What took so long
for the entire NT to be confirmed and gathered?
1 The originals were scattered across the whole empire:
Apostles were sharing the Gospel, and being persecuted.
2 No scroll could easily contain more than one or two
books. Luke: 30 feet; NT: 200 feet (bulky, expensive)
3 The 1st century Christians expected the immediate return
of Christ = no need for a compilation.
4 No one church or leader dominated the others.
5 The early leaders assumed the authority of the Gospels
and apostles. (Matthew, John, James, Peter, Paul wrote 85%
of NT. Exceptions = Mark, Luke, Jude, and Hebrews)
6 Only when the heretics attacked the truth was the need
for the development of a Canon (mid 2nd century).
Source: Adapted from Brian Edwards
Source: Adapted from Brian Edwards
Only 10 copies of Ceasar‘s work have been found by scholars and seven of Plato‘s yet these are considered authoritative.
There are more than 15,000 manuscripts of New Testament writings.
Unlike for example The Iliad which has one of the shortest gaps from the original (500 yrs) in ancient world writings…
the most conservative estimates of New Testament copies are within 100 years and some much less.
To be sceptical of the New Testament books would require you to allow all of classical antiquity to slip into obscurity.
No documents of the ancient period are as well attested bibliographically as the New Testament.
Five Fold Ministry Ireland 
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