Global Thefts of Biblical Narrative

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald West
Keyword(s):  
Third World ◽  
Biblical Narrative ◽  
Biblical Story ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Narratives ◽  
African Experience ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Family Resemblances ◽  
African Perspective ◽  
The Subject

This chapter takes its starting point from the African experience, across a range of African contexts, of Africa as both the subject and object of biblical narrative. When the Bible came to Africa, it came with well-established colonial metanarratives, constructed in part from biblical narratives. These colonial metanarratives were in turn partly reconstructed by the engagement with African others, from both a European and an African perspective along two diverging trajectories, with biblical narrative making a contribution to both. This chapter focuses on the capacity of biblical narrative, biblical story, to be both incorporated into “local” metanarratives and to shape these metanarratives. The contexts that are the focus of this chapter are largely “third world” contexts, across which there are significant family resemblances and important contextual differences.

The first century of English protestantism and the growth of national identity

1982 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 309-317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Fletcher
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Early Modern Period ◽  
First Century ◽  
English Reformation ◽  
John Foxe ◽  
Religious Attitudes ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Religious Zeal

Their sense of national identity is not something that men have been in the habit of directly recording. Its strength or weakness, in relation to commitment to international causes or to localist sentiment, can often only be inferred by examining political and religious attitudes and personal behaviour. So far as the early modern period is concerned, the subject is hazardous because groups and individuals must have varied enormously in the extent to which national identity meant something to them or influenced their lives. The temptation to generalise must be resisted. It is all too easy to suppose that national identity became well established in England in the Tudor century, when a national culture, based on widespread literacy among gentry, yeomen and townsmen, flowered as it had never done before, when the bible was first generally available in English, when John Foxe produced his celebrated Acts and Monuments, better known as the Book of Martyrs. Recent work reassessing the significance of Foxe’s account of the English reformation and other Elizabethan polemical writings provdes a convenient starting point for this brief investigation of some of the connections between religious zeal and national consciousness between 1558 and 1642.

The Artist as Reader of the Bible. Visual Exegesis and the Adoration of the Magi

2005 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 337-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin O'Kane
Keyword(s):  
Subject Matter ◽  
Biblical Narrative ◽  
Biblical Story ◽  
Image Viewer ◽  
The Bible ◽  
History Of ◽  
Entire History ◽  
Visual Exegesis ◽  
Textual Meaning

AbstractThe article explores the processes at work in a painting's engagement of its viewer in biblical subject matter. It accentuates the role of the artist as an active reader of the Bible and not merely an illustrator of biblical scenes, the dynamic that occurs in the text-reader process as paradigmatic for the image-viewer relationship and the important role of the developing tradition that felt the need to change or rewrite the biblical story. The processes are explored in terms of hermeneutics and exegesis: hermeneutics defined as 'the interweaving of language and life within the horizon of the text and within the horizons of traditions and the modern reader' (Gadamer) and exegesis as 'the dialectic between textual meaning and the reader's existence' (Berdini). Applied to the visualization of biblical subject matter, the approaches of Gadamer and Berdini illumine the key role given to the viewer in the visual hermeneutical process. The biblical story of the adoration of the Magi (Matt. 2: 1-12), the first public and universal seeing of Christ and one of the most frequently depicted themes in the entire history of biblical art, is used to illustrate their approach. The emphasis in the biblical narrative on revealing the Christ child to the reader parallels a key concept in Gadamer's hermeneutical aesthetics, namely Darstellung, the way in which a painting facilitates its subject matter in coming forth, in becoming an existential event in the life of the viewer.

Biblical Israel in the Ninth Century?

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
PHILIP R. DAVIES
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Ninth Century ◽  
Biblical Narrative ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Critical History ◽  
Ancient Israel ◽  
United Monarchy ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Crucial Part

Most archaeologists of ancient Israel still operate with a pro-biblical ideology, while the role that archaeology has played in Zionist nation building is extensively documented. Terms such as ‘ninth century’ and ‘Iron Age’ represent an improvement on ‘United Monarchy’ and ‘Divided Monarchy’, but these latter terms remain implanted mentally as part of a larger portrait that may be called ‘biblical Israel’. This chapter argues that the question of ‘biblical Israel’ must be regarded as distinct from the kingdoms of Israel and Judah as a major historical problem rather than a given datum. ‘Biblical Israel’ can never be the subject of a modern critical history, but is rather a crucial part of that history, a ‘memory’, no doubt historically conditioned, that became crucial in creating Judaism. This realization will enable us not only to write a decent critical history of Iron Age central Palestine but also to bring that history and the biblical narrative into the kind of critical engagement that will lead to a better understanding of the Bible itself.

