Evidence of the Validity of the New Testament Part 2
As noted in part one of Evidence of the Validity of the New Testament the first century Roman and Jewish culture relied heavily on oral tradition. Most of the men worked in either farming or labor, and many women were involved with raising families and domestic work. Many of these people were not educated and could not read or write. Much writing was memorized and shared. Children were taught from a very early age the art of memorization. They would memorize stories, poetry, songs, and nonfiction writing too. Once these people memorized these writings, they would have a permanent memory. If somebody said something in error, they would soon be corrected. 1 The people who could not read or write relied on the educated population to supply them with information. At this time in history the majority of the educated consisted of philosophers, physicians, historians, teachers, scribes, publicans, and Jewish Rabbis. Even at this time some educated people preferred oral tradition over the written word. The Greek Bishop of Hierapolis which would today be somewhere in modern day Turkey preferred a living voice over written words. The bishop wrote, “[T]hat what I could get from the books would help me so much as what I could get from a living and abiding voice.” 2 When Jesus rose from the grave Christianity spread rapidly in many geographical places and was translated in many different languages. 3 It was very important in the first century to record in written form the writings of Christ and His Apostles who would establish the foundation of the Christian church. These writings would be sent to all the churches for a testimony of Christ. As Christ told His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations baptizing and teaching all that He commanded. See Matthew 28:16–20. This message which was called the Gospel would be shared through the written and spoken word.
The New Testament consisting of 27 books was written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, James (brother of Jesus), Jude (brother of Jesus), and Peter. No body knows who wrote the book of Hebrews. The originals which were written on papyrus approximately A.D. 45 to 100 and are no longer available, they have turned into dust. The New Testament was originally written in Greek, and we have over 5,800 manuscripts to date.4 Having all these Greek copies helps in Bible translation. We have early translations in Latin, Coptic, and Syriac.5 Was the Bible ever altered? I don’t think so in the early stages there were too many languages and too many places where copies of the Bible ended up. This would make it next to impossible to alter the written word of the Bible.6 Vast copies were made of the original writings of the New Testament. The early churches which would meet in people’s houses or wherever they could find a safe place had maintained an extensive library long before they met together in buildings built specifically for worship. These libraries held both scrolls and codices.7 A codex which is the singular of the plural form codices was what now we would call a book. A codex and a book are the same. The written word of the New Testament spread fast.
Recognizing the Canon of the New Testament
What is meant by the word Canon? It is a Latin word and depicts a measuring rod. It was later thought of as a measure of a certain standard or authority. 8 The Canon of the New Testament was never voted on or established by any council or organization. It was recognized from the very beginning through the witnesses, writers, and the Apostles’ personal eyewitness of the risen Christ. The Holy Spirit controlled both the outcome of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible that we have today. “[K]nowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:20–21 ESV). The Apostle Peter who walked with Christ on earth recognizes the Apostle Paul’s epistles. “And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of those matters” (2 Peter 3:15–16 ESV).
