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theexodvs · 3 months

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Claim: The New Testament canon as it currently exists is in a substantially reduced form from widely-accepted Christians writings from the first generation of the church, in particular neglecting gnostic writings. The Council of Nicaea established the canon because either the bishops whose views won out therein or Constantine did not prefer gnostic works.

Reality: The Council of Nicaea did not discuss the canon of the New Testament. The Athanasian and Arian sides were seemingly in agreement over the canon. Nicaea was convened principally to discuss matters of Christology, with the dating of Easter as a secondary issue.

The New Testament canon as it currently exists is largely in agreement with the set of works quoted by Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp, and Irenaeus (all of whom died decades if not over full century before Constantine was born), along with the Muratorian fragment, written perhaps a full century before Constantine was born.

Ignatius quoted or alluded to most of the current New Testament canon (including many of Paul’s letters and perhaps all four canonical gospels), and, except Revelation, those books he did not were very short. He was martyred at the latest in the 140s, about 130 years before the birth of Constantine.

Polycarp quoted or alluded to most of the current New Testament canon as well, only neglecting John among the gospels. For what it is worth, he quotes two of John’s epistles. Again, most of the books he did not cite were very short in length, and there is only one known surviving work of his, an epistle to the Philippians. He was martyred in the middle of the second century, about 120 years before the birth of Constantine.

Unlike Ignatius and Polycarp, who contended with the proto-gnostics, Iraeneus had to contend with a more developed expression of gnosticism, along with Marcion and his followers, who promoted a very reduced form of the New Testament. Iraeneus wrote an idiosyncratic reasoning for why no fewer and no more gospels were to be considered canon than the now-accepted set of four, but given the quotations from earlier church fathers, it seems he was rationalizing a set of gospels that was already in wide use. He quoted or alluded to every book presently in the New Testament, with the exception of a few short, non-Pauline epistles. Note that he also considered 1 Clement and the Shepherd of Hermas to be Scripture. He died at an unknown date, under unknown circumstances, but likely sometime in the early third century, well before the birth of Constantine.

The Muratorian fragment is a name used to refer to the collation of two obscure manuscripts found in Italy containing a list of the books accepted at the time its original text was written as being in the New Testament. The manuscripts themselves are of medieval origin, but were copied from a text that refered to the Shepherd of Hermas as being a recent work, and attributing it to the brother of Pius, bishop of Rome AD 140-154. This suggests the work was originally written around AD 170, a century before the birth of Constantine. As the name suggests, the whole of the text which has survived to our day is in a fragmentary condition, but it mentions Luke and John being a third and fourth gospel, in addition to recognizing thirteen of Paul’s epistles, two epistles of John (which of them was included is unknown, but the Muratorian fragment quotes 1 John, suggesting either 2 or 3 John was excluded), the epistle of Jude, and Revelation. The only two books considered in the fragment not included in the canon are the Apocalypse of Peter and the Wisdom of Solomon. The former was described by the author as being rejected by some churches. The latter is included in the Old Testament by some groups. Hebrews, James, and the epistles of Peter were not discussed in the fragment. While the inclusion of Matthew and Mark as the first and second gospels is speculative, it is ludicrous to suggest the Gospel of John, which begins with describing Jesus as a fleshly being, Colossians, which describes the fullness of God dwelling in Jesus bodily, or the epistles of John, any two of which would have collectively described the protognostics as antichrist at least once, would coexist in the same canon as any gnostic gospel.

The only writings for which there seems to be some continuing disputes into the late second century were Philemon, Hebrews, some of the general epistles, and Revelation. However, besides these and the rest of the accepted New Testament, the closest to a somewhat accepted book in the New Testament canon was the Shepherd of Hermas, a decidedly non-gnostic work that was rejected due to its obvious post-apostolic origin and disconnection in concepts from the rest of Scripture. The overall trend, then, was for the canon of the New Testament to expand to its current form.

