Book Reviews

Book Review: Elijah Hixson and Peter J. Gurry, eds. Myths and Mistakes in New Testament Textual Criticism

Hixson, Elijah and Peter J. Gurry, eds. Myths and Mistakes in New Testament Textual Criticism (Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Academic, 2019. 372 pp. Pb. $40.   Link to IVP Academic

In his foreword to this volume of essays on textual criticism, Daniel Wallace comments on the chasm between scholars and apologists. Apologists, Wallace suggests, have a tendency to regurgitate other apologetic works. As a result, skewed and wrong data on manuscripts of the New Testament gets passed along to pastors and teachers who present this data as fact. Myths and Mistakes in New Testament Textual Criticism attempts to correct these well-intentioned traditions among both popular apologists as well as other New Testament scholars. The essays in this volume are like much like D. A. Carson’s Exegetical Fallacies (Second Edition, Baker Academic, 1996). Most readers will recognize some of their own errors after reading Carson’s book; the same is true with Myths and Mistakes. After reading this book there are several places in my own lecture notes which need to be revised and corrected in the light of better, more accurate information.

Hixson and Gurry, Myths and Mistakes in New Testament Textual Criticism

The authors of the essays want to avoid exaggerated claims for New Testament manuscripts as well as correct factual errors. In the introduction to the collection, As Peter J. Gurry and Elijah Hixson explain in their introduction, suggest “if we believe that God inspired the particular words of Holy Scripture, then it is incumbent on us to do our best to identify those words so that we can preach, teach, treasure, and obey them” (p. 25).  Hixson and Gurry offer examples of outdated information and abused statistics which are found in both academic and popular books on biblical manuscripts.

Timothy N. Mitchell discusses myths about the original autographs (ch. 2). It is unlikely any New Testament autographs still existed by the time of the earliest extant copies. Once a book circulated, the writing could not be significantly changed without those changes becoming known.

Jacob W. Peterson deals with how many New Testament manuscripts are extant (ch. 3). One problem with counting manuscripts is the total number of changes: new manuscripts are discovered and there are examples of double counting. Most manuscripts only contain portions of the New Testament, so the total number of early manuscripts of Mark (for example) is far less than the total number. Because of this, using round numbers for total manuscripts is important. Peterson argues more New Testament manuscripts as compared to other ancient literature is not necessarily better. Having 179 manuscripts from the tenth century is not necessarily as valuable as sixty-five manuscripts from the third century.

James B. Prothro discusses myths about Classical Literature (ch. 4). Apologists love to compare the New Testament manuscript evidence to other ancient literature. These statistical comparisons are often based on old data and only demonstrate the New Testament has better textual basis, but not a perfect one.

Elijah Hixson treats dating myths, specifically how scholars date New Testament manuscripts (ch. 5). There is a perception that the earliest manuscripts are more reliable. This motivates some apologists to date some papyri fragments as early as possible, sometimes making dramatic announcements before scholars have done their work. After surveying dating methods, Hixson uses the example of P52, a fragment of the Gospel of John often dated to about A.D. 125 (or earlier). Since the initial publication of the fragment, scholars have revisited the evidence and suggested dates as late as A.D. 200-225. Rather than give a specific date like A.D. 125, Hixson suggests a range of A.D. 100-200 as a “responsible date range” (p. 109).

Gregory R. Lanier deals with the myth that early manuscripts are always better manuscripts (ch. 6). This chapter deals with the Byzantine tradition, the later manuscripts which form the majority of ancient manuscripts available to scholarship. Early textual critics adopted a “later-is-worse” method and more or less considered the Byzantine tradition as secondary evidence for dating manuscripts. Lanier suggests later manuscripts may improve over time as later scribes correct earlier ones.  He uses the examples of the Pericope of the Adulterous Woman and the various endings for the Gospel of Mark as examples. In both cases, later scribes added comments expressing doubt for the authenticity of these additions.

Zachary J. Cole examines what we know about scribes in the Greco-Roman world to examine myths about the copyists of the earliest manuscripts (ch. 7). Overall, the earliest copyists were neither careless amateurs nor professionals. They demonstrate the same level of accuracy expected for any ancient text.

Peter Malik surveys the various ways scribes corrected mistakes (ch. 8). Beginning with P66, he offers several examples scribal corrections. Attention to these corrections can show how readers used the manuscript shedding light on intentional changes.

