withallyourmind.net

The question is often asked, “How did the church decide which books are considered part of the Christian canon?” There are at least five criteria used by the church in discerning which books are to be considered authoritative for Christian life and teaching. Using Robert Bowman’s description, these are apostolicity, antiquity, authenticity, ubiquity, and catholicity. I will take a look at each of these in turn.

In order to be considered canonical, a work must be considered to have been authored by an apostle or an associate of an apostle. Thus, direct apostolic authorship was not insisted on as long as some form of apostolic authority could be established. This is the only criterion, in and of itself, which would earn a work a place in the canon of scripture. As one looks at each of the New Testament books, one finds that each meets this criterion for inclusion.

A second criterion, which is subsidiary to the first, is that of antiquity. The authorship of the work must have been by a leader from the church’s first generation. If a writing was the work of an apostle or someone closely associated with an apostle, it would, of course, meet this criterion. Later writings, no matter how meritorious, could not be considered canonical.

A third criterion is that of authenticity. Simply put, the church considered the historical traditions regarding the work’s authorship and authority. This criterion, of course, overlaps with those we have already discussed. It was important that a work have traditional support as being an authentic work of the one to whom it was attributed. It is an interesting fact that the four gospels included in the New Testament canon were all anonymous. In contrast, one finds that the “gospels” which proliferated in the late second century and later all claim to have been written by apostles and other eyewitnesses. From this fact, two things are obvious: First, the importance of being judged to be an authentic work of an apostle, and second, a distinction between the true canonical gospels and the pretenders.

Fourthly, a work was judged by its ubiquity, that is, by its acceptance and use by churches throughout the known world. If a work enjoyed only local recognition, it would not be acknowledged as canonical. Although many works were initially addressed to individuals or local congregations, to achieve canonical status they must have attained more widespread recognition. This criterion is derived from the belief that the Holy Spirit would convict Christians everywhere of his word.

Lastly, a writing was judged to be a part of the canon based on its catholicity. This does not imply that its content agrees with teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Rather, the term catholicity refers to a works consonance with known New Testament writings and the church’s “rule of faith.” The fifth century “Vincentian canon” defined catholicity as “what has been believed everywhere, always, by all.” When previously unknown Gospels or Acts attributed to apostles began to surface, their teachings were compared with the accepted teachings of the church, especially with regard to the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Was inspiration necessary for canonicity? These two concepts are almost identical to the Christian church. To be canonical is to have been inspired by God. To have been inspired by God is to be canonical. Inspiration is not a criterion of canonicity, but a corollary of canonicity.