Description
Book SynopsisThe publication of Richard Burridge's
What Are the Gospels? in 1992 inaugurated a transformation in Gospel studies by overturning the previous consensus about Gospel uniqueness. Burridge argued convincingly for an understanding of the Gospels as biographies, a ubiquitous genre in the Graeco-Roman world.
Trade ReviewBurridge's book is a standard and exemplary resource for historical research on the Gospels. -- Ben Witherington III
Table of Contents
- Preface to the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Edition
- Foreword to the Second Edition
- Preface to the Second Edition
- Preface to the Original Edition
- Abbreviations
- [new to the 25th anniversary edition] Gospels and Biography, 2000-2018: A Critical Review and Implications for Future Research
- A. The Literary Theory of Genre
- B. Gospel Scholarship and Commentaries
- C. Gospel Genre and Audience
- D. The Genre of Acts
- E. Roman Catholic Reactions
- F. Biography and Historiography
- G. Further Implications for New Research
- Conclusion
- Critical Review Bibliography
- PART ONE: THE PROBLEM
- 1. Historical Survey
- 2. Genre Criticism and Literary Theory
- 3. Genre Criticism and Graeco-Roman
- 4. Evaluation of Recent Debate
- PART TWO: THE PROPOSED SOLUTION
- 5. Generic Features
- 6. The Generic Features of Early Graeco-Roman Bioi?á
- 7. The Generic Features of Later Graeco-Roman Bioi
- 8. The Synoptic Gospels
- 9. The Fourth Gospel
- 10. Conclusions and Implications
- 11. Reactions and Developments
- Appendix I: Analysis Charts of Verb Subjects
- Appendix II: Gospel Genre, Christological Controversy and the Absence of Rabbinic Biography
- Appendix III: The Genre of Acts Revisited
- Select Bibliography
- Index of Passages
- Index of Names and Subjects
