In the Jan. 14 column by Bonnie Erbe ("What in God's name is Pat Robertson spouting off about this time?"), she concludes that the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were "recorded ... several life spans before being written down." I interpret that Erbe is implying the Gospels are not eyewitness accounts as they claim to be.
Another Erbe comment as to the Gospels being "written down ... several generations after his (sic) death" belies her above conclusion. A life span can span three to five generations. The carbon dating of the Gospels to which she refers to easily put them within the life span of one living at the time of Jesus. Further, the carbon dating was of copies, meaning the originals are even older.
On oral tradition, Erbe asks us to "Imagine the capacity for distortion ... ." I cannot imagine it, as Oral Tradition was extremely important at that time. Examples from that time show no deviation in the wording after centuries of transmission.
James Wertz, Hephzibah
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