Justin Comber | Thorneloe University at the University of Laurentian (original) (raw)
Book Reviews by Justin Comber
Journal Articles by Justin Comber
Dissertation by Justin Comber
The Gospel of Mark is the unique product of its social environment and of the theology of the ear... more The Gospel of Mark is the unique product of its social environment and of the theology of the early Christian church with its centre in the story of Jesus. Embedded in its narrative is the story of a conflict in ideology over the nature of authority in the newly arrived Kingdom of God that is reflected in the dialogue and value structure of that Gospel. This study will make use of the language and theory of Mikhail Bakhtin to demonstrate the use of authorially created voices to shape Mark’s theology. I will demonstrate that theology is created by the voice of Jesus, the protagonist, and that every other voice is written relative to Jesus. The content of those other voices, and the response that each makes to Jesus, will evaluate their speakers. Those who set themselves against Jesus will be “uncrowned,” and their authority dismissed. Figures who demonstrate grotesque characteristics but demonstrate faith in Jesus will be evaluated positively. The disciples will be subject to parody based on their misunderstanding of Jesus’ voice and their pursuit of authority. Each of these character groups will be drawn on a continuum between the Kingdom of God and the cosmic and terrestrial kingdoms of Satan and Rome based on their voices evaluation of Jesus’ voice. Caught between the two, the outcasts will turn to Jesus, the authorities will be corrupted by wealth and power, and the disciples will be torn between their own ambition and Jesus’ kingdom teaching.
Conference Presentations by Justin Comber
This paper will challenge the habit of reader-response critics to present their work as both resp... more This paper will challenge the habit of reader-response critics to present their work as both respectful of the hypothetically limitless number of reader-readings and individual programmatic stories-of-reading. Making use of insights from literary theorists, I will attempt to reconstruct a theory of story that accounts for the individuality of the reader and the reality of text and apply it to the Gospel of Mark. I will demonstrate a reader-response methodology that describes the reciprocal axiological relationship between text and reader—the individual reader’s response (affective, cognitive, behavioural) to text, and text’s evaluation of individual readings. It may be impossible to predict a reader’s response, but it is possible to describe textually valued responses (at the discourse level) and relate them to the textual experience of actual readers.
Papers by Justin Comber
There are very few treatments of the Spirit in Mark, and those are often dismissive or too eager ... more There are very few treatments of the Spirit in Mark, and those are often dismissive or too eager to find a larger pattern of pneumatology than the relative dearth of material in the Gospel justifies. It has become necessary to approach the text of Mark carefully and exegetically in order to discover any Markan emphasis on the Spirit. As such,
The Gospel of Mark is the unique product of its social environment and of the theology of the ear... more The Gospel of Mark is the unique product of its social environment and of the theology of the early Christian church with its centre in the story of Jesus. Embedded in its narrative is the story of a conflict in ideology over the nature of authority in the newly arrived Kingdom of God that is reflected in the dialogue and value structure of that Gospel. This study will make use of the language and theory of Mikhail Bakhtin to demonstrate the use of authorially created voices to shape Mark’s theology. I will demonstrate that theology is created by the voice of Jesus, the protagonist, and that every other voice is written relative to Jesus. The content of those other voices, and the response that each makes to Jesus, will evaluate their speakers. Those who set themselves against Jesus will be “uncrowned,” and their authority dismissed. Figures who demonstrate grotesque characteristics but demonstrate faith in Jesus will be evaluated positively. The disciples will be subject to parody based on their misunderstanding of Jesus’ voice and their pursuit of authority. Each of these character groups will be drawn on a continuum between the Kingdom of God and the cosmic and terrestrial kingdoms of Satan and Rome based on their voices evaluation of Jesus’ voice. Caught between the two, the outcasts will turn to Jesus, the authorities will be corrupted by wealth and power, and the disciples will be torn between their own ambition and Jesus’ kingdom teaching.
This paper will challenge the habit of reader-response critics to present their work as both resp... more This paper will challenge the habit of reader-response critics to present their work as both respectful of the hypothetically limitless number of reader-readings and individual programmatic stories-of-reading. Making use of insights from literary theorists, I will attempt to reconstruct a theory of story that accounts for the individuality of the reader and the reality of text and apply it to the Gospel of Mark. I will demonstrate a reader-response methodology that describes the reciprocal axiological relationship between text and reader—the individual reader’s response (affective, cognitive, behavioural) to text, and text’s evaluation of individual readings. It may be impossible to predict a reader’s response, but it is possible to describe textually valued responses (at the discourse level) and relate them to the textual experience of actual readers.
There are very few treatments of the Spirit in Mark, and those are often dismissive or too eager ... more There are very few treatments of the Spirit in Mark, and those are often dismissive or too eager to find a larger pattern of pneumatology than the relative dearth of material in the Gospel justifies. It has become necessary to approach the text of Mark carefully and exegetically in order to discover any Markan emphasis on the Spirit. As such,