DR. MICHAEL KRUGER
WHICH CANON IS RIGHT?
https://youtu.be/p2upKk_5Bhk
-The Canon of scripture isn't something that was found or formulated or instituted in the early centuries of the church but instead it was what was already devotional to the early Christians as they gathered and copied apostolic instruction from the apostles and eventually ran from area to area to escape persecution.
Early Christians already knew what they had in their possession from the beginning of the collecting of what we now know to be Christian manuscripts. They knew what was authoritative and what came from the apostles either by their own pen or the pen of those who were instructed by the apostles.
-The Canon of scripture was not created or instituted as authoritative by a church creed or council. Instead, even early church fathers will write concerning its self-authenticating authority of these books and differentiate them from others w/ regard to importance and sacredness.
-The authoritativeness of scripture is not only seen in scripture directly (2 Peter 3:16; 1 Timothy 5:18, etc.) but easily perceived by the authoritative writing accounts of the Apostles and those they instructed to write concerning their witness of Christ's commandments and the gospel.
-Long before Emperor Constantine (300's AD) there were a core of (approximately 22 out of 27 books of our NT Canon) which were mentioned among the early patristic church fathers (starting from 101AD) demonstrating their sacred relevance. Among these were the gospels and Paul's epistles.
-The question of why NOT the Apocryphal writings in the NT and OT?
Simply because Protestants wanted to use the Bible (scriptures) that was around during the days of Christ and what He would have used in the OT.
The NT quotes an extraordinary amount of the OT and the NT never quotes from apocryphal texts.
It was only as a counter-reformation reaction that the Roman Catholic Church decided on an official Church Canon.
So, the idea that books at any time were "taken out" of the Canon is a gross misunderstanding of history.
The OT Canon which Jesus followed included The Law, The Prophets and the Psalms, and so these were what needed to be included within a complete Canon of scripture for Protestant Christians.
*** Note that these decisions are ones that are made with a full scope on honoring and making SCRIPTURE exclusively authoritative above and beyond outward tradition, ecclesiastic councils, etc.
Not that apostolic traditional churches have less care or concern over scripture but that nothing FALLIBLE should get in the way of scriptural INFALLIBLE teaching and authority.
DO WE NEED AN AUTHORITATIVE CHURCH TO DECIDE WHAT BOOKS ARE IN THE CANON?
-NO. When Jesus told the Jewish leaders, "Have you not read what God said to YOU.." (Concerning David, Moses, the resurrection, the prophets, etc.)
There was an already established OT Canon which was authoritative without an official COUNCIL to establish it other than God Himself.
Therefore, the same thing goes for our NT Canon:
Hebrews 1:1-2 -
"God, having spoken long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,
in these last days spoke to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds,.."
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The NT books we have now ARE THE EARLIEST written works we have for the formation of the Christian faith.
The earliest books are the gospels (except for Galatians and perhaps James which are argued to possibly be earlier than the gospels).
-The differences found among the manuscripts are dealt with by going back and tracing all the copies we have and judging on what might have happened along the way, etc. The more copies we have of a certain manuscript the better it is to critically examine what happen.
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Michael Kruger: God’s Word in the Early Church:
https://youtu.be/u2F0Kp-CjgM?list=TLPQMDQxMDIwMjTO30-fodg4aA
Mohammad Ali - (not the boxer) The shepherd.
The discovery of the gnostic texts. Gospel of Thomas and a collection of books.
-The question of what are the right gospels?
*Why the gospels (Matt, Mark, Luke and John) are unique and ended up in the Canon of scripture and no other gospels.
*** THE CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF THE GOSPELS:
1-EARLY ATTESTATION
2-CLOSEST EYEWITNESSES
3-THE GOSPELS LACK LEGENDARY EMBELLISHMENTS OF THE APOCRYPHAL GOSPELS.
4- OBSSERVATION - RECOGNIZED AS AUTHORITATIVE FROM A VERY EARLY DATE.
-THE CANONICAL GOSPELS ARE THE EARLIEST WRITINGS DATING TO THE FIRST CENTURY.
-THEY WERE WRITTEN DURING THE TIME WHILE SOME EYEWITNESSES WERE STILL ALIVE.
