Luke and Acts: Pontifical Biblical Institute

A conference on Luke and Acts, “L’opera lucana (Vangelo di Luca e Atti degli Apostoli)”, was held at the Pontifical Biblical Institute (Rome), from January 21-25, 2018. The papers are in a mix of Italian and English.

Prof. Massimo Grilli, Synchronic / co-textual approaches [Italian]

Prof. Santiago Guijarro Oporto, Diachronic-contextual approaches [Italian]

Prof. Jean-Noël Aletti, The prophetic typology in the Gospel of Luke [Italian]

Prof. Matteo Crimella, The use of the Old Testament in the Gospel of Luke

Prof. Christopher Tuckett, Luke and the Synoptic question [English]

Prof. Christopher Tuckett, Luke and the “Q” source [English]

Prof. Daniel Marguerat, Lucan historiography [Italian]

Prof. Anthony Giambrone, Ecclesiology in Acts [Italian]

Prof. Antonio Landi, The figure of Peter in the Lucan works [Italian]

Prof. Luke Macnamara, The figure of Paul in the book of Acts [English]

Prof. Steven Mason, Luke-Acts and contemporary historiography [English]

 

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James Crossley on Cults, Martyrs and Good Samaritans

Professor James Crossley (St Mary’s University) presents a paper drawn from his book, Cults, Martyrs and Good Samaritans: Religion in Contemporary English Political Discourse (Pluto Press, July 2018). The paper was presented at the CSSSB conference, Christian Origins and Social-Scientific Criticism, on May 25, 2018 (Crossley appears at 2:50)  There were two responses to his paper, from Dr Hannah M. Strømmen (University of Chichester) and Professor Yvonne Sherwood (University of Kent), not included in the video. 

Biblical Scholars on the Christmas Story

There are a few podcasts and radio segments about on the biblical accounts of the birth of Jesus. Here are three:

• Dr Robert Myles (Murdoch University) speaks about the birth of Jesus on the Rev Bill Crews podcast.

“What Does History Say About the Birth of Jesus” (December 24, 2017)

 

• Also, Professor Francesca Stavrakopoulou (University of Exeter) speaks about the stories of Jesus’ birth on BBC4’s The Infinite Monkey Cage Christmas Special (December 25, 2017).

 

• Over the years, Mark Goodacre (Duke University) has provided a number of discussions of the biblical accounts of the birth of Jesus:

“Was Jesus born in a stable?” (December 15, 2010; 11 min)

“Conflicting Christmas Stories” (December 6, 2012; 14 min)

“Is the Virgin Birth based on a Mistranslation?” (December 20, 2012; 12 min)

“The Magi in Matthew’s Gospel” (December 18, 2015; 14 min)

“Christmas in John’s Gospel”  (December 14, 2016; 13 min)

Barbara Reid on Mary Magdalene and the Women Disciples in the Gospel of Luke

On July 21, 2017, Professor Barbara Reid (Catholic Theological Union at Chicago) delivered the lecture for the 9th Annual Mary of Magdala Celebration, at Boston College School of Theology and Ministry Continuing Education: “Mary Magdalene and the Women Disciples in the Gospel of Luke”.

Click here for a transcript of this presentation.

Sandra Huebenthal – Another Jesus Remembered: How The Third Gospel Narrates Jesus

On March 9, 2017, Professor Sandra Huebenthal delivered the lecture, “Another Jesus Remembered: How The Third Gospel Narrates Jesus,” at New College, Edinburgh University.

Memory and the Reception of Jesus in Early Christianity

The Memory and the Reception of Jesus in Early Christianity Conference was held on Friday 10th to Saturday 11th June 2016, at St Mary’s University, Twickenham. Some of the lectures from this conference are now available on YouTube:

Day 1

Chris Keith (read by Steve Walton), “The Memory Approach and the Reception of Jesus”

Christine Jacobi, “The Reception of Jesus in Paul”

Discussion after Keith and Jacobi

Richard Bauckham, “The Psychology of Eyewitness Memory”

Helen Bond, “The Reception of Jesus in the Gospel of John”

Discussion after Bauckham and Bond

Jens Schroeter, “Memory and Theories of History” [lecture is incomplete: cuts off early]

Day 2

Samuel Byrskog, “Memory and Narrative”

Sandra Hübenthal, “The Reception of Jesus in Mark’s Gospel”

Discussion after Byrskog and Hübenthal

Alan Kirk, “Memory and Media”

Joan Taylor, “The Reception of Images of Jesus Prior to Constantine”

Discussion after Kirk and Taylor

Ruben Zimmermann, “Memory, Identity, and Mimetic Ethics”

James Crossley, “The Reception of Jesus in Talmudic Literature”

Discussion after Zimmermann and Crossley

Rafael Rodríguez, “Memory and Liturgy”

Anthony Le Donne, “Reflections on the Past, Present, and Future of the Memory Approach”

Panel Discussion

Yale Bible Study on Luke, with David L. Bartlett and Harold W. Attridge

Over eight videos, Professor Harold W. Attridge (Yale Divinity School) and Professor Emeritus David L. Bartlett (Yale Divinity School) discuss the Gospel of Luke.

