Читать книгу The Origins of Christianity and the New Testament - Rebecca I. Denova - Страница 29

What is anachronism? It is placing something out of its own time and place, usually to a later time or place. The best way to understand this is the example of what are known as “gaffes” in Hollywood movies. It is like watching a movie that takes place in the 1970s where people are using cellphones.

Anachronism is the bane of all historians. This is because we are modern humans. It is difficult to set aside our own experiences and knowledge so that we can be entirely objective. We expect objectivity from historians, but it is virtually impossible. All historians must decide what they think is important, and so you have immediate subjectivity in the selection. Knowing the “end” always influences understanding the past. For example, it is very difficult to write a history of World War II and ignore how it ended.

New Testament scholars and historians do not escape this problem. Reading the books of the New Testament within the frame of their original historical context is quite a challenge. We know that these texts became the basis of a new, independent religion, Christianity. But the writers at the time did not know this. Complicating our reconstructions is the fact that historians and theologians have 2000 years of Christian theology that is so often “read back” into the texts.

As a historian of ancient religions (I also research the religions of Egypt, Greece, and Rome), I face the same struggles as other historians. I will attempt in every chapter to try and avoid such pitfalls where I can. I will often insert a modern analogy, simply to help with the reading and the reconstruction of early Christianity. You will be able to distinguish an analogy from anachronism.