I'm still curious about why you say that they (the Early Church Fathers) hated the book.
John Smithson wrote:
Actually, DavidM, Slade corrected his use of the word "hated."
That's right. We agreed that "hate" was too strong of a word. I guess then I should have said that I am still curious about why you [Slade] think that the Early Church Fathers considered the book to be spurious. Maybe you can just list a few who described it as such.
Clement of Alexandria [153 - 217 A.D.], as I mentioned before, frequently refers to this author as the apostle Barnabas who accompanied Paul. Clement also mentions that this Barnabas was one of the seventy that Jesus himself had sent out. I checked the list Hippolytus [170 - 236 A.D.] has on the seventy sent out and noticed that there are actually two Barnabas's listed. Number 13 is Barnabas, who became bishop of Milan, and number 24 is Barnabas who became bishop of Heraclea. I thought I would mention this in hope that it might open you up to the idea that another Barnabas might be the author of this epistle rather than thinking that the book is some kind of forgery simply because you judge the Biblical Barnabas as an impossible candidate for authorship.
Peace be with you.
David Miller.
---------- "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org
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