>>>>You realize that both the gospels of Mark and Luke are second hand accounts. Neither was an eyewitness or original disciple of Jesus.<<<<
>>...Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, 2 Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;...<<
Do you really believe Luke happened to be there when the Spirit of God overshadowed the Blessed Virgin Mary at the conception of Christ? Do you think he was there when she broke the happy news to Elizabeth? Do you think he was there when had Jesus stayed behind at the Temple and his parents were frantic to find him? When he walked through the crowds at Nazareth? Did I miss something where Mary, the mother of James, Mary Magdeline, Joanna and LUKE went to the tomb?
Luke says, “us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses.” This means that among them were eyewitnesses to each event, not that he, personally, was an eyewitness. Jvette is entirely correct: Neither Mark were among the 12. They were not at the Last Supper; they were not at the Resurrection; they were not among the disciples when Jesus appeared to the 11 in the upper room.
(In fairness, though, Jvette, Mark was probably one of the 40, and he is believed to have written under the authority of Peter... not that I expect Cynical Bear to accept the implications of that fact.)
Were any of the apostles? What a nonsensical question. A strawdog perhaps?
>> This means that among them were eyewitnesses to each event, not that he, personally, was an eyewitness<<
Well that would have to be your story to maintain the façade. Truth however is a little more illusive isn’t it. Ever hear of the seventy disciples? I wonder why the Greek Orthodox church has a “Feast of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke” but Catholics claim he wasn’t a disciple of Christ? Luke spent an inordinate amount of time with Paul even to being the only one with him when Paul was in prison. He was Paul’s special companion.
I don’t know which Mark is which or if there were two Marks.
There is disagreement among early church fathers.
It doesn’t matter to me, I accept Church tradition.
The point I was making was that CynicalBear claims to believe only eyewitnesses to the events and will not accept the writings of the early church as true testimony regarding Jesus, Mary and the early church itself.
Yet, the very attribution of who wrote which gospels and the NT are attributed by the early church and are indeed a tradition of it that protestants readily accept.
Mark does not claim to be the writer of his gospel.
Luke does not claim to be the writer of his gospel.
Neither of the gospels names its author.