Christian Canon Research Articles

Historiography as Anti-History: Reading Nag Hammadi Codex II

Abstract:Nag Hammadi Codex II was found in Upper Egypt together with twelve other codices. It was buried in the fourth or fifth century and contains seven Christian texts which were not part of the Christian canon, as it now stands. In the codex, the world is seen as a place of birth, desire, change and death, and, because of that, as seriously flawed. The challenge is to explain why it is flawed and how to remedy it. The goal is to return to the beginning and to reach a sort of supra-biological life, characterized by non-change and permanence. In this context, the writing of history takes the character of anti-history. The article raises two questions: What sort of historical narrations do the texts in Nag Hammadi Codex II present? And: What characterizes the historiography in these texts and what purpose did it fulfill?

The Making of a Canon: Impact of the Old Testament Scriptures in the Christian Canon Development

The formation of the Christian canon was not a one day venture. Some scholars maintain it spanned from the first up to about the fourth centuries. This paper has three main parts: the first draws a linear process of canon generation, beginning from text to scripture and possibly becoming canonical. The second focuses on the creation of the Christian canon by exploring the stages and the implications of naming the canon as `Testaments`. At the heart of the study is a consideration of the use and inclusion or exclusion of the Jewish scripture by Christians as discussed by a heretic (Marcion) and three Anti-heretics (Justin Martyr, Irenaeus and Tertullian) in the 2nd and/or 3rd centuries of the Roman Empire. The third part takes an example of a modern church (Church of Christ) whose reception to the Old Testament is one of skepticism. Furthermore, the level of usage of the Old Testament by the Church of Christ is key for the thesis of this paper. It is, therefore, important to assess a possible relationship between Marcion and the Church of Christ. Historical, theological and an interview are employed to explore these developments. The paper concludes that by the naming of the Christian canon and inclusion of the Jewish scriptures, the Christian identity can be described as Judeo-Christian. This description has impacted Christian formation and development a great deal from antiquity to the modern era. Marcion and his followers did not take this lightly in the first four centuries of the Christian history. On the other hand, in the nineteenth century the Church of Christ seemingly follows this example in antiquity on including the Old Testament as part of the Christian canon.

Apocryphal Thinking, or, Deuterocanonical Shakespeare

ABSTRACTThis article takes the contested relationship between the Christian canon and the Apocrypha in early modern England as a model for understanding three recent editions of Shakespeare's works. A Shakespeare Apocrypha found its first formal instantiation in C. F. Tucker Brooke's collection in 1908. Brooke's belief that there may be fragments of Shakespeare's writing among the apocryphal drama, but that such instances are neither “Shakespearian” nor warrant inclusion among Shakespeare's works, poses a question for recent work by attributionists that have identified Shakespeare's hand beyond the bounds of the traditional canon. Over the past 30 years, series and editions of Shakespeare's drama have introduced more plays, changing the canon. Three recent Complete Works, the Royal Shakespeare Company edition, the third edition of the Norton Shakespeare and the New Oxford Shakespeare each reproduce Shakespeare's works in two different forms or editions, with a complete works supplemented by another body of texts. The relationships between the constituent editions echo many of the uncertainties between canon and Apocrypha contested in Shakespeare's time. Analysing the tensions between the proto- and deuterocanonical collections of Shakespeare reveals the contingent nature of the canon and should occasion a rethinking of what we mean by Shakespeare's works.

Henry David Thoreau's Anti‐Work Spirituality and a New Theological Ethic of Work

AbstractAlthough Henry David Thoreau stands outside the Christian canon, his outlook on the relations among spirituality, ecology, and economy highlights how Christian theologians can develop a theological work ethic in our era of economic and ecological precarity. He can furthermore help theologians counter the pro‐work bias in much Christian thought. In Walden, Thoreau shows that the best work is an ascetic practice that reveals and reaps the abundance of nature and connects the person to the immanent divine and thereby glimpsing eternity. Thoreau thus offers the outline of a transformed theology of work even as he challenges Protestant vocationalism in the early industrial era. He is therefore a fitting if challenging guide for formulating a theology of the self as agent and product of work, at a moment when the postindustrial ideal of work that is both meaningful and remunerative seems ever more unattainable while the negative impact of our work on nonhuman nature is ever more apparent.

