New Testament Canon
84NEW TESTAMENT CANON
The New Testament Canon has been under assault in the latter years of the 20th century. Non-Christians have taken over theology departments at major American universities and sought to deconstruct the Christian Faith. Popular writers such as Dan Brown and Elaine Pagels have published fictional works that distort the true history of the Christian Faith and its New Testament Canon.
I read recently that thousands of people every day use search engines looking for "books removed from the Bible" "a list of the lost books of the Bible" "forbidden books of the Bible" "missing books of the Bible" "books omitted from the Bible" "banned books of the Bible" and "lost books of the Bible."
I have even seen views expressed that Constantine "wrote" the Bible, and the whole thing was a vast conspiracy. So let us take a look at how it came to be that we have a New Testament Canon.
WHAT IS A CANON?
The Greek word "kanon" refers to a carpenter's ruler. It was used to decide what is straight and what is not; what meets a standard of excellence and what does not. Kanon came to be applied to Greek philosophy (the love of wisdom) as a metaphor for accuracy, order, clarity, and truth.
Today, we know the word "canon" as a strict boundary around a set of sacred writings (Scripture). Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have Canons of Scripture but the other world religions do not. The Canon of Judaism (Mishnah) was set in the 3rd century by Judah the Prince; the Canon of Christianity in the 4th century by orthodox bishops; the Canon of Islam in the 7th century by the third Caliph.
THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH
The very first Christians—the Apostles of Jesus Christ and their disciples—sought order, standardization, and written regulations about church doctrine. Jesus had commanded them to remain unified—not to splinter off into competing groups. As early as 50 AD, we see Christian leaders coming together for an assembly (ekklesia in Greek) to debate doctrine and come to agreements to maintain unity.
Within roughly thirty years of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, all of the books now in the New Testament were written with the exception of the books by the Apostle John, which are dated around 90 AD.
Two of the oldest documents we have from the Apostolic Church are the Didache (Greek for teaching) also known as the Teaching of the Lord through the Twelve Apostles to the Nations; and the First Epistle of Clement.
The Didache was published well before the year 100 and circulated throughout the Christian community. It might have been written by the Apostle Matthew. The Didache shows that the first Christians had established standards for personal behavior, order in the church, the Eucharist (Communion), and for Baptism. It is noteworthy that the standard for the latter is immersion in "living waters" and "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
The First Epistle of Clement was written in 95 by the Bishop of Rome—also known as the First Apostolic Father—Clement. In it are these words:
"The apostles received the Gospel for us from the Lord Jesus Christ; Jesus, the Christ, was sent from God. Thus Christ is from God and the Apostles from Christ. The Apostles . . . went out in the confidence of the Holy Spirit to preach the Good News . . . and appointed their first converts, after testing them by the Spirit, to be the bishops and deacons of future believers."
In around 167, Melito, Bishop of Sardis, compiled the first Christian Canon of what we now know by the term he coined: "The Old Testament." A copy of the New Testament with 22 of its current 27 books has been found that was collated in the year 174.
GNOSTICS & GNOSTICISM
In the 2nd century, Satan began working through men to confuse the early Christians. These men composed "new gospels" that preached a diabolical message opposed to that of Jesus Christ. Perhaps the first was Basilides, but the more popular of this first wave of heretics was Valentinus. Both men hailed from Alexandria, Egypt, and both are known as Gnostics.
Gnostics are people who claim to have secret knowledge that sets them above regular folks, and who believe that this secret knowledge is salvific. Gnosticism can come in unlimited forms but usually it involves Pantheism—the disbelief in God the Creator in favor of worshiping nature as God.
Gnosticism is about men wanting to be worshiped as sages, forming their cults around themselves, usually fusing Christian thought with Greek philosophy or Indian mysticism or both. Because of these Gnostic writers, who wrote "gospels" that they claimed were written a century earlier, lost, but now thanks to them, are "found;" genuine Christians saw the need to make a firm boundary around the authentic writings of the Christian Faith.
CANONS
It is to the Greeks that we owe the idea of a Canon—to separate the authentic from the inauthentic. The great medical doctor Galen (129-199) studied sixty writings ascribed to the ancient "father of medicine," Hippocrates (460-370 B.C. [Before Christ]), and declared that only thirteen of them were actually authentic. He thus produced a "canon" of these writings.
Before Diogenes Laertius published the monumental Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers in about 230—the book by which we know about the lives and concepts of Plato, Aristotle and others—he and a crack team of expert scholars poured over all known writings attributed to the Greek philosophers. They divided them into two categories: genuine and spurious.
Laertius lists the succession of philosophers at Plato's Academy—those who trained new students, hired copyists to accurately reproduce Plato's genuine dialogues, and saw to it that the founder's writings were accurately interpreted. Laertius and his experts also examined and compared writings that made claims to authenticity but veered far from the vision of Plato and his successors. They used the same methodology for the teachings of Aristotle.
Laertius and his fellow scholars were on the real mission of philosophy—the Quest for Truth. The writings they cast off as forgeries were those that did not match in doctrinal accuracy the true philosophy of Plato and Aristotle. Thus was produced a "canon" of the genuine article.
MARCION
A flood of phony writings in the 2nd century claiming to be "lost gospels" caused the Christian Church to feel compelled to officially separate the authentic works of the 1st century by the Apostles of Jesus and their disciples from these forgeries.
Marcion (110-160) is the first known heretic inside the Christian Church. He was the bishop of Sinope, in what is now Turkey. Marcion insisted that God the Father of Jesus Christ was a different god than the god of the Jewish Faith in the Old Testament. He taught that the Old Testament god was indeed the Creator, but that he was bad actor who was cruel, jealous, and ignorant. The Father of Jesus was the good god who stepped in to save humanity from the bad god. Jesus was not the Jewish Messiah—being Marcion's key point.
Marcion therefore made up his own bible that consisted of the first ten Epistles of Paul and most of the Gospel of Luke. He rejected the other sacred books since they linked the New Covenant to the Old, and he claimed that these Scriptures were written by Judaizers. Marcion also altered Luke to portray Jesus as coming down to earth as a full grown man.
It was in reaction to Marcion's bastardized "bible" that the leaders of the church were moved to formalize the Canon of the New Testament. Clement of Alexandria coined the term "New Testament" in the late 2nd century.
WHO WILL DEFEND THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT AGAINST HERESIES?
