Delivered on: January 18 & 25, 2009. Streetsboro.
INTRODUCTION.
It is almost a true conspiracy theory.
Many people have this image in their mind. A group of men in a dark room gathering together to decide which books they want to put into the Bible.
Books such as The DaVinci Code portray it in just that way.
“The Bible is a product of man, my dear. Not of God. The bible did not fall magically from the clouds. Man created it as a historical record of tumultuous times, and it has evolved through countless translations, additions, and revisions. History has never had a definitive version of the book.”
“His life was recorded by thousands of followers across the land… More than eighty gospels were considered for the New Testament, and yet only a relative few were chosen for inclusion – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John among them.”
“Who chose which gospels to include?” Sophie asked.
“Aha!” Teabing burst in with enthusiasm. “The fundamental irony of Christianity! The Bible as we know it today, was collated by the pagan Roman emperor Constantine the Great.” (p.231)
“To rewrite the history books, Constantine knew he would need a bold stroke. From this sprang the most profound moment in Christian history… Constantine commissioned and financed a new Bible, which omitted those gospels that spoke of Christ’s human traits and embellished those gospels that made Him godlike. The earlier gospels were outlawed, gathered up, and burned.” (p. 234)We also hear people tell us that the Catholic church gave us the Bible.
"Because it never was a Bible, till the infallible Church pronounced it to be so. The separate treatises, each of them inspired, were lying, as it were dispersedly; easy to confound with others, that were uninspired. The Church gathered them up, selected them, pronounced judgment on them; rejecting some, which she defined and declared not to be canonical, because not inspired; adopting others as being inspired, and therefore canonical." (What Is the Bible? p. 6).
"And since the books of the Bible constituting both the Old and the New Testament were determined solely by the authority of the Catholic Church, without the Church there would have been no Bible, and hence no Protestantism." (The Faith of Millions, p. 10).
"It was not until the Council of Hippo in 390 that the Church gathered these gospels and epistles, scattered about in different churches, and placed them within the covers of a single book, giving the Bible to the world." (The Faith of Millions, p. 152).
Just who gave us the Bible?
Is it a product of a corrupt Catholic Church?
BODY.
WHO GAVE US THE BIBLE?
God is the Author of all scripture.
2 Timothy 3:16. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.
2 Peter 1:20-21. Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
This lesson is not meant to PROVE that the scriptures are inspired.
We have studied that extensively lately.
If you have questions or concerns about the inspiration of the Scriptures, we have plenty of material that you can look at.
The fact that Scripture is inspired by God makes it part of the Canon.
Kanon – literally a rod, ruler, staff, or measuring rod.
It came to mean a standard or norm.
It came to mean rule of faith, or authoritative Scripture.
So when we talk about the “Canon” we are talking about inspired, authoritative writings.
An important distinction. It was inspiration that made a writing canonical not canonicity which made a writing inspired.
In other words, God has already decided the “Canon.” Man simply has the task of recognizing what it is that God has inspired.
HOW HAS MAN RECOGNIZED WHAT GOD HAS INSPIRED?
There were basically 4 criteria for ascertaining whether or not a book was to be considered authoritative.
Was the book written by a prophet of God?
Was the writer confirmed by acts of God?
Did the message tell the truth about God? (As revealed in other inspired books.)
Was it accepted by the people of God?
Was the book written by a prophet of God?
Prophets were God’s spokesmen.
Amos 3:8. A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken! Who can but prophesy?
Numbers 22:18. Then Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more.
Deuteronomy 18:18. I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him.
In New Testament times, apostles were prophets but not the only prophets.
2 Corinthians 5:20. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.
Ephesians 4:11. And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers.
Was the writer confirmed by acts of God?
This was how one determined if a person was an apostle or prophet.
Exodus 4:1-5. Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’”2 So the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A rod.” 3 And He said, “Cast it on the ground.” So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. 4 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail” (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), 5 “that they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”
Deuteronomy 18:22. When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.
Mark 16:17-20. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” 19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.
Did the message tell the truth about God? (As revealed in other inspired books.)
If there was doubt concerning the authorship of a book, then the content was considered.
If it was written by a prophet, it would not contradict the writings of other prophets.
Was it accepted by the people of God?
During Old Testament times, the people of God were the Jewish people.
During New Testament times, the people of God are Christians.
Those who lived during those early times would know which books were written by prophets and were thus authoritative.
