Funk on Parables: Collected Essays

by Robert W. Funk

Robert Funk was the major seminal influence on parable scholarship in the second part of the twentieth century. His work on parable as metaphor led to the understanding of Jesus' parables as world-shattering. But it went beyond the question of Funk redefined the form of the parable, made a substantial contribution to the argument that Jesus' parables originated in Greek, worked out a scale for evaluating parables as compositions, and proposed a model for how parables gave birth to resurrection faith. The essays in this volume, brought together for the first time, afford the reader a synoptic view of Funk's contribution a contribution with which scholarship is only now beginning to deal.

240 pages, Paperback

First published December 15, 2006

About the author

Robert Walter Funk (July 18, 1926 – September 3, 2005), was an American biblical scholar, founder of the controversial Jesus Seminar and the non-profit Westar Institute in Santa Rosa, California. Funk, an academic, sought to promote research and education on what he called biblical literacy. His approach to hermeneutics was historical-critical, with a strongly sceptical view of orthodox Christian belief, particularly concerning historical Jesus. He and his peers described Jesus' parables as containing shocking messages that contradicted established religious attitudes.

Reviews

[Steve O · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to study with Dr. Funk at University of Montana, in the early 80's. He offered a class entitled The Parables of Jesus and Kafka, in which we discussed parabolic language - what it is and what it can produce. Using examples from Borges, Kafka, and the Bible, he painstakingly elucidated his approach to the understanding of parables, which can be found in this book. While Funk on Parables is not a religious book, particularly. Secular readers can enjoy and appreciate it, as well.

I did.