Early Christians tend to compress the Gospel traditions rather than expand them.1
• Oral traditions didn’t grow in detail.2
• E.g. Mt doesn’t expand Mk’s stories.
• E.g. Lk doesn’t expand Mk’s stories.
• Mk’s accounts tend to be longer than Mt & Lk.
• In general, bad Jesus-bio just founders and dies.
Early Christians were largely unified on Jesus-biography.1
• E.g. Luke and Paul Jesus-bio overlap.
• ECs were highly organized (enforced conformity).
• Gospels have diff. puzzle pieces explaining each other.
• The Gospels mutually agree on details.
• Christians widely knew true Jesus-bio.
• Gospels and 1st church agree on Jesus-bio.
• Christians got their Jesus-bio from 1st church.
• In general, Christian beliefs mutually fit/agree.
Jesus’s living ministry-witnesses discredited flagrantly false Christian pop-rumors (directly or indirectly).
• Christians strove to match Jesus-bio witnesses (or their trainees).
• E.g. The 1st church killed all deviant Jesus-bio.
• Handy witnesses abounded.
• The Jesus-bio teachers matched witnesses.
• Legends flourished only after witnesses died.
• Pre-70 novel Jesus-bio invited serious questioning.
Rather than inventing Jesus-biography, Christians in AD 30-80 were usually or always honest in their core reporting of it.
• Christian Jesus-bio fit witness testimony.
• Christians circulated the 1st church’s Jesus-bio.
• Christians would avoid lie-inventing Jesus-bio.
• In general, they didn’t invent/lie.
•
Christianity’s Jesus-stories faithfully passed down (in AD 30-90).
• AD 125 traditions were faithfully passed down.
• Christians relayed Jesus-bio w/ great quality- control.
• ECs largely agreed on Jesus-bio, in all its complexity.
• Gospel traditions aren’t lies/legends.
• False Jesus-bio struggled to circulate.
But no,...
• Christians didn’t even pass down Jesus-bio.
• Gospels spew minor differences.
• Christians oft invented core Jesus-bio.
• Christians wouldn’t succeed (even if trying).