Athanasius: The New Testament Of The Holy Bible

The New Testament of the Holy Bible is a collection of twenty-seven writings that have been deemed as canon by the early church. The term canon comes from the Greek word kanṓn representing a carpenter’s rule. The current list of books first appeared in a letter from Athanasius, the bishop of Alexandria, in his festal letter of 367. Athanasius wrote this letter in an attempt to clarify the true writings that denoted the true message to the Christians of his period. Many different Christian schools and sects followed different ideas of what the teachings of Christ meant.
One of the first sects opposed to traditional Christianity was Gnosticism. This sect believed that the soul is eternal and is trapped in a physical body. A Gnostic gains salvation
Athanasius became bishop after Alexander in 328. Athanasius wanted to differentiate between human teachers and closed biblical canon. During his twenty-fourth Festal Letter, Athanasius wrote about the difference between that which was human authorship and that which was divinely inspired through the saints. Years later, in the thirty-ninth Festal Letter, Athanasius listed his canon and declared it to be closed. Athanasius’ list differed from Maricon’s list as Maricon did not include the Old Testament, the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and John, Acts of the Apostles, all of the Catholic Epistles, and finally Hebrews, Timothy (1 and 2), Titus, Philemon, and the Revelation of John. Athanasius wanted his readers to know this was the complete list of the biblical canon. He closed the canon by saying “let no one add to these; let nothing be taken away from
Specifically, in the Gospel of Philip there is the suggestion that Jesus and Mary Magdalene are husband and wife. Within this writing, there are some topics. First, a theme of a bridal chamber recurs throughout the test. Next, the topics seem esoteric, with obscure metaphors appealing to the audience of the document. Finally, certain sayings bear a striking resemblance to Gnostic cultic practices. Some of the themes relayed in this text are the bridal chamber, the term “a kiss”, the virgin birth, Joseph making the cross that Jesus was crucified on, marriage, and finally an extremely different opinion of resurrection and baptism. This gospel was written in the first half of the third century, which would preclude it being written by the apostle Philip. It is merely named the Gospel of Philip because Philip is the only apostle named in the