#Canon of Scripture #Council of Nicaea #Constantine #Nicaea #New Testament #Ignatius of Antioch #Irenaeus #Polycarp #Muratorian Fragment #Muratorian canon #gnostic gospels #Shepherd of Hermas #Apocalypse of Peter #gnosticism #protognosticism #protognostics

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apenitentialprayer · 1 year

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God's plan of salvation all along has been to create one human society as the bearer of the divine image. In that sense, the church isn't just the way people respond to salvation; the church is salvation. The church is what God as been doing in the world from the beginning. It is a representative microcosm of what God intends for the whole human family. [...] The Spirit fulfills the Creator's original plan by bringing forth a universal community whose boundaries are as wide as the world.

- Benjamin Myers (The Apostles' Creed: A Guide to the Ancient Catechism, pages 105, 100-101). Italics original, bolded emphasis added. Compare the text below, from the second century Christian apocalyptic text The Shepherd of Hermas:

Now, brethren, a revelation was made unto me in my sleep by a youth of exceeding fair form, who said to me, "Whom thinkest thou the aged woman, from whom thou receivedst the book, to be?" I said, "The Sibyl" "Thou art wrong," saith he, "she is not." "Who then is she?" I said. "The Church," saith he. I said unto him, "Wherefore then is she aged?" "Because," saith he, "she was created before all things; therefore is she aged; and for her sake the world was framed."

#Christianity #Ecclesia #Holy Spirit #Shepherd of Hermas #salvation #redemption #Kingdom of God

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liberty1776 · 1 year

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Shepherd of Hermas (BiblicalAudio.com)

#Shepherd of Hermas

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thepastisalreadywritten · 2 months

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Early Christians had a complete Bible by the 4th century.

But that’s not the only thing they were reading to deepen their faith.

In the early Church, there were a lot of great books being passed around.🧵

The Didache, Anonymous, 1st century

The Didache is a brief discourse that contains moral and ritualistic teachings — a handbook for a Christian life.

It’s speculated the apostles wrote it, and contains the formulas for baptism and eucharist that are still used today.

The Shepherd of Hermas, Hermas, 2nd century

St. Iranaeus considered it to be canonical scripture.

Though it missed the cut, it’s a fascinating work that centers around the life of a former slave who is given mystical visions and parables informing him how to live a faithful life.

Church History, Eusebius, 4th century

Eusebius had access to one of the largest sources of knowledge in the ancient world: Library of Caesarea.

This allowed him to piece together this contentious history of the church through letters, martyrdom accounts, and lists of bishops.

On the Incarnation, Athanasius, 4th century

C.S. Lewis said of it:

“When I first opened On the Incarnation, I soon discovered…that I was reading a masterpiece.“

Here, Athanasius presents the incarnation as a solution to man's fallen nature, or what he calls the “divine dilemma."

Confessions, Augustine, 5th century

Augustine's masterpiece is an autobiography where he ponders his troubled youth and eventual conversion to Christianity as he traversed the Roman empire.

It’s a story of the struggle against sin and the metanoia of a future saint.

The City of God, Augustine, 5th century

An intellectual tour de force, The City of God depicts the ultimate struggle of the human condition — a war where all must make a choice between the “earthly city” and the “city of God.”

Sayings of the Desert Fathers, various authors, 5th century

Ancient wisdom from desert hermits.

It’s a collection of wisdom stories and maxims from the desert fathers, who were some of the earliest hermits and ascetics.

Early monks looked to these stories for spiritual guidance.

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holystormfire · 3 months

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The List of 75 Books Lost or Excluded from the Bible

Joshua 10:13 KJV

And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.

2 Samuel 1:18 KJV

(Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.)

1 Kings 11:41 KJV

And the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon?

𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑠...

The Protevangelion

The Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ

The Infancy Gospel of Thomas

The Epistles of Jesus Christ and Abgarus King of Edessa

The Gospel of Nicodemus (Acts of Pilate)

The Apostles’ Creed (throughout history)

The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Laodiceans

The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to Seneca, with Seneca’s to Paul

The Acts of Paul and Thecla

The Epistle of Clement

The Second Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians

The Epistle of Barnabas

The Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians

The Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians

The Epistle of Ignatius to the Trallians

The Epistle of Ignatius to the Romans

The Epistle of Ignatius to the Philadelphians

The Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrneans

The Epistle of Ignatius to Polycarp

The Shepherd of Hermas (Visions, Commands, and Similitudes)

