Jason BeDuhn

Jason David BeDuhn (born 1963) is a historian of religion and culture, currently Professor of Religious Studies at Northern Arizona University.[1]

Jason BeDuhn
BornJason David BeDuhn 
1963  (age 58)
EducationDoctor of Philosophy, Master of Theological Studies, Bachelor of Arts 
Alma mater
OccupationUniversity teacher, historian, biblical scholar 
Employer
Awards

Education

BeDuhn holds a B.A. in Religious studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, an M.T.S. in New Testament and Christian Origins from Harvard Divinity School, and a Ph.D. in the Comparative Study of Religions from Indiana University Bloomington.[2]

Views
The Apostle John and Marcion of Sinope, c. 11th century.

Marcion priority
See also: Gospel of Marcion § As a version of Mark, and Marcion hypothesis

Beginning with his book The First New Testament: Marcion's Scriptural Canon, BeDuhn has stated that the Gospel of Marcion (referred to as the Gospel of the Lord by adherents of Marcionism) was not produced nor adapted by Marcion of Sinope, but instead compiled and adopted by him based on pre-existing ancient Christian traditions.[3]

This is consistent with Matthias Klinghardt's view that Marcion's gospel was based on the Gospel of Mark, with the Gospel of Matthew based on Mark and Marcion, and the Gospel of Luke expanding on Marcion with reference to Matthew and Mark.[4] In 2017, both Klinghardt and BeDuhn reaffirmed their stances on Marcion priority.

This view contrasts with the belief of the Church Fathers and biblical scholars such as Bruce Metzger and Bart Ehrman that Marcion redacted the Gospel of Luke in accordance with his personal theology.[5][6] Theologian Adolf von Harnack also accepted the view of the Church Fathers, that Marcion wished to "purify" the Evangelion to an original state given by Christ and defy the fabricated Gospel of Luke, all without appealing to revelation.[7]

Augustine and Manichaeism

BeDuhn considers that the conversion of Augustine from Manichaeism to Nicene Christianity was not a sudden act but a life-long transformation, with the narrative we now have being the product of Augustine's own idealized retrospect. BeDuhn roots Augustine's dissatisfaction with the Manichaean faith in its practice-focused way of life and external social pressures leading him towards apostasy. The 383 AD law ordered by Flavius Hypatius that condemned anyone who converted from Christianity to Paganism, Judaism, or Manichaeism is cited as one of these strong social pressures.[8]

Awards

BeDuhn won the Best First Book Award from the American Academy of Religion in 2001 for his book The Manichaean Body in Discipline and Ritual, notable for its analysis of religions as goal-oriented systems of practice rationalized within particular models of reality.[9]

He was named a Guggenheim Fellow in 2004.[10]

Australian Research Council

BeDuhn was involved in a collaborative project, completed in 2019, to edit and translate an ancient Coptic Manichaean manuscript with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Australian Research Council.[11]

Bibliography

Books authored

In 2010 and 2013, BeDuhn published a two-part work entitled Augustine's Manichaean Dilemma in which he considers "the deep imprint of Manicheanism on Augustine".[12][13][14]

  • 2000 The Manichaean Body in Discipline and Ritual. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
  • 2003 Truth in Translation: Accuracy and Bias in English Translations of the New Testament. Lanham: University Press of America. ISBN 9780761825562
  • 2010 Augustine's Manichaean Dilemma, 1: Conversion and Apostasy, 373-388 C.E. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
  • 2013 Augustine's Manichaean Dilemma, 2: Making a Catholic Self, 388-401 C.E. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
  • 2013 The First New Testament: Marcion's Scriptural Canon. Salem: Polebridge.

Books edited
  • 1997 with Paul Mirecki: Emerging from Darkness: Studies in the Recovery of Manichaean Sources. Leiden: E. J. Brill.
  • 2001 with Paul Mirecki: The Light and the Darkness: Studies in Manichaeism and its World. Leiden: E. J. Brill.
  • 2007 with Paul Mirecki: Frontiers of Faith: The Christian-Manichaean Encounter in the Acts of Archelaus. Leiden: E. J. Brill.
  • 2009 New Light on Manichaeism: Papers from the 6th International Meeting of the IAMS. Leiden: E. J. Brill.

References
  1. Jason BeDuhn (2020). The Founder of Manichaeism: Rethinking the Life of Mani. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781108499071.
  2. "Department Administration". Northern Arizona University. Retrieved 2020-12-30.
  3. BeDuhn, Jason (2013). The First New Testament: Marcion's Scriptural Canon. pp. 86, 91–92. ISBN 978-1-59815-131-2. OCLC 857141226.
  4. Klinghardt, Matthias (2015-03-25). "IV. Vom ältesten Evangelium zum kanonischen Vier-Evangelienbuch: Eine überlieferungsgeschichtliche Skizze". Das älteste Evangelium und die Entstehung der kanonischen Evangelien (in German). A. Francke Verlag. pp. 188–231. ISBN 978-3-7720-5549-2.
  5. Ehrman, Bart (2003). Lost Christianities. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 108.
  6. Metzger, Bruce (1989) [1987]. "IV. Influences Bearing on the Development of the New Testament". The Canon of the New Testament: Its Origins, Developments and Significance (2nd ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press. pp. 92–99.
  7. Adolf von Harnack: Marcion: The Gospel of the Alien God (1924) translated by John E. Steely and Lyle D. Bierma
  8. BeDuhn, Jason (2010). Augustine's Manichaean Dilemma. Volume 1 : Conversion and Apostasy, 373-388 C.E. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-4210-2.
  9. "AAR Book Awards - Past and Current Winners". American Academy of Religion. Retrieved 2020-12-30.
  10. "Jason BeDuhn". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Retrieved 2020-12-30.
  11. "Translating an ancient Manichean papyrus manuscript". Australian Research Council. 2019-07-31. Retrieved 2020-12-30.
  12. Nelson H. Minnich, ed. (2015). Journeys in Church History: Essays from the Catholic Historical Review. The Catholic University of America Press. p. 15. ISBN 9780813228341.
  13. Kotzé, A (2014). "Reviewed Work: Augustine's Manichaean Dilemma 2: Making a "Catholic" Self 388-401 C.E. by Jason David BeDuhn". Church History and Religious Culture. Brill. 94 (4): 534–537. JSTOR 43946123.
  14. Johannes van Oort (2011). "Critical Evaluation of Jason BeDuhn's Augustine's Manichaean Dilemma in Context". Vigiliae Christianae. Brill. 65: 543–567. doi:10.1163/157007211X591830.

Sources
  • "About the Author," Truth in Translation, p. 200.
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