Reconceiving Texts as Speech Acts attempts a reading of the Christological confessions and ethical exhortations in I John from the perspective of speech act theory. Speech act theory is explored with particular reference to J.L. Austin, Donald Evans, and J. Derrida. At the heart of the approach is the insight of the rhetorical character of historiography and the view that language in written discourse is a form of action and power. Discourse in I John becomes responsible for creating reality and not merely reflecting it. In effect the Christological and ethical texts are effective acts which change situations in the public domain in terms of confession and conduct. A tentative methodological proposal is developed and then in succeeding chapters applied to a series of key passages in I John.
Dietmar Neufeld, Ph.D. (1991) in New Testament Studies, McGill University, is lecturer in Christian Origins at The University of British Columbia. He has published an exegetical study on the issue of homosexuality and Luke 18:1-8.
'...this work is thoughtfully conceived and well presented. It is marked as much by its erudition as by its sanity: Neufeld...has built upon it and refined it, and in so doing has made available an exceptional study of 1 John.'
SAH, Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 1994.
'This book is highly recommended for Johannine scholars and those interested in literary analysis of Biblical texts.'
Prof.Dr. J. Eugene Botha, Neotestamentica, 1995.
All those interested in Johannine literature, continued interpretation of the Epistolary literature, philosophy of language, scholars, students, and educated lay persons interested in the interpretation of ancient texts from the perspective of modern literary critical theory.