The conversation is part of the Yale Bible Study Series presented in cooperation with The Congregational Church of New Canaan in New Canaan, CT.

The videos are accompanied by study materials on Luke, made available by the Congregational Church of New Canaan.

Abdul M. Saadi: Moshe Bar Kepha’s Ninth-Century Commentary on Luke

On March 4, 2015, Professor Abdul M. Saadi (Baylor University) presented a lecture on 9th-century Syriac Exegete and Apologist Moshe Bar Kepha’s Commentary on Luke. The lecture was given at the Armstrong Browning Library- Cox Lecture Hall, Baylor University.

Moshe Bar Kepha, as a churchman, exegete and apologist, lived in the time and place of the most troubled center of the Abbasid Empire, witnessing the consequences of its policies upon the Christian communities.  The most daring policy was the Islamization policy of Caliph al-Mutawakkel (d. 861), under which Christianity was not merely assailed as a false faith, but also as a social evil. In addition to paying Jizyah, this caliph further humiliated the Christians by imposing on them harsher rules which came to be known as “Omar Conditions” against Christians. It was in the context of enduring the Islamification policy and in the context of open/receptive relationships among Christians of different traditions that Moshe Bar Kepha ministered, taught, and wrote his Commentary on the Gospel of Luke.  In fact, he produced a masterpiece of inclusive (ecumenical) theological approach, and with apologetic tendency responding to Muslims.

Through examples from his Commentary, I will expose Bar Kepha’s position on various Christian theological topics, which he presented in a harmonious way, stressing the essential unity among all Christians.  At the same time, by means of instructing his Christian community, he responded to Muslims’ challenge to the Christian faith.

Mark Goodacre – NT Pod podcasts

Mark Goodacre, Professor of New Testament at Duke University, provides a regular podcast on New Testament scholarship called NT Pod.

The major topics of these podcasts are the Gospels and Jesus scholarship, although Goodacre also addresses topics in Pauline scholarship, the apocryphal gospels, and other aspects of the New Testament. While the podcasts are short and succinct – usually 10 to 15 minutes – they provide clear, accessible, up-to-date, and authoritative overviews of many topics in New Testament scholarship.

Online List of Q Scholarship and Resources

Dr Michael Kok has assembled a useful list of scholarship and resources on the Q hypothesis, the theory that, in addition to their use of the Gospel of Mark, Matthew and Luke independently used an extensive second source (Quelle) to compose their gospels.

Kok divides the scholarship and resources into the following categories:

• The Synoptic Problem and the Case for/Against Q
• The Text of Q as reconstructed from Matthew/Luke
• Theories about Q and Christian Origins

Madeleine Boucher on Mary Magdalene

Dr. Madeleine Boucher, former professor of New Testament and director of the Women’s Studies Program, Fordham University, presents a lecture examining what the Bible and tradition say about Mary Magdalene (July 22, 2009).

This lecture looks at the conflation of traditions of Mary Magdalene as well as Scripture references to clarify who this “Apostle to the Apostles” was and was not.  Special focus is given to the resurrection narrative in John’s Gospel.

A helpful handout is also available for Madeleine Boucher’s lecture.

Larry Hurtado – Selected Published Essays etc

Emeritus Professor Larry Hurtado (formerly of the University of Edinburgh) makes available a large number of essays and articles on his personal website. The main topics are Jesus, the theory of early worship of Jesus, and the Gospels.

Examples include:

Son of Man–Hurtado.  This is the pre-publication version of my essay published in ‘Who is This Son of Man’?  Latest Scholarship on a Puzzling Expression of the Historical Jesus, eds. Larry W. Hurtado & Paul L. Owen (London:  T&T Clark, 2011), 159-77.

The Women, the Tomb and the Ending of Mark The manuscript of my contribution published in A Wandering Galilean:  Essays in Honour of Sean Freyne, eds. Zuleika Rodgers & Margaret Daly-Denton (Leiden:  Brill, 2009), 427-50.

