While Mark focused on the mostly Gentile Christian community in Rome and Matthew was more focused on the Hebrew-Christian community in Antioch, Luke stresses that Christianity is a way of life for Gentile as well as Hebrew-Christian believers; and that it warrants legal recognition in the Roman Empire. Luke is about healing and reconciliation: actions greatly needed in our own contemporary society.

Luke’s author was a highly educated Gentile Christian who came from a thoroughly Greco-Roman environment. Unlike Matthew’s author he is not well-grounded in the Hebrew tradition. Scholars speculate on whether his “ordered account” was written for a Christian community in Antioch or some other location in Asia Minor, like Ephesus or Smyrna. Luke and Acts of Apostles make up a two-volume work often called simply Luke–Acts; and they are addressed to the “most excellent” Theophilus.

Theophilus’ identity is unknown, but there are conjectures. Some interpreters suggest he was a wealthy man who paid to have Luke-Acts written. Other biblical interpreters have concluded that he was a Roman official who had been initiated into the church’s teachings, for whom Luke now provided a full narrative Another tradition maintains that Theophilus was not a person. But since the name in Greek means “Friend of God,” both Luke and Acts were addressed to anyone who fits that description. In this tradition the author’s targeted audience was the learned but unnamed men and women of the era. Theophilus was also quite a common name in the Greco-Roman world of the 1st century.

For documentation, Luke’s author drew from the Gospel of Mark, the sayings collection called the “Q” source, and a collection of material called the “L” (for Luke) source. Most contemporary scholars maintain that the author of Luke is anonymous. A tradition dating from the 2nd century did suggest that the author was the Luke who was a companion of Paul. While this view is still occasionally put forward, most biblical scholars today question that supposition. Textual analysis suggests that Luke-Acts was written not earlier than 80–90 CE; and most likely as late as 90–110 CE, because the text was still being revised well into the 2nd century.

Last week I stressed that Matthew saw Jesus as the fulfillment of Hebrew history. He began his infancy narrative with a genealogy of Jesus from Abraham down to Joseph and Mary. Luke, on the other hand, understands Jesus as the high point in all human history. His genealogy is presented at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry and runs backwards from Joseph to Adam.

Luke is also more Mary-oriented than Joseph-oriented. In Matthew’s infancy narrative the light is on Joseph. In Luke’s account, it is Mary who shines. She is the one who hears and keeps God’s word. In Luke 1:46-55, we find Mary’s Song of Praise: “The Magnificat.”

What strikes you, as you re-read this Gospel? Three themes caught my attention: women, building bridges, and religious hypocrisy.

WOMEN: In Luke Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law (Luke 4:38-39), a 12-year-old girl (Luke 8:41-42, 49-56); a woman with a 12-year infirmity (verses 43-48); and a woman who had been crippled 18 years (Luke 13:10-17). In Luke we see Mary the Magdalen, an early disciple of Jesus. She sits before Jesus and listens to him. Her sister Martha complains to Jesus that Mary should be helping her with serving. Jesus replies: “Martha, Martha…it is Mary who has chosen the better part.” (Luke 10:38-42). In the Resurrection accounts, women not men are most important: Women were among those who observed the crucifixion (Luke 23:27, 49). Women prepared spices to anoint Jesus’ body (Luke 23: 55-56). Women were the first to find Jesus’ tomb empty (Luke 24:1-3) and angels told them Jesus had been raised from the dead (Luke 24: 4-8). Women were the first to proclaim the Resurrection to Jesus’ other disciples (Luke 24: 9-11). [Catholic upper-level ecclesiastics who still oppose women’s ordination should reflect on these passages. ]

