Epistle of Barnabas

1. Epistle of Barnabas Institute of Catholic Culture April 6, 2014 Prof. Eric J. Jenislawski, Christendom College

2. The Epistle of Barnabas • What is Apocrypha? • Background of Barnabas • Date of Composition • Authorship • Genre • Overview of Barnabas • The Symbolism of the OT Covenant • Excessively Negative view of Jewish Observances • The “Two Ways”: Moral Instruction

3. I. What is Apocrypha? • Early Christian writing concerning the Good News, what Christ has revealed. • Judged by the Church to be notdivinely inspired. • Thus, often similar in tone and theme to Biblical writing, but without its inspired character.

4. I. What is Apocrypha? These books are called “apocrypha” (literally, hidden works) because they were not as well known as the biblical books. The Bible is the most published book in the world. Even as the canonical books of the New Testament were emerging, the apocrypha were, generally speaking, not as prominent as the books of the NT.

5. I. What is Apocrypha? A thumbnail sketch of canon formation: • The canonical books of the NT written during the mid- to late- first century AD. • Copied and shared among the early churches. This process took time! • Other Christian writing was emerging at the same time: some good, some not-so-good, some positively contrary to the Gospel.

6. I. What is Apocrypha? • The Liturgy was an engine of canonical development: what books could be read at Mass? • Already in the second century, we have record that bishops were including apostolic writings in the early Christian liturgy, side-by-side with the writings of the Law (Moses) and the Prophets, the divinely inspired books of the OT.

7. St. Justin Martyr, First ApologyChapter 67: Written circa 155-157 A.D. And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons.

8. I. What is Apocrypha? • Thus the question “Can it be read at Mass?” was the way the divinely-inspired character of a book was assessed. • In other words, is this book “on par” with the already-accepted OT books of the Bible?

9. I. What is Apocrypha? • In the second century, no centralized Church action governed either the circulation of texts, or the appraisal of their worth. • Individual bishops determined the practice of their local churches. • The Magisterium of the Successors of the Apostles determined what was appropriate.

10. I. What is Apocrypha? • When bishops could not share texts, they at least shared opinions about known works: “canonical lists.” • An early example: The Muratorian Fragment (Rome, 170s). • Divides known books into three categories: • Fit to be read at Mass (divinely inspired) • Useful for Christians but not inspired • Harmful: heretical, erroneous, forgeries, etc.

12. I. What is Apocrypha? • The great increase of Christian writing in the second, third and fourth century prompts the need for more universal agreement about what are the divinely inspired books of the New Testament. • Not only an explosion of Christian literature, but a welter of heretical works, including forgeries written in the name of apostles to support them.

13. Some Apocryphal Gospels Gospel of Thomas Gospel of Peter Gospel of Hebrews Gospel of Nicodemus (Acts of Pilate and Descent to Hades) Proto-evangelium of James Infancy Gospel of Thomas Some Apocryphal Apocalypses Apocalypse of Peter Ascension of Isaiah Apocalypse of Thomas Apocalypse of Paul Apocalypse of the Blessed Virgin Mary Seventh Vision of Enoch I. What is Apocrypha?

14. I. What is Apocrypha? Other apocryphal works included: • Various “Acts” • Dozens of Epistles • Various “Sayings” purported to be from Our Lord, post-resurrection teachings, or “secret” Gospels claiming to elucidate Jesus’ teaching for the intellectual elites.

15. I. What is Apocrypha? • Origen of Alexandria first attempts to ascertain the mind of the episcopacy regarding what books the world’s bishops: • Universally Accept • Dispute • Universally Reject

16. I. What is Apocrypha? • Eusebius (4th century) further refines the census of episcopal opinion. • Our 27-book NT can be seen in those books: • Universally accepted by the bishops • Accepted by most bishops • Prominent bishops confirmed this teaching multiple times to their regions: • Pope St. Damasus I (Synod of Rome, 382) • St. Athanasius (Epistola Festalis, 367) • St. Augustine (Synods of Hippo & Carthage, 390s) • Pope St. Innocent I (Letter to Exuperius, 405)

17. I. What is Apocrypha? • The canon was therefore a settled matter by the fifth century A.D. (Also defined at Trent, 1546.) • The canon was settled by episcopal magisterium. • You can’t be sola scriptura without a scriptura! And you wouldn’t have a scriptura without the first four centuries of the Church believing in the definitive teaching authority of the bishops of the Catholic Church! • Scripture, Tradition and Magisterium have always gone hand-in-hand. (Likewise Scripture and Liturgy.) • For more info, see my other ICC presentations.

