OK, here's my findings from re-reading the synoptic Gospels again and this time putting all the events on a spreadsheet, placing the major episodes in order of one another.
Birth of Jesus
Matt and Luke are the only Gospels that tell us anything of Jesus' birth or childhood. They wrote independently of each other and it's obvious. The nativity story told at Christmas time is a sloppy amalgamation of the two.
In Matthew, Jesus' family lives in their house in Bethlehem. Jesus is born there, visited by Wise Men and then the family has to flee to Egypt to escape Herod the Great. All this happens before 4 BCE. They later come back to Judea but can't return to Joseph's home town because Herod's son is just as bad, so they instead settle in a new home in Nazareth.
In Luke, Jesus' family lives in Nazareth. Jesus is born in a manger in Bethlehem because Joseph and Mary had to go there for a highly unlikely census. They're visited by shepherds. All this happens after 6 CE. After performing the rites for a newborn at the temple, they return to their home in Nazareth.
Baptism of Jesus
All three Synoptics agree that John the Baptist puts himself down and denies he's the messiah, that he is instead merely a forerunner for Jesus. Oddly enough, his followers stubbornly continued to regard him as the messiah, being rivals with the early Christians. Could it all just be propaganda, an attempt to incorporate the icons of a rival religion, like Islam does to Jesus?
John baptizes Jesus in all three Gospel accounts, though he becomes increasingly submissive in later versions of the story. A booming voice is heard when the Heavens open up and The Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus. What that voice said and who it was talking to depends on which version you read. Now, I know details will vary in different eye-witness accounts but you'd think if a booming voice from the sky spoke, people would get that detail straight.
Jesus goes immediately into the wilderness for 40 days in all three synoptics, though this contradicts John who has Jesus spend the next three days gathering disciples and attending a wedding.
Ministry of Jesus
OK, here's where it gets interesting and I only discovered this when placing the events on a spreadsheet.
Over the course of his ministry, there are 42 "episodes" that are shared by at least two of the Gospels, most of them by all three. These episodes include such events as him walking on water or calming a storm, or famous things he said like "render unto Caesar".
Of these, 22 of these episodes are in jumbled order.
For example, in Luke, the "Rejected In His Home Town" happens at the start of his ministry. In Mark or Matthew, this episode happens almost mid-way through the ministry, after the "She's Sleeping" (Jairus' daughter resurrected) episode.
In Matthew, "She's Sleeping" happens before "Who Is My Mother?" but Mark and Luke disagree, saying these episodes are in reverse order.
On the 20 episodes where the order is agreed upon, two of them significant details differ. In the episode "Herod Antipas Comments", Mark has Herod asking "is this JtB raised?". In Matthew, Herod declares "This IS JtB raised!" In Luke, Herod hears "some say" that this is JtB raised. In "Road to Jerico", Jesus heals Bart the Blind Begger in Mark, two blind beggers in Matthew and an unnamed blind begger in Luke.
By my count, this leaves 18 episodes related similarly and in the right order, roughly a 43% rate of agreement.
This is what passes in Christianity for "Synoptic" (similar).
Rise and Fall in Jerusalem
The order of events is fairly consistent in the three Synoptics on Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem followed by his fall, trial and crucifixion. The episode "God Hates Figs" happens after "Temple Tantrum" in Matthew but before in Mark.
There is some discrepancy in the details of the episode, "Triumph At Jerusalem". Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a colt in Mark and Luke but on a colt and an ass, rodeo style in Matthew. In "Trial of the Century", Mark and Matthew have Jesus tried by first the priests and then Pilate. In Luke, it gets more complicated as Jesus is also sent to Herod Antipas and back again. In "Crucifixion", Jesus' last words are "Why have you foresaken me?" in Mark and Matthew but "Into your hands I commend my spirit" in Luke.
Resurrection
If there was relative agreement between the Synoptics on the Jerusalem part of his life, this harmony falls apart in relative how Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into the sky. Was it still dark or at sunrise when the women came to the tomb? Was the stone rolled away or not? How many angels were there and where?
In sum, I was really surprised as to how little agreement there was even between the "Synoptic Gospels".
Birth of Jesus
Matt and Luke are the only Gospels that tell us anything of Jesus' birth or childhood. They wrote independently of each other and it's obvious. The nativity story told at Christmas time is a sloppy amalgamation of the two.
