Bernhard Oestreich - Performance Criticism of the Pauline Letters (Biblical Performance Criticism)

Bernhard Oestreich

foreword by

Glenn S. Holland

translated by

Lindsay Elias

and

Brent Blum

The present study has arisen from a question that has occupied me for a long time: How did the word that we read in the Bible today achieve its effect with the original recipients? It is not a new discovery that something more took place than an intellectual reception of the information contained in the texts when the texts were received by the addressees. Form criticism has already assumed that the sayings and anecdotes that we read in the New Testament Gospels had their Sitz im Leben in oral communication that was at home in particular sociological situations. That means that the passing on of the traditional stories about Jesusoften dramatic episodes of his life or trenchant remarks that he made in sometimes volatile situationswere common experiences that moved the listeners on an emotional plane and evoked the reactions which the speakers desired. How do we have to imagine this event? The New Testament letters were also designed for oral communication. These letters were sent to Christian believers and read out aloud to the assembled congregation ( Thess :). That must have been a very special experience for the listeners and must have left a lasting impression on them ( Cor :). Is it possible to know more exactly how the impact of the letter was achieved?

A substantial impetus to pursue this question came from my interest in homiletics. I still consider the art of preaching to be fascinating. I enjoy working with students, pastors, and lay preachers in homiletics classes. I enjoy experimenting with my own preaching. Listening to a sermon is a communal experience. That is still valid for modern European culture, even if the listeners reaction to the sermon is much more reserved in comparison with ancient times. If the sermon is successful, the traditional word becomes an event for the listener. This automatically has led me to the question of how the original listeners of the biblical message experienced the reading event.

A strong impulse to research this question more deeply came from publications that seriously consider the fact that the New Testament came into being in a culture largely dominated by oral communication. I would like to specially mention the collection of essays edited by Gerhard Sellin and Franois Vouga, Logos und Buchstabe: Mndlichkeit und Schriftlichkeit im Judentum und Christentum der Antike [ Logos and Letter: Orality and Scribality in Antique Judaism and Christianity ] (Tbingen: Francke, 1997 ), and the articles edited by Joanna Dewey in Semeia ( 1995 ) with the title Orality and Textuality in Early Christian Literature. I am thankful to these authors and many others, having followed them inquisitively, as if on a trail left by their footprints, into a world where the texts that are recorded in the Bible are not just written texts but rather mutually experienced events. The objective of this study is to explore this world a little further.

Many have contributed with suggestions and constructive criticism to the development of this book. As can be seen on every page, I have profited from the thoughts and hypotheses of many authors and built my study on their groundwork. Enriching discussions with colleagues and students of the theological department of Friedensau University broadened my horizons. My gratitude extends to Prof. Glenn S. Holland and the participants of the section Performance Criticism of Biblical and Other Ancient Texts of the Society of Biblical Literature. For years I have been benefiting from its various suggestions and constructive criticism. I would also like to thank the faculty and students of the New Testament department of the Martin-Luther-University of Halle-Wittenberg under the leadership of Prof. Udo Schnelle. They have repeatedly offered me the opportunity of discussing my research. My thanks also go to Friedensau University. They offered me the possibility of a sabbatical term in order to concentrate on working on this project. I would like to thank Prof. Jrg Frey for accepting this book into the first series of Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament. I would like to thank the Mohr/Siebeck publishing house for the very good cooperation in preparing the book for printing. My gratitude extends to my son Raimar Oestreich and all those who helped proofread and format the manuscript. I owe special thanks to my wife, Hannelore, my faithful companion of many years, who, as so often, supported me in this project and repeatedly released me from other duties.