In this lesson, the lecturer describes how the date and authorship of the Gospels are often debated. How important do you think it is that we can prove exactly when each gospel was written and who wrote it? Why?
I think it might be important to know these things because it helps us to understand the reasons behind each gospel and who was ment to get the greatest help from them
The when and who of the Gospels are important because they establish context. They help establish the targeted audience and also establish their connect to Jesus.
It seems that who is slightly more important than when. I would want to be certain that it was one of Jesus’ apostles or someone very close to them. At least one concern with when could involve the purity of the writing. How much can they remember? How much do I believe that Jesus promised the Holy Spirit would bring to their minds all that they heard? If I believe this, and I do, then the when is not that big of a deal.
I think it is very important to get an accurate idea of when each gospel was written and by whom. As discussed in the previous lesson, the author gives validity to the gospel. First-hand accounts are always more reliable and accurate. Therefore, if authorship can be verified and date can be used to support the authorship, it gives credibility to the account.
It is important to know when each Gospel was written because it helps to put the events in the text into context. Furthermore, Gospel authorship is crucial because the Gospels should provide accounts of Jesus’s life by either one of his disciples or one of the disciples’ followers.
Personally, I do not place great importance on the issues of when each gospel was written and who wrote it. I accept the Gospel as the inspired word of God, it is the truth.
However, for doubters, the ability to identify the authors and the sequence of the writings can be seen as providing some level of proof of historical record and, therefore fact.
It is interesting, though, that religious leaders of the time who heard the stories and saw the miracles of Jesus for themselves, could not get past their own fallibility of doubt, so I am not certain that dates and names of authors are the “proof” of God’s Word. Faith is defined as belief without proof after all.
