Why aren't books like Clement, The Acts of Paul and Thecla and Infancy included in the canon?
2007-10-31 00:09:53 · 11 answers · asked by The Lamb of Vista 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
The question is WHO decides.
2007-10-31 00:17:40 · update #1
Great question! This very issue is what led me to better understand the Church that Jesus gave us. There were hundreds of different Christians writings and some 50 or more gospels. Why do we only have 27 NT books? Who decided that?
The historical answer is that the Catholic Church, by authority given to Her by Jesus, made that decision. It was Her councils that discerned which were inspired and which weren't, and we have the product of that today, which even Protestants atest to because they defend and read the same canon as Holy and Inspired that came from the Church, which they like to throw at us all the time saying we're "unbiblical". If they don't like our Church, why use our bible?
2007-10-31 00:18:53 · answer #1 · answered by Danny H 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Church decided that long ago, inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Some of those books are pretty good, I've read many of them BTW - Clement, the Didache are both good and at one time were actually read as Scripture in the early Church.
Some, like the so called "infancy stories" of when Christ was a child are iffy
Early Churchs are who decided which books were inspired and which weren't - it was a gradual process that wasn't finalized for quite some time. The oral teaching tradition of the Church always has existed from day one, and that is mentioned in the Bible.
2007-10-31 07:24:00 · answer #2 · answered by the phantom 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The "officials" of "canonization" I must say. Whichever is inspired or not, with the Bible or not, doesn't matter to me. I always pray that the Holy Spirit make me an inspired reader so that I may absorb only what is useful.
2007-10-31 07:17:46 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I believe that was some special council of the Roman Catholic Church back around 300 AD - and to this day, I wish they had excluded Revelations (too poetic) and James (the New Testament "kill-joy"!).
2007-10-31 07:17:27 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Men wrote them.
Men decide which books should be included in the bible. The decisions are known to have been taken to protect vested interests.
God has nothing to do with it.
2007-10-31 07:17:11 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It was all decided at the councils of Hippo and Carthage. They decided some of the texts were too gnostic to be included.
2007-10-31 07:17:47 · answer #6 · answered by ☼ɣɐʃʃɜƾ ɰɐɽɨɲɜɽɨƾ♀ 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
God created his word
men added chapters like the catholics added the Apocrypha
the KJV is the only pure word of God in the English language
2007-10-31 07:14:59 · answer #7 · answered by jesussaves 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
They didn't fit well enough into the Roman conspiracy.
Good Luck!!!
2007-10-31 07:16:51 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Douche Bags with power.
2007-10-31 07:13:08 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 3⤋
They aren't inspired. So said God. Otherwise they may have made it.
2007-10-31 07:14:08 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