[Oe List ...] Bibliography

[Bill Bailey]

1.	Secrets from the Lost Bible, Kenneth Hanson, ISBN 1-57178-168-4 
2.	The Alphabet & the Goddess, Leonard Shlian (the conflict between
word and image) ISBN  0-14-01.9601-3 
3.	Did God have a wife, William Dever (folk religion in ancient Israel
- Archaeology)  ISBN  08028-2852-3 
4.	In Search of Paul, Crossan and Reed, ISBN 0-06-051457-4 
5.	From Jesus to Christianity, L. Michael White, ISBN 0-06-052655-6 
6.	James the broth of Jesus (key to unlocking early Christianity and
the dead see scrolls) ISBN 0-14-02.5773 X 
7.	The Magdalene Legacy, Laurence Gardner,  ISBN  0-00-720186-9 
8.	The Jesus Mysteries, Timothy Freke $ Peter Gandy, ISBN 0-609-80798-6

9.	Misquoting Jesus, Bart D. Ehrman,  ISBN 13:978-0-621413-9
10.	 The Bible Unearthed, Israel Finkelstein,  ISBN  0-684-86912-8
(Archaeology)
11.	 The Brother of Jesus, Jeffery J. Butz,  ISBN 1-59477-043-3
12.	 The Jesus Mysteries, Timothy Freke,  ISBN 0-609-80798-6

Bill Bailey


-----Original Message-----
From: OE-bounces at wedgeblade.net [mailto:OE-bounces at wedgeblade.net] On Behalf
Of John Montgomery
Sent: Monday, March 06, 2006 3:12 PM
To: Order Ecumenical Community
Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] Bibliography

I had been circulating this individually to folk, but will post it more
widely.

Hi George and all!
I've got four books that I keep coming back to.
 
They are not new in terms of publishing date, but are new in terms of
perspective.

1) Binding the Strong Man: A Political Reading of Mark's Story of Jesus
Ched Myers - Orbis 1997

Pretty thick, but helpful reference from a liberation perspective.

2) Reinventing Paul
Paul G. Gager - Oxford University Press 2000

Best summary of the new paradigm in Pauline discussions - takes up the
banner 
of Krister Stendahl's challenge to find an interpretation of Paul that does
not
include anti-semitism - "Paul among Jews and Gentiles" 

3) Jesus of Nazareth: King of the Jews 
Paula Fredricksen - Vintage 2000

Great teacher who understands what it really means to take Jesus seriously
as a 
Jew.
Best book I have read in several years.

4) Jesus Unplugged
Bert Gary  - see www.faithwalkpub.com

This is not a scholarly book, more made for a Sunday School class - a bit
repetitive,
but provocative picture of Jesus - again in Jewish context - almost turns
Jesus
into a bully, but it is worth the read.

I thought I would also share a construct that I have been working on. I am
only 
sharing the broad outline - maybe it will generate some further discussion.

Taking a Second Look at the Scriptures

Four Guidelines and Values for Individual and Congregational Study of
Scripture

(draft 3/2005 - JCM)

1) Celebrating the Textual Diversity: Resist pre-mature temptation to
harmonize 
or smooth over textual discrepancies or disagreements.

2) Broadening the Conversational Resources: Utilize a wide variety of
commentaries
and studies, but always remember that your own feelings and intuitions are
an equally
important resource as well. Repeatedly return to the stubborn fact that
these texts
are finally stories, therefore give some priority to methods of literary
analysis
when reflecting on the textual depth.

3) Avoiding the Contextual Confusion: Read these texts through Jewish eyes.
Resist
the premature superimposition of later Greek Christian understandings and
theological 
assumptions on what are primarily Jewish texts.

4) Acknowledging the Religio-political Frame of Reference: As you engage the
texts,
seek to recognize the plain meaning of terms such as empire, legion, Christ,
and
gospel as "proto-political"language used self-consciously by the writers.
Stand
in the shoes of First Century Jews experiencing "cognitive dissonance"
between
the promise of being a chosen people with a strong national identity and the
reality
of Roman rule.



John Montgomery
monkeyltd at mindspring.com
678-468-4913 - c
770-409-8035 - home/fax
404-892-3333x222 - w

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