Time Frames and Taboo Data Blog

If we are to place our faith in the armies of faith merchants, it would seem logical that god would allow no room for confusion over how we are expected to practice dogma or what we are to rightfully accept as true articles of faith.  But there are thousands of man-written interpretations circulating that purportedly convey directions on the proper narrow path we are to follow.  Holy Truth, apparently, suffered a relay glitch somewhere, for not everyone agrees on what books most accurately communicate holy truth.  Thus  various Christian sects have offered to them this broad menu from which to choose one’s poison.

BOOKS COMMON TO ALL JUDAIC AND CHRISTIAN CANON:  — Genesis – Exodus – Leviticus – Numbers – Deuteronomy – Joshua – Ruth – 1 & 2 Kings – 1 & 2 Chronicles – Ezra (Esdras) – Nehemiah – Esther – Job – Psalms – Proverbs – Ecclesiastes – Song of Songs – Isaiah – Jeremiah – Lamentations – Ezekiel – Daniel – Minor Prophets

DEUTEROCANONICAL:  BOOKS OR SECTIONS OF BOOKS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT THAT ARE ACCEPTED CANONICAL BY EASTERN ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN AND ROMAN CATHOLICS — AND CONSIDERED APOCRYPHAL BY MANY PROTESTANTS:  — Tobit – Judith – 1 & 2 Maccabees – Wisdom (of Solomon) – Sirach – Baruch – Letter of Jeremiah – Additions to Daniel – Additions to Esther

GREEK AND ORTHODOX CANON:  — 1 Estras – 3 Maccabees – Prayer of Manasseh – Psalm 151

GEORGIAN ORTHODOX CANON:  — 4 Maccabees – 2 Estras

ETHIOPIAN ORTHODOX “NARROW” CANON:  — Apocalypse of Ezra – Jubilees – Enoch – 1, 2, and 3 Meqabyan – 4 Baruch

SYRIAC PESHITTA:  — Psalms 152 through 155 – 2 Baruch – Letter of  Baruch

A canon, we must remember, is an ecclesiastical code or “law” that is established by a church council and is used by it as a base for judgment or as the criterion upon which decisions on moral and disciplinary matters are interpreted.  In other words, a canon is a political contrivance by which spiritual theories are manipulated for church benefit.

One of the earliest examples of enactment of canon law is found in the New Testament, Acts 15:6-29, where it is related that the council of elders at Jerusalem framed rules of discipline for the Gentile converts.

As matter of note, canon law became the object of scientific research in the 12th and 13th centuries.  Of the compilations made through that time, the most prominent work was promulgated by Pope Gregory X c. 1234 and known as the Five Books of the Decretals.  A sixth book was added to this by Pope Benedict VIII in 1298.  Centuries later, in 1917 Pope Benedict XV promulgated The New Code of Canon Law (Codes Juris Canonici) which took effect in May 1918.  Think that canons are all about spiritual freedom and godly acceptance of diversity?  The New Code of Canon Law contains some 2414 canons in five books that theorize on how followers are to be judged and disciplined to be worthy of god’s conditional love.

This entry was posted on July 12, 2009 at 10:01 pm and is filed under Atheism, Atheist, belief, Bible, Christianity, culture, faith, history, random, religion with tags Bible books, canons, religious rules, scriptures, spiritual theories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.