The Canon
The Bible Canon refers to the officially accepted books in the Bible, which Christians consider divinely inspired at the very least. The word "canon" may have originated from the Hebrew word קנה "kaneh" which is similar to the the Greek word κανών "kanon" meaning; "reed","cane", "rule" or "measure".
The Bible Canon actually varies slightly between the major churches of Christendom, resulting in; Protestants, Catholics and Orthodox churches not having the exact same books in their Bibles.
A portion of Papyrus 46, one of the oldest existing New Testament manuscripts. It was reportedly written in Greek between 175-225 and contains most of the epistles of Paul. The exact origin of the papyrus is unknown, but it is believed to have been found in a ruined Christian church or monastery in Cairo, Egypt. It was offered for sale by an antiquities dealer and parts of it were purchased by Chester Beatty and then by the University of Michigan between 1930 and 1935.
In 325 AD the Roman emperor Constantine brought leaders of the various Christian churches of the ancient world together to decide which books should be included in an official Catholic or universal church book. Some scholars say he would not let them leave until they agreed on a canon... some say he was instrumental in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John being selected.
According to some sources, in 382 AD the emperor Theodosius banned all the gospels except Matthew, Mark, Luke and John... other sources say it was not an outright ban.
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