Unit 1 Class Dicussion New Testament

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Introduction to the New Testament

Bethel University

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Must 250 words or more and at least 2 references one from the book and one from the bethel university library. Everything must be own words. There will be 2 attachments one is the discussion and the other one is the reading for the questions.

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The New Testament Church did not begin nor grow in a cultural vacuum. There are many factors as to why the Christian church grew rapidly during the First Century AD. Consider the following cultural and historical realities existing in the world at that time and discuss how each might have fostered the growth of the church and the writing of the New Testament: 1. The Jewish Persecution (such as that by Saul of Tarsus) of the Church in Jerusalem (Acts 7 9) 2. The use of Koine Greek as the "lingua franca" (universal language) of 1st Century world trade, commerce, and communication 3. The political and military dominance of the Roman Empire - the Pax Romana (Roman Peace) of the 1st Century AD 4. Well Constructed and developed trade and travel routes throughout the known world Eighth Edition W I L L I S , K A S S A N D R A 2 1 6 1 T S The New Testament A Student’s Introduction Stephen L. Harris har19138_ch01_001-022.indd Page 1 06/01/14 3:37 PM user /204/MH02032/har19138_disk1of1/0078119138/har19138_pagefiles part one An Invitation to the New W Testament I L L I S , K A S S A N D R A 2 1 6 1 T S har19138_ch01_001-022.indd Page 2 11/01/14 7:02 PM user /204/MH02032/har19138_disk1of1/0078119138/har19138_pagefiles chap te r 1 An Overview of theWNew Testament I L Christ. Mark 1:1* Here begins the Gospel of Jesus L I S (revelation). The early Christian Key Topics/Themes A collection of twenty-seven ,apocalypse community produced a host of other writings as Greek documents that early Christians appended to a Greek edition of the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament), the New Testament includes four Gospels, a church history, letters, and an People read the New Testament for an almost infinite variety of reasons. Some read to satisfy their curiosity about the origins of one of the great world religions. They seek to learn more about the social and historical roots of Christianity, a faith that began in the early days of the Roman Empire and that today commands the allegiance of more than 2 billion people, approximately a third of the global population. Because Christianity bases its most characteristic beliefs on the New Testament writings, it is to this source that the historian and social scientist must turn for information about the religion’s birth and early development. Most people, however, probably read the New Testament for more personal reasons. Many readers search its pages for answers to life’s important ethical and religious questions. For hundreds of millions of Christians, the New Testament sets the only acceptable standards of *Unless otherwise noted, all New Testament quotations are from the New English Bible (New York: Oxford University Press, 1976); (see Chapter 2, p. 36). 2 well, which scholars also study to understand the diverse nature of the Jesus movement as it Kspread throughout the Greco-Roman world. A Spersonal belief and behavior (see Box 1.1). SReaders attempt to discover authoritative counon issues that modern science or speculative Asel philosophy cannot resolve, such as the nature Nof God, the fate of the soul after death, and the Dultimate destiny of humankind. Jesus of Nazareth, the central character of Rthe New Testament, provides many people with Athe most compelling reason to read the book. As presented by the Gospel writers, he is like no other figure in history. His teachings and pro2nouncements have an unequaled power and authority. As an itinerant Jewish prophet, healer, 1and teacher in early-first-century Palestine, the 6historical Jesus—in terms of the larger GrecoRoman world around him—lived a relatively ob1scure life and died a criminal’s death at the hands Tof Roman executioners. His followers’ conviction he subsequently rose from the grave and apSthat peared to them launched a vital new faith that eventually swept the Roman Empire. In little more than three centuries after Jesus’ death, Christianity became Rome’s official state religion. har19138_ch01_001-022.indd Page 3 06/01/14 3:37 PM user /204/MH02032/har19138_disk1of1/0078119138/har19138_pagefiles ch apter 1 an overview of th e new tes tam ent 3 b o x 1 .1 The New Testament: A Relatively Modern Artifact A printed, bound copy of the New Testament that readers can hold in their hands is a relatively modern development. Until the fourth century ce, the New Testament did not even exist as a coherent entity—a single volume containing the twenty-seven books in its now-familiar table of contents. Before then, believers, and even church leaders, had access to individual Gospels or subcollections, such as compilations of Paul’s letters, but not to a comprehensive edition of the entire text. Even after Rome made Christianity the state religion and imperial patronage encouraged the production of an official Christian Scripture, New Testaments were extremely rare. Not only were manuscript copies prohibitively expensive, but the vast majority of people in the Roman Empire could W neither read nor write. It was not until the printing press was invented in the fifteenth century ce, perI mitting the eventual mass production of Bibles, that L the New Testament as we know it came into being. L Clearly, the New Testament authors present I Jesus as much more than an ordinary man. The S Gospel of John portrays him as the human expression of divine Wisdom, the Word of God , made flesh. Jesus’ teaching about the eternal world of spirit is thus definitive, for he is depicted as having descended from heaven to earth to reveal ultimate truth. About 300 years after Jesus’ crucifixion, Christian leaders assembled at the town of Nicaea in Asia Minor to decree that Jesus is not only the Son of God but God himself. Given the uniquely high status that orthodox Christianity accords the person of Jesus, the New Testament accounts of his life have extraordinary value. Jesus’ words recorded in the Gospels are seen not merely as the utterances of a preeminently wise teacher but also as the declarations of the Being who created and sustains the universe. The hope of encountering “God’s thoughts,” of discovering otherwise unattainable knowledge of unseen realities, gives many believers a powerful incentive for studying the New Testament. K A S S A N D R A 2 1 6 What Is the New 1 Testament? T S When asked to define the New Testament, many students respond with such traditional phrases as “the Word of God” or “Holy Scripture.” These responses are really confessions of faith that the Christian writings are qualitatively different from ordinary books. Some students express surprise that non-Christian religions also have scriptures—documents that these groups consider sacred and authoritative (having the power to command belief and prescribe behavior). In fact, many other world religions possess holy books that their adherents believe to represent a divine revelation to humankind. Hindus cherish the Vedas, the Upanishads, and the Bhagavadgita; Buddhists venerate the recorded teachings of Buddha, the “enlightened one”; and followers of Islam (meaning “submission” [to the will of Allah]) revere the Quran (Koran) as transmitting the one true faith. Ideally, we approach all sacred writings with a willingness to appreciate the religious insights they offer and to recognize their connection with the cultural and historical context out of which they grew. Given the historical fact that the New Testament was written by and for believers in Jesus’ divinity, many readers tend to approach it as they do no other work of ancient literature. Whether or not they are practicing Christians, students commonly bring to the New Testament attitudes and assumptions very different from those they employ when reading other works of antiquity. The student usually has little trouble bringing an open or neutral mind to exploring stories about the Greek and Roman gods. One can read Homer’s Iliad, an epic poem celebrating the Greek heroes of the Trojan War, without har19138_ch01_001-022.indd Page 4 06/01/14 3:37 PM user 4 p a r t o n e a n in v it a t io n t o th e new tes tam ent any particular emotional involvement with the Homeric gods. However, this objective attitude toward supernatural beings is rare among persons studying the New Testament. To be fair to the New Testament, we will want to study it with the same open-mindedness we grant to the writings of any world religion. This call for objectivity is a challenge to all of us, for we live in a culture that defines its highest values largely in terms of the Judeo-Christian tradition. We can most fully appreciate the New Testament if we begin by recognizing that it developed in, and partly in reaction to, a society profoundly different from our own. To a great extent, the New Testament is the literary product of a dynamic encounter between two strikingly different cultures of antiquity—the Jewish and the Greek. A creative synthesis of these two traditions, early Christianity originated in a thoroughly Jewish environment. But in the decades following Jesus’ death, Christianity spread to the larger Greekspeaking world, where it eventually assumed the dominant form that has been transmitted to us. The Jewish world of Jesus and his first disciples was centered in Palestine, an area at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea now partly occupied by the modern state of Israel (see Figure 1.1). According to the biblical Book of Genesis, God had awarded this territory—the Promised Land—to his chosen people, the Jews.* In Jesus’ day (the first third of the first century ce†), however, the land was ruled by Rome, the capital of a vast empire that surrounded the entire Mediterranean basin, from France and Spain in western Europe to Egypt in northeast Africa and Syria-Palestine in western Asia (see Figure 1.2). As a Palestinian Jew, Jesus experienced the tension that then existed between his fellow Jews and their often-resented Roman overlords * Jew, a term originally designating the inhabitants of Judea, the area surrounding Jerusalem, also includes all members of the covenant community living outside Palestine. † /204/MH02032/har19138_disk1of1/0078119138/har19138_pagefiles ce (the Common Era), a religiously neutral term used by Jews, Christians, Muslims, and others, is synonymous with the traditional ad, initials representing anno domini, Latin for “in the year of the Lord.” bce (before the Common Era) corresponds to bc (before Christ). (see Chapters 5–10 for discussions of Gospel references to Jewish-Roman relations). Although many students automatically ascribe their own (twenty-first-century North American) values and attitudes to Jesus’ world, it is important to recognize that, even today, inhabitants of the eastern Mediterranean region do not view life as Americans typically do. In the Mediterranean’s agrarian, conservative W peasant society, old ideas, values, and praccontrast sharply with those in the West’s Itices technologically sophisticated democracies. LTwo thousand years ago, the degree of Ldifference—social, religious, and political— was even greater, a fact that must be considIered when studying the Gospel accounts of SJesus’ interaction with Palestinian villagers and Roman officials. The more we learn about ,first-century Palestinian-Jewish and GrecoRoman customs, social institutions, and religious beliefs, the better we will understand both KJesus and the writers who interpreted him to AGreek-speaking audiences (see Chapters 3–5). S S The New Testament and A the Hebrew Bible N DBefore considering the second great historical influence on the creation of the New RTestament—Greek thought and culture—it is Ahelpful to describe what the New Testament is and how it relates to the older Jewish Scriptures, the Hebrew Bible (so called because it was origi2nally composed in the Hebrew language, with a few later books in a related tongue, Aramaic; see 1Boxes 1.2 and 1.3). Basically, the New Testament 6is a collection of twenty-seven Christian documents, written