BUILDING BRIDGES NOT WALLS: Luke’s stress on peace-making implied a new relationship with the Roman Empire. Dialogue had to start, and destructive polarization had to end. In Luke’s Infancy Narrative, angelic messengers proclaim: “Good news of great joy for all people. To you is born this day . . . a Savior! . . . Peace on earth among those whom God favors!” (Luke 2:10-11,14] These words echo and go far beyond the Roman monument inscriptions that had praised Augustus Caesar (63 BCE – 14 CE) as “god” and “savior.” Luke hereby stresses that Jesus had completed more fully and uniquely the work of Augustus. Later in this Gospel, Luke offsets the fact that Jesus was executed by the Romans, by having the Roman Prefect Pontius Pilate (who died after 36 CE) declare Jesus innocent three times (Luke 23:4,14,22). Only Luke, unlike Mark and Matthew, has the Roman centurion at the foot of the cross exclaim: “Surely, this man was innocent.” (Luke 23:47) Building bridges. In Luke’s narration, Herod Antipas (c. 20 BCE – c. 39 CE), who publicly identified himself as a Hebrew and was the 1^st century ruler of Galilee, and Pontius Pilate become unlikely friends, after being in Jesus’ presence (Luke 23:12). And finally, only in Luke’s Gospel does Jesus pray for forgiveness for his crucifiers (Luke 23:34).

RELIGIOUS HYPOCRISY: Some observers accuse Luke of antisemitism, because he regularly shows Jesus criticizing Hebrew religious leaders (Pharisees, scribes, and Levites). I think these critics miss the point. Jesus was strongly critical of the arrogant religious hypocrisy of the religiously elite in his day.

During Jesus’ time, the Pharisees were a prominent Hebrew religious group known for their strict adherence to the Law and were often viewed as overly legalistic.

When invited to dine in the home of a Pharisee, for example, the religious leader accused Jesus of not washing ahead of time. Jesus replied: “Now then, you clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish people!…give what is inside the dish to the poor, and everything will be clean for you…you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God….Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.” (Luke 11:37-44)

Luke speaks strongly to our own contemporary society, in which many praise God but ignore the poor, the oppressed, and the marginalized.

Next week we take a look at the Infancy Narratives in Luke and Matthew.

Jack

Dr. John Alonzo Dick – Historical Theologian

 

 

Last week I stressed that the Gospel According to Mark was designed for Gentile Christians in Rome, and composed by an anonymous author, after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE. Mark’s Gentile Christians in Rome faced and feared persecution and death at the hands of Roman authorities. But they also had to live with discrimination from superior-acting Hebrew-Christians living in Rome.

 

Matthew written for Hebrew Christians in Antioch:

This week, we look at Matthew. The final version of the Gospel According to Matthew, was most likely written by an anonymous Hebrew-Christian scribe between 80 and 90 CE. He was not an eyewitness to the Jesus events but collected various traditions and sayings by and about Jesus and put them in one long essay. Some scholars say the final edition could even have been written as late as 110. The most probable location for the Matthew community was Antioch, whose ruins today lie close to Antakya, Turkey. The community was strongly Hebrew-Christian.

There were Gentile Christian members in the community, but they were expected to obey Hebrew norms. Some scholars say even circumcision.

The Gospel of Matthew, with its strong Hebrew-Christian orientation, contains five sermons of Jesus (Matthew 5:1-7:29; 10:1-42; 13:1-52; 18:1-35; and 23:1 through 25:46) which, for the authors’ audience symbolized the first five books – Pentateuch — of the Hebrew Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. These five books, known as the Hebrew Torah, were also called the “Five books of Moses.”

Why Moses?

For centuries, it was widely accepted, both within Hebrew/Jewish and Christian communities, that Moses was the author of the Pentateuch. The European Enlightenment saw a rise in critical biblical studies, leading to the emergence of theories questioning Mosaic authorship.

The majority of scholars today see the biblical Moses as a legendary figure, while retaining the possibility that Moses or a Moses-like figure existed in the 13^th century BCE. The Pentateuch, however, was composed and compiled during the 6^th-5^th century BCE, thus a good 500 years after “Moses.”

Jesus the Great Teacher

In Matthew 5:17-28, Jesus explains his understanding of the Hebrew Scriptures as related to his ministry. He says: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:17) Jesus is the great teacher. Notice how he so often says “you have heard it said of old . . . but I say to you . . .” Like a rabbi, Jesus takes a teaching found in the Scriptures and then intensifies and expands on it.

