The Council of Hippo (AD 393) and the Council of Carthage (AD 397) also affirmed the same 27 books as authoritative. In AD 363, the Council of Laodicea stated that only the Old Testament (along with one book of the Apocrypha) and 26 books of the New Testament (everything but Revelation) were canonical and to be read in the churches. The Muratorian Canon included all of the New Testament books except Hebrews, James, 1 and 2 Peter, and 3 John. The first “canon” was the Muratorian Canon, which was compiled in AD 170. The New Testament books receiving the most controversy were Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, 2 John, and 3 John. Polycarp, a disciple of John the apostle, acknowledged 15 books (A.D. Ignatius of Antioch acknowledged about seven books (A.D. Clement of Rome mentioned at least eight New Testament books (A.D. Some of the books of the New Testament were being circulated among the churches (Colossians 4:16 1 Thessalonians 5:27). Peter recognized Paul’s writings as Scripture (2 Peter 3:15-16). 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). Very early on, some of the New Testament books were being recognized. 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.įor the New Testament, the process of the recognition and collection began in the first centuries of the Christian church. The only issue that remained was the Apocrypha, with some debate and discussion continuing today. 250 there was nearly universal agreement on the canon of Hebrew Scripture. While there was undeniably some debate in regards to the Old Testament canon, by A.D.

Hebrew believers recognized God’s messengers and accepted their writings as inspired of God. It was simply a matter of God’s convincing His human followers which books should be included in the Bible.Ĭompared to the New Testament, there was much less controversy over the canon of the Old Testament. A book of Scripture belonged in the canon from the moment God inspired its writing. Ultimately, it was God who decided what books belonged in the biblical canon. Determining the canon was a process conducted first by Jewish rabbis and scholars and later by early Christians. The difficulty in determining the biblical canon is that the Bible does not give us a list of the books that belong in the Bible. The term “canon” is used to describe the books that are divinely inspired and therefore belong in the Bible.

Bible canonization timeline