BusyTarpDuster2017 said:
See, that's the difference then. You're only concerned whether something is bound in the same codex as Scripture so you can say that it's "in the bible", without regard to whether it is actually Scripture or not. If you argue that it IS and always has been considered scripture, then history is not on your side as I've clearly shown.
Yet, The Council of Rome (382) The Council of Hippo (393) The Council of Carthage (397) The Council of Carthage (419) and The Ecumenical Council of Florence (1438-1442) argue against your "history" position. All of them affirmed the Deuterocanon.
On the other hand, Protestants believe that the bible should only contain canon Scripture, consistent with Jewish, biblical, and church history. That is the more appropriate and correct concern.
Sadly, they removed 7 canonical books from sacred scripture.
BusyTarpDuster2017 said:
I don't see how I've made your point - if the Catholic church via multiple councils approved different canons, some which included apocryphal books that others didn't, two (Athanasius, Amphilochius) which rejected all the major apocryphal books, and one (Laodicea) that didn't even include them at all, then that goes directly against your claim that the apocrypha were always "in the bible". It also means that by dogmatizing a canon in the 1500's, the Council of Trent made an anathema of the rulings of the Catholic church's own previous councils. This not only defeats your point, it shows that the RCC is in contradiction.
Another false assumption. The previously listed councils are affirmed ALL the Deuterocanon. Please state which of the Deuterocanon books were denied by which council.
Again the Councils affirm the canons, not individuals.
BusyTarpDuster2017 said:
You've repeatedly asserted that the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes had different canons, but you've yet to show any actual historical proof of that. Up until now, you've only cited the presence of certain writings in the Dead Sea Scrolls as "proof" of a different canon, which is really bad logic.
Church Fathers like Hippolytus, Origen, and Jerome, who all state that the Sadducees accepted only the Pentateuch as Scripture. Acts 23:8 notes that the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, angels, or spirits, which aligns with their limited scriptural canon.
You, yourself, have stated that the Protestant bible is exactly what the Pharisees used affirmed by Josephus.
The Essenes canon contained the Deuterocanon. As the works were found in the caves in 1947. Dead Sea scholar Emanuel Tov states in his book, "There is a special layout for poetical units that is almost exclusive to biblical texts (including Ben Sira) and is not found in any of the nonbiblical poetical compositions from the Judean desert" The Essenes considered them canon.
Three different sects three different canons.
Finally on this point, you've repeated stated that we should trust what the Pharisees used as scripture, but in Matthew 16:6, Jesus warns, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees," suggesting their teachings could be corrupting.
I'll take Jesus' word here and let the magisterium decide what is scripture.
BusyTarpDuster2017 said:
You are also stuck in another bad logic, that "since the whole Septuagint was included, it means all of it was considered canon" with regard to the Biblia Complutensia. Much like Jerome's Vulgate translation, the inclusion of the apocryphal books in the Biblia Complutensia was due to those apocryphal books being considered useful for edifying and teaching for the church, NOT because they were canon. In both Jerome's Vulgate and the Biblia, a clear distinction was made between the apocrypha and the rest of scripture.
Please provide excerpts from these works that state Complutensia didn't claim the Deuterocanon as canon. (Not a quote from some random Protestant). In none of my research could I find that claim. I also asked a Catholic apologist to research your claim and they could not find that listed in the Complutensia nor the Glossa.
With respect to Jerome, in the prologue to Judith, he tells his patron that "because this book is found by the Nicene Council [of A.D. 325] to have been counted among the number of the Sacred Scriptures. He later also defended of the Deuterocanon part of Daniel, "What sin have I committed in following the judgment of the churches?"
Jerome also believed in Scripture and Tradition which is a refutation of Sola Scriptura. He also believed in the perpetual virginity of Mary and that the Eucharist was the Body and Blood of Jesus. So are you going to take all of his words or just the ones you want to force to fit your narrative?
BusyTarpDuster2017 said:
Webster's "vast majority" phrase was backed up by actual historic facts. Your "refutation" is based pretty much on the fact that you don't like that characterization.
Webster can claim "vast majority" all he wants, and it doesn't make it true. Even if it was true, it was the councils that decided what was canon.
BusyTarpDuster2017 said:
The New Testament was "compiled" by believers. The Gospels were already being circulated in the early church, being widely recognized as authoritative and divinely inspired, long before any Church council deemed them to be so. The same was true of the letters of the apostles - Paul, Peter, James, John, etc. These writings organically came together as God's people recognized them as His word. Various church councils only formally designated them as such.
Who were those believers? They were the members of the Councils aforementioned.
Someone had to determine what NT books were canonical and what weren't. Other "books" like the Shepard of Hermas and the Letter of Clement to the Corinthians were being read in the churches. The Letter of Clement held significant importance and was respected in early Christian practice. The Church determined that those letters were not canonical.
The same early Church that determined what was canonical in the NT had the same authority to determine what canonical in the OT. The councils concluded that the Deuterocanon WAS canon, and it has been affirmed consistently since 382. It did not matter what individual Church fathers felt about them. The councils and magisterium spoke.
It was the Catholic Church, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, that determined what was canon all 73 books.