Genealogy:

For Matthew, Jesus is the great embodiment of all preceding Hebrew history. In two weeks, we will take a careful look at the creative Infancy Narratives in Matthew as well as in Luke. Today, I want to point out that Matthew constructed an infancy narrative that begins with “A genealogy of Jesus Christ, Son of David, son of Abraham.” (Matthew 1:1-17) Matthew’s genealogy features four notable Hebrew women: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and “the wife of Uriah” Bathsheba. It includes a number of “fulfillment” passages that relate Jesus to prophetic texts. And it makes allusions to famous Hebrew men of the past.

Note for instance that Jesus, like the Moses figure, was rescued as an infant from a murderous king (Matthew 2:16-18). In Matthew’s creative narration, Jesus’ ministry begins with three temptations in the desert. They correspond to the experiences of Israel in the desert, after the Exodus. Jesus is God’s great liberator.

A question about Peter and the Rock in Matthew 16:16-19:

This brief text – Matthew 16:16 to 19 — has often been cited by Roman Catholic authorities as the scriptural basis for the papacy. Nevertheless, the significance of this uniquely Matthew material has been widely discussed by Catholic and Protestant scholars and challenged on the basis that verses 16–19 are found only in Matthew. Nowhere in the New Testament is Peter described as being supreme over the other apostles. Historians stress that Peter did not establish the Christian community in Rome and that Peter was never a bishop of Rome and certainly not “the first pope.” The Roman Catholic theologians Raymond Brown (1928 – 1998) and John P. Meier (1942 – 2022) were quite emphatic about this in their book Antioch and Rome: New Testament Cradles of Christianity, (Paulist Press 1983).

What draws my attention in Matthew:

As I have been re-reading the Gospel According to Matthew, what stands out for me is Jesus the great teacher, like a great Hebrew rabbi.

I conclude this week’s post with my contemporary reflections on Matthew 5:1-10, where Jesus goes up a hill with his disciples and begins to teach what we have come to know as the “Sermon on the Mount.” It is truly a charter for Christian life today.

 

The Charter for Christian Life based on the Sermon on the Mount:

1. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

How fortunate are those people, who are humble in spirit.

The humble in spirit realize that greatness is achieved through service not domination. Power and control over people have no place in the community of faith. The humble in spirit realize they are not masters of the universe. They understand they cannot survive on their own.

2. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

Many people grieve in sorrow today.

There are people in frightening times: war situations, people suffering abuse, job loss, or deportations. Jesus assures all, even if they cannot see it at the moment, that they are not abandoned. The historical Jesus knew abandonment, suffering, and a painful death. He overcame them. He travels with all overwhelmed with sorrow, assuring them that their lives are not meaningless.

3. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

How fortunate are the meek.

Meekness is not weakness. The meek have compassion. They can feel the pain of another. They put an arm around the fearful and the oppressed. They lift oppressive burdens from the shoulders of the abused, the old, the sick, and the impoverished.

4. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

How fortunate are those whose greatest desire is to do what genuine Christianity requires.

We are fortunate if we have high ideals, strong values, noble goals, and the motivation to build up what is best in others and in ourselves. But the temptations are strong: to conform, to do what everyone else does, to simply read the news and then not rock the boat.

5. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

Merciful love is assistance without conditions.

Genuine Christians are not fear mongers who scapegoat Hispanics, feminists, blacks, gays, transgendered, or immigrants.

6. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

How fortunate are the pure of heart.

The pure of heart are honest-hearted. They are not two-faced, with hidden agendas or secret desires to advance themselves by using and abusing other people. The pure of heart honor and search for truth. They do not lie, creating dishonest “facts.”

7. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children^, of God.”

How fortunate are those who work for peace.

Those who work for peace do not erect walls. They are bridge builders. They cooperate rather than compete. They struggle to resolve political, social, and religious polarization through tolerance, dialogue, and mutual respect.

8. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

How fortunate are those who suffer persecution because they truly live the Gospel.

