Christian Canon of Scripture
by Shawn Henry Potter and Lois Carol Potter
renatuspress@gmail.com
Many people have said many things about the Christian canon of Scripture, especially with respect to the list of inspired books of the Old Testament and the process of recognizing the Old Testament canon. Some of these statements are erroneous and therefore lead to confusion. So, we offer the following thoughts for those who wish to know the truth.[1]
The Catechism of the Catholic Church says the Christian canon of Scripture – i.e., the complete list of sacred books, discerned by the Church through apostolic tradition – includes forty-six books of the Old Testament and twenty-seven books of the New Testament.[2]
- The forty-six books of the Old Testament are: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Tobit, Judith, Esther, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Baruch, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zachariah, and Malachi.[3]
- The twenty-seven books of the New Testament are: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 and 2 Peter, 1, 2 and 3 John, Jude, and Revelation.[4]
So, we understand from the Catechism that God determined which books belong to the canon, and the Catholic Church through apostolic tradition recognized that canon. But why should we accept this statement by the Catechism, and how did this process occur?
We accept this statement by the Catechism because a review of the historical record reveals that it is true. We discuss this historical record below. But, first, we should note that, while Catholics and Protestants agree on the canon of the New Testament, they disagree on the canon of the Old Testament.
As we discuss the historical record, we will show that, soon after Martin Luther (1483-1546) and King Henry VIII (1491-1547) broke away from the Catholic Church in 1521 and 1534 respectively, they and their followers declared seven books of the Old Testament to be non-canonical and eventually removed them from the Protestant Bible. These books – called Deuterocanonical by Catholics and Apocryphal by Protestants – are Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), and Baruch.
How do we know that Protestants removed these seven Deuterocanonical books from the Protestant Bible? We find clear evidence of this truth among the records of the early Church as well as within the contents of pre- and post-Reformation editions of the Bible.
The Christian Canon of Scripture during Early Church History
Protestants say the “invisible body of believers” recognized the Christian canon of Scripture – which did not include the Deuterocanonical books – by AD 367, as demonstrated by the “39th Festal Letter of Athanasius.” And it is true that, writing to the churches in his diocese, St. Athanasius (c. AD 296-373), Bishop of Alexandria, listed thirty-nine books of divinely inspired Old Testament Scripture, including Baruch and omitting Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), and Esther. St. Athanasius explained that these latter seven books, together with Teaching of the Apostles and Shepherd of Hermas, were “appointed by the Fathers to be read by those who newly join us, and who wish for instruction in the word of godliness.”[5]
The exclusion of Esther from his list of divinely inspired books, in light of the fact that all Christians today agree that Esther is a canonical book, reveals that the Catholic Church had not recognized the complete canon of Scripture by AD 367. This means that St. Athanasius was providing pastoral guidance to the churches under his care according to his understanding of Catholic teaching at the time; he was not making a dogmatic statement about the canon of Scripture on behalf of the whole Catholic Church. He could not do so.
St. Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria
On the other hand, just thirty years later, Catholic bishops attending the AD 397 Council of Carthage also listed the Christian canon of Scripture – both Old and New Testament, identifying the same books cited by the Catechism above.[6]
Some Protestants may object that the Council of Carthage was a local council rather than a universal (ecumenical) council, and therefore the Council of Carthage, like St. Athanasius, could not speak for the whole Catholic Church. That is true, but since 217 Catholic bishops from throughout the region – including St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo – attended the council, we may reasonably infer that the declarations of the council represented at least the inclinations of the whole Catholic Church as of AD 397.[7]
Has other evidence survived from these early centuries regarding the earliest recognition by the Catholic Church that the Deuterocanonical books are Holy Scripture? Yes.
The Greek language great uncial codex called Vaticanus, produced in about AD 350, includes all the Deuterocanonical books except 1 and 2 Maccabees; and the Greek language uncial codex called Alexandrinus, produced in about AD 400, includes all the Deuterocanonical books.[8] Although many thousands of earlier fragments of manuscripts containing Scripture survive, these great uncial codices, together with Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (which both contain portions of the Deuterocanonical books), are the earliest surviving manuscripts of the complete Christian Bible – both Old and New Testament. The expense (some 360 hides), effort (many thousands of man-hours), and commitment to accuracy that the Catholic Church invested in the production of each one of these codices, together with the inclusion of the Deuterocanonical books, suggest that the Catholic Church recognized the canonicity of the Deuterocanonical books by around AD 400.
Codex Alexandrinus (AD 400) included the Deuterocanonical books among the other inspired Old Testament Scriptures.
We find further evidence that the Catholic Church recognized the canonicity of the Deuterocanonical books by around AD 400 in the year-by-year production, throughout the Middle Ages, of copies of the Holy Bible of the Catholic Church – the Latin Vulgate, which St. Jerome completed in about AD 405. These manuscript copies of the Latin Vulgate included the Deuterocanonical books among the other inspired Old Testament Scriptures. See our discussion of the Latin Vulgate Gutenberg Bible below.
Then, at the 1441 Ecumenical Council of Florence and the 1526 Ecumenical Council of Trent the Catholic Church reaffirmed what her actions had been demonstrating for a thousand years – that the Deuterocanonical books are Holy Scripture.[9]
Movable-Type Printing Press
From the earliest days of Christianity until the middle 1400s, Bibles existed in the form of hand-copied manuscripts produced by Catholic scribes. Private individuals could not afford, and therefore did not have, their own personal copies of the Bible. This means that ordinary Christians were dependent on the Catholic Church to read and explain the Scriptures to them because of the realities of manuscript bookmaking not because of any imagined attempt by the Catholic Church to restrict access.
