Harmony

Can the four gospels be harmonized? I've been working at it for some time, maybe four years or longer. I began and made it a good distance, then put it aside to pursue other writing ventures, then picked it up again and completed it in mid-2006. That was all in manuscript, in three steno notebooks. My method was to take the passage, write in the notebook a verse or two from each gospel that had it, and see how I could blend the language to make one account of the event. I started with the triumphal entry, since this was covered by all four gospels, then went to the end, back to the beginning, and eventually circled round to the triumphal entry.

As I worked on this, my method changed some. The longer I worked the better job I did explaining why I decided to write what I wrote. Some of my early work is now difficult to follow.

My goal is to have one gospel, as seamless as possible. In this my approach differs from most harmonies of the gospels that I see. All of those are merely listing of parallel passages next to each other, with no real attempt to harmonize the accounts. At most they try to figure out a timeline for the events. I have two printed harmonies of this nature, and have found several on-line.

Mine will not be for publication, since I'm using the New International Version as my base, and that is copyrighted. This is for my own study, edification, and enjoyment. It seems a worthwhile project, and I've learned much.

Can the gospels be harmonized? Should the gospels be harmonized? I have talked with some who think not. The gospels are not history, they say, but rather spiritual writings and so should be treated as such, and don't need harmonizing. However, I plug on, now finally typing what I wrote previously. Last night I worked for more than an hour, adding headings and footnotes to the part corresponding to Matthew 4, Mark 1, and Luke 4-5. Then I went to the end of where I'd finished typing before Christmas and typed more, completing the Garden of Gethsemane event. I've probably got 10 hours of original typing left, then much time to add footnotes, proof-read, and write appendixes explaining a number of decisions I made along the way.

Can the four gospels be harmonized? What about a life pulled in four (or more) directions? Can it be harmonized? Or must the number of parts be reduced from quartet to trio? These pages must tell.