J
jas84173
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I think I posted something on this before, however something that intrigues me is that many early Christians regarded these books as scripture. Many of them were written during the same time period, in some cases earlier such as with 2 Peter. Some such as the Didache some scholars believe could pre date any of the books of the New Testament. I realize the Canon is closed, but I think the church could make an edict that the Apostolic Fathers be attached following the New Testament as an appendix, because so many of our traditions actually are found in them. Many don’t realize that some books that ultimately did make the New Testament, such as Hebrews and Revelation were very disputed in the early church themselves. The books I refer too are:
The Epistle to Diognetus
The First Epistle of Clement-a letter addressed to the Christians in the city of Corinth. The letter dates from 80 A.D. to the mid 2nd century, and ranks with Didache as one of the earliest—if not the earliest—of extant Christian documents outside the canonical New Testament.The epistle was publicly read from time to time at Corinth, and by the 4th century this usage had spread to other churches. It was included in the 5th century Codex Alexandrinus, which contained the entire Old and New Testaments
**The Second Epistle of Clement **-2 Clement appears to be a transcript of a homily or sermon that was originally delivered orally at a Christian worship service. For example, in ch. 19 the speaker announces that he will read aloud from scripture – something one would only expect to find in a transcript of an oral sermon. Similarly, whereas an epistle would typically begin by introducing the sender and recipient, 2 Clement starts with by addressing “Brethren”, and then proceeding directly to the sermon. If it is a sermon, 2 Clement would be the earliest surviving Christian sermon.Included in Codex Alexandrinus.
The Didache-A brief early Christian treatise, dated anywhere from as early as AD 50 to the early 2nd century.It contains instructions for Christian communities. The text, parts of which may have constituted the first written catechism, has three main sections dealing with Christian lessons, rituals such as baptism and the Eucharist, and church organization. It was considered by some of the Church Fathers as part of the New Testament.
The Epistle of Barnabas- A Greek epistle containing twenty-one chapters, preserved complete in the 4th century Codex Sinaiticus where it appears at the end of the New Testament. It is traditionally ascribed to Barnabas who is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles
Seven epistles attributed to Ignatius of Antioch-Bishop of Antioch.He may have known the apostle John directly, and his thought is certainly influenced by the tradition associated with this apostle.En route to his martyrdom in Rome, Ignatius wrote a series of letters which have been preserved as an example of the theology of the earliest Christians. Important topics addressed in these letters include ecclesiology, the sacraments, the role of bishops, and the nature of biblical Sabbath.He clearly identifies the local-church hierarchy composed of bishop, presbyters, and deacons and claims to have spoken in some of the church of the Holy Spirit.
The Epistle of Polycarp-an epistle composed around AD 110 to 140 by Polycarp of Smyrna, one of the Apostolic Fathers, from Antioch to the early Christian church in Philippi. The letter is generally agreed to be authentic.
The Martyrdom of Polycarp-Promotes an ideology of martyrdom, by delineating the proper conduct of a martyr.
The Shepherd of Hermas- A Christian literary work of the late 1st or mid-2nd century, considered a valuable book by many Christians, and considered canonical scripture by some of the early Church fathers such as Irenaeus.The Shepherd was very popular amongst Christians in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. It was bound as part of the New Testament in the Codex Sinaiticus, and it was listed between the Acts of the Apostles and the Acts of Paul in the stichometrical list of the Codex Claromontanus.
Fragments of the writings of Papias of Hierapolis
One short fragment of a writing by Quadratus of Athens
The last two would not be considered mostly because they are only fragments. However it seems as the at least some of these were read as scripture in the early Christian church, if that is the case shouldn’t we give them a sort of para-canonical status? I feel as though many people don’t realize that the New Testament was chosen however some of these books can be older than some books Canon. This leads me to wonder if it is possible we are actually missing some important teachings which should in fact be scripture?
The Epistle to Diognetus
The First Epistle of Clement-a letter addressed to the Christians in the city of Corinth. The letter dates from 80 A.D. to the mid 2nd century, and ranks with Didache as one of the earliest—if not the earliest—of extant Christian documents outside the canonical New Testament.The epistle was publicly read from time to time at Corinth, and by the 4th century this usage had spread to other churches. It was included in the 5th century Codex Alexandrinus, which contained the entire Old and New Testaments
**The Second Epistle of Clement **-2 Clement appears to be a transcript of a homily or sermon that was originally delivered orally at a Christian worship service. For example, in ch. 19 the speaker announces that he will read aloud from scripture – something one would only expect to find in a transcript of an oral sermon. Similarly, whereas an epistle would typically begin by introducing the sender and recipient, 2 Clement starts with by addressing “Brethren”, and then proceeding directly to the sermon. If it is a sermon, 2 Clement would be the earliest surviving Christian sermon.Included in Codex Alexandrinus.
The Didache-A brief early Christian treatise, dated anywhere from as early as AD 50 to the early 2nd century.It contains instructions for Christian communities. The text, parts of which may have constituted the first written catechism, has three main sections dealing with Christian lessons, rituals such as baptism and the Eucharist, and church organization. It was considered by some of the Church Fathers as part of the New Testament.
The Epistle of Barnabas- A Greek epistle containing twenty-one chapters, preserved complete in the 4th century Codex Sinaiticus where it appears at the end of the New Testament. It is traditionally ascribed to Barnabas who is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles
Seven epistles attributed to Ignatius of Antioch-Bishop of Antioch.He may have known the apostle John directly, and his thought is certainly influenced by the tradition associated with this apostle.En route to his martyrdom in Rome, Ignatius wrote a series of letters which have been preserved as an example of the theology of the earliest Christians. Important topics addressed in these letters include ecclesiology, the sacraments, the role of bishops, and the nature of biblical Sabbath.He clearly identifies the local-church hierarchy composed of bishop, presbyters, and deacons and claims to have spoken in some of the church of the Holy Spirit.
The Epistle of Polycarp-an epistle composed around AD 110 to 140 by Polycarp of Smyrna, one of the Apostolic Fathers, from Antioch to the early Christian church in Philippi. The letter is generally agreed to be authentic.
The Martyrdom of Polycarp-Promotes an ideology of martyrdom, by delineating the proper conduct of a martyr.
The Shepherd of Hermas- A Christian literary work of the late 1st or mid-2nd century, considered a valuable book by many Christians, and considered canonical scripture by some of the early Church fathers such as Irenaeus.The Shepherd was very popular amongst Christians in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. It was bound as part of the New Testament in the Codex Sinaiticus, and it was listed between the Acts of the Apostles and the Acts of Paul in the stichometrical list of the Codex Claromontanus.
Fragments of the writings of Papias of Hierapolis
One short fragment of a writing by Quadratus of Athens
The last two would not be considered mostly because they are only fragments. However it seems as the at least some of these were read as scripture in the early Christian church, if that is the case shouldn’t we give them a sort of para-canonical status? I feel as though many people don’t realize that the New Testament was chosen however some of these books can be older than some books Canon. This leads me to wonder if it is possible we are actually missing some important teachings which should in fact be scripture?