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Gospels: Writings
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The Gospels contains 15 elaborate fully decorated pages, featuring ornament of extraordinary intricacy. Astoundingly complex patterns are plaited and knotted across these pages and intertwined with fanciful birds and animals. At the start of each of the Gospels is an illustration of its author with his symbol, and throughout the text pages of the manuscript are numerous decorated initials. In addition, there are 16 pages of Eusebian canon tables, which detail the locations of parallel passages within the four Gospels.
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The gospels emerged from this long period of critical examination not merely soiled, but totally bereft of any historical credibility. However, the tradition of critical study of the gospels continues today in the works of such contemporary scholars as George A. Wells, Michael Martin, Shmuel Golding, Randel Helms, Burton L. Mack, John Dominic Crossan, Michael Arnheim, R.J. Hoffman, Gerald A. Larue, Dan Barker, C. Dennis McKinsey, Farrell Till, Earl Doherty, Robert M. Price and others.
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That shared understanding of Jesus developed within a complex world, and for several lectures before he turns to the Gospels themselves, Professor Johnson introduces you to that world. He reveals a volatile mixture of Mediterranean culture, Greek ideals and realities, Roman governance, and the religion of Israel from which Christianity began.
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The question of the historical reliability of the gospels has been questioned for many years by many people. In fact the gospels have been challenged more vigorously than secular texts from the same time period. The fact of the matter is that over 90% of the original text has been recovered and more than half of all the verses in the gospels agree with each other. Also many of the accounts from the gospels show up in other literature of the time. The documents were the gospels show up come after the gospels so the gospels were not derived from them. Some people would contend that the gospels are based on theology first and history second and should not be scrutinized for questionable historical material.
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Clearly, there are reasons to be hesitant about assigning dates to early gospels. To begin with, there is little to be gained by assigning them. Speculations are not beneficial and possible dates of greater than half a century can hardly be of more than negligible interpretive value. Also, there is no way to appeal to a scholarly consensus to settle the matter with non-canonical gospels. Finally, there is a great deal to be lost by trying to date early gospels. When some gospels are located in the first century and others in the second, the implication is unavoidable: the earlier gospels are more original than their later, derivative counterparts.
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[One] interesting aspect of Father Roguet's commentary is his admission that there are 'many similar cases'; similar, that is, to the Ascension in the Gospels. The problem therefore has to be approached as a whole, objectively and in depth. It would seem reasonable to look for an explanation by studying the conditions attendant upon the writing of the Gospels, or the religious atmosphere prevailing at the time. When adaptations of the original writings taken from oral traditions are pointed out, and we see the way texts handed down to us have been corrupted, the presence of obscure, incomprehensible, contradictory, improbable, and even absurd passages comes as much less of a surprise. The same may be said of texts which are incompatible with today's proven reality, thanks to scientific progress. Observations such as these denote the element of human participation in the writing and modification of the texts.
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