WHEN WAS THE CANON COMPLETED?
Old Testament.
There is ample evidence that the Old Testament Canon was in place by the time of the writing of the New Testament.
Jesus mentions the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms. Luke 24:44. Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.”
The statement in Luke 11:51 is also significant. Therefore the wisdom of God also said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,’ 50 that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation.
Abel was the first martyr mention in the Old Testament.
Zachariah was the last. 2 Chronicles 24:20-21. Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus says God: ‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the LORD, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the LORD, He also has forsaken you.’” 21 So they conspired against him, and at the command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the LORD.
Lightfoot says that the way that the Jews order the Old Testament books is different from ours.
Chronicles is last.
Thus, from Abel (Genesis) to Zechariah (Chronicles), the Jews had rejected God’s prophets.
Josephus (A.D. 37-100)
“We have not 10,000 books among us, disagreeing with and contradicting one another, but only twenty-two books which contain the records of all time, and are justly believed to be divine. Five of these are by Moses, and contain his laws and traditions of the origin of mankind until his death… From the death of Moses till the reign of Artaxerxes, king of Persia, who reigned after Xerxes, the prophets who succeeded Moses wrote down what happened in their times in thirteen books; and the remaining four books contain hymns to God and precepts for the conduct of human life.”
Josephus’ 22 books correspond to our 39.
5 books of Moses – Genesis to Deuteronomy.
13 books of the prophets: Joshua, Judges-Ruth, Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra-Nehemiah, Isaiah, Jeremiah-Lamentations, Daniel, Ezekiel, Job, Esther, the Book of the Twelve (minor prophets).
4 books of hymns: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon.
What about the Old Testament Apocrypha. From two Greek words which means “authorship and origin is obscure.”
These are 15 additional books that you will find in the Catholic Bible.
These books are not canonical because they break the rules listed above.
They do not agree with known and accepted canonical books.
2 Maccabees 12:45-46 teaches the doctrine of praying for the dead.
Tobit 12:9 teaches salvation by works.
“Bel” is referred to as a “living god” in Bel and the Dragon (v.6)
God assisted Judith in a deed of falsehood in Judith 9:10,13.
There is no claim in the Apocryphal books that they are the word of God.
They were not accepted by the people of that time.
Joseph. “It is true our history hath been written since Artaxerxes very particularly but hath not been esteemed of the like authority with the former by our forefathers, because there hath not been an exact succession of the prophets since that time.” Against Apion 1.8.
The Talmud says: “After the latter prophets Haggai, Zechariah…and Malachi, the Holy Spirit departed from Israel.”
Philo (20 B.C. – A.D. 40) quoted from every book of the OT but never quoted from the Apocrypha.
Neither Jesus nor the New Testament writers ever quoted from the Apocrypha.
They were not even officially recognized by the Catholic church until the Council of Trent in 1546.
New Testament.
The primary test for New Testament canonicity was inspiration. Was the book written by an apostle or prophet?
There is evidence that a Canon was being developed VERY early in the New Testament church.
Inspired writings were circulated and collected by the early church.
1 Thessalonians 5:27. I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read to all the holy brethren.
Revelation 1:11. Saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”
Colossians 4:16. Now when this epistle is read among you, see that it is read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.
They were so well circulated, so early on that Peter refers to the writings of Paul and expects his audience to be familiar with them. 2 Peter 3:15-16. And consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, 16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.
There was not one specific point where the canon of the New Testament was decided.
It happened over a period of time but was completed very early. (Before the Catholic church came into existence and before those councils which are usually given credit for establishing the canon.)
Notice some of these proofs:
Irenaeus (A.D. 170). Quoted or considered authentic 23 of the 27 New Testament books. Omitted Philemon, James, 2 Peter, and 3 John.
Clement of Alexandria (A.D. 200). Has almost identical list with Irenaeus. He also leaves out 2 Timothy and 2 John.
Old Syriac translation. Made in about A.D. 400 but was copied from a text dating to the second century. Included all of NT except 2 Peter, 2&3 John, Jude, Revelation.
Old Latin translation. Translated prior to A.D. 200. Contained everything except Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter.
The Muratorian Canon. A.D. 170. Lists all NT books except Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter. Many believe the other books were present but lost due to a break in the MS.
The main thing to remember is this: The New Testament Canon was not decided by some council or the Catholic church.
Why were some books disputed? Which books were they?
Hebrews.
The main reason for this was that the author does not identify himself.
