All 4 of the ‘gospels’ are anonymous, and the names given to
them are later traditions only.
The gradual development of the stories about Jesus, several
decades after the supposed events
This is an important
Truth with Massive implications that your average Christian doesn’t
understand, but bible scholars whose career is to take apart
Historical Data understand very well.
For the average
Christian, it makes perfect sense to read the New Testament in its
current order of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. This introduces the
life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and then the very next book
of Acts gives us the early history of Christianity and ends with Paul.
It all makes perfect sense-UNLESS THE ONE READING IT IS A CERTIFIED
HISTORIAN IN BIBLE STUDIES.
Historians read the
New Testament in chronological order by date written. In the last 150
years of studying the New Testament in the order they were written, a
different picture emerges, one with far reaching implications.
Historians usually follow a set of rules that focuses on a precise
set of questions.
Which is the oldest
bible book?
How was the
information passed along?
Was it an eyewitness who wrote the Gospels, was he actually there to witness Jesus walking on water, did he witness the conversation Jesus had with Satan on top of the mountain, did he actually witness the three resurrections, or was it just
“HEARSAY?”
In other words were some of the stories in the Gospels
just rumors by None-eyewitnesses, that were passed along year after year, decade after decade?
How were these
stories found in the 4 Gospels we have today, passed along, edited?
Were the stories
“Embellished?
What Theological
motivations were operating when these stories were written down?
The story about the
resurrection of Jesus it tied up with “The empty tomb.” What
happened to the body of Jesus?
I will consider this
in later posts.
Much of this
information is the result of reading many books by different bible
scholars. The more you read what historians say about the matter, the
more pieces of information you have available which allows you to put together a better picture of what really happened.