The Church Argued in Public

A manufactured canon would cover its tracks. The early church did the opposite - it wrote the arguments down.
Eusebius, the fourth-century historian, sorted Christian writings into categories rather than presenting a tidy list. Recognised books. Disputed books. Spurious ones - orthodox in content but without apostolic authority, like Barnabas. And rejected ones, heretical, like Thomas.
That is a scholar showing his working. He tells you which books some churches doubted. He preserves the disagreement instead of smoothing it.
Which is exactly the behaviour you would want. A tradition confident enough to record its own uncertainties is easier to trust than one that presents a seamless story.
Scripture links:
- 1 Thessalonians 5:21 - "Test everything; hold fast what is good."
- Acts 17:11 - "examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so."
- 2 Peter 3:15-16 - "there are some things in them that are hard to understand."
They argued in the open, and kept the receipts.