A Dangerous Parting

In  A Dangerous Parting, Nathan L. Shedd tracks the journey of John the Baptist’s decapitated head first through the space of its story world and then through its reception over time. By considering the head to be a vehicle for meaning that is activated in different contexts, this sharply focused book exemplifies the responsible use of social memory theory. But even more: Shedd’s analysis shows persuasively how the story of John’s beheading was a cultural resource that early Christian thinkers deployed in their debates about the relationship between Christianity and Judaism.

~Sarah E. Rollens, R.A. Webb Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Rhodes College

Severed heads are surprisingly loquacious. Decapitation--an unnatural event freighted with cultural intention--is a communicative act that violently inscribes its own words into the mouths of its victims. In A Dangerous Parting, Nathan Shedd listens as the disembodied head of John the Baptist speaks across the first three Christian centuries. One might think a head on a platter could be made to say whatever a person wanted, but Shedd illumines processes by which established commemorative patterns restrict and constrain the ability to reconfigure the past. The result is a fascinating extended interview with one of early Christianity’s most important talking heads.

~Rafael Rodríguez, Professor of New Testament, Johnson University

This ambitious study considers memories of John the Baptist’s violent beheading, as found both in the New Testament and in other early Christian literature. It uses social memory theory to reflect how John’s death would have been understood among other beheadings in the Roman world. It reflects on changes of interpretations in the light of different cultural circumstances and debates, particularly with Judaism. As such, it makes a solid contribution to understanding the reception of John in the early centuries.

~Joan Taylor, Professor of Christian Origins and Second Temple Judaism, King’s College London

…Shedd is meticulous in his historical research, and he illuminates the early reception of Herod’s beheading of John. Valuable for supporting study of the New Testament gospels and early Jewish-Christian relations.

~Choice

A Dangerous Parting is an excellent example of the application of social memory theory to the study of the Gospels and makes a significant contribution to our understanding of how John the Baptist’s death was commemorated as a means of overcoming a potentially dishonorable and problematic death--not only in the Synoptic Gospels but also in the second and third centuries C.E. Shedd’s analysis of the ancient Mediterranean cultural scripts of beheading should be, in my view, required reading for all who study the Gospels. Along the way, Shedd makes another important contribution to our understanding of the commemorative ideologies involved in the so-called Parting of the Ways.

~Joshua W. Jipp, Catholic Bible Quarterly

…Shedd’s fascinating study throws fresh light on a very memorable death. Readers interested in reception history, early Jewish-Christian relations, and the ethics of memory will benefit from this book.

~James Schetelich, Fides et Historia

Whether your interest is in the figure of John the Baptist, the latest methods for exploring the reception and history of interpretation of ancient texts, or the ethics of how stories are retold, Nathan Shedd’s A Dangerous Parting contains valuable insights that make it well worth reading.

~James F. McGrath, Reading Religion

Shedd’s conclusion is worth reading more than once as he proposes both a critique against taking the easy interpretive route on violence and opportunities for future research into the topic. This volume is highly recommended for research libraries and for those who wish to work with social memory or violence/trauma studies.

~Stan Harstine, Friends University, Religious Studies Review