Constructing Jesus: Memory, Imagination, and History
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What did Jesus think of himself? How did he face death? What were his expectations of the future? In this volume, internationally renowned Jesus scholar Dale Allison Jr. addresses such perennially fascinating questions about Jesus.Representing the fruit of several decades of research, this major work questions standard approaches to Jesus studies and rethinks our knowledge of the historical Jesus in light of recent progress in the scientific study of memory. Allison's groundbreaking alternative strategy calls for applying what we know about the function of human memory to our reading of the Gospels in order to "construct Jesus" more soundly. Publishers Weekly Do the gospels contain "the gospel truth"? The answer depends on how you define truth and whether you're willing to see beyond evangelical assumptions about the historicity of the canonical Jesus stories to a higher, more fully realized truth, according to author Dale Allison Jr. (see InProfile in this issue). To Allison, the gospels and the abundance of extrabiblical sources constitute a rich, heady brew of fact and fiction, all of which must be read not as a strictly historical record but as the collective memory of a people whose experience and dedication would define the direction of history. Allison, who is on the faculty of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, insists that efforts to reconstruct a purely historical narrative from the gospels are not just impossible but irrelevant. Looking beyond notions of inerrancy and consistency, the author convincingly presents a richly nuanced view of Jesus Christ and the birth of Christianity. The result is a feast to be savored. (Nov.)
PrefaceAbbreviations1 The General and the Particular: Memories of Jesus 12 More Than a Sage: The Eschatology of Jesus 31Excursus 1 The Kingdom of God and the World to Come 164Excursus 2 The Continuity between John the Baptist and Jesus 2043 More Than a Prophet: The Christology of Jesus 2214 More Than an Aphorist: The Discourses of Jesus 3055 Death and Memory: The Passion of Jesus 3876 Memory and Invention: How Much History? 435Bibliography 463Ancient Writings Index 535Author Index 567Subject Index 583
