BORG-CROSSAN SEMINARS
Transforming Christian Theology
Shaping the Future of the Church
Theme for 2013 Seminar
THE CHALLENGE OF THE CHRISTIAN BIBLE
The Character of the Covenantal God
Toward a Christian Theology of the Christian Bible
John Dominic Crossan
(Friday, 10:30-11:30am)
Lecture 4
Christianity’s Criterion:
Historical JesusChrist or Biblical JesusChrist?
(1)
By the “historical Jesus Christ” I intend that human person who proclaimed a new
vision of the Kingdom of God as a paradigm shift within the general eschatological expectation of his contemporary Judaism—or, indeed, of subsequent Christianity.
By the “Biblical Jesus Christ” I mean that radical historical figure as de-radicalized
in terms of rhetorical violence in the gospel texts, and in terms of physical violence in the
book of Revelation.
(2)
From one end of the Christian Bible to the other, God’s radicality is repeatedly asserted and then repeatedly subverted towards the normalcy of civilization. Just think of
this example in Covenantal Law:
Radicality of God: “The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine; with me
you are but aliens and tenants” (Leviticus 25:23).
Normalcy of Civilization: “All right, but I can still make loans with land as collateral. That
is not about buying and selling but about loaning and foreclosing.”
Radicality of God: “Yes, but you cannot take interest on loans to your compatriots” (Exodus 22:25; Deuteronomy 23:19; Leviticus 25:36-37).
Normalcy of Civilization: “All right but, granted no interest, I can still assess penalties
for default, and get another’s land that way.”
Radicality of God: “Still, every Sabbath or Seventh Year all loans must be annulled, all
debt-slaves freed, and the land get a rest from exploitation” (Exodus 21:2-11; 23:1011; Leviticus 25:2-7; Deuteronomy 15:1-2,7-18).
Normalcy of Civilization: ”Yes, but that Sabbath Year repeal of loans only applies to
direct person-to-person ones and not to indirect loans handled through the
courts.—as in the first-century CE prosbul strategy.
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(3) Exactly the same process happens to that Historical Jesus/Christ—in two successive steps—from rhetorical to physical violence:
RHETORICAL VIOLENCE
First, his non-violent resistance is morphed into rhetorical violence when you compare Mark’s version with how Matthew and Luke expand him (from their second or Q
Source).. Here are some examples:
Example 1: Reaction to Rejection
Mark 6:11
“If any place will not
welcome you and they
refuse to hear you, as
you leave, shake off
the dust that is on your
feet as a testimony
against them.” So they
went out and proclaimed that all should
repent.
Q/Matthew 10:14-15
& 11:20-24
“If anyone will not welcome you or
listen to your words, shake off the dust
from your feet as you leave that house
or town.
Q/Luke 10:10-15
Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than
for that town ….
Then he began to reproach the cities in
which most of his deeds of power had
been done, because they did not repent.
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you,
Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power
done in you had been done in Tyre
and Sidon, they would have repented
long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
I tell you, on that day it will
be more tolerable for Sodom
than for that town.
But I tell you, on the day of judgment
it will be more tolerable for Tyre and
Sidon than for you.
And you, Capernaum, will you be
exalted to heaven? No, you will be
brought down to Hades.
For if the deeds of power done in you
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“But whenever you enter a
town and they do not welcome you, go out into its
streets and say, ‘Even the
dust of your town that clings
to our feet, we wipe off in
protest against you.
Yet know this: the kingdom of
God has come near.’
Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe
to you, Bethsaida! For if the
deeds of power done in you
had been done in Tyre and
Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in
sackcloth and ashes.
But at the judgment it will be
more tolerable for Tyre and
Sidon than for you.
And you, Capernaum, will
you be exalted to heaven? No,
you will be brought down to
Hades.”
had been done in Sodom, it would
have remained until this day.
But I tell you that on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for the
land of Sodom than for you.”
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Example 2: Request for a Sign Refused
Mark 8:12
And he sighed deeply in his spirit and
said, “Why does this
generation ask for a
sign? Truly I tell
you, no sign will be
given to this generation.”
Matthew 16:4
“An evil and
adulterous
generation asks
for a sign, but
no sign will be
given to it
Q/Matt. 12:39-42
“An evil and adulterous
generation asks for a sign,
but no sign will be given to it
Q/Luke 11:29-32
“This generation is
an evil generation; it
asks for a sign, but no
sign will be given to it
except the sign
of Jonah.”.
except the sign of the prophet
Jonah.
