Introduction

The Greek word, kanoµn, originally from the Semitic name for a straight rod or

measuring reed. So, from this the meaning of standard, norm, regulation was made. Canon

was used by the Greeks in selecting the compiled sacred books of the Old and New

Testament, which are acknowledged as inspired by God.

Kanoµn is used quite a few times in the New Testament. It is used in the form of

limits or sphere of action in 2 Corinthians 10:13, 15. In Galatians 6:16, it is used to explain

the “ruler” of the Christian life, which ruler is laiddown by inspiration. Again in Philippians

3:16, it is used as a “rule,” or standard, of life.

In Christian church the term came to show revealed truth, the rule of faith.

Canonization occupies question such as when, how, by whom, and why there were many

different books of the Bible were accepted as sacred and authoritative.

Hence, this research paper provides information about the progression of the New

Testament canon, which arranged chronologically. It includes people that took part during the

progression.

Furthermore, this research paper also contains a section that tells what standards were

used by the early Christian in selecting writings and letters. The standards helped the early

Christian Fathers to determinewhich writings and letters should be fit in the New Testament

canon.

There were many writings and letters who claimed to be included in the New

Testament canon. Question about why there were some writings and letters included and

rejected may emerge. So, in this paper, it gives explanations for this query.

Progression of the New Testament Canon, A.D. 140 – 180.

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 In the middle of 2nd century, the heretic Marcion, an anti-Semitist, was the first man

who started the canonization of the New Testament. He believed that Jehovah in the Old

Testament was the Jewish God of fury and fairness. In other words, he believed that God of

the Old Testament was different from God that is mentioned in the New Testament.

He set for his sectarian church a Bible canon that fit to his ideas. He also removed

entirely the Old Testament and certain books of the apostolic age. As a result, his Bible

contained only the Gospel of Luke, the writing of the apostle Paul, and his book called the

Antithesis, in which he wrote his arguments for rejecting the Old Testament.

In his Bible, Paul’s epistles were called the Apostolikon, which contained ten letters of

Paul: First and Second Corinthians, Romans, First and Second Thessalonians, “Laodicens”

(Ephesians), Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon.

He discarded 1 and 2 Timothy,Titus, and Hebrews. He also changed the wording of

those books so that they are suit to his belief. And then, Marcion’s movement was objected

by the church for his heretical views.

Justin Martyr, died c.165, was the first Christian who accepted Gospels as Holy

Scripture on an equivalent withthe Old Testament. The Gospels were named “memoirs”

written by the “apostles and those who followed them”.

Sometimes, he quoted phrases from the Gospels such as, “Christ has said” and “it is

written”. Then, his disciple, Tatian, introduced Diatessaron, meaning, “Through four”. In

other words, Tatian made an accord of the four canonical gospels. The Diatessaron remained

the Gospel of the Syrian church for about two centuries.

Progression of the New Testament Canon, End of 2nd Century.

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 The Muratorian Fragment, which was originally written in Rome about 180, known as

the earliest organized list of the New Testament books after its discoverer, L. A. Muratori,

found it in the library of monastery at Milan in 1740. The fragment contains statements

regarding the authorship, destination, occasion, and purpose of each book. Sadly, the first

portion of the Muratorian Fragment is lost, which is evidently telling about Matthew and

Mark. This fragment mentions four Gospels, Acts, thirteen Paul epistles, Jude, 1 and 2 John,

Apocalypse (Revelation) of John and of Peter, and Wisdom of Solomon.

But, this fragment does not mention Hebrew, James, 1 and 2 Peter, and John 3. This

fragment lists the books that might be read publicly in church and several books that should

not be read. The epistles to the Laodiceans and Alexandrians and the Shepherd of Hermas

are absolutely rejected to be placedin canon. For Apocalypse of Peter, the fragment does

mention that even though some accepted it, others thought is should not be read in church.

Regarding the Revelation, the fragment shows that although John wrote to the seven churches,

he also spoke to all.

There were three testimonies written by well-known writers from different places.

These testimonies point out that there was a group of Christian writings, in general, well

regarded by the church.

Firstly, Irenaeus, from Asia Minor and later became Bishop of Lyons in Gaul,

recognized the New Testament books as “the Holy Scriptures” and “the oracles of God”. He

did not provide a formal list of New Testament books but he used numerous Biblical

quotations that makes IrenaeusNew Testament canon easily be reconstructed. For Ireneaus,

the Gospels and apostolic writings are equivalent with the Law and the Prophets. He accepted

the four Gospels, Acts, all of the 13 Epistles of Paul except Philemon, 1 Peter, 1 John and

Revelation. He rejected Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, 3 John and Jude.

