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Source criticism - Coggle Diagram
Source criticism
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Definitions
- Synoptic problem The question of the literary relationship between the first three Gospels and the sources each Gospel used
- Synoptic From the Greek meaning 'seeing all together', 'taking a common view'; often used to refer to the first three Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, based on the similarity between them
- Proto-gospel An earlier written version of a Gospel that the writers of the Gospels may have used when compiling their own Gospel, but it no longer exists
- Two-source hypothesis The theory that Matthew and Luke used both Mark and Q as sources when writing their Gospels
- Q source Q stands for Quelle which means 'source' in German. Q source is thought to be a collection of sayings of Jesus, sometimes called logia. Once considered a single source, even a fifth Gospel, it is thought it was more likely to be a collection of sayings, as Matthew and Luke use the material in different ways
- Four-source hypothesis Proposes that in addition to Mark and Q, Matthew and Luke also used material from independent sources known as M and L. Therefore, it is believed that four sources existed for the Gospel writers to draw on: Mark, Q, M and L
- Oral tradition The teachings of Jesus and accounts of the events in his life from eyewitnesses that were passed on by word of mouth among the early Christian communities. This formed the oral Gospel tradition that the Gospel writers probably used
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Key thinkers
Augustine [354-430 CE] Augustine was an early Christian theologian and philosopher and one of the most important Church Fathers. His work is still influential in Christianity today
Johann Griesbach [1745-1812] Griesbach was a German biblical scholar known for his work in New Testament criticism. In 1776 he published his synopsis of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke in parallel columns, to show the similarities and differences. He established the tool of a synopsis as an aid to biblical criticism
The process of source criticism aims to uncover the earlier stages of development in the text. It assumes that existing shorter pieces of writing were brought together by the author and it is possible to work back to arrive in the original source. This is seen as the most helpful tool in resolving in the Synoptic problem