When Were Our Gospels Written?

This pamphlet represents the kind of work that could get you imprisoned in Victorian England. Charles Bradlaugh, the radical politician and champion of freethought, had already faced prison for publishing challenging works when he turned his exacting mind to the Gospels. Here he takes on Dr. Tischendorf, a towering figure in biblical scholarship who defended traditional attributions and datings. Bradlaugh methodically dissects the arguments for Gospel authenticity, building his case from the inside out: examining the contradictions in birth narratives, the impossibilities in genealogies, the inconsistencies surrounding the resurrection. He asks the simple question that religious authorities found most dangerous: when were these texts actually written, and by whom, and what did they have to gain? This is not polemic but close reading applied with surgical precision. The work remains a foundational document in the tradition of freethought, a demonstration that sacred texts can be subjected to the same historical scrutiny as any other document. For readers interested in the roots of modern biblical criticism or the history of religious skepticism, it offers a window into a moment when asking questions was itself an act of courage.