Oral-Formulaic Theory: Annotated Bibliography

John G. Gager. "The Gospels and Jesus: Some Doubts about Method." Journal of Religion, 54:244-72.

Examines three issues central to the quest for the "historical Jesus": the selection of sources, oral tradition, and the definition of criteria for identifying authentic words and deeds. On the model of work by Vansina and others, he contends that previous attempts to discover the historical figure proceeded on wrong or misleading assumptions about the nature of oral tradition.
Area: BI