1st CENTURY: 

FORMAL CANON 

* Hebrew Scriptures - OT used by early Christians 

• Jesus: Referred to them

-law & prophets 

-the psalms 

• Promises of God's redemption 
• Showed God's faithfulness to persecuted minority 

1ST CENTURY: 

INFORMAL 'CANON' 

WHAT KINDS OF DOCUMENTS DID THEY WRITE? 

GOSPELS 

-Mark; gentiles in Rome (65-70c)

-Mathew; Jewish population (85c) 

-Luke; Greek/ Gentile named 'Theophilus' (85c)

-John; Greek/Gentile & Jewish (95c) 

Who wrote the history (acts of apostles?) 

-Luke 

-in book Theophilus, wrote about all Jesus began to do and teach 

Letters 

(to churches & individuals) 

- To exhort and encourage persecuted Christians

-To instruct in the Christian faith 

-To defend the Christian faith:

*from apostasy: 'falling away' from the faith 

*from moral corruption  and conflict 

*from heresy: 'false teaching' from within the church 

-against the "Judaizers 

-against the "Gnostics" 

Corninthians 15:1-9 

1. Christ died for our sins 

2. He was buried 

3.Raised on the 3rd day 

4. that he appeared 

-an apostle (eyewitness of Jesus) 

-a close associate of apostles 

MARCION (140 AD) 

MARCION'S IDEAS: 

Believe there were TWO GODS: 

-OT God (creator) -law & judgment 

-NT God- Love & life 

-Rejected OT 

-Luke (partial); part of one Gospel 

-10 of 13 letters of Paul 

THE RESULTS: 

- popular; large following 

-motivate Christian community to define Christian scripture 

-EX communicated CE 144 

CRITERIA OF CANONICITY: 

APOSTOLI AUTHORITY

CRITERIA OF CANONICITY: 

ORTHODOXY (STRAIGHT TEACHING) 

CRITERIA OF CANONICITY: 

CATHOLICITY

-Greek word meaning "choosing" or "fraction" 

-a position taken by someone in the church that eventually is deemed threatening to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

( destroying unity) 

1. Gnosticism 

2. Arianism 

- greek word meaning knowledge 

-two 'Gods' 

-two types of people 

What is the nature of reality (God, the world, humanity)? 

-ANSWERED BY GNOSTICS 

GOD: 

-two gods 

-supreme divine being - remote, generally unknowable 

-demiurge (creator god) - fallen, creator, and ruled of the material (evil) world 

What is the nature of reality (God, the world, humanity)? 

-ANSWERED BY GNOSTICS 

THE WORLD: 

-material world is EVIL 

-spiritual world is GOOD  

What is the nature of reality (God, the world, humanity)? 

-ANSWERED BY GNOSTICS 

HUMANITY: TWO TYPES OF PEOPLE: 

Sarkikoi (sarcasm): physical/material; those who belong to the demiurge(evil world) 

-those who belong to the demiurge(evil world) 

-not enlightening 

-not spiritual 

Pneumatikoi: spiritual ones' enlightening

-those who belong to the supreme divine being and possess the special seed/spark of the divine 

-through a Gnostic leader (pneumatikoi) who: 

-reveals secret knowledge to the pneumatikoi 

-leads special rites that will enable pneumatikoi to be rescued from the evil/material and return home to the supreme divine power 

HOW SHOULD WE ACT IN RESPONSE (TO GOD, THE WORLD, HUMANITY)? 

-reject evil/material 

-through secret special rituals revealed by the Gnostic leader, seek to be rescued from evil, material world and return home to the supreme divine power 

CHRISTIAN GNOSTICISM: 

JESUS IS..... 

-the special ultimate spiritual emissary or direct truth-bearer from the Supreme Divine Being who reveals how to be rescued from the evil material world and return home. 

-Thus, Jesus could not have been human, because God (Supreme Being) would never have anything to do with the evil, material world. 

(being human material is bad; evil) 

-Latin word "credo", meaning "I believe"; a statement of faith; a concise, formal and authorized statement of important points of Christian doctrine 

-when the church comes together & articulates parts of Gospel 

-CE 180 (to refute Marcion) 

-used in rites of baptism 

-trinitarian structure 

ARIANISM (320) 

BACKGROUND 

BASIC CONCEPTS OF ARIANISM: 

TWO DOCTRINES ARIUS REJECT: 

1. Trinity (father, son, Holy Spirit) 

2. Divine nature of Christ 

WORLDVIEW QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY ARIUS

WHAT IS THE NATURE OF REALITY (GOD, THE WORLD, HUMANITY)? 

GOD

-one 

-exalted about creation 

-Jesus was the created "son" of God, but not God 

WORLDVIEW QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY ARIUS

WHAT IS THE NATURE OF REALITY (GOD, THE WORLD, HUMANITY)? 

Of the world 

WORLDVIEW QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY ARIUS

WHAT IS THE NATURE OF REALITY (GOD, THE WORLD, HUMANITY)? 

Of Humanity 

-Created by son of God (Jesus) 

-we should honor Christ, but not worship him as God 

The Council of Nicea (325) 

-Arius & his supporters 

-Athanasisus (also from Alexandria) refutes Arius 

-statement issued: Nicene Creed 

-309 of 312 bishops sign the statement 

-Arius & supporters banished 

-universal creed of church East/West 

-Catholic orthodox (protestant)