DOCSLIB.ORG

CHRISTOPHER, DANY (2016) the Appropriation of Passover in Luke-Acts, Durham Theses, Durham University

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
CHRISTOPHER, DANY (2016) the Appropriation of Passover in Luke-Acts, Durham Theses, Durham University Durham E-Theses The Appropriation of Passover in Luke-Acts CHRISTOPHER, DANY How to cite: CHRISTOPHER, DANY (2016) The Appropriation of Passover in Luke-Acts, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/11541/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk The Appropriation of Passover in Luke-Acts Dany Christopher Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Theology and Religion Durham University 2016 ABSTRACT Within Lukan scholarship, studies on the theme of Passover have mostly been confined to the pericope of the Last Supper (Luke 22:1–20). Few have ventured outside it and explored the presence, let alone the significance, of the theme in other passages throughout Luke-Acts. Thus, the aim of this study is to show where, how, and why Luke appropriates the theme of Passover in his writings. I propose that besides the passion narrative, allusions to Passover can be found in three other sets of passages: the infancy narrative, the Parousia discourses in Luke 12 and Luke 17, and the rescue stories of Peter (Acts 12) and Paul (Acts 27). My investigation shows that the theme of Passover plays a major role in how Luke structures his narratives. I also show that Luke associates Passover with Jesus’ passion, enabling him to convey the message of God’s salvation. The pairing of Passover and passion for explaining the salvation of God is not limited to the passion narrative. Instead, it is present in other Passover-related passages throughout Luke-Acts. Using the foundational story of Passover in Exodus 12–13 as my point of departure, I begin my research with an analysis of references to Passover in early Jewish writings (Chapter 2). This chapter helps to set Luke within broader Jewish interpretive traditions. Next, I examine the Lukan text, beginning with the passion narrative (Chapter 3), where allusions to Passover are most concentrated and least disputed by scholars. This chapter prepares us to understand allusions to Passover in the infancy narrative (Chapter 4), two Parousia discourses (Chapter 5), and two particular rescue stories in Acts (Chapter 6). The final chapter synthesises all the findings (Chapter 7). i STATEMENT OF COPYRIGHT The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without the author's prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. ii DECLARATION This work has been submitted to the University of Durham in accordance with the regulations for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. It is my own work, and none of it has been previously submitted to the University of Durham or in any other university for a degree. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ......................................................................................................................... i Statement of Copyright ................................................................................................. ii Declaration .................................................................................................................. iii Table of Contents ......................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements .................................................................................................... viii Abbreviations ................................................................................................................ x 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Situating the Research ....................................................................................... 1 1.2 Survey of Previous Studies ................................................................................ 6 1.3 Establishing the Boundary ............................................................................... 11 1.3.1 Exodus 12–13 as the Background for the Notion of Passover ............... 11 1.3.2 The Passover Festival and Passover Story ............................................ 14 1.3.3 Passover and the Broader Context of Exodus ........................................ 15 1.4 Methodology ................................................................................................... 16 1.4.1 Analysing the Lukan Text .................................................................... 16 1.4.2 Verifying the Presence of the Passover in Luke-Acts ............................ 18 1.5 The Plan of the Present Study .......................................................................... 22 2 PASSOVER IN THE EARLY JEWISH WRITINGS ............................................. 24 2.1 Point of Departure: The Passover Story in Exodus 12:1–13:16 ........................ 25 2.1.1 Sacred Time ......................................................................................... 25 2.1.2 The Passover Ritual .............................................................................. 28 2.1.3 Passover, Unleavened Bread, and the Firstling Redemption .................. 30 2.2 The Story of Passover in Other OT Texts ......................................................... 32 2.2.1 The Journey to the Promised Land........................................................ 32 2.2.2 Passover in Chronicles and Esdras ........................................................ 