the aperte with our need for palam and that prevents any serious investigation into the Gospel.

short post, short editor, going home now. 

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  1. This is an apple. ↩
  2. This is an apple, where apple means generic “sin.” ↩
  3. This is an apple, whereas apple represents “sin” but a positive view of sexual lust if we were, say, either in grade school or Victorian England. ↩
  4. What the public audience hears is the story of Jesus as a prophet, who lived and died for Israel. What the hidden audience will hear is that Jesus is as the Prophet like Elijah against false pretenders. What the double-meaning audience would hear (again, based on my hypothesis) is only by believing in Jesus and his Resurrection can one undo the plague of Vespasian along with the irony, the false flattery, and other aspects of rhetoric whereby Mark has hidden a rebuttal to the false messiahs and apostate believers, not to mention a redrawing of Christian eschatology. What is always left unsaid is the ↩

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