Commercial Break/Feast Edition:

 

 The Chronological Order of the New Testament and why it matters. 

Compositional Order

https://conciliarpost.com/theology-spirituality/the-new-testament-in-order/

A final way to think about the ordering of the New Testament is in the order in which these documents were written.

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Personal Note and Reminder: Why it matters is because it shows that the Pauline Jesus was first Cosmic and Hallucinatory in nature to Paul. The Gospels to follow after Paul put Paul's Christ into a historical setting. 

As we know, Paul never met Gospel Jesus nor quotes him. No sayings of Jesus. No miracles recounted and no tales of how he, as a Pharisee in Jerusalem, tormented Jesus with the others. 

This seems odd to scholars if Paul was indeed a Pharisee of the Pharisees in Jerusalem at the time of the stories of Jesus in the Gospels. The Gospel writers never heard of any Apostle Paul or Saul of Tarsus

This is because the story of Gospel Jesus had not yet been brought down to Earth in the stories of the Gospels in Paul's lifetime. Paul's Jesus, or Christ was revelatory. Jesus talked to Paul and Paul heard Jesus in his mind.

Galatians 1:11 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

Galatians 2:6 As for those who were held in high esteem—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism—they added nothing to my message.

 Paul never heard of the stories, teachings or drama of Jesus life and death in the Gospels)

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At first, you might imagine that this would parallel the chronological ordering, but that’s not quite correct.

Most scholars believe that either 1 Thessalonians, Galatians, or James was the first New Testament document written, all of which speak to events chronologically later than the Gospels.

This is largely due to the fact that the Gospels are not media reports or live tweets about Jesus: they are literary biographies, composed by followers of Jesus to tell the story of Jesus as the first generation of Christians got older.

The order in which the writings of the New Testament were composed is a topic of much scholarly debate. On the one hand, many contemporary scholars push the writing of certain documents well into the second century and speak extensively about anonymous and pseudonymous authorship of certain writings.

On the other hand, there are plenty of scholars who advocate for much earlier (and more traditional) datings, with some scholars even suggesting that the contents of the New Testament were written before the destruction of the Second Jewish Temple by Rome in 70 CE.9

Consider Marcus Borg’s listing of the New Testament books in the order they were written in The Evolution of the Word (including his likely dates10):

• 1 Thessalonians (50 CE)
• Galatians (50 CE)
• 1 Corinthians (50 CE)
• Philemon (mid-50s CE)
• Philippians (mid-50s CE)
• 2 Corinthians (mid-50s)
• Romans (58 CE)
• Mark (70 CE)
• James (70-80 CE)
• Colossians (80s CE)
• Matthew (80-90 CE)
• Hebrews (80-90 CE)
• John (90 CE)
• Ephesians (90s CE)
• Revelation (90s CE)
• Jude (90s CE)
• 1 John (100 CE)
• 2 John (100 CE)
• 3 John (100 CE)
• Luke (100 CE)
• Acts (100 CE)
• 2 Thessalonians (100 CE)
• 1 Peter (100 CE)
• 1 Timothy (100-110 CE)
• 2 Timothy (100-110 CE)
• Titus (100-110 CE)
• 2 Peter (120-150 CE)

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Bonus 

Scholars normally break down the 13 Pauline letters as follows:

              Undisputed letters of Paul: Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, Philemon.

These seven letters are normally thought to be written by Paul. That is why they are called “undisputed” letters.

2. Disputed letters of Paul: Ephesians, Colossians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus.

There is no scholarly consensus on whether these six letters are actually penned by Paul. That is why they are called “disputed” letters. Others use the term Deutero-Pauline to describe them, a sort of “second” canon of letters that are questionably attributed to Paul.

In this short post, we cannot go into the reasons why each of these letters are rejected by some, questioned by others, and accepted as Paul by yet other scholars.

Such inquiries of authorship developed from the Enlightenment period when biblical writings started to be critically examined. This took place through the process of reasoning rather than letting religious dogma of previous generations decide the issue.

Great overview for those so inclined

https://www.bartehrman.com/pauline-epistles/