New Testament Canon Formation — Study Notes

Marcion, Canon Formation, and Early Christian Context

• Marcion of Sinope (Sinope) produced the first canon of the New Testament, but it was rejected by the mainstream church.
  • Marcion’s canon sought to remove much of the Jewish elements from Christian scriptures, signaling early tensions about what counted as authoritative scripture.
  • This move is an early indicator of how defining boundaries for the canon would become a major issue for the church.
• The broader claim: Jesus is not coming back as soon as Paul and his coworkers anticipated, which contributed to the perceived need to codify oral tradition into a written form.
• Early Christians recognized the need to constitute a New Testament canon, even as they continued to value oral tradition.
• Key idea: canon formation did not happen all at once; it emerged over time through communal discernment and recognized usage.

From Oral Tradition to Written Codification

• The early church moved from oral tradition to a codified, written form. This shift was driven by a mix of practical and theological needs.
• The early church viewed the need to recognize and formalize canonical writings as essential for preserving the gospel message.
• Factors influencing inclusion of a book:
  • Apostolic association: Was the work connected to an apostle or to someone closely tied to an apostle?
  • Authorship and community attachment: Was the work attributed to an apostle or repeatedly used and recognized within a church community?
  • The fit with central teachings: Even when a work bore apostolic authorship, it would not be included if it did not align with the core gospel message as taught by the other canonical writings.
• In practice, some writings with apostolic attribution were excluded because the content did not align with the central teachings of the 27 writings later recognized as canonical.

Criteria for Canonicity (as discussed in the lecture)

• The slide outlines several criteria used to determine which books belong in the canon:
  • Apostolicity: Connection to the apostles or their immediate circles.
  • Orthodoxy: Consistency with the church’s recognized teaching.
  • Community usage: Widespread recognition and use in liturgy and teaching across multiple communities.
  • Inspirational/authentic authority: The belief that the writings carried the authority of God’s word in the church’s life.
• Note: The speaker acknowledges that each criterion is complex and that there is much more to say about each point.

The Role of Paul and His Letters

• Paul’s letters are central to discussions of early Christianity and canon formation.
• Paul wrote his first letters around the mid- to late-
  • The transcript notes: “the first letter of Paul written about 45-47 CE” (c. (45-47) CE).
• The content and significance of Paul’s letters:
  • Paul emphasizes that faith is a gift from God and that salvation is through faith in Christ, but he also stresses that actions matter.
  • He cares deeply about how believers treat one another—love of neighbor, ethical conduct, and community harmony.
  • Paul’s exhortations can appear harsh when his pastoral concerns are affected by hurt or conflict in the churches (e.g., his sharp rebukes to contested congregations).
• The relationship between Paul and the development of the canon:
  • By the late first century and into the second century, Paul’s letters are treated with increasing authority and are embedded in the understanding of scripture by many communities.
  • A later line in the New Testament references Paul’s letters as Scripture within the developing tradition (the lectureship notes this as a sign of evolving recognition of Paul’s writings as authoritative).
• The period’s eschatology (end-times expectations) shaped Paul’s pastoral instructions (e.g., on marriage) because he believed the crisis of Christ’s return was imminent.

The Gospels: Writing, Crisis, and Fourfold Portrait

• Early Christians moved from an oral transmission to written gospels, shaped by historical circumstances.
• Timeline concepts presented in the lecture:
  • The Gospels were written between roughly the mid-60s to the mid-90s CE (often cited as ~65–95 CE).
  • Within about a century, these four gospels were gathered into a fourfold canon, not five, not six, not two or three, but four.
• The crisis context that influenced the gospels:
  • The destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE (the Jewish-Roman War) was a watershed event that affected early Christian memory, theology, and expectations.
  • The crisis of belief and persecution made a written account more stable for teaching and instruction.
• Distinct contributions of each gospel:
  • Each Gospel provides a fuller portrait of Jesus of Nazareth by offering unique perspectives and emphases, while maintaining a coherent core message.
• The process of discernment:
  • The assembling of the four canonical Gospels occurred in dialogue with the broader church, guided by what the Holy Spirit was discerning across communities.

Irenaeus and Early Second-Century Endorsement

• Irenaeus, a prominent bishop in the second century, is cited as an important early voice who supports the developing New Testament canon as we know it (the 27 books).
• The lecture emphasizes that Jesus did not Himself provide a written canon; the canon emerged through the historical process and communal discernment of early Christians.
• By the second century, solidification of the 27-book canon is presented as already underway and increasingly recognized across churches (Irenaeus as a key witness).

