Missing pages from one's bible

Always in His Presence said:

My question to @Xeno.of.athens was about his Roman Catholic Bible missing pages - which obviously there are missing pages compared to the EASTERN Orthodox.

Lots of squirming going on here.

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I am sure that the bible I use has around 300 pages more than yours.

ARBITER01 said:

I've looked at them but did not find any that were inspired.

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It is good that the canon is decided by the Church rather than an individual, such as yourself.

ViaCrucis said:

So here's, what I think, is one of the most important questions to be asked in the middle of all this: Can Christians have disagreements over the Biblical Canon and still be Christians together? Can we have these disagreements and still be biblically oriented and biblically faithful? Or is this question itself sufficient to create such division that one side can claim the other is fundamentally unfaithful to Jesus because of this? Is this a matter where disagreement is acceptable, or where disagreement cannot be acceptable? Do we need to, all of us, have the exact same Biblical Canon? Now, I'm not answering this question here, I'm simply asking the question in the hope that this can provide a more meaningful discourse for us to be having. Or, perhaps, my question is already answered in this thread: All sides saying, we cannot have disagreement, and either Catholics wrongly added books, and Protestants wrongly removed books, and the Orthodox are looking at the West being weird again.

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Christians can disagree about the extent of the canon but only within certain bounds - for example, rejecting the Pauline letters, the gospels except Luke and all or most of the Old Testament has already been defined as heresy in the early Church (see Marcionism). Nor would it be acceptable to dismiss significant portions of the New Testament, for example, James, 2 & 3 John, Revelation, Hebrews, 2 Peter. And dismissing the entire Old Testament is unacceptable. But people can (and do) question some matters that the Church decided long ago, one can be a Christian without thinking of the Apocalypse as canonical and as teaching significant doctrine that is obligatory for Christians to believe.

And, let me be clear, I do not regard Protestants as "heretics" because they reject the Deuterocanonical books. But I do wonder how protestant feel after reading Wisdom and noticing that it is missing from the 66 book bibles commonly available.

God is the only one who judges who is and who is not allowed to enter the Kingdom. I am inclined to believe that God is more generous than most of us on that matter.

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Here’s a concise summary of the topic “Marcionism” as discussed in the context of Christian theology:

Overview of Marcionism​

• Marcionism is a 2nd-century Christian theological movement founded by Marcion of Sinope.
• It emphasizes a sharp distinction between the God of the Old Testament and the God revealed by Jesus in the New Testament.

Core Beliefs​

• The Old Testament deity is seen as a lesser, wrathful god (creator of the material world).
• Jesus is viewed as the messenger of a higher, benevolent God of love and grace.
• Marcion rejected the Hebrew Scriptures and promoted a modified version of Luke’s Gospel and ten Pauline epistles.

Biblical Canon Controversy​

• Marcion’s canon excluded the Old Testament entirely.
• His actions prompted early Christians to formalize the New Testament canon in response.

❌ Heretical Status​

• Marcionism was declared heretical by mainstream Christianity.
• It influenced later theological debates on the nature of God, scripture, and salvation.

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Here’s a concise summary of the early doubts surrounding the canonical status of certain New Testament books:

The Antilegomena: Disputed Books​

These books were known as the antilegomena—Greek for “spoken against”—because their inclusion in the New Testament canon was questioned by some early Christians:

1. Hebrews​

• Issue: Anonymous authorship; uncertainty over Pauline authorship.
• Concern: Lack of clarity on the author’s identity led to doubts about its authority Blue Letter Bible.

2. James​

• Issue: Emphasis on works over faith.
• Concern: Seemed to contradict Paul’s teachings on justification by faith alone Blue Letter Bible originalchristianity.net.

3. 2 Peter​

• Issue: Stylistic differences from 1 Peter; late acceptance.
• Concern: Questions about authorship and authenticity delayed its universal acceptance Blue Letter Bible originalchristianity.net.

4. 2 & 3 John​

• Issue: Brief and personal in nature.
• Concern: Limited circulation and unclear authorship led to skepticism Blue Letter Bible.

5. Revelation​

• Issue: Symbolic and apocalyptic content.
• Concern: Some early Christians found its imagery troubling or difficult to interpret; others questioned its apostolic origin Blue Letter Bible originalchristianity.net.

Canon Formation Context​

• The New Testament canon developed gradually over centuries.
• Early Christians used a variety of texts, and consensus on the 27-book canon emerged over time.
• The process was influenced by theological consistency, apostolic authorship, and widespread usage in churches originalchristianity.net CrossExamined.org.

Sources:
Blue Letter BibleBlue Letter Bible – Don Stewart on Antilegomena
originalchristianity.netOriginal Christianity – Early Disputed Books
CrossExamined.orgCrossExamined – NT Canonical Reception