The T & T Clark Blog

Professorial Inaugural Lecture by Dom Henry Wansbrough: Liverpool Hope 7th March

Dom Henry Wansbrough

Liverpool Hope University have announced the Professorial inaugural lecture of Dom Henry Wansbrough, who has been appointed Alexander Jones Professor of Biblical Studies. It is taking place on Wednesday 7th March at 5.30pm and the title of the lecture is 'Was Jesus a Pharisee?'

Fr Henry is the former Master of St. Benet's Hall in Oxford, was for many years the only English member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, and is the General Editor of the New Jerusalem Bible. He is a Benedictine monk of Ampleforth Abbey.

He is also one of T&T Clark's most valued authors. His bestselling book 'The Use and Abuse of the Bible' was published to great acclaim in 2010 - reprinting twice within its first year - and his new book 'The Sunday Word' has just come out under the Burns and Oates imprint. This book provides short commentaries on the Sunday Readings (and major feasts/solemnities) together with questions for personal reflection, and an introduction on the shape of the Lectionary. It will be a must for Lectio Divina and scripture study groups in both Roman Catholic and Anglican traditions.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor says in his foreword to the book; 'In these commentaries the background and chape of every passage is opened up and shared with us. This is a great achievement by Henry Wansbrough and we should all be grateful to him'

and Prof Richard Burridge, Dean of KCL, says; 'Beautifully written and drawing upon a lifetime of Biblical scholarship, Dom Henry Wansbrough's explanations of the Bible readings Sunday by Sunday are as informative as they are a delight!'

We congratulate Fr Henry on his Professorial appointment, and hope that the inaugural lecture will be a tremendous success.

New to the LNTS Series!

The LNTS list is bringing you many exciting new titles over the coming weeks. Two books are coming out in February, starting with the enlightening ‘What Does the Scripture Say?’ Studies in the Function of Scripture in Early Judaism and Christianity. This two-volume work focuses on the function of Scripture in the New Testament Gospels and the letters of the apostle Paul. These essays explore new methods and overlooked traditions that shed light on how the founders of the Christian movement understood the older sacred tradition and sought new and creative ways to let it speak to their own times.

February will also see the publication of Christology, Hermeneutics, and Hebrew, a radical consideration of the theological impact of the Letter to the Hebrews. The history of the interpretation of Hebrews over the last two millennia is discussed and assessed. Beginning with the Patristic period, the book goes on to examine the responses of Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, John Calvin, as well as more recent figures such as Karl Barth. This radical academic project moves the study of Hebrews away from perennial arguments about its authorship and provenance and engages instead with it from a theological perspective; the issue of the Christological message in the Letter to the Hebrews is at the forefront and is considered both in terms of the interpreter's context and historical setting.

The beginning of March brings us another wonderful book. Jeffrey E. Brickle’s Aural Design and Coherence in the Prologue of First John is also set to appear on 01.03.12! It is the first sustained investigation of the oral patterning of 1 John 1:1–4, examining underlying design and organisation. Unlike literature in the modern western world, ancient documents were typically crafted for the ear rather than the eye. Brickle examines, describes, and depicts graphically the patterns of sound that emerge as the text is read aloud. He uses the approaches to Greek pronunciation and orality advocated in recent New Testament research to determine the impact on the Prologue’s soundscape, followed by an analysis employing the principles for beautiful and effective composition elucidated by the ancient teacher of rhetoric, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, in his treatise, On Literary Composition.

Don’t miss these fantastic and diverse new titles!

'The Big Questions'

Newly minted professor (and T&T Clark author) Francesca Stavrakopoulou was on the BBC's 'The Big Questions', broadcast yesterday. Iplayer link here for those in the UK. The programme debated the existence of God. I haven't watched all of it, because my internet is a bit slow for such things at work (and, errr, because I'm at work). But the bit I did watch disappointed me a little because the theist arguments I heard seemed very simple, and to come from a wholly uneducated perspective. This was particularly the case when they were talking about an uncaused cause, or an unmoved mover, which even Nicky Campbell seemed to know something about - God (if he exists - I don't know cos I didn't watch the whole show) bless wikipedia. People clearly hadn't really grasped their Aquinas, and had I been there I'd have recommended that they consult several T&T Clark publications for help... notably our Aquinas Reader's Guide.

