Works
Allison has been called "North America's most complete New Testament scholar" (Scot McKnight) as well as "the premier Matthew specialist of his generation in the United States" (Benedict Viviano). [7] His three-volume commentary on the First Gospel (1988–97),co-authored with W. D. Davies,has been characterized as likely representing "the single most influential commentary on Matthew since the time of the church fathers" (Anders Runesson and Daniel M. Gurtner). [8]
The commentary consistently interprets Matthew within a Jewish framework. That approach was continued in his monograph,The New Moses:A Matthean Typology (1993),which explored Matthew's Moses typology through comparison with other Moses typologies in antiquity. [9] His later work,Studies in Matthew (2005),argued at length that various themes and critical issues in Matthew are much illuminated by serious engagement with the history of reception. [10]
His first book on Jesus,Jesus of Nazareth:Millenarian Prophet (1998),offered criticism of prominent members of the Jesus Seminar,presented a thoroughly eschatological Jesus in the tradition of Albert Schweitzer,highlighted cross-cultural millenarian parallels,and emphasized ascetical elements in the tradition. [11]
Allison returned to the subject of eschatology in Constructing Jesus:Memory,Imagination,and History (2010),which the Biblical Archaeological Society selected as "Best Book Relating to the New Testament" for 2009-2010. [12] But the volume has become best known for its arguments about memory and method. Some have thought Allison too skeptical about human memory. [13] While Rodriguez credits Allison for recognizing the Synoptics’accurate representations of the historical Jesus,he finds the latter’s view on memory to be “sober to the point of melancholy”,noting that memory is stable enough to authentically represent the past in the present,while Kirk has questioned memory distortion research used by Allison. [14] [15] Many have thought him right about the problems with the traditional criteria of authenticity and about the need to explore alternative methods. The book is significant for its contention that "we should hold a funeral for the view that Jesus entertained no exalted thoughts about himself." [16]
Allison has contributed to the discussion regarding the origin of belief in Jesus’resurrection. In Resurrecting Jesus (2005),he emphasized the equivocal nature of the evidence and explored at length many issues surrounding the nature of visions. [17] Later,in The Resurrection of Jesus (2021),he expanded on these topics,responded to critics,and argued for the relevance of adding comparative materials such as Buddhist traditions about the Rainbow body. [18] His main historical conclusions are,in his words,"within the broader context of critical study of the New Testament quite conservative" and "indeed border on the embarrassingly antediluvian". [19]
Allison has published an anthology of essays on the historical Jesus in Interpreting Jesus concerning contingent eschatology,typology,miracles,women,memory,and the methodology of Jesus research. [20]
In addition to his exegetical works on Matthew and James,Allison has written commentaries on two Greek Jewish Pseudepigrapha,the Testament of Abraham (2003) and 4 Baruch (2019). He regards both as originally Jewish compositions but argues that they have been altered more by later Christian hands than most scholars have thought.
Allison has written several books aimed at readers outside the academic guild. The Sermon on the Mount (1999) seeks to clarify the ethical teaching attributed to Jesus in Matthew 5-7. The Luminous Dusk (2006) is a Pascalian exploration of the sources of spiritual experience and how they have been affected by recent cultural and technological changes. [21] The Love There That’s Sleeping (2006) surveys the musical corpus of George Harrison in the light of his biography and religious convictions. [22] The Historical Christ and the Theological Jesus (2009) presents Allison’s reflections on the theological meaning of the modern quest for the historical Jesus. Night Comes (2016) is a series of meditations on death and what might lie beyond. Encountering Mystery (2022) is a survey and interpretation of religious experiences in the contemporary world. [23]
