Richard A. Horsley

Current biblical scholarship tends to treat the nativity narratives as having little historical basis and to see in them illustrations of the particular theologies of Matthew and Luke. Nonbiblical scholarship sees in these narratives only an adaptation of traditional folklore themes relating to the birth of the hero. This leaves the ordinary Christian in a vacuum that the mass media and other commercial interests are only too anxious to fill. 'Liberating Christmas' shows that, regardless of whether the nativity narratives are rooted in actual historical situations, they do portray a particular network of social-political relationships. Thus Caesar ruled and taxed peoples, such as the Jews, through client-kings, such as Herod, who ruled with sharply repressive violence. But the narratives also celebrate the birth of a messiah who will finally liberate his people even though he and his family are driven into exile. The Christmas stories as reappraised by this book have, therefore, important political implications, implications not only about first-century Palestine but about contemporary history as well. These latter implications are brought out by an extensive analysis of the political-economic domination exercised in much of Latin America by the United States, domination maintained by Òclient dictators who use death squads (paralleling Herod's slaughter of innocents) to terrorize and control the exploited peasants while driving members of basic Christian communities into exile. 'Liberating Christmas' has as much to say about the 'Pax Americana' as the original nativity narratives had to say about the 'Pax Romana'. The story of Jesus is as important to ordinary readers today as it was when it was first told centuries ago.

The Infancy Narratives in Social Context

The Liberation of Christmas

a biblical vision of justice for all

Covenant economics

The Kingdom of God and the New World Disorder

Jesus and Empire

resistance and apocalyptic origins

Revolt of the scribes

Neil Asher Silberman

Argues that Jesus and Paul actually rallied against the dominion of Rome and thereby promoted a kingdom with no earthly leader

How Jesus and Paul Ignited a Revolution and Transformed the Ancient World

The Message and the Kingdom

This volume brings together groundbreaking essays that laid the foundations of several of Horsley's later works. The initial aims of these essays were, first, to ferret out evidence from our sources, primarily from the histories of Josephus, evidence for the lives of ordinary people living in Judean and Galilean villages. A second purpose was to explore as precisely as possible the fundamental conflictual division between the Roman, Herodian, and high priestly rulers in Palestine and the Judean and Galilean villagers they ruled. A third purpose was to explore more particularly how the popular and scribal opposition to the rulers was manifested in a remarkable diversity of movements and their leaders. And the fourth purpose, entailed in the first two, was to wriggle out from under some of the controlling constructs of New Testament/biblical studies that had been hiding the considerable complexity of the historical context. This was necessary even to begin to discern more precisely the fundamental political--economic--religious conflict between the rulers and the villagers manifested in a diversity of social movements attested in the sources.

Politics, Conflict, and Movements in First-Century Palestine

Uma crítica fundamentada e convincente às abordagens predominantes do Jesus histórico que o descrevem como individualista, despolitizado, e que ignoram o contexto real em que ele exerceu suas atividades. Horsley apresenta fortes argumentos a favor do seu enfoque relacional-contextual, possibilitando uma compreensão mais apropriada do Novo Testamento e de outras evidências disponíveis. Mas o que considero mais estimulante é a exposição da crucial relevância dos estudos do Novo Testamento e da Teologia nas surpreendentes semelhanças que ele mostra existirem, no presente, entre as políticas do antigo Império Romano e as dos Estados Unidos. Na atmosfera atual fortemente carregada da política internacional, este é um livro muito importante - de fato, salutar - que deve ser lido não apenas por especialistas em Novo Testamento, mas especialmente por políticos. Desmond Tutu, Prêmio Nobel e Arcebispo Emérito, Autor de No Future without Forgiveness (2000).

O reino de Deus e a nova desordem mundial

Jesus e o império

In this book Richard Horsley attempts to construct bridges of communication and engagement between the fields of archaeology and history focused on a new understanding of Galilee. He contends that neither the material nor the textual remains from Galilee can be adequately understood without consideration of the prevailing patterns of power relations in Galilee, Palestine, and the Roman Empire. He also uses recent work in the wider field of anthropological archaeology to reconfigure and reinterpret key findings of archaeological excavations in Galilee.Chapter by chapter Horsley constructs a picture of social relations Galilee that is based upon and helps explain both the artifacts and texts, and that takes fully into consideration the changing historical circumstances between the time of Jesus and the rabbis.Chapter 1 sketches the history of Galilee from biblical times through late antiquity; chapter 2 examines the character of the cities constructed during the lifetime of Jesus and their economic and cultural impact on the peop≤ chapter 3 challenges archaeological and textural interpretations that tend to assume a " Smarket model of economic life in Galilee; chapters 4 and 5 portray the villages of Upper and Lower Galilee respectively, exploring the numerous indications of conflicts between the villages and cities in the first century; chapter 6 reviews archaeological reports on synagogue buildings in Galilee with attention to date, architectural style, and d c∨ chapter 7 reexamines the evidence for the relative use of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek in Galilee.Here, then, is an accessible new picture of Galilee that sheds light on the social context in which Jesus and the rabbis lived and functioned.Richard A. Horsley is Professor of Classics and Religion at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and author of Galilee: History, Politics, and People published by Trinity Press.>

The Social Context of Jesus and the Rabbis

Archaeology, History, and Society in Galilee

Richard Horsley provides a sure guide for first time readers of Mark's Gospel and, at the very same time, induces those more familiar with Mark to take a fresh look at this Gospel. From tracing the plot and sub-plot in Mark to exploring how the Gospel was first heard (as oral performance), Horsely tackles old questions from new angles. Horsely consistently and judiciously uses sociological categories and method to help readers see how Mark's Jesus challenged the dominant order of his day.