S. Matthew Solomon describes his collation of more that 570 manuscripts of Philemon copied before A.D. 700 in order to demonstrate the methods used by scholars (ch. 9). He concludes that even if we only had a copy of Philemon from more than nine hundred years after Paul wrote the letter, very little would change (p. 189). Although there are more variants than expected, most of the variants are insignificant.

Peter J. Gurry explains why most variants are insignificant and why other variants cannot be ignored (ch. 10). He begins with examples of large the number of variants in popular books on textual criticism, concluding that “around half a million” is a fair estimate, and most are “awfully boring for most Bible readers” (p. 209). Nearly half the number are meaningless and only a tiny fraction merits a footnote in major English translations. Nevertheless, there are a few dozen that are theologically important and need to be addressed by scholars using established textual critical practices.

What about these theologically significant variants? Critics like Bart Ehrman often claim scribes corrupted texts by changing the text to conform to orthodox theology. Robert D. Marcello deals with this so-called orthodox corruption (ch. 11). He observes Ehrman consistently considers the least orthodox reading to be the original, and the most orthodox to a corruption. Although it may be the case an orthodox change is in fact a corruption, presupposing the orthodox to be a corruption is methodologically suspicious. After examining a few examples of orthodox corruptions, Marcello concludes scribes did sometimes make theologically motivate changes, but some of these variants can be explained by other factors (p. 227).

Andrew Blaski addresses the issue from the perspective of patristics. What did the Church Fathers thought about textual variations (ch. 12). He begins with an oft-repeated claim that compiling the 32,289 quotations found in the church fathers, we could reconstruct the New Testament with the exception of eleven verses. Blaski traces the origin of this folk-tale and concludes it is a myth and should be dropped as an apologetic argument. The church fathers refer to the New Testament in a variety of way and rarely cite it verbatim. As anyone who examines the apparatus in the UBS5 knows, a given church father may be evidence for two or three different variants.

John D. Meade observes that while the codex was preferred by early Christians for canonical books, just because a book was included in a codex does not mean it was canonical (ch. 13). He surveys canonical lists and early Christian descriptions of their literature. This chapter includes several valuable charts collating the date and contents of codices.

The final two chapters of the volume concern translations. First, Jeremiah Coogan discusses the number of early New Testament translations and their value for textual criticism (ch. 14). He doubts there are ten thousand Latin manuscripts as is often claimed, the number may be fewer than one thousand. The chapter also surveys Syriac translations (with several photographs of manuscripts). Second, Edgar Battad Ebojo looks at how modern translations report variants of the New Testament (ch. 15). This is an important issue since footnotes are where most Bible readers will encounter textual variants. For example, when does a translation use brackets to indicate textual variants and when do they use footnotes? How does a modern Bible print John 7:53-8:11 or the long ending of Mark?

The book concludes with a thirty-one-page bibliography and several helpful indices, including an index of manuscripts.

Conclusion. This book is a positive step toward increased clarity on textual critical issues from experts in the field who are interested in helping Christians to avoid “believing what they want to be true” about the state of the New Testament manuscripts (p. 25). Although these essays may be unsettling for some readers, the goal of defending the Bible’s integrity calls for integrity on the part of apologists and critics alike.

Elijah Hixson and Peter J. Gurry are contributes to the popular blog Evangelical Textual Criticism.

NB: Thanks to IVP Academic for kindly providing me with a review copy of this book. This did not influence my thoughts regarding the work.

Book Review: Nijay K. Gupta, A Beginner’s Guide to New Testament Studies: Understanding Key Debates

Gupta, Nijay K. A Beginner’s Guide to New Testament Studies: Understanding Key Debates. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2020. 196 pp. Pb. $24.99.   Link to Baker Academic

In the introduction to this beginner’s guide to the key issues for the study of the New Testament, Nijay Gupta recalls being completely lost in the world of biblical scholarship during his first days as a seminary student. I confess to a similar experience as an undergrad biblical studies student first exposed to the Documentary Hypothesis or the Synoptic Problem. These are important issues, but they are not the topic of church Bible studies. In fact, there were quite a few issues encountered in graduate school that I vaguely recall memorizing for an undergrad exam.

