GOSPELS
GOTHUNIEL
24£
wmid more easily have become prepared to write the Fourth (jospel.
[Th< trustworthiness of the traditions as to tlie old a^'e of John the son of Zebedee has been called in question, more especially of late by Uarnaok in his Chrtm. d, AUchrist. Lit. i. pp. 320 It. and (jjtj 11. Vox a discussion of this question see NT Ca.non.]
IV. The Hakmony of the Gospels.— A com- parison of the Gospels, verj' dill'erent for the most part in its metliou and object from that which we have been reviewing', has been as.sociated with the name of the Harmonists. Startiu" from the as- sumption that the inspiration of Holy Scripture involves its complete immunity from error even in the most unimportant historical details, they endeavoured to reconcile all inconsistencies in parallel accounts in the Gospels, and, when this was found to be impossil)le, they inferred that dill'erent incidents or occasions were referred to. For many years past, however, even those thouiflit- ful students of the Gospels who have believed in the absolute infallibility of every part of Scripture, as well as others who had no wish to deny this thesis, have felt dissatislied with the e.\pedients resorted to by the Harmonists ; and have been more inclined to say that our knowled<;e is not full enough to admit of such a process being soundly applied, ami to suggest that if we were acquainted with all the circumstances the apparent discrepancies would vanish.
Kecent criticism is seldom ready to admit that variations in two narratives which have a general •■esemblance, or in the form and setting of sayings which in substance are the same, point to two similar but distinct events, or to the repetition at dillcrcnt times of the siime teaching. It is in the liiibit of attributing such variations to the natural action of tradition, where they were not due to one or other of the evangelists themselves. It would even account thus for the recurrence of similar sayings (or incidents) in the same Gospel. A tradition, it saj's, came to be embodied with greater or less dillerenees of form in each of two documents which have been used by the evange- list ; he has given the two reports of the same fact as if they were reports of distinct facts. And its chief interest in these ' doublets,' as they are termed, i» that they may be a means of discovering more about the original documents. There are cases in which such an explanation appears prob- able. On the other hand, modern critics overlook far too much the consideration that history does sometimes repeat itself, and in particular that all men who feel that they have a message for man- kind neces-sarily insist often on the truths which they are most anxious to inculcate, and in doing so use again and again the same language. Thus Christ must in all probability have spoken some of His most striking sayings many times. And this may well have been the cause of some at least of the variations and repetitions in our records. We are not, however, entitled to reject any of the above explanations on the ground of an d priori theory as to the nature of inspiration. The truth, bo far as it is possible for us to ascertain it, can be reached only through the careful weighing of probabilities.
[The foUosving may be taken as instances in connexion with which the various methods of e.\planation described above may l>e considered : — Mt 8»-'» cf. with Lk 7'"'and with .In 4«-" ; Mk 4"'-" with Mt 5"'« 10" and with Lk 8"- " 11" 12" ; Mk 4» with Mt 13" 25'^ and with Lk 8" 19-*.]
A truer kind of harmony may be sought for in the Gospels than that which, in the supposed interests of the Faith, men have too often mi.s- takcnly attempted to establish. Wemayim|uire whether there is, or is not, amid all dillerenees an
essential inner agreement, or at least compatibility ; whether the several representations of our Lord's Person and Life in them do not give in combina- tion an image marked by unity and completeness. If we can trace in the Gospels such a harmony, we shall have herein the best guarantee that we could desire of their historical truth, and shall derive therefrom the noblest conception that could be formed of the common inspiration of their fourfold testimony.
LlTERATCRK. — In the following: list an attempt is mode to enumerate the works which are most important tor tlie sluJy of ttie problem of the Origin and Composition of the Oo3)>cla, in the form which it has now a^iSumeU. \^orks of which 'he inlerest is due mainli' to their place in the history of past --on- tfuversy are not here mentioned ; some of Lhem have been named in the preceding article. In addition to books /vhich aim at thoroughness of treatment, a few of a more popular kind have been giveji. Foreign works which have been translated into English are referred to by English titles, but the dates are ttiose of the originals. It must not be supposed that the books enumerated are in all cases devoted exclusively to the main- tenance of the particular views under which they are classed ; e-i). 'Introductions' contain reviews of the history of opinion. But it has not been ttiought worth while in most cases to mention the same work more than once.