[Claud]

When the NT Christians were “studying Scripture,” they were doing so as communities using the books of the Bible they had, virtually never as individuals.

Exactly!

And I might add this...suppose someone comes to Ephesus one day bearing a letter that says it was from St. Paul. HOW do the Ephesians know it was actually written by St. Paul or under his authority?

Methinks people don't realize how important the Church *as an institution* was in verifying the Scriptures.

[Uncle Chip]

And I might add this...suppose someone comes to Ephesus one day bearing a letter that says it was from St. Paul. HOW do the Ephesians know it was actually written by St. Paul or under his authority? Methinks people don't realize how important the Church *as an institution* was in verifying the Scriptures.

Those churches that valued the scriptures were able to tell the difference between the real and counterfeit. Those that didn't fell for fraudulent apocryphals, substitutes, secondary documents, and oral claims that led them astray.