In Matthew, Jesus' family lives in their house in Bethlehem. Jesus is born there, visited by Wise Men and then the family has to flee to Egypt to escape Herod the Great. All this happens before 4 BCE. They later come back to Judea but can't return to Joseph's home town because Herod's son is just as bad, so they instead settle in a new home in Nazareth.
In Luke, Jesus' family lives in Nazareth. Jesus is born in a manger in Bethlehem because Joseph and Mary had to go there for a highly unlikely census. They're visited by shepherds. All this happens after 6 CE. After performing the rites for a newborn at the temple, they return to their home in Nazareth.
Baptism of Jesus
All three Synoptics agree that John the Baptist puts himself down and denies he's the messiah, that he is instead merely a forerunner for Jesus. Oddly enough, his followers stubbornly continued to regard him as the messiah, being rivals with the early Christians. Could it all just be propaganda, an attempt to incorporate the icons of a rival religion, like Islam does to Jesus?
John baptizes Jesus in all three Gospel accounts, though he becomes increasingly submissive in later versions of the story. A booming voice is heard when the Heavens open up and The Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus. What that voice said and who it was talking to depends on which version you read. Now, I know details will vary in different eye-witness accounts but you'd think if a booming voice from the sky spoke, people would get that detail straight.
Jesus goes immediately into the wilderness for 40 days in all three synoptics, though this contradicts John who has Jesus spend the next three days gathering disciples and attending a wedding.
Ministry of Jesus
OK, here's where it gets interesting and I only discovered this when placing the events on a spreadsheet.
Over the course of his ministry, there are 42 "episodes" that are shared by at least two of the Gospels, most of them by all three. These episodes include such events as him walking on water or calming a storm, or famous things he said like "render unto Caesar".
Of these, 22 of these episodes are in jumbled order.
For example, in Luke, the "Rejected In His Home Town" happens at the start of his ministry. In Mark or Matthew, this episode happens almost mid-way through the ministry, after the "She's Sleeping" (Jairus' daughter resurrected) episode.
In Matthew, "She's Sleeping" happens before "Who Is My Mother?" but Mark and Luke disagree, saying these episodes are in reverse order.
On the 20 episodes where the order is agreed upon, two of them significant details differ. In the episode "Herod Antipas Comments", Mark has Herod asking "is this JtB raised?". In Matthew, Herod declares "This IS JtB raised!" In Luke, Herod hears "some say" that this is JtB raised. In "Road to Jerico", Jesus heals Bart the Blind Begger in Mark, two blind beggers in Matthew and an unnamed blind begger in Luke.
By my count, this leaves 18 episodes related similarly and in the right order, roughly a 43% rate of agreement.
This is what passes in Christianity for "Synoptic" (similar).
Rise and Fall in Jerusalem
The order of events is fairly consistent in the three Synoptics on Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem followed by his fall, trial and crucifixion. The episode "God Hates Figs" happens after "Temple Tantrum" in Matthew but before in Mark.
There is some discrepancy in the details of the episode, "Triumph At Jerusalem". Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a colt in Mark and Luke but on a colt and an ass, rodeo style in Matthew. In "Trial of the Century", Mark and Matthew have Jesus tried by first the priests and then Pilate. In Luke, it gets more complicated as Jesus is also sent to Herod Antipas and back again. In "Crucifixion", Jesus' last words are "Why have you foresaken me?" in Mark and Matthew but "Into your hands I commend my spirit" in Luke.
Resurrection
If there was relative agreement between the Synoptics on the Jerusalem part of his life, this harmony falls apart in relative how Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into the sky. Was it still dark or at sunrise when the women came to the tomb? Was the stone rolled away or not? How many angels were there and where?
In sum, I was really surprised as to how little agreement there was even between the "Synoptic Gospels".
Atheist Forums Hall of Shame:
"The trinity can be equated to having your cake and eating it too."
... -Lucent, trying to defend the Trinity concept
"(Yahweh's) actions are good because (Yahweh) is the ultimate standard of goodness. That’s not begging the question"
... -Statler Waldorf, Christian apologist
"The trinity can be equated to having your cake and eating it too."
... -Lucent, trying to defend the Trinity concept
"(Yahweh's) actions are good because (Yahweh) is the ultimate standard of goodness. That’s not begging the question"
... -Statler Waldorf, Christian apologist
