FAI (for anyone's interest)'Lost Scriptures -Books that Did Not Make It into the New(er) Testament', Oxford, 2003
----- Original Message ----- From: "David Miller" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: November 24, 2004 08:22 Subject: [TruthTalk] Epistle of Barnabas > Slade wrote: > > 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 > > If you do not want to receive posts from this list, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and you will be unsubscribed. If you have a friend who wants to join, tell him to send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and he will be subscribed. > ---------- "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 If you do not want to receive posts from this list, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and you will be unsubscribed. If you have a friend who wants to join, tell him to send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and he will be subscribed.
