What Are The Four Criteria Of The NT Canonicity

This “process of the recognition and collection took place in the first centuries of the Christian church.” However, the development of the NT and the criteria was a long process of approximately 300 years. During this period of time, “in which the false teachers were “perverting the Scriptures,” suggests an already existing canon even before the publication of the various lists.” The first NT canon accepted in the Evangelical Protestant community was “endorse by Athanasius, bishop from Alexandria.” Then accepted by the Councils of Hippo (AD 393) and Carthage (AD 397). However, the manuscripts reliability is still questionable by many people today. Although the original manuscripts are not available four criteria for the NT canonicity helped

The second criterion of canonicity was a book's orthodoxy, “that is, whether a given writing conformed to the church's rule of faith.” Allowing the book of Hebrews to enter as part of the NT. The third criterion was a book's antiquity, that is, “whether a given piece of writing was produced during the apostolic era.” This was a unique criterion which worked together with the two previous ones. As a result, it rejected “second-century and third-century apocryphal books.” The fourth and final major criterion of canonicity was that of ecclesiastical usage, that is, “whether a given document was already widely used in the early church.” Nevertheless, the canon is closed without a doubt. Christians feel the need to establish an authoritative list of Scripture as the measuring stick for morality and immorality recognizing the new covenant established by Jesus Christ. However, rationalism, humanism, relativism, and liberalism have become the measuring stick for morality and immorality, not the Bible