NASSCAL Board member Annette Yoshiko Reed delivered a lecture at Trinity University on February 17, 2016, on the topic, “The Bible Beyond the Bible: From Apocrypha to Anime.” The lecture was filmed and has been made available for viewing on Youtube.
News
NASSCAL Member Publication: The Ascension of Isaiah
Jan N. Bremmer, Thomas R. Karmann, Tobias Nicklas. The Ascension of Isaiah. Studies on Early Christian Apocrypha 11. Leuven: Peeters, 2015.
This collection features the essay “‘A Door into an Alien World’: Reading the Ascension of Isaiah as a Jewish Mystical Text” by NASSCAL Board member Pierluigi Piovanelli.
From the publisher’s catalog entry:
This book is one of the first modern collections of studies on important aspects of the Ascension of Isaiah, which occupies a special place among the early Christian writings, due to its complicated origin and its relevance in regards of the early Christian self-understanding in respect of the Jews. The volume starts with an analysis of the place of the Ascension in the development of early Christian prophecy and continues with several chapters that discuss the problems of the date, provenance, genre and interpretation of the Ascension as well as its potential relationship to Marcion. The following chapters focus on various aspects of the Ascension, such as its mystical character, oracular nature, self-designation, Johannist constellation, religious experience, cosmology, the descent of Christ, eschatology and the Virgin birth. A final chapter looks at P.Amh. I 1, the Greek witness to the Ascension of Isaiah. The volume concludes, as has become customary, with a bibliography and index.
Table of Contents:
J.N. Bremmer, “The Domestication of Early Christian Prophecy and the Ascension of Isaiah.”
R. Bauckham, “How the Author of the Ascension of Isaiah Created its Cosmological Version of the Story of Jesus.”
J. Knight, “The Ascension of Isaiah: A New(er) Interpretation.”
M. Vinzent, “The Ascension of Isaiah as a Response to Marcion of Sinope.”
P. Piovanelli, “‘A Door into an Alien World’: Reading the Ascension of Isaiah as a Jewish Mystical Text.”
R.G. Hall, “Subtleties of Translation and Ancient Interpretation: Cues for Understanding the Ascension of Isaiah.”
M. Henning and T. Nicklas, “Questions of Self-Designation in the Ascension of Isaiah.”
A. Destro and M. Pesce, “The Ascension of Isaiah and the Johannist Constellation.”
I. Czachesz, “Religious Experience behind the Account of Isaiah’s Ascent to Heaven: Insights from Cognitive Science.”
L.R. Lanzillotta, “The Cosmology of the Ascension of Isaiah: Analysis and Re-Assessment of the Text’s Cosmological Framework.”
A.L.A. Hogeterp, “The Descent of Jesus Christ in the Ascension of Isaiah.”
J. Verheyden,“Pessimism in All Its Glory: the Ascension of Isaiah on the Church in the Last Days.”
T. Karmann, “Die Jungfrauengeburt in der Ascensio Isaiae und in anderen Texten des frühen Christentums.”
T.J. Kraus, “The P.Amh. I 1 (Ascension of Isaiah)–What a Manuscript Tells about a Text and its World.”
J.N. Bremmer, “Bibliography of the Ascension of Isaiah.”
Deadline for SBL Christian Apocrypha Proposals Coming Up!
We are a little more than a week away from the deadline for submitting paper proposals for the SBL’s Christian Apocrypha program unit (Tuesday, March 1st, at 11:59PM EST). If you have not submitted to this section before, please consider doing so! If you are uncertain about whether your proposal fits, feel free to contact Brent Landau, the program unit chair, at bclandau”AT”utexas”DOT”edu.
The link with the SBL’s paper proposal requirements is here. You’ll need to login to the site to submit your proposal.
Here’s the Christian Apocrypha call for papers. The unit would be very grateful for papers exploring the ways in which digital humanities can improve the study of the Christian Apocrypha, and for papers on any topic within the field of Christian Apocrypha.