in Greek and added as a supple1ment to a Greek edition of the Hebrew Bible Tknown as the Septuagint (see below). The Bible, therefore, consists of two unSChristian equal parts: the longer, more literarily diverse Hebrew Bible (which Christians call the Old Testament), and a shorter anthology of Christian writings (the New Testament). Bound together, har19138_ch01_001-022.indd Page 5 06/01/14 3:37 PM user /204/MH02032/har19138_disk1of1/0078119138/har19138_pagefiles ch apter 1 an overview of th e new tes tam ent M Leo nte T. L IBA sR NU iv S er Sidon Damascus MT .H E Sarepta Tyre RM ON Caesarea Philippi PA N UL AT H IT NI S IA CI A MEDITERRANEAN AEA UR A W GAU LA NI TI I Chorazin S Ptolemais E E Capernaum L I Chabulon L Bethsaida-Julius LA Sea G Gergesa of Cana Magdala M Galilee L Tiberias Hippos Sepphoris Nazareth Gabae Ki I Gadara sho nR S Nain MT. TABOR Caesarea , Ginea PH NA TA BA SEA Jordan R. OE Lake Semechonitis EA Plain of Gennesaret C T. L ME AR er D iv DEA D SEA Jordan River SHA AI PL Gaza Jorda Ar n o n R i ve I S Ascalon L Azotus O Jamnia P Lydda R E A P E N O F A K Shechem ASychar S A MSA R I A S A Jericho Emmaus NBethphage Bethany Beyond Jordan Jerusalem DBethany Qumran Bethlehem R Machaerus J U D A E A A Hebron Samaria Sebaste MT. GERIZIM Joppa C RON E Pella r 2 U 1 D I 6 1 figure 1.1 Palestine at the time of Jesus (early first century ce). Located at the eastern margin of T the Mediterranean Sea, this region promised to Abraham’s descendants was then controlled by Rome (see Figure 1.2). S Raphia M A E A Masada 0 0 10 10 20 20 30 Kilometers 30 Miles 5 ATLANTIC OCEAN ICS AR LE A B r ve Ri Damascus SYRIA RED SEA Petra Sea of Galilee Eu p tes Ti g ARMENIA Dead Sea Hebron Masada Map inset Jerusalem JUDEA Map of the Roman Empire (c. 30 bce). By the reign of Augustus (30 bce–14 ce), the Roman Empire controlled most of the known world. 500 Kilometers SAHARA AEGYPTUS Caesarea Joppa CYPRUS N ile figu re 1.2 250 500 Miles LIBYA Alexandria CRETE E Capernaum ILE Jerusalem Jericho Bethlehem Bethany Pergamum CAPPADOCIA PHRYGIA Ephesus Iconium Lystra Athens Derbe Colossae ICI A PISIDIA I L Tarsus C RHODES Antioch CYRENAICA Cyrene S E A Corinth Caesarea Ctesiphon Seleucia Riv er ARABIAN DESERT a hr 0 AF RIC A Roman Empire under Augustus NOR TH Timgad Carthage ACHAIA MYSIA K S EA W I L L I S , r 250 E D AC G Nazareth AL ve Ri 0 M BL Byzantium THRACE NIA EDO Philippi AC M MOESIA DACIA 20 Mi. 20 Km. A SE N 0 0 r is Gades R I T SICILY E R Syracuse R A A I N A N E T RE A N NUMIDIA AU M 2 1 6 1 T S RE Brundisium Rome Capua ITALIA Arretium I ON N N PA IL L Ravenna Y K A S S A N D R A NEA SARDINIA e R iver NORICUM nub M A CISALPINE GAUL RAE Da A TI U P RS Lyons Cologne GERMANIA IS NS NE O Massilia B AR CORSICA N GAUL BELGIUM Rhine Riv e A IC HISPANIA FAR TH E R SP AI N BRITANNIA IN ER IT ED M RA N EA D r JU Jord an River 6 EA NORTH SEA har19138_ch01_001-022.indd Page 6 06/01/14 3:37 PM user /204/MH02032/har19138_disk1of1/0078119138/har19138_pagefiles p a r t o n e a n in v it a t io n t o th e new tes tam ent har19138_ch01_001-022.indd Page 7 06/01/14 3:37 PM user /204/MH02032/har19138_disk1of1/0078119138/har19138_pagefiles ch apter 1 an overview of th e new tes tam ent 7 bo x 1 .2 Hebrew Bible and Apocrypha torah writings Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Psalms Job Proverbs Ruth Song of Solomon Ecclesiastes Lamentations Esther Daniel Ezra-Nehemiah Chronicles (1 and 2) prophets Former Prophets Joshua Judges Samuel (1 and 2) Kings (1 and 2) Latter Prophets Isaiah Jeremiah Ezekiel The Twelve (Minor Prophets) Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi the two testaments form the Christian Bible. Bible, a term derived from the word biblia (meaning “little books”), is an appropriate title because this two-part volume is really a compilation of many different books composed over a time span exceeding 1,100 years. In considering early Christians’ use of the Hebrew Bible, however, we must remember that the Jewish Scriptures did not then exist as an easily accessible bound volume. At the time of Jesus and the early church, the Hebrew Bible existed only as a collection of separate scrolls W I L L I S , K A S S A N D R A 2 1 6 1 T S deuterocanonical books (apocrypha) 1 Esdras 2 Esdras Tobit Judith The rest of the chapters of the Book of Esther The Wisdom of Solomon Ecclesiasticus, or the Wisdom of Jesus Son of Sirah Baruch A Letter of Jeremiah The Song of the Three Daniel and Susanna Daniel, Bel, and the Snake The Prayer of Manasseh 1 Maccabees 2 Maccabees (see Chapter 2). Few Jews or early Christians owned copies of biblical books or read them privately. Instead, most Jews and Jewish Christians only heard passages from the Mosaic Torah or prophetic books read aloud at religious services in the local synagogue or at a Christian house church. If at the latter, they likely heard the Scriptures read not in the original Hebrew but in Greek translation. That the early Christian movement appropriated the Hebrew Bible, which had been created by and for the Jewish community, is har19138_ch01_001-022.indd Page 8 06/01/14 3:37 PM user 8 /204/MH02032/har19138_disk1of1/0078119138/har19138_pagefiles p a r t o n e a n in v it a t io n t o th e new tes tam ent bo x 1 .3 Organization of the Hebrew and Christian Greek Scriptures The contents of the New Testament are arranged in a way that approximates the order of the Hebrew Bible, which is also called the Tanakh, a term whose consonants represent the three principal divisions of the Hebrew Scriptures: the Torah (Mosaic Law or instruction), the Nevi’im (Prophets), and the Kethuvim (Writings). old covenant (testament) new covenant (testament) T Torah (five books of Moses) A N Nevi’im (Prophets) Histories of Joshua-Kings Books of the Prophets A K Kethuvim (Writings) H Books of poetry, wisdom, and an apocalypse (Daniel) extremely significant. Believers who accepted Jesus as the Jewish Messiah (Anointed One, a term applied to all of Israel’s kings; see Chapter 3) looked to the Jewish Scriptures—the only written religious authority for both Jews and early Christians—to find evidence supporting their convictions. When New Testament authors refer to “Scripture” or “the Law and the Prophets” (cf. Luke 24:27, 32), they mean the Hebrew Bible, albeit in a Greek (Septuagint) edition. In composing their diverse portraits of Jesus, the Gospel writers consistently clothed the historical figure in images and ideas taken from the Hebrew Bible. In Matthew’s Gospel, for example, virtually every word or action of Jesus is interpreted in terms of ancient biblical prophecy (see Chapter 8). Testament and Covenant The very term New Testament is intimately connected with the Hebrew Bible. In biblical usage, testament is a near synonym for covenant, which refers to an agreement, contract, vow, or bond. To appreciate the New Testament concept of the W IFour Gospels (story of Jesus) L of Acts (church history) LBook Letters of Paul and other church leaders I S Book of Hebrews, catholic epistles, and an ,apocalypse (Revelation) K Abond between God and humanity, we must exthe Hebrew Bible’s story of God’s relationSamine ship with Israel, the ancient Near Eastern people Swith whom the Deity forged a binding covenant, them his exclusive partner. Exodus, the Amaking second book of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), reNcounts the solemn ceremony in which the DIsraelites conclude their central covenant with Yahweh (the sacred name of Israel’s God) (Exod. R19–20; 24). Under the terms of the Mosaic ACovenant (so called because the Israelite leader Moses acts as mediator between Yahweh and his chosen people), the Israelites swear to uphold all 2the laws and commandments that Yahweh enjoins upon them. These legal injunctions are 1contained in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, 6Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Together with the Book of Genesis, which serves as an introduc1tion to the framing of the Mosaic Covenant, this Tsection of the Hebrew Bible is known as the (see Figures 1.3 and 1.4). Meaning “law,” STorah “teaching,” or “instruction,” the Torah is also referred to as the Pentateuch (a Greek term for the first five books of the Bible, Genesis through Deuteronomy). According to Mark’s Gospel, har19138_ch01_001-022.indd Page 9 06/01/14 3:37 PM user /204/MH02032/har19138_disk1of1/0078119138/har19138_pagefiles ch apter 1 an overview of th e new tes tam ent 9 W I L L I S , K A S S A N D R A 2 1 6 when Jesus is asked to state Israel’s most essential teaching, he cites Torah commands to love God 1 and neighbor (see Mark 12; cf. Deut. 6:4–5 and T Lev. 19:18). S According to stipulations of the Mosaic figure 1.3 A page from John’s Gospel in the Codex Sinaiticus. The oldest complete copy of the New Testament, the Codex Sinaiticus was produced about 330–350 ce. Covenant, Yahweh’s vow to protect Israel is contingent upon the people’s faithfulness in keeping Yahweh’s instructions; failure to obey the more than 600 covenant laws will result in Israel’s destruction (Deut. 28–29; see Box 3.1). Some of Israel’s later prophets concluded that the people had been so disobedient that Yahweh eventually rescinded his covenant vow, abandoning Israel to its enemies. Writing about 600 years before the time of Jesus, the prophet Jeremiah promised that Yahweh would replace har19138_ch01_001-022.indd Page 10 06/01/14 3:37 PM user 10 /204/MH02032/har19138_disk1of1/0078119138/har19138_pagefiles p a r t o n e a n in v it a t io n t o th e new tes tam ent figure 1.4 A Torah scroll. Copies of the Mosaic Torah are kept in every Jewish temple or synagogue. This elegant manuscript is approximately one-third the size of the standard Torah scroll. W I L L I S , the old Mosaic agreement with a “new covenant [testament]” (Jer. 31:31). The Gospel writers believed that Jesus had instituted the promised New Covenant at the Last Supper he held with his disciples. “And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying Drink ye all of it: For this is my blood of the new testament . . .” (Matt. 26:27–28, King James Version). The adjective new, not present in the earliest manuscripts, was added to emphasize the change in God’s relationship with humankind. (Most modern English translations, including the New Revised Standard Version, the New Jerusalem Bible, and the Revised English Bible, omit the interpolated K A S S A N D R A“new” and use “covenant” instead of “testament” in this passage.) Believing themselves to be the people of the New Covenant that Jesus inaugu2rated the night before his death, Christians eventually called their collection of Gospels, 1letters, and other sacred writings the New 6Testament. Although the Hebrew Bible, which dealt with the older Mosaic Covenant, became 1known as the Old Testament, many scholars Tsuggest that it would be more appropriate to call the First Testament. Because Christians beSitlieved that the covenants and promises made to Israel were fulfilled in Jesus, they retained their Greek version of the Hebrew Bible as authoritative and suitable for religious instruction. har19138_ch01_001-022.indd Page 11 06/01/14 3:37 PM user /204/MH02032/har19138_disk1of1/0078119138/har19138_pagefiles ch apter 1 an overview of th e new tes tam ent The Septuagint Although New Testament writers regarded the Hebrew Bible as their principal source for documenting their claim that Jesus was Israel’s prophesied Messiah, they did not quote from the original Hebrew text. Instead, they used a popular Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible that had been produced for Greek-speaking Jews who lived in Alexandria, Egypt, then one of the world’s largest centers of literary and scientific research. Beginning about 250 bce with a rendition of the Pentateuch into Greek, the Septuagint grew in discrete stages as historical, prophetic, and other books were added over time. According to a tradition preserved in the Letter of Aristeas, however, the Septuagint was almost miraculously produced. In the Aristeas account, which most scholars believe to be legend, the Septuagint was the work of seventy-two Hebrew scholars (divided into twelve groups of six) who labored seventytwo days to create a set of identical translations, their remarkable agreement signifying divine guidance in the project. Abbreviated in informal usage to “the work of the seventy,” the Septuagint (represented by the roman numeral