Goldsmith begins this fifty-minute class by outlining what’s coming up, both for this lecture and the next few days. He points out that there are more articles in the reader than students are accountable for, but that he wants to give them more in case they’re interested in pursing ideas further. There are a few notes on the blackboard, primarily quotations, which he indicates the class should know. He also points out that one of the authors included in the reader was on the Colbert Report the night before. Fairly early on in the class, there is an interruption (the previous instructor has left something near the front). It is worth noting how casually Goldsmith deals with this, hardly missing a beat. The first part of the class is completing the discussion of the gospels by comparing resurrection stories of Luke and John. Goldsmith poses a question based on the differing versions: “Did Peter get there first, or was he beaten by the speedier, more devoted apostle? That is, did he get the gold or the silver?” Goldsmith moves back and forth between reading passages and explicating passages, occasionally asking questions that probe the students’ understanding. Comparisons of the various gospels, their history, context and aims are all dealt with. Goldsmith stays close to the class in this large auditorium, walking casually back and forth as he makes points. His knowledge of and enthusiasm for the material is obvious and keeps our attention. At the end of the class, you suddenly realize how many ideas he has raised: that the gospels are a “dual lens,” the view of the participants in the events portrayed and the view of the second century church when they were written; that these are “second-hand” stories; that readers need to be convinced of the ideas, since they were not present at the events. For instance, Goldsmith points out that the line “Blessed are those who believe but have not seen,” refers not only to the apostles, but to the readers of the gospel.