Die Kirche und das Alte Testament oder: Die Hebräische Bibel zwischen Lust, Last und Leidenschaft

Abstract This contribution starts with the peculiar ambivalence of how modern German Protestantism deals with the so-called ›Old Testament‹: Delight in Old Testament reading and preaching as seen in the present revision of the lectionary is contrasted by a certain skepticism of scholarly theology against the Old Testament as a part of the Christian canon. The essay assesses both positions critically and demonstrates how reading the Old Testament permanently questions Christian identity vis-à-vis Israel. For sermons on the Old Testament, the point is to preach in a self-evident and at once Israel-sensitive way.

Leo Strauss and the Recovery of Medieval Political Philosophy by Joshua Parens

Reviewed by: Leo Strauss and the Recovery of Medieval Political Philosophy by Joshua Parens Michael Millerman Leo Strauss and the Recovery of Medieval Political Philosophy By Joshua Parens. New York: University of Rochester Press, 2016. xii + 191pp. The recovery of medieval political philosophy that Leo Strauss is said to have effected concerns principally Maimonides and Alfarabi. Christian thinkers are excluded. The reason given is that whereas Christianity is marked more by belief than action, Islam and Judaism are marked more by action than belief. This difference is due to the importance of law in both, Christian canon law being no equivalent. The varying status of law explains the fact that theology has pride of place in Christianity, whereas legal study (Talmud, fiqh) does in Judaism and Islam. A few chapters in this new book by Joshua Parens discuss not only this difference, but also the erroneous interpretations that can arise and that have arisen when medieval Jewish and Muslim thinkers are interpreted with the methods and presuppositions applicable to the study of medieval Christian thought or scholasticism. Scholasticism can mean the view that philosophy and revelation are not incompatible: revelation (Christian revelation) is the crowning grace that crowns the head of philosophy. Revelation completes philosophy, which can be put in its service. What is more, the (Christian) theology of revelation can serve as a basis or ground for theorizing about practical matters. Revealed truth is both the crowning grace and the that-from-which of Christianity. Not so for Maimonides and Al-Farabi. Both stand opposed to the possible scholastic harmonization of philosophy and revelation; neither sees revelation as the perfection of reason or grounds practical doctrines in revealed dogma as theoretical truth. This is perhaps most apparent concerning providence: whereas "providence is a very high theme of the theoretical portion of sacred doctrine" among Christians, "particular providence is considered under the aegis of political science in Alfarabi and Maimonides," writes Parens. Among the merits of Strauss's studies, for Parens, is that Strauss indicates how and why this opposition to harmonization is expressed. When a [End Page 108] religious-legal or theologico-political order is all embracing or offers a comprehensive way of life, as is the case in Islam and Judaism, according to the general picture offered by Strauss, a decision in favor of philosophy as a way of life may necessitate a certain taciturnity or reticence in the presentation of one's thoughts. Parens elaborates on Strauss's reasons why these medievals had recourse to such reticent or esoteric writing, linking the need for reticence to the fundamental difference between dogma revelation and legal revelation discussed above. One of the main points the book makes about Maimonides is that his Guide is "in its esoteric depth a work of political science or philosophy," or that political science is "the true science of the law," the stated subject matter of the work. The contrary position, the main opponent to this view, is that the guide is a work of "enlightened kalam" Kalam is a defense of religious teaching against the philosophical teachings undermining it, a defense Maimonides criticized for its repudiation of rationality, its denial of the nature of existence. Enlightened kalam would be a defense of religious teaching that is compatible with philosophical truth. In Maimonides, this defense is not a theoretical harmonization. Instead, his "true science of the law" seems to Parens to comprise "not only a form of dialectical theology but also a philosophic exploration of the aims of the Law, that is, a political philosophy," such that, "there may be no more profound exploration of the relation between human being, city, and cosmos than the Guide of the Perplexed." One of the main points the book makes about Alfarabi is that he is not the neo-Platonist he is sometimes made out to be. The apparent neo-Platonism in Alfarabi is upon closer inspection an exoteric or surface doctrine, concealing his true position. The true position does not take for granted a perfectly ordered cosmic whole to be modeled by a political order thought to correspond to it, so that the cosmic order would be the foundation for...

