Writing Projects For 2020

As a research professor, my course load is reduced that I may spend time on research and writing projects. Here is how things are shaping up for the months ahead:

A. Ready to be published:

The T & T Clark Social Identity Commentary will be released in February. I contributed the commentaries on 2 Peter and Jude.

B. Presently writing:

1. “Birth of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel,” in A Handbook of Matthew’s Gospel. Craig A. Evans, editor (Hendrickson).

2. “The Work of Christ,” in A Handbook of Theology. David Dockery, editor (Broadman Holman).

3. Songs of Resistance: Challenging Caesar and the Empire. Full length book.

Society of New Testament Studies

Plans are underway for the July 2020 meeting of the Society of New Testament Studies, which will be held in Rome, Italy at the Pontifical University. Below is a picture of the campus with Saint Peter’s Basilica in the background.

Brian Tucker and I join our sponsors Drs. William Campbell, Kathy Ehrensperger, Robert Brawley, along with spouses and friends in San Diego to 

celebrate our election into the Society of New 

Testament Studies.

Friends at SBL

Got to see and talk with some of my favorite people at SBL meeting in San Diego: James Hill (former student and PhD candidate at Northwestern University), Ryan Stokes (Prof at Carson Newman), J. Brian Tucker (Prof at Moody Theo. Sem.), Chris Spinks (Editor at Cascade Books), William S. Campbell (my Doktorvater @ U of Wales), Kathy Ehrensperger (Prof @ Univ of Potsdam, Germany), Robert Brawley (Prof Emeritus, McCormick Theo Sem).

Some of those I missed seeing this year at SBL: Peter Davids, Chris Zoccali, Daniel Streett, Charles Seville, Ed Pillar, Everett Berry, David Burnett, Eugene Merrill. Maybe next year!

THE ALTERNATIVE STORY

Victors write history.

Readers are given a one-sided perspective that often portrays the winners as heroes and champions of a noble cause. Recently one of my nieces quoted the following proverb that drives home the point:

“Until the lion learns to write, every story will glorify the hunter.”

There is no such thing as objective history until all sides have spoken. Even then discernment is needed to sift through “the facts.”

For example, Columbus’ version of discovering the new world must be balanced by the natives’ version. Until the marginalized, conquered, enslaved, disenfranchised, persecuted, and poor are given a voice, history will reflect only the selective memory of the elites. The “people’s history” must be told.

If we read only the official first-century Roman account of Jesus’ life and death, we learn that Jesus was a minor, even insignificant, revolutionary situated in the far eastern section of the Empire. He stirred up trouble, and the Roman bureaucracy and native retainers brought him swiftly to justice, executed him, and dispersed his followers. That’s the version approved by the authorities.

The account written from “below” tells another story—how God raised Jesus from the dead and enthroned him as king of the universe. Rome’s days were numbered. Caesar’s power over the world would come to an end. Jesus is the earth’s rightful ruler who will return to claim his possession. The NT is the alternative story that must be taken into account.

According to NT scholar Scot McKnight: 

“God did not reveal to us a systematic theology,” referring to a topical approach that funnels the teachings of the Bible into particular sets of rules or categorical systems. Instead, he “allowed different people to express his message in different ways, in different contexts.”

SUBVERSIVE SONGS

I am currently working on a book that examines and analyzes NT songs, which when interpreted in light of their socio-political context shows them to contain subversive lyrics and, at times, hidden transcripts. As such they present an alternative vision for the world in comparison to that of the Empire. To bolster and illustrate, I draw an analogy between these first-century songs and more modern songs of various genres ( e.g. negro spirituals, anti war, civil rights, reggae, hip hop, etc.) that are typically sung by those living in perceived oppressive societies and serve the same purpose as NT songs.

Baptism as a Politically Subversive Act

Jesus and his followers, both Jews and Gentiles, did not live in a sociopolitical vacuum. They were subjects of an ever-expanding and oppressive empire that conquered and controlled nations. Operating as a political domination system, Rome knew how to keep people in their place and had the means necessary to succeed at the task.

See Also: Caesar and the Sacrament: Baptism, A Rite of Resistance (Cascade Books, 2018).

By R. Alan Streett

Senior Research Professor of Biblical Theology

Criswell College, Dallas, Texas

The Birth of an Empire

After the assassination of Julius Caesar, and with the Republic in turmoil, a struggle for power ensued between Marc Antony (Caesar’s trusted young lieutenant) and Gaius Octavian (Caesar’s grandnephew and adopted son). In a stroke of genius, Octavian sought support from a neglected and weakened Senate. Emboldened by his deference to them, the Senate gave Octavian their backing and named Antony an “Enemy of the State.” Antony fled for his life. Octavian pursued and finally defeated him in the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE. 

The good news (euangelion) of his victory moved the masses to proclaim Octavian their savior (soter) who singlehandedly brought “peace and security” to Rome. 

In 27 BCE Octavian symbolically returned power to the Senate and took the title princeps, meaning “first among equals.” The Senate, in appreciation of his magnanimity, named him “Augustus” or magnificent one. Despite his apparent self-effacement, he gladly accepted the moniker. Claiming Rome had a manifest destiny to rule the earth on behalf of the gods, Octavian “Augustus” Caesar assumed complete power over all Roman territories. 

Rome became an imperial juggernaut. Historians generally agree that Augustus transformed Rome into an “empire” (Latin, imperium) and reigned as its first “emperor” (Latin, imperator). As “king of kings” he ruled over all client kings of conquered countries who, in turn, pledged their total allegiance to Octavian. Any challenge to his rule was considered an act of sedition and punishable by death. He was Lord and master of all. When the Senate bestowed divine status on Julius Caesar posthumously (Divus Iulius), Augustus assumed the title “Son of God.” 

Rome as a Domination System

In the Empire only two classes of people existed: ruling elites and the ruled, dominators and the dominated. The latter had no say in governmental decisions. A pyramid-like social structure with the emperor and his cronies at the top and the lowliest and marginalized at the bottom guaranteed that all wealth worked its way upward—the rest lived at a subsistence level. Everyone knew their place in the societal pecking order. The majority kept their heads down in public, submitted to authority, worked from dawn to dusk, paid taxes, kept a low profile, and went about their business. They rarely challenged the official Roman narrative. They formed patron-client relationships and paid homage to Caesar. 

Rome utilized forced labor, excessive taxes, land confiscation, social stratification, patronage, political collaborators, civic religion (emperor worship), and military might to exploit and keep people in line. 

On behalf of their emperor Roman generals and their troops marched to the edges of the Empire and offered “peace and security” (pax Romana) to any nation that submitted and pledged loyalty to Caesar. Rome invaded, conquered, and enslaved those nations that refused. 

An Oath of Allegiance 

Caesar required certain individuals as well as nations to make a public vow of faithfulness. This oath of allegiance was called a sacramentum. According to Van Slyke, there are 150 extant references to sacramentum in ancient Roman literature.[1]

Roman dictator Julius Caesar was the first to use sacramentum in a military sense (Caesar, Bell. Gall. 6.1; Bell. Civ. 1.86; 2.28). He described it as a voluntary oath taken by soldiers upon entering the Roman army.  

Livy (ca 59 BCE‒17 CE) likewise noted that sacramentum was used during the Republic era as a soldier’s oath of obedience, administered by a consul, which obligated a soldier to obey his superiors and not to abandon his comrades-in-arms. The verbalized ritual thus served as a covenant or agreement between officers and soldiers, and was a required to serve in the military (Livy, Hist. 22.38). Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BCE‒43 BCE) wrote that when General Popilius chose to disband one of his Legions, young Cato wanted to continue serving in the army. His father said the general “should swear him into service with a new oath of allegiance,” since his original sacramentum was no longer legally binding (Cicero, Off. 1.11.36).  

According to Roman senator and historian Tacitus (56 CE‒117 CE) sacramentum was defined during the Empire era as the verbal pledge of allegiance a soldier gave to his emperor. Tacitus also spoke of “receiving the sacrament” (sacramentum acciperent) because the oath was being administered to the soldier on behalf of the emperor (Tacitus, Hist. 1.56). Soldiers were generally required to take the sacrament only once during their career, although the object of their oath changed from one Caesar to the next (Tacitus, Ann. 1).[2]

Because a sacramentum was considered sacred and taken in front of witnesses—both humans and deities—it was irrevocable. Those breaking faith faced penalties ranging from shame to death (Livy, Hist. 28.27). 

A Counter-Imperial Sacramentum

Christ-followers borrowed the term sacramentum and used it to express their fealty to Christ and his kingdom. 

Tertullian (160 CE‒225 CE) identified baptism specifically as the Christian sacramentum and contrasted it to a Roman soldier’s pledge of loyalty to the Emperor and Empire (Tertullian, Bapt. 4.4–5; Idol. 19.2). Just as a soldier upon his oath of allegiance was inducted into Caesar’s army, so a believer was initiated by the sacrament of baptism into God’s kingdom. Each vowed faithful service to his god and kingdom. 

Baptism cannot be properly understood apart from locating it within the context of the Roman Empire and in relationship to Roman power. 

As the locus and earthly manifestation of God’s restored kingdom, the church in the first century was the very antithesis of the Roman Empire. When Christ-followers submitted to baptism and pledged their allegiance to a kingdom other than Rome and a king other than Caesar, they participated in a politically subversive act. Through the sacramentum of baptism they joined a movement that rejected Rome’s public narrative, ideology, hierarchical social order, and Caesar’s claim to be Lord over all. 

From its inception, the Jesus Movement was a threat to the social order of the Empire.. 

