Why Didn't Jesus Give Us a Printing Press?
Sometimes I wonder why the Lord Jesus didn't clearly tell his disciples to write everything down that He wanted us to know and then give us the plans to disseminate this material throughout the world in written form. I find it even stranger that Jesus didn't tell his disciples that there would come a book and this book would be the definitive sole source of truth for their beliefs. Even more interesting to me, is why didn't God provide the New Testament miraculously in a tablet all laid out with the appropriate books chosen (kinda like He did for Moses) Would have made things a bit easier I think. Mormons would say he did do it for them!
And my final question is: How did this church grow and flourish throughout the ancient world when none of the New Testament books had even been written yet? Even if some "preview editions" of the New Testament were available to the early church most of the people were illiterate in the ancient world. The bible alone (without the Church to tell them what was in it) would have done them no good and would have gathered dust on their coffee tables!
So how did God ensure that His truth was taught, spread and kept incorrupted? Jesus didn't build us a printing press but did something better! He said he would build a church that the gates of hell would not prevail against and would give us His Spirit to guide us in all truth.
posted by Russ Rentler, M.D. | 7:48 AM
2 Comments:
Whether the circle is secular or sacred, inquiry and debate about Christian scripture abounds.
In and of itself, I believe scholarly analysis and debate about Christian canonical texts an excellent idea; however (You knew a 'however' was coming, didn't you?), I'm beginning to grow disappointed in the scholarly-analysis-to-debate ratio.
A recent addition to the pop-theology brouhaha centers around a 'new discovery" of the Gnostic Gospels. As I read Newsweek's cover story, I was amazed (though not surprised) at the article's lack of scholarship.
Of course, the Gnostic Gospels are not "new" at all. Many have been around since the fourth century. If we are not very familiar with the Gospels of Thomas or Judas, or with the Arabic Gospels, it is not because they'd been hidden by rival Christian sects, but because they simply haven't been in demand over the centuries since their writing. Why? Because At the council of Hippo--circa 299 (Note to DaVinci Code fans: This predates Nicea) the Church first declared what shall be and what shall not be regarded as Christian cannon. If the Church were to include the "Gospel of Judas," it would have had to wait the greater part of a century, until it would be written.
Interesting, isn't it--that secularists, liberal theologians, and reformation-era revisionists all share the same misconception. They imagine that the New Testament established the Church and her Traditions, when in fact it was the Church and her Traditions that established the New Testament.
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