Questions tagged [gospels]
The New Testament books describing the life of Jesus: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
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What are the "gospels" in the Gospels?
As far as I know there are 4 Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
I am an ex-Christian (currently atheist) who had a debate with a Muslim about a few discrepancies between the Qur'an and the Bible. ...
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Contemporary Evidence for Jesus [closed]
Within Jesus's lifetime:
I expect that Jesus would have written or dictated thousands of
documents, and insured their preservation.
I expect that Jesus's
disciples would have written or dictated tens ...
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Why doesn't Matthew replace Mark?
My question is motivated by the discrepancies between Mark and Matthew, for example on who was in Jesus's tomb initially, Matthew 28:2 says it was an angel and Mark 16:5 says it was a young man. ...
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Why do the Gospel accounts not specify what crimes the two men crucified next to Jesus were guilty of?
Matthew 27:38 and Mark 15:27 say “two robbers” were crucified with Jesus. Luke 23:32 says “two criminals” were crucified with Jesus. John 19:18 says only that “two others” were crucified with him.
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Do Matthew 26:29 and Mark 14:25 prove that Jesus took a Nazirite vow?
Matthew 26:29, Mark 14:25 and Luke 22:18 are three New Testament passages that seem to indicate that Christ once took the Nazirite vow (as did Samuel, Samson, and John the Baptist).
It is known that ...
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Is the Catholic Church altering the Gospels and the teachings of Jesus?
The Catholic Church seems to be adding things to the Gospels which were never written down by the Apostles. For example, where in the Gospels is it mentioned that the Pope is the representative of God ...
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Does Papias’ vine statement impact on his reliability?
Papias was a church father from 60-130 AD. It is often said that he represents an authentic chain of tradition back to the original apostles as he has connections to either John, or elders related to ...
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Self-Referencing by the Gospel Writers
Aside from the literary prologue of Luke, are there any instances where any of the four Gospel writers refer to themselves by the personal pronoun I?
It seems, for example, that in the case of the ...
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How does the Catholic Church reconcile the resurrected body pictured by St Paul in 1 Cor 15 vis-a-vis the narrations in Luke 24 and John 21?
We read in Luke 24:31 (NRSVCE) how Jesus walked with two disciples on the way of Emmaus post-Resurrection and joined them for a meal:
When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and ...
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Is Our Lord Ever Referred to as "Jesus" by His Enemies?
Our Lord is often referred to as Jesus by the writers of the Gospels; however, I cannot think of an instance where He is referred to, or called, Jesus by any of His enemies (or strangers).
Can anyone ...
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Why did John the Baptist "cry out in the wilderness"?
We read in Mark 1:1-4 :
The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your ...
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Why do the Gospels not mention the name of Enoch?
I use the NRSVCE of the Bible.
We read in Gen 5:24 :
Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him
We also read in Heb 11:5 :
By faith Enoch was taken so that he did not ...
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If Jews are not allowed to eat pork why in the Bible appear pig farmers?
A question that isn't really that important, however, it comes to my mind every time I read some Scripture verses. If the Mosaic Law forbids the consumption of pork meat, why do we see a pig farmer ...
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Did people of different cultures adopt No. 3 to signify completeness, from Christianity?
Christianity has held the number three in high esteem, as a symbol of completeness. For instance : The Trinity, The threefold office of Christ namely, that of prophet, priest, and king; three ...
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Was Simon who hosted Jesus in Lk 7, Mk 14 and Matt 26 one and the same person?
We hear Jesus telling his host in Lk 7:44
Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my ...
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What's the criterion for the sequence of the Four Gospels?
I once read that the letters of Paul were placed in the New Testament ordered by size, starting from Romans and ending with Philemon.
What was the criterion for ordering the gospels then, since the ...
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How do Catholics and other Christians respond to the US Bishops' teaching that Matthew was not written by it supposed author?
In its Introduction to the Gospel of Matthew, the website of the US Council of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) states:
The ancient tradition that the author was the disciple and apostle of
Jesus named ...
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What is the basis for the Jesus Seminar's search for the "Historical Jesus" movement?
"The Jesus Seminar was a group of about 50 critical biblical scholars and 100 laymen founded in 1985 by Robert Funk that originated under the auspices of the Westar Institute. The seminar was ...
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Based on post-2000 scholarly research, how do Christians defend that it was Jesus himself who prophesied the first Jewish-Roman war?
It's a common assertion by liberal Bible scholars that rather than Jesus himself who prophesied the destruction of the temple in AD 70 along with the ensuing wars and sufferings, it was the Gospel ...
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Why don’t the gospel authors specifically identify themselves?
It seems to be the mainstream scholarship view today that the gospels were originally anonymous, and gained their attributed authorship through church fathers .
Regardless of whether you believe this ...
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Required readings for courses on the Gospels at the Westminster Theological Seminary
I want to learn Biblical Theology by myself, but I don’t know the appropriate textbook to start. Though I’m not a student from Westminster Theological Seminary, I still want to read what students ...
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Why were the disciples so concerned about their status within the group?
Why did the disciples, and the mother of James and John, seem so concerned about their status within the group of disciples? eg Mark 9 - but others too.
I am wondering if there is more to this than ...
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How can the gospels use omniscient narration?
I've come across some criticism of the gospels as historical accounts based on the author’s ability to know certain events that seem unknowable, or at least hard to know, like the quote below:
Mark’s ...
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Why don’t the apostles quote Jesus or reference any gospel events? [closed]
For somebody like Paul, it can perhaps be justified by the fact that the synoptics weren’t written yet, but that doesn’t explain why James and Peter barely reference any of the events or teachings in ...
