Solitary Man

Yes, except skepticalbib would disagree with you, saying that all three are independent of each other and used an earlier oral version. I find that theory to be ridiculous.

Personally, I opt for something closer to either Ur-Markus or Deutero-Mark and I'm not certain on the exact composition of Q despite Kloppenborg and Robinson's critical Q.

aa5874

Yes, it's the differences that make you see how each gospel writer developed his Jesus.
With regards to the harmonization, maybe each Gospel was already used seperately by different Christian sects, and a compromised was made to include them in the canon, perhaps in hope of unifying the Church.

militant agnostic

It helps that the who ever wrote Matthew, Mark, and Luke were all copying off earlier texts and stories that already had some stability in them by the time they wrote their versions.

Solitary Man

But skepticalbib doesn't say this.

skepticalbip

While I appreciate your telling everyone what I mean, I have to say that you are way off. I think you are being entirely too literal with what was written in my short post or perhaps anile. Haven't you ever heard of analogies or metaphors?

The four Gospels were written long after the supposed events by people who were not there. They were working from the same or similar accounts; had different understandings, beliefs, or agendas. Whether the events detailed in their writing actually happened, we don't really know. What each writer used as a basis for their writing, we don't know.

Solitary Man

Anile? Your post hardly consisted of a metaphor. You stated in plain terms what you thought had happened. If you now disagree with what you actually said, so be it, but that doesn't make your post disappear.

chrisengland

Hello
I think when it comes to harmonizing scriptures it may be possible to harmonize anything' I read once that lawyers can harmonize just about anything. But I think you have to be reasonable.
I was thinking before' say you got a speeding ticket' you could claim that someone stole your car and found you found it just dumped on the side road somewhere and they must have got the speeding ticket' but I dought any small claims court would believe you.
So when it comes to harmonizing scripture' if we wouldn't except it normally maybe we shouldn't if we have to harmonize them with answers like that.
Now some of the harmonizing seems reasonable' at the beginning of The case for Christ' one of the schoalars Lee Stobel interviews said that in the New Testament when it says it one account that somebody announced something themsleves and another said he got his servant to announce it' he said that in now days when the president announces something he doesn't always announce it himself' sometimes he might get someone to announce it for him' but it still might say in the paper the president announced today' so I think that harmonizing attempt sounds reasonable.
But some don't seem quite so reasonable when one account says there was one angel and one says two that it abit harder to harmonize.

Now say one account said craig was looking for Tom he found him in the garage and another said Craig was looking for Tom he found him in the garage with Mike I think both of those accounts can be harmonized because Craig was looking for Tom and there might not be any need to mention that Mike was in there.
But say it says Craig went in to the garage an Tom was in there and the other said Craig went into the garage Tom was in there with Mike I think that would most likely be a contridiction because you would expect them both to mention that two people were in there.

But the Gospel accounts might even be more harder to harmonize than this because say one account said Craig went into the garage and there was a man in there and the other said Craig went into the garage and two men were in there' I think that is possibly even more harder to harmonize than the second one but that is possibly what the Gospel are like(of course with the Gospels there are 4 accounts)
Even if only one of the men speaks wich is possibly what happens in the Gospels I would think a court would still think its more likely ones wrong than them both being right' although I did read (on a Christian website) that if the accounts can be harmonized they would be accepted in a court of law but I,m not to sure I'll have to look more into it
Chris

chrisengland

Bye the way the reason I mentioned the two men was because I ment men he didn't know because I don't expect the Bible is implying they knew the angels' I think its even more harder to harmonize when the account is about people he doesn't know because I expect it to be even more likely both accounts would mention both men.