Tim argues that the Catholic Church did not grant authority to the books of the Bible, but rather recognized the authority those books already possessed.
Transcript
Original video: You can’t accept that Bible and reject the authority from which it came—in other words, the Catholic bishops—because it was the Councils of Carthage and Hippo in 393 and 397 that determined every one of those books that goes into that Bible. That Bible is a Catholic book. Now, of course, it comes from God, and he used human authors, but what books went into that Bible were determined by the Catholic Church.
Tim: Now, I realize some of my Catholic friends here are not going to like this one, but hear me out, and then feel free to disagree. The fundamental mistake this priest makes is that he thinks the Bible is an authoritative list of books determined by the church. On this view, the leaders of the Catholic Church had the authority to choose which books were in and which books were out. However, the Bible is not an authoritative list of books. Rather, it’s a list of authoritative books, and that distinction is crucial.
Contrary to what this video says, the Catholic Church did not give authority to the books. After all, the books were inspired by God and therefore had their own authority when they were written. The church simply recognized that authority that was already present in the books.
Here’s an analogy that might be helpful. Let’s say we’re going to put together a list of the greatest NBA players of all time. Of course, on everyone’s list is the name Michael Jordan. Now, I want you to notice something. Michael Jordan wasn’t great because he was chosen for the list. Rather, he was chosen for the list because he was great already. The list simply recognizes that reality. In a similar way, the books of the Bible weren’t authoritative merely because they were chosen by the church. Rather, they were chosen by the church because they were authoritative already. As Anglican theologian J.I. Packer says, “The church no more gave us the New Testament canon than Sir Isaac Newton gave us the force of gravity.... Newton did not create gravity but recognized it.” And that’s why, by the way, no one had to wait for a council at the end of the fourth century to determine which books were authoritative. In fact, writing 30 years before the councils mentioned in this video, Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, wrote an Easter letter which recognized all 27 books of the New Testament, and the Councils of Hippo and Carthage would later endorse what was already recognized by the churches.
So, what do you think? Did the church bestow authority on the books? Or did the church recognize the authority of the books?