Canon - Usually Not a Weapon

This kind of canon is not a projectile-firing weapon from the battlefield. Although sometimes it is used as a weapon. In our context, it instead refers to the measuring rod by which a faith community judges writings authoritative for its life together. As a religious movement chronologically moves away from its founder or central figure, it must find ways to define its identity, followers, and acceptable practices. A canon offers a list of texts deemed worthy for liturgy and teaching and in turn definines its identity and practice.

Marcion’s mid 2nd century delineation of a list of NT texts was the first attempt at the determination of a canon. In the New Testament and the early church, references to scripture refer to the Hebrew Bible and specifically the Greek version called the Septuagint, abbreviated LXX.

Much like our practice today of reading scripture lessons, the worship practice of the early church appears to have included the reading of scripture (Hebrew Bible) along with received letters and other texts. Partially in response to Marcion’s list of authoritative New Testament books , a counter-list began to emerge. The Hebrew Bible was considered scripture without question; the Christian faith was seen as the fulfillment of the promises to Israel and the Hebrew Bible became the Christian Old Testament.

The four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, were the first to gain general recognition as authoritative. The multiple witnesses and emphasis on the incarnation and resurrection offered a rebuttal of the Gnostics as well as Marcion. Acts and Pauline epistles were the next ones to be considered authoritative. By the end of the 2nd Century, the core of the canon was established.