First Glance

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Inching along beneath the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, a scaffold carries restorers, painstakingly cleaning Michelangelo’s magnificent frescoes. Since 1980, exposure of unexpected luminous colors in the master’s beloved biblical scenes has alarmed some people who fear that Michelangelo’s final pigment layers are being removed. In this issue, art historians John and Jane Dillenberger ask and answer the question “To Clean or Not to Clean?” and accompany their on-the-scaffold observations with dramatic before and after pictures.

The Dillenbergers live in Berkeley, California, where Jane is professor emeritus in the visual arts and theology at the Graduate Theological Union. A prolific writer on religious themes in art, she is the author of “Images of God in Western Art,” BR 01:02 and “Dual Impressions—Looking for Style and Content in Christian Art,” BR 03:04. John was formerly president of Hartford Seminary in Hartford, Connecticut, and professor of theology at Harvard University. His books include The Visual Arts and Christianity in America (Scholars Press, 1984) and, with co-author Jane, Perceptions of the Spirit in 20th Century American Art (Indianapolis Museum of Art, 1977).

“Understanding the Sistine Chapel and Its Paintings,” complete with ceiling-plan and a startling double-page photograph you may want to frame, provides a much-needed guide to recognize the familiar creation scenes and prophets and to locate less-known figures.

In “Problems of Translation—Concern for the Text Vs. Concern for the Reader,” Harvey Minkoff addresses issues that have faced Bible translators since the Septuagint was produced in the third century B.C. Minkoff, associate professor of English linguistics at Hunter College in New York City, uses vivid examples and a light touch (When the President of the U.S. says it’s third down and 20 on arms control, how is that translated in China?) to argue the merits of translating words literally—or for understanding by people of different cultures.

Minkoff is a writer, karate teacher, sailing enthusiast and television talk show personality. When he appeared on “Today in New York” to discuss cross-cultural translating, the critics, he tells BAR, called his presentation “carefully argued,” “stimulating and original,” and his children rated him, “okay, I guess.”

“It is better to marry than to be consumed with the fire of sexual desire.” In other words, sexual satisfaction can be one reason for marriage. If this sounds like the risqué advice of some modern hedonist, guess again. Those are the words of the apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 7:9), whose longstanding reputation as a rigid moralist and misogynist is one of history’s great, unjust ironies. As Roy Bowen Ward shows in “Paul—How He Radically Redefined Marriage,” Paul revolutionized the concept of marriage in his time by arguing that it was the proper context for the mutual fulfillment of sexual desire.

Ward’s article combines two of his principal academic interests, early Christianity and women’s studies. These interests are also reflected in his dual positions at Miami University, in Oxford, Ohio, where he serves as Professor of Religion and as an Affiliate in Women’s Studies. Ward began his higher education by following a course in chemistry for two years, but then switched his major to Bible and Greek language, in which he graduated summa cum laude. He later went on to take his doctorate from Harvard’s Divinity School. His many accomplishments include a reading knowledge of Greek, Hebrew, German and French, as well as some Aramaic, Coptic and Latin.

While Professor Ward focuses on the question of what Paul really believed, F. F. Bruce searches for the mysterious origin of Paul’s false reputation in “The Enigma of Paul—Why Did the Early Church’s Great liberator Get a Reputation as an Authoritarian?” He traces the misapprehension to three of Paul’s letters—the Pastoral Epistles—which, as we learn, may actually have been misattributed to Paul.

Now emeritus professor, Bruce was the 003Rylands Professor of Biblical criticism and exegesis at the University of Manchester, England, until his retirement in 1978. His many books include Second Thoughts on the Dead Sea Scrolls, Paul: Apostle of the Free Spirit, Jesus and Paul: Places They Knew and several commentaries on New Testament books. Elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 1973, Bruce received the Academy’s prestigious Burkitt Medal in Biblical Studies in 1979. He is a member of BR’s Editorial Advisory Board.

“Touching the Forbidden Fruit,” by Pinchas Lapide, ponders one of the oldest questions raised by a Biblical passage: Who prohibited touching, not just eating, the fruit of the famous tree in Genesis 2? Lapide’s article continues discussion begun in “Eve and Adam—Is a Feminist Reading Possible?” BR 04:03, by Pamela Milne. Perhaps, says Lapide, Eve differs from the passive, idle Adam; she strives for self-development, acts independently and takes responsibility on herself by touching and eating the fruit.

Born in Vienna, Lapide served in the Jewish Brigade of the British Army in World War II and later lived in Israel. He now lives in Frankfurt West Germany, and frequently gives lectures on the Jewish background of the New Testament. The newest of his 35 books is Encountering Jesus—Encountering Judaism (Crossroads Press, 1987).

Bridging the gap in time and culture, the Book of Psalms brings about the surprising juxtaposition of two remarkable men in “My View: Martin Luther and Natan Sharansky on the Same Seminary Program,” by James Limburg. In a brief but inspiring talk with the author, Sharansky tells how the Psalms helped him to survive his imprisonment in the Soviet Union

Limburg is Professor of Old Testament at Luther Northwestern Theological Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. A prolific author, he has published eight books in the last eight years, including Psalms for Sojourners and Hosea-Micah (John Knox, 1988).

Inching along beneath the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, a scaffold carries restorers, painstakingly cleaning Michelangelo’s magnificent frescoes. Since 1980, exposure of unexpected luminous colors in the master’s beloved biblical scenes has alarmed some people who fear that Michelangelo’s final pigment layers are being removed. In this issue, art historians John and Jane Dillenberger ask and answer the question “To Clean or Not to Clean?” and accompany their on-the-scaffold observations with dramatic before and after pictures. The Dillenbergers live in Berkeley, California, where Jane is professor emeritus in the visual arts and theology at the Graduate Theological […]