Replies

Was it the formal fourth century declaration of what writings were deemed Holy Scripture and canonical that made them so or were they Divinely-inspired regardless of that recognition? Does Almighty God need men to dictate to Him what they would and would not receive as binding and authoritative? Rather, He punished those who neglected or ignored His prophets.

Paul warned: Take note of anyone who does not obey the instructions we have given in this letter. Do not associate with him, so that he may be ashamed. (II Thess. 3:14) The Apostolic authority of these writings was intrinsic - it didn't take three centuries for them to be recognized as such.

17 posted on 02/24/2019 12:51:25 PM PST by boatbums (Not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to His mercy he saved us.)

Does Almighty God need men to dictate to Him what they would and would not receive as binding and authoritative?

You spend an awful lot of words to try to refute what's obvious. God divinely ordained the Fathers of the Church and gave unto them the power to discern which Books belong in Sacred Scripture, and which to not. He did not give that power to a bunch of rebels who happened along 1,500 years after His resurrection and forever shattered Christian unity into 40,000 fragments.