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The definition of the word “canon” was developed as a description for books that are divinely inspired and belong in the Holy Bible. The Bible was written by nearly 40 different writers over the length of 1500 years, which was why there was a considerable amount of difficulty in determining what was Biblical canon. What made it difficult was that the Bible did not explicitly state which books belonged in the holy text. Jewish rabbis and scholars were the first to conduct a process to determine the canon, which was later continued by the early Christians. Ultimately, God Himself was the one who made the decision as to which books would be in the biblical canon.
The canonization process during the 2nd century had been directly linked to Marcion's bold attempt to form a new religion based on the new body of texts, and his rejection of the bulk of Christian writings, including the Gospels. The canon of the New Testament was largely the end result of “inner developments within the Christian Church” (Stroumsa, Gedaliahu A. pg. 79). Marcion attributed the God of the Old Testament to that of an evil villain which that the Son came to abolish. Marcion also believed that this evil entity exposed his will in the form of the Old Testament. In this way, he mirrored the belief that the Old Testament was indeed derived from divine inspiration, albeit one that was evil and not good. In addition, the finished canon of the Old Testament was not complete until AD 70, when Jerusalem was destroyed.
It is obvious that from the beginning of God's act of breathing life into the book, the scriptures were texts that belonged in the canon. In the simplest of terms, “it came down to a matter of God convincing His followers which ones should be included” (Arnold, Bill T. pg 22). In comparison to the New Testament, there was no definite opposition or questioning of the canon of the Old Testament. God’s messengers were always acknowledged by Hebrew believers. In addition, they always accepted the writings as inspired by God. Without a doubt, the Old Testament canon did stir up some debate. After time, a universal agreement was finally made regarding the canon of Hebrew Scripture. There was, however, one issue that continues to remain regarding the Apocrypha, which is still a topic of debate today.
History reveals that the first centuries of the Christian church marked the beginning of the process, recognition and collection concerning the New Testament. The books of some New Testament scriptures started to be acknowledged early on. All points are direct reasons as to why the New Testament or Canon are honored—because it was believed that God inspired them all. Paul applies this truth to both the New Testament and Old Testament alike: “All Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16 NIV). In other words, “the Old Testament canon served as a precedent and analogy for New Testament canon” (Elwell, Walter A. pg 26). There were four principles that were utilized by the councils to determine the divine inspiration in each text. The first principle was that the writer had to be an apostle or closely connected to an apostle. The second principle was that the book had to be accepted by the entire body of Christ. The third principle was that the book had to have within it a consistent doctrine that followed suit with orthodox teachings. Lastly, the book had to reflect the same values of the Holy Spirit.
Some of the books of the New Testament were spread among the Churches (Colossians 4:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:27). Pope Clement 1, also known as Saint Clement of Rome mentioned at least eight New Testament books (A.D 95). Ignatius of Antioch also known as Ignatius Theophorus accepted about seven books (A.D. 115). Polycarp who was a disciple of the Apostle John also concede fifteen books (A.D. 170-235). Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, 2 John and 3 John of the New Testament received a lot of controversy.
Bibliography
Stroumsa, G. G. (2005). Hidden wisdom: esoteric traditions and the roots of Christian mysticism. Leiden: Brill. cd