Gupta, Beginner's Guide to New Testament StudiesGupta’s goal in this slender volume is to introduce “relative newcomers to the world of the New Testament studies, not experts” (xi). In these brief chapters he offers a fair and balanced overview of an issue and consciously does not take a side in the debate. His focus is on the big picture rather than fine details. Even so, most beginning biblical studies students can be overwhelmed with these complicated debates. Every chapter in this book represents dozens of monographs on the topic, even at the introductory level. There is no need for despair, Gupta suggests, the messiness of biblical studies is part of the journey.

Gupta introduces each topic with an anecdote in order to demonstrate why the issue is important. He then surveys key scholars and positions, usually with a few footnotes to key works. Chapters conclude with a few personal reflections often reflecting Gupta’s experience teaching these issues. Each chapter concludes with a “for further reading” section divided into beginner and advanced sections. The lists are arranged by topic covered in the chapter. These are not complete bibliographies; Gupta suggests only a few key works for each topic. Interested students ought to read all the suggested beginning books as they move to graduate school.

There are three chapters on the study of the Jesus and the Gospels. The chapters on the Synoptic Problem and Historical Jesus. In the “The Fourth Gospel and History” there are only two sides, John is not historical and John is historical, but he does wonder in the conclusion to the chapter why John’s gospel is often ignored in historical Jesus studies like Wright’s Jesus and the Victory of God, “one of the most important Jesus books of the twentieth century” (p. 37).

He offers three chapters on Paul (Jesus and Paul; Paul’s Theological Perspective; Paul and the Jewish Law), although Paul is a major factor in virtually every chapter in the rest of the book, reflecting the soften polarizing nature of Paul’s theology. He divides the chapter on Paul’s theological perspective into Justification by Faith, Salvation History, Apocalyptic Paul, and Participation in Christ. The chapter on Paul and the Law briefly introduces E. P. Sanders and the New Perspective on Paul.

Chapter 7 introduces students to the problems of Interpreting the Book of Revelation. After a short overview of the book he describes the preterist, historicist, futurist and idealist approaches to the book. The section in futurism naturally introduces dispensationalism, one of the few positions in the book he seems dismissive, including four points explaining why most scholars reject the idea of the rapture (p. 97-8).

Chapter 8 discusses Pseudonymity and the New Testament Letters. Since many introductions to the New Testament dispute the authorship of the Pastoral Epistles, 1-2 Peter, James and Jude and have serious doubts about 2 Thessalonians, Ephesians and Colossians, Gupta first explains why these books came to be doubted in the nineteenth century. He contrasts allonymity (writing in another name rather than pseudonymity, writing with a false name) with forgery, Although Bart Ehrman is listed in the “further reading” section, Gupta does not directly deal with his work in the chapter.

In “The New Testament and the Roman Empire” (ch. 9) Gupta introduces Richard Horsley as well as post-colonial readings of the New Testament. It is important to recognize the imperial context of the New Testament, but the extent to which Paul or the writers of the Gospels engaged in a critique of the Empire is an open discussion. This chapter could be improved with additional attention to the book of Revelation since it seems to have a clear critique of the Roman Empire.

It is no exaggeration to suggest the issue of women in leadership is a hot topic in biblical studies (ch. 10). Gupta suggests this is a “convoluted issue with many texts and dimensions to consider” (p. 141). He avoids labels like fundamentalist or liberal and presents the two sides of the debate as “Hierarchical Male Authoritative Leadership” (rather than “complementarian”) and “Egalitarian Authoritative Leadership.” In his conclusion to the chapter, he suggests this debate requires further research into a biblical understanding of gender and how gender is related to culture (p. 143).

Although “Justification by Faith and Judgment according to Works” (ch. 11) sounds as though it might be a Pauline issue (and he does touch on the Wright/Piper debate), Gupta’s focus is on the basis of the final judgment (faith or works) and the relationship of initial justification to final judgment.

The final two chapters of the book discuss hermeneutical issues. The Old Testament in the New Testament (ch. 12) and Application and Use of Scripture (ch. 13). How the New Testament writers used the Old Testament has generated a wide range of articles and monographs, although this chapter manages to avoid the over-used term intertextuality (Richard Hays appears in the further reading section). Gupta’s interest here is hermeneutical strategies used by New Testament authors: did they respect the context? How does Christology influence their reading of the Old Testament?

