Hello Larry,
A Protestant once told me, “You have to go back to the King James version”. Lots of Laughs!
I onece read an advertizement. The Greek and Hebrew bible on CD, King James Version. Again, Lots of Laughs.
Yes it was the Catholics, whom St. Peter our first Pope, whom three or four hundred years after St. Peter, through the succession of Popes, the Church established which books would go into the bible.
A thousand years plus, Luther (Protestants) decided which books of the bible, the Catholic Church established, would be illiminated and which would stay. Luther almost threw out the book of James, “epistle of straw” he called it, because it did not fit into Protestant teachings. Luther then put the word “alone” into faith “alone”. After Luther modified the bible to his liking, now Protestants call their bible “The word of God”.
I have heard that Luther equates St. Paul’s letters with Jesus’ gospel then Luther avoids Jesus’ gospel in favor of St. Paul because St. Paul fits so much better into Protestant theology (Luther’s strategy that all scripture is equal, given to us by God, with Luther’s, no doubt, exception of the book of James which he thought was trash). Wow! Jesus says he who believes in Me will never die however Protestants avoid what Jesus says in favor of what they believe St. Paul says.
It is kind of funny how the Word of God needs Luther’s (Protestants) editing before it can really be the “Word of God”.