Johnson does his usual good job here as he performs a literary analysis not just of the four canonical gospels, but also of apocryphal works related to Jesus. Interestingly for a devout Catholic, he acknowledges:

* These works were often literary creations, not intended to tell a story as a biography does, and
* There are irreconcilable differences between texts, such as the radically different accounts of the events surrounding Jesus's birth in Matthew and Luke.

Still, he does contrast the canonical gospels' basic agreements about Jesus (as a savior who suffered and died) vs. the non-canonical accounts, particularly the Gnostic texts, where Jesus's suffering and death are not the point. Johnson also tells us about the infancy gospels, one of which is a major source for Catholic Mary-worship, and the other of which (The Infancy Gospel of Thomas) shows Jesus as a very dangerous child. Johnson seems to get as much a kick out of this portrayal as Bart Ehrman does.

After listening to these lectures, which don't get boring despite there being 36 of them, I have a better understanding of various aspects of the gospels and the intents of their writers. It would have been nice if Johnson could explain how to reconcile all the differences to justify a belief in the supernatural--but I think his point is that it doesn't matter for a true believer. I'm in no position to vouch for that! But I will continue to listen to Johnson's other Great Courses. He's an excellent lecturer and scholar. ( )