ELE NOS DEU HISTÓRIAS: EXEMPLOS DE INTERTEXTUALIDADE ENTRE A NARRATIVA BÍBLICA E A OBRA DE MACHADO DE ASSIS "He gave us stories: examples of intertextuality between the biblical narrative and the work of Machado de Assis"

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (10) ◽  
pp. 267
Author(s):  
Alexandre De Jesus dos Prazeres
Keyword(s):  
Machado De Assis ◽  
Literary Value ◽  
Biblical Narrative ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Narratives

O foco deste texto é despertar o interesse pelo estudo da Bíblia, não somente devido ao seu valor como texto de religião, mas principalmente pelo seu valor literário. E, para isto, o artigo demonstrará, de modo breve, algumas características da narrativa bíblica; e por meio do conceito linguístico de intertextualidade, apresentará alguns exemplos da influência das narrativas bíblicas em textos do escritor brasileiro, Machado de Assis.Palavras-chave: Bíblia. Literatura. Interface. Hermenêutica.AbstractThe focus of this text is to awaken interest in the study of the Bible, not only because of its value as text religion, but mainly for their literary value. And for this, the article will demonstrate, briefly, some features of the biblical narrative, and through the linguistic concept of intertextuality. It will show some examples of the influence of the biblical narratives in the texts of the Brazilian writer Machado de Assis.Keywords: Bible. Literature. Interface. Hermeneutics.

Basic Plots in the Bible

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 198-213
Author(s):  
Harry Hagan
Keyword(s):  
Biblical Narrative ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Narratives ◽  
Narrative Tradition ◽  
Form Criticism

In The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories (2004), Christopher Booker names seven basic plots: overcoming the monster (battle), rags to riches, the journey quest, voyage and return, comedy, tragedy, and rebirth; to these he adds three subplots: call and commission, trials, and temptations. Booker argues that these plots shape the stories we tell and provide a key to their meaning for us. This article shows that biblical stories from both the Old and New Testaments use and combine these basic plots and subplots to create biblical narratives. Besides providing a way of identifying the connection between stories, these categories also offer a context for understanding what is distinctive about each story and about the biblical narrative tradition. As such, these basic plots and subplots offer another strategy for the analysis of genre (form criticism).

scholarly journals The Concept and Functions of a Universal Language of Law

2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-228
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Doliwa
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Near Eastern ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Language Of Science ◽  
Universal Language ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
International Importance ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Contemporary Development

Abstract The subject of the article is the concept of a universal language and a reflection on its importance for law. The starting point is a presentation of the history of the concept of a common language for all mankind, a concept that has always accompanied man – it is present in the Bible, in the ancient writings of Near Eastern peoples, it was alive in the Middle Ages and during the Renaissance, and it experienced its particular heyday – among other reasons because of the gradual abandonment of Latin as the language of science – in the seventeenth century, an age that was reformist by definition. Since its inception, the concept of a universal language has been inextricably linked with the idea of world peace and universal happiness for all people. It is significant that in most universal language designs, regardless of the era, there were, to a greater or lesser extent, references to the utility of such languages for law. The author, tracing the development of the concept of a universal language, focuses on its fullest contemporary development: Esperanto. Esperanto, like previous universal language designs, places particular emphasis on ideas linked to the concept of a universal language, especially the idea of peaceful coexistence and understanding between peoples. In this context, it is reasonable to ask what role Esperanto can play in the development of certain branches of law, especially international law. Given the position of English as the language of legal acts of international importance, the answer to this question is currently not clear.

scholarly journals Accuracy and Reception: On Theological and Aesthetic Novelty in Two Novels by Teodora Dimova

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ewelina Drzewiecka
Keyword(s):  
Modern Literature ◽  
Individual Experience ◽  
Biblical Narrative ◽  
Biblical Story ◽  
The Bible

