Stephen Cook on Inspiration and Apocalyptic Literature
Among other things, I am currently reading through Stephen Cook‘s The Apocalyptic Literature in Abingdon’s Interpreting Biblical Texts series. I will have a full review up later, but I’d like to share a couple quotes here. In his first second chapter, “The Danger of Domesticating The Apocalyptic Texts,” Stephen attempts to find a balance between the various interpretive extremes. As a little nugget in that chapter, he shares some thoughts on inspiration:
The apocalyptic texts of the Bible did not come directly from God in any sort of pure form, but bear distinct marks of transmission by finite human authors and editors. As human literature, the biblical apocalyptic texts have blind spots against which an approach of submissive credulity has no defense.
Cook is countering those who take apocalyptic texts too “literally” (or “credulously”) in this quote. On the other hand, he also takes jabs at “overly suspicious” readers of apocalyptic literature:
Beginning in the seventeenth century, there was an eclipse of the Bible’s narrative storyline, of its textual art, and of its theological vitality. Abandoning the biblical literature as a theological witness, interpreters of the modern period substituted an anthropological study of the Bible. Their interests shifted to the Bible’s original authors and the quest of these authors for religious understanding and meaning in life. The Bible’s apocalyptic literature, unfortunately does not fare well when evaluated in these “anthropological” terms.
So, in Cook’s estimation, we’ve got to find the balance between “human literature” and “theological witness.” Should be easy enough . . .
Biblical Studies Carnival 43, Or, The Apocalypse of Eve
My fellow bibliobloggers and biblioblog readers, I have tremendous news! I have discovered a new ancient document, heretofore never published! I discovered this document at the beginning of June and have worked tirelessly to decode its original script.
Using my advanced technological resources, I have dated the document to the late second century CE. Most astounding of all, this document includes a narrative revelation of the mysteries of the biblioblogging of June 2009. Thus, rather than actually doing the carnival for myself, I have simply translated this work so that we can all revel in its uncanny accuracy. Below is my transcript, with the accompanying links where appropriate. The prophecies are a bit fuzzy and there are strange translation issues, but if you hover over the links, those should be descriptive enough for our modern understanding of things.
___________________________________
I, Eve, daughter of life and mother of light record the mysteries revealed to me by the Most High, Father and King of heaven. This scroll unveils the secrets of many scrolls, each scroll in its own cloud, approaching from the four corners of the cosmos. Each scroll spews forth from the mouth of a distinct figure having the appearance of a human being, the messengers of wisdom.
Concerning the first mysteries, a great door opened and I heard an ancient voice.
Douglas the Gun shall inquire into the writings of another voice concerning the timing of a scroll of the Law. Calvin of the Park whose Hat Flops shall reveal two heads in this saying and that saying. Amanda of the Park whose Hat Flops will cry out to Adonai, plumbing the depths of the lamentable words.
Duane the Smith shall call for any idiot to answer his questions from an ancient language, to unveil the meaning of KAL DILI. The Smith will also search for the omens in old songs.
Coming from the East, Michael the Satlow arose and taught me about the dynasty of the Hasmonean kings of old.
Christopher who Hears will report the way of the teachers of the Language of the Old Mysteries. Kevin the Comber of the Edge shall seek the mysteries of the Jews and the Old Books, revealing One Called Semler as their enemy. Julia Daughter of the Exalted One will share with the faithful the wisdom of reading the Ancient Scriptures, once, twice, three times, four times. John the Saint of the Hobbits will report upon a copy of the Old Books, preserved in beauty. Douglas the Gun shall report upon the Old Mysteries revealed within the earth.
Concerning our Lord and the new mysteries, another door opened with the clang of a symbol.
Out of a southeastern river, I saw a hawk rise in the sky. The hawk heralded the new beginning of a wise man, proclaiming, “The bloggings of Brandon the Wason have risen!” In that time, Mark of the Good Land will unveil his true voice to the world. His voice shall whisper the secrets of the New Scriptures for each person to treasure for themselves. This Man of the Good Land will also proclaim regarding the sayings of our Lord, defending against the heresy of the secret scroll.
“In those days, James from the West shall share the proclamations of Marvin the Vinemaker that the Lord was the Wicked Priest to the Essenes of old.” I asked the messenger, “What strange spirit possesses this maker of vines to make these claims?” The man replied, “Such mysteries are hidden even from you, Eve.”
The Woman of the Fourth Month of the Conick will unveil in her scrolls how followers have proclaimed our Lord again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again.
In those days, Joel of the Lightning who calls himself the Martyr will explore him and it and the Word from the beginning of John’s account of our Lord–pointing the mysteries of other writings on the same topic. James the Son of Grace shall question the meaning of the Word become flesh. The Son of Grace will have written his own scroll revealed in those times.
