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David Wilhite

Baylor University, George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Faculty Member

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University of Zagreb

Uppsala University

University of East London

University of Leicester

Gwen Robbins Schug

University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Gabriel Gutierrez-Alonso

University of Salamanca

Macquarie University

Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul

Swansea University

Jesper Hoffmeyer

University of Copenhagen

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Papers by David Wilhite

“‘Whence it Cometh, and Whither it Goeth’: Tracing the Montanist Spirit in North Africa”

“Montanism” in the Roman World: The New Prophecy from Historical, Sociological, and Ecclesiological Perspectives. Festschrift for William Tabbernee on the Occasion of his 80th Birthday, 2024

“‘Whence it Cometh, and Whither it Goeth’: Tracing the Montanist Spirit in North Africa,” in “Mon... more “‘Whence it Cometh, and Whither it Goeth’: Tracing the Montanist Spirit in North Africa,” in “Montanism” in the Roman World: The New Prophecy from Historical, Sociological, and Ecclesiological Perspectives. Festschrift for William Tabbernee on the Occasion of his 80th Birthday, ed. Peter Lampe and Heidrun Mader (Göttinggen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2024), 71-89.

Lecture 3 "YHWH Christology and Ethics: After Divine Virtue"

Part of Trinity School for Ministry's Oden Lectures 2024: https://webbercenter.tsm.edu/oden

Lecture 2 "YHWH Christology and Hermeneutics: After Allegorical Interpretation"

Part of Trinity School for Ministry's Oden Lectures 2024: https://webbercenter.tsm.edu/oden

Lecture 1 YHWH Christology and History: After Modern Scholarship

Part of Trinity School for Ministry's Oden Lectures 2024: https://webbercenter.tsm.edu/oden

The Donatist controversy

Tertullian on the Afterlife: “Only Martyrs are in Heaven” and Other Misunderstandings

Zeitschrift für Antikes Christentum / Journal of Ancient Christianity

Perpetua only saw martyrs in heaven, according to Tertullian, De anima 55,4. This passage has per... more Perpetua only saw martyrs in heaven, according to Tertullian, De anima 55,4. This passage has perplexed scholars, since Tertullian seems to be referring to Saturus’s vision, not Perpetua’s (Passio Perpetuae et Felicitatis 13,8). Additionally, Tertullian’s citation is part of his larger argument against the Valentinians, in which he makes the peculiar claim that the souls of the dead are “below” (inferi) with the exception of the martyrs who are in Paradise. I contend that Tertullian’s claim has been misunderstood in the last few decades of scholarship because of a failure to contextualize his remark within his rhetorical strategy. Disentangling Tertullian’s convictions from his rhetoric is notoriously difficult, and yet by reading Tertullian as fully immersed in the tactics from the Second Sophistic Movement recent scholars have made great advances in our understanding of this North African Christian writer. Several of Tertullian’s other works provide counter-evidence to the idea th...

Donatism of History: Recent Questions

The Journal of Ecclesiastical History

Two roads diverged in Roman Africa. One led to the movement that came to be known as Donatism, an... more Two roads diverged in Roman Africa. One led to the movement that came to be known as Donatism, and the other to the so-called Catholic party. The controversy emerged soon after the Diocletian persecution, one side selecting Caecilius as the bishop of Carthage, the other eventually selecting Donatus (and therefore dubbed ‘Donatist’). The schism widened when Constantine supported the former and attempted to enforce his party's status. Violence sporadically erupted between these two parties for the next century, around which time Augustine led the charge to bring about unity, ultimately through legal and coercive means. The success of this unification, however, and the ultimate fate of the Donatists is open to debate, along with virtually every other datum from this controversy. The debated nature of the controversy, therefore, needs to be closely examined, for just what paradigm one takes from the outset could make all the difference.

The Personal/Substantial Spirit of Prophecy: Irenaeus's Use of Paul Against the Heresies

Irenaeus and Paul, 2020

Excursus: The Development of the Office of Bishop in Early Christianity

THE CHURCH: A GUIDE FOR THE PERPLEXED, 2010

Part of a chapter from THE CHURCH: A GUIDE FOR THE PERPLEXED, co-authored with Matt Jenson.

The Apostolic Fathers and Paul - Table of Contents

Irenaeus and Paul - Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Marcion from The Gospel According to Heretics

• “Identity, Psychology, and the Psychici: Tertullian’s ‘Bishop of Bishops,’” Interdisciplinary Journal for Research on Religion (Fall 2009), Article 9: 1-26.

