Conclusion
Conclusion
In the previous chapter, we established that writers on historical subjects did have historical interest. Here, we have examined some of their other interests. These included, first of all, communicating in an appealing form; for elite audiences this involved rhetoric (though for more popular audiences it may have simply meant recounting the stories in an entertaining manner). Ancient historical writers were also interested in offering positive or negative models, to provide moral, political, and even theological perspectives.
Ancient audiences did not regard such goals as incompatible with true history, though even they sometimes noted the tensions these competing goals raised. Although less overtly, modern historians and biographers also write from particular perspectives. We should take into account the liberties such ancient expectations would have allowed the Gospels’ authors, though some (such as John) may have made more use of the liberty than others (such as Luke). Yet we should also not exaggerate the liberty, whether to defend or condemn the Gospel writers.