read the bible

[FallentoReason]

Matthew: Is from a very old semi-ambiguous statement from St. Papias of Hierapolis (and we can't even know what Matthew he is talking about, or if he is talking about just the sayings (Q) or the discources or what language). It also is the only Gospel which names Matthew, instead of just calling him Levi. Matthew uses Mark as a source though and it makes no sense that an Apostle needs to look at someone elses' Gospel. My Catholic Bible lists "unknown" for the author. I'll also add that it was probably a Jewish Christian.

Mark: Was written by St. John Mark according to St. Irenaeus (a Church Father, disciple of St. Polycarp). He was a disciple of St. Peter, and all the anecdotal passages contain St. Peter in some way. There's no real reason why this should be right or wrong, my Catholic Bible lists "A Gentile Christian, possible a disciple of Peter's named John Mark"

Luke: Is a 2 parter with Acts of the Apostles, which goes in-depth into St. Paul's ministry and shifts into first person at times. St. Luke was a follower of St. Paul, and many Church Fathers stated he was the author, our earliest manuscript also claims him as the author. Contrasting view is that the Gospel does differ with St. Paul in a few areas of theology and some aspects of St. Paul's life. My Catholic Bible lists "a Gentile Christian named Luke, who may have been a disciple of Paul's"

John: Identifies its own author with the "disciple who Jesus loved", which of course in Christian tradition is St. John. It doesn't seem to be an eyewitness account though and it uses the plural "we know that his testimony is true", though its theology is Johannine. My Catholic Bible lists "a member of a Christian community possibly founded by the Beloved Disciple". There's also it was written in layers by said Johannine community, also most likely Jewish though a Jewish Christian who had already broken away from any Jewish community.

This sounds a lot more sensible. I was talking to a friend at youth group about the authorships and I decided to see how far I could get with saying that they most likely weren't written by Apostles/disciples. After initially suggesting that he looked at me weird and said, 'you know what the names at the top of the page mean, right'? Pentecostal churches are too rigid in mentality....