E. P. Sanders

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E. P. Sanders

Born
Ed Parish Sanders

(1937-04-18)April 18, 1937
DiedNovember 21, 2022(2022-11-21) (aged 85)
AwardsGuggenheim Fellowship for Humanities
Academic background
Education
ThesisThe Tendencies of the Synoptic Tradition (1969)
Doctoral advisorW. D. Davies
Influences
Academic work
DisciplineBiblical studies
Institutions
Doctoral studentsAdele Reinhartz
Notable works
  • Paul and Palestinian Judaism (1977)
  • The Historical Figure of Jesus (1993)
Notable ideasNew Perspective on Paul
InfluencedJames Dunn[4]

Ed Parish Sanders

Protestant" in his book Jesus and Judaism; fellow scholar John P. Meier called him a postliberal Protestant. He was Arts and Sciences Professor of Religion at Duke University, North Carolina
from 1990 until his retirement in 2005.

Sanders was a

Grawemeyer Award for the best book on religion, Jesus and Judaism[7] (Fortress Press
, 1985).

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

Wipf & Stock in 2000), which used form criticism to examine whether the Gospel tradition changed in consistent ways. The thesis was supervised by W. D. Davies
.

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

postliberal Protestant. In any case, he was cognizant of Albert Schweitzer's indictment of liberal theology's attempt to make Jesus in its own image, and sought to keep his religious convictions out of his scholarship.[citation needed
]

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

Paul was condemning Rabbinic legalism was a misunderstanding of both Judaism and Paul's thought, especially since it assumed a level of individualism in these doctrines that was not present, and disregarded notions of group benefit or collective privilege. Rather, Sanders argued, the key difference between pre-Christian Judaism and Pauline teaching was to be found in ideas of how a person becomes one of the People of God. Sanders termed the Jewish belief "covenantal nomism": one was a member of the people by virtue of God's covenant with Abraham
, and one stayed in it by keeping the Law.

Sanders claimed that Paul's belief was one of participationist

Old Covenant was no longer sufficient. But, once inside, appropriate behavior was required of the Christian, behavior based on the Jewish Scriptures, but not embracing all aspects of it. Both patterns required the grace of God for election (admission), and the behavior of the individual, supported by God's grace. The dividing line, therefore, was Paul's insistence on faith in Christ as the only way to election. However, Sanders stressed that Paul also "loved good deeds" [9] and that when his words are taken in context, it emerges that Paul advocates good works in addition to faith in Christ.[9]

Sanders' next major book was Jesus and Judaism, published in 1985.

Early Christian behavior and attitudes, as is shown by Paul's discussion of divorce (1 Cor. 7:10–16) where the latter quotes Jesus' sayings and then gives his own independent ruling. In one interview, Sanders stated that Paul felt that "he was the model to his churches."[9]

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

Articles and chapters

Festschrift

References

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. .
  5. . Retrieved 2021-02-12.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ "Grawemeyer Award 1990 - E.P. Sanders". Archived from the original on 2014-10-28.
  8. ^
    ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved 2021-02-12.
  9. ^ a b c d "An Interview with e P Sanders". Archived from the original on 2012-11-10. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
  10. ^ located at http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/oct1993/v50-3-article8.htm Archived 2006-02-08 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ Sanders, E.P. (2000). "Jesus Christ" in Freedman, David ed. Eerdmans dictionary of the Bible. Grand Rapids, Mich.:W.B. Eerdmans, pp. 701–707.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ "E.P. Sanders (1937–2022), de wetenschapper die Paulus opnieuw ontdekte". nederlandsdagblad. 29 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.

Further reading

External links