To Protestants, Which Came First, The Church Or The Bible?

Bibles fell out of the sky in 33 A.D.in the King James Version bound in black leather to each true believer who interpreted it for themselves, and formed independent churches. Well, not quite...

The Canon was fixed in the 4th Century when Pope St. Damasus blessed the findings of the Council of Rome in 382. This was reaffirmed in his letter on the Canon to the Bishops in Asia Minor in 405. In 418, the canons of the 16 North African Councils were declared official Church teaching by the Pope. In 787, Nicea II reaffirmed the authority of these councils. In 1483, Pope Eugenius wrote the Letter to the Jacobites as the closing act of the Council of Florence and there he affirmed the Canon of Hippo. St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Ambrose, St. Gregory the Great, St. Albertus Magnus and all of the major fathers of the Middle Ages affirmed the Canon of Hippo. The seven books that mARTIN Luther threw out WERE ALWAYS IN THE CANON OF THE BIBLE SINCE THE SYNOD OF HIPPO IN 393 A.D.

It's an interesting question, but I'm a protestant and haven't heard it put quite that way. I don't think it is the Bible, but the word that is the pillar of truth. The Bible is just the writing down of what God's word is to us. The Word was Jesus, and the Word was with God before creation. That would make Jesus the pillar of truth, and the bible is just the documentation. 1 Timothy does indeed refer to the church as the "pillar of truth", but I think that is truth in the WORLD. The church itself is the body of Christ, who gave us his word to build us up. John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

The Church is the Word of God, a well-worn phrase, but its meaning is that it can teach nothing that God could not teach. It represents Him, the eternal God, and as such one must conclude that the Church is eternal and always existed in eternity, and its Word is indefectible for all eternity.

The bible is a material guide, defined by the Church Militant, written by Apostles and Disciples, and will not be present in the Church Triumphant. The bible is a temporary book in the temporal world.

Traditional Catholics. AT

Traditionalmass.org/

The Church came first.

1st and 2nd century Christians did not bring their Bibles with them to church, as all Christians do today. The books which make up the Christian Bible were not compiled together yet. It was until 393 AD at the African Synod of Hippo when the official Christian Bible got canonized.

In his Easter letter of 367 AD, Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, gave a list of exactly the same books that would become the New Testament canon, and he used the phrase "being canonized" (kanonizomena) in regards to them.

The African Synod of Hippo, in 393, approved the New Testament, as it stands today, a decision that was repeated by Councils of Carthage in 397 and 419.

The Church came first. In Act's Chapter 2 this is the establishment of the Church of Christ. When Peter preached the first sermon there was no BIBLE yet and 3,000 individual obeyed The GOSPEL and were baptized. The Apostle at that time is preaching THE WORD OF GOD without THE BIBLE, but with the guidance of THE HOLY SPIRIT they can preach the WORD OF GOD. Read the Book of Act's.

It depends on what you mean by "church."

If by "church" you mean the institutions (Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Reformed, etc.) then the answer is that the Bible absolutely came first.

Certainly, the councils that "canonized" the scriptures had no authority of their own, but that which God caused in them, and the Books that the "canonized" had already been amongst and accepted by the believers before them. So, by no means did they "make the Bible." They were entrusted with what had already been established before them.

If by "church" you mean simply the assembly of believers then, of course, certain portions of scripture came later, as is evident by the fact that Paul and John wrote letters to the churches. So, obviously, if this is what you mean by church, then the Epistles and Revelation came after the assembling of believers in the name of Christ (although the Old Testament, and likely some of the Gospels as well, had already been written).

However, if by "church" you mean the Eternal Church, the called out Body of Believers -- the Jerusalem above -- then the church came long before the Bible was written, even before the Old Testament.

"As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:" Luke 1:70

"Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." 2 Timothy 1:9

The bible was still being recorded when the church came about. Here are some - Deuteronomy 28:61 Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the LORD bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed.

Joshua 8:31 " As Moses the servant of the LORD commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath lift up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings."

2 Chronicles 35:12 "And they removed the burnt offerings, that they might give according to the divisions of the families of the people, to offer unto the LORD, as it is written in the book of Moses. And so did they with the oxen".

Ezra 6:18 " And they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses, for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem; as it is written in the book of Moses."

the church came first

the Jewish followers of Jesus made it welcoming in gentiles to be followers.

eventually the people decided to write don the life of Jesus and the beginning of the church.

then the roman empire decided to adopt the Christian religion and fought over which of the writings should be considered Scripture, after picking which passages they wanted the bible was formed.

I believe the church came first. The Bible was "made" by those knowledgeable enough to read and write so they could put down what the church stood for (it's teachings, etc.)

Non-Christian monotheist, but I wanna answer anyway:

1 Timothy 3:15 (New American Standard) - {{{emphasis mine}}}

"...but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is {{{the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.}}}"

The Church came first. You can't have a fruit (Bible) without its foundation (Church) first.