Reader-response-criticism in the light of the scriptural principle

This article discusses the issue of deconstructing and reconstructing the scriptural principle of the Reformation. As will be shown, such a reconstruction in the light of reader-response-criticism requires engagement with the concerns of the classical doctrine of inspiration. It also allows a fresh look at the fact and the hermeneutical problem that there exists a variety of concepts of a Christian canon of the Bible.

Intertextuality, Apocalypticism, and Covenant: The Rhetorical Force of the New Jerusalem in Rev 21:9-22:5

The culminating text of the Christian canon, Rev 21-22, is a key text for the church’s articulation of its eschatological hope. This paper argues that in Rev 21:9-22:5 John draws on the prophetic theme of covenant renewal and the attendant conception of the identity and character of God’s covenant people to reinforce in a new context that same conception of the identity of God’s people, though reimagined in light of the life and resurrection of the Lamb. The author is making a claim on his audience’s identity as the locus of the fulfilment of the prophetic hope of covenant renewal. Using the tools of rhetorical analysis and intertextuality, I thus argue that the New Jerusalem image is not an articulation of the future dwelling place of God’s people; rather, the New Jerusalem image is a call to discipleship anchored in the prophetic hope of covenant renewal.

Death After Life or Life After Death?

The early Church Fathers accepted the notion of an intermediate state, the existence of the soul following death until its reunification with the body at the time of the final resurrection. This view is common in the modern Christian world, but it has been challenged as being unbiblical. This study reflects upon this question. Does the New Testament speak exclusively of death after life, complete lifelessness until the day of resurrection, or does it also contain the notion of life after life or immediate post-mortem existence? It will be argued that, while the doctrine of future resurrection is the most common Christian view, it was not the only one present in the Christian canon. There are hints, especially in the Gospel of Luke and the Revelation of John, that people do indeed live again immediately after death, although the doctrine of resurrection is also present. These two ideas are never coherently related to one another in the New Testament and it was the Church Fathers who first sought to systematise them.

How Far is too Far? Defining Self and Other in Religious Studies and Christian Missiology

This article explores the limits of the debate surrounding Robert A. Orsi's call for a “third way” in scholar-practitioner encounters in religious studies research. It argues that the debate has reached an impasse and that, as Joel Robbins suggests, an alternative approach might exist within theology—particularly, theological discussions of how the Christian is to relate to the non-Christian other. The article tests this notion by probing the writings of A. Kenneth Cragg, an Anglican theologian and Islamic Studies specialist who proposed the possibility of expanding the Christian canon within the context of interfaith encounters. The article concludes that although religious studies remains, as a field, unprepared to countenance the kind of hybridization toward which Cragg's conception of the interfaith situation leads, his notion of “bi-scripturalism” has the potential nevertheless of opening up new questions for religious studies scholars concerned with alterity.

“Niepodległość” Liberal Democratic Party

The Liberal Democratic party “Niepodległość”/“Independence” was a radically anti-communist party and its aim was to overthrow the communist regime and make Poland an independent country, for the party had no doubt that other elements of its agenda could be realised only after Poland achieved independence. Its uncompromising anti-communist stance made the party reject the agreements made at the Round Table. The LDPN advocated political and economic liberalism, combining it with an attachment to a conservative and Christian canon of values.

MATERIALINĖS SANTUOKOS SUDARYMO SĄLYGOS LIETUVOS DIDŽIOJOJE KUNIGAIKŠTYSTĖJE IKI XVI A.

