Paul & the synoptics.Does John Garvey, in his review of Roger Haight's book, really mean to imply that we are to prefer Paul to the synoptics See Bay Networks. in constructing a modern Christology? Surely he ought to raise questions about why the historical Jesus This article is about Jesus the man, using historical methods to reconstruct a biography of his life and times. For disputes about the existence of Jesus and reliability of ancient texts relating to him, see Historicity of Jesus. should have been of so little importance to Paul--if that was the case. But can a modern Christian share Paul's indifference to history? If we are to be true to our own time, and construct a Christology that takes into account our modern perceptions, we surely have no choice but to start with the modern conceptions of the historical Jesus--whether Jesus as millenarian mil·le·nar·i·an adj. 1. Of or relating to a thousand, especially to a thousand years. 2. Of, relating to, or believing in the doctrine of the millennium. n. One who believes the millennium will occur. or as wisdom teacher. It is truly amazing to find Garvey dismissing Jesus' preaching of the kingdom of God--what else did Jesus talk about? RANDOLPH TRUMBACH New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , N.Y. The writer is a professor of history at Baruch College. THE REVIEWER REPLIES: I also revere Revere, city (1990 pop. 42,786), Suffolk co., E Mass., a residential suburb of Boston, on Massachusetts Bay; settled c.1630, set off from Chelsea and named for Paul Revere 1871, inc. as a city 1914. the Didache, which is as far from Haight as could be. The Didache speaks of the way, the way of life, not a way, and makes it clear that you are either there or on the way of death. Haight would have it that this is the way of life for Christians, but not for those who are not Christians--a relativism that would have baffled the authors of the Didache. Christology from below is too often employed to dismiss a discernment arrived at by the church in a truly conciliar con·cil·i·ar adj. Of, relating to, or generated by a council: a conciliar appointment made by the governor; conciliar edicts. fashion, in order to allow a much more subjective (and much less demanding) view of what Jesus means, and who Jesus was. It is unhistorical un·his·tor·i·cal adj. Taking little or no account of history. to ignore or downplay the fact that Paul is our earliest witness to Jesus Christ; as no one really denies, his writings precede all the others. To look for an earlier and therefore more primary or historical Jesus is futile. The Gospels are in fact later writings. It is more sentimental than serious to look for a historical Jesus who can be separated from the Jesus of Paul, if one also wants to write as a believer and not someone whose main interest is collecting fragments. I did not, of course, dismiss Jesus' preaching of the kingdom, only Haight's vague use of it. JOHN GARVEY |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion