A narratologist's Critical Reflections on Synchronic Studies of the Bible: A Response to Gregory T. K. Wong

It is common that “synchronists” claim that the book of Judges is a meaningful and coherent text. Some of them even describe it as a coherent narrative, that is, a narrative with a plot. They then draw the conclusion that these suggested patterns or structures so to speak “reinterpret” or “overnarrativize” the individual stories and motifs in these stories, which thereby are given both new functions and new meanings. However, there is a logical lapsus in this reasoning that relates to a theoretical issue: Given the relative autonomy of narratives and, as a consequence, their relative resistance to reworking, can such assumed effects be achieved, and how, if this were the case, can it be done? My conclusion, based on theoretical arguments and an analysis of the book of Judges, is that these stories and their motifs cannot be transformed in the way synchronic scholars suggest.     

Abducted Wives: A Hellenistic Narrative in Judges 21?

the author suggests the possibility that Judges 13-16, 17-21, and 2 Samuel 21-23 may have been added to the Deuteronomistic History in the late Persian or Hellenistic period, for this literature shows continuity with Greek literature. In particular, the author traces the similarities between the biblical account of the “Abduction at Shiloh” in Judges 21 with the account of the “Rape of the Sabine Women” found in Livy and Plutarch. Though the biblical author lived before these classical authors, the biblical author may have known an earlier version of the tale, as demonstrated by at least twelve plot similarities between the narratives.     

Ideology,archaeology and history in the old testament

Abstract

While Ottosson's approach to historical studies may be correct, his understanding of the ideological character of the OT narratives may be to narrowly defined, as this ideology has many layers and reflects a diversified tradition.     

James Naughtie,The Accidental American: Tony Blair and the Presidency

Abstract

The terms "justice" and "necessity" are often employed in discussions of war. The just war tradition seeks to delineate when wars are and are not just; other theologians who do not find this approach helpful may nevertheless resort to the logic of necessity. Although unjust, some wars may still be deemed necessary. Barth employs both the language and logic of justice and necessity in his approach to war. The purpose of this paper is to address Barth's exposition of war in relation to his approach to divine justice and the necessity of Christian affliction. It does not attempt to make any large claims about the just war tradition or other approaches to war. Rather, it is intended to be an immanent critique of Barth from Barth's own theology, showing that, although consistent with his view of church and state, Barth's theology of war is inconsistent with his view of both God's character as just and the external necessity of affliction to Christian witness.     

Normative Political Theology as Intensified Critique

ABSTRACT

Some theorists are suspicious of normative political theology because they believe it undermines critical rationality. In my view, these theorists neglect theological traditions that resist dogmatism through intensified critique. Because authoritarian dogma is not unique to religion, theology offers sophisticated techniques that may be useful for those who are not themselves religious. A normative theology that intensifies critique represents a valuable resource for political reflection, and not only for the faithful.     

WHITHER “WHAT IF” HISTORY?

Richard Evans's new book, Altered Pasts, offers a perceptive but flawed critique of the field of counterfactual history. The author provides a useful historical survey of the field's recent rise to prominence and intelligently analyzes its respective strengths and weaknesses. His overall assessment of the field is quite skeptical, however. Evans cites many reasons for his skepticism, but his overall critique can be summarized in three words: plausibility, politicization, and popularity. Evans faults works of counterfactual history for their frequently implausible narratives, their promotion of political agendas, and their distressing degree of popularity. In advancing his critique, Evans makes many valid observations that call attention to important deficiencies in the field. But his view is a partial one that neglects countervailing evidence and never penetrates to the heart of why the field has left the margins for the mainstream. Evans's study provides a useful introduction to an understudied topic, but further research—ideally of a less partisan nature—is required for us to better understand counterfactual history's increasing appeal.     

El Roto: A political cartoonist in late capitalist Spain

ABSTRACT

Under the pseudonym of El Roto, Andrés Rábago draws editorial cartoons for El País newspaper on an almost daily basis. Unlike other cartoonists, his political satire rarely depicts real politicians or celebrities but instead focuses on social types. This technique helps him to distance himself from current events as presented by the media and signal the more general causes of political conflicts. This article explores cartoons from recent years in which El Roto represents and interprets manifestations of the economy in everyday life. I show that his editorial cartoons aim to unmask the ideological narratives that attempt to naturalize capitalism as the only possible economic system. His “ideology critique” can thus be described as a political intervention to interrupt the creation and shaping of systems of representation that legitimize this economic and cultural hegemony. This article offers a content analysis of some of El Roto's most relevant cartoons, identifying the most recurrent themes and techniques used in order to consider his position as a cartoonist in Spanish politics.     

The Role of Faith in Historical Research

The implied strategy and the history projected in the new book of Jens Bruun Kofoed, Text and History, fails to measure up to the critical principles of both theology and science established by Thomas Acquinas' centuries' old distinction between faith and reason. An apologetic intention in Kofoed's book attempts to demonstrate that the biblical history of his evangelical faith is not unreasonable. Thomas Thompson, on the other hand, thinks it is necessary to hold the line between faith and science, which St. Thomas drew some seven centuries ago. What Kofoed argues in an effort to project a history of Israel, which would be an alternative to that of the “Copenhagen school” is not science. Nor are his rules of evidence those that the world of secular history requires. Led by an apologetic rhetoric and understanding of historical argument, Kofoed's revised Århus dissertation is dominated by a critique of the “Copenhagen school,” which attempts to show that an alternative answer is not impossible. Although emphasizing the historical methods of Thompson and Niels Peter Lemche in his critique, Kofoed neglects to include in his discussion their discussions of method or, in Lemche's case, anything he has written before 1991. His understanding of their dependency on the Annales school is clearly mistaken as is his understanding of the debates about the relationship between historicity, genre and composition. Finally, his discussion of the comparative method is misleading and ill informed.     

Naturalism and its political dangers: Jakob Thomasius against Spinoza's Theological-Political Treatise. A study and the translation of Thomasius’ text

ABSTRACT

Jakob Thomasius was a well-known professor who in 1670 chose to address a new anonymous text in a faculty lecture. The text was Spinoza’s Theological-Political Treatise (TTP). Five years earlier, Thomasius had attacked libertine philosophers in two other faculty lectures, and now explicitly links those lectures with this critique of the TTP. This article examines the argumentative strategy and structure of Thomasius’ 1670 lecture, in the light of those 1665 lectures, to see what it was that upset the Leipzig professor. Thomasius’ text is a rarity in that it aims to critique the TTP primarily on political grounds, not religious, but this sees Thomasius’ fear of naturalism assume strongly political tones of fear of faction. This article assesses Thomasius’ version of moderate censorship, the link he draws between Hobbes and innovation, his debt to Comenius, and the coherence of his defence of moderate Lutheranism. This article also provides a translation of Thomasius’ heretofore untranslated text.     

Ian Hunter's Civil Philosophy

Summary

Ian Hunter's normative commitment is to civil philosophy. His sustained critique of metaphysical philosophy is to be understood in the context of his proposition that civil and moral philosophy are at war. Since civil philosophy is the only guarantor of social peace, the stakes are high.     

Fire,Smoke, and Judah in Judges: A Response to Gregory Wong

Abstract

In a recent SJOT article, Gregory Wong set out to “[reexamine] the evidence for the alleged pro-Judah polemic in Judges.” His conclusion is that “even though the body of evidence commonly cited in support of a direct pro-Judah polemic [in Judges] seems impressive at first glance, a case-by-case examination seems to suggest that it is, unfortunately, a case of all smoke but no fire.” As a member of the rapidly growing group of scholars who believe otherwise, I would like, in my turn, to examine the arguments presented by Wong in support of this conclusion. I will demonstrate that although some of these arguments, mainly those having to do with Judah’s presentation in Judges 1, are valid and rightfully refute certain vulnerable interpretations, overall Wong’s case against seeing Judges as a profoundly pro-Judah text is extremely weak.     

