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Natal - A História Original
Em Natal: a história original, Margaret Barker exalta a beleza do Natal através de textos antigos e, sobretudo, na tradição judaica da época de Jesus. A partir do Novo Testamento, ela analisa textos dos evangelhos apócrifos, como o Protoevangelho de Tiago, além do Evangelho Árabe da Infância de Jesus e até mesmo algumas partes do Corão. Barker articula todos esses textos a partir da sua célebre Teoria do Templo, defendendo que a visão de mundo dos primeiros cristãos derivava do formato e da liturgia do Templo em Jerusalém. Assim, ela analisa a história do Natal considerando a perspectiva da época dos primeiros cristãos, com um olhar minucioso para um simbolismo compartilhado por todos no período histórico marcado pelo grande acontecimento da Natividade de Jesus.
296 pages, Paperback
First published October 3, 2008
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About the author
Margaret Barker
51 books68 followersThere is more than one author with this name
Margaret Barker is a British Methodist preacher and biblical scholar recognized for her pioneering contributions to the study of early Christianity. Educated in theology at the University of Cambridge, she devoted her career to exploring the roots of Christian thought through what she terms Temple Theology, an approach tracing many aspects of early Christian liturgy and doctrine back to the worship of Solomon’s Temple.
In 1998 she served as president of the Society for Old Testament Study, and in 2008 she was awarded the Lambeth Doctor of Divinity by the Archbishop of Canterbury in recognition of her scholarly achievements. Her influential works, including The Great High Priest (2003) and Temple Theology (2004), emphasize the enduring legacy of Temple worship, arguing that it shaped Christianity as deeply as Hellenistic and synagogue traditions.
Drawing on sources ranging from the Hebrew Bible and Septuagint to the Dead Sea Scrolls, Gnostic writings, and early Christian texts, Barker’s research highlights the mystical dimensions of ancient worship and their relevance for understanding early Christian belief. Her work has been both praised for originality and critiqued within mainstream scholarship, yet remains highly influential across diverse theological traditions.
Margaret Barker is a British Methodist preacher and biblical scholar recognized for her pioneering contributions to the study of early Christianity. Educated in theology at the University of Cambridge, she devoted her career to exploring the roots of Christian thought through what she terms Temple Theology, an approach tracing many aspects of early Christian liturgy and doctrine back to the worship of Solomon’s Temple.
In 1998 she served as president of the Society for Old Testament Study, and in 2008 she was awarded the Lambeth Doctor of Divinity by the Archbishop of Canterbury in recognition of her scholarly achievements. Her influential works, including The Great High Priest (2003) and Temple Theology (2004), emphasize the enduring legacy of Temple worship, arguing that it shaped Christianity as deeply as Hellenistic and synagogue traditions.
Drawing on sources ranging from the Hebrew Bible and Septuagint to the Dead Sea Scrolls, Gnostic writings, and early Christian texts, Barker’s research highlights the mystical dimensions of ancient worship and their relevance for understanding early Christian belief. Her work has been both praised for originality and critiqued within mainstream scholarship, yet remains highly influential across diverse theological traditions.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 13, 2021
2.5 stars - this book I pushed myself to get through. It was incredibly well researched but not articulated or presented in an easy to understand format. The first 40% was pretty dull. As a reader you need to have a religious studies degree along with history / geography to degree to understand the bible, Quran and many other scriptures this book too evidence from. I had no idea the story of the nativity was so complex and different and feel even more confuse about which version to believe. It went into great depth to discuss how the slightest error in translation over time between different languages could great change scriptures and meanings of events. Was just a tough book to get though.
March 26, 2011
Loved it. I really came away from this with deep respect for the Hebrew bible. It's one thing to 'understand' it in English but there is so much subtle meaning and wordplay in the original! And like most translations, it's hard to bring that across into any other languages. Margaret Barker is amazing- some things she talks about seem a bit odd. She doesn't come across as forcing that opinion on you- just reviewing different content to perhaps shed some light on things. Fascinating.
January 29, 2018
Impressively researches
I have been a fan of Margaret Barker’s scholarship and interpretation for years but this may be my favorite volume of her’s yet; in large part due to the fact that she includes large sections from the Infancy Gospel of James and selections from the Quran. She lingers on and revisits the subject of virgin birth; what that means and how it could have been accomplished, which is still yet a frequent topic of conversations. Next to Temple Theology, this is most accessible volume I have read from Margaret Barker to understand the first temple underpinnings of the New Testament.
I have been a fan of Margaret Barker’s scholarship and interpretation for years but this may be my favorite volume of her’s yet; in large part due to the fact that she includes large sections from the Infancy Gospel of James and selections from the Quran. She lingers on and revisits the subject of virgin birth; what that means and how it could have been accomplished, which is still yet a frequent topic of conversations. Next to Temple Theology, this is most accessible volume I have read from Margaret Barker to understand the first temple underpinnings of the New Testament.
January 1, 2020
It's a really nice application of the theology of the Temple and the Lady to the nativity story – so it's great to see this superficially familiar tale reset into that deeper, more ancient context. As usual, I appreciated her use of a broader array of sources: Ugarit, NHL stuff, Infancy Gospel of James and the Quran. Very cool to see the way the Temple hypothesis provides underlying harmony to surface contradictions.