Letter of Herod To Pilate the Governor

Letter of Pilate to Herod

The Lost Gospel of Peter

The Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians

Book of Enoch 1

Book of Enoch 2 (known as The Secrets of Enoch)

Enoch 3

Book of Esdras 1

Book of Esdras 2

Book of Maccabees 1

Book of Maccabees 2

Book of Maccabees 3

Book of Maccabees 4

Book of Maccabees 5

Book of Tobit

Book of Jasher

Book of Judith

Book of Esther

Book of Ecclesiasticus / Sirach

Book of Jubilees

Book of Baruch 1

Book of Baruch 2

Book of Baruch 3

Book of The Shepherd of Hermas

Book of Wisdom / Wisdom of Solomon

Book of The Psalms of Solomon

Book of The Odes of Solomon

Book of Giants

Book of Adam and Eve 1

The Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan

The Gospel of James / The Protevangelion

The Gospel of Peter

The Gospel of Thomas

The Gospel of Nicodemus / Acts of Pilate

The Syriac Infancy Gospel / Infancy of Jesus Christ

The Epistles of Jesus Christ and Abgarus, King of Edessa

The Epistle of Aristeas

The Epistle of Jeremiah

The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Laodiceans

The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to Seneca

The Epistle of Pilate to Herod

Assumption of Moses

Apocalypse of Moses

Testament of Abraham

Apocalypse of Abraham

Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs

The Acts of Paul

The Acts of Paul and Thecla

The Apostles Creed

Psalm 151

Story of Susanna

Story of Bel and The Dragon

Story of Ahikar

The Prayer of Azariah and the Songs of the Three Holy Children

Prayer of Manasseh

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strigital · 3 months

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so a new yearly adventure 'bout to drop and half of the players are already simping for ithelia while another half is grieving her boring design. me? i'm more interested in the fact that zenimax gave us a lore-friendly way to make our own dardric prince ocs and uuuh lemme just grab a sketchbook real quick and cook up an opposite to mepahala and probably/possibly her twin whose sphere are energies of the afterlife, death and being the shepherd of the undead and the restless dead 👀 and maybe a babygirl of a dardric prince who is the opposite of hircine and oversees the wild beauty of natural world, shapeshifers, sentient trees and talking animals, and mysteries of wild magic and secrets of the untouched wilderness, who has the bottom half of a deer whereas hircine has a head of an elk🦌 ooh! maybe even some opposite to namira whose domain is beauty, poetry and all that is aesthetically pleasing and dreamy and nice who may look like one of those fairies with butterfly wings all over them 🧚‍♀️

anyways, feck the lore, i'm here to 100% milk herma mora's ability to just "conveniently hide" entire dardric princes outside of reality thus making any and all stupid little dardric blorbo ocs we make "technically lore-friendly"

#*scribbles down a sexyman and a babygirl*#hehe #but tbh i think this changes my own skyrim lore!!!#see the mentor of the last dragonborn was the last ayleid scholar whose entire immortal life was spent recording events on tamriel #and collecting a whole Librarium of books of his own writing that herma mora would reaaaally love to have #and so he just spent his whole existance chilling in a pocket realm of oblivion being hidden from herma mora #thats where he kept yollokmir too while they awaited for alduin to pop back into existence #since hurling the bitch forward in time was not a normal course of events he decided to intervene and help the last dragonborn #i SUPPOSED that him being under the wing of meridia made sence since before this damn cinematic dropped SHE was a supposed nemesis of herma #NOW it would seem that putting the boy into ithelia's side of the hood would make more sence since her domain os basically hidden stuff #mayhaps old man was at the moment of the spell being cast within her realm and thus avoided the amnesia?#I'll have to do some rewriting...#oh well...#*dreamily thinks about all the daedra prince ocs i can make now*#elder scrolls online #eso #zenimax #bethesda #daedra #daedric prince #the elder scrolls #tes v #tes 5 #skyrim #fanfic related #writing related #fanfic: Fronkriid #oc related #alasil the watcher

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foreverpraying · 9 months

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Élisabeth Sonrel: Virgen con el Niño entre Santa Genoveva y Santa Juana de Arco

"But what in fact is meant by repentance? It is normally regarded as sorrow for sin, a feeling of guilt, a sense of grief and horror at the wounds we have inflicted on others and on ourselves. Yet such a view is dangerously incomplete. Grief and horror are indeed frequently present in the experience of repentance, but they are not the whole of it, nor even the most important part. We come closer to the heart of the matter if we reflect on the literal sense of the Greek term for repentance, metanoia. This means “change of mind”: not just regret for the past, but a fundamental transformation of our outlook, a new way of looking at ourselves, at others and at God— in the words of The Shepherd of Hermas, “a great understanding.” A great understanding— but not necessarily an emotional crisis. Repentance is not a paroxysm of remorse and self-pity, but conversion, the recentering of our life upon the Holy Trinity.

