Q&A Home > C > Christianity Would Christianity exist without the Holy Bible? Christianity is following the way of God and the Holy Bible is the Word of God. Therefore you cannot separate Christianity from the Holy Bible. Christianity existed before the canonization of the New Testament. In the years immediately following the birth of the Church, the sayings and works of our Lord Jesus Christ were not known through written gospels but were remembered and preached by the apostles who passed them on to their successors through Oral Tradition. Oral Tradition always preceded the written forms of both the Bible and liturgies.
The early years of the Christian Church led to the compilation and canonization of the New Testament scriptures. This was a long, gradual process that was not accomplished by a single pronouncement of any Church Father.
Although our Lord Jesus Christ's words were initially passed on through Oral Tradition, they had authoritative weight. The people recognized then and there that He spoke with authority; and the early Church treasured and quoted Christ's words and works as equal to those of the Old Testament. This is why St. Paul appeals so strongly to the "words of the Lord" when enforcing a lesson (1 Cor 9:14) or confirming a holy mystery (1 Cor 11:23).
You can read more about "Canonization of the Christian Scripture" at this link http://www.suscopts.org/literature/literature.php?misc=search&subaction=showfull&id=1089777832&archive=&cnshow=news&start_from=&.
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