The Missing Gospels by Darrell Bock is a discussion of the “lost gospels” discovered at Nag Hammadi which have received so much media attention. Dr. Bock, and expert in the field, compares and contrasts viewpoints appearing in these “missing gospels” with the viewpoints contained in “traditional” sources.
These traditional sources include the documents eventually collected in our New Testament, as well as other sources not in the New Testament: Clement of Rome, Ignatius, Polycarp, the Didache, Barnabas, Shepherd of Hermas, etc. Bock generally confines his discussion to documents written in the first and second centuries AD.
Bock compares these two categories of sources in four areas: 1) The Nature of God and Creation, 2) Jesus: Divine and/or Human 3) The Nature of Humanity’s Redemption and 4) Jesus’ Death: Knowledge, Sin and Salvation.
1) The nature of God and creation: The traditional sources teach that there is only one God who is the creator of the universe. Originally, the creation was good but became “fallen” though sin and rebellion. While the Gospel of Thomas also refers to just one God, most of the “missing gospels,” refer to numerous gods and divine beings, and the material creation is presented as a fundamentally evil mistake from the very beginning.
2) Jesus: Divine and/or human: Contrary to The DaVinci Code, none of the ancient texts— whether traditional or “missing gospels”—present Jesus as merely an ordinary human being. All of the “missing gospels” present Jesus as some kind of exalted or heavenly figure. In fact, some go so far as to say that he wasn’t really human at all—he just appeared to be human. By contrast, the traditional sources consistently refer to Jesus as both human and divine at the same time.
3) The Nature of Humanity’s Redemption: The “missing gospels” consistently present the material world of creation as fundamentally defective and “fallen.” Mankind is divided into two classes: those who understand and embrace the spiritual nature of the world and those who hang on to the physical. Only the former will be redeemed with “the ascent of the spiritual one back into the perfect nonmaterial world.” (146). The flesh will eventually be destroyed. By contrast, the traditional view believes not only in a spiritual world, but the redemption and resurrection of the body as well.
4) Jesus’ Death: Knowledge, Sin, and Salvation: Generally speaking the “missing gospels” present Jesus’ work as leading people out of their “ignorance and forgetfulness” (i.e. ignorance of the fact that they are really spirit creatures trapped in a defective material world) and into future “rest and immortality.” By contrast, the traditional view teaches that Jesus not only showed the way, but is the way. He came to die as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Many biblical critics and members of the media present these “missing gospels as evidence for the diversity of ancient Christianity—often implying that the “missing gospels” have just as much right to be considered “truth” as the traditional sources. The fact is, however, that the earliest traditional sources date back to the first century whereas (with the possible though extremely improbable exception of the Gospel of Thomas), the “missing Gospels all date from the second, third, or even fourth centuries AD.
Far from being family disputes within Christianity, Bock demonstrates that the “missing gospels” present views that are not even in the same ballpark as traditional Judeo-Christian thought. Traditional Christian sources show a striking similarity to the Jewish ground from which Jesus and the apostles came.
The “missing gospels,” on the other hand, appear to be attempts to twist this original Jewish message of Jesus and his earliest followers to make it more palatable to second-fourth century Greco-Roman religious and philosophical speculations which, to those who actually take time to read the “missing gospels” will appear much more bizarre, unbelievable and even offensive than anything found in the New Testament.
Unfortunately, by the very nature of a summary, I have oversimplified Darrell Bock’s arguments and outstanding study. Please read The Missing Gospels for a more detailed and accurate assessment.
Showing posts with label Lost gospels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lost gospels. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
The "Lost Gospel of Q"
The so-called “Lost gospel of Q” is a hypothesis which comes from a theory about the origin of the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke). According to the theory (called the “two-source theory”), the writers of Matthew and Luke both copied from the Gospel of Mark.
Adherents to the two-source theory are convinced, however, that neither Matthew nor Luke used each other’s gospels. This presents a problem since there is a significant amount of material that is very similar (sometimes word-for-word identical) between Matthew and Luke that is not found in Mark. Scholars ask, if Matthew and Luke did not get this common material from Mark, and if they did not get it from each other, where did it come from?
Their answer? They must have got it from another source. The German word for source is Quelle, often abbreviated as “Q” for short. It is important to note that while such a theory is certainly possible, nothing that could be identified as Q has ever been discovered. Q is just a hypothesis.
So if “Q” is just a hypothesis, how is it that scholars write books containing the full-text of “Q”? How do you come up with the text of a hypothesis?
Scholars come up with the text of Q by cutting and pasting together all the material common to Matthew and Luke that is not found in Mark (if the material was also found in Mark, scholars assume that Matthew and Luke got if from Mark). When the material common to Matthew and Luke is similar, but not word-for-word identical, the scholars then pick and choose between Matthew and Luke regarding what they think most probably came from Q.
What follows is an edition of Q. Since most scholars believe Luke preserves the most faithful rendering of Q, the edition of Q below presents “Q according to Luke.” No attempt has been made to indulge in idle speculation about whether Matthew or Luke has the best reading.
The passages used for “Q” below are those identified by John S. Kloppenborg in his book, Q Thomas Reader as belonging to Q. The translation is from the NetBible, an excellent online Bible translation which can be found at http://net.bible.org/home.php. When identifying a passage in Q, scholars generally follow the verses in Luke, so for example, 3:2 = Luke 3:2 and its parallel in Matthew. Q6:12 = Luke 6:12 and its parallel in Matthew, etc. In the passages below, therefore, Q6, for example, can be found in Luke 6.
It should be noted that although the two source theory seems to be the majority theory among American biblical scholars today, there are many very reputable scholars who disagree. One of those is Mark Goodacre at Duke University. In my opinion, if scholars at the end of the 19th century could have read Mark Goodacre’s book, The Case Against Q, the two-source theory would have been dead on arrival.
So why would someone like me who does not believe that Q ever existed, post “Q according to Luke?” First, there are many scholars who believe that Q is the very earliest source for Jesus in existence (or non-existence :-) Second, because there are scholars who spin the Q theory as if Q is some kind of new archaeological discovery that will change everything you thought you knew about Christianity. I think people should be able to judge for themselves whether this claim is true or not. To that end, I give you “Q according to Luke.”
Q according to Luke
Q3 So John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Therefore produce fruit that proves your repentance, and don’t begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones! Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. I baptize you with water, but one more powerful than I am is coming – I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
Q4 Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he endured temptations from the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were completed, he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man does not live by bread alone.”
Then the devil led him up to a high place and showed him in a flash all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “To you I will grant this whole realm – and the glory that goes along with it, for it has been relinquished to me, and I can give it to anyone I wish. So then, if you will worship me, all this will be yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘You are to worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”
Then the devil brought him to Jerusalem, had him stand on the highest point of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ and ‘with their hands they will lift you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.’” So when the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from him until a more opportune time.
Q6 Then he looked up at his disciples and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God belongs to you. “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject you as evil on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and jump for joy, because your reward is great in heaven. For their ancestors did the same things to the prophets.”
“But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other as well, and from the person who takes away your coat, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask for your possessions back from the person who takes them away.