As a “new mind,” conversion, recentering, repentance is positive, not negative. In the words of St John Climacus, “Repentance is the daughter of hope and the denial of despair.” It is not despondency but eager expectation; it is not to feel that one has reached an impasse, but to take the way out. It is not self-hatred but the affirmation of my true self as made in God’s image. To repent is to look, not downward at my own shortcomings, but upward at God’s love; not backward with self-reproach, but forward with trustfulness. It is to see, not what I have failed to be, but what by the grace of Christ I can yet become."

Bp. Kallistos Ware: The Inner Kingdom

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orthodoxydaily · 3 months

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Saints&Reading: Wednesday, January 17, 2024

january 4_ januaryry 14

The hymns compare the Feast of the Nativity with the coming Feast. “There shepherds saw the Child and were amazed; here the voice of the Father proclaims the only-begotten Son.”

SYNAXIS OF THE SEVENTY APOSTLES

The Synaxis of the Seventy Apostles was established by the Orthodox Church to indicate the equal honor of each of the Seventy. They were sent two by two by the Lord Jesus Christ to go before Him into the cities He would visit (Luke 10:1).

Besides the celebration of the Synaxis of the Holy Disciples, the Church celebrates the memory of each of them during the course of the year:

Saint James the Brother of the Lord (October 23); Mark the Evangelist (April 25); Luke the Evangelist (October 18); Cleopas (October 30), brother of Saint Joseph the Betrothed, and Simeon his son (April 27); Barnabas (June 11); Joses, or Joseph, named Barsabas or Justus (October 30); Thaddeus (August 21); Ananias (October 1); Protomartyr Stephen the Archdeacon (December 27); Philip the Deacon (October 11); Prochorus the Deacon (July 28); Nicanor the Deacon (July 28 and December 28); Timon the Deacon (July 28 and December 30); Parmenas the Deacon (July 28); Timothy (January 22); Titus (August 25); Philemon (November 22 and February 19); Onesimus (February 15); Epaphras and Archippus (November 22 and February 19); Silas, Silvanus, Crescens or Criscus (July 30); Crispus and Epaenetos (July 30); Andronicus (May 17 and July 30); Stachys, Amplias, Urban, Narcissus, Apelles (October 31); Aristobulus (October 31 and March 16); Herodion or Rodion (April 8 and November 10); Agabus, Rufus, Asyncritus, Phlegon (April 8 ); Hermas (November 5, November 30 and May 31); Patrobas (November 5); Hermes (April 8); Linus, Gaius, Philologus (November 5); Lucius (September 10); Jason (April 28); Sosipater (April 28 and November 10); Olympas or Olympanus (November 10 ); Tertius (October 30 and November 10 ); Erastos (November 30), Quartus (November 10 ); Euodius (September 7); Onesiphorus (September 7 and December 8); Clement (November 25); Sosthenes (December 8); Apollos (March 30 and December 8); Tychicus, Epaphroditus (December 8); Carpus (May 26); Quadratus (September 21); Mark (September 27), called John, Zeno (September 27); Aristarchus (April 15 and September 27); Pudens and Trophimus (April 15); Mark nephew of Barnabas, Artemas (October 30); Aquila (July 14); Fortunatus (June 15) and Achaicus (January 4).

With the Descent of the Holy Spirit the Seventy Apostles preached in various lands. Some accompanied the Twelve Apostles, like the holy Evangelists Mark and Luke, or Saint Paul’s companion Timothy, or Prochorus, the disciple of the holy Evangelist John the Theologian, and others. Many of them were thrown into prison for Christ, and many received the crown of martyrdom.

