The Hidden Tradition of the Kingdom of God

by Margaret Barker

The Kingdom of God has been a major concern of New Testament scholars for many years. What did it mean to Jesus? What does it mean for Christian belief and practice today? To understand what was meant by the Kingdom of God' writes Margaret Barker in the Introduction, it is necessary to recover what remains of that hidden tradition of the holy of holies and the high priesthood... Recovering the original Kingdom . . . enables us to glimpse again the original vision. We see . . . the complexities of the Kingdom that explain what it became in later Christian teaching. The Hidden Tradition of the Kingdom of God shows how the variety of beliefs about the Kingdom, and the related problems of eshatology, all derive from Temple traditions about the holy of holies. This inner sanctum was the Kingdom in the midst, the Unity beyond all change and decay. It was the state whence the Lord came forth, and where the faithful would go, to see him in his glory. We live in a time when politics, and also geopolitics, are enormously affected by passionate arguements over ehat it would mean to establish the "Kingdom of God" on earth. Anybody with an interest in the outcome of those arguements should pay close attention to Margaret Barker's insightful and thought-provoking investigation of the background and context in which the first Christians spoke of the Kingdom. Bruce Clark, Religious Affairs Correspondent, The Economist.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Religion

158 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2007

About the author

There is more than one author with this name

Margaret Barker is a British Methodist preacher and biblical scholar recognized for her pioneering contributions to the study of early Christianity. Educated in theology at the University of Cambridge, she devoted her career to exploring the roots of Christian thought through what she terms Temple Theology, an approach tracing many aspects of early Christian liturgy and doctrine back to the worship of Solomon’s Temple.
In 1998 she served as president of the Society for Old Testament Study, and in 2008 she was awarded the Lambeth Doctor of Divinity by the Archbishop of Canterbury in recognition of her scholarly achievements. Her influential works, including The Great High Priest (2003) and Temple Theology (2004), emphasize the enduring legacy of Temple worship, arguing that it shaped Christianity as deeply as Hellenistic and synagogue traditions.
Drawing on sources ranging from the Hebrew Bible and Septuagint to the Dead Sea Scrolls, Gnostic writings, and early Christian texts, Barker’s research highlights the mystical dimensions of ancient worship and their relevance for understanding early Christian belief. Her work has been both praised for originality and critiqued within mainstream scholarship, yet remains highly influential across diverse theological traditions.

Reviews

[David Blanchard II · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wonderful exposition on the true nature of Judaism. The ancient Jews were henotheists who believed in a family of Gods of which we are a part. The author is a Methodist, but being LDS myself this book goes a long way in validating our theology on many levels. I could not recommend it more. There are some thoughts/ideas which I believe need to be given over to thoughful prayer such as the notion of Melchizedek being Jesus Christ, a title and refering to this as His angelic manifestation prior to His being incarnate in the flesh. An interesting interpolation of thought,however,I must meditate on it further. If you are a temple going LDS, you will find this subject matter fascinating and the utter joy of how much light God is giving to us in these latter days in regards to sacred knowledge is astonishing!

Namaste,
David Blanchard

[Bob Dijk]

Wonderful book

[Magila · Rating 4 out of 5]

By rights, this book deserves a 3.5 and I probably would have rounded down. However, so many people have given it ratings less than what it deserves, without any explanation, I have given the author a slight bump.

This book introduces an interesting theological concept almost all but missing in Christianity, that Christ's gospel (and that of the Jewish people through which it came) was a temple-centric faith. The author goes through at times painful detail in highlighting and validating her point, using a myriad of biblical and extra-canonical texts (Dead Sea Scrolls, Early Church Fathers, Jewish Teachings, etc.) At one point, however, I feel she just went too far throwing in references to Dante and other popular works of fiction.

Further to this complaint, while the author does an excellent job of laying the groundwork in a scholarly fashion, by 3/4 through the book she begins to really rely upon herself (citing her other works) and shares less concrete points. She stretches the thesis a bit to include some other elements which were less successful. For example, I was with her when when she discussed the potential classic editing of the canon to remove the role of women from the temple, but found the whole "Wisdom" argument to be founded mostly on her own theory and other works.

This happened quite a bit, and for me the last chapter (5) could almost have been completely edited out. However, 1-3 were good, and 4 was pretty good, ergo, 3.5

I plan to read more from Barker in the future, if that says anything.

[Allyne]

Last year's installment in Margaret Barker's continuing brief for Temple theology, her provocative and persuasive thesis that the origins of Christian theology and spirituality lie in the shrouded history of Israel's First Temple of King Solomon.