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Eyewitnesses

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   Thank you, everyone, for the comments...I think the following verses will be instructive, too:

2 Peter 1:16 For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory:"This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."18 And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. 19 And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, a which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; 20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, a 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God a spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

    I value the written testimony of the "eyewitnesses," and recall that the early church often addressed how to react to alternative viewpoints [even so soon after Jesus' death and resurrection] as we see here in Peter's comments.

Comments

mtspace said…
Yes, this is a perfect example of a passage that supports institutional orthodoxy. It attempts to argue that the authority of the Church arises from an external divine being, not from the cunning minds of people interested in building an institution. Perhaps Peter believed what he was saying. But the important thing is that the passage serves the needs of building a durable institution with authority.

I would love to see some passages from "alternative gospels," My bet is that gospels that were not canonized shared one important quality: they did not serve to bolster the divine authority of the institution. I'd be interested to know what other qualities they share.
February 13, 2011 at 1:39 PM
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