Jane Heath
University of Aberdeen
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Archive | 2013
Jane Heath
I Introduction: Formative Visuality 1. A Disciplinary Blind-Spot and its Origins 2. Various Visuals: Visual Culture, Visual Practice, Visual Piety II Introduction: Hellenistic, Jewish or Both?: Hellenistic, Jewish or Both? 3. Greco-Roman Visual Practices:Greco-Roman Visual Practices 4. Jewish Visual Practices: Jewish Visual Practices III Introduction: Luther s Faith and Paul s Sight: Romans 1:17 and 2 Corinthians 3:18 5. The Epistle to the Romans 6. Sense Perception and Transformative Judgement: 2 Corinthians 2:14-7:4 7. Beholding in a Mirror we are being Metamorphosed : 2 Corinthians 3:18 8. Metamorphosis of the Servant s Beholder 9. From Jew to Gentile in Paul s Visual Piety Finis: Synagoga et Ecclesia
Journal for the Study of the New Testament | 2009
Jane Heath
Paul is absent from Thessalonica; Christ is (in some sense) absent until his parousia; God is distant, invisible; the missionary visit lies in the past. But in the letter they receive from Paul, the Thessalonians find these manifold presences conjured under Paul’s pen and again made vivid. The following article studies this in the context of ancient discussion of enargeia. Although enargeia was never well systematized in antiquity, the term was frequent in diverse contexts for a range of interrelated phenomena connected with effects of vivid presence. Previously, scholarly discussion of ‘absent-presences’ in Paul has focused on Paul’s practice of making his own personal presence vivid to addressees, and this has been debated chiefly in the light of ancient epistolary theory. The introduction of enargeia opens the way for investigation of a wider range of ‘absent-presences’ and relationships between them, and places the discussion in a broader cultural setting. The aim is a theologically and historically richer exegesis of the epistle.
Expository Times | 2018
Jane Heath
the cultural plausibility and the leadership to intervene in society and its processes’ (p. 66). Professor Maria Clara Bingemer, however, is persuaded that because people are thirsty for Transcendence and Spirit, religion will continue to survive, albeit in a form relegated to the private sphere where each person avidly searches for an experience that can give meaning to life. This posture on the part of the postmodern person is troubling, for as Bingemer notes, ‘if on the one hand the eagerness for such an experience is a positive factor in guiding the believer to return to God..., on the other hand the experience sought after and desired is... unrelated to moral norms, dogmatic truth or institutional membership’ (p. xviii). Another concern she raises is that what is presumed by human experiences is often not carefully analysed for content. This follows from the mistaken notion that every human experience, even a religious one, is considered an experience of God. Yet, for Bingemer the ‘turn’ toward experience holds promise of returning individuals to the realities of everyday life, even that of the divine. This is despite her view that ‘there is no natural and logical transition between the experience of everyday life and the experience of God’ (p. 89) By her own reckoning, the former is the place of advent of the latter. How so? If I read her correctly, it is because postmodern thought with its questioning (or deconstruction) of any attempt to speak adequately of the ineffable Absolute has opened a ‘new’ track for Christian discourse with its stance that though God who is Mystery cannot be fully comprehended, he can be truly experienced! (p. 82). At this point, we see the book’s key challenge to the postmodern individual as well as those within institutional religion— to follow the ‘counterculture’ path to an experience of God as mystery who comes to them in grace. The book ends with useful reflections on both the language of mystical narrative, and the exemplary and inspiring lives of certain modern-day mystics. In times of religious indifference, this book makes a much-needed and passionate appeal for embracing a pathway to an authentic, mystical experience that can be life-changing.
