Richard Burridgebs acclaimed study of the Christian Gospels is significantly updated and expanded in this second edition. Here Burridge engages the field of Gospel studies over the last hundred years, arguing convincingly for viewing the Gospels as biographical documents of the sort common throughout the Graeco-Roman world. In pursuing the question of his bookbs title, Burridge compares the work of the Christian evangelists with that of Graeco-Roman biographers. Drawing on insights from literary theory, he demonstrates that the widespread view of the Gospels as unique is false and discusses what a properly bbiographicalb perspective means for Gospel interpretation. New to this second edition of "What Are the Gospels?" are a long final chapter detailing the recent paradigm shift in Gospel scholarship -- a shift due in large part to this very book -- a foreword by Graham Stanton, and an appendix on the absence of comparable early Jewish biographies.Praise for the first edition: bOne of the hotly debated topics of recent years has been what type of literature the Gospels are. Richard Burridge reviews the data and discussion and proposes a solution. This treatment of the questions will serve as a standard for future work.

b-- "Religious Studies Review"bBurridgebs book is the most comprehensive and lucid discussion of the genre of the Gospels yet undertaken. This is a book that students of the Gospels cannot afford to avoid. It is a truly astonishing tour de force -- interdisciplinary biblical scholarship at its very best.b-- "Biblical Interpretation"bBurridge reexamines the old question of the genre of a Gospel. He situates it within the fluidgenre of Graeco-Roman biography through a study exacting in terms of new methods, a wealth of data, and rigor. This is an immensely learned volume. It not only represents a superb survey of the topic but also breaks ne.