The Not So Real Wonder of the World

A few days ago, I wrote a post on the selection of the new Seven Wonders of the World. Jim West did not like the selection made by an international committee and by popular vote, so he selected his own “The Real ‘Seven Wonders’ of the Modern World.”

I may not disagree with selections 7 through 3, but I take umbrage with selection number 2. To Jim, the second wonder of the modern world is a school of biblical studies. Here is his selection:

2- The Copenhagen / Sheffield ‘School’ of Biblical Studies. Finally, the door is unlocked to a proper understanding of the biblical text.

I do not want to be offensive here (nothing personal), but I strongly disagree with Jim on this point. What the Copenhagen / Sheffield ‘School’ of Biblical Studies has done is not to open the door “to a proper understanding of the biblical text” but rather develop an exegetical method that has transformed the Old Testament stories into a set of “foundation myths” that were created in order to justify the existence of post-exilic Judaism.

In my view, the Copenhagen / Sheffield ‘School’ of Biblical Studies is a post-modern form of second century Marcionism. To the Marcionites, the Old Testament was a scandal because they believed the God of the Old Testament was a cruel God. Since for them the God of the Old Testament was not good, then the Old Testament had to be set aside.

The Copenhagen / Sheffield ‘School’ of Biblical Studies emphasizes that the Jews who came from exile in Babylon created the myths of the patriarchs, the Exodus, and the conquest in order to justify their occupation of the land. Since these foundation myths were created by the oppressors to justify their cause, then these myths (the stories of the Old Testament) must be set aside as non-historical because they were used by the returnees to oppress the remainees, the poor people who were living in the land at the time the returnees came back from exile.

The same approach is being used today to deny Israel the right to live in the land. According to modern Marcionites, a group of Zionists returned to Palestine and dispossessed the people who already lived there. People who deny Israel’s right to the land claim that these same Zionists used archaeology to prove that their ancestors lived in the land for more than three thousand years. Today’s Marcionites claim that since there were no patriarchs, no Exodus, no conquest, and no tenth century, modern Israel’s claim to the land is not valid because the Israel that was delivered from the house of oppression never existed since that ideal Israel was based on a fictitious history created by a group of people who occupied the land after they came from their exile in Babylon.

If people all over the world had to vote for the Copenhagen / Sheffield ‘School’ of Biblical Studies as one of the Real Seven Wonders of the Modern World, the Copenhagen / Sheffield ‘School’ of Biblical Studies would receive only one vote, and it would not be mine.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Israel, Jews, Judaism, Marcion, Marcionites

Islam and the Jews

In the discussion between Islam and Judaism, what is needed is a voice of reason, that is, a moderate Moslem who can look at the contributions of Judaism to the development of Islam.

Now, at last, there is one. Khaleed Mohammed is an imam and also a professor of religion in California. In a lecture delivered on February 6, Professor Mohammed addressed the issue of the roots of Islam in Judaism.

In his lecture, Professor Mohammed cited the 14th Century Arab scholar and theologian, Ibn Khaldun, who said that if a Muslim needs to have an answer to a religious question, he should ask a Jew.

Professor Mohammed said that the Qur'an speaks of a pact between Jews and Muslims, uniting the two groups against the more numerous polytheists. He also said that when a surah urges Muslims to "Fight those who believe not . . . the religion of truth," the reference is not to fight against Jews, but to fight against polytheists.

Professor Mohammed believes that the popular resentment and jealousy that has developed over the centuries against the Jews is because of the powerful position that some Jews held in many Muslim realms, as advisors and physicians to rulers, including people such as Maimonides.

To me, the most important statement in Professor Mohammed’s lecture is his declaration that “Mohammed [himself] said that he was not starting a new religion.”

The above statements of Professor Mohammed were written in an article by Reuel S. Amdur and published in The Arab American News.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northen Baptist Seminary

Tags: Islam, Jews, Judaism