"This is an urgently needed book in New Testament studies. The Q hypothesis dominates the field partly because of intellectual inertia and partly because it serves the ideological interests of critics who desire a Jesus without a narrative, without a cross. Reminding us that Q is a hypothesis, not an extant ancient document, Goodacre’s sharply-argued book dismantles the shopworn case for Q and challenges us to think freshly about synoptic relationships. His alternative deserves serious consideration: Markan priority, combined with Luke’s use of Matthew as a source alongside Mark. Goodacre’s chapter on narrative criticism and the Sermon on the Mount is especially illuminating. Every intellectually serious teacher of the New Testament must grapple with this book."
Richard B. Hays
The George Washington Ivey Professor of New Testament
The Divinity School, Duke University

"Goodacre has an impressive knack for exposing weaknesses in what so many have supposed are good arguments. Those who do not believe in Q will find him a mighty ally in their unbelief. Those of us who remain in the Q camp will have to meet his worthy challenge and wrestle with his fresh and instructive observations on the Synoptic Problem."
Dale C. Allison, Jr.
Errett M. Grable Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary

"The positing of Q as a source for Matthew and Luke is founded on the twin suppositions of Markan priority and the independence of Matthew and Luke. In this lucid and carefully argued exploration of the Synoptic Problem, Goodacre argues that Markan priority is reasonable and well-founded, and that a good case can be made for Luke's direct dependence on Matthew. If his argument should be sustained, Q would become unnecessary and decades of Gospel research will have to be re-thought. But whether or not Goodacre is ultimately correct, The Case Against Q provides the most accessible and compelling defense to date of the theory of Gospel origins championed by James Ropes, Austin Farrer and Michael Goulder."
John S. Kloppenborg Verbin
Claremont Graduate University and The University of Toronto