Program / Course 4: Biblical Studies and Hermeneutics / Lesson 1.1
What you will learn
- Define canon and canonical in plain language and explain where the word comes from.
- Tell the difference between a book being written, a book being read and a book being listed as Scripture.
- Describe the main criteria early Christians used when they weighed books.
- State how Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Christians each describe the relationship between the church and the canon.
The big idea
A canon is the fixed list of books that a community accepts as Scripture and as a standard for its faith and life. The word comes from a Greek word for a measuring rod. To call a book canonical is to say that it belongs on that list. The lists did not appear in a single day. Books were written, copied, read aloud in worship and compared with one another over generations. Christians agree that the process mattered, but they describe it differently: some say the church recognized a canon that God had already given, and others say the church received it in the life of Tradition.
Key terms
- Canon
- The list of books accepted by a religious community as Scripture. From the Greek kanon, a straight rod or ruler used for measuring.
- Canonical
- Belonging to the canon. A canonical book is one the community accepts as Scripture.
- Apocrypha
- A Greek word meaning hidden things. It is used in different ways: Protestants often use it for the Old Testament books outside the Hebrew list, and scholars use it for many ancient writings that were not accepted into any canon.
- Rule of faith
- A summary of the basic Christian teaching, handed down in the church, which early writers used as a guide for reading Scripture and for judging teaching.
- Closed canon
- A canon to which nothing may be added or removed. Most Christians hold that the canon is closed.
- Apostolic
- Connected with the apostles, the first witnesses and messengers sent out by Jesus, through authorship, teaching or close association.
- Tradition
- The teaching and life handed on in the church from the beginning. Christians differ on how Tradition relates to Scripture.
Background
The Greek word kanon first meant a straight reed or rod used for measuring and keeping lines true. It then came to mean any standard or rule. Early Christian writers used it in more than one way. Some spoke of a canon of truth or a rule of faith, meaning the basic shape of Christian belief. Later, in the fourth century, writers began to use canon for the list of books that served as the church’s measure. In his Easter letter of 367, Athanasius of Alexandria used the word in this sense, and later councils did the same.
It helps to separate three questions. The first is which books were written and by whom. The second is which books were read, copied and used in worship in the churches. The third is which books were finally named in an official or widely accepted list. These are different questions with different answers, and they were settled at different times. A letter of Paul was written in a few days and read in a single congregation. It then spread, was copied, and over time came to be read beside the books of the Jewish Scriptures. Only after that did anyone write a list.
Christians were not starting from nothing. The first believers were Jews who already had Scriptures, which they called by names such as the Law and the Prophets. Jesus and the apostles quote and explain those books constantly. So the Christian question was never only which books are Scripture. It was also how the writings about Jesus and by his followers relate to the Scriptures Israel already had.
Step-by-step explanation
Step 1: Separate writing, use and listing
A book can be written without being widely read. It can be widely read without being named in a list. And a list can leave out a book that many churches still read. When you study the canon, always ask which of the three you are looking at. Mixing them is the most common mistake in popular accounts.
Take the letter to the Romans as an example. Paul wrote it to Christians in Rome. At some point it was copied and shared with other churches. Second Peter, whose author is a subject of debate, refers to Paul’s letters and places them beside “the other scriptures” (2 Peter 3:16). This shows that some Christians already treated Paul’s letters as Scripture while the New Testament list was still far off.
Step 2: Learn the criteria early Christians used
Writers of the second to fourth centuries did not give a single tidy checklist, but three considerations come up again and again. The first is apostolic connection: was the book written by an apostle or by someone close to the apostles? The second is agreement with the rule of faith: does the book teach what the churches had received from the beginning? The third is church use: has the book been read in the worship of many churches, over a long time, in many places?
Scholars differ on how these worked in practice. Some stress that church use was the real driver and that the other criteria were reasons given afterward. Others stress that apostolic authority was a real test applied in earnest. Most agree that the criteria overlapped and that no early writer applied them mechanically.
Step 3: Ask who gave the canon, God or the church
Christians answer this in three main ways. Catholic teaching holds that the church, guided by the Holy Spirit, discerned which books are inspired, and that this discernment is part of the church’s authority. Orthodox Christians usually speak of the canon as a gift received within the life and worship of the church, and they are generally less inclined to define a single moment of closure. Protestants, following the Reformers, usually say that Scripture has its authority from God and not from the church, and that the church recognized books that were already Scripture, much as a person recognizes a voice.
These answers are not as far apart as they first appear. All three say that God is the source of Scripture and that the church had to receive and hand on the books. The differences lie in how they describe the role of the church and where final authority sits. The next lessons keep both sides of this in view.
Step 4: Notice what canonical does not mean
Canonical does not mean that every other ancient book is worthless. Christians have long valued many writings outside the canon, such as the letters of the apostolic fathers, and read them with profit. Canonical also does not mean that a book was the first or the oldest. Some of the earliest Christian writings outside the canon are older than some of the books inside it. The term describes the status of a book in a community, not simply its age or its quality.
- Am I asking when a book was written, when it was used, or when it was listed?
- Which criteria does this early writer actually name, and which do I assume?
- Is this account describing what the church did, or what a later tradition says the church did?
- What would a Catholic, an Orthodox and a Protestant Christian each want to add or correct?
- Does the source I am reading speak for one church, for many, or for one scholar’s view?
- What would I need to know to test this claim, and where could I look?
