Deception IV: The "Lost" Books of the Bible pt 2

"The Bible, as we know it today, was collated by the pagan Roman emperor Constantine the Great . . . More than eighty gospels were considered for the new Testament, and yet only a relative few were chosen for inclusion - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John among them. (Dan Brown The DaVinci Code p. 231) This line was spoken by Sir Leigh Teabing a fictional art symbologist and historian in the book/movie The DaVinci Code. The purpose was to promote a false history of the bible, and separate fiction from the truth.
First, Constantine had nothing to do with the Bible. The First Council of Nicaea was called by Constantine and they had about 20 directives to solve. None of which had anything to do with the Bible. It was the Synod of Hippo Regius in North Africa in 393 AD that accepted the Bible as it is now. Later it was confirmed at the Third Synod of Carthage in 397 AD. They didn't pick and choose what books best described their sense of theology. They merely confirmed what had already been affirmed for more than 300 years.
When setting up the standards for canonization, the synod primarily used 3 statements for canonization: 1 apostolicity, 2 orthodoxy, 3 catholicity.
Apostolicity was defined as; 1 was it written by an apostle, or 2 was it written by an associate of an apostle. Therefore, it had to been written by an apostle or someone who had a personal relationship with an apostle. Being a friend of a friend didn't work.
Orthodoxy was defines as; did it conform with other known writings and teachings. If it taught something that was completely different from what was written or taught, it was disregarded.
Catholicity was defined as; generally accepted by most of the churches. Were the early churches and priests already using these books.
The second statement that more than eighty gospels were considered but a few were chosen is a huge stretch of the truth. When looking at some early attempts at making a lasting Bible, there were roughly 50 to 60 books that were used. When the standards were applied, those books got narrowed down in a hurry. To roughly the 27 books we have in the New Testament today.
The reference may have been to the more than 50 Gnostic "gospels". The Gnostic writings were never recognized by the early church fathers, (catholicity)(see previous post). It taught completely different ideas about Jesus, and women among other things (orthodoxy). The earliest known writing (and this is a very conservative date) appears around 150 AD. That's roughly 110 years after the death of Jesus, and 50 years after the death of John. Therefore, they couldn't have been written by an apostle or even an acquaintance of an apostle (apostolicity)
What about Jesus being married to Mary Magdalene? There is a gospel that shows they kissed on the lips and were married. That's a nice question, one that has led many people towards deception. The "gospels" that has been the source of the marriage of Jesus and Mary Magdalene are "The Gospel of Phillip" and "The Gospel of Mary Magdalene". Both gospels were written between 250 AD and 300 AD. Knowing that they could not have been written by either person, tends to remove credibility. The second aspect of that is the standards used at the Synod of Hippo also shows they weren't even considered for canonization.
The biggest misconception is that the "Gospel of Phillip" has an exchange were Jesus approached Mary Magdalene and kissed her on the lips. The problem with that is in the narrative, the words lips aren't there. The parchment was torn and the word was missing. In other words, it says, "and Jesus approached Mary and kissed her on the [blank]. Gnostics and antiChristian people have been inserting lips to show a sexual relationship between Jesus and Mary. Yet, it could easily have said [hand], [cheek], [forehead], all signs of greetings.
I have talked to an attorney and asked him about the evidence that Jesus and Mary were married. He did some studying (he is an affirmed Gnostic) and after an extended time said this to me, "If the case of Mary Magdalene and Jesus being married were to be taken to court, it would be dismissed for lack of evidence. There is no proof that they were ever married, nor did they even have a sexual relationship. There is more proof that shows they were never married, ."
For further research check out these websites:
http://www.ntcanon.org/
http://www.anabaptists.org/history/howwegot.html
http://go.family.org/davinci/content/A000000092.cfm
http://go.family.org/davinci/content/A000000049.cfm

"6I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-- 7which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ." (Gal 1:6,7 NIV)

