and the debate it generated represents a turning point in the study of the gospels. Reimarus argues that the gospel narratives cannot be harmonized and are therefore false. His opponents argue that harmonization remains possible. Lessing agrees with Reimarus that the gospel narratives cannot be harmonized, but attributes this not to deliberate fraud but to the passage of time, which allowed inaccuracies and additions to accumulate that detract from the gospels’ veracity. In his remarkable critique