Trivia challenge: What Christian sect has the smallest Bible canon?
ChatGPT was able to identify I group I'd read about then couldn't find again:
[quote]"Yes, there is a Siberian Christian sect known as the "Black Sun" or the "Revelationists" who accepts only the Book of Revelation from the New Testament as the authoritative scripture. This group is small and isolated, and their beliefs and practices are not representative of mainstream Christianity. The Book of Revelation is a highly symbolic and apocalyptic text that describes the end of the world, and it is interpreted differently by different Christian denominations. The Black Sun sect takes a literal interpretation of the text and believes that the events described in the Book of Revelation are imminent and will soon come to pass. Their beliefs and practices are considered to be outside of mainstream Christianity, and they have faced opposition and persecution from both the Soviet government and other Christian groups."
Okay, the Marcionites may have a shorter canon: [quote]"The Marcionite sect, founded by the early Christian teacher Marcion of Sinope in the 2nd century, accepted only a truncated version of the Gospel of Luke as their authoritative scripture. Marcion taught that the God of the Old Testament was a cruel and unjust deity, while the God revealed in Jesus was a God of love and compassion. To support this view, Marcion created his own canon of scripture that consisted of a modified version of the Gospel of Luke, minus the references to the Old Testament and the Jewish law, and a selection of Pauline epistles that emphasized the teachings of the Gospel of Jesus.The Marcionite sect was declared a heresy by the early Christian church, and its teachings were widely rejected. Nevertheless, Marcion had a significant impact on early Christian theology and the development of the canon of the New Testament. His ideas led to the development of the orthodox doctrine of the unity of the Old and New Testaments and the recognition of the authority of the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) as the authoritative accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus."
[quote] "The correct information is that the Marcionites had a canon that consisted only of the Gospel of Luke and ten of Paul's letters. The Marcionites rejected the authority of the Old Testament and the majority of the New Testament, including the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and John, as well as the Acts of the Apostles."
Any nominees for even shorter canons?
P.S. ChatGPT went into a death spiral when I asked it about the interaction between Nestorian Christianity and Buddhism in Western China. I've been more careful what I've asked since then.
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
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MJ. Smith said:
Okay, the Marcionites may have a shorter canon:
I think the Marcionite canon was longer than the book of Revelation, because in addition to the truncated book of Luke, it also included "a selection of Pauline epistles that emphasized the teachings of the Gospel of Jesus."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcionism lists which epistles were included (Galatians, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Romans, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, Laodiceans [Contents unknown; some scholars equate it with Ephesians], Colossians, Philippians, Philemon) and says the Gospel of Marcion bore a "close resemblance to Gospel of Luke".
EDIT: ChatGPT is utterly untrustworthy. If you ask it the same question again, or if you ask it the same question someone else asked, you might get a different (possibly equally wrong) answer:
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But I followed up ...
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
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I finally broke down and decided to try it. I ask it who the woman in Revelation 12 represents.
Its answer:
"The woman in Revelation 12 is commonly interpreted as the "Woman of Babylon" or the "Mother of Harlots." She is seen as representing the city of Babylon, which symbolizes false religion and oppressive political power in the Bible. The woman is depicted as being pregnant and giving birth to a child, which is seen as a representation of the birth of a new era, free from oppression and false religion. This interpretation is widely accepted among Christian scholars and has roots in both Catholic and Protestant traditions."
Maybe I should have started with an easier question. lol
It conflated the women in Revelation. The woman who gives birth to the messiah who defeats the red dragon is also somehow the "Woman of Babylon".
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It learns fast. I gave it some feedback on the first answer. I said that it conflated the woman from ch12 with the woman from ch18 and that a better answer would be that the woman represents either Israel specifically or the people of God in general. Then I had it regenerate the answer.
"Revelation 12 describes a woman who is generally understood to represent the church, or the people of God. In this passage, the woman is described as being in heaven, wearing a crown of twelve stars and being pregnant. The depiction of the woman symbolizes the strength, beauty, and grace of the church, as well as its role as the mother of all believers. Some interpretations also see the woman as representing the nation of Israel or Mary, the mother of Jesus. Ultimately, the interpretation of this passage may vary among different Christian traditions and interpretations."
Much better. I didn't even tell it about the church or Mary but it added those perspectives and that interpretations vary among traditions.
I see I'm going to be wasting a lot of time playing around with this thing. lol
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