Quiz 3

Contextless parables

( it is a matter of trying to determine the points of refrence and the orginal audience) The key is in the repeated rereading of the parable until its points if reference clearly emerge.

Points of refrence

(The unexpected turn in the story). The points of reference are only those parts of the story that draw the hereer into into, parts whith which one is to identify in some ways as the story proceeds. (The point of the story is to be found in the intended response.

#3 principle of interpreting Acts

. In matters of Christian experience, and even more so of Christian practice, biblical precedents may sometimes be regarded as repeatable patterns- even if they are not understood to be normative.

Two obvious Facts to know when interpreting the Gospels

1. Jesus himself did not write gospel; they were written by others, and thus do not come direcly from him. 2. There are four gospels, three of which havve remarkable similarities, while that John tells the story in a quite different way.

#2 principle of interpreting Acts

Although it may not have been the author's primary purpose biblical narratives do have illustrative and (sometimes " pattern " value.)

Doctrinal statements

Christian theology Christian ethics Christian experience and Christian practice

Christian ethics

How christians out to live in relation to God and others

Hermeneutics of Acts

How do the individual narratives in Acts, or any other biblical narrative for that matter, function as precedents for the later church, or do they? In short, just exactly what role does historical precedent play in Christian doctrine or in the understanding of Christian experience?

#1 principle of interpreting Acts

It is probably never valid to use an analogy based on bibilical precedent as giving biblical authority for present-day actions.

Author of Acts

Luke

What does the book of Acts express?

Luke's intent in Acts had been to lay down a pattern for the church at all times, then that pattern surley becomes normative, that is, it is what God requries of all Christians under any and all conditions.

What are the synoptic gospels?

Mathew, Mark, Luke The " Synoptic"-Common-View Mark in the most widely accepted, and the gosple was rewritten twice ( Mathew, and Luke )

What is a parable, How do we interpret Parables

Parables were considered to be simple stories for those on the outside to whom the " real meanings, " the "mysteries, were hidden; these belonged only to the church and could be uncovered by means of allegory.

What is the book of Acts about?

The divie activity that began with Jesus and continues through the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the church is a continuation of God's story that began in the Old Testament.

Luke's purpose of writing Acts

The work of the Holy Spirit

What is the gospel?

They form a unique literary genre for which there are few real analogies.

Literary Context

Think vertically and horizontally

Historical Context

This means not only to know the historical context in generl, but also to form a tentative, but informed reconstruction of the situation that the author is addressomg. ( This can become complex at times because of the nature of the Gospels as two-level documents. ) Historical context first of all has to do with Jesus himself. Awarness of the culture, religion of the first century, Palestinian Judasim, in which he lived and taught, as well as an attempt to understand the particular context of a given saying or parable. But historical context also has to do with the individual authors ( the evangelists ) and their reason for writting.

Think vertically

To think vertically means that when reading or studyng a narrative or teachng in the gospels, one should try to be aware of both ( historical contexts-- that of Jesus and that of the evangelist. The purpose of thinking vertically is not primarliy to study the life of the historical Jesus. ( But the Gospels in their resent form are the word of God to us; our own reconstructions of Jesus' life are not.

Historical Context of the Evangelsit

We are involved in a certain amount of scholarly quesswork since the Gospels themselves are anonyous ( in the sense that their authors are not identified by name ) and we cannot be sure of their places of origin. BUT we can be fairly sure of each evangelist's interest and concerns by the way he selected, shaped, and arranged hs materials.

Christian experience and Christian practice

What Christian's do as religious/spiritual people

Christian theology

What Christians believe

Think horizontally

means that when studying a pericope in any one gospel, it is usally helpful to be aware of the parallels in the other gospels. ( Comparring what they each saw ) The basic reason for thinking horizontally are two. 1. The parellels will often give us an appreciation for the distinctives of any one of the gospels. 2. The parellels will help us to be aware of the diffrent kinds of contexts in which the same or similar materials lived in the ongoing church.

Types of parables

there is a basic difference, for example, between te Good Samaritan ( true parable ) on the one hand, and the Yeast in the Dough ( similitude ) on the other, and both of these differ from the saying, "You are the salt of the earth" ( metaphor), or Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles?' ( epigram). - The good samartian is an exmaple of a true parable. It is a story, pure and simple, with a beginning and an ending; it has something of a plot. - The Yeast in the Dough, on the other hand, is more of a similitude. What is said of the yeast, or the sower, or the mustard see was always true of yeast, sowing, or mustard seeds. Such "parables are more like illustrations take from everyday life, which Jesus used to make a point.