William B Bowes - Profile on Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by William B Bowes

Can We Teach What Peter Did Not Write? inspiration, Authority, and the Problem of 2 Peter

Evangelical Quarterly, 2025

The second letter of Peter is the most disputed text in the canonical New Testament, with its aut... more The second letter of Peter is the most disputed text in the canonical New Testament,
with its authenticity being debated since before the fourth century. This article reexamines 2 Peter as a canonical Christian text, considering the ethical implications
of the letter’s status for modern pastoral contexts. While arguments for and against
authenticity will be reviewed, the goal of this article is not to prove or disprove the
letter’s authenticity. Rather, I will focus on the concepts of inspiration, authority and
canon as guideposts, concluding that while our assessment of this ancient text should
be informed by humility and an allowance for ambiguity, 2 Peter can indeed be studied
and taught as a text with just as much value as any other New Testament text.

The Markan and Johannine Paralytic(s)

Early Christianity, 2024

Religions, 2024

Social Representations Theory (SRT) refers to an approach within social psychology focusing on sy... more Social Representations Theory (SRT) refers to an approach within social psychology focusing on systems of beliefs, concepts, and values that establish social order and allow for individuals and groups to identify and understand themselves vis-a-vis others. It involves the ascription of meaning to phenomena so that the unfamiliar is made familiar, and new concepts are integrated into existing worldviews in an ongoing process of constructing and interpreting social realities. This approach has not yet been applied to any biblical texts, and this article will explore how such an application would prove fruitful for understanding the processes of identification and community formation in early Christian groups, with a specific focus on Ephesians. This study will focus on how the concepts of reconciled differences (Eph 2.11-22) and of the 'new self' (Eph 4.17-32) are communicated to the readers. Analyzing these concepts through SRT will elucidate how the author advocates for certain beliefs, concepts, and values as part of the community members' process of aligning themselves with their newly created self. Reading Ephesians through SRT can better elucidate how the text reflects its enigmatic community, which was being formed and reformed through identification, division, and re-identification in the tumultuous second half of the first century.

Old Testament Essays, 2024

In the Jacob Cycle (Gen 25:19-36:43), there is a peculiar passage about the appearance of Rachel'... more In the Jacob Cycle (Gen 25:19-36:43), there is a peculiar passage about the appearance of Rachel's sister Leah. Jacob clearly prefers Rachel and the narrator includes a comparative note about the sisters in Gen 29:17 which indicates that Rachel was more physically desirable than Leah, describing Leah's eyes with the ambiguous modifier rakkot ‫רכות‬)). Some interpreters have concluded that this does not describe a defect in Leah's physical eyes but is an observation about her appearance. In this article, I examine the characterisation of Leah in Gen 29 through the lenses of disability studies and aesthetic philosophy, concluding that while there is probably no physical or anatomical problem with Leah's eyes, the narrator describes her as if there was, suggesting that Leah's undesirability is treated as though it were a physical disability. Leah's characterisation as such is illuminated through an analysis of how disabling conditions are understood in the Hebrew Bible and the overlap between ability and aesthetic appeal is explored to illustrate how the narrator of Gen 29 conflates concepts of disability and desirability in the portrayal of Leah's character. Ultimately, since Leah does conceive despite being undesired by Jacob, she is portrayed ironically as desired by YHWH and the narrator utilises the subversion of the reader's expectation to show how YHWH in his sovereignty subverts the expected outcome of the narrative, granting agency to the powerless and favouring the unfavoured.

Pneuma, 2024

The first letter to Timothy includes a reference to a primitive hymnic formula that grants a cent... more The first letter to Timothy includes a reference to a primitive hymnic formula that grants a central role to the Holy Spirit in Jesus’s resurrection. This reference coheres with other primitive (pre-Pauline) references such as Rom 1:3–4 and with Paul’s earlier teaching on the Spirit (as in Rom 8:11). In a letter that seems otherwise sparse in its pneumatology, 1Tim 3:16 is important for understanding the relationship between the Holy Spirit and Jesus’s identity, and I suggest that the mention of the Spirit here informs the way that the statements in 4:1–5 should be read, and the way that the letter’s overall portrayal of truth and falsehood should be understood. I will discuss the interpretation of 1Tim 3:16 4:5, proposing a pentecostal reading of this section of the letter, one that takes seriously the vindicating role of the Spirit in Jesus’s resurrection as a model for believer’s future resurrection, one that coheres with the pneumatology of earlier Pauline epistles, and one that coheres with the treatment of false teachers and demonic spirits in other New Testament texts.