In his treatise De pudicitia church of the bishops likely candidates are the bishop of Rome and t... more In his treatise De pudicitia church of the bishops likely candidates are the bishop of Rome and the bishop of Carthage. Although many scholars have concluded that Tertullian was referring to the bishop of Carthage, I seek to defend a Roman referent. In reviewing the past possibilities offered by scholars I summarize the major trends and highlight the appeal to motive in the competing arguments. The motive that most scholars have presumed for identifying the bishop as Carthaginian is that Tertullian was a member of the Montanist sect, which it is assumed was denounced by the bishop of Carthage. Although recent on, even denying any existence of a

• “Augustine the African: Post-colonial, Postcolonial and Post-postcolonial Readings,” Journal of Postcolonial Theory and Theology 5 (2014)

http://www.postcolonialjournal.com/Resources/Wilhite%205%201.pdf

Wilhite, Ancient African Christianity: An Introduction to a Unique Context and Tradition (London: Routledge Press, 2017), 108-35 (= Chapter 4 "Tertullian")

Chapter 2 Ebionites.pdf

Wilhite “Tertullian and the Spirit of Prophecy,” in Tertullian and Paul, ed. Todd Still and David E. Wilhite (London: T&T Clark, 2013), 45-71.

Was Marcion a Docetist? The Body of Evidence vs. Tertullian’s Argument

Vigiliae Christianae, 2016

The Baptists "And the Son": The Filioque Clause in Noncreedal Theology

Journal of Ecumenical Studies, Mar 22, 2009

True Church or True Basilica?: The Song of Songs and Parmenian’s Ecclesiology Revisited

Journal of Early Christian Studies, 2014

“‘Whence it Cometh, and Whither it Goeth’: Tracing the Montanist Spirit in North Africa”

“Montanism” in the Roman World: The New Prophecy from Historical, Sociological, and Ecclesiological Perspectives. Festschrift for William Tabbernee on the Occasion of his 80th Birthday, 2024

“‘Whence it Cometh, and Whither it Goeth’: Tracing the Montanist Spirit in North Africa,” in “Mon... more “‘Whence it Cometh, and Whither it Goeth’: Tracing the Montanist Spirit in North Africa,” in “Montanism” in the Roman World: The New Prophecy from Historical, Sociological, and Ecclesiological Perspectives. Festschrift for William Tabbernee on the Occasion of his 80th Birthday, ed. Peter Lampe and Heidrun Mader (Göttinggen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2024), 71-89.

Lecture 3 "YHWH Christology and Ethics: After Divine Virtue"

Part of Trinity School for Ministry's Oden Lectures 2024: https://webbercenter.tsm.edu/oden

Lecture 2 "YHWH Christology and Hermeneutics: After Allegorical Interpretation"

Part of Trinity School for Ministry's Oden Lectures 2024: https://webbercenter.tsm.edu/oden

Lecture 1 YHWH Christology and History: After Modern Scholarship

Part of Trinity School for Ministry's Oden Lectures 2024: https://webbercenter.tsm.edu/oden

The Donatist controversy

Tertullian on the Afterlife: “Only Martyrs are in Heaven” and Other Misunderstandings

Zeitschrift für Antikes Christentum / Journal of Ancient Christianity

Perpetua only saw martyrs in heaven, according to Tertullian, De anima 55,4. This passage has per... more Perpetua only saw martyrs in heaven, according to Tertullian, De anima 55,4. This passage has perplexed scholars, since Tertullian seems to be referring to Saturus’s vision, not Perpetua’s (Passio Perpetuae et Felicitatis 13,8). Additionally, Tertullian’s citation is part of his larger argument against the Valentinians, in which he makes the peculiar claim that the souls of the dead are “below” (inferi) with the exception of the martyrs who are in Paradise. I contend that Tertullian’s claim has been misunderstood in the last few decades of scholarship because of a failure to contextualize his remark within his rhetorical strategy. Disentangling Tertullian’s convictions from his rhetoric is notoriously difficult, and yet by reading Tertullian as fully immersed in the tactics from the Second Sophistic Movement recent scholars have made great advances in our understanding of this North African Christian writer. Several of Tertullian’s other works provide counter-evidence to the idea th...

Donatism of History: Recent Questions

The Journal of Ecclesiastical History

Two roads diverged in Roman Africa. One led to the movement that came to be known as Donatism, an... more Two roads diverged in Roman Africa. One led to the movement that came to be known as Donatism, and the other to the so-called Catholic party. The controversy emerged soon after the Diocletian persecution, one side selecting Caecilius as the bishop of Carthage, the other eventually selecting Donatus (and therefore dubbed ‘Donatist’). The schism widened when Constantine supported the former and attempted to enforce his party's status. Violence sporadically erupted between these two parties for the next century, around which time Augustine led the charge to bring about unity, ultimately through legal and coercive means. The success of this unification, however, and the ultimate fate of the Donatists is open to debate, along with virtually every other datum from this controversy. The debated nature of the controversy, therefore, needs to be closely examined, for just what paradigm one takes from the outset could make all the difference.

