Proto-Gospels Flashcards
What are proto gospels
A solution to the synoptic problem
Matthew mark and Luke all copied from it and made changes like adding some bits, and ignoring some others to make them look at least slightly different
What does the proto-gospels allegedly include?
written in aramaic but translated in greek by the synoptics
includes the sayings(logia) of jesus and the writers added in actual situations or settings to make it look more real
what do the proto-gospels represent?
the original preaching (kerygma) of jesus and his disciples before it was altered by later generations of christians
what is the strongest evidence for this?(the proto-gospels)
Luke 1:2 claims that people before him have “drawn up an account” of Jesus’ ministry and that these people were eyewitnesses, whereas his was just an orderly account
what is the biggest weakness of the proto-gospels
there is no mention of the proto-gospels in any of the earliest christian writers
around 130CE, marcion of Sinope lists his personal “canon” of the NT scripture, but doesnt mention the proto-gospel
irenaeus of lyon refers to all of the canonical four gospels but NEVER includes the talk of a proto-gospel
what would some say about early christian texts?
texts such as the ebionites (jewish christians which presented jesus as a vegetarian prophet) that were lost for centuries have been found by archaeologists but have NO mention of the proto-gospels
gospel of thomas (only quotes of jesus but no stories, and contains very unusual assassins)
what is a lost and found gospel that some believe is a proto gospel?
the gospel of thomas, discovered in 1945, was suggested to be a proto-gospel
it only consists of quotes, which there means that the synoptics may have put stories around it to give them context
half of this login (quotes) appear in the synoptics as well
how could the gospel of thomas have inspired johns gospel more indirectly??
PAGELS: johns gospel seems to have passages that specifically refute parts of thomas’ gospel , as if johns gospel was written to prove thomas wrong
an example of john refuting thomas gospel
a logion in thomas gospel says that the light of god is born from within, but john says that the world does not recognise the true light
thomas even is proved wrong as he doubts jesus’ resurrection
why can the gospel of thomas not be a proto-gospel
it may have been written too late
EHRMAN: the writing style of thomas lacks the main characteristics of the earliest christian writing (APOLCALYPTICISM)
why could matthew be proto-gospel?
augustinian hypothesis: the first gospel was written by matthew and the rest copied him
matthew was one of the 12 disciples who wrote the gospel in aramaic which was translated to greek by mark and luke
mark made it short but luke made it longer
this view is taken from the catholic church
why cant matthew be proto-gospel
mark misses out so much material from matthew like the resurrection
if matthew WAS the first, then why would mark not write down these important events
this leads to MARKAN PRIORITY, in which mark is the “proto-gospel” instead
does the theory of the proto gospel solves the synoptic problem (YES)
yes it does
they would of had to have gotten their testimony about jesus from somewhere and the similarities suggest that they must have gotten it from somewhere
a lost proto-gospel would explain it all
thomas, erionites, pagel, ehrman
does the theory of the gospel solve the synoptic problem? (NO)
its only a theory as no proto gospels that match the scholars have been discovered, even if there were any (like the erionites for example)
the gospel of thomas does not fit (lack of main characteristic apocalypcism and was perhaps written too late, only incljded quotes)
there was no need for them as the gospels were allegedly written in C1st CE.