On food and fossils: natural philosophy,mathematics, and biblical history in the works of John Wallis

ABSTRACT

This paper discusses how John Wallis (1616–1703), Savilian Professor of Geometry at Oxford, used biblical evidence to support his ideas about natural philosophy and mathematics. Examples from Wallis’s long career include his calculation of the age of the Earth, his critique of Robert Hooke’s theory concerning the origin of fossils, and his debate with Edward Tyson about whether humans are naturally herbivorous or carnivorous. My analysis shows that Wallis’s use of biblical history did not necessarily commit him to an intellectually conservative position, but neither did it always encourage him to embrace new ideas. In fact, the truth is somewhere in the middle: I argue that biblical history provided a useful way for Wallis to negotiate between tradition and innovation, to determine which new ideas represented important advances and which were unsubstantiated follies.     

Richard Tawney: Moral Theology and the Social Order

Abstract

After noting the impressive scope of Tawney's contribution as an economic historian, labour theoretician and Christian moralist, attention is given to his three classic socialist texts: The Acquisitive Society, Equality, and Religion and the Rise of Capitalism. Tawney's critique of capitalism is rooted in his Christian convictions concerning the worth of each human person and also informed by his historical analysis of the evolution of capitalist social relations. His telling exposure of the transitory historical nature of so much of capitalism's vaunted absolutes has lent an authority to his contribution. Wealth, property and the mechanisms of the market are not sacrosanct, and must be subject to measures that will ensure more equitable social objectives. As a social theorist he straddled the Christian and secular humanism that formed the lifeblood of the labour movement, and this remains relevant to our more pluralist society, where agreement upon basic moral norms can help construct a social consensus that will promote a greater justice and human flourishing.     

Reading texts against an historical background: The case of lamentations 1 1

Abstract

In Part I, the paper offers an analysis of two narratives (1 Sam 25; 2 Sam 11) in which David is involved in a triangular relationship with another man and his wife. In the first narrative, both David and the woman (Abigail) are noble characters while the man (Nabal) behaves ignobly, but in the second these characteristics are reversed. David and the woman (Bathsheba) act badly, but the man acts well. In Part II, an attempt is made to see whether the confrontation between David and Uriah can be read coherently and consistently if it is supposed that Uriah knew what David was trying to achieve by sending him home to his wife, and David knew that Uriah knew. Although this reading allows a more complicated assessment of Uriah's character, it does not diminish the impression that he is a loyal and noble subject of the king. His loyalty, however, is married to a stern and uncompromising morality.     

Hazor - a city state between the major powers

The problem of the identity of the conqueror of Hazor is discussed against the background of the basic political constellations in South Syria and North Canaan in the 13th century. The Biblical references to Hazor in Joshua and in Judges are critically examined. This is followed by a survey of the results of excavations in Hazor up to the present (Dec.1999). The thesis that Hazor was destroyed around 1230 B.C. is questioned in the light of the recent debate on the Mycenaean IIIB ware dating. The final destruction of Hazor is seen as one of the aftermaths of the battle of Kadesh, when Ramses II directed his first campaign at Upper Galilee to subdue his rebellious vassals.     

Zwischen investitur und testament beobachtungen zur rezeption des josuabuches im liber antiquitatum biblicarum

Bible scholars feel the sexual heat of Jael's assassination of Sisera but deny the fire. Victor Matthews says these verses are about hospitality, not sex. Mieke Bal says they are about maternity, not sex. Yair Zakovitch says they used to be about sex, but the sex has been censored out. My close reading evidences that the Jael-Sisera episode is indeed about sex—about a woman's sexual dominance over a man. Using more of the text than other explications, this understanding reveals the bawdy ridicule of Sisera and resolves the difficulties that adhere to previous analyses. Arguing the synchronicity of Judges 4 and 5, it illuminates these chapters' correspondence and agreement, their identical style of ironic humor, and their unifying linguistic craftsmanship.     

