The Foundation of Orthodoxy and the Canon
Church History 301-D15
The Foundation of Orthodoxy and the Canon The foundation of Christian orthodoxy and canon are so entwined so that you cannot have one without the other; both drawing support from the other to establish details and outline its parameters. In the years that followed after the death of the apostles, there was a desire by the early Christian movement to consolidate, catalogue, and share the teachings of Jesus among the churches. Before there could be a collection of important writings however, there needed to be an agreement on what was considered worthy of high regard, useful for teaching, and what could be verified as legitimate or apostolic in nature, this would provide for foundation of what was to be considered canonical literature. These early attempts of establishing the canon also required the defining of orthodoxy. Today we recognize the definition of orthodoxy as the “acceptance of the truth, especially about Jesus Christ, that is revealed by the Holy Spirit in the gospel and is passed on through the teaching of sound doctrine.”
Since the revelation of truth can result in speculation based on ones perspective, it was of the utmost importance that rules be established and maintained when considering what documents would be affirmed within the body of the church to become what we call canonical literature. To understand the word canon, we must look at the words origin. According to Chadwick, “The Greek word kanon meant a ruler for measuring, and so, as a metaphor, any sort of rule or norm. So ‘the canonical books’ were the books which established a ‘rule of faith’ as distinct from other books which might be good but did not have the same authority.” Similarly, it would be this definition of the word “rule” that the Apostle Paul would imply when using it in his letter to the Galatians, stating “Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule—to the Israel of God.” The recognition of a set of rules would provide for debate, yet begin the
The Foundation of Orthodoxy and the Canon The foundation of Christian orthodoxy and canon are so entwined so that you cannot have one without the other; both drawing support from the other to establish details and outline its parameters. In the years that followed after the death of the apostles, there was a desire by the early Christian movement to consolidate, catalogue, and share the teachings of Jesus among the churches. Before there could be a collection of important writings however, there needed to be an agreement on what was considered worthy of high regard, useful for teaching, and what could be verified as legitimate or apostolic in nature, this would provide for foundation of what was to be considered canonical literature. These early attempts of establishing the canon also required the defining of orthodoxy. Today we recognize the definition of orthodoxy as the “acceptance of the truth, especially about Jesus Christ, that is revealed by the Holy Spirit in the gospel and is passed on through the teaching of sound doctrine.”
Since the revelation of truth can result in speculation based on ones perspective, it was of the utmost importance that rules be established and maintained when considering what documents would be affirmed within the body of the church to become what we call canonical literature. To understand the word canon, we must look at the words origin. According to Chadwick, “The Greek word kanon meant a ruler for measuring, and so, as a metaphor, any sort of rule or norm. So ‘the canonical books’ were the books which established a ‘rule of faith’ as distinct from other books which might be good but did not have the same authority.” Similarly, it would be this definition of the word “rule” that the Apostle Paul would imply when using it in his letter to the Galatians, stating “Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule—to the Israel of God.” The recognition of a set of rules would provide for debate, yet begin the
Bibliography: Chadwick, Owen. A History of Christianity. New York: St. Martin 's Press, 1995. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Dunbar, David. Hermeneutics, Authority and Canon. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1986. Edwards, Ruth. Discovering John. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2003. Moll, Sebastian. The Arch-Heretic Marcion. Tübingen: Mohr Seabeck, 2012. Myers, Allen C. The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1987. Shaff, Philip, and David Schley Shaff. History of the Christian Church. New York: Charles Scribner 's Sons, 1910. Voorwinde, Stephen. "The Formation of the New Testament Canon." Vox Reformata, 1995: 3. Zinzer, Tait. The Word of Gnosis, A Light in the Darkness of Universal Forgetfulness. July 7, 2012 [ 2 ]. (Chadwick 1995) [ 3 ] [ 6 ]. (Geisler and Nix 1986) [ 7 ] [ 8 ]. (Moll 2012) [ 9 ] [ 10 ]. (Zinzer 2012) [ 11 ] [ 12 ]. (Edwards 2003) [ 13 ] [ 16 ]. (Cross and Livingstone 2005) [ 17 ]