Short answer
Church leaders chose the books, over more than three hundred years after Jesus. Jesus preached around the year 30 and wrote nothing. The first books were Paul's letters, from about 50. Mark was written about 65 to 70, Matthew and Luke in the 80s, and John near the end of the century. For three centuries the churches did not agree on which books belonged. Some doubted Hebrews, James or Revelation. Some read the Shepherd of Hermas as scripture. The Syrian churches used fewer books. The first surviving list of exactly today's twenty-seven books is a letter of Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, in 367. Councils at Hippo in 393 and Carthage in 397 approved the same list. So the New Testament is a collection that men chose long after Jesus, not a book that he brought. Islam teaches that God (﷾) gave Jesus the Injil, a message in his own mouth.
Full explanation
When the books were written
Jesus preached around the year 30. The earliest books of the New Testament are letters of Paul, a Christian missionary of the first century. Paul did not know Jesus during Jesus' ministry. His letters date from about the year 50. Historians date Mark to about 65-70, Matthew and Luke to the 80s, and John to the 90s. None of them existed while Jesus was preaching "the gospel", the good news from God (﷾).
A standard textbook. It dates Paul's earliest letters to around 50 CE, Mark to about 65-70, Matthew and Luke to about 80-85, and John to about 90-95, and notes that Jesus spoke Aramaic while the Gospels were written in Greek by authors who do not name themselves. It also says Paul did not know Jesus during Jesus' lifetime and came to faith only after the crucifixion.
“Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
Three centuries of disagreement
About 180, Irenaeus, a bishop of the second century, had to argue that there were four Gospels, no more and no fewer. Early in the fourth century Eusebius, the church's historian, still listed James, Jude, 2 Peter and 2 and 3 John as disputed. Some churches read the Shepherd of Hermas, an early Christian writing, as scripture. The oldest complete New Testament, Codex Sinaiticus, contains part of it. Hebrews was doubted in the West, and Revelation in the East.
Irenaeus argues that there can be neither more nor fewer than four Gospels, because there are four zones of the world and four principal winds. He was arguing against Christians who used fewer Gospels, or others.
Eusebius sorts the Christian writings of his day into those accepted by all, those disputed, and those rejected. Among the disputed he lists the letters of James and Jude, the second letter of Peter, and the second and third letters of John.
A Greek Bible copied in the fourth century, and the oldest surviving complete copy of the New Testament. Its Gospel of Mark ends at 16:8. After Revelation it also contains the Epistle of Barnabas and part of the Shepherd of Hermas, books that are not in today's New Testament.
Traces how the churches came to agree on the New Testament. For three centuries books such as Hebrews, James and Revelation were disputed, and some read the Shepherd of Hermas as scripture. Athanasius' letter of 367 is the first surviving list of exactly the twenty-seven books; councils at Hippo (393) and Carthage (397) confirmed it; the Syrian churches long used a shorter set.
Different churches, different New Testaments
The Peshitta is the standard Bible of the Syrian churches. It has twenty-two books, not twenty-seven. Some Greek Bibles carried extra books, such as Barnabas, Hermas and the letters of Clement. The Ethiopian church still counts thirty-five. Which books were scripture depended on where a Christian lived.
Shows that the churches of different regions long kept different New Testaments. The Syriac Peshitta, the standard Bible of the Syrian churches from the early fifth century, has twenty-two books, without 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, Jude and Revelation. Codex Sinaiticus, copied in the fourth century, adds the Epistle of Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas, and Codex Alexandrinus, of the fifth, adds the two letters of Clement. The Ethiopian church counts a New Testament of thirty-five books. In the West the twenty-seven books spread through Jerome's Latin Vulgate.
Who drew up the list
The first surviving list of exactly the twenty-seven books is the Easter letter of Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, in 367. Local councils of bishops at Hippo in 393 and Carthage in 397 approved the same list. Jerome's Latin Vulgate spread it in the West. The Catholic Church made the list binding on pain of a curse only at the Council of Trent in 1546.
Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, lists the books he counts as scripture. His New Testament list is the twenty-seven books of today's New Testament, the earliest surviving list of exactly these books and no others.
Traces how the churches came to agree on the New Testament. For three centuries books such as Hebrews, James and Revelation were disputed, and some read the Shepherd of Hermas as scripture. Athanasius' letter of 367 is the first surviving list of exactly the twenty-seven books; councils at Hippo (393) and Carthage (397) confirmed it; the Syrian churches long used a shorter set.
Shows that the churches of different regions long kept different New Testaments. The Syriac Peshitta, the standard Bible of the Syrian churches from the early fifth century, has twenty-two books, without 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, Jude and Revelation. Codex Sinaiticus, copied in the fourth century, adds the Epistle of Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas, and Codex Alexandrinus, of the fifth, adds the two letters of Clement. The Ethiopian church counts a New Testament of thirty-five books. In the West the twenty-seven books spread through Jerome's Latin Vulgate.
The Catholic council lists the books of the Old Testament, including Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch and the two books of Maccabees, and the twenty-seven of the New. It ends: if anyone does not receive these books, entire and with all their parts, as sacred and canonical, "and knowingly and deliberately contemn the traditions aforesaid; let him be anathema" (cursed and cut off).
- About 30
Jesus preaches
Jesus preaches “the gospel”, a message in his own mouth. He writes nothing.
- About 50
Paul's letters
The earliest books of the New Testament are letters of Paul, who did not know Jesus during Jesus' ministry.
- About 65 to the 90s
The four Gospels
Mark is written about 65 to 70, Matthew and Luke in the 80s, and John in the 90s.
- Up to the 300s
Three centuries of disagreement
The churches disagree about which books belong. Some doubt Hebrews, James or Revelation. Some read the Shepherd of Hermas as scripture.