For just as Jonah was three
days and three nights in the
belly of the sea monster, so
for three days and three
nights the Son of Man will be
in the heart of the earth.
except the sign of Jonah.
For just as Jonah became a sign to the
people of Nineveh, so
the Son of Man will
be to this generation.
The people of Nineveh will
rise up at the judgment with
this generation and condemn
it, because they repented at
the proclamation of Jonah,
and see, something greater
than Jonah is here!
The queen of the
South will rise at the
judgment with the
people of this genertion and condemn
them, because she
came from the ends of
the earth to listen to
the wisdom of Solomon, and see, something greater than
Solomon is here!
The people of Nineveh will rise up at the
judgment with this
generation and condemn it, because they
repented at the proclamation of Jo-nah,
and see, some-thing
greater than Jo-nah is
here!”
The queen of the South will
rise up at the judgment with
this generation and condemn
it, because she came from the
ends of the earth to listen to
the wisdom of Solomon, and
see, something greater than
Solomon is here!”
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Example 3: Return of the Son of Man
Mark 13:26-27
“Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in
clouds’ with great power and glory. Then he
will send out the angels, and gather his elect
from the four winds, from the ends of the earth
to the ends of heaven.”
Luke 17:26-30
Just as it was in the days of Noah, so too it will
be in the days of the Son of Man. They were
eating and drinking, and marrying and being
given in marriage, until the day Noah entered
the ark, and the flood came and destroyed all of
them.
Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot: they
were eating and drinking, buying and selling,
planting and building, but on the day that Lot
left Sodom, it rained fire and sulfur from heaven and destroyed all of them—it will be like
that on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.”
Example 4: “Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth” Expanded.
Q/Luke 13:28
There will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth when you
see Abraham and Isaac and
Jacob and all the prophets
in the kingdom of God, and
you yourselves thrown out.
Q/Matthew 8:12
“The heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Parable of Tares=Evildoers (13:42)
“They will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Parable of Bad Fish=Evildoers (13:50)
“Throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping
and gnashing of teeth.”
Parable of Supper —No Wedding Garment (22:13)
“Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot,
and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth,’”
Parable of Evil Servant (24:51)
“He will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites, where
there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Parable of Talents (25:30)
As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”
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Example 5: Matthew earlier against Matthew later.
(1) Matthew 5:
“I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment;
and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council;
and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire.” (5:21-22):
I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be
children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and
sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous …. Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (5:44,48)
(2) Matthew 23:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” (Matthew 23:15)
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” (Matthew 23:15)
“Woe to you, blind guides” (Matthew 23:16)
“You blind fools! …. How blind you are!” (Matthew 23:17,19)
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!”(Matthew 23:23)
“You blind guides!” (Matthew 23:24)
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! …. You blind Pharisee!” (Matthew 23:25,26)
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” (Matthew 23:27)
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” (Matthew 23:28)
“You snakes, you brood of vipers! How can you escape being sentenced to hell?’ (Matthew
23:33)
(3) Did Jesus change his Mind or did Matthew change his Jesus?
PHYSICAL VIOLENCE
Second, his non-violent resistance is morphed into physical violence when you compare the historical Jesus with the apocalyptic Jesus in the book of Revelation.
(1) The Apocalypse or book of Revelation has a final vision as magnificently non-violent as
anything in world religious literature:
“I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed
away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming
down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard
a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘See, the home of God is among mortals. He will
dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with
them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.’ And the one who
was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new’” (21:1-5).
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The question is not about ends but means—about how one gets to that final vision. Is it by
violence. Is God violent?
(2) The Apocalypse or book of Revelation is the most clearly and overtly anti-Roman book
in the entire Christian Bible:
[i]
Daniel 7:1-7:
Daniel “saw …. four great beasts came up out of the sea”
and they were, respectively, “like a lion … like a bear ….. like a leopard … it had ten horns.”
Those are the four great empires of the Babylonians, Medes, Persians, and Greeks.
Revelation 13:1-2: Those four are all combined in the empire of Rome: “I saw
a beast rising out of the sea having ten horns and seven heads…. And the beast that I saw was
like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth.”
[ii]
“This calls for a mind that has wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on
which the woman is seated; also, they are seven kings, of whom five have fallen, one is living,
and the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain only a little while. As for
the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction”
(17:9-11):
Seven mountains = Rome
Seven kings:
Five fallen = Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Vespasian, and Titus
Sixth living = Domitian
Seventh = ?
Eighth = Nero redivivus = 666 [Caesar Neron] to come
Shortly after Nero committed suicide in 68 CE, the rumor began to spread that he had not really
died, but had escaped to the East. The common people in Rome and many in the east whom he
had benefited hoped that he would return with the Parthians (successors of the Persians) as his
allies and regain power in Rome.
