Early Christian Structures of Authority and the Closing of the Canon of Scripture - CHS 169

Catholic Heritage Show w/ Dr. Erik Estrada

20-08-2020 • 40 mins

Why did it take so long for the early Christians to produce the canon of Scripture? In this episode, we continue our discussion about this objection to Christian truth claims.

Some critics of Christianity have raised the objection that because it took early Christians so long to create a canon of Scripture, rational people should not pay any attention to Christian truth claims. Since Christians were unable to decide from themselves what exactly the Scriptures were for so long, these critics reason, why should anyone bother to give Christian truth claims any attention?

In this episode, I explain why this type of objection is not applicable to Catholic Christianity. Catholicism does not accept the Protestant teaching of sola scriptura (i.e., scripture alone) as the sole infallible authority for determining what the Church believes (faith) and how the Church behaves (morals).

Instead, we explore some of the early structures of authority within early Christianity. From the authority of the liturgy to living voice of the magisterium, we discuss the various means early Christians used to address the life questions.

Please join me this week as we discuss the relationship between the history of the canon and the various structures of authority within the church.

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The Catholic Heritage is devoted to helping Catholic Christians better understand the history, teachings and culture of their Catholic faith so that they can better love and serve Christ, the Church and their neighbors. Dr. Erik Estrada is a Catholic scholar who holds a Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame and specializes in the history of Christianity and historical theology. He also completed a licentiate (S.T.L) in theology and patristic science at the Augustinianum Patristic Institute in Rome and a S.T.B. at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas.

If you would like to provide feedback to the show, of if you have any inquiries, you can contact him at feedback@catholicheritageshow.com.