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Q.
Who got to decide which books would be included?
José F. Morales Jr.
Who is...
?
José F. Morales Jr.
I play a mean game of ping pong.A.
To this day, some churches (e.g., Syrian Orthodox churches) have
not canonized the book of Revelation, or 2 Peter, 2–3 John, and
Jude—all of which are in the New Testament (NT) used by Protes-
tants, Catholics, and Eastern Orthodox. The Armenian Church wrestled (and
some say, still wrestles) with its canon—still debated are Third Corinthians
and The Twelve Patriarchs, among others. The Coptic Bible includes the two
Epistles of Clement; the Ethiopic Bible, still more. And the Catholic Bible con-
tains several apocryphal books.
Most of us in the United States come from the Western stream of historic
Christianity (Protestant and Catholic). Regarding the Old Testament, the
Protestants took their cue from the Jews and adopted their collection (though
in different order). Most historians note that an NT canon began forming (not
without heated debates) throughout the fi rst four centuries of the church. At
the Third Council of Carthage (397 C.E.), the church attempted to formalize a
canon based on common usage, previous lists, and theological refl ection. Some
canon-tweaking continued thereafter. The Protestant Bible excludes some
books from Carthage’s list.
Part of the reason for canonizing was to respond to what the “main-
stream” church (i.e., those in power) considered to be wrong doctrine, sadly
marginalizing sincere Christians (e.g., the Gnostics) who disagreed with them.
All this is to say that the conversation about “canon” is complex. Here are
my suggestions:
First, honor—and read!—the canon you’ve received, recognizing that
your spiritual parents were sincerely trying to care for you.
Second, respect the canons of other traditions, recognizing that in their
unique books they have found life-giving wisdom. As a Protestant, I fre-
quently visit those books. After all, “The source of wisdom is God’s word in
the highest heaven, and her ways are the eternal commandments” (Sir. 1:5).