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Document Details : Title: Plausibility, Probability, and Synoptic Hypotheses Subtitle: A Response to F. Gerald Downing Author(s): GARROW, Alan Journal: Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses Volume: 96 Issue: 1 Date: 2020 Pages: 131-137 DOI: 10.2143/ETL.96.1.3287378 Abstract : This note responds to Gerald Downing’s, Plausibility, Probability, and Synoptic Hypotheses, the first article to offer a sustained attempt to show that Matthew’s use of Luke (with Markan Priority) is an implausible solution to the Synoptic Problem. Downing argues that, if Matthew wrote third, he would have been bound to reproduce all, or most, of the occasions when Mark and Luke agree verbatim for sequences of more than thirty characters. In my response I note that this suggestion not only defies common sense but also obliges Matthew to perform physically demanding actions for no discernible benefit. I conclude that we remain short of a reason to reject solutions to the Synoptic Problem in which Mark came first, and Matthew used Luke. |
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