Richard Bauckham: Lectures on Jesus and the Gospels

Professor Richard Bauckham’s personal website provides the document files of several unpublished lectures and unpublished essays on Jesus and the Gospels. There are further links to audio and video files of a number of lectures and discussions on Jesus and the Gospels, with the audio of one lecture apiece on Revelation and ecology.

Bauckham is the author of several works on Jesus and the Gospels, including Jesus and the Eyewitnesses (2006). Until 2007 he was Professor of New Testament Studies at the University of St Andrews.

According to the phonetic system used by the Oxford English Dictionary, Bauckham is pronounced Borkem…. For readers in the UK it may help to say that Bauckham rhymes with Morecambe, the name of the great English comedian Eric Morecambe of the duo Morecambe and Wise.
– “How to pronounce the name BAUCKHAM“

Translation of Sayings Gospel Q by the International Q Project

An English translation of the hypothetical Sayings Gospel Q was prepared by the International Q Project, and is made available by Dr John Kloppenborg, University of Toronto.

Philip Harland’s Podcasts on Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean

Philip Harland has an ongoing series of podcasts on a wide range of topics relating to religions of the ancient Mediterranean which are available here. These include:

Series 1: Paul and His Communities

Podcast 1.1 Paul in his own words

Podcast 1.2 The situation at Thessalonica

Podcast 1.3 Paul’s response to Jesus-followers at Thessalonica

Podcast 1.4: Paul and the followers of Jesus at Corinth, part 1

Podcast 1.5: Paul and the followers of Jesus at Corinth, part 2

Podcast 1.6: Paul and the followers of Jesus at Corinth, part 3

Podcast 1.7: Paul and the situation in Galatia

Podcast 1.8: Paul’s response to the Galatians

Podcast 1.9: Paul and the situation at Rome

Podcast 1.10: Paul’s response to the Romans

Podcast 1.11: Legacies of Paul – Women’s leadership, part 1

Podcast 1.12: Legacies of Paul – Women’s leadership, part 2

Series 2: Early Christian Portraits of Jesus

Podcast 2.1: Introduction to the Gospels as Portraits of Jesus

Podcast 2.2: Mark’s portrait of Jesus – Suffering Son, part 1

Podcast 2.3: Mark’s portrait of Jesus – Suffering Son, part 2

Podcast 2.4: Matthew’s portrait of Jesus – New Moses, part 1

Podcast 2.5: Matthew’s portrait of Jesus – New Moses, part 2

Podcast 2.6: Luke’s Portrait of Jesus – Prophet Elijah, part 1

Podcast 2.7: Luke’s Portrait of Jesus – Prophet Elijah, part 2

Podcast 2.8: John’s Portrait of Jesus – Son and Word, part 1

Podcast 2.9: John’s Portrait of Jesus – Son and Word, part 2

Podcast 2.10: Hebrews’ Portrait of Jesus – Highpriest Melchizedek, part 1

Podcast 2.11: Hebrews’ Portrait of Jesus – Highpriest Melchizedek, part 2

Series 3: Diversity in Early Christianity: “Heresies” and Struggles

Podcast 3.1: Introduction to Diversity – A Schism in John’s Community, part 1

Podcast 3.2: A Schism in John’s Community, part 2

Podcast 3.3: Docetic and Judaizing Opponents of Ignatius

Podcast 3.4: Docetic and Judaizing Opponents of Ignatius, part 2

Podcast 3.5: Diversity in Asia Minor – A Regional Case Study

Podcast 3.6: Sources for the Study of Diversity – Gnostic, Apocryphal, Patristic

Podcast 3.7: Jewish Followers of Jesus, part 1 – Ebionites

Podcast 3.8: Jewish Followers of Jesus, part 2 – Pseudo-Clement

Podcast 3.9: Marcionites and the Unknown God

Podcast 3.10 Introducing Gnostic Worldviews

Podcast 3.11: Secret Book of John, part 1 – The Spiritual Realm

Podcast 3.12: Secret Book of John, part 2 – Salvation from the Material Realm

Podcast 3.13: The Wisdom of Jesus Christ and Middle Platonism

Podcast 3.14: The Gospel of Philip, part 1 – Ideas of Salvation

Podcast 3.15: The Gospel of Philip, part 2 – Ritual Enactments of Salvation

Podcast 3.16: The Gospel of Mary – Secret Knowledge from the Ultimate Disciple

