The creation of religious texts involves a five-stage process:
The events themselves
The accounts provided by people discussing the events
The writings produced about these events
All documents stem from the same sources and individuals
Edited Tradition
C1 denotes edited tradition
Scholars come together to refine religious documents.
This includes ensuring correct punctuation, grammar, history, and theology.
Greek Term and Definitions
The word kata comes from Greek, meaning:
Ruler or measure.
The Hebrew Scriptures and Christian Scriptures are considered to be written by humans under divine inspiration.
The term grace of sacred scripture indicates that God is the ultimate author of the Bible.
Inspiration of Scripture
Inspiration refers to the influence and motivation provided by God to human authors.
It does not imply that God dictated every word verbatim.
The authors (Jews and Christians) recorded what was divinely intended for humanity's salvation.
This belief is an act of faith rather than something that can be empirically proven.
Canon of Sacred Scripture
Canon means an approved list
The canon includes books that have been acknowledged by religious authorities as God's inspired word.
For the Hebrew Scriptures, 24 books were accepted as canonical by Jewish leaders between 200 BC and 200 AD.
Categories:
Torah
Prophets
Writings (Tanakh)
For the Christian Scriptures, 27 books were canonized by church leaders between the 1st and 3rd centuries.
Differences Between Catholic and Protestant Bibles
The Catholic Bible consists of 73 books, while the Protestant Bible has 66 books due to a difference of seven books in the Old Testament.
Details regarding the differences will be elaborated further.
Historical Context - Hebrew Scriptures
2000 years ago, 24 books existed in the Jewish Bible in Hebrew, particularly in Jerusalem.
A distinct community of faithful Jews in Egypt used Greek as their language.
This community recognized the same 24 Hebrew books plus an additional 7 books, totaling 31 books in the Greek Scriptures.
Summary of Canonical Structures
The Hebrew Canon consists of 24 books.
The Greek Bible utilized by communities in Egypt encompassed 31 books.
Upon conclusion, the Catholic Church aligns with the Greek Septuagint, which includes all 31 books.
The Protestant Reformation led by Martin Luther favored the Hebrew canon, reducing the count to 24 books.
The Impact of Martin Luther
In the 16th century, Martin Luther challenged the Catholic Church's canon, asserting reliance on the original Hebrew manuscripts.
Resulted in a split between Protestant and Catholic bibles.
The Catholic OT was adapted to reflect Luther's delineation of larger books into smaller individual ones for ease. - For example, Kings and Chronicles were split into two books each, leading to the count of 39.
Modern Composition of the Old Testament
Protestant Canon: 39 books based on the Hebrew texts.
Catholic Canon: 46 books based on the Greek Septuagint.
Selecting Canonical Texts
The Catholic Church used a three-pronged test for canonicity:
Orthodox Content: Must align with recognized truth and teachings of Jesus.
Apostolic Connection: Must stem from an apostle or their direct community.
Use for Worship or Teaching: Texts needed to be used in liturgical practices or teachings about Jesus.
Examples of Excluded Texts
Certain texts, such as the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Saint Peter, did not pass the criteria for inclusion in the canon.
Catholic Church and Canonical Selection Criteria
During the third century, canonical texts agreed upon reflected a belief in the guidance of the Holy Spirit in their selection.
If a book lacked even one of the three criteria, it was rejected from the canon.
Concluding Thoughts
By the fourth century, the Christian community reached consensus on the New Testament’s texts.
The understanding of what constitutes canonical scripture continues to impact theological discussions today.