Source, redaction and Form criticism

Question 1

What is source criticism?

Answer 1

an approach of NT studies used to develop the final form of the biblical text
ask questions like “where did the author get the information?” “what previous documents contributed to this?”
ignores the revelation of the HS inspried writers and looks for mistakes or contradictions within the bible

Question 2

an example of source criticism

Answer 2

mark incorrectly refers to herod as “a king” but matthew and luke correct this to “tetrarch” where matthew refers to antipas as “king”

Question 3

when was it first applied

Answer 3

was first originally applied to non-religious texts like callassical literaure of ancient greece

Question 4

who first applied it to the OT

Answer 4

jean astruc took the techniques that were used on homers illliad and applied it to the OT, arguing that it had been used to create the book of genesis. since then it has looked into solutions like proto-gospels, markan priority and the Q source

Question 5

what solutions do source criticists support

Answer 5

markan priority, Q source and proto-gospels

Question 6

non-religious assumptions made by source critics

Answer 6

the bible is human made documents and is not divinely inspired
the bible contains errors and contradictions
the books were assembled through copying and editing earlier sources

Question 7

are source criticisms helpful for interpreting the NT (YES, AGREE)

Answer 7

it is a good way of interpreting the NT
it offers a good explanation as to why the gospel cannot be interpreted by the holy spirit (proto-gospels and copying, errors and grammar, etc) coincedences, and weird wording
it explains the synoptic problem by claiming that all the writers had the same sources. the HS explanation is much more complex and harder to believe
Ockhams Razor tells us to believe the more simpler explanation

Question 8

are source criticisms helpful for interpreting the NT

Answer 8

bunch of wild theories that cannot be backed up as none of the sources have been discovered (like proto-gospels for example) and havent been mentioned by any early christians like augustine or irenaeus

often tries to undermine chirstian faith by recognising the NT as flawed and contradictory, and tries to break up its unity. this just makes it impossible to interpret the NT as relevant to us today as by criticsing it so much it just makes it look like another modern day book

Question 9

what is form criticism?

Answer 9

goes furhter than identifying units and assumes that the gospels are made up of units (parables of miracle stories for example)
these units were passed down orally before written down
they try to identify these “units” WHICH THEY CALL PERICOPAE and work out what they originally meant before they got into the gospel

Question 10

who was the founder and what did he say about form criticism

Answer 10

hermann gunkel, who used the key phrase “sizt im leben” (SETTING IN LIFE) which refers to the setting that it was in and which chirstian group first used it/which christian group it first related to.

Question 11

what do they (form criticists) argue

Answer 11

before the gospels were written down there was an oral period where stories about jesus were passed around by word-of-mouth

Question 12

who says how many forms of texts there were in the gospels for form criticism

Answer 12

MARTIN DIBELIUS talks about 5 forms: LTMEP: legands, tales, myths, exhortations and paradigms.

Question 13

what does form criticism try to do with the pericopae (THE UNITS)

Answer 13

tries to unpack them and reveal what they really meant
the gospel writers pulled them into a story but didnt do it well as they didnt know what the “sitz imleben “ (SETTING OF LIFE) was.

Question 14

what does bultmann say about form criticism

Answer 14

stories about jesus were misunderstood by the gospel writiers and need to be de-mythologized (stripped of their supoernatural details to find the real message

Question 15

example of a tale (A TYPE OF FORM CRITICISM ) that dibelius split into one of the 5 groups

Answer 15

jesus walks on water, Mark 6:42-45
Dibelius thinks that the sitz im leben (setting of life) may have been a religious experience for some disciples but it expanded into a miraculous story
Dibelius and Bultmann dont believe in miracles and therefore see these are fantasies which sometimes get in the way of a moral message.
they think that this whole sign (the feeding of the 5000) it actually a message of sharing but gets overshadowed by a miracle story

Question 16

even though source criticism implication are bad, why do some think that form criticism ones are worse?

Answer 16

bultmanns version of form criticism is much more hostile to traditional belief about jesus and the NT
treats the bible as something which completely misinterprets the historical jesus himself and as something that was made up by other religous groups after jesus’ lifetime according to their beliefs

Question 17

why do some christians agree and disagree with this

Answer 17

traditional christians disagree and are opposed: they argue that it is subjective and imaginitave, and they are just diminshing the christian faith itself.

although, some support some parts, like saying the prologue of john was previously a hymn that was sung in church

Question 18

does it help us to interpret the NT (NO)

Answer 18

it goes way further than source and perhaps too far: dibelius and bultmann go too far and almost go the point where they are undermining the whole christian faith.
the assumptions are often subjective and reflect on their own faith. they assume that miracles dont happen and basically reject all of the bibles teachings, is better to take criticms from somebody who believes in jesus, or is neutral at least

Question 19

does the bible help us to interpret the NT (yes)

Answer 19

the gospel writiers misundersotod a lot of info from back then and missed the sitz imm leben (the setting of life.) therefore they have made mistkaes that are sepcific and all form criticists are trying to do is pinpoint them out and not undermine the christian faith

it helps us to seperate the true things and quotes from the made up stories from the gospel writers (IPSISSIMA VERBA)

Question 20

what is redaction criticism and how does it relate to form or souce?

Answer 20

the oldest type of bible criticism
follows form criticism in the case that the bible is made up of pericopae which was oral before written down
follows source criticism by regarding the gospels are being composed from various sources
has become very influential and therefore the most popular way

Question 21

what does redaction criticism focus on

Answer 21

distinctive beliefs and perspectives different authors bring to their material

Question 22

how does redaction criticism show how each of the gospel writers present jesus

Answer 22

luke: compassionate jesus saviour of the world
john: jesus as the word made flesh
matthew: very jewish jesus who fulfils the prophecy and the timelime

Question 23

what does bultmann say about redaction criticism

Answer 23

the gospel writers are ignorant about the true meaning of the text that they write about and edit the texts to their own purposes

Question 24

what do redaction critics look for

Answer 24

recurring motifs: matthew heavily focusses on jesus fulfilling the prophecies
john focusses on the i am statements which reveal jesus’ high christology

Question 25

what are the 3 techniques that redaction criticists use

Answer 25

if the passage or event comes by itself then tis more likely to be historical (the crucifixion of jesus)
criterion of embarrassment: the gospel wriiters try to remove things that may make jesus look bad
criterion dissimilarity: if a passga ehas jewish tendencies, then it most likely not made up