The as Literature: An Introduction (BAL) edited by Gabel and others Outlines and summaries by Dr. Kenney

This document provides outlines and summaries for the assigned reading. Students may find it useful to read these outlines before and/or after reading the assigned chapter. They might prove helpful for exam reviews. They might prove helpful as guides to how to outline other chapters that might be assigned for student reports. The only items outlined here are: “To the Reader” and Chapters 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14 and 15.

Outline of “To the reader” (key points are presented paragraph by paragraph)

Page Paragraph Vii 1 BAL is a general introduction to the bible for college students

Vii 2 BAL is not: a) a bible commentary book by book, chapter by chapter; b) it is not providing a religious point of view; c) is not an assessment of the bible’s value for morality or spirituality either positive or negative. The editor’s perspective is that the bible is “a fascinating human document of enormous importance to the culture and history of the modern world”

Viii 3 The editors view the bible as follows: a) at minimum it is a human product, time bound and culturally conditioned; b) any timeless, supra-historical or supernatural dimension of the bible is left up to the readers faith choice;

Viii 4 The editors goal is to present the consensus of scholarship on various matters viii-ix 5-10 These paragraphs deal with: a) topics covered in this book; b) the sequence and arrangement of topics; c) the selected English translation (the NJB); and d) various concerns about terminology, such as OT/NT or BC/AD x 11 This paragraph explains the function of the bibliographies provided x 12 This paragraph comments appropriately on the fifth edition

Outline/Summary of Chapter 1: The Bible as Literature: Page Paragraph 1 1 Studying the bible as literature means acknowledging that the bible is at minimum a human document conditioned by the language, thought forms, and experiences of the people by whom and to whom it is written. In this sense the study of the bible does not differ from the study of any other literature

1 2 The study of the bible should prove profitable for religious and non- religious alike

1 3 The Bible as Literature should make the same sense as “Shakespeare as Literature”

2 4 The literature of the bible is rich and diverse with many forms beyond the ever popular or pleasing belles letters (literature written to entertain)

2 5 The distinction between writing as the expression of a subject rather than an object is crucial: the former says nothing about the reality of the thing discussed (an event; a person; an idea; a concept); the latter assumes that there is something external that actually exists. One must make a judgment and this judgment is more philosophical or theological than it is literary.

3 6 The bible may or may not be accurate and objective reporting

3 7 By emphasizing writing as the expression of a subject rather than of an object we can escape the unnecessary debates regarding the factuality or lack of factuality of the bible

3 8 For example, when a biblical author discusses ’s temple we should focus not upon whether or not this temple actually exists but how the author chooses to speak of the temple in the context of the overall literary work

4 9-10-11 The creation of the universe as described in Genesis is another example: Our focus is not on whether or not creation objectively happened as described but on how the author presented the matter as his chosen subject of expression.

4-7 12-17 The speech and martyrdom of Stephen in Acts 7 provides another example. As the editors explain the account makes little sense as a record of total objective fact. As a piece of literature aiming at making a comparison between ’ martyrdom and death and Stephen’s martyrdom and death it makes excellent sense. The author of Acts intended the reader to understand that Jesus’ followers often experience similar persecution. As the editors state, Acts is “a composition in which the literary processes of selection, emphasis, wording, and organization operate, and which must be studied as a literary composition” (page 6-7).

7 18-19-20 The authorship of the bible creates several problems for its understanding for a variety of reasons. a) we often do not know anything about the author; b) often the author is not even named; c) often the document was subjected to revisions by later authors or editors who at times expressed views even contrary to the original author. Since many of these matters are in dispute, the interpretation process becomes complicated as one needs to take one or the other position on the matter and that often it ends up as an assumption that cannot be proven.

8 21-23 The bible is an anthology of works with multiple authors and multiple viewpoints. Although it might seem to present a unified view, this perspective is problematic.

9-12 24-29 This large section dealt with the problem of redaction in the bible. Both the and the contain evidence that later editors amended the literature that they had in order to provide new perspectives. This too complicates the study of the bible as it challenges the assumption that a given book of the bible contains a singular and coherent view. The editors of this textbook believe that this simplistic view “creates more problems than it solves” (page 12). Note to the student: If you adhere to this viewpoint, it is your privilege and prerogative but please understand that, unless you are prepared to help the class clearly understand how your view makes sense, it might be better to silently protest until such time that you are prepared to overcome the difficulties that this view presents.

