what years were the gospels written around?
50 - 125 CE
what religion were many believers still a part of?
they were mainly Jewish and still worshipped in Synagogues
who wrote the gospels, where did they come from?
They were written by people known as Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, they were various authors
what did each of the authors have?
various interpretations
what were many audiences at that time looking back to?
the old religion, and the old traditions
what do the gospels show us?
questions and problems the church faced
what do the gospels illustrate at that time?
they illustrate the churches understanding
when was the earliest gospel supposedly written?
30 - 40 years after the death of Jesus
what do many believe to be the first gospel?
Mark
what do the gospels tell the foundations of?
they tell the foundation stories of the church`
were the stories written purely to tell the stories of Jesus?
no they were written to give meaning to his teachings
who did the gospels come from?
people who believed Jesus was the Messiah
are the gospels eye witness accounts?
no
what does Luke tell his audiences?
that he did his research on the gospels and used a variety of sources
what is the oral tradition?
eye witness accounts
how did the church pass on its message?
orally
what did many people do with the teachings and sayings of Jesus?
they collected and put these stories and sayings together
what did the church preserve?
memories of Jesus
what did many people put the stories into?
memorable forms
are the gospels historical or theological accounts?
they are theological accounts
why do they tell the stories of Jesus?
to tell stories to make theological points and for religious instruction
what do the authors want to tell their audiences?
want to tell their audiences what the ministry of Jesus means rather than getting the facts historically correct
what does gospel mean in Greek?
good news
what were the main reasons the gospels were written?
- church needed to refocus their original traditions and preserve them as Christ had not returned as expected
- the first apostles and eye witnesses were dying
- Christianity was spreading and people needed a way to teach about Jesus