How did the Bible come to be?
I have an excellent book that tackles this subject in way more detail than I could ever hope to capture here with only a week to prepare. The updated and expanded version of “Evidence That Demands a Verdict” by Josh McDowell and Sean McDowell has an entire chapter titled “How We Got the Bible.” It covers everything from materials used, to types of writing, how they got from their original form to the chapters and verses we know today, to the cannon. It is an absolutely fascinating read. However, for this question, I’ll just be looking at the New Testament canon as I believe that is at the heart of the question.
The What
In this section of “Evidence That Demands a Verdict”,
the McDowells rely heavily on another book, “A General Introduction to the Bible” by Norman L. Geisler and William E. Nix. The following is an excerpt from “Evidence That Demands a Verdict” that nicely summarizes how documents were chosen for the New Testament.
The basic factor for recognizing a book’s canonicity for the New Testament was divine inspiration and the chief test for this was apostolicity. Geisler and Nix state, “In New Testament terminology the church was ‘built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets’ (Eph. 2:20) whom Christ had promised to guide into ‘all the truth’ (John 16:13) by the Holy Spirit. The church at Jerusalem was said to have continued in the ‘apostles’ teaching’ (Acts 2:42). The term apostolic as used for the test of canonicity does not necessarily mean ‘apostolic authorship,’ or ‘that which was prepared under the direction of the apostles’. . . It seems much better to agree with Louis Gaussen, B. B. Warfield, Charles Hodge, J. N. D. Kelly, and most Protestants that it is apostolic authority, or apostolic approval, that was the primary test for canonicity, and not merely apostolic authorship.” (Geisler and Nix, GIB, 283)
The Why
Here is the abridged version of why a cannon was necessary, according to the McDowells. The book goes into more detail on each of these, but I only include the headings for brevity’s sake.
- They Were Prophetic
- The Needs of the Early Church
- The Rise of Heretics
- The Circulation of Spurious Writings
- Missions
- Persecution
The When
Perhaps the section I find the most fascinating in this chapter on the history of the Bible is the section talks about the recognition of the cannon. Several examples are given, just a few of which I will highlight here.
- Irenaeus – A disciple of John (late second century)
- Writings confirm 20 of the 27 books we know today, including all four gospels, Acts, and 12 of Paul’s letters, some of the general Epistles, and Revelation.
- The Muratorian Fragment – (late second century – mid-fourth century)
- Somewhat mutilated, but confirms at least 20, but probably 22 of the 27 books we know today, including all four gospels, Acts, all of Paul’s letters, some of the general Epistles, and Revelation.
- Origen (249 A.D.)
- Contains all 27 books we know today.
The final entry on this list is “Church Councils”, and I believe another excerpt wraps my response to this question nicely.
Bruce states that “when at last a Church Council—The Synod of Hippo in AD 393—listed the twenty-seven books of the New Testament, it did not confer upon them any authority which they did not already possess, but simply recorded their previously established canonicity. (The ruling of the Synod of Hippo was re-promulgated four years later by the Third Synod of Carthage.)” (Bruce, BP, 103–104)
Since that time there has been no serious questioning of the twenty-seven accepted books of the New Testament by Roman Catholics, Protestants, or the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Who is the author of scripture and what does that mean?
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
God is the author of scripture, and it is therefore perfect and inerrant. It is true and will never change.