How do we tell when the Gospels were written?

Question

I'm not interested in dates. I am interested in "how do we tell" when they were written. What is used to make that judgement.

Answer 1

General academic consensus answer:
When were they written down?
Gospels of Mark and Matthew: around 65 AD
Gospel of Luke: around 85 AD
Gospel of John: as late as 125 AD
How do we know when they were written?
Mark is the simplest gospel; Matthew contains much material from Mark and material from an independent source (the so-called Q material). Luke is dependent on Mark and Matthew but contains some material not in either. John is late since it seems to make reference to the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Emperor Titus in the 80s AD.

Answer 2

When you do biblical studies scholars use many different methods to figure out when it was written. They look at the style of Greek and from the types of Greek can tell what time period it was written in. They also look at references that they gospel makes, i.e. to the Kings or different people...then they reference them to other works who also make the same mentions. Also by figuring out who the author was and when they were alive, helps...some times authors write using the authority of the apostles, so it's hard to tell, but they can get a pretty good idea just by reading the work and authorship when it was written.

Answer 3

The historical references in the New Testament are from before the destruction of the Temple. Plus, the apostles were killed before the destruction of the Temple, except for John. In order to write in the Bible, you had to be a witness to the events written about, such as the resurrection, etc. Therefore, even many liberal scholars conclude that the New Testament Gospels had to be written in the mid first century.

Answer 4

There's no real way to tell. Carbondating is a good idea, but it's useless because who knows how many times the gospels were copied because the previous copy was being worn out or aging badly? The only way to know when they were written is to be there when they were which would involve a time machine and probably breaking several laws of physics.

Answer 5

We look at the content for starters and the difference in John as opposed to the three synoptic gospels is pretty clear evidence that he wasn't a contemporary of Christ never mind a disciple who knew him personally. It was written by someone who was clearly using secondary sources.

Answer 6

The Catholic Church testifies to the truth and accuracy of scripture, as well as to the identity of the writers, and the approximate date the writings were originally set down.

The church was there when the new testament scriptures were composed and circulated.

Many are of apostolic origin, so they had to be written during the lifetme of the named writer.

Those who dispute this have no evidence other than their opinion, which isn't worth much when compared to God's.

Answer 7

The same radiocarbon dating used to test the age of fossilized matter found beneath the surface of the Earth.

Answer 8

Any study bible will tell you when each of the gospels were written.

Answer 9

The were written down around 310 A.D. (accounts vary) before that they were pass on by oral tradition.

Answer 10

The expiration date on the box of fortune cookies the sayings were stolen from.