12-13 30-33 These paragraphs make a distinction between the literature of the bible approach and the bible as literature approach. The former incorrectly sees the bible as “belletristic” literature, that is, literature written for its entertainment or literary value. The latter approach correctly sees the bible as religious literature collected and commemorated not so much because of its obvious literary value but because its various documents proved of value to the religious community that preserved these writings.

Outline/Summary of Chapter 2: Literary Forms and Strategies of the Bible Page Paragraph 15-16 1-2 Here the editors recap Chapter 1. The authorship and editorial activity involved in the anthology of documents called the bible is foreign to modern literary approaches to writing. Nevertheless, there are some very recognizable forms of literature within the pages of the bible.

16 3 Literary forms are public property. They only make sense or communicate if everyone understands the form. In this paragraph the editors outline the lament form. It contains: invocation; description of a problem; assertion of faith in God; petition for help; and thanksgiving for the anticipated help. Once the form is understood it can be repeated over and over with literary success and recognition.

16-17 4-5 Some forms, such as hymn, transcend the individual who wrote it and thus have a universal appeal. Liturgical forms also may be found in a variety of contexts, such as historical narrative, treaty, or historical recital. Here our authors begin to point out the complexity involved in recognizing and appreciating literary forms.

17-18 6 Here the editors discuss peculiarities of prophetic forms. 18 7 Patriotic poetry is interspersed in various writings. 18 8 There is a great variety to the types of narrative in the bible and “the only thing they have in common is that none of them was ever composed in the first place merely to preserve knowledge that certain things happened” (page 18).

19 9 The three “wife-sister” tales in Genesis are instructive in that they point out how difficult it is to discern the intended meaning of this form. Is Abram to be deplored or admired or sympathized with? Or, is the story about Yahweh’s power to intervene? This paragraph points out that it is one thing to understand the form, quite another to know the correct interpretation.

19 10 This paragraph makes brief comments on the following forms: etiologies; birth narrative; miracles stories; theophanies, and hero stories.

20 11-12 This paragraph comments briefly upon several NT forms: ; parable; pronouncement story; birth story; beatitude; woe; legal commentary; allegory; etc. One important point to note is that the New Testament is the product of a small, but growing, religious community whereas the Old Testament belongs to the nation of Israel.

20 13 Here the editors distinguish literary forms from literary strategies. What follows are explanations and illustrations of a variety of strategies: hyperbole; metaphor; symbolism; allegory; personification; irony; wordplay; and poetry.

21-23 14-18 Hyperbole: deliberate exaggeration for effect. 23-25 19-24 Metaphor: a word that is literal in the contexts within which it is usually found is taken out of those contexts and used in a context of some other kind. 25-26 25 Symbolism: where one thing stands for something else. 26-30 26-30 Allegory: an exploration of metaphorical or symbolic relationships systematically or in an extended manner. 30 31-32 Personification: In personification an inanimate object or group of persons, such as a tribe or nation, is spoken of as though it were a single person and is given human attributes. 31-33 33-39 Irony: there are various types of irony, as the editors here illustrate but the central feature of irony is in its deception of meaning or understanding by an unaware victim. Where someone says or does something thinking it means one thing whereas in reality it means another. 34-35 40-43 Wordplay: again, this strategy comes in many forms (pun; assonance; onomatopoeia; verbal patterning) and is often missed due to translation. 35-40 43-53 Poetry: again, there is a variety of types of poetry illustrated here. About 1/3 of the OT is poetry. Parallelism is identified as the chief type of Hebrew poetry and it comes in three main forms: contrastive, consecutive, and complimentary or synonymous parallelism.

The remaining outline/summaries deal with the divisions of the bible, the law, the prophets, wisdom writings, , acts, and . Prior to posting my comments, I thought it would help to list the books of the bible that belong to these groups. My listing is based on the New American Bible table of contents and I have abbreviated where convenient.

Old Testament: Law: Genesis to Deuteronomy Prophets: Former: Joshua to Kings; Latter: Major prophets: to ; Minor prophets: Hosea to Writings: Job; ; Proverbs; ; ; Wisdom; Apocalypse: Daniel

New Testament: Gospels: Matthew-John Acts: Letters: Pauline—Romans to Philemon Catholic—Hebrews to 3 John Apocalypse:

Outline/Summary of Chapter 7: The Pentateuch:

Overview: this chapter covers seven basic areas of discussion after the editors provide an introduction.

