Under whose authority were the books gathered into what you consider scripture? There were other gospels out there and other writings. Who decided that these were the word of God and the others were not?
2007-05-11 05:45:03 · 18 answers · asked by in a handbasket 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
The authority was given by Jesus when He told the disciples that they had the power to bind and loose which they passed down to their successors. The successors of the apostles met in Ecumenical Synods in Africa in the late fourth and early fifth century and decided on what was Canon for the many writings in circulation among the Churches. The OT portion of the Canonized Christian Scriptures came from the Essene/Diaspora Greek Canon used by the first century Church.
In Christ
Fr. Joseph
2007-05-11 06:01:22 · answer #1 · answered by cristoiglesia 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I take the Church's authority, so I include the Apocrypha.
In the Bible, Jesus gives Peter authority over the Church. Peter hands down his authority to the next "Pope", and so on. Eventually, a Pope decides what books will be in the Bible and which books will not. So, it is a direct link to Peter, who is a link from Jesus, who is infallible.
So the books of the Bible are infallible, which is the answer to your question. But it also explains why the Apocrypha SHOULD be included in the Bible.
2007-05-11 12:49:13 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The books of the bible we have now were letters that were being passed around and copied for the early churches. God got into the bible what HE wanted!
Many other books have been written that are too new to be authentic. ie Mary, judas, phillip-all fakes and rejected for good reason.
2007-05-11 12:52:08 · answer #3 · answered by Jeanmarie 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Blame the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE for any omissions.
2007-05-11 12:49:14 · answer #4 · answered by Maverick 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The council of Nicea......yet another group of men....canonized scripture around 325 CE.
What I love is that Paul's letters to his friends made it in, yet many gospel testaments were left out. What a horrible fiction they came up with to present to the world.
2007-05-11 12:49:08 · answer #5 · answered by Medusa 5 · 1⤊ 2⤋
We don't. All faith. Is like a gamble you know?
All Christians like myself don't really think the bible is the word of God
2007-05-11 12:49:15 · answer #6 · answered by logical_christian 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is one of the reasons I do not accept Christianity. I am a Muslim Convert because the Quran is the perfect message of God, free from manipulations and political motives of humans.
2007-05-11 12:48:57 · answer #7 · answered by lilbluejeepdiane 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
The process is called canonization. There were several factors involved. This is the most brief summary I can find on the web.
http://www.christinyou.net/pages/canonscript.html
2007-05-11 12:53:37 · answer #8 · answered by Aspurtaime Dog Sneeze 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If all we had was the book of John, it would be enough. If all we had was that book, you would be asking "how do you know that the correct chapters are in that book?"
If all we had was chapter 3 of the book of John, it would be enough. Then you would be asking "how do you know that the correct verses are in that book?"
If all we had was John 3:16, it would be enough.
http://www.schneblin.com/studies/pdfs/john_3-16.pdf
But then you would ask, "how do you know that the correct words are in that verse?"
2007-05-11 12:48:49 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Supposedly, they only used ones that were verifiable or that supported one another; that is not to say that the others are necessarily false.
2007-05-11 12:48:27 · answer #10 · answered by kyeann 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