In the final chapter on application of Scripture, Gupta contrasts a “From-the-Bible” view with a “Beyond-the-Bible” or redemptive movement hermeneutic. A “From-the-Bible” approach recognizes progressive revelation and looks for principles from Scripture to draw applications to modern ethical discussions. The “Beyond-the-Bible” view seeks to follow the trajectory of Scripture to apply earlier revelation to a new situation.

Conclusion. There are other issues which could be included in a beginner’s guide. Every scholar who reads this book will likely wonder why their area of study was omitted. For example, a chapter on early high Christology would be welcome, or a short introduction to the pistis christou debate. In fact, from the perspective of Pauline Studies, virtually every section of chapter six could be expanded. Along with the historicity of John, a chapter on the value of Acts for early church history would be a good addition. There is nothing on biblical manuscripts or textual criticism. Nevertheless, the thirteen topics Gupta chose are more or less the most important for a beginning biblical studies student to grasp before they begin their studies.

This book should be read before a student begins their academic career in biblical studies, whether that is undergraduate or graduate level. An Old Testament Beginner’s Guide would make an excellent companion to this volume.

NB: Thanks to Baker Academic for kindly providing me with a review copy of this book. This did not influence my thoughts regarding the work.

More Free Books from Eerdmans for Logos Bible Software for May 2020

Kugler and Hartin, Introduction to the BibleLogos Bible Software posted a few more free and nearly free books the month of May.  First, authors Robert Kugler and Patrick Hartin,  An Introduction to the Bible (Eerdmans, 2009) is free. Dale Allison said  this introduction to the Bible is “comprehensive, thoroughly informed, and lavishly illustrated volume, produced by the collaboration of two experts — one Protestant, one Catholic — achieves that to which it aspires: it is clarity itself. This is the perfect introduction for undergraduates.”

In addition to An Introduction to the Bible,  these titles from Eerdmans are available at a deep discount:

Jerome Neyrey, The Gospel of John in Cultural and Rhetorical Perspective ($2.99). Neyrey reads John through the lens of ancient rhetoric and cultural anthropology. This is the method developed in the volume of essays he edited, The Social World of Luke – Acts: Models for Interpretation (1991).

Judith Kovacs, 1 Corinthians: Interpreted by Early Christian Commentators ($5.99). The The Church’s Bible is a commentary series baed on Early Christian Medieval Commentators. Kovacs draws commentary from Augustine, Irenaeus, Gregory of Nyssa, Athanasius, Origen, John Chrysostom, and others.

Alan Fitzgerald, editor,  Augustine Through the Ages: An Encyclopedia. The hardback version of this 900+ page encyclopedia on Augustine retails for $100, but it is only $9.99 in the logos Library for this month.

As a reminder, the regular Free Book of the Month page still has Shalom Paul’s commentary on Isaiah 40–66 in the Eerdmans Critical Commentary for free.

Thomas B. Dozeman’s Exodus commentary in the same Eerdmans Critical Commentary ($5.99).

Michael Floyd’s Minor Prophets, Part 2 in the Forms of the Old Testament Literature Series for $2.99)

Antony Campbell’s volume on 1 Samuel in this series ($8.99). You can pick up the entire Forms of Old Testament Literature series for Logos as well.

You need to have Logos Bible Software to use these resources.  As always, there are less expensive paths to upgrading that will keep you from mortgaging your home. At the very least, download the free Logos Basic or the $79 Logos 8 Fundamentals. Use the coupon code PARTNEROFFER8 to save 30% on base packages. You can also read these books via the free iOS app.

These valuable resources are only free (or almost free) through May 31, 2020.

Book Review: Marvin Sweeney, Jewish Mysticism: From Ancient Times through Today

Sweeney, Marvin A. Jewish Mysticism: From Ancient Times through Today. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2020. 432 pp. Hc; $60.   Link to Eerdmans    Link to EerdWorld to read a twenty-six page excerpt

In his preface Marvin Sweeny explains the need for a new textbook on Jewish mysticism. Since he began teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses, his only choices for textbooks were Gershom Scholem’s Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (1941) and William Kaufman’s Journeys: An Introductory Guide to Jewish Mysticism (1980). Both volumes begin their survey with rabbinic literature. Sweeney could find nothing which included mysticism from the Ancient Near East, the Hebrew Bible, Qumran and Jewish apocalyptic texts. In addition, Sweeney gives a greater place in his volume to Jewish liturgical and theurgical practices, as well as textual interpretations of earlier mystical works. As he says in his introduction, later mystics built on their predecessors in order to “resolve ongoing problems left open by earlier movements and texts” (7).

