Participants 149
Discussion Questions
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In your own words, give a brief explanation of how the New Testament came to be.
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31 Replies
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The ew Testament is the inspired word of God written down by apostles and strives throughout Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and after.
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Written by several apostles (and scribes), the New Testament is inspired by God and is the Word of God.
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The New Testament came through the historical writing of the apostles that was God-breathed, inspired by the Holy Spirit and Truth.
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The New Testament was inspired by The Holy Spirit, written by several of the apostles (taken down by scribes), and is The Word of God.
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It was through the divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit speaking to New Testament authors. Then those inspired again by the Holy Spirit validated and approved the authenticity of each book and included it within the New Testament.
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Describe in your own words, the three major criteria the twenty-seven books of the New Testament had to meet to be included in the New Testament.
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37 Replies
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The three major criteria are as follows:
1) Consistency- the new revelations were not to contradict anything in the Old Testament or in earlier agreed upon New Testament documents.
2) Catholicity-the documents had to be accepted by a wider audience and not just one sect.
3) Apostolic Authority- the documents were to be authored by an apostle or and apostle’s close associate.
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The three major criteria the 27 NT book had to meet were consistency, catholicity, and apostolicity. Consistency-Scripture doesn’t contradict Scripture
Catholicity-the widespread nature of these documents
Apostolicity-these documents were written by apostles or those close to them
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The three main criteria for the 27 books were Consistency, or the fact that it had to line up with and match the Old Testament, Catholicity, or the fact that the information had to be more widely spread among the different sects, and Apolicity, or the fact that the information had to be written by the Apostles or by someone in very close relation to them.
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1. First, the New Testament had to be consistent with the Old Testament, it could not be contradictory.
2. Secondly, it had to be used and circulated throughout those times and widely utilize by all sects.
3. thirdly, the New Testament had to be either written by an Apostle or by someone who was closely associated with an Apostle.
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The three criteria are:
1. Consistency: This book must cohere with what is already accepted as Scripture – i.e. with the Old Testament and earlier-agreed-upon New Testament books. It cannot contradict Scripture because, if Scripture is God-inspired, the Holy Spirit will not contradict himself.
2. Catholicity: The book must have been accepted and circulated widely throughout the early Roman Empire. By this rule, a document produced by one particular sect or cult will not qualify as Scripture.
3. Apostolicity: There is good reason to believe that the book was penned by an apostle or a close associate of his. Since Mark and Luke were close companions of Peter and Paul respectively, their writings qualify too.
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