Secondly, Tertullian, a witness for the church of North Africa,in his writings

mentioned the four Gospels, 13 Epistles of Paul, Acts, 1 Peter, 1 John, Jude and Revelation.

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According to his citation, Hebrew was the work of Barnabas and Tertullian did not consider it

as a canonical although he quoted the Epistle to the Hebrew. However, Tertullian accepted

the Shepherd of Hermas during his earlier years, but rejected it later.

Thirdly, Clement Alexandria was a representative of the Eastern Church. He called

the four Gospels as “scripture”. His New Testament canon contained 14 books of Paul,

including Hebrews, which the Eastern Church accepted without hesitation, 1 Peter, 1 and 2

John, Acts, and Revelation. He also included the apocryphal Epistle of Barnabas, the

Apocalypse of Peter, and other noncanonical writings. However, it is uncertain whether he

accepted James, 2 Peter, and 3 John.

Clement’s writing clearly show that books already rejected in the Western Church as

noncanonical wasstill used without doubt in the East. For example, Western Church accepted

the Revelation while it was doubted in the East to be placed in the canon. Another example is

some in the West still doubted James, 2 Peter, 3 John, and Hebrew but there were those in the

East who felt free to use certain apocryphal writings as reliable.

A clear distinction between the apostolic and the nonapostolic writings was made at

this time only in the West.

New Testament Canon after A.D. 200 in the East

After A.D. 200, the first evidence regarding to the New Testament canon in the East

comes from Origen. Origen observed the content of the New Testament among the various

churches. Then, he could differentiate which writing had general recognition and disputed

ones. He categorized the writing into three categories. The first category is the undisputed or

universally recognized books: The four Gospels, 13 Epistles of Paul, 1 Peter, 1 John, Acts

and Revelation. The second category is the false or forged writings: The gospels of the

Egyptians, the Twelve, and Basilides. The third category is the works considered doubtful:

James, 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, Jude, and probably Hebrews.

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 Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History (III.25) presents a record of Origen’s view, the three

categories of books. Eusebius’ list of recognized books has the same list with Origen’s except

that Hebrew is accepted as canonical, but he seems to have some reluctance about Revelation.

Eusebius divided the disputed books into, first, those that were known to most: James Jude, 2

Peter, 2 and 3 John. Secondly writings that is false: Acts of Paul, the Shepherd of Hermas, the

Epistle of Barnabas, and the Didache. Thirdly, those writing that are wicked: The gospels of

the Egyptians, Thomas, Basilides, and Matthias, and also the Acts of Andrew and those John.

Sadly, in the 4thcentury, the Emperor Diocletian gave an order to destroy the churches

and Christian books. Thus, all the sacred books were taken and burned. The Christians were

forced to decide which books they should hold with their lives, which means they would die

for it. Certainly, the books were the canon.

Later, in the 4th century, there was an important factor in resolving the question of the

limitation of the canon was the declaration of Athanasius of Alexandria, the leading

theologian of the Eastern Church, in his 39th Festal Letter. Athanasius told his bishops and

their people that canon of the New Testament consists of just the 27 books. The books of the

New Testament are exactly the same with the present New Testament canon.

New Testament Canon after A.D. 200 in the West

At the end of 2nd century, the testimony of Irenaeus, Tertullian, and the Muratorian

Fragment gives picturethat the New Testament had attained a quite permanent form in the

west. The Four Gospels, the Acts, 13 epistles of Paul, 1 Peter, 1 John, Revelation and

probably also 2 John and Jude were generally recognized and fit in the canon. On the other

hand, 2 Peter, James, 3 John, and Hebrews were not recognized, although some apocryphal

works were accepted at the time.

There were not many prominent scholars in the Western Church as the East had. But,

the church discipline was more firm. Therefore, there was not much doubt during the

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development of the New Testament canon compare to the Eastern Church. However, later, the

Western Church accepted Hebrews into their canon and in the same time strongly held the

Revelation, a book that rejected by the East during at the turn of 4thcentury. Nonetheless,

finally, the Greek theologians, in the East, changed their perception and accepted Revelation

into their canon.

In A.D. 363, a small council was made at Laodicea to make the final decision of the

list of New Testament canon. But, its genuineness was doubted.

Then, in A.D. 382, the last decision regarding the list of the New Testament canon was

made by the Latin Church. The Synod of Rome, under Pope Damascus, declared officially

the acceptance of seven general epistles: 1 and 2 Peter, James, 1, 2, and 3 John, and Jude,

including Hebrews, asan important part of the New Testament. This decree recognized the

First Epistle of John to the apostle and the other two to another John.

