The discovery of the Gnostic Gospels by a shepherd named Muhammad Ali in 1945 has raised questions about the origin and authority of the New Testament canon. Scholars have raised doubts about the authorship of New Testament books, suggesting that some may be forgeries. The discovery of apocryphal books, such as the Gospel of Thomas, has also raised questions about which books belong in the canon. The influence of Walter Bauer's book, Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity, has further complicated the issue, suggesting that the canon is a historical accident and that different groups may have had their own collections of books.
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