Introduction: the authorship of the Pentateuch is an extremely heated and complex issue. Conservatives insist that Moses wrote the entire collection. The editors of this book argue, respectfully, otherwise.

Section 1: The tradition of : what follows are some key points. a) Moses is a central character in the books of Exodus forward; b) Moses acts more than speaks in all the books except Deuteronomy c) Conservative interpreters react against the alleged complexity involved in attributing multiple authors; in their view it seems to compromise the divine inspiration of the bible d) modern biblical scholars have spent two to three centuries refuting authorship by Moses, the view that was dominant up to the time of higher

Section 2: The early questioning of Mosaic authorship a) Thomas Hobbes, in Leviathan (1651), was the first to suggest a contrary view suggesting that Ezra the of the 5th century BCE wrote most of it; b) Then came Benedict Spinoza in 1670. He pointed out that Genesis 12:6 proved that Moses could not have written Genesis because of the statement “the Canaanites were in the country at the time.” This demonstrates a perspective long after the day of Moses, say about 500 years. c) Next came Richard Simon (1678). He pointed out that there were different writing styles. d) Next came Jean Astruc (1753). He pointed out that there were variants in terminology. For example, sometimes Moses (or his source) referred to God as Yahweh, sometimes as Elohim. e) Our editors conclude this section by asserting that the consensus of scholars today argue against Moses as the author. It is not the preferred explanation.

Section 3: Evidence for a documentary theory: a) differences in style, vocabulary, thought, and emphasis all point to a multiplicity of authors; b) these differences go a long way in explaining why there are “obvious repetitions and contradictions” (page 110; see 110-111 for several examples) c) the editors also state: “we are not citing these problems to undermine the authority of scripture.” I would add that for many people of faith the authority of scripture is not synonymous with its literalness or inerrancy. God seems to use imperfect witnesses all throughout history. d) The two accounts of creation are a valuable case study (see chart on pages 111- 112). A study and comparison of these accounts suggests two distinct authors. This perception is reinforced throughout other portions of the Pentateuch.

Section 4: The Documentary Sources a) These are referred to as JED and P, believed to be written in that order. The “P” source, or , is argued to be last because some of the ritualistic concerns expressed in this source do not appear in the Deuteronomistic histories or the writings of the prophets. b) J is considered the first source. It originates in the south, the region of Judah. It has many characteristics, the chief being the preference for the name of Yahweh. c) The E documents is next but more doubtful or dubious. It stems from Ephraim or the northern tribes of Israel. It first appears in Genesis 20. It favors the name of God as Elohim. “It is marked by a certain tact or reserve in the portrayal of deity, who does not appear to humans in person but communicates through dreams and angels, and by an interest in prophets and seers” (page 115). d) the D document is largely agreed to be the “book of the Law” discovered in the Temple in the year 622. It is the text of Deuteronomy and gave birth to a school of writers who produced the Deuteronomistic history, that is, the books of Joshua through the Kings. e) The “D” tradition is significant in that it challenged the authority of previous statements (e.g., worship at simple altars built of earth versus worship at ) without eliminating those statements. This, in practice, is what many people do when they, as a group, choose to ignore some texts and favor others.

Section 5: Putting the documents together: a) this section rehearses much of what proceeded reminding the reader that J was the earliest document, then came E, although there is a lot of difficulty with reconstructing E. Then came D and the Deuteronomistic History. Finally, P, during or after the Babylonian Exile. Somehow, throughout all this process, someone “did the actual combining, patching, and harmonizing of the various documents” (page 117).

Section 6: Some additional sources: a) This section identifies some sources outside of the JEDP theory. They are: the holiness code (Leviticus 17—26); Genesis 14 (?); the song of Moses (Exodus 15); the book of Jashar; the books of the annals of the kings of Israel and Judah; and a few other honorable non-mentions;

Section 7: The integrity of the Pentateuch a) the editors summarize the chapter here. One could argue for a (the five books plus Joshua) or a Tetrateuch (the five books minus Deuteronomy). The last paragraph is extremely well written and will be read in class as a testimony to the writing skill of its author.