The interaction between the canon law and secular law governing the rules of one of the key social institutions, i.e. the family and marriage, is a relevant and significant subject. The impact of Christian canon law on the marriage institution in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania has not been sufficiently studied. The present article contains an analysis of the legal rules of marriage effective in the GDL and established in secular law, as well as their dynamics under the influence of the Christian canon law. The object of this research refers to the material conditions for entering into marriage in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania before the 16th century, and the impact of Christian canon law on their development. Before introduction of Christianity, the marriage in the GDL was likely to be formed based on the customary law. Once Lithuania accepted christening in 1387, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania became a Christian country where the Orthodox and Catholic canon law applied across its entire territory. There was a period when marriage could be formed both under the customary and canon law, since the Christianity and new law gained ground in the society only gradually. For instance, the Orthodox Church demanded that marriage with the first wife should be legalised, i.e. repeatedly formed at church with the aim of banning bigamy. The Christian canon law is recognised as one of the sources for the Statutes of Lithuania which were the main legal code of the GDL in the 16th century. The fundamental preconditions for entering into marriage in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were a free will of future spouses, adequate marriageable age, the principle of monogamy, absence of consanguinity and affinity, the same religion of future spouses, and a mental state. The canon law altered understanding of the principle of a free will of marrying couples, and most likely as a result of the influence of canon law, the marriageable age of women was reduced to 13 years of age. The requirement regarding one’s mental state appeared under the influence of the canon law. The Christian moral principles did not tolerate intermarriage between close relatives or even their intimate relationships which used to be permitted in the period of customary law. Some conditions for marriage were differently treated by the Orthodox and Catholic canon law, e.g. unlike the Catholic canon law, the Orthodox canon law effective in the GDL required a parental consent as a mandatory precondition to form a valid marriage, and did not recognise secret marriages. A sexual intercourse mandatory under the Catholic canon law was not considered necessary to enter into valid marriage under the Orthodox canon law. Determining of the upper and lower marriageable age limits also varied.

The Christian Canon and the Future of Biblical Theology

Recent academic forums have questioned the future of biblical theology and the nature of its task. This paper argues that one important task for a robust future in biblical theology will be for scholars of the Christian Scriptures to work across the Christian canon to articulate its essential theological ideas and to engage modern issues with the full span of biblical perspectives. This will require, at least in some institutions, a more deliberate training of scholars with skills necessary for a lifelong pursuit of issues in biblical theology, training up a new generation of scholars who will model for the scholarly guild and the leaders of the Christian church a full embrace of the Christian Scriptures.

Die uitbouing van die Bybelse kanon in antieke Judaïsme en die vroeë Christendom

The development of the biblical canon in ancient Judaism and early Christianity. A brief account of the process of the development of both the Jewish and the bipartite Christian canon is given. It is argued that due to insights gained from recent textual discoveries, especially the Dead Sea Scrolls (Qumran texts), earlier theories about the history of canonisation had to be reviewed. With the New Testament canon the authors focus on the influence of Marcion as well as the various other factors that played a role in the process of canonisation. It is shown that canonisation was the result of a complicated and variegated canonical process. But in spite of the problems of the criteria used and other factors involved, the biblical canon is theologically valuable and ‘well-chosen’.

The First New Testament: Marcion’s Scriptural Canon by Jason D. BeDuhn (review)

