Was there Christianity before the Bible was written and canonized?

Question

The last of the New Testament books were not written until nearly 100, and the books of the New Testament were not definitively chosen until the Synod of Hippo in AD 393. Thus, Bible-only Christianity could not have existed during the four centuries after the birth of Christ, right? As a further problem, a very small percentage of people were literate then.

Could Christianity have been passed on by oral traditions without a Bible?

Hmm, serves me right for asking yes or no questions. Answerers, please explain why or why not.

Answer 1

Did the early Christians have the Bible as we know it? No. The Bible as a whole was not compiled until the late 4th century and then it was compiled by a Catholic saint (St. Jerome) at the request of a Catholic pope (St. Damasus). So how were the early Christians saved if they did not possess the entire written "Word of God" to follow His teachings? Well, naturally, they were the Body of Christ and were taught through "oral" teachings by the Church, not by writings.

During the Reformation, did the Protestants "re-evaluate" all the deutero-canonical and apocryphal Christian writings such as the Gospel of St. James, the Acts of St. Paul, the Apocalypse of St. Peter, the Gospel of St. Mary Magdalene, the Gospel of St. Thomas and the myriad of other writings from the first and second centuries of the Christianity? No. The Protestants accepted the New Testament as defined by the Catholic Church in the late 4th century. Why accept the Canon as defined and preserved by the Catholic Church yet not accept the other teachings of this same Church?

Answer 2

Christianity has always had a strong written elements. Before the Bible existed, the books that eventually ended up in the Bible were in circulation, and various churches had various collections of these books. Those who could read would recite to those who could not. But certainly there was other information that circulated, either orally or in books that didn't make it into the Bible. For example, many people today believe the snake in Eden was Satan. It never says that in the Bible, but the idea may have been circulating orally, especially in light of the fact that in the Koran the snake IS called Satan.

Answer 3

Oral traditions, absolutely. Therefore the studies in "Q" writings and the like. The problem became, and is today, the writings we did end up with were altered, tainted, twisted, destroyed and what comes out on the other side of this initial corruption is christianity as it is known today, purly a pagan system. You must go further back than the CAINanized cannon. You must not believe that a text is the source of truth, but the Spirit of Yahweh is. Did Adam have a text? Noah? Enoch? Abraham? etc. etc. The Spirit of Yahweh is STILL only given to those He promised. Everyone else practices a religion through an organization. The ekklesia is not fulfillment of the ultimate promise. A kingdom on this earth coming to total fruition is. This is not accomplish through a religious system, but a promise of a return.

Answer 4

Christianity started with 'Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God' foundation.

And the Holy Spirit gave the early Ministers the words to say in the moment. And some of these are recorded in the Holy Bible. As the Day of Pentecost was the 50th day after the Passover. This is the Day the Holy Spirit anointed the foundational Government of Gods Christian Church. You can read a bit about it in Acts.

If we didn't have the bible, then we wouldn't know about this. This was written of after the Pentecost actually happened.

The Word of God is preached in the anointing given the Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor or Teache for the edifying of the Body of Christ (Church).

I bible only Christian isn't really a Christian. Anybody can have a bible in their house. A Christian is born of God, Gods way according to the Holy Bible. The Bible helps us learn & edifies us. We are not under the letter, but under Grace, as the Holy Spirit teaches us & leads us into all truth.

Answer 5

Yes, Christianity started as soon as the first person believed that Jesus was the son of God. Christianity is about accepting Christ- and Christians are told to spread the word- this means oral witnessing. So yes, oral traditions could carry the work (although written scriptures have been found to prove that written copies were also passed on)

Answer 6

Absolutely.
While the canon of the Bible was not compiled until 393, the individual texts that make up the current canon were well known. Even the letters of Paul and others were copied and passed on to the various Christian churches and that is how the religion spread.

What didn't exist was a church that claimed "Sola Scriptura", as even the letters of Paul state. Tradition, plus scripture was what created the early church.

Answer 7

Before Christ there were no Christianity but Judaism, being decendents from Adam and Eve we are all in some way Jews; The Jews were and are still expecting the arrival of the Mesiah (Jesus) , but refused to believe He was actually the Mesiah when He actually came.

Before The Synod of Hippo the jews read mostly the Torah, the five books of Moses and had other scrolls as separated books that were later united in one single volume, The Bible.

Answer 8

Christianity formed till now the Bible exchange into prepare. although, the easily putting mutually of the Bible exchange into through actual reason that Christianity has survived see you later. Christianity ended up having this variety of long-term interior the west frequently through fact the Roman Emperor Constantine accompanied it and promoted it in the Roman Empire. finally the Roman Emperors outlawed all different religions, which gave Christianity a monopoly interior the main useful empire interior the western international. The Roman Empire additionally finally eradicated the numerous diverse variations of early Christianity and enforced theological orthodoxy via probability of tension. This a great deal greater the flexibility of the "authorized" version of the church. the flexibility and monopoly enjoyed via this formally sanctioned church grew so great that it resulted interior the great hierarchical shape now usual through fact the Catholic church. as quickly as this behemoth have been erected, it exercised its powers to maintain its administration over this variety of existence of the western international and consequently ensured its persevering with survival. Constantine exchange into additionally frequently responsible for the calling of the Council of Nicea. The council of Nicea exchange into the physique of officers that began the artwork of finding out what texts could desire to be considered actual and acceptable and which texts should not be considered to be "quite Christian". The checklist of texts that they counseled finally grew to alter into the Bible. So, it exchange into particularly the great and useful Catholic church that maintained the existence of Christianity and not the Bible. quite, transforming into the Bible seems to have been a great mistake for the Catholic church. If the Bible had in no way been formally assembled and given approval as a authoritative source, the protestant movements could have had a much greater good time claiming any sort of legitimacy. The protestants claimed that they could legitimately split from the Catholic church through fact they could base their theologies on the Bible. in addition to, they could use the Bible as "data" to diminish back up their claims. If the Bible had in no way existed, the Christian church ought to truly probable nevertheless be the only monolithic physique usual as Catholicism extremely than the shattered mass of divergent and antithetical communities that characterize Christianity immediately. of course, whether or no longer this may well be an outstanding element relies upon plenty on one's very own point of view.

Answer 9

Come on my Friend. You know the answer to this better than any of us. Very nice way to state a fact. Of course oral tradition was the only way the Gospel was spread prior to the Mother Church constructing the Holy Bible. I appreciate your contribution to this sight.
God Bless

Answer 10

yes, and yes. The Church came first before the Bible.

"Could Christianity have been passed on by oral traditions without a Bible?"

Absolutely!