Several years later, in A.D. 393, the church of North Africa the Council of Hippo

approved the canon list, like the present New Testament canon, that was made at Rome except

for its separation of Hebrews from Paul’s letters. In A.D. 397, a synod at Carthage issued the

similar New Testament list.

At the end of the 4thcentury, there was no more any disagreement over the 27 books

about their places in the canon. In A.D. 419, the Carthaginian council repeated the enactment

and transferred Hebrews into Pauline collection. Now, the canon was considered as fixed and

firm. It is a significant fact that not one of the ecumenical church councils the early centuries

attempted to fix the canon. Although the earlier councils had dealt with the canon, they were

not ecumenical. The council of Trent (1545-64), was the first ecumenical council of the

church who dealt with the canon, recognized only by the Roman Catholic Church.

Standards for Selecting the Writings and Letters

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Selecting the writings and letters to have a New Testament canon list was a gradual process,

which took about four centuries. The early Christians Fatherstried to figure out which

writings and letters they should accept and reject. Therefore, there were certain standards that

helped the early Christians in deciding which writings and letters were qualified to be placed

in Scripture and which did not.

One of the standards that the Christians used in determining the validity of a book was

authorship. The New Testament was about the good news of Jesus Christ. Certainly, the early

Christians believed that the most accurate writings and letters of this message were those

written by men who had been with Jesus. As a result, those works must come from an apostle

or a companion of the apostle during the apostolic period for the Christian to accept the

works.

Another standards of canonicity was that the contents of books. This required more

conscientious judgment than just questioning the authorship. The evaluation of a book was

made by looking the inner consistency, its harmony with the rest of Scripture, and its general

harmony with Christian experience1. By this principle, even books that claiming to be of

apostolic origin were rejected because they contained Gnostic elements.

A further standard was a book must gain a broad acceptance among Christians all over

the Mediterranean world; recognition by a leading church or by a majority of churches.

Included and Excluded Writings

It is clear that the included writings or books are the present New Testament canon.

Some of the books possess the apostolic authorship. Some of them, at first, were rejected;

such as Mark and Luke Gospels, but then gained the position in canon. It is because Mark

1
Siegfried H. Horn, Seventh-day Adventist Bible Dictionary, p. 188.
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and Luke Gospels were accepted as works of close associates of the apostles. Generally, all

the included writings fulfill the criteria that were utilized by the early church in canonization.

The excluded writings are the New Testament apocryphal books. These apocryphal

bookshave never gotten a position of esteem among Christians. Only some of them have ever

been seriously regarded by the church as candidates for New Testament canonbut later were

rejected. Why they were rejected?

One of the reasons is they do not possess the apostolic authorship. The early church

accepted only writings that can fulfill the criterion, which was the most important criterion.

Another reason is the writings were corrupted by Gnostic ideas. They asceticism

teachings, forgeries and the messages are vague. The messages are also incoherent or contrast

to the whole Scripture. Therefore, the writings cannot be applied in Christian life.

According to Montague Rhodes James, the reader can satisfy himself as the wise

judgment in this matter by reading this literature: “It will very quickly be seen that there is no

question of any one’s having excluded them from the New Testament: they have done that for

themselves” (pp. xi, xii; his is the standard collection and English translation of these works)2.

Conclusion

It was not because of the intelligence of the early Christians who accomplished the New

Testament canon but it was the guidance of the Spirit of God, the same Spirit who led the minds of the

prophets and apostles as they wrote. And also, the Spirit who has brought the conviction to every

heart of genuine believer in Jesus Christ, as the believer read the truly Word of God.

Bibliography

Books

Buttrick, George Arthur. The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible (Vol. 1). Nashville:
Abingdon Press, 1962.
Douglas, J.D. The New International Dictionary of the Christian Church. Grand Rapids,
Michigan: The Paternoster Press, 1974.
2
Horn, Siegfried H., Seventh-day Adventist Bible Dictionary,
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Drane, John. Introducing the New Testament. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2001.
Horn, Siegfried H. Seventh-day Adventist Bible Dictionary. Washington, D.C.: Review and
Herald Publishing Association, 1979.
Nichol, Francis D. The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary. Washington, D.C.: Review
and Herald Publishing Association, 1978.
Rahmer, Karl. Encyclopedia of Theology: the concise sacramentum mundi. New York: The
Crossroad Publishing Company, 1984.