Biblical Canon: Are We Missing Books in the Bible?

We trust the Bible—but how do we know we HAVE the Bible? Why do we, as Christians, feel confident that we have all the books we should have in the canon? Are there lost books that we’re missing? What about the Apocrypha? Didn’t corrupt priests pick and choose the books they wanted at the Council of Nicaea? These are good questions that need to be answered—regardless of whether you’re a Latter-day Saint or a Christian.

(The “canon” is the collection of individual books that comprise the both Old and New Testaments.) If Christians say that we must trust the Bible, and subject our lives to it, then shouldn’t we be confident that we’re not missing some? Mormonism claims that the Book of Mormon is “Another Testament of Jesus Christ,” which would imply that Christians are missing books in the Bible. So, do we have the right books in the Bible? Should there be more Scripture than what Christians have in the canon?

In this episode of The GLM Podcast, Bradley, Garrett, and Luke Wayne of CARM.org talk through the nature of canonicity, and explain why Christians can be confident that we have the books we ought to have in our Bibles. Looking at the history of the canon, the council of Nicaea, and the self-authentication of inspired Scripture, this video examines whether or not the canon can be trusted.

“Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 3).