The conflict over which writings were truly authoritative can be seen while Paul and the other New Testament writers were still alive.

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1 1 Sunday, Nvember 21, 2010 Grace Life Schl f Thelgy Church Histry: A Tale f Tw Churches Lessn 10 The Patristic Perid: The Frmatin f the Cann What is the Cann? The wrd cann is derived frm a Greek wrd brrwed frm the Phenicians meaning a rd r ruler fr measuring bjects. (Nll, 34) The wrd was used as a standard fr judging whether r nt smething is straight. (Shelley, 58) S the idea was transferred t a list f bks that cnstituted the standard r rule f the churches. These were the bks read publicly in the cngregatins because they had the special authrity f Gd upn them. (Shelley, 58) The first recrded use f the wrd fr the authritative list f bks in the bible came in the year 367 frm Athanasius, bishp f Alexandria in Nrth Africa. (Nll, 34) The cnflict ver which writings were truly authritative can be seen while Paul and the ther New Testament writers were still alive. II Thessalnians 2:2 peple were frging letters Clssians 4:16 unclear what epistle Paul is referring t. I Crinthians 5:9 nt ever letter Paul wrte was written under inspiratin. Therefre they were nt Scripture Finding its rts in the mind f the same Gd wh frmed the natin f Israel in the Old Testament, the New Testament Church was never withut a cann frm the standpint that they pssessed the Old Testament. In Luke 24:44, Jesus fixes the cann f Old Testament Scripture. The Law (Trah) The Prphets (Neviim) The Psalms (K thuvim) Genesis Jshua Psalms Exdus Judges Prverbs Leviticus Samuel Jb Numbers Kings Sng f Sngs Deuternmy Isaiah Ruth Jeremiah Ezekiel Lamentatins Ecclesiastes Esther Daniel Ezra-Nehemiah Chrnicles Christians in the Eastern half f the Rman Empire rejected the cannicity f the 15 Apcryphal bks. In cntrast, Western Christians under the influence f Augustine received the Apcrypha as part f the Cann. (Shelley, 60) These differences still exist tday between Cathlics and Prtestants. By seeking an authritative cllectin f bks, the New Testament Church affirmed its cnnectin t Judaism by hlding t a select list f sacred bks. At the same time, the early Christians brke with their Jewish predecessrs by claiming that the Hebrew Pastr Bryan Rss

2 2 Scriptures were incmplete in themselves withut the additin f the New Testament. (Nll, 34) In practical terms there are many reasns why a cllectin f authritative bks wuld have been necessary in the early church. Standards f wrship, prayer, and preaching Reading material fr public services and private study Thelgical standard t use in respnding t nn-christian critics Deciding dctrinal disputes within their wn ranks Text t translate Gd s Wrd int the varius language f the Grec-Rman wrld (Nll, 34) Was Marcin a Heretic? Any discussin f the New Testament cann will include a cnversatin abut Marcin. Accrding t the standard accunt presented in virtually all church histry bks Marcin was the sn f a Bishp frm a twn n the suthern cst f the Black Sea. As a yung man Marcin became a ship wner, sailing passengers and carg thrughut the Rman wrld. During his travels Marcin suppsedly develped distaste fr the physical wrld and fell under the spell f a Gnstic teacher named Cred. (Jnes, 24) Arund 140, Marcin s father s church excluded the yung ship-wner frm fellwship. Sme surces reprt that Marcin had seduced an unmarried girl in his father s church. While this is pssible, the real reasn fr Marcin s banishment is prbably related t his new belief system. (Jnes, 24) Cred is said t have believed that the Gd f the Old Testament was different frm the Gd and the Father f the Lrd Jesus Christ. The Gd f the Old Testament, he said, was unknwlable; the Christian Gd had been revealed. The Old Testament Gd was sheer justice; whereas the Gd f the New Cvenant was lving and gracius. (Shelley, 62) After being banished frm his father Church, Marcin fled t Rme where he further develped his ideas. While Marcin can never rightly be called a full fledged Gnstic he did barrw frm Gnstic thught. (Jnes, 24) Barrwing frm Cred, Marcin held that the Old Testament Gd was full f wrath and the authr f evil. This Gd, he said, was nly cncerned fr the Jewish peple. He was prepared t destry all ther peple. In cntrast, the Christain s Gd was a Gd f grace and lve fr all wh disclsed himself in Jesus Christ, his Sn. (Shelley, 62) Because he believed that the Gd f the Old Testament lved the Jews exclusively, Marcin rejected the entire Old Testament and als thse New Testament writings that he thught favred Jewish readers fr example Matthew, Mark, Acts, and Hebrews. He als rejected ther Christian writings that appeared t cmprmise his wn views, including 1 and 2 Timthy and Titus. (Shelley, 63) In the end Marcin s Bible cntained an altered versin f Luke and ten letters f Paul. The Apstle f the Gentiles, it seems, was the nly apstle wh did nt crrupt the gspel f Jesus. (Shelley, 63) Pastr Bryan Rss