Having said all that – this is typical Barker: it's a wild ride through far-flung sources, many of which only scholars will know well enough to follow. There only brief pauses (although I notice her paragraphs are getting a little shorter and there are section headings! Welcome innovation. Perhaps there are editors somewhere in the publication process nowadays). Because this one is comparatively later in the bibliography, she doesn't make the case for a lot of scribal "correction" - she just points to earlier books where she's done so. That's less exhausting if you've already read some other Barker works, but if this is your first, it may not be convincing.
Lastly… well it just stops, as Dr Barker's books often do. There's no undergraduate summing up of the key points. She just says her final thing and then you're in the endnotes. I'm thinking I could write a book called "Summing Up: missing conclusions from the work of Margaret Barker" in which I just write the missing conclusions from every book. I bet it would sell!
All in all, it's not as accessible as Temple Theology or Temple Mysticism, but it's more accessible than a lot of the more academic stuff – partly because it all rotates around this much-loved narrative we all (think we) know.
So, I'd recommend it. I guarantee it will get you more curious about some new things you've never heard of. It will deepen your grasp of Temple Theology and its applications. It will clarify your understanding of the Lady and the role she plays in incarnation.
Merry Christmas!
Having said all that – this is typical Barker: it's a wild ride through far-flung sources, many of which only scholars will know well enough to follow. There only brief pauses (although I notice her paragraphs are getting a little shorter and there are section headings! Welcome innovation. Perhaps there are editors somewhere in the publication process nowadays). Because this one is comparatively later in the bibliography, she doesn't make the case for a lot of scribal "correction" - she just points to earlier books where she's done so. That's less exhausting if you've already read some other Barker works, but if this is your first, it may not be convincing.
Lastly… well it just stops, as Dr Barker's books often do. There's no undergraduate summing up of the key points. She just says her final thing and then you're in the endnotes. I'm thinking I could write a book called "Summing Up: missing conclusions from the work of Margaret Barker" in which I just write the missing conclusions from every book. I bet it would sell!
All in all, it's not as accessible as Temple Theology or Temple Mysticism, but it's more accessible than a lot of the more academic stuff – partly because it all rotates around this much-loved narrative we all (think we) know.
So, I'd recommend it. I guarantee it will get you more curious about some new things you've never heard of. It will deepen your grasp of Temple Theology and its applications. It will clarify your understanding of the Lady and the role she plays in incarnation.
Merry Christmas!
September 3, 2023
Barker explains the vital First Temple context that makes sense of all the symbolism in the Christmas stories as we have them in the current Bible, and provides fascinating supplementary discussions, particularly about Mary’s early life in the Temple as a Veil weaver, brought up to be the Wisdom/Holy Spirit, THE (not “a” as in so many modern translations!) Virgin (Zion; Asherah; Tree of Life), the earthly representative of the Hebrew Goddess/Queen Of Heaven/Heavenly Mother of Jesus.
I also loved the beautiful understated translation of the Protevangelium which really should be included as a prologue in the standard New Testament.
The details about Adam as first High Priest, the Hidden Descent and related issues about the “twofold birth” and Incarnation, the astronomical significance of the Star (see the book Hamlet’s Mill for more on that theme), and well-informed speculation about the Magi as keepers of the Melchizedek Priesthood descended from the followers of Isaiah who had been driven out of the First Temple by King Josiah’s bloody Deuteronomistic Reforms and fled to ‘Arabia’ (where Paul later went to study) made this a wonderful read that provides even more depth to the Christmas stories.
I also loved the beautiful understated translation of the Protevangelium which really should be included as a prologue in the standard New Testament.
The details about Adam as first High Priest, the Hidden Descent and related issues about the “twofold birth” and Incarnation, the astronomical significance of the Star (see the book Hamlet’s Mill for more on that theme), and well-informed speculation about the Magi as keepers of the Melchizedek Priesthood descended from the followers of Isaiah who had been driven out of the First Temple by King Josiah’s bloody Deuteronomistic Reforms and fled to ‘Arabia’ (where Paul later went to study) made this a wonderful read that provides even more depth to the Christmas stories.
March 12, 2023
As always, Barker's work is fascinating and worth reading because of the extraordinary connections she draws and her deep knowledge of Temple traditions. However, here, as elsewhere, she attempts to draw conclusions that go beyond the evidence—as when she attempts to conflate Mary the mother Jesus with various female dieties that intruded on the life of the people of Israel.
December 24, 2018
Fascinating ideas and scriptural analysis, particularly in reference to ancient Hebrew temple symbolism, though rather dense, often repetitive, and not especially organized. Takes a while to get to the juicy stuff.
December 30, 2015
The story in Luke 2 and Matthew 2 is so familiar to us from the KJV, it is fascinating to get a glimpse of what it would have meant for the original readers who were steeped in the Old Testament and temple traditions. I learned a lot.
January 5, 2017
Some really interesting material and insights, but a bit patchy. I liked the middle bit best, so it was worth persisting with after the first part got a bit bogged down; the end was more like appendices and petered out a little.
December 18, 2018
Barker is so sure of her conclusions which I don't always agree with, but it is pure pleasure to read something ORIGINAL in Biblical studies!
December 30, 2010
Barker + Christmas = Awesome.
Read
March 30, 2014It gives more understanding of the Christmas Story outside the Bible
December 27, 2014
Good explanation of the nuances in the Christmas Story we all miss because we don't know the culture in which Luke and Matthew were writing.
January 14, 2021
A teóloga inglesa mostra aqui, tal como o fez em "Introdução ao misticismo do Templo" e "Teologia do Templo" seu amplo conhecimento do judaísmo e do cristianismo primitivo.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews