Acts of God in History

The eleven studies in this volume are connected by the conviction that God acts in history and that it remains necessary for biblical exegesis to integrate this into its methodology. Roland Deines presents historical and methodological considerations to trace how God was experienced within historical events and how such events inspired the formation of Scripture. Topics range from the Pharisees to Bar Kokhba, and from the historical Jesus to the Apostolic decrees, with Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) on Jesus and Martin Hengel on Jesus' pre-existence and incarnation discussed as particular methodological examples. Roland Deines intends these studies to be contributions towards a theologically motivated historiography. His aim is to propose a viable reading of history under the assumption that the one God to whom the Holy Scriptures of the Jewish-Christian tradition bear witness is indeed the creator, sustainer and perfecter of this world and its history.Introduction: God's Role in History as a Methodological Problem for Exegesis

Part One: Historical StudiesThe Social Profile of the Pharisees - Jesus the Galilean: Questioning the Function of Galilee in Recent Jesus Research - Jesus and the Jewish Traditions of His Time - The Apostolic Decree: Halakha for Gentile Christians or Christian Concession to Jewish Taboos?

Part Two: Responses to the God who ActsHow Long? God's Revealed Schedule for Salvation and the Outbreak of the Bar Kokhba Revolt - Biblical Viewpoints on Repentance, Conversion, and Turning to God - The Term and Concept of Scripture

Part Three: Methodological ProbingsThe Recognition of God's Acting in History in the Gospel of Matthew - Can the 'Real' Jesus be Identified with the Historical Jesus? Joseph Ratzinger's (Pope Benedict XVI) Challenge to Biblical Scholarship - Pre-existence, Incarnation and Messianic Self-understanding of Jesus in the Work of Martin Hengel