Sunday, October 4, 2020

The Codification of the Ecclesiastical Bible

 Ecclesiastical = Related to the Church clergy structure
"Ekklesiastes" means speaker in an assembly
Ekklasia means assembly - later to be translated "Church." 

Dr James White commits a lie of anachronism when he holds up a book (the Septuagint Old Testament) that did not exist until Modern times and says, "This was the Bible of the New Testament Church." That is simply a factual error, a lie. He state it as if Early Christians were carrying this Modern Invention, this Book, about, as if it was carried by Saint Paul on his missionary journeys, as an example.

At the time of the New Testament Church and for all of the Second Temple Period of Hebrew History there were no books.  Here is what the Translation of the Seventy - the Septuagint looked like - and this is just the Pentateuch (the first five "writings" of the Old Testament.)
(insert picture)
Writing of the period was was on Papyrus - translated in Greek as Biblos, in Genesis. Biblos/Papyrus was the inner bark of the Papyrus plant.
(1) The expense of making the papyrus for a scroll precludes the idea that scrolls were plentiful and popular.
(2) The scrolls required protection and care
(3) Storage was a problem.

Now Biblos/Papyrus came to be a way of saying "writings" (graphos/graphee in Greek) It is where we get our words "script" and "scripture."

No one in New Testament times owned "a Bible" and it is a blatant deception to hold up a modern book printed by modern printing methods and say, "This was the New Testament Church's Bible" never happened and is untrue. In that instance he is saying they held a book when there were none, thus the fact that what he is saying is anachronistic, a false picture confusing objects in time. There were NO Bibles in the New Testament Church.

Jesus talked about "the writings" a lot. He was calling on the half-millennium of Jewish Liturgical writings. Why do I say Liturgical, because they were produced by the Second Temple Jews for use in Temple and Synagogue worship. The stories were recounted by the Priests but mostly by the Rabbis.

Most Sola-Scriptura people don't know that there are referenced, quotes from and/or allusions to non-canonical books and books that no longer exist in time (to our knowledge) in the Old Testament:

There are non-canonical books quoted or alluded to by the New Testament Authors.
Menander, Thais 218 (I Cor 15.33)
Now we know what Saint Paul was referencing just as surely as we would know if someone wrote, "A rose by any other name" - any semi-literate person knows that is Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet.

Epimedes, "de Oraculis" - Titus 1: 12-13

Aratus, Phaenmena 5 (Acts 17:28)
"some of your poets" talking about the anger and immorality of the pagan gods.

The Book of Enoch (Jude 1:4, 1:13, 1:14-15) 2 Peter 2:4, 3:13 and John 7:38

The Epistle to the Laodiceans (Colossians 4:16) "read the letter from Laodica"

The Life of Adam and Eve (2 Corinthians 11:14) "Satan as an angel of light," 12:2 "Third Heaven (also called "The Revelation of Moses.")

A lost section of the Assumption of Moses (2 Timothy 3:8, Jude 9 "Michael . . .the Body of Moses)

The Martyrdom of Isaiah (Hebrews 11:37 ) "They were sawn in two"

Paul's Letter to the Corinthians before 1st Corinthians (1 Corinthians 5:9)

For reference:

(1) When Hank Hanegraaf a convert to Orthodoxy, also known as the Bible Answer Man, says "The Early Church did not have a Bible." That statement is both physically true and philosophically true. They had reference to the Hebrew histories and Liturgical writings through the Synagogues and maybe via some wealthy people. There could have been copies in some of the Royal Libraries of the time etc., but no New Testament Christian owned the collection.

(2) When James White holds up a modern manufactured Septuagint BOOK, and says, "This was the BIBLE of the New Testament or Early Christian Church, that is a factual lie.

(3) Did the Early Church have "writings"?  Yes, absolutely, but to what ever degree they had knowledge of and access to the Scrolls keep in the Temple and Synagogues.  Did any of them . . . ever a single one of them own a Septuagint Bible? No, simply NO.

(4) We see in the sermon under the anointing of the Holy Spirit that the proto-martyr Saint Stephen preached just before being stoned where he recounted the history leading up to Jesus Christ that he made factual errors in detail, but not in substance. Why? He knew the theme of the stories but wasn't quoting text.

(5) We see in the Oldest Extant Pascha Sermon by Bishop Melito of Sardis that even in 150 to 170 AD he did not quote or make reference to any of the four Gospels or as amazing he did not quote or make allusion to any of the New Testament text, not a single New Testament allusion or quote in the entire very lengthy sermon.  Not a reference to the Apostles or those who knew them - yet he was a Bishop with Apostolic succession, recognized by all the Bishops of the Church at the time.  Instead he recounted the stories of the Jewish Writings, making reference to those stories but not quoting a single line from the Septuagint or Hebrew writings. He opened p the meaning of those events told in the story of the ORAL Gospel Tradition, the story of the New Meaning of those events in Jewish History in light of Jesus' Sacrifice and rising from the dead.

