THE BIBLE...NOT WHAT YOU THINK

KNOW THIS BEFORE GOING TO BUY A BIBLE
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My brothers and sisters in Christ,
    When you pick up a Bible, you might be tempted to think, “This is the Bible, the one that's always been there, the one and only.”
    Well, no, not really....here’s the truth:
    Different Christian traditions,and even sects, have created different collections of books in the Bible, and different canons. Some have even edited the Bible to suit their own notions. This may surprise those just coming in, and thats natural. So Let's explore....

📜 CHAPTER 1: WHAT IS A CANON?
    You must understand this part, first. The word, "canon" means “rule” or “measuring stick.” Note the spelling with just one, "n."
    In the biblical sense, the canon is the list of books contined in the Bible. These books were agreed upon and arranged by the early Church, being recognized as inspired by God to tell His salvation story to humanity.  
    Keep that in mind as we continue.

NOTE: The Bible didn’t fall from heaven as a single book. Jesus didn't show up with it, either, and he never told His disciples to write anything down.

The Bible was put together over centuries from within the early Church. That Church was guided by the Holy Spirit, and it's human members discerned which writings were truly inspired, that is,  which ones were needed to teach us God's salvation story. That part is also important.
    The Bible isn't a rule book, or a collection of indvidual verses from which to create T-shirt art. It exists to teach us Gods salvation story in the face of what might otherwise lead us astray.

    By the way, we should be clear on which Church we are talking about... The Catholic Church (with a capital "C"), and no other.
    Yes folks, the Catholic Church created The Bible between the time of Christ's Ascension and the year 405 AD, when the first Bible was produced in its entirety....commissioned by a Pope. Let that sink in for a moment.
    405 AD, at the behest of Pope Damasus I.
    It wasn't the chapter-and-verse Bible you are familiar with, now, however. That wouldn't come for another 1250 years or so. And it was in Old Latin, not English. So there's also that. 
    But the books were gathered together, understood, and made canon by then, and produced in one complete volume.

📖 CHAPTER 2: THE CATHOLIC BIBLE – 73 BOOKS

46 Old Testament books
27 New Testament books

Total: 73

    Why 73?
    The Catholic Church includes what are known as, "the Deuterocanonical books" (Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, and 1–2 Maccabees) because they were part of the Septuagint, the Greek Old Testament used by Jesus and the Apostles.
    When the canon was formalized at the Councils of Hippo (393 AD) and Carthage (397 AD), these books were included because the early Christians were already using them in their liturgy.

⛪ CHAPTER 3: THE ORTHODOX BIBLE – 75–80 BOOKS
    The Eastern Orthodox Churches added books like 3 Maccabees, 1 Esdras, and Psalm 151.
    Some traditions even include 4 Maccabees as an appendix.
    Why more books?
    The Orthodox Churches put in all the texts found in the ancient Greek and Hebrew manuscripts available to them, particularly the longer versions used in early Eastern Christian communities.
    Their canon was never shortened or “edited” during the Reformation, so they kept some books that the West did not.

🌍 CHAPTER 4: THE ETHIOPIAN ORTHODOX BIBLE – 81 BOOKS!
    The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church has the largest canon in Christianity....81 in total.
    Why 81 books?    
    Ethiopian Christians preserved ancient Jewish writings like 1 Enoch and Jubilees, which were popular among early Jewish and Christian communities, but which were later not included by both Catholic and Orthodox Churches.
    Their canon reflects one of the oldest Christian traditions, almost like a time capsule of early faith.

📖 CHAPTER 5: THE PROTESTANT BIBLE – 66 BOOKS

39 Old Testament books
27 New Testament books

    Hold on - why FEWER books?
    During the 1500s, Martin Luther made edits to the Bible as he saw fit, and he rejected the Deuterocanonical books, calling them “Apocrypha,...” because they were not part of the later Hebrew Bible used by post-exilic Jews. If he had gone as far as he considered, these books would have been removed altogether. Instead they got their own section, with the admonishment that they were of interest but - in his opinion - were not inspired.
    Luther also doubted some New Testament books (like James and Revelation), but these were kept against his personal judgement.
    Thus, the Protestant Bible is a shorter canon, based on one mans opinion of a later Jewish tradition, rather than the Septuagint used by Jesus and the early Church.

📜 CHAPTER 6: THE ANGLICAN BIBLE – 66 BOOKS
(+ Apocrypha for Worship)
    The Anglican Church typically follows the Protestant canon of 66 books.
    However, the Deuterocanonical books (like Tobit and Wisdom) are often included in Anglican Bibles as “Apocrypha.”
    These books are not used to determine doctrine, but are read for “example of life and instruction of manners” (as stated in the 39 Articles of Religion).

    In other words, they basically followed Luther's program. Anglicans respect these books as valuable for spiritual reading, even if they don’t call them fully canonical.

🔍 CHAPTER 7: WHICH CANON IS ORIGINAL?
    Okay, fine. There's the 50 cent Bible Tour. Now, which should we go by....

"Which is original, and not cut out, modified, edited, added to, etc."
    Well, there's only one. The Catholic canon of 73 books is the historic Christian Bible. It is the one first collated, produced guarded, and confirmed by early councils, the one used for over 1,000 years before the protestant reformation.
    Orthodox canons share nearly all of it, but have a few "extras."
    The Protestant canon, however, took out books that were always part of the Christian Scriptures... on the decision of one man.

🙌 SO....

    At this point, you might be tempted to say, "Hey lighten up - the differences in canons mean there can be multiple truths."
    Uh, do you really want to stand on that hill? There is only one canon as first created, and it reflects how each tradition preserved and interpreted Scripture over centuries.
    So next time someone asks, “Which Bible is the real Bible?”
    Simply say: “Go get you a Catholic Bible, the one that  gave birth to all the others."

    It’s the mother canon, the one derived from the Sacred Tradition of the Apostles and used by their successors BEFORE anyone gave themselves authority to change it.