Gospel Narratives, Miracles, and the ‘Critical’ Reader: The Eclipse of the Supernatural

Authors

  • Jonathan C. P. Birch University of Glasgow

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11157/rsrr5-1-668

Abstract

The European Enlightenment and the nineteenth century were formative periods for modern biblical criticism, and are rightly associated with the rise of sceptical perspectives on the supernatural dimension of the Bible. This article argues for the persistence of pre-critical, theologically conditioned assumptions in the hermeneutical procedures of two influential writers on the subject of miracles in the Gospels: Thomas Woolston and David Friedrich Strauss. Their work helped to revive a theological tradition of non-realistic interpretation of biblical narrative which runs from Origen of Alexandria to Rudolf Bultmann and beyond.

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Published

2015-06-01

How to Cite

Birch, J. C. P. (2015). Gospel Narratives, Miracles, and the ‘Critical’ Reader: The Eclipse of the Supernatural. Relegere: Studies in Religion and Reception, 5(1), 61–93. https://doi.org/10.11157/rsrr5-1-668

Issue

Vol. 5 No. 1 (2015): Special Issue: “Pre-critical” Readers and Readings of the Bible

Section

Articles

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