3 3 In 144, the church in Rme excmmunicated Marcin at which time he established sme f his wn churches in Italy and Asia Minr. (Jnes, 25) Writing arund 180 AD Irenaeus states the fllwing regarding Marcin s beliefs, with regard t thse wh allege that Paul alne knew the truth and that t him the mystery was manifest by revelatin, let Paul cnvict himself. (Berct, 419) Tertullian states the fllwing in 207 AD regarding what the Marcinits believed, the Marcinistes allege that Marcin did nt s much innvate n the rule f faith by his separatin f the Law and the Gspel, as restre it after it had been previusly adulterated. (Berct, 420) Bruce A. Shelley, authr f Church Histry in Plain Language reprts the fllwing regarding Marcin s view f the Apstle Paul: Marcins s wrship f Paul was little shrt f idlatry. As he saw it, Paul was the great enemy f the law and the great spkesman fr the gspel. He was in fact the supreme figure I the church. Marcin believed Christ had descended frm heaven twice, nce t suffer and t die, and nce t call Paul and t reveal t Paul the true significance f his death. In heaven, said Marcin, Paul sits at the right hand f Chirst, wh sits n the right hand f Gd. As the Nrth African lawyer Tertullian put it, Paul had becme the apstle f the heretics. (Shelley, 63) In my view, we need t be very careful when passing judgment n Marcin. The things the church fathers say abut Marcin are very similar t the things ur critics say abut us (mid-acts, Pauline Grace Believers): we wrship Paul, we dn t use the entire Bible, we cut and mutilate the Bible, ect. If Marcin truly believed in tw different Gds, and used a Bible that excluded the Old Testament and much f the New then Marcin was a heretic. Hwever, I am nt sure we can trust the testimny f men wh we knw were heretical when their teachings are cmpared with the wrings f Paul. Traditinal View f the Cann Church histry bks prtray the Marcin episde as a catalyst fr the early church t fficially identify which New Testament bks were authritative cann and which nes were nt. Mst church histry bks ffer sme variatin f the fllwing three pints as the criteria the early church used in determining the cannicity f disputed bks. Is the bk reliably cnnected t an apstle? The lgic behind this questin was simple: The peple mst likely t tell the truth abut Jesus were either eyewitnesses wh had encuntered Jesus persnally r clse assciates f these witnesses. (Jnes, 26-27) D churches thrughut the knwn wrld value this writing? Pastr Bryan Rss

4 4 Des the writing agree with what we already knw abut Gd? (Jnes, 26) When ne uses these criteria t determine the authenticity f New Testament bks three grups f bks emerge that deserve further explanatin. Disputed Bks f the 27 bks f the New Testament 7 were disputed and there culd nt be admitted t the cann until later. These bks include: Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, 2 and 3 Jhn, Jude, and Revelatin Church histrians lead their readers t believe that the majrity f Bible-believing Christians disputed them because fur r five church fathers dn t qute them. (Ruckman, 44) The Bible believer shuld nt be surprised that these bks were disputed when ne cnsiders their cntent: premillenial return f Christ, mark f the beast, identificatin f false prphets, and carnal church leaders. Pseudepigrapha refers t thse bks that were never admitted int the New Testament cann. They are currently published in a bk called The Lst Bks f the Bible and include writings such as: New Testament Apcrypha Epistle f Pseud-Barnabas (70-79 AD) The Epistle t the Crinthians(96 AD)) The Gspel Accrding t Hebrews ( AD) The Epistle f Plycarp t the Philippians (108 AD) The Didache (Teaching f the Twelve) ( AD) The Seven Epistles f Ignatius (110 AD) Secnd Epistle f Clement ( AD) Shepard f Hermas ( AD) Apcalypse f Peter (150 AD) Epistle t the Ladiceans (4 th Century) Pseudepigrapha (False Writings) The Acts f Andrew The Apcalypse f Paul The Epistle f Judas Gspel f Peter Gspel f Thmas The Apcalypse f Paul The Acts f Thaddeus The Gspel f the Nativity f Mary The Gspel f Nicdemus (Giesler, 536) Sinatitucs manuscript used by the 1881 revisin cmmittee t crrect the KJV in ver 5,000 places cntains New Testament Apcraphal bks. Likewise, Cdex Vaticanus cntains Old Testament Apcrypha as part f the Old Testament text. Pastr Bryan Rss

