Wisdom of the Ages for the Challenges of Today

STUDY GUIDE

HOW WE GOT OUR BIBLE

Discerning What Is Scripture
The Bible contains four accounts of Jesus life, but Christians in
the first few centuries knew of at least fifty. Sorting out which
books were authoritative was sometimes a controversial process.

HOW WE GOT OUR BIBLE

Discerning What Is Scripture
Study Guide
Page 2
PREPARATION:

Read the following articles from the CHRISTIAN HISTORY issue How We Got Our
Bible:
Mavericks & Misfits, p. 8 of this study.
A Testament Is Born, p. 13 of this study.
Books that Almost Made It, p. 19 of this study.
Read the following Bible passages:
Matthew 19:14; 25:3146;
Luke 1:12;
John 14:2;
2 Corinthians 6:2;
2 Timothy 3:16; 4:13;
Revelation 1:11;
and if you have a Bible with the Old Testament Apocrypha, 2 Esdras 14:3747.
KEY QUESTION:

How do we know which religious writings to trust?

Muslims read the Quran. Jews read the Hebrew Scriptures (what Christians call
the Old Testament). Mormons read The Book of Mormon. Buddhists read the
Tipitaka. Hindus read the Bhagavad-Gita. Scientologists read L. Ron Hubbards
Dianetics. Millions of people revere works other than the Bible.
Christians say the only religious writing fully inspired by God is the Bible. But how
can we know that the Bible contains only inspired books?
To answer this question, we need to understand the selection process that
produced the Christian Bible. In this process (just as in the process that brought
the Israelites to the Promised Land and the Christ-Child to Bethlehem), humans
were clearly involved but sovereignly directed by God.
CLASS SESSION:

Opening:
(5 to 10 minutes)
Ask the group for a show of hands: How many of you do not own a Bible? How
many of you read the Bible this week? How many of you read the Bible today?
Based on that show of hands, you can probably conclude that the Bible plays an
amazingly influential role in the lives of the group. Then ask:
On a scale from 1 to 5 (1 being no knowledge, 5 being considerable knowledge),
how much do you feel you know about the history of the Bible?
This study on How We Got Our Bible begins with the most fundamental question
of all: Many religious writings were in use by Jews and Christians; how, when, and
why were certain ones included in the Bible we use today?

Historical Setting:
(15 to 20 minutes)

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Option A: Mini-lecture
Drawing on what youve read in preparation for this lesson, present the following
points:
The Old Testament
During the time of Jesus earthly ministry, most Jews in the Roman world
spoke Greek, instead of Hebrew, and used a Greek translation of the Hebrew
Scriptures called the Septuagint. (Septuagint means 70 from the legend that
there were 70 scholars who translated it). The Septuagint contained the Old
Testament Apocrypha, religious writings that eventually were dropped from
both Jewish and Protestant Bibles.

Scholars identify four major steps in the formation of the Old Testament.

Most books were first passed down orally.

Stories were later written into what became individual books. There was some
variation in the content of these books. For example, Jeremiah was longer in
some editions.

The books were collected and used in worship and teaching.

The canon, or list of accepted books, was set. Sometime before Christ, the Old
Testament was divided into three parts: the Law, the Prophets, and the
Writings. But even after Christ, questions remained about which books and
which versions of these books were sacred.

When Roman soldiers destroyed the Jewish temple in A.D. 70, the sacrificial
system of worship ended, and more than ever, the Jews became a people of the
Book. This made agreement on which books comprised the Word of God more
important than ever.

The Councils of Jamnia in 90 and 118 finalized the Jewish canon and rejected
the books now known as the Old Testament Apocrypha, most of which are still
in the Roman Catholic Bible.

Early Christians quoted some of the Old Testament Apocrypha as canonical.

But since the Reformation, Protestants have not treated these books as part of
the inspired Word of God.

The New Testament

The first Bible used by early Christians was the Septuagint, which was
translated before the canon was fixed and before the Old Testament Apocrypha
was removed. This was probably the Bible Paul spoke of when he told Timothy,
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting
and training in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16).

For Christians, Gods authority rested in the miraculous life, death, and
resurrection of Jesus as well as the Scriptures. The teachings of Jesus fulfilled
Old Testament prophecies of a coming Messiah and a New Covenant.

One of the Gospel writers may have used shorthand to record the words and
actions of Jesus. Matthew, as a customs official, may have been trained for this.
In keeping with the Jewish emphasis on preserving the teachings of rabbis, he
may have taken shorthand notes even as Jesus spoke (much as some
parishioners today take sermon notes).

There is indication that many Christians of the first generation wrote about
Jesus and his message. (Read aloud some of the biblical evidence: Luke 1:1-4; 2
Timothy 4:13; 2 Peter 3:1516; Revelation 1:11.)

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Study Guide
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Christians, like Jews, began to collect and preserve the writings that expressed
their faith. One surviving collection of Pauls writings may actually date to late
in the first century, during the lifetime of some first-generation Christians. The
three types of religious writings that emerged were: the Holy Scripture,
commentaries on the Scripture, and theological writings.

The process of finalizing the New Testament canon spanned several centuries.
Marcion, later judged as a heretic, suggested the first known canon, about a
century after Jesus.

Around A.D. 180, Irenaeus first suggested the four Gospels in the order we now
have them.

As Christians continued to write about their faith, the church was forced to sort
out divinely inspired books from popular Christian literature. Over time,
Christians began to put their greatest trust in the writings of the apostles. Books
thought to have been written by others were eventually eliminated from the
canon.

