History-Makers: The Four Evangelists

In which our hero Blue jumps right the hell into one of the most complex topics in religious studies as a "breather video" after his 3-hour Roman megaproject.

If spoken storytelling was good enough for the ancient rhapsodes of classical Greece, then we shouldn't be surprised when the same tools get put to use in the later Greco-Roman world. And I think that's pretty damn cool.

SOURCES & Further Reading:
Gospel of Matthew, Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Luke, Gospel of John, Acts of the Apostles, Epistles of Paul, Book of Genesis
“The World of the Gospels” from “The History and Archaeology of the Bible” by Jean-Pierre Isbouts
“The New Testament – An Overview” & “Paul – Our Earliest Christian Author” & “The Beginnings of the Gospel Traditions” & “The Earliest Gospels” & “The Other Gospels” & “Apocalypticism and the Apocalypse of John” & “The Copyists Who Gave Us Scripture” & “Authority in the Early Church” & “When Did the Canon Get Finalized?” from “History of the Bible: The Making of the New Testament Canon” by Bart D. Ehrman

MUSIC:
Tremendous thanks to composer Austin Wintory @AWintory for granting us permission to play from his scores – This is and will remain The Coolest Thing Ever.
Cues, in order of appearance: "Fifth Confluence" from Journey, and "Prophecy is the Last Thing You Need" from Stray Gods

Our content is intended for teenage audiences and up.

[merrittanimation]

“Jesus Christ the Dragon Prince”

The Dragon Prince has gotten very strange in the later seasons it seems

[abthedragon]

"I am a cartoon, not a priest"

That's another one going into the classic OSP quote book! XD

[ArcticFoxGoddess]

"I am a cartoon, not a priest"
preach cartoon man

[DoomMomDot]

each of the gospels were clearly written for a different audience. Mathew wants us to know Jesus the Jew, Mark mostly is about action and power (good for converting Romans, who admired both), Luke writes his in a bit of a historical context to a new believer, and John really wants us to know Jesus was also God.

[elizaripper]

“I’m a cartoon, not a priest.”
Then, who will preach the word of OSP?! The holy word of chaos and domes?!

[ccdaly]

"They're literature, meant to be experienced individually, epic poems explaining why Jesus mattered to people"
Perfection

[swordsman]

“I am a cartoon” I keep forgetting that this is canonically true, and that Blue and “Blue” technically have a “Stephen Colbert” (of the Colbert Report era) situation going on (although not nearly to that degree).

My favorite was when Blue was discussing this on the OSPod and was like “I’m not so flat in person as onscreen Blue - I’m not just all about domes. I like arches just as much!”

[joshcain]

Speaking as a Catholic, I don't think I've ever heard anyone claim the Old Testament was written by God Himself. Rather, it was written over a period of centuries or millennia by various human authors who were inspired by God. A subtle but important distinction, and I suspect much more in line with the Jewish view than suggested. Christianity has never been shy about the origins of the first half of its sacred scripture, and the early Church fiercely opposed arguments that the OT should be cut on account of its Jewish origins.

[vicenzostella]

As a practicing Catholic, it was very fascinating to see the Gospels being analyzed from a pure scholarly perspective. Thanks again, Blue! Keep up the great work!

[王征服]

Jesus of House Targaryen was never a concept I'd thought of before now

[KnightsofGaming]

Speaking as a "Christian", I'm happy that this comment section (at the time of me writing this) is a civil one especially when it comes to this sort of topic. Love the substitute word you chose. Feels mystifying. Also, like someone mentioned I don't think most Christians see the scriptures as being from God. Inspired by God, sure but not directly from God. Maybe it's more popular in the more fundamentalist groups because I've never heard of that take before until like a few months ago before this video.

[SwissKaktus]

'Every translation is fine - except for the King James version'
lol, you just made my day!

[pathfindersavant]

"As written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John."
As soon as he said that, my brain immediately went into a Sunday School jingle/mnemonic of the rest of the books of the New Testament.

[revpembroke]

My dad was a preacher-turned-teacher who had 90 credit hours in his Master's theology courses. I'm quite sure he would've loved this video, and it would've sparked hours of conversation from him that I would've loved to have listened to. Too bad it came out eight months and one week too late for that.

Rest in Peace, Dad. Gone far too soon.

[brynnmacflynn]

@Blue, please tell Indigo that in the last podcast when Ziggy came into the room and did sleepy eye blinks at her that Ziggy wasn't tired, just doing the cat equivalent of a hug or saying "I love you". I heard her comment and thought maybe she didn't know that fun fact! You can also slow blink back at them and affirm it, it's so cute if you have a cat that will do blinks back and forth.

[sarailopez]

As someone who is a Christian and a big fan of your videos, you did a really good job Blue. I feel you captured what makes the Gospels so lovely yet so different. There were very small aspects of this I raised my eyebrow at but overall you did a solid job of being respectful and informative. I’m curious to hear more of your thoughts on this video in the podcast. Also the KJV dig at the end made me laugh so hard.

[greenhydra]

"I am a cartoon, not a priest." -Blue, 2023
I'm sorry, evangelion means "good news"? Shinji would like a word with someone.

[quagsiremcgee]

I've never seen someone who isn't very religious talk about the gospels this respectfully. Very cool

[jcfreak]

As a Christian pastor, and someone who deals with apologetics, I find this video refreshing. I don't agree with 100%, but that's a ridiculous expectation anyway. However, with all the Dan Brown and Jesus Seminar acolytes out there, it is good to hear someone who is not sympathetic, but still is willing to put in the actual work of research. Great job.

[jeffmiller]

Love that “The Great Undefined Mist” almost reads as an alternative to “The Cloud of Unknowing, ” the title of a 14th c. Catholic text on the why and how of silent meditation in a Christian context. So that’s fun!