Disgruntled Atheist: "The Gospel of Mary was one of many Gospels that was omitted by the inventors of Christianity. One thing that comes as a surprise to many Christians is the fact that the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were not written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. They were written by a number of other men, some decades later. And that's just plain fact. As someone who claims to study the Bible; how can you not know that???"
(you being used in general and not to call out me specifically)
Anonymous: "It was very likely that Mary Magdalene was Jesus' wife, and almost certain that she was an apostle. But early Christians didn't like that idea, so they omitted it. It's difficult to take the bible seriously knowing that it is a collection of stories, mostly written long after Jesus' time, that omits things that don't fit certain people's comfort level or level of acceptance?"
My response:
The Biblical canon was not edited to be acceptable to early Christian leader's standards. It was the product of years of reflection and prayer. There were a number of books claiming devine authority, the need for a definite list of inspired scripture was obvious. There are many reasons some books weren't included. These books were known to the Jews and Christians but were not considered inspired [by God]. It gradually became clear which books were truly biblical. This is not to say that all writings omitted from the Bible were not factual, some were just not chosen to be preserved by God specifically for that purpose. A few examples of why writings were omitted: Some of the writings not included had serious historical errors which made them unacceptable, others made claims that simply disregarded the rest of scripture, then there were those which lacked apostolic or prophetic authorship. As a side note, the Catholic church accepts additional books in the canon of scripture that Christians do not.
I wanted to add that for someone who simply does not believe in God, some explanations and reasonings do not seem credible. These things may appear to have more validity when evaluated from a Christian standpoint.
(you being used in general and not to call out me specifically)
Anonymous: "It was very likely that Mary Magdalene was Jesus' wife, and almost certain that she was an apostle. But early Christians didn't like that idea, so they omitted it. It's difficult to take the bible seriously knowing that it is a collection of stories, mostly written long after Jesus' time, that omits things that don't fit certain people's comfort level or level of acceptance?"
My response:
The Biblical canon was not edited to be acceptable to early Christian leader's standards. It was the product of years of reflection and prayer. There were a number of books claiming devine authority, the need for a definite list of inspired scripture was obvious. There are many reasons some books weren't included. These books were known to the Jews and Christians but were not considered inspired [by God]. It gradually became clear which books were truly biblical. This is not to say that all writings omitted from the Bible were not factual, some were just not chosen to be preserved by God specifically for that purpose. A few examples of why writings were omitted: Some of the writings not included had serious historical errors which made them unacceptable, others made claims that simply disregarded the rest of scripture, then there were those which lacked apostolic or prophetic authorship. As a side note, the Catholic church accepts additional books in the canon of scripture that Christians do not.
I wanted to add that for someone who simply does not believe in God, some explanations and reasonings do not seem credible. These things may appear to have more validity when evaluated from a Christian standpoint.
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