Rediscovering The Truth About Creation

This analysis begins by considering the question why. Why did anyone ever conclude that a complete definition of Scriptures was needed, or to use the more technical expression, why was canonization ever thought to be so important? "Canon" comes from the Greek word which means "reed" and carries with it the idea of a rule or basis.

The early Christian leaders thought it was necessary to define a clear, scriptural standard for the Church, a standard in the form of one Bible which would never change! Since the days of Moses, the Jews had always had their Bible. For them, it was what we now call the Old Testament. But a short while after Christ and the Apostles were gone, the new leaders of the early Church reasoned that a certified continuation to the Old Testament was needed, one which would include all of the important teachings of Christ. Since they believed that they, through Jesus, had heard from God, they naturally wanted to preserve His messages for all generations. This is the obvious reason for canonizing Scriptures, the reason being that one might have the true teachings of Christ and also the actual Word of God. Yet, there are still three more!

In his book, How We Got Our Bible, Mr. Ralph Earle listed three specific challenges to the early Church, and each of the three caused canonization to take on a special, increased significance [1].

The first was to counter the adversarial work of a man named Marcion, as well as others who might have been like him. This early heretic, as the author has referred to him, lived around 140 A.D. He had developed his own list of what he was calling the valid books for the Bible, and he was spreading that list throughout the area to other churches. His unauthorized version of Scriptures was creating much havoc among churchgoers because he had intentionally taken away from what many had already believed was the correct list. It became necessary for the early Church leaders, therefore, to establish an official Canon so that a manuscript could be provided which might be used with confidence by all. The early Church leaders wanted to define the Canon for God's Word in order to eliminate or avoid any future confusion.

According to Mr. Earle, the second reason for canonizing Scriptures was to meet the challenge of a mistake which had already been made in some Eastern churches. Those people had been using the wrong book! The author does not elaborate, but he indicates that those churches had been using a manuscript which looked similar to the Bible yet was different. What they had been using was not the authorized Word of God, so the likelihood of their being persuaded or misled by false teaching was high.

An official Canon of God's Word was needed, secondly, so that any future use of invalid texts could be reduced or altogether eliminated. Imagine the frustration of learning that you had received a book which was called the bible, only to learn years later that you had been given a counterfeit! Early Church leaders were sensitive to this possibility and wanted to avoid any chances for a repeat performance.

Mr. Earle listed the final reason why canonization became so important, but this explanation might be difficult for many to comprehend! According to the author, the Edict of Diocletian, which had been passed in 303 A.D., declared that all sacred books of Christians should be destroyed. That, of course, included Bibles! Also included in this penalty was the possibility of death to the Christian who had possessed one of those forbidden works. The people of the early Church, while they did not object to dying for their faith, did object to dying for a book which was phony. They were willing to pay the ultimate price for their faith in the Lord, and many did! However, they wanted to be absolutely sure that they were doing so for the right Book and the proper cause.

In this country, people so far have not had to forfeit their life or much of anything else because of a particular religious persuasion. As a result, it is difficult for many to even relate to such a thing. Those in the early Church, who had learned to live each day with the possibility of martyrdom, thirdly, wanted to feel that they were at least dying for the right Book!