An Unassuming History
The History and Origins of the Biblical Canon
Although our New Testament gospels contain historical material, the theological editing is a factor that the discerning reader must constantly keep in mind.
–James D. Tabor
It has been my experience that independent freethinkers walk the road less traveled because they seek out pearls of truth and wisdom. Their skepticism drives them to question everything, and so, skeptics and freethinkers never seem to be satisfied. For this reason we value free inquiry and the pursuit of the truth over loyalties to pre-established doctrines or dogmas which relegate the truth to the narrow confines of devotional faith. Herein the confines of faith the believer can throw away free inquiry for pure conviction. Often this causes those of faith to stop questioning their faith altogether, and this leaves us skeptics as the only ones left willing to raise the difficult questions.
When it comes to professions and declarations of faith, I don’t doubt the sincerity of most Christians, but I do question their reasons for believing. Are they Christian because they have stopped to examine the evidence and have seriously considered what it all means, or are they Christian for different reasons? Maybe they were born into Christianity? Maybe they got caught up in an evangelical movement when they were a teenager because they lived in a predominantly Christian culture and society? It’s hard to tell why people believe what they do, but when it comes down to understanding the reasons for why we believe what we do, professions of faith carry no weight. “I believe because I just do” or “I believe because deep down in my heart I know” are meaningless statements. Time and time again I have made it a point to raise the question, “What is your faith based on?” Minus professions of faith, this question forces Christians to pause and think—what is it that I believe, exactly? What are my beliefs based on? For Christians the answer would ultimately have to be “the Bible.”
Needless to say, without a central doctrine, without the articles of faith, there could be no devotional agreement as to the proper convictions a Christian should hold. Or to say it more plainly, without the Bible there could be no collective agreement of what the faith should even be about. If you think about it, this is some heavy handed business, because what it means is that without the Bible then there would be no good reason for Christianity.[i]
In this article I will take you through the history of the canonization of the Bible, what books were selected, by whom, and for what purposes. As it so happens, we can answer the question what is Christian faith based on, but the answer may shock believers, because it turns out it’s not based on any divinely inspired word of God, but rather, the Bible is an undeniably man-made text!
