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Last Word...How Did We Obtain the Holy Bible as we know it today?


It was precisely when certain writings appeared claiming to be Apostolic, but were unrecognized by the Church as authentic, that efforts were made to make “an approval list” that is the “canon” of the New Testament.


Between 170 A.D. and 220 A.D. the four Gospels and Saint Paul’s epistles were formally recognized as “canonical”, and within a century after that, the New Testament as we know it today was formally recognized as the “canonical text”. It should be noted that what made the books canonical was their inspiration by the Holy Spirit and their use in the life of the early Church as “inspired text”.


This acknowledgement of an official “canon” might never had taken place if other writings had not appeared which claimed to be written by Apostles but were unknown to the Church in its worship and teaching. These false books are the books referred to by some as the “Lost Books of The Bible” or “Apopha”.


The majority of these Apophal books were intended to distort the message of the Christ. These deceptive writings were tainted by the heresy of “Gnosticism”.


In summary, the Holy Bible was written BY the Church and IN the Church and FOR the Church within the confinement of Holy Tradition. Consequently, it is the Church which recognizes what is canonical through its use in her worship and teaching. The Holy Bible and Church are inseparable.

IX. Which Came First?

THIS CLASSIC RIDDLE (“which came first: the chicken or the egg?”) is very much to the point here.



It should be apparent that the Church long precedes the Bible as an integral collection of books.



Thus, it is quite certain that the Church founded by Our Lord was not “based on the Bible.” The Church created by the Holy Spirit on Pentecost had no Bible as we know it… and didn’t have to have it to be truly the Church.



We can say if every single copy of the Bible in existence were destroyed, the effect upon the Church would be minimal (although the context in which such an event could occur might not be!).



But the converse is not true. If there were no Church [but we are assured this will never come to pass… “the gates of Hades shall not prevail against her” (Matt 16:18)], the Bible would not be sufficient to provide what is needed for our salvation.



If we doubt the truth of this, consider what happens when people attempt to create their own “churches” based upon their own, private interpretations of the Holy ******ures.

X. Conclusion

Let’s accept the challenge that this book / movie presents to us. Let’s take what could be a detriment to the church, and turn it around to become an opportunity to share the Truth about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ



These attacks and allegations concerning the divinity of Our Lord and the authenticity of the Holy ******ures are not foreign to the Church. It is just another fiery dart from Satan (Eph 6:16) attacking the Bride of Christ (Rev 21:9) However, we, Her beloved children, should not be “ignorant of his devices” (2 Cor 2:11) but instead we should “resist him, steadfast in the faith” (1 Pet 5:9) by putting on the full armor of God (Eph 6:11) knowing that the gates of Hades shall not prevail against her (Mat 16:18)



My beloved brothers and sisters, let us “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong” (1 Cor 16:13). Let us transform this fiery dart into a blessing in disguise by becoming well grounded in “the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation” (Eph 1:13).
As it is inspired by The Holy Spirit, canonized by the Church, lived by the saints and interpreted by the fathers.