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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
Historical-Critical Methods, James W. Barker
Historical-Critical Methods, James W. Barker
Faculty/Staff Personal Papers
Historical criticism attempts to understand NT texts in their original contexts, free of later dogmatic presuppositions. This essay describes its traditional inquiries and methods as well as recent trends. The discussion divides into four sections: textual criticism, the Gospels and Jesus, Paul and his letters, and the limits of canon.
The Lineage Of Abby Benson (1801/02 - 1866), Of Sharon, Litchfield County, Connecticut, Charles H. Smith
The Lineage Of Abby Benson (1801/02 - 1866), Of Sharon, Litchfield County, Connecticut, Charles H. Smith
Faculty/Staff Personal Papers
Among the individuals I researched in compiling my “Charles H. Smith: A Direct- Line Ancestry, Since Colonial Times” (published online in 2020) was one Abby (aka Abi, Aby, Abbey, Abigail) Benson, of Sharon and Kent, Litchfield County, Connecticut. Abby, who married Chester Fowler (1800-1878) about 1823 (based on the date of birth of their first child William in 1824), is one of my third great-grandmothers. As of 2020 I was unable to identify Abby’s parents, though she has always been listed as a Benson. There were other Bensons in the immediate area, though historically the family had roots extending back …
The Acts Of John Within The Johannine Corpus, James W. Barker
The Acts Of John Within The Johannine Corpus, James W. Barker
Faculty/Staff Personal Papers
This essay reassesses the place of the Acts of John among other Johannine literature. Although the Gospel, three epistles, and Apocalypse were eventually deemed canonical, contemporary scholarship typically treats Revelation separately. Based on patristic testimony and manuscript materiality, I contend that not only the Apocalypse but also the Acts of John should be (re)incorporated alongside the Gospel and Epistles. Charles E. Hill has argued persuasively that the proto-orthodox were unafraid of the Fourth Gospel, despite its popularity among heterodox and heretical groups. I extend the same argument to the Acts of John.