We have learned that the Gospels, written in Greek rather than Aramaic (the language of Jesus and the disciples), were written two to four generations after the death of Jesus. Yet when scholars such as Bishop Spong, Elaine Pagels, Dominic Crossan, Marcus Borg, and others are discussing the content of the Gospels, rather consistently they say such as "John writes...," "In Mark's Gospel...," "Matthew says...," etc. This is very confusing. Did Mark, Matthew, Luke, and/or John write the Gospels after all? If not, would it not lend clarity and lessen confusion if it were expressed, "The writer(s) of the Gospel of John...," instead of "John writes...?" My wife and I just watched on PBS a special broadcast titled "From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians" which traced the evolution of the church in the first century CE. The scholar presenters were all progressive theologians such as Pagals and Crossan, and by their language one would have to assume that Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John wrote the four Gospels that bear their names. I'm not an ardent logical positivist, but I do think that words matter and that clarity is important when it comes to Biblical scholarship. Verbal short cuts are handy, but....
