Since I joined the forum, I have been struggling to find a category for what the evangelists, especially Mark, understood themselves to be doing as they wrote.
Rather out of nowhere, it occurred to me that Mark might not have been writing to convince non-believers. Maybe he was writing something like devotional literature for believers.
What I mean by “devotional literature” is something like what you see in Gibson’s Passion of the Christ: it is based on the sources, but it consciously takes lots of artistic liberties, both big and small, to make the story and the theology come alive. Though “based on a true story”, it isn’t meant as a strict historical representation; everyone understands that he has added things to drive, what he took to be, the salient points home.
It isn’t primarily meant to convince skeptics or non-believers. It is meant to make the story come alive and *feel* real for people who already believe it, just like any other devotional art.
This struck me as a rather profound hermeneutical shift, that makes a lot of things fall into place, but I’m curious how it hits you.
As I’ve indicated I’ve fallen under the sway of Robyn Faith Walsh. That doesn’t mean I’m willing to follow her everywhere she goes. But judging from some of her post-book interviews she was throwing some ideas against the wall to see what might stick.
But her fundamental insight to me is that the gospels are acts of literature. Of course this wasn’t a new idea but she has interestingly sketched out some of the implications of that view based on what we know about ancient literary practices.
I do retain some old fashioned notions. I still favor the idea that the gospels are something other than Greek bios. Especially Mark. They are unique and their relation to each other is unique in ancient literature.
I agree that Mark was not written to evangelize outsiders. It seems to be designed for the internal use of some kind of community. (Here I would argue with Walsh.)
What I mean by “devotional literature” is something like what you see in Gibson’s Passion of the Christ: it is based on the sources, but it consciously takes lots of artistic liberties, both big and small, to make the story and the theology come alive. Though “based on a true story”, it isn’t meant as a strict historical representation; everyone understands that he has added things to drive, what he took to be, the salient points home.
An example I would suggest. The historical tradition/memory would have been that Jesus was arrested and crucified sometime during the Passover. Mark puts it on the day he does for his own theological agenda. John does the same.
I like the idea of characterizing the gospels as “devotional literature”.
Porphyry said
Since I joined the forum, I have been struggling to find a category for what the evangelists, especially Mark, understood themselves to be doing as they wrote.
Rather out of nowhere, it occurred to me that Mark might not have been writing to convince non-believers. Maybe he was writing something like devotional literature for believers.
What I mean by “devotional literature” is something like what you see in Gibson’s Passion of the Christ: it is based on the sources, but it consciously takes lots of artistic liberties, both big and small, to make the story and the theology come alive. Though “based on a true story”, it isn’t meant as a strict historical representation; everyone understands that he has added things to drive, what he took to be, the salient points home.
It isn’t primarily meant to convince skeptics or non-believers. It is meant to make the story come alive and *feel* real for people who already believe it, just like any other devotional art.
This struck me as a rather profound hermeneutical shift, that makes a lot of things fall into place, but I’m curious how it hits you.
Interesting point. I do notice that Jesus quotes the Old Testament in all of the Gospels, but from the Septuagint, not the Hebrew. This seems to imply that the Gospels were written not to evangelize to Pharisees but were writing to the Hellenic audience that comprised most early Christians.
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