Were the Galileans “religious Jews” or “ethnic Judeans?”

This article focuses on an investigation into the ethnic identity of first-century Galileans. Its aim is to argue that the Galileans were not descendents of northern Israelites but were mostly descendents of “Jews” who came to live in the region during the Hasmonean expansion. The article demonstrates that this thesis is supported by Josephus and also by archaeological evidence. From the perspective of this thesis, the article contends that the term “Jew” does not apply to Galileans. First-century Galileans should rather be understood as “ethnic Judeans”. HTS Theological Studies/Teologiese Studies Vol. 64 (3) 2008: pp. 1279-129

Identity formation in the New Testament

This article is a review of the book entitled Identity Formation in the New Testament (edited by Bengt Holmberg and Mikael Winninge, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, 2008). It is a collection of various articles using intertextuality, literary theory (and social identity approaches), gender studies andpostcolonial theory when investigating identity formation in the New Testament

Religion and covenantal praxis in first century Judeanism

This article indicates how the two cultural features of religion and covenantal praxis helped foster or shape Judean ethnic identity in the first century CE. It focuses on socialization into the three social domains of the Temple, the synagogue and the home. In these domains, Judean ethnic identity was dominated by the requirements of the Torah. At the same time the presence of Romans, the Herodians and the Gentiles within the ancestral land helped shape Judean identity as well

What kind of “Judean” was Jesus?

Reconstructions of the historical Jesus are analyzed in terms of a proposed socio-cultural model of Judean ethnicity. At first an overview is given of the work of Meier and Crossan to establish the content they assigned to Jesus’ Judean ethnicity. Drawing on the insights of ethnicity theory, biblical scholarship and the work of Berger and Luckmann, a socio-cultural model of Judean ethnicity is proposed and explained. The reconstructions of Meier and Crossan are then compared with the proposed model. It is argued that none of their reconstructions allow for Jesus to be seen as profoundly Judean

A clash of symbolic universes: Judeanism vs Hellenism

This article investigates how Judeans responded to Hellenism in order to maintain the  integrity of their ethnic identity. Judeanism and Hellenism are regarded as alternative “symbolic universes”. It is shown that Judeans used various approaches to maintain their symbolic universe. This included Berger and Luckmann’s notions of theology, nihilation and therapy, but also accommodation, adaptation, appropriation of Hellenistic elements, collective opposition (or ethnicism) and a reinforcement of primordial  sentiments

Explorando el impacto de las herramientas y recursos de comunicación de marketing desarrollados por estudiantes en el rendimiento y satisfacción de las PYMEs

A number of SMEs lack the essential marketing skills, knowledge, tools and resources, and financial access to ensure the survival of their businesses. Service learning could be used as an effective pedagogy for assisting SMEs with vital marketing communication (MC) strategies via the development of tools and resources that may increase business growth and sustainability. The primary research objective was to evaluate SMEs’ satisfaction regarding performance factors, and student developed MC tools and resources that were implemented via a MC service learning programme (in the form of student-run agencies). The inquiry utilized the triad service learning model and quality assurance cycle to apply an evaluation research design that was substantiated by the expectancy-disconfirmation paradigm. A survey was conducted among 107 SME owners and managers via a structured questionnaire. The student developed MC tools and resources and their perceived usefulness resulted in a positive influence on a number of performance factors among SMEs. MC tools and resources such as a customer database, email address, and Facebook page had the largest influence on performance factors. Performance factors such as an increase in sales, new customers, brand awareness, competitive advantage, business efficiency, and motivation of employees were found to have a positive influence SME satisfaction. Further inquiry could replicate the study via various marketing-related service learning programmes in different countries that have divergent cultures, economics and contexts.Muchas PYMEs carecen de las habilidades, los conocimientos, las herramientas y los recursos de marketing esenciales, así como del acceso financiero para garantizar la supervivencia de sus negocios. Los servicios de aprendizaje podrían ayudar a las PYMEs con sus estrategias de comunicación de marketing (MC) mediante el desarrollo de herramientas y recursos que puedan aumentar el crecimiento y la sostenibilidad de las empresas. El objetivo principal de esta investigación es evaluar la satisfacción de las PYMEs con los factores de rendimiento, y las herramientas y recursos de MC desarrollados por los estudiantes que se implementaron a través de un programa de aprendizaje de MC (en forma de agencias gestionadas por estudiantes). La investigación utilizó la relación modelo de aprendizaje-servicio y ciclo de garantía de calidad para aplicar un diseño de investigación de evaluación que se sustentó en el paradigma de expectativas-confirmación. Se realizó una encuesta a 107 propietarios y gestores de PYMEs mediante un cuestionario estructurado. La investigación reveló una influencia positiva de las herramientas y recursos de MC desarrollados por los estudiantes y la utilidad percibida por parte de los empresarios en una serie de factores de rendimiento de las PYMEs. Las herramientas y recursos de MC, como la base de datos de clientes, la dirección de correo electrónico y la página de Facebook, fueron los que más influyeron en los factores de rendimiento. Los factores de rendimiento, como el aumento de las ventas, los nuevos clientes, el conocimiento de la marca, la ventaja competitiva, la eficiencia empresarial y la motivación de los empleados, influyeron positivamente en la satisfacción de las PYMEs. Una investigación más profunda podría replicar el estudio a través de varios programas de aprendizaje de servicios relacionados con el marketing en diferentes países que tienen culturas, economías y contextos divergentes

