I have long wrestled with the inspiration and inerrancy issue, as well as the way that we should view the Bible today. Through studying the formation of the Bible, I eventually came to grips with a few things that changed my perspective forever.

For starters, not all churches agree about which books should be in the Bible, and which ones should not. The Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Ethiopic, and Syrian churches all have different books in their Bible. I am personally so interested in this I had an article and chart commissioned for the Nov-Dec 2008 Issue of Bible Study Magazine about it (if you are interested, check it out).

Second of all, one council did not choose what would be in the New Testament. The New Testament was chosen through a gradual agreement of the churches around the civilized world of the time over a period of 300-400 years. When historians who study the writings of the early church fathers evaluate the canonization process, they generally draw the conclusion that a particular book of the New Testament was chosen on the basis of four fundamental factors:

1. Apostolicity: The book was written by an apostle or during the era of the apostles.
2. Catholicity: The book was regularly read aloud in church services.
3. Orthodoxy: The book agreed with the teachings of the apostles.
4. Traditional Usage: Various churches used the book regularly for a long period of time.

I further explain the process of how a book became canonical when evaluating the canonicity of the Gospel of Judas in my sermon “Judas and His Gospel.”

Inspiration is not a determining factor in whether or not a biblical book was considered canonical. Essentially, anyone in the early church who was lead by the Holy Spirit was considered inspired. Likewise, any writing that resulted from spiritual contemplation could be considered inspired. Epitaphs, commentaries, and what would become biblical books, were all called inspired. Inspiration was a given when a book was evaluated for canonicity.

Lastly, let me answer the main question: Does belief in the Bible equal belief in Christianity? No, because Christianity had already spread around the civilized world long before the entire Bible was canonized. Christianity equals belief in Christ. As important as the Bible is, it is secondary to belief in Christ.

A Few Notes: What I propose hear has been scholastically defended by Harry Gamble in his book "The New Testament Canon," as well as addressed in light of the inspiration/inerrancy argument by Craig Allert in his book "A High View of Scripture?" There are currently discussions of the inspiration issue going on at Michael Heiser's blog "The Naked Bible."