British New Testament
Society
32nd Annual Conference
6th-8th September, 2012
Conference Programme
Thursday, 6th September
15.00-17.30
Check-in and Registration
Stamford Street Apartments/
Franklin-Wilkins Building
17.30-18.30
Reception
Franklin-Wilkins Building
18.30-19.30
Dinner
Franklin-Wilkins Restaurant
Plenary Session 1
Stamford Street Lecture
James Crossley
Theatre
“A fundamentally unreliable adoration”: Jewishness, Jews, and Judeans in the
hands of contemporary New Testament Scholars
20.00-21.30
21.30- tbc.
The Bar is open
Franklin-Wilkins Restaurant
Friday, 7th September
07.30-08.00
Morning Prayer
Franklin-Wilkins Building
Room 1.11
07.30-08.45
Breakfast
Franklin-Wilkins Restaurant
09.00-10.30
Seminar Groups:
Session 1
See Programme p.4
10.30-11.00
Coffee
Franklin-Wilkins Restaurant
11.00-12.30
See Programme p.4-5
12.30-13.30
Seminar Groups:
Session 2
Lunch
13.30-15.30
Excursion/free time
Franklin-Wilkins Restaurant
1
14.30
Committee Meeting
Franklin-Wilkins Building
Room 2.43
Franklin-Wilkins Restaurant
15.30-16.00
Tea
16.00-16.30
BNTS Business Meeting
18.00-18.30
Reception
Franklin-Wilkins Restaurant
18.30-19.45
Dinner
Franklin-Wilkins Restaurant
20.00 – 21.30
Plenary Session 3
21.45- tbc.
The Bar will be open
Stamford Street Lecture
Theatre
Plenary Session 2
16.30-18.00
Stamford Street Lecture
Anthony Thiselton
Theatre
Might the New Testament ever move beyond “Binitarianism?”
Stamford Street Lecture
Theatre
Panel Discussion: “New Testament Question Time: the State and
Future of the Discipline”
Franklin-Wilkins Restaurant
Saturday, 7th September
7.30-8.10
Eucharist
St John’s Church
Please meet in the lobby of Stamford Street Apartments at 7.15am.
7.30-9.00
Breakfast
Franklin-Wilkins Restaurant
9.15-10.45
Seminar Groups:
Session 3
Coffee
See Programme p.5
10.45-11.15
Franklin-Wilkins Restaurant
Plenary Session 4
Stamford Street Lecture
Andrew Clarke
Theatre
Revisiting Categories of Church Discipline in the New Testament
11.15-12.45
13.00-14.00
Lunch and Departures
Franklin-Wilkins Restaurant
2
Seminar Locations
Jesus
(pp.4-5)
Franklin-Wilkins Building
Room 1.14
Paul
(p.6-10)
Franklin-Wilkins Building
Room 1.16
Synoptic Gospels
(p.10-11)
Franklin-Wilkins Building
Room 1.20
Johaninne Literature
(p.11-14)
Franklin-Wilkins Building
Room 1.68
The Book of Acts
(p.14-17)
Franklin-Wilkins Building
Room 2.42
The Book of Revelation
(p.17-20)
1st and 3rd session: Room 2.43
2nd session (joint session with
“The NT: Use & Influence”): Room
2.43
The Social World of the NT
(p.20-23)
Franklin-Wilkins Building
Room 1.21
The NT & Second Temple
Judaism
(p.23-25)
The NT: Use & Influence
(p.25-27)
Franklin-Wilkins Building
Room 2.47
1st and 3rd session: Room 2.46
2nd session (joint session with
“The Book of Revelation”): Room
2.43
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Seminar Sessions, Speakers, Abstracts
Jesus
Room: 1.14
Chairs: James Crossley & David Bryan
Session 1
A Prophet with Nowhere to Lay his Head (Matthew 8.18-20)
Brendon Witte (University of Edinburgh)
In spite of the fact that 8.20 contains the first occurrence of ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ
ἀνθρώπου in Matthew, a particularly important observation for those
undertaking an analysis of the idiom, this portion of the pericope is frequently
overlooked or inadequately handled by modern authors, even in those works
that take up the task of examining Matthew’s use of the designation ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ
ἀνθρώπου. It is the objective of this paper to analyze the dialogue between
Jesus and the man keen on becoming a disciple in Matthew (Mt 8.19-20//Lk
9.57-58), questioning what aspect of the man’s proclamation Jesus is
challenging—his loyalty to the mission of spreading the word of the kingdom,
his hubristic attitude, his self-serving motives, or his inadequate understanding
of the mission and nature of Jesus. To anticipate the results of this study, the
case will be made for reading Jesus’ aphoristic response as indicative of his
prophetic role and authority. Jesus is not only a teacher of the ‘weightier
matters’ of the Law, he is portrayed throughout the Matthean narrative as an
itinerant prophet like Elijah and Jonah who calls individuals to join him in his
commissioning and is unwilling to accept those who have not been called or
have placed the cares of the world above the cares of the kingdom.
The Role of Revelatory Experience in the Four Gospels for Engendering Belief
in Jesus
Mark Batluck (University of Edinburgh)
The following paper examines the way revelatory experiences in each of the
canonical Gospels do or do not to engender belief in Jesus. Revelatory
experience is divine disclosure by visionary or auditory means (Bockmuehl,
Revelation and Mystery, 2). Thus, any event in which characters hear a voice
or see a vision from heaven is a “revelatory experience.” Scholars have noted
the power of revelatory experience to “drive and shape” the veneration of
Jesus in early Christian devotional practices. Hurtado notes the “demonstrable
efficacy of such experiences in generating significant innovations in various
religious traditions” (Hurtado, Lord Jesus Christ, 65). However, one wonders
what “faith-producing” role revelatory experiences actually have in the
Gospels. If earliest Christian communities were so “shaped” by these
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experiences, one would expect them to have similar force in the Gospel
narratives.
The Synoptic Gospels include revelatory experiences as a distinguishing
feature of their accounts, with the baptism and transfiguration being two of the
most commented-on passages of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. However, such
revelatory events are curiously rare in John prior to Jesus’ resurrection and
only after chapter 20 are these events more prominent. This paper will analyze
the roles of revelatory experiences in each Gospel for producing belief in
Jesus. Therefore, this research focuses primarily on the responses of
characters in the narratives to the revelatory events they witness. Where the
audience or its response is ambiguous, this will be taken into account. The
purpose of this paper is to highlight the way audiences in the four Gospels are
or are not “shaped” by such revelatory experiences and what implications
these findings may have for the interpretation of each Gospel.
Session 2
Panel Discussion: Assessing the State of the Quest for the Historical Jesus
Participants: Larry Hurtado, Justin Meggitt, Catrin Williams, Dagmar
Winter, Michael Zolondek
Session 3
The Presence of the Living Jesus in the Century after His Death
Markus Bockmuehl (University of Oxford)
Dead or alive? Absent or present? These are among the most crucial
questions for the ongoing significance of Jesus in the decades after his death.
All known early Christian groups believed he was resurrected after his
crucifixion; for the NT, the Creeds and most intervening writers this entailed
his “bodily” resurrection along with a consensus that he was in some sense
exalted into the immediate presence of God. Yet even though emphatically
alive, was Jesus himself therefore present or absent to the early Christian
believer? In later theologies this tension tends to be deconstructed – whether
in Eucharistic-ecclesial, eschatological, pneumatological, mystically or
moralizingly experiential ways. Thus Jesus’ absence is sublimated by his
presence in the Eucharist or the church, through the Spirit, in (possibly
routinized) mystical or visionary experiences, in imperatives of charity or of
politics. In this somewhat experimental paper, by contrast, I wish to ask what
the early Christian sources affirm about the presence of Jesus as Jesus – and
to suggest that the diverse range of answers given by the NT and its earliest
effective history is at once richer and less comprehensive than classic or
contemporary construals tend to suggest.
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Paul
Room: 1.16
Chairs: Peter Oakes & Sarah Whittle
Session 1
God Sent Forth the Spirit of His Son: The Law of Christ and the Fulfilment of
the New Covenant.
Andrew Boakye (University of Manchester)
Paul writes in Gal 6:2 that if God’s people bear the burdens of their Christian
family they will ‘fulfil completely the Law of Christ’. Given the trajectory of the
polemic in Galatians, the phrase appears needlessly awkward. Earlier
scholarly treatments of the phrase understood Christ’s law to replace the Law
of Moses. More recent analyses, largely influenced by Barclay’s highly
insightful observations, have seen the phrase as a direct reference to the Law
of Moses. However, as Barclay observes, a note of ambiguity is introduced
into the argument – an argument which already appears fraught with maverick
Pauline innovations aimed at l
Χριστου, the very notion that in any sense
gentiles had a responsibility to ‘law’ suggests the construction of a quite
deliberate tension with Torah. The only question then is what rhetorical
advantage the introduction of such a tension might serve. This paper will
propose that a potential solution may be found in the inter-textual connections
between Galatians and the prophetic declarations of blessing associated with
the New Covenant and the restoration from exile. These blessings, prophesied
by Jeremiah and Ezekiel, may be summarised as a process of ‘internalisation’,
by which the obedience to the divine ordinances would be provoked by the
Spirit. Moreover they are consistent with what appears to be the ostensibly
Pauline contrast between ‘fulfilling’ and ‘performing’ the Law.