Have a blessed week
Daniel G Vandenburg

Deception IV: The "Lost" Books of the Bible pt 1

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one band of people to stand up for the truth and to present to each other a complete and historically accurate representation of the full Word of God. That sounds pretty intellectual doesn't it. Daniel finally got some smarts in him. Nope, not really. I just paraphrased the opening of the Declaration of independence. Why? Lately archeological discoveries , the last 70 years, have unearthed books that dispute the Bible.
Books that present a different form of Jesus, and a different belief than that which Christians have followed for over 2000 years. When "discovered" these books were supposedly going to turn Christianity on its ear, and force the Church to change their teachings. These books were going to prove that Jesus was divine and not human; that women were the rightful leaders of the early church; that Jesus conspired with Judas to be betrayed; Jesus was married; and an assortment of other things. All of these things go against what the Bible teaches. And what are these books called: The Gnostic Gospels.
I was in a bookstore a while back and there on a shelf was a book called, The Lost Books of the Bible. I looked at the cover and realized, rather quickly, they were the Gnostic writings. What really intrigued me was the title. If something is going to be "lost" then it has to be part of the original texts. These books were never included in the earliest texts, or the later texts for that matter. An early church father, Origen, spoke against the Gnostic writings, "I know a certain gospel which is called "The Gospel according to Thomas" and a Gospel according to Matthias" and many others have we read - lest we should in any way be considered ignorant because of those who imagine they possess some knowledge if they are acquainted with these. Nevertheless, among all these we have approved solely what the church has recognized, which is that only the four gospels should be accepted" ( Darrell L. Bock, PhD, Breaking the Da Vinci Code p 119, 120)
What is wrong with the Gnostic gospels? First Gnostic gospel is a misnomer. Gospel means "good news" and the Gnostics didn't teach the "good news". The Gnostic writings taught a different Jesus than the recognized gospels. They taught a different way to salvation. Many of their teachings went against the bible. "The gnostics were a knockoff pseudo-Christian group that came to be defined by (1) a black or white mentality in which all material (including the body) was seen as evil and spirit was seen as good; and (2) a view of spirituality that equated knowledge - especially secret knowledge- with salvation" (Focus on the Family's Response to 'The DaVinci Code' http://go.family.org/davinci/content/A000000049.cfm ) Looking at the first definition of their teachings you will see the body is sinful. Jesus was sinless, therefore, Jesus could not have come in the flesh. But, that was what John discussed in his first letter. "1Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. " (I John 4: 1-3 NIV emphasis mine) Why would John write that, because the teaching was already prevalent at that time. The other teaching was that knowledge is all powerful. The term gnosis is Greek for "knowledge" and they taught that the more one gains in knowledge the closer to salvation you became. Especially in secret knowledge that most people would not have access too. To quote a PSA, "The more you know."
What about the choice of women to run the church and not the men, specifically Mary Magdalene and not Peter? What did the gnostics teach about women? Before we get to that, let's discuss the major transformation that one goes about when they ask Jesus into their lives. When someone accepts Jesus as their Lord and Savior, they undergo a deep spiritual change. Jesus now leads their lives and they submit to His authority. They go from a deep sinner to one saved by grace. They begin to live for Jesus and not for themselves. Why do I mention that change in ones life? According to the gnostics, the women had to make a change also. One that is a bit more drastic and physically impossible. So, what do the Gnostic writings say about women, let's look at the source "Simon Peter said to them, 'Let Mary leave us, because women are not worthy of life.' Jesus said, 'Look, I shall lead her so that I will make her male in order that she also may become a living spirit, resembling you males. For every woman who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of heaven." (Gospel of Thomas Logion 114). Wow. And the Bible was against women? At least the women didn't have to make a physical change. What about the women leading the church? Misinterpretation, from what I can see. I studied a lot of the Gnostic writings to prepare myself for this and the seminar, I didn't see it anywhere. I doubt if any of the Gnostic writings taught that Mary should lead the church, everything I saw on the Gnostic writings was that women were inferior to men, look at the above quote.
I have divided this into a couple parts, so people can digest different parts of it without being overwhelmed. I will discuss more indepth the how the bible was selected and the false teaching on the marriage of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. I do hope that this does open up some people eyes to the truth. "6I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-- 7which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ." (Gal 1:6,7 NIV)
Have a blessed week
Daniel Vandenburg