Christobiography

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 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 Biographies of Recent Characters Use Prior Information

            11. Flex 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 Memories before Memoirs

            14. Memory Studies

            15. Jesus Was a Teacher

            16. Oral Tradition, Oral History

            17. The Implications of This Study