WHAT IS THE CANON OF SCRIPTURE? WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE IN DETERMINING THE CANON OF THE BIBLE WE HAVE NOW? The word “canon” comes from the Greek word kanon which means a “measuring stick” or a defining rule. In the case of Scripture, its canon is the official list of inspired books that, taken together, make up what we know as the Bible. This official collection of seventy-three inspired books of the Old and New Testament is itself part of God’s revelation to the Church. He is the one who made these books inspired and, by virtue of that fact, canonical (cf. 2 Timothy 3:16) – not the Catholic Church. And this is a key in understanding the Tradition of the canon of Scripture… The Catholic Church was the recipient of God’s revelation about which books were inspired and which weren’t. And because God revealed this truth, it is necessarily a part of the Deposit of Faith, a Tradition that comes from God, not from men. It falls squarely into the realm of teaching that St. Paul said: “Stand firm and hold fast to the Traditions you were taught either by an oral statement of by a letter of ours.” (2 Thessalonians 2:15) ---- Patrick Madrid, Why Is That in Tradition? The sole criterion of canonicity [of Scripture] is Catholic tradition, which has its foundation in apostolic tradition, says Tertullian, and lists of the canonical Scriptures are furnished us by St. Cyril of Jerusalem (4th century), St. Athanasius, and St. Gregory Nazianzen, as well as Rufinus and St. Augustine. Even as late as the 8th century, St. John of Damascus feels obliged to furnish one. ---- John R. Willis, SJ, The Teachings of the Church Fathers The Church, under God’s guidance, decided which books belonged in the Bible. By A.D. 125, many writings about Jesus, including all of those now found in the New Testament, were being circulated among Christians. Some were regarded as authoritative because of their apostolic origins and doctrinal content. Some were rejected. By the end of the fourth century, there were a general consensus among Christians that the Bible should contain the forty-six Old Testament books and the twenty-seven New Testament books now found in the Catholic Bible. This consensus was expressed in Church councils, like those at Rome in 382 A.D., Hippo in 393 A.D., and Carthage in 397 A.D. ---- Oscar Lukefahr, CM, Morning Star, Christ’s Mother and Ours
Posted on: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 01:37:45 +0000
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