Spiral Gospel

The Revd Dr Rob James has been the Professor of Anglican Formation and Studies at the Vancouver School of Theology since July 2022. Before this, he was Chancellor of Wells Cathedral, Somerset, and has served as a vicar in Gloucestershire. Alongside his work for the Church of England, he taught theology and religious studies for various institutions in the UK before moving to Canada.

1. "Rob James makes the case convincingly that Luke was an intentional and creative author in his own right, intending his central message to be discerned through an iterative, intratextual, spiral reading of the text. James illuminates the inner coherence and connections that make this possible. Readers will find intellectually stimulating new ways to think about Luke as an author who expected his text to be deeply quarried for its rich treasures." - Paul Foster, Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity, School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh2. "This book proposes that Luke hoped for his Gospel to be re-read multiple times by the community for whom it was written. Whether or not one is persuaded by the thesis itself, James provides a careful study of multiple intertextual references within Luke, convincingly demonstrating the skill and deliberation Luke employed as he crafted his narrative."- Shelly Matthews, Professor of New Testament, Brite Divinity School3."The Spiral Gospel considers the Gospel of Luke as a narrative designed to be read not once but repeatedly and to become richer with each rereading. By tracing the ways Luke interweaves recurring words, phrases, and themes, Rob James shows us how the author invites us into an ever-deepening engagement with the Jesus story. This study will reward the attention of both non-specialists and experts. I heartily recommend this book." - Harry O. Maier, Professor of New Testament and Early Christian Study, Vancouver School of Theology4. "A key discovery is that the intratextual connections in Luke's Gospel are present within material that is unique to Luke, which suggests that Luke created or rewrote this material, at least in part, to make it intratextual.(...)James, professor of Anglican formation and studies at the Vancouver School of Theology in Canada, concludes that Luke was written with the expectation that those who first received it would read it repeatedly, in a cyclical or spiral pattern." - New Testament Abstracts, 67-3, 2024.5. "Overall, The Spiral Gospel presents a clear thesis that is defended throughout. The introductory material provides an accessible frame for the discussion that is easily followed by nonspecialists, though the main arguments of the book are clearly geared more toward specialists in New Testament scholarship. The key strength of this book is the close reading of intratextual connections. James traces some interesting and often unnoticed connections. I found the examplesto be a mixed bag. Some were convincing, while other felt forced or confused. But readers will need to weigh the evidence for themselves. However, the cumulative weight of the examples is sufficient to lead one to imagine the earliest Christians engaged in this repeated cyclical reading of the text." - Alexander P. Thompson, Review of Biblical Literature, July 2023

• AcknowledgementsIntroductionLuke: History, but Not as We Know ItOn Reading the Bible Then and NowOn Q and on Luke as Author: The Chicken or the Egg?The Material to Be Explored1. Linking the Ending to the BeginningIntroductionThe Boy in the Temple and the Emmaus RoadFurther Intratextuality Relating to the TempleWitnesses to Jesus and the 'Word;Power from on HighJoyConcluding Comments2. Intratextual Attributes of JesusIntroductionJesus as the Radically Pure OneJesus as the 'Beloved' and 'Chosen' SonThe Face of Jesus, His Chosenness and ChoicesConcluding Comments3. Titles of JesusIntroductionJesus as the Son of ManJesus as the Son of GodJesus as the ChristConcluding Comments4. On Jesus' Teaching and DoingIntroductionJoy and the Developing ChurchPetitionary Prayer and teh Revelation of God in JesusPride, Humility and True RighteousnessConcluding CommentsConclusionAn Intratextual Reading Paradigm: The Spiral TextFurther Thoughts on QReading Luke IntratextuallyBibliographyBiblical IndexIndex of Modern AuthorsGeneral Index