The T & T Clark Blog

Jesus and Brian Or: What Have the Pythons Done For Us?

King's College London, of the University of London, are hosting a tremendous event in two weeks, entitled Jesus & Brian or: What Have The Pythons Done For Us? This conference will take a look at the topic of the Historical Jesus, through the lens of the Monty Python film 'The Life of Brian'.

There will be talks from international luminaries in the field(s), including: Bart Ehrman, Paula Fredriksen, Amy-Jill Levine, Martin Goodman, George Brooke, Steve Mason, Adele Reinhartz, Helen Bond, James Crossley, Philip Davies, Richard Burridge and Guy Stiebel. The director of the film Terry Jones (and other mystery guest) will discuss the film and its reception on Friday night, 20 June. The remarkable John Cleese will give an after-dinner talk at the Conference Dinner at Great Hall of Inner Temple on Saturday 21 June hosted by the Master of Temple Church Robin Griffith-Jones. This will be a sparkling wine reception, followed by a multi-course meal, with wine, and will undoubtedly be a very memorable evening (Dinner not included in standard ticket price). On Sunday 22 June there will also be discussion with the film's editor Julian Doyle.

This is the conference for anyone interested in a new way of looking at the subject of Jesus, the Romans, and Judaea in the first century. Bloomsbury T&T Clark are proud to announce that we are the official publishers of the event, and we will be publishing a collection of the articles delivered at the conference in 2015, edited by the conference organiser Joan Taylor.

There are a few tickets left at the following prices:

Student/unwaged Day Tickets are just £32.50. Standard Day tickets £65.

The Conference Dinner is open to anyone - and a guest - who buys a conference ticket (Full or Day), and is £65 per head. Three day tickets are also still bookable at full and student rates. All tickets include lunches and refreshments: Bookings close on June 16th. For tickets and more information, see here: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/depts/trs/events/jandb/index.aspx

For further information, please contact the conference organiser: Prof. Joan E. Taylor, [email protected] For practical enquiries, please contact the conference assistant: Michelle Fletcher [email protected]

The True Herod 5: A Publishing Journey

The True Herod will be out very soon. Publishing this book has been extremely important to me, and it has in many ways been a labour of love. As I have written before, one of the very first ‘academic’ books on the bible that I ever engaged with was Vermes’ Jesus the Jew. Visiting Geza – and his wife Margaret – on the snowy January day mentioned in the preface of The True Herod was a true privilege. As we discussed the new paperback edition of ‘the Vermes-Millar Schuerer’ we also spoke of Herod. Geza had sent me the manuscript a few days in advance of our meeting and I thought that, if we could keep the image budget under control, we might just be able to create a beautiful book which told the tale of one of ancient history’s most remarkable figures.

It was a great sadness to me when Geza died so soon after completing the final draft of the manuscript, not least because I had been looking forward to a longer collaboration.

The work of researching the images began, trying to find those which fitted our budget, as well as the high resolution versions of those which Geza had found on the internet (in some cases fiendishly difficult to track down), and commissioning new maps for the book.

The process was involved and time-consuming. I spent a few hours collecting as many images as I could, and finding out where most of the images Geza had found were located and held. I also began a process of intense haggling with various image collections and museums. From this point I blithely thought we would get things done quickly, and that a day of discussions with Margaret would enable us to complete things. How wrong I was! Coins took a great deal of time and required external help, maps needed very careful checking. Other images were rotated, or extended to the full bleed of the page. We played with captions, and moved things around. In many ways much of this work is not usual for the academic publisher, it is either done by a specific illustrated division, or by the author. And it was hard work.

I would do it all again in a heartbeat.

The book we have produced is extraordinary. Geza’s presentation of Herod, in all his complexity but with that lightness of touch which was (one of) Geza's trademark(s) opens the ancient world up to the general reader, and provides rare new insights for the academic. The illustrations - 95% of which are the high resolution versions of those handpicked by Geza - go with this to keep the reader engaged, questioning, and involved at all times.

In addition all this, The True Herod is one of the most beautiful books I have ever seen. The maroon cloth it is bound in, the yellow/gold head and tail bands, the matte laminate jacket with gold foiling. The image on the jacket – a close-up of the plaster work in the theatre at Herodium. Inside is the gloss-coated art paper, the crisp full-colour printing. The elegant maps. Page 69 is a full page photograph of Masada in all its glory.

