The Importance of Closeness to the Facts in the Gospels

In my recent book, The Mirror or the Mask: Liberating the Gospels from Literary Devices, I argue that the Gospels are historical reportage. This argument involves both positive evidence for literal accuracy and arguments against the views of Michael Licona, Craig Evans, and others that the evangelists felt free to make historical changes due to the literary conventions of their time. Dr. Licona has recently released a video series in which he claims to refute my work in The Mirror or the Mask. In this series, I respond. If you're interested in more information on these issues, please see the accompanying blog posts and, most importantly, The Mirror or the Mask itself.  In this episode, I discuss the genre of the Gospels. What do scholars mean when they say that the Gospels are or "have much in common with" Greco-Roman biography, and is it true? My deepest thanks to Immanuel Fellowship Church for their studio facilities and hard work in helping me to put together this video series. This recording was originally published Jul 10, 2020 on YouTube.

Blog post accompanying this video: https://lydiaswebpage.blogspot.com/2020/07/new-licona-series-on-greco-roman.html

The Mirror or the Mask: https://www.amazon.com/Mirror-Mask-Liberating-Gospels-Literary/dp/1947929070  Michael Licona, Why Are There Differences in the Gospels? https://www.amazon.com/Why-Are-There-Differences-Gospels/dp/0190264268
Mike Licona's video series on my work: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpPGCP1zKznR06Jxb5RaQYrNIiH7xR7ZR