Bringing the Word to Life: Engaging the New Testament through Performing It

by Richard Ward

The New Testament books were written to be read aloud. The original audiences of these texts would have been unfamiliar with our current practice of reading silently and processing with our eyes rather than our ears, so we can learn much about the New Testament through performing it ourselves.

Richard Ward and David Trobisch are here to help. Bringing the Word to Life walks the reader through what we know about the culture of performance in the first and second centuries, what it took to perform an early New Testament manuscript, the benefits of performance for teaching, and practical suggestions for exploring New Testament texts through performance today.

126 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 27, 2013

Reviews

[Connor Longaphie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book promotes what it calls "performance criticism", the idea that from performing the Word of God as it were a play or a skit, we can learn something about the text we wouldn't otherwise. Surely, many churches already use and endorse this method as can be seen when liberal churches have skits of the bible stories in the service. Here are my thoughts. Firstly, we cannot and should not study the Bible like any other human literature. Literary criticism should not and must not be applied. Secondly, the Word of God is for proclamation, it is not a play. Thirdly, the Word of God is sufficient because of what it says, not because of what it means in what it doesn't say, as I. E. The literary critics would have it be. Any voice inflections we make or some other rather emphases according to the natural way we would perform a play are not the Word of God, but emphases we added. To seek to find hidden emphases this way is absurd. To seek to find hidden truths is absurd. The Word is God's truth revealed. It's not God's truth mostly revealed with hidden emphases only to be found when studying history, performing it as a play, studying writing style etc etc. Read the Word out loud. The public reading of scripture in the home and in the church and in the school is a good thing, a commanded thing which God will always bless. Even read it aloud when you're alone, it was meant to be done so. The author is right in this much, that we ought to read the Word, speak it, proclaim it. Do not, I urge you, do not turn into a play. If you want to give a dramatic reading of the text, very well, it shouldn't be done in a plain and dry way, but for the sake of reverence and decency leave your costumes and play partners at home. Open the Word proclaim the Word, don't criticise the Word, don't perform the Word as a play, don't doubt the Word, believe it and be saved. Read the Word, speak the Word hear the Word, believe the Word, know the Word. That should be the end of the story.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great starting point in understating performance criticism. I found value in the first half of the book and the Hellenistic influence on the New Testament. The writers explain Nomina Sacra and gave memorization tips and several New Testament examples to practice for performance. This book would be great for communities who’s scripture reading has become lifeless and rote. It might infuse a little bit of purpose into this sacred ritual.

[Cliff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an excellent introduction to "performance criticism" presented at a level accessible to students and those just beginning to explore this interpretive method. The first half of the book explains how texts were performed in the ancient world, encouraging the reader to imagine want that meant for the curation, development, and spread of the stories in the New Testament; the second half provides advice for performing texts in a contemporary setting.

I appreciate immensely what the authors are doing in this book--and I am seriously considering assigning the book in some of my college classes--but I didn't give it a higher rating for two reasons. First, I thought that the second half was underdeveloped. There are multiple chapters that are only a couple of pages, and, while I don't mind short chapters, it felt like more needed to be said. Second, the second half also felt a little uneven. The authors offered helpful exercises for some parts but not others. If they wanted to provide a manual for guiding a group through the process of preparing for a performance, I felt like this part needed to be more balanced and formally structured. I lead groups working on performing biblical texts, and I found the book helpful; but I'm not sure it would be enough if I was trying to lead a group for the first time. It's suggestive enough to get me interested, but not enough to help me pull it off for the first time.