On Mon, 20 Dec 2004 09:38:33 +0100, mr. E wrote:

>> pravovjernim u?enjem Crkve. Ina?e, Crkva je definirala kanonske biblijske
>> knjige tijekom prvog i drugog stolje?a. Svi ostali spisi koji su mo?da i
>> pre?ivjeli do srednjeg vijeka i, kako ka?e?, bili spaljeni ne spadaju u
>> Bibliju.
> 
> a mozda je u njima pisalo nesto vazno ali se to nije svidjalo inkviziciji i
> ostalima na "vlasti"

Prilicno dobar tekst o formiranju kanona imas na
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/biblical%20canon
Iz citiranog fragmenta iznimno je lako uociti da nigdje nema nikakvih bajki
o "inkviziciji" koja je spaljivala nekakve paralelne Biblije u srednjem
vijeku. Kanon je formuliran u kasnoj antici, daleko prije srednjeg vijeka,
i rasprave su se vodile oko sasvim drugacijih stvari nego si zamisljaju
Hollywoodski scenaristi. Buduci da je inkvizicija uspostavljena u 13.
stoljecu, a biblijski kanon utvrdjen u 4. stoljecu, tvrdnja da je
inkvizicija nekakvim spaljivanjem uspostavljala kanon postaje vrlo zabavna.

 Christian canon
New Testament
When Christianity began, it had no well-defined set of scriptures outside
of the Septuagint and relied on the oral tradition of what Jesus Christ had
said and done, as reported by the apostles and other followers. Even after
the Gospels were written and began circulating, some Christians preferred
the oral Gospel as told by people they trusted (e.g. Papias, c. 125).

By the end of the 1st century, the letters of Paul were collected and
circulated, and they were known to Clement of Rome (c. 95), Ignatius of
Antioch (died 117), and Polycarp of Smyrna (c. 115).

The first person to propose a definitive, exclusive canon of Christian
scriptures was Marcion of Sinope, c. 150. He accepted only portions of the
Gospel of Luke and ten of Paul's epistles. He rejected the entire Old
Testament, the other three Gospels, the book of Acts and the epistles of
Peter and John. From the books he did accept, he removed any passages that
connected Christianity with Judaism. This was because Marcion believed that
the God of the Jews who gave them the Law was an entirely different god
than the Supreme God who sent Jesus Christ and inspired the New Testament
scriptures. By editing the books he accepted, he thought he was removing
Judaizing corruptions and recovering the 'original' inspired words of the
text. Marcion's canon and theology were soundly rejected as heretical;
however, he forced the Church to consider which texts were scriptural and
why. Marcion spread his beliefs widely; they became known as Marcionism, a
form of Gnostic Christianity.

The Diatessaron was a one-volume harmony of the four Gospels, translated
and compiled by Tatian into Syriac c. 173. In Syriac speaking churches, it
effectively served as the only New Testament scripture until Paul's
epistles were added during the third century. Some authorities believe that
the book of Acts was also used in Syrian churches alongside the
Diatessaron. The Diatessaron was eventually replaced in the 5th century by
the Peshitta, which contains a translation of all the books of the New
Testament, except for 2 John, 3 John, 2 Peter, Jude and Revelation.

Irenaeus of Lyons (c. 185) vigorously defended the notion that there were
exactly four Gospels, no more and no less, as a touchstone of orthodoxy. He
pointed out that it was illogical to reject Acts of the Apostles but accept
the Gospel of Luke, as both were from the same author. This was crucial to
refuting Marcion's anti-Judaism, as Acts gives honor to James, Peter and
Paul alike. At the time, Jewish Christians tended to honor James (a
prominent Christian in Jerusalem described in the New Testament as an
"apostle" and "pillar", and by Eusebius and other church historians as the
first Bishop of Jerusalem) but not Paul, while Gentiles tended to honor
Paul more than James.

The earliest known semi-official listing of canonical books is the
Muratorian fragment, usually dated at 170 (based on an internal reference
to Pope Pius I) but possibly as late as the early 4th century. This partial
canon lists four gospels and the Pauline epistles, as well as two books of
Revelation, one of John, another of Peter (the latter of which it notes is
not often read in the churches).

The canon of the New Testament began to be more firmly established in the
later 4th century.

One of the first synods that set out to judge which books were to be read
aloud in churches was the Synod of Laodicea, held about 363. The decrees
issued by the thirty or so clerics attending were called 'canons'. Canon 59
decreed that only canonical books should be read, but no list was appended
in the Latin and Syriac manuscripts recording the decrees. The list of
canonical books sometimes attributed to the Synod of Laodicea is a later
addition, most scholars agree.

The first complete listing of canonical books of the New Testament
mentioned in the Denziger Sources of Catholic Dogma is in §84, which dates
from 382 (the Council of Rome).

    "One book of the Gospels according to Matthew, one book according to
Mark, one book according to Luke, one book according to John. Epistles of
the Apostle Paul, fourteen in number, one to the Romans, two to the
Corinthians, one to the Ephesians, two to the Thessalonians, one to the
Galatians, one to the Philippians, one to the Colossians, two to Timothy,
one to Titus, one to Philemon, one to the Hebrews. Also one book of the
Apocalypse of John and one book of the Acts of the Apostles. Also the
canonical epistles, seven in number: two epistles of the Apostle Peter, one
epistle of the Apostle James, one epistle of the Apostle John, two epistles
of another John, a priest, and one epistle of the Apostle Jude the Zealot.
Here ends the canon of the New Testament." 

The third Synod of Carthage, in 397, ratified the canon accepted previously
at the Synod of Hippo Regius in North Africa, 393, the acts of which have
been lost. This synod marks the beginning of a more widely recognized
canon. The inclusion of some books in the New Testament was still debated:
Epistle to Hebrews, James, 2 John, 3 John, 2 Peter, Jude and Revelation.
Grounds for debate included the question of authorship of these books (note
that the Canon of Rome had already rejected John the Apostle's authorship
of 2 and 3 John, while retaining the books); suitability for use; and how
widely they were actually being used. 2 Peter is the most weakly attested
of all the books in the Christian canon. One concern regarding the book of
Revelation at that time is that it was already being interpreted in a wide
variety of controversial ways. Virtually all Christians have accepted and
continue to accept the same 27 books as the New Testament, except for those
Syriac-speaking Christians who continue to use the Peshitta. In addition,
the Ethiopian Orthodox Church lists four books of Sinodos (church
practices), two Books of Covenant, "Ethiopic Clement", and "Ethiopic
Didiscalia" within their New Testament canon. The books that were not
accepted are generally termed New Testament apocrypha.

At the time of the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther made an attempt to
remove the books of Hebrews, James, Jude and Revelation from the canon
(partially because they were perceived to go against certain Protestant
doctrines, partially because of the early debate over their inclusion), but
this was not accepted. However, these books are ordered last in
German-language Lutheran Bibles to this day. 

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