Why are there differences in the Gospels? Mike Licona & Richard Burridge episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 16, 2017 · 1H 20M

Why are there differences in the Gospels? Mike Licona & Richard Burridge

from Unbelievable? · host Justin Brierley

Differences between the same stories, words and timelines in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John have been noted since the early days of the Church. Critics claim the differences put the historical reliability of the Gospels into question.  New Testament scholar Mike Licona's new research in his book "Why are there differences in the Gospels? What we can learn from ancient biography" aims to show why many of the differences can be explained by the literary conventions of the day adopted by historians such as Plutarch. Mike's work builds on the scholarship of Revd Professor Richard Burridge, Dean of Kings College London whose seminal work "What are the Gospels?" made the case for their genre as Ancient Biography. For Mike Licona and the book: https://www.risenjesus.com/ For Richard Burridge: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/depts/trs/people/staff/academic/burridge/index.aspx Get Unbelievable? the book: www.unbelievablebook.co.uk  Get Unbelievable? the Conference 2017 DVD/CD & Digital Download: http://www.premier.org.uk/shop  For more faith debates visit http://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable Join the conversation: Facebook and Twitter Get the MP3 Podcast of Unbelievable? Via RSS or Via Itunes

Differences between the same stories, words and timelines in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John have been noted since the early days of the Church. Critics claim the differences put the historical reliability of the Gospels into question.  New Testament scholar Mike Licona's new research in his book "Why are there differences in the Gospels? What we can learn from ancient biography" aims to show why many of the differences can be explained by the literary conventions of the day adopted by historians such as Plutarch. Mike's work builds on the scholarship of Revd Professor Richard Burridge, Dean of Kings College London whose seminal work "What are the Gospels?" made the case for their genre as Ancient Biography. For Mike Licona and the book: https://www.risenjesus.com/ For Richard Burridge: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/depts/trs/people/staff/academic/burridge/index.aspx Get Unbelievable? the book: www.unbelievablebook.co.uk  Get Unbelievable? the Conference 2017 DVD/CD & Digital Download: http://www.premier.org.uk/shop  For more faith debates visit http://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable Join the conversation: Facebook and Twitter Get the MP3 Podcast of Unbelievable? Via RSS or Via Itunes

NOW PLAYING

Why are there differences in the Gospels? Mike Licona & Richard Burridge

0:00 1:20:31

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

Bagged & Tagged

Jun 25, 2026 ·10m

A-Peeling

Jun 23, 2026 ·10m

A Grand Tour

Jun 18, 2026 ·11m

Rafters

Jun 16, 2026 ·11m

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Unbelievable??

This episode is 1 hour and 20 minutes long.

When was this Unbelievable? episode published?

This episode was published on June 16, 2017.

What is this episode about?

Differences between the same stories, words and timelines in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John have been noted since the early days of the Church. Critics claim the differences put the historical reliability of the Gospels into...

Can I download this Unbelievable? episode?

Yes, you can download this episode by clicking the download button on the episode player, or subscribe to the podcast in your preferred podcast app for automatic downloads.
URL copied to clipboard!