Christobiography: Memory, History, and the Reliability of the Gospels
Craig S. Keener
Christobiography: Memory, History, and the Reliability of the Gospels
Craig S. Keener
Demonstrates the reliability of the canonical gospels by exploring the genre of ancient biography
The canonical gospels are ancient biographies, narratives of Jesus’s life. The authors of these gospels were intentional in how they handled historical information and sources.
Building on recent work in the study of ancient biographies, Craig Keener argues that the writers of the canonical gospels followed the literary practices of other biographers in their day. In Christobiography he explores the character of ancient biography and urges students and scholars to appreciate the gospel writers’ method and degree of accuracy in recounting the ministry of Jesus. Keener’s Christobiography has far-reaching implications for the study of the canonical gospels and historical-Jesus research.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Part 1. Biographies about Jesus
Not a Novel Proposal
Examples and Development of Ancient Biography
What Sort of Biographies Are the Gospels?
What Did First-Century Audiences Expect of Biographies?
Part 2 Biographies and HistoryBiographies and Historical Information
What Historical Interests Meant in Antiquity
Luke-Acts as Biohistory
Sources Close to the Events
Part 3. Testing the Range of DeviationCase Studies: Biographies of Recent Characters Use Prior Information
Flex Room: Literary Techniques in Ancient Biographies
Part 4. Two Objections to Gospels as Historical BiographiesWhat about Miracles?
What about John?
Part 5. Memories about Jesus: Memories before MemoirsMemory Studies
Jesus Was a Teacher
Oral Tradition, Oral History
The Implications of This Study
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