Wednesday 29 November, 8th Week
Church Fathers versus Modern Commentators on the Works of Mercy in the New Testament
Nathan Eubank Associate Professor in New Testament Studies and Laing Fellow in Theology and Religion, Keble College Oxford
In late antiquity Jews and Christians alike found many proofs in the Scriptures that almsgiving was a strict sine qua non for those hoping to know God and enter into eternal life. According to most scholars who focus on the New Testament, however, the canonical collection of twenty-seven books grants far less theological importance to works of mercy than did other ancient Jews or Christians. Eubank explores some of the characteristic differences between ancient and modern biblical interpretation in order to query common assumptions of the latter.