Knowing the canonical story behind the Holy Bible among other things, help us to defend the Christian Faith. The term canon comes from the Greek word kanōn, meaning “measuring rod” or “measuring stick”, and was applied in the ancient church to the collection of texts that informed their beliefs and practices. While the terms scripture and canon are often used interchangeably, there is this distinction between the two. Scripture, as the term is commonly used by scholars, denotes the inspired and authoritative status of a written document, whereas canon typically refers to a defined list of such documents. This distinction is said to be significant because Christians did not begin to create such lists (canon) until long after the death of Jesus Christ. This is to establish the fact that for several centuries, the earliest Christians considered many texts to be scriptural but had no commonly accepted canon.
Without any single doubt, the Bible is the world’s most fascinating book. It is the best-selling book of all time. Translated into numerous languages, the Bible is the very Word of God and makes clear the ways to peace, hope, and salvation. It tells us how the world began, how it will end, and how we are to live in the meantime. However, unlike most modern books, the Bible is composed of many smaller books written by various authors in different times and different places. Naturally, this raises questions about how these books were put together to form a single volume. When did this happen? Who made these critical decisions? Were there other legitimate books that were left out? And why should we think they got it right? All these questions pertain to what is known as the biblical canon. Join me as we go through these series of learning together.
The Biblical Canon
During the second through the fourth centuries, as early Christians sought to define and distinguish between authoritative and nonauthoritative texts, there were primarily three criteria or factors by which canonicity was determined: apostolicity, orthodoxy, and widespread use. Others also included their divine qualities. Before we discuss how we arrived at the OT and the NT canons, I will want us to first briefly look into these deciding factors:
a. Apostolicity
One of the most important criteria used in establishing the canon was a text’s apostolicity, meaning its authorship by or close connection with an apostle. This is in reference to the New Testament canon. The Shepherd of Hermas, for example, was a popular book but was ultimately denied entry to the canon in part because it was not written by an apostle. The Gospels of Mark and Luke, on the other hand, while not written by apostles, were nevertheless validated because of the authors’ close associations with Peter and Paul. In accordance with this criterion, texts accepted into the canon were typically composed at an earlier date than those that were excluded, reflecting a preference for books written by eyewitnesses to Jesus Christ’s ministry. In the OT this included the prophets and other inspired spokesmen (Rom. 1:2; 2 Pet. 3:2). For example, we accept the Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible) as from God because we believe Moses was the author.
b. Orthodoxy
Another criterion was a text’s conformity with a tradition of fundamental Christian beliefs. This tradition of orthodoxy, although it developed over a period, was believed to have been received from the apostles and passed down from one generation to the other. These included widely held beliefs relating to things like the nature of the Godhead, the reality of Christ’s incarnation, suffering, and resurrection; the creation and redemption of humankind, proper scriptural interpretation, and the rituals or ordinances of the church such as baptism and communion. For example, texts like the Gospel of Peter and Gospel of Thomas, were rejected on the grounds that their portrayal of Christ did not synch with fundamental Christian beliefs that had been passed on from the days of the Apostles.
c. Widespread use
One other factor used, especially for the New Testament texts, was a text’s widespread and continuous usage, especially by respected Christian authorities and in the large metropolitan centres of the Roman Empire, such as Rome, Ephesus, Antioch, Alexandria, and Constantinople. The broad use of a text implied its value for determining matters of faith and practice on a large scale and thus its relevance to the church beyond specific regional locales. This is because the popularity and liturgical use of a book frequently led to its formal acceptance. Canonization should therefore be understood not only as a process by which authority is conferred but as a means of recognizing already-authoritative literary works. It is important to note that the work of the Spirit does not happen only on an individual level, but also on a corporate level. Thus, there are good reasons to think that God’s collective, covenantal people would eventually recognize the books that are from Him. If so, then we can look to the consensus of God’s people (in both old and new covenant times) as a reliable guide to which books are from him.
This does not mean that we should expect God’s people to have instantaneous and absolute unity over the canonical books. There will always be pockets of disagreement and dissension (just like there would be over any doctrine). But we can expect a predominant or consensus through the ages—which is exactly what we have today.
In my next article, we shall continue with our canonical story by looking at the Old Testament Canon.
References
Soroski, J. (2019, January 31). What Does “Bible” Mean and How Did it Get That Name?. Biblestudytools. https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/explore-the-bible/what-does-bible-mean.html
The Content and Extent of the Old Testament Canon | Bible.org. Bible. https://bible.org/article/content-and-extent-old-testament-canon
Raymond B. and Longman III (1994). An Introduction to the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
Becerra, D. (2019). “The Canonization of the New Testament,” in New Testament History, Culture, and Society: A Background to the Texts of the New Testament, ed. Lincoln H. Blumell (Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2019), 772-786.
Apostle Benedict Eghan is a Minister of the Gospel with The Church of Pentecost and is currently the Resident Minister of Pentecost International Worship Centre (PIWC), Tesano. He also doubles as the Personal Assistant to the Chairman of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Kwabena Nyamekye. Read More…
2 Comments
Great write-up Daddy. I’ll be waiting for the part 2 of the Biblical Canon
great article