It was whilst some chap with the poetically significant name Adam, described as a 'Muslim Thinker', was getting himself tangled up that Francesca chipped in with the point that looking at creation as a single event doesn't entirely fit with the biblical account... which suggests an ongoing process of creation. One might even say 'Creation, Un-creation, Re-creation' (as Joe Blenkinsopp eloquently outlines in his book by this title). Of course, the biblical account does suggest an ongoing process of creation, a process of constant creation... (in addition of course to a 'beginning point') in which humanity has a part to play. This notion is present throughout the biblical text, and certainly in Christian theology. Sadly no-one on the theist front bench in 'The Big Questions' (at least not in the bit I watched) seemed to know this and some of them might need to read this, whereas certainly all of them could have done with a copy of this. They were all far more concerned with saying that the big bang doesn't disprove God. Of course, the Big Bang doesn't... so I'm not sure why they were all so preoccupied with it, but it seemed set to remain the battle ground de choix.

I gave up, as did my internet connection... when the old altruism debate (sometimes people are lovely for no apparent reason = God) was wheeled out in the most basic of terms. Of course there is rich fruit here and it is within this line of enquiry that I find my own belief, but sadly it wasn't put across well by the theist front bench.

Anyway, it was all good fun... and nice to have these debates on the telly I suppose. The best thing of all, however, is the way the programme is desribed on iplayer:

'Nicky Campbell debates evidence for the existence of God in Warrington'

I've never been to Warrington, so I wouldn't know.

Tom Greggs on Motifs in Religionlessness

Tom Greggs' forthcoming 'Theology against Religion' is clearly the most exciting theology manuscript I have read in a long time. Tom looks at the critique of 'religion' as found in Barth and Bonhoeffer. After a careful analysis of their work he identifies ten central motifs in religionlessness which he then uses to develop a vision for theology and indeed the church of the future. How should theology look like, how should the church look like in a time when Christianity as religion is a thing of the past?

 

To whet your appetites, read the concluding section of chapter four below. The book will publish in October in the UK (US: December). The cover on the left is a draft design.

 

Motifs in Religionlessnes (Tom Greggs)

A theology which takes the critique of religion seriously will in the first instance be (1) radically christocentric. In seeking to understand who God is, it will necessarily look to Jesus Christ, and seek to learn from Him. In doing this, such a theology will seek to affirm the humanity of God rather than any perceived innate divinity in humans. It will be a theology that realizes that the veil is truly rent, and God is most visibly seen, in the dead human corpse of the human who died for other humans, hanging on a cross. Jesus Christ, as one who stood in opposition to religious authorities and rulers, as the one who was never a member of a priestly class and never created a priestly class, and as the one in whom there is no longer any distance between God and humanity, will be the governing rule of a theology which takes the critique of religion seriously. Revelation will be understood not simply as a ‘thing’ in relation to Him, but as the act and event of God by which He is known to individuals and communities by the power of the Spirit.

Herbert McCabe

This is a blog post from Robin Baird-Smith, Publishing Director at Continuum.

Herbert McCabe, the Dominican friar who died in 2001, was arguably the most important English Catholic theologian of the post war years. Not however `arguably` to us, as we believe he was indeed just that. In his lifetime he published only three or four books but his influence was enormous. This is confirmed by people as diverse as the philosopher Sir Anthony Kenny, the poet P.J. Kavanagh and the literary critic Terry Eagleton.

McCabe was a Thomist through and through but in his Thomistic explorations he was also profoundly influenced by Wittgenstein. Since his death, Continuum has published more McCabe books than were ever published during his own life time.- seven in all. We have also reissued two of his earlier books Law, Love and Language and The New Creation.

To our enormous satisfaction all these books reprint regularly and Mc Cabe`s influence seems to grow accordingly. On March 5th, there will be a one day symposium held at Blackfriars, Oxford entirely devoted to McCabe`s work and thought. The impressive line up of speakers include Fergus Kerr op and Sarah Coakley, the Norris Hulse Professor in the University of Cambridge. The title of the symposium is Faith Within Reason, which is the title of one of the McCabe books we publish.

In a sentence, of McCabe one could say this: `It is only through the disclosure of God`s hidden life to our human minds that we can know of the one primary truth from which all his theology derives and to which it always returns:not that we ought to love God but that we are only able to do so because from eternity, God has loved us first`. That is the only gospel that MCabe ever preached.

For a complete list of McCabe titles in print please refer to the Continuum website.