Unless you are a "sola scriptura" ideologue, this is absolute proof of the Oral Tradition of the Early Church.  To try to pack that into a 1600 years later MODE of thinking produced by Man Made Tradition of the Reformers, and the mindset of Bible Only heretics, is a deception. It defies the known history of the Early Church.

James White said, "Rather than the Church producing the Bible, the Bible produced the Church, that is what the Reformers taught."  The arrogant ignorance of that statement, the anachronistic mistake it contains is staggering. It is historic nonsense. 

Now I don't know if Dr White has used the term "deceiver" when speaking of Hank Hanegraaf, but he has left no room to believe anything else; and this is rather amazing since Hank is speaking the history and White is promoting a fantasy.  White is simply producing a deception with that image of holding up the Modern Printing BOOK of the Septuagint writings, calling on his listeners . . . actually evoking in his listeners a cultural prejudice, an image of Bible History that does not exist, stating that history complete with a false Icon. It is a modern deception with a modern prop, knowingly or unknowingly he lies.

So, is he so culturally ingrained with his Sola Scriptura ideology and mindset that he cannot understand the reality of Papyrology and Paleography? As to the scriptural references used by the Early Fathers, it is a ludicrous to claim that proves they were Sola Scriptura heretics, as it would be to claim my reference to scripture or any modern Orthodox Saint's deep and profound references to scripture prove they are Sola Scriptura heretics.

The Early Church Fathers and other writers, apologists and even heretics referenced scripture and other writing in the light of Christ, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,  since they were Anointed by the Anointed One to carry the Good News of Jesus Christ to the World.

David Ewert, in his book "A General Introduction to the Bible: From Ancient Tablets to Modern Translations" said, "Nestle Aland Greek N.T. lists some 132 New Testament passages that appear to be verbal allusions to paracononical books (he means the Deuturo-Canonical books - the second canon of the Old Testament and the so-called Pseudopigrapha) but that is the kind of thing we would expect.  Writers living at a given time period in history tend to reflect that current language of their day." Now exposing his "Reformed" man made Tradition he adds.  "There is, however, no indication that Jesus or the apostles viewed the Apocrypha as scripture."  That is called BARKING - woof, woof, means back away from the Deutorocanonical Books that Jesus and the Apostles alluded to 132 times at least.

Then Ewert says (more barking) "Verbal similarities between New Testament writings and Apocryphal books does not mean Jesus and his Apostles viewed the Apocrypha as authoritative - something they obviously did not do."  That statement belies the history and textual analysis, surely Dr White knows this. (1) Authoritative is a later concept.  Jesus and the Apostles did not have a Tradition of "Authoritative Texts" they had a Tradition of the Revelation of the Son of God, TRUTH in history.

Ewert goes on to contradict himself saying of the Early Church: The early Church felt no particular inclination to proscribe the Apocrypha (no joke Jake - that gains a Captain Obvious Award and certificate in understatement.) He goes on to say, "In fact it was the popularity of these books (by Christians) that stimulated Jewish reaction against the Apocrypha (The Deuterocanon). One wonders whether these books, produced by Jews, would have survived had it not been for the Church." 

WHY did the Early Christians love the books of the second canon, the Deuturocanonical Books - the second list? and Why did the Jews who rejected Jesus Christ HATE them?

ANSWER: for their clear testimony of Jesus as Messiah.

Now today we have the Sola Scriptura heretics like Dr James White rejecting these books as scripture when they confirm and testify of Christ, yet they also confirm some of the teachings of the Church the Reformers reject.

It is an odd situation of which Dr White testifies, that "The Bible Created The Church" when he has only a truncated version of it.  Isn't that odd?

It is further cognitive dissonance on Dr. White's part when he holds up a modern copy of the Septuagint Scriptures and declares, "This was the Bible of the New Testament" when it contains scripture the Reformed Bible Scholar David Ewert states and the scholars of the Nestle Aland project confirm is alluded to 132 times by the New Testament writers ***Books MOST reformers reject, which I assume White rejects as well, like the rest of his particular Reformed Tradition do.  How can he believe that was the Bible of Jesus and the Apostles and the Early Fathers and reject a very large portion of it?

It is deliberate deception of genuine cognitive dissonance.  Cognitive dissonance is thoroughly and sincerely believing two things that cannot both be true.

