... or of the Lord's Prayer. Which account is closest to the truth? What exactly do their differences entail - is it purely textual, or does it point to something further fetched; do we indeed have any fundamentally reliable account of Jesus' life? These are important questions for a reader of the New Testament and indeed of the Bible to consider. To answer these questions one must examine the various suggested solutions and theories about the synoptic problem and synoptic relationships. There are many theories, some of which are very complex. For the purposes of this essay it is necessary only to establish a basic knowledge of the core theories and hypotheses. The most basic theory if that the 'oral' theory; such a theory would hold that Matthew, Mark, and Luke had one source effectively - the direct and indirect oral transgression of Jesus' sermons and teachings - and were written ...

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