The Use of Gospel Tradition in the Early Church: Evidence for a Prolonged Process of Canonical Recognition of the Fourfold Gospel

Jason David BeDuhn

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Chapter 13 The Use of Gospel Tradition in the Early Church: Evidence for a Prolonged Process of Canonical Recognition of the Fourfold Gospel

In: The New Testament Canon in Contemporary Research

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Jason David BeDuhn

Jason David BeDuhn
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Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 297–314

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004751071_015

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Abstract

The historical development of the four-gospel canon has been obscured by the anachronistic accounts of church authorities and modern researchers alike. The teleological construct of a process of “canon-formation” prompts selective attention to usages that anticipate later canon decisions, while neglecting counter-indications of sustained orality and widely varying attitudes towards written texts among early Christians. While some communities adhered to the logic of a single account of the life of Jesus (e.g., Marcionites with their lone gospel and eastern Christians who relied on the Diatessaron), others embraced a plurality of gospels that continued to be produced for several centuries. The idea of a “canon” had different meanings in the various settings of early Christian engagement with texts, and it was primarily in the setting of liturgical use that a four-gospel canon in the strict sense established itself. Authors who asserted and defended the four-gospel canon within church services continued to treat other sources on the life of Jesus as valid and valuable in the setting of study and inquiry. The familiar four-gospel set is first attested in the work of Irenaeus in the late second century and seems to have quickly gained ground as a popular model. Nevertheless, it did not fully displace rivals until the fifth century.

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The New Testament Canon in Contemporary Research

Series: Texts and Editions for New Testament Study, Volume: 21

E-Book ISBN:: 9789004751071

Publisher:: Brill

Print Publication Date:: 10 Mar 2026

Subjects
- Biblical Studies

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Part 1 The Formation of the Canon

Part 2 The Components of the Canon

Part 3 The Witnesses of the Canon

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Chapter 13 The Use of Gospel Tradition in the Early Church: Evidence for a Prolonged Process of Canonical Recognition of the Fourfold Gospel

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The New Testament Canon in Contemporary Research

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