Bringing the Word to Life: Engaging the New Testament through Performing It

by Richard Ward, David Trobisch

Overview

The New Testament books were written to be read aloud. The original audiences of these texts would have been unfamiliar with our current practice of reading silently and processing with our eyes rather than our ears, so we can learn much about the New Testament through performing it ourselves.
Richard Ward and David Trobisch are here to help. Bringing the Word to Life walks the reader through what we know about the culture of performance in the first and second centuries, what it took to perform an early New Testament manuscript, the benefits of performance for teaching, and practical suggestions for exploring New Testament texts through performance today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467437646
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	04/27/2013
Sold by:	Bookwire
Format:	eBook
Pages:	124
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Richard F. Ward is Fred B. Craddock Associate Professor ofHomiletics and Worship at Phillips Theological Seminary. Hisother books include Speaking of the Holy: The Art ofCommunication in Preaching.,

David J. Trobisch is internationally recognized as a scholar for his work on Paul's letters, the formation of the Christian Bible, and biblical manuscripts.

Table of Contents

Introduction viii

A Text in Performance (RW) viii

Listening with the Heart (DT) xi

The Outline of This Book xii

Performance in Antiquity

Theory in Practice in Roman-Hellenistic Culture 3

Quintilian's Instructions on How to Perform 3

Performance from the Authors' Perspective: Pollio, Pliny, Claudius, Nero 17

Performance of Tragedy in Imperial Rome 22

Performance of Literature in the Early Church 23

Performance of Literature in the City of Corinth 28

The Role of the Audience 31

Reading an Ancient Manuscript, of the New Testament 34

Scriptio Continua 34

Nomina Sacra 36

Editorial Asides 38

Differences in Sentence Structure 39

The Illiterate Reader 40

The Reading Context: Early Christian Sanctuaries 42

Summary 45

How Performance Criticism Informs the Interpretation of the Text

A Story 49

Three Insights 50

Performance Criticism and Form Criticism 54

"Sitz im Leben" 54

Jesus Tells a Bathroom Joke 56

The Experimental Nature of Performance Criticism 57

The Experiential Nature of Performance 58

Does Performance Criticism Oppose Historical Criticism? 59

Summary 60

Performance Today: From Preparation to Review

A Story 63

Engaging the Script 65

Advertise the Performance 65

Establish the Script 66

Internalize the Script 69

The Components of a Story 76

Perspective 76

Settings 77

Characters 77

Conflict 78

Three Approaches to Performing the Script 80

Speaking the Text 80

Saying It with Our Own Words 83

Placing the Story in a Contemporary Setting 88

Rehearsing 91

Performance 96

Debriefing 98

Conclusion 100

Bibliography 102

Editorial Reviews

Thomas E. Boomershine
— founder of Network of Biblical Storytellers
"This is a superbly written and readily accessible introduction to the new framework for the Bible as performance literature. David Trobisch and Richard Ward integrate a comprehensive description of ancient performance of the Bible with clear guidance for the performance of the Bible in the modern world. . . . An ideal required book for college and seminary courses, a great text for study groups in local churches, and a valuable resource for pastors and scholars."

Charles L. Bartow
— Princeton Theological Seminary
"Bringing the Word to Life is a singularly valuable study of performance as criticism. . . . Ward and Trobisch commend to us a reception of the Holy Scriptures as living literature that moves the human heart to tears and laughter, empathy and compassion, and, not least, faith. Further, they encourage recapture of the nearly lost art of memorization. Scholarly, readable, usable!"

David Rhoads
— Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago
"The book many of us teachers have been waiting for! This dynamic little volume succeeds in overcoming the eclipse of biblical orality and captures an imaginative rethinking of the New Testament writings as performance. . . . Informative for scholars. Essential for teachers and students. Foundational for preachers and worship leaders."

Susan R. Garrett
— Louisville Presbyterian Seminary
"Scripture comes to life and lives change when Richard Ward and David Trobisch perform it. Here they teach others to bring God's word to people in a way that rivets and regenerates speaker and hearers alike. Under their guidance both the performance and the process of preparation serve to convey Scripture's power. . . . An awesome resource for worship, preaching, and biblical exegesis in church, college, or seminary settings."

Worship Leader
"For most people in the first and second centuries the Scriptures were delivered through performance. Richard Ward and David Trobisch trace the early history and methods of Biblical storytelling and provide guidelines and pointers to revive the practice today. They cover the components of a good story, memorization tips and practical approaches for live performance."
 

From the Publisher