Christobiography: Memory, History, and the Reliability of the Gospels

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
            2. Not a Novel Proposal
            3. Examples and Development of Ancient Biography
            4. What Sort of Biographies Are the Gospels?
            5. What Did First-Century Audiences Expect of Biographies?
Part 2 Biographies and History
            6. Biographies and Historical Information
            7. What Historical Interests Meant in Antiquity
            8. Luke-Acts as Biohistory
            9. Sources Close to the Events
Part 3. Testing the Range of Deviation
            10. Case Studies: Biographies of Recent Characters Use Prior Information
            11. Flex Room: Literary Techniques in Ancient Biographies
Part 4. Two Objections to Gospels as Historical Biographies
            12. What about Miracles?
            13. What about John?
Part 5. Memories about Jesus: Memories before Memoirs
            14. Memory Studies
            15. Jesus Was a Teacher
            16. Oral Tradition, Oral History
            17. The Implications of This Study

• History and Eschatology: Jesus and the Promise of Natural Theology
• Jesus, Skepticism, and the Problem of History: Criteria and Context in the Study of Christian Origins
• Reading Romans with Eastern Eyes: Honor and Shame in Paul's Message and Mission
• Biblical Theology: The Convergence of the Canon
• Galatians: A Commentary
• Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World's Largest Religion
• Pastor Paul: Nurturing a Culture of Christoformity in the Church (Theological Explorations for the Church Catholic)
• The New Testament in Its World: An Introduction to the History, Literature, and Theology of the First Christians
• Myths and Mistakes in New Testament Textual Criticism
• Reading Romans Backwards: A Gospel of Peace in the Midst of Empire