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The category of New Testament apocrypha reminds the modern reader of the wide range of responses that were engendered in the interpreting of the message of Jesus of Nazareth during the first several centuries of the Common Era, as mainstream Christianity emerged. Christians obedient to what are now the mainstream churches/denominations were warned away from these works now termed apocryphal, some of which were vigorously suppressed and survive only as fragments. In the process of determining the Biblical canon, only a number of works were recognized as authentic and included in the New Testament. The earliest lists of authentic works, were not quite the same as modern lists, for example Revelations was long regarded as inauthentic, while Shepherd of Hermas was considered genuine by most Christians, and appears in several ancient bibles.

The works that presented themselves as "authentic" but did not obtain general acceptance from within the churches, are called New Testament Apocrypha. These are not accepted as canonical by most mainstream Christian denominations; only the Ethiopian Orthodox Church recognizes the Shepherd of Hermas, 1 Clement, Acts of Paul, and several Old Testament books that most other denominations reject, but it should be noted that this church does not adhere to an explicit canon.

The Word "Apocrypha"

The word means "hidden writings" and comes to us from Greek through Latin. The general term is usually applied to the books, which were allowed by the Council of Nicea as useful, but not inspired by the Holy Spirit. As such, to refer to Gnostic writings as apocryphal is misleading since they would not be classified in the same category by orthodox believers.

Books which are objectively known not to have existed in antiquity, such as the medieval Gospel of Barnabas, are usually not considered part of the New Testament Apocrypha. Among these are also the Libellus de Nativitate Sanctae Mariae (also named as the Nativity of Mary) and Latin Infancy Gospel. The latter two did not exist in the antiquity, and seem to be based on the earlier Infancy Gospels.

Infancy Gospels

The paucity of information about the childhood of Jesus in the canonical Gospels led to a hunger of early Christians for more detail about the early life of Jesus. This was supplied by a number of 2nd century and later texts, known as infancy gospels, none of which were accepted into the Biblical canon, but the very number of their surviving manuscripts attest to their continued popularity. Most of these were based on the earliest infancy gospels, namely the Protevangelion of James (also called the Gospel of James) and Infancy Gospel of Thomas (not to be confused with the Gospel of Thomas), and on their later combination into the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew (also called the Birth of Mary and Infancy of the Saviour).

The other main significant early Infancy Gospels are:

Jewish Christian Gospels

The sects within Early Christianity that retained a strong allegiance to Judaism, upholding Mosaic Law, used a Gospel specific to themselves:

Since these mostly survive as quotes scattered amongst critical commentaries by Pauline Christianity, some modern theories suggest that these may be variations on one another, although the quotations from the Gospel of the Ebionites appear more distinct than the others. It has also been suggested that the Gospel of the Hebrews may have been an earlier version of the Greek Gospel of Matthew.

Rival versions of canonical Gospels

Many alternate edited versions of other gospels existed during the period of early Christianity. Sometimes, those attributed to the text state elsewhere that their text is the earlier version, or that their text excises all the additions and distortions made by their opponents to the more recognised version of the text. The church fathers insist that these people are incorrect (and indeed heretical) in their assertions, but some modern scholars do not. It remains to be seen whether any are earlier and more accurate versions of the canonical texts. Details of their contents only survive in the attacks on them by their opponents, and so for the most part it is uncertain as to how extensively different they are, and whether any constitute entirely different works. These texts include:

Sayings Gospels

One or two texts take the form of sets of brief logia—sayings and very short parables—which are not embedded in a connected narrative:

Recent scholarship is increasingly regarding the Gospel of Thomas as part of the tradition from which the canonical gospels eventually emerged; in any case both of these documents are important as showing us what the theoretical Q document, see below, might have looked like.

Morality Gospels

Some texts take the form of discourses on morality, and in particular on sexual abstinence, usually taking the form of a discussion between Jesus and one or more disciples:

Passion Gospels

A number of Gospels are concerned specifically with the Passion (i.e. Jesus' death, and Resurrection):

Although there are three texts which take Bartholomew's name, it may be the case that one of the Questions of Bartholomew or the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is in fact the unknown Gospel of Bartholomew

Harmonic Gospels

A number of texts aim to provide a single harmonization of the canonical gospels, that eliminates discordances among them by presenting a unified text derived from them to some degree. The most widely-read of these was the Diatessaron: of all the extant texts, the majority appear to be variations on the suppressed Diatessaron.