Is there a Direct Pro-Judah Polemic in Judges?

In recent years, there seems to be a general consensus that in its current canonical form, the book of Judges is redacted out of a pro-Judah bias that seeks to glorify the tribe of David at the expense of the other tribes. Approaching the issue from a literary/rhetorical perspective, this article seeks to challenge this consensus by re-examining the evidence for an alleged direct pro-Judah polemic in Judges. It is argued that in each case where an instance of direct pro-Judah polemic is alleged to have been found, either Judah is discovered not to be portrayed as positively as initially thought, or its positive portrayal can be explained more credibly by factors other than a pro-Judah polemic.     

The Structure of the Deuteronomistic History

The author of Joshua-Kings structured his history after a land-monarchy-centralized worship rubric. Joshua-Judges and 1-2 Kings bracket the books of Samuel as parallel panels: just as the Deuteronomic promise of land is realized in Joshua only to be compromised in Judges, so the Deuteronomic promise of centralized worship is realized in 1 Kings 1-11 only to be compromised in 1 Kings 12-2 Kings 25. 1 and 2 Samuel is an extended chiasm, the pivotal concern of which is the Davidic monarchy. The Samuel chiasm is itself tied to the parallel panels.     

Rousseau’s reception as an Epicurean: from atheism to aesthetics

ABSTRACT

What did Rousseau's readers mean when they called him an ‘Epicurean’? A seemingly simple question with complex implications. This article attempts to answer it by reconstructing Rousseau's contemporary reception as an Epicurean thinker. First, it surveys the earliest and most widely read critics of the second Discourse: Prussian Astronomer Royal Jean de Castillon, Jesuit priest Louis Bertrand Castel, and Hanoverian biblical scholar Hermann Samuel Reimarus. These readers branded Rousseau an Epicurean primarily to highlight his atheism, his anti-providential and materialist natural philosophy. Then, it discusses Genevan pastor Jacob Vernet's positive assessment of Rousseau as a critic of ‘fashionable’ Epicureanism, before reconstructing Rousseau's critique of the reception of Alexander Pope's Essay on Man as an Epicurean text. These sources elucidate Rousseau's engagement with a range of ideas and argumentative positions that would inform his later self-identification as a ‘refined’ Epicurean. In particular, they highlight his interest in how a sentimental awareness of beauty might mitigate the potentially vicious effects of hedonism. The article concludes with novelist Mme. de Genlis’ critique of Rousseau's Wise Materialism, using his thoughts on the imagination to suggest some of the ways the neglected aesthetic dimensions of Rousseau's reception of Epicureanism might be developed.     

Sami Counter-Narratives of Colonial Finland. Articulation,Reception and the Boundaries of the Politically Possible

Abstract

The Sami have articulated two kinds of counter-narratives of their treatment by the state of Finland: the state failing to provide welfare services and as a colonizer of the Sami. The Sami counter-narratives are discussed in light of their evolution and their perception in the interactional context of the Finnish state. The colonization narrative, which replaced the welfare narrative, has proven to be hard to legitimize in a Finnish context. Even though it lacks both external and full internal legitimacy, it is still used because of the international conventions building on the self-imagery of a colonized people. In addition, the most radical post-colonial researchers have chosen to use it, partly for ethno-political reasons. Numerous elements in the master narrative of Finland delegitimize the idea of Finnish colonialism: amongst other things, the idea of natural borders, the idea of being colonized by neighbouring empires, the long history of industrial nationalism and the economic growth and myth-building of the state of Finland as an anti-imperialist “good state”. A critique is advanced concerning the least nuanced academic practices and narratives.