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    Fact to Fiction: A New Perspective on Adapting Biblical Narrative in Art
    Fact to Fiction: A New Perspective on Adapting Biblical Narrative in Art
    Fact to Fiction: A New Perspective on Adapting Biblical Narrative in Art
    Ebook82 pages1 hour

    Fact to Fiction: A New Perspective on Adapting Biblical Narrative in Art

    By Jedediah Ostoich

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    About this ebook

    Everyone is a literary critic. Whether we read the news in the morning, or peruse the fiction section of Amazon for a new novel to consume, every time we read we have certain goals in mind. With news sources, our goal is rather obvious—what does the article say, and what are its implications? The authors of news reports do their best to present their stories clearly and make conclusions obvious. When reading a novel, however, the message of the author hides behind complex plotlines and relatable characters. It takes longer—and often more thought—to determine just what the author was getting at in his or her book. Ultimately, every one of us arrives at a conclusion regarding a story’s message, which is precisely why two people who normally get along can have a heated debate over coffee on whether or not the most recent movie is worthy of its hardback ancestor. So how does an artist retell the greatest story ever told without earning the ire of everyday critics? In his short book, Jedediah Ostoich attempts to navigate the treacherous ground of adapting biblical narrative into the mediums of the novel, cinema, and stage. By establishing some basic guiding principles for interpreting—and then adapting—a text, Ostoich offers a new route from Bible to big screen. Invariably, any adaptation of biblical narrative meets great criticism from many fronts. Ostoich proposes a way in which contemporary artists may accurately and artistically adapt the text of Scripture into formats such as novels or screenplays. He argues that any faithful adaptation must first begin with an accurate understanding of the text, and demonstrates methods that can be universally applied to any biblical narrative. The framework Ostoich proposes here will offer a consistent, exegetical foundation upon which to do justice to the biblical texts in adaptation without stifling the artist’s creativity. And hopefully survive the coffee-shop critiques.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJedediah Ostoich
    Release dateMay 20, 2014
    ISBN9781311303042
    Fact to Fiction: A New Perspective on Adapting Biblical Narrative in Art

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      Book preview

      Fact to Fiction - Jedediah Ostoich

      Fact to Fiction:

      A New Perspective on Adapting Biblical Narrative in Art

      By

      Jedediah Ostoich

      ~ ~ ~

      Fact to Fiction:

      A New Perspective on Adapting Biblical Narrative in Art

      Copyright © 2014 by Jedediah Ostoich

      Smashwords Edition

      Thank you for downloading this ebook. Although this is an ebook, it remains the copyrighted property of the author and may not be reproduced, scanned, or distributed for any commercial or non-commercial use without permission from the author. Quotes used in reviews are the exception. No alteration of content is allowed. If you enjoyed this book, then encourage your friends to purchase and download their own copy.

      ~ ~ ~

      Table of Contents

      Preface

      Introduction

      Part One: Linking Literary Composition and Criticism

      Defining the Terms

      The Moral Premise and Narrative Opposition

      Characterization

      Plot

      Part Two: Analyzing Matthew’s Gospel

      Matthew’s Moral Premise

      Matthew’s Plot

      Matthew’s Characters

      Part Three: Adapting Matthew’s Message for Fiction

      The Moral Premise

      The Characters

      The Plot

      Conclusion

      End Matter

      ~ ~ ~

      Preface

      What you’re about to read is the result of nearly two years of thought and six months of intense study on the topic of literary hermeneutics in general and Matthew as a literary work in particular. The seeds for this particular project began to sprout during my final three semesters at Dallas Theological Seminary when I became enthralled by the profound insight a literary hermeneutic offered to narrative passages in the Bible. I had worked intuitively within a literary framework in the years prior, but could not articulate exactly what I was doing. After several classes and not a little discussion with Bible Exposition professor Dr. Elliott Johnson, I began to put the mechanics together necessary to articulate my understanding of literary hermeneutics.

      My particular efforts with the gospel of Matthew were the result of a directed study under the tutelage of Dr. Johnson and Dr. Sandra Glahn—the editor-in-chief of Dallas Seminary’s publication Kindred Spirit, and professor in the Media Arts and Worship department. The unique conflation of a developed perspective on biblical hermeneutics with a keen insight into both literary composition and interpretation gave birth to a vision herein contained.

      It was my hope to approach Matthew as a literary author and his text as a work of literary non-fiction. By analyzing the gospel as a carefully crafted narrative with central characters and a unified plot, I sought to isolate Matthew’s singular, central argument. I would then turn that argument around as a lens to better understand his entire narrative. Through repeating the cycle, I hoped to surface themes, characters, and premises that I could then re-package into a fictional novel that would communicate the same message—if in a different way.

      I will say that I’m pleased with the results of the study, but recognize that this is only the beginning. Literary criticism as a hermeneutical method is relatively obscure in the evangelical world—though certainly not unknown. My goal here was to see how the methods could be used, and whether or not they would hold up to more rigorous biblical scholarship. I believe they have.

      The novel proposed in the third section of this short book is yet forthcoming at the time of this publication, but I do intend to complete the work. Composing a completely fictional narrative that communicates the same message as Matthew’s gospel is, to be sure, the final justification of the mechanics I begin here.

      Invariably, any adaptation of biblical narrative meets great criticism from many fronts. My ultimate desire for this short book is to propose a way in which my contemporaries may accurately and artistically adapt the text of Scripture into formats such as novels or screenplays. Any faithful adaptation must first begin with an accurate understanding of the text, and the methods I demonstrate here I believe are universally applicable to biblical narrative. The narratives themselves do provide enough material for many different retellings or adaptations, but the general framework I propose here will offer a consistent, exegetical-theological foundation upon which to do justice to the biblical texts in adaptation.

      As the late, epic-novelist Robert Jordan once wrote, this is not the beginning for literary criticism and adaptation, but it is a beginning. My hope is that it is a beginning of value to the Christian worlds of scholarship and art.

      Introduction

      Everyone is a literary critic. Whether we read the news in the morning, or peruse the fiction section of Amazon for a new novel to consume, every time we read we have certain goals in mind. With news sources, our goal is rather obvious—what does the article say, and what are its implications? The authors of news reports do their best to present their stories clearly and make conclusions obvious. When reading a novel, however, the message of the author hides behind complex plotlines and relatable characters. It takes longer—and often more thought—to determine just what the author was getting at in his or her book. Ultimately, every one of us arrives at a conclusion regarding a story’s message, which is precisely why two people who normally get along can have a heated debate at Starbucks over whether or not The Hobbit truly needs a three-movie interpretation.

      But when it comes

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