|  Recently,
I have been investigating and seeking to articulate
the implications for Jewish - Christian relations of my reading of
Paul as a Torah-observant Jew founding communities that were still
identified with Judaism.
Detailed research of Philippians 3 and
1 Corinthians 8--11:1, two of the several
"flash-points" for discussing Paul and
Judaism, are
presently
being undertaken. For recent papers presented from
this research, see the sidebar to the right and column below, as well
as the projects and lectures pages.
In
January, 1996, my first book, The Mystery
of Romans: The Jewish Context of Paul's Letter, was
published with Fortress Press. In late 2001, my
revised
dissertation, entitled The Irony of Galatians:
Paul's Letter in First-Century Context, was published with
Fortress Press (2002 imprint). In late 2002, a volume of edited essays, The
Galatians Debate: Contemporary Issues in Rhetorical and Historical Interpretation,
was published by Hendrickson. This volume is built around essays I found
to be important in several areas of research for Irony of Galatians,
and includes new essays that fill in gaps and acquaint the reader
with
some
of the latest
developments
in the debate. I hope it will prove to be a valuable tool for the classroom,
as well as the specialist. An extensive introduction
summarizes each of the contributions, which are grouped into sections
according to methodology and topic, facilitating research and discussion
not only of
Galatians, but of recent developments in rhetorical and historical interpretation
within the field. More details are available on the projects and reviews
pages.
Galatians
and Romans contain
much of the material from which histories of early Christianity and
interpretations of the Jerusalem churches and of Paul's
relationship to them have been developed. This has led me to investigate
more directly the Apostle Paul's relationship with the Jerusalem apostles
and churches. In one current project,
I am
working
specifically on topics concerning
Paul's
relationship with the Jerusalem based apostles and their communities.
In another, I am trying to penetrate the allegorical rhetoric of Galatians
4:21--5:1. Please check
the
right
hand
sidebar and related pages for more information
about
these as well as other current and planned
projects. More
Projects>>
Since
Spring of '04, I have been pleased to serve as the first Soebbing Visiting
Scholar at Rockhurst University,
a Jesuit University in Kansas City, Missouri, and since Autumn of '05,
as a lecturer at University of Kansas. For a list of past, current,
and planned class offerings, see Lectures>>
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Paul
Between Christians and Jews
In this
current book project, I seek to communicate the benefits of my
reading of Paul as a Torah-observant Jew for
contemporary Jewish - Christian relations. My target audience is
the informed non-specialist, students, as well as specialists on
Paul, the New Testament and early Christianity and/or
Judaism,
and Jewish - Christian relations. This project builds on
recent lectures and a paper entitled: "A
Torah-Observant Paul?: What Difference Could it Make for Christian/
Jewish Relations Today?"
Paul
and Apostolic Judaism: An Introduction Anders
Runesson (of McMaster University) and I are co-writing a book project
designed to introduce Paul as a Torah-observant Jew who believed
that Jesus was the Messiah of Israel and Savior of the
Nations. We have coined the term
Apostolic Judaism
to signify this
dynamic. Discussions will focus on the Jewish and Greco-Roman
contexts of Paul
and the
various audiences of his letters alongside detailed examinations
of the messages he communicated. The outline is designed
to be suitable for a one semester introductory course
on Paul, or to be used for the Paul component of
a
broader New Testament course.
Rival
or Representative: Re-evaluating Paul's Perspective on the Jerusalem
Church
This Hendrickson Publishers' project is in the intermediate stages
of research and writing. It builds on research recently or soon to
be published
on the Jerusalem Meeting and Antioch Incidents of Galatians 2. The
focal point is the investigation of Paul's language regarding the Jewish
coalition
of believers in Jesus Christ in Jerusalem. Since Paul's extant letters
provide most of the available material written prior to the Jewish
Revolt of the late 60's-70 c.e., these will be the primary area of
research,
rather than, e.g., Acts, or the even much later Pseudo-Clementines.
I hope to provide an historical construction of the Jerusalem Christ-believers'
position as it relates to my interpretation of Paul's thought and behavior,
for example, their policy on the admission of non-Jews into this coalition.
Did it include the necessity of proselyte conversion? If not required,
did it allow for it? A focus on Paul's attitude toward and relationship
with the Jerusalem leaders of this coalition, such as James and Peter,
will be sustained. The dynamics of Paul's collection project will be
investigated. As a result of one of the areas of research I have begun
to work on
a
related
project
investigating
the
allegory
of Galatians
4:21-31, discussed below.
What
Does "Present Jerusalem" (Gal 4:25) in Paul's Allegory Have
to Do with the Concerns of the Galatians?
I
am intrigued by Paul's introduction of language having to do
with Jerusalem "now" versus "above" in his
allegory of Galatians 4:21--5:1, and by the prevailing interpretations
of this language. Moreover, I find the entire allegory interesting.
