Essay on "Christian Books"

Essay 4 pages (1280 words) Sources: 4

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Christian Books

How the First Christian Books Were Written, Preserved and Collected

Paul Barnett (2003) states that from the time that the last the text of what became known as Sacred Scripture was written to the time that Constantine legitimized Christianity in the Roman world, a virtual "avalanche of early Christian books" had already been produced: "Christian intellectuals and leaders had been writing books defending and explaining the faith. Their collected writings comprise the ten large volumes of the Ante-Nicene Fathers library, each volume being several times longer than the whole New Testament" (p. 46). Indeed, the Ante-Nicene Fathers, apart from the authors of New Testament Sacred Scripture, may be said to be the ones to generate the very first Christian books. Thanks to the monasteries of the middle ages, their texts were collected and preserved for one simple reason: they defended the Faith. The Faith, in fact, is what united the writers, the preservers, and the collectors. The writers were inspired to defend the Faith. The preservers were inspired to hold onto the Faith. And the collectors were inspired to pass on the Faith. In this essay, I will show how the first Christian books were written, preserved and collected by defenders of the Faith, whether Apostle, bishop, or monk.

The first writers of the first Christian books were, of course, the Evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. St. Paul wrote several epistles. Other writers of Sacred Scripture are Peter, James, and Jude. The dates of these writings are contested by scholars. One thing is certain: they were all written in the first and, possibly, second centuries AD. John a.T. Robinson (2000) argues that all the books of the New Testament were composed before 70 AD simply because none of them mention the historical fact of the fall of Jerusalem (p. 24). Regardless of the exact date of their composition, these writings were intended to encourage and solidify the faithful to whom the Apostles had already preached the Word of God. Some of these texts were written as circular letters, some as narratives, and one as a work of prophecy. The early Christian communities gathered and preserved these writings and by the early 3rd century Origen had collected the so-called "inspired" writings, conferring with others like Eusebius and clarifying the sacred texts of apostolic tradition. In the 4th century AD, historians find Athanasius, then bishop of Alexandria, presenting a list of 27 books of the New Testament (Lindberg, 2006, p. 15). Needless to say, as the Church grew the more attention was given to canonizing the sacred texts of the Bible.

However, these were not the only Christian books to appear in the early Church. On the contrary, the early Church was so possessed by the idea of defending and transmitting the Faith that it produced, as Barnett states, an avalanche of books. Because the printing press was not invented until the end of the middle ages, these books had to be preserved in hand-written copies. The early Church was fundamental in preserving these copies, and the rise of the monastic life in the 4th century provided an institution where the books of the New Testament and the works of the early Fathers could be hand-copied and collected. As Barnett observes, "It was in the monasteries that the New Testament manuscripts, the writings of the early church, and the work of such writers as Josephus and Tacitus were preserved until the Renaissance" (p. 46). These monasteries not only preserved the first Christian books but also preserved the way of life that could allow these books to be copied and preserved in peace while the rest of the world was undergoing a dramatic transformation.

Justin Martyr, for example, wrote his account of the Eucharist around 150 AD -- a telling description of the reverence and belief the early… READ MORE

How to Reference "Christian Books" Essay in a Bibliography

Related Essays:

How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth: Critique Book Review

Bible

Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart's How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth aims to be a guide to Biblical hermeneutics and exegesis designed for the layperson. Their… read more

Book Review 6 pages (2003 words) Sources: 1 Topic: Religion / God / Theology

---

Christian Spirituality and the Ministry of Counseling Book Review

Christian Spirituality and the Ministry of Counseling

Religion is a much discussed issue in the present, and with Christianity being one of the most renowned religions it is not surprising… read more

Book Review 2 pages (597 words) Sources: 1 Topic: Religion / God / Theology

---

Book of Revelation Term Paper

Book of Revelation: Looking Beyond Revelation is could easily be considered the most controversial book in the New Testament; if not the entire Bible itself. Many have tried in vain… read more

Term Paper 12 pages (3861 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Literature / Poetry

---

Christian Theology Essay

Christian Theology

We cannot adequately represent the fullness of God within the confines of human language and discourse. The author is correct to assert that it is a difficult activity… read more

Essay 4 pages (1398 words) Sources: 3 Topic: Religion / God / Theology

---

Integration of Evolutionary Theory and the Christian Faith: Evaluation Book Report

GLASS'S INTEGRATION of EVOLUTIONARY THEORY and the CHRISTIAN FAITH

The objective of this study is to examine the work of Bruce Glass entitled "Exploring Faith and Reason: The Reconciliation of… read more

Book Report 7 pages (2400 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Religion / God / Theology

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>