Book that explains how the Bible was assembled

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willj1365

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I am looking for a good Catholic resource that explains the history of how the bible was put together. Ideally I’d love it to be in ePub format (for my nook) but that’s not critical. I thought I could learn a little about the history during lent.
 
I have read over this subject so many times but I cannot recall a specific book to recommend. What you’re looking for though, is something that explains the pronouncements of a couple church councils, up to and including the Council of Trent.

Trent reaffirmed the conclusions of previous councils on which are the canonical books of the Bible.

But, that’s not to say, in itself, how those books were selected. I think this drifts back into the mists of time. At the level of the council, there was always a consensus process, I believe.

What I find remarkable is how much critical thinking went into these decisions and how they 'got it right" in eliminating a lot of heretical writings.

At one level of the discussion, the effort and cost of reproducing scrolls and later codexes must have weighed heavily on the discussion.
 
Though it does not detail specific assembly, per se, it does catalog what Early Church Fathers said about which books were Scripture, as well as tell the story of various controversy over the Deuterocanon, like Jerome, who ultimately submitted to the Church, to the Protestant Reformation. A great apologetic resource. Why Catholic Bibles Are Bigger by Gary Michuta. Not sure that an ebook version exists or not.

You can also get Where We Got the Bible: Our Debt to the Catholic Church by Rev. Henry Graham online free here. If you are tech savvy, you can probably get it on your nook. Personally, I am not crazy about this book, although it is quite popular in Catholic Apologetic circles. I found it lacking in source references. The stuff he claims that I have cross-referenced myself turned out to be true, so I don’t have reason to believe there is anything false in there, it’s just that in those days, authors were probably more honest and didn’t need to cite every claim like we need in today’s world of fanciful history.
 
Thank you both for your comments, they have been very helpful!
 
Henry Graham’s, “How we got the Bible, our debt to the Catholic Church” can be found (I believe for free) on the internet. It’s probably available at Amazon.

This is a good, easy and quick to read book. I highly recommend it.
 
“Why is There a New Testament” by Joseph F. Kelly is a great starter.
 
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