Back to: How We Got The Bible
Just like the OT, the NT comes out of a collection of books that are either accepted, rejected, or disputed. Writings can be categorized as homologoumena, pseudepigrapha, antilegomena, and apocryphal.
Homologoumena
ACCEPTED BY ALL. Nearly all 27 of the New Testament books were accepted by the church and never disputed. These are called homologoumena (lit. one word), because all the Fathers spoke in favor of their canonicity.
As noted earlier, these writings are cited in almost all of the major translations and canons of the early church.
Of the 27 books, canonical writings sometimes lacking recognition are:
- Philemon
- Hebrews
- James,
- 1 + 2 Peter
- 1, 2, + 3 John
- Jude
- Revelation
For more explanation on these books, see ‘Antilegomena’ below.
Pseudepigrapha
REJECTED BY ALL.
This section is covered in more detail in the next lesson, Gnosticism + Lost Gospels
Antilegomena
DISPUTED BY SOME. According to the historian Eusebius, by the early fourth century some church fathers disputed the genuineness of seven books.
(T)he basic problem of acceptance for most of these books was not the inspiration of the book but the lack of communication between East and West with regard to their divine authority. Once the facts were known by the Fathers, the final acceptance of all twenty-seven books of the New Testament was not long coming.
– Geisler, Norman L; Nix, William E.. From God To Us Revised and Expanded: How We Got Our Bible (p. 150). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.
The books questioned were:
Hebrews
“The anonymity of Hebrews kept open the question of the apostolic authority of the epistle. In time, the Western church came to accept Hebrews as Pauline and, therefore, that issue was resolved for them …However, even if Paul is not the author there should be no question of apostolic authority since the book meets the tests for canonicity the most basic of which is propheticity or apostolic authority.”
James
“As with the book of Hebrews, the author does not claim to be an apostle… But, as the result of the efforts of Origen, Eusebius (who personally favored James), Jerome, and Augustine, the veracity and apostolicity of the book came to be recognized in the Western church. From that time to the present, James has occupied a canonical position in Christendom. Its acceptance, of course, hinged on the understanding of its essential compatibility with the Pauline teachings on justification.”
2 Peter
“No other epistle in the New Testament had occasioned greater doubts as to its genuineness than 2 Peter… This was due to notable differences in style between 1 + 2 Peter. But those differences can be accounted for by Peter’s use of a scribe in 1 Peter (5:12) and the difference in time, topic, and recipients. And the similarities of content with Peter’s speeches recorded in Acts 2, 3, 10, 15 also strongly support his authorship.”
2 + 3 John
The two shortest epistles of John were also questioned as to their genuineness. The writer identifies himself only as “the elder” (2 John 1:1), and because of their anonymity and limited circulation, these epistles did not enjoy a wide acceptance, albeit they were more widely accepted than 2 Peter.
Jude
The dispute about Jude centered mainly around the references to the pseudepigraphal Book of Enoch (Jude 14–15) and a possible reference to the Assumption of Moses (Jude 9).
The explanation of the pseudepigraphal quotes is that they are not essentially different from those citations made by Paul of the non-Christian poets (see Acts 17:28; 1 Cor. 15:33; Titus 1:12). In neither case are the books cited as authoritative, nor does the quote vouch for everything in the book—it merely cites a truth contained in the book.
The recently discovered Bodmer papyrus (72) confirms the use of Jude, along with 2 Peter, in the Coptic church of the third century.
Revelation
Writers accepted and cited Revelation during the second century and after; nonetheless, it was labeled antilegomena in the early fourth century. This was due primary to their rejection of chiliasm (millennialism) based on Revelation 20.
Once it became evident that the book of Revelation was being misused by cultic groups, although it originated with the apostle John (Rev. 1:4; cf. 22:8–9) rather than with them, its final place in the canon was confirmed.
-source: Geisler, Norman L; Nix, William E.. From God To Us Revised and Expanded: How We Got Our Bible (p. 153). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Apocryphal
ACCEPTED BY SOME. The distinction between the New Testament Apocrypha and pseudepigrapha is not definitive. For the most part, the later books were not received by any of the orthodox fathers or churches as canonical, whereas the Apocryphal books were held in high esteem by at least one church father.
The Nature of the New Testament Apocrypha
The New Testament Apocrypha had only at best what Alexander Souter called a “temporal and local canonicity.”8 They were accepted by a limited group of Christians for a limited time but never gained very wide or permanent recognition. The fact that these books possessed more value than the pseudepigrapha undoubtedly accounts for the higher esteem given them by Christians. There are several reasons why they are an important part of the homiletical and devotional libraries from the early church: (1) they revealed the teachings of the second-century church; (2) they provide documentation for the acceptance of the twenty-seven canonical books of the New Testament; and (3) they provide other valuable historical information about the early Christian church concerning its doctrine and liturgy.
The Number of the New Testament Apocrypha
The enumeration of the New Testament Apocrypha is difficult because it depends upon the distinction made between Apocrypha and pseudepigrapha. If the criteria include acceptance by at least one of the orthodox fathers or lists of the first five centuries,9 then discussion followed. If not, then the book was not considered part of the New Testament Apocrypha.
- The Epistle of Pseudo-Barnabas (ca. 70-79)
- The Epistle to the Corinthians (ca. 96)
- The ‘Real’ 1 Corinthians.
- Ancient Homily
- Shepherd of Hermas (115-140)
- The Didache – Teaching of the Twelve (ca. 100-120)
- The Apocalypse of Peter (ca. 150)
- The Acts of Paul and Thecla (170)
- Epistle to the Laodiceans (4th Century?)
- The Gospel According to the Hebrews (ca. 65-100)
- Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians (ca. 108)
- The Seven Epistles of Ignatius (ca. 110)
-Source: Geisler, Norman L; Nix, William E.. From God To Us Revised and Expanded: How We Got Our Bible (pp. 153-154). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.