Literature in the Dark Ages: the Apocrypha

Professor Rodgers Humanities I November 5, 2010 Literature in the temperamental Ages The Apocrypha The Dark ages is referred to as such(prenominal) for umteen reasons there was plague and sickness that hit humanity during this metre and people lived in business to name a few. But one main reason is the fact that not much knowledge exists almost this period in history. N betimes every last(predicate) the ancient critical texts were lost during the Middle Ages. emperor preciselyterfly Flavius Juvianus ordered the burning of Antioch Library.Tons of books were burnt. Pagan temples and libraries were looted or burnt down (1). During the Dark Ages the literature by clergy was produced and preserved more than any other literature. The church was considered the authority on intellect at the time so it was there works that were reproduced in the greatest volume. Clergy therefore dominated literature during this time period. It was in the Dark Ages that there were records of as many a s 200 epistles and accounts of the life history of Jesus Christ that were express to have been written.Only 27 were preserved. Of the 193 that were discarded Claytor 2 some(prenominal) people considered them to be manufacturing pieces of literature, some esteem them as true and to some they were thought to be bilgewaterulent. The literature that were believed to have been oppressed by Christians during the Dark ages ar esteemed by some as lost religious teachings. In fact some of these teachings were discovered in 1945 and they expounded on the teachings that are recorded in the bible.They speak of a secret credo of Mark, secret teachings of John, an account of the Gospels written by Thomas, the Apocalypse of Paul, as well as sacred insight written by a woman which is c everyed Pistils Sophia. These teachings are by a group called Gnostics. Gnostics were Christians whose teaching system was based more upon knowledge than faith. Their name is derived the word Gnosis which is spiritual insight. They heavily embraced the hidden writings.It is in all probability that due to their Criticisms and differences with the Roman Orthodox church that members of the Gnostic sect were burned at the stake and many of their writings destroyed by the Church. Before the discovery of Gnostic writings, our only knowledge of additional accounts of the life and death of Jesus Christ came from a letter written by Church Father kind of Alexandria (150 AD 211 AD). In the letter Father Alexandria quotes this secret gospel and refers to it as a more spiritual gospel for the use of those who were being perfected. He said, It Claytor 3 even yet is most carefully watch by the church at Alexandria, being read only to those who are being initiated into the great mysteries. (2). It is important to tubercle that while Father Alexandria was a proponent of Gnosis, which was a knowledge or insight into the infinite, he jilted the concept as defined by the Gnostic sect. The oppre ssed writings were considered by some scholars as According to the Early Christian Church the additional writings of the life of Jesus were considered useful but were omitted from records because they werent considered to be divinely inspired.The gospels were separated into two categories. They are considered either canonical or non-canonical. The canonical writings are those that were included in the gospels in the bible. The non-canonical were called were considered apocryphal. The word Apocrypha literally heart and soul hidden writings. While the diametrical branches of the early church disagreed about which writings were canonical and which were apocryphal they all subscribed to the belief that some writings were divinely inspired by God and others were not. Within the apocryphal writings are accounts of the infancy of Jesus in which they account the childhood of Jesus.There are those that fix different perspectives of the passions and the Gospel of Thomas records many saying s of Jesus that are Claytor 4 not included in the bible. The early Christian church deemed many of these writings useful but do not believe all were divinely inspired. There are those who believe the lost writings are fraudulent or fiction works. Some of them that subscribe to this belief have concluded that, whether canonical or apocryphal, no(prenominal) of the accounts of the lives of Jesus are true.They believe that by omitting 173 of 200 accounts of the life of Jesus the church proves that it used the writings they selected to merely stay fresh their power and control. Edward Gibbon, a historian whose work has been heavily criticized by the Christian church, wrote The origin of these fraudulent documents was none other than the church. Gibbon tells us Orthodox theologians were tempted, by the assurance of impunity, to compose fictions, which must be stigmatized with the epithets of fraud and forgery. They ascribed their own polemical works to the most venerable names of Chris tian antiquity. Others who challenge the validity of these writings are Christians who believe some accounts to be true but not others. J. G. Davis, A Christian instructor of Theology, wrote in his book The Early Christian Church (they are merely) another genre of literature, devised for reading by the faithful during their leisure time, and corresponding in some ways to the novels of a later era. Claytor 5 The oppressed ancient writings of Christianity are very controversial.There are little to no facts about the writings that are not debated, disagreed upon or refuted in some way. What is clear is that there are some writings about the life of Jesus that are either currently in existence or evidently existed at some time in history, although the number of apocryphal writings is uncertain. It is also certain that these writings give an account of the same occurrences as those considered canonical by the early Christian church. They are closely relate writings that are recorded i n the bible and considered by Christians as the true accounts of the life of Jesus.Claytor 6 Cited Workshttp//reluctant-messenger. com/Lost-Doctrines-Christianity003. htmThe Early Christian Church, p. 83 (1965). History of Christianity, p. 598http//www. gnosis. org/library/strom2. htm