It is so difficult to penetrate, calling upon familiarity with
Jewish midrashic exegesis and various Jewish interpretive traditions
about the stories of Abraham and his two wives and sons from
Genesis, as well as Isa 54:1. The traditional and prevailing
interpretations of this allegory depend upon decisions about
the addressees and Paul that I do not share. So I am interested
in investigating this allegory in depth, yet at the moment not
sure what this endeavor will yield, or when. Some of the results
of this research will be incorporated in a chapter in the Hendrickson
project mentioned above, but the balance will likely lead to
a paper and journal length project, and perhaps eventually a
monograph.
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| Lectures
and Other Current Projects |
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Posted
5-28-08: "Rethinking
the 'Paul and Judaism' Paradigm: Why Not 'Paul's Judaism'?" (Paper
presented at McMaster University, March 12; University of Toronto,
March 13; Lund University, Sweden, May 7; Linköping University,
Sweden, May 8)
Posted
1-15-08: "The Polytheist Identity
of the 'Weak,' And Paul's Strategy to 'Gain' Them: A New Reading
of 1 Corinthians 8:1—11:1." Revision of the
Paper presented in Corinth, Sept., 2007, and a seminar at Lund
University, Sweden, May, 2008.
Posted
11-22-07: "'Have
Paul and His Communities Left Judaism for Christianity?':
A Review of the Paul-Related
Chapters in Jewish Believers in
Jesus and Jewish Christianity
Revisited." Paper
presented November 19, 2007 at the Annual Meeting of the Society
of Biblical Literature, San Diego, in the Jewish Christianity
Consultation.
"'But
this knowledge is not in everyone' (1 Cor 8:7): Who Were
the 'Weak' in Corinth, and What Was the Harm Paul Feared
They Would Suffer?" (Paper presented at
an International Conference in Corinth, Greece: "Saint
Paul the Apostle and Corinth," 1950 Years Since the
Writing of the Epistles to the Corinthians, Sept. 24, 2007)
Updated
1/17/08: "Paul's
Reversal of Jews Calling Gentiles 'Dogs' (Philippians
3:2): 1600 Years of an Ideological Tale Wagging an Exegetical
Dog?" Lecture
at Central States SBL, St. Louis, March 25, 2007. Also title of
lectures at universities at Helsinki, Finland, and Gothenburg,
Sweden,
May, 2007. An edited video of
part of the Helsinki lecture is available
here (for
Windows Media Player).
Recent
Discussions
of the Implications
of My Work for Jewish-Christian Relations:
"The
Myth of the 'Traditional View of Paul' and
the Role of the Apostle in Modern Jewish-Christian
Polemics," by
Daniel R. Langdon, Journal
for the Study of the New Testament 28.1
(2005) 69-104.
"Following
in the Footnotes of the Apostle Paul," by Pamela Eisenbaum, pages 77-97 in Identity
and the Politics of Scholarship in the Study
of Religion, eds. J. I. Cabezón and S. G. Davaney,
Routledge, 2004. |
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Supersessionism:
A Not So Super Idea. Bill Tammeus of the Kansas
City Star in an August 19, 2006, discusses recent conference
papers on supersessionism in the Letter to the Hebrews, and
the implications
for Christian/Jewish
relations today.
Taking
Another Look at Paul: Researchers are clearing apostle's
name of anti-Semitism associations: May 22,
2004 article in the Kansas City Star by Bill Tammeus explaining
the implications of our work on Paul for Jewish/Christian Relations
Forthcoming
Publications:
"The Polytheist Identity
of the 'Weak,' And Paul's Strategy to 'Gain' Them: A New
Reading of 1 Corinthians 8:1—11:1." In
S. E. Porter, ed., Paul: Jew, Greek and Roman (PAST
5; Leiden: Brill, 2008/9).
"Galatians." A
7500 word entry for Blackwell's
Companion to the New Testament,
ed. David Aune, 2008.
"New
or Renewed Covenantalism?: A Response to Richard Hays'
'"Here We Have No Lasting City": New Covenantalism
in Hebrews.'" In
R.J. Bauckham, D.R. Driver, T.A. Hart and N. MacDonald,
eds. The
Epistle to the Hebrews and Christian Theology (Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008).
"Paul's
Reversal of Jews Calling Gentiles 'Dogs' (Philippians 3:2):
1600 Years of an Ideological Tale Wagging an Exegetical Dog?" (forthcoming, Biblical
Interpretation).
Recently
Published Essays:
"Intruding
'Spies' and 'Pseudo-Brethren': The Jewish Intra-Group Politics
of Paul's Jerusalem Meeting (Gal. 2:1-10)." In Paul
and His Opponents. (Ed. S. Porter;
Brill, 2005) 59-97. More Projects>>
"Introduction" to Paul
Between Jews and Christians, a special issue
of Biblical
Interpretation 13.3 (2005) 221-23.
"How
Inter-Christian Approaches to Paul’s Rhetoric Can
Perpetuate Negative Valuations of Jewishness – Although
Proposing to Avoid that Outcome." In Biblical
Interpretation 13.3 (2005) 255-69.
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