What Writings Must Christians Obey?

Marcion 

(c. 140)

The Canon Muratori 

(c. 200)

Eusebius 

(c. 325)

Athanasius 

(367)

  (Matthew)

Matthew

Matthew

  (Mark)

Mark

Mark

Luke

Luke(2)

Luke

Luke

  John

John

John

  Acts

Acts

Acts

Romans

Romans

Romans

Romans

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians

Galatians

Galatians

Galatians

Galatians

Ephesians(1)

Ephesians

Ephesians

Ephesians

Philippians

Philippians

Philippians

Philippians

Colossians

Colossians

Colossians

Colossians

1 Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians

2 Thessalonians

2 Thessalonians

2 Thessalonians

2 Thessalonians

  1 Timothy

1 Timothy

1 Timothy

  2 Timothy

2 Timothy

2 Timothy

  Titus

Titus

Titus

Philemon

    Philemon

      Hebrews

      James

    1 Peter

1 Peter

      2 Peter

  1 John

1 John

1 John

  2 John

  2 John

      3 John

  Jude

  Jude

  Revelation of John

Revelation of John(3)

Revelation of John

  Wisdom of Solomon

      Revelation of Peter

    The order of each list has been arranged according to Athanasius’ canon.

1. Marcion calls this book “Laodiceans.”

2. In this list, the first two Gospels are missing, but Luke, the first listed, is announced as the “third” gospel.

3. Eusebius says Revelation was still disputed in his time.

By the Editors

[Christian History originally published this article in Christian History Issue #43 in 1994]

Next articles

Books That Almost Made It

Excerpt from a popular writing that some wanted to include in the New Testament: The Shepherd of Hermas.

the Editors

How We Got Our Bible: Recommended Resources

The history of the Bible is mostly the study of documents and so makes for daunting reading.

Mark Galli

How We Got our Old Testament

The process was long and complex, and the result is still a matter of dispute.

Bruce Waltke

More Than One Bible

Christians still disagree over the content of the Old Testament.

the Editors
Show more

Subscribe to magazine

Subscription to Christian History magazine is on a donation basis

Subscribe

Support us

Christian History Institute (CHI) is a non-profit Pennsylvania corporation founded in 1982. Your donations support the continuation of this ministry

Donate

Subscribe to daily emails

Containing today’s events, devotional, quote and stories