which four books of the new testament are the gospels
Gospel The four gospels of the New Testament — Matthew, Mark, Luke and John — are the main source of information on the life of Jesus.[3] For various reasons modern scholars are cautious of relying on them uncritically, but nevertheless they do provide a good idea of the public career of Jesus, and critical study can attempt to distinguish the original ideas of Jesus from those of the later authors.[4][5]
Gospel of Matthew The Gospel According to Matthew (Greek: Τὸ κατὰ Ματθαῖον εὐαγγέλιον, translit. Tò katà Matthaīon euangélion; also called the Gospel of Matthew or simply, Matthew) is the first book of the New Testament.
Gospel The four canonical gospels, like the rest of the New Testament, were written in Greek,[7] Mark probably c. AD 66–70,[8] Matthew and Luke around AD 85–90,[9] and John AD 90–110.[10] Despite the traditional ascriptions, all four are anonymous, and none were written by eyewitnesses.[11]
New Testament Collections of related texts such as letters of the Apostle Paul (a major collection of which must have been made already by the early 2nd century)[3] and the Canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (asserted by Irenaeus of Lyon in the late-2nd century as the Four Gospels) gradually were joined to other collections and single works in different combinations to form various Christian canons of Scripture. Over time, some disputed books, such as the Book of Revelation and the Minor Catholic (General) Epistles were introduced into canons in which they were originally absent. Other works earlier held to be Scripture, such as 1 Clement, the Shepherd of Hermas, and the Diatessaron, were excluded from the New Testament. The Old Testament canon is not completely uniform among all major Christian groups including Roman Catholics, Protestants, the Greek Orthodox Church, the Slavic Orthodox Churches, and the Armenian Orthodox Church. However, the twenty-seven-book canon of the New Testament, at least since Late Antiquity, has been almost universally recognized within Christianity (see Development of the New Testament canon).
New Testament Collections of related texts such as letters of the Apostle Paul (a major collection of which must have been made already by the early 2nd century)[7] and the Canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (asserted by Irenaeus of Lyon in the late-2nd century as the Four Gospels) gradually were joined to other collections and single works in different combinations to form various Christian canons of Scripture. Over time, some disputed books, such as the Book of Revelation and the Minor Catholic (General) Epistles were introduced into canons in which they were originally absent. Other works earlier held to be Scripture, such as 1 Clement, the Shepherd of Hermas, and the Diatessaron, were excluded from the New Testament. The Old Testament canon is not completely uniform among all major Christian groups including Roman Catholics, Protestants, the Greek Orthodox Church, the Slavic Orthodox Churches, and the Armenian Orthodox Church. However, the twenty-seven-book canon of the New Testament, at least since Late Antiquity, has been almost universally recognized within Christianity (see Development of the New Testament canon).
Development of the New Testament canon In his Easter letter of 367,[80] Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, gave a list of exactly the same books as what would become the 27-book NT canon,[11] and he used the word "canonized" (kanonizomena) in regards to them.[81]