Treat others in the same way that you would want them to treat you. “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to be repaid, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, so that they may be repaid in full. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to ungrateful and evil people. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven. For the measure you use will be the measure you receive. Someone who is blind cannot lead another who is blind, can he? Won’t they both fall into a pit? A disciple is not greater than his teacher, but everyone when fully trained will be like his teacher. Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye, but fail to see the beam of wood in your own? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck from your eye,’ while you yourself don’t see the beam in your own? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from brambles. The good person out of the good treasury of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasury produces evil, for his mouth speaks from what fills his heart.”
“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and puts them into practice – I will show you what he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep, and laid the foundation on bedrock. When a flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the person who hears and does not put my words into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against that house, it collapsed immediately, and was utterly destroyed!”
Q7 After Jesus had finished teaching all this to the people, he entered Capernaum. A centurion there had a slave who was highly regarded, but who was sick and at the point of death. When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his slave. When they came to Jesus, they urged him earnestly, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, because he loves our nation, and even built our synagogue.”
So Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not presume to come to you. Instead, say the word, and my servant must be healed. For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me. I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him. He turned and said to the crowd that followed him, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith!” So when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave well.
John’s disciples informed him about all these things. So John called two of his disciples and sent them to Jesus to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?’” So he answered them, “Go tell John what you have seen and heard: The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news proclaimed to them. Blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.” When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What did you go out to see? A man dressed in fancy clothes? Look, those who wear fancy clothes and live in luxury are in kings’ courts! What did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, ‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he is.”
“To what then should I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, yet you did not dance; we wailed in mourning, yet you did not weep.’ For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him, a glutton and a drunk, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”
Q9 As they were walking along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus said to him, “Foxes have dens and the birds in the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Jesus said to another, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
Q10 He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest. Go! I am sending you out like lambs surrounded by wolves. Do not carry a money bag, a traveler’s bag, or sandals, and greet no one on the road. Whenever you enter a house, first say, ‘May peace be on this house!’ And if a peace-loving person is there, your peace will remain on him, but if not, it will return to you. Stay in that same house, eating and drinking what they give you, for the worker deserves his pay.”
Do not move around from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and the people welcome you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in that town and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come upon you!’ But whenever you enter a town and the people do not welcome you, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this: The kingdom of God has come.’ I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town!”
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you! And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be thrown down to Hades! The one who listens to you listens to me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”
On that same occasion Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your gracious will. All things have been given to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son decides to reveal him.” Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”
Q 11 So he said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, may your name be honored; may your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And do not lead us into temptation. So I tell you: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, although you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the man who had been mute began to speak, and the crowds were amazed. But some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of demons, he casts out demons.” Others, to test him, began asking for a sign from heaven. But Jesus, realizing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed, and a divided household falls. So if Satan too is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? I ask you this because you claim that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. Now if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has already overtaken you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his possessions are safe. But when a stronger man attacks and conquers him, he takes away the first man’s armor on which the man relied and divides up his plunder. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”
“When an unclean spirit goes out of a person, it passes through waterless places looking for rest but not finding any. Then it says, ‘I will return to the home I left.’ When it returns, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, so the last state of that person is worse than the first.” As the crowds were increasing, Jesus began to say, “This generation is a wicked generation; it looks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be a sign to this generation.”
“The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon – and now, something greater than Solomon is here! The people of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented when Jonah preached to them – and now, something greater than Jonah is here!”
“No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a hidden place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, so that those who come in can see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is diseased, your body is full of darkness. Therefore see to it that the light in you is not darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, with no part in the dark, it will be as full of light as when the light of a lamp shines on you.”
“Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Didn’t the one who made the outside make the inside as well? But give from your heart to those in need, and then everything will be clean for you. “But woe to you Pharisees! You give a tenth of your mint, rue, and every herb, yet you neglect justice and love for God! But you should have done these things without neglecting the others.
Woe to you Pharisees! You love the best seats in the synagogues and elaborate greetings in the marketplaces! Woe to you! You are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without realizing it!” But Jesus replied, “Woe to you experts in religious law as well! You load people down with burdens difficult to bear, yet you yourselves refuse to touch the burdens with even one of your fingers! Woe to you! You build the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors killed. So you testify that you approve of the deeds of your ancestors, because they killed the prophets and you build their tombs!”
“For this reason also the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ so that this generation may be held accountable for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against this generation. Woe to you experts in religious law! You have taken away the key to knowledge! You did not go in yourselves, and you hindered those who were going in.”
Q 12 “Nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing is secret that will not be made known. So then whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms will be proclaimed from the housetops. “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more they can do. But I will warn you whom you should fear: Fear the one who, after the killing, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!”
“Aren’t five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. In fact, even the hairs on your head are all numbered. Do not be afraid; you are more valuable than many sparrows. I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before God’s angels. But the one who denies me before men will be denied before God’s angels. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the person who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.”
“But when they bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authorities, do not worry about how you should make your defense or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you must say.”
Then someone from the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But Jesus said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator between you two?” He then told them a parable: “The land of a certain rich man produced an abundant crop, so he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to myself, “You have plenty of goods stored up for many years; relax, eat, drink, celebrate!”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded back from you, but who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ So it is with the one who stores up riches for himself, but is not rich toward God.”
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For there is more to life than food, and more to the body than clothing. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn, yet God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than the birds! And which of you by worrying can add an hour to his life? So if you cannot do such a very little thing as this, why do you worry about the rest? Consider how the flowers grow; they do not work or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these! And if this is how God clothes the wild grass, which is here today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, how much more will he clothe you, you people of little faith! So do not be overly concerned about what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not worry about such things. For all the nations of the world pursue these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, pursue his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.”
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is well pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves purses that do not wear out – a treasure in heaven that never decreases, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
“Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his household servants, to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds at work when he returns. I tell you the truth, the master will put him in charge of all his possessions. But if that slave should say to himself, ‘My master is delayed in returning,’ and he begins to beat the other slaves, both men and women, and to eat, drink, and get drunk, then the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not foresee, and will cut him in two, and assign him a place with the unfaithful.”
“Do you think I have come to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! For from now on there will be five in one household divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
Jesus also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A rainstorm is coming,’ and it does. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and there is. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how can you not know how to interpret the present time? “And why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right? As you are going with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, so that he will not drag you before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid the very last cent!”
Q 13 Thus Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? To what should I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the wild birds nested in its branches.” Again he said, “To what should I compare the kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of flour until all the dough had risen.”
“Exert every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, then you will stand outside and start to knock on the door and beg him, ‘Lord, let us in!’ But he will answer you, ‘I don’t know where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will reply, ‘I don’t know where you come from! Go away from me, all you evildoers!’ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves thrown out. Then people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and take their places at the banquet table in the kingdom of God. But indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would have none of it! Look, your house is forsaken! And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
Q 14 “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” But Jesus said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time for the banquet he sent his slave to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, because everything is now ready.’ But one after another they all began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going out to examine them. Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I just got married, and I cannot come.’ So the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the master of the household was furious and said to his slave, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ Then the slave said, ‘Sir, what you instructed has been done, and there is still room.’ So the master said to his slave, ‘Go out to the highways and country roads and urge people to come in, so that my house will be filled. For I tell you, not one of those individuals who were invited will taste my banquet!’”
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Salt is good, but if salt loses its flavor, how can its flavor be restored? It is of no value for the soil or for the manure pile; it is to be thrown out. The one who has ears to hear had better listen!”