There are two more Apostles of the Seventy: Saint Cephas, to whom the Lord appeared after the Resurrection (1 Cor. 15:5-6), and Simeon, called Niger (Acts 13:1). They also were glorified by apostolic preaching.

There are discrepancies and errors in some lists of the Seventy Apostles. In a list attributed to Saint Dorotheus of Tyre (June 5) some names are repeated (Rodion, or Herodion, Apollos, Tychicus, Aristarchus), while others are omitted (Timothy, Titus, Epaphras, Archippus, Aquila, Olympas). Saint Demetrius of Rostov consulted the Holy Scripture, the traditions passed down by the Fathers, and the accounts of trustworthy historians when he attempted to correct the mistakes and uncertainties in the list in compiling his collection of Lives of the Saints.

The Church in particular venerates and praises the Seventy Apostles because they taught us to honor the Trinity One in Essence and Undivided.

In the ninth century Saint Joseph the Hymnographer composed the Canon for the Synaxis of the Seventy Apostles of Christ.

Source: Orthodox Church in America_OCA

1 PETER 4:1-11

1 Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. 3 For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles-when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. 4 In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. 5 They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. 7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. 8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins." 9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. 10 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

MARK 12:28-37

28 Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, "Which is the first commandment of all?" 29 Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. 30 'And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these. 32 So the scribe said to Him, "Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. 33 And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. 34 Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." But after that no one dared question Him. 35 Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, "How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? 36 For David himself said by the Holy Spirit:'The LORD said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool." ' 37 Therefore David himself calls Him 'Lord'; how is He then his Son? And the common people heard Him gladly.

#orthodoxy #orthodoxchristianity #easternorthodoxchurch #originofchristianity #spirituality #holyscriptures #gospel #bible #wisdom #saints

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moonyartsblog · 1 year

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Today Mike as...

Series 6 Post 8: God of boundaries, roads and travelers, thieves, athletes, shepherds, commerce, speed, cunning, wit, magic and sleep Psychopomp and divine messenger

🌸 His attributes and symbols include the herma, the rooster, the tortoise, satchel or pouch, talaria (winged sandals), and winged helmet or simple petasos, as well as the palm tree, goat, the number four, several kinds of fish, and incense. However, his main symbol is the caduceus, a winged staff intertwined with two snakes copulating and carvings of the other gods. 🌸 Homer and Hesiod portrayed Hermes as the author of skilled or deceptive acts and also as a benefactor of mortals. In the Iliad, he is called "the bringer of good luck", "guide and guardian", and "excellent in all the tricks". He was a divine ally of the Greeks against the Trojans. 🌸 The Homeric Hymn 4 to Hermes, which tells the story of the god's birth and his subsequent theft of Apollo's sacred cattle, invokes him as the one "of many shifts (polytropos), blandly cunning, a robber, a cattle driver, a bringer of dreams, a watcher by night, a thief at the gates, one who was soon to show forth wonderful deeds among the deathless gods." 🌸 Beginning with the earliest records of his worship, Hermes has been understood as a chthonic deity (heavily associated with the earth and/or underworld). As a chthonic deity, the worship of Hermes also included an aspect relating to fertility, with the phallus being included among his major symbols. The inclusion of phallic imagery associated with Hermes and placed, in the form of herma, at the entrances to households may reflect a belief in ancient times that Hermes was a symbol of the household's fertility, specifically the potency of the male head of the household in producing children.

#singmovie #sing2 #singfanart #illuminationetertainment #mike #mikesingmovie #mikethemouse #whitemouse #canoncharacter #cc #godhermes #greekmyth #greekpantheon

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val-ritz · 2 years

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it's pretty funny looking back on stuff like the da vinci code and its whole "lost gospels? what secrets could they hold!?"

and then actually reading some books that just barely didn't make it into canon and realizing they didn't make it in for the same reason star trek the animated series was non-canon for so long: because they're fuckin weird and explaining them is too hard

the book of enoch says the only way to true salvation is to grasp the secret understandings of astrology.

the gospel of thomas is a stack of fortune cookie papers in a trench coat pretending to be a book.

the shepherd of hermas was basically the scriptural equivalent of the first season of yugioh, the rules were kinda bendy and there's been a few master rule revisions since then that kinda obviate it.

it's pretty ordinary stuff.

