The Synoptic Problem
In ancient times, scholars did not agree,
On the order in which the gospels were written, you see?
Augustine thought it was Matthew, Mark, Luke and then John,
And his belief was widely accepted until Griesbach came along.
"Mark copied from Matthew and Luke," he more or less said,
But later scholars argued that Mark was the one who led.
Soon others posited the existence of a source called "Q,"
For it seemed there wasn't just one source, but two.
But this two-source theory would be challenged as well,
Did Q ever exist? They just couldn't tell.
A few scholars even applied a statistical technique,
But if a consensus exists, it remains rather weak.
Copyright © Thomas Wiener | Year Posted 2024
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