Hey, boatbums, time for your stuff on Scripture, canon, and Luther.....again......
I do NOT follow Luther. Catholics have a real mental block concerning the concept that Christians don't follow people.
Luther did not write Scripture. Scripture was recognized as such before the Catholic church came into existence and compiled the Scripture into one, handy, convenient book. That's ALL they did and anyone could have done THAT. There's no credit to be given or taken for that action.
Catholics can trust the Canon of Scripture because it was given to us by Christ’s Church.
Anyone can trust Scripture because it was breathed out by the Holy Spirit and is therefore truth.
We know that the Church that determined the Canon of Scripture is Christ’s Church because of Her continuous existence, non-contradictory body of formal teaching, and the continuous succession in office of Petrine successors.
History does not bear out a continuous succession of popes. What about the times there was controversy and more than one *pope* at a time?
And Catholic teaching has certainly changed over the years. It is not non-contradictory. Just look at the teachings of there is no salvation outside the Catholic church. Do you need to see the posts from YOUR popes, spoken ex cathedra AGAIN?
Historically, there is no comparable institution. The existence of this incomparable institution confirms Christ’s promise regarding His Church, and with moral certainty confirms Christ’s divine nature.
Longevity means nothing. I would submit that rather than how long an organization has been around validating it's mission and existence, one look at the adherence to its alleged teachings, and looking at the moral failures of the Catholic church in both sexual immorality among its clergy, and its abominable participation in the Inquisition, one can hardly say the church as a whole has lived up to the teachings of Jesus.
The moral failures of the Church alone are enough to discredit it. After all, when people sinned, Jesus told them to go and sin no more.
The Catholic church throughout history has not represented Christ in that way.
In reconciling these facts, we can say with moral certainty that Christ is divine, that He founded a Church, and that the Catholic Church is His Church.
Not with its history it isn't. Christ would NEVER have approved of the moral failures of that organization.
We can therefore trust the Canon of Scripture given us by His Church. Or you can trust Martin Luther.
What book in the *Protestant* Bible is not in the *Catholic* Bible?
The Church was already established by the Council of Jerusalem. Many books of the New Testament were not yet in existence. The Church preceded the writing and canonization of the New Testament.
The Church first formally determined the Canon of Scripture at several local north african councils around A.D. 300.
Luther defined his canon of Scripture in the late 1400s. His justification for his determination was the so-called Jewish "Council of Jamnia," which occurred in the Christian Age. The so-called council had no standing within Judaism or Christianity.
Luther had no basis or authority for his determination of the canon of Scripture, other than his own opinion. His motivation was that he wanted to remove the Book of Maccabees from the OT, because it contained a clear reference to Purgatory. (2 Macc 12:45)