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stickyllamastudent · 2 months

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Truth or Pagan ??

To:You

Sun 2/25/2024 5:59 AM

below is place to look for updates and free education resources and if not there get back to me

“Hi (word of god evangelism), I’ve started a GoFundMe, and it would mean a lot to me if you could support the fundraiser by making a donation or even sharing my fundraiser with your friends. You can see my fundraiser here: [https://www.gofundme.com/f/poor-in-the-world-who-need-help-thru-our-church]. Any and all donations are appreciated, but even sharing the fundraiser will help me reach my goal!”

www.tumblr.com/stickyllamastudent

Angel Numbers, Spirituality, Symbolism and Astrology - Totally the Dream

You searched for 75 books missing from bible - Totally the Dream

The List of 75 Books Removed From the Bible - Totally the Dream

The List of 75 Books Removed or Excluded from the Bible

The Protevangelion

The Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ

The Infancy Gospel of Thomas

The Epistles of Jesus Christ and Abgarus King of Edessa

The Gospel of Nicodemus (Acts of Pilate)

The Apostles’ Creed (throughout history)

The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Laodiceans

The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to Seneca, with Seneca’s to Paul

The Acts of Paul and Thecla

The Epistle of Clement

The Second Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians

The Epistle of Barnabas

The Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians

The Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians

The Epistle of Ignatius to the Trallians

The Epistle of Ignatius to the Romans

The Epistle of Ignatius to the Philadelphians

The Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrneans

The Epistle of Ignatius to Polycarp

The Shepherd of Hermas (Visions, Commands, and Similitudes)

Letter of Herod To Pilate the Governor

Letter of Pilate to Herod

The Lost Gospel of Peter

The Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians

Book of Enoch 1

Book of Enoch 2 (known as The Secrets of Enoch

Enoch 3

Book of Esdras 1

Book of Esdras 2

Book of Maccabees 1

Book of Maccabees 2

Book of Maccabees 3

Book of Maccabees 4

Book of Maccabees 5

Book of Tobit

Book of Jasher

Book of Judith

Book of Esther

Book of Ecclesiasticus / Sirach

Book of Jubilees

Book of Baruch 1

Book of Barucu 2

Book of Baruch 3

Book of The Shepherd of Hermas

Book of Wisdom / Wisdom of Solomon

Book of The Psalms of Solomon

Book of The Odes of Solomon

Book of Giants

Book of Adam and Eve 1

The Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan

The Gospel of James / The Protevangelion

The Gospel of Peter

The Gospel of Thomas

The Gospel of Nicodemus / Acts of Pilate

The Syriac Infancy Gospel / Infancy of Jesus Christ

The Epistles of Jesus Christ and Abgarus, King of Edessa

The Epistle of Aristeas

The Epistle of Jeremiah

The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Laodiceans

The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to Seneca

The Epistle of Pilate to Herod

Assumption of Moses

Apocalypse of Moses

Testament of Abraham

Apocalypse of Abraham

Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs

The Acts of Paul

The Acts of Paul and Thecla

The Apostles Creed

Psalm 151

Story of Susanna*

Story of Bel and The Dragon*

Story of Ahikar*

The Prayer of Azariah and the Songs of the Three Holy Children*

Prayer of Manasseh

#quraan

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jdgo51 · 2 months

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There’s a Snake at Your Feet

Today's inspiration comes from:

The Gift of Thorns

by A. J. Swoboda

Editor’s Note: The enemy is good at his job. He uses our desires against us, persuades us, tricks us, and lies to us all so we reach for that thing we think we need. He tells us God is holding out on us, but A. J. Swoboda reminds us in his new book, The Gift of Thorns, to be aware of temptations and fix our eyes on Jesus. Enjoy this excerpt.

"'Was the tree of knowledge of good and evil bad? No, God created this tree. It was a good tree.

Still, it was dangerous, and humans weren’t to eat from it. Satan’s appeal, then, was that the fruit of this tree was “good for food,” “pleasant to the eye,” and “desirable for wisdom.” Notice that Satan’s appeal to the humans is to take something that was good. The tree was good — just off limits for the humans.

