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==The relationship of the Gospels==

==The relationship of the Gospels==

[[Image:Gospel Leaf.jpg|thumb|Gospel Leaf, [[Ethiopia]].]]

[[Image:Gospel Leaf.jpg|thumb|Gospel Leaf, [[Ethiopia]].]]

Although [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] comes first in Biblical order, since the nineteenth century the Gospel of [[Gospel of Mark|Mark]] is widely agreed to be the oldest of the Gospels (see [[Bible#The Gospels|Bible: The Gospels]]). In the view of the theory of Marcan Priority Matthew and [[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] were probably compiled slightly later, drawing both from Mark, eyewitness accounts, and oral testimony.  It is also possible that Matthew or Luke used the other as a source as well, although which one would have come first is unknown.  [[Gospel of John|John]] is the last of the Gospels, the most theologically mature, and the strongest in its emphasis on God's loving sacrifice of his only son, Jesus, and the ways in which this sacrifice redeemed all mankind.  The first three canonical Gospels are often called the "synoptic" (''sighted with'' another) Gospels, as they tell slightly different versions of the same underlying story of Christ's life and ministry on earth.

Although [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] comes first in Biblical order, since the nineteenth century the Gospel of [[Gospel of Mark|Mark]] is widely agreed to be the oldest of the Gospels (see [[Bible#The Gospels|Bible: The Gospels]]).<ref>Eusebius relates the already-existing tradition in his day that Matthew wrote the first Gospel. In every manuscript of the New Testament, Matthew is always placed first, and for almost 1900 years the traditional view prevailed unchallenged that Matthew was the first Gospel written. This is called the [[Augustinian Hypothesis]], which holds that Matthew was the first Gospel, written by Matthew the Evangelist. Mark, according to tradition a Roman, and a companion of Peter, was author of the second Gospel, but beginning in the 19th century [[Heinrich Julius Holtzmann]] together with other German scholars, abusing the literary tools of [[Historical-critical method (Higher criticism)|historical-critical methods]] in opposition to Christian tradition, declared on their authority as German scholars that Mark's gospel was the first to be written down, about A.D. 50. This theory is called "Marcan priority", and it was aggressively spread as part of [[Otto von Bismarck|Bismarck's]] anti-Catholic 'Kulturkampf' policy.<ref>[http://www.ewtn.com/library/SCRIPTUR/KULTGOS.TXT Kulturkampf and the Gospel, by John Beaumont]<br/>[http://www.churchinhistory.org/pages/booklets/farmer%28n%29.htm Church in History. The ChurchinHistory Information Centre. BISMARCK AND THE FOUR GOSPELS 1870 - 1914, by William R. Farmer (University of Dallas) Editor of A NEW CATHOLIC BIBLE COMMENTARY. The theory that Mark's Gospel was published before Matthew's is widely held in German and English speaking countries. This article shows how this theory, with little supporting evidence, came to be spread as part of Bismarck's anti-Catholic 'Kulturkampf' policy. BIBLIOTHECA EPHEMERIDUM THEOLOGICARUM LOVANIENSIUM. THE FOUR GOSPELS. 1992] (churchinhistory.org). This view is widely held by liberal biblical scholars in German and English speaking countries. In the United States acceptance of Marcan Priority has often been a test of the "academic competency" of those faculty members who teach Biblical Studies.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=UYKvAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA282&lpg=PA282&dq=academic+persecution+regarding+Augustinian+hypothesis&source=bl&ots=iDysvbe5ii&sig=oNOrQku42-Tx-n-yBzhQtzAeQls&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VHKkVNa7IceiyAStsYKYAw&ved=0CEQQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=academic%20persecution%20regarding%20Augustinian%20hypothesis&f=false Mark's Gospel--Prior or Posterior?: A Reappraisal of the Phenomenon of Order, By David Neville]</ref>  In the view of the theory of Marcan Priority Matthew and [[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] were probably compiled slightly later, drawing both from Mark, eyewitness accounts, and oral testimony.  It is also possible that Matthew or Luke used the other as a source as well, although which one would have come first is unknown.  [[Gospel of John|John]] is the last of the Gospels, the most theologically mature, and the strongest in its emphasis on God's loving sacrifice of his only son, Jesus, and the ways in which this sacrifice redeemed all mankind.  The first three canonical Gospels are often called the "synoptic" (''sighted with'' another) Gospels, as they tell slightly different versions of the same underlying story of Christ's life and ministry on earth.

Luke was said to have been a Greek physician (see Col 4:14) who accompanied [[Paul]] and also wrote the [[Acts (of the Apostles)|Acts of the Apostles]] describing the arrival of the [[Holy Spirit]].  Unlike the Gospels of Matthew and John, written as firsthand accounts, the Gospel of Luke records eyewitness accounts of others, much as a doctor asks a patient for his medical history and then writes it down in the medical file.  Due to Luke's professional nature, his Gospel is very comprehensive about Jesus' life and [[resurrection]], and it also conveys the great sense of [[joy]] that Jesus' family, friends and followers felt.

Luke was said to have been a Greek physician (see Col 4:14) who accompanied [[Paul]] and also wrote the [[Acts (of the Apostles)|Acts of the Apostles]] describing the arrival of the [[Holy Spirit]].  Unlike the Gospels of Matthew and John, written as firsthand accounts, the Gospel of Luke records eyewitness accounts of others, much as a doctor asks a patient for his medical history and then writes it down in the medical file.  Due to Luke's professional nature, his Gospel is very comprehensive about Jesus' life and [[resurrection]], and it also conveys the great sense of [[joy]] that Jesus' family, friends and followers felt.