Series 4: Honouring the Gods in the Roman Empire: Asia Minor

Podcast 4.1: Introduction to Honouring the Gods

Podcast 4.2: A City and Its Patron Deity – Artemis of Ephesus

Podcast 4.3: Salvation from the Gods – Asklepios at Pergamum

Podcast 4.4: Messages from the Gods – Apollo at Claros and Didyma

Podcast 4.5: Justice from the Gods in Lydia

Podcast 4.6: Honouring the Emperors as Gods

Series 5: The Historical Jesus in Context

Podcast 5.1: Studying the Historical Jesus – Sources and Problems, part 1

Podcast 5.2: Studying the Historical Jesus – Sources and Problems, part 2

Podcast 5.3: Studying the Historical Jesus – Sources and Problems, part 3

Podcast 5.4: Scholarly Portraits of the Historical Jesus, part 1 – Crossan

Podcast 5.5: Scholarly Portraits of the Historical Jesus, part 2 – Sanders

Podcast 5.6: Jesus, Galilee, and Israelite History, part 1 – To the Second Temple

Podcast 5.7: Jesus, Galilee, and Israelite History, part 2 – To the Time of Jesus

Podcast 5.8: Jesus, the Galilean and Judean

Podcast 5.9: Jesus in the Context of Educated Groups and Leaders

Podcast 5.10: Jesus and his Mentor, John the Baptizer

Podcast 5.11: Jesus as Teacher, part 1 – Method and Content

Podcast 5.12: Jesus as Teacher, part 2 – Present or Future Kingdom?

Podcast 5.13: Jesus as Healer and Exorcist

Podcast 5.14: Jesus as Prophet

Podcast 5.15: Jesus as Messianic King?

Series 6: Associations in the Greco-Roman World

Podcast 6.1: Introduction to Associations in the Greco-Roman World

Podcast 6.2: Social, Religious, and Burial Activities of Associations

Podcast 6.3: Judean and Christian Groups as Associations

Podcast 6.4: Associations and Greco-Roman Society (The City)

Podcast 6.5: Associations and the Roman Empire

Podcast 6.6: Approaches to Studying Ethnic Associations and Identities

Podcast 6.7: Phoenician Immigrant Associations, part 1

Podcast 6.8: Phoenician Immigrant Associations, part 2

Podcast 6.9: Judean Immigrant Associations, part 1

Podcast 6.10: Judean Immigrant Associations, part 2

Podcast 6.11 Jesus Groups as Associations and Cultural Minorities, part 1

Podcast 6.12: Jesus Groups as Associations and Cultural Minorities, part 2

Podcast 6.13: Cultural Minority Associations and Ethnic Stereotypes, part 1

Podcast 6.14: Cultural Minority Associations and Ethnic Stereotypes, part 2

Series 7: Visions of the End: Origins of Judean Apocalypticism

Podcast 7.1: Visions of the End – What is Apocalypticism?

Podcast 7.2: Origins part 1 – Ancient Near Eastern Combat Myths

Podcast 7.3: Origins part 2 – Zoroastrian apocalypticism

Podcast 7.4: Origins part 3a – Israelite Prophets 1

Podcast 7.5: Origins part 3b – Israelite Prophets 2

Podcast 7.6: 1 Enoch – An Introduction to the Earliest Apocalypse

Podcast 7.7: 1 Enoch – Fallen Angels in Early Apocalypticism

Podcast 7.8: Introduction to Daniel’s Historical Apocalypse

Podcast 7.9: Daniel’s Visions as Veiled History

Series 8: A Cultural History of Satan – Personified Evil in Early Judaism and in Christianity

Podcast 8.1: A Cultural History of Satan – Predecessors of Satan from Mesopotamia

Podcast 8.2: Predecessors of Satan from Canaan and Israel

Podcast 8.3: Predecessors of Satan from Persia

Podcast 8.4: Other Predecessors of Satan from the Hebrew Bible

Podcast 8.5: Fallen Angels in 1 Enoch (ca. 225 BCE)

Podcast 8.6: Mastema in Jubilees and Beliar in the Dead Sea Scrolls (ca. 100 BCE)

Podcast 8.7: The Devil and Beelzebub in Early Biographies of Jesus (70-100 CE)

Podcast 8.8: Internal Functions of the Rhetoric of Satan in Paul and John (ca. 50-110 CE)

Podcast 8.9: A Satanic Empire in John’s Apocalypse (ca. 80-100 CE)

Podcast 8.10: Jealous Satan, the Image of God, and the Serpent in the Life of Adam and Eve

Podcast 8.11: The Jealous Creator and the Serpent of Wisdom in Gnosticism (2nd century CE)

Podcast 8.12: Satan’s Demons and the Greco-Roman Gods in the Church Fathers (2nd-3rd centuries CE)