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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Augustinian hypothesis | 4/4 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustinian_hypothesis | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T09:59:02.720328+00:00 | kb-cron |
A savage persecution of the Church, begun by Herod Agrippa I in AD 42, was the signal for the dispersion of the apostles now possessing in the Gospel of Matthew the necessary tool to support and confirm their preaching, while at the same time preserving their theological unity. The first phase was completed, and the second phase of the Church's expansion was about to begin with the mission of Paul. Central to Orchard's characterization of this new second phase is the distinction between a primarily Hebrew orientation and a primarily Greek orientation, focusing not only on the Jewish converts to Christianity, but to the gentile converts as well. This, he argues, resulted in three key events: the translation of the original Matthew into Greek, the production of the Gospel of Mark within the context of Peter's preaching to Greek speaking converts in Rome, and Luke's authorship of his Gospel under the instruction of Paul. Cited in support of this are the comments of Clement, Irenaeus, and others who state that the Gospel of Mark was written by Mark, a follower of the apostle Peter, based on his speeches. Orchard countered the claim that the Gospel of Mark must have been written first, since it contains less information than Matthew and Luke, by positing that Peter elected not to speak on certain subjects, such as the birth and resurrection narratives, since he had not been a direct witness of those events. The notion that Peter employed Matthew in his preaching was supported by B.C. Butler, but not by John Wenham, who instead explained the similar structure by arguing simply that Mark used both his recollection of his instruction from the Gospel of Matthew and his memory of the preaching of Peter to pen his own synthesis. The association of the Gospel of Luke with Paul the apostle, which is witnessed by tradition, has led some to argue that Luke was with Paul during his imprisonment in Rome, or to at least place the date of composition prior to 70 and the fall of Jerusalem. The author of Luke also wrote in his prologue that he employed various sources in composing his work. Wenham argued that an excess of such material, along with the constraints of scroll length, was one cause of his noticeable omission of material found in Matthew and Mark. An unusual modern scholar who supported the notion that the Synoptic Gospels were of an early date, specifically before 70, was John Robinson. Though generally considered a liberal theologian, his views in respect to the development of the Gospels were consistent with the Augustinian hypothesis. He wrote in his work Redating the New Testament that past scholarship was based on a "tyranny of unexamined assumptions" and an "almost wilful blindness," concluding that New Testament was written before 64, and that there is no compelling evidence and little evidence of any kind that anything in the New Testament reflects knowledge of the Temple's destruction. Furthermore, in relation to the four gospels, according to Norman Geisler:
"Robinson places Matthew at 40 to after 60, Mark at about 45 to 60, Luke at before 57 to after 60, and John at from 40 to after 65."
== Explanatory notes ==
== See also ==
Farrer hypothesis Four-document hypothesis Gospel harmony Griesbach hypothesis Hebrew Gospel hypothesis Two-source hypothesis
== References ==
== External links == Evaluation of the Theory of Literary Dependence The Mysterious Case of the Missing Q Archived 2002-08-02 at the Wayback Machine Synoptic Problem Website