Abstract
In this revised version of a Durham PhD thesis, Sarah Parkhouse analyses the Gospel of Mary in the wider context or the so-called dialogue gospels. The main heuristic insight is derived from studying both the narrative frame of such texts and their eschatological teaching, before exploring the relationship between these two aspects.
The first part of the study focuses on wider questions that surround dialogue gospels as a group. Namely, Parkhouse seeks to establish why an author might write a dialogue gospel, and which texts might be classified as belonging to that generic group. A set of thirteen dialogue texts are assembled, although some texts such as the Books of Jeu are seen as being on the periphery of the main group. Two criteria are required for a text to be considered as a ‘dialogue gospel’. First, Jesus must be presented as a revealer on the verge of departure, and second, he must be in dialogue with one or more of his disciples (pp. 37-38). The thirteen examples included in this category range from the Johannine farewell discourse to the Pistis Sophia. Here one might ask about the parameters for inclusion in the group. The Books of Jeu were excluded because the majority of the text did not present the disciples in dialogue with a departing Jesus. However, the Johannine farewell discourse, which is included among the thirteen texts, is itself part of a much larger text – the majority of which is not a dialogue gospel in the terms outlined in the definition employed in this study. Perhaps the inclusion of the Johannine farewell discourse is driven both by a desire to break down the divide between canonical and non-canonical texts, as well as seeking to find the origin of the genre. However, in regard to the originating text of the genre one might ask if a portion of John’s Gospel can be included, then why not also Acts 1.6-11, or even Matt 28.16-20. In both those examples, a departing Jesus gives instruction to his disciples. Admittedly, these texts and others are discussed (pp. 79-105), and they are viewed as providing themes for further discussion in the thirteen dialogue gospels. By contrast, it is argued that dialogue gospels present these themes in a different way. Thus the differences are described in the following terms, the dialogue gospels ‘might choose a key disciple, they might allay fears about mission, they might depict Jesus as a luminous being, they might reveal previously hidden things, and/or they might affirm the physicality of the risen Jesus’ (p. 124). There is no doubt that these differences occur to some degree in the thirteen texts, but the distinction in comparison with some of the texts excluded from the generic category (such as the Books of Jeu, or Acts 1.6-8) does appear to be a fine one.
The second part of the study turns to a specific analysis of the Gospel of Mary. Here the study skilfully shows the way in which the narrative frame of this text is a particularly appropriate way to communicate the eschatological content of the dialogue. It is argued that the figure of Mary takes on the role of communicator, or even paraclete as she functions to teach and comfort fellow disciples. It is noted that two dialogues are presented in this text and that ‘[b]oth are eschatological in nature, the first concerned with cosmic eschatology, and the second with personal salvation’ (p. 174). These two eschatological perspectives become the focus of the analysis in chapters four and five respectively.
The obvious strength of this study is the comparative insights derived by considering representative texts of the dialogue gospel genre together. This results in the strong emphasis on eschatological themes being observed. Then in a more thoroughgoing manner the Gospel of Mary is analysed in light of it twin eschatological discourses, with a discussion of how these two aspects provide an overall understanding of eschatology within the text. This detailed study has enriched the specific understanding of the Gospel of Mary, as well as permitting a deeper understanding of the category of dialogue gospels as a whole.