The Son Of Man Debate

The expression 'Son of Man', used in the Gospels almost exclusively by Jesus, has been the object of intensive study since the Protestant Reformation, yet scholars have come to no agreement on its origin or meaning. Research in this area has been described as 'a veritable mine field' and 'a can of worms'. Because of the scope and complexity of the literature, no comprehensive survey of the subject has been written in the twentieth century. Delbert Burkett's book fills this need. It provides a comprehensive historical overview of the debate from the patristic period to 1996, and gives an evaluation of that research and a summation of the present state of the question. Burkett concludes that despite nineteen centuries of 'Son of Man' study there is no consensus concerning the meaning or origin of the expression; the debate is therefore a prime example of the limits of New Testament scholarship.

The expression 'Son of Man', used in the Gospels almost exclusively by Jesus, has been the object of intensive study since the Protestant Reformation, yet scholars have come to no agreement on its origin or meaning. Research in this area has been described as 'a veritable mine field' and 'a can of worms'. Because of the scope and complexity of the literature, no comprehensive survey of the subject has been written in the twentieth century. Delbert Burkett's book fills this need. It provides a comprehensive historical overview of the debate from the patristic period to 1996, and gives an evaluation of that research and a summation of the present state of the question. Burkett concludes that despite nineteen centuries of 'Son of Man' study there is no consensus concerning the meaning or origin of the expression; the debate is therefore a prime example of the limits of New Testament scholarship.

Ladd's magisterial work on New Testament theology has well served scores of seminary students since 1974. Now this comprehensive, standard evangelical text has been carefully revised by Hagner to include an update of Ladd's survey of the history of the field of New Testament theology, an augmented bibliography, and an entirely new subject index.

The Son of Man sayings are some of the most contested sayings in the Gospels. They preserve a phrase employed by Jesus to refer to himself, yet the meaning of the saying in its various contexts has been hotly debated for centuries. Some identify allusions to other literature in the bible, including the book of Daniel. Others see it as simply being a strange rendering in Greek of an Aramaic phrase that was relatively commonplace. The history of research on these sayings is here presented by Benjamin E. Reynolds in a volume of critical readings, which provides access to over 50 years of scholarly research. These essays and articles include the most often cited articles that address the various aspects of the Son of Man debate. In addition to these most well-known pieces Reynolds includes carefully selected additional essays that allow readers to trace different developments in the debate and to provide an entry into the waters of 'the Son of Man Problem' and the numerous solutions that have been offered. Each section features an introduction and a section of annotated further readings.

In Christianity in the making, James D.G. Dunn examines in depth the major factors that shaped first-generation Christianity and beyond, exploring the parting of the ways between Christianity and Judaism, the Hellenization of Christianity, and responses to Gnosticism. He mines all the first- and second-century sources, including the New Testament Gospels, New Testament apocrypha, and such church fathers as Ignatius, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus, showing how the Jesus tradition and the figures of James, Paul, Peter, and John were still esteemed influences but were also the subject of intense controversy as the early church wrestled with its evolving identity.

"Clare K. Rothschild offers the first comprehensive examination of why current models of Q feature traditions concerning John the Baptist both prominently and favorably. A close hermeneutical investigation of the NT Gospels, including literary phenomena such as the double attribution of sayings to John and to Jesus, contradictions among sayings of Jesus, and significant thematic continuities between Baptist traditions and Q sayings on topics such as the Son of Man and Kingdom of God, support the argument that at some point in the undoubtedly complex pre-history of its redactions Q existed as a source of Baptist traditions exclusively. This study also includes an important new interpretation of the Markan transfiguration narrative."--BOOK JACKET.

"Borsch has not answered all the questions, of course. Who can? But his view of the Man tradition makes more sense to me than, for example, Perrin's rather cavalier dismissal of the evidence, and it not only enlightens but also enlivens the discussion. As against the extreme skeptics, Borsch is also convincing to me in arguing the case for a large measure of authenticity in the Son of man tradition in the Gospels. If the proof of the pudding is in the eating, the book constantly calls me back to its pages for insight regarding the problem, both in its historical dimension and in its bearing upon the meaning of Jesus of Nazareth for faith today. --'Theology' "The author is well aware of the difficulties involved in entering a field wherein so much investigation has been done. And of this, with the positive and negative conclusions, he gives an excellent survey, crisp and critical . . . . The lines opened up will engage the attention of a new and more positive chapter in the form-critical argument. --'London Quarterly and Holborn Review'