Covenant and Apocalyptic in Galatians: A Critique of J. Louis Martyn and
Martinus C. De Boer.
John Anthony Dunne (University of St. Andrews)
Within scholarship on Paul there is a major divide between covenantal and
apocalyptic readings. One major place where this divide is most explicit is
Galatians. With the popularity of J. Louis Martyn’s Anchor Bible commentary
and the recently published New Testament Library commentary by Martinus
C. De Boer, the apocalyptic reading is worth interacting with at a sustained
level. This paper will critique the apocalyptic reading espoused by Martyn and
de Boer by noting that their understanding of apocalyptic does not cohere with
first-century apocalyptic in regards to (a) Jewish cosmology, (b) Jewish
covenantal theology, and (c) the role of suffering.
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Apocalyptic and Covenant: Perspectives of Paul or Antinomies at War?
David Shaw (University of Cambridge)
The terms ‘apocalyptic’ and ‘covenantal’ are ubiquitous in Pauline studies and
frequently set against one another as competing lenses by which to
understand Pauline theology, in response to which this paper will ask whose
apocalyptic? Which covenant? The development of apocalyptic readings of
Paul from J Christiaan Beker to the present will be outlined, arguing that even
as anti-salvation-historical language increases, the content of ‘apocalyptic’
theology shifts to become closer and not further away from at least some
covenantal readings of Paul. It can be seen that the (more recent) apocalyptic
emphasis upon the need for divine intervention to undo a bondage to sin
which incapacitates human beings in ways both epistemological and
soteriological maps onto the OT promise of the new covenant by which God
will transform his people inwardly, pour out his Spirit and renew his creation.
The objection most often raised to such a marriage of approaches—that Paul
belongs to a cosmological and not forensic stream of apocalyptic thought—will
be considered in light of Rom 8:1-4.
Session 2
Did Paul believe in Judaism?
Matthew Novenson (University of Edinburgh)
Despite the vast secondary literature on Paul and Judaism, the only instances
of the word “Judaism” (Ioudaismos) in the New Testament are in Gal 1:13, 14.
What is more, recent scholarly discussion has suggested that even in
Galatians there is no such thing as “Judaism.” Several recent interpreters
have proposed that Ioudaismos is not “Judaism,” a system of religious beliefs
and practices, but rather “Judaizing” or “Judaization,” a verbal noun signifying
the adoption of Jewish ancestral customs by non-Jews. Prima facie, the
polemical situation of Paul’s letter to the Galatians might seem to confirm this
reading. In this paper, I offer a counterargument: In Galatians, “Judaizing”
indeed signifies the adoption of Jewish customs by non-Jews, but curiously
“Judaism” signifies the maintenance of Jewish customs by Jews. In short,
“Judaizing” is something non-Jews do, but “Judaism” is something Jews do. In
terms of etymology this should not be the case, but in Paul’s usage it is the
case. I suggest an explanation for how this usage arose and what it implies
about Paul’s perspective on “Judaism.”
‘If You Depend upon the Law’: Diatribe and the Rhetoric of Nomos in Romans
1–4
Rafael Rodriguez (Johnson University, TN)
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Debate about the identity of Paul’s imagined dialogue partner in Romans 2
has focused on whether Paul portrays a gentile or Jewish interlocutor in Rom.
2.1–16. The question is largely settled after v. 17, where Paul explicitly
addresses his counterpart as one who calls himself a Jew. Paul’s ensuing
discussion focuses heavily on nomos (law, or Law), to which Paul refers
twenty-six times in Rom. 2.17–4.25. Despite the breadth of interpretive options
available for reading Romans, scholars are nearly unanimous in reading
Paul’s dialogue at 2.17ff. in terms of him addressing an actually ethnic Jew. In
the face of this rare consensus, this paper tentatively proposes to read Paul’s
imaginary interlocutor in 2.17 as a gentile proselyte to Judaism, a gentile who
“calls himself a Jew” and actively attempts to persuade other gentiles to do
likewise. This proposal casts Paul’s comments on nomos in a new light and
opens up a way to account for apparent contradictions in Paul’s estimation
of nomos, which on the one hand results in knowledge of sin (3.20) but on the
other hand is established by Paul’s proclamation of the gospel (3.31).
Transformation = Deification? Reading 2 Corinthians 3 in the Context of
Philonic Mystical Traditions
Volker Rabens (University of Bochum)
In 2 Corinthians 3 Paul compares his ministry with that of Moses and
concludes in verse 18: ‘And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of
the Lord as in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one
glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.’ In this paper I argue
that a number of intertextual echoes from the writings of Philo Judaeus shed
new light on the interpretation of this text. Next to some verbatim parallels to
3:18 (e.g. Post. 12–13), several Philonic passages evidence a close thematic
connection of (1) the work of the Spirit who enables (2) an intimate, mystical
beholding of God that leads to (3) a virtuous life (e.g., Mos. 2.69; Gig. 54–
55; QE 2.29). My paper demonstrates that studying Philo on this issue
provides us with deeper insights into Paul’s theology in 2 Corinthians 3:18
where he describes the same causality, ascribing like Philo a transforming role
to Spirit-enabled intimate beholding of the divine. On this basis we are in a
position to suggest a new direction with regard to the debated nature of
transformation in Paul which has recently been defined as ‘deification’ and
‘moral assimilation to God’ (David Litwa).
Session 3
The Apocalyptic Gospel of New Covenant Transformation: Doing the Law ‘by
(a renewed) Heart’ in Rom 2:14-16
Scott Hafemann (University of St. Andrews)
Douglas Campbell’s recent work has made unavoidably clear that Rom 2:1216 serves as a crux for the long-standing debate over the relationship between
8
divine and human righteousness in Paul’s theology. Both Campbell and the
traditional view solve the (apparent) conflict between Rom 2:7 and 3:11, Rom
2:10 and 4:4-6, and Rom 2:13 and 3:11, 20 by relegating a future “justification
by doing the good/law”, whether postulated by Paul or his opponents, to the
realm of an unrealized (im)possibility derived from the Law (natural or Sinai).
Romans 2:12-16 thus drives one to the contrasting gospel implications of Rom
1:16-17 (cf. 3:21). Read in this way, Romans 1:16-17, seen as the antidote to
“a judgment by works”, provides the explanatory key for understanding Rom
2:12-15. This paper will argue the reverse, that Rom 2:12-16, by outlining
the corresponding covenant demarcation of Paul’s apocalyptic gospel (2:16),
provides the key for understanding Rom 1:16-17. To that end, the meaning
and function of fusis (“nature”) in Rom 2:14, the use of Jer 31:31-34 in Rom
2:15, and the role of doing the Law in future judgment in 2:13 and 15b-16 will
be brought to bear on the delineation of Paul’s gospel in Rom 1:16-17 (and
18!).
Covenantal Crisis Theology and Paul’s Arguments in Romans 9 and 11:
Intertextual Icebergs in Rom 9:3 and 11:1–5
Alexander Kirk (University of Oxford)
This paper will explore the overlooked significance of the allusion to Moses in
Rom 9:3 (cf. Exod 32:32) and the overt reference to Elijah in Rom 11:3–4 (cf.
1 Kgs 19). It will be suggested that Exod 32, 1 Kgs 19, and Rom 9–11 all
represent crisis moments within Israel’s history, provoked by the widespread
unbelief and disobedience of God’s people. Paul’s use of the OT taps into a
series of canonically-connected “threatened national annihilation texts,” the
theology of which has important implications for the faithfulness of God and
the future of Israel in Paul’s argumentation in Rom 9–11. Though admittedly
limited and selective, this paper will survey five such annihilation texts: Exod
32:30–35, Num 14:11–38, 1 Sam 12:16–25, 1 Kgs 19:1–18, and Ezra 9:1–15.
A theological synthesis of these texts will then be attempted, forming what I
will call an OT “covenantal crisis theology.” This crisis theology will then be
applied to Paul’s arguments in Rom 9 and 11, demonstrating that Paul’s
underlying covenantal theology has been shaped by the OT’s covenantal
crisis theology. Simply put, the thesis of this paper is that reading Rom 9:3 and
11:1–5 as Pauline metalepses, whether intentional on Paul’s part or not, lends
coherence to Paul’s argumentation and direction for its interpretation.
