John P. Meier
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John Paul Meier (August 8, 1942 – October 18, 2022) was an American biblical scholar and Roman Catholic priest. He was author of the series ''A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus'' (5 v.), six other books, and more than 70 articles for peer-reviewed or solicited journals or books.John P. Meier
- Department of Theology, University of Notre Dame.
Meier was widely regarded as one of the leading scholars of the historical Jesus and
early Christianity Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish ...
during his life. His book ''Antioch and Rome: New Testament Cradles of Catholic Christianity'' (which he co-authored with fellow Catholic scholar
Raymond E. Brown Raymond Edward Brown (May 22, 1928 – August 8, 1998) was an American Sulpician priest and prominent biblical scholar. He was regarded as a specialist concerning the hypothetical "Johannine community", which he speculated contributed to the au ...
) is considered by many scholars a seminal work about early Christianity, while his multi-volume work ''A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus'' is hailed as Meier's '' magnum opus''.


Life and career

Meier was born in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. He attended
St. Joseph's Seminary and College St. Joseph's Seminary and College, sometimes referred to as Dunwoodie after the Yonkers, New York neighborhood it is located in, is the major seminary of the Archdiocese of New York.Remigius Lafort, S.T.D., Censor, The Catholic Church in the Uni ...
(B.A., Philosophy, 1964),
Dunwoodie, Yonkers Dunwoodie is a neighborhood in Yonkers, New York, noted for being the home of St. Joseph's Seminary and College on Valentine Hill. Dunwoodie (proper) is located north of the Seminary, while Dunwoodie Heights includes the seminary and what is sout ...
, New York,
Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school (pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...
,
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
; ( S.T.L., 1968), and the Biblical Institute, Rome ( S.S.D., 1976). Meier was William K. Warren Professor of Theology,
Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
, at the
University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...
, Indiana. His fields included
biblical studies Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible (the Old Testament and New Testament).''Introduction to Biblical Studies, Second Edition'' by Steve Moyise (Oct 27, 2004) pages 11–12 Fo ...
and Christianity and Judaism in
antiquity Antiquity or Antiquities may refer to: Historical objects or periods Artifacts *Antiquities, objects or artifacts surviving from ancient cultures Eras Any period before the European Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries) but still within the histo ...
. Before the appointment to Notre Dame in 1999, he taught at St. Joseph Seminary, Dunwoodie, for 12 years and was professor of New Testament at the
Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...
for 14 years. Meier was ordained a Catholic priest at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter's Basilica,
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
, in 1967, and was made an
Honorary Prelate A Prelate of Honour of His Holiness is a Catholic prelate to whom the Pope has granted this title of honour. They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges as regards clerical clothing.Papal Household The papal household or pontifical household (usually not capitalized in the media and other nonofficial use, ), called until 1968 the Papal Court (''Aula Pontificia''), consists of dignitaries who assist the pope in carrying out particular ceremoni ...
(Monsignor) by
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
in 1994. In retirement, Meier continued to offer courses at Notre Dame. He was working on a prospective volume 6 of the series ''A Marginal Jew'' at the time. Meier died in South Bend, Indiana on October 18, 2022, aged 80, leaving his 6th volume unfinished. His funeral took place at the chapel of
St. Joseph's Seminary and College St. Joseph's Seminary and College, sometimes referred to as Dunwoodie after the Yonkers, New York neighborhood it is located in, is the major seminary of the Archdiocese of New York.Remigius Lafort, S.T.D., Censor, The Catholic Church in the Uni ...
and was presided by Cardinal
Timothy M. Dolan Timothy Michael Dolan (born February 6, 1950) is an American cardinal of the Catholic Church. He is the tenth and current Archbishop of New York, having been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009. Dolan served as the president of the United S ...
.


''Antioch and Rome: New Testament Cradles of Catholic Christianity''

''Antioch and Rome'' is a co-work of Meier and his fellow Catholic scholar
Raymond E. Brown Raymond Edward Brown (May 22, 1928 – August 8, 1998) was an American Sulpician priest and prominent biblical scholar. He was regarded as a specialist concerning the hypothetical "Johannine community", which he speculated contributed to the au ...
analyses the history and development of early Christianity in the cities of
Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ ...
and
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
, using a vast array of both Christian and Pagan sources.


''A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus''

John P. Meier's series ''A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus'' begins by invoking the methods of modern historical research to "recover, recapture, or reconstruct" the "historical Jesus." Meier suggests that such research might admit agreement of
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
,
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
,
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
, and
agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. (page 56 in 1967 edition) Another definition provided is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficient ...
scholars as to "who
Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
of
Nazareth Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...
was and what he intended" (v. 1, 1991, p. 1).


