How was it decided which books to include in the Bible?

Answer 1

Question: "How and when was the canon of the Bible put together?"
Answer: The term "canon" is used to describe the books that are divinely inspired and therefore belong in the Bible. The difficult aspect of determining the Biblical canon is that the Bible does not give us a list of the books that belong in the Bible. Determining the canon was a process, first by Jewish rabbis and scholars, and then later by early Christians. Ultimately, it was God who decided what books belonged in the Biblical canon. A book of Scripture belonged in the canon from the moment God inspired its writing. It was simply a matter of God convincing His human followers which books should be included in the Bible.
Compared to the New Testament, there was very little controversy over the canon of the Old Testament. Hebrew believers recognized God’s messengers, and accepted their writings as inspired of God. There was undeniably some debate in regards to the Old Testament canon. However, by 250 A.D. there was nearly universal agreement on the canon of Hebrew Scripture. The only issue that remained was the Apocrypha…with some debate and discussion continuing today. The vast majority of Hebrew scholars considered the Apocrypha to be good historical and religious documents, but not on the same level as the Hebrew Scriptures.
For the New Testament, the process of the recognition and collection began in the first centuries of the Christian church. Very early on, some of the New Testament books were being recognized. Paul considered Luke’s writings to be as authoritative as the Old Testament (1 Timothy 5:18; see also Deuteronomy 25:4 and Luke 10:7). Peter recognized Paul’s writings as Scripture (2 Peter 3:15-16). Some of the books of the New Testament were being circulated among the churches (Colossians 4:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:27). Clement of Rome mentioned at least eight New Testament books (A.D. 95). Ignatius of Antioch acknowledged about seven books (A.D. 115). Polycarp, a disciple of John the Apostle, acknowledged 15 books (A.D. 108). Later, Irenaeus mentioned 21 books (A.D. 185). Hippolytus recognized 22 books (A.D. 170-235). The New Testament books receiving the most controversy were Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, 2 John, and 3 John. The first “canon” was the Muratorian Canon, which was compiled in (A.D. 170). The Muratorian Canon included all of the New Testament books except Hebrews, James, and 3 John. In A.D. 363, the Council of Laodicea stated that only the Old Testament (along with the Apocrypha) and the 27 books of the New Testament were to be read in the churches. The Council of Hippo (A.D. 393) and the Council of Carthage (A.D. 397) also affirmed the same 27 books as authoritative.
The councils followed something similar to the following principles to determine whether a New Testament book was truly inspired by the Holy Spirit: 1) Was the author an apostle or have a close connection with an apostle? 2) Is the book being accepted by the Body of Christ at large? 3) Did the book contain consistency of doctrine and orthodox teaching? 4) Did the book bear evidence of high moral and spiritual values that would reflect a work of the Holy Spirit? Again, it is crucial to remember that the church did not determine the canon. No early church council decided on the canon. It was God, and God alone, who determined which books belonged in the Bible. It was simply a matter of God convincing His followers of what He had already decided upon. The human process of collecting the books of the Bible was flawed, but God, in His sovereignty, despite our ignorance and stubbornness, brought the early church to the recognition of the books He had inspired.

Answer 2

The Lord Jesus Christ promised that the Holy Spirit would guide the Christians into all truth (John 16:7-15). The Old Testament took considerable time. Some believe the process was finished by the time of Ezra (5th century B.C.). References by Josephus (A.D. 95) indicate the Hebrew scriptures then contained the same 39 books as our modern Old Testament. All books were tested before being accepted as God's Word and because the books are themselves the rule by which truth is tested. Our confidence in this matter is not in men, but in God who has given us these promises. There is no exact record regarding how the New Testament was formed. True believers had the witness of the Spirit to guide them in knowing which books were Holy Scripture and which were not. Gradually, all 27 New Testament books were collected and recognized by God's saints. Originally, the Apocrypha were included in the Bible by the Roman Catholic church, but were later thrown out by the reformists as they were not consistent with a substantial amount of Biblical text and based upon corrupted manuscripts.

