A History of the Synoptic Problem: The Canon, the Text, the Composition, and the Interpretation of the Gospels

by David Laird Dungan

Publisher:

Yale University Press

, 1999

Overview

A History of the Synoptic Problem is an accessible, academic study of a question that has needled readers of the New Testament since before the Bible was canonized: How does one reconcile the different accounts of Jesus' life given by the four Gospels?

Today the most highly publicized answer to this question is the one offered by John Dominic Crossan and the Jesus Seminary, who seek to reconcile the differences among the Gospels by designating some events and statements in the Gospels historically true and others false. There are lots of other ways to explore the synoptic problem, however, and Dungan provides a clear and lively history of the strategies employed by Origen, Augustine, Erasmus, Spinoza, Locke, and others. Dungan's method is to break the synoptic problem down into its corollary questions: Which gospels should be considered in the debate? Which text of each gospel should be considered? And how should one read the Bible in general and the gospels in particular?

Dungan's interest in these questions is not merely literary; he also delves into the political and economic agendas that have influenced biblical interpretation. In this regard, the most interesting and original connection he makes is to explain the relationship between the rise of the modern historical-critical method of reading Scripture (asking who wrote the books of the Bible, when, how, and for whom) and the creation and maintenance of political democracy—and furthermore, the ways in which fundamentalist "literal" readings of Scripture serve the same goal. Dungan's own investment in debates on the synoptic problem is shot through with an appealing humility about the stakes of the debate.

Contents

Top Highlights

“Origen was the first to confront every aspect of the Synoptic Problem: canon, text, composition, and hermeneutics” (Page 4)

“Origen of Caesarea, the most gifted and accomplished text critic of the early Church, spent considerable time attempting to deal with the differences among the Gospels while preserving the integrity of their composition process. As such, he was the first person to deal with all four parts of the Synoptic Problem in the history of the Church and thus becomes the model for all later treatments.” (Page 12)

“Here we see the critical first step: examine your sources” (Page 70)

“Origen occasionally used more than the four Gospels in his exegetical and critical writings” (Pages 3–4)

Product Details

• Title: A History of the Synoptic Problem: The Canon, the Text, the Composition, and the Interpretation of the Gospels
• Author: David Laird Dungan
• Series: Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Print Publication Date: 1999
• Logos Release Date: 2010
• Pages: 544
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subject: Synoptic problem › History
• ISBNs: 9780300140583, 0300140584
• Resource ID: LLS:HISTSYNPROB
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T00:31:32Z

About David Laird Dungan

David Dungan is Professor of Religion at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and author, with David R. Cartlidge, of Documents of the Study of the Gospels.