Comparative Theology · Textual History & Manuscripts
Canonisation & Missing Scriptures
In short
- 1.The 27-book was first listed by Athanasius of Alexandria in 367 CE — over 300 years after Jesus (PBUH).
- 2.Dozens of early gospels (Thomas, Mary, the Didache, and others) were suppressed or destroyed in proto-orthodox heresy hunts.
- 3.Selection followed political alignment with the Roman imperial church, not an unbroken chain of transmission ().
The claim being examined
The 27-book New Testament was received intact from the apostles.
The Islamic position
The list appears first in 367 CE, and dozens of rival gospels were suppressed to produce it.
Analysis
The Nag Hammadi library and Muratorian fragment show a plural, contested Christian literature for centuries. There is no chain of named transmitters for the Gospels; all four are anonymous and were titled later. Islam's system of named, verified transmission has no counterpart in the New Testament .
From the Qur'an
إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا ٱلذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُۥ لَحَـٰفِظُونَ
innā naḥnu nazzalnā l-dhik'ra wa-innā lahu laḥāfiẓūna
Indeed, it is We who sent down the Qur'an, and indeed, We will be its guardian.
From the Bible
Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us.
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