Multiperspectivity in early Christianity

Although narrative perspective, or ‘focalization’ to use the technical term, is a fundamental concept in literary studies, it has received scant attention in New Testament studies. In a new book, PD Dr. Christoph Heilig from LMU’s Faculty of Protestant Theology employs narrative theory and cognitive linguistics to determine what elements of the Greek text allow us to identify the viewpoint from which a scene is being described.

“Narratives are much more than what happens in them,” says Heilig. “The same story has a very different impact depending on which character lends us their perspective.” This provides new answers to old disputes – such as whether the Gospels of Mark and John are based on eyewitness testimony; or how the Book of Revelation, in which we accompany John the Seer on his journeys between heaven and earth, is structured.

With the women inside the tomb

The importance of viewpoint is well illustrated by the discovery of the empty tomb, an episode related by all four evangelists. “In Mark’s Gospel, the oldest, we accompany the women to the tomb, hear them worrying about who would move away the stone for them, and inside the tomb we only perceive what is in front of their eyes: a young man in a white garment,” says Heilig. “Matthew tells the story from a higher standpoint and immediately mentions an angel – we no longer share the perspective of the women.” In the history of the church, he notes, some perspectives were promoted while others were marginalized – such as that of the women in Mark.

An appeal to biblical studies in the AI era

Heilig argues for rediscovering this variety, instead of dissolving it in a single grand narrative or even reducing it to individual statements. “Various perspectives can complement each other to yield a more comprehensive picture,” he says. By the same token, he adds, theology is invited to contribute its own viewpoints today. According to Heilig, who became the first theologian ever to be admitted to the Young Academy of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities in 2025 for his AI research, this is crucial precisely in this technological moment: “If biblical studies consists only of writing about ancient texts as impersonally as possible, we can soon outsource this work to machines. It has its lasting value where people reveal how they see these stories – and invite others to look with them.”

The book is the chief output of Heilig’s “Focalization in Early Christian Stories” Junior Research Group, which the Elite Network of Bavaria has been funding with some 1.4 million euros since 2023. Heilig obtained his habilitation degree in Basel in 2024 with this work, which won the “Dewetteanum” Faculty Prize. Two dissertations will round off the project with detailed studies

Christoph Heilig: Just a Matter of Perspective? Mohr Siebeck 2026