A summary of my Th.M. thesis

My Th.M. thesis (Regent College, Vancouver, 2000) examined the topic of self-denial in the Synoptic Gospels. The theme is explicitly presented in Mark 8:34, 35 and parallels, where the words 'let him deny himself' appear in the context of Jesus' call to radical discipleship. These words present an exegetical and hermeneutical challenge, because they have been interpreted in diverse ways. My study approaches the meaning of these words by acknowledging that the chronological and cultural distance between the first-century Eastern Mediterranean societies and those of the postmodern West makes invalid any simple transference of our concepts of self and self-denial.

I utilise some of the fruits of recent social-scientific approaches to the New Testament to highlight the significance of the collectivistic nature of the first-century societies, the ways in which the values of honour and shame determined customs and behaviour, and the ways in which personality was exhibited and reported. This social background leads to an exegetical study of Jesus' teachings that relate both directly and indirectly to self-denial.

Much of the self-denial teaching is located in literary contexts where concern for honour and shame is prominent, and this perspective illuminates the meaning of self-denial. The exegesis reveals a strong relationship between self-denial and honour/shame. The self-denial of which Jesus spoke can be described as an individual's rejection of the sources of honour which are traditional, normal and foundational in human society, out of consideration for a higher source of honour, i.e., the honour granted and promised by God. It is founded on the honourable status of Jesus as the one to whom primary loyalty is due. It is fostered by the knowledge that one is now honoured by God and that this honour will be manifested publicly in the future. It is motivated positively by the prospect of divine honour (eschatological rewards) and negatively by the prospect of divine disapproval (eschatological shame). It is affirmed and empowered by Jesus' new perspective in which aspects of discipleship that are not honoured by the dominant society are honoured by God, and in which the new eschatological family of God becomes a reality.

The exegesis provides a basis for a critique of other interpretations of self-denial. It is found that the New Testament does not justify an interpretation of self-denial as negation of the self, i.e., as a rejection of one's identity, or of the value of one's person. Approaching Christian self-denial from the perspective of honour/shame facilitates authentic self-understanding in cultures which are both collectivistic and individualistic.

A summary of my Ph.D. thesis

My Ph.D. dissertation investigates Mark’s Gospel as a witness to early Christian theological anthropology. Since, arguably, a strong element of Mark’s purpose is the transformation of the reader, his text can appropriately be treated as an example of ‘transformative discourse’. The study demonstrates that Mark’s rhetoric includes elements of proclamation, demonstration, instruction, metaphor, indirection and performance, and that these interweave to produce a composite transformative discourse that potentially impacts its audience in a variety of ways.

A detailed exegesis of the Gerasene demoniac story (Mark 5:1-20) in its literary setting highlights its significant contribution to this transformative discourse. What happens to the demoniac typifies the dynamics of the Gospel’s theological anthropology, and can be regarded as somewhat paradigmatic of human transformation in the context of Christian discipleship.

Because of its focus on the specific ways in which the language and narrative rhetoric of Mark’s Gospel express ideas about human nature, the project makes possible an overview of Mark’s theological anthropology. This reveals a vision of humanity that is both firmly founded on the anthropology of the scriptures and also strongly predicated on Jesus’ eschatological perspective. The Gospel presents humankind as created but fundamentally distorted. However, the possibility of radical personal transformation that is allied to discipleship of Jesus, and that has communal ramifications, energises the rhetorical thrust of the Gospel. Its ‘model reader’ (the person who responds whole-heartedly as the author intends) is the eschatological anthropos who inhabits the in-breaking kingdom of God.

The study fills a gap in Markan studies by highlighting the contours of the transformative potential of the Gospel, specifying elements of the rhetorical means by which transformation of the reader is promoted, and showing how the rhetoric is linked with a dynamic eschatological anthropology.

Going public

I'm taking the plunge into public cyberspace with the hope that my friends and other interested people might find some of my doings and thinkings worth reading about. In addition, this launch will put needed pressure on me to be reflective and creative. It's now three weeks until my Ph.D. dissertation is examined orally in Durham. The prospect is daunting, but it has stimulated some further reading and post-submission reflection on the research I've done over the last nine years since I embarked on this doctoral project in 2000. The fruit is yet to be published, but I'm working on it.