Carolina Horsepower - View Single Post - how & when the Bible was defined & listed, & by who

04ctd · 09-05-2016, 11:00 PM

FWIW, I never knew it was that simple, I always though the Bible floated around and was never really defined until the KJV in 1611.

http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/King-James-Version/

here's the paper I had to write, which basically forced me to learn all the above stuff. I hope you guys get some use of it. Apologize in advance for any mistakes or typoes.

-----

The canon was created by church leaders very recently after Jesus’ death, because as the eyewitnesses began to die of old age, it became apparent that others were going to write false texts. This would have been readily apparent from the viewpoint of church leaders during this time, if we consider how many false preachers and teachers would want to twist Jesus’ teachings to make them wealthy or powerful. It was apparent to them that other church leaders would need to know what books were officially considered inspired scripture.

Irenaeus of Lyons (AD 177) was a disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of the Apostle John. Irenaeus therefore was a second-generation eyewitness, and he wrote “Against Heresies” (in five volumes) to begin debunking the heresies that had already surfaced. He was one of the first to firmly expound that Churches in Germany, Spain, or France use the same scriptures as those established by the first generation eyewitnesses, and that all these churches, however far spread, do indeed use teach the same gospel from the same texts. Irenaeus was actively preaching and teaching around AD 180, and he quoted over 1000 passages, from all except a handful of the modern 27 texts, and described them as the scriptures given by the Holy Spirit. Irenaeus further defined that the four Gospels were set in stone. As such, Irenaeus was the first church leader to define the Canon, to preach from the Canon, and his direct accountability to the Apostle John through Polycarp gives him great authority.

The earliest list of books was the Muratorian Canon dated around AD 150, and the Muratorian Canon claimed it’s list (4 Gospels, 13 letters from Paul, John’s letters, Acts, Jude and Revelation) was accepted by the universal church at the time. By AD 180, the New Testament Canon as we know it was widely acknowledged as true Scripture. Only a few churches were still unsure of James, Jude, second and third John, Second Peter, Hebrews, and Revelations. However all other churches had accepted the modern Canon by AD 180.

In AD 240, Origen of Alexandria was fully using all 27 books of the modern New Testament without reservation, indicating formal acceptance and closure of the New Testament Canon. Origen also referred to these books as the “New Testament” and believed them to be inspired by the Holy Spirit.

In AD 325, Eusebius of Caesarea, the first “Church Historian” and an advisor of Constantine, the first Roman Emperor to proclaim his Christianity, surveyed all the churches across Rome (could this have done under the authority of Constantine to define the correct scripture to use?). Eusebius found twenty-two books to be in unquestioned usage, and noted five outliers (James, Jude, second and third John, Second Peter) which were also widely recognized.

In AD 367, we see the first full list exactly matching the modern New Testament with all 27 books being recognized by Athanasius of Alexandria, and he stipulates to let no one add to them, or take away from them.

It was by the common churches in normal use that the Canon was decided, long before the Council of Carthage in AD 367. We can see by this list that the earliest church leaders took an active part in defining the Canon: to defend against heresy, to prevent false teachings from creeping in, and because the authority of these inspired books was self-evident. Another reason for the Canon to be stipulated would that in ancient times, all these texts could not physically be bound as one large book, therefore each book would have to be on it’s own scroll, therefore, the church leaders felt it necessary to define which books/scrolls are to be used to teach the Gospel.

Brian Edwards, Why 27? (Darlington, England: Evangelical Press, 2007), notes from video presentation from Answers in Genesis.

The video is apparently not available on their website, and neither is the book: https://answersingenesis.org/store/p.../?sku=10-4-049.

Details on Brian Edwards:
https://answersingenesis.org/bios/brian-edwards/
http://exiledpreacher.blogspot.com/2...n-edwards.html

09-05-2016, 11:00 PM	#2
04ctd Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Ladson SC Posts: 4,388	FWIW, I never knew it was that simple, I always though the Bible floated around and was never really defined until the KJV in 1611. http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/King-James-Version/ here's the paper I had to write, which basically forced me to learn all the above stuff. I hope you guys get some use of it. Apologize in advance for any mistakes or typoes. ----- The canon was created by church leaders very recently after Jesus’ death, because as the eyewitnesses began to die of old age, it became apparent that others were going to write false texts. This would have been readily apparent from the viewpoint of church leaders during this time, if we consider how many false preachers and teachers would want to twist Jesus’ teachings to make them wealthy or powerful. It was apparent to them that other church leaders would need to know what books were officially considered inspired scripture. Irenaeus of Lyons (AD 177) was a disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of the Apostle John. Irenaeus therefore was a second-generation eyewitness, and he wrote “Against Heresies” (in five volumes) to begin debunking the heresies that had already surfaced. He was one of the first to firmly expound that Churches in Germany, Spain, or France use the same scriptures as those established by the first generation eyewitnesses, and that all these churches, however far spread, do indeed use teach the same gospel from the same texts. Irenaeus was actively preaching and teaching around AD 180, and he quoted over 1000 passages, from all except a handful of the modern 27 texts, and described them as the scriptures given by the Holy Spirit. Irenaeus further defined that the four Gospels were set in stone. As such, Irenaeus was the first church leader to define the Canon, to preach from the Canon, and his direct accountability to the Apostle John through Polycarp gives him great authority. The earliest list of books was the Muratorian Canon dated around AD 150, and the Muratorian Canon claimed it’s list (4 Gospels, 13 letters from Paul, John’s letters, Acts, Jude and Revelation) was accepted by the universal church at the time. By AD 180, the New Testament Canon as we know it was widely acknowledged as true Scripture. Only a few churches were still unsure of James, Jude, second and third John, Second Peter, Hebrews, and Revelations. However all other churches had accepted the modern Canon by AD 180. In AD 240, Origen of Alexandria was fully using all 27 books of the modern New Testament without reservation, indicating formal acceptance and closure of the New Testament Canon. Origen also referred to these books as the “New Testament” and believed them to be inspired by the Holy Spirit. In AD 325, Eusebius of Caesarea, the first “Church Historian” and an advisor of Constantine, the first Roman Emperor to proclaim his Christianity, surveyed all the churches across Rome (could this have done under the authority of Constantine to define the correct scripture to use?). Eusebius found twenty-two books to be in unquestioned usage, and noted five outliers (James, Jude, second and third John, Second Peter) which were also widely recognized. In AD 367, we see the first full list exactly matching the modern New Testament with all 27 books being recognized by Athanasius of Alexandria, and he stipulates to let no one add to them, or take away from them. It was by the common churches in normal use that the Canon was decided, long before the Council of Carthage in AD 367. We can see by this list that the earliest church leaders took an active part in defining the Canon: to defend against heresy, to prevent false teachings from creeping in, and because the authority of these inspired books was self-evident. Another reason for the Canon to be stipulated would that in ancient times, all these texts could not physically be bound as one large book, therefore each book would have to be on it’s own scroll, therefore, the church leaders felt it necessary to define which books/scrolls are to be used to teach the Gospel. Brian Edwards, Why 27? (Darlington, England: Evangelical Press, 2007), notes from video presentation from Answers in Genesis. The video is apparently not available on their website, and neither is the book: https://answersingenesis.org/store/p.../?sku=10-4-049. Details on Brian Edwards: https://answersingenesis.org/bios/brian-edwards/ http://exiledpreacher.blogspot.com/2...n-edwards.html __________________ 1 Timothy 3:16 16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.