Athanasiuss Easter letter to all churches in 367 is the first record we have of the
27 texts that now make up the New Testament. Still, formal acceptance of the
New Testament canon did not come until the Council of Carthage in 397.

Since 397, in spite of certain scholarly attempts to add or exclude some books,
the 27 writings forming our New Testament have remained the measure by
which Christians evaluate all other religious teachings and writings.

Option B: Group Activity

Have three individuals or groups answer one question from Handout A on page 6,
Birth of a New Testament. For your convenience, the questions are listed here,
with possible comments you might add to the discussion.
Group 1
Scan: A Testament Is Born, pages 1318.
Answer: What were the major steps in the emergence of the New Testament?
(Many Christians of the first generation wrote about Jesus and his message. See,
for example, Luke 1:1-4; 2 Timothy 4:13; 2 Peter 3:15-16; Revelation 1:11.
Believers began to collect and preserve the writings. Around A.D. 180,
Irenaeus first suggested the four Gospels in the order we now have them. Over
time, Christians began to put their greatest trust in the writings of the
apostles. Books thought to have been written by others were eventually
eliminated from the canon. Athanasiuss Easter letter to all churches in 367 is
the first record we have of the 27 texts that now make up the New Testament.
Still, formal acceptance of the New Testament canon did not come until the
Council of Carthage in 397.)
Group 2
Read: The Marcion entry on page 8.
Answer: Why did Christians reject Marcions canon?
(Because Marcion rejected anything connected to the harsh, Creator God, who
was seen as completely different from the loving God revealed in Jesus. Thus,
Marcion cut out the Old Testament and references to it.)

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Study Guide
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Group 3
Read: Books that Almost Made It, pages 1921.
Answer: What excerpt suggests this book was inconsistent with the rest of the
Bible?
(The Shepherd of Hermas teaches there is no forgiveness of sins after baptism; in
other words, Christians should not sin, and if they do, they have but one
repentance.)

Application
(20 to 35 minutes)

Option A: Questions for Discussion

After learning more about the history of the Bibles formation, do you have
more or less confidence that the Bible is inspired by God? Why?

What would you say to someone who says, The Bible isnt reliable because of
the errors scribes introduced into the texts during the centuries of handcopying the manuscripts?
(See Bruce Metzgers response on page 39, in From the Apostles to You. The
New Testament has many more copies, and ones hundreds of years closer to the
originals, than other ancient works we trust without question.)

How would you answer someone who says that variations in those accounts
prove the Bible is untrustworthy?
(Possible parallel to suggest: Any four eyewitnesses to a car accident would
report details slightly differently, depending on the place from which they
observed the accident. With the Gospels, what is most remarkable is their
agreement.)

The Shepherd of Hermas, not in our New Testament, was considered Scripture
by second-century church leaders Irenaeus and Clement of Alexandria. On the
other hand, the Book of James in our New Testament was considered by Martin
Luther an epistle of straw in comparison with Pauls teaching on faith. Does
the fact that Christian leaders have disagreed over whether certain books
should be in the New Testament weaken its authority? Why not?
(Ideas to point out: Although there has been some disagreement over whether
certain books should be in the canon, there has been much more agreement over
the majority of books within it. Church leaders who were much closer to the
apostolic era than we discerned the documents that were essential to guiding
Christian belief. For nearly two millennia the New Testament has stood
unchanged, convincing people in each generation of its trustworthiness and
inspiration.)

Protestants and Catholics disagree on whether certain books belong in

Scripture. How would you respond to someone who uses that as evidence that
the Bible we read cannot be inspired?
(Even with their differences, the two groups hold 67 booksthe vast majority of
the canonin common. The essential teachings of Christian faith are not
affected by the books in question.)

What reasons would you give to a non-Christian friend who wants to know why
you have so much confidence in the Bible? Based on what weve learned about
the Bibles formation, what answers could you add?

Most people say they believe in God. Yet surveys show few read Gods Word
regularly. What reasons would you give a friend for reading the Bible?

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Study Guide
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Mormon writer Betty Eadie, in her best-seller Embraced by the Light, admits
that Jesus is the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me (John 14:6). But she says we can accept him after we die.
Would the Bible support or contradict her statement?
(The Bible teaches that our actions in this life determine our eternal destiny. See
Jesus Parable of the Sheep and Goats, Matt. 25:31-46; also see Heb. 9:27).

How would Christianity be different if we did not have a written authority to

determine such matters?

Option B: Charting the Other Scriptures

If the group would be interested in comparing the Bible to other writings claimed
to be inspired, draw the chart from Handout B (on page 7) on a flip chart,
chalkboard, or overhead transparency, or print copies of Handout B for your
group. Discuss the key differences between the various writings.

Closing
(5 minutes)
End the session with a prayer, perhaps based on this motto in a 1734 edition of the
Greek New Testament: Apply yourself totally to the text; apply the text totally
to yourself.

HOW WE GOT OUR BIBLE

Discerning What Is Scripture
Handout A
Page 7
HANDOUT A:

Birth of a New Testament

Group 1
Scan: A Testament Is Born, pages 1318.
Answer: What were the major steps in the emergence of the New Testament?

Group 2
Read: The Marcion entry on page 8.
Answer: Why did Christians reject Marcions canon?

Group 3
Read: Books that Almost Made It, pages 1921.
Answer: What excerpt suggests this book was inconsistent with the rest of the
Bible?

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Discerning What Is Scripture
Handout B
Page 8
HANDOUT B:

Writings Comparison Chart

The Book

The People

The Teaching

Quran

Muslims

God is one; we must submit to his will. Jesus is

esteemed, but only considered a prophet.

