 How
The Bible Came Into Being: A Seminar Offered to
the Churches Nationwide
July 5, 2006
I am pleased to announce an exciting
opportunity to enrich your church's Christian Education
program this Fall. Dr. Deirdre Good, professor of
the New Testament at the General Theological Seminary,
is offering a seminar, How the Bible Came
into Being, that looks to describe the theological
and historical origins of the collection of writings
we call "The Bible." Why four Gospels rather
than one? What books are included in some of the
most ancient manuscripts but excluded from the canon?
How did "the Bible" come around? Explore
these and other vital questions with Dr. Good. Please
see the detailed description of her project below.
Dr. Good is willing to travel to
parishes anywhere in the country, and at no cost
to the parish! No special equipment is required for
her presentations. If you are interested, please
get in touch with Dr. Good at your earliest convenience
as the number of the available engagements is limited.
Her email address: good@gts.edu.
Alexei Khamin
Web Content Editor, akhamin@episcopalchurch.org
Further information:
For Dr. Good's recent public
engagements and publications click
here
How The Bible Came Into Being
 |
Dr.
Deirdre J. Good, Professor of the New Testament,
The General Theological Seminary
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The project describes the theological
and historical origins of the collection we call "The
Bible." It is intended to be published as a
book. It examines how present forms of the text reflect
both orality and literacy and investigates ways theological
arguments on contours of the canon shape form and
character of the text. Modern studies emphasize origins
of different collections of texts and modern translations.
This project will assess how and by what means for
example, four gospels rather than one became authoritative
for tradition and doctrine. Using Tischendorf's report
of how he encountered or "discovered" a
codex in 1844 containing Greek texts of the Hebrew
Bible, the NT, the Epistle of Barnabas and the Shepherd
of Hermas, this project seeks to explain a tension
between canonical diversity (in, for example, Codex
Sinaiticus) and notions of conformity in Athanasius'
canonical list of the same period (4th Century C.E.).
Accounts of Tischendorf's discovery
often fail to note that he was driven by theological
concerns: he wanted to find a text of the New Testament
to replace the unreliable "received text" of
his day. If Codex Sinaiticus offers "a full
and clear light as to what is the real text of God's
Word written," accounting for disparate texts
from the Greek Hebrew Bible to Hermas bound together
between the covers of Codex Sinaiticus needs to be
given. Tischendorf, like Irenaeus and Athanasius
before him, saw and wrote of conformity where diversity
in fact exists. Augustine seems to give primacy to
Matthew and John. He views Mark as derivative and
Luke as secondary to Paul. Gospel diversity in canon
and codex represents negotiation in a context of
multiple expressions of early beliefs. I want to
explore rejection of one gospel (Marcion, Tatian's
Diatessaron) in favor of four as an aggregate approach
to readings of gospel.
To make the project accountable
to interested adults, I plan to use funds from a
Conant Grant to take a beta version to 4 adult education
classes in US parishes and elsewhere in the Fall
of 06. Responses from such visits will shape the
project and ensure the project's relevance and accessibility.
If a parish is interested in such
a visit or has further questions about the project,
please email me.
Deirdre Good
Professor of New Testament
General Theological Seminary,
New York NY 10011
good@gts.edu
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