Ched Myers Liberal Christianity

A product of 1970s Berkeley, California, Ched Myers' rich background in radicalism/liberalism/political activism has been brought to his Binding the Strong Man: A Political Reading of Mark's Story of Jesus (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1988). As the subtitle at once conveys, this is no ordinary commentary on Mark's gospel; indeed, this text has undergone at least seven printings. Whatever image is first impressed upon the reader by the title/subtitle alone is quickly dispensed with as one reads the frontis material.

In his lengthy foreword, Daniel Berrigan reveals his special knowledge about Myers, Myers' Mark, Mark's Jesus, and Myers' Jesus. He writes of Myers' taking chances, daring to be passionate, indignant, ironic, loving: "He renewed the sap of the text, the zest, the risky start, the hope of finishing. He drew the text into life, our lives--where indeed, by supposition, the text was meant to lodge, to discomfit, ennoble" (xxii). But Berrigan is also part of Myers' radical/liberal "community" and so has a special affinity for what will eventually unfold for the reader.

According to Myers, Binding the Strong Man is a book "situated" in a newly emerging field of biblical study becoming known as "political hermeneutics," "sociology of the Bible," "liberation reading of scripture," or, simply, "socio-literary criticism" (xxv, xxvii). He prefers the latter, allowing it to distinguish his work against what he describes as the three current "schools" of c

Related Essays

Gospel according to Mark .... Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1979. Myers, Ched. Binding the Strong Man. .... Myers, Ched. Binding the Strong Man. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1988. .... (2221 9 )

Discipleship in Gospel According to Mark .... Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992. Myers, Ched. Binding the Strong Man. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1988. New American Standard Bible. .... (5373 21 )

n of Man" as merely "Human One" somehow seems to strip Jesus of his divinity. Giving his commitment to Christ the benefit of doubt, Myers' thesis posits that Mark reveals the story of a nonviolent, radical Jewish reformer, Jesus. He remarks that as we read each episode, we must be mindful of the "linear plot" being constructed by Mark, which is frequently embellished by the use of analepsis or prolepsis (p. 34)--"flashbacks" or "future revelations." One example of this is the reference to John the Baptist's arrest in Mark 1:14, which provides a window of opportunity for Jesus' ministry to germinate, and the later account of the Baptist's death in 6:14 (p. 131). According to Myers, in this fashion Markan chronology may be suspended, a singular moment drawn out, or days, months, or years collapsed into another event entirely. Despite this call to grasp the linear development, Myers is forced to admit that when he reckons Mark divided into two "books" roughly dividing the Gospel into equal halves, the parallel elements in each do not necessarily follow the linear flow of the narrative (p. 112). Nevertheless, his two book hypothesis is interesting. He does an admirable job of identifying six common themes, which most comme

Category: Philosophy - C