The Influence of the Gospels on the Church

The gospels were used by the Catholic Church and they were made up of 3 stages. Jesus' life was the first stage. There was Oral Tradition where information was orally spread. The third stage was when the evangelists wrote the information they had on Jesus' life.

Jesus taught the Kingdom of God in parables and teachings. The 4 gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) consists of this exactly around 30AD. It also included events of Jesus' life.

The Oral Tradition was the spread of Jesus' life orally, through disciples and prophets. They taught the Kingdom of God, but it may have been changed as things do orally (almost like Chinese whispers). The Oral Tradition durated for around 40 years.

The third stage (Evangelists) was the time of the compilation of all the knowledge of Jesus' life/Kingdom of God. The gospels were later written around 70-100AD. After Jesus had died, people who had experienced it wrote down what they had seen. Because these gospels were written rather than orally told, they were more reliable/accurate.

Jesus' teachings were extremely significant in the 4 gospels, especially since they are used so heavily today in the church, and the church was also influenced by the 4 gospels. Take the 10 commandments for example. A lot of Christians live by the 10 commandments in order to be more like/closer to Jesus and live a better life. Another example are the parables. We've heard the parable of the 1 lost sheep and the Prodigal son.

The commandments for example are used to live as better human beings as well as serving God.

1. Honor your father and mother
2. You shall not kill
3. You shall not commit adultery
4. You shall not steal
5. You shall not bear false witness
6. You shall not covet your neighbour's wife
7. You shall not covet your neighbours goods

These commandments are used not only to serve God, but following each of these is also out of the respect we should have for each other as human beings. I think the definitive one for that would be love thy neighbour as thyself. We should treat each other as we want to be treated, it's so simple!

If a shepherd has 100 sheep but loses one shouldn't he go look for it? When he does find it, he will rejoice far more than he would have over his other 99 sheep. We should realise that we are lost and need God's mercy. We have to repent what we have done and we will be saved.

The Prodigal Son is a famous parable Jesus taught. A son takes his father's money, leaves home and enjoys himself. After his money is exhausted, he ended up being forced to feed the pigs as his job. He then realised that he should seek his father's forgiveness, so he returned home. While he was far off from his father, the father saw him and ran to him. Instead of being mad, he was happy that his son had come back. The older son complained that he had worked for his father for so long but didn't recieve as much as his brother that left home and spent all his money. The father explained that his older son is always with him, but his brother that was lost had been found.

This shows us God's forgiveness, when we sin and turn away from God it is our choice to repent what we have done and ask for his forgiveness. These parables were just an example. Even today they are used to remind us of God's forgiveness and slowness to anger.

In conclusion, the gospels had a major influence on the Church as they are the base of many of their teachings and what Christianity is built on to this date.