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{{short description|Canadian historian}} |
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{{about|the historian|the musician|B.J. Wilson}} |
{{about|the historian|the musician|B.J. Wilson}} |
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{{BLP unreferenced|date=January 2021}} |
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'''Barrie A. Wilson''' is Professor Emeritus and Senior Scholar, Humanities and Religious Studies, [[York University]], [[Toronto]], where he has taught since 1974. Throughout the 1990s he was Chair, Religious Studies, Atkinson College, York University. |
'''Barrie A. Wilson''' is Professor Emeritus and Senior Scholar, Humanities and Religious Studies, [[York University]], [[Toronto]], where he has taught since 1974. An historian of religion, he specializes in movements in early Christianity. Throughout the 1990s he was Chair, Religious Studies, Atkinson College, York University. From 1969 to 1974 he taught Ancient Philosophy and Logic at [[Saint Louis University]] in [[St. Louis, Missouri]]. |
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==Background== |
==Background== |
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Wilson was born in [[Montreal]] |
Wilson was born in [[Montreal]] on November 19, 1940 and attended [[Bishop's University]], [[Lennoxville, Quebec]], majoring in Philosophy and Psychology, graduating with a B.A. magna cum laude. He completed an M.A. in Philosophy at [[Columbia University]], New York City, and took courses at [[Union Theological Seminary (New York City)|Union Theological Seminary]] and the Episcopal Church's General Theological Seminary, both in New York City. He earned a degree in Biblical Studies (S.T.B.) from the Anglican Church's Trinity College, [[University of Toronto]]. |
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Wilson completed his Ph.D. in Philosophy of Religion and Near Eastern Studies at the [[University of Toronto]] in 1975. His dissertation was on biblical hermeneutics, the logic of textual interpretation, and evidence for making sense of texts. |
Wilson completed his Ph.D. in Philosophy of Religion and Near Eastern Studies at the [[University of Toronto]] in 1975. His dissertation was on biblical hermeneutics, the logic of textual interpretation, and evidence for making sense of texts. |
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As a historian Wilson is interested in evidence-based reasoning about biblical texts. |
As a historian Wilson is interested in evidence-based reasoning about biblical texts. He writes on his website, "My passion has been the new historical puzzles and 'disconnects' created by recent explorations into the foundations of early Christianity." |
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==Major publications and research== |
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* ''Searching for the Messiah'', (NY: Pegasus/Simon&Schuster, 2020). An historical investigation of the concept of the messiah from biblical sources, through the ''Psalms of Solomon'', Jesus and Paul into modern times, {{ISBN|978-1-64313-450-5}}. |
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===''How Jesus Became Christian'' (2008)=== |
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* ''Paul vs James: The Battle that Shaped Christianity and Changed the World'' (NY: Createspace, 2018). A novel which dramatizes the conflict between the Jesus Movement of James and the Christ Movement of Paul. {{ISBN|9781723534669}}. |
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In 2008 Wilson published ''[[How Jesus Became Christian]]'' (New York: [[St. Martin's Press]]; Toronto, [[Random House]]; London, [[Orion Publishing Group]]). Wilson advanced "the Jesus Cover-Up" hypothesis, claiming that the theology of [[Paul of Tarsus]] covered over the teachings of Jesus and those of his first followers, the Jesus Movement led by Jesus' brother James. Wilson shows in detail how Paul's theology differs from them in terms of "origin, teaching and practices" (akin to the earlier opinions held by [[Ferdinand Christian Baur]] and Professor [[S. G. F. Brandon]]). |
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* (with [[Simcha Jacobovici]]) ''[[The Lost Gospel: Decoding the Ancient Text that Reveals Jesus' Marriage to Mary the Magdalene|The Lost Gospel]]'' (NY: Pegasus; Toronto: HarperCollins, 2014). A decoding of ''Joseph and Aseneth'' using the Syriac method of typology. The book contains a new translation of ''Joseph and Aseneth'' based on the oldest existing Syriac manuscript found in the British Library as well as translations of two covering letters that point the way to an interpretation of the text. {{ISBN|978-1-60598-610-4}}. |
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* ''[[How Jesus Became Christian]]'' (NY: [[St. Martin’s Press]]; Toronto: [[Random House]], 2008). An historical investigation into the process whereby a Jewish human teacher becomes the dying-rising savior god-human. {{ISBN|978-0-679-31493-6}}. |
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* ''Hermeneutical Studies'' (NY: Mellon, 1991). Essays on Sophocles, Plato, Bar-Daisan and Dilthey. {{ISBN|0-88946-370-0}}. |