As a sacramentum, baptism was a “boundary crossing ritual,”[3] a proverbial line drawn in the sand. When crossed, it meant breaking formal ties with the past, declaring fealty to another Lord, and accepting a new and alternative identity—that of a Christ-follower. Hence, baptism was a political act of subversion, a rite of resistance against the prevailing power structures that often led to persecution and even death.

Baptism as a Rite of Resistance

The Gospel writers trace the beginning of the Jesus Movement to the ministry of John the Baptizer, whose priestly father was part of the Temple establishment. Breaking with family tradition John donned the garb of a prophet and publicly announced the imminent arrival of God’s reign. The kingdom of God would be restored to Israel and extend outward until it encompassed the world. To prepare for the kingdom, John called on God’s people to: 1) “Repent,” i.e. abandon former allegiances and turn to covenant faithfulness, and 2) “be baptized,” i.e. submit to a sin-cleansing water ritual. Many heeded the call, but Jewish leaders—those forsaking the covenant and walking hand-in-hand with Rome—refused.

When Jesus aligned himself with the coming kingdom by submitting to John’s sacrament of baptism, it triggered a heavenly response. A voice identified Jesus as the “Son of God” and the Spirit descended, empowering Jesus to heal, cast out demons, and speak for God. 

As John and Jesus preached a counter-narrative to the State’s official public transcript, they found themselves in direct conflict with State authorities and paid for that stance with their lives.

According to the sanctioned Roman account, Jesus’ death ended his mission. But the Gospel writers present an alternative ending to the story—that Jesus emerged from the grave as he had from the baptismal waters. They claimed that God vindicated Jesus and gave him all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt 28:18), i.e. over Caesar, his client kings, and the demonic powers behind the throne. 

The Gospel of Matthew chronicles that the resurrected Jesus commanded his loyal apostles to “go and make disciples of all nations” (v19). These were the same nations conquered and controlled by Rome. Their assignment was clear, but it was also controversial. It included calling the converts to adhere to the Mosaic Covenant as explained by Jesus (Matt 5‒7) and summonsing them to make a sacramentum to God and his authorized king: “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt 28:20).[4]

In the Lukan account, Jesus instructs his disciples to wait in Jerusalem for God to pour out his Spirit on them before launching out. Imbued with power from on high, they were to spread the good news of kingdom renewal throughout “Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).[5] Theirs would be a long-term and arduous assignment. To call on Caesar’s subjects to transfer their allegiance to another by means of a sacramentum meant danger was ahead. Their task was as much political as it was religious.

What price did Jews and Gentiles pay for making a sacramentum to Christ? Although circumstances varied, few if any Christ-followers escaped persecution. For the purposes of this short essay, we will look at three case scenarios—one Jewish and two Gentile.

Jews and the Sacramentum

Upon the arrival of the Spirit, Peter stood on the steps of the Temple and proclaimed to the visiting pilgrims, “Let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him (Jesus) whom you crucified both Lord and Christ” (2:28). He then exhorted them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation” (v 41).

Cut to the heart they cried out, “What should we do?” 

Peter’s answer was clear and unequivocal, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (v. 38).

Turning their backs on former allegiances (repentance) and making their sacramentum(baptism) to the one whom Rome and its Jewish collaborators executed as an enemy of the State, they joined the kingdom restoration movement. But at what cost?

Since baptized Jewish-Christ followers were still considered Jews, they likely escaped direct persecution from Roman authorities, based on an agreement with General Pompey in 64 BCE, that Jews had the right to practice their religion as long as they did not seek to proselytize Gentiles. However, Jewish devotees surely faced pushback in the synagogue from fellow non-messianic Jews and possibly from native retainers (Acts 4:1‒4; 7:58‒59; 9:23; 12:1‒5; 13:50; 14:19; 16:19‒24; 17:5‒9).[6]

Gentiles and the Sacramentum

As the good news of the kingdom reached Gentiles, how did their pledge of faith to Christ affect their social and political fortunes?

Unlike Jewish believers associated with the synagogue, Gentiles had no religious protection. New Gentile Christ-followers were forbidden from sharing in cultic meals, worshiping family deities, or making a sacrifice to Caesar. Their sacramentum to a Lord other than Caesar might be viewed as seditious. They stood out like a sore thumb. As a result, they faced ostracism from family and friends, lost client status with their patrons, and were marked as atheists and subversives. 

Imagine the adverse reaction to the Philippian jailer after his conversion. As a resident of a Roman colony, he was likely a retired soldier who for years had kept inviolate his sacramentum to Caesar. He had been rewarded with citizenship and a nice government job. What did it mean for him to turn his back on the source of his livelihood and pledge loyalty to an alternative kingdom and embrace a counter-imperial ethic based on neighborly love, egalitarianism, and mercy? One can only imagine what it was like for the jailer and his family to join the kingdom community in Lydia’s home, eat a meal in Jesus’ name and sing praises to the one . . . 

