Countless times in the Bible readers are presented with a report of a character engaged in some action, but no explicit indication from the storyteller on how the action is to be evaluated. At first glance, it would appear the readers are being left to fend for themselves in making an evaluation. Fortunately, according to Yamasaki, that is not the case, for, he argues, though the readers are not receiving explicit evaluative guidance, they may be receiving guidance in a less-obvious fashion through the way in which point of view is being used in the passage.Gary Yamasaki's bold new work sets out a new biblical methodology called Perspective Criticism, an approach designed to uncover evaluative guidance that may be encoded in the point-of-view crafting of biblical narratives.Table of Contents1 Point-of-View Crafting: An Untapped Source of Evaluative Guidance2 Spatial Plane of Point of View3 Psychological Plane of Point of View4 Informational Plane of Point of View5 Temporal Plane of Point of View6 Phraseological Plane of Point of View7 Ideological Plane of Point of View8 When the Planes Concur . . . and When They Do Not9 A Perspective-Critical Analysis of the Butch Cassidy Clip10 New Testament Case Study: Gamaliel (Acts5:35–39)11 Old Testament Case Study: Gideon (Judges 6:36–40)BibliographyScripture IndexMovie Index

Perspective Criticism: Point of View and Evaluative Guidance in Biblical Narrative

Literature & Fiction

Yamasaki, Gary

British & Irish

James Clarke & Co.

In this volume, Gary Yamasaki develops an innovative approach to biblical narrative, exploring the way stories are treated in filmmaking, and using that as a model for analyzing biblical stories. In our culture, the voluminous exposure we have to movies has resulted in our being conditioned to experience cinematic stories in a particular manner: for example, seeing them as events rather than objects, and the story worlds of movies as distinct from the real world. However, biblical stories are not typically viewed through this cinematic-story lens, making our analysis of biblical narrative out of step with what has become our natural mode of experiencing stories.This book demonstrates how fresh interpretive insights emerge when we read biblical stories like we watch movies. Each volume in the new Insights series discusses discoveries and insights gained into biblical texts from a particular approach or perspective in current scholarship.

Insights from Filmmaking for Analyzing Biblical Narrative (Insights, 1)

Religion & Spirituality

Christian Books & Bibles

Fortress Press

The narrative material of the Bible often presents characters engaged in actions without providing explicit guidance as to how those actions are intended to be evaluated. For example, Gideon lays out a fleece in an attempt to discern God's will, but is this intended as a model to emulate, or is it intended as a picture of desperation resulting from a lack of faith? Perspective Criticism presents a new approach to solving such quandaries, finding an untapped source of evaluative guidance in the point-of-view crafting of biblical stories. Point of view has been the forgotten child in the study of biblical narratives. Now, this book gives this literary concept its due, untangling the array of storytelling devices involved in crafting point of view and demonstrating its power in shaping the very fabric of a story. Because the majority of the point-of-view devices found in biblical narratives are also used in cinematic storytelling, the book includes detailed descriptions of movie scenes utilizing these devices to provide pop-culture illustrations of the workings of point of view. ""What difference does point of view make? Why do we cheer for the outlaws to escape while we watch Butch and Sundance grimly ride ahead of the posse? If we had watched through the eyes of the lawmen, we would react entirely differently. Why do we like the slacker in Luke 15 instead of his hardworking brother? Yamasaki's insights into perspective criticism help us understand the visceral impact of texts."" --Charles L. Aaron, United Methodist pastor, teacher, and author ""Yamasaki has created a new lens through which to view biblical studies. He combines three underexamined lenses--literary theory, perspective criticism, and film studies--to produce fresh perspectives on seemingly familiar biblical stories."" --Matthew G. Whitlock, Assistant Professor of New Testament, Seattle University Gary Yamasaki is Professor of Biblical Studies at Columbia Bible College, Abbotsford, BC. He is the author of Watching a Biblical Narrative: Point of View in Biblical Exegesis (2007).

Perspective Criticism

Wipf and Stock

The narrative material of the Bible often presents characters engaged in actions without providing explicit guidance as to how those actions are intended to be evaluated. For example, Gideon lays out a fleece in an attempt to discern God's will, but is this intended as a model to emulate, or is it intended as a picture of desperation resulting from a lack of faith? Perspective Criticism presents a new approach to solving such quandaries, finding an untapped source of evaluative guidance in the point-of-view crafting of biblical stories. Point of view has been the forgotten child in the study of biblical narratives. Now, this book gives this literary concept its due, untangling the array of storytelling devices involved in crafting point of view and demonstrating its power in shaping the very fabric of a story. Because the majority of the point-of-view devices found in biblical narratives are also used in cinematic storytelling, the book includes detailed descriptions of movie scenes utilizing these devices to provide pop-culture illustrations of the workings of point of view.

History & Criticism

Cascade Books

In a narrative about Jesus, a character like John the Baptist would not be expected to play a role much beyond that of providing a baptism for Jesus. Yet the Matthaean narrator finds several other uses for John in the development of the narrative, not only while he is still alive, but also after he is dead. In examining John's role, Yamasaki deploys an audience-oriented critical methodology, an approach that chronicles the narrator's efforts to influence first-time readers' experience of the narrative as they proceed sequentially through the text. He traces John's characterization as 'forerunner', from a glowing introduction in ch. 3-albeit with a slight flaw in his ideological point of view on Jesus-through a progressive exacerbation of this flaw, to a rehabilitation of John in ch. 11. As a result of this rehabilitation, the narrator is able to continue to use John in his role as forerunner in the second half of the narrative, even after John's death has removed him from the story-line.

John the Baptist in Life and Death: Audience-Oriented Criticism of Matthew's Narrative (The Library of New Testament Studies)

Sheffield Academic+press

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Books by Yamasaki, Gary

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Yamasaki, Gary. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Perspective Criticism: Point of View and Evaluative Guidance in Biblical Narrative

Insights from Filmmaking for Analyzing Biblical Narrative (Insights, 1)

Perspective Criticism

Perspective Criticism

John the Baptist in Life and Death: Audience-Oriented Criticism of Matthew's Narrative (The Library of New Testament Studies)