Chapter 123 of 404

Memory Studies More Generally

Studies of long-term memory show the character of information preservation by informal, untrained eyewitnesses in modern western culture.⁵⁸ Typically informal memory will include components rather than the whole, and lack a chronological framework for events.⁵⁹ (Thus, for example, various sayings of Jesus on different occasions could easily have been linked in memory reconstructions without regard for the specific sequence of occasions on which they were spoken.) Although memories can be imperfect, there are normally limits to this imperfection (i.e., they do not ordinarily involve free composition of events); even when some details are inaccurate, the “gist” is usually accurate.⁶⁰ The reconstruction and arrangement of memory do involve interpretive structures, but these structures would also be involved in the initial hearing.⁶¹

Studies of long-term memory also show the sorts of information apt to be preserved by eyewitnesses. These include, among other elements, unusual events;⁶² consequential events;⁶³ events in which the eyewitness “is emotionally involved”;⁶⁴ “vivid imagery”;⁶⁵ and “frequent rehearsal.”⁶⁶ Most of these factors are relevant for Jesus’ followers’ memories about him.⁶⁷ While memory studies in general are important, however, we must give special attention to what can be known about memory practices in the time of Jesus and the Gospels.

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