scholarly journals A Sitz for the Gospel of Mark? A critical reaction to Bauckham's theory on the universality of the Gospels1

2000 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernest Van Eck

A Sitz for the Gospel of Mark? A critical reaction to Bauck-ham,s theory on the universality of the Gospels. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the article by Richard Bauckham, in which he challenges the current consensus in New Testament scholarship that the gospels were written for and addressed to specific believing communities. The thesis that Bauckham puts forward is that the gospels were written with the intention of being circulated as widely as possible - it was written for every Christian community of the late first century where the gospels might circulate. First, a Wirkungsgeschichte of Mark's gospel in terms of the possible localities of origin and the possible theological intentions for writing the Gospel, that is, of the results of the current consensus in New Testament scholarship, is given. Bauckham's theory is then put on the table and evaluated.

Author(s):  
James Riley Estep

Of increasing interest to New Testament scholars is the educational background of Paul and the early Christians. As evangelical educators, such studies also engage our understanding of the Biblical and historical basis of Christian education. This article endeavors to ascertain the early Christian community's, and particularly Paul's, assessment of education in first-century A.D. Greco-Roman culture as one dimension of the interactions between the early Christian community and its culture. It will (1) provide a brief review of passages in the New Testament that reflect or interact with the educational community of the first-century A.D., (2) Conjecture Paul's assessment of education in Greco-Roman culture, with which early Christians interacted, (3) Itemize implications of Paul's opinion on Greco-Roman education for our understanding on the formation and history of Christian education, and finally (4) Address the need for further study of the subject.


Author(s):  
Eve-Marie Becker ◽  
John J. Collins

When the Gospel writings were first produced, Christian thinking was already cognizant of its relationship to ancient memorial cultures and history-writing traditions. Yet, little has been written about exactly what shaped the development of early Christian literary memory. This book explores the diverse ways in which history was written according to the Hellenistic literary tradition, focusing specifically on the time during which the New Testament writings came into being: from the mid-first century until the early second century CE. While acknowledging cases of historical awareness in other New Testament writings, the book traces the origins of this historiographical approach to the Gospel of Mark and Luke—Acts. The book shows how the earliest Christian writings shaped Christian thinking and writing about history.


Author(s):  
Donald Senior

This work addresses the question of why the New Testament is considered a sacred text by Christians. While sharing some characteristics of an Introduction to the New Testament, this work has a very different purpose. While for many the New Testament is respected as an interesting and influential ancient first-century text, for believing Christians the New Testament bears perennial normative religious authority. After exploring the content, the historical roots, and the complex process that led to the composition of the varied writings contained in the New Testament, this study turns to the fundamental unifying purpose of the New Testament writings as religious proclamations in various literary forms of the inherently transcendent character of Jesus Christ and the implications of that proclamation for the lives and destiny of both individual Christians and the Christian community itself. It is this defining characteristic that underwrites the sacred character of the New Testament for Christians. A key process was the formation of the New Testament canon during the early centuries of the Christian era which certified the normative nature of the New Testament writings and fused them onto the Jewish Scriptures or Old Testament to form the Christian Bible. The study concludes by sketching the evolution and ongoing diversity of New Testament interpretation both in the academy and in the church.


1959 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. P. Owen

The Second Coming (otherwise called the Parousia)1 of Christ constituted a serious problem for the apostolic Church. One of the earliest of Paul's Epistles (1 Thessalonians) shows how quickly his converts became discouraged when some of their number died before the Lord's appearing. In reply Paul repeats his promise that the Lord will soon return, although in his second epistle he has to give a reminder that Antichrist must first make a final bid for power (1 Thess. 4.15–18, 2 Thess. 2). Similarly the author of Hebrews, writing to a disillusioned and apathetic group of Christians some decades later in the first century, recalls the words of Habakkuk that ‘the Lord will come and not be slow’ (10.37). Finally 2 Peter, the latest book of the New Testament (written, perhaps, as late as the middle of the second century), continues to offer the hope of an imminent Parousia to be accompanied by the world's destruction and renewal (ch. 3). If Christians are tempted to despair they must remember that the word of prophets and Apostles is sure (v. 2) and that with God ‘a thousand years are as one day’ (v. 8).


2001 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-127
Author(s):  
N. Clayton Croy

AbstractDionysius of Halicarnassus, rhetorician and historian in Rome during the waning years of the first century B.C.E., wrote an essay on Thucydides in which he noted that some critics faulted the great historian of the Peloponnesian War for the arrangement (ταξις) of his work. They complained that Thucydides "neither chose the beginning of the history that was needed, nor did he fit it with a suitable ending." These critics insisted that "by no means the least important part of good arrangement was to choose a beginning, prior to which there would be nothing, and to conclude the matter with an ending in which nothing seemed to be lacking" (On Thucydides 10). If we overlook for the moment that Thucydides's history differs significantly in literary terms from the Gospel of Mark, we might find it remarkable how the same criticism has been leveled against the author of the second gospel. The oddity of Mark's ending at 16:8 is well known, but the beginning of Mark is also inauspicious. Does he, like Thucydides, suffer from faulty ταξις? This paper will examine the beginning of Mark's gospel and propose, or in truth, recall and corroborate, a rather pedestrian explanation of its many peculiarities.


Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 975
Author(s):  
Rodney K. Duke

This paper presents the author’s hope for changes in New Testament (NT) theology particularly as currently experienced in American Christian culture. Those changes are based on exegetical work that seeks to place the NT texts into their Jewish first-century thought world. The first part of the paper presents examples of theological concepts that have crept into NT exegesis, translations, and Christian thinking, concepts that appear to be foreign to or contrary to that original-audience thought world. The second part of the article seeks to present a reading of Rom 3:21–26 that better represents Paul’s thinking than what is found in some English translations that read the text through the lenses of some of the foreign concepts mentioned in Part 1. The resulting vision for the future of NT theology is twofold: for NT theologies to self-critically rid themselves of the infiltration of foreign concepts, and for the field to better ground its work in exegesis and translations that better respect the Jewish thought world of the texts.


Author(s):  
Д.К. АСРАТЯН

Письма патриарха Константинопольского Николая Мистика архиепископу Аланскому Петру – основной документальный источник по истории христианства на Северном Кавказе в X в. Изучение «Аланского досье» патриарха Николая сохраняет актуальность в связи с ростом интереса к духовной истории народов Кавказа, находившихся на стыке цивилизаций, религий и культур и сформировавших под их влиянием собственные самобытные национально-культурные традиции. Основным методом исследования стало сопоставление лексических и семантических средств, используемых апостолом Павлом и патриархом Николаем в двух различных, но соотносимых исторических и религиозных контекстах. Цель исследования – выявление жанровых и литературных связей писем патриарха с книгами Нового Завета. Научная новизна заключается в обосновании лингвистических, семантических и богословских параллелей между письмами Николая и посланиями апостола Павла, особенно пастырскими (1-2 Тим и Тит). Хотя сравниваемые тексты хронологически разделены почти тысячелетием, отмечается типологическое сходство исторических контекстов, в которых они были написаны (духовный наставник – ученик в епископском сане – молодая христианская община из «варваров», нуждающихся в просвещении). В интерпретации Николая миссия – это именно тяжкий труд, но совершаемый по прямому повелению Бога и ради награды свыше, и в этом смысле патриарх вполне укоренен в новозаветной традиции. Как показали результаты исследования, риторическая и богословская насыщенность писем Николая Мистика не снижает их историческую ценность, однако для корректной интерпретации необходимо учитывать их литературный характер. Letters of Nicholas Mysticus, Patriarch of Constantinople, to Peter, Archbishop of Alania, remain the chief documentary source for the history of Christianity in the North Caucasus in the 10th century. The study of the "Alan Dossier" of Patriarch Nicholas remains relevant due to the growing interest in the spiritual history of the peoples of the Caucasus, who lived at the crossroads of civilizations, religions and cultures and formed their own distinctive national and cultural traditions under such diverse influence. The main research method was the comparison of lexical and semantic means used by the Apostle Paul and Patriarch Nicholas in two different, but correlated historical and religious contexts. The purpose of the study is to identify genre and literary connections between the letters of the Patriarch and the books of the New Testament. Scientific novelty lies in the substantiation of the linguistic, semantic and theological parallels between the letters of Nicholas and the letters of the Apostle Paul, especially the pastoral ones (1-2 Tim and Titus). Although the compared texts are chronologically separated by almost a millennium, there is a typological similarity in the historical contexts in which they were written (a spiritual mentor - a bishop student - a newly formed Christian community of “barbarians” in need of education). In the interpretation of Nicholas, mission is a hard work, but it is done at the direct command of the God and is rewarded from above, and in this sense, the Patriarch is completely rooted in the New Testament tradition. As the results of the study have shown, the rhetorical and theological richness of the letters of Nikolas the Mysticus does not diminish their historical value, yet for correct interpretation it is necessary to take into account their literary character.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 5-20
Author(s):  
Sayangi Laia ◽  
Harman Ziduhu Laia ◽  
Daniel Ari Wibowo

The practice of anointing with oil has been done in the church since the first century to the present. On the other hand, there are also churches which have refused to do this. The practice of anointing with oil has essentially lifted from James 5:14. This text has become one of one text in the New Testament which is quite difficult to understand and bring a variety of views. Not a few denominations of the church understand James 5:14 is wrong, even the Catholic church including in it. The increasingly incorrect practice of anointing in the church today, that can be believed can heal disease physically and a variety of other functions push back the author to check the text of James 5:14 in the exegesis. Studies the exegesis of the deep, which focuses on the contextual, grammatical-structural,


1978 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 371-383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert T. Fortna

Some recent redaction-critical work on Mark's passion narrative has questioned the existence of a pre-Markan passion account. This in turn has suggested another look at the relation between the gospels of Mark and John. Norman Perrin has put it plainly:For a long time the general opinion of New Testament scholars was that the passion narrative existed as a connected unit before the gospel of Mark was written, and it was easy and natural to think that John had known and used a version of that pre-Markan narrative rather than the gospel of Mark. But today the tendency is to ascribe more and more of the composition of the passion narrative to the evangelist Mark himself and to doubt the very existence of a pre-Markan and non-Markan passion narrative extensive enough to have been the basis for the gospel of John. A particular consideration is the fact that the trial before the High Priest (John 18: 19–24) is set in the context of the denial by Peter (18: 15–18, 25–7), as it is also in the gospel of Mark. But there is a strong case that Mark himself originally composed this account of the trial at night before the Jewish authorities and then set it in the context of the story of Peter's denial. If this is so, the evangelist John must necessarily have known the gospel of Mark.


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