• Gospels paper (will be graded!): focus on Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
  
• Refer to class website for topics
  
• extra topics: Jesus' teachings about end time (in Luke, Mathew) ["eschatology" - study of the end of things];
• Gnostic gospels (Gospel of Thomas, etc.);
• "The Messianic Secret" - Jesus kept his identity concealed (Mark);

Synoptics [www.utoronto.ca/religion/synopsis/] -- this web tool can be very useful in looking at the parallel accounts!

Q = German for "Quelle" as in "Spruchquelle" ("speaking, saying" + "source")
Q = material common to Matthew and Luke, but not in Mark, by definition.

Paul has little to say about the historical Jesus (words, actions, etc.)

***Discussion on gospels: WWW.GOSPELS.NET

Canonical Gospels (accepted as authoritative in classical Christianity)
Referring to Matthew, Mark, Luke; John
"Gospel Parallels" book is useful for comparing passages

Gospel of Thomas
Lost for 1500 years
1940's: Nag Hammadi (south of Cairo), Thomas and 51 other items in 13 codices written in Coptic -- the old Egyptian language in Greek characters

{ASIDE} Several phases of written Egyptian language:

• Hieroglyphics - pictorial
• Hieratic - symbolic (stylized)
• Demotic - syllabic (like shorthand)
• Coptic - alphabetic (Greek letters, plus some special symbols)

Gospel of Peter
Fragmentary, mostly the crucifiction scene

Secret Gospel of Mark
A letter found copied in a modern published book. Forgery?
"Not everything is revealed to men. Some, interpretations, are to be kept secret."
Content: includes Jesus' miracle on raising a young boy from tomb.

Gospel of Mary
About Mary and Jesus

Infancy Gospel of James or Protevangelium Jacobi

• Proto-gospel of Jacob/James (Jesus' "brother"), c. 2nd Century CE
• Early references to reverence for Mary and her special birth
• (later it was believed that Mary was born without original sin = "immaculate conception")
• Describes early life, etc.
• Some gnostic tendencies? (see below for explanation on gnostic)

{ASIDE} Early Christian History

• By the year 325 c.e. Constantine, Roman emperor, converted to Christianity.
• Before, Christians were outlaw religion (as opposed to paganism). Rome doesn't prosecute it as an outlaw religion, but under other laws such as those against "secret societies."
• Prior to Constantine, Christianity not a LEGITIMATE option in Greco-Roman world, although local laws sporadically enabled officials to persecute Christians.
• Constantine supports a "worldwide" conference of Christians in 325 at Nicea
  
• (mnemnotic device for us...) Alexander the Great died in 323 BCE, and Constantine sponsors the Council of Nicea in 325 CE, thus enclosing the chronological period in which Christianity emerges from its Jewish roots.
• Augustine, Chrysostom in 4th Century CE demonstrate a well-developed classical Christian point of view
  
• Prior to that, there was great diversity in "Christian" circles
• Christian "orthodoxy" emerges with legitimization of Christianity in the 4th century
• At about the same time, "classical" Jewish orthodoxy also becomes influential
  

{Another ASIDE} Jesus of Gnostic Gospels

• explains how disciples can free themselves from the God of the material world
• ascetic (avoid unnecessary things)
• celibate (non procreative)

Infancy Gospel of Thomas (becomes part of "pseudo-Matthew" later)

• "Jesus the Brat"
• Jesus' power over life/death as a kid
• Jesus playing with other kids, "drop dead," come back to life
• (middle ages: people hearing sermons based on "pseudo-Matthew")

Gospel of John:

• Incorporates "Signs Gospel" -- miracles and universal power of Jesus
• Hypothetical gospel: seems to be used by G.John, but no actual manuscript has been preserved (compare "Q" in G.Matt and G.Luke!)
• Turning water to wine at wedding is called the "first sign" Jesus did
• (As time goes on, miracles are ascribed to Jesus, from child to adult, to show his status as divine and powerful)

Unidentified Gospels: scraps of papyrus text found in trash heaps of Egypt

Lost Gospels

• Ebionites ("the poor"),
• Hebrews,
• Nazareans,
• Matthias
• all possibly written by and for Jewish Christians in early centuries (1st century?)

