Analysis Of The New Testament Of The Holy Bible

The New Testament of the Holy Bible is a collection of twenty-seven writings that have been deemed as canon by the early church. The term canon comes from the Greek word kanṓn representing a carpenter’s rule. The current list of books first appeared in a festal letter from Athanasius, the bishop of Alexandria, in 367. Athanasius wrote this letter in an attempt to clarify the true writings that defined the true message to the Christians of his period. Other Christian schools and sects followed different ideas of what the teachings of Christ meant. Athanasius’ list defining biblical canon did not appear suddenly. Rather, the list was the result of the deliberations of the Church that occurred over a couple hundred years. Various individuals and groups of the time caused these deliberations by the Church.
One of the first sects opposed to traditional Christian biblical canon was Gnosticism. There did not exist a single form of Gnosticism, but different factions emerged based on various scholars. Gnostic sects shared in common the belief that the soul was eternal and was trapped in a physical body. A Gnostic gains salvation by receiving special knowledge of the origin and …show more content…
Writings such as the Gospel of Philip and the Gospel of Judas were held sacred by a certain faction of Christianity but were rejected by other sects. Because of ongoing controversy, the Church of Rome began deliberations on which books should be in the biblical canon. Athanasius, the bishop of Alexandria, used his office to establish a biblical canon in his synod. His canon included the same books which the Protestant Church still considers to be canon to this day. This canon, approved by three councils of the late fourth and early fifth centuries, sets the standard by which all Christians should learn the good news of the