Q 15 “Which one of you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go look for the one that is lost until he finds it? Then when he has found it, he places it on his shoulders, rejoicing. Returning home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, telling them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost.’ I tell you, in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to repent.”
Q 16 “No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
“The law and the prophets were in force until John; since then, the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is urged to enter it. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tiny stroke of a letter in the law to become void.”
“Everyone who divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery, and the one who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.”
Q 17 Jesus said to his disciples, “Stumbling blocks are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him to have a millstone tied around his neck and be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. If your brother sins, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him. Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to you saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”
“If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this black mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled out by the roots and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”
“Then people will say to you, ‘Look, there he is!’ or ‘Look, here he is!’ Do not go out or chase after them. For just like the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so too it will be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage – right up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.”
“Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot, people were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building; but on the day Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be the same on the day the Son of Man is revealed. Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it. I tell you, in that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.” Then the disciples said to him, “Where, Lord?” He replied to them, “Where the dead body is, there the vultures will gather.”
Q 18 “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Q 19 Therefore he said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. And he summoned ten of his slaves, gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business with these until I come back.’ But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to be king over us!’ When he returned after receiving the kingdom, he summoned these slaves to whom he had given the money. He wanted to know how much they had earned by trading. So the first one came before him and said, ‘Sir, your mina has made ten minas more.’ And the king said to him, ‘Well done, good slave! Because you have been faithful in a very small matter, you will have authority over ten cities.’ Then the second one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has made five minas.’ So the king said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ Then another slave came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina that I put away for safekeeping in a piece of cloth. For I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You withdraw what you did not deposit and reap what you did not sow.’ The king said to him, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked slave! So you knew, did you, that I was a severe man, withdrawing what I didn’t deposit and reaping what I didn’t sow? Why then didn’t you put my money in the bank, so that when I returned I could have collected it with interest?’ And he said to his attendants, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has ten.’ But they said to him, ‘Sir, he has ten minas already!’ ‘I tell you that everyone who has will be given more, but from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.
Q22 “You are the ones who have remained with me in my trials. Thus I grant to you a kingdom, just as my Father granted to me, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Adherents to the two-source theory are convinced, however, that neither Matthew nor Luke used each other’s gospels. This presents a problem since there is a significant amount of material that is very similar (sometimes word-for-word identical) between Matthew and Luke that is not found in Mark. Scholars ask, if Matthew and Luke did not get this common material from Mark, and if they did not get it from each other, where did it come from?
Their answer? They must have got it from another source. The German word for source is Quelle, often abbreviated as “Q” for short. It is important to note that while such a theory is certainly possible, nothing that could be identified as Q has ever been discovered. Q is just a hypothesis.
So if “Q” is just a hypothesis, how is it that scholars write books containing the full-text of “Q”? How do you come up with the text of a hypothesis?
Scholars come up with the text of Q by cutting and pasting together all the material common to Matthew and Luke that is not found in Mark (if the material was also found in Mark, scholars assume that Matthew and Luke got if from Mark). When the material common to Matthew and Luke is similar, but not word-for-word identical, the scholars then pick and choose between Matthew and Luke regarding what they think most probably came from Q.
What follows is an edition of Q. Since most scholars believe Luke preserves the most faithful rendering of Q, the edition of Q below presents “Q according to Luke.” No attempt has been made to indulge in idle speculation about whether Matthew or Luke has the best reading.
The passages used for “Q” below are those identified by John S. Kloppenborg in his book, Q Thomas Reader as belonging to Q. The translation is from the NetBible, an excellent online Bible translation which can be found at http://net.bible.org/home.php. When identifying a passage in Q, scholars generally follow the verses in Luke, so for example, 3:2 = Luke 3:2 and its parallel in Matthew. Q6:12 = Luke 6:12 and its parallel in Matthew, etc. In the passages below, therefore, Q6, for example, can be found in Luke 6.
It should be noted that although the two source theory seems to be the majority theory among American biblical scholars today, there are many very reputable scholars who disagree. One of those is Mark Goodacre at Duke University. In my opinion, if scholars at the end of the 19th century could have read Mark Goodacre’s book, The Case Against Q, the two-source theory would have been dead on arrival.
So why would someone like me who does not believe that Q ever existed, post “Q according to Luke?” First, there are many scholars who believe that Q is the very earliest source for Jesus in existence (or non-existence :-) Second, because there are scholars who spin the Q theory as if Q is some kind of new archaeological discovery that will change everything you thought you knew about Christianity. I think people should be able to judge for themselves whether this claim is true or not. To that end, I give you “Q according to Luke.”
Q according to Luke
Q3 So John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Therefore produce fruit that proves your repentance, and don’t begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones! Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. I baptize you with water, but one more powerful than I am is coming – I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
Q4 Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he endured temptations from the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were completed, he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man does not live by bread alone.”
Then the devil led him up to a high place and showed him in a flash all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “To you I will grant this whole realm – and the glory that goes along with it, for it has been relinquished to me, and I can give it to anyone I wish. So then, if you will worship me, all this will be yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘You are to worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”
Then the devil brought him to Jerusalem, had him stand on the highest point of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ and ‘with their hands they will lift you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.’” So when the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from him until a more opportune time.
Q6 Then he looked up at his disciples and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God belongs to you. “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject you as evil on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and jump for joy, because your reward is great in heaven. For their ancestors did the same things to the prophets.”
“But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other as well, and from the person who takes away your coat, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask for your possessions back from the person who takes them away.
Treat others in the same way that you would want them to treat you. “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to be repaid, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, so that they may be repaid in full. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to ungrateful and evil people. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven. For the measure you use will be the measure you receive. Someone who is blind cannot lead another who is blind, can he? Won’t they both fall into a pit? A disciple is not greater than his teacher, but everyone when fully trained will be like his teacher. Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye, but fail to see the beam of wood in your own? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck from your eye,’ while you yourself don’t see the beam in your own? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from brambles. The good person out of the good treasury of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasury produces evil, for his mouth speaks from what fills his heart.”
“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and puts them into practice – I will show you what he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep, and laid the foundation on bedrock. When a flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the person who hears and does not put my words into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against that house, it collapsed immediately, and was utterly destroyed!”
Q7 After Jesus had finished teaching all this to the people, he entered Capernaum. A centurion there had a slave who was highly regarded, but who was sick and at the point of death. When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his slave. When they came to Jesus, they urged him earnestly, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, because he loves our nation, and even built our synagogue.”
So Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not presume to come to you. Instead, say the word, and my servant must be healed. For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me. I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him. He turned and said to the crowd that followed him, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith!” So when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave well.
John’s disciples informed him about all these things. So John called two of his disciples and sent them to Jesus to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?’” So he answered them, “Go tell John what you have seen and heard: The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news proclaimed to them. Blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.” When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What did you go out to see? A man dressed in fancy clothes? Look, those who wear fancy clothes and live in luxury are in kings’ courts! What did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, ‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he is.”
“To what then should I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, yet you did not dance; we wailed in mourning, yet you did not weep.’ For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him, a glutton and a drunk, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”
Q9 As they were walking along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus said to him, “Foxes have dens and the birds in the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Jesus said to another, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
Q10 He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest. Go! I am sending you out like lambs surrounded by wolves. Do not carry a money bag, a traveler’s bag, or sandals, and greet no one on the road. Whenever you enter a house, first say, ‘May peace be on this house!’ And if a peace-loving person is there, your peace will remain on him, but if not, it will return to you. Stay in that same house, eating and drinking what they give you, for the worker deserves his pay.”