There are a lot of phony “Christians” in high places these days, who denigrate and oppress their critics. Matthew’s Jesus speaks of leaders who talk about God’s values but never live God’s values. “Do not do what they say,” Jesus says “for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. Everything they do is done for people to see.” (Matthew 23:3-5)

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Next week we take a look at Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. Luke’s author was a highly educated Gentile Christian who came from a thoroughly Greco-Roman environment. Luke’s Gospel, like Matthew’s, focuses on the life and teachings of Jesus, but Luke emphasizes Jesus’s role as a universal savior for all peoples.

Jack

Dr. John Alonzo Dick – Historical Theologian

 

 

 

 

 

All four Gospels evolved from oral traditions, passed on from person to person and from place to place. More than one single person composed the final versions of the four Gospels, as we have them today. Mark is the oldest. Matthew and Luke both drew upon Mark as a major source for their works.

Originally, the Gospels were circulated without titles. That changed around185 CE, when the theologian, Irenaeus of Lyon (c.139 – c.202), labeled the four Gospels as “Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John.” Irenaeus was the second bishop of Lyon, France from 177 until his death.

Although Mark is older, Matthew was listed first in the official “canonical” list of the four Gospels by the Council of Rome in 382 and the Synod of Hippo in 393, because the bishops mistakenly considered it the first Gospel to be written. They accepted the “Augustinian hypothesis” proposed by the well-known theologian and philosopher, Augustine (354 – 430), the Bishop of Hippo Regius, the ancient name of today’s Annaba, Algeria.

What we call Mark’s Gospel was composed around 70 CE, probably after the Roman destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in the year 70. Mark was written for Gentile Christians in Rome. They suffered Roman persecution but also discrimination from Hebrew-Christians, who felt superior to Gentile converts.

The Gospel of Matthew, which we will examine next week, was most likely written by an anonymous Hebrew-Christian scribe between 80 and 90 CE.

In Mark’s Gospel we see, very early, a Jesus confronted with difficulties and rejection. It is a Gospel for those who are suffering and need to find consolation: people who resonate with the fearful cry of those disciples in the sinking boat (Mark 4:35-40). They were frightened by the storm. They woke-up the sleeping Jesus and asked him if he is just going to let them all drown. Jesus calms the storm, and then says to his disciples “Why are you so frightened? How is it that you have no faith?”

Having faith in difficult times is key to Mark.

Up until the nineteenth century, and in some circles even later, the general understanding was that the author of Mark’s Gospel was “John Mark” mentioned in Acts of Apostles. (Acts 12:12 and 12:25) Contemporary scholars, however, generally agree that the final author of Mark remains anonymous. Although it is the oldest of the four, Mark’s Gospel is also much shorter than the other gospels, with just 16 chapters compared to Matthew’s 28, Luke’s 24, and John’s 21.

It is interesting to note that of the Synoptic Gospels, only Mark’s starts with the Greek word εὐαγγέλιον (transliteration: euaggelion) the Greek word for “good news”: “The beginning of the good news of Jesus, the Son of God.” (Mark 1:1) As part of the vocabulary of early Christians, this word did not refer to a specific type of literature nor to a book. The term (“gospel” in English) had a more dynamic meaning. It was a proclamation of an event of major importance. The “Gospel of Jesus” for early Christians designated God’s saving actions in and through the person of Jesus.

Mark’s Gospel narration begins with John the Baptizer, who died c. 30 CE. John was an itinerant preacher, “a voice crying in the wilderness,” (Mark 1:3) preparing the way for the Messiah. He had many followers, and it appears, from Mark’s Gospel, that Jesus from Nazareth was one of them. But John says that Jesus is far greater than he: “I am not fit to kneel down and undo the strap of his sandals.” (Mark 1:8) When John baptizes Jesus in the Jordan, a voice from the heavens speaks to Jesus: “You are my son, the Beloved. My favor rests on you.” (Mark 1:11) Note, the Spirit is speaking directly to Jesus. It is his call to public ministry moving far beyond that of John the Baptizer.

Throughout his life, Jesus comes to a gradual realization of who he is as Human One (“Son of Man”) and Son of God. His disciples as well come to a gradual realization of who he is, just like us today.  We are called to grow in faith, wisdom, and understanding.

Mark’s Gospel has no account of Jesus’ virgin birth or his infancy. The focus is on the adult Jesus as Messiah. The Gospel does mention that Jesus had brothers and sisters in Mark 6:3.