To counteract the unorthodox ideas of Marcion and the Gnostics, God raised up mighty men to fight heresy. One such man was Irenaeus (120-202), Bishop of Lyon. Irenaeus was a disciple of Polycarp (69-155), Bishop of Smyrna, who in turn had been a disciple of the Apostle John.
Irenaeus showed that orthodox beliefs not only in regard to doctrine but also in a particular set of sacred texts had been handed down in a line of succession directly from the Apostles of Jesus. Marcion and the Gnostics had no line of succession at all. They were propagating something new—that contradicted the beliefs of the Apostles of Jesus.
Irenaeus wrote that "those who were by the apostles instituted bishops in the Churches and the succession of these men to our own times . . . neither taught nor knew anything like what these [heretics] rave about."
This line of succession had handed down the whole truth because it had handed down the true message of the apostles who lived and walked with Jesus Christ. This Truth was consistent across multiple international apostolic successions in Jerusalem, Alexandria, Ephesus, and Rome—without variation or contradiction. As the next great heresy fighter Tertullian (160-240) added: "It is not likely that so many churches . . . have gone astray into one and the same faith."
The only line of succession the Gnostics had was to Simon Magus—universally recognized as the first heretic. Simon Magus was a sorcerer who claimed to be divine while running a sex cult.
The Gnostic system is one "which neither the prophets announced, nor the Lord taught, nor the apostles delivered," wrote Tertullian. Any so-called "gospel" besides those of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are fraudulent—created by inspiration of the Devil.
Tertullian wrote that the Apostles "founded churches in every city, from which all the other churches, one after another, derived the tradition of the faith. . . . the apostolic churches . . . comprise but one primitive church founded by the apostles." The Gnostics had no apostolic churches in which their writings were read.
One of the most distinguished scholars of this era, Origen (185-234) of Alexandria, spent his life in study of the Christian sacred writings. He confirmed that the traditional four gospels are the only ones that were believed by the whole Christian Church before and during his lifetime.
Origen also confirmed what we now have as the Christian New Testament. He did express doubts about the authorship of 2 Peter and 2 John and 3 John. But these are minor points. Origen published an extensive study of the Book of Hebrews in which he concludes it contains the thoughts of the Apostle Paul but was perhaps written down by Luke.
EUSEBIUS
Eusebius (260-341) was the Bishop of Caesarea. He is called the "Father of Church History." Much of what we know of the early church comes from his astonishingly accurate book Ecclesiastical History.
What Eusebius proved was that orthodox Christianity had a set of sacred writings—and interpretations of them—from the time of the Apostles that is coherent, consistent, and reliable. To start with, Eusebius showed the complete chain of succession of bishops for each of the major churches straight back to the Apostle who founded them, with specific names and dates.
These bishops had been charged with deciding which texts should be used in their churches. Eusebius was able to demonstrate that the bishops had used the same sacred writings since the days of the Apostles. And he set about to catalog these sacred writings.
Eusebius examined approximately 100 texts to verify their authenticity. This included all known writings that any cult or person made any claim about as being divinely inspired. This includes the Gnostic writings. He separated them into three categories: genuine, disputed, and rejected.
Into the category of genuine Eusebius only included writings that every Christian church had universally used since the beginning of the faith; only those that no voice of dissension had ever been raised against; only those indisputably written by an Apostle or a disciple of an Apostle. In other words, only those that historically had received unanimous consensus were declared genuine.
These genuine books include 20 of the 27 books we find in our New Testament today: the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; the Acts of the Apostles; 1 John; 1 Peter; and the writings of the Apostle Paul known as Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, Galatians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Philemon, and Titus.
The other seven books in the New Testament today were listed by Eusebius as disputed. These books had been acknowledged and approved by the vast majority of bishops and theologians throughout church history—but not unanimously. These books include James, Jude, 2 Peter, 2 John, 3 John, Hebrews and Revelation. We must keep in mind that a single "no" vote by any bishop over nearly 300 years was enough to make it onto this "disputed" list.
All other writings were consigned to the rejected bin by Eusebius. These are writings that he could not find a single bishop, theologian, or historian in the Christian churches who had ever used them. This includes the so-called Gnostic gospels.
Eusebius wrote that the rejected writings are "very different from that of the Apostles, and the sentiment and purport of the things that are advanced in them, deviating as far as possible from sound orthodoxy, evidently proves that they are the fictions of heretical men." In other words, we can tell a fraudulent writing if it radically deviates from the universally approved Scriptures—if it presents a very different Jesus.
In 367, Athanasius declared a firm Canon of the New Testament that includes the 20 undisputed books and the 7 non-unanimous books. The Third Synod of Carthage in 397 confirmed this same list of Scriptures. Thus the New Testament we have today was in place and has not changed since. It has proved to be hard as granite.
Contrary to modern fictions, Eusebius and his predecessors were not involved in some grand, secret conspiracy to dupe the faithful. By all accounts these men were utterly devout, pious, learned, and serious scholars. Eusebius ignored regional agendas, personal preferences, and political pressure in his Quest for Truth.
![THE SPIRIT OF THE REFORMATION STUDY BIBLE (MY FAVORITE BIBLE IN MODERN ENGLISH [NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION])](http://s3.hubimg.com/u/6147602_f260.jpg "THE SPIRIT OF THE REFORMATION STUDY BIBLE (MY FAVORITE BIBLE IN MODERN ENGLISH [NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION])")
THE BIBLE BY CONSTANTINE?
The demonic author Dan Brown states in the Da Vinci Code that Constantine "created" the New Testament. This is utterly false and used to confuse people and make money for Dan Brown. He claims there were eighty-four gospels written—which has zero basis in history. Brown himself also says that the Da Vinci Code is fiction.
I find it incredible that anyone would think the God of the Universe—the Author of the Books of the New Testament—was not able to move on the hearts of men to put the collection together as He wanted.
My primary source for this article is Constantine's Bible by David L. Dungan.
OTHER ARTICLES OF INTEREST
THE HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH: 33-100 AD (THE APOSTLES OF JESUS)
THE HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH: 100-300 AD (BEFORE CONSTANTINE)
THE HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH: 300-430 AD (CONSTANTINE TO AUGUSTINE)
THE HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH: 430-600 (ORIGINS OF ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH)
THE HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH: 600-800 (THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH, EAST & WEST)
A SPECIAL HUB ON THE 8TH CENTURY DISPUTE OVER ORTHODOX ICONS
THE HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH: 800-900 (CHARLEMAGNE, ETC. ETC. ETC.)
