Hello Yaholo,

Thanks for taking the time to respond.

As you said before, it comes down to the evidence. I don’t say “case closed” as though no one could argue with me. I’m all ears to a good argument that makes sense of the evidence.

In this case, the evidence is extremely one-sided. All the evidence of history and archaeology is on the side of the Gospels being written early by their traditional authors. That may sound like an exaggeration, but, incredibly, it is accurate.

As to the motives of those who date the Gospels late, I don’t have to guess at any hidden motive. Many scholars are upfront about the reasons why they push for later dates. I simply listen to the motivations they give for themselves.

Many, for example, push the Gospels past 70 AD because they refuse to believe that Jesus prophesied the destruction of the Temple beforehand. In this case, they deliberately try to push the Gospels later to try to make the Gospels less supernatural and less authoritative.

Thankfully, the evidence is not on their side.