Close but no Cigar: Books Almost in the NT Part 1
1 Clement, Didache
Posted
Sunday, December 11, 2005
by
Charlie Trimm
I wrote a paper awhile ago about books almost in the NT and was
thinking about presenting it at ETS this year, so I thought I would run
it by you guys and see if ya'll had any comments. I've divided it into
smaller chunks so it doesn't look like too much and maybe someone will
actually read it.
People always like conspiracy
theories, and such theories in regard to religion seem to be particularly
believable to many. An issue that has received attention in the popular mind
recently is the content of the canon of the New Testament. Did the Church
Fathers get it right? Did they suppress books that should have been accepted?
Should our canon be bigger? Is there a conspiracy to uncover here?
The topic of this
paper will be to survey several books that almost made the NT canon and to
examine why they were rejected. Looking at this data will help us to decide if
we have the correct NT canon. The books to be surveyed here include most of the
books that at least one non-heretical Church Father or canon list seriously
considered at some point to be inspired. The books to be covered include 1
Clement, the Didache, the Shepherd of Hermas, the Epistle of Barnabas, the
Wisdom of Solomon, the Revelation of Peter and the Acts of Paul. Besides the
sources listed under each book, the extant text of each book and multiple
introductions can also be found on the internet (Davis; Kirby; Knight).
1
Clement
The
letter that is known to us as 1 Clement is one of the earliest non-Biblical
Christian works in our possession today. The letter itself is anonymous and was
written by the Christians in Rome
to the Christians in Corinth. Later
Church tradition associates the book with the name Clement, but there is debate
as to which Clement is meant. The same tradition states that it refers to the
Clement who was the third bishop of Rome
after Peter, but it is unlikely that a single bishop existed at that early
date. A group of leaders did exist then, so perhaps Clement was a leader in the
group. Clement might also be identified as the Clement mentioned in the
Shepherd of Hermas (Vision 2.4.3 in the Shepherd of Hermas).
The
letter was written in the late 90's. The main indication of the date is the
mention of persecution (1.1). While this could fit either the persecution of
Domitian in the 90's or Nero in the 60's, the book speaks of the Neroian
persecution as a past event (5-6), so the 90's is the better choice. The book
also mentions those who have lived all their lives up till old age as Christians
(63.3), which would fit better with a 90's date. A date no later then 100 is
required because Peter and Paul are described as being of the readers'
generation (5:1).
The
occasion of the letter to the Corinthians was a report of division within the
Corinthian church, apparently a perpetual problem there. The Roman church urged
them to heal their divisions and to stop damaging the name of God. The Roman
church even sent mediators to Corinth
to help them. Peterlin has an extensive discussion of the source and the
proposed solution of the conflict. The letter extensively quotes from the OT
and on occasion from the NT to make its point, as well as from secular sources,
such as the story of the Phoenix (25).
The
letter was valued greatly by the ancient church. Clement of Alexandria
quotes the letter as Scripture. Several NT manuscripts include 1 Clement. Codex
Alexandrinus contains 1 Clement and 2 Clement right after Revelation, the
Syrian Apostolic Canons (fourth century) include 1 and 2 Clement in the canon,
and Didymus the Blind also includes 1 Clement in his canon. The Greek text of 1
Clement and an English translation is given in Holmes (28-101), an English
translation is in Richardson
(43-73), and an introduction is given in both books as well as in Hagner
(1-13).
Didache
The
Didache (The "Teaching" in Greek) is an important but obscure
document. It consists of two parts. The first is a Christianization of a Jewish
teaching entitled "The Two Ways." The second is a basic church
manual, with instructions about food, baptism, the Eucharist, fasting, prayer,
and the offices of the church.
The
origin and date of the Didache are shrouded in obscurity. The first line
of the document claims that this is the teaching of the apostles, but very few
accept this as true. Most scholars today view the Didache as a composite
document, with a later editor (perhaps mid-second century) putting together the
two ways tractate and an early church manual. The church manual gives the
impression of having early influences because of such factors as the simplicity
of the government and the prayers. Another suggestion is that this church
manual was made for rural churches, since it details instructions for itinerant
prophets. Overall, we know very little of the Didache's origin.
The
Didache is treated as Scripture by Origen, Clement of Alexandria
(although there is a little obscurity in Clement), and a tractate called
Against Dice Players written about 300 AD (Bruce 185, 191, 194; Metzger Canon
163-164). The Greek text and English translation are given in Holmes (250-269),
an English translation in Richardson
(171-179), an English translation and extensive commentary in Niederwimmer
(59-227), and an introduction in all three works (Holmes 246-249; Richardson
161-170; Niederwimmer 1-57).
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