Why Catholic Bibles Are Bigger (8 page)

We ought to take a closer look at Melito’s list, as well,
before moving on. A moment’s reflection reveals that it does not line up with
the Protestant canon at all. It omits the books of Lamentations, Nehemiah, and
Esther—and includes the Book of Wisdom.
[106]
Even if Lamentations and Nehemiah are
present, as some have argued, under the other titles broadly defined, the
omission of Esther remains unaccountable. We do know that there were disputes
among rabbis in this era concerning Esther’s inspired status.
[107]
Melito’s list,
therefore, is not identical to the Protestant canon.

Athenagoras (ca. 133–190)

Very little is known about Athenagoras. He was an Athenian
philosopher who had converted to Christianity around the first half of the second
century. Like the other second century apologists, Athenagoras quotes Scripture
infrequently, since his only surviving works—
The
Plea for Christians
and
a
Treatise on the Resurrection
—were addressed to pagan audiences. He
does, however, quote the Book of Baruch at one point, and in a noteworthy
fashion:

If we satisfied ourselves with advancing such
considerations as these, our doctrines might by some be looked upon as human.
But, since the voices of the prophets confirm our arguments–for I think that you
also, with your great zeal for knowledge, and your great attainments in
learning, cannot be ignorant of the writings either of
Moses or of
Isaiah and Jeremiah, and the other prophets, who, lifted in ecstasy above the
natural operations of their minds by the impulses of the Divine Spirit, uttered
the things with which they were inspired, the Spirit making use of them as a
flute-player breathes into a flute;–what, then, do these men say? ‘The LORD is
our God; no other can be compared with Him.
’ And again: ‘I am God, the first
and the last, and besides Me there is no God.’ In like manner: ‘Before Me there
was no other God, and after Me there shall be none; I am God, and there is none
besides Me.’ And as to His greatness: ‘Heaven is My throne, and the earth is
the footstool of My feet: what house will ye build for Me, or what is the place
of My rest?’ But I leave it to you, when you meet with the books themselves, to
examine carefully the prophecies contained in them, that you may on fitting
grounds defend us from the abuse cast upon us.
[108]

This early description of the inspiration of Scripture
includes—right along with Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the other prophets—a
passage from Baruch 3:36. The quotation is given, then followed up immediately
by additional quotes from Isaiah. There is no indication that Athenagoras
recognized any differentiation between the authority of the Baruch and that of
the other texts.
[109]

Irenaeus of Lyons (ca. 115–190)

Irenaeus was born in Proconsular Asia and converted to
Christianity during the first half of the second century. We know from an
autobiographical passage in his writings that he was, as a young man, a hearer
of Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, a disciple of the Apostle John himself. Irenaeus
became a priest in the city of Lyon and later, upon the martyrdom of his
predecessor, the bishop of the city. Irenaeus’ is somewhat unique in that he
provides eyewitness testimony regarding the condition of the second century
church in both the Eastern and Western parts of the Empire. His life straddles
the watershed period from the end of the Apostolic Fathers (via his
acquaintance with Polycarp) right up to the turn of the third century.

Irenaeus’ writings indicate clearly that he accepted the
Deuterocanon as Scripture. The books of Wisdom, Baruch, and the
Deuterocanonical portions of Daniel are freely cited as Scripture.
[110]
For example, he
unambiguously attributes the section known as “Bel and the Dragon” to “Daniel
the Prophet.”
[111]
The
story of Susanna he also credits to Daniel.
[112]
Twice, Irenaeus quotes sayings he attributes
to the prophet Jeremiah—which are actually passages from Baruch.
[113]
(Baruch was
Jeremiah’s secretary, an association so close that many early writers
considered the two books to be essentially one.
[114]
) In other words, Irenaeus undoubtedly
considered the book of Baruch to be an authentic conduit of Jeremiah’s
prophecies.
[115]
And
as the early Church’s great expert on Gnosticism, Irenaeus also provides
evidence for acceptance of the Deuteros even among the early splinter groups;
he records that Gnostic Ophites and Sethians included the book of Tobit among
the writings of the Prophets.
[116]

The Muratorian Fragment (ca. AD 155)

