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?

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).