The Difficult Sayings of Jesus. New Book: Taught by God

edited December 1969 in Faith Issues
Hi all,

Just thought to let you know that Taught by God: Making Sense of the Difficult Sayings of Jesus has just been published, which essentially examines the most difficult sayings of Jesus through a unique synthesis of Orthodox theology, modern scholarship, rabbinic literature, and the early church Fathers. It essentially the most difficult of the questions asked of the Gospels.

I have copied some endorsements below (including Fr. John Breck) as well as some book info. I think you will find it to be a worthy read. Check it out on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Taught-God-Making-Difficult-Sayings/dp/1933275502/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1293200347&sr=1-8. Or for more info see the publisher's website: http://www.orthodoxresearchinstitute.org/store/books/fanous_taught_by_god.html

Please also let me know your thoughts.

Thanks again, In Christ,

Daniel


Endorsements:

"Taught by God is well researched and speaks clearly and informatively to many of the most difficult aspects of the biblical witness ... students, clergy and lay people could all greatly benefit from a close reading of the book's arguments and the evidence provided to support them. Daniel Fanous draws a great many good and plausible conclusions regarding difficult passages, and has provided a highly useful tool for people who read Scripture in depth and find themselves troubled or perplexed by these passages."
--Very Rev. John Breck
Professor of Biblical Interpretation & Bioethics,
St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute, France.

"Fascinating and informative ... This book illuminates the background of Jesus' controversies with the Jewish religious leaders and makes Jesus' difficult sayings come alive for the modern reader. The author has done his homework and provides exciting insights into Jesus' ministry."
--Very Rev. Dr. Theodore Stylianopoulos
Professor of Orthodox Theology & New Testament,
Holy Cross Orthodox School of Theology, USA.

"It is heartening to see the treasures of Orthodoxy come together with modern biblical scholarship.... The encounter is fascinating and, for both Church and academy, full of promise."
--Dale C. Allison, Jr.
Errett M. Grable Professor of New Testament & Early Christianity,
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, USA

Book Information:
Few would dispute that the sayings of Jesus were and are important. But though important, these very same sayings are difficult at best and incomprehensible at worst. Sayings like, "The kingdom of heaven suffers violence," or, "I did not come to bring peace but a sword," have confused readers of the Gospels for thousands of years. Others such as, "My Father is greater than I," and, "My God why have You forsaken Me?" have sparked theological infernos that have plagued Christianity from its beginnings. From the greatest theologians to the smallest child, the same question is always asked: What did Jesus really mean? In considering only the most difficult of the sayings of Jesus, Taught by God brings together the academic rigour of modern biblical scholarship and the profound wisdom of the early Church Fathers in a unique, lively, and dramatic synthesis.

Author Information:
Dr. Daniel Fanous is an independent scholar and is the author of the acclaimed The Person of the Christ (2008) as well as numerous articles. He has extensively studied and taught New Testament theology, as well as holding degrees in medicine and engineering.

Comments

  • I have just received the book from the USA and read the first chapter. Thoroughly recommended.
  • Is it just me or is the book out of stop from amazon.com...?
    Does anyone have an idea how much the shipping will cost to Europe?
  • [quote author=Hos Erof link=topic=10348.msg126055#msg126055 date=1293986498]
    Is it just me or is the book out of stop from amazon.com...?
    Does anyone have an idea how much the shipping will cost to Europe?

    I got mine from the publishers, The Orthodox Research Institute in America. Post cost $20 ( more than the cost of the book!)
  • Hey guys,

    Aidan good to hear you are enjoying the book! I look forward to hearing your comments.

    As for amazon, it probably is the best option if you are in Europe. Don't worry about it being out of stock, they will have more copies within a week, and you can still order and they will ship it when they become available! Let me know how you go?
  • yah thanks, its a good price actually, 13 dollars, so including shipping its about 16 euro's, which is fine.
    I can't wait to read it  ;D
  • For those interested, the book is now in stock on amazon and you can "look inside", that is, see some sample pages!

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933275502?ie=UTF8&force-full-site=1

  • Hi!

    I'm savouring the book so I can't yet comment.

    One question before I close.

    Our Saviour, as you make it clear, kept the Jewish law. He was a proper Jew.

    Why then did Jewish dietary laws vanish so quickly during the early Christian centuries? Maybe more in the west where people eat blood sausage and bacon and nothing is forbidden. Perhaps less so among the Copts and even more with the Ethiopians.

    Can you explain briefly and direct to a more in depth 'explanation'?

    In Christ
  • Hi aidan,

    Glad to hear you are enjoying the book! As I mentioned in the book, my scope really was only Jesus' attitude to the law, and not the early Christian reaction to the law.

    As for your question, many many reasons have been suggested.

    For one, the controversy that ensues in Galatians/Romans makes clear that as the gentiles formed an increasing proportion of the Church, the requirements for non-Jews were limited to sexual immorality and food offered to idols. In other words, as St. Paul argues one does need to become a Jew to become a Christian. Thus as the early Church became less Jewish, it also became less law-oriented (though certainly early jewish Christianity maintained the law in a significant degree). This also requires us to understand two things: 1. the law of moses was given "because of the hardness of hearts" as separate from the law of God (or ten commandments). 2. The law (Mosaic + ten commandments) was fulfilled in Christ who perfected it. So the law of Moses then is not absolute, but given with a particular function in a particular time.

