This volume will unpack the seven allegations proposed by Scot McKnight in his article 'Calling Jesus Mamzer' in the inaugural volume of The Journal for the Historical Jesus (Volume 1.1 2003: 73-103).
Each essay will explore the historicity of each accusation and what they tell us about Jesus. McKnight and Modica propose that by examining these specific allegations, one can begin to comprehend a neglected dimension of historical Jesus studies, namely, that Jesus can be understood by what his opponents (critics) say of him. They contend that such an approach offers, as Malina and Neyrey have previously examined in Calling Jesus Names, a 'Christology from the side'.
There will be an introductory and concluding essay from the editors.
Scot McKnight (Ph.D. University of Nottingham) is Karl A. Olsson Professor in Religious Studies, North Park University, Chicago, Illinois. He is the author of numerous books on the New Testament, including the bestselling The Jesus Creed.
Chris Keith is Research Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society, Norway. He is the author of
The Pericope Adulterae, the
Gospel of John and the Literacy of Jesus, a winner of the 2010 John Templeton Award for Theological Promise, and
Jesus' Literacy: Scribal Culture and the Teacher from Galilee. He is also the co-editor of
Jesus among Friends and Enemies: A Historical and Literary Introduction to Jesus in the Gospels, and was recently named a 2012 Society of Biblical Literature Regional Scholar.
Joseph B. Modica (Ph.D. Drew University) is University Chaplain & Associate Professor of Biblical Studies, Eastern University, St. Davids, PA