my response to his response

Dear Dr. Nolland,

Thanks for the feedback. Yes, I realize that there were a few questions of yours I did not address. I think that’s partly due to the fact that I don’t have good answers to them yet, but I can tell you what my thinking is at this point.

You observed that I had apparently not made a decision between the historical, sociological and theological methods. The struggle I’ve had with this questions is that there are aspects of each of these methods that I wish to use, but I recognize that the main thrust of my dissertation cannot be along all three lines at once. I know that an investigation of “The function of miracle in Luke-Acts” will be very different from “The function of miracle in the early church.” Maybe I’m simplifying it too much, but it seems that the former is primarily a theological question, whereas the latter is primarily an historical question. Nevertheless, there is going to be some overlap, and even an historical investigation of the miracles (which appears where I’m heading) is going to involve a discussion of their theological significance. The historical miracles are so imbued with theological significance that to do otherwise seems impossible. Also, the main texts I’ll be examining are first and foremost theological works—which makes the distinction even more vague (at least for me).

Miracle-working is in one sense a social behavior, and I’m investigating it within a social institution—the church. In that respect, I don’t think I could do an historical investigation of miracle-working in the early church without involving myself in sociology. Also, it seems to me that much of what is described as “sociological investigation” could just as easily fall under the rubric of good historical investigation. At this point I don’t think my research will be primarily a sociological investigation, as I’ve seen them done (e.g. Malina). Rather, I see the sociological methods being useful in carrying out my historical investigation. I see my project essentially as an historical study of the worldviews, mindsets, aims, intentions and motivations of the early church vis-à-vis miracle-working.

You had also asked about the range of materials I intend to deal with, and whether I will be after a single ‘early church’ view. I’d like to include any data that will allow me to give a more accurate understanding of the historical questions I’m asking. Having said that, it seems impossible for me to explore every ancient text, so I’ll need to pick the most relevant. Given the fact that there will doubtless be variations from church to church, city to city, and decade to decade; maybe I should inquire as to the functions of miracle in the early church? I suppose there is also the issue of what constitutes the “church”—would I include the Gnostics, or the Marcionites, or the Montanists… etc.? At this point I’m inclined to include what would be considered “orthodox” Christianity, but I haven’t really thought through this issue, or how I would defend that choice. Although I personally tend to take a fairly high view of Scripture, I don’t intend to presume this belief in my readers. In other words, I’m not going to presume the Bible is an inerrant source of historical information. I’m not sure if this is answering your question?

Please let me know if there are any questions that I haven’t addressed in my emails. Also, I want to reassure you that these questions of methodology are not occupying all of my research time. I’m continuing to do a lot of reading (including a good amount of primary materials—Apostolic Fathers, Apocrypha, ancient histories, etc.) I’ve also found an excellent resource at http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/ (The Perseus Digital Library), where I can explore ancient Greek texts--very useful for the examination of word meanings! I’m also taking some advice from Dr. Green and writing brief “reviews” whenever I finish a book or article. I can share these with you if you think it will be helpful.

This dialogue with you is very helpful for me in the formulation and clarification of my thoughts. Thanks.

Blessings,

Don