There is a fascinating article up on James Tabor's blog about the author of the Passover Plot and its ties to Herbert Armstrong and Greg Doudna.
James Tabor is a former Church of God member who is a prolific writer of numerous books on the Bible, church history, archeology and modern interpretations of biblical ideas and events. He runs an internationally recognized blog site here: TaborBlog.
Greg Doudna is the author of this fascinating book,
On a personal note, Hugh Schonfield died in 1988. I never met him but it was my privilege to carry on a lovely correspondence with him by post during my graduate school days at the University of Chicago in the early 1970s. He was one of the most gracious individuals I have ever had the pleasure of knowing and I was quite taken, and still am, with his ideas expressed in The Politics of God, one of his last works, which has now been republished. I also highly recommend Owen Power’s wonderful dissertation on Hugh Schonfield, now published as a lovely book, Hugh Schonfield: A Case Study of Complex Jewish Identities. My friend Greg Doudna traveled to the UK and interviewed Schonfield in his London flat in 1985. His notes on that extended conversation, which he has given me permission to publish are fascinating. Schonfield’s work is now being carried on via the Schonfield World Trust Service which seeks to promote his vision of a “Messianic Servant Nation,” an idea he developed from the inspiration of studying the historical figure of Jesus.
Tabor includes the interview by Greg Doudna of Schonfield in his article. Doudna says this:
I have always appreciated former members and members who have their understanding or beliefs challenged. Learning new ways of understanding and not being afraid of those viewpoints is mind-expanding and leads to deeper, richer understanding. It doesn't mean you have to agree with things, but you will now have an understanding of different viewpoints. Armstrongism left everything bound up tightly in booklets, never allowing for fresh ideas, questions, or rejection.
The entire article can be found here:
2 comments:
Yes.... This theory of tbe Churches ofcGod being cousins of "Submission" was also posited by the bestseller authors of "The Messianic Legacy" and "Holy Blood Holy Grail."
They had contacted the Communications Department of the Church about it...... But they were already entangled in the Tkachian plot yo bring WCG into mainstream abd were not interested anymore in the Messianic Legacy and the movement WCG had been a part of through the ages....
Nck
If memory serves me correctly, "The Passover Plot" was the cause of one of Garner Ted's "ckups", yes, sadly as in the Fu variety!
I recall reading an article in one of the magazines in which GTA questioned Schonfield's sincerity. I remember sitting on my parents' couch as I read it, and being amazed at the lack of caution or temerity with which
GTA had really gone after this guy! IIRC, He stated that Schonfield had to have known better than his conclusions indicated. This could have ended up being GTA's "Leona McNair" moment, and apparently legal activity was threatened, but the issue was privately settled, and thereafter, whenever he would expose something that offended his basic sense of common sense (note the exquisitely crafted alliteration!), GTA would add the caveat that "But I am sure they are sincere!"
It's kind of interesting that the book became "a thing" to the extent that reading it had been such an epochal and formulative event for Dr. Tabor!
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