(3) The Apocalypse or book of Revelation is the most relentlessly violent book ever canonized in world religious literature. Why?
Example 1:
“Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse! Its rider is called
Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of
fire, and on his head are many diadems; and he has a name inscribed that no one knows but
himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called The Word of God.
And the armies of heaven, wearing fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white
horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he
will rule them with a rod of iron; he will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God
the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, “King of kings and Lord
of lords.” (19:11-16).
Example 2:
“Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he
called to all the birds that fly in midheaven, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat
the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of the mighty, the flesh of horses and their
riders—flesh of all, both free and slave, both small and great.” Then I saw the beast and the
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kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against the rider on the horse and
against his army. And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed in its presence the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of
the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of
fire that burns with sulfur. And the rest were killed by the sword of the rider on the horse, the
sword that came from his mouth; and all the birds were gorged with their flesh” (19:17-21)
(i) Situation & Purpose—why so violent?
(a) Anti-Roman because author was a refugee from Jewish homeland in 66-74 CE.
2 Esdras—nothing like Apocalypse & uses Lion of Judah versus Eagle of Rome.
(b) Anti-Roman because against external persecution
Dated under Domitian – no persecution in Asia
1444,000 martyrs – but only one –Antipas--named
(c) Anti-Roman because against internal acculturation.
(Ephesus in 2:1-7, Smyrna in 2:8-11, Pergamum in 2:12-17, Thyatira in 2:18-29, Sardis in 3:1-6,
Philadelphia in 3:7-13, and Laodicea in 3:14-22)
(ii) Radically infected by the violence it opposes:
For example: Ambiguity of the Lamb—non-violent versus violent:
(a) The First Coming of the Lamb:
“the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered” and that it is “a Lamb
standing as if it had been slaughtered” (5:6-7). This is the Jesus who has already conquered by
death-and-resurrection so that he is again “the Lamb that was slaughtered” in 5:12 and 13:8.
(b) The Second Coming of the Lamb:
“The kings of the earth and the magnates and the generals and the rich and the powerful,
and everyone, slave and free, hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to
the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one seated on the throne
and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to
stand?” (16:15-17)
(4) The Apocalypse or book of Revelation is the most relentlessly engendered violence ever
canonized in world religious literature: Male Lamb/Lion of Christianity versus Female/Whore of Roman Empire. Why?
Example:
“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to
me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great whore who is seated on many waters,
with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and with the wine of whose
fornication the inhabitants of the earth have become drunk.” (17:2)
Reason: Celibate Misogyny?
“They sing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the
elders. No one could learn that song except the one hundred forty-four thousand who have
been redeemed from the earth. It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for
they are virgins; these follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been redeemed from
humankind as first fruits for God and the Lamb” (14:3-4).
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CONCLUSION
(1) A first and more general reading of the entire Christian Bible from Genesis through
Revelation depicts the character of the covenantal God as composed of both non-violent
distributive justice and violent retributive justice.
(2) A second and more precise reading depicts repeated challenges by the radicality of
God’s non-violent distributive justice which is both asserted and subverted by the normalcy of civilization’s violent retributive justice.
(3) That struggle between God’s radicality and civilization’s normalcy can be seen in comparison between:
(a) the Priestly and the Deuteronomic Traditions within Torah,;
(b) the twin aspects of the Prophetic Tradition—distributive justice or else retributive justice;
(c) the Wisdom Tradition—which continues the Priestly Tradition’s emphasis on our
creational identity and destiny—and the Eschatological Tradition which continues
the Prophetic Tradition’s emphasis on distribution or else retribution.
(4) That struggle between twin visions of the same God should be solved when the historical Jesus is accepted as the incarnate revelation of God—by Christians. The historical Jesus
incarnates the non-violent distributive justice and not the violent retributive justice of
God—for Christians.
(5) But exactly the same happens to Jesus as to Torah: the radicality of God is both asserted
and subverted as Jesus’ historical non-violence is adapted, first, to rhetorical violence and,
finally, to physical violence. A non-violent “First Coming” as Incarnation cedes to a violent
“Second Coming” as Apocalypse.
(6) In summary, therefore, the story of the Christian BIble finds its meaning in the middle
and not the end, finds its climax in the center and not the conclusion. Incarnation imagines
the radicality of God; Apocalypse imagines the normalcy of Civilization. “Lord,” said Shakespeare’s Puck, “what fools these mortals be!”
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