Do not move around from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and the people welcome you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in that town and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come upon you!’ But whenever you enter a town and the people do not welcome you, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this: The kingdom of God has come.’ I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town!”
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you! And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be thrown down to Hades! The one who listens to you listens to me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”
On that same occasion Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your gracious will. All things have been given to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son decides to reveal him.” Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”
Q 11 So he said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, may your name be honored; may your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And do not lead us into temptation. So I tell you: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, although you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the man who had been mute began to speak, and the crowds were amazed. But some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of demons, he casts out demons.” Others, to test him, began asking for a sign from heaven. But Jesus, realizing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed, and a divided household falls. So if Satan too is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? I ask you this because you claim that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. Now if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has already overtaken you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his possessions are safe. But when a stronger man attacks and conquers him, he takes away the first man’s armor on which the man relied and divides up his plunder. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”
“When an unclean spirit goes out of a person, it passes through waterless places looking for rest but not finding any. Then it says, ‘I will return to the home I left.’ When it returns, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, so the last state of that person is worse than the first.” As the crowds were increasing, Jesus began to say, “This generation is a wicked generation; it looks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be a sign to this generation.”
“The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon – and now, something greater than Solomon is here! The people of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented when Jonah preached to them – and now, something greater than Jonah is here!”
“No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a hidden place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, so that those who come in can see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is diseased, your body is full of darkness. Therefore see to it that the light in you is not darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, with no part in the dark, it will be as full of light as when the light of a lamp shines on you.”
“Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Didn’t the one who made the outside make the inside as well? But give from your heart to those in need, and then everything will be clean for you. “But woe to you Pharisees! You give a tenth of your mint, rue, and every herb, yet you neglect justice and love for God! But you should have done these things without neglecting the others.
Woe to you Pharisees! You love the best seats in the synagogues and elaborate greetings in the marketplaces! Woe to you! You are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without realizing it!” But Jesus replied, “Woe to you experts in religious law as well! You load people down with burdens difficult to bear, yet you yourselves refuse to touch the burdens with even one of your fingers! Woe to you! You build the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors killed. So you testify that you approve of the deeds of your ancestors, because they killed the prophets and you build their tombs!”
“For this reason also the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ so that this generation may be held accountable for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against this generation. Woe to you experts in religious law! You have taken away the key to knowledge! You did not go in yourselves, and you hindered those who were going in.”
Q 12 “Nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing is secret that will not be made known. So then whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms will be proclaimed from the housetops. “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more they can do. But I will warn you whom you should fear: Fear the one who, after the killing, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!”
“Aren’t five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. In fact, even the hairs on your head are all numbered. Do not be afraid; you are more valuable than many sparrows. I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before God’s angels. But the one who denies me before men will be denied before God’s angels. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the person who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.”
“But when they bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authorities, do not worry about how you should make your defense or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you must say.”
Then someone from the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But Jesus said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator between you two?” He then told them a parable: “The land of a certain rich man produced an abundant crop, so he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to myself, “You have plenty of goods stored up for many years; relax, eat, drink, celebrate!”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded back from you, but who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ So it is with the one who stores up riches for himself, but is not rich toward God.”
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For there is more to life than food, and more to the body than clothing. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn, yet God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than the birds! And which of you by worrying can add an hour to his life? So if you cannot do such a very little thing as this, why do you worry about the rest? Consider how the flowers grow; they do not work or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these! And if this is how God clothes the wild grass, which is here today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, how much more will he clothe you, you people of little faith! So do not be overly concerned about what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not worry about such things. For all the nations of the world pursue these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, pursue his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.”
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is well pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves purses that do not wear out – a treasure in heaven that never decreases, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
“Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his household servants, to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds at work when he returns. I tell you the truth, the master will put him in charge of all his possessions. But if that slave should say to himself, ‘My master is delayed in returning,’ and he begins to beat the other slaves, both men and women, and to eat, drink, and get drunk, then the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not foresee, and will cut him in two, and assign him a place with the unfaithful.”
“Do you think I have come to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! For from now on there will be five in one household divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
Jesus also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A rainstorm is coming,’ and it does. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and there is. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how can you not know how to interpret the present time? “And why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right? As you are going with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, so that he will not drag you before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid the very last cent!”
Q 13 Thus Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? To what should I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the wild birds nested in its branches.” Again he said, “To what should I compare the kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of flour until all the dough had risen.”
“Exert every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, then you will stand outside and start to knock on the door and beg him, ‘Lord, let us in!’ But he will answer you, ‘I don’t know where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will reply, ‘I don’t know where you come from! Go away from me, all you evildoers!’ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves thrown out. Then people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and take their places at the banquet table in the kingdom of God. But indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would have none of it! Look, your house is forsaken! And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
Q 14 “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” But Jesus said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time for the banquet he sent his slave to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, because everything is now ready.’ But one after another they all began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going out to examine them. Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I just got married, and I cannot come.’ So the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the master of the household was furious and said to his slave, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ Then the slave said, ‘Sir, what you instructed has been done, and there is still room.’ So the master said to his slave, ‘Go out to the highways and country roads and urge people to come in, so that my house will be filled. For I tell you, not one of those individuals who were invited will taste my banquet!’”
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Salt is good, but if salt loses its flavor, how can its flavor be restored? It is of no value for the soil or for the manure pile; it is to be thrown out. The one who has ears to hear had better listen!”
Q 15 “Which one of you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go look for the one that is lost until he finds it? Then when he has found it, he places it on his shoulders, rejoicing. Returning home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, telling them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost.’ I tell you, in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to repent.”
Q 16 “No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
“The law and the prophets were in force until John; since then, the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is urged to enter it. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tiny stroke of a letter in the law to become void.”
“Everyone who divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery, and the one who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.”
Q 17 Jesus said to his disciples, “Stumbling blocks are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him to have a millstone tied around his neck and be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. If your brother sins, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him. Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to you saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”
“If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this black mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled out by the roots and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”
“Then people will say to you, ‘Look, there he is!’ or ‘Look, here he is!’ Do not go out or chase after them. For just like the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so too it will be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage – right up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.”
“Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot, people were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building; but on the day Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be the same on the day the Son of Man is revealed. Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it. I tell you, in that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.” Then the disciples said to him, “Where, Lord?” He replied to them, “Where the dead body is, there the vultures will gather.”
Q 18 “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Q 19 Therefore he said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. And he summoned ten of his slaves, gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business with these until I come back.’ But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to be king over us!’ When he returned after receiving the kingdom, he summoned these slaves to whom he had given the money. He wanted to know how much they had earned by trading. So the first one came before him and said, ‘Sir, your mina has made ten minas more.’ And the king said to him, ‘Well done, good slave! Because you have been faithful in a very small matter, you will have authority over ten cities.’ Then the second one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has made five minas.’ So the king said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ Then another slave came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina that I put away for safekeeping in a piece of cloth. For I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You withdraw what you did not deposit and reap what you did not sow.’ The king said to him, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked slave! So you knew, did you, that I was a severe man, withdrawing what I didn’t deposit and reaping what I didn’t sow? Why then didn’t you put my money in the bank, so that when I returned I could have collected it with interest?’ And he said to his attendants, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has ten.’ But they said to him, ‘Sir, he has ten minas already!’ ‘I tell you that everyone who has will be given more, but from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.
