The Apocryphal New Testament writtings, Part Two

Objection: The Christians have lost 11 parts of the Gospel which were attributed to Christ. They have also lost nine letters from John, two from Andrew, Mathew, Philip and one from James; accounts of the Gospel by Bartolomew, Thomas, James and Matthews and some acts of Christ's apostles-four of Thomas and two of Matthew. There is another collection of books which the Christians also lost; there are attributed to authors whose names we cannot find anywhere.

Answer: 
The leading Christian scholars of this time compiled lists of the writings which the early Church regarded as sacred. The first such index was arranged by Origen who lived 100 years after John the Apostle. Origen was a very learned man who traveled widely, spending long periods in Judea, investigating and deliberating. He inquired among the churches and other sources regarding the sacred writings. Eusebius, in his history, mentions Origen's list which includes the four accounts of the Gospel of Christ (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), the Acts, all the letters of the Apostle Paul, the two letters of the Apostle Peter, three letters of the Apostle John and the book of Revelation. This collection is identical with the New Testament we have today. There is no mention of the other works that are mentioned by the objector. Thus, the Christians of the early Church recognized only those books which have come down to us. Other men who complied similar lists are:

A) Athanasius, who suffered for his belief in the divinity of the eternal Word, Jesus Christ.

B) Cyril, a contemporary of Eusebius.

C) A council of bishops that met in Laodicea. This council forbid the reciting of anything but the inspired books.

D) The Bishops of Salamis, Cyprus, in a book he wrote against heresies.

E) Gregory Nazianzen of Constantinople, in a brilliant poem.

F) Jerome, who translated the Bible into Latin.

G) Rufinus, a church chronicler who lived from AD 345-410.

H) Augustine, Bishops, North Africa (AD 354-430).

I) A council of Church leaders at Carthage, which Augustine attended.  This council forbid the reciting of anything but the inspired books.

J) Dionysius, the Areopagite.

All of the Church authorities living in Asia minor, Africa and Europe used quotations from the Holy Scriptures in their writings. They relied on the Bible when debating with their adversaries.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wuHHUFE9YI