Evangelical Review of Theology and Politics, 2024

In the last decade there have been several new translations of both the old and new testaments th... more In the last decade there have been several new translations of both the old and new testaments that have been published by individual scholars, and each has its own promises and pitfalls. In the work of Bible translation there are always elements of interpretation, and as more biblical manuscripts have been discovered in recent years there remain continuous efforts to better shape our understanding of the ancient text. In this article, I will evaluate the recent Bible translations by Goldingay (2018) and Mcknight (2023), noting how these translations are different than previous translations and what makes them distinct. In this examination, I will draw attention to specific passages that are either difficult to translate or are controversial in the way that they are translated, evaluating how Goldingay and McKnight handle such texts in comparison with previous translations. This analysis seeks to help readers understand that while every modern translation has its promises and its pitfalls, Goldingay and McKnight have provided unique and interesting versions that can especially benefit better-educated readers.

Westminster Theological Journal, 2023

Since the publication of J. Gresham Machen’s The Origin of Paul’s Religion in 1921, scholarly int... more Since the publication of J. Gresham Machen’s The Origin of Paul’s Religion
in 1921, scholarly interpretation of Paul and his theology has gone through
a significant series of transformations. At that time, Machen’s work was
one of the most thorough repudiations of the idea that Paul’s message
had any basis (Hellenistic or otherwise) other than his encounter with
Jesus himself, with Machen intending to minimize the growing distance
between Paul and the earliest followers of Jesus that was being proposed in the scholarship of his day. While many of the initial responses to Machen’s work were positive, the field of Pauline studies began to change dramatically in the decades following his work, and that requires both a careful re-evaluation of what Paul’s gospel is and how Machen’s insights might be re-read considering these changes. This article will assess how Paul’s gospel has been interpreted since 1921, examining developments over time. The analysis will begin with an examination of Machen’s original work and the responses to it, and it will proceed by analyzing literature related to the origin of Paul’s message over three series of decades that have followed, with a view to affirming the importance of Machen’s interpretive approach and enduring influence.

The Jonathan Edwards Miscellanies Companion, Vol. 3

Chapter 4 (pp. 65-80) of The Jonathan Edwards Miscellanies Companion, Vol. 3, ed. Robert Boss (JE... more Chapter 4 (pp. 65-80) of The Jonathan Edwards Miscellanies Companion, Vol. 3, ed. Robert Boss (JESociety Press, 2023).

Bibliotheca Sacra, 2022

Prayer plays a more significant role in the Gospel of Mark than previously assumed. Given that Ma... more Prayer plays a more significant role in the Gospel of Mark than previously assumed. Given that Mark and his readers understood the world in terms of a cosmic conflict between temporal and spiritual realms, I contend that prayer in Mark has a resistance oriented focus. This article reexamines Markan prayer texts, evaluating them in the context of antiquity and Mark's understanding of spiritual-temporal conflict.

Journal of Pentecostal Theology, 2023

While Jude and 1 John emerged from different situations, each letter makes a case against the bel... more While Jude and 1 John emerged from different situations, each letter makes a case against the beliefs and behaviors of groups causing disruption in their respective communities. Both arguments against their opponents involve appeals to authority,
necessary because the opponents legitimize themselves and their authority by claiming God’s Spirit. In this article, the author argues that the message of both letters is better understood when read alongside first-century views of S/spirit possession and represent contemporaneous attempts to distinguish who legitimately possesses God’s Spirit. For Jude, this entails conformity to divinely established authoritative structures,
defining and unifying the community and delimiting behaviors. For 1 John, this entails conformity to the community’s authoritative tradition, defining and unifying the community and distinguishing truth from error. Reading these letters in this way
aids our understanding of how early communities handled division and how their pneumatologies relate to the need to adhere to a certain order.

