If theists understood "evidence"

[Amarok]

See above....I think I answer some of your questions.

No, not really.  Paul presumably predates all the Gospels.  I don't see where you went from there as your post didn't make much sense.

I am curious in your support for the claims you made which you make from above though. And what gives you such force to use the highlighted words.

1. )  We can be confident that the work Papias was citing was not the gospel of Matthew that we have today

Because the gospel that Papias refers to was written in Hebrew or Aramaic, not Greek.

2.)  an anonymous gospel which likely drew from earlier sources attributed to Matthew existed by the latter half of the second century

A book without a clear attribution has an unknown or anonymous author.  The text itself doesn't indicate the author and we have only second hand, late attribution of it to Matthew.  The consensus opinion of scholars is that it was anonymous.  As to it likely being dependent upon earlier sources, that seems rather obvious given the tradition, examples of such as in the reuse of Mark and the Thomas Sayings, as well as the fact that its composition is rather late to be the testimony of an eye witness.  Additionally there are textual dependencies between Matthew and the other gospels which indicate that Matthew drew upon other sources.  I don't know why you consider suggesting that something likely drew on earlier sources is using words with force, but whatever.

3. ) There appears strong reason to believe that neither were written by eye witnesses.

Both are rather late for them to be eye witnesses, and, as to the gospel we do have, there is no claim of authorship; both the lateness and lack of authorial attribution argue against the author of the later work being Matthew.

I would like to know the reasons for this confidence in these claims.

And I'd like to know if you're doing more than dicking the dog with these questions.  I asked you a question which you don't seem to have answered with anything but some nonsense theory about Paul.

As always Jorm cutting right through Roads bull.