[George W. Bush]

5) Any time you attempt to rip the Catholic Church over its interpretation of scripture, keep in mind that the Church was the one who put it together in the first place, and has 2000 years of study put into it. Are you somehow pretending that all the books of the canon were generally unknown prior to the establishment of the offical canon? The notion is silly. It is well-recognized that the New Testament canon was established by popular usage long before the official recognition was made. The early church of the Roman empire did itself (and us) a favor by disavowing uninspired and heretical teachings. Unfortunately, they reinstated some of them at the Council of Trent in 1546, namely, your Apocrypha.

[GreatOne]

It is well-recognized that the New Testament canon was established by popular usage long before the official recognition was made. The early church of the Roman empire did itself (and us) a favor by disavowing uninspired and heretical teachings.

This is exactly the point I was trying to make. Yes, the individual books were around, but the Church (which, of course, was the only churhc around at the time) put it all together after much study and prayer. Since they were able to put it all together, I would say they should have the last word on it.