The Canonization of the Bible

The Canonization of the Bible

Who decided which writings belong in the Bible? Accepting Scripture requires revelation and faith, because the historical account is somewhat ambiguous. But many facets of the evidence support our confidence in the divine inspiration and authority of the Bible. We can trace the writing and keeping of Old Testament works from Moses through Ezra and observe its meticulous preservation by Jewish scribes. Ultimately, Christ Himself endorsed the Old Testament canon. The New Testament is more difficult. Athanasius provides the earliest surviving list of exactly our 27 New Testament books in AD 367; later synods of Hippo and Carthage formally recognized the same collection. But contrary to common Catholic and Protestant accounts, the New Testament was not canonized through a progressive selection process culminating in fourth-century ecclesiastical councils — long after the Apostles were gone and their instructions were corrupted with pagan syncretism. Clement of Rome, Polycarp, Irenaeus, and the Muratorian Fragment provide evidence that apostolic writings were preserved, authorized, and circulating in the 1st and 2nd centuries. Scripture itself shows Paul, Peter, and John selecting, preserving, recognizing, and circulating apostolic writings as Scripture during the first century. We can reasonably infer that Peter collected and bound their writings, and John, the last surviving apostle, completed the canon of New Testament scripture.