Book of Mormon

Mormons

Jesus death makes it possible for all human

beings to become gods (i.e., saved); God
himself evolved from a man; everyone will
enjoy one of three levels of glory.

New World
Translation of
the Holy
Scriptures

Jehovahs
Witnesses

God is one; Jesus is the greatest created being,

whose death redeemed us from original sin; the
millennium will be established in this
generation; those who live in strict obedience
to Jesus will be saved.

Vedas,
Upanished,
Bhagavad-Gita,
among others

Hindus

An eternal, infinite, all-embracing Ultimate

Reality undergirds all of life; it is expressed in a
multitude of gods (like Vishnu and Shiva). We
are reincarnated over and over until we break
free of this cycle by devotion and good works.

Tipitaka

Buddhists
(Theravadin)

Life is suffering and disappointment, brought

on by craving (or desire); lifes goal is to cease
craving and to practice compassion.

Divine Principle

The
Unification
Church

Gods rule will be established when the family

is restored; this has begun with the union of
Sun Myung Moon and his wife; they complete
the mission of Jesus, whose marriage was
thwarted by the crucifixion.

Dianetics

Scientologists

Written by science-fiction author L. Ron

Hubbard; painful experiences (engrams)
cause irrational behavior; therapy with an
auditor can clear the mind of the engrams.

Bible and
Science and
Health with Key
to the Scriptures

Christian
Scientists

Matter and evil are unreal; Jesus is the great

example of salvation, which means to cease
sinning and so be healed from sickness and
overcome death.

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Discerning What Is Scripture
Article: Mavericks & Misfits
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ARTICLE

Mavericks & Misfits

The key players in the history of the Bible havent necessarily been popularor
orthodox.
by STEPHEN M. MILLER

Marcion
(c. 85c. 160)
Catalyst for a New Testament
The reason Christians have 27 books in their New Testament, some scholars say, is
partly because early church leaders didnt like the 12 that Marcion had compiled.
They didnt care much for Marcion, either.
Famous bishop Polycarp called Marcion the firstborn of Satan. Justin Martyr
said this wealthy shipbuilder taught men to deny that God is the maker of all
things. Tertullian said he was more savage than the beasts of that barbarous
region where he grew up, in what is now northern Turkey.
The lowest blow, which many scholars discount, came from Hippolytus. He said
Marcion was excommunicated by his father for seducing a virgin. Then again, the
sect Marcion later established would baptize only believers who vowed to remain
celibate.
Marcion insisted on this because he said there were two Gods: the harsh, Creator
God of the Old Testament and the loving God revealed in Jesus. Procreation,
Marcion explained, was the idea of the Creator God, and Marcion wanted nothing
to do with him.
To further distance themselves from this God, Marcionites fasted and shunned
worldly goods. A fifth-century writer told of meeting a 90-year-old Marcionite who
washed every morning in his own spit so he could avoid using the water provided
by the Creator.
Marcion wrote Antithesis to convince people there were two Gods. He pointed out
that Jesus said, No good tree bears bad fruit (Luke 6:43). Meanwhile, though, the
Old Testament God openly admitted, I bring prosperity and create disaster
(Isaiah 45:7).
Some scholars estimate that by the time Marcion died, when his church was at its
peak of popularity, more than half of Christianity was under the sway of Marcionite
teaching.
Their Biblethe first New Testamentwas the one Marcion compiled after he
was excommunicated in A.D. 144, at the age of about 60.
Marcions Bible rejected the Old Testament with its heroes and prophets; they had
been deceived by the Creator, he believed. He also rejected all New Testament
references that suggested the Creator and the loving God were the same. In the
end, his Bible included only the Gospel of Luke and some letters of Paul.
Two hundred years later, the sect was nearly extinct. But it had prodded the church
to begin defining what Christians should believe and what books should be called
the Word of God.

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Origen
(c. 185c. 254)
Respected Bible scholaryet unorthodox teacher
When Origens father was beheaded during an intense persecution of Christians,
17-year-old Origen was ready to die as a martyr, too. But his mother hid his clothes
so he couldnt leave the house. Thus, she saved the life of a teenager who would
become the most respected Bible scholar of his day. His interpretation of Scripture
has influenced Christians throughout the ages, in spite of his being condemned by
the church about 300 years following his death.
After the Romans confiscated his familys estate in Alexandria, Egypt, it was up to
Origen to support his mother and eight younger brothers and sisters. Well
educated, he was able to earn money teaching religion to converts. His classes
became so popular, he had to hire an assistant.
Sometime during the 30 years he taught there, he reportedly had himself castrated
to curb suspicion about his teaching of women. Some historians say this shows
how literally he took Matthew 19:12, which speaks of men becoming eunuchs who
renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. Roman records tell of
other Christian men who embraced celibacy with such zeal.
Ironically, Origen is remembered as the early church theologian who preferred to
focus not on the literal meaning of the Bible but on its allegorical messages. Of
Christs cleansing of the temple, for example, Origen argued it never took place; he
said it was not the kind of thing Jesus would do. Instead, the story symbolized
Christ in the ongoing ministry of purging the church of corruption.
With the help of a team of trained word processors, Origen is said to have produced
a massive 6,000 works, few of which have survived. Stenographers copied his
sermons and lectures in shorthand, secretaries transcribed the notes, and
calligraphers produced elegant copies.
Though Origen wrote commentaries and the first known systematic theology, his
most famous work was Hexapla, a kind of study Bible of the Old Testament. It had
six parallel columns, one of the Scripture in Hebrew, and the other five of various
Greek translations.
Origen died soon after being released from prison, where he had been tortured for
his faith. Three hundred years later, the second Council of Constantinople (553)
attacked his followers and took issue with his unorthodox teachings: Jesus was not
as divine as the Father; people existed before being born into this life; Satan will
one day be saved; because of free will, creation may endure other falls from grace.
Yet in spite of the flaws in his understanding, Origen is remembered as a father of
Bible study.

