Episode 46– Show Notes

We start with the Gospel of Thomas as it the next chapter in our 50 Arguments for God book. Why do people talk about it? What is it? What is its history? What do we learn from it? This all raises the issue of lost early Christian documents - the surviving ones are the ‘winning’ ones, those which scribes chose to copy and keep preserved.

Thomas also raises the issues of Orthodoxy, Heresy and Diversity of Beliefs. We continue that discussion for the rest of the show. The towering figure here is German scholar Walter Bauer who changed the way academics think about this with his book published in the 1930s. “Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity”. A great way for podcast fans to learn more on him and his legacy is episode 26 of the podcast “The NT Review”

Walter Bauer covered the 2ndC AD and we move on to discuss the 1stC where we have even less material outside those preserved in the New Testament. We look at those documents, along with the Didache which most date in the 1stC, and see both
1. The various factions, disputes and diversity of beliefs being addressed in the letters, Acts and even the gospels.
2. The diversity of beliefs regarding core Christian doctrines, such as Salvation.

Links:
Andrew mentioned a 2ndC book pretending to be by some of Jesus’ disciples and it was speaking against Paul. …..

Doubts Aloud Links:
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