Book Review: Allison and Le Donne

I just wrapped up two historical Jesus books this fall. Dale Allison, who notes that this will probably be his last work, and Anthony Le Donne, who is relatively new to the field. Both draw from the latest memory theories. Memory theory is significant for historical Jesus studies, since everyone in the field believes that the Gospel records rest on the earliest memories of the disciples. Earlier work in this field focuses on the frailty and unreliability of memory. Allison and Le Donne temper this view a bit.

Allison’s work, Constructing Jesus: Memory, Imagination, and History, is an update and great articulation of his normal historiographical method (See for example: Jesus of Nazareth: Millenarian Prophet). Allison argues that the normal historical critical method of sorting out which saying or tradition is authentic or else a part of the early church ought to be put in the past. Rather, if the bulk of the traditions suggest a particular feature of the historical Jesus, then we should consider it authentic. This suggests that there is more continuity between the historical Jesus and the early church theology. 

If you’re aware of Allison’s work, there are few surprises. Jesus’ eschatology is apocalyptic. He viewed himself as the eschatological agent of an impinging apocalyptic event. He does this by noting the thrust of the traditions, rather than analyzing authentic traditions. Allison makes the case that even though a tradition may not be authentic, if it is a part of the larger thrust of the tradition, then it most likely represents a characterization of Jesus that is remembered by his earliest disciples.

This work reflects the long, judicious, sustained thinking about the historical Jesus. There is much to be gleaned from Allison’s approach and work on the subject.

Le Donne’s work, The Historiographical Jesus: Memory, Typology, and the Son of David, raises a challenge to the normal historical Jesus assumption that if a tradition involves a type, then it is most likely the work of the early church. Le Donne shows that social memory theorists suggest that the earliest memories would have been narrated through typology. 

Le Donne's assumption that memories are refracted in a specific way seems a little simplistic. But his thesis regarding typology however is persuasive and important. Le Donne introduces social memory theory to historical Jesus studies, which is proving to be an important study.

The second part of his book focuses on the Son of David typology as it is applied to Jesus in the Gospels. He shows that the typology was used to recapitulate Jesus’ healing ministry. Even though Le Donne focuses on the Son of David as a “work bench” for his historiographical thesis, this is one of the more interesting parts of the book. Few works on the Gospels focus on the Son of David in favor of the more popular “son of man” or “son of God.”

Both works take historical Jesus studies address memory theory issues, which are critical to Jesus studies.