Questions Unanswered from Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography by John Dominic Crossan
I Forgot to Ask in Class . . .
In the Prologue, Crossan discusses "Gospel or Good News" (XVII). I am not sure what he means by this, but it is a recurring term. What does "Good News" mean? And why is it capitalized?After Discussion in Class on Tuesday . . .
. . . I thought I understood this, or at least I thought the re-reading would help. But I'm still confused.In "Chapter 1: A Tale of Two Gods," Crossan has a section where he details the similarities between Moses & Jesus. I did not understand how he connects Jesus' story to Moses. I understand that the stories mirrored each other at times, but I am confused with why those exact parallels were significant.
It is strange: I understand the ending of this section when Crossan says that Moses and Jesus "save[d]" (17) their people and that Jesus is the 'Moses 2.0', but I don't understand his references when he switches between texts.
I think one significance of the fact that Crossan chose to compare the story of Moses with that of Jesus was to show that when Matthew was writing his gospel, he referenced the story of Moses. Or at least he was looking at it as he was writing. I may be wrong, but that is the impression I got. I did find the parallels fascinating though.
ReplyDeleteThat would make more sense! thanks!
DeleteI think the parallels are useful to better grasp what the core plot of the gospels are and how the other stories relate to the christian ones. I second the question of good news, I also noticed the repetition and wondered what the purpose of that was.
ReplyDelete1) The Greek word 'euangelion,' normally translated 'gospel,' literally means 'good news.' That is, the gospel writers are working in a specific literary form, invented for the purpose, that is neither history nor biography but a form of celebration and interpretation of the person/words/events they describe. Each of the many gospels has its own theology, that is, its own understanding of who Jesus was, what he said and did, and what's good about it.
ReplyDelete2) One of the gospel writers, trying to tell a story illustrating his own understanding of Jesus' importance, reaches for the story of Moses, and draws an extended literary comparison between them.
*light bulb goes off* Oohhhh! Thank you! That clarifies the meaning of Good News. And, okay, then I got the second point! I think I was over-analyzing and thought I was missing something. I feel much better about all of this now!
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