Constantine and the formation of the bible book?

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simpleas

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Hi

I was unsure which forum to put this question, so I chose philosophy because I’m sure one of you great thinkers will be able to recommend a book/s that will help explain how Constantine and the bishops formed the bible, how they chose which books we have in there and which ones were out?

Is there any such book/s available?

Thanks 👍
 
I have looked at various Protestant websites but their views of the origin of the NT canon vary, and often contradictory.
  • Some put forward a kind of autopilot set(s) of ** criteria**: the age of the book; whether the writer was an apostle; whether the book fits in with other “known”(?) NT books; whether the content is consistent with Christian doctrine; whether the content feels “inspiring” when you read it; and other criteria, varying from writer to writer.
    These Criteria present problems:
  • These criteria are all “ex post facto”. In other words, they are working backwards.
  • How do we know these criteria are valid?
  • Some books meet one criterion, but not other criteria.
  • Some books not in the NT do meet some of those criteria.
  • The info ancients had about age and authorship of books is now refuted by many scholars. Does that mean that book is no longer in the NT?
  • If doctrine is based on Scripture, and scriptures are chosen by their doctrine, that is circular reasoning.
  • Some Protestants try to solve the controversy by avoiding it: they simply say God inspired the canon at the same time He inspired the Scriptures; game over. But then Mormons and Muslims use the same argument for their scriptures, so game not over.
The Magisterium is the third leg of the stool, along with Scripture and Tradition. The Magisterium did not create the canon but is the visible human agency God used to communicate God’s will. The brevity of the canon points toward a tiny authoritative decision making agency, rather than widespread “consensus” theory.
 
We don’t know what, if any, influence Constantine had on the formation of the Bible canon. However, he did order the production of fifty copies of the Sacred Scriptures on parchment and they were made in bound volumes. book IV, chapters 36, 37Life of Constantine,.) Eusebius ranked many of the books of our New Testament as disputed, namely, Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, and Apocalypse (Revelation). ( chapter 3History of the Church,) So, it doesn’t sound like things were settled in his day. If the Emperor Constantine had determined the canon, wouldn’t the later Church council decisions of Carthage and Hippo have been redundant?
 
simpleas said:
Hi

I was unsure which forum to put this question, so I chose philosophy because I’m sure one of you great thinkers will be able to recommend a book/s that will help explain how Constantine and the bishops formed the bible, how they chose which books we have in there and which ones were out?

Is there any such book/s available?

Thanks 👍
Click to expand...
There is a great CD from Dr. Brandt Pitre on the Origin of the Bible. Worth every penny! Constantine was dead when the first list of the Canon of Scripture was compiled as we have today. It was under Pope Damascus at the Council of Rome in 382AD.
 
Just wanted to make sure I was linked in if anyone else sighted some good resources.

Thanks
 
The books that actually are declared the inspired Word of God were authorized by Pope Damasus at a Council of Rome in 382, confirmed at the Councils of Hippo, 393, Carthage III 397, Carthage IV in 419 and canonised at the Council of Trent (1545-1563) – 46 books in the Old Testament, 27 books in the New Testament – clearly showing the authority of Christ’s Church, and culminating in the defined Canon of the Council of Trent.
**
Answer by Fr. John Trigilio on Sept 17, 2010 (EWTN):**
“The first Bible translated from Hebrew & Greek by St. Jerome in 400 AD had all 46 OT + 27 NT as did the Latin Guttenburg Bible of the 15th c. Only Protestant Bibles from 16th c. to today are missing the 7 books. But 2/3 of the world’s Jews at that time (3rd c. BC, from 250-100 BC) lived outside the Holy Land and were more literate in Greek than Hebrew. Christians from the time of the Apostles and during Jesus’ time knew and accepted these 7 books, hence their presence in St. Jerome’s Bible and every other Bible until Luther. IRONICALLY these 7 books were in the ORIGINAL King James Bible but Parliament removed them in subsequent editions.”
 
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