The Christian Apocrypha program unit will run four sessions at the 2016 Annual Meetings. The first is a book review panel dedicated to Philip Jenkins’s The Many Faces of Christ: The Thousand-Year Story of the Survival and Influence of the Lost Gospels; panelists are invited. The second session is a joint session with the Digital Humanities in Biblical, Early Jewish, and Christian Studies program unit, pertaining to the ways in which digital humanities is impacting the study of the Christian Apocrypha; although some presenters will be invited, we strongly encourage scholars interested in participating to contact the program unit chair and/or submit an abstract. The third session will tentatively focus on violence in the Christian Apocrypha; submissions of abstracts on this theme are welcome. The fourth and final session will be open to submission of any abstracts pertaining to the study of the Christian Apocrypha, broadly conceived; members of the steering committee, however, are particularly interested in papers exploring healing in the Christian Apocrypha, the artistic/iconographic representation of apocryphal narratives, or discussions of Christian Apocrypha found in patristic sources.
New Bibliographical Resource: “e-Clavis: Christian Apocrypha”
The first collaborative project initiated by the North American Society for the Study of Christian Apocryphal Literature (NASSCAL) is a comprehensive clavis and bibliography on the Christian Apocrypha. The last attempt at creating such a resource, James H. Charlesworth’s print bibliography (The New Testament Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha: A Guide to Publications, with Excurses on Apocalypses. ATLA Bibliography Series 17. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow, 1987), is now almost 30 years old. It is time to update and expand Charlesorth’s work, but this time as an electronic resource.
The process envisioned for the creation of e-Clavis: Christian Apocrypha is to enlist members of NASSCAL to contribute entries on texts on which they have already completed, or are in the process of completing, a substantial body of work. Essentially, the contributors will be required to simply reformat and slightly augment bibliographies that are already largely complete and, presumably, being continually updated. Along with print resources, each entry includes also a detailed description (a summary, the various titles used in scholarship, clavis numbers, and identification of related literature), an inventory of manuscript sources (with online images where available), an extensive bibliography (including online resources), and information about the text’s use in iconography and popular culture.
For the complete (but certainly expandable) list of texts covered, visit the e-Clavis page at NASSCAL.com:
https://www.nasscal.com/e-clavis-christian-apocrypha/
At this moment, 12 entries have been completed, and another 42 are assigned and in progress. For examples of completed entries, see:
https://www.nasscal.com/e-clavis-christian-apocrypha/infancy-gospel-of-thomas/
https://www.nasscal.com/e-clavis-christian-apocrypha/dialogue-of-the-paralytic-with-christ/
https://www.nasscal.com/e-clavis-christian-apocrypha/hospitality-and-ointment-of-the-bandit/
One of the primary goals of e-Clavis: Christian Apocrypha is to encourage interaction and collaboration among scholars of the Christian Apocrypha. Entries are prepared by scholars working with the texts and users are encouraged to contact the contributors with suggestions for improvement or enhancement. The success of e-Clavis is contingent upon the willingness of users and contributors to exchange information and consistently update the entries.
e-Clavis is looking for volunteers to contribute entries for unassigned texts. Contact Tony Burke ([email protected]) for more information.
NASSCAL Member Publication: Biblical and Qur’anic Traditions in the Middle East
Cornelia Horn and Sidney H. Griffith, editors. Biblical and Qur’anic Traditions in the Middle East. Warwick, RI: Abelian Academic, 2016.
From the publisher’s press release (and order a copy of the book HERE):
The contributors to this volume present current research on the interaction of Muslim-Christian-Jewish religious developments in the Late Antique Near East. The reader will find topics addressing biblical and qur’ānic material applied to a wide range of questions covering the intersection of Jewish, Christian, Manichaean, Islamic, and Graeco-Roman religious sources. Unifying this research is the history of biblical traditions and their interpretation across religious boundaries as well as the role of Syriac literature and thought in the transmission of religious ideas and material in Late Antiquity.
Key themes of the volume include studies on:
- Syriac Christian and Jewish traditions in the exegesis of the Psalms
- Biblical exegesis and Syriac polemic against Evagrian eschatology
- Gender (re)constructions and Biblical interpretation
- Exegetical traditions and the sensesBardaisan and Middle Platonism in the Syriac Christian context
- Apocryphal and pseudepigraphical literature and the transmission of traditions in the Qur’ān
- The development of early asceticism at Antioch
- Sources for the history of Manichaeism
The book lays bare current debates concerning the development of religion in the Near East which impacts modern societies in East and West.
