30 marker on Contributions/Limitations of Narrative Criticism

Tracker October 2025

Break down the LCATD acronym for NC contributions?

L- Literary

C- Character

A- Audience

T- Thematic/Theological

D- Doctrine

Contribution 1:

• “Literary …?”

• 5 E:Gs

• Readers focus on text, not distracted by “… issues”

• Holistic unlike … criticism.

• Not reliant on “…” source?

• “artistry”

• plot, structure, character development, themes, motifs.

• “historical”

• Form Criticism

• “Q”

Contribution 2:

• Nuanced 

• Insight into roles and portrayal of characters. 3 EGS:

• Evokes a … from reader.

• … and … characters —— ALSO WALK-ON AND FLAT CHARACTERS

• Give E.G: of a disciple’s dynamic character, their faith journey and failures.

• Peter, Pilate, Zacchaeus.

• Response

• Static, Dynamic

• Peter’s denial and eventual restoration.

Contribution 3:

• Goal ?

• Understand evangelists’ … more

• … Audience = initially perceived the text.

• Helps … readers

• Evokes…

• Implied reader

• Intentions

• Implied

• Modern

• response

Contribution 4:

• EG motif in Mark’s Gospel with OT connections from Isaiah

• What gospel is there a concern for outcasts?

• … analysis by understanding evangelists’ own way of presenting Jesus’ identity and mission in ways that address their own community’s needs. E.G: Luke’s Gentile audience.

• “Suffering servant”

• Luke

• Thematic analysis

Contribution 5: Complements

• Christians… the text

• Guided by …

• ‘Divine Reading’ in Latin

• interpret

• the Holy Spirit

• “Lectio Divina”

List all 5 limitations of Narrative Criticism.

1.) Devalues sacred texts

2.) Unsuitable approach for ancient texts.

3.) Theological/ Subjective bias

4.) Source criticism as an alternative.

5.) Historical Context at the time of writing and the author’s intentions would be different from today.

Limitation 1: Devalues sacred texts. 

• The Gospels are more than … and therefore, should not be analysed in this way.

• Christianity is a … faith.

• The Bible holds … and … truths

• NC methods are derived from the work of …

• Stories

• Living

• Historical and religious

• fiction

Limitation 2: Unsuitable approach for Ancient texts

Scholar: Stanton (2002)

Modern writing methods were not known to ancient writers, it seems … to compare them to such. 

• Inappropriate

Limitation 3: Theological/ Subjective bias

• Interpreter’s religious views can influence the analysis.

• Leads to readings reinforcing particular doctrinal or ideological positions rather than objectively assessing the text’s literary and rhetorical features.

• Nethercott (2018) says that it leaves the text too s… and open to over …

• Subjective

• Overinterpretation

Limitation 4: Source Criticism as an alternative

• NC focuses too much on the … form of the work.

• This can lead to an … understanding of the development and transmission of the gospel traditions.

• … and … criticisms are offered as alternatives and provide complementary insights that narrative criticism might miss.

• Final

• Incomplete

• Source and Redaction

Limitation 5: Historical Context at the time of writing and the author’s intentions would be different from today.

• NC focuses on the text too much as a … piece of literature.

• This might lead to … interpretations which are disconnected from “socio-historical” realities of the 1st century Mediterranean world.

• E.g: Playing down necessity in understanding political and religious climate of 1st century Israel = vital knowledge.

• standalone

• radical

Intro/Concl points to make about Narrative Criticism with scholarly analysis…

• Banks (2009)

• Nethercott (2018)

• Stanton (2002) - describes NC like studying a “film or novel”.

• NC is often described as a child of redaction/composition criticism, takes further the investigation of the text itself.

• NC all began with Hans Frei in 1974- breakthrough, he believed that narrative criticism offered a shift away from the traditional historical-critical approach.

• Note: NC method analyses the Gospels as though they are in a set genre. HOWEVER, The Gospels have a unique genre of their own. They are not biographies, histories or fiction of any form.