Greetings Natty Lion
The Bible compilation process took place over a couple of hundred years from 200 CE to about 400 CE, around the time Rome became officially Christian. These are also the times for the establishment of orthodoxy within Christianity, these creeds being established in the seven councils that took place. Due to this very political process, those Christians that were not in agreement with the developing orthodoxy were branded as heretics and their gospels and teachings were banned. You see, from the very beginning of the Yshua Movement, there were many variations and interpretations of the Christ story. Each community used a certain gospel, so, say, the Thomas Christians of Egypt would be more inclined to stick to the Gospel of Thomas, or the Hebrew community in Yerusalem would be more inclined to the Gospel of Matthew. It wasn't until much later that we have any kind of reference to a collected Bible, and the earliest recorded list mentions a few books that are not in it now, such as the Shepard of Hermes, and it also did not include the Book of Revelations. Gospels such as the Gospel of the Ebionites (a strict Hebrew Christian sect), the Gospel of Mary, etc. never made the final cut in the 400's. Of course, the whole historical process is much more complicated and messy, so this is just a general summary of events.
Here is a web site of Early Christian writings...
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/
You should also buy 'The Other Bible', Edited by William Barnstone (Harper San Fransisco, 1984)
"Had Alexandria triumphed and not Rome, the extravagant and muddled stories that I have summarized here would be coherent, majestic, and perfectly ordinary." - Jorge Luis Borges (on the Gnostic Gospels)
JAH BLESS
Jeff
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