THE HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH: 900-1054 (BEFORE THE GREAT SCHISM)
THE GREAT SCHISM: THE ORTHODOX CHURCH AND ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH SPLIT APART
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Very well laid out and presented. I have always found this interesting, and I'm going to study this more for sure.
This is an excellent summary. I'm currently reading "God's Secretaries" about the translation of the KJV.
wonderful hub. Thank you for writing this, you are helping me learn a lot! I really need this.
This is a very scholarly piece of work, James, and represents much thoughtful research. I will come back to study it further. Thank you for putting this together.
2 Timothy 2:15 says it all, to study to show yourself approved, rightly dividing the Word of God. Every person is responsible to know what the bible says instead of letting someone tell you because you are too lazy or don't have enough interest to know. I can tell you I love a good teacher and I don't know that I have agreed 100% with any. I double check them all and it is my desire to know the truth. If we seek we will find, I know that to be true. Satan's time is almost up and he has many many people doing his bidding, and what a shame they don't even know it.
Wonderful article and such precise facts you have put such good time on. God bless you James. All my support and votes for you on this.
Thanks for writing this up James. I talk to this woman that is always telling me that there are books that are hidden in the Vatican. She provides no proof, and she doesn't know that they are mostly Gnostic forgeries. True Christianity never stopped, not even by Constantine and his Catholic church. The true Christians never gave up their inspired books and they transferred those books through time to the present day.
Great hub James! I too have heard stories that the true books are hidden in the Vatican. My source tells me the books we see are edited to benefit the belief in certain aspects of Christianity and to increase the ability of the church to sway us in a certain direction.
It is sad to me there is any question about the integrity of such a coveted book.
James I hope you don't mind, but I added this hub to my favorites list so I can read the highlites you added to your hub. I would like to read them, when I have the time.
Thank you very much
James A Watkins, Thank you for your comment on my article, "The Final Crack". If you ask a large number of people about their faith, their reply is always," I go by the bible" therein lies the problem going by but not in the bible is a dangerous process. It allows others to sway your thinking if you are thinking at all. Yesterday I read a heartbreaking story, an 18 year old child was sentenced to life in prison for slaughtering her childhood friend. When asked why she replied, " I wanted to know what it felt like to kill a person, she was fifteen at the time of questioning. What was this child exposed to causing her to relive an Lizzie Borden episode? An enormous amount of history, great article as usual.
I believe if any word is hidden from us at this point it is God's Will, I think He is not going to let His word be hidden and He will let it be found when the time is right if there is any hidden. Who is more powerful than God? Certainly not one He created. One thing is for sure though, from what we have we can know God and know what is not true, such as Jesus only being a prophet and such abdominal talk as that. Even ones who feel sorry for satan and claim to not believe in God, what hypocrisy! Those whose are Gods and study His word have no worries here I feel very certain.
Oh and BTW I cannot believe men who go off and write their own version of the bible and people actually follow them! How can they be so ignorant?
Thank God for Eusebius! Had it not been for that holy man I think maybe our sacred and authentic writings might have been disintegrated by now. This is very enlightening. I have never heard the word Pantheism before.
Engaging read. I've wanted to spend more time looking at how the current canon was put together; this was a great primer.
It didn't take long after the apostles died for 'wolves in sheep's clothing' to appear as Paul predicted; heck, he was dealing with liars from among the 'circumcision party', trying to sway Christians to first become Jews. Today the liars are out in droves. A multitude offer a watered down gospel, kind of a shoo-in faith in Christ. Many teachers are coming in Christ's name saying, "I am the Christ" (I know the way to Christ, follow my scriptural teachings and you'll be fine). These teachings are particularly damning because they contain a fair amount of truth, but it's mixed with their own thoughts. Those coming in Christ's name purport to "mislead many" with their teachings that tickle the ears, when what Christians need is to hear the harder teachings of Christ that are not taught in the watered down Gospel.
Enough said. This is a timely piece.
James , I know you've taken flack for defending christianity ,and I suppose you will here too, however you are a great defender of something being attacked regularly by the P.C. crowd.Awesome job....:-}
James this us very interesting! I plan to print it and keep it for reference. I consider it so awesome when I see history matching up so perfectly with the Bible. I know I have learned a lot of this in school over the years, but Have not retained it all in my memory. Thanks so much for sharing and for taking the time to research. Be Blessed!
Good article James. very informative. When it comes to Jesus being the Messiah, I choose to believe he is, and that he is on the right hand of the father making intercession for all of us. I would rather be morally correct than politically correct. James, May you prosper even as your soul prospers.
James, you could write text books for divinity. The amount of research you put into this is staggering. I have never seen such a complete history put together in such a short span of words and done in such an easy to read way. I think this is truly inspired. There is so much information out there to twist and deceive believers and those yet to come to Christ. The up button doesn't go high enough for this one.
James, I think there is a reason why this book IS the greatest and most influential book in the history of the world...it is truly facsinating how much went into the making of this book...It is the most scrutinized book ever and yet held as the most sacred of all literature ever written....this is NO FLUKE.
It will always come down to either you have faith in God, and accept it as His Word or you can deny it.
James thanks for this hub, you have caused me to spend much of my morning into researching and reading more about this....
Great work (as always)
Chris
oceansnsunsets- Hello there! Thank you for being my first visitor. I appreciate your remarkable comments.
You said something very important, and that is "why it all made sense the more I learned about it."
That is the way it is. Anybody can spout off that it was some mysterious conspiracy and if people have never really learned about it they can be easily taken in. Everybody likes mysteries and everyone likes a sage who can explain the mysterious. Hence the limited success down from ancient days of the Gnostics.
As you wrote, "it makes sense that God, if he indeed has shared his word with mankind, would make a way to make sure that other works that were not necessarily his word, did not make it in."
Amen.
The thing about Dan Brown that sticks out to me is that he himself flatly says his books are fiction but millions of people quote from them as factual. Ah! The Devil is a wily fellow!
As you say, "it [The Bible] has been protected all along as well, despite is history of detractors."
Yes, indeed.
Thanks again for reading my work, and for your kind compliments. I enjoyed your remarks. And you are most welcome.
