Reception of the Jesus Tradition in the First Three Centuries: Volume 3

by Chris Keith

The first three centuries can be regarded as the formative period of Christianity. The developments during this time led to the distinction of canonical and non-canonical writings, to organizational structures of the Christian church, and to the establishment of the Christian creed. In The Reception of the Jesus in the First Three Centuries Helen Bond,Chris L. Keith, and Jens Schröter provide a methodologically sophisticated resource, showing the reception history of Jesus and the Jesus tradition in early Christianity. The volumes focus upon the diversity of receptions of the Jesus tradition in this time period, with memory theory providing the framework for approaching the complex interactions between the past of the tradition and the present of its receptions. Rather than address texts specifically as canonical or non-canonical the volumes show the more complex reality of the reception of the Jesus tradition in early Christianity. Core literary texts such as Gospels and other early Christian writings are discussed in detail, but the volumes also highlight the importance of Jesus tradition in literary and non-literary contexts outside the gospel genre. This includes the Apostolic Fathers, patristic writers, traditions such as the Abgar Legend, and modifications to the gospel genre such as the Diatesseron. Evidence from material culture, such as pictographic representations of Jesus in the staurogram and Alexamenos Graffito, as well as visual presentations of gospel tradition in sarcophagi carvings are also be included in order to fully reflect the transmission and reception of the Jesus tradition. Methodologically the volumes assume new approaches to history, memory, and tradition, to provide a cutting-edge approach that focuses upon reception-history rather than the putative actual past. This cutting-edge reference resource provides a fresh and comprehensive account of the complex development of early Christian thought about Jesus.It will fuel future discussions of early Christian history, the historical Jesus, the development of the New Testament canon, and non-canonical Jesus traditions for years to come.

528 pages, Hardcover

Published September 19, 2019

About the author

Chris Keith (PhD, University of Edinburgh) is professor of New Testament and early Christianity and director of the Centre for the Social-Scientific Study of the Bible at St. Mary's University College, Twickenham. He was a 2010 recipient of the John Templeton Award for Theological Promise for his book The Pericope Adulterae, the Gospel of John, and the Literacy of Jesus and was named a 2012 Society of Biblical Literature Regional Scholar.