Then, in about 1450, Johannes Gutenberg (c. 1393-1468) invented the movable-type printing press, leading to the rapid spread of printed literature throughout Europe. Ordinary individuals could finally afford to buy their own books – including the Bible. The earliest major book that Gutenberg printed, was a copy of the Latin Vulgate known as the Gutenberg Bible. Like all copies of the Latin Vulgate, it included the Deuterocanonical books among the other inspired Old Testament Scriptures.
The Latin Vulgate Gutenberg Bible (1455) included the Deuterocanonical books among the other inspired Old Testament Scriptures.
The Christian Canon of Scripture in Pre- and Post-Reformation Germany
Between 1466 and 1518, Catholic printing houses in Germany produced fourteen editions of the Bible in German. Each one of these editions included the Deuterocanonical books among the other inspired Old Testament Scriptures.[10]
The German Language Schönsperger Bible (1490) included the Deuterocanonical books among the other inspired Old Testament Scriptures.
However, following Martin Luther’s break with the Catholic Church and establishment of the Lutheran Church in 1521, in a departure from common practice among earlier German language Bibles, the 1532 Luther Bible was the first German language Bible to segregate and describe the Deuterocanonical books as uninspired, introducing these books with the statement – “Apocrypha: These are books that are not equal to the Holy Scriptures but are still useful and good to read.”[11]
The Christian Canon of Scripture in Pre- and Post-Reformation England
The 1382 Wycliffe Bible is the earliest surviving English translation of the complete Bible. Early accounts attribute the translation to dissenting Catholic priest and professor John Wycliffe (c. 1328-1384), yet recent scholars conclude that multiple Catholic professors, including John Wycliffe, at Oxford University produced the work for clerical and academic use.[12] The Wycliffe Bible included the Deuterocanonical books among the other inspired Old Testament Scriptures.[13]
The Wycliffe Bible (1382) included the Deuterocanonical books among the other inspired Old Testament Scriptures.
Then, following King Henry VIII’s break with the Catholic Church and establishment of the Church of England in 1534, the 1563 Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England listed only 39 Old Testament books as sacred Scripture and stated: “But other Books (as Jerome says) the Church indeed reads for examples of life and for forming morals, yet she does not use them to confirm dogmas: such as Third and Fourth Esdras, Wisdom, Jesus the son of Sirach, Tobit, Judith, and the Two Books of Maccabees.”[14]
Conclusion
The historical record and the contents of pre- and post-Reformation editions of the Bible clearly show that Protestants, more than a thousand years after the Catholic Church recognized the Christian canon of Scripture, which included Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), and Baruch, removed these seven Deuterocanonical books from the Protestant Bible. So, the relevant question is not whether, but why, and on what authority, Protestants dared to degrade and then dispose of portions of the inspired Word of God.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:16-17)
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[1] See Joe Heschmeyer at Shameless Popery for more helpful thoughts about the Christian canon of Scripture, https://www.youtube.com/@shamelesspopery
[2] Catechism of the Catholic Church, https://www.vatican.va/content/catechism/en/part_one/section_one/chapter_two/article_3/iv_the_canon_of_scripture.html
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] New Advent, Fathers of the Church, Letters (Athanasius), Letter 39, https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2806039.htm
Note: St. Athanasius, in his 39th Festal Letter, lists Baruch and Lamentations with Jeremiah. Later lists do the same before eventually listing them separately.
[6] Roger Pearse, The Acts of the Council of Carthage 397 (Incorporating the Acts of the Council of Hippo 393) (2022), 11. https://www.roger-pearse.com/weblog/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Acts-of-the-Council-of-Carthage-397-and-Council-of-Hippo-393-V1-2022.pdf
[7] Canons of the AD 397 Council of Carthage. https://orthodoxchurchfathers.com/fathers/npnf214/npnf2245.html
[8] For images of Codex Vaticanus see https://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Vat.gr.1209
For images of Codex Alexandrinus see https://archive.org/details/codex-alexandrinus/page/n31/mode/2up
[9] See EWTN – Ecumenical Council of Florence (1438-1445), https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/ecumenical-council-of-florence-1438-1445-1461
See also EWTN – Ecumenical Council of Trent, Decree Concerning the Canonical Scriptures, https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/decree-concerning-the-canonical-scriptures-1494
[10] Kenneth A. Strand, German Bibles before Luther: The Story of 14 High-German Editions (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1966), 37. https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/books/86/
[11] Martin Luther, Biblia, Das ist die ganze heilige Schrifft Deudscht (Augsburg: Heynrich Steyner, 1535) https://archive.org/details/lutherbibel1535/page/n5/mode/2up
[12] Elizabeth Solopova, The Wycliffite Bible: Origin, History, and Interpretation (Boston, MA: Brill Academic Pub, 2016) https://www.amazon.com/dp/9004325654
[13] Scribd, Wycliffe Bible Early Version, https://www.scribd.com/document/324581901/Wycliffe-Bible-Early-Version
[14] Church of England, The Text of the Thirty-Nine Articles of 1553, 1563, 1571 Interleaved (London: Rivingtons, 1889). https://books.google.com/books?id=y8ucvwEACAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false