Biblical Theology Bulletin: Journal of Bible and Culture

In order to assess the generality of the collective memory concept and to underwrite discussion of its applicability to studies of early Christianity, this essay traces the development of “collective memory” from its origins in the crucible of the modern nation-state and as a tool for the disciplines that address that social form—mainly sociology and contemporary history. On that basis, the paper outlines a “practice” approach to collective memory, emphasizing the multiplicity and variability of mnemonic practices and products.

This article seeks to carry forward recent work on social or cultural memory in relation to the early Christian tradition. It develops the concept of a memorially empowered tradition which operates less as transmission of traditions, and more precisely as a functioning social memory, e.g., as a dynamic driven by the desire to keep Jesus' words alive by making them communicate to the present. Memory understood as a continual process of commemorating activities, intent on remembering the past while simultaneously addressing social identity in the present, is seen as the grand motivating force of tradition.

This article explores the DIDACHē as a written artifact of social memory documenting the socialization program of a particular network of Israelite Jesus people. Drawing on the work of sociologist Jeffrey Olick, I define more precisely his concepts of (a) memory genre as a mnemonic practice and/or image of the past that is available to a particular group at a specific moment in time, and (b) genre memory as the memory of previous commemorations; the ongoing discourse that occurs by means of particular memory genres. Using these concepts heuristically, I demonstrate that the DIDACHē functions to establish, reinforce, and maintain social identity among non-Israelite recruits by incorporating a specific Jesus group memory genre, the sayings of Jesus, into a more widely known Mediterranean memory genre, the two ways discourse. The DIDACHē’s integration of these two emerges as a distinctive genre memory differing significantly from other articulations of the two ways tradition because it is shaped both by the group’s socialization needs and by memory genres and genre memory associated with the Davidic kingdom, which provide the lens for this group’s understanding of Jesus and his purpose.

This article explores the DIDACHē as a written artifact of social memory documenting the socialization program of a particular network of Israelite Jesus people. Drawing on the work of sociologist Jeffrey Olick, I define more precisely his concepts of (a) memory genre as a mnemonic practice and/or image of the past that is available to a particular group at a specific moment in time, and (b) genre memory as the memory of previous commemorations; the ongoing discourse that occurs by means of particular memory genres. Using these concepts heuristically, I demonstrate that the DIDACHē functions to establish, reinforce, and maintain social identity among non-Israelite recruits by incorporating a specific Jesus group memory genre, the sayings of Jesus, into a more widely known Mediterranean memory genre, the two ways discourse. The DIDACHē’s integration of these two emerges as a distinctive genre memory differing significantly from other articulations of the two ways tradition because it is shaped both by the group’s socialization needs and by memory genres and genre memory associated with the Davidic kingdom, which provide the lens for this group’s understanding of Jesus and his purpose.