Putting It All Together
Synoptic Problem: Markan Priority Defies Logic (Part 13/13)
Only Matthean Priority Is Viable
When we set out to take a logic-based approach to analyzing Markan Priority, we committed to conducting our analysis using only evidence, and with every attempt to avoid fallacies. It’s now time to summarize what we’ve learned. We set out with a null hypothesis that argued there was no basis to replace Matthew as the first Gospel. And we tested the alternative hypothesis that there was some good basis to replace Matthew with Mark as first. All of the testing for that proposition failed or was inconclusive at best. We thus have no basis to reject our null hypothesis.
Because we’re using abductive reasoning here (the only approach viable for choosing between hypotheses that aren’t clearly deductive), we are required to reject Markan Priority given our analysis. There is no colorable case for Markan Priority to be the best hypothesis — at least given the examination we’ve conducted here. This is based on three major pillars:
- The Patristic record overwhelmingly supports Matthean Priority, without dissent
- The Arguments from Order, patterns, etc. prove nothing and thus all equally support Matthean and Markan Priority
- The argument of editorial fatigue is circular and can’t prove priority, while Mark’s redaction and omissions concerns have reasonable explanations and/or are reversible
Additionally, the literary critical arguments are reversible and or inconclusive. Accordingly, Matthean Priority remains the best hypothesis given the current record. Only Matthean Priority accounts for all the evidence, either in its favor, or at worst neutrally. There really is no way around this other than to systematically dismantle the Patristic record case. Assuming, hypothetically, that was doable, there would still be problems reaching consensus.
What If the Patristic Record Is Rejected?
If one summarily rejects the Patristic testimony completely (an intellectually dishonest position), we still have problems for Markan Priority. First, we’d still have the circumstantial evidence that Matthew is the most Jewish Gospel. We’d have to assume Matthew “re-judaized” Mark in order to account for this.
Second, we have to account for the tradition that Matthew was an eyewitness. This tradition is separate from that of the Patristic record (for example, all of the earliest manuscripts attribute the Gospel bearing his name to him). Given this, we’d have to argue that Matthew, an eyewitness, would have needed to consult Mark to write his own Gospel. This is often caricatured by Markan Prioritists, but that position only has strength if Markan Priority is definitive — it is not. Even without the Patristic testimony, it’s more challenging to argue Mark before Matthew if one assumes Matthew was an eyewitness. The reverse is not as concerning, since Mark isn’t claiming to be an eyewitness even if he was interpreting Peter. It requires fewer assumptions to have Mark refer to Matthew’s eyewitness testimony, than Matthew refer to Mark’s non-eyewitness testimony.
Since the literary critical arguments are mostly reversible and, fail to demonstrate clear, statistically meaningful tendencies, neither argument can claim them. So fundamentally what’s left when the Patristic record is summarily removed, is the inability to believe Mark’s redaction and omission decisions if he was last vs. Matthew’s more Jewish Gospel, and the notion that Matthew as an eyewitness would rely on the non-eyewitness Mark if he was later. Assuming, charitably, that the Markan Priority position is stronger on the redaction/omission argument than the Matthean Priority position, we’re left with comparing very thin, inconclusive arguments against one another. There’s certainly no way to reach consensus against Matthean Priority on this, nor vice versa.
Wrapping Up
I hope you enjoyed the journey we took (start here if new, Part 1/13). I certainly did! I welcome any comments and, in the spirit of intellectual honesty, I remain open to any objective challenges to my analysis here!
