Letters

Dating the Gospels (letter)

Fr G.H. Duggan SM

Contents - Jul 2004 - Buy a copy now Editorial: Separation of Church and State? - Michael Gilchrist Liturgy: New improved English Mass translation nears completion - Michael Gilchhrist Feminist 'rituals': no substitute for prayer - Joanna Bogle News: The Church Around the World Pastoral Letter: The secular challenges to our faith: how to respond - Bishop Geoffrey Jarrett Eucharistic Adoration: heart of evangelisation - Fr Sebastian Camilleri OFM Croagh Patrick, Ireland's Holy Mountain: 'Sure, it's a bit of a hill' - Paul Russell Letters: Synod (letter) - Lance Eccles Letters: Courageous lead (letter) - Tom King Letters: Ineffective system (letter) - John Mulholland Letters: Catholic schools (letter) - George Simpson Letters: Dating the Gospels (letter) - Fr G.H. Duggan SM Letters: Informative talk (letter) - Frank Bourke Letters: Gay lobby (letter) - Alan A. Hoysted Letters: Abusive letters - Maureen Federico Letters: Christian models (letter) - Brett Powell Letters: Christians the most vilified group (letter) - Arnold Jago Letters: Disappointment (letter) - Cathy Cleary Letters: The Passion of the Christ (letter) - June Forester Letters: Parish concerns (letter) - Peter Gilet Letters: No kneelers (letter) Letters: The power of one (letter) - Brian Harris Letters: Sacred Heart (letter) - V. Mulligan Letters: CD response (letter) - Melanie and Christopher Duluk Books: Flee To the Fields - The Founding Papers of the Catholic Land Movement - Peter Chojnowski (reviewer) Books: An Essay on the Restoration of Property, by Hilaire Belloc - John Ballantyne (reviewer) Books: Ethics and the National Economy, by Heinrich Pesch - John Williamson (reviewer) Redemptionis Sacramentum (Sacrament of Redemption) abridged version - Fr M. Durham Books: More new titles for 2004 from AD Books Reflection: No time to pray? Try contemplation - Fr Leo J. Trese

I was pleased to see Paul H. Smith's letter (June AD2000) citing Thiede's The Jesus Papyrus in which the author establishes that the Gospel of St Matthew was written before 66AD.

In my view the Gospels should be dated as follows: Matthew before 42, during the 12 years the Apostles remained in Jerusalem; Mark in 46, being a record of the preaching of St Peter when he was in Rome, 42-46, having brought with him the Gospel of St Matthew and using this as his text; Luke in 53, that is, before 2 Corinthians, which was written in 56 and refers to Luke as "the brother whose praise is in all the churches for his gospel" (8:18); and John in 65 - Robinson argues for a date before 70, and Klaus Berger of Heidelberg has argued for 65 in a substantial monograph.

For a detailed analysis, one could quote Wenham and Carmignac for the Synoptics, and Robinson for all four.

In a word, the tide has begun to turn.

FR G.H. DUGGAN SM
Upper Hutt, New Zealand

Reprinted from AD2000 Vol 17 No 6 (July 2004), p. 13