There are a few problems believers face (if they are even aware) that he or she faces when considering the Bible they hold, however the one I want to focus on is the history of how books (to include in the Bible) were determined. It was not an exact science by any stretch and it is very far from the truth to claim that there was some kind of divine guidance involved. I would go out on a limb and even say that many Christians have no idea how their Bible came down to them or probably even care as they feel comforted by the notion that God has somehow seen to its perfect transmission over the ages. I feel some think that there was a gathering of holy scholars, who peacefully sat down after much prayer and fasting and after being “led” by the holy spirit, came to a conclusion which books should be included. Warm thoughts but wrong.

First of all the Catholics have 73 books in their Bible, the Ethiopians, as much as 80, the Jews 39, the Protestants 66, the rare Samaritans of today, 5 or maybe 6. Somebody is missing some information about being saved or have too much information. This alone shows that there is widespread diversity as to what should be a part of the official collection of “inspired” scripture.

If we take the Samaritans who include only 5 books and sometimes 6 (Genesis through Joshua) in their canon and the Hebrew version (the Hebrew Masoretic Text) of the same books, there are some 6,000 differences between the two sets of books. There is no discernable principle here. They are merely accidents of political history and warfare.

At the Jewish Council of Jamnia (near modern day Joppa in Israel) near the end of the first century C.E, Jewish scholars came together to determine their canon. Greek speaking Jews were toting around more books than their Hebrew speaking brethren back home in Judea/Palestine. When the Christians chose the Greek Old Testament as their source of scripture which included other books, the Jews in Palestine figured they had to revisit their books. At the Council they threw out books such as the Book of Baruch (Jeremiah’s secretary), Ecclesiasticus (different from Ecclesiastes) and both books of Maccabees. By a slim vote margin, Ezekiel, Proverbs, Esther, Ecclesiates and the Song of Solomon made the cut. In the case of Daniel, they kicked out the last two chapters of Daniel settling for 12 chapters which the King James Version also has, however, the Catholic church includes the last two chapters.

As for the early Christians, they experienced the same issue. Most, however, preferred the larger Greek Old Testament. In addition to the Jewish scriptures, different Christians communities developed their own “New Testament” which may or may not have included any number of epistles and apocalypses. And as the oft mentioned “Church Fathers” never really came to a conclusion as to what should be included (as final) either.

Irenaeus (circa 130 C.E), for example, felt that the Shepherd of Hennas to be inspired but did not feel the same about Hebrews, Jude, James II Peter and III John. Clement of Alexandria included the Apocalypse of Peter, the Epistle of Barnabas, and the Shepherd of Hennas in his idea of the Bible. Tertullian rejected all the New Testament books except the four Gospels, Acts 13 of Paul’s letters, Revelation and I John.

As church centers rose and gained status in areas like Rome, Alexandria (Egypt), Anticoch and Constantinople, leaders of those areas made efforts to stamp out anything contrary to their beliefs (heresy) and these were done through the means of councils which were set up to determine which books should be included in the Bible and which should not. Just from the differences from the few church fathers up top should tell us there was going to be war. Those whose ideas did not sell, or better yet, who could not buy enough votes at the councils, were anathematized (condemned and excommunicated).

These councils were sometimes hilarious, sometimes, bewildering and sometimes abominable. At the council of Laodecia (363 C.E), the council included the Book of Baruch in the Old Testament but rejected Revelation in the New Testament. The Council of Carthage (397 C.E) included Ecclesiasticus, Wisdom, Tobit, Judith, and 1st and 2nd Maccabees. None of these books are in the Protestant bibles today. The Greek Orthodox Church closed out its canon in the tenth century when they finally decided to include the Book of Revelation. The Syrian Orthodox church included it in their canon a century later with much grudge.

At the Council of Nicea in 325, the first Church Council under an emperor (Constantine), the big issue was that of the Trinity. A certain Arius argued against the equality of Jesus with God while Bishop Alexander of Alexandria argued they were equal. By a packed vote, Arius’ view was rejected, branded a heretic, excommunicated and exiled. He is of course associated in church history with what has become known as the Arian Heresy. However, three years later Constantine recalled Arius to Constantinople as part of a supposed reconciliation. On the same day Arius was to enter the cathedral to confirm his reinstatement, his bowels burst and he died eliminating any need to reconsider his views. Of course those who thought he was a heretic considered this turn of events a judgment from God, but others knew he was murdered (poisoned).

In 431 A.D at the Council of Ephesus. St. Cyril, the holy father of Alexandria bribed enough bishops to be able to start the council before the holy father of Antioch showed up who opposed him. Without opposition from Antioch in the midst, it was a quick matter to condemn a certain Nestorius as a heretic and proclaim Mary to be theotokos or “the mother of god.”

At the Second Synod of Ephesus in 449 A.D, Dioscorus,the pope of Alexandria and successor to Cyril condemned his rival Flavian, the pope of Constantinople. In the ensuing riot, Dioscorus or someone from his party, kicked Flavian to hard that he died three days later. Armed with a “Christian” mob of monks and soldiers wielding swords, sticks and chains, Dioscoros was able to convince the bishops who were set to vote for Flavian to make sure they voted “correctly.”

This quite frankly is how “truth” and the books of the Bible were often determined in the orthodox Catholic Church. Amongst the Protestants it was more like every sinner for himself on the matter. They of course were influenced by what the Catholic Church brought to the table before them no matter how much they tried to distance themselves. Martin Luther the Reformer didn’t think Esther belonged in the Bible, but highly esteemed the book of Sirach and I Maccabees. He thought little of Hebrews and Revelation and he called the Book of James “an epistle of straw.”

Zwingli the Swiss reformer called the Book of Revelation unbiblical. John Calvin called it a book of ravings.