LXX) became the standard biblical text for Jews throughout the Greco-Roman world and is the version quoted most frequently in the New Testament. Language and Literature of the New Testament Koine- Greek The New Testament was written in the same kind of koine- (common) Greek as the Septuagint. The most widely spoken language of the early Christian era, koine- became the dominant tongue of the eastern Mediterranean region after the conquests of Alexander the Great (356–323 bce; see Chapter 4). Although less polished and elegant than the classical Greek of the great Athenian poets and philosophers, 11 koine- was then spoken by so large a percentage of the population that it communicated far more effectively than Hebrew or Latin. Major Contributors to the New Testament Most of the New Testament’s twenty-seven books were composed during the half-century W between about 50 and 100 ce, although a few not appear until the early decades of the I did second century ce (see Box 1.4). The oldest L surviving Christian documents are the letters of L Paul, a Greek-educated Jew who wrote the first—and by far the most influential— I interpretations of Jesus’ death on the cross. For S Paul, Jesus’ humiliating execution by Roman soldiers was not a historical accident, but an , essential event in God’s plan for reconciling humanity to its Creator. Written between about 50 and 62 ce, Paul’s letters to newly- founded K congregations in Greece, Italy, and Asia Minor A (modern Turkey) were highly controversial the time of their composition. Paul, who S at claimed that he received his unique “gospel” S directly from the risen Jesus (Gal. 1:11–12), that God had graciously extended his A argued covenant to people of all nationalities. In Paul’s N view, moreover, Gentiles (non-Jews) did not D have to obey Torah requirements, such as circumcision and dietary laws—a claim that R seemed too radical for many believers. As A Gentiles flocked in ever-increasing numbers to the church, however, Paul’s innovative doctrines not only prevailed but eventually became 2 central to mainstream Christianity. Paul’s legacy greatly influenced Christian 1 editors who assembled the New Testament 6 books. His genuine letters, as well as several that were ascribed to him by later Pauline disci1 ples (see Chapter 17), constitute about a third T of the New Testament. In addition, an idealized of Paul dominates the second half of S portrayal the Book of Acts, a selective account of the early church. Composed by the same author, the Gospel of Luke and Acts together make up another third of the New Testament collection. har19138_ch01_001-022.indd Page 12 06/01/14 3:37 PM user 12 /204/MH02032/har19138_disk1of1/0078119138/har19138_pagefiles p a r t o n e a n in v it a t io n t o th e new tes tam ent b o x 1.4 New Testament Books: Approximate Order of Composition approx. date (ce) title of book author c. 50 1 Thessalonians 2 Thess. (if by Paul) 1 and 2 Corinthians Galatians Romans W Colossians (if by Paul) I Philippians L Philemon Gospel of Mark Paul c. 54–55 c. 56 c. 56–57 c. 61 c. 61 c. 62 c. 66–70 L Paul Paul Paul Paul Paul Paul Anonymous 66–73 Jewish War Against I Rome: Destruction of Jerusalem and Temple c. 80–85 c. 85–90 c. 85–95 c. 95 c. 95–100 c. 100–110 c. 110–130 c. 130–150 Gospel of Matthew S Gospel of Luke, Book of Acts Hebrews, 1 Peter,,Ephesians, James Revelation (the Apocalypse) Gospel of John 1, 2, and 3 John K 1 and 2 Timothy, A Titus Jude, 2 Peter Anonymous Anonymous Anonymous/Pseudonymous* John of Patmos Anonymous Anonymous Pseudonymous Pseudonymous S *Pseudonymity—the literary practice, common among S ancient Greco-Roman, Jewish, and early Christian writers, of composing books in the name of a famous religious figure of the past. A N D If we also add the Gospel of John and the three The Supreme Importance of Jesus letters (1, 2, and 3 John) that originated in R To an incalculable extent, every book in the colthe same distinctive community, it’s apparent A lection is a celebration of Jesus’ significance: He that a relatively small group of writers collectively produced about three-fourths of the New Testament’s total length. Although these few authors—Paul, Paul’s disciples, the compiler of Luke-Acts, and the author of the literature ascribed to John—effectively define the Christian revelation, other writers also made important contributions. Certainly the author of the Gospel ascribed to Matthew, which contains the fullest collection of Jesus’ teachings, had a major impact on Christian thought. Revelation, brimming with mystical imagery of angels and dragons, has never ceased to capture the Christian imagination. is not only the chief agent of human salvation also a figure of cosmic dimensions. Regarding 2but Jesus’ life and teachings as the culmination of 1God’s revelation to humankind, the author of Hebrews asserts that Jesus is absolutely unique: 6 1 T S When in former times God spoke to our forefathers [in the Hebrew Bible], he spoke in fragmentary and varied fashion through the prophets. But in this the final age, he has spoken to us in the Son whom he has made heir to the whole universe, and through whom he created all orders of existence. (Heb. 1:1–2) har19138_ch01_001-022.indd Page 13 06/01/14 3:37 PM user /204/MH02032/har19138_disk1of1/0078119138/har19138_pagefiles ch apter 1 an overview of th e new tes tam ent From the Christian perspective, Jesus is the heir to all God’s promises to Israel, intrinsically superior to any previous biblical figure or angelic member of the heavenly court. Only he is essential to God’s creative process and only he perfectly expresses the divine nature: “The Son,” Hebrews declares, “is the effulgence of God’s splendor and the stamp of God’s very being, and sustains the universe by his word of power” (1:3). Despite his present exalted status, however, the human Jesus validated his position as divine son through painful testing. Submitting fully to God’s will, “son though he was, he learned obedience in the school of suffering, and, once perfected, became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him” (Heb. 5:7–10). Obedient unto death, Jesus posthumously ascended to heaven, where he is now seated “at the right hand of Majesty on high, raised as far above the angels, as the title he has inherited is superior to theirs [other members of the celestial assembly]” (Heb. 1:3–4). According to Hebrews’ author, to Jesus alone has God declared: “Thou art my Son; today I have begotten thee” (Heb. 1:5), a statement that was traditionally spoken at the coronation of Israel’s kings when they were ceremonially adopted as God’s sons (Ps. 2:7; see the discussion of Israel’s Messiah in Chapter 3). Jesus’ central position in the New Testament is affirmed from the first book in the collection, the Gospel of Matthew, to the last, John’s visions of the cosmic Christ in Revelation. Matthew opens his Gospel with a genealogy showing Jesus’ descent from great figures of the Hebrew Bible, including Abraham, traditional progenitor of the Jewish people, and David, the ruler of Israel to whom God promised an eternal line of kings. In recounting the story of Jesus’ birth, Matthew introduces an astronomical image that reappears—with major changes—in Revelation and that imparts a cosmic frame to the entire New Testament collection. In Matthew, a mysterious star leads foreign astrologers to visit Jesus’ birthplace, inadvertently inciting King Herod’s attempt to kill the child (Matt. 2:1–12). In Revelation’s description of 13 the risen Jesus, the once vulnerable infant has become a gigantic figure dominating the sky and holding a vast constellation of stars in one hand (Rev. 1:8–2:1). Editors thus gave the New Testament a linear narrative structure that begins with Matthew’s endangered child and closes with visions of a future new creation ruled by that same Jesus, now transformed into ruler of the universe. W I New Testament Literary Forms L The New Testament contains several different genres (categories) of literature, although it L has considerably less variety than the Hebrew I Bible. Early Christian editors arranged the contents not in chronological order according to S dates of composition, but according to the doc, uments’ literary classification, beginning with the Gospels and ending with the Book of Revelation. K A S S A N D R A 2 1 6 1 T S The Gospels The only literary category that early Christians invented, the English word “Gospel” translates the Greek evangelion, meaning “good news.” Designed to proclaim the “good news” about Jesus, the Gospels tell the story of Jesus’ ministry, death, and resurrection. The term Evangelist refers to the writer of an evangelion (Gospel). In the Greek-speaking world of New Testament times, evangelion commonly was used to denote public proclamations about the Roman emperor. The emperor’s military victories, welfare policies, and elevation to the status of a god were typical examples of Roman “good news” to be “evangelized” (see the discussion of the imperial ruler cult in Chapter 5). Paul uses evangelion to describe his message about salvation through faith in Jesus. Matthew also employs it to denote Jesus’ oral teachings (Matt. 4:23; 9:35; 24:14; 26:13). To distinguish gospel, an oral message, from Gospel, a literary work about Jesus, we will capitalize the term when it refers to the written Gospel form. By definition, a Gospel must involve the deeds and/or words of Jesus. Although all four New Testament Gospels are narratives—they har19138_ch01_001-022.indd Page 14 06/01/14 3:37 PM user 14 /204/MH02032/har19138_disk1of1/0078119138/har19138_pagefiles p a r t o n e a n in v it a t io n t o th e new tes tam ent tell a story—about Jesus’ actions and teachings, early Christians also produced Gospels, such as the Gospel of Thomas, that include only Jesus’ sayings. Recovered in 1945 from the desert sands of Egypt, the Gospel of Thomas, among many other early Christian writings, is not accepted among the New Testament’s officially recognized books (see the discussion of canon in Chapter 2). Although they present Jesus’ activities in ostensibly chronological order, the Gospels are not real biographies in the modern sense. They do not attempt to present a complete life of Jesus or to explain what forces—social, psychological, cultural, historical, or political—caused him to become the kind of man he was. Only two of the Gospels—Matthew and Luke—include traditions about Jesus’ birth and infancy. None gives even a scrap of information about his formative years, education, friendships, or other experiences that modern historians would regard as essential. Luke recounts a single incident of Jesus’ youth, a pilgrimage from his hometown of Nazareth to Jerusalem, Judaism’s holy city (Luke 2:22–40). But the Gospels tell us nothing about what happened to Jesus between the ages of twelve and “about thirty” (Luke 3:23), when he suddenly appears at the River Jordan for baptism. All four concentrate exclusively on the last phase of Jesus’ life, the period of his public ministry when his teachings both attracted devoted followers and created bitter enemies. In all four Gospel accounts, only the final week of Jesus’ human existence is related in detail—the events leading up to and including his arrest, trial, and execution by the Romans. The significance of Jesus’ suffering and death (known as the Passion) is the central concern of each Evangelist. Even the Fourth Gospel (John), which includes a longer version of Jesus’ public career than any other, devotes nearly half of its narrative to retelling the story of Jesus’ last few days on earth. Observing this emphasis of the Evangelists, New Testament scholars have described the Gospel form as a Passion narrative with a long introduction. All incidents in Jesus’ life leading up to his crucifixion are rigorously subordinated to the climactic circumstances of his death. The Gospels’ form and content are shaped not by purely historical or biographical considerations, but by their respective authors’ theological viewpoints. Combining the Greek theos (God) with logos (word or logical analysis), theology means “a study of God.” It is a religious discipline involving the study of God’s nature, will, and activity among humankind. The theoW logian typically defines and interprets systems of that express a religion’s essential worldIbelief view. The Gospel writers are theologians, and Llike all New Testament