The Gospels: Copying or Independence?
The Statistics of Truth: Linnemann’s Experiment
Researcher Eta Linnemann, using statistical analysis, sought to prove that the similarities between the Gospels do not necessarily stem from one copying the other. Her argument is based on a simple and vivid experiment. Linnemann writes:
"To be convinced of this, one can conduct a simple experiment. Ask three people who do not know each other to describe an event they all witnessed—for example, a car accident. Have them write down their accounts and then compare the three texts.
Undoubtedly, there will be many differences, as each will narrate the incident in their own way. However, there will also be many commonalities: a similar plot, identical terms (road, car, driver, collision, etc.), and similar phrases. This shared, 'synoptic' material would account for 30%, 40%, or 50%, perhaps even more. Furthermore, due to the experimental conditions, literary interdependence between the three witnesses is ruled out, as is any prior communication."
This example serves as a valuable logical response to the rationalism of our time. It proves that the truth of an event inherently produces a shared vocabulary. However, for a person of faith, the Gospel is not a randomly recorded accident; it is the Incarnation of God.
The Definitive Answer of Saint John Chrysostom
Where statistics end, theology begins. The explanation provided by the Church Fathers is not merely statistical, but spiritual. Saint John Chrysostom, 1,600 years ago, gave the definitive answer in his 1st Homily on the Gospel of Matthew, explaining why apparent "disagreements" are actually the greatest proof of truth:
“And yet, someone might say, shouldn't just one person have written everything? Certainly. But the fact that many wrote, and moreover, that they did not write the same things, nor in the same places, nor at the same times, constitutes the greatest proof of truth. For if they agreed in everything with absolute precision—even in words, time, and place—none of the detractors would believe that they wrote without prior collusion... For such absolute similarity is not a characteristic of simplicity and honesty.
But now, their apparent disagreement on small and secondary matters clears them of all suspicion and serves as the best defense for the authors' character... In the main and essential matters, which form the foundation of our life and the center of our preaching—that God became man, performed miracles, was crucified, buried, rose again, and ascended—you will not find any of them disagreeing with the other in the slightest.”
While Linnemann provides us with the "mathematics" of truth (the 50% similarity), Chrysostom provides us with its spirit. The objective reality is that the Gospels are the fruit of the Holy Spirit acting through the freedom of each individual. The similarities are the seal of the one Truth, and the differences are the guarantee of their sincerity.
Edited by: Christodoulos Molivas
Sources:
https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/200101.htm?hl=en-US
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/review/is-there-a-synoptic-problem/?hl=en-US
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