Accuracy and Reception: On Theological and Aesthetic Novelty in Two Novels by Teodora DimovaThis article raises the question of functioning of the Biblical narrative in modern literature in the context of the local/individual experience of faith and the epistemological and existential question of truth. The focus is on two novels by the Bulgarian writer Teodora Dimova (born in 1960): Марма Мариам [Marma, Mariam, 2010] and Първият рожден ден [The First Birthday, 2016]. This case is particularly interesting because the Biblical story about Jesus has not been used here in order to create a parody or blasphemy, which could be expected as far as the postmodern de-contextualisation and re-evaluation of tradition are  concerned, but to offer both an aesthetically original and theologically orthodox vision of the Christian God. So how to paraphrase the Biblical story and remain orthodox? How to actualize the existential potential of the Bible and achieve novelty? The analysis is conducted in the perspective of Paul Ricoeur’s existential hermeneutics and phenomenology of memory, especially his concepts of testimony and mimesis, with regard to the question of the reception of Biblical paraphrases in (Bulgarian) modern culture.Zgodność i recepcja. O teologicznej i estetycznej nowości w dwóch powieściach Teodory DimowejW artykule została poruszona kwestia funkcjonowania narracji biblijnej w literaturze nowoczesnej w kontekście lokalnego i indywidualnego doświadczenia wiary oraz epistemologicznego i egzystencjalnego pytania o prawdę. Autorka koncentruje się na dwóch powieściach bułgarskiej pisarki Teodory Dimowej (ur. 1960): Марма Мариам [Marma, Mariam, 2010] i Първият рожден ден [Pierwsze urodziny, 2016]. Przypadek ten jest szczególnie interesujący, ponieważ biblijna opowieść o Jezusie nie została tu wykorzystana w celu stworzenia parodii lub bluźnierstwa, czego można by oczekiwać w kontekście ponowoczesnych dekontekstualizacji i przewartościowań, ale aby zaproponować wizję chrześcijańskiego Boga, która jest zarówno estetycznie oryginalna, jak i teologicznie prawowierna. Jak więc sparafrazować historię biblijną i pozostać ortodoksyjnym? Jak urzeczywistnić egzystencjalny potencjał Biblii i stworzyć oryginalne dzieło? W analizie autorka odwołuje się do hermeneutyki egzystencjalnej i fenomenologii pamięci Paula Ricoeura, zwłaszcza jego koncepcjiświadectwa oraz mimesis, w odniesieniu do kwestii recepcji parafraz biblijnych w (bułgarskiej) kulturze nowoczesnej. 

scholarly journals Temat słowiański w twórczości literackiej i przesłaniu pastoralnym Karola Wojtyły – Jana Pawła II

2020 ◽  
Vol 68 (1 Zeszyt specjalny) ◽  
pp. 387-404
Author(s):  
Grażyna Halkiewicz-Sojak
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Research ◽  
John Paul Ii ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Poetic Imagination ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Adam Mickiewicz

The starting point of this article is the question of whether there is a connection between the Slavic theme in the early poetry of Karol Wojtyła and the papal teaching of John Paul II addressed to the Slavic nations. The main inspirations and ideas present in Wojtyla’s juvenilia are identified through the analysis of three aspects of his poetry: the creation of the subject, the literary kinship by choice and the historiosophical ideas evoked. The results of this comparative research indicates that the author’s poetic imagination is rooted primarily in the Bible and in the works of the Polish Romantic poets. A particularly privileged place here is occupied by Cyprian Norwid, the author of the poems Promethidion and Chopin’s Piano. The concept of nations and their historical mission in the papal teaching has numerous points in common with the Slavic thoughts of Adam Mickiewicz (in his Paris lectures) and Norwid in his poetry. The threads of selected homilies and the encyclical Slavorum Apostoli testify to this.

Biblical theology for oral-preference communities

2020 ◽  
pp. 009182962094482
Author(s):  
Andrew Buchanan
Keyword(s):  
Personal Growth ◽  
Theological Education ◽  
Biblical Theology ◽  
Philosophical Tradition ◽  
Critical Function ◽  
Biblical Story ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Western Philosophical Tradition ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Shed Light

Teaching in a non-individualist oral-preference culture in Indonesia, I have encountered the mismatch of theology developed for Western cultures and the needs of my students and their congregations that characterizes much postcolonial theological education. The use of proverbs and poetry as resources for theology addresses the need for theology to inspire and guide, but not the critical function of guarding responsible interpretation. Western theology has done the latter via abstraction of the biblical material into consistent propositional systems, an approach that also functions to inspire and guide for many of the highly literate people who developed Western theology. This connects with the deep Western philosophical tradition of finding order through abstraction, whereas oral and even literate Asian cultures create order through ritual. The Bible is not Western, however, and we show how the biblical story or theo-drama guides, guards, and inspires in a way that opens space for local theology. We then show how the identity of believers within this story is best developed for people in non-individualist cultures through ecclesial metaphors that in turn connect with divine metaphors. Three such “divine-ecclesial institutions” are sketched, namely family, kingdom, and cult. They shed light on missiological issues such as the priority of personal growth versus ritual observance. They provide a way of organizing the biblical material that offers a better starting point for the dialogue of contextualization than systematic Western theology.

Carnal Knowledge: How Performance Criticism can Provide Insights into Biblical Women

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracy Radosevic
Keyword(s):  
Biblical Story ◽  
The Past ◽  
Performance Criticism ◽  
Left Brain ◽  
Biblical Narratives ◽  
Biblical Women

Biblical Performance Criticism, among other things, relies on how a biblical story is embodied and, as a result, viscerally experienced by the performer as a means for gaining a better understanding of how to more fully comprehend and appreciate, and then potentially interpret with more accurate integrity, the biblical narratives. This process goes way beyond the left-brain intellect, permeating the very physiology of the teller in a way that provides a more multidimensional grasp of scripture, giving insights that perhaps could not be gleaned in any other way. This article, written by a woman, specifically focuses on how the stories of certain biblical women took on more profound meaning when embodied, experienced, and understood through the unique reality of females throughout the past few millennia.

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