Reviewed by: The First New Testament: Marcion’s Scriptural Canon by Jason D. BeDuhn Clayton N. Jefford Jason D. BeDuhn The First New Testament: Marcion’s Scriptural Canon Salem, OR: Polebridge, 2013 Pp. xiii + 387. $29.00. Recently renewed interest in Marcion, his history, and contributions to the formation of early ecclesiastical experience provides a ready context for the appearance of this volume. Unlike many other scholars, however, BeDuhn is less attracted to Marcion himself and more to his influence on the development of the Christian canon, stating from the outset that we “know the name of the individual responsible for the first New Testament” (3), and indicating that here we have evidence of the first biblical canon as a “collection of authoritative books” (4). He asserts that both the idea and “distinctive structure” of a New Testament can be associated with Marcion’s efforts (7), thus making this figure a key sponsor for the rise of later considerations about canon and sacred texts. Consequently, BeDuhn seeks to render the two parts of Marcion’s canon (the Evangelion and Apostolikon) into modern prose for the first time. By way of structure, the volume offers a logical progression of movement. BeDuhn begins by necessity with a brief description and history of Marcion the man in order to set the stage (11–23), followed by a somewhat longer description of Marcion’s “New Testament” and the sources used to reconstruct its design (25–62). He thereafter moves to the intended focus of the investigation, English renderings of the Evangelion (65–200) and Apostolikon (203–319), both of which are provided with useful introductions and notes on the texts themselves. The translations offer specific references in the margins to relevant sources from antiquity (mimicking the style of the Nestle-Aland edition of the New Testament). To close, one finds extensive chapter notes (321–61), bibliography (363–81), and a general index (383–87). The principal difficulty with BeDuhn’s task becomes evident in the need to sift through ancient literature in order to establish Marcion’s words with precision. [End Page 471] BeDuhn acknowledges (with von Harnack) that only three primary sources for this Herculean effort remain: Tertullian, Epiphanius, and a third anonymous author, all of whom write in a polemical tone and “make no attempt to quote every word of Marcion’s text” (34). Otherwise, only a handful of lesser witnesses may be accessed, including the so-called “Marcionite Prologues to the works of Paul” in the Apostolikon. The most illuminating section concerns reconstruction and significance (46–62), in which BeDuhn defends the approach to his translation, indicating that he is focused on recovery of Marcion’s content rather than exact wording (46–47). Here he reviews the history of research on the question at hand, beginning with the methodology of von Harnack and reviewing scholars who challenge those results. He at last resorts to a multi-step model for his own reconstruction: Inclusion of elements explicitly cited by outside sources; resolution of seeming contradictions; omission of materials expressly stated to be missing from Marcion; omission of unattested materials; and retention of secondary connective content to provide coherent meaning (54–55). Ultimately, he appeals to the fluidity of early Christian literature as typical of Marcion’s own efforts at “rooting authority in text” (61). BeDuhn’s work in the completion of a most difficult task is hereby applauded. He has clearly identified the scope of the problem with respect to Marcion’s canon—even if many scholars debate the significance of that corpus for later canonical construction—and has provided easily accessible translations that students of biblical exegesis and Christian late antiquity should find quite useful as a point of departure for discussions of canon. In this respect the investigation stands as a unique resource within scholarly literature on Marcion, and thus the appearance of this volume is most welcome. The translation is readable and fluid, while the notes give ready access to the issues of reconstruction. It would be nice to find some presentation of original language sources on pages facing the translation, but this lies beyond the scope of what otherwise is already a hefty achievement and hence must remain...

Kodex und Kanon: Das Buch im frühen Christentum by Martin Wallraff (review)

Reviewed by: Kodex und Kanon: Das Buch im frühen Christentum by Martin Wallraff Brent Nongbri Martin Wallraff Kodex und Kanon: Das Buch im frühen Christentum Hans-Lietzmann-Vorlesungen 12 Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2013 Pp. xv + 78. $28.00. This slim volume presents the 2010 Hans Lietzmann Lecture delivered by Martin Wallraff. A foreword by Christoph Markschies (series editor) introduces the lecture series and provides a brief biography and bibliography of Wallraff. The book’s subject matter, the place of the codex in early Christian culture, has had no shortage of attention in recent years, having been addressed in monographs by historians, biblical scholars, and papyrologists. Yet, Wallraff’s treatment of the topic is often innovative and always insightful. The book is divided into six sections. The first (“Medienhistorische Vorüberlegungen”) situates the discussion in terms of media history, noting that in our present moment of flux between print and digital media, we may be especially well placed to see previously neglected aspects of the shift from roll to codex that coincided with the first centuries of the Christian era. The second section (“Der Kodex im frühen Christentum”) begins by presenting data and charts derived from the Leuven Database of Ancient Books to demonstrate the early Christian preference for the codex format over the roll. Noting that attempts to explain this preference have inspired sober minds to “erstaunlicher Hypothesenfreudigkeit” (16), Wallraff argues that probably no single reason accounts for the Christian preference for the codex, but rather a combination of reasons, and he raises the possibility that Christians tended to produce their literature in codex format because it was not regarded as sacred. As is well known, for the earliest followers of Jesus, the “scriptures” were texts of the Hebrew Bible, which were characteristically produced in rolls. This suggestion is intriguing, but Wallraff does not account for identifiably Christian copies of Septuagint texts in codex form that have been assigned quite early dates. [End Page 480] The third section (“Der Kanon im frühen Christentum”) offers a fascinating overview of evidence that has been neglected in discussions of the development of the Christian canon, beginning with term itself. Wallraff notes that in addition to its oft-cited definition as “a measure” or “rule,” kanōn also could mean “table” or “synopsis.” This observation leads to an illuminating discussion of “canons” (i.e., tables) from antiquity, such as Ptolemy’s astronomical tables, followed by a more detailed discussion of the use of tables by Eusebius of Caesarea. Wallraff first directs attention to the use of parallel columns in Eusebius’s Chronicon before turning to his Canons of the Psalms and Canons of the Gospels, which function essentially as indices for these works and presuppose the codex format. The fourth section (“Der spätantike Buch als Gesamtkunstwerk”) opens by pointing out that very few complete Bibles survive from antiquity, and there is no good reason to think very many more were produced. Here Wallraff sensibly dissents from the view that Eusebius (Vit. Const. 4.36) unquestionably refers to the production of complete Bibles. Thus, the notion of “canon” as authoritative text was much more an ideal list than a material reality. Yet, even if complete Bibles were rarer than we may have imagined, the codex was still a crucial part of elite Christian sensibilities. In this regard, Wallraff returns to Eusebius’s canon tables, pointing out that they were likely the earliest truly illuminated manuscripts. The originals, of course, do not survive, but because of the consistent layout and decorations on the extant manuscripts (similar scenes of Jesus’ birth, baptism, and resurrection), it is reasonable to conclude that they give evidence of an earlier prototype. The fifth section (“Performative Valenz der Buches”) explores the role of Christian books beyond the acts of writing and reading. Wallraff notes the central place of books as objects of veneration in church councils, as carriers of miraculous power, and, according to a colophon in the late twelfth-century Lemberger gospels, as the physical manifestation of the body of Jesus. These observations make for a smooth transition to the final section, “Ausblick: Kodex und Koran.” Wallraff here explores a number of interesting tensions surrounding...

