Ed Parish Sanders (born 1947) is a leading New Testament theologian and one of the principal proponents of the New Perspective on Paul. He has been Arts and Sciences Professor of Religion at Duke University, North Carolina, since 1990. 1947 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The New Testament, sometimes called the Greek Scriptures, is the name given to the part of the Christian Bible that was written after the birth of Jesus. ... Duke University is a private university located in Durham, North Carolina in the United States. ... State nickname: Tar Heel State Other U.S. States Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Governor Michael Easley Official languages English Area 139,509 km² (28th)  - Land 126,256 km²  - Water 13,227 km² (9. ... 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Sanders is a Fellow of the British Academy and in 1990 he recieved a D. Litt. from the University of Oxford and a D. Theol. from the University of Helsinki. He has authored, co-authored or edited 13 books and numerous articles. He has recieved a number of prizes, including the Grawemeyer Prize for the best book on religion published in the 1980s for Jesus and Judaism. A fellow in its broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. ... The British Academy is the United Kingdoms national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. ... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... The University of Helsinki is a university located in Helsinki, Finland. ...

Biography

Sanders is married with a daughter and was born and grew up in Grand Prairie, Texas. He attended Wesleyan College, Fort Worth (1955-1959) and Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University, Dallas (1959-1962). He spent a year (1962-1963) studying at Göttingen, the University of Oxford and in Jerusalem. Grand Prairie is a city located in Dallas, Tarrant, and Ellis counties. ... Fort Worth is the sixth-largest city in the state of Texas, located about 30 miles west of Dallas on the West Fork Trinity River and forming part of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. ... 1955 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1959 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Southern Methodist University, often known by its acronym of SMU, is a private university in University Park, Texas, USA. University Park is one of two adjacent Dallas suburbs sometimes called The Bubble (the other being Highland Park) because they are surrounded by the city of Dallas and are two of... Dallas redirects here. ... 1962 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1963 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Jerusalem (Hebrew: יְרוּשָׁלַיִם Yerushalayim; Arabic: القدس al-Quds; see also names of Jerusalem) is an ancient Middle Eastern city of key importance to the religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. ...

Between September 1963 and May 1966 Sanders studied at Union Theological Seminary, New York for his Th.D His thesis was entitled The Tendencies of the Synoptic Tradition (published in 1969), which used Form criticism to examine whether the Gospel tradition changed in consistent ways.. 1966 was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... Union Theological Seminary is an independent college of theology, located in Manhattan, in New York City. ... State nickname: Empire State Other U.S. States Capital Albany Largest city New York Governor George Pataki Official languages None Area 141,205 km² (27th)  - Land 122,409 km²  - Water 18,795 km² (13. ... A Th. ... 1969 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... Form criticism is a method of textual criticism, applied especially to the Bible, for tracing the origin and history of certain passages through systematic study of the writings in terms of conventional literary forms, such as parables, proverbs, and love poems. ... In Christianity, Gospels are a genre of Early Christian literature essentially concerning the message and meaning of Jesus. ...

He was offered a job at McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario), where he remained from 1966 to 1984. In 1968 he won a fellowship from the Canda Council and spent a year in Israel, studying Rabbinical Judaism. McMaster University is a medium-sized research-intensive university located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, with an enrollment of 16,771 full-time and 3,599 part-time students (as of 2004). ... Hamilton is a Scottish clan and major Scottish Lowlands family that has given its name to the town of Hamilton, Scotland and many people and places. ... Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Loyal she began, loyal she remains) Other Canadian provinces and territories Capital Toronto Largest city Toronto Lieutenant Governor James K. Bartleman Premier Dalton McGuinty (Liberal) Area 1,076,395 km² (4th)  - Land 917,741 km²  - Water 158,654 km² (14. ... 1984 is a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1968 was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... Orthodox Judaism is one of the three major branches of Judaism. ...

In 1984 he became Dean Ireland's Professor of Exegesis at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Queen's College, positions he kept until his move to Duke University in 1990. He has also held visiting professorships and lectureships at Trinity College, Dublin, and the University of Cambridge. The Queens College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. ... The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin or more commonly Trinity College, Dublin (TCD) was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I, is the only constituent college of the University of Dublin, Irelands oldest university. ... The University of Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world. ...

Thought and writings

Sanders' first major book was Paul and Palestinian Judaism, which was published in 1977. He had written the book by 1975, but had difficulty in having it published due to its controversial nature. 1977 was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1977 calendar). ... 1975 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ...

