The Historiographal Jesus

The field of historical Jesus research is a wide spectrum ranging from those who think the Gospels are like courtroom transcripts to those that think they are more like historical fictions. In my opinion, both extremes are working with the same wrongheaded philosophy of history (or "historiography").

In this book, I develop a new way to study history by rethinking the nature of human memory. Building from a recent theory called "Social Memory", I argue that the historical Jesus can be a live topic for historians as long as we think of memory in terms of "memory refraction".

This book was written in close dialogue with James Dunn and John Barclay while I was at Durham.

 

 

 

 

Praise for this book

(from the back cover) “I know of no other work like this in the field of historical Jesus research. The Historiographical Jesus might point the way to a whole new approach for distinguishing authentic Jesus material.”                      -- Craig A. Evans, Acadia University “…this book is a "must" read. It is pioneering, taking seriously the study of social memory and applying it to what Le Donne thinks we can and can't say about the Jesus traditions.”   -- April DeConick, Rice University (see Prof. DeConick’s full text here)

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Historical Jesus: What Can We Know and How Can We Know It?

In my first book, I began with human memory to reframe the historian's task.  In this book, I begin with human perception.  I discuss how sensory data from sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell are interpreted from the outset by anticipations, preconceived notions, and mental categorization.  I use these illustrations to show how historical memories are initially formed.

I demonstrate how historians might apply my philosophy of history to Jesus by outlining three dimensions from his life: his dysfunctional family, his politics, and his final confrontation in Jerusalem.

This book is aimed at a wide audience, and would be suitable for use in an undergraduate class. Dale Allison generously writes a foreword for this book.

It can be purchased from Eerdmans.com or Amazon.com.

Praise for this book:

(from the foreword) "Historical Jesus is a pleasure to read. The writing is clear, the phrases well-turned. Beyond that, the whole is enlivened by engaging, instructive, and often personal illustrations. Plainly the author has not just labored over what he has to say: he has equally worked hard on how to say it. The result is that this volume, again and again, turns the obscure into the obvious. Would that more in the guild were as self-conscious about communicating and felt the imperative to write so well." -- Dale C. Allison Jr., Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (from the back cover) Anthony Le Donne’s Historical Jesus is among the most remarkable of recent efforts to comprehend Jesus historically.  His book is engaging, informative, and provocative.  It is at once a brilliant portrait of the historical Jesus and a valuable contribution to social memory scholarship.  It is focused yet undogmatic.  Le Donne’s “postmodern paradigm,” which includes an astute analysis of perception and memory, transcends postmodernism itself.  The result of perception, he insists, is never a mere “representation,” as the postmodernists call it, but a definite image, always more or less modified, of something real.  No one can put down Le Donne’s book and fail to think in new ways about the historical Jesus. -- Barry Schwartz, University of Georgia Even before the Second World War, study of the stories and traditions that fed into the Gospels has been undergoing a revolution. Some philosophers of history have underscored the way history as a narrative, and the meaning attached to that history by those who tell it, closely enweave. History is not the events themselves as a collection of facts. Rather, history is inherently a matter of perspective — not just the record of events. Anthony Le Donne here sets out in clear and accessible terms how this critical view of history has begun to exert a dramatic impact on our assessments of Jesus. -- Bruce Chilton, Bard College This book is a provocative look at the next wave of study of the Jesus of history. Accessible yet up to date with the latest developments in the field, Le Donne's book grounds his understanding of Jesus both in ancient sources and in a careful consideration of contemporary philosophy. Appealing to postmodernism as a way to better understand human perception, memory, and narrative, Le Donne gives us a high-tech look at the ancient and early stories of Jesus' life. He anchors Jesus carefully in the past but allows him to speak meaningfully to the present. -- Tom Thatcher, Cincinnati Christian University This very readable and provocative book should provide an invigorating agenda for many discussion groups, particularly if they want to grapple seriously with postmodern views of history and the role of memory in recording the impact which Jesus made on his disciples. -- James D.G. Dunn, Durham University As a rule postmodernism means historical skepticism: We have no access to the past history as such, but only to distorted memories of past events. Historical Jesus research is either meaningless or may even legitimately controlled by religious or non-religious prejudices. Anthony Le Donne opens the door to the past again – not by refusing postmodern historiography, but by applying its insights. If all reality is interpretative reality, both perception, memory and history, it is possible to make responsible statements on the past and on the historical Jesus. The book is a convincing plea against historical resignation – written with lucidity, esprit and common sense. I enjoyed much reading this book. -- Gerd Theissen, University of Heidelberg purchase this book at Amazon.com

The Fourth Gospel in First-Century Media Culture

Together with Dr. Tom Thatcher, I serve as co-editor of this book. We collect several essays from experts on ancient media techniques (e.g. oral performance, literacy, memory-theater) and experts of the Gospel of John.

