From being a player to an artist in the humanities?

Like so many creative activities, learning to become an artist lies in thousands of small decisions and executions, which Marty demonstrates here. 

I think there are many parallels with writing in the humanities including theology, historical research, narratology, etc. Some good food for thought!

https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxPaTPiHVGfs9J-suAAyyK93h8gnqNLRKT

"Dissimilar religious metanarratives, similar techniques: Herodotus and Luke's use of the divine 'plupast' in their histories."

My paper at the annual conference of British New Testament Society (St Mary's University - 2018)

English here (en français en bas)

The annual conference of the British New Testament Society was held this year at St Mary's University (London Twickenham) from September 6 to 8. In this welcoming and stimulating setting, I gave a lecture on my book project which compares the history-writing of Herodotus (the first Greek historian) and that of St. Luke. The title in English was: "Dissimilar religious metanarratives, similar techniques: Herodotus and Luke's use of the divine 'plupast' in their histories."


From the fourth chapter of my project, the lecture showed the manner in which the Greek historian refers to the divine several times and in different ways in the first part of his work (Book 1, chapters 1-25). Essentially, the purpose of this section is to show some events before the reign of Croesus, defined by Herodotus as the cause of Greco-Persian conflicts. We find, for example:

• the genealogy attached to a deity or a hero, in this case the genealogy of the Lydian kings that goes back to the hero Heracles, 
• oracles that confirm or announce an event 
• the vital link between the sacred and the customs 
• the importance given to structures dedicated to the gods 
• the divine retribution for the offense of one of the elements above 

Since these elements are recurrent in the work, the rhetorical effect of the presence of the divine in this section, at the very beginning of his work, directs readers or listeners to follow the rest of the story. A comparison with the first section of Luke-Acts (Luke, chapters 1-3 up to the genealogy of Jesus) suggests some interesting leads to explore. To view the PowerPoint (in English) of the conference, click here.

En français:

La conférence annuelle de la British New Testament Society s’est tenue cette année à la St Mary’s University (Londres Twickenham) du 6 au 8 septembre. Dans ce cadre accueillant et stimulant, j'ai donné une conférence sur son projet de livre qui compare la manière d’écrire l’histoire d’Hérodote (le premier historien grec) et celle de saint Luc. Le titre en anglais était : « Dissimilar religious metanarratives, similar techniques : Herodotus and Luke’s use of the divine ‘plupast’ in their histories ». en français « Métarécits religieux dissemblables, techniques similaires : l’emploi du ‘plupast’ divin dans les histoires d’Hérodote et de Luc »).

Tiré du quatrième chapitre de mon projet, la conférence a montré la manière dont l’historien grec évoque le divin à plusieurs reprises et de différentes manières dans la première partie de son ouvrage (Livre 1, chapitres 1–25). Essentiellement, le but de cette section est de montrer quelques événements avant la prise de pouvoir de Crésus, défini par Hérodote comme la cause des conflits gréco-perses. On y trouve, par exemple : 

• la généalogie rattachée à une divinité ou un héros, en l’occurrence la généalogie des rois lydiens qui remonte au héros Héraclès, 
• des oracles qui confirment ou annoncent un événement 
• le lien vital entre le sacré et les coutumes 
• l’importance accordée aux structures consacrées aux dieux 
• la rétribution divine pour l’offense d’un des éléments ci-dessus 

Puisque ces éléments sont récurrents dans l’ouvrage, l’effet rhétorique de la présence du divin dans cette section, tout au début de son ouvrage, oriente les lecteurs ou les auditeurs à suivre le reste du récit. Une comparaison avec la première section de Luc-Actes (Luc, chapitres 1–3 jusqu’à la généalogie de Jésus) suggère des pistes intéressantes à explorer. Pour voir le PowerPoint (en anglais) de la conférence, cliquez ici.

