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To: epow
I said what I said. I did not say what you said. Presumably Paul's greetings to people he knew were his own words. Otherwise, you'd have to have Paul say "God says hi" eh!

The accepted doctrine is that the Bible contains the revealed Word of God. It is not accepted doctrine that God dictated the entire document to anyone (although it contains numerous "quotes" citing God as the Source - check the parts Moses claims to have put together for some excellent examples of this.).

Even the books that make up the Bible were the subject of discussion and consideration at various Christian councils over the ages. That work is not complete ~ new materials are found from time to time.

64 posted on 06/15/2006 7:34:53 PM PDT by muawiyah (-)
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To: muawiyah
That work is not complete ~ new materials are found from time to time.

Such as the ca 3rd and 4th century Gnostic "gospels"? Or those heretical writings recently found in a southern Egyptian cave that are being touted by the finder as lost scriptures? Please don't tell me that you believe there is anything worthwhile to be found in any of those abominable heresies.

Although I don't subscribe to a considerable portion of Reformed theology, I believe the following statements by the prominent Reformed pastor and author Bob Burridge are correct, and they accurately represent my own view on the issue:

"All of our present New Testament books, Matthew through the Revelation, have been consistently received by the Church as authoritative. The New Testament rests its authority upon the authority of Jesus Christ. He chose his apostles, enabled them, appointed them, and taught them. It is that Christ-given apostolic authority which guided the church to know which writings were authoritative.........Each book, from the time it was written, was received as Canon. Councils did meet at times to form answers to those who doubted God's word. But they did not decide what belongs in our Bible. They merely stated what believers had always known and accepted."

I realize that the Latin Vulgate bible includes the Apocrypha. Jerome translated the Vulgate, but he personally rejected the Apocryphal books as inspired scripture. St. Augustine recommended the Apocryphal books to Christians for spiritual edification, but he never referred to them as inspired holy writ which tells me that he held pretty much the same view of them as Jerome.

I personally believe that the canon of scripture was completed with the Apostle John's writing of the book of the Apocalypse. You obviously take a different view of the matter, and I don't care to argue a point of religious conviction when I am confident in advance that none of the arguments put forth by the two parties will change the mind of the other.

66 posted on 06/15/2006 10:25:55 PM PDT by epow (The way of the cross leads home.)
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