Themelios, 2023

Acts of the Apostles reports several uprisings and instances of mob violence that occur across As... more Acts of the Apostles reports several uprisings and instances of mob violence that occur across Asia Minor, caused by or related to the evangelistic and missionary endeavors of Paul and his companions in the middle of the first century. While the historicity of the events recorded in Acts is an issue of perennial dispute, the disturbances associated with the expansion of the Christian message are presented by the author as historical events. Consequently, a closer and more detailed examination of the major uprisings throughout the text is in order. This article begins with an analysis of extrabiblical records of mob violence and uprisings in the first-century Roman Empire, and then moves to an analysis of five episodes of mob violence recorded in Acts for the purpose of comparing the way that uprisings during the early Imperial period were recorded. The discussion concludes by arguing that Acts reports these events in a manner consistent with the way that other uprisings during this time were reported, and the details in Acts match the social and cultural context of the areas described. As a result, readers should consider the accounts in Acts to have a higher degree of historical reliability.

Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 2023

In a 1998 JETS article, James Dvorak examined scholarly perspectives on the relationship between ... more In a 1998 JETS article, James Dvorak examined scholarly perspectives on the relationship between John's Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels. Since then, significant shifts in interpretation on this question merit a re-examination. In 1998, the perspective of most scholars reflected the long-held consensus throughout the twentieth century that John's Gospel was independent and separate from the Synoptics. Recent decades, however, have seen an increased openness to a closer relationship between them, especially with Mark but also with Luke and Matthew. In his evaluation of the relationship, Dvorak opted for a mediating position between independence and dependence. The present article examines trends in scholarship over the last twenty-five years, evaluating whether a relationship closer to dependence (especially on Mark) has more explanatory power than independence or a mediating position.

Journal of the Oxford Graduate Theological Society, 2022

The New Testament texts collectively bear witness to the apocalyptic and eschatological orientati... more The New Testament texts collectively bear witness to the apocalyptic and eschatological orientation of the early Christian movement, which saw in the death and resurrection of Jesus the decisive intervention of God in history and the inauguration of a new age. As the capstone of the canon, Revelation is perhaps the clearest example of apocalyptic eschatology, even while it appears to be quite different from other New Testament texts. In this article I offer an analysis of Revelation as a text of hope, written to late first century Christian communities in need of hope as a basis for their beliefs and actions while facing an increasingly ambiguous and threatening social, political, and religious situation. My argument will proceed with an exploration of hope as a concept, noting its multifaceted nature and various definitions, moving to an analysis of the place of hope within Christian theology. The main body of the article is concerned with an exploration of the role of hope within Revelation, beginning with an examination of its language, genre, context, and purpose, and concluding with an examination of its content and narrative flow, noting how these aspects of the text coalesce into a theology of hope. Ultimately, I conclude that Revelation was written for the purpose of creating and sustaining hope in its readers (reading from the perspective of an oppressed minority group) and was intended to be circulated and reread in church communities as a continuous witness to hope in the face of an uncertain future.

Themelios, 2022

Mark 2:26 has presented itself as a difficult textual and historical problem for interpreters. Ma... more Mark 2:26 has presented itself as a difficult textual and historical problem for interpreters. Mark narrates Jesus describing an action of David which is said to happen during the priesthood of Abiathar, but in the Old Testament source this detail appears inaccurate and is absent from the Matthean and Lukan versions. This article will first examine three types of problems that arise in interpreting this text and will then evaluate two types of solutions that have been proposed. The aim of this article is to highlight the limitations of previous approaches and to argue for a third type of solution as best option for understanding the text, which is based in a narrative reading of Mark's Christology.

