Character reconstruction in the New Testament (1): the theory

Abstract

This article, and its sequel 'Character Reconstruction in the New Testament (2): The Practice', explore how character can be reconstructed from the New Testament text. There is no consensus about the approach to character in either literary theory or biblical studies. The dominant view is that most New Testament characters are like ancient Graeco-Roman stock characters. This article challenges such an understanding and instead offers a comprehensive, non-reductionist theory for the analysis, classification, and evaluation of characters in New Testament narrative. The subsequent article will show how the theory works in practice.