Term Paper on "Synoptic Problem"

Term Paper 7 pages (2427 words) Sources: 7

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Synoptic Problem

The Synoptic Gospels include Matthew, Mark, and Luke and are known as such for their very close similarities to each other. Just explains that each Gospel writer views Jesus with "the same eye," which is then where the term "syn-optic" originates from. John, in turn, provides a very different view of Jesus in his non-canonical Fourth Gospel. What has become known as the "Synoptic Problem" is the fact of not only the similarities, but also the significant differences among the three Gospels. Many scholars have attempted to find solutions to the apparently contradictory nature of these differences, which resulted in a number of suggested solutions.

The problem consists of more than a number of surface similarities and differences. Indeed, the exact wording of long text pieces indicates not only a basis of common oral tradition, but also some literary dependence. In other words, the implication is that the story has not been told and retold and independently committed to writing. Instead, a written text must have been used to copy from. The problem is then to determine which of the Gospels was the original from which the others copied. Adding to the complication of the matter is the fact that some material occurs in all three Gospels, others in only two of them, while there are also information that differs significantly.

When examining the history of the Synoptic Problem, it is interesting to also consider the evolution of ideas around this subject. Initially, for example, the medieval Christians generally accepted the Gospels as they were presented, simply assuming that Matthew was the first writer in the chronology. Furthermore, this lack of concern with literary origins created a platform of incidental and vague references, further compounding the challenging nature of the Synoptic Problem

The oldest fragment that sparked discussions on the Synoptic Problem was a reference to Papias, written around 125 AD. Esebius quoted him as saying that Mark was the interpreter of Peter while Matthew constructed the "logia" of the Gospels. In an attempt to maintain a preference for choronological priority and to steer away from heretical works and interpretations, Irenaeus

held fast to this ideal by holding that Matthew was written first, followed by the others. This belief was therefore based upon an ideological drive to maintain the purity of the Church's teaching, rather mainly a concern with establishing the true verity of the chronology.

In 200 AD, Clement of Alexandria was quoted as holding that Mark's Gospel was written after those of Matthew and Luke, which both contain genealogies. Augustine was as insistent upon defending the chronology of the Gospels as his historical counterpart, Irenaeus. To defend his viewpoint, Augustine worked from the assumption that each Gospel writer had knowledge of the previous Gospels, and worked in collaboration with each other to recreate the story of Jesus. For Augustine, the omission of some elements from some of the Gospels, as well as the absence of other elements, meant different emphases and styles rather than disapproval or ignorance.

The first break away from these views occurred only centuries later, during the Enlightenment, when several new theories saw the light. In 1712, LeClerc introduced the opinion that the evangelist could have used earlier sources for their work. IN 1764, Owen took this idea a little further by suggesting the beginning of the Two-Gospel Hypothesis, which holds that Mark used both Luke and Matthew as sources for his work. Just two years later, Anton Busching added to this theory by holding the belief that Luke was before Matthew in writing his account of the Gospel. In 1776, Griesbach offered the first literary interpretation. In 1778, Lessing held that the Aramaic Ur-Gospel was used as a source by all three Synoptic Gospel writers, but that they did so independently. The consistency of the source would then account for the similarities found in the Gospels. In 1782, Koppe echoed the belief that Mark was not an abridger for Matthew's work, since there is a deviation in the order of the narrative, while Luke supports Matthew's order of events. This led him to the interpretation that the Gospels were compiled from Greek and Hebrew fragments rather than a single text.

In 1786, Storr became the first to propose Mark's priority over the others in the chronology, which he based on Papias's view that Mark gains his authoritative statements from Peter. After several more interpretations of this sort came the German Period, during which the Markan Hypothesis was further developed in the form of the two-source hypothesis and even a 9-source hypothesis, which included all three gospels as sources of each other, along with six additional sources that were supposed to be used in tehir constructed

The Oxford School saw the refinement of the Two-Source Hypothesis. In 1901, for example, Abbott hypothesized that minor agreements among the Synoptic texts can be explained by the use of Mark by both Matthew and Luke. The Modern Period, started during the early 20th century, brought new challenges

Again, authors such as Jameson during 1922 suggested that minor agreements provide positive evidence for the use of Matthew by Luke. With the evolution of several hypotheses and interpretations, several are used today by authors to interpret the reasons for the similarities among the Gospels. One of these is the Markan Priority hypothesis, which holds that Mark was the first Gospel writer, followed by Matthew and Luke

There are several reasons for this hypothesis, including:

1. There are several grammatical, literary, historical, and geogrphical errors in Mark's Gospel alone, which do not appear in those texts by Matthew and Luke. Therefore, it is hypothesized that these errors must have been corrected by the other two writers, since it is unlikely that he would have introduced errors while having a correct version as a source. Instead, it is more sensible to suppose that the others identified the errors and corrected them.