Evangelical Review of Theology and Politics, 2022

Modern Western culture has seen radical change in recent years, from technological advancement to... more Modern Western culture has seen radical change in recent years, from technological advancement to the complete transformation of what sexual ethics are considered acceptable. Some of these shifts can seem to have materialized overnight, leaving many to wonder how society arrived at this point, where things will go in the future, and what these changes mean for Christians whose resistance of the cultural tide has often been ineffective. Carl Trueman's The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, and its more recent, abridged, popular-level revision, Strange New World, seeks to address these questions, showing that such changes have predictable and recognizable trajectories that can be linked to broader, long-term shifts in how people have understood the concept of selfhood. By "self, " Trueman means "where the 'real me' is to be found, how that shapes my view of life, and in what the fulfillment or happiness of that 'real me' consists" (Strange, pp. 21-22). Consequently, the core of his approach is that social and cultural attitudes toward behaviors and mores have followed deeper shifts in how

Exploring the Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Social, Cultural, Economic, and Psychological Insights and Perspectives, 2022

Chapter 6 (pp. 101-113) in Usha Rana and Jayanathan Govender (eds.) Exploring the Consequences of... more Chapter 6 (pp. 101-113) in Usha Rana and Jayanathan Govender (eds.) Exploring the Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Social, Cultural, Economic, and Psychological Insights and Perspectives (Boca Raton: AAP CRC, 2022)

Life and Death in the Gospel of Thomas: Existence and Esotericism in Early Non-Canonical Groups

Dialogismos, 2021

The Gospel of Thomas represents some of the earliest attested non-canonical sayings attributed to... more The Gospel of Thomas represents some of the earliest attested non-canonical sayings attributed to Jesus, some of which bear a resemblance to canonical gospel sayings and others which are entirely different. Certain thematic emphases in the document, such as secrecy and knowledge, have long been recognized as reflecting division in the beliefs of second-century Christ groups arising from various ideologies often (rightly or wrongly) placed under the banner of Gnosticism. Differences between this gospel and the canonical Gospels help illustrate the shifts that Christian communities underwent in the second century and provide insight into not only how beliefs changed over time but also how syncretism and adaptation took place between belief systems. One area of difference between the Gospel of Thomas and the canonical Gospels is related to concepts of living and dying, which appear frequently in sayings attributed to Jesus. This paper explores the sayings of Jesus related to life and death in the Gospel of Thomas, elucidating how these compare with the canonical sayings, reflect changes and syncretistic adaptations in the beliefs of second-century communities, and how such insights help illuminate early Christian ideas of existence, whether orthodox or heterodox with respect to the earliest tradition.

Film Philosophy and Religion, 2021

Chapter 2 (pp. 29-50) from William Anderson (ed.), Film Philosophy and Religion (Wilmington: Vern... more Chapter 2 (pp. 29-50) from William Anderson (ed.), Film Philosophy and Religion (Wilmington: Vernon, 2021)

Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 2021

There has been a renewed interest in the language of faith (pistis) in recent years, but few stud... more There has been a renewed interest in the language of faith (pistis) in recent years, but few studies have focused exclusively on the way that such language is understood and utilized in Luke-Acts. This article explores the nuance and development of faith-language in appropriated and unique Lukan passages, focusing on the faith of Jesus's disciples. The analysis then turns to how this develops throughout the narrative into Acts, with a focus toward illustrating how Luke uniquely highlights the disciples' pistis to show that a problem to be remedied in the era of Acts is their lack of faith.

Priscilla Papers, 2021

This article seeks to emphasize the liberating and countercultural place of women within the earl... more This article seeks to emphasize the liberating and countercultural place of women within the earliest centuries of church history through an examination of the earliest surviving criticisms of Christianity by pagan writers. The examination will focus most directly on the work of Celsus, a second-century non-Christian writer, noting how some of his criticisms highlight the particularly high reception of the Christian message by women. I endeavor to show through an analysis of both Celsus’ critiques as well as certain aspects of Greco-Roman culture in the earliest years of church history that to be a Christian offered women not only a sense of belonging and significance within an egalitarian movement, but also offered them a countercultural sense of liberation.