Tuesday 5th November, 12.30-2.30. Session led by Tom Lusty.
ParablesAsSubversiveSpeech2Lunchtime Conversations is a book club for theological books. On the first Tuesday of each month a group of between 10 and 20 people from different theological backgrounds meet in LCI’s library to discuss a particular title over a bite to eat. Topics so far have ranged from how language is always contextual, to whether the church can be fully church without embracing those who are disabled by society. Each session is led by a member of the group. Anybody is welcome – you don’t have to have read the book being discussed, in fact after the session we hope that you might want to borrow it from the library!
William Herzog shows that the focus of the parables was not on a vision of the glory of the reign of God but on the gory details of the way oppression served the interests of the ruling class. The parables were a form of social analysis, as well as a form of theological reflection. Herzog scrutinizes their canonical form to show the distinction between its purpose for Jesus and for evangelists. To do this, he uses the tools of historical criticism, including form criticism and redaction criticism.