Frauds and Follies of the Fathers: A Review of the Worth of Their Testimony to the Four Gospels — John Shaqi
Frauds and Follies of the Fathers: A Review of the Worth of Their Testimony to the Four GospelsWheeler, J. M. (Joseph Mazzini)
Religion
Frauds and Follies of the Fathers: A Review of the Worth of Their Testimony to the Four Gospels
Wheeler, J. M. (Joseph Mazzini)
Christianity -- Controversial literature; Fathers of the church
It will also be noticed that Papias no more mentions a _Gospel_ of Mark
than he does of Matthew. What he speaks of is not an inspired narrative,
but records written from memory. Now if Mark wrote from memory he did
not write from inspiration. The argument for the genuineness of the
Gospel is at the expense of its inspiration. But the evidence from the
numerous passages in which Mark agrees with Matthew and with Luke is
overwhelming that it is not an original document written from memory
at all, but with the writer having other documents directly before him.
This is admitted by all the best critics.
Papias says Mark did not arrange in order the things which were said and
done by Christ, and that he was careful to omit none of the things which
he heard. How can this apply to our Gospel, which we have seen omits
many most important things with which Peter was most especially
concerned, and which moreover is the most orderly and consecutive of the
Gospels. Canon Sanday says ("Gospels in the Second Century," p. 151):
"The second Gospel _is_ written in order, it is _not_ an original
document. These two characteristics make it improbable that it is in its
present shape the document to which Papias alludes." And again (p. 155):
"Neither of the two first Gospels, as we have them, complies with the
conditions of Papias' description to such an extent that we can claim
Papias as a witness to them." Once more (p. 159), "I am bound in candor
to say that, so far as I can see myself at present, I am inclined to
agree with the author of 'Supernatural Religion' against his critics,
that the works to which Papias alludes cannot be our present Gospels in
their present form."
Dr. Davidson (Introduction to N. T., vol. i., p. 539, 1882,) declares:
"A careful examination of Papias's testimony shows that it does not
relate to our present Gospel, nor bring Mark into connection with it as
its author. All we learn from it is, that Mark wrote notes of a Gospel
which was not our canonical one."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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