This study establishes a concept of culture and then combines it with Geertz' anthropological concept of thick description. Subsequently, the relation of texts to society and culture is discussed. In this manner, multiple methods of interpretation are used in an organized and programmatic way, allowing the reader insights into the development of early Christianity. In this study, Vernon Robbins expounds and develops his system of socio-rhetorical criticism, bringing together social-scientific and literary-critical approaches to explore early Christanity. This book investigates Christianity as...

Socio-rhetorical criticism has established itself as one of the promising new methods of biblical study today. Vernon K. Robbins here provides an accessible introduction to socio-rhetorical criticism, illustrating the method by guiding the reader through the study of specific New Testament texts and stories.

An opening chapter outlines this new approach and its focus on values, convictions, and beliefs both in the texts we read and in the world in which we live. Then follow chapters on getting inside a text (inner texture), that is, studying the internal aspects of words and meanings...

"This book makes an important, indeed a groundbreaking, contribution to Markan studies. Not only does it address a lacuna in these studies, but it does so by means of an innovative methodology. . .that permits a satisfying integration of the Jewish background of Mark's Gospel with its Greco-Roman background while retaining a sensitivity to the literary dimensions of the text as well as an interest in its reader. Robbins has accomplished a remarkable feat. . . . Markan studies are certain to benefit greatly from this work." -Jouette M. Bassler Journal of Biblical Literature "Robbins proposes a...

The essays in this collection explore the diverse character of emerging Christian narratives. From priestly beginnings at the temple in Luke to the enigmatic figure of the cross of light in Acts of John, early Christians found a variety of ways to interpret and express the storylines of Jesus, Mary, and other important figures. By reconfiguring and relocating existing resources of texts and topoi, each of the works examined creates new images and stories within the discursive framework of unique blends of emerging Christian rhetorolects. This volume thus offers readings that attempt to...

The essays in this collection explore the diverse character of emerging Christian narratives. From priestly beginnings at the temple in Luke to the enigmatic figure of the cross of light in Acts of John, early Christians found a variety of ways to interpret and express the storylines of Jesus, Mary, and other important figures. By reconfiguring and relocating existing resources of texts and topoi, each of the works examined creates new images and stories within the discursive framework of unique blends of emerging Christian rhetorolects. This volume thus offers readings that attempt to...