Lynn S. Murphy- Thank you! Thank you very much. :-)
ps Love your new picture!
Brilliant, great piece of work, I enjoyed reading it from the beginning to the end because I love to go back to see why things are the way they are, how they came about and who did what and why. You took me on a wonderful trip and I enjoyed every minute of it. Definitely provocative, now I want to go back into that church history and study more of it. God bless you and thanks for writing.
kschimmel- Thank you very much for reading my work and for the nice compliment.
I recently watched a documentary, "King James Bible: The Book That Changed The World." I wonder if it is related to "God's Secretaries" in any way?
Not long before he died, Christopher Hitchens wrote a nice piece in Vanity Fair praising the KJV as a brilliant piece of literature fundamental to our English-speaking culture. "God's Secretaries" was one of the books in his footnotes.
I enjoyed reading this interesting, informative and well written article, thanks for sharing.
Great Hub James but Now I know you had to know I would just have to respond to this being one of those crazy old Southern Baptist Seminary Trained Theologians...LOL Anyway, is not all said here and frankly I have better things to do than argue with Christians and would be theologians over what is really at play here. Your history is mostly accurate but unfortunately it is is mainly reformation theology which in itself, our record of such is very inaccurate and flawed. As you may or may not know we as Southern Baptist do not really associate with complete reformation theology so I admit some prejudice here. When I have more time I will attempt to enlighten why (not that I know everything; I certainly do not) via a Hub or on one of my other blogs. I do appreciate the attempt here. Unfortunately as the old saying goes, a "little knowledge in the wrong hands is dangerous" and not necessarily with you but others that read and that really frightens me. Your comments about Dan Brown are totally unfounded. He is not demonic in any sense of the word; just a fictional author no different than Dr. Tim LaHaye in his fictionalizing of the last times in books like "Left Behind" where he also takes scripture and simply gives an interpretive fictional story "take" of what he thinks will happen. Dan Brown did nothing less. Jesus did have a relationship with Mary Magdalene,she was NOT a prostitute (there is NO Biblical or historical evidence), Joseph of Arimathea was his uncle who did travel and in all probability Jesus was married.... !!! So what, He was born physical as a man, He took on the sins of the world, tempted in all like manner and since was being married wrong for a man. He could not have been called RABBI without being married. I am not a liberal, I am a conservative evangelical theologian but just tired of the historical truth being sliced and diced for convenience sake in an attempt to support people who might have diminished faith. If Dan Brown did anything, it was to get people thinking about the word of God and checking it out. I have led more people to Christ as a RESULT of the DaVinci code and people realizing that Jesus (although God) was a man. I know Calvinism (Bless Johns heart)has a problem with that and that is a shame. There is allot which is not known and the Bible itself states such. The canonization of scripture was "man's measurement" (not God's) of what MAN and not necessarily God wanted included as scripture. As a theologian, I have always had questions about the limitations of reformation theology. It limits God and God cannot and will not be limited. Again, I do appreciate the time you took to prepare this piece. I simply find it flawed with numerous error and filled mostly with a "feel good", INSIDE the Box typical Sunday School approach to an all too important topic. With all due respect (and I have the utmost respect for your faith, belief and your writing) but this is just not the entire story. I did vote UP and interesting because you are an absolutely terrific writer and obvious researcher. I could not vote useful because I feel it does more harm than good in helping believers actually understand the Canonization of Scripture. I suggest a thorough reading (if you have not already) of Kenneth Scott Latourette's "A History of Christianity"-Harper & Row. Other than my objections, great job.
Hi James
I always wondered if the bible was God's word or just a story made up by man. I have changed my option after reading about Eusebius's book of Ecclesiastical History.
Voted up and awesome
Geeee I know I did not write abdominal instead of abominable, but since I was discussing it with a young man Polly did a story on (my son) I think he is getting even and changed that and I am going to literally kill him unless I cool off very much before I see him! I am so embarrassed. So much worse being such a serious subject. lol
Great hub, James. It must have taken you a lot of time and research to do the job. I have added it to my favorite.
You have put all the names in the correct historical time frame, so it is easier to follow the events that took place. You are such a good biblical history writer. Thanks.
Michele Travis- You are welcome. I am well pleased to be of some service. Thank you for taking the time to read this article. I very much appreciate your warm words. :-)
drbj- You are welcome. I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to "study" my Hub. Thank you for your kind comments.
Polly- As you so rightly noted, "2 Timothy 2:15 says it all, to study to show yourself approved, rightly dividing the Word of God."
Amen!
Thank you ever much for the lovely laudations and awesome accolades! You have made my day, and warmed the cockles of my heart with your gracious words.
I sincerely appreciate the voted up and you hitting all the good buttons for me. You continue to inspire and encourage me. You are a blessing to me, Sister.
Outstanding article, James. You write concisely and accurately. A very needed and helpful piece. No doubt, I'll be linking this to some of my own.
michiganman567- You are welcome, my fellow Michigander. The Vatican may have some hidden books. If so, I doubt they are good ones. They might have some they have forgotten are there.
I like the way you put this: "The true Christians never gave up their inspired books and they transferred those books through time to the present day."
Amen!
I enjoyed your outstanding remarks. Thank you for coming by to read my article.
Tams R- Thank you for your gracious compliments.
You wrote: "My source tells me the books we see are edited to benefit the belief in certain aspects of Christianity and to increase the ability of the church to sway us in a certain direction."
I do not believe that. What the books actually mean was debated for 1000 years before doctrine was mostly settled. And then the debate raged on. If somebody wanted to just make something up to make people do certain things, a much clearer set of books would have been written that would not leave as much to interpretation. That is what men would do. That is how men think.
I appreciate the visit.
My brother, James. You never disappointed me and with your passion. You always share great hub about the history and everything seems beautiful in your hand. I am proud to know this from you. Rated up and God bless you!
Prasetio
This is a very informative hub that presents really well the creation and validity of the new testament. Voted up and awesome.
Michele Travis- You are welcome. I am honored that you would add this Hub to your favorites!
The series I wrote on the History of Christianity has about 40 episodes by now, and goes all the way to 1900 so far. The nine Hubs I provided links to above cover from 33 AD to about 1000 AD.
platinumOwl4- You are welcome. It was my pleasure, as your article is quite good.
The story you relate to us here in your fine remarks, about the murderous female child, is horrific.
I surely appreciate your gracious compliments on this article. I am glad you came and glad you liked my Hub.
Jackie Lynnley- I very much appreciate your twin comments. Thank you for taking the time to read my article about the New Testament Canon. As I think you know, I agree with you.
I heard a fine sermon in church this morning about listening to God. It was based on Psalm 81 and digressed into the Prodigal Son, who did not listen to his father but thought his own way better. It was so good I might even write a Hub about it.
I am grateful for your presence on HubPages.
Cardisa- Pantheism is alive and well today. Many of the New Age religious-escuse me, "spiritual"- concepts are Pantheist ideas. It denies a personal God, a God with whom one can have a relationship other than by communing with nature. God is nature; nature is God, is the thought. It refuses to put God above nature.
Thank you for your excellent remarks. I appreciate the visitation.
Hxprof- Yes, as you say, there were Judaizers in the first century A.D. (Year of our Lord). I am not so sure they were "liars." I think they believed they were on the right path but misunderstood the Gospel message.
But I totally agree with you that "Today the liars are out in droves. A multitude offer a watered down gospel . . ."
No doubt, cafeteria Christianity is in vogue now. You can pick the items off the menu-The Bible-that agree with the lifestyle you want to live and leave the rest behind.
If I may quote the great Dr Samuel Johnson:
"We not only do what we approve, but there is danger lest in time we come to approve what we do, though for no other reason but that we do it. A man is always desirous of being at peace with himself; and when he cannot reconcile his passions to his conscience, he will attempt to reconcile his conscience to his passions"
http://james-a-watkins.hubpages.com/hub/Dr-Johnson
As you wisely observed, "These teachings are particularly damning because they contain a fair amount of truth"
Amen!
Thank you for your piercing insights. It is always a distinct pleasure to hear from you my friend.
ahorseback- I am truly humbly grateful for your kind words. You have encouraged me to carry on, to fight the good fight. And I thank you for it.
Kristeen- I am deeply honored that you would print this out and keep it for reference. You have made my day!
Thank you for the gracious note, and your blessings. I appreciate you coming by to visit. And you are most welcome. :)
James
Rick Davis- Hello, my friend! I appreciate your compliments, kind sir.
I agree with what you wrote 100 percent. I love that you added, "I would rather be morally correct than politically correct."
Brilliant! Amen.
I am so glad you are reading some of my work. Thank you, Brother. And God Bless You.
Another well done article brother, but you haven't responded to drtruthman yet, who, if he really is a theologian, is a lousy linguist, and that doesn't begin to speak to his heresies - seems such a "learned" man could reply more intelligently. Waiting...
poetvix- I am so grateful to you for the comment you posted about this Hub. I am humbled and yet happy at your high praise indeed. Especially coming from you, whom I consider one of the smartest writers on HubPages, it is gratifying to be affirmed in this way. Thank you very much.
C Merritt- Chris, I could not agree with you more that "there is a reason why this book IS the greatest and most influential book in the history of the world."
And I must say I love how you worded this: "It is the most scrutinized book ever and yet held as the most sacred of all literature ever written....this is NO FLUKE."
Thank you very much for these outstanding remarks. I appreciate the compliment. And you are quite welcome.
James
donnaisabella- You are welcome and thank you for your blessings.
I could easily have written these words that you wrote: "I love to go back to see why things are the way they are, how they came about and who did what and why."
Me too! That is why I love history so. Reading about it and writing about it. I am pleased to meet a kindred spirit.
I am glad you enjoyed this article. Thank you ever much for the laudations.
kschimmel- Thank you for that tidbit. I appreciate it. :)
Coolmon2009- You are welcome. I am glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for the accolades.
James: Interesting article. I don't consider Dan Brown, author of "The Davinci Code" demonic, but on the other hand I don't buy his theories on Christ's lineage either. I can only speak for the Catholic Church, but I do know they have chosen the gospels by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John as "the truth" and the "new testament of Christ" The gnostic gospels exist, but are not formally recognized by the Catholic Church. One thing the Catholic Church has admitted is that Mary Magdaleen was not a prostitute as the gospels want to portray her and gospels written by men. She is quietly considered by the Catholic Church to be one of Christ's apostles. I have seen the painting of the "Last Supper" in Italy, and I cannot say that the one apostle painted next to Christ is Mary Magdaleen as the Davinci Code puts forth, but I do know that men are fallible and did not portray Mary Magdaleen in the correct light.
Your research is quite extensive and I do not know all about that you write, but this is very interesting, nonethe less. Keep up the good works!
This is the first of your hubs that I've read. It won't be the last. I appreciate your research, your attention to detail, your awesome presentation. Thank you. It seems that people just can't accept that God is God, gave us His message which has been preserved through the ages. Some must add to or take away. I'm content.
Wonderful hub with so much knowledge, and education in it. It is a very valuable education to all that adore our Heavenly Father, and the ways of all that is good, sacred, and beautiful. God Bless You, and Thank You Dear Brother, and Cherished Friend.
Drtruthman— I very much appreciate your commentary.
Regarding my Hub, you write "unfortunately it is mainly reformation theology. . . . We as Southern Baptist do not really associate with complete reformation theology"
I had no idea that this Hub was about theology in particular. It is about the New Testament Canon. I did not see a "Reformed" slant in my article or the book I used as a resource. I see now that the author of the book is a Presbyterian but I could not tell that by the book as I read it. I only found that out just now because you prompted me to look it up. I thought the author could just as easily have been a Southern Baptist. From the website of your denomination, I see this statement of faith:
"The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation."
I belong to no denomination. I am not a Calvinist; probably more of an Arminian. My saintly prophetess grandmother who taught me the Bible was a Southern Baptist. My favorite Bible is one published by a Pentecostal. I have friends in all denominations but I belong to none.
You write, "a "little knowledge in the wrong hands is dangerous" and not necessarily with you but others that read and that really frightens me."
You think something I wrote on this page is "dangerous?"
You write, "Your comments about Dan Brown are totally unfounded. He is not demonic in any sense of the word; just a fictional author no different than Dr. Tim LaHaye in his fictionalizing of the last times in books like "Left Behind" where he also takes scripture and simply gives an interpretive fictional story "take" of what he thinks will happen."
