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Interpreting the text - Coggle Diagram
Interpreting the text
Redaction criticism
Redaction criticism focuses on the whole book rather than on series of units and attempts to work out how the material has been adapted to fit the author's own understanding of Jesus
- It builds on the work of the form critic by exploring how the author uses the units of tradition, treating them as theologians or redactors/editors in their own right
- It allows the critic to detect the main themes and characteristics of each Gospel
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- Mark The Messianic secret, Jesus' authority, the second coming of Christ was imminent
- Matthew Jesus as the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecies, Jesus as Son of David and new Moses, focus on the teachings of Jesus
- Luke Salvation history, Jesus' message for all people, concern for outcasts, second coming of Christ further in the future
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- Redaction criticism shows the Gospels to be not just collections of fragments of tradition but as planned and sophisticated pieces of writing
- The author's individual theology can be established by examining how the writer uses the sources and the unique material he contributes to his Gospel. For example, the stilling of the storm in Matthew and Mark is the same story but Matthew emphasises the theme of discipleship and Mark that of Jesus' authority
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- Its success relies upon Q and the four-source hypothesis, which has its flaws
- The reliability of the text is thrown into question as emphasis is placed on the author's creative use of the material
- There is a tendency to focus on what the author has adapted rather than on what he has preserved as being significant
- If Mark was written first, the changes he made to his sources cannot be clearly seen - so can his purpose be detected using redaction criticism?
Form criticism
The purpose of form criticism is to identify each different type of unit of writing, then classify them into the different forms. The form critic then considers how the individual unit of writing has been adapted to fit the needs of the Early Church
The earliest stories about Jesus would have been part of an oral tradition. However, when the early Church used them they may have added details to make them easier to understand or more relevant to the immediate questions of faith
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- The interpretation of the parable of the sower (Mark 4:10-20) seems to sit more comfortably in the life of the early Church than the ministry of Jesus
- Matthew 18:15-18 is about the issue of sin in the Church, so probably was not spoken by Jesus himself
The form critic aims to link each unit to its Sitz im Leben, in an attempt to explain how it has been adapted to fit the needs of the early Church
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- It highlights the oral tradition, which is closer to the original words of Jesus
- It offers the context of the teachings and their meaning within the early Church
- It shows importance the author would place on the teachings or event
- For some scholars it shows that the needs of the early Church took priority over the need for historical accuracy; the material was adapted to support the early Christian community in their faith. The Gospels are more about the Christ of faith than than the historical Jesus
- It paved the way for redaction criticism. Whereas form criticism sees the authors as 'stringing together' isolated units of tradition, redaction criticism acknowledges the theological interest of the author
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Sitz im Leben A German phrase meaning 'setting in life'. Sometimes described as sociological setting, this can refer to the setting of the early Church or Jesus' ministry in which the saying might have originated