End of discussion??? What about the fact that the Church Fathers HATED the book and called it falsely written and of error. It was considered a "canon" book by.. oh.. about three CHURCHES... and that's it!
Which Church Fathers "HATED" the Epistle of Barnabas? Clement of Alexandria is the first church father to mention it, and he quoted from the book as canonical. The historian Eusebius (263-339 A.D.) lists it with the spurious books, along with the presently accepted canonical books of Revelation and Hebrews; however, he urges readers not to confuse books such as these with the books published by heretics, such as the gospels of Peter, Thomas, Matthias, Acts of Andrew, John, etc. Considering the prominence of Clement of Alexandria, a very large and influential city in the scholarly realm at this time, I am curious where you get the number "three" in your estimate that only three churches considered it canonical. This is merely a question of curiosity, not a point of contention on my part. I wonder if you pull it out of the air or if there is some stringent scholarly study behind the statement.
For the record, I do not consider the Epistle of Barnabas to be canonical. However, I do consider it to be written by a faithful brother in Christ, perhaps by the apostle Barnabas himself. The date of authorship is probably first century. The book was written no earlier than 70 A.D. and no later than 135 A.D. This gives us interesting insight into the theology of someone who was part of the very ancient Christian community.
I am very surprised by Jeff's reaction and very disappointed in his unwillingness to discuss the issue. The book is very strong on the Torah and quotes Moses extensively, more than many books of the Bible. In my opinion, it argues very strongly for keeping the law and speaks against anti-Semitism. Speculating on how he must rationalize his comment makes me shake my head in disbelief. Jeff obviously has a strong bias in this area that prevents him from further study on the matter. I can only surmise that he confuses anti-Judaizing comments with anti-Semitism.
Following are some quotes showing how Barnabas was for observing the law:
Barnabas 4:1, "Let us, therefore, avoid absolutely all the works of lawlessness lest the works of lawlessness overpower us, and let us hate the deception of the present age, so that we may be loved in the age to come."
Barnabas 4:6, "... be on your guard now, and do not be like certain people; that is, do not continue to pile up your sins while claiming that your covenant is irrevocably yours..."
Barnabas 4:11, "To the best of our ability, let us cultivate the fear of God and strive to keep his commandments, that we may rejoice in his ordinances."
There is a much longer quote that I would love to type in, but I just don't have time. It is the 19th chapter of Barnabas where he describes the way of light. He basically quotes Torah line after line after line, like a true man of God who has Torah memorized in his heart. He contrasts this with the way of darkness in chapter 20, which basically lists works of the flesh in a manner similar to Paul's writings. How anyone could read these two chapters and say that Barnabas was a heretic is beyond my understanding. This man Barnabas understood Torah and understood God. He was and is my brother in Christ.
If you care to discuss this Slade, I think it would be interesting. I have noticed that neither you nor Jeff answered my question about keeping the Passover. I had asked you if someone ate of Christ's flesh (spiritually speaking) and believed in him as their Passover lamb, does that qualify as being Torah observant in regards to Passover or not?
Peace be with you.
David Miller.
---------- "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org
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