Monthly Archives: January 2007

Oy…

Well, I settled done in the cmputer chair to get to work on the syllabus for the class that starts later this week so naturally I had to begin with procastination of the form of email checking. Generally this is unproductive procrastination because normally there’s nothing there except some sitemeter stats and–when I’m really lucky–an online manuscript database that bls has uncovered… This time, however, there were two interesting sets of items.

1. Raspberry Rabbit has a blog now–do check out the great story about consecrations…

2. It appears that the Christian Century is teed-off about the blog posts LZ, Lee at Verbum Ipsm/ThinkingReed, and I wrote a little while back. I didn’t find the writer terribly clear in his criticism of me… The only thing he mentions concerning my post is my comment that the separation of the Jesus of History and the Christ of Faith seems awfully Nestorian to me. If I’m reading him right, he seems to think that I am thereby attempting to separate the “Jewish” Jesus from the “Christian” one. I’m trying to figure out how he would think that…perhaps he’s reacting to Dr. Platypus’s construal of what I wrote. The critic follows up with this great line: “Luke Johnson himself would be aghast that his work is being used here to shear Jesus of his Jewishness.” I find this quite amusing…

Oh well–back to the syllabus.

Open War

Well, the skirmishes are over and open war has started… +Lee of Virgina declared all 11 parishes vacant where the majority voted to leave TEC and is taking steps to reclaim the property. ++Schori issued a follow-up essentially mandating this as the new standing policy. Expect things to escalate from here on out.

 

Enjoy Epiphany while it lasts

I had a realization this morning: this is our last Epiphany season together… (well, see correction below)


In the one-year lectionary that sustained the Western Church from the beginning of recorded Mass Lectionaries (the Comes of Murbach) up until Vatican II, the time after Epiphany was a season unto itself that focused on the revelation of Jesus as God to the world. This was done through some particular and pointed lections, especially those that emphasized miracles. There was the Baptism of Jesus, then the Wedding at Cana, then the healing of the Leper and the Centurion’s slave, then the walking on water, the miraculous feeding, etc.

With the Revised Common Lectionary, the season and comprehensive character of Epiphany goes bye-bye. Instead, we get the beginning of lectio continua that will be interrupted for Lent and Easter, then picked back up again after Pentecost. The last vestiges will be the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord which is retained as the first Sunday after Epiphany and then Transfiguration Sunday, the last before Lent. But that itself is weird—we already have a feast of the Transfiguration; it’s August 6th. In other words, the new RCL Transfiguration is an invented occasion that goes along with the character of the season they just abolished. Got that?

Anyway, say your farewells as the RCL becomes the official lectionary this upcoming Advent. (Correction–it begins in Advent preceding 2010.)

Lessons from the Aeneid

Last time I read through the Aeneid I was struck by something that had never quite hit me that way before. It occurs early in Book 3; Troy has been sacked, Aeneas and his remnant have taken ship and have arrived at their first friendly haven, the holy isle of Delos where he’s met by one of Anchises old buddies, King Anius. Aenas goes to the shrine of Apollo and asks for a sign. Here’s the answer from Fitzgerald’s translation:

Tough sons of Dardanus, the self-same land
That bore you from your primal parent stock
Will take you to her fertile breast again.
Look for your mother of old. Aeneas’ house
In her will rule the world’s shores down the years,
Through generations of his children’s children.
(ll. 130-135)

The Aeneid is a search for origins.

The wandering to and fro is about getting back to the beginnings. What’s really important to realize here, is that I’m not just talking about the action in the poem–I’m talking about the poem itself as well. Virgil was, in writing the Aeneid, crafting a national myth of origins to undergird the emerging Empire, enshrining Augustus, his patron, as the direct descendent of Aeneas.

To say it another way, when a group searches for unity and identity–especially when it’s hard to come by–one of the oldest tricks in the book is the search for origins, go back to the beginning. Figure out who we were then, then be that now. Philosophically speaking, Romanticism in particular has imbedded in our heads the notion that origins are the first place to go. Ad fontes. Go back to the original genius insight before all those sheep-like morons screwed it up…

Not only that, it was the logic of the Reformation…and Vatican II. I’m reminded of this by an article I saw here on T19 about who gets to claim what, who, and why–Henry or Elizabeth–as we Anglicans continue to wrangle about who we are.

One of the things I love about the Caroline Divines and the Oxford Movement is that they had their own myth of origins, the Ecclesia Anglicana. That is, they had a notion that what the English Reformation was about was something different from the Continental ones. The English, in their view, were not trying to reform the theology of the church but its polity and politics, staving off things demanded by the Bishop of Rome and getting back to the way that the English had always practiced good catholic religion. That, in turn, led them to a rediscovery or at least a reconstruction of religion in the Anglo-Saxon period and some of the Old English writings on religion. Historically speaking–this myth of origins really is a myth. Don’t get me worng–it has a certain amount of truth to it–but not the truth that would get them completely where they would want to be. As much as I want to whole-heartedly embrace it, I know early English religion far too well to do so with integrity.