The Personal/Substantial Spirit of Prophecy: Irenaeus's Use of Paul Against the Heresies

Irenaeus and Paul, 2020

Excursus: The Development of the Office of Bishop in Early Christianity

THE CHURCH: A GUIDE FOR THE PERPLEXED, 2010

Part of a chapter from THE CHURCH: A GUIDE FOR THE PERPLEXED, co-authored with Matt Jenson.

The Apostolic Fathers and Paul - Table of Contents

Irenaeus and Paul - Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Marcion from The Gospel According to Heretics

• “Identity, Psychology, and the Psychici: Tertullian’s ‘Bishop of Bishops,’” Interdisciplinary Journal for Research on Religion (Fall 2009), Article 9: 1-26.

In his treatise De pudicitia church of the bishops likely candidates are the bishop of Rome and t... more In his treatise De pudicitia church of the bishops likely candidates are the bishop of Rome and the bishop of Carthage. Although many scholars have concluded that Tertullian was referring to the bishop of Carthage, I seek to defend a Roman referent. In reviewing the past possibilities offered by scholars I summarize the major trends and highlight the appeal to motive in the competing arguments. The motive that most scholars have presumed for identifying the bishop as Carthaginian is that Tertullian was a member of the Montanist sect, which it is assumed was denounced by the bishop of Carthage. Although recent on, even denying any existence of a

• “Augustine the African: Post-colonial, Postcolonial and Post-postcolonial Readings,” Journal of Postcolonial Theory and Theology 5 (2014)

http://www.postcolonialjournal.com/Resources/Wilhite%205%201.pdf

Wilhite, Ancient African Christianity: An Introduction to a Unique Context and Tradition (London: Routledge Press, 2017), 108-35 (= Chapter 4 "Tertullian")

Chapter 2 Ebionites.pdf

Wilhite “Tertullian and the Spirit of Prophecy,” in Tertullian and Paul, ed. Todd Still and David E. Wilhite (London: T&T Clark, 2013), 45-71.

Was Marcion a Docetist? The Body of Evidence vs. Tertullian’s Argument

Vigiliae Christianae, 2016

The Baptists "And the Son": The Filioque Clause in Noncreedal Theology

Journal of Ecumenical Studies, Mar 22, 2009

True Church or True Basilica?: The Song of Songs and Parmenian’s Ecclesiology Revisited

Journal of Early Christian Studies, 2014

Cambridge History of Ancient Christianity - Abstract and ToC

Cambridge History of Ancient Christianity, 2023

The first three hundred years of the Common Era witnessed critical developments that would become... more The first three hundred years of the Common Era witnessed critical developments that would become foundational for Christianity itself, as well as for the societies and later history that emerged thereafter. The concept of "ancient Christianity," however, along with the content that the category represents, has raised much debate. This is, in part, because within this category lie multiple forms of devotion to Jesus Christ, multiple phenomena, and multiple permutations in the formative period of Christian history. Within those multiples lie numerous contests, as varieties of Christian identity laid claim to authority and authenticity in different ways. The Cambridge History of Ancient Christianity addresses these contested areas with both nuance and clarity by reviewing, synthesizing, and critically engaging recent scholarly developments. The twenty-seven thematic chapters, specially commissioned for this volume from an international team of scholars, also offer constructive ways forward for future research.

Tertullian and Paul - Table of Contents

Augustine the African

Chapter 8 from Wilhite, Ancient African Christianity (London: Routledge, 2017), 240-63.

Jesus in The Infancy Gospel of “the Israelite” and the God of Israel

PAPER PRESENTED AT THE XVIII. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PATRISTIC STUDIES OXFORD ON 21 AUGUST... more PAPER PRESENTED AT THE
XVIII. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PATRISTIC STUDIES OXFORD
ON 21 AUGUST 2019

Abstract
In recent studies of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, the IGT is read as problematic, because the text depicts the young Jesus as shaming, cursing, and killing in an apparent arbitrary manner (van Aarde 2006; Aasgaard 2009; Whitenton 2015; Eastman 2015; Cousland 2018). In response, scholars offer to solve the problem by showing specific contextual elements from late antiquity can explain certain facets of Jesus depicted in the IGT. In light of the ancient context, it is claimed that there is no problem to be solved; the text’s own thought-world has simply been misunderstood. In my paper, I will argue that the portrayal of Jesus in the IGT is still problematic, but the problem is not created by the IGT itself: instead of claiming that the IGT’s Jesus is incompatible with the canonical picture of Jesus, I argue that the canonical Gospels’ depiction of Jesus is–to some ancient readers–incompatible with the character of the God of Israel depicted in the Jewish scriptures. The IGT dissolves this tension by depicting “the Lord (Kurios)” of Israel as having become a fully human child, who then grows in character and learns “to bless and not to curse” (IGT 4.2), that is, he “grows in wisdom” (IGT 17.5//Luke 2.52). In short, aside from the insights gained in recent studies that focus on the late antique setting, the primary backdrop for explaining Jesus’ character in the IGT is found in the God worshipped by the “Israelite” (IGT 1.1).