The Foundation of Orthodoxy and the Canon
by Jake Kohl
The dispute in the
early church regarding the deity, nature and humanity of Christ brought about
division among believers; particularly, it brought about confusion with the
written word of God (Canon), which led to the council of Nicea to adopt the
creed.
“Orthodoxy” means “right belief.” The term
comes from the combined Greek words orthos, meaning “right, true,
straight,” and doxa, meaning “praise.” In early Christian history, it
was used in contrast with heresy, which literally means “choice.”[1] This
word is primarily used in connection with those churches of the Christian East.[2] According
to the Orthodox, they represent the Johannine tradition in Christendom, while
Catholics follow Peter and Protestants Paul.[3]
Irenaeus, an early church father in the 2nd
century, believed that Gnostics was that of orthodox Christians, or as stated
above, Christians whose beliefs are heretical. These Orthodox Christians
(Gnostics) claimed to have a special knowledge of truth, which they regarded as
superior to faith, because only those who were enlightened could possess it.[4] As
such, these Gnostics wrote treatises and tractates in which some of these
writings have anonymous authors; writings under pseudonyms with titles that would
be eye catching, such as The Apocryphon
of Peter, and The Acts of John;
however, the contents would be vastly different.[5]
The Canon - The Greek word κανών, from
which the English word canon is a direct borrowing, signifies (1) a cane, a
straight rod; (2) a measuring rod; and (3) a norm, a law. In the last sense the
term is used for a law, or canon, of CANON LAW.[6] The
Old Testament was generally considered part of the Canon, in which the New
Testament church fathers, such as Jesus, Peter, and Paul for example, used to
confirm the authenticity of the Word of God. The most questioned Canon is that
of the New Testament since the New Testament wasn’t part of the original Canon.
The New Testament was generally regarded as authoritative because they were written
by eyewitnesses to Christ, i.e., the Apostles; according to TOWNS, “So every
church wanted a copy”.[7] In the early 4th century,
scripture was recognized as being in unity and complete. Also, according to
TOWNS, “The six basis for including a book in Scripture are:
1. It must be prophetic (written by a
prophet).
2. It must be authoritative (claims to be
God’s message… “thus saith the Lord”).
3. It must be authentic (written by the
person who claimed to be its author).
4.
It had a life-transforming power.
5. It was widely recognized as the Word of
God.
6. It was reliable (the contents were
consistent with the rest of Scripture, the data was accurate, and there were no
inconsistencies in the book”[8]
Christianity has always
been involved in theological debate, however, a popular presbyter in the city
of Alexandria, Arius (Arianism), clashed with the bishop of Alexandria,
Alexander, over whether the Word was coeternal with God.[9] Arius
argued that the Word was not God, while Alexander argued that the Word has
existed eternally with the Father.[10]
The council of Nicea in 325, the first
ecumenical Council in the history of the church, was brought about to fix the schism
in the church caused by Arius, also known as, Arianism. This council did not
even discuss the canon.[11] The twenty-seven books of the NT were listed
as the canonical writings at Carthage in 397.[12] During
the Nicea council, the Nicene Creed was formed and adopted. This creed in
particular states that, “And (we believe) in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of
God, begotten from the Father as the only-begotten, that is, from the substance
of the Father, God from God, light from light, true God from true God,
begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father.”[13] This
creed was adopted in response to the nature of Christ. During this council,
Arianism was condemned and Arius was banished to Illyricum, but the “controversy
of Arianism did not end.”[14]
“The gathering in Constantinople of the
150 Eastern bishops at the request of Emperor Theodosius was later regarded by
the Council of Chalcedon (451) as the second great ecumenical Council of the
church”[15] "The
Council of Chalcedon in 451 had not achieved unanimity on Christological
matters; instead it sparked the Monophysite controversy”[16]
Monophysite, in Christianity, [are] one(s) who believed that Jesus Christ’s