- 367
The first list of the twenty-seven
Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, writes the first surviving list of exactly today's twenty-seven books.
- 393 and 397
Councils approve it
Local councils of bishops at Hippo and Carthage approve the same list.
The Qur'an says God (﷾) gave Jesus the Injil (the Gospel he preached): a message in his mouth, not books written about him decades later.
Letters that were lost
In 1 Corinthians Paul mentions an earlier letter he had written to the same church. It does not survive. In Colossians he tells the church to read "the epistle from Laodicea". Some identify it with Ephesians, but that is a guess, and the Bible nowhere says so. The letter Paul meant does not survive. A short "Epistle to the Laodiceans" is copied into some medieval Latin Bibles. It is judged a later forgery, and no church's Bible has it today.
“I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:”
“And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.”
The Christian answer: the church recognised the books
Christians reply that the church did not choose the books. They say it recognised those God (﷾) had inspired. They point to 2 Peter, which speaks of Paul's letters alongside "the other scriptures". The Christian scholar Bruce Metzger put it this way. The canon is a list of authoritative books more than it is an authoritative list of books.
“And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.”
Argues, as a Christian scholar, that the church did not create the canon but came to recognise books that had already proved their authority in worship, so that the canon is a list of authoritative books more than it is an authoritative list of books. He also records that the process took until the late fourth century in the Greek and Latin churches, and longer in the Syrian ones.
The Injil Jesus was given
The Qur'an says God (﷾) gave Jesus the Injil (the Gospel he preached). That was a message in his mouth. It was not four books written about him decades later and chosen by bishops centuries later. The Qur'an was different from the start. It was written down while the Prophet (ﷺ) lived, by scribes such as Zayd ibn Thabit. It was gathered into one volume within about two years of his death. Gabriel went over the Qur'an with the Prophet (ﷺ) once every year, and twice in the year he died. No council had to choose what belonged in it.
“And in their footsteps We sent Jesus the son of Mary, confirming the Law that had come before him: We sent him the Gospel: therein was guidance and light, and confirmation of the Law that had come before him: a guidance and an admonition to those who fear Allah.”
Zayd ibn Thabit reports that after many who knew the Qur'an by heart were killed at Yamama, Abu Bakr asked him to gather the Qur'an into one volume, reminding him that he used to write down the revelation for the Messenger of Allah. Zayd collected it from written pieces and from the memories of men, and the finished copy passed from Abu Bakr to Umar and then to Hafsa.
Abu Hurayra reports that Gabriel went over the Qur'an with the Prophet (ﷺ) once every year, and twice in the year he died.
“We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption).”
Point by point
The Canon of the New Testament (1987), on how the canon was fixed
Argues, as a Christian scholar, that the church did not create the canon but came to recognise books that had already proved their authority in worship, so that the canon is a list of authoritative books more than it is an authoritative list of books. He also records that the process took until the late fourth century in the Greek and Latin churches, and longer in the Syrian ones.
Cited for
The church only recognised the books God had inspired; it did not choose them.
The response
The recognising took more than three hundred years, and the churches did not reach the same answer. The Syrian churches recognised twenty-two books. Some Greek churches read Hermas and Barnabas. The Ethiopian church counts thirty-five. When churches recognise different books, the recognising is a human judgment.
Where it lands — Whatever it is called, the list was settled by bishops, region by region, centuries after Jesus.
2 Peter 3:15-16 — Second Epistle of Peter, chapter 3, verses 15-16
“And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.”
Cited for
Peter already counted Paul's letters as scripture, so the canon was forming while the first disciples were still alive.
The response
2 Peter was itself one of the disputed books. Eusebius, early in the fourth century, still listed it among the writings not accepted by all. A letter whose own place in the Bible was in doubt for three centuries cannot settle which books belong there.
Where it lands — The verse does not show that the twenty-seven books were fixed from the start.
Perspectives
Mainstream Christian
The twenty-seven books were inspired by God. The church did not decide which books were scripture. Over time it recognised the ones God had given.
2 Peter already places Paul's letters beside "the other scriptures".
Rebuttal
The verse treats Paul's letters as scripture, but it gives no list of books. 2 Peter was itself on Eusebius' list of disputed books. A letter whose own place was doubted for three centuries cannot settle which books belong.
The church recognised books whose authority was already felt in worship, rather than creating the canon.
Rebuttal
Metzger himself says the recognising took until the late fourth century, and longer in the Syrian churches. Even the core was argued over: about 180 Irenaeus still had to argue for exactly four Gospels. Churches ended with different lists, twenty-two books in the Peshitta and thirty-five in the Ethiopian church, so the recognising was a human judgment.
Where the academy stands
Status: Consensus
Historians agree that the New Testament canon took shape gradually. They agree that several books were disputed into the fourth century. They agree that the first surviving list of exactly the twenty-seven books is Athanasius' letter of 367.
The Islamic perspective
The New Testament is a collection of writings about Jesus, chosen by bishops over three centuries. It is not the Injil God (﷾) gave Jesus, which the Qur'an confirms was a revelation to him.
The New Testament books begin with Paul's letters, about the year 50. The Gospels follow, from about 65 to about 95.
For three centuries churches disagreed about some books. They were Hebrews, James, Jude, 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, Revelation and the Shepherd of Hermas.
The Syrian churches used twenty-two books, and the Ethiopian church counts thirty-five.
The first surviving list of exactly the twenty-seven books dates from 367. Councils of bishops approved it in 393 and 397.
Paul's earlier letter to Corinth and the letter from Laodicea he wanted read are both lost.
The Qur'an teaches that God (﷾) revealed the Injil to Jesus himself.