Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies In The Gospels

Product Information

Bailey shares insights from Syrian and Arabic Christian thought about Jesus that are almost unknown to the rest of the world. He has the gift of communicating interesting ideas in a devotional way that church members who love God's Word will appreciate." L. R. K. As westerners, we tend to universalize our culture. Parables do speak to everyone, but we need to understand the Middle East context—or parables become ethics, not theology,” he said at the Calvin Symposium. The author includes three sections in each of most of chapters 11 through 32: rhetoric, commentary, and summary. Each rhetoric section includes his analysis of the structure of the passage under consideration. The parallelisms and his comments shed fascinating light on the biblical text.

Bailey on Jesus through Middle Eastern Eyes Kenneth E. Bailey on Jesus through Middle Eastern Eyes

I particularly enjoyed his egalitarian insights on men and women as partners in marriage and leadership of the church. In this section, he interspersed deft analysis with personal anecdotes of his experiences working among Mediterranean people. His perspectives on the commands for silence, and what that command did in fact mean were both intelligent, and easy to pass on to others as I teach this passage. Bailey begins by arguing that 1 Cor is Paul's most contemporary letter, holding along with an apparent cloud of witnesses throughout the historic Church (including Ambrosiaster, Chrysostom, Bishr ibn al-Sari, and Calvin) that this letter is not simply occasional but written to all the Church. And it's a letter "with a carefully designed inner coherence that exhibits amazing precision in composition and admirable grandeur in overall theological concept" with "five carefully constructed essays, which themselves showcase a discernible theological method." (25) Especially since the Enlightenment, people in the Western hemisphere tend to assume that reason is universal. A lay Christian might hear a scholar talking about biblical interpretation and think the scholar is saying that the Word is wrong. By now you may wonder whether Bailey believes the Bible is true. He does, andso passionatelythat he’s devoted his life to helping Christians “strip away layers of interpretive mythology that have built up around” biblical texts.The same word is translated as “upper room” in Luke 22:10-12. Arabic biblical translations have for more than a thousand years interpreted that word as house. When Luke meant a commercial inn, as in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), he used the Greek pandocheion. He also argues this outline reveals three principle ideas: the cross and resurrection (I, V); Men and women in the human family and in worship (II, IV); and Christian living among pagans (III). Bailey’s seven chapters on Jesus and women reveal how the Lord and the Gospel writers elevated women to a place of equality with men. These chapters discuss the woman at the well, the Syro-Phoenicean woman, the woman caught in adultery, and the woman in the house of Simon the Pharisee. Bailey’s discussion of the woman at the well is intriguing, for he discusses twelve “surprises” in the incident (pp. 202–13). Share examples of how Christians confuse culture with faith. Talk about what you’ve seen elsewhere and what you sense in your own tradition or church.

Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes - Google Books Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes - Google Books