At the Second Council of Constantinople in 553 CE, when church authorities – strongly believing in the superiority of celibacy over marriage — proclaimed the perpetual virginity of Jesus’ mother, the text in Mark 6:3 became problematic. “Brothers and sisters” came to be interpreted as meaning Jesus’s “cousins.” (I have no desire to get into this discussion right now but do find it interesting that the Pauline epistles, the four Gospels, and Acts of Apostles all mention the brothers of Jesus, with both Mark and Matthew mentioning the brothers’ names and unnamed sisters.)

Mark’s Gospel also has a rather abrupt ending. Like the other three Gospels, Mark does report the visit of Mary the Magdalene, and her companions to the tomb of Jesus early Sunday morning. When they arrive at the tomb, however, they find the entrance stone removed and a young man (not an angel) tells them: “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” And the Gospel concludes with “And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing, because they were afraid.” (Mark 16:8)

Most scholars today really believe that the Gospel of Mark originally ended with Mark 16:8. Yet some scholars contend there was in fact a lost ending.

Already in antiquity there were editors and copyists, uncomfortable with such an abrupt ending. They provided three different endings for Mark to “correct” the abruptness of 16:8. Although now understood as a later addition to the text, the most favored of these added endings is Mark 16:9-20, called the Markan Appendix, or the Longer Ending. It records three appearances of Jesus raised from the dead: to Mary the Magdalene; to two disciples; and to the eleven. It mentions Jesus’ ascension into heaven and his sitting at God’s right hand.

There do remain critical questions concerning the authenticity of the verses in Mark 16:9–20 which center on stylistic and linguistic issues. When was the Markan Appendix added is a good question. Later than many think. Eusebius of Caesarea, historian and bishop, in what was then Roman Palestine and who died in 339, as well as Jerome, theologian and well-known biblical translator, who died in Bethlehem in 432, indicated the absence of the verses from Greek manuscripts known to them. 

 

Re-reading Mark’s Gospel, two thoughts struck me: (1) Jesus in Mark’s Gospel is a rejected and suffering Son of God, and (2) following Jesus is a discipleship of the cross. Life is not always easy. Many people today still live, as did Mark’s congregation, in fearful and threatening times. 

Mark is clearly a Gospel of the suffering Messiah and of suffering and fearful discipleship.

On the night he was betrayed, Jesus goes to the garden of Gethsemane to pray. A sudden fear comes over him and he is in great distress. Like a loving child he speaks to his father: “Abba everything is possible for you. Take this cup away from me….” (Mark 14:35-36). Judas betrayed him. Other disciples abandoned him. People spit on Jesus. He is blindfolded and beaten. Even Peter rejects him three times. (Mark 14:53-65)

The Gospel of Mark’s message for us today is that fear and uncertainty, if one allows them to take control, can disable, blind, and paralyze people. But Christianity is not a religion of fear. Jesus’ words to his disciples in Mark 8:18-21 speak to us today as well: “Do you not yet understand? Have you no perception? Are your minds closed? Have you eyes that do not see, and ears that do not hear?”

Jack

Dr. John Alonzo Dick – Historical Theologian

The historical-critical method, also known as higher criticism, investigates the origins and nature of ancient texts. Historical criticism began in the 17th century and gained popular recognition in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The primary goal of the historical-critical method is to discover the text’s historical meaning in its original social and cultural context. Then, to explore the text’s contemporary meaning. Here correct translations are critically important. For example: What the early Christians called “ekklesia” in Greek is very different from “church.” The modern word “church” carries overtones of an official and legalized institution. The New Testament “ekklesia” was neither. The word “ekklesia” means “the called out ones.” Thus, the better New Testament translation in English should be “assembly” or “congregation.”

While often discussed in terms of Hebrew and Christian writings from ancient times, historical criticism applies as well to Islamic and other religious writings.

Daniel J. Harrington, S.J. (1940 – 2014), who served as professor of New Testament and chair of the Biblical Studies department at Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, formerly known as Weston Jesuit School of Theology, defined biblical historical criticism as “the effort at using scientific criteria, historical and literary, and human reason to understand and explain, as objectively as possible, the meaning intended by the biblical writers.”

