The Birth of Christian History

“Early Christian accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus,however else they may be labeled, are narratives of a remembered past told to shape a community's future, historiography broadly construed. Eve Marie Becker poses large questions about that literature, such as how memory works and what purposes it serves, how history relates to mythology, how time is construed and manipulated in narrating the past. This book will no doubt stimulate debate and renewed reflection on how early Christian texts relate to their literary context.”—Harold Attridge, Yale University

“This is the first book in which the birth of Christian history is elucidated by comparing the narratives of the Gospels and Luke Acts with the cutting edge insights of modern Anglo-Saxon and German historiography. Eve-Marie Becker’s book will be indispensable for all students of emerging Christianity.”—Jan N. Bremmer, University of Groningen

“A fine-grained treatment combining masterly, insightful exposition of a breathtaking range of ancient sources with fresh, provocative arguments engaging major voices in the field. This book will surely advance the debate and should be referential for a long time.”— Carl R. Holladay, Emory University

“In her excellent book, Eve-Marie Becker combines contemporary research on historiography, memory, rituals and visualization with ancient Biblical, Jewish, Christian and Pagan Texts. Becker illuminates the earliest history of Christian historiography in a fresh and enlightening way.”—Christoph Markschies, Humboldt-University Berlin

"This fascinating study provides an innovative overview of the origins of Christian thinking and writing about history. Eve-Marie Becker insightfully manages to unfold the processess that brought about the transformation of memories into the narratives of Mark to Luke-Acts."—Doron Mendels, author of Memory in Jewish, Pagan and Christian Societies of the Graeco-Roman World