Why ‘Reception History’ Is Not Just Another Exegetical Method: The Case Of Mark's Ending

The history of reception is suffering from a fundamental misunderstanding. Since the publication of Truth and Method, everyone has had the impression that reception history is just another exegetical technique. However, the heart of Gadamer's argument is not the history of the effects of the te...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Burnet, Régis 1973- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Cambridge Univ. Press 2023
In: New Testament studies
Year: 2023, Volume: 69, Issue: 3, Pages: 277-290
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Cajetan, Thomas 1469-1534 / End / Mark
IxTheo Classification:HC New Testament
KAB Church history 30-500; early Christianity
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Summary:The history of reception is suffering from a fundamental misunderstanding. Since the publication of Truth and Method, everyone has had the impression that reception history is just another exegetical technique. However, the heart of Gadamer's argument is not the history of the effects of the text, but the historicity of understanding: a text is seized only within the limits of the historical situation of its interpreter. To demonstrate this point, this paper takes the example of the Markan ending. Surprisingly, a 16th-century Thomistic theologian, Cajetan, and a contemporary commentary are so close that one might think they are defending the same view of the text. Both intend to maintain the canonicity of verses 9-20, but both point out that it may be adventurous to build any doctrine or practice on these verses alone. But the context is different, obviously. The first one tries to justify a conception of faith that does not depend directly on miracles; the second one affirms a hermeneutic centred on the interpreter's response, being wary of its ecclesiological drifts. This confirms that theological considerations rather than philological ones have prevailed in challenging Mark's ending.
ISSN:1469-8145
Contains:Enthalten in: New Testament studies
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1017/S0028688522000406