Iasion

Greetings,

Not sure,
some say Shirley Maclaine - but now it's all over the internet.


Well,
there are 2 questions here :

* if not CoN, then WHO decided the canon
* and WHY were Gnostic texts excluded

As to WHO -
It's complicated, see here:
http://www.ntcanon.org/authorities.shtml

In short,
2nd and 3rd century Christians argued about various books,
by 4th century, some church councils (Hippo, Rome, Carthage IIRC) pronounced on the canon.
AFTER Nicea, Constantine's Bible (not quite like ours) had an influence.
In 367 Athanasius gives a list exactly like ours.

Final formal church approval for the canon did not occur until Trent in 1500s (following earlier Florence Council.)


As to WHY the Gnostic documents and others were excluded - also complicated.

Early Christianity shows division between those who agree Jesus came in the flesh and those who didn't.

The literalists won, and burned their oponents books (not to mention some of their oponents.)


Iasion

cydonia

Thanks for those links.

cydonia

Wait--you need more proof other than Shirley Maclaine?

Thanks for that link as well.