What are the Criteria for a Book to be Canonical?

In my first article on the Biblical Canon, What is the Biblical Canon?, I listed three criteria the early church used to recognize if a book should be considered part of the New Testament canon. The books had to be:

  • Authentic - Based on the experiences of those who knew Jesus
  • Authoritative - Accurately teaching God’s will
  • Inspired - Written by people with guidance of the Holy Sprit

Since then, I've...

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How was John’s Gospel Transmitted to Us?

The forth book of the New Testament is the Gospel of John. John was a disciple and Apostle of Jesus and witnessed his ministry, death and resurrection. There are three people known to be students of John: Ignatius, Papias and Polycarp.

Ignatius (born 35 AD, died 117 AD)[1] (he called himself "Theophorus", which means "God Bearer") became Bishop of Antioch (Turkey). He wrote a number of letters to different churches, of which some copies still exist. Ignatius quotes or refers to...

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