Bobinius

I have a small question about the dating of the Gospels:

How was the date of the manuscripts established?

Did they carbon date the manuscripts? If so, how do they know the manuscripts are the original ones?

Clivedurdle

Sons normally get their ideas from their fathers!

Diogenes the Cynic

There are no original manuscripts there are only copies of copies of copies from centuries after the autographs were written. The dating of copies can be established largely through paleography (the study of the script, or writing style, which follows an established timeline). The dates of authorship can not be established with precision but we can use internal clues within the text to establish the earliest points at which they could have been written. For instance, if an author is aware of the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, then we know the book cannot have been written before 70 CE. This point is called the terminus a quo for authorship. We can also establish a latest possible point (terminus ad quem) by finding the earliest evidence for the book's existence. If we can find somebody quoting from a gospel in 170 CE then we know it had to have been written before 170 CE.

Once we've established a definite range, we can use various other internal and external clues to narrow it further.

Bobinius

Thank you very much. Haven't some theist question these dating methods, or more likely, the results of these methods?

Diogenes the Cynic

Yes, the really hardcore fundies still try to argue for traditional authorship and much earlier dates. It's important to them to believe that the Gospels reflect eyewitness accounts and apostolic authorship, so their a priori beliefs prevent them from being able to accept the very strong evidence for anonymity and late dates of authorship at face value. The arguments for traditional authorship are largely based on uncritical acceptance of dubious patristic tradition and tendentious apologies for the real evidence. As with creationism, they are using arguments from faith rather than any sort of methodical scholarship.