Sweeney, Jewish MysticismThe first chapter describes visionary experiences in the Ancient Near East. By surveying Egyptian, Canaanite and Babylonian texts which depict “seeing and hearing the gods” Sweeney argues Ancient Near Eastern had a wide variety of ways of expressing human experience of the gods through dreams, visionary experience, and divine interaction. These were powerful experiences, but ultimately “undependable, self-interested, and frequently amoral.”

Chapters 2-4 survey visionary and dream experiences in the Pentateuch, Former Prophets and Psalms, and Latter Prophets (pp. 50-166). He collects every example of someone “seeing and hearing G-d” through visions and dreams in the canonical Hebrew Bible. Although these experiences often have tangible elements, “YHWH is experienced in the world by divine acts of mercy and justice the stand as the basis of the covenant between YHWH and Israel” (p. 81). For example, the Pentateuch describes YHWH’s enthronement in the tabernacle though the pillar of cloud and fire, but more importantly the Pentateuch “presents a creation narrative modeled on those of the Ancient Near East in which YHWH puts his creation in order, and establishes YHWH’s own people, Israel, in the midst of that creation, and establishes a sanctuary to honor YHWH as the creator” (p. 85).  Isaiah’s temple vision (Isa 6:1-13) and Ezekiel’s throne room vision (Ezek 1-3) are foundational for Heikhalot literature (temple visions) and Merkavah literature (throne visions).

Jewish apocalyptic literature serves as the transition from the Hebrew Bible to the Heikhalot literature. (ch. 5).  He begins with a survey of “proto-apocalyptic” such as Isaiah 24-27, 34-35, 56-66, Ezekiel 1; 8-11, 37, 38-39; 40-48; Joel and Zechariah 9-14. Wisdom literature is important for the development of Jewish mysticism, especially Job, Proverbs, and Song of Solomon. He then briefly discusses two major Second Temple apocalyptic texts 1 Enoch and Daniel (which uses “the setting the Babylonian exile to address issues relevant to the outbreak of the Hasmonean revolt against Seleucid Syria” (p. 189). In his brief survey of the Judean Wilderness Scrolls, Sweeny highlights the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice as “anticipating later heikhalot compositions” (p. 194). Finally, he briefly introduces three late first century C.E. texts, Revelation, 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch. Although a Christian text, Revelation includes a heavenly ascent, throne room visions, and abundant allusions to the Exodus narrative. Both 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch call on Jews to “observe divine Torah” in response to the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple. This, Sweeny suggests, “constitutes the foundational viewpoint of rabbinic Judaism: to sanctify Jewish life and the world of creation by adhering to the divine Torah in preparation for the time when God would bring about the restoration” as promised in Ezekiel 40-48, Isaiah 40-66, Jeremiah 30-33, and Zechariah 9-14 (p. 206).

Chapter 6 introduces the Heikhalot and Merkavah literature. After the failure of the Bar-Khokba revolt and the development of Oral Torah, rabbis sought to place limits on study of mysticism.  Sweeney cites a parable which illustrates the dangers of mystical study (b.Hag. 14b). Four rabbis entered the Garden (Pardes, paradise), but only Akiva left unhurt. “Entering Pardes” refers to the proper study of the Torah. Only Akiva understood his own knowledge and succeeded in mystical study (p. 216). These experiences of these four are developed in the Heikhalot and Merkavah literature.

Sweeney surveys four texts in this chapter. First, Ma’aseh Merkavah is the most basic account of the four rabbis who ascended to Pardes. The book focuses on the hymns and prayers a mystic must employ in order to undertake ascent the seventh level of heaven. Second, Heikhalot Rabbati describes the ascent of R. Nehunyah ben Haqanah to the throne of G-d in the seventh heaven narrated by R. Ishmael ben Elisha. R. Ishmael was one of the key Tannaitic sages, one of the most prominent rabbis of his day and one the Ten Martyrs. The book anticipates a time when the Torah will be “fully understood and applied to the sanctification of the world of creation” (p. 222). Third, one of the oldest heikhalot texts, Heikhalot Zutari (Lesser Places) begins with the parable of the four rabbis attempting to enter Pardes in order to “specify the experience of the prospective mystics” (p. 231).  The book refers to Metatron, the powerful angel of the presence who sits on the throne of G-d in the seventh heaven when Go-d is not present. The name may be derived from the Greek meta, with, and thronos, throne, but Sweeny suggests it is related to the Aramaic mattara’, “keeper of the watch” (p. 238). Finally, in this chapter, Sweeney introduces Sefer Heikhalot (Third Enoch). The book seems to be a response to the story of the four who entered Pardes but focuses on the visualizations of Metatron.

