Maurice Casey | |
|---|---|
| Born | Philip Maurice Casey (1942-10-18)18 October 1942 Sunderland, England |
| Died | 10 May 2014(2014-05-10) (aged 71) Nottingham, England |
| Occupation(s) | Professor of New Testament Languages and Literature |
| Academic background | |
| Education | Durham University (BA, PhD) |
| Thesis | The interpretation of Daniel VII in Jewish and Patristic literature and in the New Testament: an approach to the Son of man problem |
| Academic work | |
| Institutions | University of Nottingham |
Philip Maurice Casey (18 October 1942 – 10 May 2014) was a British scholar ofNew Testament and earlyChristianity. He was an emeritus professor at theUniversity of Nottingham, having served there as Professor of New Testament Languages and Literature at the Department of Theology.[1][2]
Casey was born inSunderland. His father was the Anglican vicar ofWheatley Hill, but after his death his mother moved toChevington and Casey to boarding school atWoodbridge School, Suffolk. He enteredSt Chad's College,Durham University having intended to become an Anglican priest, but changed his views in 1962 while completing his undergraduate degree in theology. Casey stated that he had not held any religious beliefs since.[3] Following his degree in theology, he took a further degree in classical and general literature.[4] He then taughtclassics atSpalding High School, an all-girls grammar school, from 1967 to 1971.[4]
He returned to Durham University to study for aDoctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree indivinity,[5] at first intending to study thehistorical figure of Jesus.[4] His PhD was awarded in 1977 for adoctoral thesis titled "The interpretation of Daniel VII in Jewish and patristic literature and in the New Testament: an approach to the Son of Man problem".[6] Hisdoctoral supervisor wasC. K. Barrett.[4]
Following his PhD, Casey was a research fellow underMatthew Black at theUniversity of St Andrews.[4] In 1979, he joined theUniversity of Nottingham as alecturer.[7] He delivered the Cadbury Lectures at theUniversity of Birmingham in 1985.[4] By 1996, he wasReader in Early Jewish and Christian Studies,[8] and later promoted to Professor of New Testament Languages and Literature.[7] He retired in 2006, and was madeprofessor emeritus.[7]
Casey died inNottingham on 10 May 2014, at the age of 71.[7][9]
Casey's work argued strongly forAramaic sources behind the New Testament documents, specifically forQ and theGospel of Mark.[10][11]
Casey's Aramaic ideas were challenged byStanley E. Porter inExcursus: A response to Maurice Casey on the Languages of Jesus[12] citing modern scholarship,[13] that the linguistic environment of Roman Palestine was probably multilingual.
He also contributed works on earlyChristology and the use of the termSon of Man within the New TestamentGospels in reference toJesus.
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Casey described himself as an independent scholar, who did not serve the interests of any religious faith or anti-religious group. He believed that Jesus really existed, but did not believe in his divinity. He criticizedChristian fundamentalists who accept incredible miracles (such asJesus walking on water), Christian churches that refuse to grasp the Jewishness of Jesus,mythicists who reject everything about Jesus, and even someliberal scholars, such as theJesus Seminar, who viewed Jesus as a kind of cynical philosopher, and gave credence to the earliestapocryphal writings, such as theGospel of Thomas and theGospel of Peter. Casey believed that the documents on Jesus of greatest historical value are theGospel of Mark and thePauline epistles. According to Casey, Jesus would preach, heal people with psychosomatic disorders, and be crucified and buried, but would not be physically resurrected; the story of the empty tomb is, according to his views, a legend. After Jesus' death, his disciples and his brotherJames would have some visions of him. Casey has criticizedPope Benedict XVI for his books about Jesus (Jesus of Nazareth,Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives andJesus of Nazareth: Holy Week), accusing the pontiff of using sources that are, in his views, unreliable, like theGospel of John.[14]
Casey also held some unconventional views about the New Testament: for example, he believed that the Gospel of Mark was written in c. 40 AD[15] (while most scholars believe that it was written in c. 70 AD[16]) and that the Gospel of John is completely deprived of historicity[17] (whereas most scholars believe that at least some historical kernels can be found in that text as well[18]).
