Parables Unplugged

Reading the Lukan Parables in Their Rhetorical Context

Lauri Thuren

• Publisher: Fortress Press
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN: 9780800699796
• eBook ISBN: 9781451465266
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Criticism & Interpretation

For far too long, Lauri Thuren argues, the parables of Jesus have been read either as allegories encoding Christian theology—including the theological message of one or another Gospel writer—or as tantalizing clues to the authentic voice of Jesus. Thuren proposes instead to read the parables "unplugged" from any assumptions beyond those given in the narrative situation in the text, on the common-sense premise that the very form of the parable works to propose a (sometimes startling) resolution to a particular problem. Thuren applies his method to the parables in Luke with some surprising results involving the Evangelist's overall narrative purposes and the discrete purposes of individual parables in supporting the authority of Jesus, proclaiming God's love, exhorting steadfastness, and so on. Eschatological and allegorical readings are equally unlikely, according to Thuren's results. This study is sure to spark learned discussion among scholars, preachers, and students for years to come.

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The Overall Mapping of the Parables

No general hypothesis about the Lukan parables is reliable if it is based on a selective reading.^[1] Therefore, after the previous deep analysis of some key parables, the next step is to create a comprehensive presentation of all Jesus’ parables in Luke.^[2] I will do this in two interrelated parts. chapter 6 will provide a synopsis of the parables. I will examine how to identify them and their essential qualities, such as length, type, images, audience, exigency, credibility, and references. The overall results for each question and their most interesting correlations will be displayed. One specific aim of this chapter is to create Spreadsheet 1,^[3] which illustrates all the Lukan parables and their most prominent characteristics. This database will allow one to make several comparisons and cross-references in order to see which features are linked cto each other.

All this paves the way for chapter 7, where I will scrutinize the formal features, contents, and functions of every Lukan parable. This chapter serves as a practical handbook to these texts. Analyzing particular parables simultaneously supports the general results presented in chapter 6. Together, these chapters provide an overview of the messages of the Lukan parables, their persuasive function, and the theology, which will be presented in chapter 8.

Introduction

This all-encompassing study of the Lukan parables aims at a better understanding of both particular stories and their general features.

First, in order to understand any single parable it is useful to ask how and why Luke and his Jesus usually tell them. If we can identify some typical characteristics they can be detected even when they are less evident. In other words, general knowledge of Lukan parables will serve as a heuristic tool guiding the interpretation when a particular case is obscure. Any information may be valuable, since gathering big data^[4] may reveal important issues unnoticed by specific questions. Eventually, general observations regarding the way Luke and his Jesus use the parables may yield profound theological results as well.

Second, an essential prerequisite for any dependable general characterization is that all parables are included. In earlier research there is no shortage of attempts at overarching descriptions, but too often these studies omit problematic cases.^[5] However, Lukan parables are so multifaceted that one can even make mutually exclusive characterizations and give good examples in the text if other cases are set aside. Thus references to only a few parables do not suffice for reliable general observations.

A holistic view of all the parables requires specific techniques. In chapters 2 through 5, I discussed this thoroughly regarding earlier research on some key parables. Now I will mainly refer to some recent and illustrative studies. Since there are around sixty distinct parables in Luke, and in each case more than a dozen factors deserve attention, they cannot all be discussed here at length, even if in some cases a deeper examination would be desirable. This has to do with delineating the material—the parabolic nature of some cases is disputed among scholars—as well as assessing their different attributes. Accordingly, the overview presented here can hardly be fault-proof, but it can be fault-tolerant. Since the aim is to get a preliminary rough image of the Lukan parables, single cases are not too significant. Disagreement with one or even several details does not yet disqualify the general view. After all, the Lukan parables are so various and manifold that exceptions from almost any convention can be found.

What is a Para...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Table Of Contents
• Preface
• Bibliography
• Index of Names
• Index of Subjects
• Index of Ancient Sources