IVP - Addenda & Errata - January 2008 Archives

But Should We Publish It?

In my previous post I offered a description of Luxenberg’s method of studying the Qur’an and his provocative thesis. Suppose I am offered a book proposal that propounds a new thesis such as Luxenberg’s, and I work for an academic press that publishes broadly in religious studies. And just to clear the decks of distraction, let’s say there is no real threat from Islamic radicals if we do publish the book.

The Intrepid Mr. Luxenberg

The notion of textual criticism of the Koran grabbed my attention last week, and then I was put on to the work of Christoph Luxenberg (a pseudonym), who has published an important work on the Qur’an, Die syro-aramaeische Lesart des Koran; Ein Beitrag zur Entschlüsselung der Qur’ānsprache (Berlin, Germany: Das Arabische Buch, 2000). In 2007 it appeared in English translation as The Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Koran: A Contribution to the Decoding of the Language of the Koran (Hans Schiler Verlag). There is a brief interview with Luxenberg here] and a NYT’s article here. I thought there was something vaguely familiar about Luxenberg’s thesis, and my hunch proved right: I had read about it in Jim Davila’s Palaeojudaica blog here and here. The best information I’ve found is an informative review of Luxenberg’s book by Robert R. Phenix Jr. and Cornelia B. Horn in Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies, Vol. 6.1, January 2003.

Luxenberg’s book is a sort of interim report on his research, setting out his methods and some of his conclusions. A more complete work is awaited. But the punch line might interest readers of this blog: when he’s done with his textual excavation, beneath the suras of the original Qur’an there emerges what looks like a Syriac Christian lectionary of Old Testament and New Testament readings for the Christian year.

The Dangerous Science of Textual Criticism

In contrast with the Christian Bible, which has been and continues to be subject to all sorts of searching criticism, the least problematic being textual criticism, textual criticism of the Koran is apparently carried on behind closed doors. Islam regards the Qur'an as “dropped from heaven,” so to speak, revealed in its entirety directly to the Prophet Mohammed. The text, just as it is printed in Arabic today, is reputedly identical with the original text.

I’d heard of Qur'anic textual criticism, but I had never read any account of it. Just today I became aware of the article published in January 1999 Atlantic Monthly, which seems to do a nice job of summing up the situation as it stood nine years ago. I owe this tip to the indispensable blog Get Religion, and its story “Indiana Jones, Da Vinci and the Koran,” which in turn points us to this article in Asia Times Online. Read it. (And note the analogy between the Qur'an and Christ.)

Blogging Back to Reviewers

Pete Enns, one of the editors of our forthcoming Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings, started a blog recently, and he has, among other things, put it to good use in responding to some of the reviewers of his Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament (Baker, 2005).

Redeeming Law

Mike Schutt has started up a blog on his recent IVP book Redeeming Law: Christian Calling and the Legal Profession. Mike directs the Institute for Christian Legal Studies, a cooperative ministry of Regent University School of Law and the Christian Legal Society. Their goal is to encourage Christian law students, law professors, and practicing lawyers to seek and study biblical truth, including the natural law tradition, as it relates to law and legal institutions, and to encourage them toward spiritual growth, compassionate outreach to the poor and needy, and the integration of faith with learning, teaching, and legal practice. The blog is set up to discuss the challenges of those who are called by Christ to practice law. If that’s you or someone you know, Mike is waiting for you to stop by!

They Won't Forgive Us

Jim Davila’s Palaeojudaica is a regular blog stop for me. Recently he pointed to this article in Haaretz on the slow demise of classical studies at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University.

Davila draws our attention to the following piece of the article:

Department head Prof. David Schaps, who specializes in Greek and Roman history, recalls another period when classical culture was neglected. "We call it the Dark Ages. It was only 1,000 years later that the value of that knowledge was recognized again, and not all of it could be reconstructed," he said. "The same thing could happen to us. There are areas that don't interest our generation, and we are allowing them to disappear. They might interest people in the future, and they won't forgive us."

Bypassing the Cape Horn of Editorial Persuasion

So why is it that I think getting a book on the spiritual dimensions of adventure past our publishing committee would be the Cape Horn of editorial achievement?

1. Niche. It’s not our publishing niche. This is a book for a New York publishing house.
2. Market. The potential readers of this book in the market we reach is not substantial enough to float the book.
3. Platform. The book would need either a high-profile adventurer as its author/editor and/or essays from several such folks.
4. Probably theology! At least this would be the case if we were to spread the net broadly and let folks speak from their experiences. We would probably get a hodge-podge of religious/spiritual ideas. Still fascinating. But outside our publishing mission.

Each of the points above calls out for further explication, but I’ll not belabor them here. Instead I’ll refer you to the best continuing education in Christian publishing on the web: Andy Unedited.

Skip Cape Horn. Take the Strait of Magellan.

Cape Horn Is “Not at All a Spiritual Place”

I can’t resist commenting on this remark from one of the yachtsmen in the Barcelona World Race as they approach Cape Horn at the tip of South America. As I write, they are beginning their 60th day of a two-person-crew sailing race around the world, from Barcelona and back again. Here is what Andrew Cape (aka Capey) says (See under “Breaking News” Capey on the Cape...Updated: 10/1/2008 15:37 GMT):

A Current Reality

In these dark days of winter (in the Seattle area, where I live), I daydream about the bright days of summer. And sailing. I will do anything to tie in sailing with publishing and editing. So here it goes.