The Question of Truth Unearthed by Non-Canonical Gospels

1379 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Christianity and 4 gospels built on

In life we all encounter times when we simply feel lost and confused. We all face times when we simply seek the answers and the truth to help us understand our lives. For Christians, our answers are found within the Bible where we feel the truth lies and where we can go to find the answer to the most difficult questions in our lives. But when we do this, are we as Christians limiting the knowledge that we can procure? Can we view the Bible as complete and containing a full spectrum of godly discernment? The essence of these questions center completely around one central issue: non-canonical books. When we look at the Bible and its' spectrum of knowledge, we must also look at what has been removed. When we compare canonical vis-à-vis non-canonical gospels we can see that non-canonical gospels do play a significant role in the role of the church and the formation of the Christian knowledge, which can in turn lead us to wonder about the difference between canonical and non-canonical.

When we look at the non-canonical gospels we must first start by looking at exactly what a non-canonical gospel is and what this idea really means. To many it simply means a book that didn’t make it into the Bible because it possesses incorrect information somewhere within it or it can mean that the book is in complete falsehood and as a result is not seen as fit to be read or to draw knowledge from. In reality, a non-canonical gospel is a “name given to that amorphous collection of early, non-canonical Christian writings, dating from the second century onwards, which purports to tell us about the main personage of the New Testament and the deeds of the founding apostles of various churches” (Foster 28). While many people today simply see them as use...

... middle of paper ...

..., there are good reasons why these gospels ultimately were not included into the canon it doesn’t mean that there is no good information to be gained from these books. When we take the information in stride and combine it with what we know from the Bible the information we get can be quite powerful and can add to the way that we view Christianity and Jesus.

Works Cited

Foster, Paul. The Apocryphal Gospels : A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford, 2009.

FoxTrax. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.

Foster, Paul. The Non-Canonical Gospels. London: Continuum International, 2008. FoxTrax.

Web. 15 Feb. 2014.

Shelley, Paul L. Church History In Plain Language. Nashville: Word, 1995. Print.

"Wesley Center Online." The : Noncanonical Literature. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.

.

Show More
Related

  • The Contradiction between Beliefs and Actions in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

    2137 Words  | 5 Pages

    · Lewis, CS. Mere Christianity. New York: Doubleday, 1982. · McBride, David. The Story of the Church.

    Read More

  • Analysis of the Gospel of John

    868 Words  | 2 Pages

    Of course the most prominent part of the Gospel are the miracles. A number of the miracles that are described in John are not mentioned at all in the other three Gospels. For example, the aforementioned raising of Lazarus. In this miracle, Jesus goes to the tomb of one of his followers who was stoned to death. Once he sees that Lazarus has been entombed for four days, he has the stone removed from the entrance to the cave and commands "Lazarus, come out!" (John 11:43). This is one of the most famous miracles, but it only appears in the one Gospel. Another example of a very well known miracle that is only present in John is his ability to turn water into wine at the wedding at Cana. This is a story that tells how Jesus was able to take not only water, but also inferior wine and turn them into quality wine. This is also a very interesting passage because in it, Jesus is promoting alcohol use and bein...

    Read More

  • The Impact of Charlemagne Upon Europe

    1618 Words  | 4 Pages

    Jenkins, Phillips. The Lost History of Christianity. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2008. Print. Phillips, Jonathan.

    Read More

  • Essay On Gnostic Schism

    624 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Gospel of Thomas is definitely set apart from the Canonical Gospels, which include the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of Mark, the Gospel of Luke and the Gospel of John. Although all four are not identical, there is a traditional underlying message found in all. On the contrary, the Gospel of Thomas seems to have an entirely different message.

    Read More

  • Mosaic Dietary Laws

    4688 Words  | 10 Pages

    Metzger, B. (1997). The Canon of the New Testament: Its Origin, Development, and Significance. New York.

    Read More

  • The Gnostic Gospels

    2152 Words  | 5 Pages

    McManners, John. "The Oxford History of Christianity." The Oxford History of Christianity. New York: New York Oxford Press, 2002. 28.

    Read More

  • The Dead Sea Scrolls and The Gospel Of John

    2039 Words  | 5 Pages

    The study of the Gospel of John can be viewed as distinct and separate from the study of any of the previous three synoptic gospels. The Fourth Gospel contains language and conceptions so distinct from the synoptics that scholars are often faced with the question of its historical origins. Originally, scholars believed the main source for the Gospel of John to be Jewish wisdom literature, Philo, the Hermetic books and the Mandaean writings, leading to the idea that John was the most Greek of the Gospels. However, with the discovery of the scrolls, scholars were now faced with source materials, remarkably similar to the concepts and language found in John, illuminating the literature as not only Jewish but Palestinian in origin. The discovery of the manuscripts opened up an entirely new interpretation of the gospel of John and a progressive understanding of its proper place within biblical scripture.

