How were the books of the Bible selected?
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Who decided which books were selected to be part of our modern Bibles?
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- 00:03
- The Bible isn't a single book, but a collection of 66 books and letters that have been compiled into one volume.
- 00:11
- The books which are regarded as having a divine authority are referred to by scholars as canonical writings.
- 00:17
- The English word canon is derived from a Greek word which referred to a standard or rule. Thus, a writing is considered canon if it meets a certain standard.
- 00:26
- Some erroneously believe the Bible's canon was decided by the Catholic Church or by Emperor Constantine.
- 00:33
- Nevertheless, it is a fact that the books in our modern Bibles were already considered canon long before.
- 00:39
- Church councils did discuss the canon of the Bible, but what they really did was ratify the existing canon.
- 00:46
- As each book of the Bible was written, people who lived at the time were eyewitnesses of the events which the prophets spoke of.
- 00:53
- When the words of the prophets were recorded, the people recognized the writings as authentic and factual.
- 00:59
- Since they knew the prophets were messengers of God, they considered the prophets' writings to equally be a message from God.
- 01:06
- As time went by, the writings were added to the list of books considered to be inspired. It is important to note the order.
- 01:14
- The writings were not considered authoritative because they were added to the canon, but were added to the canon because they were recognized as a message from God.
- 01:22
- Of course, there were writings that were rejected. Sometimes the author was not recognized as a prophet.
- 01:29
- Some writings contradicted books that were already known to be inspired. Some books were not accepted because they were written too late.
- 01:37
- The apostles and prophets had all passed away by 100 AD, and therefore anything written later was automatically suspect.
- 01:44
- The canon of the Old Testament had been established long before the time of Jesus. Origen, who lived from approximately 182 to 254
- 01:54
- AD, listed all of the books in our modern New Testament and some of his writings. This shows that a general consensus among Christians had already been reached by the middle of the 3rd century.
- 02:05
- The formation of the canon did not come all at once, but was the product of centuries of contemplation and consensus.