Origin of the NT Canon

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Zman084

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Hi,

Someone told me that the Church excluded certain Gospels because they say things she disagrees with (such as that Jesus was married). He claims most of these Gospels were written in the same time period and by the same authors as the four Gospels. He also claims some of them are part of the Dead Sea Scrolls. He obviously believes these Gospels should have been included in the NT Canon. How do I respond to him?

Zach
 
“who died and left you in charge?” is one response 😉

Not charitable, I suppose, but to the point…as the reason we know which writings belong in the Canon is because those who were left in charge by Jesus determined so through the grace and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Can this person who believes other writing should be included in the Canon show where his authority to deem such a thing came from and when?
 
Zman084 said:
Hi,

Someone told me that the Church excluded certain Gospels because they say things she disagrees with (such as that Jesus was married). He claims most of these Gospels were written in the same time period and by the same authors as the four Gospels. He also claims some of them are part of the Dead Sea Scrolls. He obviously believes these Gospels should have been included in the NT Canon. How do I respond to him?

Zach
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First, it is important to admit that there are certain things he has said that are correct.

The Church did exclude certain early Christian writings and “gospels” because they were found to contain error or conflicted with the teaching of divine Revelation granted to the Church by Christ. Many were in fact written during the same time period. Usually by unknown authors using the names of the Gospel writers. Some are included in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Dead Sea Scrolls are a general collection of various early writings.
 
Br.Rich_SFO said:
First, it is important to admit that there are certain things he has said that are correct.

The Church did exclude certain early Christian writings and “gospels” because they were found to contain error or conflicted with the teaching of divine Revelation granted to the Church by Christ. Many were in fact written during the same time period. Usually by unknown authors using the names of the Gospel writers. Some are included in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Dead Sea Scrolls are a general collection of various early writings.
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Most of these so-called “gospels” are Gnostic gospels which were written about 100 years after the last canonical Gospel, the Gospel of John. For instance, the gospel of Thomas (Gnostic) was written around A.D. 200. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_Thomas. The gospel of Philip (another Gnostic work) was written around
A.D. 180-350. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_Philip. One of the requirements for canonical status of a Gospel was that it had to be written by an apostle or one of his followers (for instance Mark was a companion of St. Peter, Luke was a companion of St. Paul, Matthew and John were both apostles). The real Gospels were written between A.D. 50 and A.D. 100. After the death of St. John (who also wrote Revelation, the last book of the Bible), there were no more eyewitnesses to Jesus and the New Testament was complete.
 
Those were great links, btw. I drives me a little crazy when people glom onto the gnostic gospels, like something was hidden from them. Reminds me of the Garden of Eden…“Now, don’t eat that apple over there”…and you KNOW that apple was just on their minds ever since.

When feminists like those gnostic gospels it cracks me up a little because they’re really anti-women from the quotes I’ve seen.
 
Zman084 said:
Hi,

Someone told me that the Church excluded certain Gospels because they say things she disagrees with (such as that Jesus was married). He claims most of these Gospels were written in the same time period and by the same authors as the four Gospels. He also claims some of them are part of the Dead Sea Scrolls. He obviously believes these Gospels should have been included in the NT Canon. How do I respond to him?

Zach
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Have a look at this:

ntcanon.org/table.shtml
 
I don’t believe there were any New Testament Gospals found in the Dead Sea Scrolls as this community preceded Christ.
 
I always remembered the three rules for inclusion in the canon:
  1. No heresy taught
  2. Appeared written by an apostle or a direct disciple of an apostle
  3. Was used in the early liturgy of the Church
 
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