When we talk of Christianity, we do not refer to a single homogenous religion based on the belief of Jesus Christ but with many forms like the Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, the Church of England founded by Henry VIII, various denominations of Protestantism such as the Lutherans, Calvinists and Baptists. There are also several congregational sects like the Seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah Witnesses, Iglesia ni Kristo and so on. The only unifying factor, sort of, is the New Testament, from which those Christians based their teachings.

But then, when modern day scholars started to study the Bible closely information, which has been accepted as truth are no being scrutinized. New biblical data had surfaced and religious thinkers ask why such are not accorded the same treatment in the Bible. Such question were asked of Athanasius of Alexandria when he compiled a list of books to be included in the New Testament in 367 AD. This list was ratified by the Church in the Council of Hippo in 383 and further ratified by the Council of Carthage in 387.

These books were taken from various writings of Christianity at that time. Even at that time there were questions as to why several information were not included. The first heresies to hit the early Christians were the Arian and Carpocratian heresies. Clement and Iraerneus the Bishop of Lyon was able to neutralize the teachings of Carpocrates who was said to be an elder in a church in Alexandria . Arian, a presbyter in Alexandria around 318 taught that Jesus is a man and not God.

Arianism spread through the western world particularly among the Goths. Although condemned in the Council of Nantes in 325 Arianism all but displaced Roman Christianity but when Charlemagne became the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire , the influence of Arianism started to fade and were on its way out. There were other heresies like the Cathar or Albligensian but was successfully stamped out The Holy Inquisition prevented heresies to get out of hand and even when Martin Luther nailed his Ninety five These on a church door in October 31, 1517, the authority of the Bible remained unquestioned.

The Nag Hamadi scrolls were found in Egypt in 1947. This was not translated until ten years after and was found that the scrolls were written 350 to 400 AD. Among the translations were the Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Truth and Gospel of the Egyptians had been mentioned by earliest Church Fathers like Clement of Alexandria, the foremost theologian of that time Iraeneus, Bishop of Lyons and Origen of Caesarea

In Dead Sea Scrolls were excavated 1951 to 1956 by the team of G. E. Harding and Peré de Vaux. Of the 800 scrolls only half were yet translated and none were publish so far. The latest find was in the Gospel of Judas in the caves of Al Minya desert in Egypt . The Judas Gospel portrays Judas as a divine instrument instead of a villain as depicted in the Four Gospels. Curiously Judas had been named Iscari, which is equivalent to the word assassin.

Important finds were mostly in Egypt because during the Hellenistic rule, many Jews settled in Alexandria . When Jerusalem was destroyed by Titus on the year 70 the Jews were driven away from the Holy Land . Egypt being the nearest and accomdating country for the Jews and Christians received most of the refugees, mostly religious personages. When Diocletian decreed the burning of all Christian literatures, the Christians hid their scrolls in remote places.