Full Description
North American study of the Christian Apocrypha is known principally for its interest in using noncanonical texts to reconstruct the life and teachings of Jesus, and for its support of Walter Bauer's theory on the development of early Christianity. The papers in this volume, presented in September 2013 at York University in Toronto, challenge that simplistic assessment by demonstrating that U.S. and Canadian scholarship on the Christian Apocrypha is rich and diverse. The topics covered in the papers include new developments in the study of canon formation, the interplay of Christian Apocrypha and texts from the Nag Hammadi library, digital humanities resources for reconstructing apocryphal texts, and the value of studying late-antique apocrypha. Among the highlights of the collection are papers from a panel by three celebrated New Testament scholars reassessing the significance of the Christian Apocrypha for the study of the historical Jesus. Forbidden Texts on the Western Frontier demonstrates the depth and breadth of Christian Apocrypha studies in North America and offers a glimpse at the achievements that lie ahead in the field.
Contents
List of Illustrations and Tables Foreword by Christoph Markschies Preface Abbreviations Contributors 1 Introduction - Tony Burke 2 North American Approaches to the Study of the Christian Apocrypha on the World Stage - Jean-Michel Roessli Appendix - The AELAC (Association Pour L'étude de la Littérature Chrétienne): A Brief Historical Survey 3 The Harvard School of the Christian Apocrypha - Brent Landau 4 Excavating Museums: From Bible Thumping to Fishing in the Stream of Western Civilization - Charles W. Hedrick 5 Scriptural Trajectories through Early Christianity, Late Antiquity, and Beyond: Christian Memorial Traditions in the longue duree - Pierluigi Piovanelli 6 Jesus at School among Christians, Jews, and Muslims - Cornelia Horn 7 Nag Hammadi, Gnosticism, Apocrypha: Bridging Disciplinary Divides - Nicola Denzey Lewis 8 Canon Formation: Why and Where Scholars Disagree - Lee Martin McDonald 9 Apocryphal Gospels and Historical Jesus Research: A Reassessment - Stephen J. Patterson 10 Apocryphal Gospels and Historical Jesus Research: A Response to Stephen Patterson - John S. Kloppenborg 11 Apocryphal Gospels and Historical Jesus Research: A Response to Stephen Patterson - Mark Goodacre 12 The Distinctive Sayings of Jesus Shared by Justin and the Pseudo-Clementines - F. Stanley Jones 13 The Tiburtine Sibyl, the Last Emperor, and the Early Byzantine Apocalyptic Tradition - Stephen J. Shoemaker 14 Confused Traditions? Peter and Paul in the Apocryphal Acts - David L. Eastman 15 Digital Humanities and the Study of Christian Apocrypha: Resources, Prospects and Problems - Kristian S. Heal Appendix - Select Digital Humanities Resources 16 Conversions of Paul: Comparing Acts and Acts of Paul - Glenn E. Snyder Bibliography Ancient Texts Index Subject Index Modern Authors Index
