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"...Just to tweak: the ancient Christians *did* continue the Jewish method of proclaiming the Word in their Liturgies. By the 2nd century, there were moves to standardize which texts were worthy of inclusion into liturgies... "

Emphasis added by me.

This illustrates one of my points precisely. Some BODY, some PERSON made decisions to either INCLUDE or EXCLUDE earlier works. Some were "worthy". Some were not.

So, some PERSON decided which works were considered to be "Divinely Inspired", thereby influencing the direction of future interpretations.

Yes, the apostles were given collectively and in the person of St. Peter the authority that what they declare bound on Earth has been bound in Heaven, and what they declare loosed on Earth has been loosed in Heaven. The fact that this authority was exercised to discern what comprises the bible after the apostles had died demonstrates that the authority was handed down to their successors. Yes, we can discern a rational basis for what was included (apostolic authority, orthodoxy, universal acceptance), but that doesn’t negate the fact that this was an act of discernment after the lives of the apostles.