Q22 “You are the ones who have remained with me in my trials. Thus I grant to you a kingdom, just as my Father granted to me, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Gospel of Judas and critical scholarship
I watched National Geographic’s special on the Gospel of Judas last night and was stunned. To understand my reaction, you need to understand something about critical scholarship and the biblical gospels.
For years critics and skeptics have argued incessantly that we really can’t trust the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, because they are supposedly filled with decades of encrusted tradition (To get the effect you need to emphasize the part about decades of encrusted tradition as if 40-70 years were an eternity)!
The Gospel of John especially falls under the critics’ scorn since it was written last, probably 60-70 years after Jesus’ death, and is more theological in nature than Matthew, Mark and Luke. The infamous "Jesus Seminar," for example, dismissed almost the entire Gospel of John as being unhistorical.
Enter the Gospel of Judas. Unlike the biblical gospels, the Gospel of Judas takes Jesus out of his historical Jewish context, is even more esoteric in nature than the Gospel of John, and was written 30-80 years after the Gospel of John—100-150 years after Jesus death! Surely any scholars who were so skeptical of the biblical gospels would have much more reason to be skeptical of the Gospel of Judas, wouldn’t they?
Although I suspected that this program was going to be a snow job (it was) I was still amazed to see scholars who are so critical of the historical reliability of the biblical gospels, treating the Gospel of Judas as if it should be taken seriously! In fact, one scholar who spoke so glowingly about the Gospel of Judas had actually been a member of the same Jesus Seminar that did such a hatchet job on the biblical gospels! Could it be that something other than objective scholarship is going on here?
For years critics and skeptics have argued incessantly that we really can’t trust the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, because they are supposedly filled with decades of encrusted tradition (To get the effect you need to emphasize the part about decades of encrusted tradition as if 40-70 years were an eternity)!
The Gospel of John especially falls under the critics’ scorn since it was written last, probably 60-70 years after Jesus’ death, and is more theological in nature than Matthew, Mark and Luke. The infamous "Jesus Seminar," for example, dismissed almost the entire Gospel of John as being unhistorical.
Enter the Gospel of Judas. Unlike the biblical gospels, the Gospel of Judas takes Jesus out of his historical Jewish context, is even more esoteric in nature than the Gospel of John, and was written 30-80 years after the Gospel of John—100-150 years after Jesus death! Surely any scholars who were so skeptical of the biblical gospels would have much more reason to be skeptical of the Gospel of Judas, wouldn’t they?
Although I suspected that this program was going to be a snow job (it was) I was still amazed to see scholars who are so critical of the historical reliability of the biblical gospels, treating the Gospel of Judas as if it should be taken seriously! In fact, one scholar who spoke so glowingly about the Gospel of Judas had actually been a member of the same Jesus Seminar that did such a hatchet job on the biblical gospels! Could it be that something other than objective scholarship is going on here?
On writings suppressed by bishops
One of the underlying themes of the Gospel of Judas documentary was that powerful Christian bishops in the fourth century selected the four gospels that agreed with their theology, and kicked out all the rest. Although this idea is remarkably misleading, let’s pretend for a minute that this is really what happened. Exactly what was it that these powerful Christian bishops were rejecting (and that the modern critics seem so determined to support)? Here’s a small sample:
Gospel of Truth
Therefore, all the emanations of the Father are pleromas, and the root of all his emanations is in the one who made them all grow up in himself
Gospel of Thomas
Jesus said, ‘When you disrobe without being ashamed and take up your garment and place them under your feet like little children and tread on them, then [will you see] the son of the living one, and you will not be afraid
Gospel of Philip
Echamoth is one thing and Echmoth another. Echamoth is Wisdom simply, but Echmoth is the Wisdom of death with is the one which knows death which is called ‘the little Wisdom”
Gospel of the Egyptians
…the aeons of light of the unrevealable, unmarked, ageless, unproclaimable Father, the aeon of aeons, Autogenes, self-begotten, self-producing, alien, the really true aeon. Three powers came forth from him; they are the Father, the Mother, (and) the Son
The second ogdoad-power, the Mother, the virginal Barbelon epititioch [….] ai, memeneaiment[…who] presides over the heaven…”
Then the great Seth gave praise to the great, uncallable, virginal Spirit, and the male virgin Barbelon, and the thrice-male child Telmael Telmael Heli Heli machar Marhar Seth…
Gospel of Mary
When the soul had overcome the third power, it went upwards and saw the fourth power, (which) took seven forms. The first form is darkness, the second desire, the third ignorance, the fourth is the excitement of death, the fifth is the kingdom of the flesh, the sixth is the foolish wisdom, the seventh is the wrathful wisdom. These are the seven powers of wrath.
Apocryphon of John
…the glory of Barbelo, the perfect glory in the aeons, the glory of the revelation, she glorified the virginal Spirit and it was she who praised him…she became the womb of everything for it is she who is prior to them all, the Mother-Father, the first man, the holy spirit, the thrice-male, the thrice powerful, the thrice-named androgynous one and the eternal aeon…
On the Origin of the World
After the natural structure of the immortal beings had completely developed out of the infinite, a likeness then emanated from Pistis (Faith); it is called Sophia (Wisdom).
And thus the number of the six authorities of chaos was achieved. Then Death, being androgynous, mingled with his (own) nature and begot seven androgynous offspring. These are the names of the male ones: Jealousy, Wrath, Tears, Sighing, Suffering, Lamentation, Bitter Weeping. And these are the names of the female ones: Wrath, Pain, Lust, Sighing, Curse, Bitterness, Quarrelsomeness. They had intercourse with one another, and each one begot seven, so that they amount to forty-nine androgynous demons
The Apocalypse of James
The Lord said, ‘James, do not be concerned for me or for this people. I am he who was within me. Never have I suffered in any way, nor have I been distressed
The Apocalypse of Adam
The tenth kingdom says of him that his god loved a cloud of desire. He begot him in his hand and cast upon the cloud above him (some) of the drop, and he was born. And the eleventh kingdom says that the father desired his [own] daughter. She herself became pregnant [from] her father
The Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth
Therefore I command that this teaching be carved on stone, and that you place it in my sanctuary. Eight guardians guard it with[…] of the sun. The males on the right are frog-faced, and the females on the left are cat-faced. And put a square mild-stone at the base of the turquoise tables and writ the name on the azure stone tablet in hieroglyphic characters
The Paraphrase of Shem
And when Darkness had acquired the likeness of the mind, it resembled the Spirit. For Nature rose up to expel it; she was powerless against it, since she did not have a form from the darkness. For she brought it forth in the cloud. And the cloud shone. A mind appeared in it like a frightful, harmful fire. It (i.e. the mind) collided against the unbegotten Spirit since it possessed a likeness form him. In order that Nature might become empty of the chaotic fire, then immediately nature was divided into four parts. They became clouds which varied in their appearance. They were called hymen, Afterbirth, Power, (and) Water
And when her forms returned, the rubbed their tongue(s) with each other; they copulated; they begot winds and demons and the power which is from the fire and the Darkness and the Spirit. But the form which remain alone cast the beast from herself. She did not have intercourse, but she was the one who rubbed herself alone. And she brought forth a wind which possessed a power from the fire and the Darkness and the Spirit
But the winds, which are demons from water and fire and darkness and light, had intercourse unto perdition. And through this intercourse the winds received in their womb foam from the penis of the demons. They conceived a power in their womb
Zostrianos
She was called Barbelo because (of her being) thought; the triple [race] (which is) male, virginal (and) perfect and her knowledge through which she came into being…
Marsanes
For [the power] is attending [to me, leading] me into [the Aeon which] is Barbelo, [the] male [Virgin]. For this reason the Virgin became male, because she had been divided from the male
Trimorphic Portennoia
I am androgynous. [I am Mother (and) I am] Father since [I copulate] with myself. I [copulated] with myself [and with those who love] me [and it is through me alone that the All [stands firm]. I am the Womb [that gives shape] to the All by giving birth to the Light that [shines in] splendor. I am the Aeon to [come…
(The quotes above come from The Nag Hammadi Library edited by James Robinson, San Francisco : HarperSanFrancisco, 1988. The reader is encouraged to purchase a copy to see that the above quotes are not just isolated examples of such nonsense)
Can any honest, intelligent human being seriously question why early Christian churches might have left such dung out of their New Testament? Can you imagine the additional scorn and ridicule that that critics would heap on Christians if any of this nonsense were included in the Bible? You see, it’s a matter of “damned if you do and damned if you don’t." The critics act as if these so-called powerful Christian bishops were in some kind of conspiracy to keep the “truth” from people, but if the Church had included these documents, you can bet the house that the critics' scorn would have known no bounds! Do you suppose that something other than serious, objective scholarship is going on in the radical critical attacks on Jesus and the New Testament?
