The History of the Biblical Canon Matt Dillahunty The Atheist Community of Austin March 19 th 2006.

The History of The History of the Biblical the Biblical

CanonCanon

Matt Dillahunty

The Atheist Community of Austin March 19th 2006

Timeline

• Earliest structures– France and Japan

• Earliest Homo sapiens– Traced by geneticists

• Natufian Culture– Domestic dogs– Domestic grains

Timeline

• Creation– 3761 BCE

• Earliest known writing– Indus or Harrapan

• Sumerian Cuneiform• First alphabetic script• Moses reportedly

writes the Torah

Timeline

• Phoenician• Cyrillic• Aramaic• Greek• Latin• Hilkiah discovers Torah• Coptic• Hebrew• Dead Sea Scrolls

Timeline

• Jesus’ death– Pilate 26-36 CE

• Paul converts– 1 to 3 years later

• Early Christian writings– 48 – 120 CE

• Oldest existing copies– 130 CE (fragments)– 350 CE (books)– No autographs

Old Testament Canon

• Torah ‘discovered’ around 622 BCE• Implied/traditional canonization

(4th Century BCE)– Torah and Prophets (Nevi’im)

• Septuagint c. 200 BCE– “Official” Greek translation by Jewish

scholars

• Synod at Jabneh 90-100 CE– Canonized Writings (Ketuvim)– Closed the canon (Tanakh)

• Talmud Canonized c. 200 CE

Christian acceptance of OT

• Melitio (Bishop of Sardis) 160-180 CE– Went to Palestine and asked the

Hebrews

• Some still contain apocryphal books– 1 & 2 Macabees– Book of Wisdom– Ecclesiasticus

Early Christian Writings

• Lost Passion Narrative (30-60 CE ?)

• ‘Q’ (40-80 CE)• Paul’s Epistles (48-58 CE)• ‘Signs’ Gospel (50-90 CE)

– Hypothetical source for 4th Gospel

• Gospel of Thomas (50-140)• Gospels (65-120)

– Allusions to the destruction of Jerusalem


• Clement of Rome (95 CE)– Popular in early churches– Never quotes a Gospel, including

Mark• If Mark wrote to a Roman audience

Clement should have known– Considered scripture by many in the

early church– Referred to Pauline Epistles as wise

council– Only OT writings are referred to as

scripture– His quotations of Jesus are from no

known soruce


• Didache (50-120 CE )– Most likely 110 CE– Manual on Christianity and Church

Hierarchy– Quotes the Gospel of Matthew,

verbatim, calling it ‘The Gospel’– Regarded as canonical scripture by

Clement of Alexandria, Origen an others

– Source attributed to itinerant evangelists


• Shepherd of Hermas (95-150 CE )– Universally popular (along with the

Epistle of Barnabas)– Was included (with Barnabas) as the

final books of the NT in the oldest codex (Codex Sinaiticus)

– Never quotes or names any NT text– Relies on Jewish texts now

considered apocryphal (Eldad and Modat)

Oral Tradition

• Papias (~130 CE)– Interested in texts, but demonstrates

that oral tradition is still “king” at this time

– “I did not think that information from books would help me so much as a living and surviving voice.”

– No surviving works. Fragments recorded by Eusebius.

– “Expositions of the Sayings of the Lord”• Collection of sayings he had heard

from ‘students of elders who claimed to have known the first disciples’

Oral Tradition

• Polycarp (~130 CE)– A single letter of quotes attributed

to Jesus– Roughly 100 quotes– Some match gospel quotes– Some match non-Jesus statements

from epistles– Cites no sources

Written tradition begins

• Basilides (~135 CE)– Gnostic– Composed the ‘Exegetica’

• Commentary on Gospel story• Unknown whether he used oral or written

sources– Considered heretical

• Until this point, the only authority cited was “Jesus” or “Christ”– Basilides ‘Exegetica’ started the

doctrinal battles• Essentially drawing a line in the sand,

implying that you either agreed with him or you’re a heretic

• The need to establish Church authority to dictate or preserve doctrine was beginning

Written tradition begins

• Paul vs. the Jewish Christians– We see some of this in the varying

doctrines expressed in the NT– Some of the disagreements are

catalogued in the Bible (Acts)

• Romans vs. Jews– Pressure on Christians (echoing this

Pauline conflict)– Began the “us and them” claims

• Pro-Roman, Anti-Jew doctrines become popular

Written Tradition Begins

• Marcion (~144 CE)– Proposes a reform of Christianity

• OT is contradictory and barbaric• Only Paul’s writings are true• The true writings weren’t Jewish

