Christian Publishing House Blog
Apologetic Defense of the faith, the Bible, and Christianity
Modern-day Bible scholars are largely skeptics and fond of ambiguity and uncertainty. The book of 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus are typically dated at the end of the first century, from 90–100 A.D. Paul suffered martyrdom at the hands of Nero about 66 A.D.
Modern-day biblical scholarship today does not allow for any certainty. Even if a scholar is sure of something, he must conceal that certainty in ambiguous terms like "it seems," it is possible," or "possibly." Being scholarly today is to be skeptical and content with one's uncertainty.
The Double Standard from Skeptics
When we are looking at secular history, historians come across balanced, fair, reasonable but when it comes to the gospels, there is a tremendous double standard. The Gospels, for example, are presumed to be guilty of being frauds, authors unknowable until they are proven innocent, and the bar is raised when it comes to the level of evidence needed. The normal way of investigating historical events, peoples, and places ostensibly are thrown out the window.
The Enlightenment and its spawning of historical-critical methodologies—particularly that aspect of the system called "Source Criticism"—marked the beginning of the end of the priority of the Gospel of Matthew.