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* ''To the Point'' (Boston: Christopher Publishing, 1989). Communication tips for making effective presentations. |
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* ''Anatomy of Argument'' (Lanham, MD: University Press, 1980, 2nd edition 1986). A logic textbook. {{ISBN|0-8191-1211-9}}. |
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Articles: |
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Moreover, the New Testament Book of Acts, Wilson claims, represents an influential work of historical revisionism, noting that it is the one work of the Bible that we can compare to something else to judge accuracy. In this case, we can compare what Paul says about himself with what the unknown author of the Book of Acts says about him. |
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available through researchgate.net (Barrie Wilson). |
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* "What's a Messiah? |
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* "The Lost Gospel: The Manuscript Tradition" summarizes what is known of this writing along with an interpretive scan. |
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==Film studies== |
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''How Jesus Became Christian'' was shortlisted for the prestigious [[Cundill Prize]] in History and was awarded the Joseph and Faye Tanenbaum Prize for History at the 2009 [[Canadian Jewish Book Awards]]. Wilson has spoken in many churches and synagogues throughout North America. |
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* ''[[Rules of the Game]]'' - film - analysis |
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* ''[[Annie Hall]]'' – movie – analysis |
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* ''[[Changing Lanes]]'' – film – analysis |
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* ''[[The Debt (2010 film)|The Debt]]'' |
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* ''[[Big Fish]]'' - movie – analysis |
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* ''[[The Decline of the American Empire]]'' - movie - analysis |
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* ''Nelly et M. Arnaud'' – film – analysis |
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* ''[[Brothers (2009 film)|Brothers]]'' – film – analysis |
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* ''[[Dreamchild]]'' – movie – analysis – Alice in Wonderland |
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* ''[[Run Lola Run]]'' – movie – analysis |
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* ''The Rif Lover'' – movie – analysis |
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==Documentaries: on-camera expert== |
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===''The Lost Gospel: Decoding the Ancient Text that Reveals Jesus' Marriage to Mary the Magdalene'' (2014)=== |
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* [[Vision TV]] series [[The Naked Archeologist]]. ''Secrets of Christianity'' episode #4 (2009). |
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Co-authored with [[Simcha Jacobovici]]. [[The Lost Gospel: Decoding the Ancient Text that Reveals Jesus' Marriage to Mary the Magdalene|The Lost Gospel]] claims to decode an ancient Syriac manuscript and, in so doing, explores the social and family side of Jesus' life including his marriage, plots on his life, and attempted abduction and the politics behind the crucifixion. While meeting with some positive remarks,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Nir|first=Rivka|date=Fall 2016|title=Book Review, "The Lost Gospel"|url=|journal=Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus|volume=14|pages=296}}</ref> most academics rejected the book as nonsense and lacking any scholarly foundation. The book has been dismissed by mainstream biblical scholarship.<ref>Markus Bockmuehl, ''Ancient Apocryphal Gospels'', page 21 (Westminster John Knox Press, 2017. {{ISBN|9780664263058}})</ref><ref>[http://markgoodacre.org/BauckhamLostGospel(1).pdf ''Assessing the Lost Gospel'' by Richard Bauckham]</ref> and compared to ''The Da Vinci Code'' in 2003, as a conspiracy theory<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/11225598/Lost-gospel-claims-Jesus-and-Mary-were-married-and-had-children.html ''Lost Gospel claims Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married and had children'', by Victoria Ward, [[The Daily Telegraph]], 12 November 2014]</ref> |
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* [[National Geographic]] UK series Ancient X-files, episode on ''[[Mary Magdalene]] and [[Gnostic Christianity]]'' (2012). |
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* [[Science Channel|Discovery Science]], ''The Last Days of Jesus'' (2014). |
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Professor Ross Shepard Kraemer complained that her book ''When Aseneth Met Joseph: A Late Antique Tale of the Biblical Patriarch and His Egyptian Wife, Reconsidered'' <ref>Ross Shepard Kraemer,''When Aseneth Met Joseph: A Late Antique Tale of the Biblical Patriarch and His Egyptian Wife, Reconsidered'' (Oxford University Press, 1998. {{ISBN|0-19-511475-2}})</ref> was distorted by Simcha Jacobovici and Barrie Wilson (revised preface to the 2015 paperback edition). |