    Read More

  • Gospel And The Gospel Essay

    1193 Words  | 3 Pages

    The word gospel occurs 101 times in 95 verses, in the King James Version of the Bible and even though the word gospel originally existed before Jesus and His followers used it; howbeit, they supposedly empowered it with unequaled authority. Perpetually, from Jesus preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God, (Matt 4:23), to the Apostle Paul’s establishing the mystery of the gospel; which was kept secret since the world began,” (Rom 16:25), the text overflows with enigmas. This analogy emerges as being prophesied by God’s prophets in the Old Testament (Rom 1:2). Calculatingly, scripture states that “the truth of this gospel occurs hid to them that are lost,” (2 Cor 4:3). Noticeably, there are implication that among this secret mystery, exists various talks concerning “not being ashamed” of something involving this gospel, (Mark 8:38; Rom 1:16, 10:11; 2 Tim 1:8) and although there may be shame, it tells us to boldly talk regarding “this mystery” (Eph

    Read More

  • Three Synoptic Gospels

    1681 Words  | 4 Pages

    The contents of the Bible have dealt with controversy in regards to its inerrancy since publication, and will surely continue to. Historians progress to learn more about biblical stories in order to provide evidence for the reliability of information. Many believers today understand that not everything in the Bible has been factually proven. An outstanding topic many scholars pay attention to lies within the four gospels. The three synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, replay essentially the same story with minor inconsistencies, while John portrays Jesus in an entirely different way. The differences in each gospel are due to how each gospel entertains different portrayals of the life and understanding of Jesus himself, in order to persuade

    Read More

  • The Canon of Biblical Writings

    2279 Words  | 5 Pages

    For centuries now Christians have claimed to possess the special revelation of an omnipotent, loving Deity who is sovereign over all of His creation. This special revelation is in written form and is what has come to be known as The Bible which consists of two books. The first book is the Hebrew Scriptures, written by prophets in a time that was before Christ, and the second book is the New Testament, which was written by Apostles and disciples of the risen Lord after His ascension. It is well documented that Christians in the context of the early first century were used to viewing a set of writings as being not only authoritative, but divinely inspired. The fact that there were certain books out in the public that were written by followers of Jesus and recognized as being just as authoritative as the Hebrew Scriptures was never under debate. The disagreement between some groups of Christians and Gnostics centered on which exact group of books were divinely inspired and which were not. The debate also took place over the way we can know for sure what God would have us include in a book of divinely inspired writings. This ultimately led to the formation of the Biblical canon in the next centuries. Some may ask, “Isn’t Jesus really the only thing that we can and should call God’s Word?” and “Isn’t the Bible just a man made collection of writings all centered on the same thing, Jesus Christ?” This paper summarizes some of the evidences for the Old and New Testament canon’s accuracy in choosing God breathed, authoritative writings and then reflects on the wide ranging

    Read More

  • The Four Gospels

    1960 Words  | 4 Pages

    The first three gospels are sometimes called the 'synoptic' (same view) gospels. This is because they each cover teaching and miracles by Jesus that are also covered in another account. John, writing later, recounts Jesus' other words and miracles that have a particular spiritual meaning.

    Read More

  • Law And Gospel Essay

    1164 Words  | 3 Pages

    The gospel can be a synopsis or a prolonged message that one person can write stating the many works of Christ while another person may briefly describe Christ’s death and resurrection. There is only one gospel but it is described by more than one apostle just as there is only one Christ therefore there can be no more than one gospel. Consequently, we need to discard the idea that there are four gospels and four evangelists and adopt the view that there is only one gospel. Every time we hear the gospel we should perceive the sermon as Christ coming to you or us being brought to him. One must recognize Christ as a gift so that you do not doubt that Christ himself belongs to you. The gospel is a book of divine promises in which God gives us all of his possessions and teaches us in an affectionate and loving way rather than forcing us (Luther 73). Luther made it clear that “you do not make Christ into a Moses, as if Christ did nothing more to teach and provide examples as the other saints do, as if the gospel were simply a text books of teachings or laws” (Luther

    Read More

  • Four Gospels Research Paper

    654 Words  | 2 Pages

    The four gospels are detailed accounts of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Each portrays a unique story and angle of Jesus, who is the savior of the Jews and the world. Apostle Matthew’s writings are to prove to the Jews that Jesus is their Messiah. Mark stressed the humanity of Jesus and also his deity. Luke wanted to show that the gentile Christian in God’s kingdom is based on the teachings of Jesus. John speaks of Jesus as one sent from God to reveal His love and grace to man. The four gospels work together to elaborate on the several key themes; salvation, spreading His word, and the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise.

    Read More

  • Why Is Context Important In Hermeneutics?

    3238 Words  | 7 Pages

    Answering these questions is the purpose of this essay. I begin by arguing that the Bible cannot be adequately understood independent of its historical context. I concede later that historical context alone however is insufficient, for the Bible is a living-breathing document as relevant to us today as it was the day it was scribed. I conclude we need both testimonies of God at work to fully appreciate how the Bible speaks to us.

    Read More

  • THE RISE OF THE PAPACY

    1635 Words  | 4 Pages

    Gonzalez, Justo L. The Story of Christianity. 2nd ed. New York City, NY: HarperOne, 2010.

    Read More

More about The Question of Truth Unearthed by Non-Canonical Gospels

Open Document