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UPDATES AND COMMENTS ON RECENT LITERATURE 1) Why Four Gospels? By David Allan Black, ISBN 0825420709 (2001). The author of this book is a leading Baptist professor of Greek at South Eastern Baptist University. Black agrees with Orchard’s theories and, while the book presents Black’s own convictions, it provides a good popular digest of Orchard’s ideas. 2). Archbishop [Later Cardinal] Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, opened the 2005-6 academic year at the Athenaeum of St. Anselm. He took the opportunity to call for a more accurate translation of Dei Verbum. 3). Scripture– A book by Ronald D. Witherup (2006) –is part of the ‘Rediscovering Vatican II’ series of books. Comment: A critique of this Markan priority view of Dei Verbum,. 4). A Book: Trustworthy and True- The Gospels beyond 2000 by Adrian Graffy (2001). A review of this book.
6). Following the 2010 Synod: The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church, Pope Benedict XVI issued the Post-Synod Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini. Part of the section Tradition and Scripture reads as follows: As the Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum reminds us, Jesus Christ himself “commanded the Apostles to preach the Gospel – promised beforehand by the prophets, fulfilled in his own person and promulgated by his own lips … This was faithfully carried out, it was carried out by the Apostles who handed on, by oral preaching, by their example, by their ordinances, what they themselves had received – whether from the lips of Christ, from his way of life and his works, or by coming to know it through the prompting of the Holy Spirit, it was carried out by those Apostles and others associated with them who, under the inspiration of the same Holy Spirit, committed the message of salvation to writing”. [Highlighting added]. COMMENT: Although this is a paraphrased new translation, it basically follows the Abbott translation of 1965 and that used by the Vatican web site over the recent decades. It clearly states that Apostles who were with Christ committed His message to writing. The others associated with them, traditionally referred to as: “apostolic men”, have always been seen as distinct from the Apostles. This was because, not being eye witnesses of Christ’s life, they (Mark and Luke), used second-hand materials. If, as claimed by advocates of Markan Priority, all the writers depended on second hand materials, why are the writers divided into two categories?
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