Kenneth E. Bailey
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Kenneth E. Bailey (November 24, 1930 – May 23, 2016) was an American author, professor of theology, and
linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...
.


Life

Bailey was born in
Bloomington, Illinois Bloomington is a city in McLean County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census showed the city had a population of 78,680, making it the List of municipalities in Illinois, 13th-most populous ci ...
. He spent 40 years (1955–1995) teaching in
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
,
Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
,
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
and
Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
. He had a degree in
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
and literature,
systematic theology Systematic theology, or systematics, is a discipline of Christian theology that formulates an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the doctrines of the Christian faith. It addresses issues such as what the Bible teaches about certain topics ...
and wrote his dissertation in the field of
New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
. He was ordained by the
Presbyterian Church (USA) The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PCUSA, is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination in the Religion in the United States, United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States too. Its th ...
. Since 1962 he taught for the
Near East School of Theology NEAR or Near may refer to: People * Thomas J. Near, US evolutionary ichthyologist * Near, a developer who created the higan emulator Science, mathematics, technology, biology, and medicine * National Emergency Alarm Repeater (NEAR), a forme ...
in Beirut (since 1974 as professor for
New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
studies), where he founded the Institute for Middle Eastern New Testament Studies. From 1985 to 1995, he taught at the Ecumenical Institute for Theological Research in Jerusalem. He taught at
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
and was associate professor of theology in
Dubuque Dubuque (, ) is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 59,667 at the 2020 United States census. The city lies along the Mississippi River at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a region ...
, McCormick and
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
as well as the
Fuller Theological Seminary Fuller Theological Seminary is an Evangelical seminary in Pasadena, California, with regional campuses in the western United States. It is egalitarian in nature. Fuller has a student body of approximately 2,300 students from 90 countries and ...
in Los Angeles. In 1990, Bailey moved to
Nicosia, Cyprus Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities. Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capita ...
, and became
Canon Theologian Canon () is a Christian title usually used to refer to a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, in one of the houses within the precinct of ...
of the Anglican Episcopal Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf. In June 1997, he became Canon Theologian of the
Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United States ...
of the
Episcopal Church (United States) The Episcopal Church (TEC), also known as the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America (PECUSA), is a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion, based in the United States. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is ...
. Bailey resided in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania. Bailey died on May 23, 2016, at the age of 85.


Reception

Kenneth Bailey's works have made a tremendous impact on scholarship studying the oral traditions behind the
New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
on par with that of
Werner Kelber Werner H. Kelber is a biblical scholar who specializes in the Gospel of Mark. He taught religious studies at Rice University. He is the author of ''The Oral and Written Gospel'' (1983), and became known for approaching biblical studies through an u ...
, with titans of the field James Dunn and
N. T. Wright Nicholas Thomas Wright (born 1 December 1948), known as N. T. Wright or Tom Wright, is an English New Testament scholar, Pauline theologian and Anglican bishop. He was the bishop of Durham and Lord Spiritual in the UK Parliament from 200 ...
utilizing his work. Theodore Weeden criticized Bailey by claiming that his evidence does not support his conclusions, finding that some of the stories Bailey and his Egyptian subjects narrated differed from Rena Hogg, missionary John Hogg's daughter. Eric Eve agrees that Bailey's work does not prove historicity but admits that tradition has social controls, that Bailey's Egyptian traditions are applicable to the Gospel traditions, and that Weeden was too harsh. Eve notes that an eyewitness to the robber story was the one who changed it to legend quickly before staying stable for decades. Eric Eve approves of James DG Dunn's usage of Bailey's work and views the conclusions he drew from it as sound, partially because he draws on various other scholars as well. Dunn responded to Weeden's critique and defended Bailey, arguing that the former misunderstood Bailey as well as the way oral tradition works in general, arguing that Bailey's model explains the Synoptic tradition the best out of all available at the time. Rafael Rodriguez also views Weeden as critically misunderstanding Bailey's work. When Bailey referred to traditions as "authentic", he used the word to say that accounts were stable for decades after an event, not that they were necessarily historical from the beginning; Bailey's point was that oral tradition preserved information largely the same with variation in minor details over substantial periods of time. Travis Derico, after extensively analyzing Weeden's critique, argues that it "fails in almost every respect".
Craig Keener Craig S. Keener (born July 4, 1960) is an American Wesleyan theologian, Biblical scholar and professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary. Biography Early life Keener was born on 4 July 1960. Education He studied at Central Bible C ...
also criticized Weeden's claims against Bailey.


Works

*''The Cross and the Prodigal: The 15th Chapter of Luke seen through the eyes of Middle Eastern peasants'', Concordia, 1973. . *''God is: Dialogues on the nature of God for young people'', Mandate Press, 1976. . *''Poet and Peasant: A Literary-Cultural Approach to the Parables of Luke'', Eerdmans, 1976. . *''Through Peasant Eyes: More Lucan parables, their culture and style.'', Eerdmans, 1980. . *''Poet and Peasant and Through Peasant Eyes'', Eerdmans, 1983. . *''Finding the Lost: Cultural Keys to Luke 15'', Concordia, 1992. . *''Jacob and the Prodigal: How Jesus Retold Israel’s Story'', InterVarsity, 2003. *''God Is … Dialogues on the Nature of God'', Guardian, 2005. . *''Open Hearts in Bethlehem (A Christmas Musical)'', Westminster John Knox Press, 2005. . *''The Cross and the Prodigal: The 15th Chapter of Luke seen through the eyes of Middle Eastern peasants, Second Edition'', InterVarsity, 2005. . *''Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes'', InterVarsity Press, 2008. . *''Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes'', InterVarsity Press, 2011. . *''Open Hearts in Bethlehem: A Christmas Drama (Open Hearts in Bethlehem Set)'', InterVarsity Press, 2013. . *''The Good Shepherd'', InterVarsity Press, 2014. .


References

1930 births 2016 deaths Writers from Bloomington, Illinois 21st-century American male writers 20th-century American male writers McCormick Theological Seminary Princeton University faculty University of Pittsburgh faculty Fuller Theological Seminary faculty People from Lawrence County, Pennsylvania 20th-century American Episcopalians {{Christ-theologian-stub