                        Who, though he was in the form of God,

                                    did not regard equality with God

                             as something to be exploited [grasped], 

                        but emptied himself,

                                    taking the form of a slave,

                                    being born in human likeness.

                                    And being found in human form, 

                  he humbled himself and became obedient                                                                                      to the point of death—even death on a cross.   

                          Therefore God also highly exalted him

                                    and gave him the name

                                    that is above every name, 

                        so that at the name of Jesus

                                    every knee should bend,

                             in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 

                        and every tongue should confess

                                    that Jesus Christ is Lord,

                                    to the glory of God the Father (Phil 2:5‒11).

This song contains strong anti-imperial language. Consider the ramifications for the jailer and his family if a fellow citizen saw him worshipping and singing this hymn.[7]

Or take the case of the Gentile Christ-followers dispersed throughout “Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia” who are addressed in 1 Peter 1:1.

Some scholars suggest First Peter was written as a baptismal homily or a set of instructions offered to newly baptized believers at the time of their admission into church membership. Whether or not this is so, we are certain that the letter is addressed to baptized believers, who after pledging their fidelity to the exalted Lord Jesus, faced persecution and possibly even death (3:13‒17; 4:12‒19). Over twenty times the author mentions they suffered for their faith. Since no national persecution was underway at the time of the writing, one suspects that they faced castigation and torment at the hands of local Gentiles. 

For Gentiles to reject local and national deities and align with a religion that had no visible gods was an egregious offense. The writer warns the readers not to renounce their faith when faced with persecution or use inappropriate means to withstand satanic attack. Instead they were to emulate Christ who suffered and died at the hands of Rome (1:19; 2:21–25; 3:18). As they embraced and followed the alternative ethics of God’s kingdom, they fulfilled their baptismal vows.

In the genre of a Testament, the author admonishes his readers that upon his death they must remain faithful to Christ regardless of cost. He reminds them of their baptismal vow and calls it their “pledge (eperotema) to God from a good conscience” (3:15), thus making it synonymous with sacramentum.[8]

To convey the serious danger Gentile Christ-followers in the region faced, we need look no farther than the letter of Pliny the Younger (61‒113 CE) to Emperor Trajan. As governor of Bithynia, Pliny voices his concern over the Jesus Movement, which he calls a “contagion.” 

Pliny reports that he interrogated those identified as Christians who “pledge themselves by a sacramentum.” If, after three cross-examinations, they denied Christ, willingly prayed to the Roman gods, and presented a drink offering to the image of Caesar, the recanters were freed. On the other hand, those who persisted in the faith were executed. Roman citizens found guilty were sent to Rome for trial (Pliny, Ep. 10.96).

The Times They Are a Changing

The church in the first century, as the locus and earthly manifestation of God’s reign, was the antithesis of the Roman Empire. When the first Christ-followers submitted to baptism in the name of Jesus they joined a revolution that Rome perceived as a threat to the accepted social order. The earliest believers embraced an egalitarian ethic in which social justice and neighborly love were the hallmarks of the movement. The sacrament of baptism was the first step in radically redefining one’s life in accord with covenantal kingdom principles. To break with the predominant culture and follow Christ was often costly.

With the passing of time the lines became blurred between Church and culture. The meaning of baptism as a counter-imperial sacrament faded from sight. During the age of Constantinian Christianity baptism morphed into a sign of respectability and cultural acceptability.  

The church in the twenty-first century, especially in the West, still suffers from amnesia. It has lost consciousness of baptism as a rite of resistance. It has forgotten its kingdom mandate to embrace and exhibit an alternative ethic in the midst of a culture of domination. 

Baptism’s subversive significance has long been muted. It is not uncommon for a newly baptized individual to discover that the church s/he joins is powerful, wealthy, and operates like a Fortune 500 company. The church has exchanged its camel hair for a scarlet robe, and its prophetic voice has ceased as it seeks a place at the table with other powerbrokers.

The time has come for scholars and clerics to reexamine and recapture the original sacramental meaning of baptism as a rite of resistance. We must go back in order the impact the future. The appeal to be baptized must again become a call for a transformed public life that reflects Christ-likeness in the midst of a culture of violence and human oppression. 

References

DeMaris, Richard E. The New Testament in its Ritual World. London: Routledge, 2008.

Reicke, Bo. The Epistles of James, Peter and Jude. The Anchor Bible 37. New York: Doubleday, 1964.

Streett, R. Alan. Caesar and the Sacrament: Baptism, a Rite of Resistance. Eugene: Cascade, 2018.

Van Slyke, Daniel G. “The Changing Meanings of Sacramentum: Historical Sketches.” Antiphon: A Journal for Liturgical Renewal 11.3 (2007).

________.“Sacramentum in Ancient Non-Christian Authors.” Antiphon: A Journal for Liturgical Renewal 9.2 (2005).

[1] Van Slyke, “Sacramentum in Ancient Non-Christian Authors,” 167.

