by Fr. Stephen Freeman How did the Scriptures become the
Scriptures? In particular, how did early Christians decide which
books would be included in the Scriptures and which books would
not – for there were far more writings of the time that were set
aside than those that were accepted as being Scripture?
Interestingly, the process did not happen right away. The
writings that are today described as being the New Testament
were largely or completely finished by the end of the first
century – that is – within the lifetime of the longest surviving
disciple (St. John). Yet, the Church did not declare what
writings were to be considered Scripture for more than a century
after that. Why did the so-called “New Testament Church” wait
for over a century to declare what would be the New Testament?
There are a number of modern Christians who speak of the New
Testament as though it were the definitive achievement of the
early Church. For them, only those things that can be “proven”
by reference to the New Testament are c