KM-HQ: 3/3/2021
The Old Testament has 39 books of which the Apostles and the Early Church Fathers quoted and firmly believed. The Early Church held to a high view of the Old Testament, unlike those who, later in church history, did not.
The first list of 27 books in the New Testament appears in AD 367 in a letter written by Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria. It was not until after that date that uniform agreement on the list was found among all teachers in the Catholic Church. Around the end of the second century, most of the 27 books of the New Testament were accepted by the Catholic Church and were placed alongside the Jewish Scriptures.
However, no All of the sacred writings were accepted nor included into the teachings of the Holy Bible... some were, such as I Enoch which was at first accepted in the Christian Church but later excluded from the biblical canon. Its survival is due to the fascination of marginal and heretical Christian groups, such as the Manichaeans, with its syncretic blending of Iranian, Greek, Chaldean, and Egyptian elements.
Athanasius was born in AD 295 and quickly rose through the ranks of the Alexandrian Church. He became a personal assistant to the bishop and was there at the Council of Nicaea in AD 325. Athanasius was the first to recognize what is now the 27 letters in the New Testament.
The early Christians believed they were following in the footsteps of a Savior whose message universally called all humanity to repentance and faith in Him. In this context, the Early Church carried the message of Jesus, a message that centered on Christ, who was crucified, risen, victorious, and exalted. It was through Him that the Early Church would rise from the ashes of Roman civilization and become a dominant force on the scene of world history.
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