2. Mark's characterization of Jesus during several episodes sketches him as crazy, magical, or weak. At other times, Mark appears obscure. Like the errors, it makes more sense that these would have been omitted by later writers than added by one of them.

3. The order of the presented the material is a further basis for the hypothesis. While Mark's chronological structure is more or less the same as that of the other two, the specific material of Matthew and Luke differ substantially in terms of order. It makes more sense that both inserted their material in Mark's basic structure rather than so specifically following a structure from a later author while restructuring the other material.

The "Q-Hypothesis" is a further interpretation of the similarity among the gospels as stemming from the original words of Jesus, existing in the past as a document containing his sayings and teachings. This document, according to this view, no longer exists, but is used to explain the significant similarities in the Gospels. Farnell notes that the independence hypothesis is also somewhat popular among scholars. This hypothesis holds that each of the Gospel writers, including John, providing an eye-witness account of Christ's life, without the benefit of a prior literary text, and without relying on each other for material. This view, however, ignores the literary similarities among the Gospels, and is generally only held by lay people and those who wish to perpetuate the ancient views of these accounts. Hypothesizing literary dependence is, however, also no simple matter, as already seen. This leads to further hypotheses regarding who the first Gospel writer was in terms of history and whether external literary sources were used in the construction of these accounts. In terms of the Christian faith, however, Farnell

notes the fundamental danger of the literary dependence hypothesis to discredit the validity of the Bible as religious text.

Carlson

notes, nevertheless, that few other hypohteses are as widely accepted as the Two Source Hypothesis. Recently, however, two alternative solutions have seen the light to rival this hypothesis. These include the Two Gospel Hypothesis and the Farrer Hypothesis.

The Two Gospel Hypothesis holds that Matthew was written first, with Luke being second and Mark using the two to create his work. The Farrer Hypothesis, on the other hand, holds that Mark was written first and adopted by Matthew and then used later by Luke.

While some of these theories are refuted for their apparent lack of ability to ensure the validity of the Bible to its faith, others use the Synoptic Problem to Hypothesize highly spiritual interpretations of the similarities and differences. McGough

, for example, claism that the "overwhelming" and "incontrovertible" facts suggest a conscious design by God in the similarities and differences among the Synoptic texts. The author claims that the patterns of KeyWord placement in these Gospels are so consistent that they simply cannot be the result of coincidence. To demonstrate this, the author uses several examples, one of which is the use of the word "righteousness," used by Matthew and omitted by Luke. There are such omissions and insertions in Matthew 5:6… READ MORE

How to Reference "Synoptic Problem" Term Paper in a Bibliography

Related Term Papers:

Historical Jesus Term Paper

Jesus

In looking to find the historical Jesus, the best source - the only source - are the Synoptic Gospels of the Bible. The "Synoptic" Gospels means that these are… read more

Term Paper 12 pages (3646 words) Sources: 2 Style: MLA Topic: Religion / God / Theology

---

Jesus and the Synoptic Gospels Term Paper

Gospels

The Bible is probably the most read and most controversial book in the history of humanity. Much of this controversy can be attributed to the first four books of… read more

Term Paper 30 pages (8212 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Religion / God / Theology

---

Scripture According to Christian Tradition, Mark Term Paper

Scripture

According to Christian tradition, Mark, who served as both interpreter and disciple of Peter, took responsibility to write down the teachings of his pedagogue after both his and Paul's… read more

Term Paper 8 pages (2695 words) Sources: 0 Topic: Religion / God / Theology

---

Workings of Forest Fire Management Systems and Urban Fire Departments Term Paper

Forest Fire Management Systems and Urban Fire Departments

Forest Fire Management Systems

New Technologies

Urban Fire Department

New Technologies

Descriptive Statistics

Suppression Costs for Federal Agencies. Source: National Interagency Fire… read more

Term Paper 63 pages (17324 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Management / Organizations

---

Exegetical Study Jesus Is Rejected at Nazareth Term Paper

Exegetical Study

Matthew 13:53-58 is one of the last recorded times that Jesus teaches in the synagogue and it recounts Jesus' rejection by the Nazarene people when he preaches to… read more

Term Paper 4 pages (1393 words) Sources: 2 Topic: Family / Dating / Marriage

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>