(August 19, 2022 at 5:31 pm)The Grand Nudger Wrote: The new testament, also, says exactly what it's authors wanted it to. They went to a considerable amount of trouble to ensure that it did. They, ofc, also believed that their magic man really said the stuff inside. Really did the stuff inside. Really was who it says he was.
I don't think that the authors of the Gospels (canonical or otherwise) believed that they were quoting the original words of Jesus any more than Homer believed that he was actually relaying conversations between Zeus & Hera from Mount Olympus. Rather, when the authors of Matthew & Luke were plagiarizing Mark's account, they were creating a narrative after the Roman conquest of Jerusalem to help preserve the living memory, traditions and theology of their various communities. This is why the author(s) of the Gospel of John had no issue with placing Jesus' execution on a Thursday instead of a Friday, because having Jesus executed on the Day of Passover fit the theological views of John's community who, like Homer with his tales from Mount Olympus, could care less about the true historical Jesus.