Chosen People, Holy People: The Consecration of the Gentiles in the Letter to
the Romans
Sarah Whittle (Nazarene Theological College, Manchester)
Israel’s encounter with God at Sinai is the literary and theological crux of her
constitution and consecration. When Paul addresses all God’s beloved in
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Rome, those “called holy” (Rom 1:7), as part of his vision for a people set
apart for God, it is an explicitly inclusive designation: holiness is extended to
the Gentiles. The idea that Paul’s language of holy people has its origin in
Exod 19:3—24:8 may not be controversial, but the relationship is far from
straightforward. Engaging with Richard Hays’ claim that Deuteronomy 32
contains Romans “in nuce,” this paper will argue that the way in which
Deuteronomy has already re-cast the Sinai covenant-making event as
repeatable enables Paul to appropriate the tradition for his new setting. Paul is
not only interested in events at the mountain from the book of Exodus but also
the way in which Deuteronomy looks back to Sinai as a means to looking
forward to the re-constitution of a holy people beyond the covenant curses.
Paul proclaims the gospel as part of this anticipated eschatological covenant
renewal, and the constitution of this people as an act of consecration by the
Holy Spirit takes place on the basis of God’s mercy in Christ to all, both Jews
and Gentiles.
Synoptic Gospels
Room: 1.20
Chairs: Andy Angel & Bridget Gilfillan Upton
Session 1
Homeric resonances and the Gospel of Matthew
Robert S. Kinney (University of Bristol)
Dennis R. MacDonald has compellingly posited hypertextual connections
between Mark and the Homeric corpus. Presuming that Matthew is dependent
on Mark and that Mark has made use of some Homeric material, one might
wonder what happened to the Homeric materials in Matthew? This paper
explores whether it is possible to determine if Matthew was consciously and
purposefully using or removing the Homeric elements from his sources.
Session 2
Reading the Gospel of Mark with African eyes: a fresh look at the exorcism
and healing passages in Mark.
Emmanuel Frimpong (Christian Service University College, Kumasi, Ghana)
This paper examines the Exorcism and Healing passages of Mark. The
research, conducted with Ghanaian worshippers from twenty two Londonbased churches, unearths explanations and applications not covered by Mark
and Western scholars. The findings, which have implications for hermeneutics
and cross cultural interpretation of the Gospel, call for cosmology of an African
interpretation and explanation of Mark’s Gospel.
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Unconditional discipleship in the Gospel of Mark.
Todd Brewer (University of Durham)
Within the Gospel of Mark an anomaly is created by the conditions of
discipleship outlined by Jesus in Mark 8:34-38 and the subsequent actions of
the disciples within the passion narrative, specifically 14:27-31, 50, and 54-72.
Jesus demands that if the twelve wish to become disciples, they must be
faithful to him to the point of death. Yet the disciples abandon Jesus, thereby
relinquishing their claim to be disciples and becoming subject to divine
judgment. It will be argued that Mark’s conservative redaction of his sources
resolves the dilemma of the disciple’s disobedience to Jesus’ explicit
command through the utilization of Jesus’ resurrection appearance in Galilee.
This subverts a discipleship which depends upon the conditional obedience of
the disciple in favour of a redefined discipleship founded upon Jesus’
unconditional promise.
Session 3
Reading Simeon’s oracle christologically: the Revelation of Thoughts in the
Ministry of Jesus.
Colin Bullard (University of Cambridge)
In Luke’s Gospel, Simeon’s oracle to Mary plays a programmatic role in the
interpretation of the subsequent narrative. This paper will focus on reading the
last line of Simeon’s oracle (2:35; “So that the thoughts of many hearts may be
revealed”) christologically. What does it mean for the presentation of Jesus
that the result of his coming is the exposure of ‘thoughts of many hearts’?
Luke’s programmatic placement of Simeon’s oracle leads the reader to
interpret certain aspects of Jesus’ ministry (e.g., Jesus’ knowledge of
thoughts; 5:22; 6:8; 9:47) as a divine exposure of that which is hidden (cf.
12:2). Although the ultimate consummation of this divine exposure lies in the
final judgment, Luke’s narrative seems to portray certain aspects of God’s
judgment being inaugurated in Jesus’ earthly ministry.
Johannine Literature
Room: 1.68
Chairs: Susan Miller & Pete Phillips
Session 1
Mimesis in John 13: Cloning or Creative Articulation?
Cormelis Bennema (South Asia Institute of Advanced Christian Studies)
The focus of the paper is Jesus’ mimetic imperative to his disciples in John
13:15: ‘For I gave you an example, that you also should do just as I have done
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to you.’ Although scholars have done ample work on the footwashing
pericope, the focus has often been on 13:1-11 and (hence) the topic of
mimesis has not been adequately considered. Scholars are divided whether to
take the mimetic imperative in 13:15 as a literal duplication of the footwashing
or as a general reference to humble (loving) service. The central question,
then, is this: Did Jesus mean by his mimetic imperative that the disciples
should replicate literally the very act of footwashing or that they express
creatively but truthfully the idea underlying the footwashing? The argument is
that for John mimesis involves primarily the creative, truthful, bodily
articulation of the idea and attitude that lies behind the original act rather than
its exact replication. The Johannine concept of mimesis consists of both form
and content, and while there can be flexibility regarding the form, it is the latter
that needs cloning. To demonstrate my case, I will examine John 13:4-17,
showing a mimetic model that consists of four stages: (i) showing what needs
imitation; (ii) understanding what is shown; (iii) imitating what is shown; (iv)
experiencing a state of blessing. Based on this model and supporting
arguments from John’s Gospel, I will argue that the Johannine concept of
mimesis is primarily faithful expression rather than exact replication, although
the latter remains in view too. The distinction between mimetic form and
mimetic content circumvents the question of whether the intention of the
mimetic imperative in 13:15 is literal replication or creative expression. The
title of the paper thus poses a false dichotomy – mimesis involves cloning (in
content) and creative articulation (in form).
Session 2
Revelatory Experience in the Gospel of John
Mark Batluck (University of Edinburgh)
John’s Gospel contains none of the revelatory experiences from Jesus’ earthly
ministry found in the Synoptic Gospels. Of the infancy revelatory experiences,
Jesus’ baptism, the transfiguration, and the crucifixion phenomena (tearing of
the veil, three hours of darkness, etc.), only the baptism is alluded to in John,
and the others are omitted entirely. In fact, the only bona-fide revelatory
account in John prior to the resurrection is in 12:27–36, where the voice
affirms the glorification of God’s name in Jesus’ journey to the cross.
John 20–21, on the other hand, comprises the longest resurrection narrative of
all the canonical Gospels and is full of revelatory events. John also records as
much interaction between the risen Jesus and his followers as any of the
Synoptics, but John’s narrative bears little resemblance to these accounts.
This “revelatory disparity” suggests that John’s Gospel has a perspective all
on its own, which may reflect another view of revelation as compared to the
Synoptics.
This paper will survey John’s pre- and post-resurrection revelatory
experiences to identify patterns in the Gospel’s use of these events. This
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survey will especially note the details offered by John that distinguish his
understanding of revelatory experience from that of the other Gospels. The
content (i.e. features) of these revelatory accounts will be addressed, the
response of the audience will be analyzed, and the place of each revelatory
account in the overall scope of John’s Gospel will be taken into consideration.
The goal of this paper is to assess the Fourth Gospel’s view of revelation with
respect to belief or unbelief in Jesus.
Conversion in the Fourth Gospel: a narrative approach
Dan Batovici (University of St Andrews)
Few exceptions notwithstanding, the recent bibliography on conversion in the
New Testament tends to leave aside the Fourth Gospel. In trying to assess
such a concept in John, the starting point is that in Jesus’ dialogues there is a
sharp contrast between what even the most benevolent interlocutor says or
does and what is really expected from him. The underlying question will
therefore be whether how the benevolent characters in the Fourth Gospel form
models for John’s understanding of conversion. Upon analysis, a pattern
emerges in the presentation of these encounters, and I will argue that, instead
of spelling out narratives of accomplished conversions, John develops a
rhetorical device using this pattern consistently to point at how conversion
should be.
Glory from Qumran? Light (and Darkness) from the Scrolls on John’s Concept
of Glory
Joshua Coutts (University of Edinburgh)
Although the relationship between the Qumran Scrolls and Gjohn continues to
be debated, one aspect that has received little attention is the concept of
glory, which features in both. In one of the few treatments, Johan Ferreira has
argued that the Evangelist “inherited his concept of δόξα from the Dead Sea
Scrolls, and modified it to emphasize salvation corresponding to his
Christology.” Contra Ferreira, I will argue in this paper that most elements of
the Qumran concept of glory are to be found in Isaiah, at both the level of the
motif and often also at the level of terminology, and thus most of the
commonalities between the concepts of glory in the DSS and Gjohn may be
explained in terms of their mutual generation from Isaiah. This is significant for
two reasons. First, the appropriation of Isaiah’s concept of glory in Qumran
suggests that Isaiah should feature more significantly in discussions of the
Evangelist’s decision to use glory language. Second, two elements of the
Johannine concept of glory—its soteriological aspect and realized
orientation—are thrown into relief by their distinction from the Qumran
concept, and thus raise interesting questions about the impetus behind John’s
deployment of glory language.
