Vernon K. Robbins (alternative view of genre than Longacre)

MJ. Smith

Vernon K. Robbins is an under-represented Wesleyan of some stripe, I think, who has brought depth into his study of genres/textures into his studies of scripture. By texture think:

1. Inner texture (linguistic patterns)
2. Intertexture (relationships with other texts)
3. Social and cultural texture
4. Ideological texture

Currently available in Logos:

https://www.logos.com/product/37512/who-do-people-say-i-am-rewriting-gospel-in-emerging-christianity?

https://www.logos.com/product/301784/catch-the-bird-but-watch-the-wave-a-pacific-sociorhetorical-reading-of-luke-18-18-30?

But there are several other important texts available:

https://www.amazon.com/Exploring-Texture-Texts-Socio-Rhetorical-Interpretations/dp/1563381834/ref%3Dsr_1_1?

Amazon blurb:

Socio-rhetorical criticism has established itself as one of the promising new methods of biblical study today. Vernon K. Robbins here provides an accessible introduction to socio-rhetorical criticism, illustrating the method by guiding the reader through the study of specific New Testament texts and stories.

An opening chapter outlines this new approach and its focus on values, convictions, and beliefs both in the texts we read and in the world in which we live. Then follow chapters on getting inside a text (inner texture), that is, studying the internal aspects of words and meanings in the text: entering the interactive world of the test (intertexture,), that is relating the text being interpreted to a wide range of phenomena that lie outside the text: living with the text in the world (social and cultural texture), that is, examining the social and cultural locations in the world that the language of the text evokes: and shared interests in commentary and in the text (ideological texture), that is, looking at the way the text itself and interpreters of the text position themselves in relation to other individuals and groups.

https://www.amazon.com/Patterns-Persuasion-Gospels-Burton-Mack/dp/1606082205/ref%3Dsr_1_4?

Amazon blurb:

""Patterns of Persuasion in the Gospels will open the next stage in Synoptic studies. Mack and Robbins have returned synoptic criticism to the road it missed when Bultmann and Dibelius decided to ingnore Greco-Roman education and rhetoric. Starting from a sophisticated and detailed study of what the rhetorical handbooks say about the elaboratioin of chreiai, they illuminate the most basic techniques and logic which the Gospel writers used in developing the Jesus traditions. It is required reading for everyone with a serious interest in the critical study of the Gospels."" --Stanley K. Stowers, Brown Univeristy Author of Letter Writing in Greco-Roman Authority ""An impressive, programmatic argument, which successfully challenges conventional approaches to the Jesus tradition. It demonstrates the relevance of Hellenistic rhetorical theory for composition analysis of the sayings tradition. A groundbreaking study, which all serious students of the gospels must consider."" --David E. Aune, St. Xavier College Author of The New Testament in Its Literary Environment ""In this important new book, Mack and Robbins have clarified the patterns of persuasion that form the social, historical, and narrative worlds of the earliest Christians. All those who want a hands-on manual for studying the characters, stories, and argumentation of scripture will welcome this learned discussion of primary texts. Highly recommended for any person who is serious about understanding the Bible."" - Ron Cameron, Wesleyan University Author of The Other Gospels Vernon K. Robbins is Professor of New Testament and Comparative Sacred Text in the Department and Graduate Division of Religion at Emory University. Bruton L. Mack is John Wesley Professor Emeritus in early Christianity at the Claremont School of Theology in Claremont, California.

https://www.amazon.com/Art-Visual-Exegesis-Rhetoric-Christianity/dp/0884142140/ref%3Dsr_1_6?

Amazon blurb:

A critical study for those interested in the intersection of art and biblical interpretation

With a special focus on biblical texts and images, this book nurtures new developments in biblical studies and art history during the last two or three decades. Analysis and interpretation of specific works of art introduce guidelines for students and teachers who are interested in the relation of verbal presentation to visual production. The essays provide models for research in the humanities that move beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries erected in previous centuries. In particular, the volume merges recent developments in rhetorical interpretation and cognitive studies with art historical visual exegesis. Readers will master the tools necessary for integrating multiple approaches both to biblical and artistic interpretation.

Features

Resources for understanding the relation of texts to artistic paintings and images

Tools for integrating multiple approaches both to biblical and artistic interpretation

Sixty images and fifteen illustrations

Wikipedia lists these works all of which would be useful in Logos:

• Robbins, Vernon K. (1984). Jesus the Teacher: A Socio-Rhetorical Interpretation of Mark. Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press. ISBN 9780800607197. OCLC 9918718.
• ———; Mack, Burton L. (1989). Patterns of Persuasion in the Gospels. Sonoma, CA: Polebridge. ISBN 9780944344088. OCLC 19393083.
• ——— (1989). Ancient Quotes and Anecdotes: From Crib to Crypt. Sonoma, CA: Polebridge. ISBN 9780944344026. OCLC 17871751.
• ——— (1994). New Boundaries in Old Territory: Forms and Social Rhetoric in Mark. Emory studies in early Christianity. Vol. 3. New York: Peter Lang. ISBN 9780820419114. OCLC 28503116.
• ——— (1996). The Tapestry of Early Christian Discourse: Rhetoric, Society and Ideology. London & New York: Routledge. ISBN 9780415139977. OCLC 924617297.
• ——— (1996). Exploring the Texture of Texts: A Guide to Socio-Rhetorical Interpretation. Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Press International. ISBN 9781563381836. OCLC 35325390.
• ———; Lightstone, Jack N. (2006). Mishnah and the Social Formation of the Early Rabbinic Guild: a Socio-Rhetorical Approach. Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. ISBN 9780889207295. OCLC 753479530.
• ——— (2009). Invention of Christian Discourse. Rhetoric of religious antiquity series. Vol. 1. Blandford Forum, UK: Deo Press. ISBN 9789058540218. OCLC 232128222.
• ——— (2010). Sea Voyages and Beyond: Emerging Strategies in Socio-Rhetorical Interpretation. Emory studies in early Christianity. Vol. 14. Blandford Forum, UK: Deo Press. ISBN 9781905679133. OCLC 666224068.
• ——— (2013). Who do People Say I Am?: Rewriting Gospel in Emerging Christianity. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802868398. OCLC 841201194.
• ——— (2015). Jesus and Mary: Reimagined in Early Christian Literature. Writings from the Greco-Roman world supplement series. Vol. 6. Atlanta, GA: SBL Press. ISBN 9781628370638. OCLC 908376672.
• ——— (2016). Foundations For Sociorhetorical Exploration: A Rhetoric of Religious Antiquity Reader. Vol. 4. Atlanta, GA: SBL Press. ISBN 9780884141686. OCLC 950902161.
• ——— (2017). The Art of Visual Exegesis: Rhetoric, Texts, Images. Emory studies in early Christianity. Vol. 19. Atlanta, GA: SBL Press. ISBN 9780884142133. OCLC 988084140.

Festschrift

• Gowler, David B.; Bloomquist, L. Gregory; Watson, Duane F., eds. (2003). Fabrics of Discourse: Essays in Honor of Vernon K. Robbins. A&C Black. ISBN 1563383659.