The Bible’s reliabilityDraft · awaiting advisor review
Who decided which books are in the Bible?
In short
No single council or emperor chose them. The churches recognised the books that came from the apostles and their circle and were already read in worship. By about AD 200 the core of the New Testament was widely accepted; a few books were debated longer, and later councils confirmed what churches already used. The Old Testament was received from Judaism.
The Objection
The emperor Constantine assembled the Bible at the Council of Nicaea in 325, choosing the books that suited the church’s power and suppressing the rest.
Put as its strongest advocates would put it.
The Christian Case
- Historical evidence
The Council of Nicaea did not discuss which books belong in the Bible; it dealt with the teaching of Arius about Christ and the date of Easter.
- Historical evidence
Around AD 180 Irenaeus already insisted there are four Gospels, no more and no fewer, and early lists such as the Muratorian fragment name most of the New Testament.
- Historical evidence
The test was whether a book came from the apostles or their circle, was used across the churches, and agreed with the faith they had received. In 367 Athanasius listed the 27 New Testament books, and councils at Hippo (393) and Carthage (397) confirmed them.
- Scripture
Jesus affirmed the Hebrew Scriptures as “the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms”, and Peter already counts Paul’s letters among the Scriptures.
- Christians differ
Christians differ on the Old Testament: Catholic and Orthodox Bibles include books such as Tobit and the Maccabees; Protestant Bibles follow the Hebrew Bible.
Where the Evidence Is Weaker
A few books, including Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, Jude and Revelation, were questioned for a time, and the process was gradual rather than a single moment of decision.
Arguments to Avoid
- Repeating the claim that Constantine or Nicaea chose the books.
Read for Yourself
Luke 24:44
And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
2 Peter 3:15–16
15And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; 16As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
Further Reading
- The Canon of Scripture · F. F. Bruce (1988)
- The Question of Canon · Michael J. Kruger (2013)
Drafted with Opened AI and awaiting review by Opened’s apologetics advisors. Labels show the kind of support each point has: Scripture is what the Bible says; historical evidence and philosophical arguments can be checked by anyone; “Christians differ” marks questions on which faithful Christians disagree.
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