The Canonical Church © John Stevenson, 2008

Upon what do Christian base their beliefs?

The Greek Kanon It had to be unbendable It had to be dependable as to its straightness KANWN

Galatians 6:16 Those who will walk by this RULE, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.

Definition Canonicity is the process by which the books of the Bible were gathered and collected so that they came to be regarded as the standard and norm for Christians.

Canonicity refers to the church’s recognition of the authority of the inspired writings.

Questions on Canonicity How are we to determine if we have the right books in the Bible? What about the Apocrypha? Are there certain books in our Bible which should not be there? Are we missing some books?

The Medieval Church The Reformed Church Canon Recognized New Testament The Ancient Church

Canonicity & the Old Testament The Testimony of Jesus Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you, while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” (Luke 24:44).

Canonicity & the Old Testament The Testimony of Jesus The Testimony of the Septuagint

The Septuagint Translation of Hebrew Bible into Greek Ptolemy II Great Library of Alexandria Alexandria ●

The Septuagint 70 Scholars Entire Old Testament translated Apocrypha also included

Canonicity & the Old Testament The Testimony of Jesus The Testimony of the Septuagint The Testimony of the New Testament –Full of quotations from the Old Testament –Not a single quotation from the Apocrypha

Canonicity & the Old Testament The Testimony of Jesus The Testimony of the Septuagint The Testimony of the New Testament The Testimony of Josephus

Josephus "For we have not an innumerable multitude of books among us, disagreeing from and contradicting one another [as the Greeks have], but only twenty-two books, which contain the records of all the past times; which are justly believed to be divine...(Contra Apion 1:8).

Josephus "It is true, our history has been written since Artaxerxes, very peculiarly, but has not been esteemed of the like authority with the former by our forefathers, because there has not been an exact succession of prophets since that time." (Contra Apion 1:8).

Canonicity & the Old Testament The Testimony of Jesus The Testimony of the Septuagint The Testimony of the New Testament The Testimony of Josephus The Testimony of the Apocrypha

The Apocrypha Meaning: “Hidden away” The Apocrypha speaks of the division of the Scriptures into the Law and the Prophets (Prologue of Sirach 1:1; 2 nd Maccabees 15:9; 4 th Maccabees 18:10). You do not find the Old Testament mentioning this division

The church was born with a completed canon in her hands

The Existence of the Canon The Recognition of the Canon =

The Muratorian Canon Our oldest copy dates to the 7 th Century Originally written in latter part of 2 nd Century It is a partial list (starts with Luke, but refers to it as the 3 rd Gospel) Includes Gospels, Epistles of Paul, John, & Jude Latin Manuscript

Factors Necessitating a New Testament Canon The Problem of Heretics Marcion’s Canon comprised Luke and ten epistles of Paul minus quotations from the Old Testament

Factors Necessitating a New Testament Canon The Problem of Heretics The Presence of other Christian Writings –Didache –Epistles of Ignatius and other church fathers

Factors Necessitating a New Testament Canon The Problem of Heretics The Presence of other Christian Writings Irenaeus points to a canon that includes the Shepherd of Hermes, but excludes Hebrews, 2 nd Peter. Philemon, 2 nd & 3 rd John

Factors Necessitating a New Testament Canon The Problem of Heretics The Presence of other Christian Writings The Persecutions against the church and laws against ownership of the Scriptures

Criteria for New Testament Canonicity Apostolic Authorship Consistency Reception by the Churches The church did not make certain books canonical; the church recognized certain books to be canonical

New Testament written Apostolic Fathers Muratorian Canon Marcion Paul John Polycarp Ignatius Nicaea Constantine

The DaVinci Code Constantine chose the books of the Bible and ordered other non-canonical books to be burned Gospels were edited after Council of Nicaea (325) Gnostic gospels are older than four canonical gospels