Devon Seeley

“Many Christians today may think that the canon of the New Testament simply appeared on the scene one day, soon after the death of Jesus, but nothing could be farther from the truth.”
― Bart D. Ehrman, Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why

“The decisions about which books should finally be considered canonical were not automatic or problem-free; the debates were long and drawn out, and sometimes harsh.”
― Bart D. Ehrman, Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why

“As Christianity grew, it eventually converted intellectuals to the faith, who were well equipped to discuss and dismiss the charges typically raised against the Christians. The writings of these intellectuals are sometimes called apologies, from the Greek word for “defense” (apologia). The apologists wrote intellectual defenses of the new faith, trying to show that far from being a threat to the social structure of the empire, it was a religion that preached moral behavior; and far from being a dangerous superstition, it represented the ultimate truth in its worship of the one true God. These apologies were important for early Christian readers, as they provided them with the arguments they needed when themselves faced with persecution.”
― Bart D. Ehrman, Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why

“At about the same time that apologies began to be written, Christians started producing accounts of their persecutions and the martyrdoms that happened as a result of them.”
― Bart D. Ehrman, Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why