Contents
List of Figures
Notes on Contributors
Acknowledgments
Images of Jesus: An Overview
Delbert Burkett
Jesus in the New Testament
Jesus Beyond the New Testament
Jesus in World Religions
Philosophical and Historical Perspectives on Jesus
Modern Manifestations of Jesus
Jesus in Art, Fiction, and Film
Reflections on Jesus
PART I Jesus in the New Testament
CHAPTER 1 Mark’s Portrait of Jesus
William R. Telford
Some Preliminary Questions and Answers
Historical Perspective: Forms, Sources, and Redaction
Literary Perspective: Plot, Settings, and Characterization
Theological Perspective: Christology and Soteriology
Conclusion
Notes
References
CHAPTER 2 Who Do You Say That I Am? A Matthean Response
Elaine M. Wainwright
Titles Given to Jesus
Narrative Portrayals of Jesus
Expanding the Portrait
Conclusion
Notes
References
CHAPTER 3 Jesus in Luke-Acts
Delbert Burkett
Jesus’ Birth and Childhood
Jesus’ Public Ministry
Jesus’ Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension
Jesus’ Reign in Heaven
Jesus’ Reign on Earth
Notes
References
CHAPTER 4 John’s Portrait of Jesus
Mary L. Coloe
Jesus the Word/Wisdom of God
Jesus the Tabernacle/Temple
Jesus the Son
Conclusion
Notes
References
CHAPTER 5 Jesus in Q
Christopher Tuckett
Implicit Christology in Q
Christological Categories in Q
References
Further Reading
CHAPTER 6 Paul, Jesus, and Christ
Edward Adams
Paul and the Earthly Jesus
Paul’s Main Christological Titles
Paul’s Adam Christology
Pre-existence and Divinity
The Christological Teaching of the Disputed Letters
Conclusion
Notes
References
CHAPTER 7 Jesus in the General Epistles
Harold W. Attridge
The Epistle of James
The Johannine Epistles
1 Peter
2 Peter and Jude
The Epistle to the Hebrews
References
CHAPTER 8 Jesus in the Apocalypse
Ian Boxall
The Son of Man
The Lamb
The Woman’s Male Child
The Divine Warrior
Jesus and God
References
Further Reading
CHAPTER 9 Constructing Images of Jesus from the Hebrew Bible
Warren Carter
Introduction
Reading the Hebrew Bible through Jesus Glasses
Conclusion
References
PART II Jesus Beyond the New Testament
CHAPTER 10 Ancient Apocryphal Portraits of Jesus
J. K. Elliott
Birth and Infancy Narratives
Jesus’ Public Ministry
Jesus’ Descent into Hades
The Apocryphal Acts
Dialogues with the Risen Christ
Appendix
Notes
References
CHAPTER 11 Gnostic Portraits of Jesus
Majella Franzmann
Gnostic Portraits of Jesus
The Use of Portraits
Conclusion
References
Further Reading
CHAPTER 12 The Christ of the Creeds
Khaled Anatolios
The Council of Nicea (325)
The Council of Constantinople (381)
The Council of Ephesus (431)
The Council of Chalcedon (451)
The Second Council of Constantinople (553)
The Third Council of Constantinople (680)
The Second Council of Nicea (787)
Conclusion
References
Further Reading
CHAPTER 13 Jesus in Atonement Theories
Stephen Finlan
Atonement in the Old Testament
Atonement in the New Testament
Atonement Theories in Christian History
Critics of Penal Substitution
Conclusion
Note
References
PART III Jesus in World Religions
CHAPTER 14 Jewish Perspectives on Jesus
Michael J. Cook
Jesus’ Ministry
From Jesus’ Death through 200 CE
Early Rabbinic Literature (Third through Sixth Centuries CE)
The Middle Ages
The Modern Era – Jewish Scholars
The Modern Era – The Jewish Populace at Large
Resulting Perspectives – Current and Future?
