Your argument is a non sequitur.
There were lots of discussions about the cannon of the Bible. The fact is that the Holy Spirit guided the Catholic Church over time to recognize and determine the canon of the New and Old Testaments in the year 382 at the synod of Rome, under Pope Damasus I. This decision was ratified again at the councils of Hippo (393) and Carthage (397 and 419).
You accept exactly the same books of the New Testament that the Catholic Church decreed were canonical, and accept no others. But why? What is the basis of your belief? A feeling deep inside? The Holy Spirit did not deliver a table of contents. He did guide the Church to the truth.
Non-Catholics have a real problem, in that they believe that all they need to believe is in the Bible. However, the Bible never makes that claim. The Bible never says that the Bible is sufficient and all one needs. This belief is a tradition of man. The Bible is profitable, yes, (2 Timothy 3:16-17), but where does the Bible say that it is sufficient? It doesn’t. We have over 20,000 denominations that make the claim that they have the proper interpretation of scripture. If Martin Luther would have had his way, you would have a different Bible (“Tell them Martin Luther says it is so”). The Jehovah’s Witnesses changed the Bible to meet fit their beliefs. The Mormons came up with a whole new scripture. How can a non-catholic tell them they are wrong?
Jesus wanted us to be one. “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? 1 Cor 1:10-13
The Catholic Church has existed for nearly 2,000 years. This is testimony to the Church’s divine origin. Jesus promised, "I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18). This means that His Church will never be destroyed and will never fall away from him. His Church will survive until His return, even though some of the human leaders of the Church may have been unwise, corrupt, or prone to heresy. Jesus established His Church and assured the apostles and their successors, the popes and the bishops, "He who listens to you listens to me, and he who rejects you rejects me" (Luke 10:16). He gave them authority, "Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven" (Matt. 18:18). Jesus promised to guide his Church into all truth (John 16:12–13). We can have thus have confidence that His Church teaches only the truth.
So to paraphrase Augustine, I believe the Bible is the Bible because the Catholic Church tells me it is. The alternative is to believe a tradition of man.
I do apologize for missing the credit to Catholic Answers – that was an oversight. They do such a good job putting things together that it doesn’t make sense to restate their answers.
I could just as easily ask you why YOU accept the same books I do. After all, Luther offered his Biblical Canon before the Catholic Church canonized its version at Trent. The simple fact is, the criteria for what composes our Bible transcends Catholic doctrine. The canonization of the Old Testament was taken care of long before the Catholic Church claimed ownership. The Old Testament of my Bible matches the Hebrew Canon. The Old Testament of your Bible is a partial collection of the Septaugint translation of the Hebrew Canon. I prefer to limit my Old Testament to that described by Christ in Luke 44. You prefer to add the Deuterocanonical (disputed) books. But since those books are never quoted by Christ (and it is doubtful they are ever alluded to by the Apostles), most early church authorities considered them uninspired, and they are generally of inferior quality to the Protocanonical books universally accepted by Catholics and Protestants, I am satisfied with my Bible. And if/when I chose to read the Deuterocanonical books (and I do find historically significant) I can find them in places other than my Bible.
With regard to the New Testament, Your assumption is that it is impossible to agree with some Catholic doctrine without agreeing to all of it. While there is much of Catholic doctrine I reject, there is also much I agree with. In fact, by ignoring misguided translations of Catholic doctrine by Catholics on sites such as this one, and studying the Catholic Catechism as published by the Vatican, I can honestly say I find more to agree with than disagree with. I agree with the composition of the New Testament as canonized by the Catholic Church.
"Non-Catholics have a real problem,..."
No more so than Catholics. Our biggest problem is that we are human and fall short of the glory of God. If Protestants believed that the Bible is "sufficient", I would suggest you wouldn't find so many Protestant churches in your neighborhood. I know very few Protestants who refuse to attend a church or who learn about God solely through private Biblical study and meditation. And your bogus claim about 20,000 denominations is a flawed argument that has been sufficiently debunked earlier in this thread.
"If Martin Luther would have had his way, you would have a different Bible "
Apparently he did have his way. We do have a different Bible than the Catholic Church. Luther chose not to add things to the Hebrew Scripture. He chose not to supplement the Old Testament beyond what Christ Himself refered too. Conversely, like Joseph Smith and Jehovah's Witnesses, the Catholic Church has supplemented the Bible with "disputed" books of questionable origin. Since the Protestant Bible appears to be the only Bible that hasn't ADDED to the original Hebrew Canon, I suggest it is up to the Catholic Church to explain to the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses why they are wrong.
"The Catholic Church has existed for nearly 2,000 years."
Based on criteria retroactively defined by the Roman Catholic church.....
"Jesus established His Church and assured the apostles and their successors, the popes and the bishops"
Jesus mentioned the pope?
"We can have thus have confidence that His Church teaches only the truth."
Then you must agree with the following...
"All who have been justified by faith in Baptism are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have a right to be called Christians, and with good reason are accepted as brothers in the Lord by the children of the Catholic Church. Furthermore, many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside the visible confines of the Catholic Church: "the written Word of God; the life of grace; faith, hope, and charity, with the other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as visible elements." Christ's Spirit uses these Churches and ecclesial communities as means of salvation, whose power derives from the fullness of grace and truth that Christ has entrusted to the Catholic Church. All these blessings come from Christ and lead to him,and are in themselves calls to "Catholic unity."