Gospel Dates and Reliability

MH from Taiwan writes about Lita Cosner’s article over this year’s Resurrection Weekend, The Resurrection and Genesis, asking about how we know the dates of the New Testament books. The author explains...

Another small point about Matthew’s account, in chapter 27:8 and 28:15 he uses a term like, “to this very day” which would indicate the events in his writing took place considerably earlier.

The accuracy of the Gospel accounts has been attacked on that very basis, that their accuracy depended upon faulty human memory, but just as Ex. 31:1-6 explains that God’s spirit gave the workman extraordinary skill so too His spirit could help the Gospel writers accurately recall events as they wrote their accounts.

I have my own theory as to the Gospels and their dates. I've been trying to get info to back up my thoughts, but as yet, I have not the proof. Until then, I can only call it speculation.

After the Crucifiction and Resurrection, Christ instructed the Disciples to spread the word and, obviously, they did. They went their separate ways (dispersed), to talk to as many people as possible.
Now, being that they believed Christ's return to claim the church imminent, they did not bother to write much down. Also, a few of them (not all) may even have been illiterate, a fairly possible point back in those times. Matthew on the other hand, having been a tax collector, would have had a need to be literate to have had such a job.

The disciples went their own ways, preaching to other Jews and, eventually, Gentiles. They told their stories of their times with Jesus to those who would listen, repeating them over and over in the towns they visited.
At some point they felt the need to write down what they remembered, especially as some of them started to die off, and not of old age. Most of them were put to death. Other people wanted the Disciples remembrances of Jesus preserved and eventually wrote them down. These became the Gospels that were later collected and posted to a new Bible called the New Testament.

So, I believe that whatever date we can find on any written portion containing a Gospel points to an even earlier date for its beginning. I think that they were told over and over all around the mideast, wherever the new "Christians" went before actually being written down so as to be preserved and shared with other churches, as it was easier and cheaper to send a letter out than to actually travel long distances.

I am not a theologian, these are just my speculations and thoughts. If proven wrong, so be it.

Titus Q.C. said;

Well, we know Matthew’s Gospel was very early, since there are fragments of it palaeographically dated to ~50-60 AD.

This book Can We Trust the Gospels?:Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John by Mark Roberts speaks to the issue of the age of the book of Matthew, among other things.

I recently stumbled across the book at library book sale. Though not as extensively "explosive" as I perhaps hoped, it was short and to the point regarding both; many common misconceptions & arguments against trusting the Gospels authenticity (which the author nicely puts to rest), along with some of what secular academia has to say concerning the ages of the various books.

The [non-religious] New Testament scholars seem to agree that the book of Matthew predates the others by some years, not only due to old, found "fragments", but through textual criticisms.

The reviews at Amazon give one a good feel for what the book is like. I gave my copy away, but plan on obtaining another, if only for the fabulous (but fairly succinct) bibliography. Though re-reading it would be necessary, too, if only to be reminded of what questions came to mind when doing so the first time.

The author invites feedback at his website.

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