The Canon - The canon, or officially accepted list of books in the Hebrew Bible, consists of 24 books according to Jewish reckoning and is divided into three parts: the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings. The Law (Torah), often called the Pentateuch, comprises five books, GENESIS through DEUTERONOMY.

The Prophets (Nevi im) are divided into three parts: the earlier prophets (Joshua, JUDGES, 1 and 2 SAMUEL, and 1 and 2 KINGS); the later prophets (ISAIAH, Jeremiah, and EZEKIEL); and twelve books called the Minor Prophets because of their brevity. The 11 Writings (Ketuvim) include three poetic books (PSALMS, PROVERBS, and Job); the five scrolls (SONG OF SOLOMON, RUTH, LAMENTATIONS, Ecclesiastes, and ESTHER); an apocalyptic work, DANIEL; and EZRA/NEHEMIAH and 1 and 2 CHRONICLES.

Christian Bibles arrange the books differently. The Law, or Pentateuch, comes first, then all the historical books. These are followed by the poetical, or wisdom, books and finally the prophetic books. Thus Ruth, Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther appear in the second group and Daniel and Lamentations in the fourth.

The Canon - The process by which the canon of the New Testament was formed began in the 2d century, probably with a collection of ten letters of Paul. Toward the end of that century, IRENAEUS argued for the unique authority of the portion of the Canon called the Gospels. Acceptance of the other books came gradually. The church in Egypt used more than the present 27 books, and the (Syriac?)speaking churches fewer. The question of an official canon became urgent during the 4th century. It was mainly through the influence of ATHANASIUS, bishop of Alexandria, and because JEROME included the 27 books in his Latin version of the Bible called the Vulgate, that the present canon came to be accepted.

Definitions and Test for Canonicity:  (Canon originally meant "a straight rod" or a "measuring stick.")

1. Authorship - A book had to be written by an apostle or a close associate of an apostle. For example, Mark was not an apostle, but was a close associate of the Apostle Peter.

2. Nature of the Book - Does the message of the book agree with the content of divine revelation in the Old Testament? Does the book reflect the character of the person and work of Jesus Christ and agree with the existing apostolic writing?

3. Universality - Is the book being read and practiced in the churches throughout the Body of Christ? This criterion addresses the degree to which the people of God recognize and accept the authority of the book under consideration.

4. Inspiration - The word inspiration literally means "God-breathed." Does the book have a spiritual character that agree with the Holy Spirit who indwells all believers?

THREE MAJOR REASONS FOR THE OFFICIAL RECOGNITION OF THE CANON:

1. The spread of false doctrine - The very existence of the church was seriously threatened by gnosticism.

2. The development of false writings - A major motivation for the canon was pseudepigrapha, false writings. These came out of a desire to know more about the childhood of Jesus and to have more information about New Testament personalities.

3. Persecution - In A.D. 303, the Edict of Diocletian declared that all Christian books must be destroyed. This forced the Church to determine
which books were of real value and which books could be cast into the fire.

PROCESS OF CANONIZATION

The central question here is, "By what means did the church come to recognize and endorse the authoritative books of the New Testament?" A
primary means was through general church councils.

The major councils were:

1. The Council of Laodicea (A.D. 363) - this particular council accepted all of the books of the New Testament except the Book of Revelation.

2. The Council of Carthage (A.D. 397) - this council of chaired by the preeminent early church father and theologian, Augustine. The Council of Carthage accepted all 27 New Testament books.

3. The Council of Hippo (419 A.D.) - this council reaffirmed the Council of Carthage..

During the process of canonization, there was no unanimous consent on what books should be included in the canon. The deliberations fell into two categories:

1. Homolegoumena - Those works which were unanimously accepted by the councils were called Homolegoumena. The prefix homo means the same. The root word logo means to say. So the word Homolegoumena means to say the same things or to agree.

2. Antilegoumena - The disputed works were called Antilegoumena. The prefix anti means against and so the Antilegoumena were the works which were spoken against by the councils. The disputed works were:

A. Philemon - The early Church Fathers argued that Philemon was simply a letter addressed to an individual concerning a very secular, non-religious subject. It had nothing to do with the person and work of Christ, the nature of the Gospel and the edification of the church.

B. Hebrews - In that Hebrews is anonymous, it could not be proved that it was written by an apostle or a close associate of an apostle.

C. The Epistles of John - Also anonymous, very brief, of unknown destination, and had limited circulation in the church.

D. II Peter - Its author appears to have borrowed much material from the Epistle of Jude.

E. Jude - This work frequently quoted from apocryphal works, particularly the Books of Enoch and the Assumption of Moses.

F. Revelation - It was the most disputed work of all the New Testament, because by A.D. 400 few understood its message, The apocalyptic imagery of Revelation proved to be confusing to the saints but also served as fertile ground for the Christian gnostic heretics.