JoeNothin

I've been trying to find books on the history of how the Bible (mostly NT) was actually assembled, but I didn't see any on the resource page.

I understand that the Gosple of Mark was written about 70ce, and that the other gosples were modeled after it. What was the time frame for the writing of the other 3 gosples?

Was Paul contemparary with Jesus? When was he writing?

From what I can tell, Matthew was the only one that included in its crusifiction account the raising of many righteous dead people. (I think that's Matthew 27.) Now, I've never seen any non-biblical confirmation of that account. In fact, I think Matthew is the only place it's even mentioned. Is that correct?

Finally, what was the name of the counsel where they decided that Jesus was actually god? (Was is the Counsel of Nicea?) Was that the same counsel that created the canon of the Bible? When was it? How many other gospels and other works were rejected for canonization? Were there any other older, Old Testament type, works that were rejected?

Anyway, if there are any historians with the time an inclination to help me find these answers, I'd really appreciate it.

Peter Kirby

There is some recommended reading that I've compiledhere and expanded elsewhere. I will pick out those that I think will help answer your questions.

I will also toot my own horn and let you know that I have info on everyone's favorite pastime--dating--on this site:

http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/ (ya, dating of texts here)

This is discussed briefly in introductions to the NT. Two mainstream ones are Brown and Schnelle. But, as you will find if you do enough discussion on the internet, a "scholarly consensus" doesn't mean that the other guy will (or should!) agree with the answer.

If you want to get into more detail on the "synoptic problem"--the literary relationships of Matthew, Mark, and Luke--try Studying the Synoptic Gospels (which covers a lot of other ground too and is quite handy). If you want a spectrum of views and have more time to study, I heartily recommend The Two-Source Hypothesis: A Critical Appraisal.

About the relationship of the Synoptics to John, the best in English is D. Moody Smith's John Among the Gospels.

A commentary on an individual Gospel will also cover these issues in the introduction: e.g., Raymond Brown on John, Fitzmyer on Luke, Davies and Allison on Matthew, or Donahue and Harrington on Mark.

Almost everyone agrees that the authentic epistles of Paul were written between 45 and 65 CE...almost. Here's a first book to read on Paul if you like... Paul: A Short Introduction by Morna D. Hooker.

Ya that's bogus.

The council of Nicaea didn't settle the canon. It did settle the dispute between the likes of Arius and the likes of Athanasius. A book on church history such as W. H. C. Frend's The Rise of Christianity will help you here. Arius: Heresy and Tradition will give you more background on this particular controversy.

For info on the formation of the canon, I suggest The Formation of Christian Biblical Canon (what else?) by Lee M. McDonald.

Good luck in your studies!

best,
Peter Kirby