Firstly my apologies to both Alpha and to Omya as I am using a different computer and didn't log in first.. hence I am showing as guest in my previous post.
Omya,
I've just read your answer to my previous post. I am sorry as I have confused you by not answering clearly enough in my answer.
To understand why I added the quote about Matthew and Luke both using Mark's Gospel you must understand Bible history and how the Gospel writers wrote the Gospel letters. Hopefully that will clarify my statement.
The Jewish culture, like many ancient culture was one which prized itself on it's oral traditions and stories. People telling other people about what they saw and heard. The Bible speaks of this in Acts 1:1 and following.
When the great persecutions of the apostles and the church converts took place, people were scattered all over the Roman Empire and as they went they took the message of Jesus the Christ with them, sharing it wherever they went. The most authentic eyewitness accounts were however, those who had walked and talked and been present with Jesus during His ministry and His life, His death and His resurrection and His return to glory ... that is His Disciples, now called Apostles. Some. like John, had written orderly accounts of all that happened, but the Gospels in the form we now know them did not exist. Of course, the Old Testament did, and Jesus quoted them extensively throughout his life.
With the persections of the church though and the martyrdoms of many of the apostles, the necessity of a more permanent record of the life and death and resurrection of Jesus was needed. Towards the end of the first Christian century, all four of the Gospels as we know them today were written down by four individuals Matthew, Mark, Luke and John... of these, only John was an eyewitness to all Jesus had done, but Matthew, Mark, and Luke all received their accounts directly from the apostles, and the opening accounts of Luke and John tell why their Gospels were written down and their purpose in writing them.
There were of course many other accounts in circulation, but by AD 170, the four books we know as the New Testament were established as THE ONLY Gospel records.
Now, these four records were written between 60 -100 AD and are there for a reason. Each, though similar and in agreeance in content, all were written for a different audience, and the way they were written met a particular need for that audience. If you would like more information on this, I'll post later, but it stands to reason, that the very fact they cross referenced material that was already in circulation, helps with the authenticity and accuracy of the reports. I know you will now ask, well if this is the word of God, shouldn't it be accurate and authentic? The wonderful reality of the Christian Bible is that it says of itself " Men spoke as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 2:1).
I'm going to stop this post now as I am very tired, but will pick it up in a few hours time after some sleep.
Hope at least some of what I have said makes sense at the moment.
Carol