Outline/Summary of Chapter 8: The Prophetic Writings

Introduction. There are seven sections to this chapter. The key to understanding the prophets, according to the editors of this text, is the historical circumstance in which a prophet spoke. The prophets, it seems, arose to meet the need of the faithful to “hear the authoritative word of God” (page 122). The prophets “believed themselves to have a special relationship with Yahweh, one that enabled them to read his intentions and articulate his will and judgments” (page 122). The eighth to the sixth centuries are often called by biblical historians the “Age of Prophecy.”

Section 1: the Great Eighth century prophets: a) During this time the main prophets were Amos, Hosea, Micah, and Isaiah. The first three addressed their messages to the northern kingdom, which fell in 722 to the Assyrians; the latter prophet (the author of Isaiah 1-39) addressed his message to the southern kingdom. They spoke against religious hypocrisy and social injustice. The words of Amos are representative: “let justice flow like water, and uprightness like a never-failing stream!” (page 124).

Section 2: The Great Sixth century prophets: a) There are three main prophets during this time, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and 2nd Isaiah (the author of Isaiah 40-55). They all wrote during or shortly after the Babylonian Exile that lasted from 597 to 538 BCE. Jeremiah spoke to the residents of while in Judea. Ezekiel spoke to the as an exile in . Deutero-Isaiah spoke to the Jews who were returning from Exile. All these prophets railed against the corruption of God’s people but also provided words of comfort and hope. b) There were also several minor prophets during this time (the book of the ). The editors summarize this section thus: “All of these prophets, major and minor alike, have in common that they were caught up in the critical events of their own times, events they saw as proceeding according to an immutable principle: Unfaithfulness to Yahweh would necessarily bring destruction, but from that destruction a remnant would be saved through which Yahweh would reestablish his people forever in the land promised to their forefathers” (page 126).

Section 3: Poetic Form of the : a) Much of the writing found in the prophets is in poetic form. Whether this represents the actual words of these prophets or the form in which their followers recorded their messages is a matter of debate.

Section 4: Structure of the Prophetic Books: a) much of the material found in the prophetic writings is difficult to follow and lacks coherence b) one key to resolving the above frustration is to recognize the oracle forms of the prophetic writings: there are oracles of denouncing bad religion or social injustice; oracles calling for repentance; oracles of destruction; oracles of restoration.

Section 5: Appeal of the Prophets for Early : a) There were several reasons for the prophets appeal: First: Jews recognized something universal about the prophets message despite the fact that they were historically conditioned; b) Second: Jews focused on promises given by the prophets that were not yet fulfilled and believed that there would thus be a future fulfillment c) Third: Jews reinterpreted the prophecies to new circumstances, a technique that continued with the Christian writings and still continues today among many Jewish and Christian interpreters (see the example of Daniel’s use of Jeremiah on page 129).

Section 6: The Appeal of the Prophets for Christianity: a) Christians applied many of the prophecies to the life of Christ and in many instances utilized the principle of “typological” interpretation (developed in detail in Chapter 18). One example that is popular is Matthew’s use of Isaiah 7:14, a passage that in Isaiah did not really have anything to do with a virginal conception. b) The Christian use of prophecy clearly ignored the original context and treated many of the prophetic passages as “proof-texts” for their belief in Jesus

Section 7: Appeal of the Prophets for Modern Readers: a) Since the prophets predicted doom for evil doers and eventual bliss for those committed to the good, their words have an obvious appeal today where the battle of good against evil continues to rage. b) Since much in the prophets remains unfulfilled, such as peace and harmony on earth through the reign of God from Jerusalem as the center, many today attempt to read current events in light of patterns seen in the ancient prophets. For example, references to an army to the north might now refer to Russia, or an army from the east might refer today to China, or references to an eagle might suggest the United States. The problem will be, if history continues for another thousand years, to whom will these prophecies apply in the future? c) Regardless of one’s view of the future possibilities or probabilities of the words of the prophets, one should always work to establish a meaning that makes sense with regard to the historical circumstance of a given prophet.

Outline/Summary of Chapter 9: The

Introduction: a) Although there are a variety of books in the bible that could be classified as wisdom literature, the following are the main ones: Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiasticus, and the Wisdom of Solomon. ; b) These wisdom books present a unique perspective. They are not concerned with ritual, as is the Pentateuch, or nationalistic issues, as are the Prophets. Their focus is the natural conditions of existence, the practical, and the everyday.