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Why is there a day of judgement? [closed]
John 5:24
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. ...
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Which of the Gospels were written by eyewitnesses and why?
Were the Gospels written by eyewitnesses? Which ones? What do scholars & historians have to say on this?
What are the best arguments for the eyewitness authorship of (some of) the Gospels?
Even if ...
user50422
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Does the Catholic Church recommend `pestering 'God with intercessions?
We read in Lk 18:1-5:
Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for ...
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Harmony of the Gospels (earlier versions)
Following is the introduction to A Harmony of the Gospels, by A.T. Robertson. Does anyone know the titles/authors/publication dates of the previous "old plan" harmonies? Augustine wrote a ...
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According to Catholic scholars, was the Star visible over Bethlehem on the day of Nativity?
The Star of Bethlehem has become an indispensable part of the Christmas Crib. But, we do not see the star in Gospel narrations till the time Magi arrive :
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was ...
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Why did Jesus arrange his 11 disciples in two places on the way to his place of prayer in Gethsemane?
We read in Matt 26:36-39 (NRSVCE) :
Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took with him Peter and the ...
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Scriptural support - Measuring our salvation, God's love and blessings
Please help me with scriptural support for the following:
“Be careful not to measure your holiness "salvation" by other people's
sins.” - Martin Luther
In the same way, if we measure God's ...
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How do Christian apologists defend the credibility of the miracles reported in the gospel accounts?
I'm reading Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy's article on Miracles, and it has an interesting section that presents several objections to the credibility of witnesses that may justify one's being ...
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Is the mainstream scholarly view that the Gospels are anonymous works?
The skeptic, Matthew Wade Ferguson, writes the following at the infidels.org website:
The mainstream scholarly view is that the Gospels are anonymous works,
written in a different language than that ...
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How did traditional Catholic teachings s determine the sides on which the Good Thief and the Bad Thief respectively hanged?**
We read in Luke 23: 39-42, of the two thieves crucified with Jesus and the way they looked at Jesus:
One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? ...
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How does the Catholic Church reconcile the two different narratives of behavior of the thieves in Calvary as reported in Mtt 27 and Lk 23?
We read in Mtt 27:38-44 (NRSVCE) :
Then two bandits were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by derided him, ......The bandits who were crucified with him also ...
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Does the delayed burial of Jesus attest to the fact that he had no close relatives other than his mother?
As per the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus breathed his last at 3.00 p.m.on Friday (27: 46-50)
We read again in Mtt 27: 57-58 :
When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named ...
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Can the entirety of Jesus's teachings be summed up in a few words? A phrase or sentence? [closed]
Albert Einstein once said "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." So I asked myself what the most comprehensive explanation of Jesus's teachings would be.
I ...
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What are the arguments against the feeding miracles really happened?
The gospel narratives straightforwardly present the stories of the feeding the multitude miracles as something that really happened and witnessed by thousands of people (i.e. not symbolic, not ...
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Who actually were writers of the Gospels? [duplicate]
Who actually wrote the Gospels? Take the example of Matthew, is it Matthew who wrote this book himself or did someone consolidate all the materials from what Matthew had?
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Is it correct to say Bible has 2 eyewitness accounts (Matthew, Mark and Luke as comprehensive one & John being the other) of Jesus Christ's lifetime?
Since the Synoptic problem indicates that the Synoptic gospels form a comprehensive view that gives a holistic perspective, therefore, bible readers can Not use the argument that the 3 gospels of ...
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Why should communion be "closed"?
Both the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) and the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) and other denominations have restrictions upon who is allowed to take communion alongside current members. Even ...
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Did Jesus and his disciples have an occasional “hiding place”?
We see at Jn 11:6, the immediate response of Jesus to the news that Lazarus was seriously ill:
... after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days
longer in the place where he was.
Going ...
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According to the Catholic Church is the ordering of the events in the Gospels (prior to the Passion) important to understanding salvation?
I really love The Chosen, but I noticed that the chronology of some of the events, when certain parables were told, etc. Teaching the Lords Prayer to children prior to public ministry, these are all ...
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What exactly did Yahshua/Jesus do during his 40 day fast after being baptized?
It is stated in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke that during the 40 day period Christ was tempted by The Devil/Satan but not many other details are given. In the book of Isaiah (Isaiah 58:1-12), ...
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How does Catholic Church reconcile the time of and the manner in which Jesus' resurrection was disclosed to Apostles?
We read in Mk 16:1-8, the the Angel's instruction to the women who visited the tomb of Jesus on the day of his Resurrection, and its outcome:
When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary ...
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According to the Catholic Church, is there any indirect mention of purgatory in the Gospels? [duplicate]
While the Gospels make a number of references to eternal damnation, they do not appear to directly mention purgatory, which is a strong precept of the Catholic faith. My question therefore is: ...
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According to Catholicism, what is the original intent of the term “virgin” in Lk 1:26-27? [duplicate]
We read of the Annunciation at Lk 1:26-27:
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house ...
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According to Catholicism, why does the Creed mention only the role of Holy Spirit in the conception of Jesus?
We read an account of the Annunciation at Lk 1:30-35 (NRSVCE):
30 "The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb ...
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Are there any other early non-canonical nativity accounts besides the Gospel of James?
In the spirit of the season, I wanted to peruse some nativity accounts in ante-Nicene or near-post-Nicene literature. I've read the Gospel of James of course, but I don't really know of any other non-...
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According to Catholicism, why was Jesus angry with the money-changers at the Temple?
At Mtt 22:19-21 we see Jesus outwitting the Pharisees who inquired of him whether it was right to pay tax to Caesar:
"Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, and ...