Did Jesus quote from the Apocrypha? i.e., the Deuterocanon of the Old Testament contained in the Septuagint, and some of it contained in the Latin Vulgate and the Original 1611 King James Version.

The short answer is yes—and so did the Apostles.

Jesus and the Gospel writers referenced the Deuterocanonicals in the following instances:

Matthew 6:12, 14-15—"Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; if you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your heavenly father forgive your transgressions."
Sirach 28:2—“Forgive your neighbor’s injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.”

Luke 1:17 (describing John the Baptist)—"He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers towards children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord."
Sirach 48:10—“You are destined, it is written, in time to come, to put an end to wrath before the day of the Lord, to turn back the hearts of fathers towards their sons, and to re-establish the tribes of Jacob.”

Luke 1:28, 1:42—"And coming to her, he said, ‘Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you!’…Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb."
Judith 13:18—"Then Uzziah said to her: 'Blessed are you, daughter, by the Most High God, above all the women of the earth; and blessed be the Lord God, the Creator of heaven and earth.

Luke 1:52—"He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones, but lifted up the lowly."
Sirach 10:14—“The thrones of the arrogant God overturns, and establishes the lowly in their stead.”

Luke 12:19-20—"I shall say to myself, ‘Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!’ But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’"
Sirach 11:19—“When he says: ‘I have found rest, now I will feast on my possessions,’ he does not know how long it will be till he dies and leaves them to others.”

Luke 18:22—"When Jesus heard this, he said to him, ‘There is still one thing left for you: sell all that you have and distribute it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.’"
Sirach 29:11—“Dispose of your treasure as the Most High commands, for that will profit you more than the gold.”

John 3:12—"If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?"
Wisdom 9:16—“Scarce do we guess the things on earth, and what is within our grasp we find with difficulty; but when things are in heaven, who can search them out?”

John 5:18—"For this reason the Jews tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the Sabbath, but he also called God his own Father, making himself equal to God."
Wisdom 2:16—“He judges us debased; he holds aloof from our paths as from things impure. He calls blest the destiny of the just and boasts that God is his Father.”

John 10:29—"My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand."
Wisdom 3:1—“But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them.”


Paul and James allude to them as well:

Romans 2:11—"There is no partiality with God."
Sirach 35:12—“For he is a God of justice, who knows no favorites.”

Romans 9:21—"Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for a noble purpose and another for an ignoble one?"
Wisdom 15:7—“For truly the potter, laboriously working the soft earth, molds for our service each several articles: both the vessels that serve for clean purposes, and their opposites, all alike; as to what shall be the use of each vessel of either class, the worker in clay is the judge.”

Romans 11:24—"For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?"
Wisdom 9:13—“For what man knows God’s counsel, or who can conceive what the Lord intends?”

1 Thessalonians 2:16—"(The enemies of Christ persecute us), trying to prevent us from speaking to the Gentiles that they may be saved, thus constantly filling up the measure of their sins. But the wrath of God has finally begun to come upon them."
2 Maccabees 6:14—“Thus, in dealing with other nations, the Lord patiently waits until they reach the full measure of their sins before he punishes them; but with us he has decided to deal differently”

James 1:13—"No one experiencing temptation should say, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God is not subject to temptation to evil, and he himself tempts no one."
Sirach 15:11-12—“Say not: ‘It was God’s doing that I fell away’; for what he hates he does not do. Say not: ‘It was he who set me astray’; for he has no need of wicked man.”

James 5:2-3—"Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten, your gold and silver have corroded, and that corrosion will be a testimony against you; it will devour your flesh like a fire.“
Judith 16:17—'The Lord Almighty will requite them; in the day of judgement he will punish them: he will send fire and worms into their flesh, and they shall burn and suffer forever.”

As I said, these are not exact quotes but most often pressing the same thoughts and there are thousands of allusions in the New Testament from the Old Testament and the Deuterocanon, which are not exact quotes. Romans 11:34, for example, also has an allusion to Job 15:8, but ironically Wisdom 9:13 is closer in actual wording Job. And, of course, if you want to get into loose allusions, we could expand the above list to ten times the size it is. Then there are also the cases of outright error in some New Testament quotes, such as Matthew 27:9, in which Matthew quotes “the prophet Jeremiah”, when the allusion is actually found nowhere in Jeremiah but rather in Zechariah 11:12-13.

There is also the case of some Old Testament books not being quoted by Jesus in the New Testament: He didn’t quote from Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Ecclesiastes, or the Song of Solomon. And yet they are still considered to be canonical Scripture even though He did not reference them.  This is interesting but off point to the import of this article. 

What the Early Church had was a marvelous written Liturgical Tradition, the Liturgical hymns of the Psalms, the history stories and the rest. What it did not have was a static something called the BIBLE.

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