One of the smarmiest skeptic digs is this,
“The Bible you read was cooked up by church councils, they tossed out ‘real’ gospels and snuck in secret texts.”
Oh really? Let’s tear into that.
“Every word of God proves true; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.”
— Proverbs 30:5
Canon by Consensus, Not Coercion.
By 200 AD, Christians from Rome to Antioch were quoting the same 27 New Testament books. Irenaeus (180 AD) treats them as authoritative Scripture.
The so called “Council of Nicaea” (325 AD) didn’t debate which books to include, that was already settled in the churches. Nicaea focused on Christ’s deity.
Translation Committees, Not Conspiracies.
Modern Bibles (ESV, NIV, NRSV) are the fruit of dozens of scholars. Jewish, Protestant, Catholic, comparing hundreds of manuscripts in Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic.
Disputed passages (Mark 16’s long ending, John 7:53–8:11) are clearly footnoted. Nothing is hidden, everything is transparent.
“Lost” Gospels. Why They Didn’t Make the Cut?
Gospel of Thomas, Judas, Mary. Written decades later, lacking apostolic authorship, riddled with Gnostic theology (salvation by secret knowledge).
The early church measured books by apostolic provenance, orthodox teaching, and widespread usage. These criteria weeded out fringe texts.
“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”
— John 17:17
Canonical books circulated and were cited as Scripture long before any formal council.
Translation transparency, every variant and translation choice is documented.
“Lost” gospels fall short on authorship, theology, and early acceptance.
The Bible you hold isn’t an arbitrary list imposed by some emperor. It’s the collection God’s people recognized and trusted from the start. Open your margins, read the footnotes, and see that Scripture’s journey from parchment to print is as honest as its message.
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