Dating the Gospels

If the Gospel of Mark was written in the 60's - some thirty to thirty-five years after Jesus' ministry - then it was written within the lifetime of numerous people who would have known Jesus and heard him teach. This would have corrective action.

Documents purported to be earlier when they really were will often have cultural inaccuracies or lack a geographic connection. The writer gets exposed by mistakes he didn't even realized he made. You can also see motivational issues that stand out like a sore thumb where the writer went out of his way to make a point that is dubious.