Catholic Bible Study: Lectio The Case for Jesus

Episode: Are the Gospels Biographies?

Host: Augustine Institute

Date: February 16, 2026

Episode Overview

In this session of the Lectio Bible Study, the host from the Augustine Institute delves into the genre and historical reliability of the Gospels, tackling the question: Are the Gospels biographies, folklore, or something else? Building on previous sessions on authorship, this episode explores the historical and literary evidence for understanding the Gospels as ancient biographies with the intent to convey historical truth about Jesus, rather than as myth, legend, or folklore.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Importance of Genre in Interpreting the Gospels

• Defining the Problem:
  Skeptics, such as Bart Ehrman, argue that even if Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John wrote the Gospels, this doesn’t guarantee their historical accuracy, proposing instead that the Gospels are a form of folklore, similar to the story of George Washington and the cherry tree.
  • Quote [03:06]:

    “We tell the story not because it really happened, but because in some sense we think it is true. The stories about Jesus in the early church may have been similar.” – Bart Ehrman (as quoted by Host)

• Personal Relevance:
  The issue of genre affects faith and interpretative approaches – do we read the Gospels with trust, or with skepticism like we would a collection of fairy tales?
  • Quote [07:20]:

    “This has major implications for the way you approach the New Testament...do you read it with a hermeneutic of trust? Or...like it’s Grimm’s Fairy Tales?”

2. Understanding Ancient Biography (Bioi) and the Gospels

• Comparison with Greco-Roman Biographies:
  The host reviews notable ancient biographies by Josephus, Plutarch, Suetonius, and Lucian, showing that biographies were common and had distinct characteristics:
  • Focused on the life and death of a single individual
  • Included parts on ancestry, public career, and often death
  • Medium length (10,000–20,000 words)
  • Thematic and not always chronological
  • Selective rather than exhaustive narratives
  • Quote [17:25]:

    “So when you look at those ancient biographies, you actually go read them for yourself...they’re really similar to the kinds of books we have in the New Testament about Jesus.”

• Parallels in the Gospels:
  • Infancy/nativity (Matthew, Luke), public ministry, death
  • Opening genealogies (Matthew 1 is like Josephus’ priestly pedigree)
  • Medium length matches ancient biography standards (e.g., Matthew ~18,000 words; Mark ~11,000)
  • Selectivity (cf. John 21:25) and thematic organization (cf. Matthew’s speeches)
• Counter to Modern Standards:
  Modern biographies include more psychological details and appearance; ancient ones did not. Critiques that the Gospels “aren’t biographies” because they lack these are based on anachronistic standards.
  • Quote [29:50]:

    “That's an absurd argument to make because those are the features of modern biographies, but they're not standard in ancient writings.”

3. Selectivity and Organization in Ancient (and Gospel) Biographies

• Non-Chronological, Thematic Organization:
  Ancient biographers (e.g., Suetonius) often ordered material by category rather than chronology.
  • Quote [33:45]:

    “Not in chronological order, but by categories to make the account clearer and more intelligible.” – Suetonius (as quoted by Host)

• Selective Content:
  Ancient biographies necessarily omitted details due to space limitations (one scroll: 10,000–20,000 words), paralleling the Gospels, which are selective for similar reasons.
  • Quote [39:15]:

    “These are a very few things out of many that I might have mentioned. But they will suffice to give my readers a notion of the sort of man he Demonax was.” – Lucian

4. Modern Scholarship’s Shift and Importance for Christian Faith

• Scholarly Consensus Changing:
  Recent decades have seen mainstream scholars (e.g., James Dunn) recognize the Gospels as ancient biographies rather than folklore.
  • Quote [45:58]:

    “Since the 1970s, it has become much clearer that the Gospels are in fact, very similar in type to ancient biographies in the Greek bioi, in Latin vitae.” – James Dunn

• Historical Grounding of Christianity:
  Christianity stakes itself on historical events (e.g., “crucified under Pontius Pilate” in the Creed) rather than abstract moral or mythical truths.

5. Intent of the Gospel Writers: History, Not Fairytale

• Ancient Historical Ethos:
  Even pagan writers (e.g., Lucian) insisted that the historian’s task is to tell what actually happened.