The Legal Context of the Findings of Limyra

This article surveys both canon and imperial law for legislation regarding Jews and Judaism until the 8th cent. C. E. Judaism was recognized by Roman law as a religio licita and Jewish rights were thus protected. But with the rise of Christianity to the official religion of the Roman empire imperial legislation disadvantaged Jews increasingly. Nevertheless Judaism remained a religio licita and different from pagans or heretics, Jews retained certain rights and a limited protection of the Roman state. The legislative situation in Roman imperial law reflects Christian canon law.

Christian Apocrypha and the Development of the Christian Canon

Christian Apocrypha and the Development of the Christian Canon

DA VARANDA SE PERCEBE A CASA. O LIVRO DE JOSUÉ: UMA INTRODUÇÃO À SUA HISTÓRIA E À SUA LITERATURA

Com este artigo gostaríamos de nos dedicar ao livro de Josué. Para este intuito, nossa pretensão é apresentar segundo a abordagem da pesquisa histórico-crítica, quais são as possibilidades de se pensar em um entendimento sistêmico desta obra, enquanto literatura integrante do cânon cristão.

Die Herausbildung des biblischen Kanons im antiken Judentum und im frühen Christentum

Abstract Starting with the observation that the canon of the Bible differs among the Christian denominations (Lutheran, Reformed, Roman Catholic), and that definitive decisions on the canon were not made before the 16th century, the author gives a brief account of the process of the development of both the Jewish and the bipartite Christian canon. Due to more recent textual discoveries, earlier views of the making of the Jewish or the Christian canon have undergone significant changes. For the Jewish canon, the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls (Qumran texts) provided the opportunity to study the making of the canon from manuscript evidence, and to alter the overall view from the pattern of a three stage canonization to the pattern of a “canonical process”, leading to the Hebrew canon and, later and in Christian circles, to the canon of the Septuagint. This pattern is also useful for studying the making of the bipartite Christian canon or the New Testament canon. Here, the author focuses on the challenge provided by Marcion’s “canon”, the early beginning of the canonical process and its late closure, and the various factors in the process, which can be studied by including the manuscript evidence and taking into account the character of several apocryphal texts and the context and intention of the various lists of canonical texts. The biblical canon as presupposed throughout the Middle Ages is the result of a complicated and variegated canonical process. But in spite of the problems of the criteria and factors involved, the biblical canon is theologically valuable and “well-chosen”.