![\"Marko](\"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Marko-Marina-Author-Bart-Ehrman.png\" "\\"Marko")
<\/span><\/p>\nWritten by Marko Marina, Ph.D.<\/a><\/p>\n Author | Historian<\/p>\n Author | Historian | BE Contributor<\/p>\n Verified! See our guidelines<\/a><\/p>\n Verified! See our editorial guidelines<\/a><\/p>\n \nDate written: September 22nd, 2023<\/p>\n Edited by Laura Robinson, Ph.D.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\nDate written: September 22nd, 2023\n Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily match my own. – Dr. Bart D. Ehrman<\/p>\n The New Testament Gospels\u2014Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John\u2014stand as the foundational texts of Christianity, chronicling the life, teachings, and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. These ancient writings have been the subject of unwavering faith and intense scrutiny throughout history.<\/p>\n For believers, they offer profound spiritual insights and a roadmap to salvation. For scholars, they present a historical puzzle.<\/strong><\/p>\n What is the historical reliability of the Gospels? Do they faithfully preserve the eyewitness testimony of Jesus’s life and ministry? Are they the products of collaboration, adaptation, or independent authorship? How does that influence the reliability of the Bible? <\/p>\n The primary sources are the basis of work for every modern historian. They, are, as Natalie Z. Davies writes<\/a>, \u201ca magic thread that links us to people long since dead and with situations that have crumbled to dust\u201d. However, magic has its limits!<\/strong> <\/p>\n Beginning with the Enlightenment, scholars started to look more closely at the historical reliability of the Gospels. In other words, the Gospels became just another historical source – a document that can be studied like other historians study accounts about Julius Caesar or Alexander the Great. Are the Gospels historically reliable? <\/p>\n To determine this, we must first establish our criteria for “accuracy” and “reliability.” A story aligning with past events can be deemed historically sound, while a story that fundamentally contradicts historical reality indicates an unreliable account.”<\/p>\n In The New Testament<\/a>, Dr. Ehrman notes that the ideal situation would be to have sources that:<\/p>\n As it turns out, the historical reliability of the Gospels is far from the ideal. To be honest, there are some positive sides! We do have four different accounts of Jesus\u2019 life that were based on earlier sources<\/a>. However, other facts show why the New Testament is not reliable.<\/p>\n According to the Church\u2019s tradition, all four Gospels were based on the Eyewitness testimony. Are the Gospels eyewitness accounts? Many scholars doubt it. <\/p>\n The New Testament Gospels were written several decades after Jesus\u2019 death<\/a> by anonymous people who lived in different parts of the Roman Empire. There is no internal evidence to support that, for instance, an interpreter of Peter named Mark<\/a>, or a traveling companion of Paul named Luke<\/a>, wrote the Gospels. <\/p>\n Moreover, the titles of the Gospels were only added later. In other words, they were not part of the original documents. The structure of the titles (The Gospel according to Matthew<\/a><\/em>) suggests that later scribes inserted it into the existing text. <\/p>\n Furthermore, the evangelists were educated urban Greek-speaking Christians. Jesus\u2019 earliest followers were Aramaic-speaking peasants from the rural areas of Galilee. Did Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John know Jesus? Most scholars<\/a> doubt it. <\/p>\n Nevertheless, I will refer to the authors as Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John for convenience\u2019s sake!<\/p>\n But, where did they get their information about Jesus\u2019 life? The simple answer is the oral traditions! <\/p>\n TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE of the Historical Jesus!<\/p>\n Think you know the Jesus of the Bible? Uncover the historical figure behind the texts!<\/p>\n __CONFIG_colors_palette__{“active_palette”:0,”config”:{“colors”:{“10c55”:{“name”:”Main Accent”,”parent”:-1}},”gradients”:[]},”palettes”:[{“name”:”Default”,”value”:{“colors”:{“10c55”:{“val”:”rgb(255, 133, 34)”}},”gradients”:[]},”original”:{“colors”:{“10c55”:{“val”:”rgb(19, 114, 211)”,”hsl”:{“h”:210,”s”:0.83,”l”:0.45,”a”:1}}},”gradients”:[]}}]}__CONFIG_colors_palette__ <\/span> sTART QUIZ<\/strong><\/span><\/span> <\/a> <\/p>\n It’s free!<\/em><\/p>\n Every analysis of the historical reliability of the Gospels comes down to oral traditions. After Jesus died, his followers, equipped with the belief in his resurrection and the imminent end, and to convert others, told stories about his life. These stories were retold week by week, month by month, year by year, decade by decade. <\/p>\n Evangelists gathered and revised these narratives, resulting in four distinct accounts of Jesus’ life. Nevertheless, the passage of decades during which the stories were orally transmitted introduced what we might call “historical imperfections.” In essence, individuals altered, appended, and (sometimes) fabricated stories concerning Jesus<\/strong>.<\/p>\n For cultural anthropologists, this phenomenon is hardly unexpected. Their research into oral cultures has consistently revealed the inherent susceptibility of traditions to undergo modifications over time. A compelling illustration of this principle can be found in Jan Vansina’s seminal work, Oral Tradition As History<\/a>.<\/p>\n This is the pattern we encounter within the Gospels<\/strong>. These accounts reveal inconsistencies, spanning from minor variations to substantial disparities. An illustrative case, which falls into the category of minor discrepancies, is the narrative surrounding the death of Judas<\/strong>.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/The-Reliability-of-the-Gospels-Are-the-Gospels-Historically-Accurate.png\" "\\"The")
<\/span><\/p>\nMethodology and History: Gospels as Sources<\/h2>\n
\n
Are the Gospels based on the Eyewitness Testimonies?<\/h2>\n
Telling Stories about Jesus: Oral Culture and Gospels<\/h2>\n
![\"Are](\"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Are-the-Gospels-historically-Accurate-Why-the-New-Testament-is-Not-reliable.png\" "\\"Are")
<\/span><\/p>\n