Hi folks!

I need your help in a survey. I'm in the SEPHGY (Special Educational Programme for Highly Gifted Youngsters) programme and I have a project to do that requires a general survey of people so I'd be most grateful if you could let me know which of the following you'll pick as closest to your belief:

1. I believe that the Canon of the Bible is closed and there are 66 books in the Canon;
2. I believe that the Canon of the Bible is closed and there are 66 books in the Canon plus the Deuterocanonicals as they appear in the Roman Catholic Bible;
3. I believe the Canon of the Bible is not closed and there are 66 books in the Canon without the Deuterocanonicals as they appear in the Roman Catholic Bible;
4. I believe the Canon of the Bible is not closed and there are 66 books in the Canon plus the Deuterocanonicals as they appear in the Roman Catholic Bible;
5. I believe the Canon of the Bible is incorrect and some other books such as the Didache and 1 Shepherd or any such early texts in the first 400 years after Christ ought to have been included within the Canon.
6. I do not believe in the Canon of the Bible at all.

If you find the answers too private, please pm me.

Besides doing a general survey, I'll have to read up on all these ancient books, so it'd help greatly if you could be a part of my survey. This is a huge project and I'm given about two years to do it but I'm quite lost as to where to begin. My parents have been most helpful. They got me in touch with a theologian who thinks the programme is crazy. He's convinced it'll make us all turn out bonkers. But I'm not giving up so easily. The guiding philosophy behind this Educational Programme is that there is no real difference in intellect between an adult and a child and since I'm a fervent believer in this philosophy, I hope to ace the project.

Thanks folks!!!

6... I do not believe in the canon of the bible at all.

PS - I believe intellect is something you're born with, which can be developed through learning and problem solving etc - so that a child's intellect and an adult's can be the same, unless either the child or the adult squandered their chances to develop intellect. At the same time, experience and knowledge are gathered with age, and so children who are very clever, and understand complex concepts still need an adult's guiding hand.

Thanks lucky045 and thanks to all those who sent PMs. I'll reply individually soon. Please keep the answers coming. I have lots of time to collect data. Thanks.

SEPHGY... That's almost as bad a word as NAGTY!

I dont' know what your canon is, but if it's in the Bible, I don't believe it

Two years seems quite some time...

Wikipedia is your friend! Wikipedia knows all...

I'm probably being *very* stupid, but could someone define Canon and Deuterocanonicals please?

That's not stupidity at all. I only found out because of my project that the Canon is the list of books compiled by the church (I think they're called early Church Fathers) that make up the holy books for Christianity. The deuterocanonicals are a set of books found in the Old Testament that are accepted together with the rest of the Bible as the inspired word of God in the Council of Trent by the Roman Catholics whereas the Protestants accept only the 66 books as the inspired word of God. I hope I've got it correct myself.

Right..

*Goes to look at Bible*

okay, I make it 66 books, therefore I will say option 1

Thanks Rosemary.

Isn't there an 'undecided' category? That would fit me.

Yes Lizzie, there should be such a category. I'm not sure where I stand either although when I asked my parents where they stood they replied that it had to be Category 1 "of course" and that they expected me to choose that Category too. When I said I wasn't sure, my Mum replied, "Don't be silly. Of course the Canon is confined to the books in our Bible alone. I'm not sure how many books there are but it's the Bible without the Apocrypha."

Incidentally another word for the deuterocanonicals is Apocrypha. But I think "Apocrypha" may sound derogatory to Roman Catholics and so it's best avoided.

Thanks, Lizzie.

Time for me to go to bed. Way past my bedtime. Hehe

4. Though I'm Anglican, that's the version of the Bible that I use, and should the church revise it to include other books then I accept their decision.

Oh god, not NAGTY! I've got my CAT tests on Friday Those who do well get this letter about NAGTY and they can do stuff like summer schools...I think....as I didnt do well in the last set of CAT test we had...

Being a RC myself Beamish, I'd have to say option 2. But I do know that there are other books hidden in the Vatican that have not been included in the Bible as decided by the Fathers themselves, if that's what you mean...? We have an RC Bible and also a Catechism, not sure if there are any others I should know about though! Oops!

CAT test?

I will choose 5 with some reservations about the options that you have been given.

Thanks jod, Kiri_flute, aspiringmusicteacher and petrat for your answers.

You've all been a great help. Do keep the answers coming. Thanks!!!

Hi BeamishBoy,

If you're interested in this subject, I highly recommend a book titled "Who Wrote The New Testament?" by Burton.L Mack. It makes for interesting reading on how the stories were compiled and how it was decided which books would be included etc...

In answer to the survey, I don't believe in the bible as being the word of God so I guess I'm number 6 on the list.

Hi ad libitum,

Thanks very much for your recommendation! I looked up google and Burton L. Mack was described as a sceptic by wikipedia. He wrote a lot of books opposing Christianity. I was recommended a book that is supposed to be more balanced. It's by a Bible scholar called FF Bruce. The book is "The Canon of Scripture". I checked google also and it seems that Bruce covers the topic in a more comprehensive way. Most scholars seem to think the book definitive on this subject. I've placed an order for FF Bruce and am waiting for its delivery. If I find FF Bruce wanting, I'll look up your book. Thanks!!!

No problem!

It's good to get a view from all angles. I wouldn't say Mack was a sceptic though - more someone who approaches the literature of the bible as a work to be studied impartially, i.e: as an historical text rather than an unquestionable truth, if that makes sense.

Good luck with the project anyway

You are absolutely right, ad libitum. Recently, my Dad gave me a book by Dawkins called the God Delusion. I read it and then I read another book by the head of the genome research - the chap who mapped out the entire human genome. He is Francis Collins and he wrote a book called "The Language of God". Dawkins is an atheist who's very argumentative and Collins who's touted as the world's top scientist by the BBC is a Christian. I was enchanted by both books. Then I realised that I could not accept my parents' more evangelical branch of Anglicanism. I was delighted to see that in England, there are many different schools of Anglicanism and I heard a talk by the Bishop of Oxford (all thanks to the internet and youtube) and I think I'm with him. One doesn't have to be an evangelical or nothing.

So I agree with you that it's always very good to read widely on such a subject. The reason why I ordered FF Bruce is because his book, the Canon of Scripture is very thick and detailed. I went into amazon and other book websites to read through the contents page and the sample pages before ordering it.

Thanks again

That's a good way to be!

Enjoy your studying xxxxx

exactly - 5 is nearest for me too, but the set of options you have been given is very restrictive.