32 2.2.3 The Eschatological Passover in Jeremiah 38:8 LXX ............................. 35 2.3 Jubilees ............................................................................................................ 37 2.4 Ezekiel the Tragedian ( Exagoge ) ..................................................................... 43 2.5 The Wisdom of Solomon ................................................................................. 46 2.6 Philo of Alexandria .......................................................................................... 50 2.7 Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum ........................................................................ 56 2.8 Josephus .......................................................................................................... 59 2.9 Synthesis ......................................................................................................... 65 iv 2.9.1 The Passover Time Marker ................................................................... 66 2.9.2 The Passover Victim ............................................................................ 67 2.9.3 The Passover Meal ............................................................................... 68 3 READING THE PASSION THROUGH THE PASSOVER ................................... 70 3.1 Setting the Stage: The Expectation of the Exodus Liberation in Luke .............. 70 3.2 The Passover Framing of Luke 22:1–20 ........................................................... 72 3.3 Passover and the Plan to Kill Jesus (Luke 22:1–6) ........................................... 75 Excursus: The Passover Reckoning in Luke-Acts .................................................... 79 3.4 The Preparation of the Passover (Luke 22:7–13) .............................................. 82 3.4.1 Luke 22:7 and the Death of Jesus ......................................................... 82 3.4.2 Preparations for the Passover Meal (Luke 22:8–13) .............................. 85 3.5 Words over the Passover (22:14–18) ................................................................ 87 3.5.1 Passover and Passion (Luke 22:15) ....................................................... 89 3.5.2 Passover Celebration at the Parousia .................................................... 91 3.5.3 What does Passover have to do with the Kingdom of God? .................. 93 3.5.4 The Passover of the King? Rereading Jesus’ Entrance into Jerusalem ... 96 3.6 Words over the Eucharist (Luke 22:19–20) ...................................................... 98 3.6.1 The Textual Issue of Luke 22:19–20 ..................................................... 98 3.6.2 The Eucharist ..................................................................................... 102 3.7 Closing the Stage: The Realisation of the Exodus Expectation in Luke .......... 110 3.8 Synthesis: The Shaping of the Passover-Passion Pairing ................................ 112 4 PASSOVER IN THE INFANCY NARRATIVE .................................................. 115 4.1 Setting the Stage: The Exodus Theme in Zechariah’s Hymn (Luke 1:67– 79) ................................................................................................................. 115 4.2 The Nativity Scene: The Firstborn and the Shepherds (Luke 2:8–20) ............. 121 4.2.1 The Birth of Jesus, the Firstborn (Luke 2:7) ........................................ 122 4.2.2 The Shepherds who Watch by
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Acts of the Apostles Session 5 Acts 10-12
    Acts of the Apostles Session 5 Acts 10-12 “…to the ends of the earth!” Humility (and humiliations!) for the Gospel Recap and look forward • May 27- Acts 13-16 • June 3- Acts 17-20 • June 10- Acts 21-24 • June 17- Acts 24-28 • June 24- Acts 29 Outline for our discussion: • 10:1-33 -the visions of Peter and Cornelius and their meeting • 10:34-43 Peter’s preaching of Jesus Christ • 10:44-49 Coming of the Holy Spirit (!) and Baptism • 11- Peter explains his actions to the Jerusalem Christians • 11:19-26 Church in Antioch, “Christians”, Barnabas and Saul • 11:27-30 prophecy of Agabus and mercy missions • 12: 1-19 Herod’s persecution of the Church, Martyrdom of James, son of Zebedee, arrest of Peter and Peter’s miraculous release from prison • 12:20-25 Death of Herod (Julius Agrippa I) Quiz Time! (answers given at the end of the session) 1. What was the controversy that led the early Church to call and ordain the first deacons? 2. What is the method of reading the Old Testament called where you see Old Testament figures as being fulfilled in Jesus? (used by Stephen in his preaching before his martyrdom) 3. Name two ways that Deacon Philip’s engagement with the Ethiopian eunuch are a model for evangelization. 4. Name one place that the famous “Son of Man” from Daniel chapter 7 is referenced in the Gospel of Luke or Acts of the Apostles. ***Cindy and the “standing” of the Son of Man at the right Hand of God in Stephen’s vision* Humility and humiliations: Saul escaping Damascus in a basket (9:23-25); Peter eating gross stuff, visiting house of a Roman Centurion; a Roman Centurion prostrating before a Jewish fisherman; baptizing pagans; Peter explaining himself before others (newcomers to the Jesus movement!); Herod’s self-exaltation and demise; hilarious liberation of Peter from prison; handing over leadership to James.