[2] An exception to this practice occurred only in case of an extreme emergency when masses of soldiers had to be recruited and deployed at a moment’s notice. In such times soldiers either took the oath en masse or skipped it entirely. (Tacitus, Hist. 1.55).

[3] DeMaris, New Testament, 102.

[4] The Trinitarian baptism formula likely reflects the church’s understanding of baptism at the time Matthew was written (ca 86 CE).

[5] The first disciples likely interpreted this to mean they were to take the message of Jesus to Jews scattered throughout the Empire. By the time Luke’s Gospel is distributed (ca 86 CE), the readers understand the command to include Gentiles as well.

[6] A divide between messianic and non-messianic Jews occurred after the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 CE and reached a breaking point in 135 CE. 

[7] Many commentators miss the strong anti-imperial language which characterizes this song because they approach it from a theological perspective and give little attention to its socio-historical context. When one considers that the opening phrase “equality with God” was used to describe the Roman emperor, the song becomes a political statement. To Romans, no one deserved the same status as the emperor. According to the hymn, Jesus, unlike Caesar, does not exploit his divine position but chose to live humbly, accepting the status of a slave. Even when facing crucifixion he did not exercise his authority or use force to defeat his adversaries and free himself, but rather trusted God for deliverance. In fact, the song speaks of his death as an act of obedience to God (v 8).

The second stanza begins with the word “therefore,” and shows that because Jesus chose the path of obedient submission, God vindicated and exalted him above his adversaries to the rank of Lord, a position he did not seek (vv 9‒11). To assert that “Jesus is Lord” meant that Caesar was not! This pronouncement was a slap in Rome’s imperial face. The one Rome crucified as a criminal, God ironically gives “a name that is above every name” (v 9). 

The hymn goes on to say “every knee” will bow to him and “every tongue” (including those of Caesar and Roman senators, along with Roman and native elites) will confess “Jesus Christ is Lord.” 

When the hymn is interpreted in this way, the jailer and his family committed a subversive act against the Empire.

[8] Reicke, Epistles of James, 106–7, 139

I earned my Masters of Divinity degree at Wesley Theological Seminary (Washington, DC). My professors included well-known scholars Dewey Beegle, L. Harold DeWolf, George Wesley Buchanan, Bruce Burch, Philip Wogaman, S. Paul Schilling, and C.  C. Goen.

Beegle was renown for his book Infallibility, which got him sacked from Asbury Seminary. He was one of the first evangelical scholars to reject inerrancy. DeWolf was Martin Luther King’s doctoral supervisor at Boston University before coming to Wesley. Schilling, a systematic theologian, was MLK’s second dissertation reader. Wogaman was author of the radical Guaranteed Annual Income and later served as pastor to Bill and Hillary Clinton. Burch was the new man in the faculty but soon rose to become Academic Dean and went on to author many books, including one with a Walter Brueggemann. Buchanan was a colorful character who dubbed himself a”hound dog” who followed the scent of truth wherever it led. He studied the Jewish roots of Christianity and published extensively with Brill. Goen was the lone Baptist among Methodists. A graduate with two PhDs (one from of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and one from Yale University), he was leading American historian and expert on Jonathan Edwards and revivalism in colonial New England published mainly with Yale University Press.

                                                              Ernst Käsemann

In 1937, Hitler called on the clergy and churches to support his vision for Germany and to give him full allegiance. NT scholar Ernst Kasemann defied Hitler. Instead, he preached on Isaiah 26.13, “O Lord our God, other lords besides thee have ruled over us, but thy name alone we acknowledge.” Kasemann labeled Hitler’s demand idolatry and called for German Christians to resist.

The Gestapo arrested and imprisoned Kasemann for being a subversive.

During his confinement, he wrote a biblical critique of Nazism that was published under the title, “Hebrews: The Wandering People of God” in which he identified the church as a pilgrim community with no earthly fatherland. Rather than seeking peace with society, he contended that the church must be a community in conflict with society.

A wise word for all time.

I am now researching and working on my fifth book focusing on subversive songs, comparing NT songs with modern songs from various genres, e.g. negro spirituals, anti war, civil rights, reggae, hip hop, etc. NT songs in the first century contained counter-imperial lyrics that offered an alternative vision for the world.

Social Identity Commentary

This massive one-volume NT commentary (app. 360,000 words) will be released in February 2020. Aaron Kuecker and Brian Tucker are the editors. I wrote the commentaries on 2 Peter and Jude.

A NICE HONOR

Andrew Clarke (University of Aberdeen, UK), secretary of the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas (SNTS), sent an e-mail recently to inform me that I had been elected as a member of the society at its 74th annual meeting in Marburg, Germany.

Comprised of scholars from around the world, SNTS is devoted to the academic study of Christianity within its historical context of the first-century CE. Membership is by nomination only and is approved by a vote of members. Each candidate’s credentials and publications are critically evaluated in accordance with international scholarly standards.

