Introduction
Most Christians today are (or should be) familiar with the Bible. All Christian denominations recognise at least the 66 books of holy scriptures, though not all recognise the “deuterocanonical” books of the Old Testament, also known as the “Apocrypha”. These consist of books such as; Wisdom of Solomon, Tobit, Sirach, Maccabees, and others.
Whilst Catholics and Orthodox accept the deuterocanonical books, which were included in the 300 B.C.E Greek Septuagint collections of the Old Testament, Protestants do not accept the canonicity of those books, based on a combination of scriptural reasoning, and relying on ancient Jewish canonical tradition, which claims to deny the validity of those later books.
But there are not only Old Testament writings in debate over authenticity and canonicity. There are also many post-apostolic Christian writings.
After the final Apostle, John (the author of John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John and Revelation) died, there have been many other Christian writings from the 1st century onward. These are often known today as the “writings of the church fathers”, “ante-nicene writings” or “patristic writings”.
There is debate over whether such writings are to be considered “canon” or “official”, that is, if they are to be seen as inspired just as the writings of the Bible are, or if they are merely to be seen as uninspired works from early post-apostolic Christians, holding no more authority as scripture, than a modern day Christian internet blogger could claim.
What is Truly “Scripture Alone”?
Most Christians should be familiar with the statements made by Paul, who said; “do not go beyond what is written” (1 Corinthians 4:6) and that the scriptures enable us to be; “fully equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:15-17), clearly superseding any ‘so-called’ “Christian traditions” that men may lay claim to.
Of course, the question lies; “what was Paul referring to?” When he said “what was written”, did he refer to just his own letters? The Old Testament? The New Testament? All Christian writings that the future Church would proclaim as canonical? This is not as easy a question to answer as one may think.
We know for a certainty that he would have been referring to the Old Testament, the writings of Yeshua’s Disciples (the Gospels and their letters to the congregations), and his own writings. He makes that quite clear in his letters, where he often cites the writings of the Old Testament prophets and the Apostles both as scriptural authority.
Along with this, he also tells the recipients of his letters to also obey what ‘he’ has to say, as he often claims to be speaking on behalf of the Lord Yeshua, naming himself “an Apostle of the Anointed”, with the Apostle Peter also supporting his claim (2 Peter 3:14-16).
But we also have to remember that when Paul wrote those words, the entire New Testament wasn’t yet completed… So, how do we determine which of the things that are written are authoritative scripture, the things we don’t go beyond? And at what point do the writings of the early Christians actually stop being considered “canon” or “inspired of God”?
Is Revelation the end of the New Testament? Or are the letters from Clement of Rome? The letters of Polycarp? The Didache?
It’s no secret that the “Biblical canon” as we know it today, the collection of Bible books considered “official”, was first arranged by the Catholic Church some time after the 3rd-4th Century A.D. Before this time there was no such thing as “the Bible”, only the documents and letters of the Apostles and the scrolls of the Old Testament scribes and prophets.
Despite the differences between Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Bibles when it comes to the Old Testament, they all have identical New Testaments, that is, the 27 books which begin with Matthew’s Gospel and ends at the Revelation of John.
But still, this leaves open the question, “what is inspired and what isn’t”? Whilst the writings of the both the Old Testament, and the writings of the Apostles can be trusted, as they were all appointed directly by God and Yeshua, as showcased by clear manifestation of the holy spirit, in that they were known for performing miracles and foretelling accurate prophecy, as well as their unanimous support of one another.
But what about the deuterocanonical books? Do they contain prophecy which legitimises them? Are they consistent with the rest of the Old Testament? And what about the Christian writers who came after the original Apostles?
Just as it is with the debated Old Testament books, some will see the extrabiblical writings of the “church fathers” to be legitimate Christian canon and to be regarded just as highly as the writings of the Apostles, to be considered an “extension” of the Bible, but others do not.
This is where I strongly take the stance of “Prima Scripture”, that the holy writings of the Apostles of the New Testament and the inspired writings of the Old Testament must come before all things.
Any texts, whether they claim to be inspired or not, must be consistent with the Biblical texts (in both doctrine and its internal language definitions) which we know are inspired and harmonious. This gives us a basis on which to compare any and all other writings of both the Jewish writers, and the early Christians, and whether they are in line with the holy scriptures, or if they contradict them. As John tells us; “do not believe every spirit, but test them, for many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).
If such texts be contradictory, then they are to be rejected out right, if the writings add something new but is not in contradiction to what has already been written by inspiration previously, then it may be ‘considered’, though we also have to keep in mind that this would not confirm “inspired authorship”, just as much as my own writings are not inspired of God, even if they accurately reiterate the Bible’s message and commandments.
This brings me to explaining the premise of this section on my website.
The Premise
The premise of this series is to investigate the extrabiblical texts, the “Apocrypha” and other writings, to see if they may be considered legitimate Biblical canon, or, if (in my opinion and reasoning at least) should be thrown out and disregarded.
Below you can find links to my articles on this series posted, or you can access the dropdown menu above on the main menu.
Proselyte of Yah 