Reviews for 'Stepping out with the Sacred'

It's worth having a look at Val Webb's website. There are some very good reviews of her latest book with Continuum, Stepping out with the Sacred. You can find a preview of the title here. Enjoy!

More on Bonhoeffer

I thought I might share this interesting comment with you. I found a discussion on another book on Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas, published by Thomas Nelson this year. The reviewer, Andy Rowell, writes that "until now, American readers have lacked an account of Bonhoeffer's life that is both thorough and engagingly readable, a book that captures the full sweep of his remarkable story and highlights its meaning for us today."

In response to that author and scholar Charles Marsh comments:

In fact, there are a number of excellent biographies that offer an "account of Bonhoeffer's life that is both thorough and engagingly readable....that captures the full sweep of his remarkable story." The best is Ferdinand Schlingensiepen's "Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 1906-1945, Martyr, Thinker, Man of Resistance," published in translation last month by T & T Clark/Continuum. FS worked closely with Bethge and served on the editorial board of the 16 volume Bonhoeffer Werke. A nice bonus: FS got permission from the Bonhoeffer family to print previously unpublished photographs.

See his full comment here. (click on comment tag)

If rumours are anything to go by, Charles Marsh is working on a major study of Bonhoeffer's time in the United States...

Guest post from Riemer Roukema on his book 'Jesus, Gnosis and Dogma'

Below is the first of a series of guest posts which Ive invited people to contribute to the T&T Clark blog. The idea is that authors can probably best introduce their own work. I hope you enjoy them.

Why did I write Jesus, Gnosis and Dogma?

Riemer Roukema, Theological University, Kampen, The Netherlands

There are two reasons why I wrote this book. First, I was (and am) annoyed by the suggestion that the real Jesus was a sort of teacher of Gnostic or esoteric wisdom that can be found, for example, in the Gospel of Thomas. To be sure, in some respect Jesus was a teacher of wisdom, and part of the sayings attributed to him in the Gospel of Thomas may be more or less trustworthy or in line with his own instruction. But in my book I argue that especially its esoteric, Gnosticizing teachings do not go back to Jesus of Nazareth, but have been attributed to him at a later stage, when certain Christians wanted to align him with religious views originating from other sources. For that reason in the Gospel of Thomas Jesus sometimes seems to propagate Hermetic and other religious views concerning, for example, the need to acquire self-knowledge, which means knowledge about the supracelestial origin and destination of one’s soul. His alleged devaluation of the Old Testament prophets and of common Jewish practices like prayer and almsgiving also fits in with this. One of the examples of a high, but uncritical esteem of the Gospel of Thomas can be found in Elaine Pagels’s book Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas. In my chapter 1, therefore, I critically discuss her interpretation of an esoteric version of Jesus’ conversation with his disciples about his own identity. Furthermore, I demonstrate that other apocryphal texts such as the Gospel of Judas, or related testimonies to Jesus’ alleged Gnostic teachings, are even less trustworthy from an historical point of view. I maintain that the most trustworthy records of Jesus’ own instruction can be found in the synoptic Gospels, and perhaps to a lesser extent in the Gospel of John. Still, I do not exclude the possibility that the Gospel of John contains Jesus’ own mystic teachings that are less prominent in (but not absent from) the synoptic Gospels. As far as Jesus had a secret teaching for the inner circle of his disciples, the gist of it can now be found in the canonical Gospels. There is no trace of early Gnosticism in his own teaching, although afterwards esoteric Christians could reinterpret his instruction in a Gnostic sense.

Ecological Hermeneutics: edited by Horrell, Hunt, Southgate, Stavrakopoulou

I have just received advance copies from the printer of 'Ecological Hermeneutics' a new book as part of Exeter's wider project in this area (there are a couple of other books from it, one's with Equinox I think).

This book is aimed at scholars, and a student audience, and at moving in systematic way towards developing a sound ecological hermeneutical approach. I think it will do well on courses as more and more institutions begin to consider this sort of approach. If anyone is teaching a course for which this might be useful do ask for an inspection widget of the full book.

Some top names in there - Francis Watson, John Barton, Richard Bauckham, John Rogerson

You can preview the book with the widget within this post.

Paul's Parallels - Sample Material

In response to Brandon's query I'm putting up some sample material of Paul's Parallels here in pdf form - I hope it works! It shows the contents, foreword by Chris Rowland, the introduction, and some of the synopsis material. I hope it interests people. Remember that you can find the book on our website.

Download Paulsparallelssample