• Home
  • Anglican Ministry
  • Academic CV
  • Didache
  • Synoptic Problem
  • MPH Origin Stories
  • Revelation
  • Conference Papers
  • Blog
  • Texts
  • Contact
  Alan Garrow Didache

the problem page

SBL/AARdvent Calendar: Day 22

14/11/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
Mark Goodacre on the greatest weakness in the Farrer Hypothesis
Back in 1996 Mark Goodacre was prepared to allow that the Farrer Hypothesis, as defended by Michael Goulder, includes weaknesses as well as strengths:
Goulder makes ... numerous criticisms of traditional approaches which his opponents will ignore at their peril and, further, his thesis has many strong points. One virtue is the simplicity of his solution to the Synoptic Problem. Another is the explanatory power of his thesis: frequently Goulder sheds new light on famous difficulties.
Both of these strengths, though, also lead us into difficulties. The simple solution to the Synoptic Problem, Matthew's knowledge of Mark alone and Luke's knowledge of Matthew and Mark alone, sometimes demands a degree of complexity in the application which partly undermines its credibility. Likewise, Goulder's thesis sometimes labours under the strain of attempting to explain too much. Rarely does Goudler admit to finding a difficulty and regularly, apparent weaknesses are read as strengths.

​Mark Goodacre, Goulder and the Gospels, (JSNTS 133, Sheffield Academic Press, 1996) p. 363.
Mark Goodacre's observation that Goulder's theory, 'demands a degree of complexity in the application which partly undermines its credibility' has been very frequently echoed in subsequent scholarship - albeit more forcefully and with greater attention to the realities of ancient compositional practices. Luke, under the Farrer Hypothesis is required to perform an extraordinarily complex set of operations on Matthew, while treating Mark in a very much more traditional and straightforward manner. All this might be forgivable if it were clearly the only way to avoid the serious problems encountered by the Two Document Hypothesis - but it is not. The difficulties faced by the Two Document Hypothesis and the difficulties faced by the Farrer Hypothesis are both resolved if we allow ourselves to contemplate a relatively simple alternative: Matthew used Luke. 
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Alan Garrow is Vicar of St Peter's Harrogate and a member of SCIBS at the University of Sheffield. 

    Archives

    May 2025
    September 2024
    August 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    March 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    September 2022
    June 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    January 2021
    May 2020
    April 2020
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    December 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    November 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    April 2015
    January 2015

    Categories

    All
    Didache
    MPH Origin Stories
    Revelation
    Synoptic Problem

    RSS Feed

Home
Academic CV
Anglican Ministry
Contact
Didache
Synoptic Problem

Revelation
Blog
Didache and Matthew
Didache and John
Didache and Paul
Didache and Revelation