Notes
References
CHAPTER 15 Islamic Perspectives on Jesus
Reem A. Meshal and M. Reza Pirbhai
Historical Contexts
Sources
Jesus in Islamic Theology (Kalam/Ta’wil) and Mysticism (Tasawwuf)
Conclusion
Notes
References
CHAPTER 16 Hindu Perspectives on Jesus
Sandy Bharat
Jesus as an Avatar
Other Hindu Appropriations of Jesus
Jesus in India
Hindu – Christian Encounter
Conclusion
References
CHAPTER 17 Buddhist Perspectives on Jesus
Peggy Morgan
Buddhist Bases for Inclusivism and Pluralism
Images of Jesus from Buddhist Perspectives
Parallels between Jesus and Gautama
Conclusion
References
PART IV Philosophical and Historical Perspectives on Jesus
CHAPTER 18 Skeptical Perspectives on Jesus’ Resurrection
Michael Martin
Background of the Question
The Improbability of the Resurrection
Swinburne’s Argument Expanded
Davis’s Apology
Summary of the Case Against the Resurrection
References
CHAPTER 19 The Quest for the Historical Jesus: An Overview
David B. Gowler
Sources for the Quest
Reasons for the Quest
Brief History of the Quest
The Quest for Reliable Criteria of Authenticity
Recent Portraits of Jesus
Conclusion
Notes
References
CHAPTER 20 The “Jesus” of the Jesus Seminar
Robert J. Miller
The Seminar’s Conclusions about the Sayings
The Gospel of Thomas
Some Implications of the Black Material
Problems in Understanding the Seminar’s Work
So-called “Rules of Evidence”
Critics and Criticisms
The Seminar and the Deeds of Jesus
The Seminar’s “Jesus”
Notes
References
CHAPTER 21 The Quest for the Historical Jesus: An Appraisal
Helen K. Bond
Quest or Quests? Messiness and Disorder
Distinguishing Features of Recent Jesus Research
Disputed Areas
Critique of the Quest
Future Inquiries
References
PART V Modern Manifestations of Jesus
CHAPTER 22 Modern Western Christology
John P. Galvin
Nineteenth-Century Protestant Christology
Nineteenth-Century Catholic Christology
Twentieth-Century Protestant Christology
Twentieth-Century Catholic Christology
Conclusion
Notes
References
CHAPTER 23 Christology in Africa, Asia, and Latin America
Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen
Interpretations of Christ from Latin America
Interpretations of Christ from Asia
African Christologies
Notes
References
CHAPTER 24 Jesus in American Culture
Paul Harvey
Jesus in Early American History
Jesus of the Awakening
The Evangelical Jesus Rises
What Color Was Jesus? Christ in the South
Jesus Christ Superstar
References
CHAPTER 25 The Black Christ
Kelly Brown Douglas with Delbert Burkett
Roots of the Black Christ
The Black Christ in the Black Struggle
Theological Development of the Black Christ
A Womanist Approach to the Black Christ
Conclusion
References
CHAPTER 26 Feminist Christologies
Lisa Isherwood
Post-Christian Feminist Perspectives
Feminist Liberation Christologies
Feminist Biblical Christologies
Feminist Christologies of Embodiment
Ecofeminist Christologies
Conclusion
References
CHAPTER 27 The “Gay” Jesus
Theodore W. Jennings Jr.