Chapter 7 surveys the transition from Heikhalot to early Kabbalistic literature. Kabbalah means tradition or “that which is received” and the study of this literature became a major Jewish mystical movement in the mid-twelfth century. Since Heikhalot literature assumes the transcendent nature of G-d who is approached by the mystic through liturgical prayer and theurgic practice, and Torah study, the Kabbalistic literature began to consider the immanent presence of G-d in the world of creation. After an introduction to the development of Jewish life in the Middle Ages, Sweeney introduces several early Kabbalistic texts.

First, Shiur Qomah “is easily one of the most problematic, controversial, and misunderstood writings in all of Jewish tradition” (p. 255). The name of the books means “The Measure of G-d’s Body,” a fair description of the contents of the book G-d’s height is given and 2,300,000,000 parasangs and the crown on his head is an additional 600,000 parasangs. A parasang is 30 stadia, or about 3.5 miles. G-d’s height is therefore more than 80 billion miles and an additional 2.1 million miles for his crown. The point here is that “the divine presence is beyond human capacity to comprehend in any meaningful way” (p. 263). Second, Sefer Yetzirah, the “Book of Formation,” focuses on language has the means by which G-d manifests himself in creation and the creative power of human speech. The book observes that G-d spoke ten times in Genesis 1 and then uses several other numerical observations to outline the Ten Sefirot and describes their role in creation. Third, Sefer Habahir, the “Book of Brilliance” is the first major Kabbalistic work (p. 271). The name derives from Job 37:21, the sun is “brilliant (bahir) in the clouds.” Sweeney suggests the development of the Ten Sefirot in the book is dependent on gnosticism and is highly intertextual. The book is a synthesis of earlier Jewish texts with gnostic ideas to explain how an ultimately transcendent being can be fully present in a finite earthly world. He concludes the chapter with a brief survey of other key movements and figures in the period (The Hasidei Ashkenaz, Isaac the Blind, and Abraham Abulafia).

Chapter 8 focuses on the most well-known kabalistic texts, The Zohar. The name Zohar means splendor or brilliance and is likely drawn from Ezekiel’s description of a human-like figure show lifted the prophet up and transported him to Jerusalem to witness the fall of the city (Ezek 8:2). The book is a mystical comment on the Torah revealing the hidden meaning of the text. Like earlier kabalistic texts, the primary concern of the text is how the infinite character of God is manifested as a divine presence in a finite world (p. 289). The book therefore discussed the Sefirot, God’s shekhinah, his glory dwelling in the world (using sexual language), the nature of creation and the origin of evil and demons.

The final two chapters treat more recent forms of Jewish mysticism. In Chapter 9 Sweeney discusses Lurianic Kabbalah, a popular movement prompting Jews to adopt kabalistic spiritual practices and study in anticipation of the messianic age when the Messiah would appear, the temple would be reestablished, and the world of creation would be completed” (p. 325). After a short review of the Spanish expulsion of Jews in 1492, Sweeny describes the activity of Jewish mystics who gathered in in Safed, a small town in the upper Galilean hills. R. Luria (1534-1572) studied under kabbalist Moses Cordovero (1522-1570) and became the principle kabbalist teacher in Safed after Cordovero’s death. Luranic kabbalah has three basic principles. First, the Tzimtzym is the contraction of the infinite God into the finite world. Second, Luria’s idea of the Abba (father) and Imma (mother), two aspects of God. When they are united, they form the third basic principle, the Zeir Anin, the “Impatient One.” Each of these three principles are tied to aspects of the Ten Sefirot. Luria also believed in the transmigration of the soul: a tzaddik (righteous person) could embody a past tzaddik. Luria thought he was the embodiment of R. Shimon bar Yohai, for example. This form of mysticism had an influence on Shabbetai Zevi (1626-1676), a failed messiah who converted to Islam in 1666. Many of his followers continued to believe he was the messiah long after his death (the Dönmeh).

