TaborBlog

“All things biblical” from the Hebrew Bible to Early Christianity in the Roman World and Beyond
July 13, 2012

How It All Began: My First Two Published Articles

Here are the first two articles I published, in 1975 and 1981 respectively:

“The Theology of Redemption of Theophilus of Antioch,” Restoration Quarterly 8 (1975): 159-71.

Theophilus of Antioch is a much neglected and understudied early Christian writer of the late 2nd century CE (fl. 170 CE). What drew me to him was his seemingly “non-Christological” approach to the subject of “Redemption,” yet he was indisputably a Christian leader and influential theologian. He helps fill in a forgotten side of early Christianity, a decidedly non-Pauline take on God, the human condition, and the salvation of humankind.

“Resurrection and Immortality: Paul & Poimandres,” in Christian Teachings: Studies in Honor of Lemoine G. Lewis, edited by Everett Ferguson (Abilene, TX: Abilene Christian University Press, 1981), pp. 72-91.

This piece marks the beginning of my extended work on “death and afterlife” in earlies Christianity. My focus is on “Poimandes,” (Tractate 1 of the Greek Magical Papyri) a typically good example of the kind of hellenistic mysticism and dualism that flourish in late antiquity. Here I contrast it to the notion of “resurrection of the dead” in Paul.

I think they hold up pretty well after more than 30 years.

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July 13, 2012

Jews & Christians: The Parting of the Ways

This study is part of a larger project the ultimate aim of which is to write a shared, twin or intertwined history of Jews and Christians in the first and second centuries CE.

One of the more fascinating narrative traditions in rabbinic literature are the various accounts of arrest of Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus (late 1st century, early 2nd century CE) by his fellow Rabbis, who accused him of minut, i.e.,  heretical views that he likely shared with the Nazarenes or followers of “Jesus son of Pantiri.” Rabbi Eliezer, teacher or the famed Rabbi Akiva, is one of the most frequently quoted sages in the Mishnah and was a student of the famous Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, who survived the destruction of Jerusalem and presided over the post-War Rabbinic academy. There are three accounts, each different, reflecting different social and cultural outlooks on Rabbi Eliezer’s “heresy,” related to various stages of the “parting of the ways” between Jews and Christians (Tosefta Hullin 2:24; Bavli Avodah Zarah 16b-17a; Kohelet Rabbah 1:8 [3]).

Joshua Schwartz and Peter J. Tomson have just published a most fascinating article on the subject in the Jewish Studies Internet Journal (JSIJ 10 (2012) 1-37), available here. It is a good “academic” read, but well worth the time.

 

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