Comments on: The Savior of Publishing http://www.fathersofthechurch.com/2006/06/10/the-savior-of-publishing/ Mike Aquilina's Blog Sun, 05 Feb 2012 02:03:44 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Phil Snider http://www.fathersofthechurch.com/2006/06/10/the-savior-of-publishing/comment-page-1/#comment-796 Phil Snider Mon, 12 Jun 2006 10:57:34 +0000 http://www.fathersofthechurch.com/2006/06/10/the-savior-of-publishing/#comment-796 Hi Mike; This is my first time on your blog, so first a thank you. I'm interested in patristics myself and, although I don't have formal training, I've been reading very heavily. Being a recovering classicist doesn't hurt either (well, not recovering much, I'm a Latin teacher). I know exactly what you mean about the 'Jesus as commodity' boom. I've been watching the same trends as you, since Bishop Spong et al. In fact, I wrote a blog entry on a similar experience in March (if you're interested you can find it at ) I, then, had the interesting experience of being down in Palm Spring, CA, in a Barnes and Noble and noticed that there were more sound Christian books on the shelves there than in the equivilent stores up here in Canada. The same stuff was there in the Barnes and Noble, just not as much of it and, thankfully, relgated to the Religious Studies section. Phil Hi Mike;

This is my first time on your blog, so first a thank you. I’m interested in patristics myself and, although I don’t have formal training, I’ve been reading very heavily. Being a recovering classicist doesn’t hurt either (well, not recovering much, I’m a Latin teacher).

I know exactly what you mean about the ‘Jesus as commodity’ boom. I’ve been watching the same trends as you, since Bishop Spong et al. In fact, I wrote a blog entry on a similar experience in March (if you’re interested you can find it at ) I, then, had the interesting experience of being down in Palm Spring, CA, in a Barnes and Noble and noticed that there were more sound Christian books on the shelves there than in the equivilent stores up here in Canada. The same stuff was there in the Barnes and Noble, just not as much of it and, thankfully, relgated to the Religious Studies section.

Phil

]]> By: Kevin Jones http://www.fathersofthechurch.com/2006/06/10/the-savior-of-publishing/comment-page-1/#comment-792 Kevin Jones Mon, 12 Jun 2006 05:37:45 +0000 http://www.fathersofthechurch.com/2006/06/10/the-savior-of-publishing/#comment-792 Were you there when they rewrote His True Life? Were you there when they rewrote His True Life? Oh sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble. Were you there when they rewrote His True Life? -"<a href="http://kevinjjones.blogspot.com/2005_11_01_kevinjjones_archive.html#113321453353289658" rel="nofollow">Were you there when they marketed my Lord?</a>" Were you there when they rewrote His True Life?
Were you there when they rewrote His True Life?
Oh sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they rewrote His True Life?
-”Were you there when they marketed my Lord?“

]]> By: Mike Aquilina http://www.fathersofthechurch.com/2006/06/10/the-savior-of-publishing/comment-page-1/#comment-767 Mike Aquilina Sat, 10 Jun 2006 14:13:38 +0000 http://www.fathersofthechurch.com/2006/06/10/the-savior-of-publishing/#comment-767 You're right, of course, Kyle. I didn't mean to throw away the baby of historical method with the bathwater of critical extremism. N.T. Wright is an excellent example of the good stuff that's happening today. (I'm reading his most recent book right now.) I wish, though, that his publisher and the entertainment media and bookstores would promote Wright the way they do Dan Brown and, uh, Judas. That's just not happening. And that's the point I was trying to make. You’re right, of course, Kyle. I didn’t mean to throw away the baby of historical method with the bathwater of critical extremism. N.T. Wright is an excellent example of the good stuff that’s happening today. (I’m reading his most recent book right now.) I wish, though, that his publisher and the entertainment media and bookstores would promote Wright the way they do Dan Brown and, uh, Judas. That’s just not happening. And that’s the point I was trying to make.

]]> By: Kyle http://www.fathersofthechurch.com/2006/06/10/the-savior-of-publishing/comment-page-1/#comment-766 Kyle Sat, 10 Jun 2006 13:48:57 +0000 http://www.fathersofthechurch.com/2006/06/10/the-savior-of-publishing/#comment-766 While your comments are a fair enough characterization of some aspects of 'Jesus publishing,' I think that there are some good and faith building insights to be discovered in exploring the world of the New Testament and the person of Jesus though historical discipline. N.T. Wright is an Anglican bishop who's written a good deal on the 'historical' Jesus and Second Temple Judaism that sheds a lot of light on the interpretation of the New Testament. E.P. Sanders' work <i>The Historical Figure of Jesus</i> also does some good work in sorting out the significance of some aspects of the Jesus tradition in the Gospels, and unlike some folks (e.g. J.D. Crossan), avoids building cases on materialistic empiricism. After all, historians, strictly speaking, don't make metaphysical claims. Oh, and heaven help us, Spong wouldn't know historical method if it slapped him on the nose! Blessings While your comments are a fair enough characterization of some aspects of ‘Jesus publishing,’ I think that there are some good and faith building insights to be discovered in exploring the world of the New Testament and the person of Jesus though historical discipline.

N.T. Wright is an Anglican bishop who’s written a good deal on the ‘historical’ Jesus and Second Temple Judaism that sheds a lot of light on the interpretation of the New Testament. E.P. Sanders’ work The Historical Figure of Jesus also does some good work in sorting out the significance of some aspects of the Jesus tradition in the Gospels, and unlike some folks (e.g. J.D. Crossan), avoids building cases on materialistic empiricism. After all, historians, strictly speaking, don’t make metaphysical claims.

Oh, and heaven help us, Spong wouldn’t know historical method if it slapped him on the nose!

Blessings

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