The Holy Bible is a rich, ancient book filled with inspiring texts that have uplifted people for thousands of years. It has also given those in power the authority to exercise their influence over their followers in ways that defy human compassion.

What is the history of the Bible? Many are aware that The Bible contains books written by many different authors over many hundreds of years, but how did it come to exist in its final form? What about the recent discoveries of other so called Gospels of Jesus Christ? Does the simple fact that they are not included in the Bible disqualify any truth that they might have?

The Bible of most mainstream Christian churches is divided into two parts. The old testament, regarding stories that took place before the birth, death and resurrection of Christ, and the new testament, which covers the teachings of Christ and the subsequent events.

Christ was crucified around 30 AD. The first gospels were written ten to twenty years after that, and the last gospel was written around 90 AD. Were these books immediately put together and circulated as one? How about the many letter of St. Paul? When did these get put together with the four Gospels? What about other writings at the time, why were they excluded? What did they contain that was wrong, or what did the included texts contain that were missing from others?

Up until about 150 AD, there was a collection of thirty or so books that pertained to the teachings of Christ. In addition to the traditional Gospels, there were additional gospels written by James, Peter, Jude, and recently there has been speculation of a Gospel of Judas.

Then in 397 AD, at the Synod of Carthage, the church architects decided on an "official" collection of books, which is the current Bible that we have today.

In order to understand how they decided which books to include, and which to exclude, it is important to understand the political environment at that time. In 313 AD, Emperor Constantine made Christianity the Official Religion of the Roman Empire. Separation of Church and State, considered a norm in today's society, was unheard of back then. The church rulers were also the political rulers.

When they decided in 397 which books to include in the Bible, and which to exclude, questions of political motivations, influence and power unquestionably played a part.

Many argue that the collection of books was decided not for their religious truths, but for political reasons. Strangely, only the resulting decisions of the Synod remain, the actual proceedings, and the reasons for the choices, are lost. We may never know why the Bible contains the books that it does.

One wonders if these so called "Lost Gospels" may contain some uncomfortable truths after all.

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