Section 1: the Wise men in Ancient Israel: a) based on such passages as Jeremiah 18:18 and Ezekiel 7:26, one surmises that there were schools of training for people to become sages. b) We also learn about the sages from the wisdom literature itself c) But it would be helpful if more information could be discovered, say through archaeology, that would give us a better insight into who these sages were

Section 2: patterns of thought of the wisdom writers: a) Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes, books written a bit before or after the Babylonian Exile, reveal one pattern; Ecclesiasticus and the Wisdom of Solomon, books written much later, reveal another pattern; b) For Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes, organized religion and nationalistic concerns receive little attention. The focus is upon individual, not group, piety. c) For Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes there also is little attention to the concept of covenant. d) For Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes one’s personal relationship with God is not seen as important as one’s upright conduct in life. There are a few hints of its importance but it is not pervasive. Advice seems based not on revelation from or about God but on wisdom gained from observing how life works and life experience.

Section 3: Behavior and its consequences in Proverbs: a) Proverbs simplistically reduces life to cause and effect; you reap what you sow. This is true in the moral realm (good produces good/evil produces evil). This is true in the practical realm (wise planning and effort lead to prosperity/carelessness and laziness lead to ruin). b) But life is more complex. Proverbs, perhaps inappropriately, speaks as if it is the individual’s fault when things go bad (being orphaned or widowed) and that one should view hardship as “The Lord’s chastening.”

Section 4: Behavior and its consequences in Job: a) Job’s comforters set forth the cause-effect principle of the Proverbs literature blaming Job for his problems; b) Job insists on his innocence and complains to God c) God seems to respond by saying that everyone is wrong and that the problem of human suffering is without a clear explanation

Section 5: Behavior and its consequences in Ecclesiastes: a) Ecclesiastes presents the wise man’s advice on a bad day whereas Proverbs presents it on a good day. The former is pessimistic the latter optimistic. b) Proverbs and Ecclesiastes “represent diametrically opposed outcomes of the same process: the clear-eyed investigation of human existence with unaided human reasoning. Life presents a wide spectrum of conditions and the range of responses of those who examine it can be wide indeed” (page 143). c) Whatever one’s conclusion, life works on the basis of cause and effect fairly (as in Proverbs) or that all is vanity (as in Ecclesiastes), wisdom should be sought for. There is room for varying perspectives.

Section 6: The Religious Element of the Later Wisdom Writings: a) Ecclesiasticus and The Wisdom of Solomon, both written somewhere in the second century before Christ, are different in their pattern of thought from Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. b) Ecclesiasticus has a long section reviewing Israel’s history (chapters 44-49) and its wisdom is “put into the service of orthodox belief” (page 144) c) The Wisdom of Solomon defends Jewish monotheism and insists upon it. It also adds “several ideas from Greek thought that fit well with the wisdom tradition: the immortality of the soul and the preeminence of the spiritual over the physical” (page 144). d) The Wisdom of Solomon also has a lengthy section on Israel’s history and insists that “Jews should not allow themselves to be seduced by alien philosophy and religion; truth is theirs because the god of truth is theirs” (page 145).

Section 7: The Canonization of the Wisdom Books: a) oddly, the books that might seem immediate candidates for canonization by the Jews (Ecclesiasticus and Wisdom of Solomon) were rejected and those that really present problems (Job, Proverbs, and Eccleisastes) were accepted; b) Ways must have been found to make the latter three books acceptable: 1) some passages meant literally were taken ironically; 2) some passages received later editing; 3) both introductions (as seems the case with Proverbs) and conclusions (as seems the case with Ecclesiastes) were appended to make things more harmonious;

Section 8: The Literary Form of Wisdom Literature: a) Job takes the form of a prose story interrupted in the middle by a poetic dialogue; b) Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiasticus, and Wisdom of Solomon take the form of something like a class room lecture with: 1) descriptions of life observations; 2) advise to the reader; and 3) praise of wisdom. c) Parallelism, the chief device of Hebrew poetry, was effective for its memorization ease. Parallelism came in many forms, such as: synonymous, emblematic, synthetic, and antithetic parallelism.

Section 9: The Appeal of Wisdom Literature: a) Wisdom literature has an appeal because: 1) suffering is a perennial and almost inexplicable problem (thus the appeal of Job); 2) the search for meaning will continue (thus Ecclesiastes); 3) we all need advice with a variety of life challenges (thus we read Provebs).

