What is the gospel? The word "gospel" is a calque (direct translation) of the Greek word "evangelion", which literally means "good news". The Gospels are texts that describe the life of Jesus Christ. The most famous of these are the four canonical Scriptures - the Gospel of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John. However, this definition can describe apocryphal or non-canonical texts, Gnostic and Jewish-Christian gospels. In Islam, there is the concept of "Injil", used to refer to a book about Christ, which is sometimes translated as "Gospel". It is one of the four holy books of Islam and is considered a divine revelation according to the Quran. Muslims are of the opinion that over time, Injil was reworked and distorted, as a result of which God sent the Prophet Muhammad to earth to reveal to people the last book - the Koran.
Traditionally, Christianity highly appreciates the four canonical Gospels, which are considered divine revelation and are the basis of the religious belief system. Christians claim that such a gospel provides an accurate and reliable picture of the life of Jesus Christ, but many theologians agreeopinion that not all scripture passages are historically accurate.
What is the Gospel: Christian canon writings
In ancient times, many texts were created claiming to be a reliable description of the life of Christ, but only four of them were recognized as canonical, that is, they became part of the New Testament. The insistent demand that these books, and not some others, be included in the canon was put forward in 185 by one of the Fathers of the Church, Irenaeus of Lyon. In his main work Against Heresies, Irenaeus denounces various early Christian groups that accepted only one of the gospels. Thus, the Marcionites relied only on the Gospel of Luke in the version of Marcion, while the Ebionites, as far as is known, followed the Aramaic version of the Gospel of Matthew. There were also groups who adhered to scriptures of later origin.
Irenaeus proclaimed that the four tests he put forward are "the pillar and ground of the Church." “It is impossible for there to be more or less than four,” he argued, referring to the analogy with the four cardinal points and the four winds. The metaphor he cited about the divine throne, which is supported by four creatures with four faces (lion, bull, eagle and man), was borrowed from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel and referred to the "four-cornered" Gospel. Ultimately, Irenaeus succeeded in having this gospel, which included four scriptures, be recognized as the only true one. He also encouraged the study of each scripture in the light of the others.
At the beginning of the 5th century, the Catholic Church, represented by Innocent I, recognized the biblical canon, which included the Gospel of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, which had already been approved at some regional synods: the Roman Church Council (382), the Council of Hippo (393) and two Councils at Carthage (397 and 419). Thus, the canon translated by St. Jerome in 382 on behalf of Pope Damasus I became generally accepted.