Athanasius
(c. 296373)
Exiled defender of orthodoxy
Black Dwarf is what his enemies called him. And this short, dark-skinned
Egyptian bishop had plenty of enemiesenough to get him exiled five times by four
Roman emperors. And enough to keep him exiled, off and on, for 17 of the 45 years
he served as bishop of Alexandria.
These enemies were followers of Arius, who taught that Jesus was a created being,
not of the same substance of God nor equal with him. The church council at Nicea
in 325 condemned Arius as a heretic, exiled him, and made it a capital offense to

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possess his writings.
Three years later, the bishop of Alexandria, who had led the council, died, and
Athanasius was elected to replace him. He was so young that some resisted his
election, arguing he was not yet 30, the minimum age for the bishop who would
lead the churches of Egypt and Libya. But the majority recognized a maturity in the
man who, while still in his early 20s, had written a theological masterpiece about
the Incarnation.Within a few months of Athanasiuss election, supporters of Arius
talked Emperor Constantine into recalling Arius from exile and ordering
Athanasius to readmit him to the church.
Athanasius refused. The Christ-opposing heresy has no fellowship with the
catholic church, he said. Constantine chose not to force the issue, so the Arians
launched a barrage of personal attacks against Athanasius. Over the next several
years, Athanasius suffered through false charges that included murder, illegal
taxation, and sorcery. But it was the charge of treason that led Constantine to exile
him in 335. Athanasius was accused of preventing Egyptian grain ships from
sailing to the empires capital.
Constantine may have realized this charge was as false as the others, and he may
have simply decided to end the churchs squabbling and to get Athanasius out of
the line of fire. He banished the bishop to what is now Germany but was then the
kingdom of the emperors oldest son. In addition, Constantine refused to allow the
church to elect a new bishop.
Two years later, when the emperor died, Athanasius returned. But the Arian
movement had grown, and in 339, a majority of church leaders voted to depose
him again, and Athanasius fled to Rome. This time he was replaced.
Though he would return in 346, he would face three more exiles in his life. He was
about 70 when he came home for the last time.
In his first year back, in 367, he wrote perhaps the most important document of his
77-year life. This was his annual letter to the church. In it was a list of Christian
books he said were inspired of God. Christians had long debated which books
should make up the New Testament, but Athanasiuss list of 27 writings marks the
first time a church leader identified the very books Christians today call the New
Testament.

Erasmus
(c. 14691536)
Anti-Protestant who helped start the Reformation
Desiderius Erasmus was the illegitimate son of a Dutch priest. He grew to become
a reluctant cleric who, after the death of his parents, was forced into a monastery.
He stayed long enough to be ordained a priest by about age 23, in the same year
Columbus sailed for the New World. Erasmus, though, would explore biblical and
theological worlds that would change history.
Erasmus soon grew to hate monastery lifethe rigid rules and the closed-minded,
intolerant theologians. He wanted to travel, to gain some academic elbow room.
But he also wanted to remain an Augustinian.
A French bishop offered him a way out, taking him on as his Latin secretary, then
helping fund his theological studies in Paris. From there Erasmus began a career of
writing and traveling that took him to most of the countries of Europe. Though he
often complained of poor health, he seemed driven by a desire to seek out the best

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theological minds of the day.
It was this that drew him to England six times, in spite of what he described as the
islands bad beer, barbarism, and inhospitable weather. There John Colet and
others inspired him to learn the Greek language, in which the New Testament was
written.
The result was his most memorable work: the Greek New Testament, published in
the year 1516. Accompanying it were study notes as well as his own Latin
translationa more accurate version than Jeromes earlier Latin Vulgate.
In the preface, Erasmus said he undertook the project so everyone might read the
Bible. Would that these were translated into each and every language. . . . Would
that the farmer might sing snatches of Scripture at his plough, that the weaver
might hum phrases of Scripture to the tune of his shuttle.
In fact, Erasmuss translation became a primary source for Martin Luthers
German translation six years later, and William Tyndales English translation three
years after that.
Erasmus also wrote The Praise of Folly, a book that criticized the church and
encouraged Luther and others to do the same. Erasmus initially supported Luther
but backed away when he saw the church begin to split. I am not so mad, he
wrote to Pope Leo X, as to fly in the face of the Vicar of Christ.
Of the bickering and intolerance on both sides, Erasmus wrote to Luther, Had I
not seen it, nay, felt it myself, I should never have believed anyone who said
theologians could become so insane.
His decision not to join the Protestants, coupled with his unwillingness to
voraciously attack them, produced enemies on both sides. Five years before his
death, he wrote, Men of learning who were once warmly attached to me, and old
friends, are the most dangerous of foes.
In those final years, he found comfort in solitude and study. The evening of his
death, at about age 67, he repeated the plea, Mercy, O Jesus, Lord deliver me.
Lord make an end, Lord have mercy on me. He had arranged for his goods to be
distributed to the poor and to students who showed promise.

