The Quest for a Historical Jesus Methodology: Graeco-Roman Biographies, the Gospels, and the Practice of History

Michael Vicko Zolondek

Oct 2023 · Wipf and Stock Publishers

About this ebook

Throughout the "quest for the historical Jesus," there has been a parallel quest aimed at discovering new and improved methodologies for studying his life. This methodological quest was originally driven by the belief that the Gospels are so unique (even sui generis) among the literary works of their time that such "historical experimentation" (to use Schweitzer's words) is necessary for the task of reconstructing Jesus's life. Although most scholars today characterize the Gospels as a form of Graeco-Roman biography rather than sui generis literature, they nevertheless have continued this quest for new methodologies. This has left historical Jesus studies in a problematic methodological state. In this book, Zolondek argues that if the Gospels are indeed types of Graeco-Roman biographies of Jesus, then no such experimentation is necessary. Rather, historical Jesus scholars should instead be adopting the standard methodological practices that historians and classicists have for decades used to effectively reconstruct the lives of other ancient persons who were also the subjects of Graeco-Roman biographies. After providing examples of three such methodological practices, Zolondek goes on to offer suggestions as to how scholars might apply them to the study of Jesus and, in doing so, end their long-running methodological quest.

About the author

Michael Vicko Zolondek earned his BA and MA in Religious Studies from Florida International University before going on to earn his PhD in New Testament Language, Literature, and Theology from the University of Edinburgh. His research focuses on the historical Jesus, and he teaches Religious Studies at Florida International University in Miami, Florida. He is the author of We Have Found the Messiah (2016).