The Demise of Arguments From Order for Markan Priority (original) (raw)

Marcan Priority and its Inadequacies! Marcan Priority and its Inadequacies

This short paper is simply designed to raise questions as to Markan priority in the solution of the synoptic puzzle. It gives a short and by no means comprehensive outline of the synoptic problem, and asserts that while there is no present day academic consensus regarding an alternative hypothesis to Markan priority, it does not mean Markan priority is a satisfactory theory explaining the data in the three gospels. It is not and many of its inadequacies are explained in this paper. The first half of the paper outlines some of the hypotheses put forward which attempt to explain the data, this culminates with Markan priority. The second half is a critique of the hypothesis based on the work of Farmer on the Griesbach hypothesis. The final conclusion is by no means certain.

Re-examination of Some Salient Issues on the Authorship and Recipient of Mark's Gospel

African Journal of Kingdom Education , 2023

Although previous scholars have discussed and come to widely accepted conclusions about the background to the gospel of Mark in terms of authorship, purpose, characteristics, structure, date, settings, and recipients of Mark's gospel, its genre as well as Sources of Mark's Gospel; which is a fact that this paper does not dispute. Yet, the essence of this paper is to reexamine some salient issues regarding the background of the gospel of Mark in terms of the author and recipient. John Mark is widely regarded as the author of the fourth gospel, but not so for the reason stated here in this paper. Although the recipient of the book is attributed to Galilee, Syria, the Decapolis and Rome; this research supports a Rome possibility because of the universality of the place and the influence of Paul on John Mark. This is the gap that we are filling here.

Order in the Double Tradition and the Existence of Q

Questioning Q, 2004

Argument from the order of Synoptic pericopes holds a venerable place in discussion of the Two-Source Hypothesis. 1 Most often it is the agreements and disagreements of order in the triple tradition that have been taken up in relation to the priority of Mark. 2 But the order of pericopes in the double tradition has also figured in consideration of the second document of the Two-Source Hypothesis, the hypothetical Sayings Gospel Q. 3 The differing arrangement of this material in Matthew and Luke Order in the Double Tradition and the Existence of Q

Clement of Alexandria on the ‘Order’ of the Gospels

Clement’s statement προγεγράφθαι ἔλεγεν τῶν εὐαγγελίων τὰ περιέχοντα τὰς γενεαλογίας has puzzled commentators over the years because it has been uniformly interpreted in chronological terms, but its difficulties evaporate when προγεγράφθαι is understood as a reference to the open publication of Matthew and Luke. In terms of its textual and historical contexts, therefore, the best interpretation of Clement’s statement is that the gospels with the genealogies were written before the public. This interpretation makes better sense of the aetiology of Mark that immediately follows and explains the patristic unanimity of the chronological order for the gospels outside of Clement. For the cause of synoptic source criticism, however, Clement’s testimony can no longer be relied upon as evidence for the relative order of the gospels.

Gospels, Epistles, Old Testament - The order of books according to Jesus Chri st

Amazon, Released December 24th, 2023

(Proof sample; first chapter & ToC) [268 pages for paperback / hardcover; 297 pages for Kindle ebook] The various uses of Jesus, Christ, Jesus Christ and Christ Jesus raise the question of the exact context in which each is used, and which one(s) came prior to the other(s). A close study of the earliest Christian manuscripts, however, shows that they don't contain a Jesus or Christ at all, only the short forms ΙΣ and ΧΣ (and as such, also ΙΣ ΧΣ as well as ΧΣ ΙΣ). Neither is explained what these mean, and when they are assumed to be an abbreviation, there is more than merely one possibility; while there is one word assumed to be the word of choice, there is also another one that is almost identical. A thorough and extensive statistical analysis of all the books of the Bible will answer the question: what does that mysterious ΧΣ stand for, χριστός or χρηστός? The first word means 'anointed' in Greek, the second means 'good', and it is widely assumed that Jesus Christ is the Anointed - yet even that word does not appear anywhere in the New Testament, neither in the Epistles nor in the Gospels. Most surprisingly however, the word exists in great abundance in the Old Testament. While it is unanimously assumed, by laymen as well as scholars, that the chronological order of writings consists of the Old Testament, followed by the New Testament, such would certainly suggest that the order is the exact opposite. The same statistical analysis also reveals most surprising finds in the Epistles, which in turn initiate an entirely new search, that evolves and unfolds entirely in Egypt - where the true origins of this mysterious ΧΣ are found: a largely spiritual movement that was about a Good Jesus, a χρηστός ΙΣ. Not only is the Christian Bible subjected to close scrutiny, but the findings are also compared with and verified against the oldest and earliest manuscripts such as Codex Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus and Vaticanus, as well as individual and fragmentary papyri. The earliest Patristics are called to the stand, e.g. Justin Martyr, Tertullian and Clement of Alexandria, and also less subjective witnesses such as the Roman historians Tacitus and Suetonius. Last and most certainly not least, all of the Nag Hammadi Library is unearthed - again - and deeply buried secrets are brought to light. This all-embracing book upsets many centuries of Bible studies: on the basis of concisely summarized research results that are presented in a transparent manner, possible solutions are offered for the repeatedly surprising and unexpected facts, the most plausible conclusion of which consistently points in a direction that is strongly at odds with the dogma of the Church. The Christian source texts themselves, the so-called Church Fathers and the so-called apocryphal writings all confirm the shocking conclusion: Jesus Christ, the Anointed, the Messiah, has no original existence whatsoever, and that carefully fabricated concept dates from centuries later. All of Christianity started out as a counter reaction to Chrestianity, and it was an organised move, orchestrated by Roman rulers. The entire trajectory from beginning to end is laid out, from the very first source text to the very last Christian texts, including dating, motivating why one text was created in response to another, and providing compelling explanations for e.g. the baptism of Jesus, the Messianic Secret, and the rejection of Judaic law and customs by the alleged Judaic Messiah ΙΣ ΧΣ.