dmd... since the decision as to what books are in the bible was taken by Man (THAT's a FACT!!!!!!!!!!) your arguement is ridiculous to say the least.
2007-03-15 12:23:28
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answer #1
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answered by Pedro Sanchez 5
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Why is it so hard for some Christians to accept the fact that the Church did alter the Bible, or rather that the Church removed some gospels. It doesn't make the Bible any less sacred, or mean it wasn't inspired by God, it just means that some Church elders decided certain gospels didn't need to be in there. It's a simple question, but I'm reading some answers and it seems like some people get offended. Get over people! Just answer the question to the best of your knowledge.
Me, I don't know how many were originally written. I have heard of certain gospels/books being removed such as the Gospel of Thomas. Perhaps a theologian will better know the answer to that.
2007-03-15 19:31:31
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answer #2
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answered by eastchic2001 5
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There were other Christian books circulating around at the time of the formation of the Canon of the New Testament that we have now. The Old Testament 39 had already been well established at the time of Jesus. The additional 27 in their current form followed the list made by Athanasius. The ones that made it into the Bible were recognized as inspired by the early church.
There were also other Christian writings that were seen as profitable to read, but not the inspired word of God. We basically have 27 surviving books that the early church saw as authoritative and infallible in thier original writings. Paul references two other letters that he had written to Corinth that no copies survived.
The Books that "didn't make it" into the Bible are good to read and are interesting, but since they were not written by an apostle or a person working with an apostle, you can't say that they are inspired.
For more information you could do a search on the terms apocrypha and pseudopigrapha.
2007-03-15 19:31:42
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answer #3
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answered by Kevin 4
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Firstly, the only books of the bible are those that ultimately were included (some have since been extracted). Before the Bible was compiled there was a vast collection of books relating to similar themes and topics. the bible is the product of human selection, not divine intervention. I would be concerned with what we don't know of the biblical era, what was kept out and why. Such as Jesus life from about the age of 13 until a short period prior to his death.
2007-03-15 19:32:38
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answer #4
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answered by Anonymous
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There are sixty-six books in the Bible.
There were eighteen "books" left out of the Old Testament. You can find them here:
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/rsv.browse.html
There were twenty-seven books left out of the New Testament. You can find those here:
http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geu.3.1_lFWNwAnPhXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE3MHZnZzE2BGNvbG8DZQRsA1dTMQRwb3MDNgRzZWMDc3IEdnRpZANGODIyXzE0Ng--/SIG=128etrvh1/EXP=1174088062/**http%3a//www.earlychristianwritings.com/apocrypha.html
The process by which they were left out (from Wikipedia):
Apostolic Origin — attributed to and based on the preaching/teaching of the first-generation apostles (or their close companions).
Universal Acceptance — acknowledged by all major Christian communities in the ancient world (by the end of the fourth century).
Liturgical Use — read publicly when early Christian communities gathered for the Lord's Supper (their weekly worship services).
Consistent Message — containing a theological outlook similar or complementary to other accepted Christian writings.
Hope this helps.
2007-03-15 19:21:43
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answer #5
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answered by The_Cricket: Thinking Pink! 7
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You sound like my atheist friend who thinks that every book written in ancient times should be included in the Bible.
2007-03-15 19:23:13
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answer #6
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answered by gnostic 4
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There are 66 books written by 40 different authors in the Protestant canon.
2007-03-15 19:22:46
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answer #7
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answered by Anonymous
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Only God knows, when you get to heaven ask him which ones were written by him and the others inspired by man
2007-03-15 19:26:00
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answer #8
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answered by jokimben_el 2
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i heard of 66, or 69.
2007-03-15 19:21:53
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answer #9
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answered by Tanyah 3
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The 66 books in the bible are the inspired words of God. The Bible is complete. The others, which are many, are not inspired and therefore, not in the bible.
2007-03-15 19:21:59
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answer #10
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answered by Gardener for God(dmd) 7
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