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    Critical Approaches to the Study of the Gospels

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    Critical Approaches to the Study of the Gospels

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    7 views10 pages

    Critical Approaches to the Study of the Gospels

    Uploaded by

    okatachiekoffy

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    Critical Approaches to

    the Study of the Gospels


    Daniel Nii Aboagye Aryeh, PhD
     There are many critical or analytical methods that scholars
    have engaged to examine the gospels.

     There is lower criticism and higher criticism. Lower


    criticism refers to methods used in the analysis or the
    comparison between the gospels as canonized documents.
    This is also known as textual criticism, which is a means of
    comparing ancient documents.
    Higher criticism refers to the use of
    disciplines that seeks to explain how the
    original documents of the gospels were
    composed. It looks at the sources,
    redaction, and circumstances that led to
    the composition.
    • Higher criticism is divided into two main disciples:
    (i) historical criticism and (ii) literary criticism.
    Historical criticism studies the pre-history behind
    the text, and various historical influences of
    communities on the text culminating in the
    editing/redacting of the oral traditions, fragmentary
    documents, proto-gospels etc. Literary criticism
    shows that the relationship between Matthew, Mark,
    and Luke can be studied together.
    Form Criticism

    Form Criticism belongs to the Higher


    criticism subsection of historical criticism.
    It is composed of (i) analysis of form, (ii)
    sitz in Leben (cultural setting of the
    text/life situation), and (iii) Transmission
    of tradition.
     Key scholars in the development of Form Criticism are twentieth-
    centuries German scholars: K. L. Schmidt, Martin Dibelius, and
    Rudolf Bultmann. They posited that (i) the gospels can be divided
    into forms: pronouncement, parables, miracles, passion
    narratives, myth/legendary; (ii) assigned sitz in Leben (life
    situation) to each of the “Forms”. For example, pronouncement
    stories were believed to have been popular preachings, apologetic
    interactions etc. Legendary stories were created to glorify Jesus
    as a hero. Parables belong to storytellers etc.
     Form critics designed rules for transmission of the oral tradition. The
    transmission of the oral tradition gets longer from generation to
    generation. The tradition was embellished by assigning names,
    contexts, etc to narratives that actors were not originally named and
    contexts stated. Sometimes interpretations were given to some
    narratives ex. In the parable of the Sower, some miracles were
    assigned reasons why they were performed. The task of the form
    critics is to do away with all the secondary layers of the text to
    discover the original text. These layers were considered satellites
    around the kernel.
    The contributions of Form Criticism: (i)
    segmentation/categorization of the gospel
    materials/documents; (ii) interpretative
    models for each category; (iii) identification
    of sources, differences, and similarities; (iv)
    uniqueness of each gospel etc.
    The weaknesses of Form Criticism:
    (i) analogous materials; (ii) scientific
    methods; (iii) disqualification of
    some gospel genres; (iv) the role of
    the Spirit played down
    Literary
    Criticism is sometimes used
    synonymously with Source Criticism

     Mark, Q, M, L their contributions and


    weaknesses

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