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with this model, however, is that even though it acknowledges some flexibility, “this model of
memorization and the transmission of exact words is too rigid to explain the actual extent of
variation in the Jesus traditions as we can observe them in the Gospels.”113
Informal Controlled Oral Tradition
Kenneth Bailey adds interesting insight to
the discussion of oral tradition in early
Christianity in his article, “Informal
Controlled Oral Tradition and the
Synoptic Gospels,” which is based on his
Middle Eastern Tradition of Oral Storytelling
observations from his considerable time
living in the Middle East. For Bailey, the behavior of Middle Eastern villagers, unchanged for
centuries, holds the keys to understanding how oral tradition was transmitted in the early
Church. He provides an example, in his article, of an archaeologist on a dig in the Middle East
who came across puzzling construction patterns. The archaeologist remained confounded by
the patterns and it was not until she witnessed local villagers building a house that she was able
to find the missing pieces to the puzzle. Apparently, the villagers in the nearby town from the
dig had been using similar building techniques as their ancestors, undoubtedly passed down for
generations. Could this observation be the key to understanding how oral tradition was passed
on by the ancients?
113
Bauckham, location 4090-4091; 4096-4098, Kindle edition.