How did we get the Bible, and who decided which books belonged in it?

In this teaching, we examine the historical development of the biblical canon and the dating of the New Testament writings.

Also available through YouTube Music as an episode of Theophilus Podcast.

The Bible did not appear as a completed book, and the twenty-seven books of the New Testament were not created by a fourth-century church council. They emerged within the apostolic age as Gospels, Letters, historical narratives, and apocalyptic writings that were copied, circulated, read publicly, debated, collected, and gradually recognized throughout the early Christian world.

We begin by examining what the word canon means and the difference between the authority of Scripture and the historical recognition of Scripture. We then consider the major criteria u ...