Chapter 10 concludes with an introduction to Hasidism, the modern manifestation of Jewish mysticism. He is quick to point out modern Hasidism as nothing to do with the earlier movement. In this chapter, Sweeney describes the earlier mystical and pietistic movement led by Baal Shem Tov (1700-1760) in the early eighteenth century and his follower Shneur Zalman (1745-1831). Zalman was the founder of the Schneersohn family line and the founder of Habad Hasidism (p. 379). Habad theology is rooted in the idea God is the only reality in the universe and all other realities are illusions. The chapter traces several movements which developed from this eighteenth century origin, including Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (1865-1935) and the Lubavitcher Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902-1994).

Conclusion. For each mystical text surveyed in chapter 6-10 Sweeney provides a footnote to sources for reading the text and key studies. He only rarely uses long quotations from the texts, preferring to summarize the esoteric content for the reader. Although I would usually prefer to read selections from the original texts, the esoteric nature of this literature makes me appreciate his careful summaries. Still, a second volume collecting example readings for each chapter would be useful, especially when this book is used in a classroom setting.

NB: Spelling and use of YHWH and G-d conforms to Sweeney’s text. Thanks to Eerdmans for kindly providing me with a review copy of this book. This did not influence my thoughts regarding the work.

Book Review: Justin W. Bass, The Bedrock of Christianity

Bass, Justin W.  The Bedrock of Christianity: The Unalterable Facts of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection. Bellingham, Wash.: Lexham Press, 2020. 238 pp.; Pb.  $13.99  Link to Lexham Press    Link to Logos Bible Software

In this short apologetic text, Justin Bass seeks to establish the basic facts of Christianity. Alluding to the introduction to John Meier’s historical Jesus study, The Marginal Jew, Bass imagines a meeting during which Protestants, Catholics, Jews, atheists and agnostics scholars evaluate evidence and determine what basic facts about Christianity everyone can agree on. In his introductory chapter he disregards the mythicist position represented by Richard Carrier. He cites Bart Ehrman description of the view as “foolish,” compares the “handful of mythicist hecklers” to Holocaust deniers (p. 5-7).

In the first chapter, Bass outlines his historical method. Following Bart Ehrman, he says historians want early dating, multiple eyewitnesses, corroboration of those eyewitnesses, and unbiased sources (p. 28). He then asks what we can know about Tiberius Caesar, the Jewish War, Socrates and John the Baptist using these four historical measures. In each case, scholars agree on a historical bedrock based on a variety of sources. With Tiberius, his reign is well known from four literary sources that date long after his death. Comparing this to what we can know about the apostle Paul, Bass argues scholars have an abundance of trustworthy sources for Paul’s life, especially compared to Tiberius and Socrates. However, Bass omits archaeology from his list. Hard evidence for the reign of Tiberius is abundant if archaeology, inscriptions, and numismatics (coins) are allowed as evidence. This kind of evidence is unavailable for characters in the New Testament.

The Apostle Paul is therefore Bass’s “Bedrock Eyewitness.” Chapter 2 sketches a biography of the apostle Paul drawing only on his epistles. He uses Acts for his chronology of Paul’s life, working backwards from Paul’s hearing before Gallio (A.D. 51/52; Acts 18:12-17). Having established that Paul is an early eyewitness, he presents his “Bedrock Source,” 1 Corinthians 15:3–7 (ch. 3). Bass argues this is a pre-Pauline creedal tradition delivered to Paul by the apostles (p. 74). He follows James Dunn who suggested the beginnings of this creedal statement may go back to the first few months after the resurrection (p. 82). But at the very least Paul must have received it during his brief visit to Jerusalem in A.D. 37 (Gal 1:18-19).

Having established the creedal statement in 1 Corinthians 15:3-7 constitutes early eyewitness evidence from multiple sources, Bass then examines the three key claims of the creed. First, the creed establishes the bedrock fact that Jesus was crucified: “Christ Died for our Sins and He was Buried” (ch. 3). After a short discussion of crucifixion in the Roman world, he draws together several texts from Paul’s early letters which demonstrate that Jesus was not just crucified, but that his crucifixion was “for our sins.” Bass argues these statements are based on the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53 and he suggests  the historical Jesus may be the origin for the idea his death is in some ways like the servant of Isaiah 53. Here Bass goes to another tradition Paul received from the apostles, the inauguration of the Lord’s Supper in 1 Corinthians 11:24-25. Although he considers the crucifixion of Jesus under Pontius Pilate as a historical bedrock fact, he does not think the phrase “he was buried” can be counted as a bedrock fact. For Bass, it is likely Jesus was buried as recorded in the Gospels, but the evidence is not clear that someone named Joseph of Arimathea buried the body of Jesus.

