Church History
Origins of Christianity
The historical Jesus, primitive Christianity, the formation of the canon
Christianity arose within Second Temple Judaism in the first century, in the Roman province of Judaea. Historical research on Jesus of Nazareth, the quest of the historical Jesus, has occupied New Testament scholarship since the eighteenth century.
The three quests
| Phase | Dates | Character | Figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| First quest | 1778-1906 | Enlightenment historiography: a rational reconstruction of the “real” Jesus beneath the dogma, with considerable optimism about what history could recover. | Reimarus, Strauss, Renan, Harnack |
| Interruption | 1906-1953 | Schweitzer exposed the failure of the first quest. Bultmann’s form criticism treated the historical Jesus as inaccessible; only the proclaimed Christ mattered. | Schweitzer, Bultmann, Dibelius |
| Second quest | 1953-1980 | Käsemann broke with Bultmann: continuity between the historical Jesus and the preached Christ is theologically necessary. | Käsemann, Bornkamm, Conzelmann |
| Third quest | from 1980 | Jesus is placed rigorously within Second Temple Judaism, on an interdisciplinary basis drawing on archaeology, rabbinic sources, Qumran and social history. | Sanders, Wright, Meier, Bauckham, Dunn |
The third quest
The third quest, from the 1980s, anchors Jesus consistently in his Jewish setting: apocalyptic prophecy, the theology of the Kingdom (βασιλεία), and Jewish practice concerning Torah, sabbath and Temple. E. P. Sanders’ Jesus and Judaism (1985) and N. T. Wright’s series Christian Origins and the Question of God, from 1992, are its principal monuments.
The Testimonium Flavianum
The most important non-Christian testimony to Jesus stands in Josephus’ Jewish Antiquities (ca. 93 CE), the so-called Testimonium Flavianum (AJ 18.63-64). The passage has been interpolated by Christian copyists but probably rests on an authentic notice. Tacitus (Annals 15.44, ca. 116) records the execution of Christus under Pontius Pilate, and remains the principal pagan source.
The emergence of Christianity from Judaism was not a clean break but a complex process of differentiation extending over several generations. Paul of Tarsus is chronologically its first witness.
Paul, the first witness (ca. 50-60)
Paul’s letters, 1 Thessalonians from about 50 and 1 Corinthians from about 54-55, precede the Synoptic Gospels. Paul writes less than twenty years after the death of Jesus and knows eyewitnesses: he records his meetings with Peter and James (Gal 1:18-19). His major themes are justification by faith (Gal 2:16; Rom 3:28), the ecclesiology of the Body of Christ (1 Cor 12), universality (Gal 3:28), and the apostolic tradition of the resurrection (1 Cor 15:3-7).
The primitive creed of 1 Corinthians 15:3-7
The creed compresses the central affirmations of the gospel: substitutionary atonement, in “for our sins”; bodily resurrection, in “on the third day”; and apostolic attestation, in the appearances to Peter, the Twelve and five hundred brethren. It was in all probability formulated within a very few years of the crucifixion, a span far too short for legendary construction.
From the primitive Church to the Great Church
| Period | Developments | Documents |
|---|---|---|
| ca. 30-70 | The apostolic age: Paul, Peter, James. Jerusalem is the centre. The first Jewish revolt and the destruction of the Temple in 70 constitute a decisive rupture. | The letters of Paul (50-60) |
| ca. 70-100 | The sub-apostolic age: the composition of the Gospels, Mark ca. 70, Matthew and Luke ca. 80-90, John ca. 90-100. The diaspora communities expand. | The Gospels; Revelation (ca. 95-96) |
| ca. 100-180 | The Apostolic Fathers: Clement, Ignatius, Polycarp. The emergence of monarchical episcopacy and the first doctrinal controversies over gnosticism and docetism. | Didache; the letters of Ignatius; Polycarp |
| ca. 180-313 | Apologists and first theologians: Irenaeus against gnosis, Tertullian in North Africa, Origen at Alexandria. Systematic theology begins. Persecution. | Irenaeus, Adversus haereses; Tertullian; Origen, De principiis |
The question of the New Testament canon is fundamental to Protestant ecclesiology: did the Church constitute the canon or recognise it? The answer determines the relation between Scripture and Church.
The formation of the canon
Criteria of canonicity
Apostolicity
A direct or indirect link with an apostle. Mark is a disciple of Peter, Luke a colleague of Paul. This accounts for the exclusion of non-apostolic writings such as the Didache or the letter of Clement, esteemed though they were.
Orthodoxy
Conformity to the rule of faith (regula fidei), the transmitted apostolic teaching. This is the decisive argument against the gnostic gospels of Thomas, Philip and Mary: they are excluded not by their date but by their docetic christology.
Catholicity
Use by the churches across the whole οἰκουμένη. Writings known in a single region were received with greater reserve.
Documentary landmarks
| Document | Date | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Muratorian Fragment | ca. 170-200 | The oldest surviving canon list, of Roman provenance, naming twenty-two books and showing that broad consensus on the core existed by about 200. |
| Origen (†254) | ca. 230-250 | Distinguishes the homologoumena, received by all, from the antilegomena: Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, 2-3 John and Jude. |
| Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History | ca. 313 | Classifies the books as received, disputed or spurious. No definitive list is yet settled. |
| Athanasius, 39th Festal Letter | 367 | The first complete list of the twenty-seven books, identical with the present canon and presented as alone normative. |
| Synod of Carthage | 397 | Confirms the Athanasian canon; the ecclesial reception of the process. |
The Protestant position: recognition, not constitution
The classical Reformed argument holds that Scripture carries its authority within itself (autopistia). The Church recognised the canon; it did not create it. The act is one of acknowledging truth, not of authoritative institution. The objection is familiar: if Scripture alone is authoritative, who determines which books belong to it? The Reformed answer appeals to the inward testimony of the Holy Spirit, attesting canonicity through the Church and within it.
Primary sources
- Josephus. Jewish Antiquities XVIII.63-64. LCL 433.
- Eusebius of Caesarea. The Ecclesiastical History. LCL 153, 265.
- Athanasius of Alexandria. Festal Letter XXXIX (367). PG 26.
Studies
- Sanders, E. P. Jesus and Judaism. London: SCM, 1985.
- Wright, N. T. Jesus and the Victory of God. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1996.
- Meier, John P. A Marginal Jew. 5 vols. New York: Doubleday, 1991-2016.
- Metzger, Bruce M. The Canon of the New Testament. Oxford: Clarendon, 1987.
- Bauckham, Richard. Jesus and the Eyewitnesses. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006.
Quiz — Origins of Christianity
Which is the earliest Christian document preserved in the New Testament?
- The Gospel of Mark
- 1 Thessalonians (ca. 50)
- Romans
- The Letter of James