Intimations
The Gospel of John
Religious Perspectives
The Arts
Theology
References
CHAPTER 28 Modern Mystifications of Jesus
Per Beskow
Recent Discoveries
Mystifications
References
Further Reading
PART VI Jesus in Art, Fiction, and Film
CHAPTER 29 Jesus in Christian Art
Robin M. Jensen
Earliest Depictions of Jesus
Jesus as Healer and Wonder-Worker
Episodes from Christ’s Life in Visual Art
Dogmatic Themes
The Image and Likeness: Jesus’ Portrait in Christian Art
Notes
References
CHAPTER 30 Jesus Novels: Solving Problems with Fiction
Zeba A. Crook
Birth and Youth
Mission
Miracles
Betrayal
Trial
Post-Death Appearances
Conclusion
References
CHAPTER 31 Jesus in Film
Adele Reinhartz
Historical Accuracy versus Invention
The Jesus of Jesus Movies
Jesus as Savior
Conclusion
Notes
References
Index
Blackwell Companions to Religion
The Blackwell Companions to Religion series presents a collection of the most recent scholarship and knowledge about world religions. Each volume draws together newly commissioned essays by distinguished authors in the field, and is presented in a style which is accessible to undergraduate students, as well as scholars and the interested general reader. These volumes approach the subject in a creative and forward-thinking style, providing a forum in which leading scholars in the field can make their views and research available to a wider audience.
| Published |
| The Blackwell Companion to Judaism Edited by Jacob Neusner and Alan J. Avery-Peck |
| The Blackwell Companion to Sociology of Religion Edited by Richard K. Fenn |
| The Blackwell Companion to the Hebrew Bible Edited by Leo G. Perdue |
| The Blackwell Companion to Postmodern Theology Edited by Graham Ward |
| The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism Edited by Gavin Flood |
| The Blackwell Companion to Political Theology Edited by Peter Scott and William T. Cavanaugh |
| The Blackwell Companion to Protestantism Edited by Alister E. McGrath and Darren C. Marks |
| The Blackwell Companion to Modern Theology Edited by Gareth Jones |
| The Blackwell Companion to Christian Ethics Edited by Stanley Hauerwas and Samuel Wells |
| The Blackwell Companion to Religious Ethics Edited by William Schweiker |
| The Blackwell Companion to Christian Spirituality Edited by Arthur Holder |
| The Blackwell Companion to the Study of Religion Edited by Robert A. Segal |
| The Blackwell Companion to the Qur’ān Edited by Andrew Rippin |
| The Blackwell Companion to Contemporary Islamic Thought Edited by Ibrahim M. Abu-Rabi’ |
| The Blackwell Companion to the Bible and Culture Edited by John F. A. Sawyer |
| The Blackwell Companion to Catholicism Edited by James J. Buckley, Frederick Christian Bauerschmidt, and Trent Pomplun |
| The Blackwell Companion to Eastern Christianity Edited by Ken Parr |
| The Blackwell Companion to the Theologians Edited by Ian S. Markham |
| The Blackwell Companion to the Bible in English Literature Edited by Rebecca Lemon, Emma Mason, John Roberts, and Christopher Rowland |
| The Blackwell Companion to the New Testament Edited by David E. Aune |
| The Blackwell Companion to Nineteenth Century Theology Edited by David Fergusson |
| The Blackwell Companion to Religion in America Edited by Philip Goff |
| The Blackwell Companion to Jesus Edited by Delbert Burkett |
| Forthcoming |
| The Blackwell Companion to Religion and Violence Edited by Andrew Murphy |
| The Blackwell Companion to African Religions Edited by Elias Bongmba |
| The Blackwell Companion to Christian Mysticism Edited by Julia A. Lamm |
| The Blackwell Companion to Pastoral Theology Edited by Bonnie Miller McLemore |
| The Blackwell Companion to Chinese Religions Edited by Randall Nadeau |
| The Blackwell Companion to Buddhism Edited by Mario Poceski and Michael Zimmermann |
This edition first published 2011
© 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Blackwell Publishing was acquired by John Wiley & Sons in February 2007. Blackwell’s publishing program has been merged with Wiley’s global Scientific, Technical, and Medical business to form Wiley-Blackwell.
Registered Office
John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, United Kingdom
Editorial Offices
350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA
9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, UK
The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK
For details of our global editorial offices, for customer services, and for information about how to apply for permission to reuse the copyright material in this book please see our website at www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell.
The right of Delbert Burkett to be identified as the author of the editorial material in this work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books.
Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publisher is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold on the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The Blackwell companion to Jesus/edited by Delbert Burkett.
p. cm. – (Blackwell companions to religion)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4051-9362-7 (hardcover: alk. paper)
1. Jesus Christ–History of doctrines. I. Burkett, Delbert Royce. II. Title: Companion to Jesus. BT198.B543 2011 232'.809–dc22 2010016187
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Figures
| 1 | Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Catacomb of Peter and Marcellinus. |
| 2 | “Christ Healing the Sick,” Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn, ca. 1647. British Museum, London. |
| 3 | Jesus as healer and wonder-worker. Sarcophagus of Marcia Romania Celsa, Musée départemental Arles antique. |
| 4 | Madonna and Child, mid sixth century. From the Basilica of Sant’ Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna. |
| 5 | Baptism of Christ, late fifth or early sixth century. From the Arian Baptistery, Ravenna |
| 6 | Transfiguration. Portable mosaic from Constantinople, ca. 1200 CE. Louvre Museum, Paris. |
| 7 | Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, last quarter of the fourth century. Sarcophagus from the Vatican Museo Pio Cristiano. |
| 8 | Last Supper, early sixth century. From the Basilica of Sant’ Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna. |
| 9 | Arrest and trial of Jesus, ca. 350. Sarcophagus from the Vatican Museo Pio Cristiano. |
| 10 | Jesus crucified, ca. 432. Panel from the wooden doors of Santa Sabina, Rome. |
| 11 | Christ resurrected, Fra Angelico, 1438. Museo di San Marco, Florence. |
| 12 | Trinity creating Adam and Eve, mid-fourth century. Sarcophagus from the Vatican Museo Pio Cristiano. |
| 13 | Christ giving the new law to Peter and Paul, ca. 350. Mosaic from an apse of Santa Constanza (Mausoleum of Constantina), Rome. |
| 14 | Last Judgment, ca. 1230. Tympanum of west portal, Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris. |
| 15 | Portrait of Christ, mid-sixth century. From the Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna. |
Notes on Contributors
Edward Adams is Senior Lecturer in New Testament Studies in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, King’s College London. He is the author of Constructing the World: A Study in Paul’s Cosmological Language (T&T Clark 2000) and The Stars Will Fall from Heaven: Cosmic Catastrophe in the New Testament and its World (T&T Clark 2007).
Khaled Anatolios is Associate Professor of Historical Theology at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry. He is the author of Athanasius: The Coherence of his Thought (Routledge 1998, 2004) and the Athanasius volume of the Routledge Early Church Fathers series, as well as many articles on topics in early Christian, systematic, and Eastern Christian theology.
Harold W. Attridge, Dean and Professor of New Testament at Yale Divinity School, has made scholarly contributions to New Testament exegesis, the study of Hellenistic Judaism, and the history of early Christianity. His publications include Hebrews: A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews (Fortress 1989), and Nag Hammadi Codex I: The Jung Codex (Brill 1985), as well as numerous book chapters and scholarly articles.
Per Beskow is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Lund, Sweden. His main field is patristic studies. His works include Rex Gloriae: The Kingship of Christ in the Early Church (Almquist & Wiksell 1962). Strange Tales about Jesus (Fortress 1982/1983) is an example of his interest in literary forgeries.
Sandy Bharat is former director, now trustee, of the International Interfaith Centre at Oxford. Her publications include Christ Across the Ganges: Hindu Responses to Jesus (O-Books 2007). She has an honours degree in theology from the University of Exeter, has edited for the Encyclopaedia of Hinduism project (India Heritage Research Foundation and University of South Carolina), and manages two websites, Interfaith Information Online (www.interfaithinfo.net) and Spirituality for Daily Life (www.spiritualityfordailylife.com).