– Expelled from the church and formed his own

– Gnostic beliefs• Jesus wasn’t human• No Hell

Written Tradition Begins

• Marcion (cont.)– Established the first Canon

• 10 Epistles and one Gospel– Gospel later identified by

Tertullian as that of Luke, but with the nativity and all OT references removed

– Commentary retained• Written prefaces used for the

Latin Vulgate

Written Tradition

• Montanism (~156CE)– Similar to Protestant (Pentecostal)

movement• Speaking in tongues• Individual interpretation• Non-clerical authority

– Made the common man as good as a Priest

– Apocalyptic movement• Eventually leads to the conflict

over canonizing the Revelation of John

Doctrinal Politics

• Church authority– Can’t have the average Joe reading

and interpreting things on his own

• Travel issues– People stayed close to home– Occasional travelers would discover

differences in doctrine and write back to the ‘mother’ church

• Church dispatches– Priests would travel and ‘review’

churches to determine if their doctrin was sound

Doctrinal Politics

• Build a base– The older, more powerful, richer or

stronger-willed churches would dictate doctrine to outlying churches

– Those who went along were rewarded

• Despite Marcion’s canon, the Montanism heresy and the doctrinal issues, there is still no attempt to create an orthodox canon at this time (~175 CE)

Early Church Fathers

• Tatian– Converted around 150 CE by Justin

Martyr– After training with Justin, heads to Syria

in 172 CE to found a church• Bans wine, meat and marriage

– Selects 4 gospels and writes the Diatessaron

• “That which is through the four”• Harmonized account of the current 4

gospels– This establishes the Syrian canon as:

• Diatessaron• Paul’s Epistles (no idea which ones)• Acts• Nothing else

A Busy Century

• A century of writing, fighting and forgery

• 170 CE – “Acts of Paul”– Written to honor Paul– Priest author is charged with

falsification and removed from office– Despite this, his work remained very

popular in churches and exists in the Armenian Bible today

A Busy Century

• 177 CE – Athenagoras invents the trinity

• 200 CE – Serapion tours churches in Asia– Encounters a dispute over the Gospel

of Peter – can it be read in church?• Gives tentative approval and then

declares it heretical after reading it

– Book implied that Jesus only “seemed” to be a man

– Doctrine drives the decision. Not scholarship.

A Busy Century

• 200 CE – Dionysus claims that his letters and ‘scriptures of the Lord’ are being edited and redacted– Calling into question the veracity of

all of these texts– Even Paul hints at the rampancy of

forgeries [insert verse]

A Busy Century

• 200 CE – Iraneus writes extensively– Quotes nearly every book which will

eventually be the NT– May be indicative of an

implied/traditional canon and a transition to written authority

– His take on the 4 Gospels:• “It is not possible that the Gospels

can be either more or fewer in number than they are, since there are four directions of the world in which we are, and four principal winds…the four living creatures (rev 4:9) symbolize the four gospels…and there were four principal covenants made with humanity, through Noah, Abraham, Moses and Christ.”

A Busy Century

• How do we determine the veracity of a given text?– If it agrees with your doctrine, it’s

inspired– If it disagrees, it’s heresy– If you have the power, you make the call– Surely God worked hard to make sure

the “right” people had the power

• Literary history and scholarship were irrelevant– Not unusual for people who have been

relying on oral traditions. If someone says this book is right, and you trust them, then the book is now as good as their word.

The NT Canon takes shape

• Clement of Alexandria– Secret Mark

• A letter by Clement references 3 versions of the Gospel of Mark

– A short one written in Rome based on Peter’s teachings

– A longer “more spiritual” (possibly more Johanine) gospel written in Alexandria after Peter’s death

– A “secret” version• Secret writings are easily modified,

lost or hidden• How many first century writings exist

that are modified, lost or hidden to preserve doctrine?


