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Mark Canonizer of Paul: A New Look at Intertextuality in Mark's Gospel
"For over 150 years the idea that Mark used the Pauline epistles has been recurring in New Testament research. Now in the work of Tom Dykstra, wide-ranging work and thoughtful, the truth of that idea emerges with a clarity it never had before. The result is to give a fresh sense of the origin and nature of Mark, of all the New Testament books, and of the quest for history."
- -Thomas Brodie, Director, Dominican Biblical Institute, author of ¬ The Birthing of the New Testament "Tom Dykstra draws connections between Paul and the Gospel of Mark that are stunning, surprising, and original, and leave readers with a sense that the evidence deserves a better interpretation than traditional Synoptic models can o ffer. Well argued, easy to read, immersed in the relevant current exegetical discussion, the book fascinates, provokes, and encourages to think outside the box."
- David Trobisch, author of The First Edition of the New Testament "In addition to its main focus on Mark, this book is a lucid introduction to early church history, oral tradition, the gospels' genre, and how to understand scripture in general."
- Paul Nadim Tarazi, Professor of Biblical Studies, St. Vladimir's Seminary
- -Thomas Brodie, Director, Dominican Biblical Institute, author of ¬ The Birthing of the New Testament "Tom Dykstra draws connections between Paul and the Gospel of Mark that are stunning, surprising, and original, and leave readers with a sense that the evidence deserves a better interpretation than traditional Synoptic models can o ffer. Well argued, easy to read, immersed in the relevant current exegetical discussion, the book fascinates, provokes, and encourages to think outside the box."
- David Trobisch, author of The First Edition of the New Testament "In addition to its main focus on Mark, this book is a lucid introduction to early church history, oral tradition, the gospels' genre, and how to understand scripture in general."
- Paul Nadim Tarazi, Professor of Biblical Studies, St. Vladimir's Seminary
- GenresNonfiction
286 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 9, 2018
I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the development of the Gospels. This is, in my opinion, one of the most important works of biblical scholarship this decade. The relationship between the Gospel of Mark and the letters of Paul is not widely understood by biblical scholars, yet is of critical importance to understanding the origins and development of the Gospels.
This book is of high academic quality, yet more readable than many academic works of biblical scholarship. A great asset of this work is it's even-handedness and lack of agenda. The material is presented in a straight forward matter without much in the way or argumentation or agenda.
Something I really like about the book is the backstory that Dykstra provides regarding the evolution and development of this line of analysis and understanding of Mark. In this book Dykstra doesn't just present a case for Mark's use of Paul, he provides background on the evolution of this idea among prior scholars and how this idea has been treated in the past. I found this very useful.
In this book Dykstra lays out a new understanding of the Gospel of Mark as inspired by the works of Paul and provides solid evidence in the form of intertextual relationships to support this understanding. Dykstra also reviews other recent intertextual analysis of Mark and provides some insight into what all of these findings mean and where they are pointing.
I strongly feel that this book will only rise in stature and importance over time, as more people come to see that the case presented by Dykstra here is the model for understanding the Gospels going forward. This book is, in my view, one of the most important founding works of the relatively new field of intertextuality.
This book is of high academic quality, yet more readable than many academic works of biblical scholarship. A great asset of this work is it's even-handedness and lack of agenda. The material is presented in a straight forward matter without much in the way or argumentation or agenda.
Something I really like about the book is the backstory that Dykstra provides regarding the evolution and development of this line of analysis and understanding of Mark. In this book Dykstra doesn't just present a case for Mark's use of Paul, he provides background on the evolution of this idea among prior scholars and how this idea has been treated in the past. I found this very useful.
In this book Dykstra lays out a new understanding of the Gospel of Mark as inspired by the works of Paul and provides solid evidence in the form of intertextual relationships to support this understanding. Dykstra also reviews other recent intertextual analysis of Mark and provides some insight into what all of these findings mean and where they are pointing.
I strongly feel that this book will only rise in stature and importance over time, as more people come to see that the case presented by Dykstra here is the model for understanding the Gospels going forward. This book is, in my view, one of the most important founding works of the relatively new field of intertextuality.
July 15, 2019
A very well written and well supported analysis of the origins of the Gospel of Mark. Dykstra's gift is that he is a very clear and concise writer, yet is still able to cover a lot of tricky terrain. Additionally, he is well versed in the relevant literature, and thus able to direct the reader to further study, if they choose to pursue it.
