TAUSSIG'S DIABOLICAL NEW NEW TESTAMENT

Over at the Huffington Post, Hal Taussig, a founding member of the infamous Jesus Seminar, a professor of Biblical literature at Union Theological Seminary in New York, and professor of early Christianity at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, makes his that ten more ancient noncanonical texts used by some of the early Christian communities should be added to the New Testament.  Such addition was approved by the self described "Council of New Orleans"--essentially a gathering of the Taussig's friends and colleagues who selected the texts.  In turn, Taussig has put out a book entitled A New New Testament: A Bible For The 21st Century Combining Traditional And Newly Discovered Texts.

It should surprise no one that surprised to find the Seminar's perspective is presented throughout the notes, introductions, and other materials.  The texts Taussig has added to his edition of the Bible are as follows:

The Gospel of Mary

The Thunder: Perfect Mind

The Gospel of Thomas

The Odes of Solomon

Prayer of Thanksgiving

The Acts of Paul and Thecla

The Gospel of Truth

The Prayer of the Apostle Paul

The Letter Of Peter to Philip

The Secret Revelation to John

(It should be noted that some of these weren't even written in Greek.)

The issue that Taussig skates around is that there was a reason the early Church's councils did not include there texts.  A little investigation reveals that all of these texts were at heart Gnostic--a system of belief the early Church deemed a heretical.  A heresy which has been a pain in the neck clear up to this day.

Gnosticism had/has a variety of features found among those distant non-Christian communities and its adherents through history to the present day. Basically, their point is that there is a secret, esoteric knowledge in the universe not revealed in the traditional Christian Canon of the New Testament.  Some go on to maintain that the physical, mundane world is something we must rise above and enter into God's spiritual world.  (Because it is unthinkable that the spiritual would have nothing do to do with the material, Gnosticism often had claim that Jesus was not a true man--only a spirit that appears to be a man.  Therefore Christ could not have two natures as taught within orthodoxy.)  This requires an enlightenment not apparent to ordinary individuals.  There is some minor disagreement as to whether this enlightenment is only available to a select few and is there for all men and women.  Historically, most Gnostics settle on the former.  As with many heresies, most scholars believe Gnosticism actually predates Christ's ministry on earth. 

There is quite a question concerning why some Christian theologians have such interest in advancing the proposition that Gnosticism a legitimate form of Christianity unfairly rejected by the early Church--usually for corrupt reasons.

Perhaps there really no mystery at all as to why these individuals of yesteryear and the present day want Gnosticism recognized to a genuine element of Christianity: a dissatisfaction with orthodox Christianity.  Certainly Gnosticism has an appeal to the supposed secularists and those disaffect from the Gospel as preached in the Church at large.  This includes many who have an visceral animus toward Christianity.  There is nothing better for many than to claim that Christians are erroneous root and branch--we don't even understand our own religion.  And there are those who want to get as far away from the repressive "fundamentalism" of the orthodox Church--and do it with intelligent righteous reasons. aside from the fact they just don't like it.

Since the inception of Christianity, Gnosticism's ugly head pops up here and there.  Again there was a reason the early Church rejected Gnosticism and its ersatz Christian writings.  That these texts did not originate within apostolic tradition was the least of it.  Gnosticism in all its form obscures to Gospel.  Salvation is not be found in the Cross.

The Gnostic Christ is not really the Christ of the Gospels and the Christian Church.  He is someone else unrecognizable to the faith handed down through the centuries..  No matter how mild Gnosticism invades orthodox Christianity, it is harmful to the Gospel.  Faithful Christians--let alone faithful Lutherans--should not give it any consideration.  The bottom line is A New New Testament is a waste of time.