Changes

Many Christians throughout the world look to the bible, the New Testament specifically, as the sole authority for Christian life and teaching, but may not be aware of how this deeply influential and unique text came to be. Interestingly, there was no such thing as the “Bible” for, roughly, the first four centuries of Christianity. What eventually became known as the “New Testament” was not ratified until a series of ecumenical councils, convened by the Catholic Church in the fourth and fifth centuries. These councils carefully considered potential testaments and epistles for inclusion in the canon (meaning, cane or straight) and were ultimately included or excluded based on their ability to meet these various criteria. In what follows, I will explain what texts are now included in the canon, how those texts where chosen, and what ecumenical councils were most pivotal in creating what is now known of the Christian New Testament.

===Conclusions===

Ultimately, what Christians now call the New Testament was compiled by various authors who were either contemporaries of Christ or one generation removed from Christ. These texts were carefully deliberated by the church authorities according to their ability to meet the inclusion criteria discussed above. The Bible, as it is known today, was a product of serious deliberation among learned church authorities. Today, Christians debate on the exact medium of divine inspiration, but most Christians do believe that both the authors of each book and the process through which the books were chosen for inclusion in the canon were inspired by the Holy Spirit.