Midrash
 

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    Good  News  (Feb. 0/98)  Bishop Spong is telling the whole world about "midrash".
     I too feel it's high time all Christians  were informed  re this central aspect  of Spong's
    theology.

    Thus,  Christians, laity as well as seminarians, will  harvest rich insights into
    Rudolph Bultmann's brilliant  observations re the extensive use  of  myth  in most, if not all,
    New Testament writings.  And, hard for conservative Christians to accept, the scientific modern
    age might begin to realize  there is definitely  no real  Jesus Christ without
    myth!  At least  no Jesus worthy  of religious  attention!  ( Hence, St. Paul long
    ago pressed the cause of  Christianity  into the  Roman world with only  one quote of
    Jesus  - " it's more  blessed to give than receive."    And maybe not  an authentic
    quote, at that.  Obviously, Paul was  not  hung up on any personal quest for the
    historical  Jesus?!!?)
     

    Interestingly, and paradoxically,  the Jesus Seminar fellows are scraping beneath the
    myth, legends and wisdom lore of the New Testament to  the historical  Jesus.  With
     Bishop's Spong's approval and blessing (maybe qualified)

    One thing sure the Christian faith  will be never be the same again.   And  Bishop
    Spong's  various writings  show clear why.
     
     
     

    WHAT IS MIDRASH?

    Midrash is central to Bishop Spong's understanding and rethinking of the New Testament .

    Personally, I would  simplify talk about  the  Old Testament images used to describe Jesus of Nazareth and say the gospel  writers made liberal use of  Old Testament themes (such as Exodus-Moses, Elijah, the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53).  Thus, was Jesus glorified and  communicated to those who followed  him.

    However, even a quick glimpse of Spong's rethinking of Christianity (Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism, This Hebrew Lord, etc) makes clear  the Bishop is both an excellent communicator and a competent , knowledgeable New Testament scholar.   Therefore, I think  that  all Christians will have to accept his thesis:  Midrash was liberally used by the writers of Matthew , Mark, Luke and John to describe the person and ministry of Jesus Christ.

    On this page, I will put up some definitions of Midrash.    It appears to have several meanings. For one thing,  Midrash  is Jewish commentary on the Old Testament going back to ancient times.  It appears to have been used by the four gospel writers, who as both Christians and Jews, no doubt gave Midrash a few Christians twists.   And now, informed by modern science and a modern world view,  Christian writers and theologians are surely giving  a new spin to Midrash.  So, I have sought out some authoritative, official definitions of Midrash. I have also included some negative and positive commentary re its meaning and development .  In the negative line, I  offer some panning of Bishop Spong's  focus on the concept.   Positively, I have included  a pastor's  suggestion that Midrash  offers  spiritual  healing  to parishioners.   Thus, the importance of Midrash goes beyond the academic.                                                                                                                                                                                                               Finally, Spong's focus on Midrash emphasizes the Jewishness of Jesus of Nazareth.  This will pave the way for necessary corrections  in Christian doctrine . (and practice, too).   We might also hope for  a termination  of  2000 years of enmity and violence between Christians and Jews as a new understanding of  Jesus and his teachings emerges.