Expository Times | 2017
Jane Heath
on engagements between Christians and atheists. In Chapter 5, Bullivant gives a fair account about the point and advantages of Christian–atheist dialogue, the contentious issues where dialogue is required, and how dialogue ought to be conducted. Finally, in Chapter 6, Bullivant outlines the case for Christian evangelization and explores its importance, asking how Christians can present the gospel in a world of unbelief. While Bullivant will no doubt be accused of Christocentrism, particularly in Chapter 6, this study offers a valuable guide for readers who are interested in the phenomenon of atheism, especially concerning these topics: what atheism is like, where it came from, and how Christians should respond to arguments for atheism. In exploring these topics, this book will lead Christians to engage in dialogue with contemporary atheism and forms of unbelief. On the whole, Bullivant’s book is an unbiased invitation to dialogue, respectful of atheist perspectives.
Expository Times | 2017
Jane Heath
church imposed limitations placed on God’s selfdisclosure. Do We Need the New Testament? argues that the church of the New Testament must look to the Old Testament in order to assume its prophetic role. ‘The prophets characteristically announce an event that sounds as if it will be the ultimate fulfillment of God’s ultimate purpose, and its characteristic of the New Testament to talk as if that fulfillment has happened’ (p. 59). In nine brief chapters, the author attempts to nullify modern day misconceptions of First Testament subjects as morally deficient by emphasizing that their ritualistic sacrifices signified that in such traditions, worship occurred with great difficulty. The book hints that Western Christian readers are prone to disconnect the New from the First Testament through using scripture selectively. Upon reading Do We Need the New Testament?, scholars and practitioners should expect to attain an increased grasp of how ‘scripture should be read as a unified story’ (p. 171). Although the book relies on advanced Biblical scholarship, Goldingay refrains from using excessive discipline specific jargon. As a result, its concepts ranging from Biblical understandings of intercession to the role of collective memory can become easily understood by lay audiences and applied in the church and its context. The book does seem to overlook the idea that the shift of Western social character towards becoming less empathetic can result in the detachment of readers from the range of emotions expressed in Scripture.
Expository Times | 2016
Jane Heath
into the Pentateuch by the same redactions that are responsible for the post-deuteronomistic and postPriestly redactions in Pentateuch and Hexateuch. Unfortunately, the richness and impact of this collection cannot be appreciated in full here. However, the volume offers rich and important insights into the current state of research onto the post-Priestly texts of the Pentateuch and will prove to be a waymark for the discussions to come.
Expository Times | 2015
Jane Heath
Mousaieff,1 the exception being Andree Lemaire’s article on the origin of the alphabet, which includes other texts. How many items in Moussaieff’s collection are genuine cannot be known, since they are nearly all unprovenanced. Hence, this very varied collection contains two essays (by Alan Millard and Martin Heide) on dealing with forgeries. The items dealt with include seals with biblical names (Peter van der Veen on Gedaliah), of which one was recovered from an excavation, followed by an update by Lawrence Mykytiuk of his book on legitimately identifying biblical persons from inscriptions; six ‘fiscal bullae’ recovered from Keilah in ‘non-professional excavations’ and dated (somewhat flimsily) to the reign of Hezekiah (Robert Deutsch); a seal of the curiously-named dml’ son of pqhyw (M. Lubetski); a bilingual (Akkadian and Aramaic) object of uncertain purpose and various bricks and brick stamps from Babylonia, (two essays by Kathleen Abraham); a Babylonian boundary stone (the late W. G. Lambert, who is also briefly commemorated at the end of the volume); a Palmyrene stone bowl (Lemaire); and Mandaic magic bowls (Matthew Morgenstern). Further essays consider the identity of the ‘daughter of Pharaoh’ in Exod. 2 and 1 Kgs 3 (Claire Gottlieb), the inscription of Katuwas of Carchemish (not a Mousaieff item) and the books of Kings (Richard Hess), before the question of forgery looms in Millard’s ‘How Can Fakes Be Found?’ (answer: the ‘experienced eye’), and Heide’s ‘How to Handle a Forgery Affair with an International Impact’, describing various ‘Moabite’ forgeries in the nineteenth century, which concludes that it is not always possible to determine a forgery, but, like Millard, suggests appropriate criteria. Chaim Cohen keeps alive the possibility that the widely suspected Jehoash Inscription may after all be an ancient copy of an original, and, in conclusion, M. Lubetski relays Mousaieff’s own view of a coin of Nerva, taking the opportunity to pay tribute to the collector of artifacts both real and fake.
