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A critique of the argument from prophecy, showing how Gospel authors and Church Fathers manipulated biblical prophecy to show Jesus as their fulfillment.
It's obvious that Jesus fulfilled prophecies about the promised Messiah - or so the gospels make it seem. But the real story is more complex, and more compelling. In hindsight we can see that Jesus had help fulfilling prophecy. The gospel writers skillfully manipulated prophecies - carefully lifting them out of context, creatively reinterpreting them, even rewriting them - to match what Jesus would do in fulfilling them. The evangelists also used the prophecies themselves to shape the very stories that show their fulfillment. This book describes in detail how Christian authors "helped" Jesus fulfill prophecy. Studies of Greek oracles, the Dead Sea Scrolls, translations of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek and Aramaic, and the writings of Josephus explore the interpretive techniques that paved the way for the New Testament's manipulation of prophecy. This book analyzes how the belief that Jesus fulfilled prophecy became an argument to justify a new notion: the view that Christians had replaced Jews as God's chosen people. An aggressive anti-Judaism is analyzed in chapters on patristic theologians such as Justin Martyr and Augustine, who embedded it into the argument from prophecy. The book concludes with an ethical argument for why Christians should retire the argument from prophecy.
It's obvious that Jesus fulfilled prophecies about the promised Messiah - or so the gospels make it seem. But the real story is more complex, and more compelling. In hindsight we can see that Jesus had help fulfilling prophecy. The gospel writers skillfully manipulated prophecies - carefully lifting them out of context, creatively reinterpreting them, even rewriting them - to match what Jesus would do in fulfilling them. The evangelists also used the prophecies themselves to shape the very stories that show their fulfillment. This book describes in detail how Christian authors "helped" Jesus fulfill prophecy. Studies of Greek oracles, the Dead Sea Scrolls, translations of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek and Aramaic, and the writings of Josephus explore the interpretive techniques that paved the way for the New Testament's manipulation of prophecy. This book analyzes how the belief that Jesus fulfilled prophecy became an argument to justify a new notion: the view that Christians had replaced Jews as God's chosen people. An aggressive anti-Judaism is analyzed in chapters on patristic theologians such as Justin Martyr and Augustine, who embedded it into the argument from prophecy. The book concludes with an ethical argument for why Christians should retire the argument from prophecy.
Price: $39.95
Pages: 424
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Inc.
Imprint: Lutterworth Press
Publication Date:
26 January 2017
Trim Size: 9.02 X 6.02 in
ISBN: 9780718894443
Format: Paperback
BISACs:
RELIGION / Biblical Studies / General, Criticism and exegesis of sacred texts, Bibles
The fulfillment of prophecy has never been given its proper due by the critical scholar. Miller corrects that deficit with this compelling treatment of the claims of early (and modern) Christians about how Jesus fulfilled ancient Jewish prophecies. ... It is a meticulous, clear-eyed study that finally says what needed to be said.
— Stephen J. Patterson, George H. Atkinson Professor of Religious and Ethical Studies, Willamette University
— Stephen J. Patterson, George H. Atkinson Professor of Religious and Ethical Studies, Willamette University
Preface
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations and Short Titles
Introduction
Part 1: Prophecy, Prediction, and Fulfillment in Israel
1 Prophecy and Prediction in Ancient Israel
2 False Prophecies from True Prophets
3 Fixing Failed Prophecies
4 Prophecy as Mysterious Revelation: The Influence of Greece
5 The Fulfillment of Prophecy in the Dead Sea Scrolls
6 The Fulfillment of Prophecy in the Septuagint, the Targums, and Josephus
Part 2: The Fulfillment of Prophecy in the New Testament
7 The Fulfillment of Prophecy in the New Testament: Introduction
8 The Fulfillment of Prophecy in the Gospel of Matthew
9 The Fulfillment of Prophecy in the Gospel of Mark
10 The Fulfillment of Prophecy in the Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles
11 The Fulfillment of Prophecy in the Gospel of John
12 The Fulfillment of Prophecy in the Letters of Paul
13 The Fulfillment of Prophecy in the Epistle to the Hebrews
Part 3: The Argument from Prophecy in Patristic Thought
14 Justin Martyr and the Argument from Prophecy
15 Between Justin and Augustine
16 Augustine and the Argument from Prophecy
Part 4: Modern Reckoning with the Argument from Prophecy
17 Modern Christian Thought and the Fulfillment of Prophecy
18 Reckoning with the Argument from Prophecy
Appendix 1: Muhammad in the Bible?
Appendix 2: Adam and Edom
Translations of Ancient Sources
Bibliography
Ancient Texts Quoted
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations and Short Titles
Introduction
Part 1: Prophecy, Prediction, and Fulfillment in Israel
1 Prophecy and Prediction in Ancient Israel
2 False Prophecies from True Prophets
3 Fixing Failed Prophecies
4 Prophecy as Mysterious Revelation: The Influence of Greece
5 The Fulfillment of Prophecy in the Dead Sea Scrolls
6 The Fulfillment of Prophecy in the Septuagint, the Targums, and Josephus
Part 2: The Fulfillment of Prophecy in the New Testament
7 The Fulfillment of Prophecy in the New Testament: Introduction
8 The Fulfillment of Prophecy in the Gospel of Matthew
9 The Fulfillment of Prophecy in the Gospel of Mark
10 The Fulfillment of Prophecy in the Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles
11 The Fulfillment of Prophecy in the Gospel of John
12 The Fulfillment of Prophecy in the Letters of Paul
13 The Fulfillment of Prophecy in the Epistle to the Hebrews
Part 3: The Argument from Prophecy in Patristic Thought
14 Justin Martyr and the Argument from Prophecy
15 Between Justin and Augustine
16 Augustine and the Argument from Prophecy
Part 4: Modern Reckoning with the Argument from Prophecy
17 Modern Christian Thought and the Fulfillment of Prophecy
18 Reckoning with the Argument from Prophecy
Appendix 1: Muhammad in the Bible?
Appendix 2: Adam and Edom
Translations of Ancient Sources
Bibliography
Ancient Texts Quoted