Towards a Blending-Based Approach to Early Christian Characters: Nicodemus as a Test Case

This article presents a blending-based approach to characters in early Christian narratives. Even cognitive approaches to complex characters (including my previous work) tend to frame character development as a primarily linear unidirectional process. However, the human mind integrates incoming information through processes that are more recursive than linear and more synergistic than summative. I propose that Cognitive Blending Theory, pioneered by Gilles Fauconnier & Mark Turner, provides a heuristic approach that better accounts for the complexity of cognitive information processing. First, I articulate a blending-based approach to ancient characters. Next, I show the validity of such an approach by modeling the blends for each of Nicodemus’s appearances in John’s gospel, focusing on the novel insights only available through blending. As will become apparent, these blends are interrelated, building upon and challenging one another on the path toward a complete characterization of “Nicodemus” across John’s gospel. I conclude with brief reflections on the future prospects of blending-based character studies.