~ A place to find answers to gnawing spiritual questions ~
Question: Who complied the gospel, scriptures, Acts, Romans, etc. into what is now the bible?Answer: The Old Testament books were compiled gradually by the Jews themselves. They did not, of course, call this compilation the "Old Testament." Instead, they called it the "Scriptures," "the Law and the Prophets," or just "the Law."
The 27 New Testament books were definitely confirmed as authoritative by around AD 400. Athanasius gives the first listing of the exact same books as we now have in our New Testament at around AD 367. A few years later two other writers (Jerome and Augustine) confirmed this canonical listing. Who exactly originally compiled them? It seems that we do not know exactly, but it was almost certainly a group of church leaders.
These church leaders used some very stringent guidelines to choose which books and epistles (or letters) were admitted into the canon of Scripture.
1) They had to be authoritative -- that is, they had to come from the hand of God -- "Thus saith the Lord."
2) They had to be prophetic -- not necessarily predictive of future events, but coming from a man of God.
3) They had to be authentic -- if it remotely appeared to be a forgery, it was thrown out.
4) They had to be dynamic -- life-changing, not just informative.
5) They had to have been accepted by the people of God. Most of the New Testament books were actually letters written to individuals or churches. Only letters that were accepted, read, and distributed among the saints were admitted into the canon of Scripture.
A notable Bible verse is 2 Peter 3:16, where Peter acknowledges the writings of Paul as comparable to Old Testament scriptures.
Further Reading: "A Square Talk About the Inspiration of the Bible" by H.L. Hastings, pp. 43-84. "Evidence That Demands a Verdict" by Josh McDowell, Chapter Three.
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