2 the formation of the christian canon

The Formation of
the Christian Canon

The Diversity of Early Christianity
1. Jewish-Christian Adoptionist
2. Marcionite Christians
3. Gnostic Christians
4. Proto-Orthodox Christians

1.Jewish-Christian Adoptionist
2nd century living in Palestine, east of Jordan River
Jesus
• remarkable man
• chosen by God to be his Son
• received his sonship via adoption at his
baptism
• empowered by God to do miracles and teach
the truth about God
• Fulfilled the divine commission by dying as a
willing sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the
world

Jesus
• God raised him from the dead
• He ascended to heaven and where he
presently reigns with God.
• He is not himself divine.
• He was a righteous man but nothing
more than a man
• Not born of the virgin, does not pre-
exist and he was not God.

• He was adopted by God to be His son.
• Hence the word “Adoptionist”
• To call Jesus as God is blasphemy.
• The true God is the God of Israel where
he gave his law.
• Must become a Jew to follow Jesus.
• Appreciates the Gospel of Matthew, but
rejected others
• Paul was an arch-heretic and his
writings as heretical.

2. Marcionite Christians
A Christian group in the mid to late second
century in the Mediterranean with large
numbers flourishing especially in Asia Minor
Called “Marcionites” because they subscribe
to the form of Christianity advance by a
second century scholar and evangelist Marcion
who claimed to have uncovered the true
teaching of Christianity in the writings of Paul.
Paul was a true apostle where Jesus impart the
truth of the Gospel.

• Paul was a good Jew not until Jesus
showed him that the Jewish law
played no part in the plan of
salvation.
• Paul’s writing sets the Gospel over
and against Jewish Law and Jews
should abandon the law altogether.
• The God of the Jews is different from
the God preached by Jesus.

• There are two separated and
unrelated Gods.
• Jesus is to save the people from the
OT God.
• Jesus was no relation to the God-
Creator of the OT
• Jesus has no real ties to the material
world the creator-God made.

• Jesus is not actually born and didn’t
have a real flesh and blood.
• Jesus appeared only to be human.
• Jesus’ body was only a phantasm
• Jesus was totally divine and never
human.
• Marcionites uses the Gospel of Luke
along with the 10 letters of Paul

3. Gnostic Christians
A Christian group so named because of their
claim that special “gnosis” (Gk for knowledge)
is necessary for salvation
The were located in the major urban areas
throughout much of the Mediterranean during
the 2nd and 3rd century esp. in Egypt, Syria,
Asia Minor, Rome and Gaul.
They are wildly diverse with different groups
radically believing in different things.

• Some Gnostics agree with Marcion
believing Jesus is totally divine and
not human.
• Others claim that Jesus represents
two distinct beings, the Human Jesus
and the Divine Christ.
• They agree with the Jewish
Christians that Jesus was a righteous
man on earth and something
happened during his baptism.

• Jesus during his Baptism the Divine
Christ came into the man Jesus
empowering him for his healing and
especially, teaching ministry.
• At the end of his life immediately
before his death, the Christ then
departed from him once again to
return to heaven.
• Who is this Divine Christ?

• He was one of the many deities that
made up the divine realm.
• For Jewish Christians are strict
monotheist.
• Marcionites are strict Ditheist.
• Gnostics were polytheist
• They believe that were about 32
different gods other systems as many
as 365.

• Gnostics believe that the OT God is
inherently evil as was the material
world he created.
• Gnostics felt they don’t belong to the
world and are spiritual beings from
the divine realm trapped in the
realm of matter.
• Salvation meant escaping from this
material world.

• Thus a god from a divine realm
entered in a man Jesus and left him
prior his death so that he could
impart to the imprisoned spirits the
knowledge that is necessary to
escape.
• This was divulge only to the chosen
ones, the elect the Gnostics
themselves.

• They are not tied to the literal
meaning of their text and are not
compulsive as other Christians.
• Though they have their favorites like
the Gospel of John or Gospel of
Thomas, Gospel of Mary, Gospel of
Truth and Gospel of Philip.

3. Proto-Orthodox Christians
This group represents the forerunners of the
dominant form of Christianity in later
centuries.
Acquired more converts than any other groups
and stifled it opponents and claimed that the
views had been the majority position.
Claimed that its views had always been the
majority position and that its rivals were and
always had been heretics who willfully chose
to reject the true belief.