Answer 3

It was decided by the inspiration of God. And though Fruitcake and DATA DROID have much of it correct, there is something missing in their explanations.

In 2 Peter 3:16, the Apostle included Paul's writings as "Scripture," showing that by the time the last of the original Apostles had died, the content of the NT had been chosen and approved by the Apostles themselves.

"as also in all his [Paul's] epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures." (2 Peter 3:16)

John, the last of the original Apostles, wrote the last of the NT, putting the book of Revelation as the capstone on the collection; at the end of which he wrote:
"For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." (Rev 22:18-19)

Though those words would naturally apply to the book of Revelation itself, by extension, they apply to the entire NT and the Bible.

God did not leave such an important issue unresolved for over 300 years.

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For those who believe that the Bible was canonized by the Catholic Church, consider the following:

The Catholic Church has, throughout most of its history tried to suppress, ban and destroy the contents of the Bible as a whole, but in particular the NT. Almost none of their doctrines are the doctrines of the Bible or Apostles or Christ. So:
"I think the simplest proof that the Catholic Church had nothing to do with the canon is that they would never willingly have put together a book that so completely contradicted their teachings. They have always been in a reactive mode in dealing with the Bible, trying to suppress both the text and the teachings (there are historical proofs in addition)." -- John Ogwyn (http://www.cogwriter.com/canon.htm)

The only reason the RCC approved of the contents of the NT as it is today, was because the vast majority of Christianity had already accepted these books as holy and inspired by God. And if they hadn't approved them, they would have lost their place of authority in the world.

Answer 4

The 66 books used in the Bible today are the same ones used in 95 A.D. when John finished Revelations. These same 66 books were used right up to, and after the council if Nicea. There were some spurious books that surfaced late in the early church that some claimed was written by the apostles. But they were not written until many years after the apostles died. The council of Nicea examined these books and found then to be fraudulent. But ti answer your question. The last Apostles living and their disciples decided which books were canon, the council of Nicea just confirmed what the early church had decided.

Answer 5

Don't know about the Old Testament but with regards to the New Testament:

There are three fundamental reasons for the adoption of certain books and the elimination of others. Books that were finally included in the canon of scripture consisted of three main elements.

1. They exercised authoritative power in the lives of men and women. They were unique in this regard amongst all other books.

2. The book was used in Christian worship. Books used in worship were held in very high regard by the early church.

3. The final and main reason a book was included in the final canonization was its tie to an apostle of Jesus. "Was it written by an apostle? Or did the book have a tie to an apostle?" Apostles are considered very unique since they are the great foundations of the church and held a very special relationship with the Lord Jesus.

Ephesians 2:20 "having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,"

Matthew 10:40 "He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me."

My answers come from "Church History in Plain Language" by Bruce L. Shelley

Answer 6

In response to the fear of the church breaking up into factions, Irenaeus of Lyon says that formalizing doctrinal authority was the key, with the 2 sources being 'Scripture' and the Apostles. He said that a scriptural work was valid if it was used by the early church fathers. Bishop Eusebius in 4 AD used this criteria to come up with a list of the NT books. Then Athanasius in 367 AD came up with the formal list and this was adopted in 382 AD at a synod held at Rome under Pope Damasus.

Answer 7

The Old Testament was already intact when Jesus lived. The N. T. was decided by the early church. The criteria was that the author had to be someone who actually lived and was well acquainted with Jesus, with the exception of the writer Paul, who came to be the 13th apostle, but who had a supernatural experience with Jesus on the road to Damascus.

Answer 8

Before any written texts, there were oral teachings (of One God)

The Pentateuch ("The Law"), is the first 5 books of the Old Testament (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy). First written by Moses (inspired by God) c.1,300 B.C. to c. 454 or 100 B.C.

OLD TESTAMENT: 46 completed books c. 100 B.C.(note: 46 books, NOT only 39 as is in the Protestant versions)

THE SEPTUAGINT: (the sole and official canon of the Catholic O.T.) c. 280 or 250 B.C. to 100 B.C.

