Claiming Pastoral Significance

Despite my suspicion that there is not particularly much pastoral relevance to differing solutions to the synoptic problem, I now have come across a fourth reference arguing for such relevance. I discussed this previously.

Besides two references of William Farmer _The Gospel of Jesus: The Pastoral Relevance of the Synoptic Problem_ (Louisville: Westminster/John Knowx Press 1994 and his earlier "The Import of the Two-Gospel Hypothesis" Concordia Theological Quarterly vol 48 no 1 (1984), 55-60, and Kloppenborg’s "The Theological Stakes in the Synoptic Problem," in _The Four Gospels--1992: Festschrift Frans Neirynck_ vol 1:93-120, there is now also what appears to be a lecture called "The Pastoral Relevance of Who Wrote the First Gospel" by Halvor Ronning filmed at the Jerusalem Perspective conference June 2006. Unfortunately it seems it is only available by purchasing the 8 volume set of DVD’s for $99 US

From memory the Jerusalem school’s source theory is that Lk wrote first, followed by Mk then Mt (but positing various other stages and sources as well I think) so presumably Ronning’s lecture espouses the pastoral importance of Lukan priority. Perhaps it is more comforting for congregation members to believe that the original Gospel author was highly educated (and made a jolly good first effort)!