The Politics of Plot in Mark's Gospel

Hearing the Whole Story

Set against the backdrop of Roman imperial history, The Message and the Kingdom demonstrates how the quest for the kingdom of God by Jesus, Paul, and the earliest churches should be understood as both a spiritual journey and a political response to the "mindless acts of violence, inequality, and injustice that characterized the kings of men." Horsley and Silberman reveal how the message of Jesus and Paul was profoundly shaped by the history of their time as well as the social conditions of the congregations to whom they preached.

In this innovative study, Horsley builds on his earlier works concerning the problematic and misleading categories of "magic" and "miracle" to examine in-depth the meaning and importance of the narratives of healing and exorcism in the Gospels. Incorporating his work on oral performance and turning to important works in medical anthropology, a new image emerges of how these narratives help us re-evaluate Jesus's place in first-century Galilee and Judea. In his exorcisms and healings, Jesus-in-interaction was empowering the villagers in their struggles for renewal of personal and communal dignity in resistance to invasive Roman rule.

Jesus, Healing, and Exorcism

Empowering the People

Patrick A. Tiller

CONTENTS Introduction PART ONE: The Social-Political Context of Apocalyptic and Wisdom Texts 1. Ben Sira and the Sociology of the Second Temple 2. The Politics of Cultural Production 3. The Social Settings of the Components of 1 Enoch PART TWO: Reconsiderations of Texts in Historical Contexts 4. Israel at the Mercy of Demonic Powers: An Enochic Interpretation of Imperialism 5. Social Relations and Social Conflict in the Epistle of Enoch 6. Fourth Ezra: Anti-Apocalyptic Apocalypse 7. Late Twentieth-Century Scribes' Study of Late Second Temple Scribes PART THREE: Questioning the Categories as Applied to the Gospels and James 8. Questions about Wisdom and Apocalypticism 9. Sayings of the Sages or Speeches of the Prophets? Reflections on the Genre of Q 10. Apocalypticism and Wisdom: Missing in Mark 11. Apocalypticism in the Gospels? The Kingdom of God and the Renewal of Israel 12. The Rich and Poor in James: An Apocalyptic Ethic

Rethinking Texts in Context

After Apocalyptic and Wisdom

Who were the Galileans? What was their background? Were they descendants of ancient northern Israelites? When had they come under Jerusalem rule? What precipitated resistance movements in the area?

History, Politics, People

Galilee

The Bible tells the stories of many empires, and many are still considered some of the largest of the ancient and classical world: the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, and finally the Romans. In this provocative book, nine experts bring a critical analysis of these world empires in the background of the Old and New Testaments. As they explain, the Bible developedagainstthe context of these empires, providing concrete meaning to the countercultural claims of Jews and Christians that their God was the true King, the real Emperor. Each chapter describes how to read the Bible as a reaction to empire and points to how to respond to the biblical message to resist imperial powers in every age.

Reclaiming the Bible as a History of Faithful Resistance

In the Shadow of Empire

Horsley brings his skills to bear on the questions concerning religious rhetoric and empire-building. How do the teachings of Jesus affect our understanding of the uses of power? How can we understand the invocation of God in modern political rhetoric? These questions and more are explored.

People, Power, and the Life of the Spirit

Religion and Empire

A brilliant portrait of Jewish culture in the first century rediscovers the common people in the time of Jesus, and contains a fresh evaluation of Jesus' relation to this complex society.

Popular Movements at the Time of Jesus

Bandits, Prophets, and Messiahs

John Miles Foley

Jonathan A. Draper

Werner H. Kelber

Previous thinking regarding "oral tradition" imagined a one-way process of transmission, handing down the fairly intact textual chunks that would constitute what we know as the end result, the written Gospels.

Orality, Memory, and Mark

Performing the Gospel

A major advance in Jesus studies and a critique of oppression. Horsley focuses his attention on how Jesus' proclamation of the kingdom of God relates to Roman and Herodian power politics.

The essays in this volume develop the highly suggestive insights and theory of James C. Scott-especially those related to patterns of domination and subordination, the role of religion in supporting or opposing the powerful, and the "arts of resistance" by the subordinated-to tackle key issues in the interpretation of Jesus and Paul. All the contributors implicitly or explicitly assume a stance sympathetic with subordinated peoples of the past and present. While all pursue primarily critical literary, historical, and social analysis on New Testament texts in historical contexts, some also examine illuminating historical or contemporary comparative materials. In addition, some even find Scott useful in critical self-examination of scholarly motives, stances, and approaches in relation to texts and their uses. The contributors are Allen Dwight Callahan, Warren Carter, Neil Elliott, Susan M. Elliott, Erik Heen, William R. Herzog II, Richard A. Horsley, Cynthia Briggs Kittredge, and Gerald West. Paperback edition is available from the Society of Biblical Literature (www.sbl-site.org).

Applying the Work of James C. Scott to Jesus and Paul

Hidden Transcripts and the Arts of Resistance

The essays in this volume develop the highly suggestive insights and theory of James C. Scott--especially those related to patterns of domination and subordination, the role of religion in supporting or opposing the powerful, and the "arts of resistance" by the subordinated--to tackle key issues in the interpretation of Jesus and Paul. All the contributors implicitly or explicitly assume a stance sympathetic with subordinatd peoples of the past and present. While all pursue primarily critical literary, historical and social analysis on New Testament texts in historical contexts, some also examine historical or contemporary comparative materials. In addition, some even find Scott useful in critical self-examination of our own scholarly motives, stances, and approaches in relation to texts and their uses. --From publisher's description.

Richard A. Horsley

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