Description: Historical-Jesus research continues to captivate the interests of scholars, and recently, there has been renewed discussion of the criteria for authenticity. The first half of this volume reviews the state of play in historical-Jesus research and examines the criteria in particular. One chapter is devoted to the so-called 'Quests', and a second critically charts the development of the criteria in the light of form criticism. One of the conclusions of this part of the volume is that several criteria, especially those based on linguistics, need re-evaluation. The second half of the volume proposes three new criteria, based upon use of the Greek language. These criteria are: Greek language and its context; textual variance; and discourse features. The criteria are proposed as a way forward in historical-Jesus research.
Brief description: Stanley E. Porter is President, Dean and Professor of New Testament, McMaster Divinity College, Canada.
Review Quotes: "This is an important book on an issue of import more widely than just in the area of historical Jesus research. While the particular topic of research is narrow...there are important ramifications for the whole area of histiography."" -Ashland Theological Journal" --Blurb from reviewer