by JW83 4 Replies latest watchtower bible
Hi there,
I have to do a uni essay on the authenticity / historicity of the Gospels, including non-canonical. The problem is I've never read anything on this subject, so I was wondering if anyone could help? References to scholarly works would be most appreciated! Or if anyone knows the current thinking & could give me a push along I would appreciate it!!
G'day JW,
Try the Mathias Media site in Sydney or failing that, Moore College or Mary Andrews College - all in Sydney, it's where Mrs Ozzie and I study but don't tell scholar, it'll make him jealous!!!
Cheers, Ozzie
An interesting book on the critical side is The Incredible Shrinking Son of Man: How Reliable is the Gospel Tradition? by Robert M. Price (Amherst, NY: Prometheus, 2003).
From a more conservative standpoint you have many works by Raymond E. Brown; perhaps his Introduction to the New Testament (Anchor Bible Reference Library) would be the shortest and easiest way to gather a "majority" consensus (for what this is worth).
For a summary of some of the many different views about the "Historical Jesus" (which is really what lies behind your question as I get it), you can have a look at the following page: http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/theories.html
As to the genealogy of the Synoptics (Matthew, Mark, John) here is another: http://www.mindspring.com/~scarlson/synopt/
A book I really like on the composition of the Gospels is Helmut Koester's Ancient Christian Gospels. It gives a very thorough analysis of how sayings of Jesus were compiled together into dialogues and then discourses, and how narratives were compiled, producing the gospels we know, which were then harmonized with each other later on. It also provides interesting evidence of how gospels like Mark went through several editions.
On the historicity question, a good start for a beginner would be Randall Helm's Gospel Fictions and Robert Funk's The Acts of Jesus. Also note the different approaches in these works: the former finds very little at all that is historical, the latter assumes a historical core. Both highlight the use of OT exegetical traditions in the composition of gospel stories. On the passion narrative itself, I would overwhelmingly recommend JD Crossan's The Cross Gospel, which gives the most thorough analysis of how the story of the passion was composed.
I would also recommend that you get the Funk, et al. The Complete Gospels to acquaint yourself with the full breadth of the gospel tradition.
Thanks everyone - the essay is worth 35% of my honours mark & I'll only have four weeks to do it once I've finished my thesis, so this help is fantastic! If anyone else is interested, I've also been recommended The Secret Origins of the Bible & Who Wrote the New Testament?: The Making of the Christian Myth. Thanks again - I'll let you know how I go!