18. I. What is Apocrypha? In summary, the Apocrypha: • Are not divinely inspired; thus, not inerrant. • Span a wide range of quality: • Could be morally useful • Could be historical insightful • Could be positively heretical • Provide an interesting insight into the teachings circulating in the early Church • Must be approached critically, like any ancient text.

19. II. Background of Barnabas The scarcity of information about Barnabas (and the abundance of speculation about it), provide a good example of the challenges of working with NT apocrypha!

20. II. Background of Barnabas Basic Questions: • Who wrote Barnabas? • When did he write? • To whom did he write? • Why did he write?

21. II. Background of Barnabas Internal evidence is scarce. The text provides: • No Identification of Author • No Identification of Audience • Only a few clues relating to its date

22. II. Background of Barnabas External evidence is also relatively scarce: • Widely known in & around Alexandra from the second century • A frequently-mentioned book in the appraisal of bishops of the third and fourth century • Never received by all; indeed, disputed by most bishops. • Yet not universally rejected. Some churches viewed it as helpful non-inspired literature.

23. II.A. Date of Composition Our best internal evidence: Barnabas 16:3-4: On the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem: 3. Furthermore he says again, "Lo, they who destroyed this temple shall themselves build it." 4. That is happening now. For owing to the war it was destroyed by the enemy; at present even the servants of the enemy will build it up again.

24. II.A. Date of Composition Most scholars interpret this as a reference to the Roman Emperor Hadrian. • After Rome destroyed the Temple in 70 A.D., Hadrian had a mind to rebuild it. • Visited Jerusalem in 130 A.D. • Permitted the rebuilding of the city.

25. II.A. Date of Composition Great hope attended the news that the Temple would be rebuilt. But the Emperor seemed to fear a restoration of the Temple to YHWH would be a cause of sedition. He announced a pagan name for the rebuilt city (Aelia Capitolina, after Jupiter Capitolinus), directed that an altar to Jupiter be built on the Temple ruins, and outlawed circumcision. Desecration of the Temple ruins provoked the massive Bar Kochba rebellion (132-136 A.D.), the final, massive and bloody chapter in the Roman-Jewish wars.

26. II.A. Date of Composition As a result, several scholars date Barnabas to the period after Hadrian’s visit in 130AD, but before the rebellion began in 132 AD. Therefore, a date of composition 130-132 A.D.

27. II.A. Date of Composition Alternative Hypothesis: The Building-up of the Church, the New Temple, amongst the Gentiles. But this is hard to reconcile with the explicit reference to the physical temple in Jerusalem as the same one being rebuilt, and “by the servants of the enemy,” hardly a way to describe the Christian Church: 16:4. That is happening now. For owing to the war it was destroyed by the enemy; at present even the servants of the enemy will build it up again.

28. II.B. Authorship Did the historical St. Barnabas, the companion of St. Paul, write the letter? Some problems: • Chronological • Theological • Second-century usage only in Alexandria

29. II.B. Authorship: St. Barnabas? Dates from the life of St. Barnabas: Introduced St. Paul to the Church in Jerusalem after Paul’s conversion (Acts 9:27) Retrieved Paul from Tarsus (Acts 11:25-26) to the Church at Antioch Traveled with Paul during his first two great missionary journeys (Acts 12-14) Present at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15:12) in 50 A.D.

30. II.B. Authorship: St. Barnabas? Dates from the life of St. Barnabas: Still alive, evangelizing, and working apart from St. Paul when he wrote 1 Corinthians (1 Cor 9:6), circa 56-57. Some interpret Col 4:10 as indicating that Barnabas may have died, as John Mark has taken over Barnabas’ apostolic labors. Colossians written during Paul’s first Roman imprisonment, 61-63 A.D. Some traditions record that Barnabas was martyred in Cyprus in 61 A.D., consonant with this, but the Bollandist Acta Sanctorum relates: “all these traditions are relatively late and unreliable.”

