Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Abbreviations
- Foreword
- The Zealots and Jesus
- The revolution theory from Reimarus to Brandon
- The date and character of Mark
- Some observations on Tendenzkritik
- Argumentum e silentio
- The Poor and the Zealots
- The opposition between Jesus and Judaism
- Judaeo-Christianity and the Jewish establishment, A.D. 33–66
- A.D. 70 in Christian reflection
- The trial of Jesus in the Acta Pilati
- Christ as brigand in ancient anti-Christian polemic
- Jesus as a political agent in a version of the Josippon
- The Feeding of the Multitude
- The coin of ‘Render unto Caesar …’ (A note on some aspects of Mark 12: 13–17; Matt. 22: 15–22; Luke 20:20–26)
- Render to Caesar
- The Temple tax
- ‘Not peace but a sword’: Matt. 10:34ff; Luke 12: 51ff
- The decision of the Supreme Court to put Jesus to death (John 11:47–57) in its context: tradition and redaction in the Gospel of John
- The ‘triumphal’ entry
- The two swords (Luke 22: 35–38)
- The titulus
- Romans 13
- Biblical criticism criticised: with reference to the Markan report of Jesus's examination before the Sanhedrin
- The political charge against Jesus (Luke 23: 2)
- The trial before Pilate
- ‘His witness is true’: A test of the Johannine claim
- Index of Authors
- Index of References
Some observations on Tendenzkritik
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 January 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Abbreviations
- Foreword
- The Zealots and Jesus
- The revolution theory from Reimarus to Brandon
- The date and character of Mark
- Some observations on Tendenzkritik
- Argumentum e silentio
- The Poor and the Zealots
- The opposition between Jesus and Judaism
- Judaeo-Christianity and the Jewish establishment, A.D. 33–66
- A.D. 70 in Christian reflection
- The trial of Jesus in the Acta Pilati
- Christ as brigand in ancient anti-Christian polemic
- Jesus as a political agent in a version of the Josippon
- The Feeding of the Multitude
- The coin of ‘Render unto Caesar …’ (A note on some aspects of Mark 12: 13–17; Matt. 22: 15–22; Luke 20:20–26)
- Render to Caesar
- The Temple tax
- ‘Not peace but a sword’: Matt. 10:34ff; Luke 12: 51ff
- The decision of the Supreme Court to put Jesus to death (John 11:47–57) in its context: tradition and redaction in the Gospel of John
- The ‘triumphal’ entry
- The two swords (Luke 22: 35–38)
- The titulus
- Romans 13
- Biblical criticism criticised: with reference to the Markan report of Jesus's examination before the Sanhedrin
- The political charge against Jesus (Luke 23: 2)
- The trial before Pilate
- ‘His witness is true’: A test of the Johannine claim
- Index of Authors
- Index of References
Summary
Tendenzkritik is a technique in historical research specially associated with F. C. Baur and A. Schwegler and others of the Tübingen school, since it was they who applied it to the reconstruction of the early history of the church. In principle, it is a matter of plain common sense, and was already in use among secular historians before the Tübingenians adopted it. If it can be established that a document was written with a clear propagandist purpose, then it becomes probable (other things being equal) that its writer bent the facts, or made a tendentious selection from among them, to fit his purpose; and it is therefore necessary to make allowance for such distortion, in any attempt to get back to the truth about what actually happened. Accordingly, a question of prime importance for the historian in interpreting a document and estimating its worth is, What was this document for? What did its author hope to achieve by it? A classic example of Tendenzkritik is the estimate of Acts reached by New Testament scholars over against Galatians. It is a familiar fact that, whereas the Epistle to the Galatians shows Paul at one point taking issue with Peter, and reflects a difference (if not a conflict) between the leaders of the Gentile and Jewish missions respectively, the Acts presents a picture of basic harmony between Paul and the leading figures in the Jerusalem church. Equally, it is well known that, in certain details, Galatians and Acts are difficult, if not impossible, to reconcile.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Jesus and the Politics of his Day , pp. 91 - 100Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1984