Gospels Abraham in Luke’s Gospel Approaching the Gospels Are the Gospels reliable? Bart Ehrman’s ‘Top Ten’ spurious verses Compositional devices in ancient biographies Crafting a story the Jesus way Demons, ghosts, and Jesus Did Jesus know Greek? Did the Gospels become increasingly anti-Semitic? Discussion starters, Jn 20:1-18 Does typology imply fiction? Dying and rising gods How the resurrection accounts fit their 1st century setting Imagining the Kingdom Intentional ‘contradictions’ in John’s writings Jesus and the Eyewitnesses Lk 1:1-4 – “Dear Theophilus” – sermon notes Luke 2:39 – No room for a flight into Egypt? Mark 1:1-20 – Four witnesses – sermon notes Mark 6:45 – ‘To Bethsaida’ Mark’s apocalyptic moments Mark’s Gospel and the ‘invention’ of the historical Jesus Mary Magdalene – fact and fiction Matthew 2:13-18 – ‘Out of Egypt’ Messianic secret Midrash Miracle and metaphor Mk 6:8f; Mt 10:10; Lk 9:3 – Staff, or no staff? Mt 12:30/Mk 9:40/Lk 11:23 – For, or against? Mt 3:17/Mk 1:11/Lk 3:22 – What did the voice say? One language, two religions Oral tradition and the Gospels Peter and Mark Protective anonymity in the Gospels Psalms of lament in the Gospels Repentance and forgiveness, the Wright way Seven Synoptic ‘Problems’ Tax collectors The ‘high Christology’ of the Synoptics The case of the rotting fisherman The Gospel Miracles The Gospels and eyewitness testimony – the use of names The Gospels as catachetical documents The Gospels as eyewitness testimony The historical reliability of the Gospels The Kingdom of God in Matthew’s Gospel The Myth of Christian Origins The plural-to-singular narrative device in Mark’s Gospel The psychology of eyewitness testimony The reliability of recollective memory The role of the apostles as authoritative eyewitnesses The twelve disciples as ‘official’ eyewitnesses What to look out for in Mark’s Gospel Where’s Joseph? Who wrote the Fourth Gospel? Why are Matthew’s and Luke’s birth narratives so different?