As I mentioned last week, biblical texts contain a variety of literary forms such as history, symbol, folklore, and presumed or imagined historical scenarios. The Infancy Narratives in Matthew and Luke, which we will look at more closely in April, are good examples.

One legacy of biblical criticism in U.S. American culture was the fundamentalist movement of the 1920s and 1930s. Fundamentalism in the USA began, at least partly, as a Protestant response to the biblical criticism of the nineteenth century. Some fundamentalists believed that historical-critical believers had invented an entirely new religion completely at odds with the Christian faith.

In terms of my own Roman Catholic tradition, throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Roman Catholic theology avoided biblical criticism because of its reliance on rationalism, preferring instead to engage in “traditional” biblical understandings based on the narrow-focused works of the “Church Fathers.” The Catholic Church showed strong opposition to biblical criticism during that period.

The Roman Catholic dogmatic constitution Dei Filius (“Son of God”), approved by the First Vatican Council in 1871, rejected biblical criticism, reaffirming that the Bible was “written by God” and that it was “inerrant.” But that began to change in the final decades of the nineteenth century when, for example, the French Dominican Marie-Joseph Lagrange (1855–1938) established a school in Jerusalem called the École prátique d’études biblique, which became the École Biblique, to encourage study of the Bible using the historical-critical method.

At the same time, my alma mater the Catholic University of Leuven was exploring the historical-critical methodology that would become its hallmark. A major step was taken in 1889 with the creation of a course entitled “Critical History of the Old Testament” by Albin Van Hoonacker (1857 – 1933). This course was an early attempt to apply the historical-critical method to biblical texts. At a time when the historical-critical exploration of the Bible among Catholics was still highly controversial, Van Hoonacker became the first professor to teach an historical-critical understanding of the Hebrew Scriptures.

On 18 November 1893, Pope Leo XIII, pope from 1878 to 1903, promulgated the encyclical  Providentissimus Deus (“The most provident God”). That letter gave the first formal authorization for the use of critical methods in biblical scholarship.

The Catholic situation changed greatly, however, after Leo’s death and the election of Pope Pius X in 1903. A very staunch traditionalist, Pius X, who was pope from 1903 to 1914, saw biblical criticism as part of a growing and destructive “modernist” tendency in the Church. The École Biblique was shut down and Lagrange was called back to France.

Finally, in 1943, the lights came back on. Pope Pius XII, pope from 1939 to 1958, issued the papal encyclical Divino Afflante Spiritu (“Inspired by the Holy Spirit”) sanctioning historical criticism and opening a new epoch in Catholic critical scholarship.

Divino Afflante Spiritu encouraged scholars to investigate biblical texts utilizing recent discoveries in archeology, ancient history, and linguistics.

Then, in 1965, the dogmatic constitution Dei verbum (“Word of God”), approved by the Second Vatican Council, and promulgated by Pope Paul VI, further promoted biblical criticism.

The Second Vatican Council (“Vatican II”) was the twenty-first ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. It was convened by Pope John XXIII and had four sessions from October 1962 to December 1965. John XXIII, born in 1881, died in June 1963.

Pope Paul VI, born in 1897, was pope from 21 June 1963 to 6 August 1968. Succeeding John XXIII, he continued the Second Vatican Council, implementing its numerous reforms. The resulting reforms were among the widest and deepest in the Church’s history.

Raymond E. Brown (1928 – 1998), Joseph A. Fitzmyer (1920 -2016), and Roland E. Murphy (1917 – 2002) were the most famous U.S. Catholic scholars to apply biblical criticism and the historical-critical method in analyzing the Bible: together, they authored The Jerome Biblical Commentary in 1968 and The New Jerome Biblical Commentary in 1990.The latest version, The Jerome Biblical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century was published in 2022, edited by John J. Collins, Gina Hens-Piazza, Barbara Reid OP, and Donald Senior CP (1940 – 2022).

And so, we move forward in faith as critical-historical observers.

Jack

Dr. John Alonzo Dick – Historical Theologian