    [Show full text]
  • Beth Tzedec Bulletin Volume 68, No
    bulletin Beth Tzedec Bulletin volume 68, no. 4 | adar ii 5779 • april 2019 | www.beth-tzedec.org Evening of Wine & Friendship Tribute Shabbat honouring Gala Celebration honouring Josette Frydman-Kohl Rabbi Baruch Frydman-Kohl Thursday, June 6 Tuesday, May 28 May 31 and June 1 See Back Cover See p. 28 See p. 36 CELEBRATE Exciting events to honour and pay tribute to our Rabbi and spiritual leader who has devoted the past 26 years of his life to R’BFK Beth Tzedec Congregation. A Tribute Little Minyan Shabbat Service & Lunch Shabbat, May 4 beginning at 9:30 AM Cost: $18 per person. RSVP by May 1 to Marlene at [email protected] or 416-781-3514 ext. 234. BBQ for 20s and 30s Thursday, May 23 Cost: TBC. RSVP to Marlene at [email protected] or 416-781-3514 ext. 234. Shabbat Afternoon Baseball Shabbat, May 25 at 3:00 PM No charge. RSVP to Daniel at [email protected] or 416-781-3514 ext. 231. The baseball game for kids will be held at the baseball diamond in Glen Cedar Park behind Cedarvale School A Women’s Evening of Wine & Friendship honouring Josette Frydman-Kohl Tuesday, May 28 at 7:30 PM Cost: $54 for Beth Tzedec members; $65 non-members. RSVP by May 15 to Avital at 416-781-3511. Tribute Shabbat honouring Rabbi Baruch Frydman-Kohl “The State of World Jewry” with guest scholar Dr. Daniel Gordis Musical Kabbalat Shabbat Service & Dinner Friday, May 31 beginning at 6:00 PM “Diaspora Jewish Life: Challenges and Future” Cost for dinner: $65 for Beth Tzedec members; $75 non-members; $25 children (13 and under).
    [Show full text]
  • Exodus Through the Centuries(B(Bookfi).Pdf
    Exodus Through the Centuries Scott M. Langston M. Scott Exodus Through the Centuries Blackwell Bible Commentaries Through the Centuries Series Editors: John Sawyer, Christopher Rowland, Judith Kovacs, David M. Gunn John Judges Mark Edwards David Gunn Revelation Exodus Through the Centuries Judith Kovacs & Christopher Rowland Scott M. Langston Forthcoming: Genesis 1–11 Through the Centuries Jeremiah Through the Centuries Danna Nolan Fewell & Gary Philips Mary Chilton Callaway Genesis 12–50 Through the Centuries Lamentations Through the Centuries Danna Nolan Fewell & Gary Philips Paul Joyce Leviticus Through the Centuries Ezekial Through the Centuries Mark Elliott Andrew Main 1 & 2 Samuel Through the Centuries Jonah Through the Centuries David Gunn Yvonne Sherwood 1 & 2 Kings Through the Centuries Mark Through the Centuries Martin O’Kane Christine Joynes Esther Through the Centuries Luke Through the Centuries Jo Carruthers Larry Kreitzer Job Through the Centuries Romans Through the Centuries Anthony York Paul Fiddes Psalms Through the Centuries Galatians Through the Centuries Susan Gillingham John Riches Ecclesiastes Through the Centuries Pastoral Epistles Through the Centuries Eric Christianson Jay Twomey Isaiah Through the Centuries 1 Corinthians Through the Centuries John F. A. Sawyer Jorunn Okland 2 Corinthians Through the Centuries Paula Gooder Exodus Through the Centuries Scott M. Langston M. Scott © 2006 by Scott M. Langston BLACKWELL PUBLISHING 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK 550 Swanston Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia The right of Scott M. Langston to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988.
    [Show full text]
  • The Shofar TEMPLE BETH HILLEL , RICHMOND, CALIFORNIA Volume 21, Issue 6
    The Shofar TEMPLE BETH HILLEL , RICHMOND, CALIFORNIA Volume 21, Issue 6. March-April 2015. Adar, Nissan, Iyar 5775 A VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY by Rabbi Dean Kertesz Purim is the holiday where seem to be Orthodox or secular. It’s a creative clash of the revealed is hidden and Jewish cultures where our kids and theirs try to find the hidden is revealed. Purim common ground between American and Israeli Jews. usually comes during March We have much in common but we also have profound and March is the month I go differences. to Israel for two weeks with the Jewish Community High Those commonalities and differences are why Israel School 11th Grade. Going is so important to me and why I look for every to Israel with 45 high school opportunity to go. It is ours and feels both familiar and juniors is a special experience. strange. For me Israel is essential to Jewish identity One reason is seeing them and the Jewish future. It soon will be the largest Jewish experience Israel; seeing it community in the world and we, the American Jewish revealed to them, looking at community, will become the second largest. It will it through their eyes. also continue to grow in population while I suspect the American Jewish community will shrink. Israel is Israel is a young a country and an evolving country. It the only Jewish community that exercises power, thus is always changing, always in flux. So new things are Israel is the only country where Jewish moral values revealed every time I go.