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Session 3
This session focuses on the forthcoming book, Character Studies in the Fourth
Gospel, edited by S. A. Hunt, D. F. Tolmie and R. Zimmermann. (WUNT.
Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck). There will be papers presented by John Lyons,
University of Bristol, “Joseph of Arimathea” and Catrin Williams, University of
Wales, “John the Baptist” followed by a general discussion on characterisation
in the Fourth Gospel.
Book of Acts
Room: 2.42
Chairs: Matthew Sleeman & Steve Walton
Session 1
Acts 1.1: a “secondary preface” to Luke-Acts?
Hannah Cocksworth (University of Cambridge)
The aim of this paper is to explore the question of whether, from the point of
view of narrative criticism, Acts can be shown to begin with a preface which
parallels the preface of Luke 1.1-4. The paper will, first, explore the
narratological role of the preface. It will be shown that the preface plays an
important part in the beginning of the discourse of a narrative and in particular
in creating a ‘contract of reading’ between the implied author and the implied
reader. Secondly, the paper will explore the way in which Luke 1.1-4 fulfils the
function of the narrative preface, particularly through setting up a ‘contract of
reading’ in terms of the narrative’s content and purpose. Thirdly, the opening
of Acts will be explored in light of the previous investigation and in comparison
with the role and function of the preface of Luke 1.1-4. It will be argued that at
the beginning of Acts story and discourse converge and begin simultaneously;
there is no separate discursive beginning. This not only provides a contrast
with the beginning of Luke’s gospel, it also further eliminates the possibility of
a narrative preface. Therefore, the paper will conclude by arguing that, from
the point of view of narrative criticism – and contrary to the view of some
scholars – Acts 1.1 does not constitute a narrative preface.
Acts 1-5: A History of Beginnings.
Justin Mihoc (Durham University)
Beginnings are re-enacted and experienced again and again throughout
history, as Tacitus asserts. And, as I shall argue in my paper, the opening
chapters of Acts were written to testify the reality of a new creation or
beginning that has been accomplished with the birth of the Christian Church.
14
In my presentation I aim to demonstrate that the author of Luke-Acts displays
a great interest in beginnings, as it is noticeable throughout Acts. Furthermore,
he has a specific purpose for rendering these foundation stories. The implied
reader is deliberately presented with continuous commencements, being
forced to reflect on the rationale and importance of the inaugurating events for
the Christian life and faith. Therefore, Acts 1-5 is to be seen as a key to
understanding the Christian modus vivendi.
The account of the first five chapters of Acts consequently follows the author’s
agenda of recounting the history of the new creation, a creation similar to the
foundation narratives of Genesis, but essentially different in purpose. And the
fact that the content of this opening narrative describes a story of origins is by
no means incidental. Luke’s skilful style and design created a masterpiece of
theological thought, which will subsequently become the standard history of
the beginnings of the Church in the following centuries.
Session 2
Acts in its Jewish Context: Literary Structures and Genre.
Dr Susan Docherty (Newman University College, Birmingham)
The issue of the genre of the Acts of the Apostles continues to be a source of
lively debate within New Testament scholarship. This discussion has been
greatly enriched by comparative studies of Graeco-Roman literature, such as
those by, for example, Richard Pervo and Loveday Alexander. This paper
proposes to approach the question of literary genre by considering the
relationship of Acts to Second Temple Jewish writings. Whilst the Jewish
background of Luke-Acts has certainly not been ignored by scholars, there is
scope for further investigation of this aspect of its context, and a new tool is
now available for this purpose, through the very recent work of a team of
Jewish scholars at the University of Manchester (Alexander Samely, Philip
Alexander, Rocco Bernasconi, together with Robert Hayward from Durham)
on an AHRC funded research project entitled “The Literary Structures of
Ancient Jewish Literature”. They have developed an inventory tool to identify
structurally important literary features, which they have systematically applied
to major corpora of early Jewish texts, including the Apocrypha,
Pseudepigrapha, Dead Sea Scrolls and pre-Talmudic rabbinic works. This
research has provided a new terminological framework for the analysis of
ancient Jewish literature and led to the creation of a database containing a
short literary profile of every complete extant text from the period 200 BCE to
700 CE. These results should facilitate clearer comparisons between the
Jewish texts themselves, and between these texts and other bodies of ancient
literature, including perhaps the New Testament. Detailed information about
the project, its findings and associated publications can be found at:
http://www.llc.manchester.ac.uk/research/projects/ancientjewishliterature/.
15
This paper will begin with an overview of the Literary Structures project, its
aims and key conclusions, and an explanation of the inventory tool. This
resource will then be applied to Acts, and the resulting literary profile
compared with those obtained by the Manchester team for specific Jewish
texts. This will enable some conclusions to be drawn about the genre and
context of Acts, and also about the applicability of the inventory to other New
Testament writings.
Scripture and the Apostolic Proclamation of the Cross in Acts
Ben Wilson (University of Cambridge)
The post-resurrection references to the passion at the end of Luke emphasize
the necessity of Christ’s suffering as a fulfilment of scripture. According to the
resurrected Jesus, all the scriptures testify to the divinely determined ministry
of the messiah, and the suffering of Jesus is presented as a central element of
his scripturally ordained messianic vocation (Lk 24:25-27; 44-47). The
universal declaration of scriptural fulfilment at the end of Luke’s gospel is then
matched in Acts by a variety of quotations and allusions from particular
scriptures, so that the apostolic witness to the passion shows how Jesus has
indeed fulfilled that which is written in the law, the prophets, and the psalms
(cf. Lk 24:44). Taking Jesus’ final words in Luke’s gospel as a cue, this paper
will consider the apostolic proclamation of the cross in terms of its resonances
with the sub-sections of scripture listed in Lk 24:44. The paper will contend
that the diverse passion references in Acts reinforce the Lukan emphasis upon
the fullness of Jesus’ fulfilment of scripture in his suffering. With this insight in
mind, the paper will conclude by considering the much-debated question of
the scriptural background to the centurion’s declaration in Lk 23:47.
Session 3
A King and Ruler Takes His Stand: Herod’s Role in Luke-Acts in Light of Acts
4:24-28
Frank Dicken (University of Edinburgh)
While scholars are aware of the expanded role Luke grants to Herod Antipas
compared to the other synoptics, they have not explored the repetition of the
name ‘Herod’ as a literary phenomenon in Luke-Acts. My overarching thesis is
that the author of Luke-Acts melds several distinct historical individuals into a
single, stock character who serves as a representative political opponent of
the key protagonists of the works. Specifically, this paper will argue that Acts
4:24-28 contains the central Lukan reflection on ‘Herod’ in Luke-Acts. Luke’s
naming of Herod in this context is odd given the fact that Herod plays no role
in the immediate context. However, this leads the reader to recall not only
Herod’s antagonism toward Jesus (Luke 9:7-9; 13:31; 23:6-12), but also the
antagonistic role ‘Herod’ plays throughout the narrative of Luke-Acts (Luke
16
1:5; 3:18-20; Acts 12:1-25). I will proceed by demonstrating that the author
portrays Herod at Acts 4:24-28 as: 1) both king and ruler and 2) a
representative political opponent. Next, I will offer a brief overview of the
pertinent passages in Luke-Acts that demonstrate this consistent
characterisation, which will show that several different historical figures are
combined by the author to create this opponent, ‘Herod.’
The Contribution of Sociolinguistic Variation to Insider-Outsider Dynamics in
Acts
Julia Snyder (University of Edinburgh)
This paper explores how the speech patterns attributed to various characters
in Acts correlate with both their own social identities and those of their
addressees. The paper argues that sociolinguistic variation in Acts contributes
to the narrative’s portrayal of Christians as a social group bounded in different
ways with respect to non-Christian Jews and non-Christian gentiles. The
outsider status of both Jewish and gentile non-Christians is highlighted
linguistically as Christian characters speak differently amongst themselves
and when addressing non-Christian characters. Christian insider language in
Acts reinforces the narrative’s depiction of the believing community as a
distinct social group. Linguistic boundaries are not drawn unilaterally,
however. Sociolinguistic variation in Acts also suggests that non-Christian
gentiles are socially more distant from Christians than are non-Christian Jews.
This dynamic highlights the narrative’s interest in the close, yet contested
relationship between Jewish and Christian identity.
