When I looked into "canon criticism" or "canonology" a while back, I came across numerous (alleged) criteria for whether a book is/was included in canon, such as "Old Testament books had to be written in Hebrew." However, for each criteria, it seemed like there was an exception. (In this case, the book of Daniel, for instance.)
So, I concluded that the Holy Spirit must have just guided the process, and that perhaps this is an instance where we cannot attribute natural reasoning, and just have to have faith.
My question is - did I miss something? Is there actual rational criteria for whether a book is considered part of canon?
Clarifications
- I am referring to the most widely accepted 66 books of the Christian Bible
- By "rational", I just mean criteria which could be understood through human reasoning without supernatural assistance
- I am not limiting answers to the historical criteria that the church fathers originally used
- It is OK to answer with "no there are not", but please elaborate / prove your case with references