One evaluator noted, “Election to SNTS is one of the highest honors a New Testament scholar can received. It signals that renowned NT scholars from around the globe have evaluated one’s published work and deemed it to be at the highest level in the disciple.”

Founded in 1939, SNTS is recognized as the premiere international society for the study of the New Testament. Past presidents of the society have included C. H. Dodd, Rudolf Bultmann, Joachim Jeremias, W. G. Kümmel, Oscar Cullmann, Rudolf Schackenburg, Bruce Metzger, Ernst Kasemann, C. K. Barrett, F. F. Bruce, Bo Riecke, Raymond Brown, Martin Hengel, James Dunn, Wayne Meeks, Adela Yarbro Collins, among others. John S. Kloppenborg is the current President.

In cooperation with Cambridge University Press, SNTS publishes the journal, New Testament Studies

Since I did not pursue NT scholarship until later in my academic career (2005)—I was professor of practical theology prior to that—I am humbled to be selected a member of the society. My two books Subversive Meals (2013) and Caesar and the Sacrament (2018), along with articles and chapters, published by Wiley Blackwell, T & T Clark Bloomsbury, Oxford University Press, and others were the basis of my selection.

Peter Davids, PhD (USA) and William S. Campbell, PhD (UK) nominated me for membership.

Next year’s meeting will be held in Rome, Italy. To prepare, I am ready to begin a Babbel course in Italian.

Until then, “Arrivederci.”

What Billy Graham Meant to Evangelicals

By

R. Alan Streett

Billy Graham was a TRANSCENDENTAL figure. He was the closest thing Protestants had to a Pope. Whenever he preached, people of all denominations flocked to hear him. He filled stadiums for nights on end, and sometimes for weeks on end. His evangelistic meetings at Madison Square Garden in 1957 lasted 16 consecutive weeks.  Over the years 2.2 billion people heard him preach and of those an estimated 3.2 million responded to his gospel call to give their lives to Christ.

Each year since 1948, Gallup pollsters ask Americans to name the one person—male or female living anywhere in the world—who they admire most. The results are compiled into an annual top ten list. Billy Graham makes the list 55 times. Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II follow far behind, capturing top ten honors 31 and 27 times, respectively.

Conservative evangelicals, a small minority of the American population in the decade of the 50s and 60s, trusted Graham and looked to him to speak on behalf of their causes and moral concerns. He had access to the halls of power, rubbing shoulders with governors, senators, and presidents. He dined with them and played golf, and even stayed in their homes as an invited guest. Evangelicals believed, rightly or wrongly, that through Graham, their voice was being heard in high places. And best of all, they knew Graham would share the message of salvation with these movers and shakers. Religion and politics seemed like a natural combination.

As evangelicals grew in numbers and influence, many looked to Billy Graham as the unofficial High Priest of America’s civil religion. They yearned for America to return to its “Christian” roots.

Billy Graham was a TRANSFORMATIONAL figure. Since my days in seminary, Billy Graham was my hero and mentor.  When I preached my first sermons, I drew my content directly from his books World Aflame and Peace with God. I studied his every move—how he warmed up a crowd with a few personal anecdotes, the way he folded his hands in prayer under his chin, the inflection in his voice as he pointed to God’s Word and intoned, “The Bible says ….”  For hours I stood in front of a mirror practicing his movements, imitating his accent, and calling out to an imaginary audience to leave their seats and come to Christ. 

Billy inspired me and a whole generation of ministers to become more evangelistic. In July 1974 the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) sponsored the Lausanne Congress, inviting 2,700 vocational evangelists and missionaries from 150 countries and dozens of denominations to Lausanne, Switzerland for 10 days of training and inspiration. The BGEA provided travel scholarships, lodging and food to those in Third World and emerging countries. Out of these meetings a new generation of evangelists emerged, trained by Graham and his associates. A special committee was formed, composed of scholars and theologians, and assigned the task of defining evangelism. The result was The Lausanne Covenant, the most comprehensive statement ever penned on the nature of evangelism. It was read, adopted and signed by the conferees, setting a new standard for evangelism in future generations.

The Lausanne conference was the turning point for world evangelization because it called upon evangelists everywhere to ascribe to an agreed upon definition of evangelism and to unite in the common mission of reaching the world for Christ.

When I began work on my doctorate, my dissertation topic was “The Public Invitation.” My research took me to the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL), where I watched numerous archived sermons that Graham preached from 1950—1981. I paid particular attention to the way he gave the invitation. When Graham came to my hometown of Baltimore, Maryland for one of his crusades, I arranged a personal interview to get his thinking on the topic. We met an hour before he was to preach.