Outlines/Summary of Chapter 10: The Apocalyptic Literature

Introduction: This chapter has eight sections. The two main apocalyptic texts are Daniel and the Book of Revelation. They differ from the prophetic books because of different worldview assumptions.

Section 1: The a) this book is divided into two parts, chapters 1-6 which deal with the brave deeds of the young man Daniel and his three friends and chapters 7-12 which deal with visions of the future; b) Daniel purports to have been written or revealed in the 6th century but actually is written in the 2nd century BCE and depicts the succession of empires that ruled over Israel from the Babylonians to the Persians to the Greeks.

Section 2: The Comparison of Daniel and the Prophets a) these works all need to be studied in the context of the times in which they were written b) whereas the prophets preached repentance in order to possibly avoid the judgment of God, Daniel simply announced that the plan of God was going to happen as planned and all the faithful could do was wait and observe its fulfillment c) whereas the prophets deal with the real world of worldly politics, the apocalyptist announces that all is doomed short of God’s divine intervention d) Daniel prophesied the end of the rule of Antiochus Epiphanes the IV but this end came by political not, as prophesied, by supernatural means. e) Daniel’s apocalyptic approach became popular and many other non-canonical apocalypses came to be written

Section 3: The Characteristics of Apocalypse a) things take place on a cosmic level, the battle is between the forces of good and evil often depicted as angels and demons b) the battle is intensified such that the enemy (e.g., Antiochus Epiphanes IV) is portrayed in colossal terms (e.g., as an antichrist) and thus only God can defeat him c) time also takes on cosmic dimensions and the end of the struggle is deemed the last days and time is often portrayed in highly symbolic terms (70 x 7 weeks of years, etc); d) the author utilizes visions, dreams, and often bizarre symbolism to communicate his ideas e) Most apocalypses write under a pseudonym, that is to say, the name of a great hero of the past (like Daniel). The book of revelation is an exception to this pattern

Section 4: The Book of Revelation a) the book of revelation provides a series of visions claimed to be revealed by God through Christ and his angel to the seer b) Pages 158 to 161 provide a rapid survey of the contents of this vision captured in the chart on page 160 (this is too lengthy and detailed to outline here)

Section 5: Revelation as a typical apocalypse a) the tour through the contents of the book of revelation in section 4 (above) is best understood when one keeps the typical features of apocalyptic in mind b) the author of revelation depicted the events of his time (late first century CE) as if they were the worst and that the end was near (of course the problem is that we now know that this is not true) c) the author of Revelation, like the author of Daniel, wrote to reassure his readers that the persecutions that they were undergoing were not in vain d) the cast of characters are highly dramatized and embellished (see paragraph one, page 162); e) the author of Revelation drew upon traditional and mythic symbols in order to enhance his message (e.g., lambs, beasts, dragons)

Section 6: Judaism’s rejection of apocalypse: a) during the time after the war of the Jews against in 66-73, the Jewish rabbis decided to reject the genre of apocalypse since it, in part, fueled the war. Daniel, however, made it into the canon because of its popularity (the exception that proved the rule)

Section 7: Christian Use of Apocalypse: a) Christians found great use of the apocalyptic genre b) The resurrection of Jesus signaled the end of the age and the apocalypse helped convey this c) Christians had several little apocalypses within their canon (1 Thess 4; 1 Cor 15; Mark 13; 2 Peter 3; etc) and also they doctored up some earlier Jewish apocalypses to fit their ideas (e.g., );

Section 8: Continuing appeal of apocalypse: a) in troubled times the abrupt, dramatic, and violent thrust of an apocalypse offers an antidote to the problems of the times b) one should seek to appreciate the message of the apocalyptist without being overly naïve regarding the imminent fulfillment of its predictions

Outline/Summary of Chapter 14: The Gospels

Introduction: There are ten sections to this chapter. The New Testament is an anthology, like the Old Testament, but smaller. Its focus is upon the “new covenant” anchored in the events of the life of Jesus, particularly his death and resurrection. “A covenant is a solemn oral agreement between two parties, and it may or may not be committed to writing” (page 224). The real location of the covenant, then, is in people’s hearts, not in a written text. The term “gospel” may refer to the preaching about Jesus Christ or to the written texts that witness to this early preaching (e.g., Matthew, Mark, Luke, John). Marcion tried to limit the gospels to one, a shortened version of Luke. Tatian tried to harmonize all four into a single blend. One needs to keep in mind that “the four works are fundamentally different in content, arrangement, emphasis, and purpose” (page 225). Matthew, Mark, and Luke see the life of Jesus from a similar perspective and thus are called “synoptic.”

