Bible: Acts, 1-2 Timothy,
Barnstone: Acts of Peter (pt. 1: OB 426-431), Acts of Paul
Theissen: pp. 118-137
Web: Laodiceans, 3 Corinthians
Terms
Pericope
Orthodoxy vs. orthopraxy
kosher
Passion and resurrection traditions
Eucharist
Basis in Passover meal
Last supper is Passover, except in John
Paul: "Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us"
Sociologically & symbolically substitutes for performance of sacrifice
Theme in John, but "last supper" is replaced by washing of disciple's feet
Resurrection
Where?
Matt, Mark & Peter known only Galilean appearances
Luke & long ending of Mark have only Jerusalem appearance
John has both, but Galilean appearance is postscript
Unrecognizable Jesus
Road to Emmaus (Luke)
Jesus as gardener (John)
Secret Gospel of Mark
Question of relationship to canonical Mark
Esoteric gospels?
Gnostic version?
Death of Zacharias // Luke 11.51
Jewish Sects
Pharisees
oral tradition
"Build a fence around the Law/Torah"
Qorban
Kashrut (keeping kosher)
Talmud
Mishna
Resurrection of the Dead
Sadducees
Torah only
Temple connection
Opinions on afterlife
No surviving documents
Essenes
apocalyptic
asceticism
open canon
rel. to Dead Sea Scrolls?
3 messiahs
Zadokite connection
Hellenistic Judaism
mostly diaspora
wider (Greek) canon
often syncretistic
Proselytism
Judaism view as oriental mystery religion in Greco-Roman world
Many gentiles attracted and attended synagogue
Some converted
Circumcision, dietary change, mikva
Most stayed on the outside & maintained limited observance
Sometimes referred to as "God-fearers"
Christianity as Jewish Sect
completely separated from Judaism after the destruction of the Temple
Comparative Gospels
Authorship issues
Pseudepigraphy
Traditional attribution does not constitute pseudepigraphy
Tendency to assign anonymous works to famous people
Prob. Matthew
Mark & Luke not particularly well known
Strengthens argument for traditional attributions
Not necessarily the Mark of Acts or Paul's 'beloved physician'
John
Appears composite, at least last chapter is later appendix after John's death
However, appendix provides early support for Johannine source of main body
Could be derived from John's preaching rather than direct authorship
On the beatitudes
Luke naturalizes, inclines to social activism
e.g. "Blessed are you who are hungry now"
Matthew spiritualizes, perhaps to make room for richer Christians
e.g. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness"
Matthew
Fulfillment of scripture
Emphasis on Torah/Law
Possible 5 sections parallel to 5 books of Torah
Jesus as
Davidic Messiah
New Moses
Mark
Action
Mostly miracles and parables
Everything seems to happen 'immediately'
Exclusive Marcan pericopes:
Parable of seed growing secretly (4:26-29)
*Double healing of blind man (8:22-26)
Servants left in charge of household (13:33-37)
*Young man runs away naked (14:51-52)
note connection to Secret gospel of Mark
Problem of the missing ending
Longer and shorter endings
Where do the resurrection appearances occur?
Jesus as
Miracle worker
Luke
Emphasis on those marginalized by Jewish society
Gentiles
Poor
Women
Quality Greek
Jesus as
Savior of the downtrodden
John
Heavily theological
Jesus as
Incarnation of the divine
Movies
The Passion of Christ
Catholic extrabiblical insertions
Language issue
Pilate speaks Aramaic?
Jesus speaks Latin?
No one seems to speak Greek?
Cross bar or full cross?
Devil as woman
Devil's baby: parody of Madonna & child(?), Antichrist(?)
Paul (2)
Acts
Baptism
Is baptism a substitute for circumcision?
(Lack of) evidence for performance on infants
Directly parallel to mikva in both form and usage
Paul (Romans) views it as a sign of conversion
But does function that way sociologically in later Christianity
Immersion issue
Etymology
Didache
We section
Dating Acts
Speculation about a third volume
Apocryphal Acts
Acts of Peter
Acts of Paul
Question of age of the traditions
Paul & Thecla
Virginity & salvation
Underlying sexuality
Converted animals (lions)
Paul delays baptizing Thecla
Presumably, baptism is only offered after converts have proven themselves
She ends up baptizing herself, which offended Tertullian
Paul does not hesitate to baptize the lion
Note that both baptisms are immersion
Suffering and Asceticism in Early Christianity
Asceticism
body as source of sin
perception of world/body as evil
motivations for asceticism
suppress body --> suppress sin nature --> stimulate spirituality
self-control yields strength
pleasure (esp. sex) is bad
Josephite Marriage
Essenes
Apparently ascetic
Very few women at Qumran (acc. to archaeological record)
Called their opponents "lovers of soft things"
e.g. preferring creature comforts
Celibacy
Contrast ascetic view with Paul's
Women linked to sexuality in 2nd century and later Christianity
Women viewed as sexual aggressors-the source of sexual sin
Some speculation as to whether women had souls
Women blamed for fall, which was viewed as sexual
Clement: "fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil" = sex
'Knowledge' is euphemism for sexual intercourse in biblical Hebrew
for Clement, it was premature sex, not sex itself that was sinful (considering that Adam & Eve were husband & wife)
Jerome on virginity (raped nun may loose salvation)
