<P> Collected editions of these works were then referred to as the "New Testament apocrypha". Typically excluded from such published collections are the following groups of works: The Apostolic Fathers, the 2nd - century Christian apologists, the Alexandrians, Tertullian, Methodius of Olympus, Novatian, Cyprian, martyrdoms, and the Desert Fathers . Almost all other Christian literature from the period, and sometimes including works composed well into Late Antiquity, are relegated to the so - called New Testament apocrypha . </P> <P> Although not considered to be inspired by God, these "apocryphal" works may be helpful in the study of the New Testament in that they were produced in the same ancient context and often using the same language as those books that would eventually form the New Testament . Some of these later works are dependent (either directly or indirectly) upon books that would later come to be in the New Testament or upon the ideas expressed in them . There is even an example of a pseudepigraphical letter composed under the guise of a presumably lost letter of the Apostle Paul, the Epistle to the Laodiceans . </P> <P> The books of the New Testament were all or nearly all written by Jewish Christians--that is, Jewish disciples of Christ, who lived in the Roman Empire, and under Roman occupation . Luke, who wrote the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts, is frequently thought of as an exception; scholars are divided as to whether Luke was a Gentile or a Hellenistic Jew . A few scholars identify the author of the Gospel of Mark as probably a Gentile, and similarly for the Gospel of Matthew, though most assert Jewish - Christian authorship . </P> <P> Authorship is an area of longstanding and current research and debate, with different works posing different problems for identification . While the various works have traditional ascriptions of authorship, these ascriptions are in some cases defended by scholars, and in other cases disputed or rejected . According to many (if not most) critical scholars, none of the authors of the Gospels were eyewitnesses or even explicitly claimed to be eyewitnesses . Bart Ehrman of the University of North Carolina has argued for a scholarly consensus that many New Testament books were not written by the individuals whose names are attached . He further argues that the Gospels were originally anonymous, and names were not ascribed to them until around 185 AD . Other scholars concur . It is the perspective of some writers that none were written in Palestine . </P>

Who wrote the majority of the new testament