Dates for the Gospels?

the gospels were writen over a 100 year period after Jesus' supposed death. In a society where records were definitely not fullproof, how could any christian put thier faith in something that is so obviously hearsay, rumors, and legends.

we have computers that aid us in the keeping up of records, yet the government and credit card companies still lose information, the gospels were not even written by the actual disciples. we do not know who wrote them, the names given to them: Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John were who the scholars at the time thought were the most likely candidates.

so now, my question to christians, is how do you not only put your faith in this hearsay, but also ask others to give up thier faith and become christians based on such shaky evidence??

The Bible was written by 40 different authors representing some 19 different occupations (shepherd, farmer, fisherman, tax collector, medical doctor, king, etc.) who lived during a great period of some 1,600 years. That is approximately 50 generations of men. The first 39 chapters were written in the Hebrew language over a period of about 1000 years. There was then a 400-year gap when no Scriptures were written. After that, the last 27 chapters of the Bible were written in the Greek language during a period covering roughly 50 years. The writers could not have collaborated, because they did not even live at the same time. The end product is one book that fits together perfectly and contains no contradictions or errors. There is nothing else like this in all of man鈥檚 history.

Over 20,000 known manuscripts document the New Testament text. This makes the New Testament the most reliable document of antiquity (a document written before the printing press). These manuscripts vary in size from a part of a page to an entire Bible (Old and New Testaments). The earliest New Testament manuscripts date from the second century (100-199) AD These manuscript copies were written in different languages by people of different nationalities, cultures, and backgrounds. In spite of all those differences between them, the New Testament texts all agree.

The gospels were written no later than about 35 to 40 years after Jesus' resurrection..........so there were first-hand accounts.

Mark's gospel is dated as the earliest.

But yet, debunkers wont question the authenticity of something as old as Homer's Iliad as being 100% authentic.

Go figure

Interestingly enough records were kept about Julius Caesar adn ancient Rome and Greece in the exact same manner and are regarded as being accurate - so why not the Bible?