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  • The Mirror or the Mask: Liberating the Gospels from Literary Devices by Lydia McGrew book cover
  • The Mirror or the Mask: Liberating the Gospels from Literary Devices by Lydia McGrew book cover
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The Mirror or the Mask: Liberating the Gospels from Literary Devices

by Lydia McGrew

How should the Gospels be read as accounts of events?

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AlbakiReads Editorial

How should the Gospels be read as accounts of events?

Lydia McGrew examines theories that Gospel authors sometimes shaped events in ways they understood to differ from reality. Drawing on her background in analytic philosophy and evaluating evidence, she challenges those theories and develops what she calls a “reportage model” of the Gospels. The book considers the standards attributed to the evangelists and presents McGrew’s case for reading them as honest, careful reporters. Its central concern is both interpretive and evidential: what literary practices should be attributed to the Gospel writers, and what does the evidence support about their accounts?

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in the reliability of the New Testament Gospels.
  • Pastors, apologists, and students of biblical commentary.
  • Readers exploring debates about literary conventions in Gospel writing.

Themes

Gospel reliabilityLiterary conventionsHistorical reportingEvaluation of evidence

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

In recent years a number of evangelical scholars have claimed that the Gospel authors felt free to present events in one way even though they knew that the reality was different. Analytic philosopher Lydia McGrew brings her training in the evaluation of evidence to bear, investigates these theories about the evangelists' literary standards in detail, and finds them wanting. At the same time she provides a nuanced, positive view of the Gospels that she dubs the reportage model. Clearing away misconceptions of this model, McGrew amasses objective evidence that the evangelists are honest, careful reporters who tell it like it is. Meticulous, well-informed, and accessible, The Mirror or the Mask is an important addition to the libraries of laymen, pastors, apologists, and scholars who want to know whether the Gospels are reliable.

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