Under the Spell of the Printed Word (RJS)

Last updated on: May 3, 2018 at 4:58 am by RJS

Under the Spell of the Printed Word (RJS) 2018-05-02T21:36:59-05:00 RJS

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Western culture is, in many respects, a culture focused on the written word. Documents transmit cultural history, traditions and laws. The sagas of Harry Potter and Frodo were written before they were performed. Some of us still bristle at the ways in which the filming of the Lord of the Rings trilogy took liberties with Tolkien’s written word. The character of Tolkein’s Faramir in The Two Towers when he first encountered Frodo is important to the story. He stands firm and makes the right choice. The movie lost me at this point (although not completely). In the screenplay Faramir becomes something of a villain rather than a hero. In my opinion this modification to the story diminished it substantially. Tolkien’s printed word should stand! The character of Faramir and his ability to resist the ring is an important part of the tale.

Many reading this post, of course, may disagree – thinking this change in Faramir is a minor detail of no real importance. The performed work still tells the same story, and does so in a fashion better suited to the big screen. A movie doesn’t communicate in the same way a book does.

If Genesis 1-11 isn’t history then Christ wasn’t raised. We are under the spell of the printed word, living in a literate society and in a text-dominant culture. It is only in the context of a culture like ours that such a statement makes sense. In their book The Lost World of Scripture John Walton and Brent Sandy dig into the oral cultures in which the Old and New Testaments were written. These are not the same. The Old Testament was written in an ancient Near Eastern culture influenced by Mesopotamia and Egypt. Although writing existed, it was not the primary form of communication. In contrast the New Testament was written in the first century, in a culture dominated by Greece and Rome. Although written texts had a significant place in the culture, it was still an oral dominant culture – but not identical to the context of the Old Testament.

The context of the first century Roman world should inform our reading of the New Testament while the ancient Near Eastern context of Babylon, Syria, and Palestine helps us with the Old Testament. The Gospels and Genesis both come from God, but they don’t use the same structures and forms. The forms and structures used to communicate are not those at play in our 21st century culture. The historicity of Genesis 1-11 has no impact on the resurrection of Christ – not in terms of events and not in terms of our understanding of Scripture as inspired by God.

So how should we understand the New Testament? Oral communication is different from written communication in several important ways. In oral communication the speaker is in control, able to respond to the audience and tailor the approach to convey the intended message. Words, intonation, and body language are used to communicate. In written communication the reader is in control. The author puts thoughts and ideas on paper but has no lingering control. The reader can dissect and question, read and re-read the text. It is left to the reader to discern the intent of the original author. Small inconsistencies of no import in an oral communication become significant issues in the eyes of some who dissect a written text.

An author today constructing a text for the ages will exercise caution. He or she knows that the text must withstand the scrutiny of thousands of skeptical readers. An orator, on the other hand, passing down an oral history knows that he or she must be faithful to the story. But the same kind of detailed scrutiny is not expected. The Greek and Roman culture relevant to the New Testament was an oral-dominant culture. Much of the literature was either performed before being written or written to be performed or read. Walton and Sandy note “when authors wrote knowing that the majority of their audience would be hearers, not readers, and that someone would perform what they were writing, they would write with both readers and hearers in mind (see Rev 1:3). They would be concerned with what would help the public reading to be effective and with what would help the written text to be understood orally.” (p. 92)

We will understand and interpret the New Testament better if we try to understand the oral-dominant culture and the impact this culture had on the shape of the texts we have today.

I still think the movie took unwarranted liberties with the character of Faramir.

How does oral communication differ from written communication?

How does a sermon differ from an essay or a history paper?

If you wish to contact me directly you may do so at rjs4mail [at] att.net.

If interested you can subscribe to a full text feed of my posts at Musings on Science and Theology.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

May 3, 2018

Question: Should Catholics Permit Marriage For Priests?

Next Post

May 3, 2018 Paul, Apostle of Christ -- The Movie: An Interview

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Acts of the Apostles Adam Advent Anabaptism Angels Anglican Apologetics Atonement Baptism BCP Prayers Bible Biblical Studies Birds Blogging Bloglossary Bonhoeffer Books Calvinism Christianity Church Church History Coffee Colossians Commentary Recs Conversion Creation Creeds Culture Death Ecclesiastes Economics Education Embracing Grace Emergent Emerging Movement Eschatology Essays Ethics Eucharist Evangelicalism Family Fasting Fathers Fellowship of Differents Footsteps Tour Fun and Whimsical Gospel Grace Happiness Heaven Hell Holy Spirit Irenaeus James Jesus Jesus Creed Job Justification Kingdom of God Law Lectures Lent Liberalism Love and Marriage Mabanteneni Manhood Mary Miracles Missio Alliance MissioLife Missional Missional Jesus Movies and Film New Perspective Northern Seminary OneLife Origins Project Orthodox Parables Pastor's Spouse Pastoring and Leading Pastoring and Preaching Patristics Paul Paul-John Tour Pharisees Pietism Political Theology Prayer and Formation Preaching Problems for Faith Psalm 119 Psalms Public Issues Purgatory Religions Resurrection Revelation Romans Rule of JCreed Science and Faith Sermon on the Mount Sports Ten Commandments Theology Third Way Top Ten Lists Translations Uncategorized Universalism University Ministry Way Out Weekly Meanderings Wisdom Women and Ministry Work Worship Writing & Blogging Youth Ministry

Select a Month July 2021 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 0000

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who anointed Jesus with expensive perfume?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Martha Peter Salome Mary