Sanders argued that the traditional Christian argument that Paul was arguing against Rabbinic "legalism" was a misunderstanding of both Judaism and Paul's thought, especially as it assumed a level of individualism that was not present, and disregarded any notions of group benefit or collective privilege. Rather, the difference was in how a person becomes one of the People of God. Sanders termed the Jewish belief "covenantal nomism": one was in due to God's covenant with Abraham, and one stayed in by keeping the Law. Sanders argued that Paul's belief was one of "participationist eschatology": the only way to become one of the People of God was through faith in Christ ("dying to Christ") and the old covenant was no longer sufficient. But, once in, appropriate behaviour was required, based on the Jewish Law, but not necessarily keeping all aspects of it. Both patterns required the grace of God for election (admission), and the behaviour of the individual, supported by God's grace. The dividing line, therefore, as Paul's insistance on faith in Christ as the only way to election. Christianity is an Abrahamic religion based on the life, teachings, death by crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth as described in the New Testament. ... Paul of Tarsus (originally Saul of Tarsus) or Saint Paul the Apostle (c. ... Abraham (אַבְרָהָם Father/Leader of many, Standard Hebrew Avraham, Tiberian Hebrew ʾAḇrāhām; Arabic ابراهيم Ibrāhīm) is the patriarch of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. ...

Sanders' next major book was Jesus and Judaism, published in 1985. In this he argued that Jesus began as a follower of John the Baptist and was a prophet of the restoration of Israel. Sanders saw Jesus as creating an eschatological Jewish movement through his appointment of the Apostles and through his preaching and actions. After his execution (the trigger for which was Jesus overthrowing the tables in the temple court, thereby challenging the political authorities who then sought his death) his followers continued his movement, expecting his return to restore Israel, part of which was Gentiles worshiping the God of Israel. 1985 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The neutrality and accuracy of this article are disputed. ... John the Baptist (also called John the Baptizer) is regarded as a prophet by at least three religions: Christianity, Islam, and Mandaeanism. ... In numerous religions, including Abrahamic religions, Jah religions, Sikhism, and many forms of Paganism, a prophet is an intermediary with a deity, particularly someone who speaks for the deity or interprets the deitys will or mind. ... Albrecht Dürer - Four horsemen of the Apocalypse This article is about the concept of the end of the world. ... Alternate meanings: See Apostle (Mormonism), The Apostle (1997 movie) The 12 Apostles (in Greek απόστολος apostolos= emissary) were probably Jewish men (10 names are Aramaic, 4 names are Greek) chosen from among the disciples, who were sent forth , by Jesus to preach the Gospel to both Jews and Gentiles, across... The word Gentile has several meanings. ...

Judaism: Practice and Belief was published in 1992 and examined the actual practices of Judaism. Sanders argued that there was a "Common Judaism", that is, beliefs and practices common to all Jews, regardless of which party they belonged to. After the reign of Salome Alexandra, the Pharisees were a small but very respected party which had a varying amount of influence within Judaism. The main source of power however was with the rulers and especially the aristocratic priesthood. Sanders argues that the evidence indicates that the Pharisees did not dictate policy to any of these groups or individuals. 1992 is a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Salome Alexandra was queen of Judea ruled between 76-67 BCE. She was the widow of Alexander Jannaeus King of Judea, and the mother of Aristobulus II and Hyrcanus II. During her reign, she allied with the Pharisees, the rivals of her defunct husband. ... The Pharisees (from the Hebrew perushim, from parash, meaning to separate) were, depending on the time, a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews that flourished during the Second Temple Era (536 BCE–70 CE). ...

Sanders also argues that more comparative studies are needed, with wider examinations between the New Testament, ancient history and all the available ancient sources. Speaking at a conference organised in his honour, he argued "They are not all that easy, but they are an awful lot of fun."

Books and articles

These are some of the published works of Sanders:

• The Tendencies of the Synoptic Tradition 1969 Cambridge University Press ISBN 0521073189
• Paul and Palestinian Judaism 1977 SCM Press ISBN 0800618998
• Paul, the Law, and the Jewish People 1983 Augsburg Fortress Publishers ISBN 0800618785
• Jesus and Judaism 1985 SCM Press ISBN 0334020913
• With Margaret Davies, Studying the Synoptic Gospels 1989 SCM Press ISBN 0334023424
• Jewish Law from Jesus to the Mishnah 1990 SCM Press ISBN 0334021022
• Paul 1991 Oxford Paperbacks ISBN 0192876791
• Judaism: Practice and Belief 1992 SCM Press ISBN 0334024706
• Paul: A Very Short Introduction 2001 Oxford Paperbacks ISBN 0192854518
• The Historical Figure of Jesus 2005 Penguin Books Ltd ISBN 0140144994

• "Jesus’ Galilee," Fair Play: Diversity and Conflicts in Early Christianity. In, Essays in Honor of Heikki Räisänen, eds. Ismo Dunderberg, Kari Syreeni, Christopher Tuckett (Leiden: Brill 2001), pp. 3-41.
• "Jesus’ Relation to Sepphoris," Sepphoris in Galilee. In, Crosscurrents of Culture, eds. Rebecca Martin Nagy, Eric M. Meyers, Carol L. Meyers, and Zeev Weiss (Raleigh: North Carolina Museum of Art, 1996), pp. 75-9.

External links

• E. P. Sanders home page (http://www.duke.edu/religion/home/EP/sanders.html)
• The New Perspective on Paul (http://www.thepaulpage.com/)