The New Testament of the Holy Bible is a collection of twenty-seven writings that have been deemed as canon by the early church. The term canon comes from the Greek word kanṓn representing a carpenter’s rule. The current list of books first appeared in a festal letter from Athanasius, the bishop of Alexandria, in 367. Athanasius wrote this letter in an attempt to clarify the true writings that defined the true message to the Christians of his period. Other Christian schools and sects followed different ideas of what the teachings of Christ meant. Athanasius’ list defining biblical canon did not appear suddenly. Rather, the list was the result of the deliberations of the Church that occurred over a couple hundred years. Various individuals and
…show more content…
Some scholars believe that the Gospel of Judas is one of the greatest discoveries of all time. The Gospel of Judas was thought to have the ability to “overturn the traditional picture of Christianity”. This work was probably written during the later half of the second century. The book begins with a brief statement of Jesus’ ministry and then is organized in three parts. In the first part, Jesus is portrayed in discussion with His disciples over a period of three days. During that time, Jesus ridicules their lack of understanding of various topics, including a vision of priests performing morally despicable actions in the temple. Jesus informs the disciples that the priests in the vision represent themselves. Over the course of the three days, Judas begins to understand Jesus’ meaning. The second part of the book deals with the secret knowledge passed from Jesus to Judas. The nature of the secret knowledge about creation is written from a Gnostic point of view. At the end of the second part, Jesus informs Judas that Judas will be great among the stars because he will cause the spirit of Jesus to be freed from the physical body that trapped it. The third part of the book summarizes the betrayal of Jesus before abruptly ending. The book vividly depicts the influence of Gnosticism in the second
Some scholars believe that the Gospel of Judas is one of the greatest discoveries of all time. The Gospel of Judas was thought to have the ability to “overturn the traditional picture of Christianity”. This work was probably written during the later half of the second century. The book begins with a brief statement of Jesus’ ministry and then is organized in three parts. In the first part, Jesus is portrayed in discussion with His disciples over a period of three days. During that time, Jesus ridicules their lack of understanding of various topics, including a vision of priests performing morally despicable actions in the temple. Jesus informs the disciples that the priests in the vision represent themselves. Over the course of the three days, Judas begins to understand Jesus’ meaning. The second part of the book deals with the secret knowledge passed from Jesus to Judas. The nature of the secret knowledge about creation is written from a Gnostic point of view. At the end of the second part, Jesus informs Judas that Judas will be great among the stars because he will cause the spirit of Jesus to be freed from the physical body that trapped it. The third part of the book summarizes the betrayal of Jesus before abruptly ending. The book vividly depicts the influence of Gnosticism in the second