Form criticism Flashcards
Who is form criticism associated with?
German scholar Hermann Gunkel
What did Gunkel seek to do?
Analyze biblical literary forms in order to rediscover the history of their development
What does form criticism explore?
How various stories from eyewitness (oral) accounts were passed on and shaped in the time period prior to when the books were committed to writing
What does form criticism hold that each literary type or genre emerges from?
A specific setting in the life of people
What German phrase summarises the idea that the stories emerge out of the specific setting in the life of the people?
Sitz im leben
What does sitz im leben translate as?
The situation of the story
When did form criticism develop?
In the early 20th century
What does form criticism look at?
The form/type of writing in the gospels
Who are the two main figures in form criticism
Bultmann and Dibellius
What did Bultmann and Dibellius argue about the material used for the gospels?
That it came from oral traditions and was copied into existing forms of literature
Why do Bultmann and Dibellius argue that form was important?
Because it shows the importance writers placed on the particular teaching/message
What did Bultmann and Dibellius suggest about the forms used in the gospels?
It suggested that they were well known, contemporary literary styles - Greek philosophical writings - stories of miracles and wonders by the Gods
What does form criticism allow us to conclude about the gospels?
- That they may not be reliable objective accounts of Jesus
- Written for the needs of writers and the early church
Context of sitz im leben seemed to overtake historical accuracy
What does form criticism suggest about the gospels?
That only a fraction of Jesus’ words in the gospels were actually from him. The rest was adapted by the early church to fit its needs
Give an example of something from the gospels that was almost definitely not said by Jesus
In Matthew 18:15-22, Jesus talks about church discipline. This is unlikely, as the church did not exist during Jesus’ lifetime
What did form critics argue about the gospels?
- They were about spiritual rather than historical truth
- The historical Jesus was not as relevant - even that it didn’t matter to the early church whether he existed
- Writers linked units of parables, sayings, stories and pronoucements according to the needs of the early church
What are the 6 accepted categories that biblical writings can be split into?
- Legends and myths
- Parables
- Miracles
- Teachings/pronouncements
- Speeches
- Shorter sayings
What are parables in the gospels?
Stories that teach about God and the Kingdom of Heaven
Give an example of a miracle in the gospels?
Healings
What are teachings/pronouncements in the gospels?
Narratives with an important teaching in their core
What are speeches in the gospels?
Lengthy prose
Give an example of a speech in the gospels?
The Sermon on the Mount
Give some examples of shorter sayings within the gospels?
Prophecies, eschatological warnings and church rules
What five categories does Dibellius split biblical writings into?
Paradigms, tales, legends, myths and exhortations
Explain Dibellius’ idea of paradigms
These stories are distinguished by the way that they all end with a punch line. Some of them contain narrative, but the key thing is the pithy statement that comes at the end, all other details are secondary. This literary form was common in both Greek and Jewish literature at the time, and provided Christians with memorable slogans to descibe significant aspects of their beliefs
Where can we find several examples of paradigms within the gospels?
The early chapters of Mark
Explain Dibelius’ idea of tales
He defined these as stories being told for the sake of being a good story, and he included many of the miracle stories in this group. In these stories Jesus’ actions are much more important than his words. Dibelius believes they were the work of professional story tellers in the early church
Explain Dibelius’ idea of legends
He picked this term because of its common use in his days to describe stories about the saints, whose main point was the provision of a moral example for others to follow
Where can we find examples of legends within the gospels?
Matthew 14:28-33, 16:13-23, 27:3-8 and Luke 2:41-49
Explain Dibelius’ idea of myths
These were stories were humans interacted with a spiritual or supernatural world. He included only three gospel stories
What three gospel stories did Dibelius class as myths?
Jesus’ baptism (Mark 1:9-11 and parallels), temptations (Matthew 4:1-11 and parallel in Luke) and transfiguration (Mark 9:2-8 and parallels)
Explain Dibelius idea of exhortations
These are teachings. There are many diverse forms of teaching in the gospels, but since it was all used in the same context in the life of the church (the instruction of converts) Dibelius lumped it all together. The parables and some of the sayings would belong here
How did CH Dodd use form criticism?
- He said that it reconstructed the early Christian form of preaching
- He studied the role and purpose of the parables in the church as distinct from Jesus’ ministry. He offered possible contexts and alternate meanings
How J Jeremias use FC?
He studies parables, suggesting ways the demands of the church’s mission affected their meaning
Make the arguement in favour of FC
- It raised awareness of the common oral traidition that pre-dated the gospels
- The essence of truth is still contained in the gospels, as oral traditions could be accurate
- Emphasises that the gospels are not to be read as historical accounts
Make some statements opposing FC
- The oral traditional continued alongside the written gospel, so community needs could affect a later gospel
- The oral tradition may have already grouped certain items together prior to the written account
- Disagreements among form critics on the methods for deciding what is the original material and what are later additions
