The Gospels as Literature

Description

The gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John are key narratives of the Christian Bible which have had an enormous impact on literature, music, and the visual arts, not only in Europe and the Americas, but also in Africa and Asia. One cannot enter into a major museum without coming across works of art that refer to episodes from the gospels. How can one appreciate the genius of famous artists throughout history—for example, a composer like Bach—without having some idea of the stories that shaped their art? Yet, as public education in religious traditions has declined, generations of students are getting increasingly less exposure to this literature that has shaped the Western mind and imagination. Does this decrease in knowledge affect the way younger generations understand art? This 12-week discussion-based literature and theology course will introduce participants to this unique body of literature. We will focus primarily on the four “canonical” gospels (Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John) and one other—the Gospel of Mary-–written later than these and considered apocryphal.

Some of the questions we will explore include the following: How did these texts come to be created? to whom were they addressed? How does each gospel portray Jesus and understand his message? To what extent are the gospels reliable accounts of historical events and figures? Is such a consideration even relevant? Why has this literature had such an impact on the hearts and minds of so many over the centuries, in many cases transcending different cultural and ideological barriers?

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