What is a ‘Gospel’? Recent Studies in the Gospel Genre

2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-199
Author(s):  
Judith A. Diehl
Keyword(s):  
Literary Criticism ◽  
Gospel Of Mark ◽  
Historical Jesus ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
Ancient Literature ◽  
Apocryphal Gospels ◽  
Analogical Approach

This article is a brief review of two main paths of biblical scholarship with respect to the ‘gospel’ genre. The NT Gospels appear to be similar to other ancient literature in some ways, yet distinctive enough in content, form, theology and purpose to set them apart from other literature. The analogical approach shows how the Gospels were written in a form similar to other written documents of that time and culture. In contrast, the derivational approach attempts to show that the Gospels are unique and exclusive in all of literature. While the search for the ‘historical Jesus’ is not over, literary criticism has now set the Gospels within the concept of ‘story’, with all its literary implications. Scholars have suggested that the ‘Gospel of Mark’ is the first of its kind, becoming the foundational paradigm of the Gospel genre. Further, the discovery of ancient ‘apocryphal gospels’ has encouraged scholars to compare the NT Gospels to the non-canonical documents.The challenge of clearly identifying the ‘Gospel genre’ continues, as scholars try to understand the nature of both canonical and non-canonical stories of Jesus.

scholarly journals Gospel Formation and the Catalytic Corrective

Axis Mundi ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 29-43
Author(s):  
Suzanne Picard
Keyword(s):  
Literary Criticism ◽  
Gospel Of Mark ◽  
Historical Jesus ◽  
Community Functioning ◽  
The Social ◽  
Historical Methodology ◽  
Christian Origins ◽  
Social Upheaval

Burton Mack’s Myth of Innocence delves into the nebulous territory of earliest Christianities with a reformer’s zeal and an academic’s rigour. Confronting a paucity of primary documentation and a scholarly obsession over the historical Jesus, Mack attempts to change the popular and academic vision of Christian origins with what he describes as “a single shift in perspective”: looking at the Gospel of Mark not to study the indelible uniqueness of the Christ Event, but to uncover the social histories of the document and its existence as a social charter.1 Thus, Mack turns to social-historical methodology (and nuanced literary criticism) in order to elucidate the social traditions and interests underpinning the Gospel of Mark,2 and to illustrate how the gospel’s careful craftsmanship informs scholarly and Church traditions of Christianity’s novel origins. Mack argues that Mark’s gospel was a charter document for his community, functioning as an authorizing defence amidst c.70 CE social upheaval, persecution, and perceptions of failure.

scholarly journals What kind of “Judean” was Jesus?

2007 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Cromhout
Keyword(s):  
Historical Jesus ◽  
Cultural Model ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
Proposed Model

Reconstructions of the historical Jesus are analyzed in terms of a proposed socio-cultural model of Judean ethnicity. At first an overview is given of the work of Meier and Crossan to establish the content they assigned to Jesus’ Judean ethnicity. Drawing on the insights of ethnicity theory, biblical scholarship and the work of Berger and Luckmann, a socio-cultural model of Judean ethnicity is proposed and explained. The reconstructions of Meier and Crossan are then compared with the proposed model. It is argued that none of their reconstructions allow for Jesus to be seen as profoundly Judean.

Molière and Saint-Evremond

PMLA ◽  
1961 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 200-204
Author(s):  
Quentin M. Hope
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Literary Criticism ◽  
Modern Literature ◽  
Strong Affinity ◽  
Dramatic Criticism ◽  
Full Expression ◽  
Ancient Literature ◽  
History Of ◽  
Critical Mind ◽  
Comedie Italienne

Saint-Evremond has earned a place in the history of seventeenth-century dramatic criticism as a fervent admirer of Corneille and a hostile critic of Racine. His strong affinity for Molière is less well-known, because he wrote very little about him. Not considering himself a professional author, he never felt the need to give full expression to his opinions on literature, or on any subject. In his youth he was primarily a railleur; as literary criticism, his first work, La Comédie des académistes, is a pungent satirical attack on pretension, triviality, and excessive concern with minutiae of vocabulary and technique. The satirical impulse remains present, in a more subdued form, in most of his later works. He probes into the weaknesses of ancient and modern literatures more frequently than he celebrates their merits. His discussions of authors he particularly admires, Montaigne, Voiture, Malherbe, Cervantes, are very brief. Most of his critical essays are directed against aberrations in judgment, insufficiencies, and misconceptions. Dissertation sur Alexandre, Sur les caractères des tragédies, A un auteur qui me demandait mon sentiment d'une pièce où l'héroïne ne faisait que se lamenter, Discours sur les historiens français, Sur nos comédies, De la comédie italienne, Sur les opéras, Observations sur le goüt et le discernement des français—all these are essays emphasizing various weaknesses in modern literature and taste. Réflexions sur nos traducteurs and Du merveilleux qui se trouve dans les poèmes des anciens are equally critical of certain aspects of ancient literature, while De la tragédie ancienne et moderne is an attack on both. It is true that a large part of his criticism of the drama deals with Corneille, whom he admired more than any other author, but his defense of Corneille often takes the form of an attack against the corrupt modern taste which has turned against him. His searching and critical mind preferred to contradict a generally accepted opinion, to reveal the hidden weaknesses of a universally admired work, rather than to define the qualities of the authors it enjoyed.

scholarly journals Op die voetspoor van Harold Henry Rowley (1890-1969)

1994 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
I. J.J. Spangenberg
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Academic Career ◽  
Biblical Theology ◽  
Historical Jesus ◽  
Critical Research ◽  
The Road ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
Critical Method ◽  
The Church

On the trail of Harold Heniy Rowley (1890-1969) H H Rowley can he described as an enigmatic Old Testament scholar. Hailed as one of the leading Old Testament biblical theologians of the forties and fifties, he was also criticized for his ‘middle-of-the-road’ conclusions. This article takes a brief look at his academic career and biblical scholarship, it is argued that he is an exponent of the biblical theology movement in his attempts to reconcile the results of the historical- critical method with the traditional creeds of Christianity. Unfortunately he was not very successful because he did not regard the results of New Testament historical-critical research seriously. He was reluctant to admit that there was a difference between the historical Jesus and Christ as proclaimed by the church. Perhaps there are a few lessons to be learned from his timidity.

Why Did the “Leper” Get Under Jesus’ Skin? Emotion Theory and Angry Reaction in Mark 1:40-45

2014 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-128
Author(s):  
F. Scott Spencer
Keyword(s):  
Literary Criticism ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
Close Analysis ◽  
Emotion Theory ◽  
Roman Antiquity

Accepting the more difficult reading in Mark 1:41 that Jesus was “moved with anger” (ὀργισθείς) in response to a leper’s request for healing, this article investigates the motives behind this vehement response, which persists after Jesus cures the man (1:43). A close analysis of Mark 1:40-45, in conjunction with key Markan co-texts (6:14-29; 10:35-52; 14:32-36; 15:6-15) and ancient and modern theories of emotion, demonstrates that the leper chiefly provokes Jesus’ ire by belittling his deep desire or will to heal (ἐὰν θέλῃς). Discussions of anger (ὀργή/ira) by Aristotle and Seneca serve as primary resources from Greco-Roman antiquity. In contemporary thought, the study of emotion has recently surged in various disciplines, not least in philosophy, psychology, and literary criticism. Biblical scholarship has just begun to engage with this material in examining characters’ emotions. This article sets forth an example and framework for further exploration of the passionate Markan Jesus.

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