The Christians recognize four canonical gospels, which were
selected out of a number of writings of diverse forms (apocrypha)
that were written in the 1st or 2nd century and described the life of
Jesus Christ and his teachings.
According to the Christian tradition, which
consists of late-1st and 2nd-century
writings:
- Matthew was an apostle mentioned in the
Gospels (e.g Matthew 10, 3). He wrote his gospel in aramaic, a
greek version of which became "our" gospel.
- Mark was the son of a woman named Mary, who
hosts the apostles in Acts 12, 12. Or he was that young anonymous
man who appears in Mark 14,51-52. Others said he was a follower of
the apostle Peter, and he wrote down everything Peter told him about
Jesus. These data are not necessarily contradictory.
- Luke was a physician who followed Paul
(Colossians 4,14), according to late-2nd century testimonies. He
also wrote the Acts of the Apostles.
- The Gospel of John claims that it was written
by "the disciple whom Jesus loved" (John 21). Later, it was
considered that the disciple was the apostle John. This one focused more on
spirituality issues since the life of Jesus had already been narrated in other gospels.
According to modern scholars, the first three
gospels are quite similar. Mark (and maybe another hypothetical
document called "Q") was used as a basis for Matthew and Luke,
which sometimes repeat it word for word. They are called the Synoptic
Gospels. Their historical interest is difficult to determine since
their purpose is religious, but there is no reason to think that
everything is false.
- The Gospel of Mark may have been written around
65 or 70 A.C (i.e more than 30 years after Jesus was
crucified.)
- The Gospel of Matthew may have been influenced
by Matthew's thinking, assuming that the apostle Matthew did exist,
but scholars think it was not written by him at all. It may have been
written aroung 80-90 A.C. On the ground of a palaeographical
discovery, other say that the book may have been written around
60.
- The Gospel of Luke may have been written around
80-90 However, some scholars think he wrote his book much sooner,
around 60 A.C, because the Acts of the Apostles (which are
probably the second part of a book which first part is the Gospel of
Luke) may have been written when Paul was still alive. Therefore
the Gospel of Mark would have been written no later than 60
A.C.
- The Gospel of John was written around 100 A.C and is the
result of decades of meditation and developments. It may have been
written by another John, who also wrote John's Letters (1 John, 2
John, 3 John.)
My main sources were:
http://www.interbible.org/interBible/decouverte/comprendre/clb_1999/clb_990611a.htm (in French)
http://www.islamic-paths.org/Home/English/Issues/Religion/Christian/History_05.htm
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/4027/gospelwriters1.html
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