authors, the Evangelists Lwrite primarily to voice their individual understanding of Jesus’ religious or theological Isignificance. S By placing four different versions of Jesus’ story at the head of the New Testament collec,tion, Christian editors not only highlighted the diverse ways in which Jesus could be interpreted acceptably by four different Christian writers Kbut also affirmed the supreme importance of AJesus’ achievement. The order of contents thus the primacy of Jesus’ story, the four Semphasizes Gospels together forming a composite foundaStion document for the Christian religion. No how influential the writings that appear Amatter later, such as Paul’s letters with their innovative Ndeclaration that salvations comes to Jew and DGentile alike through faith in Christ, they must always be weighed against the initial presentaRtions of what Jesus said and did. A An Account of the Early Church To a large extent, the books that follow the Gospels either 2explore the consequences of Jesus’ life and death or offer interpretative meditations on 1their meaning. A continuation of Luke’s Gospel, 6the Book of Acts portrays Jesus’ followers carrying on his work, directed by the same divine 1Spirit that had animated Jesus. Opening with a Tbrief description of the resurrected Jesus’ asto heaven and ending with Paul’s Scension preaching activity in Rome, Acts narrates a series of crucial episodes in Christianity’s early development, covering the years from about 30 to 60 ce. har19138_ch01_001-022.indd Page 15 06/01/14 3:37 PM user /204/MH02032/har19138_disk1of1/0078119138/har19138_pagefiles ch apter 1 an overview of th e new tes tam ent Letters Whereas Acts gives a theological overview of Christianity’s rapid expansion in the Roman Empire, the New Testament’s twenty-one letters (some of which are actually sermons or tracts) offer close-up views of individual Christian communities and their difficulties in trying to follow Jesus in a sometimes hostile world. Letters by (or attributed to) Paul form a major unit of the collection. Written before the Gospels appeared, the authentic Pauline letters vividly reflect the struggle for unity of thought and purpose taking place in the Greek-speaking congregations that Paul served. The miscellaneous documents comprising the final part of the New Testament echo the hopes and troubles of widely scattered churches in the late first and early second centuries ce, a period well after that of Paul’s missionary tours. Whereas the Book of Hebrews is anonymous, the seven short works known as the catholic epistles are ascribed to early leaders in the original Jerusalem church, the apostles Peter and John and two of Jesus’ kinsmen, James and Jude. Although several of the epistles were not accorded undisputed scriptural status until the late fourth century, they express the postapostolic church’s ongoing anxieties, particularly the problems raised by false teachers and the inexplicable delay in Jesus’ promised return (see Chapter 18). An Apocalypse The Book of Revelation represents the fourth and final literary category in the Christian Scriptures. The title Revelation translates the Greek noun apokalypsis, which means an “uncovering” or “unveiling.” Like other apocalyptic literature, Revelation features visions of an unseen world inhabited by spirit creatures both good and evil. It highlights the cosmic struggle between God and Satan, a conflict involving both heaven and earth that ultimately sees evil defeated, God’s kingdom triumphant, and the creation of a new earth and heaven (Rev. 12; 16; 20–21). Revelation’s message is urgent, demanding that believers hold firm in the faith because, like Paul, the author of Mark’s Gospel, and 15 other apocalyptic writers, the author believes that the universal war he envisions is about to begin. This climactic event “must shortly happen” because Jesus is “coming soon” (Rev. 1:1, 3; 12:12; 22:7, 11, 12). Apocalyptic ideas played an extremely important role in early Christian thought and dominate many passages in the New Testament. As we study the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ W preaching, we will find numerous apocalyptic commonly involving eschatology. I concepts, Derived from two Greek phrases—to eschaton L (referring to the world’s end) and ho logos L (meaning “study of”)—eschatology refers to beliefs about events occurring at the End of I time. On a personal level, eschatology involves S momentous events at the end of an individual’s life: death, posthumous judgment, heaven, , hell, and resurrection. On a more general level, it relates to developments that culminate in the End of human society and history as we K know them. Although the twenty-seven documents comA posing the New Testament generally fit into S one of four broad literary genres, most also conS tain a number of subgenres. The Gospels, for include not only biographical narraA example, tives about Jesus but also such disparate forms N as genealogies, parables, aphorisms, confrontaD tion stories, miracle stories, prayers, reconstructions of conversations, and, in the case of John’s R Gospel, long metaphysical discourses. The Book A of Acts similarly incorporates public speeches, private dialogues, anecdotes about individual figures, and perhaps even excerpts from a diary 2 or travel journal. Some documents grouped in the third 1 section—the Pauline letters and catholic 6 epistles—are technically not forms of correspondence. Except for its opening phrases, 1 the Book of James is more like a collection of T traditional wisdom sayings than a letter. The of Hebrews is actually an elaborate serS Book mon, whereas 1 John and Jude resemble tracts directed against opponents who were (or had been) part of their respective authors’ religious communities. har19138_ch01_001-022.indd Page 16 06/01/14 3:37 PM user 16 /204/MH02032/har19138_disk1of1/0078119138/har19138_pagefiles p a r t o n e a n in v it a t io n t o th e new tes tam ent Diversity and Unity in the New Testament Documents The New Testament’s variety of literary genres is paralleled by the diversity of its authors’ thoughts. Whereas all canonical writers are unified in their conviction of Jesus’ supreme value, they respond to his life and teachings in significantly different ways. Modern scholarship has increasingly come to realize that early Christians not only were an ethnically and theologically diverse group but also produced a literature—including the New Testament books—reflecting that diversity. Scholars such as Raymond E. Brown and James D. G. Dunn (see “Recommended Reading”) have explored the intellectual, social, and theological forces operating in—and in some cases dividing—different early Christian communities. Paul’s genuine letters, written to largely Gentile (non-Jewish) congregations between about 50 and 62 ce, advocate a Christian’s total freedom from the “bondage” of Mosaic Law. In contrast, the Gospel of Matthew, probably composed in Antioch for Jews converted to Christianity, promotes continuing obedience to the Mosaic heritage. A third group, which emphasized the unique divinity of Jesus, issued the Gospel of John as its foundation document. That community, based on the teachings of “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” later split into factions debating the question of Jesus’ physical humanity, a division reflected in the letters of 1 and 2 John. After Paul’s death, a variety of writers claimed his authority for their particular group. While one Pauline school created the Book of Ephesians, updating Paul’s thought to deal with new issues and situations, another composed the Letters to Timothy and Titus, promulgating church structure, administrative authority, and the power of received tradition (see Chapter 17). Whereas these pseudo-Pauline works were eventually accepted into the New Testament, others also attributed to the apostle, such as the apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla, were not. After Roman armies destroyed Jerusalem in 70 ce—and along with it Christianity’s parent church (see Chapters 2 and 5)—New Testament writers differed in their attitude toward the secular government. Although he generally adopts a policy of cooperation with Roman authorities, the author of Luke-Acts also reveals that missionaries’ preaching often provoked riots and other disturbances in many Greco-Roman cities, causing serious problems for public officials (see chapter l2). The fiery visionary who wrote Revelation rejects the imperial system altoW gether and predicts its imminent destruction (see Chapter l9). I L Other Early Christian L Literature I S In addition to the twenty-seven documents ,comprised in the New Testament, the early Christian community produced a large number of other writings, most of which are in the same Kliterary genres as the New Testament books— AGospels, letters, and acts of the apostles (see 1.5). Some of these works, once included SBox in church lists of “recognized books” along with Sfamiliar New Testament titles, are as old as or than many documents that Christians Aolder eventually included in their bibles. No one Nknows why some documents were accepted by Dthe early churches and others were not. Paul wrote letters other than those now in the New RTestament (1 Cor. 5:9–11); we cannot be sure Athat their exclusion was the result of their being destroyed or otherwise lost. Specific works may have been accepted or rejected primarily be2cause of their relative usefulness in supporting what was later regarded as orthodoxy—“correct 1teaching” promoted by church leaders. 6 Although many early Christian writings have disappeared and are known only by title, enough 1remain to indicate that the early Christian comTmunity was extremely diverse and created a literthat expressed that diversity. Rather than a Sature monolithic organization in which all members embraced a single “true faith,” Christianity, for the first three centuries of its existence, interpreted Jesus in a variety of ways. Whereas some har19138_ch01_001-022.indd Page 17 06/01/14 3:37 PM user /204/MH02032/har19138_disk1of1/0078119138/har19138_pagefiles ch apter 1 an overview of th e new tes tam ent 17 b o x 1 .5 Selected List of Early Christian Gospels, Apocalypses, and Other Writings Not Included in the New Testament The Gospel of Judas The Gospel of the Egyptians The Gospel of the Hebrews The Gospel of the Nazoreans The Gospel of the Ebionites The Infancy Gospel of Thomas (complete) Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 840 works formerly appearing in some new testament lists The Epistle of Barnabas (attributed to Paul’s Jewish-Christian mentor) The Didache (supposedly a summary of the Twelve Apostles’ teachings on the opposing ways leading to life or death) 1 Clement (a letter by the third bishop of Rome to the Corinthians) The Apocalypse of Peter (visions of heaven and hell ascribed to Peter) The Shepherd of Hermas (a mystical apocalyptic work) gospels possibly preserving some of jesus’ teachings or other historical information about him The Gospel of Thomas (a compilation of 114 sayings of Jesus found in the Nag Hammadi Library) The Gospel of Peter (a primitive account of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial, and resurrection ascribed to Peter) The Egerton Papyrus 2 (a fragment of an unknown Gospel that may have provided a source for some of the Johannine discourses) The Apocryphon of James (a private dialogue between Jesus and two disciples, Peter and James) W I L miscellaneous other works The Acts of Pilate L The Acts of John The Epistula Apostolorum I Clement S 2The Epistle to Diognetus , other important early christian writings K A S S A N D R A The Epistles of Ignatius: To the Ephesians To the Magnesians To the Trallians To the Romans To the Philadelphians To the Smyrnaeans To Polycarp The Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians The Martyrdom of Polycarp other gospels, most surviving only in fragmentary form 2 The Protoevangelium of James (complete) 1 The Dialogue of the Savior 6 1 Jewish-Christian groups in Palestine and Syria re- T garded Jesus as fully human, a man whom God S adopted as his “son” to represent him on earth, some Christians in Rome claimed that Jesus was entirely divine, a spirit being who only appeared to be human. If we were to travel back in time to the second century ce, visiting individual congregations of believers in different geographical