Dr Paul Allen

For whatever set of reasons, there is a widespread belief out there (internet, popular books) that the New Testament canon was decided at the Council of Nicea in 325 AD—under the conspiratorial influence of Constantine.    The fact that this claim was made in Dan Brown’s best-seller  The Da Vinci Code  shows how widespread it really is.    Brown did not make up this belief; he simply used it in his book. The problem with this belief, however, is that it is patently false.    The Council of Nicea had nothing to do with the formation of the New Testament canon (nor did Constantine).     Nicea was concerned with how Christians should articulate their beliefs about the divinity of Jesus.    Thus it was the birthplace of the Nicean creed. When people discover that Nicea did not decide the canon, the follow up question is usually, “Which council did decide the canon?”     Surely we could not have a canon...

Have you ever looked at your Bible and wondered, “Why do we regard these 66 books, and no others, as comprising the inspired Word of God?” That is a critically important question, since there are many today who would deny that these 66 books truly make up the complete canon of Scripture. The Roman Catholic Church, for example, claims that the Apocryphal books which were written during the inter-testamental period (between the Old and New Testaments) ought to be included in the Bible. Cult groups like the Mormons want to add their own books to the Bible—things like the  Book of Mormon ,  The Doctrines and Covenants , and  The Pearl of Great Price . And then there are popular books and movies, like  The Da Vinci Code  from several years back, that claim later Christians (like Constantine) determined what was in the Bible centuries after these books were  written. So, how do we know that “all Scripture” consi...