Book of Revelation
Room: 2.43
Chairs: Ian Paul & Simon Woodman
Session 1
Visualising Revelation: Max Beckmann’s Apocalypse 1941-3
Debbie Lewer (University of Glasgow)
This paper makes a case study of a significant work of modern German art
drawing on the book of Revelation: Max Beckmann’s 1941-3 graphic cycle of
24 lithographs titled The Apocalypse. The series was privately commissioned
by a German collector and made in the context of Beckmann’s exile from Nazi
Germany during the Second World War. The images involve a mixture of
iconographic traditions and Beckmann’s own idiosyncratic, personalised visual
language. They relate both to specific verses in Revelation and to
contemporary events, as the statement that accompanied them on publication
made clear: ‘This work was produced in the fourth year of the Second World
War, when the visions of the apocalyptic visionary became terrible reality.’
17
The paper will examine Beckmann’s Apocalypse in the light of the preceding
few decades’ tradition of apocalyptic imagery and thought in modern
Germany. It will consider how and why Beckmann’s visualisation of
Revelation differs from other interpretations from the earlier First World War
period, such as in the work of artists such as Wassily Kandinsky and Ludwig
Meidner. It will also situate the series in relation to the cultural politics of the
1920s in Germany, including the backlash against what some perceived as an
almost ubiquitous, generic ‘apocalypticism’. Finally, it will reflect on specific
images from Beckmann’s Apocalypse in relation to older representations from
the German late Gothic (including Albrecht Dürer’s celebrated woodcut cycle
of 1498) and Beckmann’s public reputation in the era of the Weimar Republic
as an artist of the so-called ‘Gothic spirit’.
Session 2
(joint session with The NT: Use & Influence Seminar)
The Women Clothed with the Sun: The Reception of Revelation 12 in British
Millenarian Movements 1780-1820
Jonathan Downing (University of Oxford)
The late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries have frequently been noted
as experiencing a revival in apocalyptic and prophetic modes of thinking. The
revolutions in France and America and the subsequent Napoleonic Wars
prompted renewed speculation about the omens and images presented in
prophetic biblical texts such as the Book of Revelation. Chapter 12 of the
book, which describes the conflict between the “woman clothed with the sun”
and “the great red dragon” emerges as a key text for several key writers and
movements within the period. This paper will examine closely three women
who identify themselves with this character: the prophet Joanna Southcott; the
leader of the Scottish Buchanite sect Elspeth Buchan; and Sarah Flaxmer – a
defender of the so-called “Paddington Prophet” Richard Brothers. We will thus
explore how each of these women “decodes” this biblical figure – partly to
bolster their own personal authority, but also to anchor their interpretations of
contemporary historical events and for their expressions of future hope.
Ultimate Forgiveness? Reading Revelation 22.17 through the eyes of William
Blake.
Susan Sklar (University of Oxford)
Two centuries ago William Blake created an illuminated epic Jerusalem, which
reconfigures imagery, structures, and themes from the Book of
Revelation. Blake’s apocalypse reveals apocatastasis, the universal salvation
from which no one is excluded. He does not, I believe, underminine John’s
18
Revelation in Jerusalem: he allows the Spirit and the Bride to have the last
word – as she does in the drama of John’s Apocalypse. Blake’s Jerusalem is
what Blake calls an Emanation: integral to God, connecting humanity to the
divine through what Blake calls “fibres of love” – which originate in Jesus who
(in Blake) is inseparable from Jehovah. Blake’s Jerusalem, the bride of
Lamb, is (like Jesus) both human and divine – and as feminine as Jesus is
masculine. She seeks to transform fallen humanity. Even Babylon, who tries
to destroy her, is finally incorporate in Jerusalem and Jesus: all creatures
ultimately dwell in what Blake calls “the Divine Body, the Saviour’s Kingdom.”
In Jerusalem William Blake seeks to deliver humanity from the blight of
accusation: damning those who are different and/or threatening severs
individuals and nations from what he calls, “the Religion of Jesus, forgiveness
of sins.” Unveiling the subtext of apocatastasis in John’s Revelation reveals
that the Bible can end, not with condemnation, but with the restoration
promised in Genesis: the tree of life may be accessible to all.
Session 3
“The Testimony of Jesus” in Light of the Tradition of Higher Wisdom through
Apocalyptic Revelation
Sarah Underwood Dixon (University of Cambridge)
The phrase hē marturia Iēsou has generated a considerable amount of debate
within Revelation studies, with scholars proposing various views regarding the
interpretation of the genitive construct and the understanding of the manner
and content of the testimony. This paper discusses the idea that “the
testimony of Jesus” should be understood as referring to the book of
Revelation itself. Although a handful of scholars have argued for this
interpretation, it is often disregarded due to the difficulty in understanding how
those described as “having the testimony of Jesus” (using the verb echō;
12.17 and 19.10) could be understood as “having the words of the
Apocalypse.”
I hope to provide further support for this interpretation by arguing that the
tradition of wisdom being revealed through apocalyptic visions provides a
background against which to understand the phrase. Both Daniel and 1 Enoch
contain internal self-references to their corpus, as well as references to
characters described as receiving and subsequently proclaiming the wisdom
revealed in the apocalyptic visions. These same features can be observed in
the book of Revelation, suggesting that “having the testimony of Jesus” can be
better understood in the light of the tradition of higher wisdom through
apocalyptic revelation.
Text and Context: Sources and Exegetical Techniques in Revelation’s use of
Zechariah 4
Garrick Allen (University of St. Andrews)
19
It is widely agreed among scholars that both Revelation 5.6b (in conjunction
with the three preceding references to “seven spirits”) and 11.4 allude to
Zechariah 4.10 and 4.14 respectively. The majority of scholars and
commentators note these references and move directly to a theological
interpretation of how the references relate to the central idea of this chapter
from Zechariah: that the plans of God are accomplished “not by might nor by
power, but by my spirit” (4.6). However, few pause to discuss the mechanics
of the allusion. What version of Zechariah 4 is the author of Revelation
working with and does he use it consistently? Also, how is this allusion
crafted? What exegetical mechanics or scribal techniques does the author
employ? How do they relate to the contemporary exegetical habits of Second
Temple Judaism witnessed at Qumran, in inner-biblical allusions, and other
early Jewish literature? This paper seeks to identify the source text for these
allusions and to discuss the exegetical mechanics used in their employment.
The primary purpose of this paper is to better understand the complex
exegetical mind of the author of Revelation by laying the textual and
contextual foundation of his use of Zechariah 4.
Social World of the New Testament
Room: 1.21
Chairs: Minna Shkul & Lloyd Pietersen
Session 1
False Impressions: An Impassioned Plea to get the Costumes Right
Katie Turner (King’s College London)
This paper will look at first-century dress, using the costuming in Passion
Plays to frame the discussion. Caiaphas is usually costumed in sacramental
robes, creating the (false) impression that the High Priest spent every day
wearing attire meant only for specific Temple ritual. This leaves us asking,
“What would Caiaphas have worn?” Whilst it is difficult to determine how the
High Priest and the rest of the Sanhedrin would have dressed (Jews rarely
depicted human figures in their art and artefacts), it is possible to make
reasoned suppositions. We should be able to construct a sensible depiction of
Jewish dress during this time period using evidence from the Greco-Roman
world (mostly archaeological) in conjunction with what we know about the
Hellenization of first-century Judea. In the post-Holocaust world we have
made distinct progress combating antisemitism in Passion Plays; yet, the
continued portrayal of Caiaphas and the other Priests in unfamiliar and
potentially bizarre costumes highlights their ‘otherness’ and can result in or
contribute to the audience viewing them with suspicion, disdain, or
apprehension. A more accurate portrayal, involving historicity, could result in a
better reflection of the complexity of the historical context and biblical text.
20
Whose ‘head’ is offended by whose ‘head’? Rethinking the issue of head
coverings in 1 Corinthians 11.
Elif Aynaci (University of Manchester)
1 Corinthians 11. 2-16 is not about just any piece of clothing; Paul is solely
concerned with head coverings. He tells men to uncover and women to cover
their heads while they are praying or prophesying because a counter-action
would offend their ‘heads’. This issue raises several questions; in what context
were men/women using head coverings in Greco-Roman society? Why were
they asked to employ different usages of a head covering on the same
occasion? Who were their ‘heads’ and why would they be offended? What
was Paul’s main intention in asking men and women to perform such
customs? Finally, how important were head coverings given that they caused
all this trouble?
This paper aims to answer all these questions and possibly others in light of
archaeological and literary evidence from Greco-Roman culture. I intend to
approach the subject from the head covering’s angle; therefore, I will not be
focusing only on one gender. I will try to prove that Paul was aware of the
different meanings of a head cover for both genders, and utilised this
difference as a tool to maintain social order.