regions—from Galilee (where the Jesus movement began), to Antioch in Syria (where Peter had taught), to Ephesus (from which Paul conducted missionary journeys to non-Jewish har19138_ch01_001-022.indd Page 18 06/01/14 3:37 PM user 18 /204/MH02032/har19138_disk1of1/0078119138/har19138_pagefiles p a r t o n e a n in v it a t io n t o th e new tes tam ent peoples), to Rome (where different interpreters of Jesus’ nature passionately clashed)—we would find a diversity not unlike that which prevails in different denominations today. All of these groups, ancient and modern, emphasized the importance of Jesus in God’s plan for humanity, but as their literary remains testify, they understood his role in very different ways. Because it is the only early Gospel not in the New Testament to survive complete, the Gospel of Thomas has great significance in illustrating some of the variations in early Christian beliefs. This “Fifth Gospel,” discovered in 1945 near the Egyptian village of Nag Hammadi, consists almost exclusively of sayings of the risen Jesus. Unlike the New Testament accounts of Jesus’ life, the Gospel of Thomas contains neither reports of his miraculous deeds nor narratives about his death and resurrection. Instead of presenting Jesus as a sacrifice for human sin or an eschatological king who will someday return to judge all humanity, Thomas has little to say about Jesus’ eschatological role. Although scholars disagree on its interpretation, Thomas seems to show Jesus as guiding his disciples toward an awareness that God’s kingdom already rules, although the unenlightened majority of people fail to perceive it. Many scholars believe that Thomas, which contains numerous statements paralleling those in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, nonetheless represents a tradition independent of the New Testament Gospels and may preserve some of the earliest forms of Jesus’ sayings. Interestingly, Thomas also includes themes and concepts that are otherwise found only in the Gospel of John. (For a discussion of Thomas and other early works excluded from the New Testament, see Chapter 20.) Scholarly Approaches to the New Testament The presence of numerous similarities, as well as some striking differences, in both the New Testament books and other early Christian writings suggests the need for a careful comparison of these documents if we are to understand the complex forces that helped shape Christianity. To help untangle the complexities, and even contradictions, apparent in formative Christian literature, modern scholarship has devised several methodologies for analyzing the texts. In approaching the New Testament analytically, it is important to remember that studying the Bible in a college or university classroom necessarily differs from reading it in church as part of W an act of worship. At a religious service, whether Orthodox, or Protestant, short exICatholic, cerpts to be read aloud usually are chosen to Lencourage listeners to behave ethically: Stories Lof biblical heroes or villains offer models for worshipers to emulate or avoid. In a devotional Isetting, the Bible speaks with largely undisSputed authority. In a university environment, however, the ,Bible is studied in the same way as any other literary document from the ancient world. Using techniques similar to those applied in the disciKplines of history, anthropology, sociology, linguisAtics, and literary studies, students investigate such as the question of a document’s date and Stopics authorship, the implied audience and social setSting, the historical context, and the writer’s apassumptions and goals. It is essential to Aparent read carefully to perceive what a text actually says N(as opposed to what one may have been told Dabout it elsewhere) and to compare it to similar works written at approximately the same time and Runder the same cultural influences. Comparative Astudy of the Gospels, which were composed between about 70 and 100 ce, reveals much about their individual authors’ distinctive theological 2concerns, helping to explain reasons for both similarities and differences in their accounts. 1 Since the eighteenth-century Age of 6Enlightenment, when scientists and other scholars developed analytical tools to clear away 1long-held misconceptions about both the natuTral and the social worlds, virtually all forms of authority have been challenged. In Straditional physics, the work of Newton—Einstein in the twentieth century—and other scientists revolutionized our understanding of the universe. In the political arena, rebels challenged the claim that kings ruled by divine right, triggering the har19138_ch01_001-022.indd Page 19 06/01/14 3:37 PM user /204/MH02032/har19138_disk1of1/0078119138/har19138_pagefiles ch apter 1 an overview of th e new tes tam ent 19 b o x 1 .6 Helpful Tools for Studying the New Testament Multivolume bible aids include the following: Several one-volume Bible dictionaries offer concise alphabetized mini-essays on important topics: Brown, R. E.; Fitzmeyer, J. A.; and Murphy, R. E., eds. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1990. Although slightly dated, provides excellent discussions of all canonical books by leading Catholic scholars. Evans, Craig A., and Porter, Stanley E., eds. Dictionary of New Testament Background. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2000. Contains essays by generally conservative scholars. Freedman, David Noel; Myers, Allen C.; and Beck, Astrid B., eds. Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2000. Current and scholarly, an excellent resource. Powell, Mark A., ed. The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary (Revised and Updated), New York: HarperOne, 2011. Concise, comprehensive, and generally reliable. W I L L I S , K A S S A American and French revolutions. In the social world, long-accepted institutions, such as slav- N ery, exploitative child labor, and the subjuga- D tion of women, were questioned or replaced by more just practices. Religious claims, including R authoritarian uses of the Bible, were similarly A scrutinized. During the past two centuries, an international community of scholars—Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, and others—has developed innovative methods to illuminate the nature and growth of biblical documents. This cosmopolitan body of scholars, historians, textual experts, literary critics, linguists, anthropologists, sociologists, and theologians includes thousands of university faculty, clergy, seminary instructors, and academic researchers. Collectively, their efforts have provided us with an increasingly precise and well-documented study of the New Testament literature and the environment out of which it grew. Virtually every textbook used in college and seminary 2 1 6 1 T S Coogan, Michael D., ed. The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Books of the Bible, 2 vols. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. Up-to-date scholarly essays on each book of both the Old and the New Testament. Keck, Leander, ed. The New Interpreter’s Bible, 12 vols. Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon Press, 1994–. A series featuring the complete text of the Bible, in both the NRSV and NIV translations, with detailed scholarly commentary. Sakenfeld, Katherine D., ed. The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, 5 vols. Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon Press, 2006–2010. Up-to-date scholarly discussions of each biblical book as well as many crucial topics, from the afterlife to Yahweh. courses today, including this one, draws heavily on these scholarly resources. (At the end of each chapter in this text, readers will find a list of publications by major New Testament scholars, offering valuable references for further study; see also Box 1.6.) Some of the principal methods that scholars use to study the New Testament are summarized in Chapter 6; here, we will briefly clarify the term biblical criticism. For some people, the term criticism may awaken negative feelings, perhaps implying faultfinding or a derogatory judgment. But in biblical studies, it is a positive means of understanding scriptural texts more accurately and objectively. Criticism derives from the Greek word krino, which means “to judge” or “to discern,” to exercise rational analysis in evaluating something. In the fields of art and literature, it involves the ability to recognize artistic worth and to distinguish the relative merits or defects of a given work. In New har19138_ch01_001-022.indd Page 20 06/01/14 3:37 PM user 20 /204/MH02032/har19138_disk1of1/0078119138/har19138_pagefiles p a r t o n e a n in v it a t io n t o th e new tes tam ent Testament studies, various critical methods are used, ranging from techniques for investigating the oral traditions that preceded the written Gospels to literary analysis of their final form, structure, and content. Because, for hundreds of millions of believers, the New Testament embodies their deeply held convictions and spiritual aspirations, approaching it objectively is difficult. For some readers, the rigorous application of dispassionate logic to documents thought to reveal the divine will seems inappropriate. For many people, however, spirituality, reverence for concepts of divinity, love of the biblical tradition, and critical study are not incompatible; from this perspective, thinking analytically about religious texts and the cultural environment that helped shape them is both a tribute to the texts’ intrinsic value and a means of better understanding them. Many scholars believe that the scriptures of most world religions, including the Vedas, Hebrew Bible, New Testament, and Quran, were composed to express authentic human experiences of divine power—represented by such classic moments as Moses encountering God at a burning bush on the slopes of Mount Sinai, Jesus hearing a heavenly voice after his baptism at the Jordan River, and Paul beholding the glorified Christ on the road to Damascus. These unique religious experiences, which seem to transcend the ordinary limits of human life, if they are to be preserved for others, must be articulated in human language that is ill equipped to express unearthly realities. Writing of Jesus’ apparently supernatural abilities and personal vision of God’s kingdom, the New Testament authors inevitably depicted them in terms of the prevailing culture, using then-current images and metaphors to approximate the inexpressible. Although scholarship cannot investigate the world of the spirit or the elusive dimension of religious transcendence the biblical authors explore, it offers enormous help in examining the means—cultural, social, historical, and literary—by which ancient writers conveyed these phenomena to us. The New Testament Read from Different Social Perspectives In recent years, scholars have become increasingly aware that the meaning of any book— including biblical texts—is to a large extent dependent on the reader’s individual experience W and viewpoint. In the United States, this is particuIlarly true when readers belong to social groups such as ethnic or other minorities that the domiLnant culture may commonly undervalue or otherLwise marginalize. Viewing New Testament passages from a specific social location—such as the African IAmerican, Hispanic American, Asian American, SNative American, or feminist community— is likely to give these stories a meaning that is dis,tinctly different from interpretations traditionally promoted by society’s male Caucasian leadership. When an African American whose forebears were Kplantation slaves reads the New Testament admoAnition for servants to submit cheerfully to their no matter how abusive (1 Pet. 2:18–20; Smasters, Col. 3:22; Eph. 6:5), the command is likely to Sresonate differently for her than it will for the of white slave owners. Adescendants As feminist scholars have pointed out, Nwomen of all nationalities may read the DChristian Scriptures from a perspective fundamentally different from that of most men. Paul’s Rflat refusal to permit a woman to teach in his Achurches (1 Cor. 14:34–35) or the pastor’s insistence that the first woman must be blamed for humanity’s downward spiral into sin and death 2(1 Tim. 2:13–14) may spark feelings of incredulity or resentment unknown to men reading the 1same texts. But, as feminist commentators have 6also observed, the