(RNS) — Some books are inspired by world-shattering events, like a global pandemic.Others by something as small as getting old enough to need reading glasses.
New Testament scholar and author Candida Moss’ new book, “God’s Ghostwriters,” was inspired by both. The book, due out March 26, looks at the behind-the-scenes people — scribes, copyists, translators and others — who brought the New Testament to life and who have been forgotten — because they did their jobs too well, writes Moss.
Moss said getting glasses made her look at the Bible in a new light. She began wondering how people in the ancient world, such as the authors of the New Testament, read and wrote if they could no longer see properly. Then COVID-19 hit — and Moss, who is a kidney transplant recipient — was stuck at home in New York and dependent on deliveries from Amazon and other companies for life’s essentials.
Candida Moss. (Photo by Brian McConkey)
“I was able to isolate because other people were being placed in harm’s way on my behalf,” she said. That experience led her to think about the unknown people we all rely on — and again had her thinking about the Bible. It also sent her looking into the history of literary work in ancient Rome, much of which was done by slaves and formerly enslaved people.
Along the way, she came to see that much of the New Testament was likely produced by enslaved people and lower-status workers — something that had not crossed her mind before. She began to think that scholars and readers of the Bible have overlooked something essential by missing the accomplishment of these behind-the-scenes contributors.
“If you start thinking about enslaved people as co-authors of these texts, the Bible reads so differently,” she told Religion News Service in a recent interview
Much of New Testament scholarship and Bible interpretations focuses on finding the author’s original intent and audience. That’s based on an incomplete model that assumes the books of the New Testament had a single author — instead of being collaborative efforts.
“What we are missing is all the people who did all the work,” s …
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New Testament scholar and author Candida Moss’ new book, “God’s Ghostwriters,” was inspired by both. The book, due out March 26, looks at the behind-the-scenes people — scribes, copyists, translators and others — who brought the New Testament to life and who have been forgotten — because they did their jobs too well, writes Moss.
Moss said getting glasses made her look at the Bible in a new light. She began wondering how people in the ancient world, such as the authors of the New Testament, read and wrote if they could no longer see properly. Then COVID-19 hit — and Moss, who is a kidney transplant recipient — was stuck at home in New York and dependent on deliveries from Amazon and other companies for life’s essentials.
Candida Moss. (Photo by Brian McConkey)
“I was able to isolate because other people were being placed in harm’s way on my behalf,” she said. That experience led her to think about the unknown people we all rely on — and again had her thinking about the Bible. It also sent her looking into the history of literary work in ancient Rome, much of which was done by slaves and formerly enslaved people.
Along the way, she came to see that much of the New Testament was likely produced by enslaved people and lower-status workers — something that had not crossed her mind before. She began to think that scholars and readers of the Bible have overlooked something essential by missing the accomplishment of these behind-the-scenes contributors.
“If you start thinking about enslaved people as co-authors of these texts, the Bible reads so differently,” she told Religion News Service in a recent interview
Much of New Testament scholarship and Bible interpretations focuses on finding the author’s original intent and audience. That’s based on an incomplete model that assumes the books of the New Testament had a single author — instead of being collaborative efforts.
“What we are missing is all the people who did all the work,” s …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]