Were the gospels made up

Answer 1

The gospels are writings of the apostles and of those who knew them. The apostles were themselves eyewitnesses of the events they recorded. People such as Luke and Mark naturally used sources for their work. Mark used Peter as one source. Luke used multiple sources, including Gospels written earlier, and many see logic in assigning Jesus mother Mary as another source (or someone else with similar knowledge).

In any case there was no need for anything to be made up as Jesus' life and teachings were remarkable enough as it was. Further to this there existed plenty of living hostile witnesses who would have been able to refute any falsities in the records. The writers of the Gospels were concerned with truth, not with making anything up.

Interestingly, this allegation was made particularly against Luke's writings, since he is specific about some details not mentioned elsewhere. This specificity in historical detail made his writing subject to invalid 'arguments from silence' in times past when there was no specific external evidence to back up the details he provided. These false allegations have repeatedly been proven false, so much so that he is regarded as a historian of the highest rank by those who know and understand the accuracy of his work. He never made anything up, but only wrote what he knew to be a fact. The allegations of inaccuracy, of downright fabrication, based on a skeptical and anti-Biblical bias, have had to bow to the facts of archaeological research. What also must be understood is that there is no particular detail that anyone required the authors record in any of the Gospels. Each author acted as he was led by the Holy Spirit, in accordance with his own abilities and with consideration for his target audience. The personal differences in knowledge, style and emphasis amply account for the numerous differences which exist. They make for a fuller picture, just as different biographers will bring out different aspects of any famous life even today.

Answer 2

There is no straight-forward answer to this question. Remember that all the New Testament gospels were originally anonymous and only later in the second century were they attributed to the persons whose names they now bear. We do not know who the real authors were, but New Testament scholars say that none of the gospels could have been written by an eyewitness to the events portrayed.

Nearly all New Testament scholars say that the Gospels of Matthew and Luke were largely based on Mark's Gospel, with further sayings material taken from the hypothetical 'Q' document. Thus we can say with some certainty that the authors of Matthew and Luke knew nothing about the life and mission of Jesus apart from what they found in these sources. The authors of Matthew and Luke sometimes elaborated on the accounts in Mark and sometimes treated the material from 'Q' in different ways. They also added quite a number of further passages that were based around stories in the Old Testament or which were created by the evangelists themselves. To this extent, it is unarguable that the Gospels of Matthew and Luke were, at least in part, made up.

It is now widely accepted that John's Gospel was also based on the synoptic gospels. Some scholars say that John's sources were Mark and Luke, while others say that the author might also have used Matthew. That is a debate that will be resolved in time, but either way, to the extent that Johndiffers from Mark, it is made up.

So, was Mark made up? Burton L. Mack (Who Wrote the New Testament) says, "Mark's Gospel is an obvious fiction, masterfully composed by someone who had to be doing his work at a desk as any author would. It soon became the accepted story of the way to imagine Jesus appearing in the world. Rhoads, Dewey and Michie (Mark as Story) say, "The composer of this story has used sophisticated storytelling techniques, developed the characters and the conflicts, and built suspense with deliberateness, telling the story to generate certain insights and responses in the audience."

So, yes, we can show that the gospels were fictional accounts based on fictional accounts.

Answer 3

No, the gospels are considered accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ written by his followers. They are considered important texts in Christianity.