same apostle who allegedly women to address the congregation 1forbade also recognized the role of women prophets T(1 Cor. 11:5) and women as church officeholdas well as “fellow workers” in the Christian Sers, fold (Rom. 16:1–5). Some scholars believe that the restrictions imposed on women in 1 Corinthians 14 are a later copyist’s interpolation, to make Paul’s instructions conform to the har19138_ch01_001-022.indd Page 21 06/01/14 3:37 PM user /204/MH02032/har19138_disk1of1/0078119138/har19138_pagefiles ch apter 1 an overview of th e new tes tam ent anti-feminist passages in a later (non-Pauline) letter (1 Tim. 3:11; see Chapter 14). (For discussions of the importance of women in Jesus’ ministry and in the Pauline congregations, see Chapters 9, 13, and Box 10.6; a discussion of the noncanonical Acts of Paul and Thecla, a legendary female disciple, appears in Chapter 20.) At his most insightful, Paul endorses a vision of radical equality—legal, ethnic, social, and sexual: “There is no such thing as Jew and Greek, slave and freeman, male and female; for you are all one person in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). For most societies, Paul’s goal of an equal and united Christian fellowship is yet to be realized; most religious groups seem content to accept his more conventional statements regulating the social/ sexual hierarchy. Both male and female scholars have come increasingly to see, however, that not only Paul but much of our biblical heritage contains disparate elements that are almost inextricably blended: material that is at once marked as severely limited by its origin in intensely traditional ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean societies and at the same time material that seems to transcend its culture-bound limitations to express universal principles of divine love and the humane treatment of all peoples. Consistent in all the traditions about Jesus’ teaching is his emphasis on the supremacy of love, the transforming practice of selfless devotion that redeems interpersonal relationships and makes possible divine rule on earth (cf. Mark 12:28–31; Matt. 5:44–48; John 14:34–35; 15:9–10; 1 Cor. 13, etc.). The challenge to discern such abiding values in the biblical message will shape the contours of our journey through the diverse literature of the New Testament. produced. Besides the twenty-seven books included in the New Testament, early Christian authors also created many other religious works, only a few of which, such as the Gospel of Thomas, have survived. Because it combines aspects of both Jewish and Greek thought, scholars study the New Testament in the context of the culturally diverse environment in which it originated. Analyzing such elements as authorship, date of composition, literary form, thematic concerns, and theological W content of New Testament texts, modern scholars to increase our understanding of these I endeavor enormously influential documents. L Questions for Review L ne the term testament, and explain the relaI 1. Defi tionship of the Old Testament (the Hebrew S Bible) to the New Testament. 2. What version of the Hebrew Bible did early , Christians use? In what common language were K A S S A N D R A 2 1 6 Summary 1 One among many of the world’s sacred books, the New Testament is a collection of Greek docu- T ments that early Christian writers composed be- S tween about 50 and 140 ce. It forms the second part of the Christian Bible, the larger first section of which is the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), an older anthology of writings than the Jewish community 21 the Septuagint and New Testament written? 3. Define and describe the major literary forms (genres) contained in the New Testament. 4. Which part of the New Testament was written first? Who was the author, and when did he write? 5. Describe the overall structure of the New Testament. In what specific ways does the figure of Jesus dominate the entire collection of books? 6. What is an apocalypse? Define the terms apocalyptic (adjective) and eschatology (noun), and explain their application to the early Christian worldview. 7. What evidence do we have of diversity in the early Christian community? What portrait of Jesus was painted in the “Fifth Gospel” of Thomas? Questions for Discussion and Reflection 1. Try to define and describe the New Testament to someone who has never before heard of it. In what ways does this collection of early Christian documents resemble the scriptures of other world religions? In what ways does the New Testament differ from other sacred books? 2. The literary form or category in which writers choose to convey their ideas always influences the way in which those ideas are expressed. Why do you suppose early Christian writers invented the Gospel form to express their views about Jesus? Why do you think all four Gospel authors focused on the last week of Jesus’ life? har19138_ch01_001-022.indd Page 22 06/01/14 3:37 PM user 22 /204/MH02032/har19138_disk1of1/0078119138/har19138_pagefiles p a r t o n e a n in v it a t io n t o th e new tes tam ent 3. Only one Gospel writer also wrote a history of the early church, continuing his story of the Jesus movement with additional stories about a few of Jesus’ followers. Given that the New Testament contains four different accounts of Jesus’ ministry, why do you think there is only one narrative about the church? 4. Of the twenty-seven New Testament books, twenty-one are nominally letters. Why do you suppose the letter form was so popular among early Christians? In a church scattered throughout the Roman Empire, what advantage did letter writing have over other literary forms? 5. How can modern scholarship help us better understand the origin and growth of the New Testament? Discuss ways to distinguish essential religious experiences and spiritual insights from “culture-bound” interpretations of them. Terms and Concepts to Remember* Abraham Alexandria apocalyptic literature Aramaic Bible covenant (testament) eschatology Evangelist Fourth Gospel Gospel Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) Israel James Jesus John Jude koinē Last Supper Messiah Mosaic Covenant Moses orthodoxy Palestine Passion Paul Pentateuch Peter Promised Land scriptures Septuagint theology Torah Yahweh Recommended Reading Bailey, James L., and Vander Broek, Lyle. Literary Forms in the New Testament: A Handbook. Louisville, Ky.: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1992. An excellent discussion of literary categories found in the New Testament. Brown, Raymond E. The Churches the Apostles Left Behind. New York: Paulist Press, 1984. A brief but authoritative survey of seven different Christian communities—and their distinctive *Key terms appear at the end of each chapter and are defined in the Glossary at the back of the book. theologies—that produced major parts of the New Testament literature. Dunn, James D. G. Unity and Diversity in the New Testament: An Inquiry into the Character of Earliest Christianity, 2nd ed. London/Philadelphia: SCM Press/Trinity Press International, 1990. Contains a detailed examination of theological differences manifested in different New Testament books, as well as a summary of nine themes contributing to theological unity of canonical authors. Ehrman, Bart D. The New Testament and Other Early W Christian Writings: A Reader. New York: Oxford Press, 1998. Includes Gospels, letters, I University and apocalypses not in the New Testament. LEvans, Craig A., and Porter, Stanley E., eds. Dictionary of the New Testament Background. Downers Grove, L Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2000. Contains extended entries on both Greco-Roman and Jewish topics I relating to early Christianity, from a generally traditional perspective. SGamble, Harry Y. Books and Readers in the Early Church: A , History of Early Christian Texts. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1995. Explores such topics as the extent of literacy in the Greco-Roman world, the interaction of oral and written materials in the K early Christian community, and the community’s production and circulation of books. AGneuse, Robert. The Authority of the Bible: Theories of S Inspiration, Revelation and the Canon of Scripture. New York: Paulist Press, 1985. A brief but thoughtS ful review of biblical authority and the nature of divine inspiration. AMassey, James E. “Reading the Bible as African Americans.” In The New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 1, N pp. 154–160. Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon Press, D 1994. Briefly surveys issues involving slavery and African American churches’ use of Scripture. RNewsom, Carol A., Ringe, Sharon H., and Lapsley, E., eds. Women’s Bible Commentary, 3rd ed. A Jacqueline Louisville, Ky.: Westminster/John Knox Press, 2012. Scholarly essays interpreting each book of both the Old and the New Testament from a 2 feminist perspective. Osiek, Carolyn. “Reading the Bible as Women.” In 1 The New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 1, pp. 181–187. Raises pertinent feminist issues. 6Reid, Barbara. Taking Up the Cross: New Testament Through Latina and Feminist Eyes. 1 Interpretation Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007. Explores the T Passion story, relating Jesus’ suffering to situations of women in Latin America. SWicker, Kathleen; Dube, Musa; and Spencer, Althea, eds. Feminist New Testament Studies: Global and Future Perspectives. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. Feminist readings of the Christian Scriptures emphasizing a multiethnic and international context. har19138_ch02_023-040.indd Page 23 06/01/14 3:55 PM user /204/MH02032/har19138_disk1of1/0078119138/har19138_pagefiles chap te r 2 W How the New Testament Was Formed and I Handed Down to Us L L The use of books is endless. I S , Key Topics/Themes Although the early Christian community produced many writings during the period when the New Testament books were composed (c. 50–140 CE), most were not accepted into the canon, the official list of church-approved documents. The process of canonization continued for several centuries; it was not until 367 CE that a canonical list corresponding exactly to the present New Testament first appeared, and even afterward church lists of approved books Formation of the New Testament Canon For Jesus and his earliest followers, the only authoritative Scripture was the three-part Hebrew Bible. According to the Gospel of Luke, written perhaps fifty-five or sixty years after Jesus’ death, the risen Jesus instructed his disciples in the proper application of the Jewish Bible, which was to interpret it as a series of prophecies about his role as Messiah. “‘Everything written about me,’” Jesus states, “‘in the Law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms was bound to be fulfilled.