Chapter Twenty-Seven Textual Traditions Examined: What the Text of the Apostolic Fathers Tells Us about the Text of the New Testament in the Second Century

2012 ◽  
pp. 470-488
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Second Century ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Apostolic Fathers ◽  
Textual Traditions

Clement of Rome and Moralism

1962 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Merritt Nielsen
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Second Century ◽  
First Century ◽  
Freedom Of Choice ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Apostolic Fathers ◽  
Do So

Clement of Rome has often been judged and found wanting by his Protestant interpreters. His letter is frequently presented as “a good illustration of the break between the New Testament faith and the Apostolic Fathers' lapse into moralism.” (And “moralism,” to put it mildly, is not always a pleasant word in Protestant theological circles.) Rudolf Knopf calls attention to the “rationalen Moralismus des Schreibens.” And Johannes Weiss says that “a strong moralism runs through all its expressions from the first page to the last.” When James Mackinnon gives us examples of Christian moralism in the sub-apostolic period, Clement is of course present in a prominent way, as indeed he is also significantly present when H. E. W. Turner mentions the “tradition of ‘sober moralism’ which was so notable a feature of late first-century and early second-century Christianity.” Moreover, A. C. McGiffert stands in the same tradition of interpretation when he says that for Clement “salvation is to be had only by obeying God and doing his will.” One could of course go on and on citing examples of this kind, but it seems unnecessary to do so, especially in view of the fact that a great many more illustrations are readily available in Thomas F. Torrance's The Doctrine of Grace in the Apostolic Fathers. Not only does Professor Torrance mention numerous scholars who stress the moralism of Clement, but also he himself comes to the conclusion that grace in I Clement appears to be an “enabling power granted to those who are worthy.” Clement “may use the language of election and justification, but the essentially Greek idea of the unqualified freedom of choice is a natural axiom in his thought, and entails a doctrine of ‘works,’ as Paul would have said.”

scholarly journals Czy kolejność ksiąg Nowego Testamentu w kanonie jest przypadkowa?

2007 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 177
Author(s):  
Paweł Marek Mucha
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Acts Of The Apostles ◽  
Second Century ◽  
Council Of Trent ◽  
Alphabetical Order ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Pauline Epistles ◽  
Catholic Epistles ◽  
Apostolic Fathers ◽  
Order Books

Decretum de canonicis Scripturis (Council of Trent) gives the following list of the canonical books of the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts of the Apostles, Pauline Epistles, Catholic Epistles, Revelation. This order is based on many manuscripts, but is not the only one known. The Apostolic Fathers cite the books of the New Testament, but never give their titles. The books were only given titles in the late second century. The Muratorian fragment is the oldest document (the second half of the 2nd century) which enumerates canonical books in an appropriate order. The important fact is that this list was prepared in the Roman Church and the order is in accordance with our canon. The Muratorian fragment presents the list of books in the reverse alphabetical order (from Z to A). It is a consequence of the tendency to order books alphabetically (not only in codices). Due to the fact that the oldest list of canonical books enlists them in the same order as we do in our canon and this order is not random, the order in our canon seems to be authentic.

The Parousia of Christ in the Synoptic Gospels

1959 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. P. Owen
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Second Century ◽  
First Century ◽  
Synoptic Gospels ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
2 Peter ◽  
Apostolic Church ◽  
Second Coming

The Second Coming (otherwise called the Parousia)1 of Christ constituted a serious problem for the apostolic Church. One of the earliest of Paul's Epistles (1 Thessalonians) shows how quickly his converts became discouraged when some of their number died before the Lord's appearing. In reply Paul repeats his promise that the Lord will soon return, although in his second epistle he has to give a reminder that Antichrist must first make a final bid for power (1 Thess. 4.15–18, 2 Thess. 2). Similarly the author of Hebrews, writing to a disillusioned and apathetic group of Christians some decades later in the first century, recalls the words of Habakkuk that ‘the Lord will come and not be slow’ (10.37). Finally 2 Peter, the latest book of the New Testament (written, perhaps, as late as the middle of the second century), continues to offer the hope of an imminent Parousia to be accompanied by the world's destruction and renewal (ch. 3). If Christians are tempted to despair they must remember that the word of prophets and Apostles is sure (v. 2) and that with God ‘a thousand years are as one day’ (v. 8).