Biblical & Qur’ānic Traditions in the Middle East is essential reading for students and scholars seeking insight into the sources, methods, and current thought concerning Syriac and Arabic Christianity and its role in the development of religion and philosophy in Late Antiquity.
Timothy Pettipiece Talks Manichaeism on Talk Gnosis
NASSCAL member Timothy Pettipiece, who teaches at the University of Ottawa, was a guest on the Talk Gnosis webcast early this month. The video of the interview is now available on the Talk Gnosis site.
New Publication: Apocrypha vol. 26 (2015)
Featuring articles by NASSCAL members Charles Wright, Alin Suciu, Timo Paananen, and Bradley Rice. The issue is slated to be published in March. The contents, as described on the publisher’s web site, are:
Charles D. Wright, “6 Ezra and The Apocalypse of Thomas with a previously unedited ‘interpolated’ text of Thomas”
Rossana Guglielmetti, “Deux témoins inédits de la Visio Pauli”
Emanuela Valeriani, ”Simbolismo ed escatologia nell’Apocalisse apocrifa di Giovanni: un confronto con l’Apocalisse canonica”
Susan E. Myers, “Antecedents of the Feminine Imagery of Spirit in the Acts of Thomas”
Boris Paschke, “Speaking Names in the Apocryphal Acts of John”
Dan Batovici, “Apocalyptic and metanoia in the Shepherd of Hermas”
Christophe Guignard, ”La tradition grecque de la liste d’apôtres “Anonyme I” (BHG 153C), avec un appendice sur la liste BHG 152N”
Alin Suciu, “The Book of Bartholomew: A Coptic Apostolic Memoir”
Alin Suciu, “The Recovery of the Lost Fragment preserving the Title of the Coptic Book of Bartholomew. Edition and translation of Cornell University Library, Misc. Bd. MS. 683″
Timo S. Paananen et Roger Viklund, “An Eighteenth-Century Manuscript: Control of the Scribal Hand in Clement’s Letter to Theodore”
Andrea Nicolotti, “Un cas particulier d’apologétique appliquée: l’utilisation des apocryphes pour authentifier le Mandylion d’Édesse et le suaire de Turin”
Bradley N. Rice, “Chronique: An Account of the York University Christian Apocrypha Symposium Series: ‘Fakes, Forgeries, and Fictions: Writing Ancient and Modern Christian Apocrypha’ (Held at Vanier College on September 24-26, 2015)”
New Publication: La littérature apocryphe chrétienne et les Écritures juives
Gounelle, Rémi and Benoit Mounier, eds. La littérature apocryphe chrétienne et les Écritures juives. Publications de l’Institut Romand des Sciences Bibliques 7. Prahins, Switzerland: Editions du Zèbre, 2015.
Proceedings from the 2015 regional meeting of l’AELAC held at Bex. Featuring the article “L’Ancien Testament dans les Actes de Paul” by NASSCAL member Peter Dunn. Full table of contents available HERE.
La littérature apocryphe chrétienne est très peu citée dans les recherches sur la formation et le développement du canon des Écritures chrétiennes. Le colloque de Strasbourg a fait dialoguer des savants qui ne collaborent pas habituellement : les spécialistes de la littérature apocryphe chrétienne et les spécialistes de l’histoire de la Bible juive. Il a tenté d’attirer l’attention des premiers sur les références que les apocryphes chrétiens font aux Écritures juives et de les inciter à mettre davantage à profit les outils et les méthodes développées par l’histoire de l’exégèse durant ces dernières décennies ; analyser les apocryphes à la lumière de l’histoire des Écritures juives et de leur interprétation peut en effet fournir des éléments non négligeables sur le contexte de production d’un écrit et ouvre, dans certains cas, de nouvelles perspectives sur son interprétation.
La littérature apocryphe chrétienne provoque un certain renouveau dans l’étude de la réception du Premier Testament dans le christianisme et apporte de nouveaux matériaux à l’étude des relations entre judaïsme et christianisme, dans l’Antiquité comme au Moyen Age. En mettant au jour de nouvelles formes, inconnues jusque-là, du texte biblique et en analysant la façon dont les Écritures juives ont été exploitées dans des contextes parfois peu documentés par ailleurs, ce colloque a également mis au jour de nouvelles données, que les spécialistes de l’histoire de la Bible juive devront prendre en compte.