My response is not to abandon it, though, but to cast a critical eye upon it. What is it about this narrative of the Ecclesia Anglicana that speaks to me–and that spoke to them. As I’ve written here before several times, I think it’s a pre-Scholastic theology, a more contemplative one, certainly a more Stoic one, that ultimately finds its rhythym in a Benedictine rhythym adapted for life outside a cloister. In many ways, I prefer this to a myth of origins. This construction is not rooted in a embellished and fudged version of who we are. Rather, it is a way of being that has powerful words to speak to us in the midst of our culture and is well represented in historically Christian ways of acting and being–whether it dominated early English religion or not.

The answer to the question of identity really isn’t to look back, it’s to look forward. As we as individuals and as we as a community are transformed into the mind of Christ, what’s that going to look like and how are we going to get there. Yes, look back teaches us the authentic paths rooted in the beliefs and practices of our forebearers. But to argue over Henry and Elizabeth–that can become just another excuse to stay look back and a poor excuse not to move forward.

South American Developments

I note recent events in South America, specifically the regime arising in Venezuela. This from CNN:

 

But, how modern really is the socialism that Chavez proposes for Venezuela?

Given the announcements made last week, when he was inaugurated for a new term and named a new Cabinet, we can say that Venezuela is heading towards the old communism of the last century, and more in the Cuban or North Korean style than the Chinese.

The decisions announced by Chavez are very similar to those taken in the early years of the Cuban Revolution.

And what’s paying for all of this? American SUV’s… Our fourth biggest supplier of oil is Venezuela. For those keeping track—Nigeria is number five. (data from here)

The Non-Episcopal Anglican Future in America

…looks a lot like the present.

This just in from Memphis (h/t Jim Naughton): “Delegates from a dozen churches in Memphis and across the South will ask the Anglican Church of Kenya to form a diocese and appoint a bishop for them in America.”

So, we have active presences of bishops from Rwanda, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Peru, the Southern Cone in the geographical area of TEC without “permission” (and oversight from a former American bishop who is now part of the Canadian church with permission)…

The Network’s attempt at creating a parallel body in America will not succeed. Why? Two reasons I can see. The first is that it is fundamentally organized and active on a congregational level and the congregations are not united in what they are for—only in what they are against. (Even the potential break-away diocese are operating with the same mentality.) Rather than all joining the same alternate structure, they pick and choose who fits best (at the moment). It’s consumer Christianity in a global market. The second is just starting to make sense to me—because it is not in the best interest of the Global South Primates who are receiving American congregations into their folds.

An Outsider View on the State of Old English Studies

There’s been discussion recently among the Anglo-Saxonists about the state of the field. Dr. Nokes has some thoughts that link to Dr. Drout’s two posts and Tiruncula’s comments; TheSwain has also mentioned posting on this… I started comments at several of these but never posted them. I occupy a weird outsider position when it comes to “the field.” On one hand, I’ve had more OE coursework and have done a lot more research in the literature, secondary lit, and period than most English majors. On the other hand, I’ll probably never been seen as anything but an outsider or maybe a “dabbler” in the field because I’m not only in Religion but in Biblical Studies (which obviously can’t have anything to do with OE). So, a few thoughts from my perspective.

 

  1. It’s a well known “fact” among educated people and clergy that the Catholic Church (sic) suppressed all biblical texts but the Vulgate. Translations into the vernacular were all part of the Reformation and freedom from Catholic (sic) hegemony.
  2. Of the surviving material in Old English, the grand majority is religious literature. Specifically, it’s sermons and homilies. From Æ1fric alone we have over 150 homilies/sermons and there’s a lot more anonymous stuff. How many homileticians and professors of preaching have ever heard his name before? Take a look at the only major work on the history of preaching to be released in recent decades. Check the Table of Contents and the Index. Is there any hint of OE homiletics, vernacular preaching in the Anglo-Saxon period or anything outside of Bede? No.
  3. How about Church Historians? I’ll give you a hint—they read Latin, not OE.
  4. One strand of Anglican theology relies on the notion of the Ecclesia Anglicana, that is, that the Anglican Church is a continuation of the belief of the English Church apart from Roman hegemony. One of the early proofs for this was a tract from the 1560’s entitled A testimonie of antiquitie : shewing the auncient fayth in the Church of England touching the sacrament of the body and bloude of the Lord here publikely preached, and also receaved in the Saxons tyme, aboue 600 yeares agoe. Sure enough, it presents one of Æ1fric’s sermons and is the first printing of any OE text. How many church historians know about it or follow its tracks back to the voluminous writings and sources on the Benedictine Revival in late Anglo-Saxon England? Precious few. Even among Episcopal profs of Church History and seminaries. Maybe the case is different in England—but I haven’t heard anything about it if it is…

