Before There Was a Bible: Authorities in Early Christianity

by Lee Martin McDonald

Publisher:

T&T Clark

, 2023

Overview

How did authority function before the bible as we know it emerged? Lee Martin McDonald examines the authorities that existed from the Church’s beginning: the appeal to the texts containing the words of Jesus, and that would become the New Testament, the not yet finalized Hebrew Scriptures (referred to mostly in Greek) and the apostolic leadership of the churches.

McDonald traces several sacred core traditions that broadly identified the essence of Christianity before there was a bible summarized in early creeds, hymns and spiritual songs, baptismal and Eucharistic affirmations, and in lectionaries and catalogues from the fourth century and following. McDonald shoes how those traditions were included in the early Christian writings later recognized as the New Testament. He also shows how Christians were never fully agreed on the scope of their Old Testament canon (Hebrew scriptures) and that it took centuries before there was universal acceptance of all of the books now included in the Christian bible. Further, McDonald shows that whilst writings such as the canonical gospels were read as authoritative texts likely from their beginning, they were not yet called or cited as scripture. What was cited in an authoritative manner were the words of Jesus in those texts, alongside the multiple affirmations and creeds that were circulated in the early Church and formed its key authorities and core sacred traditions.

Key Features

• Examines the authorities that existed from the Church’s beginning.
• Traces several sacred core traditions that broadly identified the essence of Christianity.
• Shoes how those traditions were included in the early Christian writings later recognized as the New Testament.

Contents

• Introduction
• 1. Judaism and Early Christianity
• 2. Primary Authorities in Early Christianity
• 3. Other Essential Authorities: Tradition, Creeds, Hymns
• 4. Major Challenges for the Early Christians: Persecution and Heresy
• 5. The Church’s Scriptures and Biblical Canons
• 6. The Biblical Manuscripts and their Texts
• 7. Additional Ancient Artifacts: The Codex, Nomina Sacra, Translations, Councils
• 8. Early Christianity and the Apocryphal and Pseudonymous Writings
• 9. Summary and Conclusion
• Bibliography
• Indexes

Praise for Before There Was a Bible

This is a good resource for students and scholars of early Christianity, and anyone interested in the development of creed and canon.

—The Bible Today

A good introduction for anyone interested in starting to explore the world of early Christianity.

—Review of Biblical Literature

Product Details

• Title: Before There Was a Bible: Authorities in Early Christianity
• Author: Lee Martin McDonald
• Publisher: T&T Clark
• Print Publication Date: 2023
• Logos Release Date: 2025
• Pages: 247
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Bible › History; Bible. N.T. › History; Church history › Primitive and early church, ca. 30-600; Church › Authority--History; Authority › Religious aspects--Christianity--History; Christian literature, Early › History and criticism
• ISBNs: 9780567705808, 9780567705822, 0567705803, 056770582X
• Resource ID: LLS:THRWSRLCHRSTNTY
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2025-03-06T15:09:17Z

About Lee Martin McDonald

Lee Martin McDonald is President Emeritus and Professor of New Testament Studies at Acadia Divinity College and past President of the Institute for Biblical Research. He is the author or editor of over thirty books and more than 160 articles and essays and writes extensively on canon formation, including The Canon Debate; The Biblical Canon: Its Origin, Transmission, and Authority; Formation of the Bible: The Story of the Church’s Canon; The Origin of the Bible: A Guide for the Perplexed; and The Story of Jesus in History and Faith: A Introduction. He also coedited with James Charlesworth Jewish and Christian Scriptures: The Function of “Canonical” and “Non-Canonical” Religious Texts and coedited with Joel B. Green The World of the New Testament: Cultural, Social, and Historical Contexts. He has lectured widely in the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Middle East.