Jerome
(c. 342420)
Greatest translator ever?
Jerome was a brilliant, temperamental, determined, irascible scholar. He was also
probably the most learned man of his age.
His parents, wealthy Christians, sent him to Rome to be educated. There Jerome
became an accomplished classical scholar with an insatiable passion for learning.
He traveled throughout the Roman empire, eventually becoming a member of an
ascetic community in Italy.
Then Jerome, desiring to become a hermit, moved to the desert of Syria, where he
had a startling dream. In it, Christ scourged him and accused him, You are a
Ciceronian, and not a Christian! Jerome vowed to put away pagan authors like
Cicero and to focus on Christian truth. For the next three years, he lived as a hermit
in the desert, fasting, studying, and learning Hebrew.
Jerome returned to Rome when he was in his forties, becoming the theological
adviser and secretary to Pope Damasus. However, as one historian put it, He

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detested most of the Romans and did not apologize for detesting them. He lashed
out against the immorality and corruption of the imperial city in general and of
clerics in particular: The only thought of such men is their clothesare they
pleasantly perfumed, do their shoes fit smoothly?
As for taking great pride in their beards, he wrote, If there is any holiness in a
beard, nobody is holier than a goat!
Yet in Rome he also began his greatest service to the church of Christtranslating
the Bible into everyday Latin (later to be called the Vulgate, meaning common).
Though there were Latin versions available, they varied widely in accuracy and
readability, so Pope Damasus instructed Jerome to revise current translations of
the Gospels and the Psalms.
When Damasus died in 386, Jerome moved to Bethlehem, where he and a wealthy
woman named Paulina established two monastic communities, one for men and
another for women. Away from the politics and turmoil of Roman life, Jerome
lived the monastic life he so relished and devoted himself to study and translation
work, which by now had gone beyond his original commission.
Jerome believed that ignorance of the Scripture was ignorance of Christ. He
exhorted, Make knowledge of the Scripture your love and you will not love the
views of the flesh.
CITATION

How We Got Our Bible: CHRISTIAN HISTORY, Issue 43 (Carol Stream, IL:
Christianity Today, Inc., 1997).
Used with Permission

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Article: A Testament Is Born
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ARTICLE

A Testament Is Born
Could Matthew take shorthand?and other intriguing reasons the New
Testament may have emerged surprisingly early.
by CARSTEN PETER THIEDE

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger (John
8:6).
Here, in the story of the adulteress, we learn that Jesus knew how to write. But
Jesus was a teacher, not a writerit was left to others to write down what he said.
Yet literacy was something Jesus could take for granted. The ability to write
fluently and intelligibly was widespread in ancient Israel, almost as widespread as
the ability to memorize long and complicated texts.
In other words, Jesus could count on this: among his followers there would be a
number of people capable not only of memorizing what he said, but also of writing
it down.
Furthermore, Jesus and the people around him could use more than one language.
Aramaic was commonly used in daily life, Hebrew in religious life, particularly in
worship and the reading of Scripture (e.g., Luke 4:1630).
But people were aware of a third language, that of the eastern Roman Empire:
Greek. Recent investigations have shown that even orthodox Jews used Greek in
everyday dealings with each otherwe see it, for instance, in tombstone
inscriptions and in handwritten notes passed between defenders of the Masada
fortress.
Jesus himself used Greek: in the dialogue with the Greek-speaking Syrian
Phoenician woman (Mark 7:2430), and in the dispute about paying taxes to
Caesar (Mark 12:1317), which relies on a wordplay that works only in Greek.
But (and this is a fairly recent insight of scholarship) the first stages of a literary
tradition may have been instantaneous with Jesus ministryand they could have
been surprisingly precise. Shorthand writing (tachygraphy) was known in Israel
and in the Greco-Roman world. We find a first trace of it in the Greek translation
of Psalm 45:1 (third century B.C.): My tongue is the pen of a skillful writer
literally, a stenographer.
Such a skill was highly necessary. Writing material was scarce: leather or
parchment was highly priced; papyrus was dependent on import. Writers often
were forced to use pot shards or wax tablets, which had limited room for detailed
texts. Shorthand writing was the most practical remedy.
There was even a man among Jesus entourage who was professionally qualified to
write shorthand: Levi-Matthew, the customs official. Indeed, if Levi-Matthew
had heard the Sermon on the Mount before he was called by Jesus (and could
react so swiftly to this call because he had already been convinced by that
sermon), one may have in Matthew 5 through 7 a direct result of a shorthand
protocol.
Whatever the exact reconstruction of the earliest stages may be, we do know from
the prologue to Lukes Gospel that there were more literary sources he could use
than just the completed Gospels of Matthew and Mark: Many have undertaken to
draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they
were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and
servants of the word (Luke 1:12).

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In sum, though there exist theological theories about the long and slow
development of the Gospels in certain ancient communities, some historical
evidence suggests the first followers of Jesus may have handed down his teaching
in written form.

Christian Libraries
Early Christians soon gathered such writings. They were profoundly interested in
the literary world. Occasionally, they talk about it with humor: Jesus did many
other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even
the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written (John
21:25). Or they ask for writing material: When you come, bring the cloak that I left
with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments (2 Tim. 4:13). Or
they are seen in the process of writing: Write on a scroll what you see and send it
to the seven churches (Rev. 1:11).
So well acquainted were they with a literary tradition, literature was used in
symbolic ways: The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up . . . (Rev. 6:14).
This advanced interest in writing had an obvious consequence: texts had to be
collected in archives and libraries, and even in stores from which copies could be
ordered and supplied. Christians from a Jewish background would have known the
collected scrolls of the Torah, the Prophets, the Psalms, and so forth. Those of
Greco-Roman background would have known the collections of philosophers and
poets like Aratus, Cleanthes, Menander, Euripides, and others, to which Paul
alludes in his letters and speeches.
The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls helps us to understand how Jews and Jewish
Christians organized their libraries.
There were three types of books: copies of Holy Scripture (what we now call the
Old Testament), commentaries on Scripture, and theological writings.
For Christians, the first Scriptures they thrived on were the Law and the Prophets.
These were copied and distributed since they provided the sources for one vital
ingredient of the Christian message: the suffering and redemption of Jesus the
Messiah had been predicted many centuries earlier.

