By the time Jerusalem had been laid waste in 70 CE, there were Christians far afield, in Damascus, Antioch, Greece, and even Rome. But we have no way of knowing if authentic memories of Jesus traveled with those disbursed far and wide. Even if this were the case, how many times and in what ways did the memories of Jesus diverge and become garbled as Christians scattered, time passed, and the stories were told to new converts? How could the stories not have been altered with each retelling?
Play a game of telephone with 6 people and see very simple short phrases get garbled and messed up, but no lets just take it for granted that this didnt happen here.
