Apologetic Discourse and the Scribal Tradition: Evidence of the Influence of Apologetic Interests on the Text of the Canonical Gospels

by Wayne C Kannaday

Overview

Kannaday (religion and philosophy, Newberry College) asserts that apologetic interests influenced those who preserved and reproduced the early gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Working from variant readings from traditional texts, as well as from the contexts of early Christianity, Kannaday finds sufficient evidence to support his assertion

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781589831018
Publisher:	Society of Biblical Literature
Publication date:	08/15/2004
Series:	Society of Biblical Literature Text-Critical Studies
Pages:	292
Sales rank:	768,414
Product dimensions:	5.94(w) x 9.12(h) x 0.73(d)

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	xi
	List of Abbreviations	xii
Chapter I	The Pen and the Sword: Apologetic Discourse and the Text of the New Testament	1
	Scribal Intentionality and the New Testament Text: A Forschungsbericht	5
	Relevant Text-Critical Works	5
	Relevant Writings Pertaining to Early Christian Apologetics	18
	Pagan Opposition and Christian Apologetic Response	23
	Pagan Opposition to Christianity	24
	Pliny, Governor of Bithynia-Pontus	24
	Two Pagan Historians: Tacitus & Suetonius	25
	Other Early Second-Century Sources	26
	Satirists: Lucian of Samosata and Apuleius of Madaura	26
	Marcus Cornelius Fronto	30
	Celsus and [characters not reproducible]	31
	Porphyry of Tyre	32
	Pagan Opposition in Summary: One Side of the Discourse	34
	Christian Apologetic Response	35
	The Earliest Christian Apologists: Quadratus and Aristides	35
	Justin Martyr	37
	Tatian	44
	Athenagoras of Athens	46
	Theophilus of Antioch	48
	Melito of Sardis	50
	Clement of Alexandria	51
	Origen	52
	Select Latin Apologists: Tertullian and Minucius Felix	54
	In Summary: A Profile of Apologetic Interests	56
Chapter II	Antiquity, Harmony, and Factual Consistency: Issues of Intellectual Integrity	59
	The Pagan Accusation of Novelty and the Apologetic Claim to Antiquity	61
	Variant Readings Related to Prophecy and Antiquity	65
	Excursus: The Temporal Priority of Jesus to John the Baptizer	78
	Pagan Criticism of Inconsistency and Christian Harmonization	82
	Harmonization	86
	Variant Readings Related to Issues of Textual Harmony and Consistency	90
	Conclusion	99
Chapter III	Jesus: According to the Scribes	101
	Variant Readings	104
	The Folly of the Cross	105
	The Author of This Sedition	111
	A Carpenter by Trade	117
	A Magician and A Deceiver of the People	119
	A Man of Profane Temperament	129
	Conclusion	139
Chapter IV	Fanatics, Fools, and Females: Scribes in Defense of the Followers of Jesus	141
	Variant Readings	148
	Regarding the Fanatics Who Followed Jesus	148
	Regarding the Fools Who Followed Jesus	166
	The Females Who Followed Jesus	176
	All's Well That Ends Well: Mark 16:9-20	189
	The Shorter Ending	192
	The Longer Ending	193
	The Freer Logion	196
	Conclusion	196
Chapter V	When Quire Meets Empire: Scribal Tradition and the Roman State	199
	Excursus: Why Were Early Christians Persecuted?	200
	Christians Through the Eyes of Pagan Despisers	206
	Christian Apologists and the Roman State	208
	Variant Readings	210
	"Kingdom" ([characters not reproducible]) Language in the Gospel of Luke	210
	The Exoneration of Pilate	216
	Secrecy	226
	Scribal Characterization of Opponents as Evil	231
	Conclusion	234
Chapter VI	The Influence of Apologetic Interests on the Text of the Canonical Gospels	237
	Implications of This Study	244
	Textual Implications	244
	Methodological Implications	245
	Historical Implications	247
	Summary	249
Chapter VII	Selected Bibliography	251