L. A. Muratori discovered this famous fragment in 1740; a
somewhat mysterious scrap of second century writing that could very well be the
oldest surviving list of New Testament books.
[117]
And even though the
Muratorian Fragment
never addresses the subject of the Old Testament at all, we must include a
discussion of it here—if only because it includes, among the books of its
recommended New Testament, the Old Testament Book of Wisdom!  The fragment
reads, in part:

[New Testament books....] The Epistle of Jude, indeed,
and two belonging to the above-named John—or bearing the name of John—are
reckoned among the Catholic Epistles. And the book of Wisdom, written by the
friends of Solomon in his honour.

Somehow—no one knows quite how—the Old Testament book of
Wisdom made its way into this fragment as a part of somebody’s New Testament.
It may be that the relatively recent date of its composition (as late as 40 BC,
according to some scholars) led to the error. Alternately, the well-known prophecies
of the “Son of God” in chapter two (combined with an awareness that the Jews
had already rejected the book) led it to be identified so closely with
Christianity.
[118]
Again,
no one knows for sure, since the evidence is too (if you will forgive the pun)
fragmentary.

The Catacombs (early second century–third century)

Christian art dates back to the beginning. Tombs of the earliest
Christians were adorned with biblical images drawn from the Old and New
Testaments including the Deuterocanon. Although fewer in number, the images
from the Deuterocanon are also present among the works some dating as far back
as the early second century. The earliest themes are drawn from Susannah, 
Bel and the Dragon and Tobit.
[119]

Tertullian of Carthage (155–250)

Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, better known as
Tertullian, was born around AD 160 to the family of a Roman Centurion. He grew
up in Rome and later became involved in the Roman legal system, either as a
lawyer or as someone schooled in the ways of the court. Tertullian converted to
Christianity near the end of the second century and became an ardent apologist,
writing numerous defenses of the Christian Faith. Sadly, his career as a
defender of the Faith was short-lived; brilliant as he was, he was also a
hot-headed perfectionist, impatient with human frailty. By the end of AD 210 or
so, Tertullian had abandoned the Catholic Church for a heretical group called
the Montanists. This early, “quasi-Charismatic” sect believed that the work of
the Apostles had largely come to nothing and looked for a fuller, more complete
revelation through their latter-day “prophet” Montanus and two of his female
adepts. Among their more spectacular departures from orthodoxy: a belief that
the New Jerusalem would soon descend out of the heavens and come to rest
somewhere in the vicinity of Phrygia. Needless to say, they were wrong. Because
of Tertullian’s departure from orthodoxy, his writings are generally divided
into three distinct periods: Catholic, semi-Montanist, and Montanist.
[120]

Catholics and Protestants both agree that Tertullian
accepted the Deuterocanon as inspired Scripture; there is really no doubt about
the matter.

Like Clement of Rome before him, who offered both Judith and
Esther as examples of grace at work in godly women, Tertullian offers both
Rebecca and Susanna.
[121]
The book of Baruch and the Deuterocanonical portions of Daniel are undoubtedly
treated as authentic continuations of Jeremiah and the Protocanonical Daniel.
[122]
The Book of Wisdom
Tertullian attributes to Solomon.
[123]
In his book
Concerning the Soul (1:6),
Tertullian
refers to the book of Wisdom as one of “our Christian authorities” and affirms
that its precepts were “taught by God.”  He makes no distinction between
his quotations from the Book of Wisdom and those from the Protocanonical books.
[124]
Elsewhere, in an
apologetic against the Jews, Tertullian extols the zeal of Joshua and the
Maccabees without distinction or qualification, suggesting that he saw them
both as figures in the same inspired history.
[125]
In
Against Hermogenes
, Tertullian
explicitly identifies 2 Maccabees 7:28 as “Scripture;”
[126]
in another book he does the same for the
Book of Sirach.
[127]
In fact, Tertullian references every book in the Deuterocanon at least
once—except for Tobit, but it is likely that he accepted it as well.
[128]

Some apologists argue that Tertullian, like Irenaeus,
blindly followed the Septuagint. This is demonstrably false—not least because
Tertullian also appears to have accepted the Book of Enoch as Scripture, a work
never included in the Septuagint or the
Old Latin Bible
(an early
translation of the Septuagint). Tertullian’s odd acceptance of the book of
Enoch does not, however, weaken his status as a witness in favor of the
Deuterocanon. Why not? Because he can be shown to have anticipated criticism
over it; indeed, in one passage Tertullian mounts a (rather weak) defense for
his acceptance of Enoch.
[129]
By contrast, this great but sadly flawed master of early Latin theology
presents his Deuterocanonical sources without apology, distinction, or
qualification—expecting no censure for doing so.

