On Wed, 28 Sep 2005 09:40:18 -0400, David wrote:
>> "Approved" canon. How many are there? Enumerable. The Coptics got Thomas
>> right, good for them, and here I doubted they would.
>
> There are several "approved" canons (or collections) of Scripture. The
> Jewish authorities have at least two different sets of Torah depending on if
> you are Ultra-Orthodox or not. There are endless debates on how
> authoritative the Mishna ought to be as well.
>
> In the Christian world the Roman Church includes several inter-testimental
> books called the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books that were eliminated from
> the Protestant version of the Bible accepted by Luther and the Reformers in
> the 1500's. The Orthodox Churches have their own list that is similar to the
> Roman church but also includes some Patriarchal literature that was not
> accepted by either the Roman Church or the Reformers. Then there is the
> Coptic Church's offshoot collection that never rose to be called
> "Canononical" but certainly were held in high esteem by those folks.
>
> To my mind then the "Approved" canon is a moving target depending on who is
> doing the approving...
Sure is, raised Catholic, their approved canon is self-serving. "Upon this
rock I will build my church" evolved into "The Pope is Christ on Earth".
> I spent the better part of 20 years trying to figure out which books like
> the Gospel of Thomas should be included. It was meaningful at the time and
> fascinating to me to see what other folks wrote about God, Jesus Christ and
> the world but I am not really convinced that it helped me be more faithful
> or certain of my faith. Am I glad I learned some obscure languages and could
> read stuff that only a handful of people could? Yes... but it did not change
> the world. I might have better spent my time trying to find a cure for MS or
> Cancer
>
> D
I spent a year of academic work doing much the same thing, formal Biblical
education, several denominations, I came away with the same conclusion.
At the end of the day, you will find Christ in your heart or you won't and
although the Bible(s) are well worth reading, one had best start with the
prayer "Lord, I have absolutely no clue what to interp so do me a favor,
I'll read, You deliver the appropriate message."
--
"I'm not black, but there's a whole lot of times I wish I could say I'm not
white". - Zappa |