The True Herod is, for the reader, a rich journey through the life of Herod and his descendants. For me it has been a publishing journey, one which began with meeting a ‘legend’ and developed with both excitement, frustration and hard work, the latter elements being a crucial parts of all truly great journeys.

When I left Geza and Margaret that snowy day in January 2013 I sent a text message to a respected biblical-scholar friend bragging about the fact that Geza had laughed at a ‘Rewritten Bible’ joke that I’d made. The texts went like this.

 

If you’ll pardon the blasphemy above, little did I know that something had begun already, a journey that I would greatly enjoy, towards the publication of a book which I hope many more will enjoy even half as much as I enjoyed its production.

Christian Faith and the Earth: Great New Title from the Theology List at T&T Clark

This week saw the publication of Christian Faith and the Earth, edited by Ernst M. Conradie, Sigurd Bergmann, Celia Deane-Drummond and Denis Edwards. This new work catches the zeitgeist of the ecological consciousness that has started to take hold across the globe.

Christianity has often been accused for being complicit in ecological destruction. In response, Christian ecotheology offers both a Christian critique of environmental destruction and an ecological critique of Christianity. It thus encourages an ecological reformation of the Christian tradition for the sake of the whole earth. Each of the essays explores one of the core Christian symbols, seeks to capture the current state of the debate in this regard, identifies emerging horizons for such an ecological reformation and invites conversation on the road ahead.

This volume includes essays on the trinity, Christology, pneumatology, creation, anthropology, natural suffering, providence, sin and salvation, the nature, governance, ministries and missions of the church, eschatological consummation, a Christian ethos, the role of liturgy, religious plurality andunderlying methodological problems. The broad span of the work draws together several other discourses in ecotheology on biblical hermeneutics, a retrieval of particular traditions, environmental ethics, animal studies, ecclesial praxis, Christian missions and religion and ecology.

Buy your copy here

My Door Is Always Open - new book by the Pope

My Door Is Always Open: A Conversation on Faith, Hope and the Church in a Time of Change is the new book published by Continuum, Bloomsbury, and the first book written by Pope Francis since he was elected Pope. To celebrate this monumental work, Publisher Robin Baird-Smith went, in person, to deliver a copy to the Pope in the Vatican.
We fully expect some terrific reviews and responses to this book co-written by the Pope, whose mass popularity seems to be soaring on a daily basis. It is available tomorrow, and you can buy your copy here:

http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/my-door-is-always-open-9781472909763/

Robin Baird Smith offered the following reflection on the book:

"We have a Pope who is a radical evangelical, who understands that to be relevant we must speak of things eternal."

If this excites, intrigues or even perplexes you, do not hesitate to get your copy of what promises to be a truly extraordinary book.

The Disciples' Call Editor Interview

The Disciples' Call: Theologies of Vocation From Scripture to the Present Day is a collection of essays which offers a theological anthropology of vocation. Read on for an illuminating interview with editor Father Christopher Jamison O.S.B.

T&T Clark: Hi Father Jamison, thank you for joining us. If you had to, how would you describe your book in one sentence?

Father Christopher Jamison O.S.B: Vocation is a central feature of Christian life and this collection of essays explores the many different meanings people have given vocation in the past and today.

T&T: When did you start researching for this book?

FCJ: When I was appointed Director of the Catholic Church’s National Office for Vocation in October 2010, I began to look more deeply into the meaning of vocation.

T&T: Which part of writing a book have you enjoyed most?

FCJ: The chapters of this book come from a seminar held in 2012. As the convener of the seminar and editor of the book, I’ve had the opportunity to invite a wide range of talented people to work together. Writing the introduction and conclusion to this shared work has been a very enjoyable experience.

T&T: Great! And how has the theme of Vocation, as explored by the contributors to this volume, illuminated and aided your own work at the National Office for Vocation?

FCJ: It has highlighted that vocation has a long and varied history, with different meanings in different eras. This explains some of the confusion that currently surrounds vocation and is helping us to clarify its meaning for today.

T&T: Do you have any tips for people reading the book?