That night I not only gained insight about his invitations, but insight into Billy Graham, the person. Our meeting took place under the old Memorial Stadium, home of the Baltimore Orioles, in the office of manager Earl Weaver. Mr. Graham sat on a sofa and I in a chair. I found him to be a contradiction of sorts. On the one hand, he was very impressive, even bigger than life. As he stood to greet me, he was taller and slimmer than I expected—about 6’3”, 185 pounds. His striking features, deep eyes, chiseled chin, and sandy hair, set him apart from mere mortals. I was a nervous wreck and giggled a lot throughout the interview. I was like a 35 year old teenager!

On the other hand, Billy Graham seemed unsure of himself.  As I entered the room, I noticed him biting his fingernails. Later I observed that all his nails were chewed to the quick. I was shocked—“My hero bites his fingernails!” He was also very self-conscious. At least twice he mentioned how he wished he had gone to seminary for formal ministerial training and apologized for not being a theologian.  He treated me as his theological superior. That was unsettling and caused me more anxiety. Here I sat with the world’s best known preacher and he was deferring to me.

About 20 minutes into the interview I recognized Mr. Graham’s son-in-law standing outside the office with his two small children. Billy’s attention was diverted for a moment and he said he hadn’t seen his grandkids in more than six months. I felt so badly. Here I was, a total stranger, taking time away from this man and his family. How often had others imposed on him, just as I, with little concern for his privacy? I suggested I could leave a hard copy of my interview questions with him to be answered at his convenience. He was appreciative and thanked me. I left the room and made my way through an underground tunnel back into the light. Billy later sent me hand-written answers to my questions.

My dissertation was approved and published under the title The Effective Invitation (Kregel). It includes a chapter devoted to Billy Graham’s use of the public invitation. As a result, I was hired as Professor of Evangelism at Criswell College in Dallas, Texas, where I continue teaching students to preach and give effective invitations. I still use the Lausanne Covenant as the basis for defining evangelism.

Over the years I have kept abreast of Billy Graham’s ministry, attended crusades, sat on the platform while he preached, and wept as I watched untold thousands respond to Graham’s call to repent and believe.

I am only one among millions of others that Billy Graham has touched. He transformed the entire evangelical landscape.

Evangelicals loved Billy Graham. He was one of us, our standard bearer, used of God to speak to the nations. We prayed for him as if he were a member of our family. Yet we shared him with the world.

He was transcendental and transformational. He rarely let us down, and the full extent of his influence will not be measured for generations to come.

*R. Alan Streett, PhD is the Senior Research Professor of Biblical Theology at Criswell College (Dallas, TX).

Earning a PhD Degree from a UK University without Leaving the United States

Earning a PhD Degree from a UK University without Leaving the United States

R. Alan Streett (PhD, University of Wales)

©Richard Alan Streett

Senior Research Professor of Biblical Theology

Criswell College

Dallas, Texas

astreett@criswell.edu

Are you interested in working on a PhD in theology or biblical studies from a UK university without moving to Great Britain? The openings are limited and you need to know the options and the application process. Earning a postgraduate degree (as it is called in the UK) is rigorous and usually takes approximately 4‒6 years part-time. These are not “seminary” PhDs, but “university” degrees that prepare you for a career as an academic.

I.    Schools That Welcome American Students

Here are eight universities in the UK that work with American students. One may be a match for you.

1. Nazarene Theological College validated by University of Manchester

2. Cliff College validated by University of Manchester

3. Spurgeon’s College validated by the University of Manchester

4.  St Johns Nottingham validated by University of Chester

5. Wales Evangelical School of Theology validated by the University of Chester

6.  Highland Theological College validated by University of Aberdeen

7. London School of Theology validated by University of Middlesex

8. Trinity College validated by the University of Bristol

    II.    The Validation System

You work with the first school mentioned, but receive your degree from the latter school. This is known as the validation system in the UK. So your initial step is to get on the first school's website. Second, go to the "postgraduate" link. Read about the PhD application process, etc. Third, contact via email the professor in your desired field.  Fourth, tell him/her of your research interests. It is best to be specific. Unlike American dissertations that are often topic-driven, most UK dissertations are "thesis-driven." That means you state a proposition or thesis and then seek to prove it. For example, my thesis was: “The Lord’s Supper during the first century CE was an anti-imperial practice.” Fifth, ask the professor if s/he would be interested in supervising such a project. Sixth, make formal application to the validating school and the degree awarding university. Seventh, realize that if accepted, you will likely be classified as an “MPhil/PhD” student. You will be reclassified as PhD student after one year if your academic progress is deemed worthy. The school year in the UK usually begins in October.

III.    Bypassing the Validation Process

Recently, a few UK schools have begun working directly with American postgraduate students, thus bypassing the validation process. They include the Universities of Durham, Wales, Edinburgh, Exeter, Gloucestershire, and Birmingham. The University of Aberdeen offers both options. You can work through Highland Theological College or work directly with Aberdeen itself.

 There two advantages of working directly with a university. First, by eliminating the middleman, you can cut the cost of your education. Second, you are more likely to work under the supervision of a world class scholar.

