Concerning the reliability of all the gospels

Concerning the reliability of all the gospels Christopher Tuckett, Professor of New Testament Studies at the University of Oxford, writes,

“Nevertheless the nature of the Gospel tradition means that we cannot simply take everything recorded in all the Gospels as unquestionably genuine reports about what Jesus said or did in a pre-Easter situation.”

Christology and the New Testament: Jesus and His Earliest Followers, 2001, Westminster John Knox Press. p. 203



Categories: Gospels, New Testament scholarship

15 replies

  1. The late al-A’zami (rahimahu Allah) summed it up pretty well,

    https://i.stack.imgur.com/wA53f.png

    • That first sentence is GOLD.

      • Futile nonsense. Historical fact: Earliest Christians closest to Jesus believed in Jesus death and resurrection. The Muslim apologists on this blog pointlessly try to neglect.

      • O boy this idiot again. Even if history says that the crucifiction happaned (which there is not even one eyewitness account for it) it still doesn’t matter since Muslims believe the saving of Christ from a humiliating end by God is a MIRACLE. And the same Ehrman you quoted states that history can’t dive into miracles. He rejects the ressurection based on the same reason. Xtians say it happaned but a ressurection is a miracle and hence outside the bounds of historical analysis. So your pathetic attempt fails again Aggy. Poor kid.

      • so much for being agnostic! Closet Christian

      • @ Agnostic

        Yeah, they also believed he was a mini-god that ruled alongside God and would die for the sins of mankind so that means nothing. You ONLY have writings from Pauline Christianity (not the Disciples) so that is incorrect to say:

        ” Earliest Christians closest to Jesus believed in Jesus death and resurrection”

        As you have not one shred of proof for this statement or the crucifixion period:

        https://quranandbibleblog.wordpress.com/2019/07/02/the-crucifiction-series-part-2-the-other-sources/

      • This is independent of anybodies pesonal worlview today. The belief in Jesus death and resurrection is historically established (not the event “resurrection” of course). Even the “closet Muslims” as propagated by you did believe in the death and resurrection. To deny this is just insane.

      • Williams: Bart Ehrman says the same, would you call him a closet Christian? So pathetic.

  2. We can’t trust the women now can we, if we are good Muslims.

    • @ Erasmus

      Maybe we should follow the Disciples example:

      10It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. 11But their words seemed like nonsense to them, and they did not believe the women. (Luke 24:10-11)

  3. Two women and a man, which fulfils the requirement of the law, unless you are a Muslim.

    Matthew 27

    And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,

    60 And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.

    61 And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.

  4. @ Agnostic

    Please show me where I said Early Christian sects didn’t believe that? I am critiquing this statement:

    “Earliest Christians closest to Jesus believed in Jesus death and resurrection”

    You again have NO writing from them and thus no proof of that statement. ALL current Christian sects (including Gnostics) in the world come from Pauline Christianity. You have no writings from any Christian sect outside the Pauline tradition.

    • @ Agnostic

      Forgot to add:

      The ONLY potential book outside the Pauline tradition is Jame’s Epistle (even though it’s unlikely to have been written by him) and there is no mention of crucifixion, death or resurrection. There is no outside reference to this event only Paul’s claim. This goes back o what I tried to say to you earlier because the historical method denies miracles it assumes Jesus(as) died at some point so it assumes the crucifixion. Again keep in mind we believe he was exalted, raised up or ascended to the heavens which is what multiple Christian sects believe.

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