WHERE FOURTEEN BOOKS ARE ENUMERATED FROM SACRED SCRIPTURE, WHICH SOME EITHER DOUBT TO BE CANONICAL OR CERTAINLY REJECT FROM THE CANON
Both in the past and in our own time it has been called into question whether those seven books of the Old Testament—Baruch, Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, and the two books of Maccabees—should be considered canonical. In the New Testament, nearly the same question arises concerning Paul's Epistle to the Hebrews, the Epistle of James, the Second Epistle of Peter, the two later Epistles of John, the Epistle of Jude, and the book of Revelation. There have been theologians—and among them some distinguished men of old, leaders above all, as well as certain learned and serious younger men—who, moved by many weighty arguments, denied that these books should be counted among the canonical books. Other authors, themselves outstanding, assert the opposite: that all of them are canonical. They use many very powerful arguments to establish this as well. Such disagreement among the most learned men about a matter of the greatest importance compels us to hesitate. To explain this whole question of the canonical books more clearly, I shall divide it into four parts. First, I shall show whose authority it is to define which book is canonical. Next, I shall demonstrate that the books now called into question are sacred. Then I shall bring forward the arguments that might plausibly have deceived otherwise learned and pious people. Finally, I shall refute those same arguments. For all these matters must be brought to bear on this question.