Ahh, but it gets worse. Come back tomorrow to find out how these rejected writings portrayed women.
Gospel of Truth
Therefore, all the emanations of the Father are pleromas, and the root of all his emanations is in the one who made them all grow up in himself
Gospel of Thomas
Jesus said, ‘When you disrobe without being ashamed and take up your garment and place them under your feet like little children and tread on them, then [will you see] the son of the living one, and you will not be afraid
Gospel of Philip
Echamoth is one thing and Echmoth another. Echamoth is Wisdom simply, but Echmoth is the Wisdom of death with is the one which knows death which is called ‘the little Wisdom”
Gospel of the Egyptians
…the aeons of light of the unrevealable, unmarked, ageless, unproclaimable Father, the aeon of aeons, Autogenes, self-begotten, self-producing, alien, the really true aeon. Three powers came forth from him; they are the Father, the Mother, (and) the Son
The second ogdoad-power, the Mother, the virginal Barbelon epititioch [….] ai, memeneaiment[…who] presides over the heaven…”
Then the great Seth gave praise to the great, uncallable, virginal Spirit, and the male virgin Barbelon, and the thrice-male child Telmael Telmael Heli Heli machar Marhar Seth…
Gospel of Mary
When the soul had overcome the third power, it went upwards and saw the fourth power, (which) took seven forms. The first form is darkness, the second desire, the third ignorance, the fourth is the excitement of death, the fifth is the kingdom of the flesh, the sixth is the foolish wisdom, the seventh is the wrathful wisdom. These are the seven powers of wrath.
Apocryphon of John
…the glory of Barbelo, the perfect glory in the aeons, the glory of the revelation, she glorified the virginal Spirit and it was she who praised him…she became the womb of everything for it is she who is prior to them all, the Mother-Father, the first man, the holy spirit, the thrice-male, the thrice powerful, the thrice-named androgynous one and the eternal aeon…
On the Origin of the World
After the natural structure of the immortal beings had completely developed out of the infinite, a likeness then emanated from Pistis (Faith); it is called Sophia (Wisdom).
And thus the number of the six authorities of chaos was achieved. Then Death, being androgynous, mingled with his (own) nature and begot seven androgynous offspring. These are the names of the male ones: Jealousy, Wrath, Tears, Sighing, Suffering, Lamentation, Bitter Weeping. And these are the names of the female ones: Wrath, Pain, Lust, Sighing, Curse, Bitterness, Quarrelsomeness. They had intercourse with one another, and each one begot seven, so that they amount to forty-nine androgynous demons
The Apocalypse of James
The Lord said, ‘James, do not be concerned for me or for this people. I am he who was within me. Never have I suffered in any way, nor have I been distressed
The Apocalypse of Adam
The tenth kingdom says of him that his god loved a cloud of desire. He begot him in his hand and cast upon the cloud above him (some) of the drop, and he was born. And the eleventh kingdom says that the father desired his [own] daughter. She herself became pregnant [from] her father
The Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth
Therefore I command that this teaching be carved on stone, and that you place it in my sanctuary. Eight guardians guard it with[…] of the sun. The males on the right are frog-faced, and the females on the left are cat-faced. And put a square mild-stone at the base of the turquoise tables and writ the name on the azure stone tablet in hieroglyphic characters
The Paraphrase of Shem
And when Darkness had acquired the likeness of the mind, it resembled the Spirit. For Nature rose up to expel it; she was powerless against it, since she did not have a form from the darkness. For she brought it forth in the cloud. And the cloud shone. A mind appeared in it like a frightful, harmful fire. It (i.e. the mind) collided against the unbegotten Spirit since it possessed a likeness form him. In order that Nature might become empty of the chaotic fire, then immediately nature was divided into four parts. They became clouds which varied in their appearance. They were called hymen, Afterbirth, Power, (and) Water
And when her forms returned, the rubbed their tongue(s) with each other; they copulated; they begot winds and demons and the power which is from the fire and the Darkness and the Spirit. But the form which remain alone cast the beast from herself. She did not have intercourse, but she was the one who rubbed herself alone. And she brought forth a wind which possessed a power from the fire and the Darkness and the Spirit
But the winds, which are demons from water and fire and darkness and light, had intercourse unto perdition. And through this intercourse the winds received in their womb foam from the penis of the demons. They conceived a power in their womb
Zostrianos
She was called Barbelo because (of her being) thought; the triple [race] (which is) male, virginal (and) perfect and her knowledge through which she came into being…
Marsanes
For [the power] is attending [to me, leading] me into [the Aeon which] is Barbelo, [the] male [Virgin]. For this reason the Virgin became male, because she had been divided from the male
Trimorphic Portennoia
I am androgynous. [I am Mother (and) I am] Father since [I copulate] with myself. I [copulated] with myself [and with those who love] me [and it is through me alone that the All [stands firm]. I am the Womb [that gives shape] to the All by giving birth to the Light that [shines in] splendor. I am the Aeon to [come…
(The quotes above come from The Nag Hammadi Library edited by James Robinson, San Francisco : HarperSanFrancisco, 1988. The reader is encouraged to purchase a copy to see that the above quotes are not just isolated examples of such nonsense)
Can any honest, intelligent human being seriously question why early Christian churches might have left such dung out of their New Testament? Can you imagine the additional scorn and ridicule that that critics would heap on Christians if any of this nonsense were included in the Bible? You see, it’s a matter of “damned if you do and damned if you don’t." The critics act as if these so-called powerful Christian bishops were in some kind of conspiracy to keep the “truth” from people, but if the Church had included these documents, you can bet the house that the critics' scorn would have known no bounds! Do you suppose that something other than serious, objective scholarship is going on in the radical critical attacks on Jesus and the New Testament?