The Man of Marx will rise up to challenge the Apostle, calling the Apostle a liar. James the Gregorian will examine the meanings of a single word, the word of the Apostle: The Gregorian called out to the earth: “Give!” Kevin of the Skull will place in order the messengers who comment upon the Apostle’s words to the Philippians. Jason the Great One shall report upon the Apostle and the Law.
And there shall be a great many voices from among the messengers calling out regarding The Bishop Called Wright, one and another and another and another and another and another and another and another and another and another and another.
Greg of the Pleasant Stream will unveil the neglected words of the New Mysteries here and there and here and there and here and there again.
Michael of Coca-Cola shall reveal the mysteries of the segments of times.
Darrell who Pierces the Valley arose and taught me about the gathering of the New Scriptures.
And there were other various mysteries swirling in a great cloud, being revealed one after another.
In the great multitude there will be those who can control their bodies in such a fashion as to make musical sounds with their buttocks without foul smell. From among this number, David the Miller will search for Greek words rising from the ground of holy lands. Michael of the Thistle Patches will fight with the many headed beasts rising from various scrolls. James from the Village will be a messenger for the many messengers of Enoch.
Ken the Schenk shall dive into the pit of Scriptural errors, shining within it a bright light.
Roland the Farmer will attack the angry gaurdians of the scroll collectors.
The mysteries of James from the West shall be written on a scroll dedicated to the man.
And I looked and I saw a great fire. The fire was divided into a multitude of burning scrolls. There were five burning scrolls in each group and each group represented a single messenger: Ken from the Brown Lands, Brandon the Wason, Jared the Pebble, Kevin of the Skull, The Daniel and The Tonya, James the Son of Grace, Art the Ball Maker, Douglas the Gun, John the Saint of Hobbits, Michael of Coca-Cola, Nicholas the Norelli, The Man Crowned with Laurel from a Thorn Tree [Not Jesus], Judy the Red Woman, Douglas the Chantry Priest, Darrell who Pierces the Valley, James of the Good God, Kevin the Comber of the Edge, John the Son of Andrew, Scott the Attendent of the Castle, Brian the Minister, Claude the Mariottini, Michael the Barber, Michael the Bird Watcher, and many others.
In the end, the fires shall transform into gold and the Garden shall be renewed. And the Sons and Daughters of Wisdom shall know the truth. Amen, Amen, and Amen.
___________________________________
I am certain that you are all as astounded as I am at the odd beauty (and specificity) of this document! I am going to have to rethink my understanding of prophecy and apocalyptic literature.
I also have to say just how amazing Ken Brown must feel to have not only created such a successful meme among biblioblogs, but also to have had the success of his idea predicted hundreds of years ago. Unbelievable.
If you feel that the prophet has missed important discussions from the past month of biblioblogging, please do share them in the comments. But don’t blame me, I’m just the translator.
Two Views of History: Apocalyptic and Prophetic/Deuteronomic
In his survey courses at UCLA, Scott Bartchy often highlights the difference between the “prophetic view of history” and the “apocalyptic view of history.” As he outlines the topic, the prophetic view sees history as a series of cycles, in which things get bad, but the people of Israel can reverse the downwards course of history through repentance (the “optimistic” view). The apocalyptic view basically sees history moving in a downward direction and nothing can stop it, calling for a cataclysmic and radical break in history and God’s intervention (the “pessimistic” view).
I have just been reading through Daniel and some of John Collins’ writing on the book. Collins makes a point that connects the supplication of Daniel in chapter 9–an odd passage in relation to the whole of Daniel–with Bartchy’s basic theory:
Most important, the theology of prayer contrasts sharply with the apocalyptic framework of Daniel. The logic of the prayer is that the affliction of Jerusalem is a punishment for sin and will be removed if the people repent and pray. Yet when the angel arrives he tells Daniel that the response was sent forth at the beginning of his supplication (in effect without waiting to hear it) and he emphasizes that the end is decreed. In short, events will follow their predetermined course, irrespective of prayer and repentance. Whether this prayer was deliberately placed here by the author to show this contrast or was inserted by a later redactor, it neatly highlights a fundamental difference between the apocalyptic view of history and the traditional Deuteronomic theology. In the apocalpytic view, the course of events is predetermined. This does not mean that there is no room for human freedom. People can determine their own destiny by their reactions, but they cannot change the course of events. [The Apocalyptic Imagination, 108-9]
What Bartchy calls the “prophetic” view seems equivalent to Collins’ mention of the “Deuteronomic” view. What do you think? Is this a fair dichotomy? Can we point to two distinct views of history in early Judaism and Christianity?
To Whom Does Knowledge Belong?