This is often how temptation works. We are tempted to take good, beautiful, and glorious things and use them in unintended ways. Food, sex, and pleasure aren’t bad. But they can be dangerous, and their boundaries must be honored.

Just because something is desirable and good does not mean it is for us. Satan is good at arousing human desire to use good things in ways God does not bless. This is why the ancient author of the Shepherd of Hermas said the “tree of knowledge of good and evil” aroused within humans something called “overcuriosity.”1 Satan was piquing interest.

The importance of this, in part, lay in us developing a maturing awareness that God can (and does) create good things that simply aren’t for us. Just because something is beautiful and desirable doesn’t mean it is for our desire’s consumption. The temptation for more than what’s been provided is how the serpent deceived the man and the woman — and how he often deceives us. There’s a reason the Sanskrit word for “war” is “desire for more cows.” Our world is ravaged by a desire for more. One could say it is the reason for most wars.

Humans had plenty. Yet the serpent aroused a desire for more. Upon believing this message, the woman “saw” and “took.” Notice how these two words are used together:

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. — Genesis 3:6

We’re surprised to discover that the man was standing right there, “with her.” The text doesn’t put the weight of all responsibility on the woman’s shoulders. They both were there. The man was there too, watching, observing, and doing nothing. Yes, she saw, and she took. But he just passively watched.

This won’t be the last time seeing and taking are connected in biblical literature.2 When they are, something evil often takes place. For example, when King David observes from his Jerusalem rooftop the beautiful Bathsheba below, he sees and takes her (2 Samuel 11:2–5). And the prophet Samson sees a Canaanite descendent and takes her (Judges 14). Achan does the same thing as he observes the glories of the Babylonian cape, seeing and taking it for himself (Joshua 7:20–21) Time and again, humans see and take what’s not theirs. Perhaps Ariana Grande was reading her Bible when she wrote her famous song: “I see it, I like it, I want it, I got it.”

One telltale sign of a world rebelling against its Creator is that its God-given limitations and boundaries are thrown aside. As Dallas Willard put it, “I will have what I desire.”3 Sinful humanity, in its newfound “freedom,” seeks to take and conquer and steal that which it was not given. This is the essence of sin and the danger of unmitigated desire: seeing and taking what isn’t ours. We see and take when we abuse or weaponize sexuality. Those in power see and take the lands and places of others. All of us see and take when we store up greedily and mercilessly hoard more than what’s needed. It’s the spirit of Julius Caesar who declared in the battle of Zela, “Veni, vidi, vici” (“I came, I saw, I conquered”). All sin, at its core, is the act of seeing and taking something that isn’t given by God.4

There is no missing out in Jesus.

This story of Genesis 3 can be read alongside Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness in Matthew 4. There, Jesus comes face-to-face with Satan and faces three temptations: to turn stones into bread, to jump off a high place, and to bow down and worship Satan so he might have the nations. One of these temptations particularly parallels the Genesis 3 account:

Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ‘All this I will give You,’ he said, ‘if You will bow down and worship me’. — Matthew 4:8–9

The serpent promises to give Jesus all of the kingdoms, or nations, if and only if Jesus bows down and worships Satan. Go back to the garden where the serpent makes a promise to the woman:

‘You will not certainly die,’ the serpent said to the woman. ‘For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil’. — Genesis 3:4–5

The serpent promises, “You will be like God.” But there was a catch. The woman had to obey the serpent’s words to receive the serpent’s promise. A thread weaves between these two accounts. What’s the singular problem with offering Jesus the nations? All the nations and kingdoms were already His. What’s the singular problem with offering the woman to be “like God”? She had already been endowed with the image of God from the moment of her creation.

By a simple question, he convinces her that she wasn’t already like God through the mother tongue of the serpent: insinuation.

Both stories put the serpent’s methodia on full display. He offers us the gift of something we already have in God. He often awakens our desires for something God has already provided for us. In short, he awakens our desires by insinuating that we are missing out. This is where our desire becomes most twisted. As Jen Pollock Michel writes, “And here is how desire becomes corrupt: wanting derails into selfishness, greed and demanding ingratitude when we’ve failed to recognize and receive the good that God has already given.”5

There’s a solution: awakening to the reality that there’s no such thing as “missing out” when we are in Christ. As Paul wrote,

All things are yours. — 1 Corinthians 3:21

There is no missing out in Jesus. No, we won’t be fulfilled when we get married because we are already fulfilled in Christ. No, we don’t have to find our own identities because we already have names and love in the One who named us and made us. No, we won’t experience true happiness when we get the job or the paycheck we want because we are already, now, full of the presence and grace of God.

