The Importance of Universalism Across Early Proto-Orthodox Belief

Published on: Author: kbuckle4@uoregon.edu 79 Comments

Establishing a collection of authoritative texts became a top priority for second and third century Christians. Proto-Orthodox Christian leaders sought “to state in brief form the consensus of what they regarded as essentials of the teachings of the apostles.” (Lynch 70). One method in which universal doctrine was compiled were in what was known as rules of faith, in which faith leaders asserted their understanding of what Christ’s followers must believe. Creeds also became a popular way to establish and spread beliefs; specifically, these creeds “were often used at baptisms, when converts fully committed themselves and when congregations fully accepted the converts” (Lynch 71). Creeds were more direct and precise than rules of faith, as the content of these documents almost inclusively included long held and widely accepted Proto-Orthodox beliefs. Lastly, a collection of writings known as a canon also helped to spread beliefs to a worldwide audience. In order to establish which books should be included into their canon, Proto-Orthodox Christians began the “task of gaining a consensus among themselves about those documents that they regarded as authoritative” (Lynch 72). These books would become known as the New Testament, and would be placed alongside the Old Testament as authoritative. The final version of the New Testament includes “four gospels, once acts of the apostles, and an apocalypse, a total of twenty-seven documents” (Lynch 72).

Christians of this era saw the the establishment of a canon as imperative due in part to the desire to have their own authoritative scriptures in addition to the ones that had been handed down to them from generations before, namely the Old Testament (Ehrman 115). Additionally, these Christian leaders sought to make clear which documents and writings should be designated as heresy and therefore be rejected. In order to establish what would not be followed, a canon of texts that would be followed and held as sacred needed to be established. The first attempt at establishing a New Testament culminated into what is now known as The Muratorian Canon. By comparison, “twenty-two of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament canon are included” in the Muratorian Canon (Ehrman 117). By the end of the second century, the modern canon had not been completed, as it still lacked a few writings which are deemed authoritative today. Not included in the Muratorian Canon are “Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter, and 3 John,” those texts being added to the New Testament at a later time (Ehrman 117). The Muratorian Canon clearly is concerned with separating the authoritative texts from the heretical texts, as they claim the letters of Paul to be mere forgeries. Also rejected, for example, are the writings of Arsinoes, Valentinus, and Metiades, which are cast aside as heretical. While Irenaeus did not compose a canon himself, he instead attacked any groups and writings he deemed to be heretical. His main goal in striking down the heretics was to establish that, “it is not possible that the Gospels can be either more or fewer in number than they are” (Ehrman 119). Irenaeus claims that any Gospels other than Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John must be rejected as heretical. Contemporary Christians agree with this idea, as the New Testament includes only these four Gospels.

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