Session 2
Challenge, Riposte and Upside-Down Honour in Galations
David S. Harvey (University of Manchester/Mattersey Hall)
This paper highlights some interesting interpretive possibilities made available
if Galatians 2 is considered using Pierre Bourdieu’s model of challenge and
riposte in an honour society. Recent scholarly attention on the issue of ‘honour
models’ has been criticised for its inherent anachronism as, all too regularly,
the models used are borrowed from cultural anthropologists working in
modern day contexts. We should not, however, ignore that status concerns
dominated the ancient world, particularly the clubs and associations of which
the early house-churches would have resembled. Therefore abandoning these
approaches due to anachronistic fears would seem premature, as it appears
that the models have heuristic potential. It is proposed that applying
Bourdieu’s model shows that Paul himself is critical of the issue of honour.
Rejecting status concerns, for ‘God shows no partiality’ (2:6), the suggested
challenge and riposte structure to Paul’s biographical data presents him as
victorious by aligning himself with the upside-down honour of Christ’s
crucifixion. The task of this paper is to suggest that Bourdieu’s model
highlights an important issue for interpreting Galatians, particularly in relation
to the structure and moral formation of the ‘churches of Galatia’, thereby
21
presenting an argument for the continued use of honour models in socialcontext readings of the New Testament.
‘Love Covers a Multitude of Sins’: The Influence of 1 Peter on Christian
Cohesion in the Gospel of Philip.
Kimberley Slack (University of Manchester)
The Gospel of Philip (Gphil), traditionally ascribed to “Gnostic” Christianity,
makes various uses of the New Testament. Most prominent is Gphil’s use of 1
Corinthians to support the author’s views on the resurrection. In one poignant
passage, Gphil employs 1 Corinthians 8:1, “love builds up,” to affirm that love
for one’s spiritual brothers and sisters must be prioritised above knowledge.
This aspect of Gphil has been somewhat neglected, due to its origin in an
early Christian group traditionally understood to value knowledge. The
passage ends with the famous 1 Peter 4:8, ‘love covers a multitude of sins’. In
1 Peter’s context, this serves to urge the church community to maintain unity
regardless of hostility from non-Christian members of their social setting (see
for example Elliott, 1981, 2000, Horrell, 2008). Little is known about Gphil’s
audience, but the author evidently seeks to ensure that the spiritually elite,
knowledgeable individuals he has in mind do not neglect their brethren. This
paper will consider the significance 1 Peter 4:8 may have held for Gphil’s
author, seeking to promote unity amongst the Christians he addresses, and
explore how 1 Peter’s message can shed light on that which Gphil is
communicating to his own audience.
Session 3
Re-Reading the New Testament after Rethinking ‘Gnosticism’: A Dialogue
between Text, Theory, and Category-Construction
Todd Klutz (University of Manchester)
The context of the present paper is defined largely by a conversation between
scholars who have recently criticised ‘Gnosticism’ as a category too
encompassing to be useful for understanding the complexities of early
Christianity (e.g., Michael Williams and Karen King), and those who maintain
that the category needs little more than some careful redefining and still has
potential to be useful in studies of early Christian history and literature (e.g.,
David Brakke). The present contribution begins with a critique which identifies
a blend of strengths and weaknesses in both of those trends. On that basis,
the task of redefining ‘Gnosticism’ is judged preferable to a complete
repudiation of it; but for that same purpose, a concept used fruitfully in
Williams’ major study (1996) – namely, sociocultural accommodation – is
analysed in terms of its potential contribution to a new and more useful
typological definition. A potentially powerful feature of a typology that includes
sociocultural accommodation is that its application would be obligated to give
22
consideration not only to substantivist and thematic issues in the ancient texts
(e.g., the foregrounding of knowledge as redemptive) but also to questions
about the texts’ social context and ideological functions. The new typology is
then employed in a comparative analysis of the first sixteen sayings of the
Gospel of Thomas and a range of relevant biblical intertexts. The most
significant findings of that analysis are (1) that Thomas differs appreciably
from its biblical intertexts by exemplifying both a higher degree of sociocultural
accommodation to its assumed context and an ethos that is more
individualistic and less group-oriented; (2) that comparative use of the
typology employed in the present analysis has power to shed new light not
only on the texts from Nag Hammadi but also on the writings of the New
Testament; and (3) that both the same typology and its use in future studies of
early Christian literature may have value for the practices of contemporary
Christian theology, ethics, and politics.
NT and Second Temple Judaism
Room: 2.47
Chairs: James Davila & Darrell Hannah
Session 1
The Herodians and the Essenes
Joan E. Taylor (King’s College London)
The question of the identity of the group called the ‘Herodians’ in the Gospel of
Mark has long been a thorny issue, with most commentators now deciding that
they are in some way associated with Herod Antipas. However, a narrativecritical approach to Mark makes this unlikely. Rather, the suggestion that the
Herodians are the Essenes under another (disparaging) name has many
points in its favour, especially given evidence found in Josephus, patristic
literature and archaeology that testifies to an association between the
Essenes and the Herodian dynasty. Likewise, an assumption that the Essenes
were a small, marginal and isolated group is one that needs to be laid on one
side as a by-product of outdated conceptions of Judaism, wedded to a
caricature in Pliny. Josephus or Philo indicate that the Essenes were the most
esteemed of the Jewish legal schools within Second Temple Judaism.
Session 2
Scriptural Exegesis and the Language of Divine Inspiration in Philo of
Alexandria: Some Observations from the Allegorical Commentary
Bobby J. Ryu (University College, Oxford)
A striking feature of Philo’s allegorical writings is his frequent use of the
language of divine inspiration to describe the quest of the human mind to
know God. Much has been written on this subject of course, but surprisingly
23
minimal attention has been given to a pair of more specific questions which
frame this paper. First, what scriptural texts (or sequence of texts) provoke
Philo’s use of this language? Second, what, if anything, might this tell us about
the broader agendas and aims that shape his allegorical readings of Moses?
In an attempt to address this gap, this paper marshals the pertinent evidence
from the so-called Allegorical Commentary and further argues that Philo’s
varied discourses on divine inspiration are animated, at least in part, by two
distinct yet related points of exegetical focus. Texts from Exodus and
Numbers, on one hand, featuring the priestly mediatory figures – the Levites,
Phinehas, and preeminently Moses – prompt Philo to stresses
the divine enhancement of human reason in one’s quest to know God. As
another point of exegetical focus, texts from Genesis featuring patriarchal
figures like Abraham and Isaac provoke Philo to move in markedly different
line of thought, one which stresses the divine eviction of human reason in that
same quest. By insisting on both human rationality (divine enhancement)
and irrationality (divine eviction) as necessary and reciprocal parts of one’s
epistemological transformation, Philo can speak of divine inspiration in
ways congenial to the Middle Platonic schools and his more advanced readers
of Moses.
Session 3
Josephus and his literary context – the cross-cultural influences of
autobiography in antiquity
Anna Davina Grojnowski (King’s College London)
The origins and early development of ancient autobiography as a literary
genre remain unclear, as the majority of texts exist in a fragmentary state.
Josephus’ Vita remains the only full, extant example of the genre of
autobiography in the pre-Christian era, and must provide us with a key to
understanding the gradual development of a distinctive, and in later times
markedly Christian, genre and corresponding socio-political and literary
developments. Therefore, in order to place the Vita within the creation and
evolution of the genre, this paper will note the ubiquity of autobiographical
influences impacting on Josephus and his contemporaries, including literary
and epigraphic examples from the Greco-Roman, Ancient Near Eastern, and
biblical realms.
Based on Richard Burridge’s successful analysis of the Gospels, this paper
will discuss and analyse the Vita within the same framework, by comparing the
text with earlier, contemporary, and later influential examples of
autobiographic literature in terms of external and internal features and literary
devices. The outcomes of this analysis will carry numerous implications for our
understanding of the ancient genre, Josephus’s thought-process and social
24
context (i.e. social standing and audience), and lastly, the dramatic
prominence of the genre in early Christian literature.
New Testament: Use & Influence
Room: 2.46
Chairs: John Lyons & Alison Jack
Session 1
‘Blind Guides of the Blind’: Probing a Metaphor of Sense and Stigma
Louise Lawrence (University of Exeter)
In the contemporary west, blindness’ metaphorical status as a master trope is
well established. The Oxford English Dictionary reveals that ‘blind’ can refer
not only to the inability to see, but also to that which ‘lacks perception,
awareness or judgment’. One need not delve too deeply into the Gospels
either, to witness what Susan Sontag terms the ‘lurid metaphors’ of
impairment which occupy social worlds, most prominently the metaphorical
linkage between blindness and misunderstanding, false leadership and
dispositions unbecoming of a would-be disciple. Here I will probe how Gospel
blindness metaphors have variously served to castigate groups and
dispositions as ‘other’. Second, I will introduce some linguistic and
anthropological work done on corporeal metaphors surrounding illness and
disability. Third, I will attempt to bring insights from disability studies to bear on
the interpretations outlined in three ways (a) Rejection and Retrieval of
Negative Images (b) Biographical Criticism of a Blind Interpreter (c)
Transgressive Reappropriation from a Blind Perspective.
