I’m trying to figure out the top ten questions an historical-critcal scholar asks when he reads the biblical text. Here’s what I’ve come up with so far:
1. Who wrote this text?
2. Who edited/redacted it?
3. Where was it written?
4. When was it written?
5. For what purpose did the author write it? Especially, what was his political motivation?
6. How does this text fit or not fit into the theories developed by historical-critical scholars?
Ravi Zacharias often recites this poem on Secularization
First dentistry was painless.
Then bicycles were chainless,
Carriages were horseless,
And many laws enforceless.
Next cookery was fireless,
Telegraphy was wireless,
Cigars were nicotineless,
And coffee caffeineless.
Soon oranges were seedless,
The putting green was weedless,
The college boy was hatless,
The proper diet fatless.
New motor roads are dustless,
The latest steel is rustless,
Our tennis courts are sodless,
Our new religion–godless.
-Arthur Guiterman, “Gaily the Troubadour”
Painfully accurate, isn’t it?
Right now I’m working on this question: Did Jesus claim to be divine in John 18:5 when he said “I AM”?
Many people argue that Jesus never claimed to be divine. I think that’s a stretch. On the other hand, in the gospels, Jesus never exactly says, “I am God.” But I think this moment is probably the closest we have. “I AM” is ego eimi in Greek, which is the same phrase God uses in Exod 3:14 in the LXX. God says “I AM WHO AM” or ego eimi ho on. Think about it.
Robert Alter’s list of the top five books on the Bible:
1. Mimesis by Erich Auerbach
2. The Eclipse of Biblical Narrative by Hans W. Frei
3. The Book of God by Gabriel Josipovici
4. Leviticus as Literature by Mary Douglas
5. The Biography of Ancient Israel by Ilana Pardes
The list was published in the Wall Street Journal.
What do you think of his list? Did he leave out anything more important? Are these books worth reading?
I plan to use this blog to give you very helpful links for studying the Bible as Catholic. I also will use it to discuss current events in the world of Catholic Bible scholarship. We can use it to exchange ideas about reading and thinking about the Scriptures as a Catholic. Please post your comments and we can begin a great discussion. Let me know if you have any helpful links that you think I should post here.
2nd try at a picture
Apparently blogger isn’t accepting photos this morning. 🙁