From: perry.stepp@chrysalis.org
Date: Thu Oct 12 1995 - 17:37:46 EDT
As a "Q-agnostic", let me note the following:
1.) Synopses (even those as excellent as Aland's) are not without their biases.
For instance, if the person organizing the synopsis is convinced of Markan
priority, they will organize their synopsis according to that conviction. This
automatically lessens some of the phenomena that weigh for Matthean priority
(e.g. Luke's "scattering" of Matthean material.)
Thus the two-gospels group of the SBL encourages those who are interested in
weighing the two-gospel hypothesis to provisionally make their own synopses.
I have found the Eusebian canons (written assuming Matthean priority, so
there's your bias (*my* bias)) to be extremely helpful in this area. You have
to use them critically, but they have the advantage of covering more material
(and more finely sifted) than published synopses, even Aland's.
2.) William Farmer has just published an *excellent* summary of the two-gospel
hypothesis. This book (*The Gospel of Jesus*) is aimed at the popular market
(a broadside at the Jesus Seminar, to be sure.) But it is filled with reams of
valuable research, both historical and textual. There are things published
here that are simply not widely available anywhere else (e.g., an overview of
Augustine's views on the composition of the gospels, an overview of the
politics of German scholarship at the time of Bismark, etc.)
3.) This is especially important, so pardon me if I shout:
EVEN IF ONE ACCEPTS MARKAN PRIORITY, ONE DOES NOT HAVE TO ACCEPT THE
EXISTENCE OF Q.
Holtzmann (see Dr. Hobb's article in Perkins Journal), Austin Farrer, and
others down to Michael Goulder and E. P. Sanders today believe that Luke used
Mark and Matthew as his primary sources rather than Mark and Q. This has two
advantages over the two-source hypothesis. First, we don't have to make large
scale appeals to non-existent hypothetical documents. Second, it sufficiently
explains the minor agreements between Mt. and Lk. against Mark.
Anyway, I didn't mean to go off like that. Grace and peace,
Perry L. Stepp, Baylor University
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