'the Fourth Gospel'

[Secret Alias]

Parker https://www.jstor.org/stable/3264824?read-now=1&seq=1 makes the claim that 'the Fourth Gospel' was the more common way of referencing John's gospel than the 'Gospel of John.' What is the evidence for this?

[StephenGoranson]

I think Parker is referring to NT professors a generation or two before 1962. Evidence: book titles from that era.

[Joseph D. L.]

Since the beginning of the modern era, where Hegel and the Tübingen school have strong influence, John more than the Synoptics was disregarded as pure mythology. So calling it the "Fourth Gospel" is just a snide way to dismiss it as such.

[Secret Alias]

I think Parker is referring to NT professors a generation or two before 1962

Yes thank you. That makes more sense.