"Sino Nga Ba ang Namili ng Books ng Bible?"

 

Madalas nating marinig sa mga kuwentuhan, sa internet, o kaya sa mga sikat na pelikula tulad ng The Da Vinci Code na ang Bible daw natin ngayon ay pinili lang ng mga makapangyarihang tao.  Today, we are going deep into church history to answer one of the most critical questions about our faith. Let's separate historical fact from historical chismis.

Q: Totoo ba na may isang Emperor, Pope, o Church Council na nag-decide kung ano ang isasama sa Bible?

A: The Short Answer is NO. That is an urban legend.

Sa Philippine culture natin, sanay tayo sa "top-down" authority, kung ano ang sasabihin ng leader, ng obispo, o ng head ng isang organisasyon, 'yun ang masusunod. Kaya madaling maniwala sa idea na noong 4th century, may isang council, ecclesiastical body, o isang powerful emperor tulad ni Constantine the Great na umupo, naglatag ng dose-dosenang libro, at nagbotohan kung ano ang isasama sa Bible.

In reality, no ecumenical (worldwide) council ever voted on the canon from scratch. Walang historical record of church fathers sorting through books, choosing based on personal preference or prejudice. Criteria like antiquity (Luma ba ito?), apostolicity (Galing ba sa apostle?), and orthodoxy (Tama ba ang turo?) were used to explain why certain books were already received by the early Christians, but they were never used as a checklist to invent a canon out of nowhere.

Q: Sabi ng iba, "The Church produced the Bible." Paano natin sasagutin ito?

A: The Bible is the ultimate standard over the Church, not the other way around.

Ito ang tinatawag nating "Canonizing Conundrum." Kung babasahin mo ang mga statements from Eastern Orthodox or Roman Catholic websites, madalas nilang sabihin na walang Bible noong early church, na ang Simbahan daw ang nagbigay ng awtoridad sa Scripture.

Let's look at the word canon. It comes from a Greek word meaning "standard" or "rule." Gregory of Nyssa (335–395 AD) said it perfectly: "We always use holy Scripture as the canon and rule of all our doctrine."

Dito tayo nagkakaiba ng pananaw: A book is not canonical because the church gave it authority. A book is canonical because it inherently carries the authority of God, and the church simply recognized and received it. Hindi nag-decree ang church; nag-submit ang church. The authority of the New Testament rests on the New Covenant authority of Christ's apostles, not on later church councils.

Q: Kung walang council, paano naging official ang New Testament books natin?

A: It was an organic, Spirit-led process of reception.

Because the first-century apostles and prophets were writing with God-given, New Covenant authority as the foundation of the church (Ephesians 2:19-20), their writings carried absolute authority the moment they were penned.

"So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone," Ephesians 2:19-20(ESV)

• Instant Authority: Nung sinulat ni Apostle Paul ang Romans o 1 Thessalonians, the receiving churches didn't wait for a council. They immediately treated it as the Word of God.
  
  
• Early Collections: Recent textual research highlights early manuscript discoveries like Papyrus 45 (Gospels and Acts) and Papyrus 46 (Pauline Epistles). These prove that long before Constantine was even born, early Christians were already collecting, copying, and circulating these writings as a unified standard of truth.

• Early Quotes: As early as AD 96, Clement of Rome was quoting Paul. By AD 110, Ignatius of Antioch and Polycarp of Smyrna (a disciple of John) were heavily quoting from Matthew, Luke, Romans, and other epistles, calling them "Holy Scripture." Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180) quoted almost the entire New Testament!
  
  

Q: Paano naman 'yung mga "Lost Gospels" tulad ng Gospel of Thomas o Gospel of Judas? Pinagpilian ba talaga sila?

A: Hindi sila pinagpilian. Sila ang ancient version ng "Fake News."

Sikat na sikat ito sa mga modern documentaries at pop culture. Vied for inclusion daw ang over 80 gospels, pero apat lang ang nanalo. Grabe 'di ba? Pero ang totoo, scholars agree that these so-called "lost gospels" were Gnostic forgeries.

Sinulat ang mga ito long after the apostles were dead. Ginamit lang ang pangalan nina Thomas, Mary, at Judas para linlangin ang mga tao. None of these fake gospels were ever considered a viable candidates by orthodox Christians. From the very beginning, only Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were widely recognized as the foundational, apostolic reports of Jesus' life and work.

Q: Bakit may mga librong pinagdudahan (Disputed Books) tulad ng Revelation, Hebrews, at James?

A: Nakita dito ang pagiging maingat ng Early Church.

May mga books na tinatawag na Antilegomena (spoken against/disputed) ng ilang tao sa ilang lugar. For example, ang Book of Revelation ay pinagdudahan ng ilan noong 3rd at 4th century. Bakit? Dahil may mga extreme groups na nagsimulang i-misinterpret ang prophetic imagery nito. It took time for the wider church to properly ground its context (understanding its immediate relevance to the first-century believers and the vindication of the early martyrs) before the doubts.

Dapat tayong ma-encourage dito! The fact that it took time to universally accept a few books shows that the early church leaders were extremely cautious. Hindi sila basta-basta tumatanggap ng kahit anong libro na may pangalan ng apostle. They wanted strict proof of apostolic origin. Pagdating ng 4th century, through organic consensus and careful study (tulad ng pag-develop ng Muratorian Canon noong AD 180), na-resolve ang mga questions na ito.

Final Application for the Filipino Believer

Ano ang take-away natin dito? Don't buy into the myth that human institutions canonized your Bible. Hindi ito produkto ng pulitika, ng hierarchy, o ng isang emperor. Ang authority ng Bible ay hindi nanggaling sa tradisyon ng tao; nanggaling ito sa Holy Spirit na nag-inspire sa mga apostles at prophets ng New Covenant.

We can hold our Bibles with 100% absolute confidence. Naipasa ito sa atin hindi dahil may magaling na council na namili, kundi dahil buong linaw na nakita ng early church the self-authenticating truth of God's Word.

"So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter." 2 Thessalonians 2:15

Call to Action: Stand firm in the authentic Word of God! Huwag magpadala sa mga historical fake news; dig deep into the roots of our faith, study the Scriptures diligently, and build your life solely on the foundation laid by the apostles and prophets.