CANON OF SCRIPTURE:
those books of the BIBLE which are accepted as
authoritative by a given religious TRADITION. ROMAN CATHOLICS include several books, known
as the APOCRYPHA, which are not accepted as authoritative by PROTESTANTS who generally
restrict the CANON to 33 books of the OLD TESTAMENT and 27 books of the NEW
TESTAMENT. JEWS usually distinguish between the first five books of MOSES, the TORAH,
and the other books of the HEBREW BIBLE which are seen as of secondary importance
making a further division between the PROPHETS and the remaining books. In ISLAM the QUR'N
is by definition CANONICAL leaving arguments about authenticity to questions about the
ADTH. BUDDHISM recognizes several Canons based on the language of the text such as the
PALI CANON but in general has a very flexible attitude towards such issues as does
HINDUISM where again there is a vast religious literature.
