Trajectories in New Testament Studies Today

Petri Luomanen 16.02.2010

What is a trajectory?• Two basic meanings in English:

– the path of a moving object (ball, bullet, rocket) when it moves through air

– path, progression, line of development

James M. Robinson and Helmut Koester:

Trajectories Through Early Christianity (Fortress Press, 1971)

Robinson’s and Koester’s Trajectories

Judaism and Hellenism are not static backgrounds

Attention to movements, “trajectories” moving in canonical and non-canonical literature.

• The concept of trajectories problematic• As a starting point for today’s topic:

1)R & K’s trajectories challenge the existing paradigm2)R & K also have an hermeneutical edge: “Relevance”

only emerges where there is the courage to follow new trajectories which take into account the complexity of historical developments.(Koester, Trajectories, p. 270)

3) How “trajectories” are born in Biblical studies?

Key topics of the lecture: “ A bird’s eye view” (see the handouts):A) What is the present paradigm? Are there trajectories that challenge the paradigm?B) How trajectories are generated? Where they come from? What are the impulses? C) What is the hermeneutical relevance of the trajectories?

Trajectories in New Testament Studies Today?

• An area of study (or several areas) in NT research that you find new, interesting, or representing ”cutting edge” scholarship.

• An interesting book, or an article in the area of NT studies that you have read / hear of

Today’s trajectories?Pauline studies?Johannin

e studies?

Q and synoptics

?

Jesus research?

Non-canonical

texts?

Today’s trajectories?Pauline studies?Johannin

e studies?

Q and synoptics

?

Jesus research?

Non-canonical

texts?

Today’s trajectories?

Pauline studies?

Johannine

studies?

Q and synoptics

? Jesus research?

Non-canonical

texts?

Culturaltrajectories

Methodologicaltrajectories

Researchgeneratedtrajectories

Cultural trajectories (post-modern)

Post-holocaust self-reflectionre-evaluation of Judaism

“new perspective on Paul” “re-Judaization” of NT at large

Linguistic turnSocial constructionism

Intrest in identity

Methodologicaltrajectories

Researchgeneratedtrajectories

Research generatedtrajectories

Culturaltrajectories

Methodologicaltrajectories

Archaeological discoveriesNag HammadiQumran

Re-evaluation of Second Temple JudaismRe-evaluation early Christianity

Methodological trajectories

A) Historical-critical paradigmB) Text-oriented / linguistic paradigmC) Social- and behavioral science paradigmD) Ideological / Intercontextual paradigm

A) Historical-critical paradigm

– Archaeology; Biblical archaeology1920s-1940s– Textual criticism (tracing the ”original” text form)– Literary criticism (source criticism)– Form criticism (form=> genre => Sitz im Leben)– Tradition history– Redaction criticism

B) Text-oriented / linguistic paradigmC) Social- and behavioral science paradigmD) Ideological / Intercontextual paradigm

A) Historical-critical paradigm (development since 1970s)

– Reception history, effective history – Focus on orality, secondary orality, aurality,

performance – recently connected to social memory and critical discussion about the legacy of from criticism

– Critical discussion of concepts: Gnosticism (Michael A. Williams), Jewish Christianity

– Texts as artifacts (Larry Hurtado), instead of “original” text forms focus also on the history of manuscripts and readings. Digital imagining.

– NOTE: also other paradigms can be historically oriented: For instance: social science, ancient rhetoric etc.

B) Text-oriented / linguistic paradigm(ca. 1970-1995)

– Structuralism, end of 1960s, beginning of 1970s (Ferdinand de Saussure; Claude Levi-Strauss; synchronic description of the structure of the text => binary opposiotions).

– Text linguistics– Rhetorical criticism (ancient and modern)– Narrative criticism – Reader response criticism

B) Text-oriented / linguistic paradigm(ca. 1995-)

– Cognitive linguistics, blending theory (Fauconnier and Turner, 1996)

– Integration with social science approach: Socio-rhetorical criticism: Vernon K. Robbins, The Tapestry of Early Christian Discourse 1996 [started already 1984, with Mark] http://www.religion.emory.edu/faculty/robbins/index.cfm

– Integration of ancient and modern rhetorical criticism

C) Social- and behavioral science paradigm (ca 1975-1995)

– Social science approach (towards the end of 1970s):

• Social history • Social-scientific criticism (application of social science

theories and models): functionalism (Theissen), sociology of knowledge, sectarian studies, etc.

• Cultural anthropology (Mediterranean; Malina)

– Archaeology• [Biblical archaeology 1920-1940]• “New Archaeology” from 1960s onwards: Increasing

integration with social and natural sciences– Psychological exegesis (Theissen, 1983; Drewerman

1980s and 1990s)

C) Social- and behavioral science paradigm (ca. 1995-)

– Social psychology. Henri Tajfel’s social identity theory + self-categorization theory = social identity approach; Philip Esler 1998, 2003.

– Cognitive science of religion; cognitive science and cognitive psychology in general; Luomanen, Uro & Pyysiäinen, 2007.

– Social memory; drawing on Maurice Halbwachs (d. 1945); Kirk & Thatcher 2005; Kelber & Byrskog 2009 (a review of B.Gerhardsson’s contribution)

Cognitive science of religion•Since 1990s in comparative religion•Draws on cognitive science, cognitive and developmental psyhology, neuroscience, evolutionary biology, anthropology•Contagious ideas (cf. Dawkin’s memes)•Rituals and development of religions (Whitehouse, Lawson and McCauley)

D) Ideological / Intercontextual paradigm (ca. 1970-1995)

– Liberation theology and hermeneutics in Latin America, from 1970s onwards (Gustavo Gutiérrez, 1972)

– Feminist criticism (Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza 1983)

– Post-colonial criticism– Canonical criticism (Breward Childs)

D) Ideological / Intercontextual paradigm (cs. 1995-)

• Gender studies– Queer theory– LGBT

• Contextual hermeneutics (SBL AM Program units)– African Biblical Hermeneutics– African and African-American hermeneutics– Asian and Asian-American hermeneutics– Contextual Biblical Interpretation– Ideological Criticism (focuses on politics)– Islands, Islanders, and Bible– Korean Biblical Colloqium– Latino/a and Latin American Biblical Interpretation

6: The future direction of New Testament studies

• Situation much more diverse than by the time when R&K introduced their ”trajectories”

• Some overall trends detect- and predictable:– Multi- and interdisciplinarity calls for and

generates integration (cf. Robbins, Syreeni’s model of three worlds)

– Growing impact from Asian and African Christianity

– Need for contextualisation, ”relevance” grows also within Western Biblical scholarship

Recategorizations within New Testament studies in the air?

• Inter- and multidisciplinarity also leads to fruitful integration with natural sciences and empirical research?– Cognitive sciences provide scientifically tested

knowledge about functions of human mind. This replaces exegetical ”arm chair psychology”?

It is time for ”theology in the flesh”?

Trajectories in New Testament Studies Today• Did you find a place for your ”own” trajectory,

book, article or interesting topic?• Other questions?