Lecture 18Outline of Last Lecture I. Christianity TodayII. Early Christianity: The BasicsIII. Early Christianity: ContextsIV. Why were these events important?V. Overview of the New TestamentVI. What is Gospel?VII. Gospel of Mark: Literary StructureVIII. Turning Point TextIX. Gospel of Mark: Main ClaimsX. A Few Key TextsXI. Ninian Smart on MythologyXII. How does the Gospel of Mark function in the MythologicalXIII. SummaryOutline of Current Lecture XIV. ReviewXV.Early InterpretersXVI. Overview of New TestamentXVII. Non-Canonical WritingsXVIII. Apostle PaulXIX. Example Text: 1st Corinthians 15XX.Smart on EthicsPHIL 1101st EditionXXI. Smart on DoctrineXXII. Canonization ProcessXXIII. Impact of CanonizationXXIV. SummaryCurrent LectureXXV. Reviewa. Importnat contexts that shaped the Jesus movement and influenced the New Testamentb. the Jesus movement as a Jewish reform movementc. Gospel as “good news” and a literary genre that tells the story of Jesusand his followsd. the Gospel of Marki. as an example of a Gospelii. as an example of the mythological dimension of religionXXVI. Early Interpretersd. Gospel writers and their communitiese. Other New testament writers and their communitiesi. Apostle Paulf. Writers of non-canonical texts and their communitiesg. Church authorities who decide what is authoritative and what isn’tXXVII. Overview of New Testamentd. Gospels(65-95 CE)e. Acts(80s)f. Pauline Corpus (50s-90s)g. General Epstles (80s-110+)h. Revelation (90s)XXVIII. Non-Canonical Writingsd. Gospelse. Actsf. Epistlesg. Apocalypsesh. OthersXXIX. Apostle Pauld. not an early joiner of the Jesus movemente. But, he became the most influential interpreters and promoters of the traditions about Jesusf. joined the movement after Jesus’ crucifixion and was not automatically trusted or supported by the early churchg. BUT he became and energetic preacher of the gospel of Jesus, churchplanter, and passionate enourager/correcter through his lettersh. Active in his preaching and travel (30s-mid 60s) and writing (early 50s-early 60s)i. His goal seems to have been to proclaim as widely and urgently as possiblei. that God’s end game on earth was already started in the life andresurrection of Jesusii. that God’s final intervention for justice on earth was still to come (apocalyptic thinking)iii. SO it matters how believers live now (ETHICS MATTER)j. Known as Apostle to the Gentilesk. Seen by many to be the quintessential missionaryXXX. Example Text: 1st Corinthians 15d. Resurrection is the issue here. Some Corinthian believers are denyt-ing Jesus’ resurrectione. Ethics matteri. Paul wrote 1 Corinthians in the mid 50s to a church he found was showing dubious behaviors:1. discriminating between greater and lesser members re-sulting in:a. bickering, taking each other to court, having sex with the wrong people, , visiting local temples, not waiting for each other when celebrating the Lord Supper, etc.2. For Paul, if there is no resurrection, why are we putting ourselves in danger every hour?c. Belief Matters (based on mythology)i. Early Christian statement of belief the core of Paul’s preachingd. Ritual bring belief and practice togetheri. Baptism mentioned in 1 Corinthiansii. BUT more on connection between baptism and resurrection in Romans 6XXXI. Smart on Ethicsb. Ethics are about the standards of behavior for the individual and soci-tiesc. the ethical dimension of religion is about the “moral teaching incorpo-rated in te doctrines and mytholoy of relgiond. rather than social norms that are common in a region where a particu-lar religion also resides XXXII. Smart on Doctrineb. Doctrines are an attempt to give system, clarity, and intellectual power to what is revealed through the mythological.. language” of relgionsc. Often the line between doctrinal and mythological dimensions is blurryd. however, keep in mind that doctrine attempts to explain the symbolic orraw, experiential language of religious storiesXXXIII. Smart on Ritualb. rituals aim to connect outer behavior and inner intention with the tran-scendent (or divine, invisible)c. often ritual is expressed through prayer, worship, offerings, and com-portment (outer behaviors)d. not all rituals are religious; some are secular, like saying “good morn-ing”XXXIV. Canonization Processb. Long Process (350+ years)i. many christian texts writtenii. vigorous debate about what was right belief and what wasntiii. authoriative collection wasn’t widely recognized for a long timeiv. Council of Carthage (397 CE) closes the canon for some, butnot for all Christians or for all timec. Logistical Issuesi. Who gets to decide?1. Communities: use and circulation (reading in Sunday worship)2. regional authority figures (bishops) ii. What are the standards?1. Early christian leadrs, like Ignatius, Tatian, Marcion, present various views2. Rule of Faith: some leaders decide there should be cri-teria for reliable writingsa. reception from apostles and their disciplesb. one God, the father and creator of allc. one Christ Jesus, made flesh for salvationd. one Holy spirit, who made known the plan for sal-vation3. use of codex (book) rather than scrollsiii. How does it happen?1. early ecumenical councils to settle questions of diversitya. Council of Nicaea (325 CE)i. called Emperor Constantine (raised a christian banner at a successful battle in 312)ii. produced the Nicene Creed declaring the co-essential divinity of the Father and Sonb. regional Council of Carthage acceped Bishop Athanasius’ list from his Festal LetterXXXV. Impact of Canonizationb. Conformity with some diversityiii. sets the boundaries of the emerging Christian tradition and ac-ceptable expressions of Christian identityiv. there were other voices that don’t get represented int he canon, even though they though they were promoting a Christian mes-sagev. However, it also allows for some diversity, like 4 Gospels insteadof one, harmonized Gospelc. Winners get to claim legitimacyd. Sets the stage for Roman Empire as a protector, promoter,and shaper of CrhistianityXXXVI.