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RS 730: Topics in the Relationship of Judaism and Christianity:
Jewish-Christianity
- RS-744; McMaster University, Term II, 2005 – Wednesdays, 10 am, UH B115
Annette Y. Reed (Dept. of Religious Studies; UH 110; 905-525-9140 ext. 24597)
- This seminar will investigate ancient texts and groups that have defied modern scholarly attempts at categorization as exclusively "Jewish" or "Christian." Rather than assuming a single "Jewish-Christianity" that defined itself against a monolithic Judaism and a monolithic (Gentile) Christianity, we will examine the sources anew, drawing on recent insights into the broad range of biblically-based forms of belief and practice in Late Antiquity, the continued complexity of Jewish-Christian relations "on the ground," and the role of inter-religious interchange in Jewish and Christian self-definition. Texts to be considered include the Gospel of Matthew, Testaments of the 12 Patriarchs, Didascalia apostolorum, and Pseudo-Clementine Homilies and Recognitions, as well as second-hand accounts from both Patristic and Rabbinic writings.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
- Class participation (35%): In addition to preparation of assigned readings and participation in class discussions, students will be assigned 6-7 shorter informal presentations summarizing assigned articles (5 min. each) and will be asked to lead discussion on 3-4 primary sources.
- Book review presentations (40% = 2 x 20%): Students should choose two books from the below list on which orally to present book-reviews (20-25 min.), surveying and critiquing the book with special attention to issues of definition and method.
- Research paper (35%): The final paper (15-20 pp.) will be a research paper on a theme or text related to “Jewish-Christianity” and/or its modern study. Students should begin thinking of topics as soon as possible and be sure to discuss them with me at least a month in advance of the due date.
- *Optional Patristic Greek component (20%): Students with background in Greek are encouraged to attend an extra hour of the seminar dedicated to reading and analyzing selections from assigned sources in Greek. Sessions will include treatment of differences between NT and Patristic usage, as well as review of elements of Greek grammar that are less prominent in NT literature but critical for reading other sources. Preparation for and attendance at these sessions, together with a short (1-1.5 hour) translation exam at the end of the semester, can be done in place of one of the book review presentations (i.e., 20% of the total grade). Interested students are encouraged to purchase the following reference grammar: Herbert Weir Smyth, Greek Grammar (rev.ed.; Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard UP, 1956). The older edition is available on-line.
See also Jeffrey A. Rydberg-Cox’s Overview of Greek Syntax, which is keyed to Smyth and on the Perseus site as well.
REQUIRED READINGS
- Students should try to read as much as they can of the assigned readings listed below. But, since we will be covering many and diverse materials in this seminar, we will also have a division of labour whereby everyone will be assigned, for each session, EITHER [1] a book-review presentation, OR a shorter presentation on [2] an article or [3] a primary source. These will be distributed in the introductory meeting—although you are encouraged to let me know in advance, if you have any preferences. Accordingly, readings to be done by everyone are marked below with “ALL.”
- Assigned readings will be made available for xeroxing, with copies of articles placed in a box on the table in the departmental office and the books gathered on a shelf in my office. Perhaps needless to say, students should arrange amongst themselves to share in the task of xeroxing from books. Note too that much of the secondary scholarship will be taken from the following collections:
- A. F. J. Klijn and G. J. Reinink, Patristic Evidence for Jewish-Christian Sects (Supplements to NovT 36; Leiden: Brill, 1973).
- James D.G. Dunn, ed., Jews and Christians: The Parting of the Ways, AD 70 to 135 (Cambridge: Eerdmanns, 1992).
- Simon C. Mimouni, ed., with F. Stanley Jones, Le Judéo-Christianisme dans tous ses états (Paris: Cerf, 2001).
- Adam H. Becker and Annette Y. Reed, eds., The Ways that Never Parted: Jews and Christians in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages (TSAJ 95; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2003).
- Peter J. Tomson and Doris Lambers-Petry, eds., The Image of the Judeo-Christians in Ancient Jewish and Christian Literature (WUNT 158; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2003).
- Abbreviations for other primary source collections listed below are as follows: NT (New Testament), OTP (Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, ed. Charlesworth), NTA (New Testament Apocrypha), Ante-Nicene Fathers (ANF), Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers (NPNF). A number of the primary sources are available on-line in English translation. See http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/ for ANF and NPNF and http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/alphabetical.html for links to other Christian writings, including NTA.
BOOKS FOR PRESENTATION
- January 12: David C. Sim, The Gospel of Matthew and Christian Judaism: The history and social setting of the Matthean community (T&T Clark, 1998). [Susan Wendell]
- January 19: Judith Lieu, Image and Reality: The Jews in the World of the Christians in the Second Century (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1996).
- January 26: Jean Daniélou, The Theology of Jewish Christianity (trans. J. Baker; London: Darton, Longman, & Todd, 1964) + Robert Kraft, “In Search of ‘Jewish-Christianity’ and its ‘Theology.’ Problems of Definition and Method” in Judéo-Christianisme: Volume offert au Cardinal Jean Daniélou (Paris: Recherches de Science Religieuse, 1972), 81-92. [Jonathan Bernier]
- February 2: M. Simon, Verus Israel: A Study in the Relations Between Christians and Jews in the Roman Empire, AD 135–425, trans. H. McKeating (Oxford: Oxford UP, 1986).
- February 9: Daniel Boyarin, Border Lines: The Partition of Judaeo-Christianity (Philadelphia: UPenn Press, 2004).
- February 16: Hans Joachim Schoeps, Jewish Christianity; Factional disputes in the early church (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1969).
- March 16: Gerd Lüdeman, Opposition to Paul in Jewish Christianity (tr. M. Boring; Minneapolis: Fortress, 1989).
- March 23:
- F. Stanley Jones, An Ancient Jewish Christian Source on the History of Christianity: Pseudo-Clementine Recognitions 1.27-71 (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1995). [Mandy Witmer]
- Robert E. Van Voorst, The Ascents of James: History and Theology of a Jewish-Christian Community (SBL Dissertation Series 112; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1989).
- March 30: Andrew S. Jacobs, Remains of the Jews: The holy land and Christian empire in late antiquity (Stanford: Stanford UP, 2003).
- April 6: Gerard P. Luttikhuizen, The Revelation of Elchasai: Investigations into the Evidence for a Mesopotamian Jewish Apocalypse of the Second Century and its Reception by Judeo-Chrisitan Propogandists (Tübingen: Mohr, 1985). [Shaun House]