Remember, there are more writings from the same time period by the same people, and the books in the bible were not decided on untill much later.
ps thanks for your service (Retired Army Chaplain. True support of the troops means praying for US to WIN the war!)
Thanks for your kind words about our military.
The early churches did not decide on anything other than the AUTHENTICITY of the writer. Once they established that a writing had apostolic authority, they accepted it as binding on them.
It would be like your receiving a note that seemed to be from your boss. Once you were able to determine that it actually DID come from your boss, then you would take it seriously. If you found out that it did not come from your boss, then you would not take it seriously.