E. P. Sanders
E. P. Sanders | |
---|---|
Born | Ed Parish Sanders April 18, 1937 Grand Prairie, Texas, U.S. |
Died | November 21, 2022 | (aged 85)
Awards | Guggenheim Fellowship for Humanities |
Academic background | |
Education | |
Thesis | The Tendencies of the Synoptic Tradition (1969) |
Doctoral advisor | W. D. Davies |
Influences |
|
Academic work | |
Discipline | Biblical studies |
Institutions | |
Doctoral students | Adele Reinhartz |
Notable works |
|
Notable ideas | New Perspective on Paul |
Influenced | James Dunn[4] |
Ed Parish Sanders
Sanders was a
Biography
Sanders was born on April 18, 1937, in Grand Prairie, Texas. He attended Texas Wesleyan College (now Texas Wesleyan University) (1955–1959) and Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University (1959–1962). He spent a year (1962–1963) studying at Göttingen, the University of Oxford, and in Jerusalem.
Between September 1963 and May 1966, Sanders studied at
Sanders taught at McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario) from 1966 to 1984. In 1968 he won a fellowship from the Canada Council and spent a year in Israel, studying Rabbinic Judaism.
In 1984, he became
Thought and writings
Sanders was known for his New Testament scholarship.[8] His field of special interest was Judaism and Christianity in the Greco-Roman world. He was one of the leading scholars in contemporary historical Jesus research, the so-called "Third Quest," which places Jesus firmly in the context of Judaism.[6] In contemporary scholarship, Jesus is seen as the founder of a "renewal movement within Judaism," to use Sanders' phrase.[6] He promotes the predominant view that Jesus was an apocalyptic prophet.[6]
Sanders' first major book was Paul and Palestinian Judaism, which was published in 1977. He had written the book by 1975, but had difficulty in having it published.
Sanders argued that the traditional Christian interpretation that
Sanders claimed that Paul's belief was one of participationist
Sanders' next major book was Jesus and Judaism, published in 1985.
Judaism: Practice and Belief was published in 1992 and tested Sanders' thesis in the light of concrete Jewish practices. Sanders argued that there was a "Common Judaism", that is, beliefs and practices common to all Jews, regardless of which religious party they belonged to. After the reign of Salome Alexandra, the Pharisees were a small but very respected party which had a varying amount of influence within Judaism. The main source of power, however, was with the rulers and especially the aristocratic priesthood (Sadducees). Sanders argued that the evidence indicates that the Pharisees did not dictate policy to any of these groups or individuals.
In general, Sanders stressed the importance of historical context for a proper understanding of first century religion. He attempted to approach Judaism on its own terms, not in the context of the Protestant–Catholic debates of the sixteenth century in order to redefine views on Judaism, Paul, and Christianity as a whole. As Sanders said, he read Paul in his context, which is "Palestine in the first century and especially first century Judaism."[9] In this spirit, one of Sanders' articles is titled "Jesus in Historical Context".[10] In a 2000 encyclopedia entry on Jesus, whom Sanders called an 'eschatological prophet', the subject avoids the word 'angel' although mention is made of the two men 'in dazzling clothes' at the empty tomb.[11]
Sanders argued that more comparative studies are needed, with wider examinations conducted between New Testament texts and the other available historical sources of the period. Speaking at a conference organized in his honor, he described the attractiveness of these types of comparative studies: "They are not all that easy, but they are an awful lot of fun."[12]
Sanders died on November 21, 2022, at the age of 85.[13]
Selected works
Books
- Sanders, E. P. (1969). The Tendencies of the Synoptic Tradition (Ph.D.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-07318-9.
- ——— (1977). Paul and Palestinian Judaism. London: SCM Press. ISBN 0-8006-1899-8.
- ———; ISBN 978-0-3340-0818-7.
- ———; ISBN 978-0-3340-0819-4.
- ———; ISBN 978-0-3340-0822-4.