• Like all other groups they just call
themselves as Christian.
• They agree with the Jewish Christians
that Jesus was a fully human,
disagrees when they deny his
divinity.
• They agree with the Marcionites who
said that Jesus was fully divine but
disagrees in the denial of his
humanity

• Agrees with the Gnostics who said
that Jesus Christ taught the way of
salvation but disagreed when they
said that he has two beings rather
than one and when they claim that
his true teachings had been secrets
and accessible to only an elect few.

• In short, Jesus Christ is both divine
and human, that he was one being
instead of two and that he had
taught his disciples the truth.
• Apostle wrote the teaching of Jesus
and interpreted it in a
straightforward and literal fashion
• Books are passed to their followers
that revealed the truth need for
salvation.

How we got the NT Canon
“Canon” – from the Greek kanon meaning a “measuring
rod”.
a) a fundamental principle or general rule
b) an ecclesiastical rule or law enacted by a council or
other competent authority
c) the books of the Bible recognized by any Christian
church as genuine and inspired
d) the works of an author that have been accepted as
authentic: eg, there are 37 plays in the Shakespeare
canon.
e) (other similar definitions)

Circa A.D. 45–100 - Original 27 books of the Greek New
Testament are written. By 100AD, all 27 books of the New
Testament were in circulation and all but Hebrews, 2 Peter,
James, 2 John, 3 John, Revelation were universally
accepted.
Circa A.D. 96 - Clement of Rome writing in about the year
96 Clement emphasizes the importance of apostolic
authority. His only specific references to the New
Testament are from 1 Corinthians and Hebrews. However,
there is evidence of his familiarity with a wider range of the
canonical materials. Yet Clement has no formal theory of
the New Testament canon. While the tradition that derives
from Jesus and the apostles is authoritative, it is not
authoritative in a specific form.

Circa A.D. 115 - Ignatius of Antioch around 115 stated
that the teachings of the apostles are known through
their writings. There is, however, no indication that he
viewed the apostolic writings as Scripture parallel to
the Old Testament. For him the issue is the authority of
the revelation — not its form, whether oral or written.
Circa A.D. 155 - Polycarp like Clement and Ignatius,
sees an integral unity between the Old Testament and
the apostles. However, he moves beyond his
predecessors in that for him the importance of the Old
Testament has receded in favor of the increased
esteem given to the writings of the apostles,
particularly Paul.

Circa A.D. 130 - The Epistle of Barnabas: Barnabas wrestles with the
problem of continuity/discontinuity between the Old and New
Covenants. Generous use is made of the Old Covenant to show how
it points to Christ. Barnabas indicates that as the problems of Old
Testament interpretation grew, the Church would become more
conscious of its literature as forming a complementary Scripture (the
New Testament). He cites Matthew 22:14 with the formula "it is
written.“
Circa A.D. 140-150 - Marcion of Sinope's heretical "New Testament"
prompted Orthodox Christians to establish a New Testament canon.
Marcion of Sinope, a bishop of Asia Minor who went to Rome and
was later excommunicated for his views, was the first of record to
propose a definitive, exclusive, unique canon of Christian scriptures,
compiled sometime between 130–40 CE. (Though Ignatius did
address Christian scripture, before Marcion, against the perceived
heresies of the Judaizers and Docetists, he did not publish a canon.)

Circa A.D. 145-163 - In the mid-2nd century, Justin the
Martyr mentions the "memoirs of the apostles", which
Christians called "gospels" and which were regarded as
on par with the Old Testament. It is not clear whether
there is any evidence that Justin included the Gospel of
John among the "memoirs of the apostles", or whether,
on the contrary, he based his doctrine of the Logos on
it. In Justin's works, distinct references are found
to Romans, 1 Corinthians, Galatians,
Ephesians, Colossians, and 2 Thessalonians, and
possible ones to Philippians, Titus, and 1 Timothy.

Circa A.D. 150-215 - Clement of Alexandria made use of
an open canon. He seemed "practically unconcerned
about canonicity. To him, inspiration is what mattered."
In addition to books that did not make it into the final
27-book NT but which had local canonicity (Barnabas,
Didache, I Clement, Revelation of Peter, the Shepherd,
the Gospel according to the Hebrews), he also used the
Gospel of the Egyptians, Preaching of Peter, Traditions of
Matthias, Sibylline Oracles, and the Oral Gospel. He did,
however, prefer the four church gospels to all others,
although he supplemented them freely with apocryphal
gospels. He was the first to treat non-Pauline letters of
the apostles (other than II Peter) as scripture-he
accepted I Peter, I and II John, and Jude as scripture.

Circa AD 170-200 - The Muratorian canon is the
earliest known example of a canon list of mostly
New Testament books. It survives, damaged and thus
incomplete, as a bad Latin translation of an original,
no longer extant, Greek text that is usually dated in
the late 2nd century, although a few scholars have
preferred a 4th-century date. The Muratorian Canon
is typical of the mixed bag of canonical and
apocryphal books found in different church
catalogues. Listing twenty-four books, which
includes the four Gospels, Acts, thirteen letters
ascribed to Paul (but not Hebrews), Jude, 1 and 2
(but not 3) John, the Wisdom of Solomon,
Revelation, and the Apocalypse of Peter.

Circa A.D. 130-200 - Irenaeus, whose writings are
contemporary with the Muratorian list, presents the
same picture. His evidence is significant in that he was
a rather ecumenical figure in his day. He spent his
earlier life in Asia Minor and his later life in Gaul. He
was also in close touch with Rome. He does not seem
to have had Hebrews in his canon, and there is some
uncertainty as to whether he accepted the general
epistles (except 1 Peter, 1 and 2 John). He refers to the
Shepherd of Hermas as "scripture" but does not
include it in the list of apostolic writings.

Circa A.D. 160-220 - Tertullian is the authority for Africa.
He appears to have had 22 books in his canon — the four
Gospels, Acts, the thirteen epistles of Paul, 1 Peter, 1
John, Jude and Revelation. He did not treat Hebrews as
canonical.
Circa A.D. 185-254 - Origen in the East has a good deal to
say about the canon. He compiled the Hexapla, a six-
columned parallel of Greek and Hebrew texts. According
to F.F. Bruce, "He acknowledged the four canonical
Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, the Pauline epistles and
Hebrews, 1 Peter, 1 John and Revelation as 'undisputed'
books." 24 Origen does acknowledge, however, that
Hebrews, 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, James and Jude were
rejected by some.

Circa A.D. 200 - The Jewish Mishnah, the Oral
Torah, is first recorded.
Circa A.D. 305-310 - Lucian of Antioch's Greek
New Testament text becomes the basis for the
Textus Receptus.
Circa A.D. 312 - Codex Vaticanus is possibly
among the original 50 copies of the Bible
ordered by Emperor Constantine. It is
eventually kept in the Vatican Library in Rome.

Circa A.D. 367-405 - This is the period of fixation.
Athanasius of Alexandria identifies the complete
New Testament canon (27 books) for the first
time. While the influence of Athanasius on the Canon
of the Old Testament was negative and exclusive, in
that of the New Testament it was trenchantly
constructive. In his "Epistola Festalis" [Easter Letter]
in A.D. 367, he ranks all of Origen's New Testament
Antilegomena, which are identical with the deuteros,
boldly inside the Canon, without noticing any of the
scruples about them. Thenceforward they were
formally and firmly fixed in the Alexandrian Canon.

Jerome’s doubts
• Circa A.D. 400 - Jerome asked to
create a new Latin translation of
the scriptures by Pope Damasus I
in 382.
• He was a Hebraist, considering the
Hebrew scriptures to be superior
to the Greek
• As such, he was reluctant to
translate those books not found in
the Hebrew collection
• In his preface to each of the books
found only in the LXX, he
described them as “non-
canonical”, and it was he who
coined the term “apocrypha” in
reference to these books.

The Question Settled
• COUNCIL OF ROME - DECREE OF DAMASUS (382 A.D.): "Now
indeed we must treat of the divine scriptures, what the
universal Catholic Church accepts and what she ought to shun.
The order of the Old Testament begins here: Genesis, one
book; Exodus, one book; Leviticus, one book; Numbers, one
book; Deuteronomy, one book; Joshua [Son of] Nave, one
book; Judges, one book; Ruth, one book; Kings, four books
[that is, 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings]; Paralipomenon
[Chronicles], two books; Psalms, one book; Solomon, three
books: Proverbs, one book, Ecclesiastes, one book, [and]
Canticle of Canticles [Song of Songs], one book; likewise
Wisdom, one book; Ecclesiasticus [Sirach], one book . . . .
Likewise the order of the historical [books]: Job, one book;
Tobit, one book; Esdras, two books [Ezra and Nehemiah];
Esther, one book; Judith, one book; Maccabees, two books”

• COUNCIL OF HIPPO (393 A.D.): "[It has been
decided] that besides the canonical scriptures
nothing be read in church under the name of divine
Scripture. But the canonical scriptures are as
follows: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,
Deuteronomy, Joshua the Son of Nun, Judges, Ruth,
the Kings, four books, the Chronicles, two books, Job,
the Psalter, the five books of Solomon [Proverbs,
Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Wisdom, and a portion
of the Psalms], the twelve books of the prophets,
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, Tobit, Judith, Esther,
Ezra, two books, Maccabees, two books . . .“

• COUNCIL OF CARTHAGE III (397A.D.): "[It has been
decided] that nothing except the canonical scriptures
should be read in the Church under the name of the
divine scriptures. But the canonical scriptures are:
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy,
Joshua, Judges, Ruth, four books of Kings,
Paralipomenon, two books, Job, the Psalter of David,
five books of Solomon, twelve books of the prophets,
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, Tobit, Judith, Esther,
two books of Esdras, two books of the Maccabees . .
."

Circa A.D. 500 - By now the Scriptures
have been translated into multiple
languages, not limited to but including an
Egyptian version (Codex Alexandrinus),
a Coptic version, an Ethiopic translation,
a Gothic version (Codex Argentus), and
an Armenian version. Some consider the
Armenian to be the most beautiful and
accurate of all ancient translations.

Four Criteria
for Canonicity
(why certain books were
eventually accepted into the NT
Canon, while others were
rejected)

1. Apostolic Origin - attributed to
and/or based on the
preaching/teaching of the first-
generation apostles (or their closest
companions).
2. Universal Acceptance - acknowledged
by all major Christian communities in
the Mediterranean world (by the end
of the fourth century).

3. Liturgical Use - read publicly along
with the OT when early Christians
gathered for the Lord's Supper (their
weekly worship services).
4. Consistent Message - containing
theological ideas compatible with
other accepted Christian writings
(including the divinity and humanity
Jesus).

The Three
Stages of Gospel
Development

Stage 1. The Life and
Ministry of Jesus
• Traditions dating from Jesus’ words and
deeds during his ministry in the late 20s
[example from John 9: Jesus was known as
a healer]
• Jesus taught, healed, and worked miracles.
He died on the cross and rose from the
dead.
• His followers witnessed and remembered
these things.

Stage 2: Post-Resurrectional
Preaching of the Apostles
• Convictions about Jesus that arose after the Resurrection,
especially that he was the divine “Lord” and “Son of God”
[example: the blind man worships Jesus, John 9:38].
• After the ascension of Jesus, the apostles handed on his
deeds and words through preaching and teaching.
• They now had a better understanding of what he did and
said.
– They could look back on the whole story of Jesus’ life,
from the beginning of his ministry to his ascension.
– Also, they had the gift of the Holy Spirit, who came to
them at Pentecost and enlightened their minds.

Stage 3: The Writing of the
Gospels by the Evangelists
• Texts about Jesus that are shaped by the situations, concerns,
and insights of the Gospel writers themselves [example: the blind
man’s parents fear “the Jews,” as if Jews are a separate group,
John 9:22].
• The gospels were written by the four evangelists. From all the
stories and memories about Jesus, passed down by word of
mouth or already written down, each evangelist selected what
was suitable for his purpose.
• At times the evangelist would combine, summarize, or explain
these traditions. The end result of this work was a written gospel.
Each evangelist composed his gospel with skill and creativity, but
always in such a way as to tell us the honest truth about Jesus.

Some Points about the Three Stages
• The Evangelists didn’t write the Gospels to
give us “histories,” as we use the term.
They wrote so readers would “come to
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of
God” (John 20:31).
• Therefore, for Christian faith Stage 3 is the
most important. It gives the Evangelists’
inspired reflections on the meaning of
Jesus.

•To ask the Gospels historical or Stage 1
questions is to distract from their main
purpose. But modern readers pose such
questions anyway.
•An effective way to perceive the
perspectives of each of the Gospel
writers is to compare the similarities and
differences of their four Gospel accounts,
and this is the procedure that will be
followed in this online tutorial.

The Pontifical Biblical Commission’s
“Instruction on the Bible and Christology”
The PBC noted the value of such contrasts in a 1984
study, “The Bible and Christology:”
“The Gospel traditions were gathered and gradually
committed to writing in [the] light of Easter, until at
length they took a fixed form in four short books.
These books do not simply contain things ‘that
Jesus began to do and teach’ (Acts 1:1), they also
present theological interpretations of such things.
In these booklets, then, one must learn to look for
the Christology of each Evangelist.”

The Pontifical Biblical Commission’s
“Instruction on the Bible and Christology”
“This is especially true of John, who in the Patristic
period would receive the title 'Theologian.' Other
[Gospel] authors have interpreted the deeds and
sayings of Jesus in diverse ways, and even more so
his death and resurrection... The New Testament
authors, precisely as pastors and teachers, bear
witness indeed to the same Christ, but with voices
that differ as in the harmony of one piece of
music.” [2.2.2]

Ten Stages of New Testament
Formation and Transmission
(with considerable chronological overlap,
continuing down to today): Some scholars
(including the above PBC) propose only 3 stages
(Historical Events, Oral Tradition, Written Texts),
others 5 stages (Historical Events, Oral Tradition,
Written Tradition, Editing, Canonization); the
following schema more comprehensively lists 10
stages, many of which overlap:

1. The Historical Jesus - words are
spoken and deeds are performed
by Jesus himself during his lifetime
on earth.
2. Oral Tradition - traditions and
beliefs about Jesus are developed
and passed on by early Christian
communities.

3. Written Sources - some of the
miracles and/or sayings of Jesus
are compiled and recorded in early
written documents.
4. Written Texts - individual letters,
full Gospels, etc., are written with
particular messages for particular
situations.

5. Distribution - some writings are
copied and shared with other
Christian communities throughout
the Mediterranean.
6. Collection - certain Christians
begin collecting the letters of Paul
and gathering together several
different Gospels.

7. Canonization - four Gospels, several
collections of letters, and a few
other texts are accepted as
authoritative scriptures.
8. Translation - biblical texts are
translated into ever more ancient
and modern languages: Latin,
Syriac, Coptic, Armenian, etc.

9. Interpretation - the meaning of the
scriptures is investigated on various
levels: literal, spiritual, historical,
social, etc.
10. Application - communities and
individuals use the NT for practical
purposes: liturgical, moral,
sacramental, theological, etc.

1Since many have undertaken to compile a
narrative of the events that have been fulfilled
among us, 2just as those who were
eyewitnesses from the beginning and ministers
of the word have handed them down to us, 3I
too have decided, after investigating everything
accurately anew, to write it down in an orderly
sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus,
4so that you may realize the certainty of the
teachings you have received.
Luke 1-4

Mt 8:2–3 Mk 1:40–42 Lk 5:12–13
And behold,
a leper came
and worships
him, saying:
Lord, if you wish,
I can be cleansed.
And he stretched out his
hand and touched him,
saying:
I wish it; be cleansed.
And immediately
his leprosy
was cleansed.
And, calling out to him,
there comes to him a leper
and kneeling and
saying to him:
If you wish,
I can be cleansed.
And, moved with compassion,
he stretched out his
hand and touched him
and says to him:
And immediately
the leprosy
left him,
and he was cleansed.
And behold,
a man full of leprosy.
But, upon seeing Jesus,
he fell upon his face
and requested
him, saying:
Lord, if you wish,
I can be cleansed.
And he stretched out his
hand and touched him,
saying:
And immediately
the leprosy
left him.
Healing of the Leper

9 “This is how you are to pray:
Our Father
in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done, on earth as in
heaven 11
Give us today our daily bread; 12
and forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors;
13 and do not subject us to the
final test,
but deliver us from the evil one.
2 He said to them, “When you pray, say:
Father,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread*
4 and forgive us our sins
for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt
to us,
and do not subject us to the final test.”
Matthew 6:9-13 vs. Luke 11:3-4

LukeMatthew
SYNOPTIC
PROBLEM
Markan Priority

LukeMatthew
Matthean Source
(Special Material)
SYNOPTIC
PROBLEM
Markan Priority

LukeMatthew
Matthean Source
(Special Material)
Lucan Source
(Special Material)
SYNOPTIC
PROBLEM
Markan Priority

Q (quelle)
Source LukeMatthew
Matthean Source
(Special Material)
Lucan Source
(Special Material)
SYNOPTIC
PROBLEM
Markan Priority

Q (quelle)
Source LukeMatthew
Matthean Source
(Special Material)
Lucan Source
(Special Material)
SYNOPTIC
PROBLEM
- Double Tradition
-2 Document Hypothesis
-Two Source Hypothesis
-Triple Source Hypothesis
- Four Source Hypothesis
Markan Priority

2 the formation of the christian canon

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