 

My point here is pretty clear, I think. Whatever the internal state of the field, Old English Studies is not having the impact that it could have on related disciplines. Yes, “interdisciplinary” is the word of the day—but where is it? Let’s get real for a second—I know OE. I know the OE homily corpus pretty well and have read through the standard heroic poetry as well including the requisite Beowulf semester. I know my medieval liturgy, paleography, the basics of codicology, an history and have a strong background in classical, medieval, and modern grammar and rhetoric . Would I stand a chance of getting hired for an Old English position? I really doubt it. My (perhaps cynical) guess is that most universities would hire a English PhD with a dissertation on Shakespeare who had an Intro to OE course in grad school over me with a PhD in NT… (Not that I plan to apply for such positions but in today’s academic job market you weigh *all* your options…)

 

For what it’s worth, here are my recommendations:

1.      Stop being so darn Insular! Er…insular. Yes, great strides are being made towards interdisciplinarity but only in circumscribed areas. Things need to be cracked open. Look—I’m not unique here. There are other non-English, non-History people who could take advantage of the riches of the field. The reality of postmodern academia is that nobody can read everything any more. I can’t read all the biblical studies journals let alone the homiletics ones and the church history ones and the monastic ones and the Old English ones—especially the English journals that occasionally publish OE related things. What’s needed is a sound internet resource that ids in an easily accessible fashion both current publications and the major trends, states of the various questions, and core primary and secondary resources for the major sub-areas of the field. Actually, it’s not just you—we need it as well. If we as an academic community are going to take the “interdisciplinary” thing seriously, then the main guilds need to provide these resources for their areas. In my part of the world The Society of Biblical literature isn’t doing it; but Mark Goodacre is… The NT Gateway is a step in the right direction with static resources and an accompanying blog.  

2.      Promote the field both inside and outside the field! Dare to cross the threshold into the Div school… talk to the preaching professor… Or whatever other field outside English or History that you read the most or that you think your work should have a bearing on. When people realize there’s value in it, they’ll start reading it too.

 

I could probably say more here but these are just the main thoughts that float to the top of my head on this issue.

Important News of the Day

When Lil’ H (10.5 months) summoned me from my repose at the top of her lungs at 3 o’clock this morning, I was greeted by the sight of her standing up holding onto the crib rail. It’s the first time I’d ever seen her stand up without one of us holding her. M has said that she’s been working on it over the past week or so but now it’s been fully achieved. I definitely need to drop the crib mattress again…

 

Lil’ G (3.5 yrs), on the other hand, played her first game of checkers last night. After her first few moves we were afraid we might have a budding strategic genius on our hands and M was concerned that she might be beaten by a three year old, but it became evident a few moves later that she hadn’t quite grasped the notion of “jumping” other pieces. Oh well—she’s got plenty of time to learn. My “proud papa” moment, though, was when she first sat down. She stared at the board, then reached into the second row and moved a checker straight forward a couple of rows. It was a perfect P-Q4 move!

Patristic Hermeneutics

Ok—to continue where we left off on Patristics, there have been a lot of comments about the lack of Augustine’s On Christian Doctrine. That’s because I wouldn’t include it in a first pass—the Enchiridion gives a better sense of his basic approach to faith, I think. Instead I’d include it here… This is my short list for Patristic hermeneutics (rules/guides for reading Scripture).

 

Basic Texts

  • Augustine, On Christian Doctrine
  • Origen, Philocalia. This one may come as a surprise to some folks… This is an ancient set of extracts that the Cappadocian Fathers made out of Origen’s works that collect his principle thoughts on biblical interp. In my formal coursework they assigned us book 4 of De Principiis but this is a much better and more succinct work imo. You can find it by following the “More Ftahers” link off CCEL’s Fathers page. I am unclear on its connection to the other Philocalia—the great collection of Eastern spiritual wisdom.
  • Bede, On Schemes and Tropes. Yeah, I know Bede falls outside of Andrewes’s official definition but he’s widely considered the last of the Western Fathers.

 

Examples—selections from…

  • Cassiodorus on the Psalms. I’d recommend him above Augustine partly because he is still doing basic/remedial education as he presents his commentary.
  • Augustine’s Tractates on John
  • Chrysostom on Paul

 

I hate to give too many here because, to a degree, even creating a category like this reinforces modern genre biases. That is, some of the best hermeneutical bits in the Fathers are imbedded in what we modern types think of as “doctrinal” or “moral” treatises, not “biblical” ones.