Helen K. Bond is Senior Lecturer in New Testament at the University of Edinburgh. Interested in the historical, political, and social background to the gospels and in the life (and execution) of Jesus, she has published Pontius Pilate in History and Interpretation (Cambridge 1998) and Caiaphas: Friend of Rome and Judge of Jesus? (Westminster John Knox 2004). She is currently writing a book on the historical Jesus for Continuum’s Guide for the Perplexed series.
Ian Boxall is Senior Tutor and Tutorial Fellow in New Testament at St Stephen’s House, University of Oxford. He is the author of Revelation: Vision and Insight (SPCK 2002) and The Revelation of St John in the Black’s New Testament Commentary series (Hendrickson, Continuum 2006).
Delbert Burkett, Professor of Religious Studies at Louisiana State University, has written on the gospels and teaches a course on images of Jesus in history and tradition. Two volumes of his series Rethinking the Gospel Sources have appeared: From Proto-Mark to Mark (T&T Clark 2004) and The Unity and Plurality of Q (Society of Biblical Literature 2009). Other books include An Introduction to the New Testament and the Origins of Christianity (Cambridge 2002), and The Son of Man Debate (Cambridge 1999).
Warren Carter is Professor of New Testament at Brite Divinity School, Texas Christian University. His scholarship has focused on the gospels and on the diverse ways in which early Jesus-believers negotiated the Roman imperial world. He has written numerous articles and books, including John and Empire: Initial Explorations (T&T Clark/Continuum 2008); John: Storyteller, Interpreter, Evangelist (Hendrickson 2006); and Matthew: Storyteller, Interpreter, Evangelist (rev. edn, Hendrickson 2004).
Mary L. Coloe PBVM is Associate Professor of the School of Theology at Australian Catholic University in Melbourne, Australia. She is the author of numerous articles and several books, including Dwelling in the Household of God: Johannine Ecclesiology and Spirituality (Liturgical 2007) and God Dwells with Us: Temple Symbolism in the Fourth Gospel (Liturgical 2001).
Michael J. Cook is Sol and Arlene Bronstein Professor of Judeo-Christian Studies at Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, Cincinnati campus. He is the only rabbi in America with a Full Professorial Chair in New Testament, and more than one thousand rabbis have been graduated from his New Testament courses. His numerous publications include Modern Jews Engage the New Testament: Enhancing Jewish Well-Being in a Christian Environment (Jewish Lights 2008).
Zeba A. Crook is Associate Professor of Religion at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. He is the author and editor of several books and is currently writing a book on representations of Jesus in modern fiction. On this topic, he has made several public lectures and published one article: “Fictionalising Jesus: Story and History in Two Recent Jesus Novels,” Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus 5 (2007): 33–55.
Kelly Brown Douglas is the Chair of Philosophy and Religion at Goucher College, where she holds the Elizabeth Conolly Todd Distinguished Professorship. She was the first black woman to be ordained as an Episcopal priest in the Southern Ohio Diocese. A leading voice in the development of a womanist theology, she has published numerous essays and articles and several books, including The Black Christ (Orbis 1994).
J. K. Elliott is Professor (Emeritus) of New Testament Textual Criticism at the University of Leeds, England. He is the editor of The Apocryphal New Testament (Clarendon 1993) and The Apocryphal Jesus (Oxford 1996). He has also written many books and articles on Greek New Testament manuscripts and on textual criticism. He is secretary of the International Greek New Testament Project, having previously been the executive editor of the Project’s two-volume critical apparatus to Luke’s Gospel.
Stephen Finlan is adjunct faculty at Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island, and has taught at the University of Durham, where he obtained his PhD. He is the author of The Background and Content of Paul’s Cultic Atonement Metaphors (SBL/Brill 2004); Problems with Atonement: The Origins of, and Controversy about, the Atonement Doctrine (Liturgical 2005); Options on Atonement in Christian Thought (Liturgical 2007); and The Apostle Paul and the Pauline Tradition (Liturgical 2008).
