Hidden Transcripts And The Arts Of Resistance: Applying The Work Of James C. Scott To Jesus And Paul

by Richard A. Horsley

The essays in this volume develop the highly suggestive insights and theory of James C. Scott—especially those related to patterns of domination and subordination, the role of religion in supporting or opposing the powerful, and the “arts of resistance” by the subordinated—to tackle key issues in the interpretation of Jesus and Paul. All the contributors implicitly or explicitly assume a stance sympathetic with subordinated peoples of the past and present. While all pursue primarily critical literary, historical, and social analysis on New Testament texts in historical contexts, some also examine illuminating historical or contemporary comparative materials. In addition, some even find Scott useful in critical self-examination of our own scholarly motives, stances, and approaches in relation to texts and their uses.

208 pages, Paperback

First published November 29, 2004

Reviews

[Frans Vermeiren · Rating 3 out of 5]

James C. Scott’s 'Domination and the Arts of Resistance' was an intense reading experience. While reading Scott’s magisterial work it became clear to me that his ideas about resistance to power are perfectly applicable to the Jews under Roman occupation. Therefore I was eagerly looking forward to the present volume which elaborates on Scott’s ideas and relates them to the origins of Christianity.

My high expectations for this book have not entirely been fulfilled. My most important criticism is that the potential of Scott’s ideas about power relations has not fully been utilized. Also do several contributions not primarily focus on Jesus and Paul but on the importance of Scott’s analysis for biblical scholarship. Nevertheless, this book offers a lot of valuable insights.

In the introduction Horsley mentions for example that Scott’s work can open the eyes of biblical scholars for the harsh exploitation the Jews had to deal with under the Romans, and that a whole range of political dynamics are concealed between the lines of the sources. He shows that political disguise, anonymity and ambiguous language are present in the gospels.
In his contribution Callahan talks about New Testament times as an age of revolt, with the ‘kingdom of God’ as an alternative for Roman imperial rule. However, no connection is made between Jesus and the Great Revolt of 66-70 CE.
Subsequently Herzog discusses the Markan pericope ‘Paying Taxes to Caesar’, which is one of the highlights of this book. The author describes Jesus’ part in this conflict with the Herodians and Pharisees as ‘an ambiguous and coded version of the hidden transcript of resistance to Roman colonial rule’.
Another highlight is Neil Elliott’s contribution on ‘Strategies of Resistance and Hidden Transcripts in the Pauline Communities’. He adds an important dimension to the existing scholarship on Paul’s anti-Roman activism and the anti-Roman cryptograms in his letters. Elliott argues that Paul built his communities on a foundation of egalitarianism and mutualism ‘in deliberate contradiction of the prevalent ideology and iconography of Roman power’.

Summarizing I can say that although this book touches subjects like ‘fierce and desperate wars’ and Jewish ‘robust collective memory of revolutionary resistance and divine deliverance from oppression’, it lightly places Jesus’ resistance against Roman oppression somewhere between quiescence and revolt. Scott indeed gives a lot of attention to low profile resistance against domination, and that may have influenced the authors. The most important misleading factor however is the encoded character of the gospels. When the gospels are read at face value a 'low profile resistance' analysis seems appropriate, while at in-depth reading they show themselves as the account of the career of the Galilean revolutionary leader Jesus son of Saphat in his struggle against the Romans.
I believe that Scott’s ideas invite to a bolder analysis of the New Testament texts. More could have been achieved with his groundbreaking ideas.

[The · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hidden Transcripts and the Arts of Resistance edited by Richard A Horsley made me reflect more deeply on the process of coming to consciousness of human awareness and its inter-relatedness in a new and deeper way. The more conscious a living being becomes the more impervious it is to being dominated. Historically, this has taken the form of ‘hidden resistance’ in order to survive and pass life on to the next generation. Paradoxically, just being alive becomes the vector through which the next generation has the chance to resist domination on to its heirs. The process of becoming fully conscious is fraught with many trials and errors as all evolution necessarily does. But in order for consciousness to continue to grow aware of its unique self, the more insistent the need to reject domination becomes. I see glimmers of light every now and then, that the domination model is outliving its usefulness. Slowly the dominant are realizing the inherent value of life, in all its forms, and acknowledging its interdependence on everything created and coming into being. This calls the question of the value of the current system. Does having control, ultimately delude us into thinking we are in control, only to crash on the rocks of a serious illness or implosion of the environment? We are beginning to question our assumptions. Unfortunately, we only do that in time of needing that environment or help to recover from that illness. Those who know they are not in control, which included all of us at birth, are then free to notice what all religions in their healthiest expressions have been trying to teach us. That all who exist do so at the behest of a reality that chose to create them, and that reality seems to care about this creation. When we come to the consciousness of this process, we will have become fully who we are created to be.
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