Those who believed that Paul wrote the book accepted it immediately.
James.
Many believed that James’ teaching on faith and works contradicted the teachings of Paul.
Eventually, people came to realize that there was no contradiction.
2 Peter.
The main concern here was that the style of writing was so different from 1 Peter.
However, there were also similarities.
Realizing that a person’s vocabulary and style can change over time convinced people to accept it as Petrine.
2 & 3 John.
Some questioned if John was really the author.
Also, they are private letters and were not circulated as widely as other writings at first.
However, they were circulated widely enough that they were recognized in the Muratorian Canon.
Jude.
Questioned because many believed that it referenced the pseudepigraphal writings; The Book of Enoch and The Assumption of Moses.
However, the fact that these writings may have been quoted does not mean that the whole book was approved but only the part that was quoted.
Much like Paul quoted pagan poets. Acts 17:28. For in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’
Revelation.
Questioned because many believed that it taught the doctrine of millennialism.
This however, was a misuse of the text.
What about the pseudepigrapha? Over 280 of these. None of them were ever considered to be canonic.
The Infancy Gospel of Thomas. An account of the infancy of Christ. Full of fanciful stories.
Has one account of Jesus making sparrows out of clay and bringing them to life (2:1-4).
One boy takes a willow branch and disperses the water which angers Jesus and he curses the boy and he withers up wholly (3:2-3).
In another instance, a child dashed against Jesus’ shoulder and Jesus curses him to die.
The Gospel of the Ebionites. An account of Jesus’ life which denies His deity.
They stressed the Law of Moses.
Believe that Jesus was a mere man whom God adopted at His baptism.
The Gospel of Peter.
Taught that Pilate was guiltless for the death of Christ and that only the Jews were responsible.
That Jesus felt no pain when crucified.
That Jesus’ brothers and sisters were from Joseph’s first marriage.
Protevangelium of James. Characterized by its devotion to Mary.
A very early form of devotion to Mary, which included belief in her miraculous birth and her perpetual virginity.
That Mary was born after only 6 months in the womb and walked seven steps only six months after birth.
The Gospel of the Hebrews.
Places James at the last supper. When he wasn’t.
Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as His mother.
The Gospel of the Egyptians.
Only a few fragments exist today.
Has Jesus teaching that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are the same person.
Teaches that the body (all flesh) is evil.
The Gospel of the Nazaraeans.
Teaches that Jesus did not spend three days and nights in the grave.
Instead of saying that the veil of the temple rent, it says “the lintel of the temple of wondrous size collapsed.”
It typically is very close to the synoptic gospels but just adds embellishments to the story.
The Gospel of Philip.
It narrates the manner of the ascent of a soul through seven successive spheres of hostile “powers.”
It was known by only one citation until a 4th-5th century MS was found in Egypt in 1945.
IS THE BIBLE A CATHOLIC BOOK? IF IT IS A CATHOLIC BOOK THEN…
Why does it condemn clerical dress? (Matt. 23:5-6). But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. 6 They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, 7 greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’
Why does it teach against the adoration of Mary? (Luke 11:27-28). And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!” 28 But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
Why does it show that all Christians are priests? (1 Pet. 2:5,9). You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
Why does it teach that all Christians are saints? (1 Cor. 1:2). To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
Why does it condemn the making and adoration of images? (Ex. 20:4-5). “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me
Why does it teach that baptism is immersion instead of pouring? (Col. 2:12). Buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
Why does it forbid us to address religious leaders as "father"? (Matt. 23:9). Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.
Why does it teach that Christ is the only foundation and not the apostle Peter? (1 Cor. 3:11). For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Why does it teach that there is one mediator instead of many? (1 Tim. 2:5). For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.
Why does it teach that a bishop must be a married man? (1 Tim. 3:2, 4-5). A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; 4 one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence 5 (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?);
Why is it opposed to the primacy of Peter? (Luke 22:24-27). Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest. 25 And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’ 26 But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. 27 For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves.
Why does it oppose the idea of purgatory? (Luke 16:26). And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’
Why is it completely silent about infant baptism, instrumental music in worship, indulgences, confession to priests, the rosary, the mass, and many other things in the Catholic Church?
CONCLUSION.
God is the author of all Scripture.
All man has had to do is recognize what God inspired.
That was not done by the Catholic church.
It was not done by any one specific group of men or women.
It was done by the followers of Christ in ancient times.
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