Jesus Tradition, Early Christian Memory, and Gospel Writing: The Long Search for the Authentic Source

Breaking a 200-year impasse on the origins of the gospels 
 
Biblical scholars want to get to the roots of the gospels--the very earliest memories of Jesus and his world. Though scholars know about all the major concepts at work--Q, the Urgospel, priority--it seems like a definitive solution to the Synoptic problem is hopelessly unattainable. Why the impasse? And where do we go from here?  
  
In Jesus Tradition, Early Christian Memory, and Gospel Writing, Alan Kirk guides us through the history of biblical scholars' quest for the authentic source. Kirk reveals that outdated assumptions about ancient media realities have caused the past two centuries of academic deadlock. Using cutting-edge scholarship on orality, memory, and tradition formation, he shows how the origins of the gospels may be found in the memory practices of the earliest Jesus communities.  
 
Jesus Tradition, Early Christian Memory, and Gospel Writing is an essential resource for scholars and students looking to better understand this complex and rapidly changing field.

About the Author

Alan Kirk is professor of religion at James Madison University, Virginia, where he teaches a range of courses in New Testament and early Christianity. His research focuses on ancient gospels, including applications of cognitive and cultural memory theory to problems in the origins and history of the gospel tradition. He is the author of several books, most recently Memory and the Jesus Tradition and Q in Matthew.