By the late second century, early Christian gospels had been divided into two groups by a canonical boundary that assigned normative status to four of them while consigning their competitors to the margins. Connecting Gospels: Beyond the Canonical/Non-canonical Divide finds new ways to reconnect these divided texts. Starting from the assumption that, in spite of their differences, all early gospels express a common belief in the absolute significance of Jesus and his earthly career, this authoritative collection makes their interconnectedness fruitful for interpretation. The contributors have each selected a theme or topic and trace it across two or more gospels on either side of the canonical boundary, and the resulting convergences and divergences shed light not least on the canonical texts themselves as they are read from new and unfamiliar vantage points. This volume demonstrates that early gospel literature can be regarded as a single field of study, in contrast to the overwhelming predominance of the canonical four characteristic of traditional gospels scholarship.

About the Author
Francis Watson currently holds a Chair of Biblical Interpretation at Durham University, having previously held the Kirby Laing Chair at the University of Aberdeen (1999-2007) and posts at King's College London (1984-99). His publications include Gospel Writing: A Canonical Perspective (2013) and The Fourfold Gospel (2016). He has served as editor of the Journal for the Study of the New Testament, Early Christianity, and New Testament Studies, and he holds a Professorial Fellowship at Australian Catholic University, Melbourne. Sarah Parkhouse is Research Fellow at Australian Catholic University, Melbourne. She gained her PhD from Durham University in 2017, having held a studentship on a research project entitled 'The Fourfold Gospel and its Rivals', funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). Her research interests lie in the field of early Christian non-canonical literature, with a particular focus on gospels or gospel-related texts preserved in Coptic, from Nag Hammadi and elsewhere.

Reviews
The volume contains three parts which map onto the life of Jesus. Part 1, Beginnings, contains four essays that address issues related to the backstory of Jesus or different configurations of the birth accounts. The second part turns to aspects of Jesus's ministry, particularly the accounts of Jesus in Nazareth, engagement with Jews and the role of women. The final part focuses on the passion accounts and eschatology.Each essay brings important insights on the relationships of the ancient texts. The studies expose the complex interactions of these texts and the variety of ways in which the texts were employed in the ancient world. While each essay makes a contribution to the study of individual gospels, the volume as a whole raises important and difficult questions. * Jason Maston, Religious Studies Review *
This volume contains thought-provoking exploration in crossing the canonical divide in gospel writings * Thomas Haviland-Pabst, Criswell Theological Review *
This is a valuable and often technical collection of essays. * Andrew Gregory, University College, Anvil *
This excellent volume is completed by Jens Schroeter, who traces the presentation of Jesus in early Christian gospels. His contribution reinforces the conclusions of many of the essays: non-canonical gospels should be seen as much as a development of the gospel tradition as Matthew and Luke's reworking of Mark. Evangelists, whether canonical or not, were engaged in the continuing development of the Jesus tradition, writing gospels that were designed to complement, supplement or even compete with those that came before. * Francis Watson and Sarah Parkhouse, Journal for the Study of the New Testament *



Book Information
ISBN 9780198814801
Author Francis Watson
Format Hardback
Page Count 296
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 612g
Dimensions(mm) 242mm * 165mm * 24mm