Ridley Hall, Cambridge

Resources: Biblical Studies Bulletin 29

Issue 29: Sept 2003

News Briefs

The Da Vinci Code

Last month while on holiday back in the states, my wife and I were gripped by the Dan Brown's bestseller, The Da Vinci Code. The first week it was released it rocketed to number one on the NY Times bestseller list. Published by Doubleday (Bantam Press in the UK), it's the fictional account of a modern quest for the holy grail in the form of a detective novel. Full of puzzles for the reader to seek to work out before the main characters do, part of the book's appeal is the author's knowledge of fascinating mathematical, architectural, artistic, and religious lore that makes the novel hard to put down.

Unfortunately, what many readers will not recognize is that a number of the truth claims Brown's characters make about Christ, the Church and the Council of Nicea are ridiculous. So like Philip Pullman's Dark Materials trilogy, this is a fun read, as long as people remember that as far as the religious (and some of the historical) notions go, it's fantasy. With wise, unthreatened leadership, this book could be used to start a number of interesting discussions about the wonder of God's creation, the role of women, the nature of Christ, and other issues. Enjoy, but be forewarned!

Too Good to be True

In the latest issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, J Keall offers further arguments that the ossuary we noted in BSB 26 bearing the inscription 'James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus', is authentic ('Brother of Jesus Ossuary New Tests Bolster Case for Authenticity', BAR 29.4 [2003] pp. 52-55, 70).

However, keen-eyed Charles Echols (a doctoral student here in Cambridge) pointed out to me that the Israel Antiquities Authority has concluded that the ossuary is a fake, as is the Jehoash inscription we reported on in BSB 27. An excellent report, with pictures is available online (http://www.archaeology.org/magazine.php?page=online /features/ossuary/index). In late July the owner of both archeological 'finds' was arrested by Israeli police, who found forgeries in progress on the antique dealer's roof (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2003/129/31.0.html ).

Tyndale Conference Renews the Covenant

Peter Head reports:

This summer over hundred participants came to the Tyndale Fellowship Triennial Conference from Monday 30th June - Thursday 3rd July 2003 at Regents Park Conference Centre, Nantwich to tackle the theme of 'Covenant in Bible and Theology'. They experienced a rich feast of input in plenary sessions, Tyndale Lectures and Papers and seminars in study groups as well as fellowship around chapel, meals and the odd moments of relaxation. With around 36 different presentations it is impossible to summarise even the highlights here. But watch out for a book of papers coming out next year.

Books in Brief

Gordon Wenham, Exploring the Old Testament: Vol.1 The Pentateuch (London: SPCK, 2003), ISBN 0281054290; £16.99. I count it a privilege to be allowed to write about this publication, even if I have to condense my praise into two paragraphs. Introductory texts of any quality on the Old Testament have traditionally been sparse, but here is the book I have been waiting for. SPCK have conceived an excellent series in due course, four volumes on the Old Testament and two (already completed) on the New Testament of which this is the most excellent example I have seen.

Wenham is a well-established scholar on the Pentateuch, who here applies his great knowledge to give a simple but profound overview of the texts, their issues and interpretation. It takes a 'master' to provide such perspective. This includes a judicious balance of different approaches, weighing the gains of historical-criticism with newer canonical, rhetorical and other literary methods, yet still focusing on the text itself and frequently encouraging readers to 'dig deeper' and draw their own conclusions. The book is liberally spiced with tables, maps and diagrams exploring the geography, history and genealogies behind the narrative, and there are other helpful panels and boxes which focus key questions or usefully summarise more technical debate. Thus the book is accessible not only in content but also in layout an ideal textbook for students, readers-in-training and ordinands at levels I and II. But it will also prove invaluable to any keen person-in-the-pew or, indeed, to clergy and theologians needing a recap or an update!

Jo Bailey Wells, Ridley Hall, Cambridge

Rainer Riesner, Bethanien jenseits des Jordan (Giessen: Brunnen, 2002), ISBN 3-7655-9812-7; pp 200; 18.95 Euros). Lots of good biblical research never gets the breadth of attention it deserves, especially if it is published in languages other than English. One such book may be this one by Rainer Riesner, who serves as NT Professor at Dortmund. Riesner is a most careful student of the geography and archaeology of the Holy Land, and also of Jewish and early Christian literature from around and after the NT era. 'Bethany beyond the Jordan' was the title of his 1986 Tyndale Lecture, published in the Tyndale Bulletin the following year. In this later book, he expands and develops that earlier research.

