* 1950 in Copenhagen - Magister artium (mag.art) in Religious Studies, Aarhus University 1980 - Doctor Theologiae (dr.theol), Aarhus University 1993 - Professor at Aarhus University until retirement in 2015. Now independent scholar.
The Adam-Christ typology in the Letter to the Romans denotes Paul's basic story. It gives... more The Adam-Christ typology in the Letter to the Romans denotes Paul's basic story. It gives us the simple backbone of two narratives, one Adam-story and one Christ-story. Taken together, they form the foundational double story of the Pauline world of thought. A narrative exegetical approach is, therefore, a natural choice when we wish to understand the basics of Paul's story based theology, his narrative understanding of God, Human, and World.
Er evangeliefortællingen, f.eks. Markusevangeliet, realitet eller fiktion? Er den en tilforladeli... more Er evangeliefortællingen, f.eks. Markusevangeliet, realitet eller fiktion? Er den en tilforladelig historisk beretning om virkelige begivenheder, eller er den et produkt af en mytoman fantasi? Spørgsmålet stiller sig med en særlig intensitet, fordi Markusevangeliet, ligesom de andre evangeliefortællinger, hævder at være virkelighed, men samtidig semio-litterært må betragtes som en fantastisk fiktionsfortælling. Denne problemstilling er imidlertid ikke fremmed for evangeliefortællingen selv, men spørgsmålet om sandhed og løgn gennemtrænger denne fra begyndelse til slutning. Markusevangeliet præsenterer således sin læser for fire forskellige fortolkninger af Jesu død, der snart ses som henrettelse eller mord, snart som offer eller selvmord. Ironisk nok, vil den transparente sandhed først blive afsløret på dommens dag. Den objektive sandhed, evidensen, er eskatologisk udskudt; læseren må sætte sig selv på spil i en afgørelse. Gennem sin stillingtagen, dvs. sin egen dom, vil læseren åbe...
The radical love command in the Sermon on the Plain, Luke 6:27-36, appears as a social paradox bu... more The radical love command in the Sermon on the Plain, Luke 6:27-36, appears as a social paradox but is in no way semantically unreasonable. It has its rationality coming into sight when we uncover the semantic macro-cosmos of which it forms a part. Three different but structurally related realms can be identified therein: In the midpoint, the Kingdom of Justice (love of friends, hatred of enemies), flanked by the anarchistic Kingdom of Evil (hatred of friends) and the likewise anarchistic Kingdom of Mercy (love of enemies). Jesus' love command, representing the Kingdom of Mercy, receives its conciseness, its rationality, and intelligibility from being a structural permutation of constitutive elements in this semantic macro-cosmos showing us the essential features of the narrative character of our moral thinking based on the logical of exchange (giving and taking, and serving and harming). 1
The Adam-Christ typology in the Letter to the Romans denotes Paul's basic story. It gives... more The Adam-Christ typology in the Letter to the Romans denotes Paul's basic story. It gives us the simple backbone of two narratives, one Adam-story and one Christ-story. Taken together, they form the foundational double story of the Pauline world of thought. A narrative exegetical approach is, therefore, a natural choice when we wish to understand the basics of Paul's story based theology, his narrative understanding of God, Human, and World.
Er evangeliefortællingen, f.eks. Markusevangeliet, realitet eller fiktion? Er den en tilforladeli... more Er evangeliefortællingen, f.eks. Markusevangeliet, realitet eller fiktion? Er den en tilforladelig historisk beretning om virkelige begivenheder, eller er den et produkt af en mytoman fantasi? Spørgsmålet stiller sig med en særlig intensitet, fordi Markusevangeliet, ligesom de andre evangeliefortællinger, hævder at være virkelighed, men samtidig semio-litterært må betragtes som en fantastisk fiktionsfortælling. Denne problemstilling er imidlertid ikke fremmed for evangeliefortællingen selv, men spørgsmålet om sandhed og løgn gennemtrænger denne fra begyndelse til slutning. Markusevangeliet præsenterer således sin læser for fire forskellige fortolkninger af Jesu død, der snart ses som henrettelse eller mord, snart som offer eller selvmord. Ironisk nok, vil den transparente sandhed først blive afsløret på dommens dag. Den objektive sandhed, evidensen, er eskatologisk udskudt; læseren må sætte sig selv på spil i en afgørelse. Gennem sin stillingtagen, dvs. sin egen dom, vil læseren åbe...
The radical love command in the Sermon on the Plain, Luke 6:27-36, appears as a social paradox bu... more The radical love command in the Sermon on the Plain, Luke 6:27-36, appears as a social paradox but is in no way semantically unreasonable. It has its rationality coming into sight when we uncover the semantic macro-cosmos of which it forms a part. Three different but structurally related realms can be identified therein: In the midpoint, the Kingdom of Justice (love of friends, hatred of enemies), flanked by the anarchistic Kingdom of Evil (hatred of friends) and the likewise anarchistic Kingdom of Mercy (love of enemies). Jesus' love command, representing the Kingdom of Mercy, receives its conciseness, its rationality, and intelligibility from being a structural permutation of constitutive elements in this semantic macro-cosmos showing us the essential features of the narrative character of our moral thinking based on the logical of exchange (giving and taking, and serving and harming). 1
Phil 2:6-11: Mythical Story and Ritual Discourse, 2023
The Christ hymn in Phil 2:6-11 has mythical and ritual qualities. As a hymn, it points to some ri... more The Christ hymn in Phil 2:6-11 has mythical and ritual qualities. As a hymn, it points to some ritual or liturgical use; as a narrative resume, it relates to a broader Christ myth. This Christ myth, we argue, is the early Hellenistic narrative interpretation of Jesus that we detect behind Paul’s and Mark’s theology. From a narrative approach, we reconstruct the basics of this narrative tradition and use it as the frame of reference for understanding the Christ hymn. It follows from this anthropological view that the Christ hymn should be understood without reference to preexistence and incarnation. Instead, it refers to Jesus from Nazareth and episodes during his ministry. The book falls into five parts. Part I (5-19), Descriptions and Definitions, presents the study’s methodological basis and the idea that Jesus’ reversal of position is due to the renouncement of status and power during his agency. Next, two concepts of great significance for understanding the Christ myth’s processual Christology are introduced: Modality and Competence. Part II (22-54), Myth, presents our first analysis of the hymn’s mythical part (vv6-9). The theomorphic forms point to Jesus as God’s representative toward humankind; the anthropomorphic forms point to Jesus as humankind’s representative toward God. The reversal concerns Jesus passing from appearing in (predominantly) divine form to appearing in (mostly) human form. Part III (56-66), Ritual, analyses the hymn’s ritual part (vv10-12), focusing on how its story thematizes its liturgical performance. Part IV (68-83), Adam Christology – The Adam Myth, discusses James D.G. Dunn’s concept of Adam Christology and his hymn analysis critically. We argue more extensively that although the Adam myth (Gen 2:4b-3:24) and the Christ myth are inseparable, we shall see the Christ myth as background for the Christ hymn, not the Adam myth. Finally, Part V (86-112), The Christ Myth, presents in an expanded form our understanding of the Christ myth’ covenantal plot structure and its relevance for the interpretation of the Christ hymn. The significance of precise knowledge of the structural interplay between temptation and trial for New Testament text analysis is underlined before we define the plot of the Christian myth as a divinization process through which Jesus from Nazareth stepwise realizes his full divine status as universal Christ and Lord.
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