The Sunday News
FOR one to believe in anything it means there is a level of authenticity that one has on the subject of faith. The Bible is such. On the issues of how we received it we realised that it was written by many people over a period of 1 500 years. That was not a short time. There is a challenge that we have. If the Bible was written by so many people over such a long time what makes it authentic. That brings us to the issue of canonisation.
The process of canonisation has to do with what writings are deemed inspired and thus included in the New Testament canon. The word canon originated in reference to a measuring reed or standard by which something is measured. In reference to the Bible a canon has to do with genuinely inspired writings. From another definition the “canon” of Scripture is defined as the books of the Bible officially accepted as Holy Scripture.
Written by about forty authors over the course of 1 500 years, it was essential that a list be drawn up of the books which reflected the truth of God’s message and were inspired by the Holy Spirit. Although each book was canon in God’s eyes as it was written, the canon had to be identified by religious leaders as God did not give a list of books to include. Determining the canon was a process conducted first by Jewish rabbis and scholars and later by early Christians. Ultimately, though, it was God who decided what books belonged in the biblical canon.
The complete canon of the Old Testament was not completed until after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, but parts had been recognised far earlier. The books of the law (also known as the Torah or Pentateuch — Genesis-Deuteronomy) were acknowledged as early as 2 Kings 22. The prophets were identified as Scripture by the end of the second century BC. The Psalms were accepted, but the remaining books varied depending on Jewish sect. The rabbinical school of the Pharisees in Jamnia arrived at a final list of twenty-four books, which equate to the thirty-nine books of the Christian Old Testament. Ten books interpreted in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures) were rejected because of the strict guidelines for canon: books must have conformed to the Torah, and had to have been written in Palestine, in Hebrew, and not after the time of Ezra (about 400 BC).
Although the Catholic Bible today includes the Apocrypha, the vast majority of Hebrew scholars considered them to be good historical and religious documents, but not on the same level as the inspired Hebrew Scriptures. Very exciting I should say!
The process for recognising and collecting the books of the New Testament began in the first centuries of the Christian church. Very early on, some of the New Testament books were recognised as inspired. Paul considered Luke’s writings to be as authoritative as the Old Testament (1 Timothy 5:18; see also Deuteronomy 25:4 and Luke 10:7). Peter referred to Paul’s writings as Scripture (2 Peter 3:15-16).
Clement of Rome mentioned at least eight New Testament books (A.D. 95). Ignatius of Antioch acknowledged about seven books (A.D. 115). Polycarp, a disciple of John the apostle, acknowledged 15 books (A.D. 108). Later, Irenaeus mentioned 21 books (A.D. 185). Hippolytus recognised 22 books (A.D. 170-235).
The first “canon” was the Muratorian Canon, compiled in A.D. 170, which included all of the New Testament books except Hebrews, James, and 3 John. The Council of Laodicea (A.D. 363) concluded that only the Old Testament (along with the Apocrypha) and the 27 books of the New Testament were to be read in the churches. The Councils of Hippo (A.D. 393) and Carthage (A.D. 397) reaffirmed the same 27 books as authoritative.
The Church was very methodical in reference to the New Testament canon. Several criteria were necessary in order for a writing to be accepted, but we will mention three here. First, the document in question had to conform to the rule of faith, “conformity between the document and orthodoxy, that is, Christian truth recognised as normative in the churches.” Second, the document required some sort of apostolicity, “which as a criterion came to include those who were in immediate contact with the apostles.” Third, “a document’s widespread and continuous acceptance and usage by churches everywhere” was taken into consideration.
The principles used by the councils to determine whether a New Testament book was truly inspired by the Holy Spirit were fourfold. First, the author must be an apostle or have a close connection with an apostle. Second, the book must have been accepted by the body of Christ at large. Third, the book had to contain consistency of doctrine and orthodox teaching. Finally, the book had to bear evidence of high moral and spiritual values that would reflect a work of the Holy Spirit as the divine Author. Most importantly, however, it must be recognised that it was God, and God alone, who determined which books belonged in the Bible. The human process of collecting the books of the Bible was flawed, but God, in His sovereignty, and despite the limitations of sinful man, brought the early church to the recognition of the books He had inspired, and those books are recognised today as the canon of Scripture.
Allow me to close today’s discussion by referring to the term most commonly used during the reformation, sola scriptura! This means “the scripture alone” Sola scriptura became popular during the Protestant Reformation as a reaction against some of the practices of the Roman Catholic Church. It was the Reformers’ way of saying that the Bible contains everything one needs for salvation and godly living (see 2 Peter 1:3).
In addition to the authority of the Bible, the Roman Catholic Church increasingly relied on traditions that had in many ways taken the place of the Bible’s teachings. Some of these traditions included prayer to saints or to Mary the mother of Jesus, belief in the Immaculate Conception (the belief that Mary was born without the stain of original sin), indulgences (including required payments to the Church), and the divine authority of the pope.
Martin Luther, the father of the Protestant Reformation, publicly spoke against the Catholic Church for its aberrant teachings in the early 1500s. As a result, Roman Catholic leaders threatened Martin Luther, who had been a German monk, with excommunication and even death if he did not end his resistance. Martin Luther replied that he would never recant unless he was “convinced by the testimony of Scripture and scripture alone.” The traditional Catholic response against sola scriptura is that the Bible does not explicitly teach the concept. While this is technically true, the principle remains essential to our understanding of the Christian faith. If the Bible is the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17), then its teachings are perfect and would have no need to change. Traditions that contradict or supersede what the Bible has clearly communicated would therefore be both unnecessary and unbiblical.
Sola scriptura is not a belief that stands against all tradition, only those traditions that promote teachings that oppose or attempt to replace biblical teachings. The Bible’s readers are not called to reinvent the Bible; they are called to embrace it. The Bible is the one and only authority for the Christian faith. Traditions that contradict its teachings are to be rejected. Sola scriptura was the movement of early Protestants to remove anti-biblical traditions from the Church. It ultimately resulted in new churches based on biblical principles apart from Catholic traditions and leadership.
On a personal level, sola scriptura is an important concept for Christians today. If a tradition or practice in our lives contradicts the clear teachings of the Bible, our goal must be to change the tradition to match the Bible’s teachings rather than the other way around. Sola scriptura points us back to what God has revealed to us in His Word. Sola scriptura ultimately points us back to the God who always speaks the truth, never contradicts Himself, and always proves Himself faithful. From God to us, the Bible is true, reliable, and inspired. Shalom!