Traditions of Matthias (traditions, not gospel)

***Gnostic
Ascetic, celibate, escape physical world through teachings of Jesus
Many teachings by Jesus on some mountain (a favored setting)

***Discussion on Synoptics & John (canonical gospels) with their Story of Jesus

• Shortest
• Starts with adult Jesus (as opposed to Matthew, with its genealogy from Abraham to Jesus and its birth stories)
• Jesus baptized by John the Baptist, his precursor

Note:
1) Some argue John the Baptist had followers who established a movement of their own.. evidenced by disciples who ask Jesus to teach them how to pray, like John does
2) Both John the Baptist and Jesus preach that the kingdom of God is near, disciples should clean up their lives and repent; early Christian traditions have an "end-times" orientation

27 March 2003
By Te-Lang Brian Wu

***Final exam (final essay)

• Take home, during final exam period
• Descriptive; give evidence for your arguments/statements; no need to have a single "thesis."
• Don't forget such things as the Book of Job: God talks to man about many things

***Early Christianity paper (due April 27th)

• Mark and Mathew tend to be more similar, different from Luke
• For topic on Images of Jesus in non-Gospel NT writings: for example, Jesus sat or depicted as sitting on a mountain teaching his disciples after the resurrection
• For topic on attitudes to Judaism: Jesus said the temple (at Jerusalem) will all be destroyed, no stone left; does this represent early Christian hatred towards Jews because of Jesus' death?

***answers to some questions

What do the Gospel titles tell us?
Probably they were put on after writings were in wide circulation (conjecture)
Therefore, they provide no clear trace of the authorship, date of composition and place

Why are they called "Synoptic" Gospels?
Mark, Matthew, Luke: view Jesus' journeys and teachings very similarly ("syn" = together, "optic" = viewed)
John is very different; requires 3 years for Jesus' ministyr, is more poetic and "spiritual"

Jesus born before 4 CE (date of death of Herod the Great)
Christian calendar created by a monk in 5th century, erred in dating Jesus' birth (off by about 5 years)!
Around 180 CE, Irenaeus of Leon speaks of there being 4 canonical gospels because of the four directions--North, South, East and West.

Overview of the Canonical Depiction of Jesus

• Miracle reports were not uncommon in society at the time
• What was Jesus' message? "Apocalyptic" -- the world is about to end -- or not?
  "Jesus seminar" -- perhaps Jesus wanted to establish his own tradition, just like many others at the time. He offers "timeless teachings" such as the golden rule, without focus on the "end times"?
• He is also viewed as having the power of death and life
• His followers claim that he is Messiah and also the (or a) son of God
  

Letters between Abgar and Jesus:
Abgar seeking healing from Jesus, but Jesus refuses because the time is not right.
He will send someone to heal in his name
Authenticity of the letter quite unlikely

The Present New Testament
Our current New Testament is the fruit of the central Christian body's efforts to reject many Christian groups judged to be "heretical."
The gospels probably emerged in a gradual process, as many writings about Jesus were probably available during the early generations, which were reproduced and studied.

***Gospels
Belief is a theme in G.John moreso than in the synoptic gospels

***Gospel of Thomas:

• Written before the mid 2nd century CE, but preserved in 4 c.e. copy
• In Coptic, some directly translated from Greek
• "These are the secret sayings which the living Jesus spoke and which Didymos Judas Thomas wrote down" -- secret meaning mysterious, in Latin translation the Greek term "mystery" is rendered "sacrament"
• Thus "understanding" is the key in Thomas -- "whoever finds the interpretation of these sayings will not experience death."
• Thomas is a semitic word for "twin" (= Greek "Didymos") -- his actual name is Judas -- there is an early tradition that "Thomas" is the twin bother of Jesus, although that presents problems with the canonical birth stories.
• Thomas is treated as special by Jesus in the Gospel. When Jesus asked Matthew, Peter and Thomas, what he is, the answers of Matthew and Peter do not satisfy Jesus. Thomas said, "the greatness/goodness of you is beyond what my mouth can utter." Jesus brought him away and said three things to him, which he refuses to communicate to the others as dangerous sacred teaching
• James (Jacob) is also treated as special in the Gospel of Thomas: James is the leader Jesus referred to for the people after his death.
• According to tradition he is (also) Jesus' "brother." He is called "James, the righteous/just," also "camel-kneed" because he prayed a lot.
• James is not one of the 12 disciples/apostles; the "apostles" were sent out to preach.
• James is an influential figure, who is the early leader of the church of Jerusalem during after Jesus' death

//end of notes, week 10//