Why are there only four Gospels in the New Testment?

In the early church there were as many as 50 different Gospels and hundreds of texts all claiming apostolic authorship - so who decided on the four texts that eventually made it into the canon as 'gospel'? I think there was a lot of politics involved. I can just imagine all the bishops sitting around the first Council of Nicea in 325 AD and arguing about what should and should not be included. Did some good bits get left out?

 

I'm sure info as to why is available online somewhere; if you are really curious.

I think the gospels played a game of "the weakest link" and looks like 46 of them were; so they said "goodbye"

 

There were meant to be Gospel's which showed Jesus and Christianity in a bad light (rather how GTech quotes from the Koran). I guess the priests thought it would be a good idea to pretend the bad bits weren't there.

 

You mean the bible is actually influenced by good old flawed human beings and not divine at all though people follow it like it is? OMG

Absolute power corrupts absolutely.... Just ask the priest with his penis in a kid's butt right now.

Or the pastor driving around in a lexus because his jag is in the shop. Tell him hello and thanks for staying humble

 

Actually I've tried searching on-line before (that's how I found out about the first Council of Nicea) and I couldn't find an objective answer to that question anywhere. Most of the Christian sites barely acknowledge that there WAS any debate about which books should be included in the Canon and those that do just dismiss it as virtually a cut-and dried decision.

I was hoping perhaps to get some links to some good sites I'd missed.

 

Good question. I wonder if the council of Nicea chose the books through divine intervention of God. If not, than we could be missing out. I find it funny that Jude quotes a verse from the book of enoch, yet the council of Nicea decided not to include the book of Enoch in the bible.

 

They edited all the gospel to fit in their believes, they took away everything that they did not like. All that old stuff they took out probably exists in the vatikan today.

 

God chose what was to be in the Bible. 2 Tim 3:16 shows all scripture is inspired by God. Therefore, all other books were written by men that was not inspired by God to write. Hence, why they are not in the 66 chosen books that make up "The Bible" or "Little Books".

Regards,

Col

 

The council chose the books that best allowed the church full control and followed the paternal control that was common in the early church and still is in many churches. Any book that mentions Mary Magdalene in a position of power was not accepted. Also any book that mentioned Christ as having any human flaws including a sexual relationship with anyone was not accepted to ensure the purity of Christ. There were also some doubts of Christ as the son of God and those too were rejected.

By choosing carefully the books that were added, the council assured that no doubts would be allowed to exist to undermine the religion. In the early church and still today in some churches, members are not encouraged to read the bible for themselves because they are not spiritually evolved enough to interpret it for themselves. In reality, the church does not want their members to think for themselves and have any doubt about what they are being told by the leaders of the church.

 

There lies the problem for the churches led by men. The Bible is an instruction manual for humans and inspired by God. Everyone should have their own personal Bible to see for themselves God's Word.

Col

 

Just out of curiosity, how do you know it is God's word? Because the bible says so? Or is it just a matter of faith? How do you know that those books chosen by a council of men were the only books or the true books that were inspired by God?

What if those men in all their wisdom made huge mistakes and those were not the true books inspired by God? What does that do for the religion as you know it today?

 

Here lies the problem. The bible has been changed so much by people that the original instructions are not there anymore. I think you are aware of this problem Cheap SEO Services.

 

If the Bible was not inspired by God this entire world would be in 100 times the mess we are in now. That I have full trust in. Also, having trust and faith in God being real requires evidence. I have evidence that I have seen and heard for my self. Not because someone tells me to have faith and trust. It does not work that way anyway. We are all individuals and we all have our own decisions to decide whether things are so. I read and study all parts of the Bible closely. I use it as a measuring stick against all other literature that I read. I have read other books that people claim is inspired by God. However, I can see clearly these other books do not go in harmony with the rest of the Bible we have today. Hence, in my opinion, there is no mistake in regards to the authenticity of God's Word, the Bible.

Regards,

Col

 

But dont you miss or are curious about whats in the original parts of the bible that you will never get to see?

 

It would be very interesting to see what information the Vatican holds concerning the early church. It's clear that some things are hidden from us, and I'm not sure if the Pope has ever given a good reason as to why this is. Wouldn't God want us to be informed?

 

wrong there buddy...the Gospels that did not make it into the Bible (and lots of other books for that matter), were found to have to many problems. It wasn't necessarily problems about what Jesus did and said, but more about the community to which they were addresses and written. Each of the 4 Gospels that are in the NT are written to a different community, but yet each have similar stories. Those that were not included often have stories that appear only in that 1 book, or they have stories that are majorly messed up. All those things about Jesus were handed down by word of mouth until someone finally wrote them down. That we have 4 that are so similar yet so different is a work of God in itself.

 

You are guessing, you dont know anything of what you are saying here because you have not read the content that was removed, and you will never get a chance to read it either.

 

how do you know

 

There are only four because the editor said the fifth would not fit... They had a deadline, and a limit to work within..

 

the same old story..