Or, to put this in other terms, consider the following made-up examples of two brief biblically-based narratives that depend upon intertextual echoes of outside texts (drawn from recent entertainment media) in order to carry much of the meaning they bear:
Spain: the Christian frontier. These are the voyages of the Apostle Paul. His ongoing mission: to preach the Gospel in new places, to seek out new converts, to boldly go where no apostle has gone before.Again, only if one were familiar with the opening words of Star Trek or Superman would the full implications of the texts be entirely within grasp. Nevertheless, even apart from those intertextual echoes, the main point of each text is relatively perspicuous on its own terms. Thus, in an analogous way, one can maintain perspicuity side-by-side with the helpfulness of extra-biblical texts for understanding the details, implications, and fuller meaning of the Scriptures.
Faster than a bustling crowd. More powerful than a horde of demons. Able to heal the sick with a single word. Look, up on the mountain! It's John the Baptist! It's Elijah! No, it's Jesus Christ! Yes, it's Jesus, strange visitor from another world who came to earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men, who, disguised as a humble carpenter from Nazareth, fights a never-ending battle for truth, justice, and the reign of God.
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