Volume 1

* Volume 1 (1991) differentiates the historical Jesus from the
Christ of faith In Christianity, Christology (from the Greek grc, Χριστός, Khristós, label=none and grc, -λογία, -logia, label=none), translated literally from Greek as "the study of Christ", is a branch of theology that concerns Jesus. Diffe ...
. It analyzes sources, including the
New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
and non- canonical works. The latter include the ''
agrapha Agrapha (; Greek for "non written"; singular ) are sayings of Jesus that are not found in the canonical Gospels. The term was used for the first time by J.G. Körner, a German Bible scholar, in 1776. Definition of agrapha The definition of agrap ...
'', the
apocryphal gospels The New Testament apocrypha (singular apocryphon) are a number of writings by early Christians that give accounts of Jesus and his teachings, the nature of God, or the teachings of his apostles and of their lives. Some of these writings were cite ...
(such as the '' Gospel of Thomas''),
Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...
,
Philo Philo of Alexandria (; grc, Φίλων, Phílōn; he, יְדִידְיָה, Yəḏīḏyāh (Jedediah); ), also called Philo Judaeus, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt. Philo's deplo ...
,
Justus of Tiberias Justus of Tiberias (Tiberias, ca. 35 AD - Galilee, ca 100 AD) was a 1st century Jewish author and historiographer. All that we know of his life comes from the ''Vita'' which Flavius Josephus apparently wrote in response to the assertions made by Ju ...
and other Jewish and second-century Roman works. For deciding what comes from Jesus as distinct from early Christian tradition it proposes these ''primary criteria'' (pp. 168–77): :1. The
criterion of embarrassment The criterion of embarrassment is a type of historical analysis in which a historical account is deemed likely to be true under the inference that that the author would have no reason to invent a historical account which might embarrass them. Cer ...
: Why invent what would invite difficulty for the early church? :2. The criterion of discontinuity: Why reject as words or deeds of Jesus what cannot be derived from the Judaism of Jesus' time or the early church? :3. The
criterion of multiple attestation The criterion of multiple attestation, also called the criterion of independent attestation or the cross-section method, is a tool used by Biblical scholars to help determine whether certain actions or sayings by Jesus in the New Testament are from ...
: Is it more plausible to deny words, sayings, or deeds attributed to Jesus in more than one independent literary source (e.g.,
Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fi ...
, Q, Paul, and John) or literary genre (e.g., parable, miracle story, or prophecy)? :4. The criterion of coherence: Given the claims to historicity from any of the above criteria, are different sayings or deeds evidently inconsistent? :5. The criterion of rejection and execution: If Jesus' ministry came to a violent, public end, what of Jesus' words or deeds could have alienated people, especially powerful people? The criteria are to be used in concert for mutual correction. Still, any claim is only to the probable, not the certain. The rest of Volume 1 discusses the origins of
Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
as to formative years, "external" influences (language, education, and socioeconomic status), and "internal" influences (family ties and marital and lay status). The volume concludes with a survey of Jesus' life chronology. On the question of references to Jesus in the Talmud, Meier considers the thesis of Joseph Klausner (1925) that some very few rabbinic sources, none earlier than about the late 2nd or early 3rd century, contain traces of the historical Jesus. He presents further considerations and arguments, including those of
Johann Maier Johann Maier (23 June 1906 in Berghofen, today part of Aham, Lower Bavaria – 24 April 1945 in Regensburg) was from 1939 until his death a preacher at Regensburg Cathedral. On 22 April 1945, Reich Defense Commissioner Ludwig Ruckdeschel took ci ...
(1978) who maintains that the ''Yeshu'' texts are later medieval corruptions, and writes that: :While not accepting the full, radical approach of Maier, I think we can agree with him on one basic point: in the earliest rabbinic sources, there is no clear or even probable reference to Jesus of Nazareth. Furthermore, ... when we do finally find such references in later rabbinic literature, they are most probably reactions to Christian claims, oral or written. On the other hand, Meier accepts the partial authenticity of the '' Testimonium Flavianum'' by
Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...
in the ''
Antiquities of the Jews ''Antiquities of the Jews'' ( la, Antiquitates Iudaicae; el, Ἰουδαϊκὴ ἀρχαιολογία, ''Ioudaikē archaiologia'') is a 20-volume historiographical work, written in Greek, by historian Flavius Josephus in the 13th year of the re ...
'', eliminating what he thinks are Christians interpolations in it; he also accepts the authenticity of the reference of Josephus to
James the Just James the Just, or a variation of James, brother of the Lord ( la, Iacobus from he, יעקב, and grc-gre, Ἰάκωβος, , can also be Anglicized as "Jacob"), was "a brother of Jesus", according to the New Testament. He was an early lead ...
and
Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his t ...
's reference to Jesus in the '' Annals.''


