Synoptic gospels ppq (15)

Question 1

‘There are more advantages of having a single gospel rather than 3 similar gospels’ FOR

Answer 1

> one gospel could provide a more accurate account of jesus’ life- stops confusion ue to variation and contradiction> More rounded J> prevent conflicting stories, forcing us to question reliability of Jesus>Three gospels undermine each other and maybe the early church would have spread better, if they felt like they could trust one gospel> redaction of gospel writers can cause confusion on the person of Jesus

Question 2

‘There are more advantages of having a single gospel rather than 3 similar gospels’ AGAINST

Answer 2

> 3 gospels present a more complete image of Jesus>3 can heighten reliability due to multiple attestations> wider body of evidence- accuracy

Question 3

‘Translations of the original Greek texts of the synoptic gospels into other languages mean that they are no longer the Word of God.’ FOR

Answer 3

> those who originally wrote the gospels were divinely inspired>translating error- human>redaction of translators>original manuscripts lost> some phrases and words that make one sense in one language make no sense in another language- lost message>problem with cultural understanding- ‘sits in leben’

Question 4

‘Translations of the original Greek texts of the synoptic gospels into other languages mean that they are no longer the Word of God.’ AGAINST

Answer 4

> word of God is for everyone- God mud thane intended for his words to be translated to allow the spread of his church> words translated as closely as possible to the original, so little meaning lost- help from holy spirit> the word of god isn’t just what is written, its about what you take away from it> translators were very careful, long arduis process

Question 5

Given the time gap before the gospels were written, and the uncertainty about their sources and authorship etc, can we trust hem to be accurate? YES

Answer 5

> oral period only lasted 30-40 years>teachings were simple and had a poetic element>Bock: rote memorisation was normal and part of day to day life, they were very good at memorising large bodies of text> ‘do not forget the thing you have seen with your own eyes’>Jesus’ word would have been greatly respected> some stories just cannot be changed

Question 6

Given the time gap before the gospels were written, and the uncertainty about their sources and authorship etc, can we trust hem to be accurate? NO

Answer 6

> which gospel came first?> 40 years is a long time, >important info may have been changed or forgotten- >the oral period is flexible not fixed> compiled in different geographical places> writing for different people- Mk persecute, Mt- believers, Lk- the non jews (confusing)