Who Determined the Canon?
Who was it that actually canonized the bible? Was it the Catholics? I hear it was Jewish men who were christians. This would seem to make more sense. Along the same lines, how long did it take to canonize the bible to its completion as we know it? Thank you for your response and time.
Chuck Di Nardo
Actually, the New Testament canon that we currently have was first recognized (not determined) by the Eastern church (not Rome), represented by Athanasius in his Easter Letter (mid fourth century). Rome had adopted a New Testament canon that excluded Hebrews, but eventually adopted the New Testament canon decided upon by the Eastern church by naming the same books at the synods of Carthage and Hippo (late fourth century, early fifth century). The Old Testament canon was first recognized by Jesus himself. In Luke 11:50-51, Jesus says: "Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all." The significance of this statement for canonization is that Jesus, by these words, legitimizes the Hebrew canon. The Hebrew canon arranges books a bit differently than our canon does. It begins with Genesis and ends with 2 Chronicles, although all the books are exactly the same as those found in the Protestant Old Testament. The book of 2 Chronicles records the death of Zechariah above. So what Jesus is saying here is that the Pharisees will be held responsible for all the deaths recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures, from Abel (found at the beginning of that canon) to Zechariah (found at the end of that canon). Moreover, Paul makes it clear that the Jews were "entrusted with the very words of God" (Rom 3:2), and that to them belong "the covenants and the receiving of the law" (Rom 9:4). The current Roman Catholic Old Testament (which includes the Apocrypha) was not finally decided upon until the Council of Trent at the Counter Reformation—which by the way differs in content from the Old Testament decided upon by Hippo and Carthage! The bottom line is, the church has no business deciding upon the contents of the canon of the Old Covenant—that task was entrusted to Israel. The church, on the other hand, has been entrusted with the canon of the New Covenant, and the exact contents of that canon received wide recognition by the end of the fourth century.
E.S.