Bøker av Richard K. Moore

The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) bear a much closer relationship to one another than any one of them does to the Gospel of John. While some of the material in each of these Gospels is unique, in some cases two Gospels share events and teaching in the life of Jesus (the double tradition), while in other cases three Gospels share events and teaching in Jesus' life (the triple tradition). The author of each Gospel penned what he understood about the life, teaching, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and their significance. The four canonical Gospels are our most authoritative sources for the earthly life of Jesus Christ. In 2023 I published A Synopsis of the Synoptic Gospels (English version), a device which facilitates comparison of the Synoptic Gospels, enabling the reader to see immediately which passages, or sections, in each Gospel are unique to that Gospel, which sections are shared between two Gospels, and which sections are common to three Gospels. The present work is a commentary on my Synopsis, discussing the passages unique to one Gospel and drawing attention to both the shared and differing perspectives of the author of each Gospel in the double and triple traditions. A Gospel synopsis is an invaluable tool not only for scholars and preachers, but for anyone who wants to increase their understanding of the Synoptic Gospels and the life of Jesus.

The term 'Synoptic Gospels' refers to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In terms of organization and content these Gospels have a much closer relationship to one another than any one of them has with the Gospel of John. The question of how they relate to one another is referred to as the Synoptic Question, or the Synoptic Problem. In 1774 Johann Jakob Griesbach created the first adequate means of comparing the three Synoptic Gospels, appending it to his edition of the Greek New Testament. In 1776 he published it separately, designating this work a 'synopsis.' A Synopsis of the Synoptic Gospels originated as a consequence of the intensive work of three Western Australian researchers on the four Gospels in Greek in 1987 and 1988. Over the following decades the synopsis of the Synoptic Gospels they developed was further refined until it reached the form presented in this volume. The Greek text in A Synopsis of the Synoptic Gospels draws on Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece (282012), while the English text uses my Under the Southern Cross: The New Testament in Australian English (22021). A feature of a synopsis is that if the prompts are followed (in the present case the Gospel references at the head of each section that are in bold) each Gospel may be read through in order in its entirety. We may refer to this as the 'vertical' feature of a synopsis. Importantly, a synopsis also has a 'horizontal' aspect. The Gospel text is placed in one, two, or three columns. Material placed in a single column is material unique to the Gospel concerned. Material placed in two columns indicates that two Gospels have events or teaching (or both) in the two Gospels named. Similarly, where similar material is found in three Gospels, it is placed in three columns (referred to as the 'triple tradition'). Because the order of the material in the Synoptic Gospels varies, it is often necessary to repeat material for comparative purposes. In the dual and triple traditions, material that is in order for a Gospel or Gospels has the biblical reference in bold, while the biblical reference/s of parallel material not in order is shown in regular type. A synopsis of the Synoptic Gospels is an invaluable tool for comparing and studying the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. From such study it is possible to gain an appreciation of the emphases and perspectives each of these authors brings to their account of the life and teaching of Jesus the Messiah.

On the eve of America's entry into World War I, Thomas O'Roark is struggling to come of age and overcome his sexual innocence while he seemingly has everything a young man of his time could ask for: A good job with a supportive boss, new friends, his first car, a room in town and a willing girlfriend. Then tragedy strikes. His father dies, forcing him to give up his new found freedom and return to a life he hates under the wing of his over-protective mother. At the same time, thousands of other citizens are being denied their basic rights of free speech, press and assembly and the right to bear arms by vigilantes operating under the guise of patriotism. A Loss of Freedom tells how Thomas and his friends strive to find their role in the turmoil of the nation's great crusade while also protecting their own freedoms. They risk their lives when they rescue a preacher, and later a school friend, from mobs trying to lynch them for speaking against the war. Thomas challenges local authorities over the jailing of his girlfriend's parents, who are being harassed because they are 'hyphenates', and confronts a sheriff who has killed his older brother, a member of the radical 'Wobblies'. He stands up for freedom of speech when at the behest of the nascent American Civil Liberties Union, he testifies in court for a neighbor who openly opposes the war. The death of a friend in the war finally triggers Thomas' latent patriotism. He enlists in the Marines and is sent to France and the nightmare of trench warfare where he is wounded in the battle for Belleau Wood. He then faces another decision that will affect his freedom. Should he return home where his beloved sister is near death from the influenza pandemic and his mother has been traumatized by the killing of her lover, or should he rejoin his buddies still fighting in the bloody 'war to end all wars?'