  • Quote [51:13]:

    “The historian's task is one: to tell it as it happened. This is the one peculiar characteristic of history, that to truth alone must sacrifice be made.” – Lucian

• Internal Evidence from the Gospels Themselves:

  • Luke’s Prologue (Luke 1:1–4):
    Luke explicitly presents his Gospel as an “orderly account” based on eyewitnesses, aimed at truth, not storytelling.
    • Quote [53:01]:

      “It seemed good to me also...to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the truth concerning the things of which you have been informed.”

  • John’s Eyewitness Affirmation (John 19:35, 21:25):
    John steps into the narrative to certify his testimony’s truth.
    • Quote [56:11]:

      “He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true...that you also may believe.” – John 19:35

6. Ancient Biographies and the Expectation of Verbatim Accuracy

• Substance over Word-for-Word Accuracy:
  Ancient historiography aimed to present the substance of events and speeches, not stenographic transcripts.
  • Example: Words of institution at the Last Supper differ in each Gospel but relay the same fundamental message.
  • Quote [01:00:19]:

    “Are those identical? No. But are they saying the same thing?...the substance is the same.”

  • Pope Benedict XVI noted that the Gospels are not transcripts but “faithfully giving us the substance of his words and his actions.”

Memorable Quotes & Timestamps

• On genre’s impact on faith:

  “When I learned these skeptical ideas about [the Gospels], now I don't know what's true and what's not. When I read this story, instead of being able to pray with it, I'm wondering, ‘Did this actually happen? Did Jesus say this? Is this just a myth?’” (08:18)

• On biography vs. folklore:

  “If you actually look at the Gospels and compare them with other ancient writings from their time period, it is undeniable that they are biographies...historical biographies that intend to tell us the truth about what Jesus did and what Jesus said.” (13:41)

• Defining ancient biography:

  “A biography focuses on just one individual. It usually has three basic parts: birth or childhood, public career, and then almost always the person's death.” (19:42)

• On selectivity:

  “All biographies, by definition, are selective. Well, that’s even more true of ancient biographies, which tend to be shorter.” (37:59)

• Modern misconception:

  “The Gospels weren't written yesterday, they were written 2,000 years ago.” (30:11)

• Ancient historian’s ethos:

  “To truth alone must sacrifice be made.” – Lucian (51:40)

• Luke’s prologue – strong historical intent:

  “Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things...delivered to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses...to write an orderly account for you...that you may know the truth concerning the things of which you have been informed.” (53:08)

• John, eye-witness certification:

  “He who saw it has borne witness and his what is true testimony and he knows he tells the truth that you may also believe...” (56:16)

• On differences in Gospel accounts:

  “Are those identical? No. But are they saying the same thing?...So the substance is the same.” (01:00:19)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• Intro and Statement of Issue – 00:03
• Skeptical View: Gospels as Folklore (Bart Ehrman) – 02:45
• Personal Story: The Question’s Real-World Impact – 07:05
• The Importance of Genre – 10:19
• Ancient Biographies Explained – 13:39
• Parallels Between Gospels & Ancient Biographies – 17:25
• Genealogies and Ancestry in Ancient Works – 23:10
• Length and Selectivity in Ancient Biography – 27:20
• Chronology and Thematic Organization – 33:45
• Selectivity in Gospels (John 21:25) – 39:05
• Modern Scholarship’s Perspective – 45:51
• Christianity as Historical Religion – 49:22
• Ancient Understanding of Historical Truth (Lucian) – 51:13
• Gospel Writers’ Express Intent (Luke 1, John 19) – 53:01
• Ancient Biographies & Verbatim Accuracy – 01:00:12
• Conclusion and Preview of Next Session – 01:04:10

Summary

This episode comprehensively argues that the Gospels are best understood as ancient historical biographies rather than folklore or theological fiction. Drawing from Greco-Roman literary parallels, internal Gospel evidence, and modern scholarship, the host demonstrates that the evangelists sought to record real events and teachings of Jesus, though with the selectivity and literary conventions of ancient biography. The distinction has major implications for faith, interpretation, and the historical foundations of Christianity.

Notable Resources Mentioned

• Bart Ehrman, “The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings,” skepticism about Gospel historicity.
• James Dunn, recognized shift in scholarly views post-1970s.
• Pope Benedict XVI, on substance-over-verbatim accuracy in the Gospels.
• Lucian, Suetonius, Plutarch, Josephus – examples of ancient biographers.

Next episode will focus on whether the Gospels could actually preserve accurate memory of events, addressing the date and time elapsed between the events and their recording.