Un judío marginal: Nueva visión del Jesús histórico, Tomo 4: Ley y amor

A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus

by John P. Meier, Serafín Fernández Martínez (Translator)

En este tomo IV, Meier aborda un nuevo asunto —las enseñanzas del Jesús histórico concernientes a la Ley mosaica y la moral— con el mismo rigor de que hizo gala en los tomos anteriores.Después de corregir conceptos erróneos respecto a la Ley mosaica en tiempos de Jesús, este volumen se ocupa de las enseñanzas de Jesús sobre importantes materias legales como el divorcio, los juramentos, el sábado, las leyes de pureza y los diversos mandamientos de amor contenidos en los Evangelios. Lo que resulta de la investigación de Meier es el perfil de un complicado judío palestino del siglo primero, que, lejos de intentar abolir la Ley, entró a fondo en debates concernientes a su observancia. Para Meier, sólo teniendo presente esta imagen del Jesús histórico tan interesado en cuestiones de la Torá se puede evitar el común error de construir teología moral cristiana so capa de estudiar «Jesús y la Ley».

Genres: Religion, History, Christianity, Theology, New Testament, Nonfiction

736 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

John Paul Meier is a Biblical scholar and Catholic priest. He attended St. Joseph's Seminary and College (B.A., 1964), Gregorian University [Rome] (S.T.L, 1968), and the Biblical Institute [Rome] (S.S.D., 1976).

Meier is the author of nine books and more than 60 scholarly articles. He was editor of The Catholic Biblical Quarterly and president of the Catholic Biblical Association.

Meier is Professor of New Testament in the Department of Theology at the University of Notre Dame. Before coming to Notre Dame, he was Professor at The Catholic University of America.

Reviews

[Mike Hinkle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Professor Meier is one of those rare scholars who combines exhaustive research, piercing analysis and the discipline to "let the evidentiary chips fall where they may." In the fourth volume of this ambitious undertaking--"Rethinking the Historical Jesus"--Meier tackles the question of Jesus' probable attitude toward the Mosaic law. As in the previous volumes of this work, the author surveys the enormous body of previous material dealing with this challenging topic. He sifts the data for nuance in translation, tradition and analysis to arrive at portrait of Jesus as a first century Palestinian Jew actively engaged in the religious debates current and relevent to his day. Meier points how how the evidence suggests Jesus probably inclined to a remarkably conservative attitude toward divorce; that he probably disapproved taking oaths of any kind; and that the gospel portrait of a teacher who advocated a sharp break from the Jewish food purity laws is probably an early Christian retrojection. Volune 4 was a long time coming, but worth the wait. I would have preferred the notes to be positioned on the pages where the numbers appear. Flipping back and forth from the text to the end of the chapter is a minor distraction. But it's a small price to pay for scholarship of this quality. I am looking forward to the fifth and final volume.

[Beau Robicheaux · Rating 5 out of 5]

I became friends with Fr. Mike, a retired priest, while volunteering at a nursing home. One day, when visiting him, he was holding "A Marginal Jew."

It was a massive book and I asked him about it. All he said was, "It's not an easy read."

So always looking for a challenge I started on the journey.

About midway through the book, Fr. Mike passed away and I am glad I had the opportunity to honor his memory by having shared this book with him.

And in the words of Fr. Mike, it's not an easy read.

For some, it might even be a bit disconcerting.

For example, the concept that Torah was composed from multiple streams of oral tradition that was finally written down in the 4th century BC might challenge some views of "sola scriptura"--the view that Scripture alone (and not tradition) is the sole infallible authority of faith.

Likewise, the concept that various halaka (or teachings on Scripture) carried an authority of their own, and were often localized to certain communities shows a glimpse of how the Law was much more of a living and fluid document than we might imagine today. In fact, outside the Pentateuch, the "Old Testament" was by no means agreed upon even at the time of Jesus.

But perhaps the most troubling for many readers is Meier's attempt to separate words that he believes (using a methodology he applies to Biblical passages) to have been spoken by the historical Jesus and those he believes to have been created by the various Gospel writers or the early Church to emphasize certain themes.

The result of his analysis is a portrait of a Jesus who is creating a halaka, which interestingly enough and in-line with the analysis done by Neusner, relies at times on the authority of His teaching. A style which would point to His exhibiting an authority of His own, in line with a Charismatic Prophet. But at the same time, He used complicated rhetorical techniques such as "gezera sawa" to argue the Double Command (to Love God and Neighbor).

How a carpenter from Nazareth came to be so learned remains a mystery.

But that's a question to be answered by other books.

For Meier, a key to unlocking the mystery of Christ is to place Him in the context of the Jewish debates of His time, which Meier does rather successfully in "A Marginal Jew."