Section 1: Authorship a) all four gospels are anonymous. The attribution of authorship, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John is a matter of tradition and debate.

Section 2: Purpose a) there are two suggested purposes for the gospels: 1) “the gospels were written down because the contemporaries of Jesus were dying off and some means had to be found to preserve their witness to his career” (226) and 2) “the infant Church needed propaganda documents for circulation among would-be converts to help bring them over to the faith” (226). b) A third hypothesis is the gospels were written to be biographies of Jesus. This hypothesis has been abandoned. c) “the best answer. . .is to think of each gospel as a particular author’s attempt to give permanent shape to his own conception of the career of Jesus and its meaning” (227). d) Ironically, the preservation of the four gospels as canonical has obscured the purpose of each evangelist

Section 3: Context a) the gospels did not create the Church or Christianity; rather, they preserved a form of it in writing at a particular time

Section 4: Dating and Sources: a) Mark was written first, probably around 70 CE b) Matthew and Luke were dependent upon Mark, written probably in the 80s c) John was written last, sometime after the 90s d) The diagram at the bottom of page 229 captures the four source theory of Q, Mark, L, and M (review that page) e) The gospels preserve early Christian tradition and have a limited value as sources for objective history

Section 5: Literary Genres a) this section provides brief comments on each of the following genres: sayings; pronouncement stories; prophetic citations; passion narrative; miracle stories; parables; and accounts

Section 6: The Pericope a) pericope refers to: “independent units that when assembled constitute a total work” (232) b) writers apparently had to use “narrative cement” to join the various pericope and this “cement” was often flimsy and vague c) although the gospel writers “pasted” inherited pericope together, they still were authors in their own right and often one does not know if they are using prior material or composing material afresh

Section 7: Mark: a) Mark ‘s gospel is first in two senses: 1) it preceded Matthew, Luke, and John; 2) it was the first of this genre b) Mark is the shortest of the canonical gospels and is without infancy stories or resurrection appearance stories c) Mark appears to be a gentile Christian writing in the 60s during a time of war and persecution immediately before the expected return of Jesus (the parousia) d) Mark makes much out of the “messianic secret,” the idea that Jesus’ identity is hidden from all until the lone Roman soldier perceives Jesus’ identity as he dies upon the cross e) Jesus’ failure is his success. His rejection and misunderstanding by everyone was part of a plan for the salvation of the world

Section 8: Luke a) Luke is dependent upon Mark, Q, and his “L” source b) Luke presents a fuller picture of Jesus than did Mark; he adds infancy stories and resurrection appearance stories c) Luke is the first of two installments; the Acts of the Apostles is by the same author d) Luke downplays the urgency of Mark and looks forward to a longer time period for the Church e) Luke seems to be a gentile Christian of good education with a cosmopolitan outlook

Section 9: Matthew a) Matthew bases his gospel on Mark, Q, and his “M” source b) Matthew focuses more upon Jewish concerns that did Mark and Luke (e.g., Jesus’ Davidic descent; Jesus as a Moses type replacement; the fulfillment of prophecies in the life of Jesus) c) Matthew appears harsher to Jewish authorities (i.e., the ) than Mark or Luke d) Matthew is the only gospel to use the word “church” and develops some ideas about the church not clearly presented in Mark and Luke (e.g., Peter’s chief role) e) Matthew, like Luke, appends infancy stories and resurrection appearance stories to Mark’s account

Section 10: John a) John is shockingly different from Mark, Matthew, and Luke b) John spreads the career of Jesus out to 3-4 years (rather than 1-2) and focuses upon activities in Judea (rather than in Galilee) c) John the Baptist is portrayed in a different manner and in John Jesus dies on the day before Passover rather than on Passover d) John’s Jesus does not speak in parables but in lengthy monologues e) John focuses upon the person of Jesus as the pre-existent Son of God, a focus not clear in the synoptics and John’s gospel is “more like a theological meditation punctuated with significant events than the busy narrative of activity in the synoptics” (242)

Outline/Summary of Chapter 15: The Acts and Letters

Introduction: There are seven sections to this chapter. The Acts of the Apostles answers many questions: How did the Christian church come about? What trials were endured? What successes were achieved? Who were the leaders?