nature remains altogether divine and not human even though he has taken on an
earthly and human body with its cycle of birth, life, and death. The
Christological position called monophysitism asserted that in the person of
Jesus Christ there was only one, divine nature rather than two natures, divine
and human, as asserted at the Council of Chalcedon in 451.[17]
By the time the third
Council of Constantinople was called in 681, also known as the sixth ecumenical
Council of the church, arguments concerning the person of Christ was not
settled at the second Council of Constantinople. Some Easterners, forbidden to teach that
Christ had only one nature, emphasized the unity of his person by insisting
that the two natures of Christ had only one will and one operation.[18]
This Council succeeded in establishing Christological unity between Rome and
Constantinople. The Nestorian and monophysite churches, however, were
permanently separated from the Orthodox Church.[19]
The heresies within the
church were surrounded by what OT books were to be included as the inspired
Word of God. The disagreement on the different books has been an ongoing debate
and dispute. In the first Christian centuries those books that were recognized
by all were called ὁμολογόυμενοι, the books "agreed upon"; those not
accepted by all were called ἀντιλεγόμενοι, "contradicted" or ἀμφιβαλλόμενοι,
"doubtful."[20] These different texts, one the Septuagint
(LXX), which contained deuterocanonical books, as well as protocanonical books
and the other, the Masoretic Text, in which the early church did not use.[21]
The Council of Trent declared the Apocrypha as scripture in 1563, and thus, the
Roman Catholic Church uses the Apocrypha as Holy Scripture today. The Protestant
Church and the Jews reject the Apocrypha, mostly because the Apocrypha was
never part of the OT Canon, nor, did Jesus or the Apostles ever quote from it.[22]
The foundation of Orthodoxy and the Canon
has caused much division within the ranks of the early church, just as it is to
this day. The good news is still there – that Christ is our only hope. The
Canon as we have it today is the inspired Word of God almighty in which all 66
books not only has stood the test of time, but is the inerrant, and very God
breathed words of our Lord!
Bibliography
[1] Orthodoxy, Encyclopedia of
Psychology and Religion. Ed. David A.
Leeming, Kathryn Madden, and Stanton Marlan. New York: Springer,
2010. p649-651. Word
Count: 1274.
[2] Orthodoxy. New Catholic
Encyclopedia. Vol. 10. 2nd ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003. p701. Word Count: 193.
[4]
Berens, Nicholaus John. "How Irenaeus used the Regula Fidei to Refute
Gnostic Secret Knowledge."Oral Roberts University, 2010. In PROQUESTMS
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT),
http://search.proquest.com/docview/847548964?accountid=12085.
[5]
ibid
[6] Canon, Biblical. New
Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. 2nd ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003. p20-34. Word Count: 11522.
[7] Towns,
Elmer L. Theology for Today. Mason, Ohio: Cengage Learning, 2008, p 76
[8]
Ibid 79
[9] Justo L.
González, The Story of Christianity, Volume 1: The Early Church to the Dawn
of the Reformation New York (HarperOne,
2010) Second, revised edition, p 184
[10]
ibid
[11] Elwell,
Walter A. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic,
2001. P 156
[12]
Ibid
[13]
Creed of Nicea
[14] Justo L.
González, The Story of Christianity, Volume 1: The Early Church to the Dawn
of the Reformation New York (HarperOne,
2010) Second, revised edition, p 190
[15] Elwell,
Walter A. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic,
2001. P 291
[16]
Ibid 292
[17]
monophysite." Encyclopædia Britannica.
Encyclopædia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopædia
Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 04 Nov. 2012. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/389961/monophysite>.
[18] Elwell,
Walter A. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic,
2001. P 292
[19]
Ibid 293
[20] Canon, Biblical. New
Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. 2nd ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003. p20-34. Word Count: 11522.
[21]
ibid
[22]
Slick, Matt. "The Apocrypha: Is it scripture? ." CARM Christian
Apologetics and Research Ministry. http://carm.org/apocrypha-it-scripture
(accessed November 4, 2012).
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