I think it’s time to ask just what the canon, or should I say canons are, as there have been and are many. A canon is simply a list of books of scripture which are held to be authentic. That is, a person without extencive formal training in ancient writings may safely believe what is in them. (I should note however that canons seldom take into consideration the fact that there are frequently differing versions of canonical books.) History and theology are chock-a-block with ancient manuscripts, most of which have their adhearants. We’ve all encountered sensationalist popular books about this “newly discovered” Gospel which the church supposidly repressed for some nefarious reason or other. A few are rejected as outright frauds. Some are rejected because they contradict the perpoderance of accepted writings. The Masorites who established what we inherited as the Old Testament Canon refused to consider any book available at that moment only in Greek, not Hebrew. There are authentic manuscripts which came to light after the canon was set. Technically, the Lutheran Church has no closed canon, though most Lutherans don’t know it! Even the rejected books often contain passages held to be authentic. A canon is a scholarly decision, not inspired except in that the scholars are hopefully guided by the Holy Spirit in shepherding the flock. Canons are for the laiety. Scholars routeenly use non-canonical material because they have the skill to evaluate it safely. Most of what we have and pastor from is authentic, valid, non-canonical material. It is called loosly the Tradition of the Church. The “Didache” or “Teachings of the Fathers” is one outstanding example. It is a first or second century book of Church Order and unimpeachable in it’s authority. The Magesterium of the Church is it’s teaching authority and it does not rely upon Scripture alone or any canon of Scripture. The real issue is rejecting the Church and relying only on the Bible, not what books are in the Bible. It’s like puting all your faith and hope in the compas and rejecting the sails, rudder and hull! How long can you tred water?