dmu@lcuxlm.UUCP (01/03/87)
I have been reading the recent articles in this group
by Eitan Shternbaum about the "slow" canonization of the NT
and other matters with considerable interest, and I'd like to
point out several items with regard to them.
First, as Eitan clearly states, the views expressed by
Christ would not have been outside the realm of first century
jewish thought--with one exception. This exception is
Christ's own divinity. This was THE point that the Jews
objected about. Christ was crucified not because of his other
teachings, but rather because he had the audacity to claim
that he was the son of God. (Whether he had the right to
claim it, as I believe he did, is not the question.)
Christ espoused the "Jewish" traditions and laws as
set forth in the Torah and elsewhere. Never did he renounce
any of laws, but rather he expanded on them. Notice that when
he was asked about the "great Commandment in the Law", he
correctly answered with the Shema (Deut. 6:4-6), and then
proceeded to expound on it. Christianity, as Christ explained
it, involves going BEYOND just the physical restrictions of
the law, but applying them to every thought. We, as
Christians, should strive to achieve this ideal, with the help
of His Holy Spirit.
Jesus himself warned of those who would attempt to
come in his name and bring a different gospel than the one he
preached. The apostles of the first century built their
religion on these teachings, and gave similar warnings: Paul
echoes it several times; Luke, writing in the Acts, reveals
one attempt to pervert the Truth (Simon the Sorcerer); and
John exhorts the churches to endure until the end.
Between the end of the first century and the
establishment of "Christianity" as the state religion of Rome,
many changes had been incorporated into what was known as the
mainstream of Christianity. It is hard to imagine that these
warnings from the apostles weren't heeded, but the result is
obvious. New doctrines and traditions were incorporated into
the religion from many of the gentile religions around them,
in addition to other concepts that seem to be a by-product of
the Greek philosophers. These new doctrines crowded out some
of the fundamental teachings of Christ. :-) (It is interesting
to note that most of these doctrines have no basis in scripture,
even with the late canonization--the purists must still had some
control. An exception to this is the 1-1/2 verses that were
added to 1 John to support the trinity about the fourth
century.)
Through the ages, small "sects" have existed on the
fringe of Christianity that seemingly have kept these traditions
alive, although not without resistance from the mainstream.
Periodically, they would expand their influence only to again
fade toward obscurity. Examples of such groups are the
Waldensians and the Albigensians who were persecuted by the
Catholic Church during the Middle Ages for their "attempts to
Juda-ize Christianity".
Secondly, if you look carefully at the NT from the
point of view of a Jewish book, and reflecting Jewish
thinking, many of the so-called misunderstandings tend to
disappear. There is no attempt made by the authors to conform
the text with "standard" Christian doctrines such as heaven
and hell, the immortal soul, etc. Likewise, the observance of
the holidays that are now considered "Christian" are not
mentioned.
Also, I tend to disagree with Eitan's view that Paul
took authority away from Peter, James, and the apostles that
were former disciples. (By the way, some secular sources
suggest that Paul may have been one of the Pharisees that
disputed with Christ...It is known that he was of the
Sanhedrin.) Notice what happened when controversies came up
in the gentile churches: When the question of circumcision
became a problem, Paul brought the problem before the elders
in Jerusalem, notably James. Does this sound like the actions
of a man who was stealing the limelight from the original
church in Jerusalem? Of course not! My own opinion is that
the emphasis in the NT is placed upon the gentile churches for
four reasons:
1. As a point of balance. Christianity and Judaism are
religions that promise freedom from all of the world's
problems at the coming of the Messiah. With so much
of the rest of the Bible devoted to the children of
Israel, the authors and canons felt a need to
emphasize that salvation through Christ was not
liimited to one nationality.
2. These same gentiles experienced situations and trials
that would not exist in Jewish society. Since we, as
Christians, need to know how to live in a society that
may not share our beliefs, these lessons teach us how
to live with those around us, having love and compassion
for them by not offending them (unless, of course,
God's law would be broken).
3. Simply put, the Jews knew the laws and statutes. When
a Jew converted to Christianity, he already knew the
laws, and only needed to practice them in his heart,
in addition to outwardly practicing them. The gentiles
faced much greater personal struggles in following a
way of life that must have seemed strange, even weird,
to those around them. Thus, the natural emphasis in
the literature would be on the activities in the areas
"where the action is."
4. With the fall of Jerusalem in 69-70 E.C., Jerusalem
was no longer a focal point of activity. The canons,
being gentile, would naturally include those events
and writings that were most important to those of their
own background.
None of these reasons is inconsistent with the
original teachings. (If Paul had usurped authority from the
other apostles, as the earlier posting suggests, he would be
disobeying the spirit of the law that he himself emphasizes so
clearly.)
Remember that the canonization of the OT, as it is
known to Christians today, also took a long time. If I
remember right, the final configuration was not fixed until
the Maccabean period, some 300 years after the death of the
last prophet, Malachi...
There may be errors introduced into the NT by the
natural mistakes of men, and also because of differences in
canonization and editing between manuscripts. On the whole,
though, it presents a reasonably accurate portrayal of the way
Christ wanted us to live.
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Doug Murphy
AT&T-Bell Laboratories
Liberty Corner, NJ
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