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==Earlier publications== |
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Earlier publications built upon Wilson's interests in textual interpretation. These include ''About Interpretation: An Anthology of Readings in Hermeneutics from Plato to Dilthey'' (New York and Munich: [[Peter Lang (publisher)|Peter Lang]], 1989). This publication included readings on textual interpretation arranged chronologically: Plato and Greek philosophers; Allegorical Hermeneutics; Reformation and post-Reformation approaches to textual interpretation; Romanticist Hermeneutics; and modern issues in interpretation theory of religious texts. |
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''Hermeneutical Studies: The Virtue of Interpretive Practice'' (New York: Mellon) was published in 1991. This volume included scholarly papers on Plato, Sophocles' play Oedipus the King, the Syriac philosopher Bar-Daisan, Rudolf Bultmann's influential proposal to de-mythologize [[New Testament]] writings, and the American literary critic [[E. D. Hirsch, Jr.|E. D. Hirsch]]. |
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Wilson also published two book on logic, ''Anatomy of Argument'' (1980) and ''To the Point'' (1989). |
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== Other publications== |
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Wilson has written a variety of articles on Paul. These include "If we only had Paul, what would we know of Jesus?",<ref>http://www.barriewilson.com/pdf/If-We-Only-Had-Paul.pdf</ref> as well as "Taking Paul at his Word".<ref>http://www.barriewilson.com/pdf/Taking-Paul-at-His-Word.pdf</ref> A mini-book, "The Hidden Scroll" <ref>http://www.barriewilson.com</ref> represents an attempt to visualize the world of early Christianity, the way in which the followers of James would not – and could not – have interacted with those of Paul. Other writings include a discussion on how to fix the contents of the New Testament.<ref>http://www.barriewilson.com/anewnewtestament.html</ref> |
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Wilson has appeared in a variety of documentaries, including several on the popular series, ''The Naked Archeologist'', ''Secrets of Christianity'' episode #4; National Geographic UK ''Ancient X-files'' episode on [[Mary Magdalene]] and [[Gnostic Christianity]]; ''The Last Days of Jesus'' (2014 - PBS). |
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* ''The Lost Gospel'', co-authored with [[Simcha Jacobovici]], November 2014 (Canada: [[HarperCollins]]; USA: Pegasus) |
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* ''How Jesus Became Christian'' (USA: St. Martin's Press; Canada: Random House; UK, Australia, NZ: Orion Publishing, March 2008; paperback 2009) |
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* ''Hermeneutical Studies: The Virtue of Interpretive Practice'' (New York: Mellon, 1991). |
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* ''To The Point'' (Boston: Christopher, 1988). |
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* ''The Anatomy of Argument'' (Washington DC: University Press of America, 1986 revised edition, and 1980). |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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* [http://www.barriewilson.com Official website] |
* [http://www.barriewilson.com Official website] |
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* {{IMDb name|nm3211634}} |
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{{authority control}} |
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[[Category:1940 births]] |
[[Category:1940 births]] |
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[[Category:Living people]] |
[[Category:Living people]] |
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[[Category:Canadian historians]] |
[[Category:20th-century Canadian historians]] |
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[[Category:Canadian critics of Christianity]] |
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[[Category:Canadian male non-fiction writers]] |
[[Category:Canadian male non-fiction writers]] |
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[[Category:Jewish Canadian writers]] |
[[Category:Jewish Canadian writers]] |
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[[Category:York University alumni]] |
[[Category:York University alumni]] |
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[[Category:Canadian expatriates in the United States]] |
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[[Category:21st-century Canadian historians]] |
Latest revision as of 10:09, 13 April 2024
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Barrie A. Wilson is Professor Emeritus and Senior Scholar, Humanities and Religious Studies, York University, Toronto, where he has taught since 1974. An historian of religion, he specializes in movements in early Christianity. Throughout the 1990s he was Chair, Religious Studies, Atkinson College, York University. From 1969 to 1974 he taught Ancient Philosophy and Logic at Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri.
