Heart of Biblical Narrative: Rediscovering Biblical Appeal to the Emotions

Modern biblical scholarship has long been preoccupied with the relationship between history and doctrine. Karl A. Kuhn argues that an overly rational approach to the thought of the biblical authors misses the equally important but long neglected affective dimension of biblical narrative. In Part I of The Heart of Biblical Narrative, Kuhn presents an approach to the Bible that applies "affective analysis" to get at a "cardiography of biblical narrative." Biblical narrative in both Israel's scripture and the New Testament is understood fundamentally as an attempt to persuade and move the reader, not simply to convince the reader of certain truths. In Part II, Kuhn's close reading of the opening chapters of Luke's Gospel shows how biblical authors employed pathos as a way of drawing readers into their narrative and, thereby, their understanding of reality.