I just finished the Kindle of Richard Bauckham’s Jesus and the Eyewitnesses. That is, I just finished the last three chapters which were added on to the second edition. I had read the first edition as a paperback a few years ago and I was very impressed at the time. I’d encourage anyone to get the second edition and go through the whole book but especially the added chapters. (The added chapter on the authorship of John’s Gospel has less to do with form criticism than the others but it is a very interesting and important topic in its own right.) Building on the work of others but also contributing new material and powerful arguments, Bauckham has delivered the final fatal blow to form criticism. Yes, there will be more details to cover and more studies to flush out the remaining resistance. Kuhn demonstrated half a century ago that a true scientific paradigm shift will often never occur until the old generation of scholars passes away and a new one free of their old prejudices emerges. Since biblical scholars are not always as open to solid arguments as scientists, it may take that long or longer before they admit the death of form criticism. They will no longer be able to describe the origins of the NT as a game of telephone with one child whispering into the ear of another in a long line until the final message comes out totally different from the original. The Gospel of Mark, say, likely went directly from Peter to Mark.
Even Ehrman’s assault on testimonial evidence from human memory--as thoroughly as he submitted his case in Jesus Before the Gospels—can no longer stand. None of his examples of mistaken memories applies to people who were constantly repeating the stories and teachings of Jesus just days after Pentecost (probably even days after the resurrection). These were people who were not only strongly motivated to accurately recall and repeat what they remembered but they were constantly repeating it within the hearing of others who could correct any minor misstatements. Peter and others would be constantly giving Jesus’ teachings to new converts who had heard very little of Jesus’ words or none at all. At first any errors would be corrected, though these would usually be minor, but then with more repetition the accounts would be deeply engrained in the teachers’ memories. It needn’t have been a verbatim copy of Jesus’ teachings or follow a precise video-like recording of his deeds. Just an accurate paraphrase was sometimes enough (though there is reason to think that sometimes much greater accuracy was maintained).
Now if this is just a feasible guess as to how the Gospels came to us, we should recognize that the form critical scenario isn’t even feasible. Should we really think that the first Christians molded and reshaped Jesus’ teachings to their liking or life situation, that they actually thought so little of his original words? Certainly some churches could have been somewhat isolated from other churches and their own memory of the stories and teachings of Jesus they originally received could have become distorted with time. But all that would have changed for them with the writing and dispersal of the Gospels and possibly even with the writing of Q (mostly the teachings of Jesus) some years earlier. Any meager development of oral tradition would not have affected the strong eyewitness basis for the historicity of the Gospels.
But that the Gospels came to us primarily directly through eyewitnesses isn’t just a very feasible guess. The external evidence for this scenario is very strong. We have Papias’ word (about 120 CE) that Mark wrote Peter’s teachings as Peter recalled Jesus’ words and deeds . (Just because Papias had some other strange ideas gives us no reason to distrust his testimony here, as Ehrman suggests.) Then around 150 Justin said that the churches read from and accepted as authoritative the Memoirs of the Apostles (including one he called the Memoirs of Peter). (These were “composed by the apostles and those who accompanies them,” he said.) These are likely the four Gospels in that Justin’s disciple, Tatian, later wrote the Diatessaron, which was almost entirely a harmony of the four Gospels. Only the four canonical Gospels, the Gospels we have today in the NT, were unquestionably authoritative as Tatian’s sources. This supports the belief that the Gospel Papias had in mind was the Gospel we know as Mark. External evidences like these (and there are more) should be sufficient to establish the eyewitness foundation for the Gospels, including Peter as Mark’s source. Bauckham’s rigorous study of both internal and external evidence, much very new to the field, is a godsend.
In Bauckham’s last added chapter, “The End of Form Criticism,” he says he reached his conclusion “as I allowed the the evidence and arguments to take me the way they did.” (590). Anyone involved in biblical studies should be aware of these arguments. The second edition is available on Amazon for less than $10.
Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime and start saving today with fast, free delivery
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Join or create book clubs
Choose books together
Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Follow the author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
Frequently bought together
$38.20
Get it as soon as Monday, May 6
In Stock
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Choose items to buy together.
Similar items that may deliver to you quickly
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
From the Publisher
New in the Second Edition
- 3 substantial new chapters
- Clarifies key points
- Answers critics
- New preface
Jesus and the Eyewitnesses
Second Edition
Richard Bauckham’s groundbreaking work challenged more than a century of Jesus scholarship and signaled a paradigm shift in how scholars understand the origins of the canonical Gospels.
Drawing on non-biblical texts, oral tradition, and biblical evidence, Bauckham argues that the Gospels are the product of eyewitnesses accounts of Jesus’s life and ministry. Bauckham encourages readers to dispense with the “Christ of faith” and “Christ of history” bifurcation and declares the end of form criticism—a point Bauckham makes explicitly clear in the second edition.
- 2007 Christianity Today Book of the Year: Biblical Studies
- 2008 Burkitt Medal
- 2009 Michael Ramsey Prize
Richard Bauckham
Richard Bauckham is professor emeritus of New Testament studies at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, senior scholar at Ridley Hall, Cambridge, and a fellow of both the British Academy and the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
Bauckham is best known for his work on the Gospels, but he has also contributed significant work on the theology of Jürgen Moltmann, theological approaches to environmental issues, Christology, New Testament theology, and the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha.
Books by Richard Bauckham
- The Bible in the Contemporary World
- Jesus and the God of Israel
- Gospel Women
- The Gospels for all Christians
- Old Testament Pseudepigrapha
- The Epistle to the Hebrews and Christian Theology
- The Gospel of John and Christian Theology
Praise for Jesus and the Eyewitnesses
|
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
N.T. WrightRichard Bauckham draws on his unparalleled knowledge of the world of the first Christians to argue not only that the Gospels do indeed contain eyewitness testimony but that their first readers would certainly have recognized them as such. This book is a remarkable piece of detective work, resulting in a fresh and vivid approach to dozens, perhaps hundreds, of well-known problems. |
Martin HengelFascinating! . . . This book ought to be read by all theologians and historians working in the field of early Christianity. Further, Bauckham's convincing historical method and broad learning will also help pastors and students to overcome widespread modern Jesus fantasies. |
Graham StantonShakes the foundations of a century of scholarly study of the Gospels. There are surprises on every page. A wealth of new insights will provoke lively discussion for a long time to come. Readers at all levels will be grateful for Bauckham's detective work that uncovers clues missed by so many. |
Ben WitheringtonThere are books that are interesting, there are books that are important and then there are seminal studies that serve as road markers for the field, pointing the way forward. Richard Bauckham’s Jesus and the Eyewitnesses is in the latter category, to be sure. |
About the author
Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Top reviews from other countries
Adhinan Assrauy
Talvez o melhor livro que já tenha lido
Reviewed in Brazil on July 17, 2020
Mr. Mark R. Summers
After reading this book liberal theology no longer seems credible.
Reviewed in Germany on September 15, 2018
