Sunday, August 23, 2009

What is the Canon of the New Testament?

The standard, simplified definition of the "New Testament Canon" would include the following ingredients:

Definition:

"The final, written list of all books that belong in the Christian Scriptures" [Note: this would mean that there was no canon until all books were written and finally recognized as part of the Scriptures; I disagree with this]

Ingredients:

Each book of the NT Canon had to have been written under Apostolic Authority in the first century [Note: a book need not be written by an Apostle personally, but did have to have Apostolic approval] - This along would qualify the book as part of the Canon; this is referred to as Apostolicity

A NT book needed to be recognized as possessing Apostolic Authority by the oral tradition of the early church; this is referred to as Catholicity

The teachings of a book had to agree with the already-established Christian tradition; this is referred to as Orthodoxy

Any book considered had to exhibit signs of Divine Inspiration

More to follow...