Ahh, but it gets worse. Come back tomorrow to find out how these rejected writings portrayed women.
DaVinci Code and the New Testament
According to The Da Vinci Code, “More than eighty gospels were considered for the New Testament, and yet only a relative few were chosen…the Bible as we know it today, was collated by the pagan Roman emperor Constantine the Great” (231).
Once again, a few corrections are in order. First, just to be more precise, the number of ancient gospels in existence is actually closer to thirty, not eighty. What Brown is referring to are the Gnostic documents found in 1945 at Nag Hammadi, most of which are not gospels.
Second, Constantine facilitated the production of about 50 New Testaments, but he had nothing to do with the contents. Not only that, but the Council of Nicea, over which Constantine presided, had nothing to do with the formation of the New Testament.
Third, although the boundaries of the New Testament were still in dispute during Constantine’s time, the essential core had been agreed on for over two hundred years—long before any councils met to discuss the issue. This core included Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, First and Second Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, First and Second Thessalonians, First and Second Timothy, Titus, First Peter, First John…and most churches even agreed on Revelation. Cyprian (d. 258), Origen (d. 254), Tertullian (d. 212), Muratorian Canon (late 2nd century; omits First Peter), and Irenaeus (d. 195) all accepted this core including Revelation. None of the Nag Hammadi documents are ever included, probably because including these in the church’s Bible would be like including “gangsta rap” in our hymnals :-)
Some of these authors accepted more than this core. Irenaeus, for example—fully 130 years before the Council of Nicea—quotes extensively from almost every book in our New Testament. Irenaeus calls these books “Scripture,” indicating his belief that they were inspired by God, and he even calls them the “New Testament” (twice). Further, Irenaeus seems to see no need to argue that these books belong to the New Testament—their acceptance as Scripture is so widespread that he just takes it for granted that all will agree. In fact, what really irritates Irenaeus is not that the “heretics” reject his New Testament—they don’t—but that they rip passages out of context and make words and phrases mean things they couldn’t possibly have meant in their original context. For example, the heretics often take Greek words that St. Paul uses and turn them into names for their numerous gods, something that would have appalled St. Paul!
Irenaeus quotes from every book in the modern New Testament except Philemon, James, 2 Peter, and 3 John. Altogether these books make up only about six pages out of about 230 pages in a modern New Testament. The fact is that we don’t know whether Irenaeus rejected these books or whether he just didn’t have occasion to quote from them because they are so small.
All over the Roman Empire the church seemed to agree on this core. Other New Testament books, like Hebrews (10 pages), James (3 pgs), 2 and 3 John (1 pg), and Jude (1 pg), for example, were accepted by some churches but questioned by others even into the fourth century. Some books once considered sacred by some churches were eventually rejected, including the Didache, the Epistle of Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas. None of these are part of the Nag Hammadi documents and they have certainly never been suppressed!
Even before Irenaeus, there are hints that the Gospels and Paul’s letters were accepted as Scripture. For example, Valentinus (a Gnostic leader, 1st half of 2nd century) cites Matthew, Luke, John, Paul’s letters (except 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus), Hebrews and Revelation as authoritative. Tatian (a Gnostic, d. 172) produced a harmony of the Gospels—which included only Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Justin (d. 175) referred to the “memoirs of the apostles” and scholars agree that he was referring to the four biblical gospels.
In the letter known as Second Peter, dated by scholars as early as AD 60’s to 130’s—over 200 years before the Council—the author puts all of Paul’s letters in the category of Scripture. The author of First Timothy (5:18), dated from the AD 60’s to 80’s, writes, “For the Scripture says,” and quotes from a phrase found only in Luke 10:7. Also in the first century, a church leader know as Clement of Rome quotes from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew—though it is not clear whether he is quoting from Matthew or from oral tradition. There is no such ambiguity in the letter of Barnabas, however, which was written in the first or second centuries and clearly quotes from the Gospel of Matthew as scripture.
The point of all this is that the impression is sometimes given by Dan Brown (who is clueless) and some scholars who know better, that the New Testament was created almost from scratch in the fourth century by some powerful Christian bishops who met to consider eighty gospels, but who kept only those that agreed with their views and kicked all the others out. This is pure nonsense.
Once again, a few corrections are in order. First, just to be more precise, the number of ancient gospels in existence is actually closer to thirty, not eighty. What Brown is referring to are the Gnostic documents found in 1945 at Nag Hammadi, most of which are not gospels.
Second, Constantine facilitated the production of about 50 New Testaments, but he had nothing to do with the contents. Not only that, but the Council of Nicea, over which Constantine presided, had nothing to do with the formation of the New Testament.
Third, although the boundaries of the New Testament were still in dispute during Constantine’s time, the essential core had been agreed on for over two hundred years—long before any councils met to discuss the issue. This core included Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, First and Second Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, First and Second Thessalonians, First and Second Timothy, Titus, First Peter, First John…and most churches even agreed on Revelation. Cyprian (d. 258), Origen (d. 254), Tertullian (d. 212), Muratorian Canon (late 2nd century; omits First Peter), and Irenaeus (d. 195) all accepted this core including Revelation. None of the Nag Hammadi documents are ever included, probably because including these in the church’s Bible would be like including “gangsta rap” in our hymnals :-)
Some of these authors accepted more than this core. Irenaeus, for example—fully 130 years before the Council of Nicea—quotes extensively from almost every book in our New Testament. Irenaeus calls these books “Scripture,” indicating his belief that they were inspired by God, and he even calls them the “New Testament” (twice). Further, Irenaeus seems to see no need to argue that these books belong to the New Testament—their acceptance as Scripture is so widespread that he just takes it for granted that all will agree. In fact, what really irritates Irenaeus is not that the “heretics” reject his New Testament—they don’t—but that they rip passages out of context and make words and phrases mean things they couldn’t possibly have meant in their original context. For example, the heretics often take Greek words that St. Paul uses and turn them into names for their numerous gods, something that would have appalled St. Paul!
Irenaeus quotes from every book in the modern New Testament except Philemon, James, 2 Peter, and 3 John. Altogether these books make up only about six pages out of about 230 pages in a modern New Testament. The fact is that we don’t know whether Irenaeus rejected these books or whether he just didn’t have occasion to quote from them because they are so small.
All over the Roman Empire the church seemed to agree on this core. Other New Testament books, like Hebrews (10 pages), James (3 pgs), 2 and 3 John (1 pg), and Jude (1 pg), for example, were accepted by some churches but questioned by others even into the fourth century. Some books once considered sacred by some churches were eventually rejected, including the Didache, the Epistle of Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas. None of these are part of the Nag Hammadi documents and they have certainly never been suppressed!
Even before Irenaeus, there are hints that the Gospels and Paul’s letters were accepted as Scripture. For example, Valentinus (a Gnostic leader, 1st half of 2nd century) cites Matthew, Luke, John, Paul’s letters (except 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus), Hebrews and Revelation as authoritative. Tatian (a Gnostic, d. 172) produced a harmony of the Gospels—which included only Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Justin (d. 175) referred to the “memoirs of the apostles” and scholars agree that he was referring to the four biblical gospels.
