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GOODACRE, Mark, The Case against Q: Studies in Markan Priority and the Synoptic Problem (Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 2002), pb, x + 228 pp. ISBN 1-56338-334-9. $30.00

GOODACRE, Mark, The Case against Q: Studies in Markan Priority and the Synoptic Problem... 127 GOODACRE, Mark, The Case against Q: Studies in Markan Priority and the Synoptic Problem (Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 2002), pb, x + 228 pp. ISBN 1-56338-334-9. $30.00. Much historical Jesus research assumes the Q hypothesis. Goodacre calls this hypothesis into ques- tion, and instead of arguing for the Griesbach hypothesis (Matthew is the first Gospel; Luke used Matthew, and Mark used both of them), he defends the Farrer alternative: Mark is the first Gospel; Matthew used Mark, and Luke used them both. Goodacre begins by laying the foundation stone of Markan priority. He then turns to a critique of the four (primarily negative) argwnents for the exis- tence of Q and two more recently-developed positive arguments. Significant attention is given to Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount which, in the Farrer hypothesis, is abbreviated and largely dis- mantled by Luke. The different handling of this material by Matthew and Luke is one of the comer- stones of the Q hypothesis, and Goodacre addresses the issue from the perspective of the Farrer hypothesis. In addition to careful redaction-critical arguments, Goodacre turns to narrative criticism and even Jesus films for support. He also considers the significance of the ’minor agreements’ (as they are called in Q studies) between Matthew and Luke, as well as the considerable differences between Q and the Gospel of Thomas. This well-written and thought-provoking book provides a significant challenge to the standard solution to the Synoptic Problem. RLW MACK, Burton L., The Christian Myth: Origins, Logic, and Legacy (New York: Continuum, 2001), hb, 237 pp. ISBN 0-8264-1355-2. $25.95. In Part 1 Mack rejects the portrayals of the historical Jesus developed in recent scholarly discussion, for they are based on a misunderstanding of the Gospels which ’are not the mistaken and embel- lished memories of the historical person, but the myths of origin imagined by early Christians...’ (p. 40). Mack summarizes his own view of a ’Cynic-like Jesus’ (cf. his earlier work, The Lost Gos- pel [1993]), but this Jesus does not adequately account for Christian origins. Mack develops a the- ory of religion to ’explain Christian origins without recourse to miracles and divine interventions’ (p. 83) which involves the concepts of social interests, religion as a social structure, and religion as social interest. Applied to Christian origins, the diverse pictures and emphases in the Jesus trad- itions indicate social experiments that were creating new social formations because old patterns weren’t working any longer. ’The Jesus myths produced by these early Christian groups can now be understood as imaginative moves in their quest to legitimate forms of social identity’ (p. 115). From these origins arose the apostolic myth and finally the formation of the Christian Bible in the mid-second century. And thus the Christian myth was created. Mack traces the legacy of this myth’s s ambitions for supremacy, and he concludes with reflections on the impact of this myth on the United States as ’the Christian nation’. RLW http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus Brill

GOODACRE, Mark, The Case against Q: Studies in Markan Priority and the Synoptic Problem (Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 2002), pb, x + 228 pp. ISBN 1-56338-334-9. $30.00

Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus , Volume 1 (1): 127 – Jan 1, 2003
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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© 2003 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
1476-8690
eISSN
1745-5197
DOI
10.1177/147686900300100111
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

127 GOODACRE, Mark, The Case against Q: Studies in Markan Priority and the Synoptic Problem (Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 2002), pb, x + 228 pp. ISBN 1-56338-334-9. $30.00. Much historical Jesus research assumes the Q hypothesis. Goodacre calls this hypothesis into ques- tion, and instead of arguing for the Griesbach hypothesis (Matthew is the first Gospel; Luke used Matthew, and Mark used both of them), he defends the Farrer alternative: Mark is the first Gospel; Matthew used Mark, and Luke used them both. Goodacre begins by laying the foundation stone of Markan priority. He then turns to a critique of the four (primarily negative) argwnents for the exis- tence of Q and two more recently-developed positive arguments. Significant attention is given to Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount which, in the Farrer hypothesis, is abbreviated and largely dis- mantled by Luke. The different handling of this material by Matthew and Luke is one of the comer- stones of the Q hypothesis, and Goodacre addresses the issue from the perspective of the Farrer hypothesis. In addition to careful redaction-critical arguments, Goodacre turns to narrative criticism and even Jesus films for support. He also considers the significance of the ’minor agreements’ (as they are called in Q studies) between Matthew and Luke, as well as the considerable differences between Q and the Gospel of Thomas. This well-written and thought-provoking book provides a significant challenge to the standard solution to the Synoptic Problem. RLW MACK, Burton L., The Christian Myth: Origins, Logic, and Legacy (New York: Continuum, 2001), hb, 237 pp. ISBN 0-8264-1355-2. $25.95. In Part 1 Mack rejects the portrayals of the historical Jesus developed in recent scholarly discussion, for they are based on a misunderstanding of the Gospels which ’are not the mistaken and embel- lished memories of the historical person, but the myths of origin imagined by early Christians...’ (p. 40). Mack summarizes his own view of a ’Cynic-like Jesus’ (cf. his earlier work, The Lost Gos- pel [1993]), but this Jesus does not adequately account for Christian origins. Mack develops a the- ory of religion to ’explain Christian origins without recourse to miracles and divine interventions’ (p. 83) which involves the concepts of social interests, religion as a social structure, and religion as social interest. Applied to Christian origins, the diverse pictures and emphases in the Jesus trad- itions indicate social experiments that were creating new social formations because old patterns weren’t working any longer. ’The Jesus myths produced by these early Christian groups can now be understood as imaginative moves in their quest to legitimate forms of social identity’ (p. 115). From these origins arose the apostolic myth and finally the formation of the Christian Bible in the mid-second century. And thus the Christian myth was created. Mack traces the legacy of this myth’s s ambitions for supremacy, and he concludes with reflections on the impact of this myth on the United States as ’the Christian nation’. RLW

Journal

Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus – Brill

Published: Jan 1, 2003

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