Re-imagining Canon in the Twenty-first Century: SRCA Talk February 10

January 19, 2014 by Tony

I have been invited to speak at the University of Toronto at their Seminar for Culture and Religion in Antiquity. My current research interest is the formation of the New Testament and the resulting categorization of Christian writings as either canonical or non-canonical. I will use the opportunity of the presentation to solidify some of my thoughts on the topic. For more information, visit the SRCA web site. Here is the abstract for the presentation:

Monday, February 10, 4–6pm
Tony Burke, York University
"What Do We Mean by “The Bible”? Re-imagining Canon for the Twenty-first Century"

Recent discussion of the formation of the New Testament canon ranges from the liberal leanings of historical-critical scholarship—typified by the view that political and pragmatic motivations contributed to the selection of texts—and the conservative standpoints of theologians—who see the hand of the Holy Spirit at work, guiding the processes of both composition and canonization. Neither of these opposing poles fully take into account the fluidity of the NT canon. Over the centuries Christians have ignored the boundary line between canonical and non-canonical texts. And the contents of the NT varies both temporally and geographically. So, the very terms “canonical” and “non-canonical” are inadequate for categorizing Christian literature. This talk will outline the complexities involved in the study of the NT canon and considers new approaches for understanding interactions among different forms of Christian literature, throughout history and into the future.

Call for Contributors: AncientThought.com

January 19, 2014 by Tony

The web site AncientThought.com has a call out for contributors. From their home page:

AncientThought aims to establish itself as one of the leading online resources for exploring the world of ancient thought by integrating the best of current scholarship with innovative digital learning tools. To achieve this we have two timeline projects that are currently active: one exploring ancient philosophy and the other the history of early Christianity. Timelines that consider other areas of ancient thought might be added at a later date.

As far as Christian Apocrypha are concerned, there are several non-canonical texts listed in their call for contributors, and certainly others can be suggested to the editors.

Book Note: Thomas Wayment, The Text of the New Testament Apocrypha

January 18, 2014 by Tony

One of the titles I mentioned in my SBL Diary back in November (and deserving of more attention) is Thomas A. Wayment’s The Text of the New Testament Apocrypha (100-400 CE) (London: T&T Clark, 2013). Wayment, an Associate Professor of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University, has assembled here a collection of the earliest Christian Apocrypha extant on papyrus and parchment from the first five centuries. Note, however, that only Greek manuscripts are featured in the volume.

Each chapter of the book focuses on a single text (e.g., the Didache, the Gospel of Mary) or a group of texts (Acts of the Apostles, Sayings Gospels) and provides a bibliography, orthographic notes, and critical editions (not merely transcriptions) of each manuscript. The back half of the volume contains photographs of each manuscript, the majority in colour. The images vary in quality—P. Bodmer V and X, for example, are clear and gorgeous to look at, but P. Oxy 840 is reproduced too small and the reverse side of each page bleeds through the papyrus, making the text difficult to read.

The full list of texts included in the volume is: Acts of the Apostles (John, Paul, Peter), the Epistle of Barnabas, the Didache, the Gospel of Mary, the Gospel of Peter, the Infancy Gospel of James (including a complete edition of P. Bodmer 5 and two recently published manuscripts: P. Ashmolean inv. 9 and Cairo Greek Papyrus JE 85643), the Shepherd of Hermas (with …

Secret Scriptures Revealed Book Launch

January 17, 2014 by Tony

Last night we celebrated the North American release of my new book Secret Scriptures Revealed: A New Introduction to the Christian Apocrypha with a small gathering at a local book store, Words Worth Books, in Waterloo, Ontario. I have a long history with the store; I worked there throughout grad school. I couldn't resist the idea of holding my first book launch there, and the staff were very accommodating.

Snow began to fall early in the evening and I worried that turnout would be dismal. I was pleasantly surprised, however, to see so many faces, including family, friends, and colleagues—some of whom traveled far just to celebrate with me—and a handful of new faces, there simply to find out more about the book. Also in attendance were retired professor Harold Remus, to whom I dedicated the book, and not-yet-retired professor Michel Desjardins, who served on the committee for my doctorate. Everyone listened intently as I read portions of the book, then we had a thought-provoking discussion, I signed some books, and thanked everyone profusely for coming. I think the bookstore was surprised at the turnout and happy that they sold all of their copies of the book.

Once again, an enormous thank you to everyone who came to the event, and to those who wanted to come but were unable.