The aim is to locate the geographical reference in John 1.28. The study involves lots of topographical analysis, and the pursuit of clues through the texts and usage of ancient literature. The conclusion is that 'Bethany' is Batanaea, a region to the north-east of the Sea of Galilee. This was in the domain of Herod Philip, a much calmer character than his brother Antipas who killed John. Batanaea fits the length of time in the Lazarus incident - read from John 10.40 onwards. It fits the seven-day scheme of John 1 and 2, giving just the right amount of time to get to Cana. And it dovetails with other references in the gospels that show messianic fervour and interest in the north of Palestine.

Not that Jesus was baptised there. The traditional site for that is much further south, and Riesner takes this seriously. But the Baptist was an itinerant. So John Chapter 1 does not show the baptism of Jesus, because it depicts a later encounter between John and Jesus, in a different place. (Notice that John says, 'I saw', in 1.32.) But the call of the disciples in John 1 is a lot closer in place and time to the setting in Mark 1, than many have supposed.

What's in a name? Clues to the mood of Jesus' Galilean ministry, to the historical roots of John's Gospel, and to a strand of early Jewish Christianity.

John Proctor, Westminster College, Cambridge

Conrad Gempf, Jesus Asked. What he wanted to know (Zondervan, 2003), ISBN 031024773X; £7.99). This very readable little book explores the extraordinarily high number of questions that Jesus asks in the gospels over 50 in Mark's gospel alone. Gempf takes a very accessible look at a number of the passages in which Jesus asks questions, and explores the way in which he uses questions seemingly to duck incoming questions, to cut to the heart of the matter, to rebuke and to puzzle, as well as to inform. Not only is questioning at the heart of Jesus' ministry, but, according to Gempf, it is also at the heart of who God is: 'when you start arguing with [God], he smiles, rolls up his anthropomorphic sleeves, and starts to look interested.'

This is a popular level book rather than an academically rigorous one. Conrad Gempf has described his purpose in writing it as being 'to further appreciation of Jesus' brilliance, and to do so by leaving the miraculous to one side and focusing on aspects that no ordinary non-Christian would have reason to dispute.' The book includes a lot of 'fun stories' about Jesus, but also makes a serious point about Jesus being able to gauge where people were at, what they were thinking, and what they were capable of. This is an ability which he still has today, and we too are drawn into the orbit of Jesus' exchanges. It is perhaps of no surprise that a few questions for reflection are offered at the end of each chapter.

Conrad Gempf is an academic who is able to write in a refreshing, accessible, down-to-earth manner. This is the sort of book you could give to almost anyone to encourage fresh encounter with the person of Jesus.

Rob Bewley, Cambridge

[Ed: Rob is currently completing his doctoral dissertation on Jesus' use of questions, so Conrad hasn't written the last word yet! As well as being a good writer, Conrad is one fine guitar player, singer, and Apple computer guru]

Letters to the Editor

Dr. Terence E. Fretheim writes,

I hesitate to reply to Prof. Davies' helpful review of Jeremiah commentaries [in BSB 28], but I would like to note that he missed two recent commentaries.

1. Patrick D Miller's commentary, 'The Book of Jeremiah', is included in volume VI of the New Interpreter's Bible (Abingdon Press, 2001).
2. Terence E Fretheim's Jeremiah was published in 2002 by Smyth & Helwys Publishers (Macon, Georgia). Six volumes have been published in the Smyth & Helwys Commentary Series to this point, notable for several new features in commentary publishing (including a CD attached to the back cover).

Thanks!

Humour, etc

• A highbrow, clever and satirical application of German Old Testament form-criticism to a Winnie the Pooh story can now be found on the web (http://winnie-the-pooh.ru/online/lib/stud.html ). I heard this piece, entitled, 'New Directions in Pooh Studies: Überlieferungs- und religionsgeschichtliche Studien zum Pu-Buch,' read by its author David Clines many years ago. He subsequently published it in On the Way to the Postmodern: Old Testament Essays 1967-1998, Volume 2 (JSOTSup, 292; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1998), pp. 830-39. There are a number of unfortunate misprints in the online edition, but with patience it's still worthwhile reading for those who've struggled with J, E, D and P.
   
