Overview
In the early '70s, James M. Robinson (Claremont) and Helmut Koester (Harvard), both students of Bultmann, broke new ground in their Trajectories through Early Christianity. The eight essays that comprise this volume seek a wholesale redefinition of the task of New Testament studies, as well as illustrating this newly conceived task. Robinson and Koester claim that the New Testament cannot be read apart from other early Christian literature and that the regnant designation of """"canon"""" is misleading because it obscures the essential fluidity of early Christianity. Robinson and Koester not only question the artificial limits of the New Testament as a whole, but also the utility of the most commonly accepted forms ( Gattungen) that constitute the New Testament. In the end, even the labels """"orthodoxy"""" and """"heresy"""" should be abandoned - along with an outmoded belief that orthodoxy preceded heresy and formed the center of Christianity. From its birth, Christianity was pluriform, and what later came to be known as """"orthodoxy"""" and """"heresy"""" were only two of many equally legitimate trajectories running through Christianity. Robinson and Koester's bold wrestling with the basic question of Christian origins proves as instructive today as it did over forty years ago: was there ever identifiable unity in early Christianity, or has diversity always been the measuring stick?
Full Product Details
Author: James M. Robinson ,
Helmut Koester
Publisher: Baylor University Press
Imprint: Baylor University Press
Weight: 0.506kg
ISBN: 9781481309554
ISBN 10: 1481309552
Pages: 312
Publication Date: 30 July 2018
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Temporarily unavailable
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Reviews
[A] major contribution to our current discussion of the New Testament. Norman Perrin, Interpretation ...this book has raised many important issues with sharpness and clarity, and has made many illuminating and challenging suggestions. This is a tough book, but will reward the effort invested. Peter H. Igarashi, Saint Luke's Journal of Theology No one has done more in recent years than James Robinson and Helmut Koester to inject a sense of urgency and excitement into New Testament studies. R. G. Hamerton-Kelly, Theology Today
"""[A] major contribution to our current discussion of the New Testament."" Norman Perrin, Interpretation ""...this book has raised many important issues with sharpness and clarity, and has made many illuminating and challenging suggestions. This is a tough book, but will reward the effort invested."" Peter H. Igarashi, Saint Luke's Journal of Theology ""No one has done more in recent years than James Robinson and Helmut Koester to inject a sense of urgency and excitement into New Testament studies."" R. G. Hamerton-Kelly, Theology Today"
...this book has raised many important issues with sharpness and clarity, and has made many illuminating and challenging suggestions. This is a tough book, but will reward the effort invested. --Peter H. Igarashi Saint Luke's Journal of Theology No one has done more in recent years than James Robinson and Helmut Koester to inject a sense of urgency and excitement into New Testament studies. --R. G. Hamerton-Kelly Theology Today [A] major contribution to our current discussion of the New Testament. --Norman Perrin Interpretation
Author Information
James M. Robinson (1924-2016) taught as Professor of Religion Emeritus at Claremont Graduate University.Helmut Koester (1926-2016) was John H. Morrison Research Professor of Divinity and Winn Research Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Harvard Divinity School.