FCJ: After reading the introduction, read any chapter that draws you as they are free standing and don’t need to be read in sequence. Hot tip: Dr Peter Tyler’s chapter on the psychology of vocation has already drawn plaudits from reviewers as the finest piece about this in living memory.

T&T: Great tip, that chapter is earmarked in my copy. How do you/ would you advise someone who believes they are being called but does not yet know whether they have the resources to commit?

FCJ: Firstly, be reassured that you are not alone. Secondly, go to www.ukvocation.org and you’ll find a range of people that you can contact and groups that you can join to ask for advice that has no agenda other than to help you discover God’s call in your life. Nobody can do this on their own.

T&T: Finally, where will your research go from here?

FCJ: The study of Christian vocation leads into consideration of the nature of Christian ministry. This is touched on in Fr Richard Lennan’s excellent chapter on the mission of the church. So I’m looking at the connections between mission, ministry and vocation, connections that Pope Francis has highlighted in his first major work ‘The Joy of the Gospel.’ 

T&T: Thank you Father Jamison, it has been a pleasure.

Just Love criticized by the Vatican

Just Love: A Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics (winner of the 2008 Grawemeyer Award) by Margaret Farley of the Yale Divinity School has been criticized by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The Notification of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith concerning Mercy Sr. Margaret Farley's Just Love: A Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics.

The National Catholic Reporter and the Huffington Post covered the story. You can find Margaret Farley's response here.

Praise for Just Love:

"Farley is best known for her largeness of spirit and for the demanding intelligence she brings to her teaching and writing. Her new book exudes those qualities. . . . Farley's manner is academic but not obscure, and once readers grow comfortable with it, they will reap the benefits of wisdom gleaned from decades of teaching and scholarship. . . . I consider Just Love an important resource and spur for further collaboration among Christians and others on the knotty issues of sexual ethics. Throughout her book, Farley evinces the sort of intellectual modesty that comes from great learning and an open mind. . . . Just Love does not provide all the answers concerning sexual ethics. But it does lay out a serious and solid framework for thinking about them."--Commonweal

"On a topic about which too many angry polemics are written, Farley's calm, commonsense style comes as a relief. . . . This will be a wonderful book to use with students. . . . In a society where sex is used to sell nearly everything . . . Margaret Farley has the guts and the clarity of mind to give as a third alternative to 'narrowly constituted moral systems and rules' on the one hand and sexual chaos on the other."--The Christian Century

"Just Love carries to a new level Farley's analysis of different world-views and cultural systems. . . . As a theologian, Farley gives us a social ethic of sex that incorporates both the biblical 'option for the poor' and the orientation of Catholic social thought to the universal common good. As a feminist, she reminds Catholics that their tradition should make its global option for women more consistent, more explicit and more effective, especially in the areas of sex, motherhood, marriage and family."--America

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.

'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.

Guest Posts

I have been reading our blog, just to check it you understand - I wouldn’t want you to think that I am my own biggest fan! Well, I have been trying to keep you up to date with new books, perhaps not the most creative of tasks… and therefore the idea of having a guest blog post here seems rather refreshing. I have asked some of our authors whether they would like to contribute to our blog and they have, very kindly, agreed to do so. Two posts, which will be put on right away, relate to LNTS volumes that are going to be published very soon. I hope you’ll enjoy reading both!

Quest for the Living God targeted by US Catholic Bishops group

On Wednesday afternoon, our NY office was contacted by the New York Times asking for information on our 2007 title Quest for the Living God by Elizabeth Johnson. Shortly before that, we saw this article about the Committee on Doctrine of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops publishing a 21-page critique of the book. In the critique, they claim the book "contains misrepresentations, ambiguities, and errors that bear upon the faith of the Catholic Church as found in Sacred Scripture, and as it is authentically taught by the Church's universal magisterium." See also the article in the New York Times and another on CatholicCulture.org.

Here is Elizabeth Johnson's response to the critique.

This isn't the first time one of our authors has inspired controversy. The Vatican has objected to Roger Haight's attempts to separate Christology from Greek philosophical concepts. Haight published Christian Community in History Volumes 1-3 and The Future of Christology with us. And of course there is Hans Küng. You can find numerous titles by Dr. Küng on our website.