The Canon (Part 4)

Questions to think about during this lesson…

  • Considering the average life span in antiquity was so much shorter than it is today, how can the gospels have been written decades after the time of Christ, yet there still be eye-witnesses to what the Lord said and did?
  • Early Church Tradition and historians tell us that St. John the Evangelist died during the reign of Trajan. When was this?
  • Why are we spending so much time on the canon and trying to explain what the apocrypha are and why they were rejected from the canon of Scripture?
  • Many people who have never even read the Bible or the apocryphal books embraced Dan Brown’s claims in the Da Vinci Code as factual because he’s quite convincing. But the truth is, he’s only convincing if you don’t know basic Church history. Why is this?
  • Even if a book is orthodox in doctrine, why is it a problem if the book uses the apocrypha (such as the Protoevangelion of James) as a source of information?
  • Where did we learn the names of the Theotokos’ parents, Joachim and Anna, since they’re not mentioned in the Bible? (Hint: We didn’t learn them from the apocryphal books, such as the Protoevangelion of James) 
  • What is the problem with apocryphal books like the Protoevangelion of James — why isn’t it in the canon of Scripture? 
  • As Orthodox Christians, why do we need to be extremely careful about approving of the apocrypha in any respect? 
  • Why does Dr. Jeannie go on a rant to warn us to stay away from apocryphal books?
  • What does the word “heresy” mean?
  • What is a heretic?
  • Why is it so important that we understand Gnosticism and that we’re able to recognize gnostic writings?
  • Docetism was the first heresy to seriously challenge traditional Christian teachings.  It taught that Christ wasn’t human — He only seemed to be human. It taught that He appeared to be human, but He didn’t have a body — that was just an illusion. Interestingly, this is exactly the opposite of what many skeptics believe about Jesus today. Today, many skeptics believe that Jesus really existed and that He was human, but they don’t believe that He was divine. As mentioned, this is quite different than what the issue was facing the early Church. In the Greco-Roman world it was easy for people to believe that Jesus was Divine, but they couldn’t easily believe that He was human. Why is this — and how does this view relate to what St. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:23 about the Cross being “foolishness” for the Gentiles?
  • One of the ideas Dan Brown promotes in the Da Vinci Code is that Jesus was married and had a child… and that the “secret” writings the Church “suppressed” supported this idea. But considering what we know about the Docetists, the issue facing the early Church regarding the nature of Christ, and the apocryphal books — why doesn’t his claim make any sense whatsoever?
  • Even if Jesus was married and had a child, why wouldn’t the Church want to suppress that? In other words, how would this have actually HELPED the early Church promote Christianity? (Hint: Think about the challenges from the Docetists)
  • Why is Dan Brown’s negative and unfair portrayal of the Catholic Church — especially concerning its control and power in early Christianity — absolutely unsupported by the historical evidence?
  • What does it mean to say that Gnosticism was a syncretistic religious movement?
  • Gnosticism become a huge problem for the Church. During what centuries was it the greatest threat to the Church?
  • What dilemma did the Gnostics have in regard to the human being?  
  • What did Gnosticism teach about where the physical world came from… and how does this relate to what St. Paul wrote in Colossians 1:19?
  • What did Gnosticism teach about salvation?
  • What are some things Gnosticism taught about Jesus? 
  • Why didn’t Gnosticism value martyrdom, good deeds (such as feeding the hungry) or the Sacraments (like Holy Communion)? 
  • How could Gnostics be extremely immoral yet have no problem believing in their salvation?
  • What did Gnostics believe happened to them when they died?
  • What are some reasons the Church rejected Gnosticism?
  • How did Gnosticism have a great impact on the canon of Scripture?
  • Why would the Gnostics write their own books and then assign the names of Apostles to them?
  • Why is it so obvious that these writings were written by the Gnostics and not the Apostles?
  • The word “apocrypha” was first used when referring to these Gnostic books. Why is that?
  • Why don’t you think these books appeared on anyone’s canonical list in the early Church?
  • Why isn’t the idea that Christ taught secretly not supported by the evidence? (Hint: Look at John 18:20)

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