Under Pharaoh of Egypt: Ptolemy Philedelphus commissioned 70 Jewish Scholars (Scribes) to translate into the vernacular (common language spoken at the time): GREEK This is the Greek translation that Jesus and His Apostles (and Jews at the time) used, and quoted from as well.

(After the dispersions of the Jews, they began to lose their Hebrew tongue, and Greek, which was the universal language at the time, became their spoken tongue.)

After the death of Jesus, and many of His Apostles, c. 100 A.D., in the village of Jamnia (in ancient Israel -see "Jabneh") the Sadducees (enemies of Christ and non-believers in the resurrection, life-afer-death, and angels...) assembled a completely new version of Jewish scripture, omitting some books entirely and rewriting others.

The result is the JAMNIAN CANON, or, the PALESTINIAN TALMUD.

(There is also another version known as the BABYLONIAN TALMUD.)In Acts 5: 17-19, it states that the Sadducees were particularly zealous enemies of Christianity.

One of them for instance (Aquila) removed the word PARTHENOS (virgin), from Isaiah 7:14, and rendered it NEANIS (a young woman)shall conceive. That way they could assert that the prophecy didn't match what the Christians were teaching.

An interesting note: Since the deviation from the True Old Testament, Judaism has splintered into many different sects. (Sounds familiar as has happened to Protestants, there are currently 33,000 different Protestant sects with more new ones being established each year.)

During the Reformation, the Protestants rejected the Catholic Bible and adopted the (altered) Hebrew Bible, that does not have the complete 46 Books and verses.

This is why the Protestant's "Old Testament" part of their Bible has only 39 Books, and incomplete passages/verses in parts.

Thus, the (altered) Hebrew Bible is what the Jews today use, and the Church has the TRUE, complete, Old Testament. So we see that the two differ.

The Prostestants have the Hebrew Old Testament as part of their Bible, and the Catholic New Testament. So we see that before the Reformation the True Church has always kept intact the True Scriptures - Old and New.

And after the Reformation, after using the Bible for over 1500 years, man altered the Bible, by adopting the altered Hebrew Bible, and through Martin Luther, even added words to the Bible!

Praise the Lord our God, through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, that as Jesus promised, He guided His Church, to make sure that the true Bible was kept intact, and His teachings unchanged in His True Church.

Because non-Catholics do not have the fullness of Truth or the fullness of the WHOLE Bible, they do not understand all the teachings of the Apostles or have that unbroken link from the Apostles.

Because of the altered Prostestant bible, they have come up with many "new" and contradictory theories and dogmas, even among themselves.

That is not to say that they do not have some truths, for those that believe in the Trinity - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and Jesus as Savior and the Way, and are Baptized as Christ instructed by using water "In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit", are Christians.

They are just the separated brothers and sisters of R. C. Christians.

Remember, Christ founded and established ONE Church, and promised to guide THAT Church throughout the Ages, in all fullness of truth. He did not establish and found thousands and thousands of churches.

He left us a visible voice on earth, the vicar of Christ, who upholds all of Christ's and His Apostles teachings.

Just as in the Old Testament the High Priest was the one who spoke God's words to the people and taught them, and made the decisions with God's blessings, so too has Christ continued this God-made tradition by giving us a "high" priest (Bishop)on earth - the Pope (which means papa--father).

In Matt. 23:1-3, "Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying, 'The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but do not practice."

We see that even Jesus upheld the teachings just as we are to do today with the teachings of His Church - the Holy Roman Catholic Church.

By the way, the term "Roman Catholic" is a name given by non-catholics during the Reformation, -- it is really called the Church. But the name is used (R.C.) to distinguish it from all the other churches in the world today.

Before the Reformation, it was only known as the Church - a universal (which is what "catholic" really means) Church for all men who want to know Christ and be Christian.

Answer 9

The coucil of nicea which was held around 300 ad. They put in the jewish tenakh and the books they though everybody would accept, everybody as in all christians, in other words , what the people wanted. This is why some Apocrypha are more reliable.

Answer 10

Biblical Canons. They vary slightly -- the Catholic Bible and the Holy Bible, for example, are not the same.

It's decided by a bunch of men. Arbitrarily.