Why the Gospels are anonymous & pseudepigraphical
The Gospels Are Intrinsically Anonymous: One of the most foundational arguments is that none of the Gospels names its author within the text itself. This article will begin (§1) with a brief review of scholarship on the subject over the past half-century, both in specialized studies and more broadly. From this it can be clearly seen that the great majority of scholars, including leading figures in current Gospels research such as Michael Wolter and Francis Watson, hold to a view of the Gospels as anonymous. - Simon Gathercole, The Alleged Anonymity of the Canonical Gospels, page 3 One of the most important articles to spark off interest in the subject is that of Kurt Aland, in an essay covering both anonymity and pseudonymity. Aland takes it as read that these two topics need to be considered together (p. 40). He includes in the category of the ‘anonymous writings’ of the New Testament Hebrews, 1 John and the Gospels (p. 41): ‘In my opinion it is be yond doubt that all...