Collected Letters
But how should Christians interpret these sources? How should they put them into
practice? How should they integrate them into the life and teachings of Jesus?
Interpretation, first of all, was given in major speecheslike those of Peter at
Pentecost, and those of Stephen and Paulcollected and edited by Luke in the
Acts of the Apostles, the sequel to his Gospel.
More important, there were the letters, all of which in one way or another interpret
Old Testament stories, people, and prophecies. Some of themlike Pauls letter to
the Romans, the anonymous letter to the Hebrews, or the two letters of Peter and
the letter of Judedepend on a good knowledge of the Old Testament and other
Jewish texts.
Early Christian letters, in fact, were the first documents distributed as collections.
We find a trace of this in the New Testament itself. At the end of Peters second
letter, we read, Bear in mind that our Lords patience means salvation, just as our
dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the
same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. The statement
presupposes a collection of Pauls letters, though not necessarily a complete

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collection.
Some recent scholarship has begun to redate 2 Peter to the lifetime of Peter
(rather than regard it as a second-century work of one of Peters disciples);
following that dating, an initial collection of letters would have existed in the midsixties of the first century. That makes sense: Pauls surviving letters had all been
written by then.
A few years ago, Young-Kyu Kim, a papyrologist at Gttingen University,
demonstrated, I think conclusively, that p46 (an early collection of Pauls letters)
should no longer be dated about A.D. 200, as it has commonly been. Instead, Kim
showed, with a variety of evidence, that it should be dated to the late first century
in other words, to the lifetime of people like John and other survivors of the first
Christian generation.

The Final Four

And the Gospels? Again, more can be said today than a few years ago. Martin
Hengel of Tbingen University, one of the worlds leading New Testament scholars,
provided some new insights into the process of collecting the Gospels.
Look at a modern book on a library shelfyou glean the authors name from the
spine. In New Testament times, there were no spines, since books existed in scrolls.
No matter how these scrolls were stored, you would merely see the top end, with
a handle. In order to identify the contents, little parchment or leather strips (called
sittiboi) were attached to the handle.
Since space was scarce, if there existed just one book on a given subject, only the
title would be given. For the Gospels, as long as there was only one, the sittibos
would have said, Evangelion, that is Good News, or Good News of Jesus Christ.
But the very moment a second Gospel came into existence, differentiation became
necessary; the first and the second Gospel would have carried the name of the
authorsaccording to Mark, according to Matthew, and so on.
Thus, long before the end of the first century, there wasof necessitya systematic
approach to identifying the authors and cataloguing their works.
By the beginning of the second century, the number of the Gospels and the names
of their authors were therefore well established. Our first literary source is Papias,
writing at about A.D. 110. None of the later so-called gospels existed yetneither
the Gospel of Thomas, nor that of Nicodemus, of James, nor whomever. Papias
knows and accepts the earliest Gospels, and he gives us some anecdotal
information about their authors.
For instance, he calls Mark stubble-fingeredwhat on earth does that mean?
What does he mean when he tells us that Mark was the hermeneutes of Peter?
Interpreter? Translator? Editor? The word could mean all three.
Or what does it mean when Papias writes that Matthew compiled the logia
(sayings) of Jesus en hebraidi dialecto (in Hebrew/Aramaic dialect)? In
Hebrew/Aramaic style but in the Greek language? Could he have known about
Levi-Matthews shorthand notes of Jesus public addresses (i.e., logia)?
The brief quotes from Papiass works leave many a question unanswered. The gist
of it, however, remains: Papias of Hierapolis knew about a collection of Gospels as
early as the beginning of the second centuryand this implies the existence of such
a collection at an even earlier stage. In other words, he appears to corroborate what
we now know about Pauls letters from the redating of that papyrus codex p46.

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Some seventy years later, about 180, Irenaeus offers one other item that has
stimulated scholarly debate. He gives for the first time the order of the four
Gospels as we have it today: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. In addition, he tells
us that Marks Gospel was written after the exodus of Peter and Paul.
This word has been used as a tool for dating the Gospel; for if exodus means
death, as the majority of critics have assumed, then A.D. 67, the probable date of
Pauls and Peters martyrdoms, would be the earliest possible date for Mark.
Exodus, however, can also mean departureas in the title of the second book of
the Old Testament. Does Irenaeus imply a departure of Peter and Paul from Rome
some time before their eventual return and martyrdom?
Only a couple of years ago, an American scholar, E. Earle Ellis, provided an
important part of the answer. He analyzed every single work of Irenaeus, and he
discovered that Irenaeus never uses exodus when he means death. For death,
he always employs the unequivocal Greek word thanatos. Thus, Marks Gospel was
probably written not after the deaths of Peter and Paul but after their departure
from Romesome time before.

