How Did We Get the New Testament Canon? The Truth About Islam & Child Marriage

How did we actually get the New Testament canon — and no, it wasn't handed down by Rome or Constantinople. Nate breaks down the real history of Bible canonization: from the books circulating as early as the mid-100s, to the Muratorian fragment, to Athanasius's famous 367 AD Festival Letter listing all 27 books, to the later councils of Hippo and Carthage that simply recognized what the church had already agreed on for centuries. Spoiler: the Catholic and Orthodox churches didn't hand Protestants a Bible — the Holy Spirit did. Along the way, the panel dives into fresh manuscript evidence backing New Testament reliability, plus why it's usually Muslim apologists (not atheists) who go hardest after the Bible's textual history — a bit rich, considering the Quran's own manuscripts were burned to force uniformity. The conversation then shifts into a hard look at Islam: the marriage of Aisha to Muhammad, Iraq's recent legal changes lowering the marriage age to nine for girls, the treatment of women under Sharia law, and how Islam spread historically — often by the sword — compared to the voluntary spread of the Gospel through Europe and into America. The panel also tackles the tough question: should a "world-conquering" ideology like Sharia have a place in a free society, and what's really happening with Islamic immigration in places like Brooklyn and the UK? Serious theology, some Babylon Bee-level sarcasm, and zero patience for double standards — that's the Ask A Christian Podcast. For more content, visit: https://www.askachristianpodcast.com Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 00:33 - Preview: Bible canon, church news, and more 01:52 - Why the Bible canon debate matters 08:20 - Athanasius and the Festival Letter of 367 AD 10:13 - The 27 books of the New Testament canon 13:50 - Why the Holy Spirit — not church councils — decided the canon 29:37 - Continued discussion: manuscript evidence for the New Testament 31:12 - Muslims and attacks on Bible textual reliability 45:06 - Transitioning to Islam: is child marriage justified? 46:22 - Iraq lowers the legal marriage age to nine 1:00:41 - Women's rights, honor killing, and inequality in Islam 1:02:32 - How the Middle East became Muslim by the sword 1:07:46 - How the Gospel reached Europe and America 1:09:15 - Should Islam be banned in America? 1:12:51 - Islamic immigration in Brooklyn, NYC, and the UK Hashtags (15) #AskAChristianPodcast #BibleCanon #NewTestamentCanon #ChristianApologetics #Christianity #Bible #ChurchHistory #Athanasius #Islam #IslamVsChristianity #Quran #Apologetics #Faith #BibleStudy #ChristianVsMuslim