That, sir, is utter nonsense. Dan Brown does not believe in Christ or the Bible; Tim LaHaye does. That is a ridiculous comparison. You may as well compare Anton LaVey with Billy Graham. Dan Brown's books are not based at all on Scripture.
You write, "Jesus did have a relationship with Mary Magdalene, . . . in all probability Jesus was married."
Well sir, you are an apostate from the Southern Baptist Convention, no need to bring Reformed Theology into the picture. There is no evidence that Jesus was married. And what do you mean by relationship? That God Incarnate was having sex with a woman?
You write, "Joseph of Arimathea was his uncle."
What Scripture are you using for this revelation?
You say, "He could not have been called RABBI without being married."
Jesus was not technically a rabbi, nor did he portray himself as one. The apostles addressed him as such to say he was their teacher, not because he held any kind of official Jewish office. The Jews asked Jesus 'by what authority' he did certain things because he did not hold any kind of formal office within Judaism. He did not have an official position that would have permitted him to do things like act within the temple (Mark 11:28). As far as the Jewish leaders were concerned, Jesus had no recognized role within Judaism.
Besides that, you CAN become a Rabbi without being married though the custom is that you eventually be married if you are not crucified first.
You write, "The canonization of scripture was "man's measurement" (not God's) of what MAN and not necessarily God wanted included as scripture."
I think you at odds with at loggerheads with your own denomination, and everybody else's that come to mind. I completely disagree with you and your ideas.
You claim my Hub is "flawed with numerous error." Such as what?
I appreciate it that you added, "I did vote UP and interesting because you are an absolutely terrific writer and obvious researcher. I could not vote useful because I feel it does more harm than good in helping believers actually understand the Canonization of Scripture. I suggest a thorough reading (if you have not already) of Kenneth Scott Latourette's "A History of Christianity"-Harper & Row."
This Hub does harm? To whom and how?
I have not read Latourette's book. My favorite books about Christian History are "The Christians" edited by Ted Byfield but put together by editors, writers, artists, researchers and professional historians who represent much of the denominational spectrum of Christianity. They include many Catholics, Anglicans and Evangelical Protestants, several from the "mainline" Protestant churches. Byfield is a member of the Orthodox Church in America, but you wouldn't know that from these extraordinary but expensive books (that I am blessed to have). I also enjoyed Paul Johnson's A History of Christianity and I love Jeroslav Pelikan's five volume series on the History of Christian Doctrine.
Anyway, thank you for visiting and commenting.
Sueswan- Hello there. Thank you for taking the time to come by and read my article. I very much appreciate the "voted up and awesome." Always good to hear from you.
James, thanks for your firm and factual but gracious response to drtruthman. I cut my church history teeth on Kenneth Scott Latourette's History of Christianity. At a Reformed seminary. You'll be interested to know that he was a Baptist minister.
Jackie Lynnley- Don't wory about that little typo. I knew what you meant when I read it.
You really think your son sabotaged your comment? Interesting. :-)
einron- Thank you for the gracious compliments. I spent a fair amount of time on this, yes. But it was worth it I think.
I am honored that you would add this to your "favorites." It is always a pleasure to hear from you. And you are most welcome.
liftandsoar- It is an honor that would consider linking this article to your own. I consider that high praise indeed. Thank you for the encouraging words and the accolades. :)
Prasetio! Great to see you my friend. I am well pleased to read your gracious remarks. I appreciate your blessings, as well as the rated up. You never disppoint me with your kind words. God Bless You!
James
Sturgeonl- Welcome to the HubPages Community, Lisa Marie. Thank you for voted up and awesome. I appreciate this visitation and your compliments. I look forward to reading your more of your Hubs. :-)
DavePrice- Thank you, Brother. The waiting is the hardest part. Now it is over. I have responded. :D
This is indeed an excellent hub James Watkins and it gives much glory to God. Voted up and useful. I find this hub very interesting and I enjoyed reading it. Truly there are so much heresies arise in our time and the writing of this hub is just timely.Thank you for the courage n depending the christian faith.Surely the Lord is glorified in this hub. I am wishing you a great day today. May you and your family be blessed today and always. Best regards.
suzettenaples— It is great to "see" you here. I cannot say for certain that Dan Brown is demonic but his books do not glorify God, from where I am sitting, and they sow much doubt among even the faithful.
I agree with the Catholic Church in these matters. The Mary Magdelene stuff seems to have come from Gregory the Great way back in 591. I see the Church has disavowed what he wrote but how does that concord with the doctrine of papal infallibility?
I don't think the Church of Rome said that the Gospels were written by men wrongly to make Mary Magdelene look bad; they said Pope Gregory's writings about her were wrong.
It is fascinating that Mary Magdelene became the patroness of "wayward women", and "Magdalene houses" were established to help save women from prostitution.
Thank you very much for coming over to read my article. I appreciate your most excellent remarks! :-)
James: I am taking a catechism class (don't laugh) at my parish church and the teaching on the infallibility of the pope has changed. They are now teaching that the apostles and the men in the Catholic Church including THE POPE are fallible and that only God/Jesus is infallible. So I have really had my eyes opened during this class.
We are seeing a video of the book, "Catholicism: Back to the Heart of the Faith", by Father Robert Barron. It is very interesting (I have read the book) and this is the new teaching for the Catholic Church in the 21st century. It is quite philisophical at the same time and the class I take sees the video (based on the book) and then we have group discussions about our religion and faith. I'm never too old to learn!
ruthclark3— Welcome to the HubPages Community! I look forward to reading many of your Hubs in the future.
I am glad you came over to read my article, and I am grateful for your encouragement. God is God! We are surely in agreeance about that. :-)
Thank you for your precious comments. And you are quite welcome.
stars439— You are welcome, Brother. Thank you for your gracious laudations, and your cherished blessings.
I always long to hear from you, my friend. God Bless You, Joann, and Becky!
liftandsoar— You are welcome. That is interesting. Thank you for coming by to offer your gracious words. I appreciate you. :D
cristina327— You are quite welcome. It is always a distinct pleasure to read your gracious comments. I sincerely appreciate your affirmation, encouragement, compliments, and blessings.
Thank you for taking the time to read my work. I am glad you enjoyed this piece. I am thankful for the voted up and useful. God Bless You.
James
suzettenaples— Thank you for coming back by. I won't laugh. I think taking a catechism class would be cool. I like the new teaching you describe about infallibility. This may help the ecumenical movement get further down the road because papal infallibility was one of the stumbling blocks.
