The Earliest Gospels: the Origins and Transmission of the Earliest Christian Gospels; the Contribution of the Chester Beat (Revised)

Brief Description: Horton brings together the latest research on the origins of the gospels and their transmission, and provides the only guide to the Chester Beatty Codex P45. Provides an introduction to the gospel genre and examining literacy among early Christians and all that is known about the origins and transmission of the gospels. Also focuses on the significance of P45, its place as the earliest Christian gospel-book, its unique readings, the earliest extant version of the gospel of Mark, and how the manuscript was found piece by piece by an American collector. Review Quotes: 'This is a worthwhile collection, useful also because in it authors such as Hengel, Gamble, Stanton and Petersen summarize in a single article arguments that they have laid out at much greater length.' P. J. Williams, Themelios, 32/1--Sanford Lakoff "Themelios "Review Quotes: Mention - International Review of Biblical Studies, Vol. 51:2004/05--Sanford LakoffBiographical Note: Charles Horton is Curator of the Western Collections of the Chester Beatty Library, DublinTable of Contents: Introduction Contributors Abbreviations Chronology Part 1 The Earliest Christian Gospels and Their Transmission 1 Early Christian Imagination and the Gospels, Sean Freyn 2 The Four Gospels and the One Gospel of Jesus Christ, Martin Hengel 3 Literacy, Liturgy and the Shaping of the New Testament Canon, Harry Gamble 4 Early Christian Preference for the Codex, Graham Stanton 5 The Diatessaron and the Fourfold Gospel, William L. Petersen 6 The Nag Hammadi Gospels and the Fourfold Gospel, James Robinson 7 The Latin Gospels, Martin McNamara Part 2 The Chester Beatty Gospel Codex P45 1 The Significance of the Chester Beatty Papyri in Early Church History, Barbara Aland 2 Singular Readings in the Gospel Text of P45, J. K. Elliott 3 P45 and the Textual History of the Gospel of Mark, Larry Hurtado 4 The Chester Beatty Biblical Papyri, Charles Horton Illustrations Maps Bibliography Index

Contributor Bio:  Horton, Charles Charles Horton is Curator of the Western Collections of the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin