Luther's canon

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Luther's 1534 Bible

Luther's canon is the biblical canon attributed to Martin Luther, which has influenced Protestants since the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. While the Lutheran Confessions specifically did not define a biblical canon, it is widely regarded as the canon of the Lutheran Church. It differs from the 1546 Roman Catholic canon of the Council of Trent in that it rejects the deuterocanonical books and questions the seven New Testament books, called "Luther's Antilegomena", [1] four of which are still ordered last in German-language Luther Bibles to this day. [2] [3]

Contents

Despite Luther's personal commentary on certain books of the Bible, the actual books included in the Luther Bible that came to be used by the Lutheran Churches do not differ greatly from those in the Catholic Bible, though the Luther Bible places what Catholics view as the deuterocanonical books in an intertestamental section, between the Old Testament and New Testament, terming these as Apocrypha. [4] [5] [6] The books of the Apocrypha, in the Lutheran tradition, are non-canonical, but "worthy of reverence," thus being included in Lutheran lectionaries used during the Divine Service; the Luther Bible is widely used by Anabaptist Christians, such as the Amish, as well. [7] [8]

Old Testament apocrypha

Luther included the deuterocanonical books in his translation of the German Bible, but he did relocate them to after the Old Testament, calling them "Apocrypha, that are books which are not considered equal to the Holy Scriptures, but are useful and good to read." [9]

New Testament "disputed books": Hebrews, James, Jude, and Revelation

In the 4th century the Council of Rome had outlined the 27 New Testament books which now appear in the Catholic canon. [10]

Luther considered Hebrews, James, Jude, and the Revelation to be "disputed books", which he included in his translation but placed separately at the end in his New Testament published in 1522; these books needed to be interpreted subject to the undisputed books, which are called the "canon within a canon." [11] This group of books begins with the book of Hebrews, and in its preface Luther states, "Up to this point we have had to do with the true and certain chief books of the New Testament. The four which follow have from ancient times had a different reputation."

According to some scholars such as Johann Michael Reu, but controversial, [11] Luther did not personally regard these books as canonical: [12] in the September Testament he included them but did not add numbers to them, and in the 1534 Bible he treated them the same as the Old Testament Aprocrypha. In the Preface to James of the 1522 September Testament, Luther explicitly stated it was not "apostolic" (which for Luther did not mean being written by the Apostles, but "whatever preaches Christ"): [12] : 28 

"I think highly of the epistle of James, and regard it as valuable although it was rejected in early days. It does not expound human doctrines, but lays much emphasis on God's law. […] I do not hold it to be of apostolic authorship." [13]

Luther goes on to say that it contradicts St Paul and cannot be defended: it teaches "works-righteousness" and does not mention "the Passion, the Resurrection or the Spirit of Christ."

In Luther's preface to the New Testament, Luther ascribed to several books of the New Testament different degrees of doctrinal value:

St. John's Gospel and his first Epistle, St. Paul's Epistles, especially those to the Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, and St. Peter's Epistle—these are the books which show to thee Christ, and teach everything that is necessary and blessed for thee to know, even if you were never to see or hear any other book of doctrine. Therefore, St. James' Epistle is a perfect straw-epistle compared with them, for it has in it nothing of an evangelic kind." [14]

However, in the view of theologianCharles Caldwell Ryrie Luther was comparing (in his opinion) doctrinal value, not canonical validity. [15]

Luther's private antipathy to James continued into the 1530s and 1940s: he added a note to James 2:12 "O this chaos"; [12] : 26  in 1540 "Some day I will use James to fire my stove;" [17] in 1542 "The Epistle of James we have thrown out from this school (Wittenberg) because it has no value...I hold it is written by some Jew" (not a Christian.) [19]

Theologian Jason Lane has noted "the general perception that Luther could not understand James because the letter failed to fit his conception of Pauline theology." [11]

In response to doubts such as Luther's, the Catholic Church's Council of Trent on April 8, 1546 dogmatically defined the contents of the biblical canon and thus settled the matter for Catholics. [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] This affirmed the canonicity of Hebrews, James, Jude and Revelation, as well as various Deuterocanonical books of the Old Testament.

Sola fide doctrine

In The Protestant Spirit of Luther’s Version, Philip Schaff asserts that:

The most important example of dogmatic influence in Luther’s version is the famous interpolation of the word alone in Rom. 3:28 (allein durch den Glauben), by which he intended to emphasize his solifidian doctrine of justification, on the plea that the German idiom required the insertion for the sake of clearness. But he thereby brought Paul into direct verbal conflict with James, who says (James 2:24), "by works a man is justified, and not only by faith" ("nicht durch den Glauben allein"). It is well known that Luther deemed it impossible to harmonize the two apostles in this article, and characterized the Epistle of James as an "epistle of straw," because it had no evangelical character ("keine evangelische Art"). [26]

Martin Luther's description of the Epistle of James changes. In some cases, Luther argues that it was not written by an apostle; but in other cases, he describes James as the work of an apostle. [27] [ verification needed ] He even cites it as authoritative teaching from God [28] and describes James as "a good book, because it sets up no doctrines of men but vigorously promulgates the law of God." [29] Lutherans hold that the Epistle is rightly part of the New Testament, citing its authority in the Book of Concord. [30]

Lutheran teachings resolve James' and Paul's verbal conflict regarding faith and works in alternate ways from the Catholics and E. Orthodox:

Paul was dealing with one kind of error while James was dealing with a different error. The errorists Paul was dealing with were people who said that works of the law were needed to be added to faith in order to help earn God's favor. Paul countered this error by pointing out that salvation was by faith alone apart from deeds of the law (Galatians 2:16; Romans 3:21-22). Paul also taught that saving faith is not dead but alive, showing thanks to God in deeds of love (Galatians 5:6 ['...since in Christ Jesus it is not being circumcised or being uncircumcised that can effect anything - only faith working through love.']). James was dealing with errorists who said that if they had faith they didn't need to show love by a life of faith (James 2:14-17). James countered this error by teaching that faith is alive, showing itself to be so by deeds of love (James 2:18,26). James and Paul both teach that salvation is by faith alone and also that faith is never alone but shows itself to be alive by deeds of love that express a believer's thanks to God for the free gift of salvation by faith in Jesus. [31]

Similar canons at the time

In his book Canon of the New Testament, Bruce Metzger notes that in 1596 Jacob Lucius published a Bible at Hamburg which labeled as Apocrypha Luther's four Antilegomena: Hebrews, James, Jude and Revelation; Lucius explained this category of "Apocrypha" as "That is, books that are not held equal to the other holy Scripture". David Wolder, the pastor of Hamburg's Church of St. Peter, published in the same year a triglot Bible which labeled those books as "non canonical". J. Vogt published a Bible at Goslar in 1614 similar to Lucius'. In Sweden, Gustavus Adolphus published in 1618 the Gustavus Adolphus Bible with those four books labeled as "Apocr(yphal) New Testament." Metzger considers those decisions a "startling deviation among Lutheran editions of the Scriptures". [32]

Usage among Nonconformist Protestants

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apocrypha</span> Works of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin

Apocrypha are biblical or related writings not forming part of the accepted canon of Scripture. While some might be of doubtful authorship or authenticity, in Christianity, the word apocryphal (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were to be read privately rather than in the public context of church services. Apocrypha were edifying Christian works that were not considered canonical scripture. It was not until well after the Protestant Reformation that the word apocrypha was used by some ecclesiastics to mean "false," "spurious," "bad," or "heretical."

The deuterocanonical books, meaning "Of, pertaining to, or constituting a second canon," collectively known as the Deuterocanon (DC), are certain books and passages considered to be canonical books of the Old Testament by the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Assyrian Church of the East, but which modern Jews and Protestants regard as apocrypha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Epistle of James</span> Book of the New Testament

The Epistle of James is a general epistle and one of the 21 epistles in the New Testament. It was written originally in Koine Greek.

The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events relating to first-century Christianity. The New Testament's background, the first division of the Christian Bible, is called the Old Testament, which is based primarily upon the Hebrew Bible; together they are regarded as Sacred Scripture by Christians.

Sola scriptura is a Christian theological doctrine held by most Protestant Christian denominations, in particular the Lutheran and Reformed traditions, that posits the Bible as the sole infallible source of authority for Christian faith and practice. The Catholic Church considers it heterodox and generally the Orthodox churches consider it to be contrary to the phronema of the Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Revised Standard Version</span> English translation of the Bible

The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) is a translation of the Bible in contemporary English. Published in 1989 by the National Council of Churches, the NRSV was created by an ecumenical committee of scholars "comprising about thirty members". The NRSV relies on recently published critical editions of the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. A major revision, the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVue), was released in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pseudepigrapha</span> Falsely attributed works

Pseudepigrapha are falsely attributed works, texts whose claimed author is not the true author, or a work whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past. The name of the author to whom the work is falsely attributed is often prefixed with the particle "pseudo-", such as for example "pseudo-Aristotle" or "pseudo-Dionysius": these terms refer to the anonymous authors of works falsely attributed to Aristotle and Dionysius the Areopagite, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Testament apocrypha</span> Writings by early Christians, not included in the Biblical Canon

The New Testament apocrypha are a number of writings by early Christians that give accounts of Jesus and his teachings, the nature of God, or the teachings of his apostles and of their lives. Some of these writings were cited as scripture by early Christians, but since the fifth century a widespread consensus has emerged limiting the New Testament to the 27 books of the modern canon. Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant churches generally do not view the New Testament apocrypha as part of the Bible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Third Epistle to the Corinthians</span> Apocryphal New Testament text

The Third Epistle to the Corinthians is an early Christian text written by an unknown author claiming to be Paul the Apostle. It is also found in the Acts of Paul, and was framed as Paul's response to a letter of the Corinthians to Paul. The earliest extant copy is Papyrus Bodmer X, dating to the third century. Originally written in Koine Greek, the letter survives in Greek, Coptic, Latin, and Armenian manuscripts.

Antilegomena are written texts whose authenticity or value is disputed. Eusebius in his Church History used the term for those Christian scriptures that were "disputed", literally "spoken against", in Early Christianity before the closure of the New Testament canon.

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The biblical apocrypha denotes the collection of apocryphal ancient books thought to have been written some time between 200 BC and AD 100.

The Synod of Hippo refers to the synod of 393 which was hosted in Hippo Regius in northern Africa during the early Christian Church. Additional synods were held in 394, 397, 401 and 426. Some were attended by Augustine of Hippo.

The doctrine of the Trinity, considered the core of Christian theology by Trinitarians, is the result of continuous exploration by the church of the biblical data, thrashed out in debate and treatises, eventually formulated at the First Council of Nicaea in AD 325 in a way they believe is consistent with the biblical witness, and further refined in later councils and writings. The most widely recognized Biblical foundations for the doctrine's formulation are in the Gospel of John, which possess ideas reflected in Platonism and Greek philosophy.

The Old Testament is the first section of the two-part Christian biblical canon; the second section is the New Testament. The Old Testament includes the books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) or protocanon, and in various Christian denominations also includes deuterocanonical books. Orthodox Christians, Catholics and Protestants use different canons, which differ with respect to the texts that are included in the Old Testament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catholic Bible</span> Catholic Church canon of Bible books

The term Catholic Bible can be understood in two ways. More generally, it can refer to a Christian Bible that includes the whole 73-book canon recognized by the Catholic Church, including some of the deuterocanonical books of the Old Testament which are in the Greek Septuagint collection, but which are not present in the Hebrew Masoretic Text collection. More specifically, the term can refer to a version or translation of the Bible which is published with the Catholic Church's approval, in accordance with Catholic canon law.

The Canon of Trent is the list of books officially considered canonical at the Roman Catholic Council of Trent. A decree, the De Canonicis Scripturis, from the Council's fourth session, issued an anathema on dissenters of the books affirmed in Trent. The Council confirmed an identical list already locally approved in 1442 by the Council of Florence, which had existed in the earliest canonical lists from the synods of Carthage and Rome in the fourth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Authorship of the Epistle to the Hebrews</span> Question in biblical authorship

The Epistle to the Hebrews of the Christian Bible is one of the New Testament books whose canonicity was disputed. Traditionally, Paul the Apostle was thought to be the author. However, since the third century this has been questioned, and the consensus among most modern scholars is that the author is unknown.

A biblical canon is a set of texts which a particular Jewish or Christian religious community regards as part of the Bible.

The canon of the New Testament is the set of books many modern Christians regard as divinely inspired and constituting the New Testament of the Christian Bible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protestant Bible</span> Christian Bible whose translation or revision was produced by Protestants

A Protestant Bible is a Christian Bible whose translation or revision was produced by Protestant Christians. Typically translated into a vernacular language, such Bibles comprise 39 books of the Old Testament and 27 books of the New Testament, for a total of 66 books. Some Protestants use Bibles which also include 14 additional books in a section known as the Apocrypha bringing the total to 80 books. This is in contrast with the 73 books of the Catholic Bible, which includes seven deuterocanonical books as a part of the Old Testament. The division between protocanonical and deuterocanonical books is not accepted by all Protestants who simply view books as being canonical or not and therefore classify books found in the Deuterocanon, along with other books, as part of the Apocrypha. Sometimes the term "Protestant Bible" is simply used as a shorthand for a bible which contains only the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments.

