How was the Bible put Together?
How do we know that the sixty-six books of the Bible are the only writings that should be included in Scripture? What about the Apocrypha,or the Gnostic gospels? Why shouldn't they be included? The answer lies in the idea of canonicity. Canon comes from Greek and Hebrew words that mean a measuring rod,and it signifies a standard that all scriptural books must meet.Several inadequate views of what that standard should be have been offered,such as age,agreement with the Torah if it was written in Hebrew,religious value,and Christian usage. But each of these makes a common mistake.;they confuse God's "determination" of what is Scripture with man's "recognition" of those writings.
The bottom line is that whatever God inspired is Scripture and what He did not inspire is not. When the Holy Spirit moved a man of God to write,that writing became,not only inspired,but inscripturated. God has already decided what should be included;our problem is knowing how to discover what writings God has inspired.
There are five questions that have been asked by the church in accepting and rejecting books as canonical. The first and most basic:
1. Was it written by a prophet of God?
Deuteronomy 18:18 tells us that only a prophet of God will speak the Word of God. This is the way God reveals Himself(Heb.1:1). Second Peter 1:20-21 assures us that Scripture is only written by men of God.
2. Was he confirmed by an act of God?
Hebrews 2:3-4 gives us the idea that we should expect some miraculous confirmation of those who speak for God. Moses had his rod that turned into a serpent,Jesus had the Resurrection,and the apostles continued Jesus'miracles,all to confirm that their message was from God. Many of the prophets had prophecies fulfilled shortly after they were made to confirm their authority.
3. Does it tell the truth about God?
"But even though we,or an angel from heaven,should preach to you a gospel contray to that which we have preached to you,let him be accursed"(Gal.1:8). Agreement with all earlier revelation is essential. This dictum also rules out false prophecies made in the name of God(Deut.18:22).
4. Does it have the power of God?
Any writting that does not exhibit the transforming power of God in the lives of it's readers is not from God.,"For the Word of God is living and active and shaper than any two-edge sword"(Heb.4:12).
5. Was it accepted by the people of God?
Paul thanked the Thessalonians for receiving the apostles' message as the Word of God(1 Thes.2:13). It is the norm that God's people,that is the majority of them and not simply a faction,will initially receive God's Word as such. Moses'scrolls were placed immediately into the ark of the covenant(Deut.31:24-26)and Joshua's writings were add in the same fashion(Josh.24:26),as were Samuel's(1 Sam.10:25). Jeremiah is known as the plagiarizing prophet because he quoted so many prophets who had written only a few years before him,which shows that their writings had been readly accepted. Daniel is seen studing the book of Jeremiah within 50 years after it was written(Dan.9:2). The New Testament also shows similar acceptance in that Peter calls Paul's writings Scripture(2 Peter 3:16)and Paul quotes Luke alongside a passage from the Law(1 Tim.5:18). We also are aware that Paul's letters were circulated among the churches(Col.4:16; 1 Thes.5:27). This may have been the begininng of the collection of books for the New testament canon. Though some books were later disputed,their oringinal acceptance speaks strongly in favor of their inclusion.
When Skepitcs Ask by Norman Gesiler
God bless!
Comments (16)
The Gnostic gospels and the writings related to them are part of the New Testament pseudepigrapha,which means "false writing". They are so called because the author has used the name of some apostle rather than his own name,for example,the Gospel of Peter and the Acts of John. These were not written by the apostles,but by men in the second century(and later)pretending to use apostolic authority to advance their own teachings. Today we call this fraud and forgery. For the people who advance these writings as legitimate Christian tradition,this poses a problem,because they think that much of the New Testament was written in the same way. The books teach the doctrines of the two earliest heresies,both of which denied the reality of the incarnation. They said that Jesus was really only a spirit that looked like a man,so His resurrection was just a return to spiritual form. They claim to provide information about Jesus childhood,but the stories they record are highly unlikely and are not from eye witnesses. No one ever accepted these as Scripture in any sense,except the heretical factions which created them. They are not a legitimate part of the Christian tradition,but a record of the myths and heresies which arose outside of the mainstream of Christianity.
Nice pic! I am doing well dear. Thanks for asking. I always appreciate your comments! By the way,I always wondered,what's a bible basher? Ha,ha,lol.
The so called scriptures, have been modified and altered to suite the church for thousands of years....anyone who has done any real research knows it was put together by the Roman Empire to control the masses!
it all goes back to the connection we have with the tree.[paper/book/tree/family/leaves/branches/seeds/roots the spreading and so say all of us
why did Adam and Eve choose to eat the forbidden fruits
now about beliefs,there is 10 basic commandments according to our bible.THOU SHALL NOT KILL being one of them.
why is it that people who claim to be very religious and bible worshipers think its okay to break this commandment wen THEY deem it suitable.am talking about wars here[such as jihad and so on],why should it be acceptable to kill in a war or who says its acceptable? is it just we bend the rules to suit ourselfs?
the problem is people think what there thought and they believe this must be right[understandably so] but they forget not everyone has quite the same beliefs.LOVE/TOLERANCE/RESPECT is what i believe God wants us to show to one another.the little differences in beliefs should matter little if anything.
Hello sir. There is not a shred of evidence that the Roman empire,had anything to do with the canon of Scripture. And if I may add...The church is not the final arbiter for the criteria of what will be admitted as evidence. Only God can determine the criteria for the discovery of what is his Word. What is of God will have his "fingerprints" on it and only God is the determiner of what his fingerprints are like.
God Bless!
about capital punishment.
some are for,some against.
was'nt it Jesus's teachings that told us we must find forgiveness in our hearts for those who commit such sins?
we can punish but who ever said we have the right to be the judges of life and death?
as God is the giver of life, i would persume he would be less than pleased if we take it upon ourselfs to take life in this way.
so many contradictions
I have a question: why was the eating of the forbidden fruit a result of having been deceived in relation to Eve, but considered a transgression by Adam? Or am I misunderstanding?
Thanks!