Section 1: The genre, purpose, and authority of Acts: a) Although Acts purports to be history, and to some extent it is, it is better to understand it not as: “an impartial record of events, such as we now expect history books to be, but a deliberately constructed narrative designed, even to the smallest detail, for the sake of making certain didactic points” (page 246). b) Acts narrates the events between the death of Jesus and the arrest of Paul in Rome, the years 30-60 CE; c) The authorship of Acts is disputed and there is no way to prove things one way or another. The attribution of authorship to Luke, a traveling companion of Paul, is dubious for several reasons: The most important is that Luke’s portrayal of Paul stands in tension with some basic information in what we now know as the undisputed letters of Paul. Again, there are debates about whether the author of Acts, be it Luke or someone else, knew Paul’s letters and either ignored some of the content of these letters or deliberately took issue with some matters in them. Our editors save examples of this problem until they deal with Paul’s role in Acts (see pages 250-52).

Section 2: Governing Concepts in Acts: a) our editors touch upon six major themes in Acts. My comments, thus, will need to be very brief: 1) the preeminence of the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit is portrayed as the chief leader of the early church; 2) Movement outward from Judaism: the key verse here is Acts 1:8 “and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (quoted from memory; version uncertain); 3) Authority of the Church: there does some to be a hierarchy of authority: Christ, the Holy Spirit; the Apostles; certain prophets; the body of believers. Luke does not articulate a clear chain of command; 4) Christians as good citizens: Luke takes pains to demonstrate that Christians were not rebels against Rome; 5) The inevitable advance of the Church: Luke deliberately crafts his Acts to suggest that the outward expansion of the Christian Church is inevitable; 6) Paul as servant of the Church: in this section one learns about the differences between the Paul of Acts and the Paul portrayed in his own letters. The real point, though, of this section is that Paul is the chief servant of the Church, particularly, the gentile Church.

Section 3: The Canon of Letters: a) the discussion here is best captured by the chart on page 253

Section 4: Paul: a) Paul is the most dominant figure of early Christianity especially in terms of articulating a way forward for the new movement. Essentially, Paul is responsible for directing the new movement from a law-based form of Judaism to a universal religion open to all on the basis of faith. On a personal note, it seems to me that if Christians acted in the spirit of Paul today they would open the benefits of the gospel (present and future salvation) to all regardless of their adherence to Christian creeds. To me, this seems like the only way forward in our world today, a view that I deem not too dissimilar from the situation of Paul in his day

Section 5: The early Christian congregations: a) early Christians met in homes for prayer worship, and social activities. The Lord’s supper seemed central and Sunday seemed to replace the Jewish Sabbath; b) early Christians were initially all Jewish until an influx of Gentiles entered and observance of the law became an issue. Both ends of the social spectrum eventually became attracted to the new religion;

Section 6: The Letter: a) Letters in the ancient world were written in various reasons but the typical form of the letter was: Salutation (A to B, greetings); a wish for health; the body of the letter; a farewell often with a signature. b) Paul seems to have innovated with letter writing. c) Paul probably utilized a secretary d) Paul’s letters were very structured although there is some evidence for spontaneous expression e) Paul’s letters were to local Christian congregations dealing with circumstantial issues; f) Most of Paul’s letters were written in the 50s

Section 7: Key Features of Paul’s Thinking: a) This section deals with five persistent themes in Paul’s letter writing. My comments will be very brief: 1) Expectant waiting: Paul anticipated the second coming of Christ and encouraged his readers to patiently wait; 2) Christology: this word is defined as “an organized, rational, and comprehensive theory about the meaning of the Jesus story for human beings at all times and everywhere” (page 260); 3) Justification by faith: this notion emphasizes the grace of God in bringing salvation to human beings, a notion that Paul worked out not so much in antagonism with non-Christians but with Christians who did not see things as he did; 4) Christian conduct: Paul’s gospel of grace is not cheap. True Christian conduct is seen in a disciplined commitment to living a good life without thinking that that goodness constitutes one’s justification. Paul is not clear on whether one could lose justification through misconduct; 5) Paul’s Jewishness-Paul makes it very clear that he is consistent in his thinking with the best of the Jewish tradition