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures” (Luke 24:44–45). K A S S A N D R A 2 1 6 1 T S Ecclesiastes 12:12 differed. Because no original copies of any canonical work survive and there are hundreds of variations in extant manuscripts, scholars must compare many different versions in creating a plausible Greek text from which modern translations are made. Although the first translators of the Bible into English, Wycliffe and Tyndale, were condemned by the church of their day, the Christian Scriptures are now available in many excellent English editions. When New Testament writers, who were active between about 50 and 140 ce, quote Scripture, they quote exclusively from the Hebrew Bible, albeit in an expanded Greek edition. The earliest contributor to the New Testament, Paul repeatedly emphasized that the Jewish holy writings not only anticipated Jesus’ ministry and death but were directly relevant to the Christian movement. The Genesis story of Abraham, for example, was written “for our sake,” for the benefit of Paul’s contemporaries (Rom. 4:22–24). In fact, “all the ancient scriptures were written for our own instruction” and for Christian “encouragement” (Rom. 15:4). In urging the church at Corinth to refrain from complaints, Paul explains that stories of Israelite 23 har19138_ch02_023-040.indd Page 24 11/01/14 7:43 PM user 24 /204/MH02032/har19138_disk1of1/0078119138/har19138_pagefiles p a r t o n e a n in v it a t io n t o th e new tes tam ent “grumblings” were composed to preclude similar Christian errors: “All these things that happened to them [the Israelites] were symbolic and were recorded for our benefit as a warning. For upon us the fulfillment of the ages has come” (1 Cor. 10:11). For Paul, believers in Jesus are living at the brief overlap of two contrasting eras, the “present age of wickedness” (Gal. 1:4; cf. 1 Cor. 2:6), and the new age to come when God and Christ will reign completely (see Chapter 14). Paul’s genuine letters (others are attributed to his later disciples) were sent individually to disparate small congregations scattered throughout Asia Minor, Greece, and Italy. Perhaps the first step in creating the New Testament occurred toward the end of the first century ce when one or more of Paul’s admirers searched the archives of the various Pauline churches for surviving copies of his correspondence, gathering them together in a single unit. This anonymous Pauline disciple began an anthology of early Christian literature to which the Gospels, Acts, and other documents gradually were added, forming a New Testament canon. A word derived from the Greek kanon, canon refers to a standard or measurement, the norm by which something is evaluated or judged acceptable. In religious usage, a canon is the official inventory of books, like those various churchmen assembled from the late second century on. Individual lists varied significantly and it took many centuries before the church as a whole recognized the twenty-seven books in the now familiar New Testament table of contents. The earliest canonical reference to any Christian writing as “scripture” appears in 2 Peter, which so designates Paul’s letters (2 Peter 3:16). Most scholars date 2 Peter to about 130–140 ce and regard it as the lastwritten document in the New Testament canon (see Chapter 18). At no time did a single church authority or council of church leaders formally decide on the contents of the Christian Scriptures. The long process by which the present New Testament gradually assumed its final form involved a variety of complex developments, including controversies over doctrine, particularly the nature and degree of Jesus’ divinity (see the discussion of Marcion below). A document’s usefulness in regulating belief—an “apostolic” understanding of essential principles—undoubtedly influenced a specific book’s status. Shortly after the close of the second century ce, four Gospels, Acts, Paul’s W letters, and several other books were generally although at this point individual Iacknowledged, lists of acceptable documents showed marked Lcontrasts. Different canons abounded, some inLcluding titles that would be totally unfamiliar to most of today’s churchgoers, such as the Epistle Iof Barnabas or the Shepherd of Hermas. During Sthe first several centuries of its development, Christianity was enormously diverse and produced ,an equally diverse body of literature, including numerous Gospels and other documents that claimed to be written by apostles. In the end, it Kwas not so much a matter of what to include in Athe canon, but what to leave out. In the meanpolitical events, as well as debates over doctriStime, nal issues, directly or indirectly influenced the Scanonical process. A N D R A The Jewish Revolt Against Rome and Its Consequences About thirty-five years after Jesus’ death, the 2Jews of Palestine rose in open revolt against their Roman overlords (see Chapter 5). When 1Roman armies breached Jerusalem’s walls, they 6slaughtered tens of thousands of Jews, burned the holy city, and demolished the Jerusalem 1Temple, the center of Jewish worship (70 ce). TThe “great tribulation” that marked Rome’s deof the Jewish state—along with the Sstruction parent church of apostolic Christianity—offers a chaotic background to the gradual formation of the New Testament, as well as to the closing stages of the Hebrew Bible canon. har19138_ch02_023-040.indd Page 25 06/01/14 3:55 PM user /204/MH02032/har19138_disk1of1/0078119138/har19138_pagefiles c ha p t e r 2 ho w t h e n e w t es tam ent was f orm ed and h anded down to us At the time of the Jewish Revolt against Rome (66–73 ce), only a few books of what became the New Testament collection then existed: Paul’s authentic letters; a compilation of Jesus’ sayings known as the source (Q) document; and the Gospel of Mark (see Box 1.4). Most of the Christian Greek Scriptures were yet to be written, and it would be centuries before the church agreed on their exact contents. Echoes of the Jewish Revolt figure prominently in the first three Gospels—Matthew, Mark, and Luke—which devote considerable space to Jesus’ prediction of the Temple’s fall and to the sufferings of Jews and Christians that Jerusalem’s destruction entailed. Significantly, the first three Evangelists also associate events of the Jewish Revolt, particularly the Temple’s demolition, with Jesus’ promised return as the glorious Son of Man (Matt. 24–25; Mark 13; Luke 21; see Chapters 7–9). Although all parts of the Hebrew Bible were completed well before the Jewish wars against Rome, the precise number of books to be included had not yet been determined. Following their suppression of the Jewish rebellion, the Romans apparently encouraged Jewish scholars who had not participated in the uprising to assemble at Jamnia (Yavneh) on the Mediterranean coast to help reorganize postwar Judaism. Led by Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai, a small group of rabbis (“masters” or “teachers”) discussed ways to cope with the crisis— loss of Temple, priesthood, and homeland—and to provide religious leadership for the Jewish community. As noted in Chapter 3, the rabbis did not formally close the biblical canon, but they seem to have applied several criteria that excluded numerous books that many Greekspeaking Jews used outside Palestine. Accepting the thesis that inspired prophecy had ceased shortly after the time of Ezra (c. 400 bce), the Jamnia scholars evidently rejected documents clearly composed after that period, such as the Wisdom of Jesus Son of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) and the books of Maccabees. Of all the extant apocalypses, only Daniel was accepted, perhaps because the author plausibly claimed to write during the sixth century bce. Books that 25 contradicted the Torah or that were not originally written in Hebrew, such as the Wisdom of Solomon, were also excluded. The Christian community, however, which adopted the Greek Septuagint as its preferred edition of the Bible, generally recognized the deuterocanonical status of these books the rabbis rejected. Known as the Apocrypha, these later books were eventually included in an official Latin Bible, the W Vulgate (see the discussion of Jerome and the below). I Vulgate As a result of the rabbis rejecting later docL uments not composed in Hebrew or Aramaic, L the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh has fewer books than Catholic or Orthodox Old Testaments, I which include the later documents, such as S Tobit, Judith, and the Wisdom of Solomon, contained in the Septuagint. By contrast, , Protestant editions of the Old Testament typically follow the rabbinical model and exclude the apocryphal material (see Chapter 1). K In appropriating a Greek version of the A Jewish Scriptures—and rechristening this collecas the Old Testament—the Christian moveS tion ment also transformed the older Jewish writings S into a Christological statement. In Christian the Old Testament served primarily to A eyes, reveal Christ, not only through prophecy but N also by analogy to specific biblical characters. D Christian reinterpretations thus give startlingly innovative meanings to familiar Old Testament R passages. Jesus of Nazareth becomes Eve’s “seed” A (Gen. 3:15), his death and resurrection are foreshadowed in Abraham’s near-sacrifice of Isaac (Gen. 22), and his universal rulership is antici2 pated by the reigns of Davidic Kings (2 Sam. 7; Pss. 2, 110; Isa. 7, 11, etc.). 1 The order in which Christian editors finally 6 arranged the New Testament books emphasizes both Jesus’ connection to characters in the Old 1 Testament and his fulfillment of God’s promises T to Israel. First in the New Testament canon is Gospel, which proclaims “Jesus Christ, S Matthew’s son of David, son of Abraham,” the culmination of the covenant people’s prophetic hopes. The other Gospels, Acts, Pauline letters, and catholic epistles similarly explicate biblical foreshadowings har19138_ch02_023-040.indd Page 26 06/01/14 3:55 PM user 26 /204/MH02032/har19138_disk1of1/0078119138/har19138_pagefiles p a r t o n e a n in v it a t io n t o th e new tes tam ent of Jesus’ role and work. Although it took several centuries to assume this format, the Christian canon ultimately closed with the Book of Revelation and its image of Christ triumphant, subduing all nations and peoples in his universal kingdom. Because Christianity emerged historically as a messianic and apocalyptic moment within firstcentury ce Judaism, it is appropriate that the canonical climax occurs with Revelation’s assurance that Christ is “coming soon,” asserting that Jesus’ return to earth—the Parousia or Second Coming— is imminent (Rev. 22:17–21) (see Chapter 19). Before the end of the first century ce, some Christians were keenly aware that expectations of the Second Coming had failed to materialize. Neither Jesus nor the kingdom had rescued believers from life’s sorrows or from Rome’s intermittent persecutions. The author of 1 Clement (c. 96 ce) addresses Christians’ disappointment in the delayed Parousia: Let that Scripture be far from us which says: “Wretched are the double-minded, Those who doubt in their soul and say, ‘We have heard these things [predictions of Jesus’ return] even in our fathers’ times, and see, we have grown old and none of this has happened.’” (1 Clem. 23:3–5) A generation or two after 1 Clement was composed, in a work attributed to the apostle Peter, the problem of frustrated apocalyptic hopes was again raised. Skeptics complained that Jesus’ promised coming had proved to be a nonevent; everything “continues exactly as it has always been since the world began” (2 Pet. 3:1–10). The writer responds to this criticism by asserting that a delayed world judgment allows time and opportunity for sinners to repent and thus is an act of divine mercy. Nevertheless, Jesus’ failure to return visibly may have provoked a crisis of belief among second-century Christians, as the author of 2 Peter testifies. As Christians struggled to understand God’s intentions in human history and his plan for the church, they simultaneously began to assemble an anthology of writings that most effectively expressed their core beliefs and hopes. Foremost was the meaning of Jesus’ life and death, as interpreted by the preeminent Christian theologian and missionary, the apostle Paul. By the first half of the second century ce, at least some Christian groups already regarded Paul’s letters as “scripture” (2 Pet. 3:16). Although all four of the accepted Gospels had been composed by the close of the first century ce, historians doubt that most believers were faW miliar with all four. It appears that each Gospel probably created for a distinct Christian Iwas group in a particular city or region. Matthew, Lfor example, seems to have been directed to a Lcongregation at Antioch in Syria, where it probably served as a foundation document for Jewish IChristians living there (see Chapter 8). Many Sscholars believe that the last Gospel written, the account ascribed to John, served to define the ,distinctive ideas of a religious community based on the teachings of a “disciple whom Jesus loved.” Neither the name of the Beloved Disciple Knor the original location of his group is known A(see Chapter 10). Justin Martyr, a church leader in Rome about 165 ce, cites the “memSexecuted oirs of the Apostles” or “Gospels” as though they Shad by then attained an authority equal to that Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. Aof the The titles by which we now know the canoniNcal accounts of Jesus’ life—“The Gospel According Dto Matthew,” or “According to” Mark, or Luke or John—did not become part of the New Testament Rtradition until more than a century after they Awere composed. Until the late second century ce, Christian writers generally cite the Gospels anonymously. A notable exception is Papias (c. 140 ce), 2who refers specifically to the Gospels of Mark and Matthew (see Chapters 7 and 8). 