Readings In The Canon Of Scripture: Written For Our Learning (studies In Literature And Religion)

Blessed Lord, who hast caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them, that by patience, and comfort of thy Holy Word, we may embrace, and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Collect for the Second Sunday in Advent, Book of Common Prayer which is that inestimable treasure, which excelleth all the riches of the earth. 'Canonical criticism' is now a recognized branch of biblical studies - granting new focus to questions of the authority and truth of the scriptural writings. Developed within a critical sense of the dominant historical-critical tone of biblical studies, canonical criticism as it has been pursued by the American scholars Brevard S. Childs and James A. Sanders stands as witness to the theological necessity of a more literary approach to the Bible. This book both criticizes the 'canonical' enterprise, and takes it much further into readings of the canon from the perspective not only of literature, but also art, and in particular the biblical art of Rembrandt. In addition, it remains acutely conscious of the contemporary environment of our reading within the political concerns of feminist criticism, popular absorption in film and the narratives of the screen, and finally the crisis, or crises, which characterize the so-called 'postmodern condition'. What emerges is at once highly critical of traditional strategies of canonization, and at the same time constructive and concerned to recover the Bible for our own time in readings which move outside the limited academic concerns of the biblical critic or the institutions of the church and religious community Front Matter....Pages i-xx Introduction: Violence and the Canon....Pages 1-13 Trespassing in the Wilderness: New Ventures in Canonical Criticism....Pages 14-27 The Literary Classic and the Tragedy of Fiction....Pages 28-47 Seeing Pictures: Reading Texts....Pages 48-67 The Bible and the Politics of Feminism....Pages 68-82 Living in the Reel World: The Bible in Film....Pages 83-95 Violence and Postmodernism: Is There No Hope in the Evil Demon of Images?....Pages 96-105 Apocalypse Then and Now....Pages 106-121 A Rebirth of Images....Pages 122-131 Conclusion: Art and the Biblical Canon....Pages 132-147 Back Matter....Pages 148-156 Beginning with the insights of the 'canonical criticism' of Brevard Childs and James Sanders, this book explores the canon of the Bible through readings in literature, art and cinema. It places the Bible within the concerns of contemporary feminist thought, postmodern anxiety and modern apocalyptic. It returns us to a sense of the centrality of the Biblical canon in the present of critical thought and popular culture, expanding the notion of 'reading' to picture and film David Jasper. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 148-149) And Index.