Wow, that book, "Catholicism: Back to the Heart of the Faith", by Father Robert Barron, is universally praised. I might want to get that one myself.
Like you, "I'm never too old to learn!" I appreciate you telling me about that book and DVD series. I see the DVDs are about $100 so I'd have to stick with the book. :)
Very informative with lots of details. Many of those mentioned I had never heard of before. Well done my brother.
Voted up and useful!
James, I've commended your hubs in my profile. Thanks for enrichng it.
I studied this subject in depth many years ago. I too was and am convinced as to the authenticity of the Bible in its present form. I'm not sure if Josh Mcdowell goes into this subject in detail but I believe he does. And as you mentioned God is more than capable in protecting His word.
this is very interesting- both teh hub and teh comments, and I didn't think a religious topic would stir so much interest in me, I try to not read these, but I figured you make it interesting, and so it is. Very intersting. Keep these coming and I'll keep on reading
SirDent— I appreciate the voted up and useful, as well as your kind comments. Thank you for taking the time to come over and read my article. God Bless You.
liftandsoar— You are welcome. I am honored beyond words that you would add me/my article to your profile page. Thank you and God bless you. :D
wba108@yahoo.com— I had to go look up Josh McDowell. I had heard the name but didn't know who he was. I find it interesting that he grew up in Union City, Michigan, less than 100 miles from where I am from.
I am glad we are in agreeance about the "authenticity of the Bible in its present form."
Thank you for your comments. I appreciate this visitation from you.
Rebecca E.— Thank you for taking the time to read my article. I am well pleased and honored to hear from you again.
I appreciate your gracious comments and I am glad you found this Hub to be interesting.
Thanks again!
James
Well, done, James. You summed up a good deal of my seminary training...free of charge! Oh, I have a blogspot site called Self Indulgent B.S. on which this "Bobism" appears that I thought you might appreciate: 8. The DaVinci Code is a chick flick love story, wrapped in a mystery with pagan goddess worship to make it sellable....a product that is 6,000 years old, just for your information.
While all those alternative gospels and what not are interesting to think about, that's about all they are good for. Dan Brown's novels sure stirred up a lot of noise, and at least got people talking. Maybe some of those folks read on and went to the New Testament. The idea that people have taken Brown's ideas as factual is ridiculous. It does show how fiction can impress people though.
In today's world, with so much "information" it's easy to stumble on misinformation, especially when we get our information online. That people confuse fiction with fact is almost silly. I recently read a book that had the Hudson River flowing up into the Adirondack mountains. You don't have to know the area to understand that rivers don't flow up.
If a work of fiction interests us, we should read further. Of course there are plenty of nonfiction books that are total nonsense as well.
Great hub.
I'm so sorry I did not get to this article sooner. It is excellent. It gives me the tools to answer some arguments proposed by friends of mine that were disputing the canonicity of some extra-Biblical works. I am so appreciative of you and your dedication to factual, reliable history. I love you sincerely my brother and pray for you all the time. Keep up the battle for you are a great soldier in Jesus' army.
Both Jaoslav Pelikan and Paul Johnson are well respected authors. I read several of Paul Johnson's books as part of my graduate studies. I was quite impressed with his historical research and his ability to tell history as a narrative story. In that respect you remind me of him. Excellent Hub.
I'm not surprised the book of Hebrews was one of the New Testament books in dispute as no author is identified resulting in centuries of debate. Would love to know the reasons the others with named authors were questioned. Sounds like another great hub to me.
I'm reading through the Bible in chronological order this time (as much as you can trust the resources to list it in a timeframe) to get a sense of the mechanics of how it was written down. Reading through it as a complete book does so much for how you appreciate it - more than just reading a passage here and and passage there. You said your favorite version/translation was by a Pentacostal. Which one is that? I'd be interested to know.
Can't begin to imagine how much time you spend on a hub like this. Do you eat and sleep like an mere mortal?
I also have trouble with people who assume to be critical of the God of the Universe. Nothing wrong with questions, but criticisms and judgements? Visual image of an ant shaking his fist at the heavens.
Up and awesome at least.
Civil War Bob— Welcome to the HubPages Community! I appreciate your kind compliments.
I love the Bobism! Thank you very much for sharing that with us. I agree with your analysis. I will have a chapter in my book about "New Age" "spirituality" that I am very proud of. I enjoyed your fine remarks.
Dolores Monet— I agree with your assessment of the the alternative or "Gnostic" gospels. And I think you are right that Dan Brown sure made a lot of folks get interested in the subject at hand. His books and the subsequent films are truly fascinating, of that there is no doubt.
You made a great point that 'In today's world, with so much "information" it's easy to stumble on misinformation."
You added, "That people confuse fiction with fact is almost silly."
Maybe so, but it seems quite prevalent these days. Fiction and reality are commonly blended these days on television.
That is a funny anecdote you gave us about the "Hudson River flowing up into the Adirondack mountains." :D
And I agree wholeheartedly that "Of course there are plenty of nonfiction books that are total nonsense as well."
Thank you ever much for reading my article. I enjoyed your thoughtful and insightful remarks.
no body— No need whatsoever to apologize my brother. I am just glad you are here to visit.
Thank you ever much for reading my article and for your warm words. I cannot ask for more than your prayers, my friend. I am eternally grateful to you for your encouragement of my work.
I love you Bob. God Bless You!
James :)
phdast7— As you say, "Both Jaroslav Pelikan and Paul Johnson are well respected authors."
If I remind you in any way of Paul Johnson in my writings I am honored beyond belief. You have made my day! I cannot thank you enough for this precious blessing you have bestowed on me by your words here. God Bless You Theresa!
James
James - I am very glad to have made your day. :) You and Mr. Johnson both have the ability to write history as a "story" with a narrative flow that enables the untrained reader to grasp and understand history.
But you also ground your narrative story in sufficient research and provide the details that historians look for. There is a fine line between writing material suitable for public and academic readers, and you walk it quite well. May God continue to richly bless you too.
James, the article/hub is awesome, sorry I didn't make it here to comment sooner. The comments are even awesome! This hub should be on the wall of Jasper in Heaven when we arrive there, my brother in Jesus. I am only one made in the likeness of, but I must say, well done, good and faithful servant of the Most High and ever merciful God.