-PEOPLE COULD HAVE DISAGREED W/ THE FACTS OF THE EVENTS IF THEY WERE EYEWITNESSES TO THE ACCOUNTS - SO WHAT IS WRITTTEN DOWN NEEDED TO BE FACTUAL OR NO ONE WOULD HAVE BELIEVED IT, NOR KEPT IT, NOR COLLECTED IT, ETC.
-THE CANONICAL GOSPELS HAVE THE BEST CONNECTIONS TO THE APOSTLES.
-EARLY IS GOOD BUT ALSO A GOSPEL WRITTEN BY A GOOD EYEWITNESS.
(CLOSE RELATION TO JESUS)
WRITTEN BY AN APOSTLE OR A COMPANION OF AN APOSTLE.
-HOW DO WE KNOW JOHN WROTE JOHN?
THE TESTIMNONY OF THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS.
IRANAES STATES JOHN WROTE JOHN.
IRANAUS WAS MENTORED BY POLYCARP WHO WAS MENTORED BY JOHN THE APOSTLE.
-THE APOCRYPHA GOSPELS WERE WRITTEN IN THE LATER 2ND CENTURY - MUCH TIME REMOVED IN COMPARISON TO THE CANONICAL GOSPELS.
THE FIRST CENTURY EYEWITNESSES WERE ALREADY DEAD YET THE APOCRYPHAL TEXTS STATE THAT THE APOSTLES WROTE IT.
THE NAMING OF THE APOCRYPHAL GOSPELS WERE AN ATTEMPT TO GET A HEARING.
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EMBELLISHMENTS OF THE APOCRYPHAL GOSPELS:
*Most people haven't read these gospels.
-qualitatively difference than the canonical gospels.
-The canonical gospels read like a narrative of a newspaper, but the apocrypha writings are dramatical and embellished.
In the Gospels, there's no seeing of the resurrection but in the apocrypha, you get the drama described in a bizarre way.
The early life of Jesus is silent in the Gospels but in the apocrypha there's unnecessary embellishments.
There's an appeal to human curiosity.
The gospel of Thomas, Peter, etc.
The gospel of Peter shows the resurrection...
Jesus is a giant Jesus AND also the cross floats and which literally talks! ...What the??
Bizarre!
Jesus was extremely mean in the infancy gospel of Thomas!
He kills another kid and then resurrects him. He breaks the sabbath, etc.
OBSSERVATION - RECOGNIZED AS AUTHORITATIVE FROM A VERY EARLY DATE.
-WHICH GOSPELS DID THE EARLY CHRISTIANS COPY THE MOST, COLLECT THE MOST; THE MOST POPULAR, ETC.
The number of manuscript evidence demonstrates which were the most important to early Christians. (Matt, Mark, Luke, John)
Irenaeus states ONLY FOUR.
Clement (2nd century) four and only four.
-The apocrypha texts were never found among the Gospels in history when they were found.
No caudexes which include a mix of gospels and apocrypha.
We don't have a list of a mix of them from the early church.
The gospels are always set apart.
The apocrypha manuscript evidence is very small as opposed to the Gospels demonstrating that they were not very popular.
5700 NT manuscripts
several thousands only of the apocryphal texts.
-the gospel of Mary (only about 3 copies but has never ever been mentioned by any church father in history)
we only know about it b/c it was found in the desert.
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An In Depth Study of Tradition and the Canon
https://youtu.be/RR0RXeCQdL0?list=TLPQMDQxMDIwMjTO30-fodg4aA
What is the Canon?
Canon means a "rule" or standard against which something is judged and measured.
The term came to mean an authoritative listing of books or works.
Romans 15:4
For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through the perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
1 Corinthians 10:11
Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have arrived.
How is canon determined:
The OT canon is the same version of the Jewish Canon w/out the apocrypha texts.
The Canon of scripture is part of revelation of God.
Canon is an artifact of revelation not an object of revelation itself.
God is the One who has inspired some writings and not other writings.
Man RECOGNIZES CANON AND DOESN'T CREATE CANON.
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Which Old Testament books are not quoted in the New Testament?
Because, these books are also the ones that were laid up by the Jews in their temple, and so early Protestants wanted to use the official canon which were accepted the Jews.
*The argument is that the OT depended upon oral tradition therefore, the NT church also depended upon oral tradition of the NT. But this is not an adequate argument b/c The NT quotes the OT 283 times!
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