References

  1. ↑ "Luther's Antilegomena". www.bible-researcher.com. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
  2. ↑ "Gedruckte Ausgaben der Lutherbibel von 1545". Archived from the original on 2001-05-14. note order: …Hebräer, Jakobus, Judas, Offenbarung
  3. ↑ "German Bible Versions".
  4. ↑ Hiers, Richard H. (1 October 2001). The Trinity Guide to the Bible. A&C Black. p. 148. ISBN   978-1-56338-340-3.
  5. ↑ Kurian, George Thomas; Lamport, Mark A. (10 November 2016). Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 264. ISBN   978-1-4422-4432-0. Luther's Bible included the Apocrypha and Anglicans use Bibles that (typically) include the Apocrypha but it is considered worthy of reverence but not equal in authority to canonical scripture.
  6. ↑ The Popular and Critical Bible Encyclopædia and Scriptural Dictionary, Fully Defining and Explaining All Religious Terms, Including Biographical, Geographical, Historical, Archæological and Doctrinal Themes , p. 521, edited by Samuel Fallows et al., The Howard-Severance company, 1901, 1910.
  7. ↑ Readings from the Apocrypha. Forward Movement Publications. 1981. p. 5.
  8. ↑ Wesner, Erik J. "The Bible". Amish America. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  9. ↑ Kitto, John (Editor), (1845). A Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature, Vol 1, (p556). Mark H Newman, NY
  10. ↑ Jurgens, W.A., ed. (1970). "The Decree of Damasus [A.D. 382] - 910.t". The Faith of the Early Fathers: Pre-Nicene and Nicene eras. Vol. 1. Liturgical Press. p. 406. ISBN   978-0-8146-0432-8.
  11. 1 2 3 Lane, Jason D. (19 January 2016). "Luther's Criticism of James as a Key to his Biblical Hermeneutic". Auslegung und Hermeneutik der Bibel in der Reformationszeit. doi:10.1515/9783110467925-006.
  12. 1 2 3 Reu, Johann Michael (1944). [www.ctsfw.net/media/pdfs/lutherandthescripturesjames.pdf "Luther and the Scriptures"] (PDF). The Springfielder. XXIV (2).{{cite journal}}: Check |url= value (help)
  13. ↑ Martin Luther, as quoted by William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible. The Letters of James and Peter (1976), revised edition, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, p. 7.
  14. ↑ "Vorrhede". Das Newe Testament Deutzsch. Translated by Luther, Martin. Wittenberg: Wikisource. 1522.
  15. ↑ Ryrie, Charles Caldwell. Basic Theology.
  16. ↑ Graf, Klaus (15 February 2016). "Sprichwörtliches: Buck dich, Jägglin". Archivalia (in German).
  17. ↑ "German: Ich werde ein mal mit dem Jekel den offen hitzen" Weimarer Ausgabe. Tischreden Bd. 5 (1912), S. 382 (IA) apud [16]
  18. ↑ Martin Luther, Philipp Melanchthon (1892). Tischreden Luthers und Aussprüche Melanthons: Hauptsächlich nach ... (in German). F. A. Perthes.
  19. ↑ Latin: Epistolam Jacobi ejidemus ex hac schola; German: den sie soll nichts...Ich halt, das sie irgendt ein Jude gemacht hatt... [18] : 296 
  20. ↑ "The Canon". New Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Publishing. 2003. pp. 20, 26.
  21. ↑ Reid, George (1908). Canon of the Old Testament. Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Co. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  22. ↑ Reid, George (1908). Canon of the New Testament. Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Co. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  23. ↑ Gamble, Harry (2002). The Canon Debate. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers. p. 291.
  24. ↑ Lienhard, Joseph (1995). The Bible, the Church, and Authority. Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press. p. 59.
  25. ↑ Edmon, L. Gallagher (2017). "1. The Development of the Christian Biblical Canon". The Biblical Canon Lists from Early Christianity: Texts and Analysis. U.K.: Oxford University Press. p. 1. ISBN   9780192511027.
  26. ↑ "History of the Christian Church, book 7, chapter 4".
  27. ↑ Die deutsche Bibel 41:578-90
  28. ↑ Luther's Large Catechism , IV 122-24
  29. ↑ Luther's Works (American Edition) 35:395
  30. ↑ The Lutheran Study Bible. Concordia Publishing House, 2009, p2132
  31. ↑ "Faith and Works". WELS Topical Q&A. Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Archived from the original on 2013-12-20. Retrieved 30 Sep 2015.
  32. ↑ Metzger, Bruce M. (1989) [1987]. "X. Attempts at Closing the Canon in the West". The Canon of the New Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press. pp. 244–245. ISBN   0-19-826180-2.
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