Literary approaches to the texts

Literary approaches to the texts Narrative and readers

If the authors of the four gospels are not just preachers and theologians, but also skilled literary artists, then we must use the tools developed in the study of literature throughout our culture. Such literary approaches involve a triangular relationship: the author, the reader and the text operating between them. All too often, gospel studies has stressed only one of these at the expense of the others: if we are to appreciate our four portrait painters, we need to look at the authors themselves, at the way they present their work, and at the response it evokes in ourselves…