Tatian and his Discourse to the Greeks

1964 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 161-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald F. Hawthorne
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Apostolic Fathers

To one who is familiar with the New Testament and the writings of the Apostolic Fathers, Tatian's Discourse to the Greeks comes as quite a surprise. Supposedly an apology for Christianity, there is within it not one mention of Christ or Christianity (at least, not in these terms). Other familiar words such as “Jesus,” “Lord,” “Church,” “Savior,” “salvation,” etc., are also absent. Except for a passing reference to “the God who suffered” (15, 5–6), and the unqualified statement that “God was born in the form of a man” (23, 6), one might overlook altogether the fact that Tatian was a Churchman.

scholarly journals Von Harnack, Marcion en die Ou Testament

2003 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
J H Le Roux
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Second Century ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
The New Testament

This article focusses on Adolf Von Harnack’s profound study of Marcion, a theologian of the second century. He was amongst other things fascinated by Marcion’s view of the Old Testament.  Marcion rejected  the  Old Testament because it depicted the creator-god as a mean figure who humiliated human beings. Jesus was in no way related to  this  god. He  came from the good God who is described in the New Testament. Marcion compiled his own Bible which had no Old Testa-ment and only a few books from the New Testament which he  purged from all Jewish or Old Testament influence. According to Marcion the newness of the Christ event made the Old Testament superflous. 

A Taxonomy of Sin in the New Testament Worlds

2020 ◽  
pp. 17-36
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Siker
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Early Christianity ◽  
Second Century ◽  
Apostle Paul ◽  
Jerusalem Temple ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Moral Failure ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Jewish Scriptures

Understanding the contextual worlds within which the New Testament perceptions of sin arose is crucial. The immediate context for early Christianity was the Jewish world out of which Jesus also operated, which included Jewish understandings of sin especially as delineated in the Jewish Scriptures and as addressed within the sacrificial cult of the Jerusalem Temple. But in turning to the Apostle Paul and other later New Testament writers, it is equally important to understand the moral worlds envisioned in Greco-Roman religiosity and philosophy. In this realm, sin as moral failure was much less prominent than sin as ignorance or error in judgment. As Christianity moved into the second century and beyond we find understandings of sin that retain both Jewish and Greco-Roman sensibilities regarding human sin.

The Paradox of the Easy Yoke: A Survey of χρηστός in Greek Literature and the Interpretational Implications for Matthew 11:30

2019 ◽  
Vol 131 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-19
Author(s):  
Clark Bates
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
First Century ◽  
Greek Literature ◽  
Word Study ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Roman Literature ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Common ◽  
Apostolic Fathers

Matthew 11:30 could easily be considered one of the most recognizable passages of the New Testament. Many find comfort and fortitude in the words of Jesus, and warm to the idea that his ‘yoke’; is ‘easy’ and ‘burden’, ‘light’. However recognized and familiar this passage may be, it has not gone unnoticed throughout scholarship as a persistent word study in need of incessant explanation. While copious amounts of ink have been spilt discussing the nature of the ‘yoke’ in Matthew 11:30, it is the position of this article that the author of Matthew, had no intention of creating such a mystery. Rather, that the emphasis is to be found in the nature of the yoke itself and the attributive use of χρηστός in Greco-Roman literature, including that of the Greek Old Testament, and the writings of the first-century Christians. This article seeks to demonstrate that the use of χρηστός in the Matthean Gospel does not mean ‘easy’ by English standards, nor was this what the audience of this Gospel would have taken it to mean, given the common use of the term. This is accomplished through an engagement of the text and message of Matthew, followed by an examination of the word’s use in Classical Greek compositions and the Apostolic Fathers, as well as its use in the LXX and the New Testament.

The New Testament Gospels and the Gospel of Thomas: A New Direction

2005 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 579-595 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOHN HALSEY WOOD
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Second Century ◽  
Historical Jesus ◽  
Gospel Of Thomas ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Christian Literature

After surveying the debate over the relation of the Gospel of Thomas to the NT gospels, this essay argues that Gos. Thom. merits comparison with second-century Christian literature, in order to discern the similarity or dissimilarity with regard to the use of NT material. The second-century sources considered are found to manifest various types of literary dependence on the canonical gospels. A comparison suggests that Gos. Thom. does show many of the characteristics of this Christian literature known to depend on NT material, and, moreover, that Gos. Thom. appears to draw from all four of the canonical gospels. In fact, the significance of Gos. Thom. may not be as a witness to the historical Jesus, as some have hoped, but as one of the earliest witnesses to a four-gospel collection.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document