Parallel Lives of Jesus - 3 The Gospel according to Mark
Parallel Lives of Jesus - 3 The Gospel according to Mark
by SPCK - Edward Adams
The Gospel according to Mark Of the four New Testament Gospels, Mark is the one that most obviously manifests the shared story we have identified. It is also the Gospel that most closely corresponds to the outline of the gospel message given in Acts 10:36–43:1 Mark’s Gospel begin…
Parallel Lives of Jesus - 3c The Characterization of Jesus
Parallel Lives of Jesus - 3c The Characterization of Jesus
by SPCK - Edward Adams
The Characterization of Jesus More so in Mark than in any of the other Gospels, there is mystery surrounding the figure of Jesus. People wonder who he is (4:41; 6:3; 8:27, 29; 11:28; 14:61; 15:2), and Jesus often tells those who have knowledge of his identity to keep quiet about …
Parallel Lives of Jesus - 3b Narrative Technique
Parallel Lives of Jesus - 3b Narrative Technique
by SPCK - Edward Adams
Narrative Technique Mark’s most characteristic literary device is “intercalation,” his “sandwiching” technique. The story of the raising of Jairus’s daughter, for example, is inserted within the story of the healing of the woman who suffered from haemorrhage (5:21–43). Jesus’ cle…
Parallel Lives of Jesus - 3d The Characterization of the Disciples
Parallel Lives of Jesus - 3d The Characterization of the Disciples
by SPCK - Edward Adams
The Characterization of the Disciples As noted in chapter 2, all the evangelists portray the disciples with conflicting traits. While Mark acknowledges the positive features of the disciples (they are called, commissioned, made privy to the mystery of the kingdom, etc.), he accen…
Parallel Lives of Jesus - 6b Epilogue
Parallel Lives of Jesus - 6b Epilogue
by SPCK - Edward Adams
Epilogue The last two verses of chapter 20 probably constitute the original ending of John’s Gospel: chapter 21 seems to have been added later as an appendix. It recounts a further post-resurrection appearance by Jesus, in which he miraculously enables the disciples to make an ab…
Jeremiah for everyone - Who Am I?
Jeremiah for everyone - Who Am I?
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Who Am I? In a poem he wrote in prison, on his way to being executed by the Nazis, Dietrich Bonhoeffer asked the question, “Who am I?” Am I one person today, and tomorrow, another? Do I look brave to other people, though before myself I’m “a contemptibly woebegone weakling”?…
Parallel Lives of Jesus - 6c Characterizational Emphases
Parallel Lives of Jesus - 6c Characterizational Emphases
by SPCK - Edward Adams
Characterizational Emphases The Fourth Evangelist lays emphasis on the heavenly character of Jesus. Jesus has come from heaven and will return to it (e.g., 3:13, 31; 6:33). He is “from above”; he is “not of this world” (8:23). Jesus comes across as a more detached and other-world…
Parallel Lives of Jesus - 7 Selected Parallel Episodes
Parallel Lives of Jesus - 7 Selected Parallel Episodes
by SPCK - Edward Adams
Selected Parallel Episodes Having considered each Gospel separately, we now bring the “parallel lives” of Jesus into contact with each other as we look at selected common episodes. The exercise will allow us to explore the unity and plurality of the Gospels in a more focused way,…
Parallel Lives of Jesus - Conclusion
Parallel Lives of Jesus - Conclusion
by SPCK - Edward Adams
Conclusion This book set out to provide an introduction to the four Gospels that respects the unity and individuality claimed for them in the Christian canon. Appropriating a distinction made in narratology, and drawing a comparison with multiple-narrative films and novels, I sho…
Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes - 4 Prelude
Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes - 4 Prelude
by SPCK-Kenneth E. Bailey
Prelude To begin this topic, a brief overview of the history of “rhetorical criticism” may be helpful. In 1969, in his presidential address to the Society of Biblical Literature, James Muilenburg issued a call for moving beyond form criticism to what he titled “rhetorical critici…
Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes - 3 Introduction
Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes - 3 Introduction
by SPCK-Kenneth E. Bailey
Introduction The preacher in Ecclesiastes considers “wisdom and madness and folly” and then seems to accept his fate as he bemoans, “What can the man do who comes after the king? Only what he has already done…” Taken from Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes by Kenneth E. Bailey
Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes - 2 Preface
Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes - 2 Preface
by SPCK-Kenneth E. Bailey
Preface As with many books, this work evolved in stages. Some forty years ago I noted that 1 Corinthians 13 was composed in the following manner: Love and the spiritual gifts (13:1-3) Love defined positively (4a) Love defined negatively (4b-6) Love defined positive…
Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes - 1 Abbreviations
Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes - 1 Abbreviations
by SPCK-Kenneth E. Bailey
Abbreviations ABD David Noel Freedman, editor, The Anchor Bible Dictionary, 6 vols. (New York: Doubleday, 1992). BAGD Walter Bauer, W. F. Arndt, F. Wilber Gingrich, Frederick W. Danker, eds., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chica…
Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes - 7 The Wisdom and Power of God
Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes - 7 The Wisdom and Power of God
by SPCK-Kenneth E. Bailey
The Wisdom and Power of God In the early centuries of the Christian church, as the Greek world became Christian, a group of scholars now called “the apologists” arose and took up the daunting task of relating the new Christian faith to their Greek intellectual heritage. Their tas…
Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes - 5 (0.1) Greeting and Prayer of Thanksgiving
Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes - 5 (0.1) Greeting and Prayer of Thanksgiving
by SPCK-Kenneth E. Bailey
Greeting and Prayer of Thanksgiving Paul’s letter opens with an identification of the senders (Paul and Sosthenes) and the receivers (the Corinthians, and all Christians). He then offers his introductory prayer. These two sections are tied together by their rhetorical form and by…
Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes - 6 (1.1) The Problem