Social and Cognitive Perspectives on the Sermon on the Mount
Edited by
Rikard Roitto [+–]
Stockholm School of Theology, Sweden
Rikard Roitto is Associate Professor, lecturer in biblical studies and education director of the theological programs at the Stockholm School of Theology.
Colleen Shantz [+–]
University of Toronto
Colleen Shantz is Associate Professor in the area of New Testament Studies at St Michael’s College, University of Toronto.
Petri Luomanen [+–]
University of Helsinki
Petri Luomanen is Professor of New Testament and Early Christian Culture and Literature in the Faculty of Theology at the University of Helsinki.
Social and Cognitive Perspectives on the Sermon on the Mount offers fresh readings of themes and individual sayings in the Sermon on the Mount (SM) using socio-cognitive approaches. Because these approaches are invested in patterns of human cognition and social mechanisms, the resulting collection highlights the persistent appeal and persuasiveness of the SM: from innate moral drives, to the biology of emotion and risk-taking, to the formation and obliteration of in-group/out-group distinctions. Through these theories the authors show why—even across cultures and history—the SM continues to grip both individual minds and groups of people in order to shape moral communities.
Classical historical-critical readings interpret the sermon according to the conventions of literature, seeking a relationship to other texts and ideas. By contrast our volume explores the SM not so much for the logical and historical relationships to other literary traditions, but also—and perhaps more importantly—for the ways it stimulates emotional, biologically, culturally habituated, evolutionarily preconditioned, and socially sanctioned characteristics of humans. In short, the volume shines a light on the action-inducing properties of the text.
The volume will introduce a broader group of scholars, students, and clergy to the relevance of social scientific and cognitive studies for interpretation of the Bible, by applying these approaches to possibly the most read and discussed text in the Bible.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Stockholm School of Theology, Sweden
Rikard Roitto is Associate Professor, lecturer in biblical studies and education director of the theological programs at the Stockholm School of Theology.
University of Toronto
Colleen Shantz is Associate Professor in the area of New Testament Studies at St Michael’s College, University of Toronto.
University of Helsinki
Petri Luomanen is Professor of New Testament and Early Christian Culture and Literature in the Faculty of Theology at the University of Helsinki.
Part 1: Action Induction and Character Formation
Stockholm School of Theology
Thomas Kazen is Professor of New Testament Studies at Stockholm School of Theology
University of Toronto
Colleen Shantz is Associate Professor in the area of New Testament Studies at St Michael’s College, University of Toronto.
University of Copenhagen
Anne Katrine de Hemmer Gudme is Professor with special responsibilities of Hebrew Bible Studies at the University of Copenhagen. Her research focuses on cult and ritual in the Hebrew Bible in its ancient Mediterranean contexts and she has published extensively on sacrifices and other gifts to the gods.
Barton College, USA
Rodney A. Werline is Professor of Religion and Philosophy at Barton College in Wilson, North Carolina.
Part 2: Shaping Perception
Stockholm School of Theology, Sweden
Rikard Roitto is Associate Professor, lecturer in biblical studies and education director of the theological programs at the Stockholm School of Theology.
Stockholm School of Theology
Thomas Kazen is Professor of New Testament Studies at Stockholm School of Theology
University of Eastern Finland
Lauri Thuren is Professor of Biblical Studies at the University of Eastern Finland.
University of Eastern Finland
Niilo Lahti is a PhD student at the University of Eastern Finland
Part 3: Formation of Communities
University of Waterloo
Alicia J. Batten is Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Theological Studies at the University of Waterloo.
Hofstra University, USA
John Teehan is Professor of Religion at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York.
University of Helsinki
Elisa Uusimaki is a Post-doctoral student at the University of Helsinki.
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