    [Show full text]
  • Psalms: 126, 132, 119153-End, 142, 144, 147 There Is a General Theme in Our Psalmody This Week for the Well-Being of the People and Nation of Israel
    Readings—Week beginning 7th Sept 2020 Sep 7 Ps 126 Acts 10:34-end Sep 8 Ps 132 Acts 11:1-18 Sep 9 Ps119 153-end Acts 11:19-end Sep 10 Ps 143 Acts 12:1-17 Sep 11 Ps 144 Acts 12:18-end Sep 12 Ps 147 Acts 13:1-12 A few notes on the readings are at the end. On a Saturday any of the previous Songs of Praise (Canticles ) may be used. Our Readings this week… … ... The LORD has done great things for us, Psalms: 126, 132, 119153-end, 142, 144, 147 There is a general theme in our psalmody this week for the well-being of the people and nation of Israel. We start with a couple and we rejoiced. of the Psalms of Ascent (psalms celebrating pilgrimage to the Temple) — Ps126 captures the sense of joy that when the Lord restores the life of Israel their years of tears and struggle will result in a harvest of joy and gladness. Ps132 takes us into the heart of the nation to Jerusalem and extols the eter- nal dwelling place of God in their midst—a song of praise that recounts the ark of the Covenant finally being brought into Jerusalem (see 2 Samuel 6—when ‘David danced before the LORD with all his might’). We then partake our regular foray into the acrostic Ps119, this time into the last three stanzas (based on the last three letters of the Hebrew alphabet). This psalm of devotion to the law, counsel, wisdom, precepts of God ends with a verse that sums up the whole 176 verses of the psalm—’I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek out your servant, for I do not forget your commandments.’ as a reminder of the importance of seeking God’s ways and not following ours.
    [Show full text]
  • Restoring Life-Giving in a Life-Taking World
    Running head: RESTORING LIFE-GIVING 1 Restoring Life-giving in a Life-taking World: Lessons from the Life-giving Women of Exodus Melissa Cone A Senior Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for graduation in the Honors Program Liberty University Spring 2014 RESTORING LIFE-GIVING 2 Acceptance of Senior Honors Thesis This Senior Honors Thesis is accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for graduation from the Honors Program of Liberty University. ______________________________ Monica Rose Brennan, D.Min. Thesis Chair ______________________________ Donald Fowler, Th.D. Committee Member ______________________________ Stephen Bell, Ph.D. Committee Member ______________________________ Brenda Ayres, Ph.D. Honors Director ______________________________ Date RESTORING LIFE-GIVING 3 Abstract “Restoring Life-Giving in a Life-Taking World” examines women’s roles as life-givers in Exodus 1-2. The stories of the Hebrew midwives, Jochebed, Pharaoh’s daughter, and Miriam are paradigmatic of God’s use of unlikely characters to accomplish His creational plan. Through the life-giving actions of each of these women, God preserved His plan to deliver His people by preserving the life of their deliverer, Moses, and in turn, preparing for the ultimate deliverer, Jesus Christ. This thesis reveals the life-giving actions of the women in Exodus 1-2 and their strategic position to influence change in their society. The paradigm of God giving life through women is crucial for all generations and ultimately represents God’s twofold plan to restore His image in human beings and give eternal life through Christ. RESTORING LIFE-GIVING 4 Restoring Life-Giving in a Life-Taking World: Lessons from the Life-Giving Women of Exodus In the Beginning, There Was...Life In the beginning, God reigned in perfect supremacy over the expanse of His creation.