31. II.B. Authorship: St. Barnabas? Dates from the life of St. Barnabas: Nothing indicates that Barnabas was a younger man, like St. John, or that he lived long. Therefore, it is impossible he wrote it, if we accept a date of composition of 130-132 A.D.

32. II.B. Authorship: St. Barnabas? Theological Problems: Best summarized by the Catholic patristics scholar, Johannes Quasten: “Modern research has definitely established that the Apostle Barnabas was not the author of this Letter, because of the decidedly harsh and absolute repudiation of the Old Testament. Because of this pronounced antipathy to everything Jewish, Barnabas cannot possibly come into consideration as the author of the Epistle. A wide chasm…yawns between the teachings of St. Paul, to whom Barnabas was a missionary companion, and the views voiced in the Epistle of Barnabas.” --J. Quasten, Patrology, Vol. 1, page 89.

33. II.B. Authorship: St. Barnabas? Alexandrian Usage: An argument of lesser value: The document was best known and cited around the region of Alexandria, where it was also received by St. Clement and Origen as Scripture. If the historical St. Barnabas had written this as a “Catholic letter,” one might expect wider recognition of it.

34. II.B. Authorship: So Who Wrote It? The best answer: We don’t know.

35. II.B. Authorship: So Who Wrote It? Can we make some guesses? Sure, but that’s all they are. Based on its symbolic interpretation of the OT laws, similar to the Jewish Platonist Philo of Alexandria, most scholars suspect an Alexandrian author of the Second Century A.D. Why is it called “The Epistle of Barnabas?” • The real author’s name was Barnabas. This was later confused with the Apostle Barnabas because of similarity of Pauline themes. • A forgery? Hard to call it that, since it never claims to be from the Apostle Barnabas!

36. II.C. Genre • It’s always called “the Epistle of Barnabas” but it’s not much of an epistle. • Lacks an identification of sender and recipient • Compare: Col 1:1-8, James 1:1-4, 1 Peter 1:1-9 • Lacks a parting salutation • Compare: Col 4:7-18 • Refers to no particular persons • Doesn’t have formal Hellenistic epistolary style

37. II.C. Genre So why is it called “an epistle”? Again, I think Quasten has the best explanation: “Early Christian writers looked upon the epistle as the only proper genre for instruction in piety and resorted to it even when they were not addressing a limited circle of readers.” “Hence its form is merely a literary convention.” -- J. Quasten, Patrology, Vol. 1, page 85.

38. III. Overview of Barnabas • The Symbolism of the OT Covenant • Excessively Negative view of Jewish Observances • The “Two Ways”: Moral Instruction

39. III.A. Symbolic Interpretation of OT Laws and Covenant The Big Picture: The Judaizing controversy Need Gentiles become Jewish first in order to become Christian? No! Cf. Acts 15, the Council of Jerusalem. vs. Pharisee Christians who claimed, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” (Acts 15:1) Yet the error persisted, for which reason St. Paul wrote Romans & Galatians. Irenaeus records heretical groups (Ebionites and Nazarenes) lasting well into the second-century, in schism from the Church.

40. III.A. Symbolic Interpretation of OT Laws and Covenant The Big Picture: The Judaizing controversy Its significance for us: • What is the balance between the OT and NT? • What is the relationship between the covenants of Moses and Christ? The Epistle of Barnabas gives us insight into the difficulty of getting the synthesis right!

41. III.A. Symbolic Interpretation of OT Laws and Covenant Familiar positions of orthodoxy: The OT is fulfilled by the NT. Matt 5:17: Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them. The OT foreshadows the NT. Col 2:17: These are only a shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. The OT prepares for the NT. The OT convicts of sin; the NT saves. Gal 3:22: But the scripture consigned all things to sin, that what was promised to faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

42. III.A. Symbolic Interpretation of OT Laws and Covenant Familiar positions of heterodoxy: The NT must be subordinated to the OT (Ebionites, Nazarenes) The NT cancels the OT (Supercessionism) The NT reveals the evils of the OT! (Marcion of Sinope)

43. III.A. Symbolic Interpretation of OT Laws and Covenant The challenge for Barnabas: • To show the superiority of the NT to OT • To show the necessity of the NT for all those who wish to follow Christ • To show how the OT provided a preparation for the NT

44. III.A. Symbolic Interpretation of OT Laws and Covenant The approach of Barnabas: The NT is superior because it reveals plainly what the OT foreshadowed in its laws. Now that we see plainly, we no longer need to abide by the Laws of Moses. The OT did not save. Only the NT does. In making this point, The Epistle of Barnabas goes far beyond Pauline orthodoxy, and errs, by denying the goodness of the OT and Jewish observance of it from Moses to Christ.

45. III.A. Symbolic Interpretation of OT Laws and Covenant Example of the Superiority of the NT to OT: Barnabas 1:6-7: 6 There are then three doctrines of the Lord: "the hope of life" is the beginning and end of our faith; and righteousness is the beginning and end of judgment; love of joy and of gladness is the testimony of the works of righteousness. 7 For the Lord made known to us through the prophets things past and things present and has given us the first-fruits of the taste of things to come; and when we see these things coming to pass one by one, as he said, we ought to make a richer and deeper offering for fear of him.

46. III.A. Symbolic Interpretation of OT Laws and Covenant Example of the Superiority of the NT to OT: The Once-and-for-All Sacrifice of Christ Barnabas 2:3-6: 3 While then these things remain in holiness towards the Lord, wisdom, prudence, understanding, and knowledge rejoice with them. 4 For he has made plain to us through all the Prophets that he needs neither sacrifices nor burnt-offerings nor oblations, saying in one place, 5 "What is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord. I am full of burnt offerings and desire not the fat of lambs and the blood of bulls and goats, not even when ye come to appear before me. For who has required these things at your hands? Henceforth shall ye tread my court no more. If ye bring flour, it is vain. Incense is an abomination to me. I cannot away with your new moons and sabbaths." 6 These things then he abolished in order that the new law of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is without the yoke of necessity, might have its oblation not made by man.

47. III.A. Symbolic Interpretation of OT Laws and Covenant Example of the Superiority of the NT to OT: The Once-and-for-All Sacrifice of Christ Cp. Hebrews 9:11-15: [11] But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) [12] he entered once for all into the Holy Place, taking not the blood of goats and calves but his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. [13] For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, [14] how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify your conscience from dead works to serve the living God. [15] Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred which redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant.

48. III.A. Symbolic Interpretation of OT Laws and Covenant Example of the Superiority of the NT to OT: The Once-and-for-All Sacrifice of Christ Barnabas 5:1-7: 1 For it was for this reason that the Lord endured to deliver up his flesh to corruption, that we should be sanctified by the remission of sin, that is, by his sprinkled blood. 2 For the scripture concerning him relates partly to Israel, partly to us, and it speaks thus: "He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities, by his stripes we were healed. He was brought as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb dumb before its shearer." 3 Therefore we ought to give great thanks to the Lord that he has given us knowledge of the past, and wisdom for the present, and that we are not without understanding for the future. 4 And the Scripture says, "Not unjustly are the nets spread out for the birds." This means that a man deserves to perish who has a knowledge of the way of righteousness, but turns aside into the way of darkness.

49. III.A. Symbolic Interpretation of OT Laws and Covenant Barnabas 5:1-7, continued: 5. Moreover, my brethren, if the Lord endured to suffer for our life, though he is the Lord of all the world, to whom God said before the foundation of the world, "Let us make man in our image and likeness," how, then, did he endure to suffer at the hand of man? 6. Learn: -- The Prophets who received grace from him prophesied of him, and he, in order that he "might destroy death," and show forth the Resurrection from the dead, because he needs must be made "manifest in the flesh," endured 7. in order to fulfill the promise made to the fathers, and himself prepare for himself the new people and show while he was on earth that he himself will raise the dead and judge the risen.

50. III.A. Symbolic Interpretation of OT Laws and Covenant Allegorical Interpretation vs. Symbolic Interpretation: Christian allegory, NT allegory: OT events prefigure NT events for which they prepare. OT History  Later history. Practiced by Jesus, Paul, Peter, etc. (Pagan) Greek allegory = Symbolic interpretation: Events represented in myth symbolize natural truths expressed more clearly in philosophy.