2001 - Mark Goodacre - The Synoptic Jesus And The Celluloid Christ. Solving The Synoptic Problem Through Film

Transcript

The idea that there might be room for some dialogue between the study of Jesus films and the Synoptic Problem might not, at first sight, appear promising. The study of the Synoptic Problem is, after all, wedded to a traditional, historical-critical approach to the New Testament that has no concern with the way in which the biblical text might be appropriated and interpreted in twentieth-century cinema. Yet a few moments’ critical reflection might make us more optimistic about the possibilities, for one of the reasons for the widespread antipathy towards the Synoptic Problem is the notion that the experts go over old material again and again, digging up foundations and relaying them, restating arguments and re-working tired replies to them.’ Injection of some fresh perspectives and new approaches is long overdue. But what kind of new perspective could reflection on Jesus films give us?