Majella Franzmann is Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Humanities and Professor of Religion at the University of Otago, New Zealand. She has published Jesus in the Nag Hammadi Writings (T&T Clark 1996), Jesus in the Manichaean Writings (T&T Clark 2003), and translations and analysis of the fourth-century Manichaean Syriac remains from ancient Roman Kellis in Egypt. More recently she has been working on the fourteenth-century Christian Syro-Turkic tombstones in Quanzhou, China.
John P. Galvin, Professor of Systematic Theology at The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, received his doctorate in theology from the University of Innsbruck, Austria, in 1970. He is the co-editor, with Francis Schüssler Fiorenza, of Systematic Theology: Roman Catholic Perspectives (2 vols., Fortress 1991), to which he also contributed the chapter on Jesus Christ.
David B. Gowler is the Dr Lovick Pierce and Bishop George F. Pierce Professor of Religion at Oxford College of Emory University. He is also affiliated with the Center for Ethics at Emory. His books include What Are They Saying About the Historical Jesus? (Paulist 2007). He has published dozens of articles, book chapters, and book reviews and has edited several other books. His current project is James Through the Centuries (Blackwell, forthcoming).
Paul Harvey is Professor of History and Presidential Teaching Scholar at the University of Colorado. He is the author of Freedom’s Coming: Religious Cultures and the Shaping of the South, from the Civil War through the Civil Rights Era (2005) and the co-editor of the Columbia Guide to Religion in American History.
Lisa Isherwood is Professor of Feminist Liberation Theologies and Director of Theological Partnerships at the University of Winchester. She is executive editor of the international journal Feminist Theology and editor of five international book series. She has published seventeen books in the area of feminist theologies, gender, and sexuality. She is Director of the Britain and Ireland School of Feminist Theology and has served as Vice-President for the European Society of Women in Theological Research.
Theodore W. Jennings Jr. is Professor of Biblical and Constructive Theology at Chicago Theological Seminary. In 1991 he initiated the program in Gay Studies there, which is now the Center for LGBTQ Religious Studies. In addition to lecturing at many universities in Latin America, Africa, and Asia, he has written scores of essays and more than fifteen books, including The Man Jesus Loved: Homoerotic Narrative in the New Testament (Pilgrim 2003).
Robin M. Jensen is the Luce Chancellor’s Professor of the History of Christian Art and Worship at Vanderbilt University, where she holds a joint appointment in the Divinity School and the Department of the History of Art. Her books include Understanding Early Christian Art (Routledge 2000); Face to Face: Portraits of the Divine in Early Christianity (Fortress 2005); and The Substance of Things Seen: Art, Faith and the Christian Community (Eerdmans 2004).
Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen is Professor of Systematic Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary and Docent of Ecumenics at the University of Helsinki. He has authored eleven scholarly books, including The Trinity: Global Perspectives (Westminster John Knox 2007) and Christology: A Global Introduction (Baker Academic 2003), as well as more than one hundred articles that have appeared in several languages. Dr Kärkkäinen is also co-editor of the Global Dictionary of Theology (with William Dyrness; InterVarsity 2008).
Michael Martin has a PhD in Philosophy from Harvard University and is Professor Emeritus at Boston University. He is the author of many articles and reviews as well as several books, including Atheism: A Philosophical Justification (Temple University 1990) and The Case Against Christianity (Temple University 1991). He is the editor of The Cambridge Companion to Atheism (2007) and co-editor with Ricki Monnier of The Improbability of God (Prometheus 2006) and The Impossibility of God (Prometheus 2003).
Reem A. Meshal holds a PhD in Islamic Studies from McGill University. She is currently Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Louisiana State University. Her specialization is Islamic Law and Society in the Ottoman Era. She has published articles in two edited volumes and has one forthcoming in the Journal of Islamic Studies. She is currently working on a book on the Shari’a courts of Ottoman Cairo.
