Theologians of the 1800s wrote with a flowing eloquence and style which is foreign to the ears of our present generation. Upham begins chapter three, “The Received Date of the Gospels,” with a rebuke not only against unbelieving skeptics, but also against orthodox religious leaders, who undermine the Gospels not…
Trustworthy: Thirteen Arguments for the Reliability of the New Testament. By Benjamin C. F. Shaw. Forward by Gary S. Habermas. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2024, xiii + 142 pp. Benjamin Shaw’s Trustworthy is a welcome addition to a subgenre which aspires to provide confidence in the biblical text, while targeting…
Elsewhere, I have argued that Matthew was published for the benefit of the Jews, coincident with the events of Acts 10–11, as Peter and Paul began preaching in Rome, the empire. And further, that Mark was published shortly thereafter, leveraging both Matthew’s Gospel and the sermons of Peter, at the…
Am starting to frame-up some ideas for another paper. The tentative question: If Matthew’s Gospel was indeed the first Gospel to be published, while the sequence of events was relatively fresh in the minds of many of its readers, then would Matthew not have been particularly concerned with presenting the…
What is being taught to students of the Bible, to future pastors and Christian teachers, concerning when the first Gospel was published? First, here is what is taught by some of the apologetic works which are addressed in my book: Bauckham (2017): Mark was published in the 60s CE, thirty…
We will be talking about my recently published book, A Trustworthy Gospel: Arguments for an Early Date for Matthew’s Gospel. Here is the link for the 5/28/24 Youtube webcast. Midwest Christian Outreach strives to: “give clear answers, and a solid defense of the orthodox biblical faith, to all types of…
For those in the broader Seattle area, do check out the speaker lineup at the upcoming events sponsored by the Apologetics Forum of Snohomish County. https://www.apologeticsforum.org/ My thanks to Atonement Free Lutheran Church in Arlington for hosting a gathering last night, where we heard Dr. Phil Fernandes survey the apologetic…
Those who argue for an early date for Matthew’s Gospel must contend with Irenaeus’s claim that “Matthew also issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect, while Peter and Paul were preaching at Rome, and laying the foundations of the Church.” My approach for dealing with the…
To the chorus of those who assert that Matthew was written within a decade of the resurrection and ascension, I have added four more voices: Samuel Ellwood (1709), Samuel Humphreys (1746), Thomas Horne (1825), and Arthur Carr (1898). An extended excerpt from Horne has been included, which provides a nice…
In 2 Timothy 4:13, Paul makes a personal request of Timothy: Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at…