In the letter known as Second Peter, dated by scholars as early as AD 60’s to 130’s—over 200 years before the Council—the author puts all of Paul’s letters in the category of Scripture. The author of First Timothy (5:18), dated from the AD 60’s to 80’s, writes, “For the Scripture says,” and quotes from a phrase found only in Luke 10:7. Also in the first century, a church leader know as Clement of Rome quotes from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew—though it is not clear whether he is quoting from Matthew or from oral tradition. There is no such ambiguity in the letter of Barnabas, however, which was written in the first or second centuries and clearly quotes from the Gospel of Matthew as scripture.
The point of all this is that the impression is sometimes given by Dan Brown (who is clueless) and some scholars who know better, that the New Testament was created almost from scratch in the fourth century by some powerful Christian bishops who met to consider eighty gospels, but who kept only those that agreed with their views and kicked all the others out. This is pure nonsense.
National Geographic and lost gospels
National Geographic aired a program called the “Secret Lives of Jesus.” To their credit, they included a couple voices of sanity—Ben Witherington and Craig Evans—but the overall spin of the program was incredibly misleading.
The impression left on the viewer was that everything written about Jesus in the first three centuries should be considered equally in reconstructing our view of Jesus. This would be similar to forming one’s view of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by treating modern Creationist critiques, satires, and cartoons as if they had equal historical value as the writings of the earliest followers of Darwin himself (all analogies break down including this one but I’m assuming that most intelligent readers will get the point).
For quotes from some of these early “lost” gospels and documents see my previous posts “On Writings Suppressed by Bishops” and “Women and Christian Bishops.” Also see my discussion of The Gospel of Judas.
The impression left on the viewer was that everything written about Jesus in the first three centuries should be considered equally in reconstructing our view of Jesus. This would be similar to forming one’s view of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by treating modern Creationist critiques, satires, and cartoons as if they had equal historical value as the writings of the earliest followers of Darwin himself (all analogies break down including this one but I’m assuming that most intelligent readers will get the point).
For quotes from some of these early “lost” gospels and documents see my previous posts “On Writings Suppressed by Bishops” and “Women and Christian Bishops.” Also see my discussion of The Gospel of Judas.
Muhammad and clay birds
There is an ancient Greek text called The Infancy Gospel of Thomas (Not to be confused with the Gospel of Thomas). The Infancy Gospel of Thomas says that Jesus:
Second, our earliest sources about Jesus are all Jewish and the Infancy Gospel of Thomas shows no knowledge of first century Judaism.
Third, according to the Gospel of John, Jesus’ did his very first miracle, not when he was a child, but as an adult when he turned water into wine.
Fourth, the Infancy Gospel of Thomas betrays elements of Gnostic thought which is characteristic of the second century AD but not the first century AD.
Finally, the Infancy Gospel of Thomas tells a series of bazaar stories about Jesus that portray him as a vindictive little brat, which doesn’t fit anything else we know about Jesus from much earlier sources.
For example, according to the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, when a little boy “took a branch of a willow and…dispersed the water which Jesus had gathered together,” little Jesus called him a “godless dunderhead” and placed a curse on him causing the boy to wither up.
On another occasion, a boy was running and bumped into Jesus.’ Jesus cursed that child too and the boy fell down dead! Parents in the village understandably began to complain to Jesus’ father, Joseph, so according to the story, Jesus punished the complainers with blindness!
For these reasons, virtually no scholars (or anyone else) believes that the stories about Jesus in the Infancy Gospel of Thomas are true—the only exception is Muslims. Muslims believe the story is true because Muhammad—who lived more than 300 years after the story was written—seems to have believed it! At least twice in the Qur’an Muhammad talks about how Jesus took a clay bird and made it come alive (Sura 3.49 and 5.10).
This creates a dilemma for Muslims. Since they believe that the teachings in the Qur’an were given to Muhammad from God word-for-word, they are forced to believe a story which no one but Muslims believe, written 100 to 150 years after Jesus lived. If the clay bird story isn’t true, it would mean that Muhammad did not get it word-for-word from God, and that would place the Qur’an, the prophethood of Muhammad and all of Islam in question.
Although Muhammad had great respect for Jesus, Muhammad adamantly denied that Jesus was the Son of God. That’s interesting because the same Infancy Gospel of Thomas that tells the story of the clay birds, also tells a story about Jesus standing in the Temple of God and calling it “My Father’s house.” In other words, according to the writer of the clay bird story which Muhammad believes, Jesus claimed to be the Son of God.
“…made soft clay and fashioned from it twelve sparrows. And it was on the Sabbath when he did this. And there were also many other children playing with him. Now a certain Jew saw what Jesus was doing in his play on the Sabbath, he at once went and told his father Joseph: ‘See, your child is at the brook, and he has taken clay and fashioned twelve birds and has profaned the Sabbath.’ And when Joseph came to the place and saw it, he cried out to him, saying: ‘Why do you do on the Sabbath what ought not to be done?’ But Jesus clapped his hands and cried to the sparrows: ‘Off with you!’ And the sparrows took flight and went away chirping (Infancy Gospel of Thomas. 2.2-4. New Testament Apocrypha, vol. 1, edited by Wilhelm Schneemelcher, 1991).With one exception, virtually no one believes this story is true. First, the story wasn’t written until about 100 to 150 years after Jesus’ death, which is much later than our earliest sources about Jesus.
Second, our earliest sources about Jesus are all Jewish and the Infancy Gospel of Thomas shows no knowledge of first century Judaism.
Third, according to the Gospel of John, Jesus’ did his very first miracle, not when he was a child, but as an adult when he turned water into wine.
Fourth, the Infancy Gospel of Thomas betrays elements of Gnostic thought which is characteristic of the second century AD but not the first century AD.
Finally, the Infancy Gospel of Thomas tells a series of bazaar stories about Jesus that portray him as a vindictive little brat, which doesn’t fit anything else we know about Jesus from much earlier sources.
For example, according to the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, when a little boy “took a branch of a willow and…dispersed the water which Jesus had gathered together,” little Jesus called him a “godless dunderhead” and placed a curse on him causing the boy to wither up.
On another occasion, a boy was running and bumped into Jesus.’ Jesus cursed that child too and the boy fell down dead! Parents in the village understandably began to complain to Jesus’ father, Joseph, so according to the story, Jesus punished the complainers with blindness!
For these reasons, virtually no scholars (or anyone else) believes that the stories about Jesus in the Infancy Gospel of Thomas are true—the only exception is Muslims. Muslims believe the story is true because Muhammad—who lived more than 300 years after the story was written—seems to have believed it! At least twice in the Qur’an Muhammad talks about how Jesus took a clay bird and made it come alive (Sura 3.49 and 5.10).
This creates a dilemma for Muslims. Since they believe that the teachings in the Qur’an were given to Muhammad from God word-for-word, they are forced to believe a story which no one but Muslims believe, written 100 to 150 years after Jesus lived. If the clay bird story isn’t true, it would mean that Muhammad did not get it word-for-word from God, and that would place the Qur’an, the prophethood of Muhammad and all of Islam in question.
Although Muhammad had great respect for Jesus, Muhammad adamantly denied that Jesus was the Son of God. That’s interesting because the same Infancy Gospel of Thomas that tells the story of the clay birds, also tells a story about Jesus standing in the Temple of God and calling it “My Father’s house.” In other words, according to the writer of the clay bird story which Muhammad believes, Jesus claimed to be the Son of God.
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