WHO DETERMINED THE BOOKS THAT MAKE UP THE BIBLE?
By Nana Yaw Aidoo If you were to ask a Roman Catholic dogmatician, the answer to the question that makes up the title of this article, you would unequivocally receive the answer, “the Roman Catholic Church.” Take for example these comments: … the Bible as a whole was not officially compiled until the late fourth century, illustrating that it was the Catholic Church who determined the canon—or list of books—of the Bible under the guidance of the Holy Spirit… (Nash). Far from being hostile to the Bible, the Catholic Church is its true Mother… It is simply amazing to discover how few of our non Catholic friends have ever stopped to inquire: Where did we get our Bible? Who assembled its various parts? Who determined which books were inspired by God and which were not? Who vouches for it as the authoritative and inspired word of God? The answer to all these queries is: The Catholic Church (O’Brien 138) Underlying the foregoing claims is the idea that since the Catholic Church gave