Transfigured : A Derridean Re-Reading of the Markan Transfiguration

Dr. Andrew P. Wilson

ISBN 10: 0567026019 / ISBN 13: 9780567026019

Published by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Jul 2007, 2007

About this Item

Neuware - At first glance the Markan transfiguration scene (Mk. 9:2-8) is all about light, sound and spectacle. Commentators see revealed in this scene a sparkling vision of God's glory-the light that banishes the shadow of incomprehension and by which the hidden truth of the Gospel finally becomes clear. But have commentators been blinded by their dazzling evaluations of Mark's theology For, despite all the splendor and sparkle, the Markan transfiguration remains a difficult scene to interpret. Transfigured asks what would be seen if one were to squint past the sun-like glory that dominates this vision. Wilson focuses on the problematic elements, the gaps and inconsistencies of the scene, and re-evaluates them in order to re-read the transfiguration from an altered perspective. The theoretical work of Jacques Derrida, particularly his notion of 'otherness,' which draws together and realigns the reader (subject), the reading (method), and what is read (text), will be central to the orientation of this re-reading. Ultimately, the transfiguration story can be seen ably to accommodate readings that challenge traditionally prescribed metaphysical structures and presuppositions. In the end, the application of Derridean theory issues its own challenges to traditional scholarship in such a way that the approach to the Markan transfiguration and the theology one inevitably brings to it, require a certain amount of reformulation.

Seller Inventory # 9780567026019

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Transfigured : A Derridean Re-Reading of the Markan Transfiguration
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Jul 2007
• Publication Date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0567026019
• ISBN 13: 9780567026019
• Binding: Buch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 237W x 155H x 21D millimeters 237 millimeters width by 155 millimeters height by 21 millimeters depth
• Weight: 432 grams

About this title

Synopsis

At first glance the Markan transfiguration scene (Mk. 9:2-8) is all about light, sound and spectacle. Commentators see revealed in this scene a sparkling vision of God's glory-the light that banishes the shadow of incomprehension and by which the hidden truth of the Gospel finally becomes clear. But have commentators been blinded by their dazzling evaluations of Mark's theology? For, despite all the splendor and sparkle, the Markan transfiguration remains a difficult scene to interpret. Transfigured asks what would be seen if one were to squint past the sun-like glory that dominates this vision. Wilson focuses on the problematic elements, the gaps and inconsistencies of the scene, and re-evaluates them in order to re-read the transfiguration from an altered perspective.
The theoretical work of Jacques Derrida, particularly his notion of "otherness," which draws together and realigns the reader (subject), the reading (method), and what is read (text), will be central to the orientation of this re-reading. Ultimately, the transfiguration story can be seen ably to accommodate readings that challenge traditionally prescribed metaphysical structures and presuppositions. In the end, the application of Derridean theory issues its own challenges to traditional scholarship in such a way that the approach to the Markan transfiguration and the theology one inevitably brings to it, require a certain amount of reformulation.

About the Authors

Andrew Wilson is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Mt. Allison University in Sackville, Canada.

Chris Keith is Research Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society, Norway. He is the author of The Pericope Adulterae, the Gospel of John and the Literacy of Jesus, a winner of the 2010 John Templeton Award for Theological Promise, and Jesus' Literacy: Scribal Culture and the Teacher from Galilee. He is also the co-editor of Jesus among Friends and Enemies: A Historical and Literary Introduction to Jesus in the Gospels, and was recently named a 2012 Society of Biblical Literature Regional Scholar.