Discussion Board Post
Forum 4 Question 2
Word Count- 568 The twenty-seven books of the New Testament are referred to as the canon, a term that has come to mean “list” or “table” (Carson 2005, 726). In English, the term canon represents an accepted rule or norm, Paul used this same word in Galatians 6:16 when he described the standards to be followed by believers (Lea 2003, 70). The Scriptures are collectively accepted beliefs for Christians, and the New Testament canon contains the approved doctrines for the Church (Lea, 71). The books of the New Testament are considered authoritative, and from divine origin, and these twenty-seven books are distinct from other books and literature written at that time (Lea, 72). Not all books were accepted as authoritative scripture, and the criteria for determining such was difficult. However, the most important element used to indicate canonicity was inspiration, this follows 2Tim 3:16 which says that “all scripture is given by inspiration of God.”(Lea, 71). Further reference specifies that “inspired scripture” is from God, and that “not inspired” meant writings other than from God. Many other writings of the Christian Church existed and were sifted through because they lacked the elements necessary for inclusion into the canon (Lea, 72). The early Christian Church leaders used three factors to determine the validity of scriptures claimed to be inspired. Number one was the “rule of faith”, meaning that the Church accepted that the book contained correct teachings consistent with the orthopraxy of the Christian Church. Secondly, the author of the book was required to be either an associate of, or an apostle himself, this concept was referred to as “apostolicity”. Thirdly, their needed to be “universality”, meaning that the book needed to be accepted by a large geographical area of the church (Lea, 71).