If we are to be enlightened only during the 'time of the end', wouldn't this be more reason to carefully consider the dead sea scrolls?
"Apostasy took root and flourished" (WT, July 15, 2013, page 18)
by Doug Mason 28 Replies latest watchtower bible
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ÁrbolesdeArabia
Genius Detective! According to the Watchtower the Bible Cannon was chosen by Apostates or the Devil sowing weeds, what are we going to do? Is it intentional they are quick to speak and slow to listen? I think they could have floated the outline past JWN before printing the July Magazine. This could have been done by a "intentional leak" to see if the backlash was not going to be big. I wonder how much more they held back, what was on the original draft? Makes you wonder!
JWN would have torn the outline or ruff draft and sent the JW.ORG writers back to the drawing board after buying us all new red markers for their next bloody draft!
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slimboyfat
The idea that Roman emperors decided the Christian canon is pure Dan Brown fiction, not history.
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Phizzy
The Christian canon has never really been settled to the satisfaction of all.
Long before the Councils of the mid and late 300's AD (exact dates?) there had been debates as to the genuineness and inspiration of various writings, and debate continued through the time of Luther who made his own contribution in his dogmatic and fiery way, bless him, and of course with modern scholarship more room for debate is made, as Doug shows above.
At one council around that time that kind of settled on the 27 books, the research and presentation was done by a priest who was not even a Bishop, and he seems to maybe have made his judgement based on the consensus that had prevailed for decades. It seems as though the Church at the time did not put terrific value on the work of settling the Canon, perhaps realising that they too were only guessing.
The question is a great one, as usual Doug, and thanks for your post, what authority can any of those 27 books have if chosen by Apostates ?
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Doug Mason
Books to read (for starters):
"Jesus Wars: How Four Patriarchs, Three Queens, and Two Emperors Decided What Christians Would Believe for the Next 1,500 Years", Philip Jenkins, HarperOne 2010
"AD 381: Heretics, Pagans and The Christian State", Charles Freeman, Pimlico 2009
"A New History of Early Christianity", Charles Freeman, Yale University Press 2009
Doug
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slimboyfat
The Canon of the New Testament: Its Origin, Development and Significance by Bruce M. Metzger
The first complete statement of the New Testament canon, as it has come to be accepted, is from Athanasius in his Easter letter of 367 AD. Nothing to do with any emperor.
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punkofnice
I see it as the WBT$'s excuse for simply saying they launched their product with Charlie Tazers a Rissole. Rissole has since been cut from WBT$ history of prominent overlords.
We now have WBT$ the new generation (overlapping!)
“However, once the last of the apostles died, the apostasy (Loaded language) took root and flourished during a long growing season that lasted for many centuries. (Over generalization, strawman, no proof offered apart from 'we say so') Additionally, (Evidently?) during that time, the weeds (Appeal to fear) became many and the blades of wheat were few. There was no consistent, organized channel (Loaded language i.e. 'organization(TM)!) for dispensing spiritual food.” (Strawman, over generalization) (The Watchtower, July 15, 2013, page 18)
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Room 215
"Who controls the past controls the present. Who controls the present controls the future." ... it seems to me that whoever controls the present controls BOTH the past and the future.
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Finkelstein
The Jehovah Witness religion has more apostasy built within itself and of its history more than any other Christian based religion out there,
when one analyzes its expressed doctrines past and present. FACT
Why ?
Because its was constructed around and in support of a publishing Company.
TRUTH
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Emery
Great thread Doug, I wanted to add that the reasonings and logic used to only allow 4 gospels into the NT cannon was hellacious.