The goals of this book are (1) to introduce Johannine specialists to an approach garnering interest in Synoptic studies—namely “media studies”—and (2) to demonstrate several ways in which the Fourth Gospel might be reconsidered from media perspectives. This book aims to show how the Fourth Gospel is a product of first-century media culture and how this gospel in turn contributed to early Christian memory, identity, and media.

Chapter titles are as follows:

1 Introducing Media Culture to Johannine Studies: Orality, Performance and Memory
Anthony Le Donne and Tom Thatcher

2 Seeing, Hearing, Declaring, Writing: Media Dynamics in the Letters of John

Jeffrey E. Brickle

3 The Riddle of the Baptist and the Genesis of the Prologue: John 1.1-18 in Oral/Aural Media

Culture
Tom Thatcher

4 A Performance of the Text: The Adulteress’s Entrance into John’s Gospel

Chris Keith

5 John’s Memory Theatre: A Study of Composition in Performance
Tom Thatcher

6 The Medium and Message of John: Audience Address and Audience Identity in the Fourth Gospel
Thomas E. Boomershine

7 Jesus Retold as the World’s Light in Johannine Oral Prophecy
Antoinette Wire

8 Scripture Talks because Jesus Talks: The Narrative Rhetoric of Persuading and Creativity in John’s Use of Scripture
Michael Labahn

9 John’s Gospel and the Oral Gospel Tradition
James D. G. Dunn

10 Memory, Commemoration and History in John 2.19-22: A Critique and Application of Social Memory
Anthony Le Donne

11 Abraham as a Figure of Memory in John 8.31-59
Catrin H. Williams

12 What Difference Does the Medium Make?
Barry Schwartz

13 Introducing Media Culture to Johannine Studies: Orality, Performance and Memory
Gail R. O’Day

This book is published with Continuum/T & T Clark in the series title European Studies of Christian Origins. It is available at Continuum.com and Amazon.com.

Soundings in the Religion of Jesus

Together with Bruce Chilton and Jacob Neusner, I serve as co-editor of this book. We collect essays about the historical Jesus from both Jewish and Christian scholars.

In the long, regrettable history between Christians and Jews, Jesus’ name has been wielded as a divisive force.  Christianity’s veneration of Jesus has often coincided with an intentional forgetting of Jesus historical and deeply Jewish identity.  However, the past forty years of historical Jesus research has helpfully reemphasized Jesus, first and foremost, as a Jew.  Now more than ever, we see Jesus situated in the religion and culture of his birth, in conversation, and debate with fellow Jews.

 

This collection of essays will serve as a platform for Jewish-Christian dialogue that is both attentive to recent historical Jesus research and sensitive to the history of Christian-Jewish relations. With this in mind, the contributors to this volume will represent both Christian and Jewish perspectives.  Without skirting key differences, the scholars involved with this project will acknowledge that the historical Jesus represents something of a junction between the two religions.  All involved will endeavor to make Jesus intelligible in the context of first century Judaism(s).  Our hope is that by illuminating the Jesus of history we will be able to suggest talking points for contemporary inter-religious discourse.

This book is under contract with Fortress Press and due out in 2012.

Violence and the Bible: Complex Militancy and Metaphor in a Complex World
(this title will no doubt change several times before all is said and done)

I am presently writing this book alongside Joel Lohr and Rob Barrett (both Hebrew Bible scholars).

There is no greater problem for theological ethics than the role of violence in the Bible. While this topic continues to attract enormous interest from scholars of the Hebrew Bible, there have been few attempts to observe the canonical evolution of its function. Our book will meet this need. 

This book is under contract with Eerdmans and due out by 2014.