I had an “aha” moment reading the Book of the Watchers (1 Enoch 1-36) this weekend. As far as I can tell, this question (To whom does knowledge belong?) is the root of any connection between wisdom and apocalyptic literature. Can it really be that easy? This quarter we have been wading through swamps of nuanced attempts to uncover the social history of wisdom literature. I think several of us in the seminar have been a bit bewildered by the topic.
Just this week we made the transition to discussing wisdom and apocalyptic together, using Ben Sira and the Book of the Watchers. As I was rereading 1 Enoch–perhaps my favorite ancient text outside the biblical canon (Perpetua and Felicitas is a contender as well)–it just hit me. What is wisdom literature about? The pursuit of knowledge. What is apocalyptic literature about? The revelation of hidden things. Both genres are focused upon access to knowledge and the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate knowledge. I’m not saying that the two genres (wisdom and apocalyptic) have the same approach to the question, but it appears they share the question in common.
These are some of the things that sparked my epiphany . . . The Book of the Watchers discusses the scandalous acts of the “bad angels” who swoop down to earth not only to have sex with and make wives out of human women, but also to unveil hidden secrets that had disastrous consequences. 1 Enoch says that Asael (though he was not alone!) “has taught all iniquity on the earth, and has revealed eternal mysteries that are in heaven” (9:6). Later, Enoch notices the “tree of wisdom, whose fruit the holy ones eat and learn great wisdom” (32:4). This is the tree that “your father of old and your mother of old . . . ate and learned wisdom. And their eyes were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they were driven from the garden” (32:6). So, two Genesis stories (Adam and Eve, and Gen 6) exemplify the inappropriate disbursement of knowledge.
God, of course, sees all things: “there is nothing that can be hidden from you” (9:5). For now, aside from God and the heavenly beings, Enoch alone (the “righteous scribe”!) has access to the divine secrets. But at the final judgment, “wisdom will be given to all the chosen” (5:8). Enoch–another Genesis reference–exemplifies the appropriate acquiring of knowledge. The chosen holy ones will also enter into that knowledge when the time is right.
A Biblical Studies Scholar from 1955 Wakes Up…
. . . after sleeping through the last half century. You have to update him (probably a “him”) on the developments in scholarship regarding apocalypticism. What do you say? That was the mental exercise we played in Boustan’s seminar yesterday.
It was interesting to try to pin down what might be this gentleman’s perspective. We need to know what he knows before we update him. So, he’s probably working under the assumption that apocalypticism is a popular or populist movement driven by an ideology formed in crisis or persecution (often compared with other “millenarian” movements). This understanding would be set up against the established–perhaps “institutionalized”–tradition.
This understanding goes back to Max Weber’s dichotomy between the priest and the prophet. The priest is embedded within the institutionalized structures and their authority is generated by their status within those structures. The prophet is imagined to be a charismatic leader, whose authority is derived simply from the leader’s own charisma. Weber has preference for charismatic leaders as the force for change in world history. He believes the early charisma is always institutionalized if the movement continues. All that to say there is an underlying bias here: prophet = good and priest = bad.
Boustan asked if this hypothetical person would “like” apocalyptic writings. There was some disagreement in the seminar about this. I thought that the fictional 50′s scholar would not like apocalyptic writings because, in general, I believe the bias of embarrassment by apocalyptic thought (See Weiss, Schweitzer, and later, Koch) would still be more likely than a Marxist Bible scholar.
Even though the apocalyptic writings would have been conceived in the tradition of prophecy (and prophecy is a good thing viz-a-viz Weber), apocalyptic would have been a kind of corruption of that tradition.
Since the 70′s, in addition to the definitional issues, we would have to update this fictional scholar on the developments in the relation between Wisdom and Apocalypticism. That is, more and more, scholars see apocalyptic literature as learned and scribal. Jonathan Z. Smith called apocalyptic literature “Wisdom without a royal patron.” And that theme is what we’ll be talking about this quarter in our seminar.
-
Elsewhere . . .- Blog titles beginning with "A" to "Z" on your reader Mark Goodacre
- Of making many books there is no end Chris Brady
- Free Online: The Liddell-Scott Jones Lexicon S and C
- Does Higher Criticism Attempt to “Destroy the Bible”? II agathos
- Steven J. Friesen and the Identity of Satan’s Throne in Pergamum alan
- Does Higher Criticism Attempt to “Destroy the Bible”? agathos
- Bloomsbury buys Continuum Mark Goodacre
- Imperial America Peter J. Leithart
- C.F.D. Moule on the Birth of the New Testament d. miller
- Responding to Kostenberger (with comparisons to Marshall) Jeremiah
-
As a member of RevGalBlogPals, I am committed to building a supportive online community for women clergy, women church professionals, and women in religious life.
Research assisted by: