What is the antilegomena?

Answer

The antilegomena is a collection of Bible texts that faced significant skepticism during the establishment of the Scripture canon. The term antilegomena translates to “spoken against” and was used for writings accepted by most early church members but had more critics than other books. Works clearly identified as non-inspired or heretical were rejected by the early church. Another set of writings, known as the homologumena, was acknowledged as inspired and universally embraced by the early church. The texts categorized as antilegomena were scrutinized in distinct ways and for different reasons compared to those deemed non-canonical.

As the early church expanded, it became crucial to differentiate between God’s Word and non-divine writings. In essence, books were deemed canonical if they were authored by an apostle or under apostolic guidance, accurately conveyed true Christian teachings, claimed or hinted at inspiration, were endorsed by doctrinally sound churches, and/or were suitable for public reading. Applying these criteria, the twenty-seven books of the contemporary New Testament were promptly acknowledged as the Scripture canon.

Nevertheless, seven out of those twenty-seven books encountered more controversy than the rest. These seven were Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, and Revelation. Unlike the works outright rejected, these books did not exhibit clear disqualifying factors. They did not promote heresy, were not directly associated with unorthodox churches, and so on. Instead, each fell short in the eyes of some early Christians based on the aforementioned criteria.

It is important to note that other categories of ancient writings, such as the pseudepigrapha and Apocrypha, were perceived differently from the antilegomena. Even as the New Testament texts gained widespread acceptance, the antilegomena continued to be scrutinized and debated within the early Christian community.

When the New Testament was being written, the church acknowledged the presence of false writings «that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. », (2 Thessalonians 2:2). This explains why the church was very cautious in officially approving works as inspired. The antilegomena were not immediately accepted, not because they were flawed, but because the early church was extremely careful in endorsing texts as inspired.

The book of Hebrews was considered antilegomena because it is technically anonymous. Other New Testament books either clearly state their author or can be traced directly to an apostle. The book of Hebrews does neither, although it meets all the other criteria for the biblical canon.

The book of James has always been a topic of controversy, mainly due to its intricate discussion of the relationship between saving faith and good works. Because of this, some in the early church hesitated to accept it, and it was classified as one of the antilegomena.

Second Peter is perhaps the most disputed book among the antilegomena. Primarily, the differences in style between 1 Peter and 2 Peter sparked debates on its legitimacy. Eventually, accumulating evidence convinced the skeptics, and 2 Peter was recognized as canonical.

The letters of 2 John and 3 John do not clearly identify their authors compared to other New Testament texts. Specifically, they use the term elder instead of apostle, which raised doubts about authorship. However, this terminology was not unusual for the apostles, and John’s brief letters were never questioned to the same degree as 2 Peter.

Jude is a notable member of the antilegomena. Jude faced scrutiny for explicitly referencing non-inspired works. Certain parts of the Book of Jude allude to stories told in these non-canonical texts.

Discussed in the non-canonical The Assumption of Moses and the Book of Enoch. However, because Jude does not endorse those writings as Scripture (Jude merely uses them as examples to support his points), this controversy was eventually settled.

Revelation has the distinction of being the most persistently questioned of the antilegomena. Though it was never questioned to the same degree as 2 Peter, critics continued to express doubts about it long after other books of the antilegomena had been widely accepted. Revelation’s biggest stumbling block was that its symbolism was open to such wide interpretation. A few early sects attempted to use the book to justify bizarre doctrines, which made Revelation guilty by association in the eyes of some early church members.

Most books of the New Testament were accepted very soon after being written—the homologumena. Others—the antilegomena—were less readily accepted for various reasons. The extreme caution exercised by the early church led to these seven books being more heavily examined prior to their eventual acceptance into the canon of Scripture.