Great books for Gospel Research

by peacefulpete 3 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  peacefulpete

  Among the first books I acquired in my research was an old copy of A Harmony of the Synoptic Gospels for Historical and Critical Study by Burton and Goodspeed. Before that I had heard others speak of the 'Synoptic Problem' but it was meaningless to me and just sounded like quackery meant to discredit the Bible. I have to say this one volume's laying out the Synoptic Gospels (Matt,Mark,Luke) without any commentary in a side by side parallel format rocked my world. I spent dozens of hours with colored pencil's highlighting exact phrasing and words. I got a little sloppy at times and missed stuff the first time through but it was abundantly clear what I was seeing was a literary dependence of one Gospel to another not simply independent witnesses confirming the accuracy of the story as I had been told. Two people can say essentially the same this but they will not use the same sentences and word choice. Sometimes it is as simple as laying out things carefully for comparison to see the process of composition and editing, seeing what was there all along but since we were told they were separate works we never noticed the obvious intertextuality. Here is a pic of my marked up book:

  
  

  Since then I have found other similar works that utilize different translations and add more parallels to non-Canonical gospels and even quotations from church fathers. Here are a couple good ones.

  Synopsis of the Four Gospels; Greek/English edition ~ Kurt Aland, (In just English also)
  

  Gospel Parallels: A synopsis of the First Three Gospels ~ Ed. Burton H. Throckmorton. Jr.

  
  
  
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  Disillusioned JW

  peacefulpete, I have the book called "A Harmony Of The Gospels For Students Of The Life Of Christ: Based on the Broadus Harmony in the Revised Version, By A. T. Robertson, M.A., D.D., LL.D., Litt.D., Chair of New Testament Interpretation Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Louisville, Kentucky". It is published by "Harper & Row, Publishers" and copyright in 1922 by them and copyright 1950 by The Citizens Fidelity Bank and Trust Co.". That Gospel Harmony was an eye opener for me, like the one mentioned by you was for you. I used to own a harmony based upon the ASV text, but the Broadus Harmony seems more precise to me in the way it grouped the parallel passages. The Preface says the following.

  "It is now just thirty years since the day his young assistant suggested to Dr. John A. Broadus that he prepare a harmony of the Gospels that should depart from the old plan of following the feasts as the turning points in the life of Jesus.

  ... A generation has passed and it is meet that the work of Broadus should be reviewed in the light of modern synoptic criticism and research into every phase of the life of Christ. ... The Gospel of Mark appears in the first column, then Matthew, Luke, and John. It is now known that Matthew and Luke made use of Mark for the framework of their Gospels. This change simplifies amazingly the unfolding of the narrative.

  There is still dispute concerning the historical worth of the Gospel of John, but the Johannine authorship is not disproved.

  ... No effort is made to reconcile all the divergent statements of various details in the different Gospels."

  The back of the book in the "Explanatory Notes On Points Of Special Difficulty In The Harmony" in the section called "2. Synoptic Criticism" says the following.

  "The criticism of the synoptic gospels has been able to reach a broad general conclusion that is likely to stand the test of time. The reason for this happy solution lies in the fact that the processes and results can be tested. It is not mere subjective speculation. Any one who knows how to weigh evidence can compare mark, Matthew, and Luke in the English, and still better in the Greek. The pages of the present harmony offer proof enough. It is plain as a pikestaff that both our Matthew and Luke used practically all of Mark and followed his general order of events. ... But another thing is equally clear and that is that both Matthew and Luke had another source in common because they each give practically identical matter for much that is not in Mark at all. This second common source for Matthew and Luke has been called Logia because it is chiefly discourses."
  
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  Disillusioned JW

  I formerly had a book which was a Harmony of 1st and 2nd Chronicles with both 1st and 2nd Samuel and 1st and 2nd Kings. Some critical scholars have said that Chronicles is a rewrite or revision of Samuel and Kings. I think that view of those scholars is correct.
  
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  peacefulpete

  Glad someone enjoys this subject. Learning about Christian origins is extremely valuable for former JWs. There are some who have been separated from the WT church for many years who just haven't been able to move on. They appear frozen in their minds, unsure of what to believe about specific doctrinal debates but assume the WT indoctrination was essentially "true". Some seem almost afraid to investigate

  I don't really understand that because IMO the best aspects of Christianity (ideals of selfless love and charity, can still be appreciated with an informed understanding of how religion evolves and adapts.