  This one ranks right up there with The Unrelieved Paradox: Studies in the Theology of Franz Bibfeldt, edited by Martin E. Marty and Jerald C. Brauer (Eerdmans, 1994), now sadly, out of print. The latter is a very funny parody of the vagaries of modern theology, devoted to a continental theologian who never existed. Am I the only person who bought and read this book?
   
• Articles in theological journals do not normally offer the reader something to laugh about (at least, not intentionally), but Millard J Erickson's fine essay, 'Evangelical Theological Scholarship in the Twenty-First Century' (Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 46/1 [March 2003] 5-27) is an exception. With a light touch, he punctures hubris and calls for more constructive research that will make a difference. Here's an excerpt (pp. 7-8):
   
  'On the academic level, it may be helpful to see how several contemporary theories would address the timeless question, "Why did the chicken cross the road?"
   
  Because power is knowledge, and those with the power to do so declared that the chicken had crossed the road and have used that theory as a means of suppressing the non-road-crossing theory and oppressing those who hold it.
   
  The question seems to assume that there is some absolute answer, true for everyone, everywhere, and at all times. Actually, the answer is a function of the community of which one is a part.
   
  In answering this question we can employ fiction as a means of creating a certain kind of truth.
   
  Let's try thinking of this in a different way: why did this cowardly, irresponsible fowl, aptly identified as "chicken", abandon her responsibilities at home to pursue her own security and personal pleasure elsewhere?
   
  While we do not hold to the theory that language mirrors reality, it works out better to believe that the chicken crossed the road than to believe that she did not.
   
  Because the twain of the inner has folded back upon the curve of the boundless, and has formed a strand that is ever striving, and yet ever failing, to transcend the limitations of the human psyche.
   
  Personally, if we are to consult philosophers on this question, I much prefer the wisdom of a great popular philosopher:
   
  "Did the chicken cross the road?
  Did she bear a heavy load?
  That she crossed it has been showed,
  But why she crossed it is not knowed."'
   
• Richard Martin sent along the following lightbulb jokes with 'sincere apologies':
   
  How many Central London clergy does it take to change a lightbulb?
  None. Since the introduction of congestion charges they all use the Tubes.
   
  How many pacifists does it take to change a lightbulb?
  Two. One to fit it, the other to hold it in place after the bayonets have been removed and turned into ploughshares.
   
  [Readers unfamiliar with the structure of UK lightbulbs may not appreciate the full humour of that last one, but it's too late now to explain it...]

Computer Corner

• Vic Perry alerts us to Galaxie Software (www.galaxie.com), a company producing software products that may be of interest to some readers. Version 5 of their $99.95 Theological Journal Library promises 'several of the best conservative, scholarly, evangelical journals and classic works on church history in one easy to use CD that allows you to rapidly search through all the titles for the words, phrases, topics, authors, passages, etc. which you are interested in.' The CD offers '250 years of journals', including the full text (with graphics and hyperlinks) of e.g. the Westminster Theological Journal (1960-2000) and the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society (1966-2001). Several of the other included works are of a dispensational (Left Behind theology) variety or were more popular in their day. Greek, Hebrew and transliteration fonts come on the CD, as well as the text of the AV and ASV. Version 5 is available for PCs and Macs, version 6 (an update with more recent issues) is out for PCs but still in the works for Apples.
• Also perhaps of use to readers is the complete text of the NET study bible in Palm Pilot and Windows CE/Pocket PC formats, available to download for $19.95 from the Galaxie website.
• Q: How many MicroSoft tech support people does it take to change a light bulb?
   A: Four. One to ask "What is the registration number of the light bulb?" One to ask "Have you tried rebooting it?" Another to ask "Have you tried reinstalling it?" And the last one to say "It must be your hardware because the light bulb in our office works fine..."

Grove Biblical Series

This month's booklet is B 29 (When) Did It Happen? John Bimson, of Trinity College, Bristol untangles the complex issue of the chronology of the Old Testament, looking at the traditional understanding and evaluating two proposed revisions before commenting on their significance for our reading of the Old Testament.

Individual titles in the Biblical Series are available direct from Grove Books at £2.50 each. Annual subscription (4 books) costs £8.50, a saving of 15%. Call, fax, email sales@grovebooks.co.uk or visit www.grovebooks.co.uk to order.