Les contributions présentées au colloque de Strasbourg témoignent de la multitude des méthodes à déployer pour circonscrire le phénomène citationnel dans des textes qui ne proposent que rarement des citations explicites. L’étude du rapport des apocryphes chrétiens aux Écritures juives peut en effet aussi bien passer par la recherche de citations précises dans des textes spécifiques et l’identification de leurs sources que par l’analyse des jeux d’allusions et d’intertextualité ; s’interroger sur le choix des versets et sur leur combinaison, questionner les changements qui y ont été apportés ou encore les situer dans l’histoire de leur réception peuvent s’avérer tout aussi fructueux.
Le colloque de Strasbourg ne prétendait pas couvrir l’ensemble de la littérature apocryphe chrétienne. Les contributions ici réunies n’en étudient pas moins un large éventail de textes de provenances et de datations très diverses : des textes liés aux prophètes et à l’histoire d’Israël côtoient des récits consacrés à la vie et à l’enseignement de Jésus et aux apôtres.
Helmut Koester (1926-2015/6)
Sad news for the field of Christian Apocrypha studies–and for the study of ancient Christianity more generally–as word spread yesterday that Professor Helmut Koester had died at his home in Lexington, Mass. at the age of 89. An obituary was posted by his Lutheran church in Cambridge.
There is much that could be said (and many great stories that could be shared) about Professor Koester, but for the field of Christian Apocrypha studies, his signature achievement is nothing less than giving birth to the study of the Christian Apocrypha in North America. During his teaching career at Harvard Divinity School, which spanned an amazing 55 years, he mentored a great many scholars of the CA. In addition, his close collaboration with James Robinson (the two of whom co-wrote the enormously influential Trajectories Through Early Christianity) helped to establish Claremont in California as the other center of CA studies in the US. Koester’s theories about the Gospel of Peter, the Secret Gospel of Mark, the Egerton Gospel, and other CA texts are daring and provocative, though certainly controversial.
The following paragraph, from Brent Landau’s article, “The ‘Harvard School’ of the Christian Apocrypha,” sums up the unparalleled place in CA studies occupied by Koester:
“Suffice it to say that Koester’s theories have not commanded universal assent; indeed there are even many scholars who I would associate with the Harvard School who have serious misgivings about one or more of these theories. As such, Ulrich Luz, in his review of Koester’s Ancient Christian Gospels said, with an obvious mix of admiration and disagreement, that the book “is not so much an introduction into the Gospels as it is an introduction to Koester, and as such, it definitely has its great merits.” I would frame it slightly differently: even if Koester is ultimately proven wrong in many of his theories, he is brilliantly, spectacularly wrong.” (p.68 of Forbidden Texts on the Western Frontier: the Christian Apocrypha in North American Perspectives)
SBL 2016: Christian Apocrypha Call for Papers
The SBL Christian Apocrypha program unit’s Call for Papers for the 2016 Annual Meetings in San Antonio has been posted on the SBL website:
The Christian Apocrypha program unit will run four sessions at the 2016 Annual Meetings. The first is a book review panel dedicated to Philip Jenkins’s The Many Faces of Christ: The Thousand-Year Story of the Survival and Influence of the Lost Gospels; panelists are invited. The second session is a joint session with the Digital Humanities in Biblical, Early Jewish, and Christian Studies program unit, pertaining to the ways in which digital humanities is impacting the study of the Christian Apocrypha; although some presenters will be invited, we strongly encourage scholars interested in participating to contact the program unit chair and/or submit an abstract. The third session will tentatively focus on violence in the Christian Apocrypha; submissions of abstracts on this theme are welcome. The fourth and final session will be open to submission of any abstracts pertaining to the study of the Christian Apocrypha, broadly conceived; members of the steering committee, however, are particularly interested in papers exploring healing in the Christian Apocrypha, the artistic/iconographic representation of apocryphal narratives, or discussions of Christian Apocrypha found in patristic sources.
Please consider submitting a paper proposal, especially if you haven’t presented in Christian Apocrypha previously! For informal inquiries, please contact the Program Unit Chair, Brent Landau, at [email protected].