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Article: CANON: HOW THE SCRIPTURES CAME TO BE OFFICIAL.(DAILY BREAK)(Column)
- Article from:
- The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA)
- Article date:
- November 8, 1997
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 The Virginian Pilot-Ledger Star. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of the Dialog Corporation by Gale Group. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Betsy Wright
ASK ANY CHRISTIAN how many Gospels there are, and you'll most likely hear the reply, ``Four, of course.''
But it wasn't always so. Before those four Gospels were selected as canon, or genuine, more than 200 gospels circulated among early Christians.
So how did that many become only four? Who decided which writings should become Scripture? What is canon?
That last question first.
``When the ancient Hebrews measured something,'' writes Alice Parmelee in ``Introducing the Bible,'' ``they used a tall reed called a kaneh, meaning something `straight.' This Hebrew word for a simple measuring device came ...