Cambridge History of Christianity

The dynamics of Christian Religious Dialogue: A scientific investigation of two relevant scenarios

The first Council of Nicaea was summoned in 325 CE by Constantine, within seven months of the victory that installed him as sole ruler of the empire. Eusebius of Caesarea seems none the less to disapprove of the Council of Nicaea altogether when he imputes the beginnings of it to malevolence. Few considerations may have induced Eusebius of Nicomedia to take up the cause of Arius. Eusebius may have thought in good faith that his suppliant had been wrongly condemned, for, while he does not appear to have held that the Son was out of nothing. Whatever the provenance of the 'Nicene symbol', earliest text of it is quoted in the letter of Eusebius, which is appended to the treatise of his opponent Athanasius, De decretis Nicaenae synodi. The Council of Antioch had ratified the condemnation of Arius while purging the creed of clauses which, in the eyes of easterners, were more of a snare than a prop to orthodoxy.

The first Council of Nicaea

Introduction Part I. The Original Language of Thomas: 1. The problem of the original language of Thomas 2. Methodological problems with Semitic theories 3. Arguments against Semitisms 4. Positive evidence for a Greek-language origin Part II. The Synoptic Gospels and Thomas: 5. Arguments against independence 6. Thomas and the Synoptics: a method for assessing influence 7. Matthew in the Gospel of Thomas 8. Luke in the Gospel of Thomas 9. The influence of Matthew and Luke: summary and evaluation Part III. Thomas and Other Early Christian Literature: 10. Paul in the Gospel of Thomas 11. Hebrews in the Gospel of Thomas 12. The 'two ways' source and the Gospel of Thomas Conclusion.

The Composition of the Gospel of Thomas: Original Language and Influences

This chapter analyses a crucial moment in the second century of the formation of a 'Christian' discourse and, indeed, of the construction of 'Christianity' itself. Justin Martyr was not the first to take up the question of self-definition vis-a-vis the Graeco-Roman world, and he would certainly not be the last, but he was surely one of the most influential to do so. Taken together, Justin and Celsus signal a turning-point in the construction and contestation of Christian discourse. Justin's notion of an ancient Mosaic philosophy on which the Greek philosophers depended betrays the influence of contemporary ideas about the history of philosophy. The distortions and corruptions with which contemporary Platonism was riddled could be compensated for through a process of triangulation among the doctrines of Plato, the precepts of Pythagoras and the institutions of the most ancient 'barbarian' peoples. The feature of Greek philosophical theology was the attempt to reinterpret traditional religion in light of a form of monotheism.

Self-definition vis-à-vis the Graeco-Roman world

The origins and the theological significance of the fourfold Gospel raise a set of teasing questions. Why did the early Church eventually accept four partly parallel foundation documents? There is no precedent for this either in the OT Scriptures or elsewhere in earliest Christianity. Did retention of four gospels assist or hinder the early Church in the presentation of its claims concerning Jesus? No doubt to some, insistence that there were four gospels implied that there were basic flaws in the single gospels. Was the second century church's decision to bring together four separate gospels wise? What were, and what are, the theological implications of the fourfold Gospel? A critical theology cannot avoid asking these questions.

The Fourfold Gospel

The article elaborates upon issues raised in the author's 1992 book, 'A 'Gospel for a New People: Studies in Matthew'. These issues concern the relationship of the first recipients of Matthew's gospel to local Jewish communities and the features of the internal life of the communities for which Matthew wrote. In the light of the complexity of reconstructing the social setting of Matthew's gospel, the article aims at locating it in the broadest possible context within early Judaism and  early Christianity.

/pdf/revisiting-matthew-s-communities-49dociiwoa.pdf

Revisiting Matthew's Communities

of ancient Near Eastern literature violated his instincts as a critic. What was needed was to treat the Bible as a unity. From this it followed that a study of biblical imagery and narrative had to deal with the total structure. The Bible begins where time begins and ends where it ends, and in between there is the history. This and the recurrent concrete images of the Bible reflect the unity of the whole which needs to be taken into account.

http://ext.sagepub.com/content/94/1/3.full.pdf

Graham Stanton

Papers

The Fourfold Gospel

Revisiting Matthew's Communities

Salvation Proclaimed: X. Matthew 1128-30: Comfortable Words?