When you begin believing you are missing out, look down. There’s some snake at your feet. The serpent awakens our flesh by trying to convince us that we lack something. This is just his old bag of tricks."'

Shepherd of Hermas, vision III, iii, 1, trans. Bart D. Ehrman, in The Apostolic Fathers, vol. 2, Loeb Classical Library (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2003). I would like to thank my friend Tim Mackie for repeatedly highlighting the connec- tion between seeing and taking in his teaching work and ministry. Dallas Willard, “Beyond Pornography: Spiritual Formation Studied in a Particular Case,” Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care 9, no. 1 (2006): 8. Robert Jenson once quipped that this was Satan’s method: “Above all, God gives himself among us, Satan’s difference from God is unambiguously exposed. God gives. Satan can only suck reality into the vacuum of his own heart.” See Robert Jenson, “Evil as Person,” Lutheran Theological Seminary Bulletin 69, no. 1 (1989): 39. Jen Pollock Michel, Teach Us to Want: Longing, Ambition & the Life of Faith (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2014), 84. Emphasis mine. Excerpted with permission from The Gift of Thorns by A. J. Swoboda, copyright A. J. Swoboda.

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chattering-magpie-uk · 6 months

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Centre Place ~ Lost Bible: the Shepherd of Hermas

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wortzentriert · 7 months

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For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. - Romans 8:22

""Those "he said, "which are budding are the righteous who are to live in the world to come; for the coming world is the summer

- Shepherd of Hermas

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outofbodytravel · 1 year

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The Shepherd of Hermas, By Hermas of Rome, Compiled and Edited by Marilynn Hughes

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isaiahbie · 1 year

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Baptism in the Early Church

I recently finished Everett Ferguson’s Baptism in the Early Church. This massive tome of 860 pages thoroughly explores the theology and practice of baptism in the first five centuries of the church. What follows is a brief summary of Ferguson’s main findings.

Origins

Baptism was a big deal to the early Christians. It was modeled on John’s practice, as well as Jesus’ example and command. Unlike Jewish and pagan precursors which saw ritual washings as related to ritual purification, Christian baptism was intended for spiritual cleansing and moral transformation.

Ceremony

Great pomp and ceremony developed very early around the church’s practice of baptism. While traditions differed from region to region as well as over time, in general, baptism was performed in the nude, via triple immersion, with the laying on of hands, exorcisms, renunciation of the devil, anointing with oil, confession of the creed, post-baptismal eucharist, and the wearing of a white garment.

Mode

Our earliest evidence indicates that adult immersion was the normal practice of the church (Epistle of Barnabas, Shepherd of Hermas, Hippolytus, Tertullian, Cyprian), with most churches practicing a triple immersion (once for each day Jesus was in the earth, or once for each name in the Triune formula).

Salvific Importance

From the very beginning, the church understood baptism to be essential to salvation, necessary for forgiveness, and resulting in regeneration (John 3:5; Titus 3:5). Even the splinter and heretical groups agreed. Baptism identified one with Jesus in His death, burial, and resurrection. (But they also stressed the need for faith, so it wasn’t the view the Roman Catholic Church holds to today).

Timing

In the Bible, people were baptized immediately after coming to faith in Christ. However, in a very short time the church began to delay baptism under after a believer had been through a period of catechesis. Justin Martyr was the first to note the church’s practice of a period of catechesis prior to baptism (Pseudo Clementine, Hippolytus). The catechesis was clearly designed for people of reasonable age, not infants and small children.

Infant Baptism

By the late 2nd century, however, infant baptism began to be practiced in certain parts of the church, but only in the case of deathbed baptism (we don’t know the name of a single person baptized as an infant under normal circumstances until the 4th century). Over the next four centuries, however, baptizing all infants became gradually accepted, until it was the predominant practice in the 5th century.

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