The books of the New Testament were used by a variety of Christian groups, some of which were subsequently labeled as heretical. How did the process of canonization limit possible interpretations of these books and make them acceptable to orthodox Christians?

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The Answer is Although "heretical" groups used texts that were eventually placed in the canon (among them are Matthew, John, and Paul's letters), once a group of texts is canonized, those books are no longer read as free-standing texts with their own individual emphases and Christologies/theologies. Rather, when these books are placed into one book, The New Testament, they are intended to be read together and to shed light on one another. The reader of the New Testament, then, is supposed to read, for example, the Gospel of John in light of the Gospel of Matthew. The juxtaposition of texts containing different views bars a reader from moving too far in one doctrinal direction.

The Books of the New Testament Were Used by a Variety