GNOSTIC CHRISTIANITY, CLASS 2: The Development of the Canon of Scripture, 14 March 2004

Who is Jesus the Christ?
A Study of Early Gnostic and Orthodox Christianity
An Adult Sunday School Class by Tim Bryan and Bill Stroop

Class 1

Class 2

Class 3

Class 4

Class 5

CLASS 2, MARCH 14, 2004:
The Development of the Canon of Scripture
(the Q Document and the Two Source Hypothesis)
and Introduction to Gnostic Literature

"Trying to find the actual Jesus is like trying, in atomic physics, to locate a submicroscopic particle and determine its charge. The particle cannot be seen directly, but on a photographic plate we see the lines left by the trajectories of larger particles it put in motion. By tracing these trajectories back to their common origin, and by calculating the force necessary to make the particles move as they did, we can locate and describe the invisible cause. Admittedly, history is more complex than physics; the lines connecting the original figure to the developed legends cannot be traced with mathematical accuracy; the intervention of unknown factors has to be allowed for. Consequently, results can never claim more than probability; but "probability," as Bishop Butler said, "is the very guide of life." – Morton Smith, Jesus the Magician (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1982).

I. Quest for the Historical Jesus

A. History of the Quest

· Scientific standards of historical critique a recent development.

· Tensions within the Christian community – proclamations of faith vs. assertions of fact.

· An attempt to peer behind the creedal veil and objectively observe first century life in Galilee, Judea, and their environs.

B. Canonical Sources

· Synoptic Gospels (Mark, Matthew, and Luke) at odds with Gospel of John

· Synoptic ("seen together") Gospels at odds with each other

· Inconsistencies between Gospels due to internally consistent, but differing, theologies (interpretations) within Gospels.

C. Non-Canonical Sources

· Contributions of "Q", or Quelle (Source)

Both Matthew and Luke frequently used Mark as a source. Q is made evident as a source document when Matthew and Luke are in agreement, but lack a Markan parallel. Q has its own, internally consistent, theology; hence, it could be properly referred to as the Gospel of Q. Its actual authorship is yet to be discovered.

The Relationship between the Q Source and the

Other Gospels and Their Special Sources.

(Reprinted from H. Wayne House. Charts of The New Testament.

Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981. p. 88.)

Theories about the Development of the Synoptic Gospels.

(Reprinted from H. Wayne House. Charts of The New Testament.

Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981. p. 89x.)

· Gospel of Thomas

The Gospel of Thomas was found at Nag Hammadi, in Upper Egypt, in 1945 (Read the Online Gospel of Thomas). .It is a collection of sayings attributed to Jesus. It lacks the narrative framework which characterizes the canonical gospels, making it similar to the Gospel of Q. (Visit the Nag Hammadi Library). There were many other writings discovered at Nag Hammadi, and they are cataloged and available for viewing on line (see the other early Christian writings).

D. Methodology

The methods employed by religious historians are necessarily restrictive in nature. Consequently things that may be true, when assessed by those metrics, might be found lacking, and, therefore rejected. The resulting distillation is, for some, a disappointment. As an example, John Dominic Crossan, a professor of biblical studies at DePaul University in Chicago employs triangulation, as it were, to arrive at the historical Jesus. To pass historical muster, an event must be assessed through each of the following lenses:

· Cross-Cultural Anthropology

· Greco-Roman and Jewish History

· Textual / Literary Criticism

Development of the New Testament Canon (Reprinted from Robert C. Walton. Charts of New Church History. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1986. Chart 7.)

Some of the Debated Books of the Bible (Reprinted from Robert C. Walton. Charts of New Church History. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1986. Chart 8.)

II. Conclusion

What follow is an imaginary dialogue with Jesus, penned by John Dominic Crossan, author of The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant, regarding the book's portrayal of Jesus.