"The way of peace" according to Zechariah (in French)

I really enjoy writing for Vivre, a magazine of the FREE (Fédération romande des églises évangéliques). After some months following publication, they post our articles on their Web site. Here's my article on the expression "the way of peace" in Zechariah's prayer in relation to the wider "way motif," which develops progressively in the Gospel of Luke and continues in the Acts of the Apostles.

Click here to read the article in French.

My new book on the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles

I'm pleased to announce that my book on the thoroughfare motif in "Luke-Acts" has been published. Many thanks to God, my family, and many friends for their help and encouragement in this project. I certainly have a sense of relief and satisfaction.

For those interested, here is the abstract: 
"Luke-Acts is an impressive two-volume narrative seeking to convince and engage readers regarding the spiritual impact of Jesus of Nazareth on the Jewish people and other nations. To this end, Luke employs an impressive arsenal of literary and narrative techniques. This book focuses on a motif and its performance, the thoroughfare motif, which includes those figurative and concrete expressions involving ways, roads, city streets, and country paths. This study traces this motif's performance within the unfolding plot asking what difference the motif makes—progressively and cumulatively—to the reader's encounter with the story's emphasis on salvation. For example, why does Luke take pleasure in describing transformational events on or in relation to thoroughfares? What are the connections between expressions like "the way of peace," "the way of salvation," and "the way of God/Lord"? Why does Luke use such an unusual expression like "the Way" to describe Jesus' followers? How do such expressions contribute to the spiritual landscape of Luke-Acts, the intermingling of concrete and figurative uses of physical imagery? Like an instrument in an orchestra, the thoroughfare motif works together with other motifs and themes to create a captivating exploration of spiritual transformation, received and opposed."

Click here for the publisher's link to the book.

Let me know if you have questions or comments on this book.

So, what is plot anyway? Here's my go at it...

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While I was working on my dissertation, I spent a good deal of mental energy trying to understand various definitions of plot and then formulating a definition that I could use to analyze the thoroughfare motif in the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles.
In fact, we often hear about the great plot of a movie or book. But what does "plot" mean anyway, and how can that notion help in analyzing a literary or cinematic work? And perhaps even more challenging, what does it mean for the study of ancient texts like biblical narratives? By the way, did you know that Aristotle wrote about plot in his Poetics? It's amazing to think that we are still working with some of the ideas that he introduced there!

Here's the abstract of an article I wrote entitled "Emplotment, Plot and Explotment:
Refining Plot Analysis of Biblical Narratives 
from the Reader’s Perspective" (Biblical Interpretation, volume 21, Issue 1, pages 64 – 98):

The notion of plot has a long history of various nuances and uses in literary and biblical studies. Consequently, the practice of plot analysis is quite variable. Although most definitions of plot privilege other elements than the reader, this tendency has recently begun to change. This article argues that plot is more comprehensible and constructive when it is located within the reader’s encounter of the storyworld on the cognitive and affective levels. Thus, the activities of composition and reception, emplotment and plot are best considered distinct activities. An evaluation of definitions illustrates this necessary distinction and leads to a fresh formulation of plot, especially in relation to narratives purporting to be factual. As a complementary step, ‘explotment’ is proposed as a link between the interpretation of the past and the evaluation of the reader, thus explaining the immersive and emersive exploration of the story’s central question(s). Equipped with this heuristic, the interpreter can investigate various questions in the study of biblical narratives on the macro and micro levels; for example, the narrative’s progressive ideological and pragmatic force and development as well as single plot-enhancing elements such as various types of pericopes, literary devices and narrative techniques. With this emphasis on reception theory, this type of plot analysis can be especially beneficial to narrative-critical and reader-response studies. The value of plot theory for biblical exegesis is further demonstrated through illustrations and discussion applied to Luke-Acts.

You might notice that I use complementary terms like "emplotment" (used by P. Ricoeur and H. White) and "explotment" (a new term for literary theory as far as I can tell).

Here's the link to My article on plot theory and analysis if you have access through your school. You might want to read it or copy it at a local school of theology or seminary, because to buy it online is quite expensive (in my opinion).

Let me know what you think about plot and these other terms!