The Canon

"When the pronouncement was made about the canon, it merely ratified what the general sensitivity of the church had already determined. You see, the canon is a list of authoritative books more than it is an authoritative list of books. These documents didn’t derive their authority from being selected; each one was authoritative before anyone gathered them together. The early church merely listened and sensed that these were authoritative accounts." (Bruce M. Metzger, PhD - quoted in The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel, Chapter 3 - The Docuemntary Evidence)