- The New Testament is made up of religious writings after the death of Christ. A "testament" is a covenant, or agreement, and Jesus used the term "new testament" to describe the covenant between God and mankind that was created by his presence on Earth. Early Christians therefore used it as a description of their religious connection with God, and it eventually became the name given to the collection of scriptures which make up that section of the Bible.
- The New Testament is made up of 27 books and is an anthology, meaning a collection of writings by a variety of authors over a period of time. They are traditionally thought to have been written between the early first century and the mid-second century, although assorted religious and political reasons would cause extensive edits and additions in the following centuries. Authorship of many sections is still being debated by biblical scholars many centuries later.
- The first four books of the New Testament are the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), which are four different narrations of the life of Jesus Christ. Although they were traditionally said to have been written by his disciples, religious experts now consider them to be anonymous. There were actually many other gospels written of Jesus' life which were not included in the Bible, but which give further context to early Christianity (and the inner workings of the churches which chose what to include and exclude).
- The remainder of the New Testament consists of: the Acts of the Apostles (or simply "Acts"), relating to the ministries of the original Apostles after the death of Christ; the Epistles, 21 letters from various early Christian leaders consisting of advice and instruction on living a Christian life; and the Apocalypse of John, also known as the Book of Revelation. Most bibles also include a section of Apocrypha, which are historical religious writings and teachings which are not part of the official canon.