Dykstra's thesis is that the The Gospel of Mark was heavily based upon Paul's letters (primarily Galatians, but also Romans, Corinthians, et al) in a conscious attempt to legitimize Paul as an authoritative figure of early Christianity. Dykstra also, albeit it less systematically, argues that later Christians interpreted Paul's letters in the context of Mark (with pseudo-Pauline letters added connecting "Mark" to Paul) further under-girding Paul's authority.
Dykstra builds off of the work of Dennis McDonald, Thomas Brodie, and Micheal Goulder. All, in different ways, have pointed to the New Testament's dependence on previous works of literature (Homeric poetry and the LXX). Dykstra uses similar methodology to add a third leg to the stool. The methodology is slippery, as Dyskstra acknowledges. There is no smoking gun that proves dependence, but the availability, similarity, intelligibility and an underlying motive make the case compelling.
Per Dykstra, the author of Mark used a technique called "mimesis," (essentially a form creative imitation common in Ancient Roman society) to refashion themes, ideas, events and people into new stories serving a new purpose. In this respect, Mark cannot be viewed as a "history" because it was never intended as such. Dykstra identifies it as scriptural historiography. The author was self consciously writing scripture and situating it in the context of previous scripture (Paul's letters and the LXX) and popular literature (Homer) in an attempt to offer an authoritative story of the origin of "the (Pauline) Gospel" and the Gentile mission. This would have been understood by the original community that was the target audience (converted Christians).
I highly recommend for anyone interested in the origins of the New Testament.
Dykstra's thesis is that the The Gospel of Mark was heavily based upon Paul's letters (primarily Galatians, but also Romans, Corinthians, et al) in a conscious attempt to legitimize Paul as an authoritative figure of early Christianity. Dykstra also, albeit it less systematically, argues that later Christians interpreted Paul's letters in the context of Mark (with pseudo-Pauline letters added connecting "Mark" to Paul) further under-girding Paul's authority.
Dykstra builds off of the work of Dennis McDonald, Thomas Brodie, and Micheal Goulder. All, in different ways, have pointed to the New Testament's dependence on previous works of literature (Homeric poetry and the LXX). Dykstra uses similar methodology to add a third leg to the stool. The methodology is slippery, as Dyskstra acknowledges. There is no smoking gun that proves dependence, but the availability, similarity, intelligibility and an underlying motive make the case compelling.
Per Dykstra, the author of Mark used a technique called "mimesis," (essentially a form creative imitation common in Ancient Roman society) to refashion themes, ideas, events and people into new stories serving a new purpose. In this respect, Mark cannot be viewed as a "history" because it was never intended as such. Dykstra identifies it as scriptural historiography. The author was self consciously writing scripture and situating it in the context of previous scripture (Paul's letters and the LXX) and popular literature (Homer) in an attempt to offer an authoritative story of the origin of "the (Pauline) Gospel" and the Gentile mission. This would have been understood by the original community that was the target audience (converted Christians).
I highly recommend for anyone interested in the origins of the New Testament.
December 18, 2021
Well researched and clearly explained, this book illuminaties the structure and intent of the Gospel According to Mark, putting it into context as written after the Epistles of Paul, in support of Paul's views and in contrast to those of the other gospels, which were written later.
A few memorable passages:
"... open the way to appreciating the gospels as cohesive literary works in which each part was carefully and deliberately crafted and organized to serve the author's overall purposes." p. 65
"Galilee was a region outside of Judea known for its mixed Jewish-Gentile population, and is explicitly associated with "the nations" (the Gentiles) in Isaish 9:1... [Mark's] use of Galilee to mean a land where Jews and Gentile mix, as opposed to Judea and Jerusalem which represent exclusively Jewish territory..." p. 73
"... Mark deliberately created a lierary Jesus whose words and actions parallel the words and actions of Paul." p. 149
"Genre is a function of your intention." p. 169
A few memorable passages:
"... open the way to appreciating the gospels as cohesive literary works in which each part was carefully and deliberately crafted and organized to serve the author's overall purposes." p. 65
"Galilee was a region outside of Judea known for its mixed Jewish-Gentile population, and is explicitly associated with "the nations" (the Gentiles) in Isaish 9:1... [Mark's] use of Galilee to mean a land where Jews and Gentile mix, as opposed to Judea and Jerusalem which represent exclusively Jewish territory..." p. 73
"... Mark deliberately created a lierary Jesus whose words and actions parallel the words and actions of Paul." p. 149
"Genre is a function of your intention." p. 169
January 30, 2024
His thesis was solid, and I think it made good sense. But the writing was... very poor. It was boring, and very repetitive. I did not enjoy the read at all.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews