The power of parable : how fiction by Jesus became fiction about Jesus

First Title Value for Searching:

Personal Author:

Crossan, John Dominic

Edition:

1st ed.

Physical Description:

x, 259 p. ; 24 cm.

General Note:

Includes index.

Summary:

"One of the main ways Jesus taught people was through the use of parables. Through an exploration of the literary genre popular in the ancient world, distinguished Jesus scholar John Dominic Crossan dissects the versions we read in the Gospels to get back to what Jesus really intended to teach. Next, Crossan reveals how Jesus's use of parables inspired the Gospel writers themselves to come up with meaningful, metaphorical stories of Jesus to help them explain their own views of who they thought this Messiah really was. By unlocking the meaning and purposes of the Gospel's parables, we can arrive at a better portrait of this enigmatic and charismatic Jewish figure who transformed his world and the next two thousand years of history"--Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Prologue : story and metaphor -- pt. 1. Parables told by Jesus. Riddle parables : so that they may not understand -- Example parables : go and do, or don't do, likewise -- Challenge parables, part I : down from Jerusalem to Jericho -- Challenge parables, part II : the word against the word -- Challenge parables, part III : let anyone with ears to hear listen! -- The kingdom of God : the challenge of collaboration -- The lure of parabolic history : Caesar at the Rubicon -- pt. 2. Parables told about Jesus. A hymn for the nameless : the Parable Gospel according to Mark -- Rhetorical violence : the Parable Gospel according to Matthew -- Rome as the new Jerusalem : the Parable Gospel according to Luke-Acts -- The visionary dream of God : the Parable Gospel according to John -- Epilogue : history and parable.

Subject Term:

Storytelling -- Religious aspects -- Christianity

Publication Information:

New York : HarperOne, c2012.

Subject:

Storytelling -- Religious aspects -- Christianity

Jesus Christ -- Parables

Jesus Christ -- Person and offices

Bible N.T. Gospels -- Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Parables, Biblical

Parables, Christian

Christology

Story-telling (Christian theology)

SAILS ISBN:

9780061875694

Available:

Library	Shelf Number	Shelf Location	Status
Searching... Attleboro Public Library	232.954 CRO	NONFICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Easton - Ames Free Library	232.954 CROS 2012	NONFICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Fairhaven-Millicent	232 CRO 2012	NONFICTION	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

The world's foremost Jesus scholar John Dominic Crossan shows us how the parables present throughout the New Testament not only reveal what Jesus wanted to teach but also provide the key for explaining how the Gospels' writers sought to explain the Prophet of Nazareth to the world. In this meaningful exploration of the metaphorical stories told by Jesus and the Gospel writers, Crossan combines the biblical expertise of his The Greatest Prayer with a historical and social analysis that harkens closely to his Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, creating an illuminating and nuanced exploration of the Scripture that fans of Marcus Borg and Bart Ehrman will find fascinating and essential.

Reviews (3)

Booklist Review

*Starred Review* One of the most insightful and thought-provoking exegetes of the New Testament says both the little stories Jesus tells in the extant versions of the Gospel and the big stories of Jesus' life that the four canonic versions tell are parables. While explaining the purposes of parable as riddles to limit group membership, as examples of desirable behavior, as challenges to common practices and understandings, and as attacks on enemies Crossan also establishes the form's tradition in ancient Mediterranean culture by citing parables that both ante- and postdate Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and their contemporaries in early Christian literature. (His discussions of particular parables of Jesus are usually keenly illuminating; e.g., that of the parable of the talents or, as he calls it, the Master's Money.) Crossan thinks the challenge parable is the most characteristic of Jesus as the pacific revolutionary he believes him to have been. When followers took up Jesus' cause and wrote up the Gospel, however, they injected ever greater doses of denouncing their enemies the Jews (though the denouncers were also Jews) to the shame of the church ever since. Crossan's exceptional clarity and methodical presentation combine to make this one of the best, most enthralling Bible-study courses many readers will ever take.--Olson, Ray Copyright 2010 Booklist

Choice Review

The Power of Parable is Crossan (emer., DePaul Univ.) at his provocative best. He argues that Jesus chose a model for his parables that was readily available in the ancient Mediterranean world. He admits that some parables of Jesus are riddle parables or example parables, but he argues quite cogently that the primary category of Jesus's parables was the challenge parable. Crossan takes not just individual stories but entire books as parables. He begins by demonstrating from the Jewish Scriptures that the books of Ruth, Jonah, and Job were challenge parables. Ruth, being presented as the great-grandmother of King David, challenged the command in Deuteronomy that no Moabite or Ammonite was to be admitted to the assembly of the Lord (Deut. 23:3). Jonah challenged all of those Scriptures by dispelling the "evil Assyrian" myth that pervades them. Job challenged the God of the Scriptures. These, along with secular parables, provided a blueprint for Jesus's parables. Crossan then takes the Gospels individually and analyzes them, concluding that some are challenge parables, some attack parables, and some both. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through researchers/faculty. J. E. Lunceford Georgetown College

Library Journal Review

Crossan (emeritus, DePaul Univ.; The Greatest Prayer; The Historical Jesus) is one of the most admired as well as one of the most controversial scholars of the New Testament in general and the life of Jesus in particular. His latest book examines the ways that the teaching method of Jesus, who challenged his audiences with the parable, an early form of fiction, came to be applied to Jesus's own life story and argues that we should be wary of applying literal historical standards to texts from the ancient world. VERDICT A fascinating book, written with Crossan's usual lucidity but likely to disturb conservative Christians; a must for most academic and seminary libraries as well as many church groups and pastors. (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Prologue Story and Metaphor	p. 1
Part I Parables Told by Jesus
1 Riddle Parables	p. 13
So That They May Not Understand
2 Example Parables	p. 29
Go and Do-or Don't Do-Likewise
3 Challenge Parables: Part I	p. 45
Down from Jerusalem to Jericho
4 Challenge Parables: Part II	p. 65
The Word Against the Word
5 Challenge Parables: Part III	p. 89
Let Anyone with Ears to Hear Listen!
6 The Kingdom of God	p. 113
The Challenge of Collaboration
The Lure of Parabolic History	p. 141
Caesar at the Rubicon
Part II Parables Told about Jesus
7 A Hymn for the Nameless	p. 157
The Parable Gospel according to Mark
8 Rhetorical Violence	p. 177
The Parable Gospel according to Matthew
9 Rome as the New Jerusalem	p. 197
The Parable Gospel according to Luke-Acts
10 The Visionary Dream of God	p. 219
The Parable Gospel according to John
Epilogue History and Parable	p. 243
Scripture Index	p. 253

Available:

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Summary

Reviews (3)

Booklist Review

Choice Review

Library Journal Review

Table of Contents