What Are the Gospels?: A Comparison with Graeco-Roman Biography Book

Burridge effectively makes the case that the proper genre of the Gospels is ancient, Greco-Roman βίοι. The views of the last centuries supposed Gospels were some kind of new literature sui generis composed of various forms (sayings, myths, etc). Burridge shows that the content, structure, and form of the Gospels demonstrates that it is instead a type of biography ' albeit one with theological interest ' intended to communicate to an audience about the subject (Jesus Christ) for various purposes. Burridge's taxonomy of βίοι/Gospels is quite effective and provides a good model for analyzing literature in general. Any attempts to negate his findings will need to be able to create an alternative literature taxonomy.