The T & T Clark Blog

New Releases: "Jewish and Christian Texts in Context" Series

Last year, we began the Jewish and Christian Texts In Contexts and Related Studies Series, edited by James H. Charlesworth, with the release of Robert B. Wright's The Psalms of Solomon: A Critical Edition of the Greek Text. The volume got an excellent response:

"Robert Wright's book is the only complete critical edition of the Greek text of the first century B.C.E. Jewish hymnbook known as the Psalm of Solomon…This combination of a printed critical Greek text, English translation, and CD makes Wright's book an essential purchase for any scholar or student interested in textual criticism, pseudepigrapha, or the history and literature of the Second Temple Period.—Kenneth Atkinson, Journal of Hebrew Scriptures, Vol. 8, (2008)

Now, we are very excited to release more volumes in what we believe will be a series that will continue to set the bar in canonical, apocryphal and pseudepigraphical studies.

Fresh out of the gate is our second volume entitled Jesus, an Emerging Jesus Mosaic: Jewish Perspectives, Post-Holocaust by Father Daniel F. Moore. Moore has written a very interesting and necessary book about historical Jesus scholarship through the lenses of contemporary Jewish scholars. He examines Jesus within Judaism and Jesus as a Jewish brother in the scholarship of such writers as Schalom Ben-Chorin, David Flusser, Geza Vermes, and Jacob Neusner. Available now in the US and in August in the UK.

We have also released Volume 3, Etienne Nodet's The Historical Jesus ?: Necessity and Limits of an Inquiry, translated by Edward Crowley. This book offers the reader an investigative appreciation of the historical-critical method regarding scholarship of the historical Jesus, challenging entrenched  exegetical prejudices and calling for a better accounting of the nature of the ancient texts.

In an effort to better familiarize readers with the relevant primary documents under negotiations, Appendix I includes the important non-canonical texts that support Nodet's position. In Appendix II, he presents a new translation of Josephus' War of the Jews for hints of authentic non-Christian evidence about Jesus and John the Baptist. This book is available in the US and will be available next month in the UK.

On the horizon, we have Volume 4, James H. Charlesworth's and Gerbern S. Oegema's edited collection Pseudepigrapha and Christian Origins: Essays from the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas releasing this fall. All good stuff!

Christ in Postmodern Philosophy

We have received to endorsements for Frederiek Depoortere's forthcoming book Christ in Postmodern Philosophy.

Wolfgang Palaver from the University of Innsbruck (Austria) writes:
‘This highly readable book shows convincingly that René Girard’s mimetic theory – by comparing it with the concepts of Gianni Vattimo and Slavoj Žižek – provides a very promising understanding of Christological ideas in our scientific age. Frederiek Depoortere also justly claims that Girard’s project is not yet finished and needs to be developed further. His book is a valuable contribution to this ongoing task. Most importantly Girard’s theory has to be taken into inter-religious dialogue.’

And Lieven Boeve from Katolieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium) has sent this:
'In this brilliant study Frederiek Depoortere engages the return of Christ in contemporary philosophy. He not only succeeds in concisely presenting the differing approaches of Gianni Vattimo, René Girard and Slavoj Žižek, but also offers insightful comparisons between them. Particularly interesting are the two reading keys which guide the author’s critical-constructive evaluation: on the one hand, questioning the relation between transcendence and incarnation in these philosophical Christologies; on the other, investigating their claims regarding the uniqueness of Christianity. The result is a fascinating and challenging book on the borders of philosophy and theology.'

Christ in Postmodern Philosophy will publish in August in the UK and October in the US.

Online Review: Being in Action

Princeton Theological Seminary Library have posted a review of Paul Nimmo's book Being in Action by Travis McMaken.

"Nimmo’s volume is certainly a significant contribution to the study not only of Barth’s ethics but also of the overall shape of his thought. Being in Action provides an excellent introduction to Barth’s theological ethics and deserves a place on any syllabi or bibliography dealing with Karl Barth’s theology."

By the way: Paul Nimmo will soon move up to Edinburgh to take up a new position as Lecturer in Systematic Theology and Christian Ethics at the Divinity Faculty in the University of Edinburgh. Congratulations!

Response to National Geographic Press Release

Tom Bartlett, author of the Chronicle of Higher Education article, has posted a response to National Geographic's press release. I have to say that I agree with Tom that NG's press release was rather heavy-handed and not properly thought out.

National Geographic respond to the critical Chronicle of Higher Education article on the Gospel of Judas

National Geographic have issued a response to the recently published Chronicle of Higher Education article which criticises them for their handling of the Gospel of Judas (see post of May 28). You can read it here.

Kathy Galloway, Leader of Iona Community, responds to 'Women and Ordination in the Christian Churches'

Women and Ordination in the Christian Churches (edited by Ian Jones, Kirsty Thorpe and Janet Wootton) will be published by T&T Clark in July 2008 in the UK, and September in the US.  The manuscript was recently sent to Rev. Kathy Galloway - leader of the Iona Community, who kindly provided the following response/commendation.

Response below:

'The editors and publisher of this substantial book are to be congratulated for an important contribution on the ordination of women in the Christian Churches. Bringing together perspectives from widely differing theological and ecclesiological traditions is in itself a vital task in a process which is by no means finished (in spite of a tendency among many to consider it a ‘done deal’). The debates and decisions of the past, present and future continue to reverberate through and affect not just individual churches and women but many other issues of church polity, ecumenism, social justice, human rights and the relationships of church and culture. This book tracks some of the paths that have led to where we are and suggests possible avenues for future exploration.

But perhaps the book’s greatest contribution is in offering international perspectives from places and contexts we do not often hear about, certainly in Britain; from East and West Africa, the Caribbean, French Polynesia and from smaller or less familiar Christian traditions. The enormous and heroic struggles of often lone pioneering women are always in danger of being overlooked, invisible or lost altogether, but it is crucial that these other voices are heard, in part at least so that we never fall back on narrow, self-satisfied assumptions that there is nothing more to hear. If that means that it is necessary to be challenged on issues of colonialism, racism, patriarchy and prejudice of any kind, then that is no bad thing.

One of the contributors, from Sweden, writes: When discussions about opening up the priesthood to women became increasingly intense, it was not only its (the church’s) view of priesthood that was at stake, but something larger: the church’s view of humanity, the basis for relationships between men and women, questions about women’s subordination and about the church and society. These things are still at stake, and this book is a significant, fascinating, sometimes moving and much-needed resource in engaging with them.'

Kathy Galloway, Leader, the Iona Community, Minister of the Church of Scotland

For more details of the book please click here UK customers | US customers