Introduction

I was not fully mindful of the significance of this topic until a few months ago when I was obligated to look up from my book into the eyes of a waiter. He had asked me something as he reached over my shoulder to take my empty plate, "What are you reading?" 

Momentarily caught off guard, I had to refer back to the title printed on the binding before answering, "The New Testament Survey." 

       As he cleared the rest of the table, the waiter continued to inquire into my studies. He asked me about the subject of my book, the author, and the author's resources. When he learned that it was all for a research paper, he began to ask me more insightful questions, such as the period of time between the recording of New Testament events and their happening. Flustered and unprepared, I fumbled around with the table of contents, trying to produce answers. Up until that point, my research had been rather half-hearted. Eventually, that little interchange with the inquisitive waiter trailed off with my apologetic confessions of ignorance still resounding in my mind. I could not give him an answer. 

       For the remainder of that evening, I sat through a comedy show with my friends, but I found it hard to laugh. Perhaps I took the incident far too seriously, but I could not help wondering if a difference might have been made had I simply been more informed. In the end, I resolved that God's purposes are always accomplished, and the next time I opened my research book, I sat down and read with a new kind of earnestness. 




For thousands of centuries, Christians have claimed to know the only and absolute truth. Presently, approximately 2.04 billion people identify themselves as Christ-followers, declaring that there is One Way to be saved. Yet, so many of them are not even familiar with the origins of the New Testament, the compilation of the works documenting Christianity's—and history's—greatest profile, Jesus Christ. If faith in Jesus Christ is truly the only way to be saved, should not the veracity of the scriptures recording his life, words, and influence be of crucial importance? 2 Timothy 3:16 states, "All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." According to this verse, Scripture wields the divine authority of God. Today, in the New Testament, twenty-seven books are recognized by the church as canonized scripture. Much of Christianity is based on faith; however, faith does not require abandonment of sense. The history of the canon of scripture reveals much about its reliability and authority. Beginning at its origin, we can learn how the New Testament was developed, and how we came to receive this new covenant, written down and tangible in our hands.