the canon under fire two falsehoods about the nt canon james patrick holding tekton apologetics...
TRANSCRIPT
The Canon Under FireTwo Falsehoods About the NT Canon
James Patrick Holding
Tekton Apologetics Ministries
http://www.tektonics.org
“Skeptics silenced….rogues refuted.”
Falsehood #1“It was thrown together by (take
your pick)…”
1)Random chance
2)The emperor Constantine
3)The Council of Nicaea
4)Aliens from outer space (OK, I made that one up…)
What is a Canon?
• A canon is a religion’s or organization’s collection of normative, sacred or important books
• Canons are defined by authority (truth) and relevance
Factors in Canonization
• Apostolic authority
• Usage in the churches
• The “rule of faith”
Process of Canonization
• Precedent for a canon
• The words of Jesus start the “canon ball” rolling
• Heretics raised the need for a “canon wall”
Marcion: The Arch-Canonizer• Distanced the God of
the NT from that of the OT
• Created his own “canon”
• Accelerated the canonical process
The Canonization Continues• Gospels and Paul’s
letters as “mini-canons”
• The making of lists
• Candidates considered and discarded
Constantine: The “Evil Emperor”?
Falsehood #2
“The contents are corrupted.”
1)“Books were included that should not have been.”
2)“Books were excluded that should not have been.”
The Facts About The “Fringe”
• 20 of the 27 books were never questioned
• 7 books were examined, then let in:
2 PeterJudeJamesHebrews2, 3 JohnRevelation
Open the Door and Let Us In? • Shepherd of
Hermas
• Epistle of Barnabas
• 1 Clement
• Gospel of the Egyptians
If They Think They Can Do Better…There’s
Always This:
Further Reading
http://www.tektonics.org/lp/ntcanon.html
http://www.tektonics.org/lp/otcanon.html
http://www.tektonics.org/qt/thomasgospel.html
http://www.tektonics.org/garagesale.html