Canon
Canon names the scope of authority a text is granted within a community.
The Witness Received
The Church of Humans receives a bounded set of writings as its shared public witness. These writings are read for recognition, memory, and faithful practice. They are not treated as law, nor are they used to claim authority beyond the Covenant freely undertaken in this church.
The collection is presented in three parts:
Gospel
Gospel bears witness to the life, teaching, death, and resurrection of Christ. These are received as the primary public testimony by which Christ is known.
The Gospels proclaim the good news of Christ in narrative form. The Witness of Thomas is received alongside them as a collection of sayings that train recognition rather than command conduct. Together, these writings shape encounter with Christ and the call to faithful life.
History
Acts is received as the historical witness to the early community following Christ, especially the entry of Gentiles and the life of the church after the resurrection. It is read as memory and narrative, not as law or institutional template.
Letters
The letters are received as situational counsel addressed to identifiable communities. They speak to life in common, conscience, suffering, freedom, and love, without constituting a legal code or universal system.
These writings are read for guidance in faithful practice, restraint of authority, and life shaped by love. The letters received here address encouragement, suffering, conscience, and hope within Gentile communities, without extending into mediation of social relations or household discipline.