It is important at the outset to state that my focus here is not on blind
characters in the Gospels. Indeed blind characters often function ironically as
a foil to other seemingly ‘average’ or ‘healthy’ bodies which are exposed as
spiritually diseased. Rather, my focus here is solely on how blindness
functions as a tool of rejection and stigma within metaphorical communication.
Acts 1:11 and All That: an Excursion with Cyrus Ingerson Scofield
Hilary Perry (University of Sheffield)
Ernest Sandeen avers that the Scofield Reference Bible has been ‘subtly but
powerfully influential in spreading [dispensationalist] views among hundreds of
thousands who have regularly read that Bible and who often have been
unaware of the distinction between the ancient text and the Scofield
interpretation’ (The Roots of Fundamentalism: British and American
Millenarianism 1800-1930 [Chicago and London, The University of Chicago
Press, 1970], p. 222). This paper examines how this ‘subtle but powerful
influence’ is partially exercised by extensive cross-referencing between notes
in the Scofield Reference Bible (The Scofield Reference Bible, edited by Rev.
25
C. I. Scofield, D.D. [London: Oxford University Press, 1909, revised edition,
1917]). Acts 1:11 is a significant text for Scofield’s eschatological concepts.
Starting from the notes on this verse, I travel through material offered there
and in linked notes on fifteen other texts from both Testaments. These notes
form a complex but coherent series and reveal four of Scofield’s most
common, interrelated, dispensational themes: the eternal separation between
God’s earthly and heavenly peoples, Israel and the Church, and diverse
futures for the Church, Israel and the Gentiles; ‘the kingdom’ to be established
on Christ’s return in fulfilment of the Davidic Covenant; the different natures of
the kingdoms of heaven and of God; and three of the seven dispensations.
Session 2
(joint session with The Book of Revelation Seminar; room 2.43)
The Women Clothed with the Sun: The Reception of Revelation 12 in British
Millenarian Movements 1780-1820
Jonathan Downing (University of Oxford)
The late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries have frequently been noted
as experiencing a revival in apocalyptic and prophetic modes of thinking. The
revolutions in France and America and the subsequent Napoleonic Wars
prompted renewed speculation about the omens and images presented in
prophetic biblical texts such as the Book of Revelation. Chapter 12 of the
book, which describes the conflict between the “woman clothed with the sun”
and “the great red dragon” emerges as a key text for several key writers and
movements within the period. This paper will examine closely three women
who identify themselves with this character: the prophet Joanna Southcott; the
leader of the Scottish Buchanite sect Elspeth Buchan; and Sarah Flaxmer – a
defender of the so-called “Paddington Prophet” Richard Brothers. We will thus
explore how each of these women “decodes” this biblical figure – partly to
bolster their own personal authority, but also to anchor their interpretations of
contemporary historical events and for their expressions of future hope.
Ultimate Forgiveness? Reading Revelation 22.17 through the eyes of William
Blake.
Susan Sklar (University of Oxford)
Two centuries ago William Blake created an illuminated epic Jerusalem, which
reconfigures imagery, structures, and themes from the Book of
Revelation. Blake’s apocalypse reveals apocatastasis, the universal salvation
from which no one is excluded. He does not, I believe, underminine John’s
Revelation in Jerusalem: he allows the Spirit and the Bride to have the last
word – as she does in the drama of John’s Apocalypse.
26
Blake’s Jerusalem is what Blake calls an Emanation: integral to God,
connecting humanity to the divine through what Blake calls “fibres of love” –
which originate in Jesus who (in Blake) is inseparable from Jehovah. Blake’s
Jerusalem, the bride of Lamb, is (like Jesus) both human and divine – and as
feminine as Jesus is masculine. She seeks to transform fallen
humanity. Even Babylon, who tries to destroy her, is finally incorporate in
Jerusalem and Jesus: all creatures ultimately dwell in what Blake calls “the
Divine Body, the Saviour’s Kingdom.”
In Jerusalem William Blake seeks to deliver humanity from the blight of
accusation: damning those who are different and/or threatening severs
individuals and nations from what he calls, “the Religion of Jesus, forgiveness
of sins.” Unveiling the subtext of apocatastasis in John’s Revelation reveals
that the Bible can end, not with condemnation, but with the restoration
promised in Genesis: the tree of life may be accessible to all.
Session 3
The Theology of Bach’s Johannes Passion
Michael Sommer (University of Oxford)
Most people who are attracted to Bach’s sacred music – particularly the
Passions – engage with them, both as audiences and performers, from an
aesthetic perspective. Even those with significant biblical education are
inclined to lose sight of the theology under the spellbinding power of the
music. But Bach’s Johannespassion is not something we, from a modern
historical-critical perspective, would call a proper reading of John’s Gospel. On
the contrary, it is a syncretic reading of the text – relying heavily on Christian
tradition and above all on Luther. So my basic questions are:
a) ‘Does Bach think he is telling the same story as the Evangelist?’ and
b) ‘How and why does he deviate from it?’
In this paper I discuss among other things how Bach perpetuates a surface
reading of Jesus’s opponents in the Gospel, thus reinforcing Luther’s polemics
against Jews; how he takes for granted Luther’s totalizing view of scripture;
how interpretation is shaped by those scriptural details (eg the flagellation of
Christ) Bach chooses to emphasize; and especially how John’s fundamental
theological concepts of Word, Truth and ‘Life’ are obscured by the Lutheran
imperative for Christians to recognise their sinful natures and to respond
penitentially to Christ who suffered for their sins. A good deal of my evidence
will come from the Bible which Bach actually used, the rare and remarkable
Calov edition of 1681-2. The biblical text is liberally interspersed with extracts
from the writings of Luther and, most pertinent for our purpose, it preserves
Bach’s own underlinings and marginalia. From this document we can see in
detail the way the composer reads Johannine theology through a specifically
Lutheran lens.
27
Conference Information.
Notebooks/Wifi
Wifi is available in the Franklin-Wilkins Building using the University Guest
Network.
Meals
All meals and refreshments will be served in the Franklin-Wilkins Restaurant,
situated on the first floor of the Franklin-Wilkins Building.
BNTS Conference Reception Desk
The reception desk will be staffed during breaks and is situated on the ground
floor of the Franklin-Wilkins Building.
Publishers’ Display
The publishers’ display is located in the Franklin-Wilkins Building in the
cafeteria on the first floor.
Excursions
Two excursions will take place, to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, and The
London Eye. In addition, we are happy to announce that torch-bearer Steve
Walton has agreed to lead a group to Trafalgar Square to watch the
Paralympic Games on a live screen. All excursions will depart from the
entrance atrium of the Franklin-Wilkins Building at 1.30pm and are within easy
walking distance. They will return by 3.30pm.
Departure
On the day of departure, please ensure that you leave your room key with the
residence office in the Stamford Street Apartments by 2pm.