Expository Times | 2015
Jane Heath
International Version of the bible, rather than the somewhat poor translation of 1 Corinthians contained in the 1978 version of the NIV. Second, Fee mentions the vast amount of secondary literature published on the epistle in the intervening years since the commentary was first published. However, it is hard to find exactly where this has been incorporated into the revised edition, apart from a partially revised bibliography. Third, Fee attempts to remove chapter and verse numbers from the body of the text, and instead to place them in either footnotes or parentheses. The new, larger font certainly makes the text of the commentary more readable. It is good to see this important volume reissued in a fresher format.
Expository Times | 2014
Jane Heath
Green also highlights the historical challenges of addressing the relationship between Christian Scripture and ethics. He explains that Christian interpreters throughout history have often addressed ethical questions from Scripture by overly harmonizing biblical voices. This volume aims to offer its readers answers to difficult questions without dodging the most challenging of issues. DSe then provides three additional introductory sections dealing with larger questions surrounding biblical ethics. Allen verhey first handles ‘ethics in Scripture,’ defining ethics as ‘disciplined reflection concerning moral conduct and character.’ He adds, ‘In Scripture, such reflection is always disciplined by convictions about God’s will and way’ (p. 5). verhey takes six pages to overview ethical approaches to Torah, the Prophets, Wisdom, the Gospels, Paul, and the later New Testament writings. Charles Cosgrove writes the volume’s next introductory section, entitled ‘Scripture in ethics: A History’ (pp. 13–25). Cosgrove tours the particular ethical approaches and concerns of believers in the first century, the Patristic period, the Medieval period, the Reformation, and the Modern/Postmodern era. Cosgrove’s survey aims to illustrate the complexity of the relationship between Christian Scripture and ethics. He also shows how varied are the conceptions of biblical authority, which is fundamental to modern debate. In the final introductory section, Bruce Birch’s ‘Scripture in ethics: Methodological Issues’ addresses the current state of ethical discussion in the life of individual Christians. That is, Birch contends that Christians use untested methods for drawing ethical conclusions from Scripture. He sets out to raise issues of perspective and methodological practice to help believers be more ‘self-conscious’ as they relate the Bible to their moral lives. One typical article featured in this volume is Michael Gorman’s on ‘Abortion.’ Gorman evenhandedly covers the ‘pro-life’ and ‘pro-choice’ sides in the debate. He helpfully notes the main arguments of each and also includes common responses to these arguments. In the end, Gorman draws upon the opposition of early Jewish and Christian communities to abortion and discusses the non-canonical texts that clearly attest to this stance. DSe is arranged alphabetically and, as with the above article, lives up to the goal(s) stated in the introductory matter. Treatments of stated topics seems fair and considers the complexity of the issues addressed. The wide range of topics includes: capitalism, artificial intelligence, ethics in the Additions to Daniel and esther, concubinage, taxation, urbanization, ethics in the Dead Sea Scrolls, quality of life, reproductive technology, loans, Just-War Theory, individualism, hospice, and ecological ethics. The volume is recommended either as a starting place for further research or a ‘one-stop’ treatment on Christian ethics for pastors and lay people.
Novum Testamentum | 2013
Jane Heath
Abstract Jas 2:18-19 is at the heart of James’ famous (or, to some, infamous) argument about faith and works, but it defies definitive interpretation due to combined difficulties in punctuation and in tracing the literary continuity in James’ argument. This essay approaches the problematic passage in the context of James’ literary intertextuality with Paul. It suggests that the enigmatic objector in James is one of Paul’s righteous gentiles (Rom 2:14-15), who lumps James and his Jewish Christian ‘brothers’ together in charging them with hypocrisy (cf. Rom 2:17-23). James artfully gives this gentile Christian voice to strengthen his own argument, for an audience already alerted to his rich intertextuality with Paul.