Hippolytus of Rome (170–235)

Hippolytus was a presbyter in Rome at the beginning of the
third century. His unorthodox Christology sparked a conflict between himself
and Pope Zephyrinus (198–217) along with a majority of the priests in Rome.
After the Pope’s death, Callistus, who played a role in Hippolytus/Zephyrinus
conflict, succeeded to the chair of Peter. After Hippolytus separated from the Church,
his followers elected him pope (more accurately, elected him as anti-pope since
this was an illicit election). Hippolytus’ reign as anti-pope lasted through
the pontificates of Callistus (217–22) and Urban (222–30). It was not until the
reign of Pope Pontian (230–35) that Hippolytus was reconciled with the Church,
while he was in exile in Sardinia.

In his
Commentary on the Book of Daniel,
Hippolytus
unquestionably accepts the Deuterocanonical portions of that book as authentic
continuations of the scriptural narrative. Susanna he presents as a model for
Christian imitation.
[130]
Hippolytus can also be shown to have used Deuterocanonical sources to establish
doctrine; he appeals to passages from Susanna and Tobit as proofs that God
immediately hears our prayers.
[131]
Hippolytus makes no distinction between Protocanonical and
Deuterocanonical books, often quoting from both groups without qualification or
distinction.
[132]
In
his treatise
Against Noetus,
he explicitly refers to the book of Baruch
as “Scripture.”
[133]

Hippolytus cites 1 Maccabees 2:33 as the fulfillment of a
prophesy given by Daniel.
[134]
In his book,
Against the Jews,
he states twice that the book of Wisdom
contains a prophecy about Christ.
[135]
His use of Wisdom in a polemic against Jews may demonstrate
that Hippolytus was either unaware that the Jews did not accept this book, or
felt that the substance of the quote was so strong that he was compelled to
include it, even though the appeal was likely to fall on deaf ears. Regardless
of his motives, Hippolytus makes no distinction or qualification between the
Wisdom quote and the Protocanonical quotations that surrounded this passage.
[136]
In conclusion,
Hippolytus uses the Deuterocanonical works as authentic portions of Scripture,
just as profitable for the confirming of doctrine as any other Old Testament
book.
[137]

Clement of Alexandria (150–216)

Titus Flavius Clemens was a native of Athens who traveled
widely as a philosopher. He converted to Christianity, believing it superior to
pagan philosophy. While in Alexandria, he met a man named Pantaenus who so
impressed him that Clement became his pupil. He studied and taught at the famed
catechetical school of Alexandria until the persecution of AD 202 and died in
Cappadocia around the year AD 216. Like Irenaeus, Clement was only one
generation removed from the Apostles, receiving, as he wrote, “the shadow and
outline of what he had heard from men…who persevered the true tradition of the
blessed John and Paul…the holy Apostles, from father to son, even to [his]
time…”
[138]

Clement, in his writings, affirms in the strongest possible
language the inspiration and scriptural status of the Deuterocanon. Baruch he
understood as the words of the prophet Jeremiah.
[139]
  He refers to it plainly as “Divine
Scripture.”
[140]
Clement also quotes the book of Sirach and calls it Scripture five times.
[141]
The book of Wisdom
Clement lauds as “the Divine Wisdom.”
[142]
Tobit is also quoted as Scripture in
Stromata
2.23.
[143]
There is simply no
dispute; this tremendous apologist, so close in time to the Apostles
themselves,  honored the Deuterocanon as the inspired Word of God. He
quotes nearly every Deuterocanonical book at one time or another and calls them
“Scripture” in so many words.
[144]