Other New Testaments

Much like today, early Christians had their favorite texts, and occasionally, letters
or even whole Gospels remained unused in certain regions. Second Peter, for
example, was read almost exclusively in its target area, northern Asia Minor.
Clement of Rome, writing in about A.D. 96 (perhaps several decades earlier) is the
first known author to have quoted from this letter. Communities elsewhere in the
Roman Empire had not even heard of it, let alone read it initially. When it finally
reached them, some uttered doubts about its apostolic authorship. (However,
Origen, the third-century theologian and philologist, stated that Peter had
proclaimed the gospel of Christ on the twin trumpets of his two letters.)
Or take Marks Gospelit may, in all likelihood, have been the first full Gospel ever
completed. But Matthews longer, story-and-speech Gospel soon became more
popular, and thus we know of more manuscript fragments of Matthew than of
Mark.
It isnt surprising, then, that some people began collecting and arranging Christian
writings in peculiar ways. A man called Marcion arrived in Rome in about A.D. 140
and developed a pseudo-Christian idea of God and Christ. That led him to exclude
those early apostolic writings that highlighted the physical resurrection of Christ
and the Jewish roots of Christianity. In the end, all he accepted was a severely
condensed version of Luke (without the Nativity scenes and the detailed
Resurrection appearances), and ten of Pauls letters. Soon enough, he and his
followers were condemned as heretics, and their movement eventually petered out.

Narrowing the List

Marcion, however misguided, did force the church to consider more formally
which books should make up the New Testament.
In this process, the church never gave in to the temptation to harmonize the
documents. The four Gospelswith their different emphases, narratives, speeches
were seen not as an embarrassing multitude but as complementary, as the Godgiven fullness of reports by human beings with their individualities. They were
never seen, as Marcion saw them, as contradictory, and therefore in need of
editing.

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To give another example: early Christians were perceptive enough to notice that
the letter of Jude had taken over large chunks from 2 Peter (or vice-versa). But they
were also intelligent enough to realize that this provided an insight into the way
letters were used and applied during the first generations.
Nor was Martin Luther the first to notice that Paul, with his emphasis on faith,
appeared to see things in a different light from James, who stresses the importance
of works. The early Christians preferred to see these themes as complementary.
Unity in diversitythis may be a description of the yardstick applied to the
collection that grew into our New Testament.
But where to end? How extensive should that diverse collection finally be? Which
books and letters should be used in services? In particular, what about such
writings as the second-century Didache, or the Letter of Barnabas, the Shepherd of
Hermas, or the two letters to the Corinthians once attributed to Clement of Rome?
Eusebius of Caesarea, writing at the beginning of the fourth century, surveyed the
state of things. He pretty much confirmed the contents of a fragmentary list from
about A.D. 200, a list called Canon Muratori. Eusebius says that some texts are
still under debate in some churchesthe letters of James and Jude, the second
letter of Peter, the second and third letters of John, and Revelation. Though he
does not share such doubts himself, he is adamant that the Shepherd of Hermas,
the Apocalypse of Peter, the Acts of Paul, the Letter of Barnabas and the Didache
are not genuine, that is, not of truly apostolic origin.
A few decades after Eusebius, the Codex Vaticanus, a Greek volume of both Old
and New Testaments, contained the complete New Testament as we have it today;
but only slightly later, Codex Sinaiticus still included the Letter of Barnabas and
the Shepherd of Hermas. Later still, toward the end of the fourth century, the
Codex Alexandrinus excluded the Shepherd and Barnabas, but had the two letters
of Clement instead.
In other words, even major, official codices, expensive to make and therefore
produced with at least regional authority, continued to show a certain degree of
freedom of choice beyond the agreed core of the 27 writings. It was an individual
who finally helped clarify things.

Unshakable Consensus
In 367, Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, used the opportunity of his annual
Easter Festal Letter (a letter to all the churches and monasteries under his
jurisdiction) to explain what the Old Testament and New Testament should consist
of. In terms of the New Testament, he listed the same 27 texts we have today, and
he wrote, These are the springs of salvation, so that anyone who is thirsty may be
satisfied with the messages contained in them. Only in them is the teaching of true
religion proclaimed as the Good News. Let no one add to these or take anything
away from them.
Athanasius then says that the Shepherd of Hermas and the Teaching of the
Apostles (the Didache) are indeed not included in the canon. He does say,
however, that they are helpful reading for new converts.
Athanasiuss list did not settle the matter everywhere. In the West, variations
remained possible, and as we have seen, a codex like Alexandrinus could, decades
after the Festal Letter, happily include two letters the bishop did not even mention.
But by the early 400s, the consensus of tradition was more or less established.
In a letter in 414, Jerome appears to accept the New Testament books listed by

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Athanasiusa list that corresponds to todays New Testament. But Jerome thinks
the Letter of Barnabas should also be included, since the author was the
companion of Paul and an apostle. But, and this is important, while agreeing to
differ, Jerome accepted what had come to be the consensus. In other words,
Jerome confirms that by the beginning of the fifth century, the canon of the New
Testament had achieved a kind of solemn, unshakable status; it could not be
altered, even if one had different opinions.
Since Jeromes time, the canon of our New Testament has been approved by
history, tradition, and worship. In spite of some scholarly attempts to exclude or
add some books, these 27 books have remained a non-negotiable nucleus of
Christianity worldwide.
CITATION

How We Got Our Bible: CHRISTIAN HISTORY, Issue 43 (Carol Stream, IL:
Christianity Today, Inc., 1997).
Used with Permission

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Article: Books that Almost Made It
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ARTICLE

Books that Almost Made It

Excerpts from two popular writings that some wanted to include in the New
Testament

The Shepherd of Hermas

In this picturesque allegory, a shepherd (Jesus) gives strict moral guidance
through visions, mandates, and similitudes to a man named Hermas. The
former slave-turned-businessman wrote it between 90 and 157 in Rome. It was
used as a textbook for new believers and was considered Scripture by Irenaeus (c.
130c. 200) and Clement of Alexandria (c. 150c. 215).

