Inspiration of Scripture and Lost Pauline Epistles

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Treacy17

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How did the early Church decide what letters of Paul were inspired? I ask because I know there are a few letters of Paul that were lost, and I’m wondering why. Wouldn’t everything Paul and the apostles taught be considered scripture? If not, doesn’t that diminish the reliability of tradition?
 
Treacy17 said:
Wouldn’t everything Paul and the apostles taught be considered scripture?
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No. We have preserved only a small portion of what Christ and His Apostles preached publicly. Christ taught for three years and His Apostles for decades.

We can trust that what we have received in Scripture and Sacred Tradition is sufficient for our salvation.
 
I suppose I meant what they wrote. How did the Early Church decide that the letters we have today were inspired and the ones we don’t weren’t? If Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would lead the apostles into “all truth,” doesn’t that mean that everything they wrote was guided by the Holy Spirit?
 
Treacy17 said:
doesn’t that mean that everything they wrote was guided by the Holy Spirit?
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Why would you think that? There was a time period when Peter was teaching circumcision before he was corrected by the church in Acts chapter 15. They were fallible men directed by an infallible church.

Peace!!!
 
Treacy17 said:
If Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would lead the apostles into “all truth,” doesn’t that mean that everything they wrote was guided by the Holy Spirit?
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Scripture is only one of the means for the Spirit’s guidance. The others are Sacred Tradition and the Magisterium. These 3 work in conjunction.
 
Treacy17 said:
I ask because I know there are a few letters of Paul that were lost, and I’m wondering why.
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What I find surprising is not that some books were lost but that so many survived.

Two and a half centuries, give or take, elapsed between the deaths of Peter and Paul and the Edict of Milan. For most of that time the churches were either illegal organizations which the authorities were actively seeking to suppress, or they were legal on paper but in practice barely tolerated and widely hated by the pagan majority of the population. In the circumstances, it’s quite remarkable that so many early Christian books have survived at all. Some of the wealthier Christian communities would have been able to afford parchment, ink and a copyist’s fees to replace worn-out copies of the Gospels and Epistles, but many of the poorer communities would have had to do without books altogether
 
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There is no reason to believe everything Paul wrote was inspired to the level of scripture. One of his sermons was recorded in Acts. Does that mean scripture is “missing” the other 2000 sermons of his that were not recorded in scripture?
Even the letters of Paul himself had to be discerned by the Magisterium, first. Some things are “obvious” only in hindsight.
There were other books of Acts, and countless other Epistles, that might have been included - chosen - in the Canon, but were not.

Paul is extremely important in the books canonized by the Magisterium under the guidance of God. Paul’s importance is not dependent on the selection of books for the Canon, but that is how WE know his importance.
 
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KevinK said:
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adf417:
They were fallible men directed by an infallible church.
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How can the men be fallible but the church infallible? The church is composed of those men.
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“Composed” - To make something by merging parts. [Wictionary]

They are not “the church” until they are “merged” in unity - infallible. Until then they are individuals and fallible.

From my example above - in Acts chapter 15 Peter is teaching error for a period of time. During this time his teaching is a fallible teaching and not what the church comes to infallibly teach in the end.

Peace!!!
 
KevinK said:
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adf417:
They were fallible men directed by an infallible church.
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How can the men be fallible but the church infallible? The church is composed of those men.
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It’s like the people who wrote scripture. They were fallible, but the Holy Spirit prevented them from falling into error in faith and morals in this writing.
The magisterium is guided in very limited circumstances, to not make error. It doesn’t mean they will always teach the truth, they might remain silent. Or might not know the answer.

Infallibility is like a brake, not a GPS. without infallibility, we couldn’t be confident in which books are in the New Testament.
 
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