The Discipleship Paradigm: Readers and Anonymous Characters in the Fourth GospelThis volume examines the Fourth Gospel narrative in terms of its character portrayal, especially the portrayal of anonymous characters. It focuses on how characterization impacts readers, eliciting their involvement in the narrative, particularly the recognition of and response to Jesus' identity, and how anonymity facilitates that participation. The first chapters examine the understanding of characterization in contemporary literary theory, then the author explores other contemporaneous narratives for the function of anonymous characters in those narratives. The final chapters examine specific character portrayals in the Fourth Gospel, demonstrating how the narratives of anonymous characters draw the reader into participation in the narrative and enables identification with those characters, especially the disciple Jesus loved, the Johannine paradigm of discipleship. |
Contents
Acknowledgements vii | 4 |
Textual Analysis of Fourth Gospel Characters | 17 |
Anonymity Identity and Identification | 35 |
Anonymous Women and Models of Discipleship | 51 |
The Infirm the Blind the Dead and the Misplaced | 83 |
The Disciple Jesus Loved | 108 |
Conclusion | 137 |
| 73 | |
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Common terms and phrases
acters Alan Culpepper ambiguity anonymous characters appearance appropriate response Barrett believe Beloved Disciple Biblical Literature blind Brodie Brown Bultmann Cana chap chapter 20 char characterization Charlesworth Commentary concerning Jesus confession contrast Culpepper dialogue with Jesus disciple Jesus loved discipleship Edited encounter with Jesus Ephesian Tale episode extratext faith response Fortress Fourth Gospel characters function gender Gospel of John Greek Haenchen healing Ibid identity indeterminacy infirm initial Interpretation interpretive communities Johannine John's Journal of Biblical Lazarus Literary man's Martha Mary Mary of Bethany Moloney mother mother of Jesus named characters narrated Nicodemus origins paradigm of appropriate parallels participation pericope Peter Pharisees portrayal portrayed positive present prologue Quast reader identification Reader-Response Criticism reading response to Jesus role Samaria Samaritan woman Schnackenburg Semeia son of Zebedee Staley Stibbe Synoptic Testament Studies testimony textual space Theological Thomas Tilborg tion tive tomb University Press verse witness to Jesus words βασιλικός λόγος σημεῖον