The Gospels According to Michael Goulder: A North American Response

Michael Goulder is an original and stimulating thinker, a former Anglican priest—now an atheist—who now contributes to biblical scholarship from the faculty of the University of Birmingham. His positions frequently are at odds with many of his contemporaries, but he challenges them, and they are appreciative. Here, a collection of North American scholars respond to his writings on the gospels, and Goulder himself responds.“Goulder is the odd man out, and many of us have squirmed from time to time when he challenged our guild to the hilt. That is his specialty, and these essays tell him how fruitful, delightful, and meaningful a stimulus that has been . . . Goulder’s proposal may not be a perfect pearl, but is a pearl nonetheless.” —Krister Stendahl, from the Afterword“These essays show how exciting and interesting arguments about the Synoptic Problem at their best can be.” —David L. Dungan, University of TennesseeMichael Goulder has made seminal contributions to contemporary New Testament scholarship with studies ranging from the Gospels and Acts to the Pauline epistles. His work has also provoked controversy, especially his view that the Gospels—particularly Matthew—were written as Midrash on the liturgies of the Jewish festivals and calendar. This is a theory upon which some of the bestselling work of John Shelby Spong is based. Goulder also argues that the hypothetical sayings source Q—accepted as fact by the majority of New Testament scholars—never existed.The Gospels According to Michael Goulder is a comprehensive and critical evaluation and commentary on his work. In addition to the contributions, Goulder himself responds to his critics. Contributors include:Bruce Chilton, Bard CollegeJohn Kloppenborg Verbin, St. Michael’s College/University of Toronto Gary Gilbert, Claremont-McKenna CollegeAlan Segal, Barnard College, Columbia UniversityKrister Stendahl, Harvard University Divinity SchoolChris Rollston is Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies, Emmanuel School of Religion, and Fellow of Johns Hopkins University. He lives in Bel Air, Maryland.