At the end of the first century the complete writing of the original documents that would eventually be known as the New Testament was completed. 9 The year was about A.D. 115 Ignatius who was the bishop of Antioch where the first believers in Christ were called Christians (Acts 11:26) refers to the “The Gospel” which he referred to as the four: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John as an authoritative writing. 10 Other theologians entered a compilation of a canonized list of books for the New Testament. Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna (A.D. 69–155), recognized 16 books as being part of the New Testament Canon. Justin Martyr (A.D. 100–165) listed the Gospels, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians, 2 Thessalonians, Hebrews, and 1 Peter. 11 This list was compiled around A.D. 170. 12
Marcion Heresy
I did not want to include Marcion in this article because of his heretical views on Christianity, but he is part of the early history of the New Testament Canon. Marcion of Sinope was born in A.D. 85 and died in A.D. 160. Sinope is a seaport on the Black Sea of Asia Minor. His father was a leader in the church and brought him up in the Christian faith. 13 A whole book of this man’s heretical views could be written. Marcion completely rejected the Old Testament. He claimed the Old Testament had been replaced by the New Testament. The God of the Old Testament was a God of legalism. He not only rejected the Old Testament but butchered several passages in the New Testament books to fit with his heretical theology. The theologian Tertullian once wrote: “Marcion expressly and openly used the knife, not the pen, since he made such as excision of the Scriptures as suited his own subject-matter.” 14 Marcion regarded the Apostle Paul as the only faithful apostle of Christ. However, he butchered Paul’s writings as well. Marcion re-wrote his own New Testament Bible which he called, Gospel and Apostle. He chose the Gospel of Luke and renamed it the Gospel of Christ. The birth of John the Baptist was omitted and of course the birth of Jesus. He claimed Jesus did not enter this world through birth but only supernaturally. The concept of childbirth to Marcion was repulsive. In Paul’s epistles anything that Marcion felt did not match up with his ideas of theology he removed and only kept what he wanted in these epistles. He figured anything that was put there that he didn’t agree with was falsely written by someone other than Paul. For example, there was very little left of the book of Romans when he got done deleting much of the written word. Marcion’s edition of Romans in his Bible, Gospel and Apostle, did not include Romans 1:19–2:1; 3:21–4:25, and all of chapters 9–11, except 10:1–4 and 11:33–36, and everything after Romans 14:23. 15 He stopped attending his church and formed his own. The church survived for many generations even though celibacy was mandatory for membership. 16 The Marcion Canon in his Gospel and Apostle was a total of eleven books which he butchered to fit his version of Christianity. These books were: Luke, Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, and Philemon. 17
Earliest known fragment of the New Testament
Sceptics once claimed the New Testament was not written by the original apostles and was written much later possibly in the second century. We now can prove these sceptics wrong. In 1920 in Egypt a fragment of a Greek copy of the gospel of John on papyrus was found. It was dated back to A.D. 130 as Josh McDowell has written in his book, The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict.18 I have also seen this document recorded on the internet as early as A.D. 125. This fragment is from John 18:31–33, 37–38; it is known as the John Ryland’s Manuscript and can be seen in the John Rylands Library of Manchester, England. Please note that this fragment was a copy so there were many copies of scripture being distributed in many locations by the early second century.
Muratorian Fragment
This fragment or document is named after Lodovico Antonio Muratori who was a theologian and an antiquarian. An antiquarian is someone who deals in old or rare books and antiquities. In 1740 he found a Canon list of the New Testament from a codex copied from the seventh or eighth century. It was found in the monastery of Bobbio located in Lombardy, a province of northern Italy. The original date of this list is speculated to be around the late second century.19 Listed on the Muratorian Fragment are these books of the New Testament as Canon: All four Gospels, Acts, Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, 1 & 2 & 3 John, Jude, Revelation, Wisdom of Solomon.20 You can see the Muratorian Fragment at the Ambrosian Library in Milan, Italy.
Other Early Canon Lists
There were many other early lists by various theologians.
Irenaeus (A.D. 130–202) He was an early church father who was bishop of Lyon, Gaul. Polycarp who was a disciple of the Apostle John discipled Irenaeus. He thoroughly quoted the New Testament and had his own Canon list of the New Testament. Irenaeus listed 24 to 25 books in the Canon.
Clement of Alexandria (A.D. 155–220) A scholar in Alexandria, Egypt who wrote many commentaries for the scriptures that were considered Canon and pointed out a difference between the books of the Canon and Apocrypha. He listed 22 books in the Canon.
Hippolytus of Rome (A.D. 170–235) He was a pupil of Irenaeus and quoted much of the New Testament. He also acknowledged the book of Jude as part of the Canon along with many that Irenaeus recognized. He listed 25 books in the Canon.
Tertullian (A.D. 160–220) He was a Christian theologian who was from Carthage which was in north Africa. Tertullian listed 24 books in his Canon.
Origen (A.D. 185–253) Origen was a theologian that was known for much travel. He was known to be in Athens, Syria, Cappadocia, and Arabia. His listed Canon books totaled 22.
Eusebius of Caesarea (A.D. 265–339) The theologian Eusebius obtained a library from Origen. He included 22 books in the New Testament Canon.