1 Only gradually did the Gospels come to be 6regarded as the work of Jesus’ initial apostles— persons whom Jesus himself had called to be his 1close followers—or of later companions of the Tapostles, such as Mark and Luke, who were not to Jesus’ ministry. When Justin Martyr Seyewitnesses insists that the church should acknowledge only four Gospels—presenting suspiciously labored arguments—he indicates that other Gospels were then in circulation and competed with the four har19138_ch02_023-040.indd Page 27 06/01/14 3:55 PM user /204/MH02032/har19138_disk1of1/0078119138/har19138_pagefiles c ha p t e r 2 ho w t h e n e w t es tam ent was f orm ed and h anded down to us that eventually became canonical. Indeed, the author of Luke’s Gospel states that “many [early Christian] writers have undertaken to draw up an account” of Jesus’ life (Luke 1:1). Although scholars agree that Luke used Mark’s older Gospel as one of his chief sources, we do not know what other very early Jesus biographies the author had in mind (see Chapter 9). We do know that a host of other Gospels were circulating by the second century ce—accounts ascribed to prominent New Testament figures such as Peter, Thomas, James, or Mary Magdalene. Most of the noncanonical Gospels survive only as titles in later church writings denouncing them and/or in badly preserved manuscript fragments. Only one survives complete, the Gospel ascribed to Thomas. Discovered in 1945 near the village of Nag Hammadi in Egypt, the Gospel of Thomas contains 114 sayings of the risen Jesus. Even more recently discovered is an extremely tattered manuscript of the Gospel ascribed to Judas, the first English version of which was published in 2006 (see Chapter 20). The notion that a single, consistent Gospel— rather than the four sometimes contradictory accounts—should be the church norm was expressed in the Diatessaron by a scholar named Tatian, compiled in about 170 ce and now lost. This composite version, which for centuries prevailed in the East, particularly in Syria, ingeniously wove together the contents of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, as well as elements from oral tradition, into a unified narrative. Different Church Canons Not until late in the fourth century ce did a church leader produce a list of books that corresponds precisely to the twenty-seven books in our New Testament, although in a different order. In 367 ce, Athanasius, then bishop of Alexandria, made an inventory of accepted Christian documents part of his Easter Letter. Even after Athanasius issued his seemingly definitive tally, however, for centuries various churches continued to use New Testament collections that differed significantly from one another. 27 The Muratorian Canon Scholars formerly dated the list known as the Muratorian Canon to the late second or early third century ce but now think that it was probably assembled in the fourth century (c. 350–375 ce). The Muratorian inventory is probably typical of the mixed bag of both (ultimately) canonical and spurious books found in different church catalogues. Listing twenty-four documents, the Muratorian W Canon includes the four Gospels, Acts, thirteen I letters ascribed to Paul (but not Hebrews), Jude, 1 and 2 (but not 3) John, the Wisdom of L Solomon, Revelation, and the Apocalypse of L Peter. The Muratorian list excludes five books that eventually achieved canonical status, but it I includes a Greek Wisdom book that was later S assigned to the Old Testament Apocrypha and an “apostolic” vision of hell that was ultimately , not included in any canon. The Codex Claromontanus is a sixthcentury Greek-Latin manuscript that contains a K list also thought to derive from the fourth cenA tury ce. Besides enumerating most of the prescanonical works, this codex includes the S ent Epistle of Barnabas, the Shepherd of Hermas, S the Acts of Paul, and the Apocalypse of Peter— four of which eventually were omitted from A all the canon. Even the Codex Sinaiticus, one of N the oldest (fourth century) and most important D manuscripts containing all twenty-seven New Testament books, also includes the Epistle of R Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas. As late A as the fifth century, a Greek manuscript known as the Codex Alexandrinus included both 1 and 2 Clement as part of the Christian Scriptures. 1 Clement, attributed to an early bishop of 2 Rome, is a letter sent to the church at Corinth, 1 perhaps in the mid-90s ce. Concerned that the 6 Corinthians have rejected their duly appointed leaders, the author primarily cites texts from the 1 Hebrew Bible/Old Testament to correct their T perceived misbehavior, a practice typical of writers of the period. The writer, howS Christian ever, also quotes passages from Hebrews and from the sayings of Jesus, though it is not certain whether he quotes from written Gospels or from oral tradition. har19138_ch02_023-040.indd Page 28 06/01/14 3:55 PM user 28 /204/MH02032/har19138_disk1of1/0078119138/har19138_pagefiles p a r t o n e a n in v it a t io n t o th e new tes tam ent Like the Apocalypse of Peter, 2 Clement is pseudonymous—composed by an unknown writer in the name of a famous person. The practice of pseudonymity was common among both Jewish and Christian authors in the Greco-Roman era. Whereas the church repudiated many pseudonymous documents that claimed authorship by Peter, Paul, James, or other well-known figures in early Christianity, apparently some pseudonymous writings were included in the New Testament canon (see Chapters 17 and 18). Writing in the early fourth century ce, the church historian Eusebius (c. 260–340 ce) observed that, even after Christianity had been legally validated by the Roman government, the New Testament canon was not yet fixed. In describing the church’s current opinion of a given book’s authenticity, Eusebius divided contenders for official canonization into three categories. The universally “acknowledged” works number twenty-one, including the Gospels, Acts, Paul’s letters, and some of the catholic epistles. The “disputed” books, accepted by some churches but not others, include six that eventually entered the canon: Revelation, James, Jude, 2 Peter, and 2 and 3 John. Five other candidates for official inclusion ultimately failed to make the cut: the Acts of Paul, the Shepherd of Hermas, the Apocalypse of Peter, the Epistle of Barnabas, and the Didache, a fascinating compendium of late first-century Christian rituals and moral teachings (see Chapter 20). Eusebius’s “rejected” books are the Gospels ascribed to Peter, Thomas, and Matthias and the Acts attributed to Andrew, John, and other apostles, all pseudonymous works. Whereas some Christian groups endorsed books later barred from the canon, others repudiated works that were finally canonized. Such celebrated writings as Revelation and the Gospel of John fail to appear in many New Testament lists. Several important churches, including those at Alexandria and Antioch, resisted accepting Revelation, partly because it was not believed to be the work of John the Apostle. Although eventually canonized, among Eastern churches Revelation did not attain the same authority as most other New Testament books. The Syrian churches consistently denied it canonical honors. (Box 1.4 lists the canonical books and their approximate order of composition.) Marcion’s Disputed Role Many scholars formerly thought that the notion of fashioning a Christian Scripture distinct from the Old Testament received its initial stimulus from the proposals of Marcion. A wealthy Greek shipbuilder who settled in Rome, Marcion (c. 140 ce) enthusiastiW cally supported Paul’s doctrine of salvation by He also found the Old Testament ethically Ifaith. objectionable, especially its portrayal of Israel’s LGod, which he denounced as violent and savage. LInsisting that Christianity begin afresh, Marcion advocated wholesale rejection of the Jewish IScriptures and their replacement with an excluSsively Christian text. Only Paul’s letters and an edited version of Luke’s Gospel, purged of its ,Old Testament references, should be the Christian Bible. According to an older scholarly view, church leaders began to see the importance of Kdefining a New Testament canon only after AMarcion had proposed his severely abbreviated acceptable documents. Slist ofAlthough Marcion’s challenge to define a Suniquely Christian Scripture undoubtedly had its most scholars now believe that the evoluAeffect, tion of the New Testament canon resulted from a Nbroader set of social and historical circumstances. DNoting that Paul’s letters had already been collected before Marcion, recent scholars also point Rout that by 140 ce individual Gospels were already Abeing employed in different churches, although few, if any, churches had accepted all four accounts. Locally approved Gospels and selected 2documents supposedly of apostolic origin were already regularly and extensively used in worship 1services and in teaching converts. Read aloud in 6churches from Syria to Gaul (France), some Gospels, Pauline letters, and other works were in 1the process of demonstrating their long-term Tvalue in maintaining a literary connection with his early disciples. SJesusInand general, it seems that the New Testament canon evolved to serve two related purposes. First, canonization of certain texts clarified within the Christian community what beliefs church leaders considered true and acceptable. har19138_ch02_023-040.indd Page 29 06/01/14 3:55 PM user /204/MH02032/har19138_disk1of1/0078119138/har19138_pagefiles c ha p t e r 2 ho w t h e n e w t es tam ent was f orm ed and h anded down to us 29 Questioners like Marcion and his numerous followers could thus be confronted with an officially sanctioned list of books that largely defined the faith. Second, the canon provided a unifying force for churches dispersed throughout the Roman Empire, imparting a firm written authority for universal belief and practice. Citing approved books (but not others), church leaders could distinguish orthodoxy (correct teaching) from heresy (ideas that church authorities judged deviations from the truth). W I L L The Role of Constantine I The emperor Constantine (reigned 306–337 ce) S introduced a momentous change in the Roman government’s attitude toward Christianity, a , change that also may have influenced the finalization of the New Testament canon. Following his victory at the Milvian Bridge over Maxentius, his rival for the imperial throne (312 ce), Constantine effected one of the most unexpected reversals in human history. According to tradition, the emperor experienced a vision in which Jesus was revealed as the divine power that enabled him to defeat his enemies. Undergoing a slow process of conversion to the Christian faith, Constantine ultimately championed Christ as his chief god. This imperial conversion had immense repercussions throughout the empire, altering forever the relationship of church and state (see Figure 2.1). Shortly before Constantine began his long reign, his predecessor, Diocletian (284–305 ce), had initiated the most thorough and devastating persecution that Christians had yet endured, an ordeal that ended only with Diocletian’s abdication and death. When Constantine issued his celebrated decree of religious toleration, the Edict of Milan (313 ce), and subsequently began restoring confiscated church property, consulting Christian leaders about official affairs, and appointing bishops to high public office, it was as if a miraculous deliverance of God’s people had occurred. To many who benefited from Constantine’s policy, it seemed that Revelation’s seventh angel had sounded his K A S S A N D R A 2 1 6 1 T S figure 2.1 Head of Constantine. Only the head and other fragments of this colossal statue remain, but they reflect the enormous power wielded by this remarkable general and administrator. Seeking the support of a unified church, Constantine summoned and presided over the Council of Nicaea (325 ce), which, amid intense theological controversy, formulated the Trinitarian creed affirming that the Son is co-equal, consubstantial, and co-eternal with the Father. trumpet: “the sovereignty of the world has passed to our Lord and his Christ” (Rev. 11:15). In a more modest metaphor, the church historian Eusebius, who later became Constantine’s biographer, compared the emperor�...
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