Kirjahaku

A bold reassessment of John's Gospel and its relationship to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke Generations ago in biblical studies, it was taken for granted that John wrote with full knowledge of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. But this consensus was overturned in the 1930s and since then, there has been no agreement on the issue. Today many scholars view the problem as unsolvable or impossibly complex. Mark Goodacre, however, takes a different view. In his galvanizing new book, Goodacre synthesizes long-neglected data with newer perspectives to make a strong case for John's familiarity with all three Synoptic Gospels. Writing in a clear and accessible style, Goodacre takes a systematic, step by step approach to showing that John knew and used the narratives of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Goodacre identifies key points of agreement that range from diagnostic shards to shared structures. He also analyzes key differences; in his telling, John dramatically transforms the Synoptics and develops their Christology while adding a beloved disciple of Jesus, who is himself a Synoptic character. To make his argument accessible to a broad audience, Goodacre minimizes the use of scholarly citations and translates all Greek words. Just as importantly, he illustrates his claims with clear, simple charts so that readers can see for themselves the evidence that John knew and used the Synoptics. The Fourth Synoptic Gospel is sure to spark lively discussions among biblical scholars. Given that John's relationship to the Synoptics is a fundamental issue in New Testament studies, Goodacre's book is also a must read for students and professors alike.

The Gospel of Thomas is the most controversial of the non-canonical gospels and the most important source outside the Gospels for our understanding of the historical Jesus and Christianity's origins. Mark Goodacre makes a detailed and compelling case that the author of The Gospel of Thomas is, after all, familiar with the Synoptic Gospels. He shows that the arguments for independence are inadequate and that the degree of agreement between Thomas and the Synoptics is far too great to be mediated by oral tradition. He suggests that Thomas features tell-tale signs of Matthew's and Luke's redactions and that the Gospel should be dated to the early to middle second century, when its author was looking for a means of lending the voice of his enigmatic Jesus an authoritative, Synopic-sounding legitimacy.

The Gospel of Thomas -- found in 1945 -- has been described as -without question the most significant Christian book discovered in modern times.- Often Thomas is seen as a special independent witness to the earliest phase of Christianity and as evidence for the now-popular view that this earliest phase was a dynamic time of great variety and diversity. In contrast, Mark Goodacre makes the case that, instead of being an early, independent source, Thomas actually draws on the Synoptic Gospels as source material -- not to provide a clear narrative, but to assemble an enigmatic collection of mysterious, pithy sayings to unnerve and affect the reader. Goodacre supports his argument with illuminating analyses and careful comparisons of Thomas with Matthew and Luke. Watch the trailer:

For over a century Gospel scholarship has accepted a hypothetical document called Q as one of the major sources of the Synoptic Gospels. In recent times, it has even been transformed from a sayings source to a Gospel in its own right. But, says Mark Goodacre in The Case Against Q, the majority acceptance of Q cannot function as an argument for its existence.From time to time dissenting voices have spoken against such widespread acceptance of Q as a Gospel. Scholars have pointed out, for instance, that Luke's knowledge of Matthew and Mark would enable one to dispense with Q. Yet, such voices often have gone unheeded due to the lack of a clear, balanced, and scholarly treatment of the case against Q. So, in The Case Against Q Goodacre offers a careful and detailed critique of the Q hypothesis, examining the most important arguments of Q's proponents. He then offers new arguments and fresh reflections reaffirming Markan Priority as the key to successful Synoptic scholarship. With this book, Goodacre provides a more plausible picture of Synoptic relationships than has previously been available, as he reconstructs Synoptic interrelationships and Christian origins. Mark Goodacre is Lecturer in New Testament in the Department of Theology at the University of Birmingham (England) and the author of The Synoptic Problem: A Way Through the Maze.

Goulder and the Gospels is the first comprehensive response to the radical challenge Michael Goulder has posed for New Testament scholarship. Goulder dispenses with all hypothetical sources-Q, M and L and postulates highly creative evangelists who write in the light of the liturgy. In this penetrating critique, Goodacre provides a critical overview of Goulder's work, focusing on several key areas, the vocabulary of Q, the language of the Minor Agreements, the creativity of Luke and the lectionary theory. He does not simply assess the plausibility of Goulder's ideas but also develops new ways to test them. The theories are sometimes found to be wanting, but at the same time Goulder is reaffirmed as one of the most important and stimulating Biblical scholars of this generation.