Athanasius (A.D. 296–373) Athanasius was a bishop from Alexandria, Egypt. He is known as the first theologian to include all 27 books which we have now in the closed Canon of the New Testament.21
Council and Synod Decisions on Canonicity
The terms synod and council can be used interchangeably. A synod is a council that deals with church issues.
Synod of Laodicea (A.D. 363) The New Testament Canon was recognized here as including 27 books, except possibly the book of Revelation. The reading of books that did not belong to the Canon were forbidden. There was still uncertainty which books fit into the Canon.
Council of Hippo (A.D. 393) This church council met in Hippo which was in North Africa. This council developed a list of 27 books to be in the New Testament Canon.
Synod of Carthage (A.D. 387) This meeting was held in Carthage in North Africa. In this synod both Old and New Testament books were listed as being canonical which included 27 books of the New Testament. However, the book of Hebrews was listed separately from Paul’s epistles. They decided only canonical books should be taken authoritatively and read in the churches and trusted as the Word of God.
Council of Carthage (A.D. 419) This council met as a reaffirmation of the previous synod. They affirmed that the book of Hebrews was to be listed with other epistles of Paul. Decisions on the New Testament Canon were complete.22
Council of Nicaea
You might have questions about how the Council of Nicaea fits in with the New Testament Canon. The reason that I am writing about this council is because in 2003 a book was published called The Da Vinci Code and later a movie was made from the book. The Da Vinci Code mentions that Emperor Constantine and delegates discussed which books should be in the New Testament Canon. The author, Dan Brown probably found some information he got from some legends that were developed in the ninth century on church councils. One of those legends was that Emperor Constantine at the Council of Nicaea censored books he did not want and chose what he wanted. The Da Vinci Code is a fictitious novel, specifically the genre is known as alternative historical fiction. Remember all fiction is a lie told in story form.23
It was a long journey for the church to fully recognize the complete canon of the New Testament. This canon is now closed and no new prophecy by anyone will be added to the true Word of God.
I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book (Revelation 22:18–19 ESV). (Written from the pen of the Apostle John)
Evidence of the Validity of the New Testament Part 2: End Notes
1. Timothy Paul Jones, Ph.D. How We Got the Bible; Rose Publishing; Peabody, MA 01961; (2015); p 70.
2. F. F. Bruce, The Canon of Scripture; InterVarsity Press; Downers Grove, IL 60515; (1988); p 119.
3. John D. Meade & Peter J. Gurry, Scribes & Scripture; Crossway; Wheaton, IL 60187; (2022); p 84.
4. https://hc.edu/museums/dunham-bible-museum/tour-of-the-museum/past-exhibits/biblical-manuscripts/#:~:text=There%20are%20approximately%205%2C800%20Greek,9%2C300%20manuscripts%20in%20other%20languages. [make sure “4.” is not in the address window]
5. Ibid. Scribes & Scripture; p 89.
6. Ibid. p 85.
7. Ibid. How We Got the Bible; p 85.
8. Ibid. Scribes & Scripture; p 108.
9. F. F. Bruce, The New Testament Documents; William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Grand Rapids, MI 49505; (1981); pp 6–7.
10. Ibid. p 18.
11. Paul D. Wegner; The Journey from Texts to Translations; Baker Academic; Grand Rapids, MI 49516; (1999); p 141.
12. Ibid. Scribes & Scripture; p 150.
13. Ibid. The Canon of Scripture; p 134.
14. Ibid. The Journey from Texts to Translations; p 141.
15. Ibid. The Canon of Scripture; pp 134–140.
16. Ibid. pp 134–140.
17. Ibid. The Journey from Texts to Translations; p 141.
18. Josh McDowell, The New Evidence That Demands A Verdict; Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, TN (1999); p 38.
19. Ibid. The Canon of Scripture; p 158.
20. Ibid. How We Got the Bible; p 97.
21. Ibid. The Journey from Texts to Translations; pp 141–144.
22. Ibid. p 144.
23. Erwin W. Lutzer, The Da Vinci Deception; Tyndale House Publishers Inc, Carol Stream, IL (2006); p 21.
24. http://christianhistoryinstitute.org/study/module/nicea [make sure “24.” is not in the address window]