Gospels Quote by Bart D. Ehrman
““If Jesus really were equal with God from “the beginning,” before he came to earth, and he knew it, then surely the Synoptic Gospels would have mentioned this at some point. Wouldn’t that be the most important thing about him? But no, in Matthew, Mark, and Luke he does not talk about himself in this way—nor does he do so in their sources (Q, M, and L).””
About This Quote
If Jesus claimed divinity pre‑incarnation, the Synoptic Gospels would likely record it; their silence suggests a different self‑presentation.
In simple terms: Gospel silence on pre‑incarnation
Key Takeaway
Absence implies distinct theological view
Themes
Theology
Biblical Studies
Historical Jesus
Christology
Mood
Scholarly
Analytical
Type
Academic Observation
Critical Inquiry
When to use this quote
- Seminary students
- Biblical scholars
- Apologetics debates
Key Concepts
Textual Analysis
Practical Applications
- Academic lectures
- Research publications
Questions to Reflect On
- What does the silence reveal about early Christian beliefs?
- How do source theories explain differing portrayals?
![“Burridge goes on to say, “[T]rying to decode the Gospels through the genre of modern biography, when the author encoded his message in the genre of ancient [biography], will lead to another nonsense—blaming the text for not containing modern predilections which it was never meant to contain.”286…” quote by Trent Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f71/trent-horn-66792_last-supper_burridge-goes-on-to-say-t-rying-to-decod_76757.jpg)
![“It was The Gospel From Outer Space, by Kilgore Trout. It was about a visitor from outer space...[who] made a serious study of Christianity, to learn, if he could, why Christians found it so easy to be cruel. He concluded that at least part of the trouble was slipshod storytelling in the New…” quote by Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e53/kurt-vonnegut-41_bible_it-was-the-gospel-from-outer-space-by-ki_77926.jpg)