The Gift of Repentance

I asked [the shepherd], Because my sins are abundant, what must I do to live?
You shall live, he said, if you keep my commandments and walk in them.
Whosoever shall hear and keep these commandments shall live before God.
I must continue to question, I said. Some teachers say that there is no second
repentance beyond what was granted when we were blessed in the water of
baptism and received remission for our previous sins.
He replied, That is so; for he who has received remission for former sins ought
never to sin again but live in purity. Since you never cease asking about such
things, I will explain more without excusing those who already believe in the Lord.
Those who believe now, and those who shall believe in the future, need no
repentance of sins, since they have remission of their former sin.
For those who were called before these days the Lord granted repentance. The
Lord knows the heart, and knowing all things beforehand, he knows the weakness
of man and the wiles of the Devil, who throws mischief at the doors of Gods
servants. Because the Lord is merciful, he granted mercy to his creation and
offered repentance.
But after the Lord established this holy gift, and a man be tempted by the Devil, he
has but one repentance. It is unprofitable, therefore, for such a man to sin and
repent repeatedly, for scarcely shall he live.
I said, When I heard this truth, I attained life, for I know that if I do not add again
to my sins I shall be saved.
You will be saved, he answered, and so shall all who accept Gods gift.

Angel of Righteousness
Understand, said he, that two angels accompany man, one of righteousness and
one of wickedness.
How then, said I, shall I know their working since both angels dwell with me?
Listen, he replied, and do not wander. The angel of righteousness is delicate,
modest, meek, and gentle. When he enters your heart, he speaks to you of purity,
reverence, self-control, and virtue. When these things come into your heart and
good deeds flow from them, you know that the angel of righteousness is within you.
Now observe the works of the angel of wickedness: he is ill-tempered, bitter, and
foolish, and his evil deeds cast down the servants of God.

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Then I said, I do not know how to detect him.
You wander again, he replied. Listen: when ill temper and bitterness come over
you, then you know that he is in you. When the lust for renown, feasting on heavy
luxuries, a desire of women, covetousness, haughtiness, and similar urges come
into your heart, know that the angel of wickedness has slid into you. When you feel
this, shake him out and cast him off. His deeds are unprofitable for those who
would live to God.
You now have the workings of both angels to think upon. Believe the angel of
righteousness and resist the angel of wickedness. His teaching brings great evil
even to small things. . . This commandment opens the ways of faith to grant you to
believe with your whole heart in the works of righteousness, and by doing them,
live to God.

The Gospel of Thomas

Though this book was popular in certain Christian quarters, the early church
fathers were unanimous in rejecting it. Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 260c. 340) said
it should be cast aside as absurd and impious because its style and content
clearly show it not to be apostolic. The Gospel is a mixture of authentic sayings
of Jesus and Gnostic teachings, which emphasize secret knowledge, conveyed
by startling paradoxes, which only the saved will understand.
These are the secret sayings which the living, Jesus spoke and which Didymos
Judas Thomas wrote down.
And he said, Whoever find the interpretation of these sayings will not experience
death.
Jesus said, Let him who seeks continue seeking until he finds. When he finds, he
will become troubled. When he becomes troubled, he will be astonished, and he
will rule over the all.
And he said, The man is like a wise fisherman who cast his net into the sea and
drew it up from the sea full of small fish. Among them the wise fisherman found a
fine, large fish. He threw all the small fish back into the sea and chose the large fish
without difficulty. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.
Jesus saw infants being suckled. He said to his disciples, These infants being
suckled are like those who enter the kingdom.
They said to him, Shall we, then, as children enter the kingdom?
Jesus said to them, When you make the two one; and when you make the inside
like the outside and the outside like the inside, and the above like the below, and
when you make the male and the female one and the same, so that the male not be
male nor the female female; and when you fashion eyes in place of an eye, and a
hand in place of a hand, and a foot in place of a foot, and a likeness in place of a
likeness; then will you enter [the kingdom].
Jesus said, If they say to you, Where did you come from? say to them, We came
from the light, the place where the light came into being on its own accord and
established [itself] and became manifest through their image. If they say to you, Is
it you? say, We are its children, and we are the elect of the living father. If they
ask you, What is the sign of your father in you? say to them, It is movement and
repose.
Jesus said, Whoever has come to understand the world has found (only) a corpse,

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and whoever has found a corpse is superior to the world.
Jesus said, If one who knows the all still feels a personal deficiency, he is
completely deficient.
Jesus said, The kingdom of the [father] is like a certain woman who was carrying a
[jar] full of meal.
While she was walking [on the] road, still some distance from home, the handle of
the jar broke and the meal emptied out behind her [on] the road. She did not
realize it; she had noticed no accident. When she reached her house, she set the jar
down and found it empty.
His disciples said to him, When will the kingdom come?
[Jesus said,] It will not come by waiting for it. It will not be a matter of saying
here it is or there it is. Rather, the kingdom of the father is spread out upon the
earth, and men do not see it. Simon Peter said to them, Let Mary leave us, for
women are not worthy of life.
Jesus said, I myself shall lead her in order to make her male, so that she too may
become a living spirit resembling you males. For every woman who will make
herself male will enter the kingdom of heaven.
From The Nag Hammadi Library in English, edited by James M. Robinson,
1988 by E. J. Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands. Reprinted by arrangement with
Harper San Francisco, a division of Harper Collins Publishers.
CITATION

How We Got Our Bible: CHRISTIAN HISTORY, Issue 43, pages 3031 (Carol Stream,
IL: Christianity Today, Inc., 1997).
Used with Permission