Robert J. Miller is Rosenberger Professor of Christian Thought and Religious Studies at Juniata College in Pennsylvania. Miller has been an active member of the Jesus Seminar since 1986 and has served on the steering committee for the Society of Biblical Literature Historical Jesus Section since 2004. His publications include The Jesus Seminar and its Critics (Polebridge 1999) and Born Divine: The Births of Jesus and Other Sons of God (Polebridge 2003).
Peggy Morgan tutors courses in the study of religions for the Faculty of Theology at Oxford. Her published work includes the section on Buddhism in Ethical Issues in Six Religious Traditions, which she also edited (with Clive Lawton; 2nd edn, Edinburgh University Press 2007), Get Set for Religious Studies (with Dominic Corrywright; Edinburgh University Press 2006), and “Buddhism” in Jesus in History, Thought and Culture (ed. Leslie Houlden; ABC/Clio 2003).
M. Reza Pirbhai received a PhD in history from the University of Toronto (2004) and is currently Assistant Professor of History at Louisiana State University. His specialization is Islamic thought and institutions in Modern South Asia. He has published articles in Modern Intellectual History and Journal of Asian History. He is also author of the book Reconsidering Islam in a South Asian Context (Brill 2004).
Adele Reinhartz is Professor in the Department of Classics and Religious Studies at the University of Ottawa in Canada. Her main areas of research are the Gospel of John, early Jewish–Christian relations, feminist criticism, and, most recently, the Bible and Film. Her most recent book is a study of the Jesus movies, entitled Jesus of Hollywood (Oxford 2007). She is the author of numerous articles and several other books, including Scripture on the Silver Screen (Westminster John Knox 2003).
William R. Telford is Senior Lecturer in Christian Origins and the New Testament at Durham University. His research interests include the historical Jesus, the Gospel of Mark, methods of biblical interpretation, and the Bible in literature and film. His books on Mark include Writing on the Gospel of Mark (DEO 2009), Mark (T&T Clark 2003), The Theology of the Gospel of Mark (Cambridge 1999), and The Barren Temple and the Withered Tree (JSOT 1980).
Christopher Tuckett is Professor of New Testament Studies in the University of Oxford, having also worked in the University of Manchester. He has published widely on matters concerning the Synoptic Problem and Q, New Testament christology, non-canonical gospels, and other New Testament topics. His books include Q and the History of Early Christianity (T&T Clark 1996), Christology and the New Testament (Westminster John Knox 2001), and The Gospel of Mary (Oxford 2007).
Elaine M. Wainwright is Professor of Theology and Head of the School of Theology at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. She specializes in New Testament Studies, in particular, the Gospel of Matthew. She has published widely including Toward a Feminist Critical Reading of the Gospel according to Matthew (De Gruyter 1991), Shall We Look for Another? A Feminist Rereading of the Matthean Jesus (Orbis 1998) and Women Healing/Healing Women: The Genderization of Healing in Early Christianity (Equinox 2006).
Acknowledgments
| Figure 1 | The International Catacomb Society. Photo: Estelle Brettman. |
| Figure 2 | Photo credit: © The Trustees of the British Museum/Art Resource, NY. |
| Figure 3 | Photo: author, with permission of Musée départemental Arles antique. |
| Figure 4 | Photo: author. |
| Figure 5 | Photo: author. |
| Figure 6 | Photo credit: R é union des Musées Nationaux/Art Resource, NY. |
| Figure 7 | Photo: author, with permission of the Vatican Museo Pio Cristiano. |
| Figure 8 | Photo credit: Sacred Destinations Images. |
| Figure 9 | Photo: author, with permission of the Vatican Museo Pio Cristiano. |
| Figure 10 | Photo credit: Lee Jefferson. |
| Figure 11 | Photo credit: Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY. |
| Figure 12 | Photo: author, with permission of the Vatican Museo Pio Cristiano. |
| Figure 13 | Photo: author. |
| Figure 14 | Photo credit: Sacred Destinations Images. |
| Figure 15 | Photo: author. |