With a survey of the Old Testament as a back drop, the class has turned to the New Testament beginning with the Gospels.
Most early Christians believed that Jesus would return
during their life time. As a result they relied initially on oral stories to
convey Jesus’ message of salvation to other people.
These oral traditions began to be replaced by written accounts beginning in the late 50’s A.D. for several reasons including:
- The timing of Jesus return was becoming less clear,
- The disciples and other eyewitnesses who had seen Jesus personally were beginning to die,
- Christians needed a faith literature to help distinguish them from the Jews, and
- A written faith literature also helped to build cohesion and continuity within the Christian community
The Pauline letters were written between 55 and 58 A.D. followed by Mark’s Gospel during the period 60 – 65 A.D.
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