In our Friday question we're exploring the crucial issue of biblical authority. You and I live in an age which considers no truth to be objective or absolute. "The Bible says" is not as convincing as it once was. Many Christians do not know why they should trust God's word, or how to explain its authority to their friends. Thus this mini-series, taken from the Carroll Institute course on biblical hermeneutics I'm teaching at our church on Wednesday nights. If you're one of the 40 or so students in the class, this should seem familiar. If you're not, welcome to the conversation (and you don't have to take a test!).

One of the popular objections to biblical authority is that the books were chosen in a smoke-filled room for political purposes. For instance, Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code asserts that Constantine chose them in his political desire to deify Christ and unify the Roman Empire. The real story is nowhere near that interesting.

The first step toward a "canon" for the Christian Scriptures came about as the result of a crisis. Around AD 140, a wealthy shipowner named Marcion came to believe that Christians should reject the entirety of the Hebrew Bible as legalism. He adopted Pauline theology so fully that he thought most of the other Christian writings should be ignored. His list of accepted books included ten of Paul's letters (he omitted 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus) and a copy of Luke's gospel which he edited to reflect Pauline emphases.

Orthodox Church leaders acted quickly to affirm all four gospels, and all of Paul's letters. But the crisis showed the need for the church to make a more formal list of accepted Christian Scriptures. Over time, four criteria were developed for accepting a book as inspired.

, the book must have been written by an apostle or based on his eyewitness testimony. Gnostic writings were gaining more and more attention at this time, reflecting a heretical theology which separated the body from the spirit. Some of the Gnostic "gospels" were purported to be written by apostles such as Thomas and Peter. In response, church leaders quickly adopted the position that a canonical book must be the clear product of an actual apostle, or based on his eyewitness accounts.

Matthew the tax-collector was a disciple of Jesus before he wrote his gospel, as was John. Mark was an early missionary associate of Paul (Ac 13:4-5) and was a spiritual son to Peter (1 Pt 5:13); early Christians believed that he wrote his gospel based on the sermons and experiences Peter related to him.

Luke was a Gentile physician who joined Paul's second missionary journey at Troas (note Ac 16:10, where Luke changes the narrative from "they" to "we"). He wrote his gospel and the book of Acts based on the eyewitness testimony of others (Lk 1:1-4). Paul's letters came from an eyewitness to the risen Christ (cf. Ac 9:1-6), as did the works of James (half-brother of Jesus), Peter, Jude (another half-brother of Jesus), and John.

This criteria alone excluded most of the books suggested for the canon. For instance, Clement of Rome was not an eyewitness of the Lord; even though his letter to the church at Corinth was highly respected, it was not included in the New Testament.

, the book must possess merit and authority in its use. Here it was easy to separate those writings which were inspired from those which were not. For instance, The First Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ tells of a man changed into a mule by a bewitching spell but converted back to manhood when the infant Christ is put on his back for a ride (7:5-27). In the same book, the boy Jesus causes clay birds and animals to come to life (ch. 15), stretches a throne his father had made too small (ch. 16), and takes the lives of boys who oppose him (19:19-24). It wasn't hard to know that such books did not come from the Holy Spirit.

, a book must be accepted by the larger church, not just a particular congregation. Paul's letter to the Ephesians was an early instance of a letter which became "circular" in nature, read by churches across the faith. His other letters soon acquired such status. In fact, Peter refers to Paul's letter as "Scripture" (2 Pt. 3:16). The oldest non-biblical letters also quote Paul's epistles repeatedly. By at least AD 100, his works were collected together and used in worship and study by the larger church.

The gospels were a different matter. Soon after Jesus' resurrection, many "life of Christ" documents began to appear. Among them was the Protoevangelion, purporting to give details regarding the birth of Jesus; two books on his infancy (one claiming falsely to be written by Thomas); and the Gospel of Nicodemus (sometimes called the Acts of Pontius Pilate). But none actually recorded eyewitness testimony to Jesus, or gained acceptance by the larger Christian movement.

By the mid-second century, only the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were accepted universally, as quotations from the Christians of the era make clear. As early as AD 115 Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, referred to the four as "The Gospel." Around 170, an Assyrian Christian named Tatian composed a "harmony" of the Gospels, using only these four. Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons in Gaul around 180, referred to the four Gospels as firmly established in the church.

The rest of the New Testament gained wide use through different processes. Acts was always considered to be part of Luke's record, and thus included immediately after the Gospels. The thirteen letters of Paul were included next, arranged from longest to shortest (not chronologically, as many assume). Hebrews was placed next, as many connected it with Paul. 1 Peter and 1 John were clearly written by the apostles for whom they were named.

