Authors in Group 1 (NTC) are often referred to as "the evangelists".I suggest the "implications" of "assumptions" above,
specifically:
"a) Authors in Groups 1, 2 and 3 are probably distinct to their group and do not overlap into other groups."
is an example of "just trying to tidy it up a little"
that is not justified.
Authors in Group 2 (NTA) are often referred to as "the heretics".
Authors in Group 3 (EH*) are often referred to as "the fathers".
Perhaps there are some overlaps (such as Marcion) who may fall into groups 1 and 2, and the authors of texts such as "The Shepherd" and the "Ignatian letters" (as mentioned in the OP) who may also fall into groups 1 and 2, and possibly groups 1 and 3. But these overlaps are relatively miniscule in comparison to the entire collection of Christian literature consistent of hundreds and hundreds of books.
The chief and defining characteristic of this vast collection of Christian literature (setting aside those who consider Paul to be a certainly historical author) is that the texts were written by completely unknown authors in an as yet unknown century in antiquity. What problem in ancient history is bigger than this problem? It seems good reason to label it as a complete mess. When is this problem going to be addressed and how?
Perhaps the proposition should be worded that there are Three Major SOURCES of Christian Literature: (1) the sources (books) which were ultimately accepted into the canon (NTC); (2) those which were ultimately rejected (like the NHL) the NTA; and those sources (books) written and preserved by the "fathers" of the church, the majority of whom would later become "Saints". (including a distinguished subset of these saints who would later become "Doctors" of the Latin and Greek churches).
What alternative classification systems of the sources of biblical history exist? How are the collections of books in theological institutes of university libraries and biblical colleges indexed and classified?
Statistics: Posted by Leucius Charinus — Sat May 18, 2024 6:20 pm