Table of Contents

Introduction: Drowning in a Sea of Gospels
1: The Proof is in the Papyri: Gospel Bestsellers from Egyptian Garbage Dumps
2: Silencing the Bishop, Part I: The Lonely Irenaeus
3: Silencing the Bishop, Part II: The Ugly Irenaeus
4: Irenaeus' 'Co-conspirators': Clement, Serapion, and a Canon-list-maker
5: 'Packaging' the Gospels: of Harmonies, Synopses, and Codices
6: Preaching and Teaching the Gospels: Justin Martyr and the Apostles' Memoirs
7: Justin's 'Co-conspirators': The Gospels as Public Documents
8: Some 'Proto-conspirators': Two Forgers and an Apologist
9: Some 'Co-proto-conspirators': The Apostolic Fathers
10: The Search for an 'Arch-conspirator': A Bishop, an Elder, and an Elderly Apostle
11: Who Chose the Gospels?
Appendix: Dates of the earliest manuscripts of the canonical Gospels
Glossary
Index

Reviews

`For those willing to examine the documentary evidence, there is no better guide than this book by Charles E. Hill. Hill is meticulous, even-handed, careful to distinguish between historical datum and speculation and a good writer to boot. Not many books that are so informed are such a pleasure to read.'
D. A. Carson
`A lively, engaging, and authoritative account of the origins and early history of the fourfold gospel.'
Andrew Gregory, University of Oxford
`Compelling...accessible and lively...a valuable book.'
Church of England Newspaper