M
el Gibson certainly confounded
the movie moguls and critics alike
with the success of his film The
Passion of The Christ, which set
new records in Hollywood.
Clearly, he has the ability to create films with
topics that appeal to the masses. No doubt his
latest film featuring the last 12 hours of the life of
Jesus Christ almost gave him a winner from the
start, with even the criticism giving the film promotional publicity. Now Mel says he intends to
produce a film on Boadicea the Celtic queen who
attacked the Romans, and another dealing with
What’s in your
Bible (and isn’t)
didn’t happen
by accident: It
was part of a
process—one
overseen and
inspired by God.
Harold Harker
explains.
SIGNS OF THE TIMES
55
the Jewish Maccabees, who ruled
Palestine in the period between the end
of the Old Testament and the beginning
of the New Testament.
While both will have plenty of blood
and gore, which is his style, the latter will,
maybe, demonstrate that he lacks the
anti-Semitic agenda alleged by critics of
The Passion, as a film on the Maccabees
would be dear to the heart of every Jew.
However, it raises serious questions in our
contemporary world. The story of the
Maccabees comes from a book of history
called 1 Maccabees, which is not part of
the Holy Bible, but is included in what is
known as the Apocrypha.
Coupled with this is an upsurge of
interest in other non-biblical books from
the early centuries, such as The Gospel
of Thomas and The Gospel of Mary.
The best-selling novel the Da Vinci Code
also raises issues in this area, suggesting
that the establishment church through
the ages has suppressed details of a relationship between Jesus Christ and Mary
Magdalene. Some such details are found
in The Gospel of Mary.
So people ask, how did we get our
Bible? What were the criteria for its formation? And what of the books that constitute the Apocrypha? Can we trust the
Scriptures as God-given for us today?
Canon selection criteria
The reasons for selection of present-day books of the Bible (which constitute
the canon) and why those of the Apocrypha were excluded, are as follows:
1. The Bible owes its authority to no church council or resolution.
2. The authority of the Bible is not controlled by the church—it is inherent.
3. Early historians, such as Josephus, never listed the apocryphal books in the
canon of Scripture.
4. The apocryphal books of the Old Testament were never included in the
Hebrew Bible.
5. Jesus affirmed the authorship by Moses and other prophets; He never
quoted from events mentioned only in the Apocrypha.
6. The apocryphal books give no evidence of inspiration as do the books in
the canon of Scripture.
7. Much of the Apocrypha contains legendary and fictional stories.
8. The apocryphal books have been shrouded in continual uncertainty.
9. The Old Testament books of Scripture feature or use the language of the
covenant.
10. While the books of the Bible support the central concepts of salvation and
God’s dealings with humankind, the apocryphal books contain much that Is
not in harmony with the canon of Scripture.
56 SIGNS OF THE TIMES
some terms
message of the Old Testament is conAll Christians today agree on the place firmed by the Septuagint, a translation of
of 66 books of the two sections of the
the Hebrew into Greek by 70 scholars
Bible—39 in the Old Testament and 27 based at Alexandria, Egypt, in around
in the New Testament. The differences
250 BC. (It is fascinating to read how the
come when one looks outside those gen- ancient manuscripts of the Bible were diserally accepted books of the Bible,
covered, but that’s another story.)
referred to as “the canon.” The word
The Jewish religious leadership had
canon comes from the
Hebrew word for a
The canon of Scripture,
reed, cane or measuring
rod.
although written by dozens of
The Catholic tradition
authors over 1500 years, shows a
includes an additional 12
books (to the 66 of the
high degree of integrity and
canon). These are part of
what is called the
unanimity of belief, and reveals the
Apocrypha. Catholics
inspiration of writers by a God.
call them the “deuterocanon,” meaning
“second canon.” The Council of Trent of
agreed upon the Old Testament canon,
1546 voted to include the 12 as part of
as we know it, by the time of Jesus.
their Bible. Then an additional three books Evidence of inspiration and claim of
were added as an appendix to the Bible.
authorship are among the reasons for
It was this council that met to deteraccepting the books into the canon.
mine an answer to the teachings of
Additionally, Jesus Himself affirmed
Martin Luther and the Protestant move- Moses as the author of the Book of the
ment that was sweeping Europe. Being
Law (the first five books of the Old
already divided, the rest of Christendom Testament). Also, He quoted only from
rejected these books.
those books that comprise the accepted
Old Testament. He did not quote any of
in or out?
the books of the Apocrypha.
On what basis were books chosen to
While the order of books in the
be included in the canon or excluded?
Hebrew Bible is a little different to the
This question is particularly pertinent
Bible of today, all of them are there. The
today, when interest is being focused
Jewish leaders met at Jamnia near the
again on these areas.
coast of Palestine around the end of the
Commencing with the Old Testament
first century and confirmed the books as
books, the oldest Hebrew manuscript is
we know them today.
the Cairo Codex. It dates to around 900
A further criterion applied at that
AD. There are other manuscripts, but the time was the inclusion of the concept
SIGNS OF THE TIMES
57
of the covenant—the promise God had
made to redeem His people. Legends
and myths were rejected.
a major breakthrough
The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls
in 1947 served to confirm the Scriptures
we have today as coming to us through
the centuries with only minuscule
changes.
Millar Burrows said, “It is a matter for
wonder that through something like a
thousand years the text underwent so
little alteration.”
Renowned scholar F F Bruce has also
commented on this, saying, “The new
evidence confirms what we had already
good reason to believe—that the Jewish
scribes of the early Christian centuries
copied and recopied the text of the
Hebrew Bible with the utmost fidelity.”
Thus the canon of Scripture, although
written by dozens of authors over 1500
years, shows a high degree of integrity
and unanimity of belief, and reveals the
inspiration of writers by a God who was
directing His words to humankind.
New Testament writings
The writings of the apostles—today’s
New Testament—in circulation from
the first century AD, were gathered
together firstly by the churches to which
they were addressed. Then they were
shared with other churches.
As early as the second century there
were already lists of letters considered to
be authentic. Certainly many spurious
letters also circulated. By 367 AD
Athanasius of Alexandria had made a
list: it contained the same 27 “books” we
58 SIGNS OF THE TIMES
have today.
There is also evidence suggesting that
the early Christians made distinctions
between these New Testament books
and other extra-biblical Christian writings. There was no church council
making a decree that the 27 books of the
New Testament constituted the canon.
They had been received by the churches,
who knew the apostles.
■ The Bible, then, carries its own
authority. The authors all claim to give
messages from heaven to the church.
The books of the New Testament (apart
from Hebrews) all state their authorship.
Again myths and legends were not
included.
The books of the Apocrypha and other
writings called the Pseudepigrapha
contain fanciful stories and espouse
beliefs not in harmony with the rest of
Scripture.
With the discovery of other ancient
manuscripts, we can confirm that the
Bible we have today is essentially identical to that held by Jesus, and that
accepted by Christians of the first few
centuries after Jesus.
We can have confidence in its
authority and accuracy, and that it is,
indeed, the Word of God.
§
Bibliography:
F F Bruce, The Canon of Scripture, Chapter House,
Glasgow, 1988.
Neil Lightfoot, How We Got the Bible, Baker, 1963.
Hans von Campenhausen, The Formation of the
Christian Bible, Adam and Charles Black, 1972.
Floyd Filson, Which Books Belong in the Bible?
Westminster, 1956.
R Laird Harris, Inspiration and Canonicity of the
Bible, Zondervan, 1957.
“How We Got Our Bible,” in Christian History, Issue
43 (Vol XIII, No 3).