Non-Canonical and Auxiliary Writings

• Some writings were deemed heretical and rejected from the canon; the term used by the lecture is “Lusted writings” (likely a mishearing of “Lucted” or “Luthered”? The point is: writings considered heretical and not resonant with orthodox teaching).
• Other writings circulated in the early church but were not considered authoritative Scripture because they did not meet the criteria of apostolicity or orthodoxy.
• Writings of the Apostolic Fathers:
  • These are early Christian writings from the generation after the apostles (e.g., Ignatius, Polycarp) that were instructive and influential but not regarded as canonical Scripture.
  • They served as a bridge between the New Testament writings and later church fathers.
• Shepherd of Hermas: An example of an apostolic-fathers-era work that was highly regarded and circulated, but which did not end up in the New Testament canon because of attribution and other criteria (e.g., uncertain authorship, lack of clear apostolic authorship attribution).
• The importance of attribution (Apostolicity) in determining canonicity:
  • Writings lacking clear apostolic authorship did not easily meet the primary criterion for canonicity and were less likely to be included, regardless of spiritual or theological value.

The Historic Process and Theological Reflections

• The lecturer emphasizes the historical processes by which a text comes to be understood as the Word of God within the church.
• The point is not to undermine Scripture but to situate it within a historical development: writings were written at various times, in different contexts, and were later recognized as authoritative through discernment by the church.
• The process involved collaboration between oral tradition, written texts, community usage, and theological reflection, all under what was believed to be the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The Practical and Ethical Implications in Paul’s Letters

• Paul’s pastoral guidance on marriage and family life is framed by his eschatological expectation (my emphasis: he believes crisis is coming).
• Practical pastoral counsel in apostolic letters often served immediate needs of communities facing conflict, crisis, and social change, not just timeless moral truths.
• The relationship between belief (faith) and conduct (works): Paul’s position integrates faith as trust in Christ with the ethical implications of that faith in how Christians live with one another.
• The tension between exhortation and judgment:
  • Paul can be intense or harsh in his rhetoric when his churches disappoint him or stray from the gospel, but his aim is pastoral care and gospel fidelity.

Miscellaneous Contextual Notes and Personal Reflections from the Lecturer

• The lecturer shares personal engagement with Scripture:
  • A long-standing practice of reading Scripture (since age 15) and ongoing Bible study with older generations.
  • A self-professed historian’s duty to explain the historical process by which the New Testament became understood as the Word of God.
• The historical process is complex and nuanced, involving debates, disagreements, and developments across decades and communities.
• The ultimate takeaway: the canon is the product of a dynamic historical process that involved apostolic witness, communal discernment, unity with orthodox teaching, and widespread usage—culminating in what we now call the New Testament canon of 27 books.

Quick Reference (Key Dates and Facts)

• Marcion’s canon: early attempt to shape a canon removing much of Jewish material; rejected by mainstream church.
• Jesus’ anticipated return influenced early writings and teaching; eschatology informs how writings were used in communities.
• First writings of Paul: c. $45-47\text{ CE}$ (approximate scholarly dating mentioned in the transcript).
• Jerusalem destroyed: $70\text{ CE}$ (significant crisis affecting Jewish-Roman War context).
• Gospels written: approximately between $65\text{ CE}$ and $95\text{ CE}$ (late-first to late-second century window).
• Canon formation: by the second century, the 27-book canon is increasingly recognized (e.g., Irenaeus’s influence).
• The four Gospels: by around the second century, collected into the fourfold Canon, not more and not less.
• Papyrus references: the lecturer notes “17 times the papyracea appears in the New Testament writings, in particular in Paul's writings” (note: refer to manuscript references; the exact wording in the transcript may reflect a phrasing issue).
• Apostolic Fathers (e.g., Shepherd of Hermas) circulated but did not achieve canonical status due to attribution and other criteria.

Concluding Reflection

• The New Testament canon is the product of a historical, theological, and pastoral process spanning the first two centuries.
• It reflects a balance between preserving apostolic witness, maintaining orthodoxy, and recognizing the authoritative status of texts through widespread usage in the church.
• The process involved significant figures (e.g., Paul, Peter, James, John, Irenaeus) and a broad spectrum of writings, including influential but non-canonical texts.
• The dynamic nature of early Christianity meant that what counts as Scripture was not fixed at Jesus’ lifetime but emerged over time through discernment and community life.