Examples
A rule that measures
A carpenter uses a straight edge to check whether a board is true. The straight edge does not make the board straight; it shows whether it is. Some Christians use this picture to say that the canon measures the church’s teaching. Others note that the picture is limited, because the church also had to decide which edge to use. The two uses of the picture show why the question of who gave the canon is a real debate.
A letter that traveled
In Colossians 4:16 Paul asks that his letter be read in the church at Colossae and that the Colossians also read the letter from Laodicea. The verse shows early Christian letters being shared between congregations. It is one small piece of evidence for how writings began to move, long before any list existed.
A book read but not listed
The Shepherd of Hermas, an early Christian work, was read in some churches in the second century and was honored by some writers. Later lists generally did not include it in the New Testament. It shows that use and listing can come apart. Scholars still debate how much weight to give such books when telling the story of the canon.
Different perspectives
Catholic
The Catholic Church teaches that the books of the canon are inspired and that the church, guided by the Holy Spirit, identified them. The Council of Trent in the sixteenth century issued a formal list. Catholics say this does not place the church above the Word of God: the church serves Scripture, and Scripture is read within the church’s teaching.
Orthodox
Orthodox Christians describe Scripture as part of the Holy Tradition, the one life of the church in the Spirit. They honor the councils and the fathers who named the books, but they usually avoid saying that a single act fixed the canon, and some Orthodox churches use slightly different lists of Old Testament books.
Protestant
The Reformers taught that Scripture is the supreme authority, and that its authority rests on God who speaks in it. Calvin spoke of the inner witness of the Holy Spirit by which believers recognize the Word of God. Protestants therefore say the church recognized the canon and did not create it, while valuing the church’s role in preserving and transmitting the books.
Scholarly historians
Historians describe the canon as the result of a long process in many places, in which writings gained or lost standing through use. They disagree about timing, about how much weight to give individual lists, and about whether the second or the fourth century is the decisive period. These are historical questions that can be studied with any theological view.
Why it matters
Everything else in this course depends on knowing what you are holding when you open a Bible. The list of books affects how a passage is read, what counts as a parallel, and which arguments are available in a dispute between churches. A reader who knows how the canon formed can tell a solid historical claim from a slogan, and can describe other Christians’ views fairly even when disagreeing with them.
Common misunderstandings
Misunderstanding: A single council voted the Bible into existence.
Correction: No single council did this. The books were read and compared over generations. Lists appear in the fourth century and later, and some councils confirmed them, but they mostly reflected what the churches were already using.
Misunderstanding: Nobody knew which books were Scripture until the fourth century.
Correction: Many core books, such as the four gospels and the letters of Paul, were widely accepted much earlier. What remained debated for some time was a smaller group of books at the edges, such as Hebrews and Revelation.
Misunderstanding: Canonical means true and non-canonical means false.
Correction: The terms describe status in a community. A non-canonical book may be useful and an honest witness to early Christian life, even if the church did not treat it as Scripture.
Misunderstanding: Protestants think the church had no role, and Catholics think the Bible has no authority of its own.
Correction: Both are caricatures. Protestants honor the church’s role in transmitting the books, and Catholics teach that Scripture is the inspired Word of God that the church serves.
Knowledge check
What does the word canon originally mean, and how did it come to mean a list of books?
The Greek kanon meant a straight rod or ruler, then any standard or rule. Early Christians first spoke of a rule of faith, and by the fourth century writers such as Athanasius used the word for the list of books that served as the church’s standard.
Name the three questions it helps to keep separate when studying the canon.
The first is which books were written and by whom. The second is which books were read and used in the churches. The third is which books were named in a list. These were settled at different times, and mixing them leads to errors.
What three considerations did early Christians weigh when they judged a book?
Apostolic connection, agreement with the rule of faith received from the beginning, and long and wide use in the worship of the churches. Scholars debate how strictly these were applied and which counted most.
State briefly how Protestants and Catholics differ on the church’s role in the canon.
Protestants usually say the church recognized books that already had God’s authority, with the Spirit bearing witness to believers. Catholics say the church, guided by the Spirit, discerned the inspired books, and that this discernment belongs to the church’s God-given authority. Both say God is the source of Scripture.
Think it through
- Which of the three questions, writing, use or listing, did you assume was the whole story before this lesson?
- Why might Christians in different traditions use the same word canon and still mean different things by it?
- What are the risks of saying that the church created the Bible? What are the risks of saying the church had no part in it?
- Which non-canonical ancient writings have you heard of, and what do you know about why they were not included?
Independent assignment
A one page definition
In your own notebook, write 250 to 400 words. Explain canon and canonical to a friend who has never heard the words. Use the three questions (written, used, listed) and give one example of each from this lesson. Then write one paragraph stating the Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant descriptions of the church’s role, in terms a member of each would accept. Mark any sentence where you are unsure. Do not send this to anyone or post it anywhere.
Further study
- Bruce M. Metzger, The Canon of the New Testament Read the opening chapters on the meaning of canon and the early idea of authoritative books.
- Catholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church Read the section on the canon of Scripture for the Catholic statement.
- Alister E. McGrath, Christian Theology: An Introduction Read the sections on Scripture and tradition for a comparison of the three traditions.
- Irenaeus of Lyon, Against Heresies Read Book 3, chapter 1, for an early statement about the written gospel and apostolic teaching.
- 2 Peter 3:16 Paul’s letters are placed beside the other Scriptures.
- Colossians 4:16 Letters read in more than one church.
- 2 Timothy 3:16 Scripture described as inspired and useful.