    But as you correctly noted, the Judaic laws continued in varying degrees among certain populations. The Ethiopians, for instance, had a large Judaic community - and thus the effects on ethiopian Christianity is very obvious (canonising of Judaic literature, e.g book of enoch, and maintenance of certain laws).

    Another interesting question, is why certain "laws" remained in Christianity and others did not? But that probably requires another entire book to answer... Briefly, the answers to such a question are varied. The didaskalion for instance claims that only the laws given by God are permanent, whilst the laws of Moses are not. The problem with this, is that is not always exactly true in the practise of the early Church. The answer, at least for me, is more complicated and probably has to do with the fluid developments of the Church as much as it does with the didaskalion answer.

    Please forgive the fact that many of these answers are perhaps simplistic, and very brief. Hope it helps!

    Daniel

  • [quote author=dfan8803 link=topic=10348.msg127145#msg127145 date=1295171285]
    Hi aidan,

    Glad to hear you are enjoying the book! As I mentioned in the book, my scope really was only Jesus' attitude to the law, and not the early Christian reaction to the law.

    As for your question, many many reasons have been suggested.

    For one, the controversy that ensues in Galatians/Romans makes clear that as the gentiles formed an increasing proportion of the Church, the requirements for non-Jews were limited to sexual immorality and food offered to idols. In other words, as St. Paul argues one does need to become a Jew to become a Christian. Thus as the early Church became less Jewish, it also became less law-oriented (though certainly early jewish Christianity maintained the law in a significant degree). This also requires us to understand two things: 1. the law of moses was given "because of the hardness of hearts" as separate from the law of God (or ten commandments). 2. The law (Mosaic + ten commandments) was fulfilled in Christ who perfected it. So the law of Moses then is not absolute, but given with a particular function in a particular time.

    But as you correctly noted, the Judaic laws continued in varying degrees among certain populations. The Ethiopians, for instance, had a large Judaic community - and thus the effects on ethiopian Christianity is very obvious (canonising of Judaic literature, e.g book of enoch, and maintenance of certain laws).

    Another interesting question, is why certain "laws" remained in Christianity and others did not? But that probably requires another entire book to answer... Briefly, the answers to such a question are varied. The didaskalion for instance claims that only the laws given by God are permanent, whilst the laws of Moses are not. The problem with this, is that is not always exactly true in the practise of the early Church. The answer, at least for me, is more complicated and probably has to do with the fluid developments of the Church as much as it does with the didaskalion answer.

    Please forgive the fact that many of these answers are perhaps simplistic, and very brief. Hope it helps!

    Daniel

    Thank you for that. I guess I should pm you but if a few other people see my questions maybe they might be interested to read the book.

    May I say it has brought many aspects of our Saviour's life and ministry to life for me and for that I am truly grateful. Unfortunately I have nearly finished so it becomes a refernce from now on.

    One rather trivial question. Did our Lord speak Greek? Would a normal intelligent Palestinian have picked up the language as a necessity just as in London there are large numbers of multilingualists? I'm particularly interested to know how He and Pilate conversed. Pilate would have spoken Greek I expect.

  • Hi,

    Thanks for your positive comments! As to your question as to whether Jesus spoke Greek let me point you to an excellent resource: http://blog.beliefnet.com/markdroberts/pages/series/what-language-did-jesus-speak-why-does-it-matter.html.

    As for my opinion, you are right, the fact that Jesus and Pilate conversed (as well as with the Centurion) is indicative that Jesus may have spoken Greek. Also that Jesus was a carpenter and thus exposed to trade, also argues for this. The problem is though we can speculate that Jesus may have had some rough knowledge of Greek, we certainly cannot confirm it. From the reign of Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.) to Herod the Great (39-4 B.C.), Greek language as well as culture permeated the Palestinian landscape. Antiochus Epiphanes IV (215-163 B.C.), ruler of the Seleucids of Syria, went so far as to give the Jewish and Samaritan Temples the names of Greek gods. More so, inscriptions in Greek have been found throughout the cities, as well as villages of Palestine. However, its usage remained in the upper and educated classes, with two notable exceptions. Greek, to a certain extent and fluency, was regularly used in business and trade among all classes. The second exception is the prevalence of the language in Jerusalem, in which the great linguistic scholar Gustaf Dalman tells us: “because of its relation to the outside world, the contact with the Greek language was particularly close.”  Given that Jesus was involved in trade as a wood worker, as well as the knowledge that He regularly traveled on pilgrimage to Jerusalem, a somewhat Hellenized city, it stands to reason that He would have been endowed with enough Greek to manage His day to day dealings. This does not, however, on any account indicate fluency – though as with all things in speculation, it remains a faint possibility. We should also remember that in the East “…familiarity with several languages is not necessarily proof of higher education, but is rather a state of things arising out of the conditions of intercourse between the different populations.”

    For that matter, it is unlikely that Jesus, though having some knowledge of Greek, would have spoken His sayings in Greek. That Jesus for the most part was speaking to the common people, the ‘amme ha-aretz, in itself would make speaking in Greek highly superfluous and unrealistic, and thus we may conclude that the possibility that His sayings were in Greek originally is quite improbable.
  • Just thought I would let you all know about a positive review of the book, on Fr. Ted Bobosh's blog. See below:

    http://frted.wordpress.com/2011/02/12/book-review-taught-by-god/
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