Ben C Smith

In a recent weblog entry, Mark Goodacre asks: What is wrong with redaction criticism? In answering this question across five points, I think he strikes just about the right balance between what works and what does not work in redaction criticism as it is practiced today.

Notably, he gives The Gospels for All Christians (edited by Richard Bauckham) a qualified endorsement (as I do, too), very helpfully distinguishing between the communities from which each gospel was written and to which each gospel was written. That is an important distinction, and I think I agree with Goodacre that redaction criticism, exercised carefully, can tell us more about the former than about the latter.

Goodacre also follows up on his recent SBL paper, The Rock on Rocky Ground, noting that sometimes an evangelist copies from another evangelist because he strenuously agrees with that other evangelist on that point. Redaction criticism tends to focus only on what is unique to each gospel.

Another good reminder is that not every little item in a gospel has to relate directly to either the author or his readership; some stories are just good stories, some details just colorful details, told for their own sake, not for some grander theological purpose.

The entry is short, and each of its points is well worth considering.

Ben.