Bible canon issues-1
Introduction
It fell to a few European clerics of the time to sift through existing documents and decide which were to be regarded as authoritative or 'inspired' - a highly arbitrary and undemocratic decision, especially as the chosen books were deemed to constitute the Bible (with no further additions or deletions) for all time and all cultures. Let us look at some of the historical developments.
1. An influential church leader Marcion (who lived in the second century CE) after studying the Old Testament decided that the OT God was "fickle, capricious, despotic, cruel (and) had nothing in common with the God of Jesus Christ." He therefore advocated the rejection of the OT entirely and also much of the NT because he felt that most of the apostles were still 'tainted' by belief in the Jewish God. He proposed reduced Bible above. Having compiled his version of the scriptures, Marcion invited influential churchmen at a council meeting, made a generous donation and presented his ideas to them. These were rejected, his donation was returned and he was excommunicated. He died about 160 CE. However, his influence lingered and church leaders were jolted into deciding on the contents of the sacred writings. (Ref 1)
2. Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyon (178-200) played a major role. In his own town, the Christians were severely persecuted. In his important work, Against Heresies, he defended the Jewish scriptures, declaring the God whom Jesus called Father was none other than the God of the Hebrews. He recommended that the Christian canon should include the Acts, John’s Gospel and not only Paul’s writings unedited but other pastoral letters, including more recent (mid-second century) ones like 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus and James. The material formed the bulk of the Christian canon, though the term New Testament was not yet used. Irenaeus opposed the Gnostic texts, especially the Gospel of Judas.
3. The Gospel of Judas was found in about a thousand fragments and much of this gospel was recently restored in Switzerland. Only about 15% is irrevocably lost. In keeping with Gnostic beliefs, the Judas gospel asserted that people have a spark of the divine in themselves. [This is the intuitive dimension found in eastern religions but the early church fathers, seduced by Greek rational thought, suppressed it]. By the end of the third century, there were 20-30 gospels, numerous letters attributed to different apostles and various texts recording the life of Jesus and his followers - nearly 80 in all. So it still remained to decide on the full canon of sacred writings. (Ref 2)
4. Certain material was judged to be inappropriate for the general congregation. Thus only the four gospels were included in the canon and not the gospels of Peter, Mary, Thomas, Philip or Judas. Given the brutal Roman persecution of the early Christians, a gospel that did not relate to the people's suffering was rejected. For example, Peter's gospel asserted that Jesus never really suffered - he was considered wholly divine. So although Peter was close to Jesus, his gospel was rejected.
Texts that carried the name of an apostle were generally included, such as the letters of Paul and the four gospels, even though Matthew and John did not claim authorship which was attributed by tradition. John's revelation was controversial. Bishops had difficulty interpreting its complex symbolism but in the end, especially as john was Jesus' close disciple, it was included.5. Gospels written at a later date had a smaller chance of being included. Gradually, a consensus emerged and there were political considerations. If the canon contained a large body of the Jewish scriptures, it would not have appealed to the gentiles. The canon also had to claim antiquity.
The Gnostic texts were more philosophical and could only be understood by an elite. They were opposed by the early church fathers. The canon had to have a wide appeal within the Roman empire. When Emperor Constantine converted in 312, he was looking for a religion that could unify his fragmented empire. Without Constantine, there would be no western Christianity. Now this version could confront the Roman empire. It was the Roman churches that led the compilation of the canon and gospels like Thomas, though popular but with an eastern appeal, was rejected. Mark's gospel was written in Rome and was accepted. Bishops travelled widely to exclude 'heretical' works and the canon came to include works that were at home to Greek and Roman ideas. One example is the very beginning of St John's Gospel that introduces the notion of Logos (the Word) [Ref 2]
Books of the Old Testament
According to Miller (Ref 3), the nucleus of the book of Deuteronomy (together with the books from Joshua to Kings) was composed by the Levites after the Assyrians invaded the region and destroyed the northern kingdom Israel in 721 BCE. To this was added the four prophetic scrolls (Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah and the Twelve), next the Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and finally the Genesis. A rival priesthood, the Zadokites or Aaronites feature prominently in the first four books (the Tetrateuch).
Some more dates: the Zadokite priest Ezekiel was deported to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar after he conquered Jerusalem in 597 BCE. The Babylon rulers destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BCE. An exiled 'remnant' returned in 537 and the temple rebuilt in 515. The return of Ezra and the beginning of his reforms took place in 458. It is reasonable to conclude that the Hebrew scriptures were assembled soon after 450 BCE, in the period 450-250 BCE.
The development of the canon continued in the third and fourth centuries: material was renamed, rearranged and added. For example, the books of the prophets (Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah and the Minor Prophets) were moved from their older place following Kings to the end of the Jewish scriptures while Ezra-Nehemiah and Chronicles now followed Kings.
Here are the books of the Jewish and Christian scriptures. (The Catholic additions are sown in green.)
Hebrew (Jewish) Scriptures (39 books)
TORAH (The Law) 5 books
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.
[The Torah is also loosely for all the 39 books.]
PROPHETS (21 books)
Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings,
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the Twelve Minor Prophets.
WRITINGS (13 books)
Psalms, Proverbs, Job, the Song of Songs, Ruth,
Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel,
Ezra, Nehemiah, 1 & 2 Chronicles.
Christian Old Testament
THE LAW or PENTATEUCH (5)
The same five books of the Jewish scriptures
HISTORICAL BOOKS (12 Catholic & Protestant)
Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings,
1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther,
Judith, Tobit, 1 & 2 Maccabees. (Catholic 4)
WISDOM BOOKS (5 Cath & Prot)
Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesistes, Song of Songs,
Eccesiasticus (Sirach), Wisdom of Solomon (Cath 2)
PROPHETS (17 Cath & Prot + Cath 1)
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Baruch,
Ezekiel, Daniel, the Twelve Minor Prophets.
Note: The seven books in bold are the Apocrypha (secondary canon, hidden from the public) and are found in the Catholic Bible only. The Old Testament consists of 39 books (Protestant) and 39+7 (Catholic). There are 27 books in the New Testament, both Catholic and Protestant.
References
3. J W Miller, The Origins of the Bible (Paulist Press 1993)
1. Anthony Milner, The Bible and Conflict, Scripture Bulletin, vol35 (July 2005), pg 86
2. BBC4, the Lost Gospels, 20 & 23 December 2006