This should really get the gnostics minds churning if they get hold of it. Clarification through research. I am honored to be a follower of your efforts. Peace be with you! Thank you for sharing your hard work.
Kathleen Cochran— You are right on about Hebrews. Origen, in his Homily on the Epistle to the Hebrews, said it was very popular but not accepted by all the churches, probably because, as you said, no one was quite sure who wrote it.
James and Jude, written by the half-brothers of Jesus, were not protested that I can find. It was just that some churches did not have James, and most churches did not have Jude, in their collections. All I can find is that they were simply not as widely dispersed and read.
2 Peter, 2 John, and 3 John were not widely known or used in the apostolic churches. And 2 Peter seemed to differ in style too much from 1 Peter to have been written by the same author. I can find no one, however, who claimed the doctrines contained therein were unorthodox.
The only book that was truly controversial was Revelation. Eusebius notes it had much strong support and, lesser so, some strong opposition. So, I guess they either loved it or hated it. :)
Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, and Origen loved Revelation. Dionysius fought to exclude it, because he did not think the Apostle John wrote it, and because he did not think an apocalyptic book should be in the Canon of the New Testament, that it did not "fit."
My favorite King James Version is featured in my first photo capsule near the top of this page—the Dake Annotated Reference Bible. It includes 35,000 notes and 500,000 cross references. The Reverend Finis Jennings Dake spent 100,000 hours over 43 years putting it together.
I absolutely loved your outstanding comments and I agree with everything you said. I very much appreciate your kind compliments. Thank you for reading my article. I am grateful to you for the "Up and awesome at least." :-)
phdast7— I do not think I have ever received such a thoughtful compliment. If what you say is true, then I am definitely "on mission." Thank you for the affirmation and encouragement. :D
James
Artin2010— You are quite welcome, Brother. No need to be sorry about anything at all. I am just glad you made it by to read my Hub. Thank you for the lovely laudations.
I agree with you that "The comments are even awesome!"
Your comments are most excellent indeed—thoughtful and insightful. I very much appreciate your affirmation and encouragement of my work. God Bless You and Peace be with You.
James
Dear James : Your knowledge of the books created for the sake of helping us to understand the greatness of our Lord is awesome, and our asset as you share, and we learn. You so dearly honor our Lord in Heaven so well , and your heart takes note in the good of us , and empowers us with certain self confidences. God Bless you for always planting seeds of hope , and awe in our lives as you are a wonderful teacher of many good, and wonderful things.
stars439-- Thank you so much for reading this article. Your ongoing encouragement of my work on HubPages means so much to me. Your comments here on this Hub move my spirit and warm my heart. You seem to discern exactly what I had hoped to accomplish. For that in particular, I am grateful to you.
As you said so beautifully, "the books created for the sake of helping us to understand the greatness of our Lord." Wow. You have put it with clarity, my brother. God Bless You and Joann, and Becky. :)
I had to pack a lunch to make it to the end of your commit section so I could also commit-which just shows how highly prized your writing and research is in this writers community.
I personally want to thank you for the great job you did in tackling such a tough subject as this one, for I have learned much from this hub. God Bless!
Highvoltagewriter— It is great to "see" you here. It has been a long time since we have interacted.
Thank you very much for taking the time to come over and read my work here. I appreciate your gracious compliments. And you are most welcome.
Your comments have made my day! Thanks again and God Bless You.
James
I'm impressed. I'd doodled all around this site and around all of your writings and finally stumble in the door. This is an excellent article and as I already believe in the Bible's integrity, this just adds another thousand ton brick to the stack of my previous research.
It's amazing the sheer quantity of false information accepted as truth on a whim.
Praise God for you upholding His Truth. Absolutely incredible work.
vector7— Thank you very much for the gracious accolades. I sincerely appreciate this visitation from you and your lovely words.
I love your profile page. Bold yet humble. A Servant of the King. God Bless You!
James
James, God bless you for writing on this subject and for the time spent researching. I believe the Bible is God-breathed. Well done my Brother! Agape love you to always, Faith Reaper
Faith Reaper— Welcome to the HubPages Community!
I surely appreciate your blessings, love, affirmation, and encouragement. I look forward to reading many of your Hubs. Thank you for visiting! God Bless You. :-)
James
Interesting read, but I disagree with some of your opinions. Nonetheless, I enjoyed reading your article.
AudreyHowitt— I very much appreciate you taking the time to read my article. I am glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for your comments.
My brother James. Well this is another shining article. Well done good and faithful servent. I love how you presented this it flows like the fresh living waters.
Gods word reighns and as much as anyone has tried to alter or add to it, only the truth of Christ will stand. One day every knee will bow and tongue confess Jesus is Lord.
GOD Bless you and yours brother. I do love stopping into your neighborhood. I learn a great deal. Thank you my bro. I just love ya. Hugs IN Christ, Your sister.
skye2day— You are quite welcome. What a blessing to hear from you again, Sister! You know I agree wholeheartedly with your words. Welcome to my neighborhood. :-)
I sincerely appreciate the hugs, love, blessings, and gracious compliments, my dear friend.
Thank you ever much for the encouragement. Love and blessings to you.
Brother James
oceansnsunsets Level 7 Commenter 3 months ago
Hello James, I recall learning all about how the canon was put together. It was no small task. Learning about what made it in, and what was "cut" and why all made sense the more I learned it. I agree, that it makes sense that God, if he indeed has shared his word with mankind, would make a way to make sure that other works that were not necessarily his word, did not make it in.
It makes sense, that many people would be writing on many topics during these days. Not just the writers of the Bible. Once things begin to contradict other known historical scriptures, you can't help but want to look deeper.
I find your approach here to be very thorough and thoughtful. My hope is that all people everywhere try and put biases aside (that is for me first, as I have been challenged to do the same!), and look at the evidences fairly and squarely. It is hard for people to put aside their own held beliefs and ideas of the world and reality, to just follow evidences where they lead.
Thinking of Dan brown as a demonic author is not something I had thought of before! He definitely makes a good case, or not, and people have to be fair and decide. Its easy to be "easily convinced" by anyone, on either side.
This is getting long, but thank you so much for sharing your research and thoughts here. Its very fascinating history, and not many people know how much work and the details that went into bringing us the bible we have today. Its as if it has been protected all along as well, despite is history of detractors... Very interesting indeed.