Background
[edit]Wilson was born in Montreal on November 19, 1940 and attended Bishop's University, Lennoxville, Quebec, majoring in Philosophy and Psychology, graduating with a B.A. magna cum laude. He completed an M.A. in Philosophy at Columbia University, New York City, and took courses at Union Theological Seminary and the Episcopal Church's General Theological Seminary, both in New York City. He earned a degree in Biblical Studies (S.T.B.) from the Anglican Church's Trinity College, University of Toronto.
Wilson completed his Ph.D. in Philosophy of Religion and Near Eastern Studies at the University of Toronto in 1975. His dissertation was on biblical hermeneutics, the logic of textual interpretation, and evidence for making sense of texts.
As a historian Wilson is interested in evidence-based reasoning about biblical texts. He writes on his website, "My passion has been the new historical puzzles and 'disconnects' created by recent explorations into the foundations of early Christianity."
Books
[edit]- Searching for the Messiah, (NY: Pegasus/Simon&Schuster, 2020). An historical investigation of the concept of the messiah from biblical sources, through the Psalms of Solomon, Jesus and Paul into modern times, ISBN 978-1-64313-450-5.
- Paul vs James: The Battle that Shaped Christianity and Changed the World (NY: Createspace, 2018). A novel which dramatizes the conflict between the Jesus Movement of James and the Christ Movement of Paul. ISBN 9781723534669.
- (with Simcha Jacobovici) The Lost Gospel (NY: Pegasus; Toronto: HarperCollins, 2014). A decoding of Joseph and Aseneth using the Syriac method of typology. The book contains a new translation of Joseph and Aseneth based on the oldest existing Syriac manuscript found in the British Library as well as translations of two covering letters that point the way to an interpretation of the text. ISBN 978-1-60598-610-4.
- How Jesus Became Christian (NY: St. Martin’s Press; Toronto: Random House, 2008). An historical investigation into the process whereby a Jewish human teacher becomes the dying-rising savior god-human. ISBN 978-0-679-31493-6.
- Hermeneutical Studies (NY: Mellon, 1991). Essays on Sophocles, Plato, Bar-Daisan and Dilthey. ISBN 0-88946-370-0.
- About Interpretation: An Anthology of Readings in Hermeneutics from Plato to Dilthey (NY/Munich: Peter Lang, 1989). Original sources for Allegorical, Reformation, Romanticist and Historicist Hermeneutics. ISBN 0-8204-0688-0.
- To the Point (Boston: Christopher Publishing, 1989). Communication tips for making effective presentations.
- Anatomy of Argument (Lanham, MD: University Press, 1980, 2nd edition 1986). A logic textbook. ISBN 0-8191-1211-9.
- Interpretation, Meta-Interpretation and Oedipus Tyrannus (Berkeley: The Center for Hermeneutical Studies, 1980). Proceedings of the 39th Colloquy, May 26, 1980, at the Graduate Theological Union and University of California, Berkeley. ISBN 0-89242-038-3.
Articles: available through researchgate.net (Barrie Wilson).
- "What's a Messiah?
- "The Lost Gospel: The Manuscript Tradition" summarizes what is known of this writing along with an interpretive scan.
Film studies
[edit]Wilson is a contributing member of the Toronto Psychoanalysis and Film Study Group which explores the psychological interpretation of films. Copies of his papers on films can be found at researchgate.net.
- Rules of the Game - film - analysis
- Annie Hall – movie – analysis
- Changing Lanes – film – analysis
- The Debt
- Big Fish - movie – analysis
- The Decline of the American Empire - movie - analysis
- Nelly et M. Arnaud – film – analysis
- Brothers – film – analysis
- Dreamchild – movie – analysis – Alice in Wonderland
- Run Lola Run – movie – analysis
- The Rif Lover – movie – analysis
Documentaries: on-camera expert
[edit]- Vision TV series The Naked Archeologist. Secrets of Christianity episode #4 (2009).
- National Geographic UK series Ancient X-files, episode on Mary Magdalene and Gnostic Christianity (2012).
- Discovery Science, The Last Days of Jesus (2014).