ABSTRACT
Japanese Noh theater, modern drama, and novels are genres that are distant from ancient Greek tragic norms and culture, yet they are commonly recognized as being tragic. Modern interpreters often assume that tragedy is, by definition, atheistic and nihilistic. Given this premise, along with the assumption that the Bible is optimistic, their relationship must be one of hostility. Various scholars have found tragedy within the Biblical canon. Erich Auerbach's Mimesis argues for Biblical narratives as an ancient and singular mix of tragedy and everyday realism, as seen in Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac, Peter's denial, and the Incarnation. Grace comes in a new way in the New Testament, but it is, in the words of Agamemnon, "somehow violent". The cross is central to Christianity, as Christ's passion and death dominate the Christian gospels, theology, and worship. Betrayal is the painful human response in the gospels, and is especially present in Peter and Judas.
