In earlier chapters mention has been made of the canon, or more accurately, the various canons of the Bible adopted by different churches. The subject of canon requires at least a book in its own right, and what follows will necessarily be impressionistic. At the same time, the subject will be approached differently from treatments in the standard works, and will consider a question that is not usually asked: what is the relation between canon and power?

Whatever the connection may be between the English word “canon” and the Greek word from which it derives, a “canon” is an official list of books that designates those books as normative or authoritative for a particular community. This sense needs to be distinguished from the practice of designating certain books as normative or authoritative by publishing them in a particular format. As far as I am aware, no technical term exists for this practice; but since it is important for the argument of this chapter, the term “canonical format” will be used to designate it. A final point is that the words “canon” and “canonical” are sometimes used as though their meaning was constant throughout the history of the Church (and of Judaism). The present chapter will assume that the meaning of “canon” has not been constant, but that the meaning has depended upon the interests of those using it at any particular time.