The Greek of 2 Peter is different from that of 1 Peter, raising authorship questions for some. But when it came to be understood that 1 Peter was probably written through a secretary and 2 Peter by the apostle himself, this question was resolved. The authorship of 2 and 3 John, James, Jude, and Revelation was eventually settled, and they were accepted and used by the larger church as well.

, a book came to be approved by the decision of church leaders. The so-called Muratorian Canon (discovered in 1740 by Italian Cardinal L. A. Muratori) was the first list to convey the larger church's opinion regarding accepted books of the New Testament canon. Compiled around A.D. 200, it represented the usage of the Roman church at the time. The list omits James, 1 and 2 Peter, 3 John, and Hebrews, since its compiler was not sure of their authorship. All were soon included in later canons.

Eusebius, the first church historian, listed in the fourth century the most widely read books in three categories: "recognized," "disputed," and "heretical." He identified as "recognized" the four gospels, Acts, fourteen letters of Paul (Eusebius included Hebrews as Pauline), 1 John and 1 Peter, and Revelation. Among the "disputed" books, he listed as "generally accepted" James, Jude, 2 Peter, and 2 and 3 John (authorship questions remained in the minds of some). And so each of the books of our New Testament had gained general acceptance by this time.

The list we have today was set forth by Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, in his Easter letter of AD 367:

Note that to this point, no official church council had acted on the matter of the New Testament canon. The process was "bottom up" rather than "top down," recognizing the experiences of believers everywhere with the various books of Christian Scripture. No conspiracies or councils were involved.

Finally, the list of Athanasius was approved by church councils meeting at Hippo Regius in 393 and Carthage in 397. These councils did not impose anything new upon the church. Rather, they codified what believers had already come to accept and use as the word of God. By the time the councils approved the 27 books of our New Testament, they had already served as the established companion to the Hebrew Scriptures for generations.

Biblical scholar F. F. Bruce is clear: "What councils did was not to impose something new upon the Christian communities but to codify what was already the general practice of these communities." Biblical commentator William Barclay agrees: "The Bible and the books of the Bible came to be regarded as the inspired word of God, not because of any decision of any Synod or Council or Committee or Church, but because in them mankind found God. The supremely important thing is not what men did to these books, but what these books did to men."

And so Mr. Brown's assertion in The DaVinci Code that Constantine "created" the New Testament is patently false. Constantine had absolutely nothing to do with the formation of the biblical canon. A cursory glance at the facts exposes this allegation as anti-Christian propaganda and very poor history. The books of New Testament we read today were compiled over centuries of use by the larger church of Jesus Christ. The God who inspired the Scriptures used his people to gather and preserve them. We have the books God intended us to possess and obey today.

When Claude Pepper was running for senator from Florida in 1950, one of his opponents attacked him this way: "Are you aware that Claude Pepper is known all over Washington as a shameless extrovert? He also practiced nepotism with his sister-in-law, and has a sister who was once a thespian in wicked New York City. Worst of all, before his marriage he habitually practiced celibacy!" Mr. Pepper lost the election.

Words matter.

A Gutenberg Bible, printed in 1455 in Mainz, Germany, was sold at an action in 1987 for $5.39 million, more than twice the previous record price for a printed book. The Bible is indisputably the best-selling book of all time; Christian bookstores sell more than 30,000 each day.

Word about the Bible matter.

As we continue our study of biblical authority, we come to this practical question: what are we to call this book? What words best describe its authority? Which terms should we avoid, and which should we encourage? And why does it all matter?

We'll start our very brief tour within the pages of the Bible itself. Does this book consider itself to be authoritative? Or do those of us who affirm the timeless truth of Scripture misunderstand the book we defend? Critics of the sixteenth century reformers accused them of making a "paper pope" of Scripture. Is our commitment to biblical authority warranted by the Bible itself? What does God's word say about itself?

The Author of this book made the most stupendous claim in all of recorded literature: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me" (Mt 28:18). No Caesar, general, or dictator ever thought to claim all authority over the entire universe. If Jesus possesses "all" authority over every dimension of reality, how much authority do you and I have? The words given to us by such a Person obviously become the most significant and authoritative in all the world.

The Bible agrees. It claims to be "inspired" ("breathed into") by its Author: "All Scripture is God-breathed" (2 Tim 3:16). It claims divine, not human, authorship for its source: "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit" (2 Pt 1:20-21).

Paul says of his words, "The gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ" (Gal 1:11-12). He made the same statement to the Corinthians: "This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit" (1 Cor 2:13).