5 5 Hmlgumena is the academic term used by church histrians t indicate the 27 New Testament bks that were accepted int the Cann f Scripture. Church traditin teaches that the Cann f was finalized at the Cuncil f Carthage in 397 AD. Bible believers shuld ut rightly reject this ntin. The Cuncil f Carthage was frced t recgnize what Gd had already established: 27 inspired bks. While the Old Testament was frmed int a cann and preserved by an fficial priestly class (Tribe f Levi) the New Testament knws n priesthd except the priesthd f all believers. Therefre, any bk written and preserved by New Testament Christians wuld be unfficial and subject t the universal acceptance f the bdy f Christ, apart frm any ecclesiastical tribunal r cuncil. Cnsequently, church histrians have inserted int the real histry f the early church the Cathlic fictin f an fficial guardian f the cann. (cleaned up frm Ruckman, 47) Bible Believers View f the Cann Since the church fathers qute the Hly Bible mre than 35,00 times (19,368 frm the Gspels alne), it is perfectly evident that the Bk was arund smewhere in the first three centuries f church histry. In fact, Syrian and Old Latin translatins cntaining the King James readings date frm between AD, 100 years befre the Cuncil f Carthage. (Ruckman, 41) What the Christians had between AD were nt the divinely inspired riginals frm the plenary verbal autgraphs. Rather they had preserved cpies f the riginals frm which the church fathers quted. (Ruckman, 50) Please cnsider the fllwing qutatin infrmatin frm the church fathers: Plycarp (69-155) Matthew, Luke, Jhn, Acts, 10 Epistles f Paul II Clement Matthew, Mark, Luke, Jhn, and shws familiarity with Acts, Revelatin, and 6 Pauline epistles Irenaeus ( ) Matthew, Mark, Luke, Jhn, Acts, 13 Pauline Epistles Clement f Alexandria ( ) Matthew, Mark, Luke, Jhn, Acts, Pauline Epistles, I Peter, I Jhn, Hebrews, Jude, James, and Revelatin. (Ruckman, 48) When these qutatins are cmbined with thse f Terullian we find all 27 New Testament bks in use befre 200 AD. With an Old Latin Versin being quted arund AD and an Old Syriac Versin being quted abut the same time. (Ruckman, 48) There can be n dubt abut the existence f the New Testament cann befre 200 AD. The Churches had it, used it, cpied it, and were already translating it int different languages. The 27 bks f the New Testament were prven t be the inspired wrds f the living Gd by virtue f their wn merit and the witness f their Authr (Hly Spirit) t thse wrds and thse wrds nly. Pastr Bryan Rss

6 6 When Gd set the natin f Israel aside the peple wh were respnsible fr the prtectin and preservatin f the Gd s Wrd changed. When Israel fell the jb f Preservatin passed frm the scribes f the tribe f Levi int the hands f the New Testament prphets. Ephesians 4:11 we knw that during the infancy stage f the Bdy f Christ, befre the Wrd f Gd was cmplete the gift f prphecy functined in the Bdy f Christ. Exdus 7:1 ne f the functins f a prphet in the Wrd f Gd is t be Gd s spkes persn. A prphet als cmmunicated Gd s Wrd t his audience. thus saith the Lrd. Fretelling means t predict the future. Frthelling means t deliver a message. I Crinthians 14:27-33 ne f the functins f the gift f prphecy served fr the bdy f Christ was t help identify what was Gd s wrd frm what was nt. This ne reasn why nce the wrd f Gd was cmplete the gift f prphecy passed away. Nrman Geisler ffers the fllwing helpful chart regarding the Cann Incrrect View f Cann Crrect View f Cann Church Determines Cann Church Discvers Cann Church Is Mther f Cann Church Is Child f Cann Church Is Magistrate f Cann Church Is Minister f Cann Church Regulates Cann Church Recgnizes Cann Church is Judge f Cann Church is Witness f Cann Church Is Master f Cann Church is Servant f Cann (Geisler, 530) Final Thughts Regarding the Cann When Paul wrte his last epistle Revelatin and Inspiratin ceased Clssians 1:25 Preservatin and Illuminatin f the Scriptures cntinues in ur day Psalm 12:6-7, I Crinthians 2:13 The New Testament prphets functining within the lcal churches identified Scripture frm nw nn-scripture. These prphets cntinued the prcess f preservatin thrugh the meticulus cpying f the manuscripts. By 200 AD the witness f Gd the Hly Spirit wrking thrugh the New Testament prphets and Bible believing Christians after them had identified the cntents f the Cann befre 150 AD. Pastr Bryan Rss

7 7 Wrks Cited Berct, David W. Dictinary f Early Christian Beliefs. Peabdy, MS: Hendricksn Publishers, Geisler, Nrman. Systematic Thelgy: Vlume One. Minneaplis, MN: Bethany Huse Publishers, Jnes, Timthy Paul. Christian Histry Made Easy. Trrance, CA: Rse Publishing, Nll, Mark A. Turning Pints: Decisive Mments in the Histry f Christianity. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Bks, Ruckman, Peter S. The Histry f the New Testament Church, Vl. I. Pensacla, FL: Bible Baptist Bkstre, Shelly, Bruce. Church Histry in Plan Language. Dallas, TX: Wrd Publishing, Pastr Bryan Rss