How many of you know the history of your own religion?
2007-09-04 05:03:44 · 13 answers · asked by wondermus 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Hint: one of the earlu church fathers explains it
2007-09-04 05:11:08 · update #1
Of course. 4 different accounts. Not all exact duplicates but taken together they give a remarkable picture of Jesus' life and ministry.
Wait: Pirate. Canon. GOT YA. Funny. Do I get points for making a connection or am I imagining things. LOL.
2007-09-04 05:10:20 · answer #1 · answered by Q&A Queen 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I sense by the last part of your question that you may have something specific in mind. The four gospels were written for different purposes, and depending on how you date them scholars differ.
Matthew was written to show Christ as the promised messiah. This is why there are so many references to Isaiah and other Jewish prophets.
Mark was thought of as the basic gospel narrative that Matthew and Luke drew off of. It depicts Christ in his servant role.
Luke focuses on the humanity of Christ, and was meant for a gentile audience.
John focuses on the preexistant nature of Christ as the Son of God. 92% of John is unique not found in the other gospel accounts. Depending on the dating some believe that John was written to confront docetic gnosticism (1 John arguably was, though it is debatable as far as the gospel is concerned).
There are likely four gospels in the canon because it met the criteria the early church placed on inclusion. The writer was an apostle or associate of an apostle, and there was early church evidence that showed inspiration.
Edit: I just read your added detail--I'm not around any of my books that would let me check out the early church fathers for a more thorough answer--sorry.
2007-09-04 12:16:24 · answer #2 · answered by Todd 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You mean the four Gospels of the "Bible", I take it. God's Inspired Word serves His Will and His purpose, of giving four corroborating accounts of His plan and destiny for mankind. Each complements and strengthens the other. Jesus Christ came preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God (Mark 1:14, 15), taught His disciples to preach the same message (Matthew 10:7) and continued to preach it when He appeared to the disciples after His crucifixion (Acts 1:3). After Jesus rose from the dead, the apostles preached the same gospel, but with the added understanding of the meaning of Christ's sacrifice and resurrection. Although the terms that describe it may vary, the message is always the same.
The glorious truth is that this whole magnificent message is one seamless gospel, and "it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes ..." (Romans 1:16).
2007-09-04 12:33:06 · answer #3 · answered by TIAT 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
For (hopefully) the last time; the council of Nicaea had nothing to do with the canon of Scripture. Those of you who saw the movie or read the book The DaVinci Code, it is
(admitted by the author) FICTION. The four Gospels exist as four separate accounts of the same events; four credible witnesses of the life, death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
2007-09-04 12:16:49 · answer #4 · answered by Paulie D 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The Gospels you are referring to are Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Of those, three of them are considered Synoptic Gospels. John however isn't in the Synoptic Gospels, it's similar but different. The Canon Laws are laws in which the catholics came up with and follow.
2007-09-04 12:19:41 · answer #5 · answered by Maisy D 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Because those 4 gospels made Jesus look divine.
if Jesus was thought as divine, then the leader of his
church would have had power, at that time it was Constantine.
making Jesus divine ment more power to the Church, and
more power to the empire.
well thats what the atheists say.
2007-09-04 12:20:26 · answer #6 · answered by Bryan D 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Several theories on this. In general, the four Gospels set Christ before us as filling four distinct offices:
In Matthew, Christ is presented as the Son of David, the King of the Jews
In Mark, Christ is depicted as the Servant of God
In Luke, Christ is set forth as the Son of Man
In John, Christ is revealed as the Son of God
2007-09-04 12:10:00 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 1⤋
Well, mostly it was because those were the four that had been accepted by the earliest Christians.
The Council of Nicea only finalized it.
2007-09-04 12:23:59 · answer #8 · answered by The_Cricket: Thinking Pink! 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
4 very credible accounts from people who followed Christ closely.
What we have in Scripture is not a result of Constantine......but rather....the result of God's sovereign will being done
2007-09-04 12:08:59 · answer #9 · answered by primoa1970 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Do any of them actually know who wrote them? It certainly was not Matthew, Mark, Luke or john.
2007-09-04 12:10:13 · answer #10 · answered by Gawdless Heathen 6 · 0⤊ 4⤋