The spelling eye and the listening ear: oral poetics and New Testament writings

Concepts such as orality, media criticism, manuscript culture, oral reading and performance have been introduced to New Testament scholarship since the 1980s, but their impact on and contribution to mainstream research are still in question. A resurgent interest in these socio-cultural notions is raising fundamental questions about approaches to and conclusions about early Christian texts. Some of the implications and possibilities of these developments are reviewed and briefly illustrated. Rather than emphasising another method or 'criticism' that could be 'added' to the repertoire of biblical scholarship, it is proposed that a multifaceted conceptualising of ' speaking-hearing-remembering' , an ' oral poetics' , inform NT scholarship.Biblical and Ancient Studie

The task of understanding the Gospel traditions: Werner Kelber’s contribution to New Testament research

The research of WH Kelber on the Gospel traditions have important implications. His main emphases are summarized and certain aspects briefly commended. A critical discussion concerning the aims of interpretation, the issue of conflicting traditions, the immense problem of orality and the interpretation of Mark is concluded with an argument on the necessity and pitfalls of multidisciplinary research

Oral and literate traditions

In this study the importance of research concerning orality and oral traditions for a variety of pressing current issues related to social history, cultural studies, education and science of religion is stressed. It is necessary to take into account the full range of language use as it is spoken and listened to, read and written, to improve our descriptions and analyses of ways of communicating and consequently to uncover the inter-relatedness of language and culture

Resisting, negotiating and imitating the empire: the complexities of empire as context for early Christians

Peer reviewed.In recent years, empire has become a major field of research among New Testament scholars. In this article, after a brief review of two of the major exponents, I raise a number of critical issues. I make the point that early Christianities were not only caught in the web of Roman power, but eventually also adopted and developed imperial practices themselves. This means that empire must be central to exegetical and hermeneutical efforts

The passion of their hearts... (Rom 1:24-27)

Aspects of ancient sexuality are summarised to provide a background to the New Testament texts mentioning homoerotic behaviour. An exposition of Rom 1:18-32 leads to a discussion of the problem about how Scripture informs our lives. The emphasis is on understanding the historical embeddedness of these texts and the challenge to find expression of religious conviction for our own time with our concepts and perspectives.http://explore.up.ac.za/record=b152516

Parables in context : some comments on Matthew 24:45-25:30

The three parables in Matthew 24:45-25:30 are usually read as advice to the church on how to behave while waiting for the return of the Lord. An alternative reading is proposed in this article: Matthew discusses the relationship between various Jewish groups, explaining who the disciples of the Kingdom are and why formative Judaism, competing for the allegiance of Jews of the late first century, is not a viable option for the future of Israel's inheritance.Continued 2001 as 'Verbum et Ecclesia'http://explore.up.ac.za/record=b102527

Radio-carbon dating and theological reflection

Brief description of radio-carbon and its implications serves as the context for a plea to extensively and radically revise "orthodox" Reformed theological discourse as practised in South Africa. Faith within a worldview determined by the atomic hypothesis is briefly explored by emphasising God-talk as moral discourse.Spine cut of Journal binding and pages scanned on flatbed EPSON Expression 10000 XL; 400dpi; text/lineart - black and white - stored to Tiff Derivation: Abbyy Fine Reader v.9 work with PNG-format (black and white); Photoshop CS3; Adobe Acrobat v.9 Web display format PDFhttp://explore.up.ac.za/record=b100134

The body : aspects of eroticism and sexuality in the Roman empire

An introduction to aspects of the erotic and sexuality in Greco-Roman antiquity requires some understanding of how people saw their bodies. What is considered erotic is related to the "ideal" body: sexuality manifests itself as culturally and historically determined. In this article relevant parts of the Greco-Roman cosmology is briefly discussed and concepts of the body analysed before an overview of love relations between women and men is presented. In the final section the shift in views about the body among the early Christians, is specified.http://explore.up.ac.za/record=b152516

"Let the children come to Me..." : childhood in the world of Jesus (Part 1)

This study is the first part of an historical investigation into the conditions and experiences of childhood in first-century Palestine. Aspects of family life, birth and early childhood are discussed.Continued 2001 as 'Verbum et Ecclesia'http://explore.up.ac.za/record=b102527

Jesus vandag: Moontlikhede van Ernst Troeltsch se Christologie

Jesus today: Possibilities of the Christology of Ernst Troeltsch The significance of the historical Jesus for faith is a major issue in the debate concerning the value of theology. Ernst Troeltsch constructed a meaningful answer to both questions in terms of what he called Glaubenslehre. A discussion of his views on the value of Jesus for faith is placed in the context of his theological system. Although Troeltsch sees Jesus' significance in symbolic terms he emphasises the need for historical study, without which a symbol becomes empty. A short critical discussion of Troeltsch's significance to the contemporary debate on Christology concludes the essay