- ——— (1983). Paul, the Law, and the Jewish People. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress Publishers. ISBN 0-8006-1878-5.
- ——— (1985). Jesus and Judaism. London: SCM Press. ISBN 0-334-02091-3.
- ———; ISBN 0-334-02342-4.
- ——— (1990). The Question of Uniqueness in the Teaching of Jesus (The Ethel M. Wood Lecture, 15 February 1990). London: University of London. ISBN 0-718-70961-6.
- ——— (1990). Jewish Law from Jesus to the Mishnah. London: SCM Press. ISBN 0-334-02102-2.
- ——— (1991). Paul. Oxford: Oxford Paperbacks. ISBN 0-19-287679-1.
- ——— (1992). Judaism: Practice and Belief. London: SCM Press. ISBN 0-334-02470-6.
- ——— (1993). The Historical Figure of Jesus. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-014499-4.
- ——— (2001). Paul: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford Paperbacks. ISBN 0-19-285451-8.
- ——— (2015). Paul: The Apostle's Life, Letters, and Thought. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press. ISBN 978-0-80-062956-4.
Articles and chapters
- ——— (1973). "Patterns of Religion in Paul and Rabbinic Judaism: A Holistic Method of Comparison". Harvard Theological Review. 66 (4): 455–478. S2CID 170911418.
- ——— (1993). "Jesus in Historical Context". Theology Today. 50 (3): 429–448. S2CID 147203393.
- ——— (1996). "Jesus' Relation to Sepphoris". In Nagy, Rebecca Martin; ISBN 978-0-8825-9971-7.
- ——— (2001). "Jesus' Galilee". In Dunderberg, Ismo; et al. (eds.). Fair Play: Diversity and Conflicts in Early Christianity: Essays in Honor of Heikki Räisänen. Novum Testamentum Supplements. Vol. 103. Leiden: Brill. pp. 3–41. ISBN 978-9-0041-2359-5.
- ——— (2010). "Jesus of Nazareth". In ISBN 978-0-8028-2549-0.
Festschrift
- OCLC 227031660.
References
- ^ a b Sanders, E. P. (2004). "Comparing Judaism and Christianity: An Academic Autobiography" (PDF). p. 26. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 17, 2004. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
- ^ Sanders, E. P. (2004). "Comparing Judaism and Christianity: An Academic Autobiography" (PDF). pp. 12, 32. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 17, 2004. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
- ^ Sanders, E. P. (2004). "Comparing Judaism and Christianity: An Academic Autobiography" (PDF). pp. 22–23. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 17, 2004. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
- ISBN 978-0-8308-6940-4.
- ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2021-02-12.
- ^ a b c d Theissen, Gerd and Annette Merz. The historical Jesus: a comprehensive guide. Fortress Press. 1998. translated from German (1996 edition). Chapter 1. The quest of the historical Jesus. p. 1–15.
- ^ "Grawemeyer Award 1990 - E.P. Sanders". Archived from the original on 2014-10-28.
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-02-12.
- ^ a b c d "An Interview with e P Sanders". Archived from the original on 2012-11-10. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
- ^ located at http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/oct1993/v50-3-article8.htm Archived 2006-02-08 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Sanders, E.P. (2000). "Jesus Christ" in Freedman, David ed. Eerdmans dictionary of the Bible. Grand Rapids, Mich.:W.B. Eerdmans, pp. 701–707.
- ^ E.P. Saunders. "Comparing Judaism and Christianity: An Academic Autobiography" (PDF). Redefining First-Century Jewish and Christian Identities: Essays in Honor of Ed Parish Sanders. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
- ^ "E.P. Sanders (1937–2022), de wetenschapper die Paulus opnieuw ontdekte". nederlandsdagblad. 29 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
Further reading
- Chancey, Mark A. (June 13, 2006). "Paul and the law: E. P. Sanders's retrieval of Judaism". The Christian Century. Chicago.
- .