Garrick Allen – Words Are Not Enough

Episode: In this episode, Dru Johnson talks with Garrick Allen about how paratexts (i.e., all the things around and between the biblical texts) have shaped our notions of canon, Gospel, and our reading practices of the biblical literature. His forthcoming Eerdmans book—Words Are Not Enough: Paratexts, Manuscripts, and the Real New Testament—argues that paratexts might hold the most sway over our biblical reading, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s unavoidable. From titles of anonymous books to cross-reference systems to extensive theologically-driven study notes, the biblical literature has always been entangled with paratexts. Dru and Garrick spend some time talking about the recent “Trump Bible” (AKA Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the USA Bible) and the ethical contours of paratexts.

Guest: Garrick Allen is Professor of Divinity and Biblical Criticism (Theology & Religious Studies) at the University of Glasgow. His first book, The Book of Revelation and Early Jewish Textual Culture (Cambridge 2017), was awarded the Manfred Lautenschlaeger Award for Theological Promise 2019 and his essay “Monks, Manuscripts, Muhammad, and Digital Editions of the New Testament,” published also in a chapter in his book Manuscripts of the Book of Revelation (Oxford 2020), was awarded the Paul J. Achtemeier Award for New Testament Scholarship by the Society of Biblical Literature (2018). His most recent book is Words Are Not Enough: Paratexts, Manuscripts, and the Real New Testament (Eerdmans, 2024).

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