Augustine and Jerome: The OT Biblical Canon (Conclusion)

Conclusion

Indeed there is still disagreement on what belongs in the Old Testament in the church today. Christian denominations have settled on what is clearly canonical and what is not, but the church as a whole is in disagreement and reasons for canonical certainty become confused with group identification and blind adherence to convention. Today we may live in a fractured church, but the past is no ideal to strive back to. Augustine and Jerome had their own challenges and contexts to consider and they also lived with canonical confusions in their own time some of which can be thought of as obvious mistakes only today. 

The aim of this paper, after being clear on what is meant by canonical, was to examine Augustine and Jerome in their disagreement over which books were to be considered part of the Old Testament canon and then to consider their reasons and influences before deciding which was closer to something the church today should accept. 

Throughout this study it has become evident that Jerome’s approach is to be preferred. Context is everything and it is easy to get so locked into ones own denomination and era that questions and circumstances unique to the era in question are filtered out. Jerome did a better job at becoming acquainted with the people charged with the divine oracles from the old covenant, including the Old Testament and the period of time closer to the apostles.  Both Augustine and Jerome believed in apostolic authority, which is something the church today should also take as authoritative since the apostles are the key witnesses to Christ. When the question of accepting the additional books comes into view, the apostles themselves should be listened to and it has been found that the apostolic testimony seems to favor going back to the Jewish source and it was concluded that the relevant Jewish group did probably have a limited canon much like the Hebrew and Protestant canon today. Not all questions were resolved though such as the book of Enoch being used authoritatively and lingering questions surrounding the book of Esther might still remain. However, as new evidence and insight become evident it is up to the church to look at the evidence charitably and honestly and be willing to challenge preconceived notions that get in the way of a better understanding of God’s revealed Word.

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