Scripture claims to possess this divine authority for all time:

• "The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever" (Is. 40:8).
• After quoting this passage, Peter adds, "And this is the word that was preached to you" (1 Pt 1:25).
• Jesus was clear and adamant: "My words will never pass away" (Mt 24:35).

The Bible claims to be the authoritative word of God on every subject it addresses. It asserts that its truths are objective and eternally relevant. It could not possibly claim a higher authority for itself.

So we know that the Bible is literally "God's word," given to humans through human agency. How did he use men to get his word to mankind? Here we must consider "theories of inspiration."

First, let's dispense with mistaken approaches. Some consider the Bible to be "inspired" like all great literature--no less and no more. This is the "natural" inspiration theory. Others believe that the Bible was inspired to the same degree as Christian writing, preaching, and teaching today. This is the "general Christian" theory. Still others accept as inspired only certain sections of Scripture. This is the "partial inspiration" approach. The Bible rejects all three by claiming God's special authorship of all the Scriptures (2 Tim 3:16).

Now let's consider the three most popular theories in church life today. One is the dictation approach. By this view, God gave the literal words of Scripture directly to their human writers. The authors functioned something like stenographers. Some of the Bible clearly came to exist in this way (the Ten Commandments, for instance). But we find different vocabularies, writing styles, and goals within the various books. For this reason, the "dictation" theory is not popular with most scholars today.

The verbal approach suggests that God inspired the individual words of the Bible while also allowing human personality to be used. This view is usually combined with "plenary," meaning "all." It teaches that God took the initiative in inspiring each of the individual words of Scripture, but he did this in a way which engaged their personalities as well.

A third approach is the dynamic theory. Those who hold this view believe that God guided the writers more often than he gave each word to them. In this way their personalities were used, while God's purpose was achieved. This approach, while not insisting on the direct verbal inspiration of each word of the text, still maintains the divine inspiration of the Scriptures. This view affirms that inspiration is verbal not so much in its method as in its result.

Which approach is best? All three contain ideas which should be combined into one concept. We should affirm both the divine and the human elements behind the creation of Scripture, without allowing either to minimize the other.

Sometimes God dictated his words; sometimes he gave the authors his words in very direct ways (dreams and visions, for instance); and sometimes they use their own vocabularies to express the truth he gave them. Perhaps an analogy can clear up this confusion. Many writers, both ancient and modern, have compared the divine/human authorship of Scripture to the divine/human nature of its subject, Jesus Christ. Jesus was fully divine, but fully human as well. We cannot understand this mystery fully, but we can affirm it. In the same way, Scripture can be the very word of God, and yet use the words of men.

All significant spiritual truth requires the acceptance of paradox. God is three and yet one; and the Lord is sovereign while we have free will. Jesus is fully God and fully man; his word retains both the divine and the human as well.

The first Christians were convinced of the divine, authoritative nature of Scripture. They were clear on the fact that the Bible is the absolute, authoritative word of God. For instance, Peter cited Old Testament prophets as his authority in his Pentecost address, the first "Christian" sermon. Stephen's defense of the incipient Christian faith was largely a retelling of Israel's history in the biblical narrative (Acts 7). James argued for Gentile inclusion in the Church on the basis of biblical prophetic witness (Amos 9:11, 12; Acts 15:16-18).

Much of Paul's ministry was spent explaining how Jesus fulfilled Old Testament Messianic promises. An early example from his first missionary journey: "From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath they entered the synagogue and sat down. After reading from the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue rulers sent word to them, saying, 'Brothers, if you have a message of encouragement for the people, please speak'" (Acts 13:14-15). Paul immediately recited the biblical history of his people (vs. 16-22), and showed the people how Jesus fulfilled their Scriptures (vs. 23-31). He then claimed Psalm 2:7 (v. 33), Isaiah 55:3 (v. 34), Psalm 16:10 (v. 34), and Habakkuk 1:5 (v. 41) as warrant for the gospel he proclaimed.

The letters of the New Testament and early Christian history are replete with biblical citations. In fact, if we had only the letters written by second-century Christians we could reconstruct most of the New Testament on the basis of their voluminous quotations. There is no doubt that the first Christians considered the Bible to be the authoritative revelation and word of God. Critics can say they were right or they were wrong, but they cannot say they were ambiguous. These men and women would rather die than deny the truths they found in God's word. We should feel the same way.

So far we've learned how the Bible was made, its books were chosen, and its words were inspired. All evidence points to a book which is trustworthy in content and reliable in transmission. But its life-changing purpose requires our participation. No literature can change the heart of a person who won't read it. The world's finest art cannot move those who will not view it.

Has God's word changed your life yet today? Will it?

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