    [Show full text]
  • “Grace and Truth,” and “Grace” in the Gospel of John
    Alexander TSUTSEROV “GLORY,” “GRACE AND TRUTH,” AND “GRACE” IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN: Ratification of the Sinaitic Covenant of the Presence of God (Exodus 33:12-34:10 LXX) in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. Alexander Tsutserov, 2006 1. Introduction 1.1 Views of relationships between the revelations of God at Sinai and as Jesus from the perspective of the Gospel as a whole 1.1.1 The revelation of God as Jesus replaces the revelation of God at Sinai In the first view, the revelation of God as Jesus replaces the revelation of God at Sinai. To begin with, adherents of this approach argue that Jesus is not only ‘a prophet’, who would fit in the line of the OT prophets, but ‘the Prophet’ par excellence, in the sense of Deuteronomy 18:18–19. As Marie É. Boismard summarises, “Formerly God spoke to Moses, putting in his mouth the words intended for his people. Today, God is going to speak through Jesus; it is by his mouth that he is going to address his people and to give them a new law.”1 Moreover, grace in the NT is generally opposed to the Law, as in Paul’s, “you are not under law but under grace” (Romans 6:14).2 Furthermore, Mount Sinai, which had been the pre-eminent location of theophany in Israel’s formative period was, during the Israelite monarchy, superseded in dominance by Mount Zion. From the time of David on, psalmists, prophets, historians, and apoca- lyptic writers saw Zion as the most prominent place of divine self-disclosure.3 Emphasis on seeing the LORD was gradually replaced4 with prominence of 1 Boismard, Moses or Jesus, 6, 39.
    [Show full text]
  • Esther As the New Moses: Deliverance Motifs in the Book of Esther
    Esther as the New Moses: Deliverance Motifs in the Book of Esther Lapani Langford Sankhani Nkhonjera Thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Master’s degree of Theology, Department of Old and New Testament in the Faculty of Theology at Stellenbosch University Superviser: Prof. Louis C. Jonker December 2015 1 Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za Declaration By submitting this thesis, I declare that the entirety of the work contained therein is my own, original work, that I am the sole author and owner of the copyright thereof (unless to the extent explicitly otherwise stated), and that I have not previously in its entirety or in part submitted it for obtaining any qualification. Copyright © 2015 Stellenbosch University All rights reserved 2 Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za Abstract This study aims to compare the figures of Moses in the Exodus narratives and Queen Esther in the Esther narratives. The study will proceed to argue that Esther, a remarkable Jewish deliverer figure in the Persian period can be viewed as a reinterpretation of the Moses figure in the Exodus narratives. Within a broad analysis of these narratives, the researcher investigates how Esther fits into the Old Testament deliverance motifs. Commonalities between Moses and Esther and their parallels and characterization as Old Testament deliverer figures assist in drawing a comparative analysis between the two. The study proceeds to prove that Esther is a new Moses figure, arguing that the Esther narratives are presented deliberately in such a way that they reinterpret the Moses narratives. A survey of previous studies that investigated the two narratives provides further evidence for the view that the Esther narratives are reinterpreting the Moses narratives, and hence that Esther can be regarded as a new Moses in the Old Testament deliverance motifs.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction Old Testament Pentateuch Herbert Wolf
    ———————————————— THINK AGAIN AN INTRODUCTION L STUDY NOTES STUDY NOTES L TO THE OLD TESTAMENT PENTATEUCH ———————————————— ———————————————— HERBERT WOLF PERSONA 1 LIVING WORD AMI PENTATEUCH INTRODUCTION ———————————————— ———————————————— CONTENTS THINK AGAIN Preface 1. Introduction L STUDY NOTES STUDY NOTES L The Fivefold Division of the Pentateuch The Unity of the Pentateuch The Impact of the Pentateuch on the Old Testament On the Historical Books On the Prophetic Books On the Poetic Books The Impact of the Pentateuch on the New Testament Quotations Typology The Theology of the Pentateuch God Man PERSONA Salvation The Messiah 2 LIVING WORD AMI PENTATEUCH INTRODUCTION ———————————————— ———————————————— Faith Atonement THINK AGAIN The Covenants The Samaritan Pentateuch The Literary Characteristics of the Pentateuch STUDY NOTES L The Significance of Moses 2. Authorship The Case for Mosaic Authorship Moses’ Qualifications Explicit Statements About Mosaic Authorship Possible Sources Used by Moses The Tablet (Toledoth) Theory Other Possible Sources Indications of Post-Mosaic Additions Alternative Views of the Formation of the Pentateuch Early and Medieval Periods PERSONA Reformation and Renaissance The Documentary Hypothesis Form Criticism 3 LIVING WORD AMI PENTATEUCH INTRODUCTION ———————————————— ———————————————— Tradition Criticism Rhetorical Criticism THINK AGAIN Recent Critical Approaches to the Pentateuch Canonical Criticism Structuralism STUDY NOTES L Conclusion 3. Genesis Title Purpose and Scope Literary Structure Problems in Genesis 1–11
    [Show full text]
