The Origins of Early Christian Literature Quotes

“Likewise, the rhetorical claims, themes, and narrative structure of the Synoptic gospels are artifacts of certain traditions of imperial-age literature, and not evidence of their reliability and “incomparable uniqueness” as religious texts.”
― Robyn Faith Walsh, The Origins of Early Christian Literature: Contextualizing the New Testament within Greco-Roman Literary Culture

“The true origins of Christianity are in how its canonical texts were later collated, circulated, and established as authoritative, not in the mythic constructions we find described in the writings themselves.40 In other words, we should not confuse the aspirations of the second century for the realities of the first.”
― Robyn Faith Walsh, The Origins of Early Christian Literature: Contextualizing the New Testament within Greco-Roman Literary Culture

“It stands to reason that the gospel authors were similarly trained and positioned, working within cadres of fellow, cultural elites.20 Some of their associates may or may not have even had an understanding of being “in Christ”; the act of writing itself was the principle and guiding sphere of influence. In such a historical context, the gospel writers are not the “founding fathers” of a religious tradition – at least not in their historical moment. They are rational agents producing literature about a Judean teacher, son of God, and wonder-worker named Jesus.”
― Robyn Faith Walsh, The Origins of Early Christian Literature: Contextualizing the New Testament within Greco-Roman Literary Culture

“This book argues against approaches to the Synoptic gospels that treat them principally as religious texts. Such approaches impede our ability to evaluate these works as we would any other kind of Greco-Roman literature.”
― Robyn Faith Walsh, The Origins of Early Christian Literature: Contextualizing the New Testament within Greco-Roman Literary Culture

“Later church fathers like Justin Martyr, Origen, Tertullian, Minucius Felix, Arnobius, and competitors like Celsus all acknowledged that “the early Christians patterned Jesus’ resurrection tale after the Roman imperial and Greek heroic, mythographic tradition.”
― Robyn Faith Walsh, The Origins of Early Christian Literature: Contextualizing the New Testament within Greco-Roman Literary Culture