Three scientists—Papaia, Banani, Ravioli—and their assistant Igor, who were supposed to attend the famous dark matter conference, miss their flight and end up on the other side of the world. Arriving at the wrong airport, they book a hotel for the night, but it’s not exactly what they expected… meaning, it’s awful. During the trip, Ravioli downloads a study on the historical reliability of the Gospels.
We are in Banani’s room.
While Papaia recovers from a headbutt, the other two are talking about the Gospels.
Ravioli: If we date Acts to 62, we must date the Gospel of Luke at least a couple of years earlier, around 60.
Banani: Back then, it took a little longer than today to write a book.
Ravioli: This date also comes from the fact that the Gospel of Luke and the Gospel of Mark have parts in common. It’s assumed that Mark’s Gospel was written before Luke’s, and that Luke included parts of it.
Banani: And what about Mark’s? How do we date that?
Ravioli: As we’ve seen, the written tradition states that Mark was the interpreter and a close collaborator of Peter. In the New Testament, we find confirmation of this in one of Peter’s letters, where Peter says that Mark was like a son to him.
Banani: So they were in close collaboration.
Ravioli: Yes, and from the Church Fathers, we learn that Mark wrote his Gospel while he was in Rome.
Banani: So Peter and Mark arrived in Rome from Jerusalem, Peter began preaching, and Mark translated what he said.
Ravioli: Yes, and because of this, he ended up memorizing everything Peter preached.
Banani: And back then, we said that the memory of students was much more trained than ours.
Ravioli: Yes, and now, from history, we know that Emperor Claudius, in 49, decreed the expulsion of the Jews from Rome. This ban ended in 54.
Banani: So Peter and Mark couldn’t have been in Rome during that time.
Ravioli: Yes, so Mark must have written his Gospel either before 49 or after 54. But scholars (the conservative ones) are more likely to date Mark’s Gospel between 57 and 60.
Banani: And why not earlier?
Ravioli: We have Paul’s letter to the Romans, written in 56. In the greeting section, neither Peter’s name nor Mark’s appears.
Igor: Imagine Papaia as Mark,
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…writing the Gospel based on Peter’s sermons. Given his memory, it would go something like this: ‘And then Jesus took 2 breads and 5 fishes… no, wait, it was 2 fishes and 5 breads…
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… no, hold on, 3 chickens and a watermelon…
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…ah, forget it, let’s just say there was food and everyone ate!’
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