Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Dave · 07-21-2004, 08:58 PM

the person who put them together had a stupid quote about why he left the others out? if so what is the quote?

07-21-2004, 09:49 PM

Greetings Dave,

Well,
there ARE many other Gospels (usually called "apocryphal") which were rejected by the Church - I suspect 100 is an exaggeration.

See here for some details -
http://academics.smcvt.edu/pcouture/...l_gospels1.htm

I think the quote you are referring to is from Irenaeus - he wrote in the 180s and was the FIRST to name our modern four Gospels.

His reasoning is a bit odd -
"It is not possible that the Gospels can be either more or fewer in number than they are, since there are four directions of the world in which we are, and four principal winds...the four living creatures [of Revelation 4.9] symbolize the four Gospels...and there were four principal covenants made with humanity, through Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Christ"

Of course, Irenaeus did not pick 4 Gospels from 100 he knew of - at that time maybe a dozen Gospels existed - many came after Irenaeus.

Iasion

Dave · 07-21-2004, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iasion

Greetings Dave,

Well,
there ARE many other Gospels (usually called "apocryphal") which were rejected by the Church - I suspect 100 is an exaggeration.

See here for some details -
http://academics.smcvt.edu/pcouture/...l_gospels1.htm

I think the quote you are referring to is from Irenaeus - he wrote in the 180s and was the FIRST to name our modern four Gospels.

His reasoning is a bit odd -
"It is not possible that the Gospels can be either more or fewer in number than they are, since there are four directions of the world in which we are, and four principal winds...the four living creatures [of Revelation 4.9] symbolize the four Gospels...and there were four principal covenants made with humanity, through Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Christ"

Of course, Irenaeus did not pick 4 Gospels from 100 he knew of - at that time maybe a dozen Gospels existed - many came after Irenaeus.

Iasion

thanks. thats the quote i was looking for.

Amaleq13 · 07-21-2004, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave

thanks. thats the quote i was looking for.

If you need the location, it comes from Against Heresies, 3.11.8.

Magdlyn · 07-22-2004, 05:56 AM

The "100 gospels" you refer to were labeled heresy by early orthodox Xtian founders, and people were prohibited from owning or reading them by the 4th century.

They consist of Gospels, Acts, Epistles and Apocalypses, Treatises, Testimonies and Exegeses. Most are Gnostic and were burnt or left uncopied, thus destroyed.

Many have recently been recovered! :thumb

Find some of them here:

http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/

and here:

http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/nhl.html

07-21-2004, 08:58 PM	#1
Dave Regular Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: PA Posts: 181	is it true that there are about 100 different gospels and that.. the person who put them together had a stupid quote about why he left the others out? if so what is the quote?

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07-21-2004, 09:49 PM	#2
Iasion Guest Posts: n/a	Greetings Dave, Well, there ARE many other Gospels (usually called "apocryphal") which were rejected by the Church - I suspect 100 is an exaggeration. See here for some details - http://academics.smcvt.edu/pcouture/...l_gospels1.htm I think the quote you are referring to is from Irenaeus - he wrote in the 180s and was the FIRST to name our modern four Gospels. His reasoning is a bit odd - "It is not possible that the Gospels can be either more or fewer in number than they are, since there are four directions of the world in which we are, and four principal winds...the four living creatures [of Revelation 4.9] symbolize the four Gospels...and there were four principal covenants made with humanity, through Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Christ" Of course, Irenaeus did not pick 4 Gospels from 100 he knew of - at that time maybe a dozen Gospels existed - many came after Irenaeus. Iasion

07-22-2004, 05:56 AM	#5
Magdlyn Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 2,230	The "100 gospels" you refer to were labeled heresy by early orthodox Xtian founders, and people were prohibited from owning or reading them by the 4th century. They consist of Gospels, Acts, Epistles and Apocalypses, Treatises, Testimonies and Exegeses. Most are Gnostic and were burnt or left uncopied, thus destroyed. Many have recently been recovered! :thumb Find some of them here: http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/ and here: http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/nhl.html

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