Burton L. Mack
Burton L. Mack (1931 – March 9, 2022) was an American author and scholar of early Christian history and the New Testament. He was John Wesley Professor
In the field of religious studies more generally, Mack was known for popularizing the term "Social Formation," originally coming from the work of Louis Althusser, as a descriptive category for religion. This stems from his development of a theory of religion as "social interests." Along with his close friend Jonathan Z. Smith, Mack was active in the Redescribing Christian Origins Group of the Society of Biblical Literature.[1]
Mack died on March 9, 2022, at the age of 90.[2]
Works
Though he did not regard himself as a
The Lost Gospel
The Lost Gospel develops the hypothesis of the "Q" source for the common material of Luke and Matthew not found in Mark. Mack develops the thesis that this was the earliest writing about Jesus, developed over decades by a community which he describes with unwavering confidence. Following John S. Kloppenborg, he believes that there are three major layers to it, each of which coincides with a stage in this community's life. The layers are significantly structured - the earliest material is spaced out and bracketed by later material, the later material showing awareness of the earlier sayings, but not vice versa.
- The earliest layer, called Q1, is composed of sayings attributed to Jesus and addressing the audience directly. These are mostly instructions on how to behave. The main teachings are to live in poverty, to lend without expecting anything in return, to love your enemies, not to judge, and not to worry, since God will provide what you need. Mack posits that Q1 itself can be broken into two historical stages, the first being simple maxims containing the core of the teachings, and the later stage being developments by the community giving illustrations and arguments for these maxims. Mack suggests that at this time Jesus was seen simply as a teacher by the community which produced the text, with many similarities to a sage in the Cynic tradition.
- The next major development, Q2, comprises the major portion of the Q document as reconstructed by Mack. In this layer the figure of John is introduced (he is not called a baptist in the Q document), as is the eschatological theme of judgement at the end of time, and also opposition to outsiders: the Pharisees and scribes are criticised. Mack sees in this layer an increased anxiety on the part of the community, a need to define itself against others, and also intimation that the community itself was causing tension: there is reference to father turning against son, brother turning against brother etc.
- The final layer, Q3, is very scant and thought by Mack to have been written after the Roman-Jewish war from 66-73AD. Passages added at this time include the temptations of Jesus and a lament for Jerusalem. The remainder consists of stern warnings and threats to keep the law, the first reference to Gehenna (hell fire) occurs at this stage. The severity of the language and the paucity of material compared with the earlier stages is thought to reflect the losses sufferedby the community during the war.
Reception
Mack's hypothesis presenting Jesus and the
Mack follows the lead of Kloppenborg in reconstructing Q in layers, focusing on Q communities. This sort of reconstruction has been criticised by a number of scholars such as
Selected works
Books
- Mack, Burton L. (1986). Wisdom and the Hebrew Epic: Ben Sira's Hymn in Praise of the Fathers. Chicago Studies in the History of Judaism. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. OCLC 12103912.
- ——— (1988). A Myth of Innocence: Mark and Christian Origins. Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press. OCLC 16683374.
- ——— (1989). Patterns of Persuasion in the Gospels. Foundations & facets - Literary facets. Sonoma, CA: Polebridge Press. ISBN 978-0-944344-08-8.
- ——— (1990). Rhetoric and the New Testament. Guides to Biblical Scholarship - New Testament series. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press. OCLC 19970940.
- ——— (1993). Lost Gospel: The Book of Q & Christian Origins (1st ed.). San Francisco, CA: OCLC 26262429.
- ——— (1996). Who Wrote the New Testament?: The Making of the Christian Myth. San Francisco, CA: HarperSanFrancisco.
- ——— (2001). The Christian Myth: Origins, Logic, and Legacy. New York, NY: Continuum. ISBN 978-0-8264-1355-0.
- ——— (2017). The Rise and Fall of the Christian Myth: Restoring our Democratic Ideals. New Haven & London: Yale University Press. OCLC 953985622.
Edited by
- ———; OCLC 10507442.
Festschriften
- OCLC 34356104.
References
- ^ ISBN 0-8264-1355-2
- ^ "In Memoriam: Burton L. Mack". Archived from the original on 2022-03-24. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
- ^ Craig A. Evans, "The Misplaced Jesus: Interpreting Jesus in a Judaic Context" in The Missing Jesus: Rabbinic Judaism and the New Testament by Bruce Chilton, Craig A. Evans and Jacob Neusner.
- ISBN 0-06-061629-6
- ISBN 978-0-8006-3122-2. footnote
- ^ "A renaissance in Jesus studies". Archived from the original on 2012-02-04. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
- ^ Maurice Casey, An Aramaic Approach to Q. 2002.
- ^ Leif Vaage, (1994), Galilean Upstarts: Jesus' First Followers According to Q. TPI
- ^ Leif E. Vaage, (1990), Cynic Epistles (Selections), in Vincent L. Wimbush, Ascetic Behavior in Greco-Roman Antiquity: A Sourcebook, pages 117-118. Continuum International
- ^ "Who Wrote the New Testament?: The Making of the Christian Myth". Archived from the original on January 24, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
External links
- Burton L. Mack biography, Department of Religious Studies, University of Alabama