Jesus the Oracle
Author | : Annelies Gisela Moeser |
Publisher | : Lexington Books |
Total Pages | : 179 |
Release | : 2023-09-25 |
ISBN-10 | : 9781978711808 |
ISBN-13 | : 1978711808 |
Rating | : 4/5 (808 Downloads) |
Download or read book Jesus the Oracle written by Annelies Gisela Moeser and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2023-09-25 with total page 179 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Jesus the Oracle, Annelies Gisela Moeser reads Jesus’s journey from Capernaum to Jerusalem in Mark’s gospel through the cultural context of second/third century Roman Egypt. Moeser provides a rich description of the Egyptian practice of oracles, including processional oracles, to build a model with which to read Mark. This prism brings attention to descriptions of Jesus’s supernatural knowledge and wisdom, such as in the story of the Rich Man (Mk 10:17–22). In contrast to Clement of Alexandria’s homily on the Rich Man which counseled detachment from possessions, this reading from a non-elite perspective considers Jesus’s advice to be more radical. This model of processional oracles highlights the importance of access to the divine, including by non-elite crowds, by persons with disabilities (e.g., in comparing Bartimaeus [Mk 10:46–52] with Gemellus Horion of Karanis [a town in Egypt]), and by children. Traditional Egyptian religion upheld the existing sociopolitical regime. However, Jesus’s procession and proclamation of the basileia (reign) of G*d subverts the Roman world order and that of their local, elite allies.