Suddenly I see coral, seaweed, and fish. These undersea views in no way invalidate the beauty of what’s above. In my work, I’m looking for the coral and the fish.” Learn More So how does Bailey use his Middle Eastern experience and sources to help give us a sharper, crisper reading of 1 Corinthians? Look at some examples: Bailey has a gift of clear, lively expression; he takes advantage of his personal experiences, interest in Hebrew poetic structure, and knowledge of Arabic to bring insights into NT interpretation." Ruth B. Edwards My interpretation is not inspired. Our understanding of scripture has to be tentatively final. Sorry about the oxymoron. Today I have to be obedient. But tomorrow I will understand better. I am a sinner in need of Christ.” However difficult the passage, Bailey tries to help us understand what it really meant in the original language and in the culture of the time. He also helps us understand that Paul was writing in a format that was understood in his time and culture but is unfamiliar to modern Western readers. It's not written in a linear A, then B, then C, then D style, for the most part. Instead, the climax comes in the middle of a section, and the phrases leading up to and away from the climax mirror each other. It's a new way of looking at 1 Corinthians for me, but according to Bailey it's the original way, and the only way in which it can be fully understood.I find both this outline and these three principle ideas helpful, if not innovative. A glance through my commentaries on 1 Corinthians--Fee, Thiselton, Collins, Ciampa/Rosner, and Witherington--don't share his thematic outline, though Collins comes close who identifies 6 rhetorical "demonstrations." And from what I remember, and in my review of these commentaries in light of this review, I don't recall them drawing out the Hebraic rhetorical style that Bailey centers upon. In fact the most recent addition to the 1 Corinthians commentary library from Ciampa and Rosner state Paul uses Graeco-Roman rhetoric. Except a Hebraic rhetorical style culled from the prophets themselves is what Bailey argues for: "Using his own Jewish literary tradition, he built on the rhetoric of the classical writing prophets and composed a series of masterpieces not the topics he selected." (27) I love Ken Bailey's writing. His knowledge of the Middle East is amazing. Having spent the majority of his life living and teaching in the Middle East he has a unique view of the culture and of Biblical themes. A rich and fascinating anthology of exegetical essays reflecting on gospel texts through the lens of Middle Eastern culture and rhetoric. Bailey's exegetical discussions offer a treasure trove of cultural insights into the Jesus traditions of the Gospels. His essays highlght such issues as nationalism, violence, political oppression, inter-ethnic conflict, and joblessness. Bailey's christological insights are power and poignant." Dorothy Jean Weaver There is a yearning in every Christian age [to understand scriptural inspiration] as direct dictation from the Holy Spirit into the mind and hand of people who wrote the Bible,” saysKenneth E. Bailey. Middle Eastern cultures have valued family and hospitality for millennia. When Caesar Augustus decreed that people had to register for the census in their hometown, Joseph went to Bethlehem “because he belonged to the house and line of David” (Luke 2:4).

Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes - Kenneth Bailey - SPCK

Middle East scholar Kenneth Bailey's books, lectures, and more invite Christians to strip away cultural mythologies and worship the real Jesus of the Middle East. A feature story exploring the life of Jesus through his own Middle-Eastern culture. By: Joan Huyser-Honig Tags: culture, middle east, parables, symposium 2013 Feature Story posted on May 7, 2008 The Baileys now reside in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania. Dr. Bailey continues his ministry of lecturing, writing and recording in the field of New Testament. In June 1997, he was installed as Canon Theologian of the Diocese of Pittsburgh of the Episcopal Church, USA. A conceptual theologian creates meaning through logic and philosophy, which he or she may, then, illustrate. But an illustration is not a parable. An illustration is an attempt to understand an idea. A parable is a way to create meaning,” Bailey says. Beginning with Jesus’ birth, Ken Bailey leads you on a kaleidoscopic study of Jesus throughout the four Gospels. Bailey examines the life and ministry of Jesus with attention to the Lord’s Prayer, the Beatitudes, Jesus’; relationship to women, and especially Jesus’ parables.What is your reaction to Ken Bailey’s take on the Christmas story? Which changes might you like to make in your congregation’s Advent or Christmas services? Journal for the Study of the New Testament This book could serve as material for an adult or student Sunday school class. Laid out in simple format for easy absorption by readers, the author’s explanations of his findings require no formal training to follow and understand them. Particularly helpful are the summaries provided at the conclusion of each chapter. This book may very well establish Bailey’s legacy beyond dispute. The great strength of this work is the author's familiarity with Middle Eastern culture. He succeeds in shedding new light on well known Gospel stories from a cultural perspective. Another valuable contribution of this book is the introduction to, and interaction with, great Eastern commentaries long forgotten or largely unknown to Western Biblical Scholarship. A very readable book and will be profitable to various levels of readers. Anyone interested in understanding the New Testament from its own distinctive Middle Eastern cultural perspective ought to read this book." Mark Jason This is another solid contribution to the field of New Testament studies from Kenneth E. Bailey. Not quite as enjoyable or as potentially useful to the working pastor as his fine "Jesus through Middle-Eastern Eyes," it nonetheless contains several very helpful passages. The crux of Bailey's argument is that since Paul was a Jewish Pharisee (rabbi) then it makes sense that he would also use this same style. In other words, if the scripture Paul read was filled with this then it is probably how he thought too. Bailey sees this clearly in Paul's letter to the Corinthian church. He says that while scholars have tended to see 1 Corinthians as thrown together in response to problems in the church it is actually a well-thought out, intricately crafted series of essays that is for the whole, universal church, though it is motivated by specific concerns in Corinth.