Okay people. For some good insight into this topic, if you want both a Christians perspective and that of an agnostic, both of which books contain very highly reknowned scholaristic textual criticism I offer a couple of suggestions. For a Christian perspective you could look at anything by Bruce Metzger. For a condensed Christian perspective on the topic by numerous Christian scholars "The Case For Christ" by Lee Strobel offers some good insight. (I speak here merely of dating the Gospels and not many of the other opinions expressed in the thread regarding Bible fallacy) For an agnostic perspective you could read "Misqouting Jesus, Who Changed the Bible and Why" by Bart Ehrman. (I forget the exact spelling of his name). However the differences in dating between the two circles is not very great. Standared scholarly dating of the Gospels generally goes something like Mark in the 70's, Matthew and Luke in the 80's, and John in the 90's. This short timespan for Jesus' personnal biographies is unparalled in the world of ancient literature. For example the two earliest biographies of Alexander the Great were not written until at least a full 40o years after his death. Yet historians do consider them trustworthy. There are plenty of other examples I could provide if you wished! Peace! |