The second element of the creed in 1 Corinthians 15:3-7 is the claim Jesus was “raised on the third day.” Bass shows that there were no traditions drawn from the Hebrew Bible to indicate a belief in the first century that the Messiah would be die and rise from the dead. Although there is a hint of resurrection in Daniel 12:2-3 and 2 Maccabees 7:9-14, a dying messiah is unknown. Bass argues there are three innovations from the earliest Christ followers. The first innovation is a positive interpretation of a crucified Messiah. There is no other crucifixion in the Greco Roman world seen in a positive light. The second innovation is the claim this crucified Messiah had been raised from the dead. This claim is unanticipated in Second Temple period Judaism. Third, that this crucified Messiah who God raised from the dead is the divine Lord of the world is an unparalleled innovation. Here Bass cites another early Christian tradition passed along to the apostle Paul, 1 Corinthians 8:6. This is the almost shocking insertion of Jesus into the Jewish shema. Bass cites Larry Hurtado, “this worship of the risen/exalted Jesus comprises a radical new innovation in Jewish monotheistic religion” (129).  Bass is using the so-called criterion of dissimilarity used in historical Jesus studies. Essentially, this criterion argues that if something is different than the Judaism of the Second Temple period, it is more likely to be authentic. In this case, the crucifixion and resurrection of the Messiah is not something that a group of Jewish theologians would have created.

The third element of the creed is the list of post-resurrection appearances. That Jesus appeared to Peter, the Twelve, more than 500 at one time, and James is a wide range of witnesses. Bass recognizes that Paul has added himself to the list. He quotes skeptics Bart Ehrman and Paula Fredriksen as saying they might not know what Paul saw, but Paul believed he saw Jesus (p. 162). Bass argues Paul was not lying by using Paul’s “foolish speech” in 2 Corinthians 11:23-27. This speech lists various ways Paul has suffered for his preaching of the Gospel. If he was lying about the resurrection of Jesus, then his life after his Damascus Road experience is inexplicable. In the conclusion to his book, Bass cites E. P. Sanders, “That Jesus is followers (and later Paul) had resurrection experiences is in my judgment, a fact. What the reality was that gave rise to the experiences I do not know” (Historical Figure of Jesus, 279-80). Bass’s challenge to this agnostic view of the resurrection is to push past agnosticism and “give the risen Jesus welcome” (p. 207).

Paul’s suffering serves as a transition to the final piece of Bass’s argument, the fast rise of the Nazarenes. For Bass, it is difficult to account for not only the persistence of followers of Jesus from the days just after the crucifixion, but also the willingness of those followers to suffer and die for their faith in a resurrected messiah who is the Lord of the world. This is a common apologetic strategy, but it may fail because there are many other movements that encouraged martyrdom from their adherents, yet they were based on horrible distortions of the truth (Jim Jones and David Koresh, for example). This chapter includes sections on Christianity’s unique origins, continuing influences, and skeptics who have converted to Christianity throughout history. Similar to the willingness to die for one’s beliefs, someone might suggest Islam has had a similar influence on the world, and no one wants to argue Christianity has always had a positive influence. This strategy is typical in apologetic textbooks, but I’m not sure how it contributes to the bedrock of Christianity as defined in the first chapter of the book.

Bass often cites skeptical scholars who agree with him such as Bart Ehrman or Paula Fredriksen; even Crossan and Bultmann make a few appearances. This is a rhetorical strategy designed to show these are in fact “bedrock facts” of Christianity. The book is richly footnoted and includes an extensive bibliography which will point interested readers to more detailed studies. The book will reaffirm the beliefs of committed Christians and perhaps encourage Christians who have some doubts. I’m not sure it will convince skeptics, but that’s the nature of apologetics. Bass’s book supports the contention the bedrock of Christian faith is reasonably historical.

NB: Thanks to Lexham Press for kindly providing me with a review copy of this book. This did not influence my thoughts regarding the work.