Publisher Description

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.

Author Biography

Born 1961; 1997 PhD; 2003 Habilitation; until 2016 Professor of New Testament at the University of Nottingham; since 2017 Professor of Biblical Theology and Ancient Judaism at Internationale Hochschule Liebenzell. Born 1977; PhD in Theology at the University of Nottingham, currently working as a Research Assistant in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Nottingham. Born 1981; PhD candidate and Teaching Associate in Biblical Studies in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Nottingham.

Review

"Acts of God in History raises afresh the question of God for the practice of critical biblical scholarship. The unifying thesis of the work is as simple as it is provocative: historiography is shaped by critical reflection on God. [...] Deines's work constitutes a formidable challenge to a field where the synchronic judgments of the historian are too often warranted by a secular ideology in which religious convictions are allowed no claim on reality." --Wil Rogan, Review of Biblical Literature, 7.16.2015

Long Description

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.

Review Text

"Acts of God in History raises afresh the question of God for the practice of critical biblical scholarship. The unifying thesis of the work is as simple as it is provocative: historiography is shaped by critical reflection on God. [...] Deines's work constitutes a formidable challenge to a field where the synchronic judgments of the historian are too often warranted by a secular ideology in which religious convictions are allowed no claim on reality." --Wil Rogan, Review of Biblical Literature, 7.16.2015

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