Re: Against who was the Earliest Gospel written?
Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2018 8:47 am
Man, it's a shame all of this gnostic stuff got burned up by the proto-orthodox faction of christianity allegedly in the second century onwards. Tertullian/Origen may provide some clues about the gnostic's beliefs however filtered this may be. I find it is an important question who the audience of the gospel was and what was the intentions of the gospel writer(s).
Perhaps you may find of interest Alan Culpepper's Anatomy of the Fourth Gospel: A Study in Literary Design and then apply it's methodology to your hypothesis. The following is from the table of contents of the book.
Perhaps you may find of interest Alan Culpepper's Anatomy of the Fourth Gospel: A Study in Literary Design and then apply it's methodology to your hypothesis. The following is from the table of contents of the book.
- Introduction
- Narrator and Point of View
Definitions
Expositional Mode
Point of View
Relationships within the Text
- Narrative Time
Order
Duration
Frequency
- Plot
What is Plot?
Does a Gospel Have a Plot?
What is John's Plot?
Plot Development in John
- Characters
Characterization in Contemporary Criticism
Characterization in the Gospel of John
Jesus and the Father
The Disciples
The Jews
The Minor Characters
- Implicit Commentary
Misunderstanding
Irony
Symbolism
- The Implied Reader
Readers and Narratees
John's Readers
Synthesis of the Portrait
- Conclusion