Resurrection in Paul as both affirmation and challenge to the Israelite cycle of meaning

Pieter Craffert correctly insists that scholars must move away from ontological monism, and, inter alia, should interpret the resurrection of Jesus within the Israelite cycle of meaning. In view of 2 Cor 5:16, however, this paper contends that for Paul, the resurrection of Jesus not only affirmed Israelite resurrection beliefs, but through “the acquisition of experiential knowledge” (quoting Craffert) also challenged and expanded on them, resulting in a new and unexpected cycle of meaning. This study will be aided by the insights of ethnicity theory and social identity theory. The result of the study is to hint at the possibility that contemporary notions of the resurrection or afterlife, in whatever cycles of meaning they may be found, should also be seen continuously open to challenge and transformation through “the acquisition of (present day) experiential knowledge”.Articlehttp://www.neotestamentica.net

The Reconstruction of Judean Ethnicity in Q

This thesis focussed on the matter of Judean ethnic identity in the first century CE. At first we pointed out that New Testament scholarship lacks an overall interpretive framework to understand Judean identity. There is not an appreciation of what informed the entire process of Judean ethnic identity formation in the first century, or at any period for that matter. This lack of interpretive framework is acute in scholarship on the historical Jesus, where the issue of Judeanness is most strongly debated. We investigated the reconstructions of John P Meier and John D Crossan, and attempted to identify what content, be it explicitly or implicitly, or by omission, do they assign to Jesus’ Judean identity. But as yet, we were not in a position to say just what kind of Judean Jesus was. We then proceeded by developing a Socio-Cultural Model of Judean Ethnicity. At first Sanders’ notion of covenantal nomism was explored and redefined to function primarily as an ethnic descriptor. We combined the notion of covenantal nomism with Berger and Luckmann’s theories on the sociology of knowledge, and saw that covenantal nomism could function as the Judean construction of reality. It is a convenient way to define the Judean “symbolic universe”. Dunn’s “four pillars of Second Temple Judeanism” was then reviewed, which looked at the importance of the Temple, God, Election and the Torah. The “new perspective” on Paul as developed by Dunn also proved useful, as he brought attention to the importance of traditional customs (e g circumcision and food laws), and how it served as “badges” for Judean identity. The approaches of Sanders and Dunn, however, lacked the insights of ethnicity theory. Ethnicity theory has identified two primary alternatives when it comes to ethnicity formation: constructionism and primordialism. We looked at the attempt of Jones to integrate the various approaches by her incorporation of the concept of the habitus. An overview of Duling’s Socio-Cultural Model of Ethnicity followed, which lists all the relevant cultural features and which emphasises the predominant constructionist approach. We integrated all of the above into our own proposed model, which we termed covenantal nomism. It is a pictorial representation of the Judean symbolic universe, which as an ethnic identity, was proposed to be essentiall primordialist. The model was then given appropriate content, by investigating what would have been typical of first century Judean ethnic identity. It was also demonstrated that their existed a fundamental continuity between Judea and Galilee, as Galileans were ethnic Judeans themselves and they lived on the ancestral land of Israel. Attention was then focussed on the matter of ethnic identity in Q. We investigated the stratification of Kloppenborg and suggested that the third stratum which refers to the Torah properly belongs to the polemical and apologetic strategy of the main redaction. After analysing the two stratums it was concluded that Q points to a community whose Judean ethnic identity was in (re)construction. Apart from the cultural features of name and land, all cultural features demonstrated strong elements of discontinuity with traditional covenantal nomism. The Q people were given an eschatological Judean identity based on their commitment to Jesus and the requirements of the kingdom/reign of God.Thesis (PhD (New Testament Studies))--University of Pretoria, 2007.New Testament Studiesunrestricte

Avoiding ethnic tension and conflict in South Africa : what can we learn from Paul’s experience?

The dream of a ‘rainbow nation’ in South Africa appears to be on the wane as ethnic tension and conflict seem to simmer just beneath the surface. This article investigates Paul’s approach to the issue of ethnic identity with reference to ethnicity and social identity theory. Initially, Paul adopted a radical approach, which basically rendered ethnic identity irrelevant. However, he came to realise that ethnic differences need to be accommodated within the group of Jesus followers. The article applies these insights in calling for strong, moral, visionary and discerning leadership in South Africa