[David Szatkowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another wonderful edition to the question of Scriptural and historical Jesus research. In this volume, Meier tackles the thorny questions of law, love, Jewish legal tradition, and Christian theology coloring the teachings of the gospels. If the reader has some knowledge of ancient philosophy, some parts will be easier reading, but it it not critical to understanding. Also, key, are concepts around oaths and divorce, which are key to the gospels teaching.

[RichVT · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprisingly readable academic treatise on the historical Jesus. The careful logic used to dissect authenticity from the accretions of copyists and zealots is quite fascinating. While he occasionally gets off track onto academic minutia, Meriers clear prose and pleasant wit keep the book moving. Not sure I’ll read another of this 5 part (6th may be published posthumously) series

[John Alvord · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meyer continues to force my reconsideration of the historical Jesus and the limits of what we can know about that historical figure.. The reasoned, circumspect yet bold and above all consistent approach of his methodology for examining Jesus' stance toward the legal/religious issues of his day, coupled with his clear and often witty prose kept me not only reading on to the end of this tome but looking forward to his fifth volume on the parables as well.

[Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fourth volume is my second favorite (compared to his second volume) in Meiers long and well developed series on the historical Jesus. In this work Meier takes up the first of four enigmas concerning the historical Jesus: his relationship to the Law. Meier offers a helpful section on what the Jewish law was and Jews views of it and then moves through several multiply attested sections on Jesus' relationship to the Torah/Law. His main argument is that Jesus is the Halakic Jesus (meaning he was a Jews engaged with other Jews on matters of Torah interpretation). What do we find? In a nutshell Jesus seems to have abrogated (my words not Meier's) some parts of the law (Divorce, Oaths), affirmed others (Sabbath), not cared about others (Purity) and commanded love. How do we sum this up? Meier states there is no one single organizing principle behind the historical Jesus. This first enigma, Jesus' relationship to the Law, seems to me to be a relatively strong pillar in beginning to discover Jesus' self-concept: on his own authority Jesus affirmed certain portions while denying others stating that it was through his words/deeds and mission in the Kingdom of God that gave power to his disciples to follow his halakic teachings. I also appreciate how this smacks christians in the face in picking and choosing teachings of Jesus. A great work.

[Sam Schulman · Rating 2 out of 5]

A sober, quietly witty, piece of thought on the historical Jesus, insisting that Jesus is trying to be halakhic and deeply engaging with Jewish law. Meier makes his own job somewhat easier by a very partial notion of what Jewish law is - his scholarship is impeccable but his feeling for it is so Christianized that he is unable to see what the Law that Christ confronts really is or felt like to Christ and his fellow-Jews. The entire discussion of marriage and divorce, for example, runs along lines dictated by Christian concerns, and ignores the almsot the entire raison d'etre of Jewish marriage and Jewish divorce. But if you don't mind that sort of error, this is a good place to start in order to show Christian misunderstanding of Judaism not out of bad faith, but from an inborn conviction that Christianity's concerns define the whole of Judaism.

[Blair Hodges · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meier's mantra in volume four is "The Historical Jesus is the Halakic Jesus." Meier is basically pointing out that the best available evidence points to a historic Jesus who is ”immersed in the halakic discussions, debates, and actual practice of 1st-century Palestinian Jews.” Halaka is Hebrew for “conduct,” or “walking,” etc. It refers to a legal opinion or ruling concerning specific human conduct according to Judaism. The issues Jesus addresses include divorce, oaths, the sabbath, and purity laws. It's been a long road, but I can't wait for volume 5.

[Ephrem Arcement · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meier's staggering work continues with volume four dedicated to examining Jesus' relationship to the Torah. Specifically, teachings on the Sabbath, purity laws, oath taking, and divorce are treated. Meier concludes with an in-depth exploration of Jesus' love commands. "The historical Jesus is the halakic Jesus" is Meier's mantra throughout. What results from this magisterial work is a clearer image of Jesus the Jew.

[Chad Gibbons · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume mainly stresses the fact that the historic Jesus is the 'halakic' Jesus. Any portrayal of Jesus which divorces him from any interaction with the Torah is quite simply, wrong. This should be obvious, but it's apparently not. In my opinion, this is one of the most important contributions that this series has yet made (and that's saying something).

[Kathleen Basi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've found this series of books to be some of the most challenging mental/spiritual reading I've done as an adult, which is all to the good. This volume felt less relevant to me than the earlier volumes, and proportionally harder to to get through.

[Gilbert michaud · Rating 4 out of 5]

good but will we see volume five ..

[Zachary · Rating 4 out of 5]

One more volume to go.....