Who Chose the Gospels?

The Bible contains four Gospels which tell the story of Jesus of Nazareth. And yet, many more Gospels once existed. Who, then, determined which Gospels would, for the next two thousand years, serve as the main gateways to Jesus and his teaching? Recent books and films have traced the decision to a series of fourth-century councils and powerful bishops. After achieving victory over their rivals for the Christian name, these key players, we are now told, conspired to 'rewrite history' to make it look like their version of Christianity was the original one preached by Jesus and his apostles: the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John became the prime tools for their re-sculpting of the Christian story, leading to the destruction of previously treasured writings like the Gospels of Judas, Mary, and Thomas. Are the four canonical Gospels, then, in the Bible as the result of a great, ecclesiastical conspiracy? Or does this explanation itself represent another 'rewriting of history', this time by a group of modern academics? Who Chose the Gospels? takes us to the scholarship behind the headlines, examining the great (and ongoing) controversy about how to look at ancient books about Jesus. How the four Biblical Gospels emerged into prominence among their competitors is a crucial question for everyone interested in understanding the historical Jesus and the development of the Christian church.

ISBN 0199551235   Pages 320 ISBN13 9780199551231 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 468 Publisher Oxford University Press   Published in Oxford Imprint Oxford University Press   Height (mm) 208 Format Hardback   Width (mm) 142 Publication date 30 Sep 2010   Spine width (mm) 22 DEWEY 226.067   Academic level General DEWEY edition DC22

		List of Illustrations
		List of Tables
		Abbreviations
		Introduction: Drowning in a Sea of Gospels		1
1		The Proof is in the Papyri? Gospel Bestsellers from Egyptian Garbage Dumps		7
2		Silencing the Bishop, Part I: The Lonely Irenaeus		34
3		Silencing the Bishop, Part II: The Ugly Irenaeus		52
4		Irenaeus' 'Co-conspirators': A Teacher, a Preacher, and a Canon-list Maker		69
5		'Packaging' the Gospels: Of Harmonies, Synopses, and Codices		103
6		Preaching and Teaching the Gospels: Justin Martyr and the Apostles' Memoirs		123
7		Justin's 'Co-conspirators': The Gospels as Public Documents		151
8		Some 'Proto-conspirators': Two Forgers and an Apologist		161
9		Some 'Co-proto-conspirators': The Apostolic Fathers		183
10		The Search for an 'Arch-conspirator': A Bishop, an Elder, and an Elderly Apostle		207
11		Who Chose the Gospels?		226
		Appendix: Dates of the Earliest Manuscripts of the Canonical Gospels		248
		Glossary		251
		Endnotes		256
		Index		289

To anyone rightly confused by what they read in some papers and often see on television, Prof. Hill's book will be a revealing, and perhaps even reassuring, read. The Irish Catholic A magnificent, well-written book... No Christian worker should be without this book! Evangelicals Now A highly successful and informative treatment. Expository Times Compelling book...it is accessible and lively...this is a valuable book that is already a bargain at full price. Church of England Newspaper

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