IV.     Choosing the Right School

Are you interested in earning your degree from a top tier theology department or are you more concerned with having a good relationship with your supervisor? The answer to this question may guide your choice of a school.

1.   Each department in a UK university is ranked according to its academic excellence. Rank is based on the quality of research (books, peer reviewed articles, etc.) being produced by each faculty, which is evaluated by scholarly panels using objective standards. The latest ranking—the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE)—can be found on the internet. In 2014, the Research Excellence Framework (REF) will replace RAE. 

2.   Since you will be working with the same supervisor for a half dozen years, it is important to find one with whom you can work. This means finding a supervisor who 1) likes Americans, 2) is available to answer your questions, 3) has patience working with someone unfamiliar with the British system, 4) is as concerned with your success as much as s/he is with their own publication schedule, 5) is an encourager, 6) recommends resources, 7) reads your chapters and offers a critical evaluation, and 8) guides you through each step of the PhD process.

V.     Research is the Name of the Game

These are not online education degrees, but research degrees. You receive the same degree as those who reside on campus. You work with the same supervisors, write the same quality thesis (dissertation), and orally defend your thesis (a process known as a viva voca). But instead of being on campus, you meet regularly with your supervisor through Skype, email, etc. Some schools require you to visit campus once a year or once every two years, but others do not. Many meetings between students and supervisors take place at the annual Society of Biblical Literature conference, which convenes in a different American city each year.

Be forewarned, a UK research degree is not for the faint of heart. As one Oxford scholar said, “American PhD programs are a mile wide and an inch deep. UK programs are an inch wide and a mile deep.” This means American PhD graduates are more generalists and UK PhD graduates are more specialists. American PhD programs are more structured and require a student to take classes in a variety of subjects (usually 48 credits hours), plus write a dissertation. UK PhD programs require a student to spend the equivalent amount of time conducting narrowly focused research toward the thesis. There are no classroom requirements, even for full-time students who live on campus. 

VI.  The Financial Costs

Typically, UK programs do not offer financial assistance to Americans. So expect to pay the full tuition, which can run as high as 6,000 British pounds per year. Additional costs might include travelling expenses to SBL cities and/or to Great Britain: airfare, lodging, meals, and land transportation, etc.

VII.     The Thesis

You should only submit your thesis after your supervisor believes your research is PhD worthy. The degree-granting university will then select two scholars to critically read your thesis and examine you on its content. One will be an internal reader from the university. The other will be an external reader from another UK university. One will likely be an expert in your area of research and both will be scholars in your particular discipline (NT, theology, church history, etc.). A date will be set and you will meet for the viva voca, which will involve a 2-3 hour period of intense questioning to determine if you can defend your thesis and elaborate on your research. At the end of the viva voca, you will step outside the room while the examiners discuss the thesis and your responses. You will be called back into the room and given the verdict. Your thesis will be assigned one of the following grades: 1) Pass “as is” without need for revisions or further clarifications; 2) Pass with minor revisions which must be completed and submitted within three months; 3) Pass with significant revisions, which must be completed and submitted within one year; 4) Major rewrite, which must be completed and submitted within two years along with taking another viva voca; 5) Not acceptable or the possible award of MPhil instead of PhD. Your goal is to receive one of the first three evaluations.

VIII.        Is a UK PhD Program for You?

Over the past few years, I have recommended four American students for UK PhD programs who were accepted and matriculated into the programs. However, only one earned a degree. The others dropped out. All were smart enough to complete the program, but they lacked either self-confidence and/or self-discipline, or else, faced time constraints. So, count the cost before you apply. 

If you are a self-starter, inquisitive, thick skinned, academically able to do original research, have a history of meeting deadlines, work well with a supervisor, and do not get discouraged easily, you may be the ideal candidate.

An American or UK PhD program—which is best for you? That depends on your goals, aptitude, interest, personality, work schedule, finances, etc. The Lord will guide you in your selection of the right doctoral program. 

If you have any further questions, feel free to write me at: astreett@criswell.edu.

Istoria Ministries Blog: Heaven on Earth: A Must Have Book

Istoria Ministries Blog: Heaven on Earth: A Must Have Book: I do not know nor have I ever met author Alan Streett, PhD (University of Wales, UK),  Senior Research Professor of Biblical Exegesis and...

A GREAT READ

You owe it to yourself to buy and read "Bonhoeffer's Black Jesus" (Baylor University Press) by Reggie L. Williams. This short book is not an quick or easy read. It is chocked full of thought-provoking insights that Bonhoeffer gleaned from his year at Union Theological Seminary (NY), and especially his association with Abyssinia Baptist Church in Harlem. Bonhoeffer left America a different person than when he arrived. He was now a Christian! Without his Abyssinia experience, Bonhoeffer would not have stood with the oppressed Jews of Germany during WWII.