Volume 2

Volume 2 (1994) is in three main parts: * Jesus' relationship to
John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
(as 'mentor') * Jesus' message of the
kingdom of God The concept of the kingship of God appears in all Abrahamic religions, where in some cases the terms Kingdom of God and Kingdom of Heaven are also used. The notion of God's kingship goes back to the Hebrew Bible, which refers to "his kingdom" b ...
* accounts of Jesus' miracles in ancient and modern minds. The kingdom of God in the second part (pp. 235–506) is examined as to: *the
Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
, related writings, and Qumran * Jesus'
proclamation A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...
of a future kingdom * the kingdom proclaimed by Jesus' words and deeds as already present in his ministry (pp. 451–53). The third part applies the same criteria of historicity to miracle stories as to other aspects of Jesus' life. Rather than adopting say an exclusively agnostic or Christian perspective or relying on philosophical arguments whether miracles can occur, it poses narrower data-based historical questions (pp. 510–11, 517). Meier is quoted in a 1997 interview as saying: "The proper stance of a historian is, 'I neither claim beforehand that miracles are possible, nor do I claim beforehand they are not possible.'" Meier finds that Jesus' performance of extraordinary deeds deemed miracles at the time is best supported by the criteria of multiple attestation and the coherence of Jesus' deeds and words (p. 630). In moving from the global question of miracles to the particular, Meier examines each miracle story by broad category. That examination drives the conclusion that no single theory explains all such stories with equal assurance and applicability. Rather, it is suggested that some stories have no historical basis (such as the
cursing of the fig tree The cursing of the fig tree is an incident in the gospels, presented in Mark and Matthew as a miracle in connection with the entry into Jerusalem, and in Luke as a parable. (The gospel of John omits it entirely and shifts the incident with which i ...
) and that other stories likely go back to events in the life of Jesus (though theological judgment is required to affirm any miracle) (p. 968). At the global level again, Jesus as healer is as well supported as almost anything about the historical Jesus. In the Gospels, the activity of Jesus as miracle worker looms large in attracting attention to himself and reinforces his eschatological message. Such activity, Meier suggests, might have added to the concern of authorities that culminated in Jesus' death (p. 970).


Volume 3

Volume 3 (2001) places Jesus in the context of his followers, the crowds, and his competitors (including
Pharisees The Pharisees (; he, פְּרוּשִׁים, Pərūšīm) were a Jewish social movement and a school of thought in the Levant during the time of Second Temple Judaism. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, Pharisaic beliefs bec ...
,
Sadducees The Sadducees (; he, צְדוּקִים, Ṣədūqīm) were a socio-religious sect of Jewish people who were active in Judea during the Second Temple period, from the second century BCE through the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. Th ...
, Essenes,
Samaritans Samaritans (; ; he, שומרונים, translit=Šōmrōnīm, lit=; ar, السامريون, translit=as-Sāmiriyyūn) are an ethnoreligious group who originate from the ancient Israelites. They are native to the Levant and adhere to Samarit ...
, scribes, and Zealots) in first-century
Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
.


Volume 4

Volume 4 (2009) deals with the ministry of the historical Jesus in relation to
Mosaic Law The Law of Moses ( he, תֹּורַת מֹשֶׁה ), also called the Mosaic Law, primarily refers to the Torah or the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. The law revealed to Moses by God. Terminology The Law of Moses or Torah of Moses (Hebrew ...
, such subjects as divorce, oaths, and observance of the Sabbath and purity rules, and the various love commandments in the Gospels.


Volume 5

Volume 5 (2016) challenges scholarly consensus about the parables and argues instead that only four parables (those of the Mustard Seed, the Evil Tenants, the Talents, and the Great Supper) can be attributed to the historical Jesus with fair certitude.


Volume 6

According to his profile on the University of Notre Dame website, Meier was working on a sixth volume at the time he died. This volume would have addressed the titles used by and of the historical Jesus. The volume was left unfinished: its status and whether it will still be published after Meier's death is currently unclear.


Critical reception

''Antioch and Rome'' was reviewed in 1984 and 1985. ''A Marginal Jew'' vol. 1 was reviewed by
Larry W. Hurtado Larry Weir Hurtado, (December 29, 1943 – November 25, 2019), was an American New Testament scholar, historian of early Christianity, and Emeritus Professor of New Testament Language, Literature, and Theology at the University of Edinburgh ( ...
in 1993. ''A Marginal Jew'' vol. 3 was reviewed by William Loader in 2002.


Selected works by John P. Meier


Books

* * * * *Raymond E. Brown and John P. Meier, 1983. ''Antioch and Rome: New Testament Cradles of Catholic Christianity'', Paulist Press. Scroll to Table of Contents chapter-previe
links.
/ref> * ** ** ** ** ** *


Articles and chapters

* * * * * * * *


Notes


External links

* John P. Meier, 2008. , UCal lecture on YouTube. * _____, 1997
"Finding the Historical Jesus".
An interview.
John P. Meier
- Department of Theology, University of Notre Dame. {{DEFAULTSORT:Meier, John P. 1942 births 2022 deaths American Roman Catholic priests Roman Catholic biblical scholars American biblical scholars New Testament scholars Saint Joseph's Seminary (Dunwoodie) alumni Pontifical Biblical Institute alumni Catholic University of America faculty University of Notre Dame faculty Clergy from New York City Writers from New York City