Overview

What place do the four Gospels give Satan, demons, and Jesus' human opponents (including Jewish leaders but also Jesus' disciples) in their accounts of Jesus' life? This study takes a literary-historical approach to the Gospels, examining them as narratives. It shows how the authors were in the process of developing the devil as a character and determining which roles he filled. New interpretations of individual passages in the Gospels are given as well as new understandings of the theological emphases of each author. This study is also a contribution to redaction criticism and the relative chronology of the Gospels. It employs the theory of Matthean posteriority which revolutionizes our understanding of the literary relations between the Gospels and allows for a new understanding of theological development in early Christianity.

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9781666704556

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Reviews

In this illuminating and thorough study of the antagonists in the battle against God, Jesus, and the disciples that underlies each of the four Gospel narratives, Dr. Lofstedt provides us with a fascinating look at the dark side of the story. His approach to the texts is exegetical; in dialogue with scholarship, his arguments are carefully reasoned and his conclusions judicious. This is a masterful study that will benefit all students of the NT. --Donald A. Hagner, George Eldon Ladd Professor emeritus of New Testament, Fuller Theological Seminary As the result of many years' research on the devil and other opponents of Jesus in the Gospels, Torsten Lofstedt provides a detailed yet accessible analysis of the function of these characters in the evangelists' literary compositions. He also provides valid arguments in favour of an often-neglected view of the relationship between the Gospels that needs to be taken seriously. A solid contribution to the understanding of the history and theology of New Testament texts. --Tobias Hagerland, Reader and Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies and Theology, University of Gothenburg

"""In this illuminating and thorough study of the antagonists in the battle against God, Jesus, and the disciples that underlies each of the four Gospel narratives, Dr. Lofstedt provides us with a fascinating look at the dark side of the story. His approach to the texts is exegetical; in dialogue with scholarship, his arguments are carefully reasoned and his conclusions judicious. This is a masterful study that will benefit all students of the NT."" --Donald A. Hagner, George Eldon Ladd Professor emeritus of New Testament, Fuller Theological Seminary ""As the result of many years' research on the devil and other opponents of Jesus in the Gospels, Torsten Lofstedt provides a detailed yet accessible analysis of the function of these characters in the evangelists' literary compositions. He also provides valid arguments in favour of an often-neglected view of the relationship between the Gospels that needs to be taken seriously. A solid contribution to the understanding of the history and theology of New Testament texts."" --Tobias Hagerland, Reader and Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies and Theology, University of Gothenburg"

"""In this illuminating and thorough study of the antagonists in the battle against God, Jesus, and the disciples that underlies each of the four Gospel narratives, Dr. L�fstedt provides us with a fascinating look at the dark side of the story. His approach to the texts is exegetical; in dialogue with scholarship, his arguments are carefully reasoned and his conclusions judicious. This is a masterful study that will benefit all students of the NT."" --Donald A. Hagner, George Eldon Ladd Professor emeritus of New Testament, Fuller Theological Seminary ""As the result of many years' research on the devil and other opponents of Jesus in the Gospels, Torsten L�fstedt provides a detailed yet accessible analysis of the function of these characters in the evangelists' literary compositions. He also provides valid arguments in favour of an often-neglected view of the relationship between the Gospels that needs to be taken seriously. A solid contribution to the understanding of the history and theology of New Testament texts."" --Tobias H�gerland, Reader and Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies and Theology, University of Gothenburg"

Author Information

Torsten Löfstedt is associate professor in religious studies at Linnaeus University in Växjö, Sweden.

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