What Are the 73 Books in the Bible?
The Bible consists of 73 books. Some of these books are spurious and others are considered divinely inspired. The Early church fathers recognized some as divinely inspired and others rejected them as heretical. The question of whether they were divinely inspired or not is an ongoing debate that has no clear answer.
Early church fathers didn’t think they were divinely inspired
There was a time when the church fathers didn’t believe that the 73 books of the Bible were divinely inspired. One such church leader was Irenaeus. He wrote a multivolume work called Against Heresies. This book argues that Scripture cannot be interpreted in isolation. Instead, all doctrinal formulation must be validated by Scripture.
Some early church fathers argued that the bible was compiled in 325 A.D., during the Council of Nicea. But scholars have also found evidence that different church leaders debated the canonization of scripture. Their arguments were based on church history and theological disclosure.
During this debate, many argued that the Apocrypha were not canonical. Others maintained that the Septuagint was available to Jesus and his disciples. In any case, Jesus never explicitly referred to these books. However, supporters of canonicity argued that the early church fathers recognized these books as scripture and held them in high esteem. Ultimately, the early church fathers decided that the Apocrypha did not belong in the list of inspired books.
However, the controversy over the canon of the 73 books of the bible continued for centuries. The history channel and Discovery Channel both feature special documentaries about the controversy. Eventually, the Eastern Church accepted the Septuagint as canon, claiming that the Septuagint is a divinely inspired translation of the OT.
Early church fathers recognized them as divinely inspired
The Catholic Bible is composed of 73 books, while the Protestant Bible contains 66 books. Some Protestants believe that the Catholic Church added seven books to the Bible at the Council of Trent in response to Luther’s Reformation. The early church fathers were divided over which books were divinely inspired.
In 313AD, the Roman Emperor Constantine officially recognized Christianity as a state-approved religion, which meant that Christians could no longer be persecuted. As a result, a debate about the canon of the New Testament erupted. The Catholic Church decided to settle the issue by publishing a definitive list of the New Testament’s books in 367AD. This list was drawn up by the church father St. Athanasius of Alexandria.
The New Testament also affirms the Jewish Scriptures. Jesus claims that the Scripture cannot be annulled, and also refers to it as the “word of God.” In addition, there are many passages in the New Testament that discuss the importance of Scripture, including passages in the Sacred Scriptures. The Second Letter to Timothy, for example, asserts that “all Scripture is profitable for teaching and reproof.”
The New Testament books are also inspired and canonical, meaning that they possess the authority of God and the authority of Scripture. While the Catholic church believes the New Testament books were written after Christ’s death, Protestants assert that the New Testament books were written before 70AD. Moreover, the New Testament’s authors never mention the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70AD, which was prophesied by Christ. In light of this, early Church leadership would have recognized that Christ was the ultimate prophet.
Early church fathers rejected them as spurious
The Catholic Church holds that the Bible is not sufficient for the Christian faith. It teaches that the Bible needs an interpreter, just as Christ established a living Church. He did not leave a printed copy of the Bible for the people to read for interpretation. Neither did He send out copies of the Bible for mass distribution.
This idea of Scripture authority is not entirely new, but it was foreign to the Early Church. The Bible was not fully written until 65 years after Christ’s Ascension. Therefore, the Early Church did not have authority over doctrinal questions.
There are many differences between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Protestants violate the Sola Scriptura doctrine, which prohibits additions to the Bible. In the 16th century, Protestants deleted seven entire Old Testament books. They incorrectly labeled them “Apocrypha,” while Catholics refer to them as “deuterocanonical” or “second canon.”
Arian’s heresy sprang from a conflict between the teaching authority of the Church and the authority of Scripture. Arius’ heresy was so influential that most of the bishops of the day fell for it. He also believed that the Son of God was a creature and equal to his Father.
While the Catholic Church teaches the Bible is the Word of God, the Protestants believe it contradicts it. In fact, they claim that the Bible contains material that is not scriptural.
Early church fathers rejected them as heretical
The early church fathers rejected the 73 books of the bible as heretical, but they did not necessarily reject them for being false. Their criteria included the authorship of the book, its antiquity (how old was it when it was written), and its orthodoxy (how well it conformed to the teachings of the church today). The earliest church fathers, including St. Jerome, did not reject all the books of the Bible as heretical.
During the time of Jesus, Jews did not agree about which books were divinely inspired. The Sadducees and Pharisees both accepted the Pentateuch as scripture, but the Pharisees and Jews of the Diaspora believed that seven additional books were divinely inspired. Those books were discarded in the Protestant translations of the Bible.
This letter, written around the same time as the Gospel of John, was regarded as authoritative and copied to churches throughout the world. Many believed that this letter was part of the New Testament scriptures. The Ante-Nicene Fathers contain many prophetical announcements.
While there are differences between the two faiths, the 73 books in the Bible are accepted by the Roman Catholic Church. While it is not possible to prove whether a book of the Bible is truly inspired by God, it is not heretical. As a result, Catholics often seek guidance from “the Fathers.” These early Christian writers explained how the apostolic scriptures were understood and applied by the apostles and their successors. The early Christian pastors “fathered” their flocks during their lifetimes, but only those who wrote down what they had learned could serve as a guide for all time.
Early church fathers formally declared them to be part of the bible
According to the Catholic Bible, there are 73 books, while the Protestant Bible contains 66 books. Some Protestants believe that the Catholic Church added these books during the Council of Trent, in response to Luther’s Reformation. Others believe that the Bible includes the seven books of Moses.
During the time of Jesus, Jews had argued over which books were divinely inspired. The Pharisees accepted the Pentateuch and the other 34 books of the Old Testament, but many Jews in the Diaspora believed that seven additional books were inspired by God. Translations of these books are known as the Septuagint.
The Bible has been the source of much controversy throughout history, and the study of its interpretation is a vital part of the Christian faith. It is essential to the life of the church, and the relationships between Christians and other religions. This is why the Pontifical Biblical Commission has been asked to issue a statement on biblical interpretation.
The sociological point of view has also had a profound impact on biblical exegesis. The Form-criticism movement paid attention to the social conditions in which texts were written, and recognized that the biblical tradition bore the mark of its socio-cultural milieu. The Chicago School, which studied the social situation of early Christianity, gave historical criticism a major push in this direction. As a result, sociological interpretation of the Bible has become a staple of exegesis.
Protestants reject them as heretical
There are some differences between the Catholic Bible and the Protestant Bible. The Catholic Bible contains 73 books, while the Protestant Bible has 66. Some Protestants believe the Catholic Church added the additional books to the Bible during the Council of Trent, in response to the Reformation. However, Catholics have argued that the books in question are deuterocanonical, or part of the second canon.
Protestants have failed to provide a satisfactory answer to the canon question. Instead, they resort to the idea that the books in the Bible were inspired by God. This notion has no support in church history. In other words, the Protestant Bible does not contain the 73 books that Catholics consider heretical.
Historically, Christians and Jews disagreed about which books of the Bible were divinely inspired. While the Pharisees and Sadducees accepted the Pentateuch and 34 other books of the Old Testament, Jews in the Diaspora believed that seven additional books were divinely inspired. This is reflected in the Septuagint translation, which was composed by seventy translators.
Protestants also reject Revelation as heretical. Revelation is the last book in the Bible. Protestants claim that the book seals the canon, but there is no way a Christian can know whether or not the book contains the canon. Unless there is infallible authority, this interpretation is impossible to understand.
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