• Clement of Alexandria (190 CE)– First serious scholar among Christian

church fathers– Citing other written sources around

8000 times, over 2500 of them outside the Christian and Jewish traditions

– Agreed with Tatian’s gospel choices but also added the Gospel of the Egyptians (generally considered gnostic), Gospel of the Hebrews, Traditions of Matthias, Shepherd of Hermas, Epistle of Barnabas, Apocalypse of Peter, and the Didache

– Included oral traditions as well


• Origen (203 CE) becomes the head of the Christian Seminary in Alexandria at the age of 18– Origenes Adamantius– First seriously scholarly

investigation of Christianity– Fled Alexandria in 231 after a

dispute with Demetrius (Bishop of Alexandria)

• Founded a new school in Caesarea which eventually outshone Alexandria


• Origen (Cont)– Converts Ambrose from Valentianism

(Gnostic) to orthodoxy.• Ambrose becomes his financier

– Self-castration (a capital crime in Rome)– Agreed with Diatessaron

• Claiming it’s the only inspired, trustworthy gospel because it’s the only one that no one disputes

– By no one, he’s only counting non-heretics

– Which clearly identifies that even among non-heretics the inspiration of early Gospels was disputed

– Includes Gospel of Peter, Shepherd of Hermas, Didache and Epistle of Barnabas as scriputre

– Doubts 2 & 3 John, 2 Peter and Hebrews


• Tertullian (~195 CE)– Highly educated lawyer– Converts in 195 CE– Accepts the traditional, unofficial

Canon including Shepherd of Hermas until….

– ‘distressed by the envy and laxity of the clergy in Rome’ he converts to Montanism


• Muratorian Fragment– Late 2nd to 4th Century– Fragment of a Latin list of writings with

comments– Includes Hermas as ‘highly regarded’

but not scripture– Excludes Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2

Peter and 3 John– Includes current Revelation as well as

the Apocalypse of Peter and the Book of Wisdom

– List attacks Marcionism, Montanism, Valentianism (basically all gnostics)

– Establishes claims of an implied canon as early as the 2nd Century, but not consistent with the current canon


• Eusebius (~ 275 CE)– Follows Origen’s beliefs (as a product of

his school)– Endorses a trinity concept, but with Jesus

as subordinate to God (never refers to him as theos) – anything else was polytheism

– Advocated the use of fictions as “medicine”• Essentially, it’s ok to promote forgeries

and lies if it furthers the cause of fighting heresy

– Most of what we know of early Church history comes from his work on the History of the Church. For many things, he is the only source.


• Cyril (350 CE)– Announced his list as part of a series

of lectures along the lines of an “introduction to Christianity”

– First official pronouncement from a high-ranking church official regarding a canon

– This one man pronounced that his list of books were the only books which could be read – even privately

– Identical to today’s Canon, with the exception of Revelation.

An Official NT Canon

• Synod of Laodicea (363 CE)– Around 20-30 bishops gathered

together to decide on an official canon

– Their pronouncement upheld Cyril’s Canon, saying:

• “Let no private psalms nor any uncanonical books be read in the church, but only canonical ones of the New and Old Testament “

Another Official NT Canon

• Athanasius (Bishop of Alexandria)– 367 CE – Declares, in his Festal

Epistle, that the canon now contains Revelation and adds:

• “Let no one add to these, let nothing be taken away from them.”

– This unofficially closes the canon, as it stands now

– Western Catholic Canon– Another edict by one man

A Few Centuries later

• Trullan Synod (692 CE)– Emperor Justinian calls the synod to

clarify the disputes about the canon.– Synod held that both the Synod of

Laodicea and Epistle of Athanasius were authoritative, despite their contradictory position on Revelation

– Codified the “85th Apostolic Canon”• Considers the 2 letters of Clement

of Rome as sacred and part of the Bible

• Also includes 8 other books “which it is not appropriate to make public before all, because of the mysteries contained in them”

Much Much later

• Council of Florence (1443 CE)– Affirms the list of Athanasius,

sealing the 27 book NT canon.– Officially only carried weight in the

west– Why, after so many years, was this

needed?• Questions about authenticity

were starting to arise (particularly about authorship of Hebrews)

• Renaissance

Another Council

• Council of Trent (1546 CE)– Affirmed the Council of Florence

– The End?

Erasmus

• 1466-1536• Chastised by the church for

doubting the authorship of Hebrews and other books

• Renounced his former questions and said– “the opinion formulated by the

Church has more value in my eyes than human reasons, whatever they may be”

• Went on to create the Textus Receptus

Debate continues

• KJV, NIV, NASB, ALT, ASV, BBE, CEV, Darby, MKJV, RSV….

• The Canon is closed - the debate isn’t

Why should we care?

• Knowing more about the Bible than a Christian..– Gives you an answer– Gives you an edge– Gives you an opportunity

The History of the Biblical Canon Matt Dillahunty The Atheist Community of Austin March 19 th 2006.

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