Hosting team
Revd Professor Richard Burridge, Dean of King’s College London
([email protected])
Professor Joan Taylor ([email protected])
Dr Edward Adams ([email protected])
Revd Rosie Andrious Ratcliffe ([email protected])
Davina Grojnowski ([email protected])
Contact
Office of the Dean, King’s College London
Franklin-Wilkins Building/security
Stamford Street Apartments
Davina Grojnowski
020 7848 2333
020 7836 5454
020 7848 2960
079 5060 4196
28
Conference Delegates
Delegate: Dr Sean Adams
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Book of Acts
Delegate: Dr Edward Adams
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
Delegate: Prof Loveday Alexander
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Book of Acts
Delegate: Mr Garrick Allen
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Book of Revelation
Delegate: Rev Rosie AndriousRatcliffe
Email:
[email protected]
Seminar: Synoptic Gospels
Delegate: Dr Andrew Angel
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Synoptic Gospels
Delegate: Mr Bradley Arnold
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
Delegate: Ms. Elif Aynaci
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Social World of the New
Testament
Delegate: Dr Alan Bale
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Book of Acts
Delegate: Dr Glenn Balfour
Email:
[email protected]
Seminar: Johaninne Literature
Delegate: Prof John Barclay
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
Delegate: Dr Stephen Barton
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
29
Delegate: Mr Mark Batluck
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Synoptic Gospels
Delegate: Dr Cornelis Bennema
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Johannine Literature
Delegate: Dr Rob Bewley
Email: rob@the bewleys.co.uk
Seminar: Synoptic Gospels
Delegate: Mr Andy Boakye
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
Delegate: Prof Marcus Bockmuehl
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Jesus
Delegate: Dr Helen Bond
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Jesus
Delegate: Dr Ian Boxall
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Book of Revelation
Delegate: Rev Reuben Bredenhof
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Synoptic Gospels
Delegate: Mr Todd Brewer
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Synoptic Gospels
Delegate: Mr Richard Britton
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
Delegate: Dr Thomas Brodie
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Jesus
Delegate: Dr Kent Brower
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Synoptic Gospels
Delegate: Mr Collin Bullard
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Synoptic Gospels
Delegate: Dr Gary Burnett
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
30
Delegate: Prof Richard Burridge
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: New Testament: Use and
Influence
Delegate: Prof Gordon Campbell
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Book of Revelation
Delegate: Dr Tim Carter
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Synoptic Gospels
Delegate: Dr Stephen Catto
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Social World of the New
Testament
Delegate: Miss Susannah Chapman
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: NT and Second Temple
Judaism
Delegate: Dr Andrew Clarke
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
Delegate: Mrs Hannah Cocksworth
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Book of Acts
Delegate: Revd Ian Cooper
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Book of Revelation
Delegate: Mr Joshua Coutts
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Johaninne Literature
Delegate: Miss Joan Crooks
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Book of Acts
Delegate: Prof James Crossley
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Jesus
Delegate: Prof James Davila
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: NT and Second Temple
Judaism
Delegate: Dr Mark DeNeui
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Social World of the New
Testament
Delegate: Mr Frank Dicken
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Book of Acts
31
Delegate: Dr Susan Docherty
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Book of Acts
Delegate: Mr Jonathan Downing
Email:
[email protected]
Seminar: New Testament: Use and
Influence
Delegate: Mr John Dunne
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
Delegate: Dr David Bryan
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Jesus
Delegate: Dr Robert Dutch
Email:
[email protected]
Seminar: Paul
Delegate: Dr Katie Edwards
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: New Testament: Use and
Influence
Delegate: Mr Seth Ehorn
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
Delegate: Dr Paul Ellingworth
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Book of Acts
Delegate: Mr Michael Flowers
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Synoptic Gospels
Delegate: Mr Chris Foster
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
Delegate: Mr Chris Fresch
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Book of Acts
Delegate: Rev. Dr. Emmanuel
Frimpong
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Synoptic Gospels
Delegate: Dr Karen Fulton
Email:
[email protected]
Seminar: Paul
Delegate: Dr Simon Gathercole
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
32
Delegate: Dr Michael Gilchrist
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Book of Acts
Delegate: Miss Haley Goranson
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
Delegate: Rev Robin Griffith-Jones
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Johannine Literature
Delegate: Rev Robbie Griggs
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
Delegate: Mrs Davina Grojnowski
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: NT and Second Temple
Judaism
Delegate: Dr Scott Hafemann
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
Delegate: Dr Darrell Hannah
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: NT and Second Temple
Judaism
Delegate: Dr Elizabeth Harris
Email:
[email protected]
Seminar: Johannine Literature
Delegate: Mr David Harvey
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Social World of the New
Testament
Delegate: Ms. Kelly Hernandez
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: NT and Second Temple
Judaism
Delegate: Prof Larry Hurtado
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Jesus
Delegate: Dr Alison Jack
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: New Testament: Use and
Influence
Delegate: Dr Ellen Juhl Christiansen
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: NT and Second Temple
Judaism
Delegate: Mr Ed Kaneen
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Jesus
33
Delegate: Dr Svetlana Khobnya
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: NT and Second Temple
Judaism
Delegate: Mr Robert Kinney
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Synoptic Gospels
Delegate: Mr Alexander Kirk
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
Delegate: Dr Dominika KurekChomycz
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
Delegate: Dr Pieter J. Lalleman
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Book of Acts
Delegate: Rev.Dr. David Lamb
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Johannine Literature
Delegate: Mr Paul Larson
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Synoptic Gospels
Delegate: Mr Philip Law
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: N/A
Delegate: Dr Louise Lawrence
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: New Testament: Use and
Influence
Delegate: Dr Alan Le Grys
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Social World of the New
Testament
Delegate: Mr Chun-hu Leung
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Social World of the New
Testament
Delegate: Dr Debbie Lewer
Email:
[email protected]
Seminar: Book of Revelation
Delegate: Prof Andrew Lincoln
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Johaninne Literature
Delegate: Rev Joanne Logan
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
34
Delegate: Dr Adrian Long
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
Delegate: Dr William Lyons
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: New Testament: Use and
Influence
Delegate: Mrs Gabi MarkusseOverduin
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Synoptic Gospels
Delegate: Mr Stephen McBay
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
Delegate: Mr Alistair McKitterick
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Book of Revelation
Delegate: Dr Justin Meggitt
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Jesus
Delegate: Mr Denis Metrustery
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Synoptic Gospels
Delegate: Dr Paul Middleton
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Book of Revelation
Delegate: Mr Justin Mihoc
Email: justin@mihoc@net
Seminar: Book of Acts
Delegate: Dr Susan Miller
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Johannine Literature
Delegate: Rev.Dr. Steve Motyer
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Johannine Literature
Delegate: Ms. Charlotte Naylor Davis
Email:
[email protected]
Seminar: Paul
Delegate: Dr Wendy North
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Johannine Literature
Delegate: Dr Jonathan Norton
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
35
Delegate: Dr Matthew Novenson
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
Delegate: Dr Peter Oakes
Email:
[email protected]
Seminar: Paul
Delegate: Rev Matt O'Reilly
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
Delegate: Dr Richard Orton
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Synoptic Gospels
Delegate: Dr Angus Paddison
Email:
[email protected]
Seminar: Book of Revelation
Delegate: Rev David Palmer
Email:
[email protected]
Seminar: Book of Revelation
Delegate: Rev Jack Paton
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Johannine Literature
Delegate: Dr Ian Paul
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Book of Revelation
Delegate: Dr Andrew Perriman
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
Delegate: Mrs Hilary Perry
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: New Testament: Use and
Influence
Delegate: Dr Peter Phillips
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Johannine Literature
Delegate: Dr Richard Phua
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: NT and Second Temple
Judaism
Delegate: Dr Lloyd Pietersen
Email:
[email protected]
Seminar: Social World of the New
Testament
Delegate: Dr Volker Rabens
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
36
Delegate: Dr Rafael Rodriguez
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
Delegate: Rev Bob Ryu
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: NT and Second Temple
Judaism
Delegate: Mr Alan Saxby
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Synoptic Gospels
Delegate: Mr David Shaw
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
Delegate: Dr Frances Shaw
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Synoptic Gospels
Delegate: Dr Minna Shkul
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Social World of the New
Testament
Delegate: Mr Samuli Siikavirta
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
Delegate: Miss Kimberly Slack
Email:
[email protected]
.ac.uk
Seminar: Social World of the New
Testament
Delegate: Mr Steve Smith
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Book of Acts
Delegate: Dr Matthew Sleeman
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Book of Acts
Delegate: Miss Julia Snyder
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Book of Acts
Delegate: Mr Michael Sommer
Email:
[email protected]
Seminar: New Testament: Use and
Influence
Delegate: Dr Dennis Stamps
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
Delegate: Dr Tom Stanford
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Book of Acts
37
Delegate: Mr Mark Stubbs
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
Delegate: Dr Randar Tasmuth
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
Delegate: Prof Joan Taylor
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: NT and Second Temple
Judaism
Delegate: Prof Anthony Thiselton
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
Delegate: Dr Michael Thompson
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
Delegate: Mr Will Timmins
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
Delegate: Dr Emmanuel Tukasi
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: NT and Second Temple
Judaism
Delegate: Mrs Sarah Underwood
Dixon
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Book of Revelation
Delegate: Rev Janet Unsworth
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Johannine Literature
Delegate: Rev Gijsbert van der Hout
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Johannine Literature
Delegate: Prof Steve Walton
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Book of Acts
Delegate: Prof Francis Watson
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Synoptic Gospels
Delegate: Mrs Kathryn Westbrook
Email:
[email protected]
Seminar: Paul
Delegate: Dr Sarah Whittle
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
38
Delegate: Dr John Williams
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Johannine Literature
Delegate: Dr Catrin Williams
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Johannine Literature
Delegate: Mr Andrew Wilson
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
Delegate: Mr Ben Wilson
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Book of Acts
Delegate: Dr Timothy Winder
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Jesus
Delegate: Canon Dr Dagmar Winter
Email:
[email protected]
Seminar: Jesus
Delegate: Mr Brendon Witte
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Jesus
Delegate: Dr Simon Woodman
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Book of Revelation
Delegate: Dr Stephen Wright
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Jesus
Delegate: Prof Tom Wright
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Paul
Delegate: Mrs Lauren Zimmerman
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: N/A
Delegate: Mr Michael Zolondek
Email: [email protected]
Seminar: Jesus
39