  • TASTE and PRUDENCE in the ART of JUSEPE DE RIBERA by Hannah Joy Friedman a Dissertation Submitted to the Johns Hopkins Universit
    TASTE AND PRUDENCE IN THE ART OF JUSEPE DE RIBERA by Hannah Joy Friedman A dissertation submitted to the Johns Hopkins University in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Baltimore, Maryland May, 2016 Copyright Hannah Joy Friedman, 2016 (c) Abstract: Throughout his long career in southern Italy, the Spanish artist Jusepe de Ribera (1591- 1652) showed a vested interest in the shifting practices and expectations that went into looking at pictures. As I argue, the artist’s evident preoccupation with sensory experience is inseparable from his attention to the ways in which people evaluated and spoke about art. Ribera’s depictions of sensory experience, in works such as the circa 1615 Five Senses, the circa 1622 Studies of Features, and the 1637 Isaac Blessing Jacob, approach the subject of the bodily senses in terms of evaluation and questioning, emphasizing the link between sensory experience and prudence. Ribera worked at a time and place when practices of connoisseurship were not, as they are today, a narrow set of preoccupations with attribution and chronology but a wide range of qualitative evaluations, and early sources describe him as a tasteful participant in a spoken connoisseurial culture. In these texts, the usage of the term “taste,” gusto, links the assessment of Ribera’s work to his own capacity to judge the works of other artists. Both taste and prudence were crucial social skills within the courtly culture that composed the upper tier of Ribera’s audience, and his pictures respond to the tensions surrounding sincerity of expression or acceptance of sensory experience in a novel and often satirical vein.
    [Show full text]
  • Preface 1 the People(-Ing) Of
    Notes Preface 1. The word heathen has a complex etymological history. Heathen has most frequently denoted “irreligious,” “uncultured,” and “uncivilized”; its mean- ings have not necessarily assumed a religious context. My use of the word reflects its deployment in the context of European colonization and, in light of the primary sources examined in this study, chiefly reflects its meaning “non- Christian.” It is true that even during colonization (including the nineteenth century), heathen connoted primitivism or cultural backwardness. Its primary referent, however, was the figure of the non-Christian. 1 The People(-ing) of God 1. I use the term Israelitic to indicate contemporary appropriations of “Israelite”—being people of God—as represented in the Israelite narrative of election. Only the bygone, ancient society is appropriately termed “Israelite.” But contemporary peoples, through participating in an idea of identity, may be “Israelitic.” 2. Homi Bhabha’s description of narrative knowledge has become very important for understanding how popular narratives constitute “knowledge” and organ- ize meanings. See his “Introduction,” in Nation and Narration, ed. Homi Bhabha (London/New York: Routledge, 1990), 3. See also Regina M. Schwartz, The Curse of Cain: The Violent Legacy of Monotheism (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997). 3. See Conrad Cherry, ed., God’s New Israel: Religious Interpretations of American Destiny, rev. ed. (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1998). 4. Schwartz, The Curse of Cain; Martin Marty, Modern American Religion, 3 vols. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986–96); Schwartz, Righteous Empire: The Protestant Experience in America (New York: Dial Press, 1970); Gayraud S. Wilmore, Black Religion and Black Radicalism: An Interpretation of the Religious History of African Americans, 3d ed.
    [Show full text]
  • Liberation from Tyranny
    48 Copyright © 2011 Center for Christian Ethics at Baylor University Due to copyright restrictions, this image is only available in the print version of Christian Reflection. In Liberation of St. Peter, Raphael develops a typology of divine liberation from tyranny. Raphael (1483-1520), LIBERATION OF ST. PETER (1513). Fresco. 362 x 560 cm. Stanza d’Eliodoro, Vatican, Rome. Photo: © Scala / Art Resource, NY. Used by permission. Copyright © 2011 Center for Christian Ethics at Baylor University Liberation from Tyranny BY HEIDI J. HORNIK n Acts 12, Luke recounts how King Herod—after he ordered James, the brother of John, “killed with the sword”—imprisoned Peter for preaching Ithe gospel about Christ. The believers in Jerusalem had identified King Herod and Pontius Pilate specifically as political leaders who conspired against Jesus (Acts 4:27); now the King was laying “violent hands upon some who belonged to the church” (Acts 12:1). The King intended to deliver Peter to his enemies after the Passover, but before this happened, Peter was delivered from prison. The very night before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while guards in front of the door were keeping watch over the prison. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his wrists. The angel said to him, “Fasten your belt and put on your sandals.” He did so. Then he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” Peter went out and followed him; he did not realize that what was happening with the angel’s help was real; he thought he was seeing a vision.
    [Show full text]