Gnostic esoterica

In the modern era, many Gnostic texts have been uncovered, especially from the Nag Hammadi library. Some texts take the form of an expounding of the esoteric cosmology and ethics held by the gnostics. Often this was in the form of dialogue in which Jesus expounds esoteric knowledge while his disciples raise questions concerning it. There is also a text, known as the Epistula Apostolorum, which is a polemic against gnostic esoterica, but written in a similar style as the gnostic texts.

General Gnostic Texts

Whilst the Epistle of Eusegius does not make mention of Jesus, it is thought to be the basis of Sophia Jesu Christi. Some count it amongst the apocrypha, although it does not meet all criteria.

Sethian Gnostic Texts

The Sethians were a gnostic group who originally worshipped the biblical Seth as a messianic figure, later treating Jesus as a re-incarnation of Seth. They produced numerous texts expounding their esoteric cosmology, usually in the form of visions:

Four of these texts, in the form of visions, are heavily platonistic:

Cainite Gnostic Texts

The small Cainite sect of gnostics viewed significant biblical figures more usually considered arch-villains as heroes. They are so-named since they considered Cain to have been the first victim of Yahweh's evil. They also considered Judas to have been a hero, doing what had to be done to bring about salvation, and expounding wisdom. Amongst their literature is:

Ritual Diagrams

Some of the Gnostic texts appear to consist of diagrams and instructions for use in religious rituals:

Fate of Mary

Several texts (over 50) consist of descriptions of the events surrounding the varied fate of Mary (the mother of Jesus):

Leucian Acts of the Apostles

Several texts concern themselves with the subsequent lives of the apostles:

Works said to be written by Leucius Charinus (known as the Leucian Acts), a companion of John the apostle.

Accounts of Apostolic Lives

Epistles

There are also non canonical epistles, some of which were regarded very highly by the early church:

Visions

Several works frame themselves as visions, often discussing the future, afterlife, or both:

Miscellany

Other texts exist which concern rather more miscellaneous topics:

Fragments

In addition to the known Apocryphal works, there are also small fragments of texts, parts of unknown (or uncertain) works. Some of the more significant fragments are:

Lost works

There are several texts which would be considered part of the apocrypha, which are mentioned in many ancient sources, but for which no known text has survived:

A note about orthodoxy

While many of the books listed here were considered heretical (especially those belonging to the gnostic tradition--as this sect was considered heretical by most Christians of the early centuries), others were not considered particularly heretical in content, but in fact were well accepted as significant spiritual works. They are however not considered canonical, as they belong to the category of works of the church fathers or Apostolic Fathers.

Evaluation

The ordinary stand of mainstream Christians in regard to the books deemed apocryphal was succinctly summed up by Robert M. Grant, claiming to speak not as a theologian but as a historian, in the introduction to A Historical Introduction to the New Testament (1963): Aside from the twenty-seven books in the canon, Grant asserted, "No other literature has anything of value to say about Christian origins and the earliest Christian movement." *.

J. Quasten, a scholar of early Christian literature (Patrology, 1990) to summarize his view on the Apocryphal literature of early Christianity, quotes M.R. James saying:

People may still be heard to say, 'After all, these Apocryphal Gospels and Acts, as you call them, are just as interesting as the old ones. It was only by accident or caprice that they were not put into the New Testament'. The best answer (...) has always been, and is now, to produce the writings and let them tell their own story. It will very quickly be seen that there is no question of anyone's having excluded them from the New Testament: they have done that for themselves.

However, among historians of early Christianity the books are considered invaluable, especially those which almost made it into the final canon such as Shepherd of Hermas. Bart Ehrman, for example, has said:

The victors in the struggles to establish Christian Orthodoxy not only won their theological battles, they also rewrote the history of the conflict; later readers then naturally assumed that the victorious views had been embraced by the vast majority of Christians from the very beginning ... The practice of Christian forgery has a long and distinguished history ... the debate lasted three hundred years ... even within "orthodox" circles there was considerable debate concerning which books to include -Lost Christianities, Bart Ehrman

See also

External links

Some of the most complete collections and resources on New Testament Apocrypha can be found at:

New Testament Apocrypha | Bible

Nytestamentlige apokryfer | Evangelio apócrifo | Apocriefen van het Nieuwe Testament

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "New Testament apocrypha".

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